Posts Tagged ‘Rani Mukherjee’

Bombay Talkies – 4 writers on 4 films by 4 directors. VOTE for your favourite!

Posted: May 2, 2013 by moifightclub in cinema
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Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap – four filmmakers with distinct signature style of filmmaking. So it’s interesting that a film like Bombay Talkies managed to bring them together. Though the occasion is 100 years of Indian cinema, all four shorts don’t have a strong cinema connect.

Interestingly, we also have got four writers to write about these four films. Read the post, watch the films and do vote for your favourite short in our poll.

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Jahan Singh Bakshi on Karan Johar’s Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh

Of the four shorts in Bombay Talkies, I was most interested in Karan Johar’s film. One couldn’t quite tell what it is about beyond the fact that there is a troubled marriage in an urban setting (between Rani and Randeep) and a blossoming friendship (between Rani and Saqib) that perhaps gets the plot rolling. Also, there was a delicous sense of irony in the fact that in an anthology including films by Anurag, Zoya and Dibakar, it was K-Jo’s that seemed like the most dark and bleak!

What Karan has delivered in Bombay Talkies is something I did not expect (and  I’m sure no one did). And with unexpected elan as well! Not just daring and bold, but equally graceful and poised- this is a Karan Johar you haven’t seen before. Or maybe he always had this in him but was waiting for the right time and a film where he did not have to wear the producer’s hat. I won’t reveal the plot of the film here (even though soon people would be talking about it) but when a filmmaker like Karan Johar makes a film like this, it isn’t just a film, it’s a massive statement. A few glass ceilings have been instantly shattered in a snap.

But let’s give Karan Johar, the guy everyone is probably looking at as the dark horse black sheep among these four, credit for more than just audaciousness. Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh grabs you by the collar and jolts you in its very first scene. But it instantly and nonchalantly moves on. This isn’t a Madhur Bhandarkar ‘shockfest’ or a film about ‘issues’.

What you get is an astutely made relationship drama- funny, candid, empathetic and in the end, wonderfully poignant. As I thought of the film later, I also appreciated how economically and smoothly it moved, everything is established so quickly and well. The characters are all flawed; there are no judgments made, no quick answers given, no simple resolutions. Apart from the odd cornball line in the beginning (‘Gale mein mangalsutra, aakhon mein kamasutra!‘- and that too from an intern to his boss!) the dialogue is smart and well written. And yes, no clumsy melodrama either. Maybe it’s the effect of shooting in ‘real’ locations! 😉

The performances are excellent and fearless. After trying too hard in NOKJ & Aiyaa, Rani Mukerji is back to doing what she does best- in Talaash, and now this. She is raw and wonderful, and the camera doesn’t look away from the love handles pouring out of her blouse or the freckles on her face. This is the sexiest and most beautiful she has looked in a long time. Saqib has cocky charm, but also a heart-breaking vulnerability. This is a role few young actors with Bollywood-Hero aspirations would take on. And Randeep Hooda surprises with a superbly reined-in performance, emotions carefully simmering under the surface.

As tempting as it is to discuss the story, I’d prefer to let everyone discover it on their own and react. This is surely going to be the most talked-about film of the four. And bagging second place in such illustrious company is no mean feat either. So many good directors stumble when it comes to short films- and well, here we have a filmmaker who’s so often reviled and not exactly known for brevity- making such a terrific one.

Mr Johar, you had my attention, now you have my curiosity. I’m curious to see where you go from here. You’ve taken the big leap, now don’t stop.

PS: You’ll be humming the ‘title song’ for a long, long time after the film. 🙂

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Varun Grover on Dibakar Banerjee’s स्टार

अगस्त 2011. हम रेखा झा से पटना में मिले थे. उन्होंने ‘गैंग्स ऑफ़ वासेपुर’ में ‘वुमनिया’ गीत गाया था. वो एक और गाने (तार बिजली) में कोरस की लड़कियों वाले ग्रुप में आई थीं. स्नेहा खानवलकर को उनकी आवाज़ अच्छी लगी और उन्हें अलग से पूरा गाना मिल गया. वापसी के समय उनके पति (झा बाबू) मुझे अपनी टैक्सी में छोड़ने आये. उनका पटना में ही भाड़े की टैक्सी का बिजनेस है. रास्ते में उन्होंने बताया कि वो १९९०/९१ के आस-पास एक बार बंबई आये थे; हीरो बनने. “उस समय अगर कोई हमको बोल देता कि दस मंजिल से कूद जाओ और हम तुम्हें हीरो बना देंगे तो हम कूद जाते.” मैंने पूछा “तो किसी ने बोला क्या?” उन्होंने बताया काफी दिन बंबई में भटकने के बाद उन्हें एक जुगाड़ मिला. बाज़ीगर की शूट चल रही थी…लोनावला साइड कहीं पे. वो वहां पहुँच गए और यही ताव (कूद जायेंगे वाला) सब प्रोडक्शन वालों को सुनाने लगे. एक ने कह दिया, यह नदी है सामने छोटी सी, इसको तैर के पार कर लो तो किसी एक सीन में हीरो के अगल-बगल कहीं खड़े होने को मिल जाएगा. जनाब कूद गए. तैरना नहीं आता था, फिर भी कूद गए. किसी और को उन्हें पकड़ के निकालना पड़ा. झा बाबू के मुताबिक़ उनकी इस हिम्मत को देखकर सेट पर मौजूद (वीनस वाले) रतन जैन का दिल पिघल गया और उन्होंने झा जी को एक हफ्ते बाद बंबई में अपने दफ्तर बुलाया. झा जी एक हफ्ते तक सडकों पर रहे, बस स्टाप पर सोये, पर रतन जैन से मिलने का दिन आने से पहले ही उनका सारा सामान, जिसमें रतन जैन के दफ्तर का पता भी था, चोरी हो गया. उन्हें वापस पटना लौटना पड़ा. हमेशा के लिए.

कट टू – जनवरी 2013. एक अवार्ड फंक्शन में रेखा झा वुमनिया के लिए nominate हुयीं. झा जी भी उनके साथ बंबई आये. यशराज स्टूडियो के अन्दर बैठ के उस दुनिया को देखा जिसके लिए वो कूद जाना चाहते थे. मुझे सुपरमैन ऑफ़ मालेगांव के शायर फरोग़ जाफरी याद आ गए. (“मैं कब से बंबई की तरफ चल रहा हूँ. मालेगांव से बंबई बस एक रात का सफ़र है. पर ये रात ख़त्म नहीं होती.”) झा जी की छलांग भी 22-साल तक लगती ही रही.

कट टू – मई 2013. दिबाकर बनर्जी की फिल्म ‘स्टार’ में पुरंदर (नवाज़ुद्दीन सिद्दीकी, हमेशा की तरह बवाल) भी ऐसी ही एक छलांग के बीच में कहीं है. और पुरंदर की छलांग इतनी सीधी भी नहीं है. वो कई दिशाओं में कूद रहा है. या हवा में कहीं बीच में लटक रहा है. दिबाकर बनर्जी की हर अच्छी फिल्म की हर खासियत इस २०-२५ मिनट की फिल्म में मिल जायेगी – बहुत ही कडुवा सा sense of humor; social issues पर एक तीखी नज़र; खतरनाक casting (हमारे drunk-शायर और असल ज़िन्दगी में बहुत ही sincere, assistant director कार्तिक कृष्णन का इस से अच्छा इस्तेमाल नहीं हो सकता था, नवाज़ की पत्नी के रोल में एक गज़ब की नयी एक्टर (sorry नाम नहीं देख पाया end credits के गीले कचरे से भी बदतर गाने के चक्कर में), और सदाशिव अमरापुरकर की धांसू वापसी); कहने को एक बहुत ही गहरी बात; और एक गांड-फाड opening scene.

बल्कि अगर दिबाकर की फिल्मों का एक सबसे बड़ा recurring structural-motif ढूँढा जाए तो वो यही होगा कि उनकी हर फिल्म का पहला सीन पूरी फिल्म का सार होता है. और अपने आप में एक complete short-film भी. LSD में short-film या meta-film का element deliberately बहुत साफ़ था, लेकिन बाकी हर फिल्म में (‘ओये लक्की..’ में तो बहुत ही गज़ब तरह से) पहले सीन को लिखने की मेहनत साफ़ दिखती है. Shanghai पर हज़ार debate हुए कि फिल्म किसके बारे में थी लेकिन दिबाकर के motif से जाएँ तो फिल्म का पहला सीन साफ़ कर देता है कि फिल्म मामा और भग्गू के बारे में ही थी.

और ‘स्टार’ का पहला सीन ‘ओये लक्की’ की टक्कर का है. बस उनके पिछले काम से काफी अलग, (के.के. के शब्द) “फुल बंगाली सिनेमा है रे!” और सिर्फ पहला सीन ही नहीं, क्योंकि पूरी फिल्म सत्यजित रे की लघु कथा ‘पोटोल बाबू फिल्म स्टार’ से है, तो बहुत जगह रे की छाप साफ़ दिखती है. (मुझे एक जगह ‘नायक’ दिखी और एक जगह ‘महानगर’. और एक जगह एक जानवर में रे बाबू की २-३ लघु कथाएँ.)

फिल्म के बारे में कोई spoilers नहीं लिख रहा. लेकिन बस इतना ही कि Bombay Talkies की चारों फिल्मों का पैसा मेरे लिए इस अकेली में ही वसूल हो गया. (करण जोहर की फिल्म भी शानदार लगी वैसे.) नवाज़, दिबाकर बनर्जी, और सत्यजित रे – इससे आगे कोई क्या मांगेगा?

Update: अभी अभी एक जुगाड़ से नवाज़ की पत्नी का रोल करने वाली एक्टर का नाम पता चल गया. मराठी थियेटर की एक्टर – शुभांगी भुजबल. और ये भी पता चला कि वो खुद ऐसी ही एक चाल में पली-बढ़ी जैसी फिल्म में दिखाई गयी है.

(If you have difficulty reading it in Hindi, scroll down and read its English transalation)

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Kartik Krishnan on Zoya Akhtar’s Sheila Ki Jawani

It’s more Taare Zameen Par than Pankh. The 6 yr old’s desires stifled by the ‘Sharma ji’ type moochad father with shades of Naseer-Ishan Nair (the fat dancing kid from Monsoon Wedding) conflict. मेरे-Parents-चाहते-हैं-मैं-आम-खाऊँ-जबकि-मुझे-केले-पसंद-हैं is the dillema/drama. The sexuality theme is not explored (or maybe I’m reading too much into it).

The film stealthily enters the kid(s) world and takes you along. Not the most ‘fresh’ stories but again very well done, non-melodramatic realistic treatment by Zoya Akhtar (with Excel Ent Production Design from LBC not Rock On). The casting of the kids and mom is spot on. And the relationship between the siblings could’ve been autobiographical, which is probably why it is so heart tugging despite being no Children of Heaven. They help each other out in the ‘trying circumstances’ and unlike the एक दूसरे की चुगली करने वाले बच्चे, would probably be best ‘friends for life’. The message of the film is not so much ‘Follow Your Dreams’ but more ‘Follow Your Dreams लेकिन शान्पट्टी से’. Slightly underwhelming coming from Zoya Akhtar but it seems her most ‘personal’ film (like KJo’s and AK’s short films). ‘शुरू होते ही ख़त्म हो जाती है’, ‘3rd Act है ही नही, setup ही setup  है’ were the common refrain but the climactic performance with the arresting cutaways is itself worth the price of ticket itself.

The pillow conversations at night between the siblings took me back to my childhood days, and that’s why may be I’m being a little too lenient unlike rest. ‘मानता हूँ Cliche है Sir लेकिन Conviction से किया जाए तो आज भी work करता है !’

P.S – An aside – On the occasion of 100 yrs of Indian cinema celebration – here are two of the most brilliant kids performances in recent cinematic history for you – this & this.

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Neeraja Sahasrabudhe on Anurag Kashyap’s Murabba

Twice during the film, I was reminded of this funny inimitable character from my childhood. There was a short period of time, when we used to get dabbawala food at home in Banaras (Yes! there are dabbawalas in Banaras too). That man had a wild imagination. From the stories about owning the golden temple land to getting his mobile phone repaired in 2 lakhs (back in 2000! well, that sounds ridiculous even now), there was no end to his cock-and-bull stories, and there was a new किस्सा everyday.

The sequence where Vijay is regaling his fellow travelers in the train reminded me of many such characters from Banaras. जैसे दिल्ली में गाली देना सच में गाली देना नहीं होता, वैसे ही पूर्वांचल में गप्प मारना झूठ बोलना नहीं होता। Another one from a train journey is that of a group biharis…I remember looking at my brother and suppressing a giggle when one of the men said “ये बहुत संघर्शेबुल (sangharsh-able) हैं “. ऐसी बहुत सी सुनी-सुनाई कहानियां हैं अपने यहाँ के amazing गप्पी लोगों की, जो याद करके भी हँसी आ जाती है. Anyway, the point here being that the film captures that character and that space very well. For me, this was the best part of the film.

The film is about a young man traveling from Allahabad to Mumbai to meet Amitabh Bachchan so that he can offer the superstar a piece of Murabba that his mother has made. This is his father’s “last wish”. As far as the theme of celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema goes, among all four shorts, this film comes closest to capture the passionate frenzy that bollywood has created among the masses over the years. As usual Kashyap get the milieu right but the punchline is not strong enough to make you fall in love with the film.  Unfortunately the film goes downhill as soon as Mr. Bachchan makes an appearance. There are moments that made me nostalgic and made me chuckle but overall the film was a bit of a disappointment. But inspite of all the shortcomings, I am sure all the fanboys/girls out there who have done crazy things for the stars they love, will connect to the film.

PS: The other thing that I noticed is that when Vijay’s father asked him where he was, Vijay replies “मेल में थे”. The people in and around Allahanad always call the kumbh mela as just “mela” whereas it is the outsider (mostly the पढ़ा – लिखा वर्ग) that always calls in “kumbh” or “kumbh mela”. Full marks to AK for that.

*****

The film ends with an atrocious music video which seems to be have been produced on MS Paint. Though the initial montage of yesteryear actors make it look slightly better. As a friend pointed out, wish they had just used the opening credits of Luck By Chance in the end credits here. That would have been enough.

And do vote for your favourite short. You can vote for 2 films.

UPDATE – 3rd May, 2013

(Since many people have been asking for English translation of Varun’s post on Star, here it is. We still suggest that you try in Hindi first, Do “Control +”, make the font bigger and it becomes easy. If not, here you go)

August 2011. We met Rekha Jha in Patna. She would sing ‘Womaniya’ for ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ a few days later. She was part of the group of girls we had called for chorus singing in ‘Taar Bijli Se’ song. Sneha Khanwalkar liked her voice so much that she got offered a full song to herself. On my way back from Patna, her husband (Jha babu) dropped me to the airport in his taxi. He has a small taxi-rental business in Patna. He started talking and told me ‘I had gone to Bombay sometime in 1990/91; to become a hero. If at that time, somebody had told me to jump from a 10-storeyed building to get a role in films, I’d have done that.’ I asked – ‘So did somebody say that to you?’ He said after wasting many days in Bombay, he somehow landed one contact which took him to the film shoot of ‘Baazigar’ in Lonavla or around.  On the sets of Baazigar, he again started bragging that he can jump from a building to get a role, and some production hand dared him to cross the small river nearby. He promised Jha Babu a role (of being in the same frame as the film’s hero) if he finished the swim across the river. Jha babu jumped in the river without a thought. He didn’t know how to swim, but jumped anyway. He had to be rescued by some locals else he was sure to drown. Seeing the commotion and young man’s stupid desperation, Ratan Jain (Tips owner) was impressed. He gave Jha babu his card and asked him to come over at the Bombay office a week later. The whole coming week Jha ji spent on the roads, sleeping on bus stops, but before the big day arrived his whole luggage including the address of Ratan Jain was stolen. He returned back home to Patna, never to attempt his Bombay dreams again.

Cut to: January 2013. An award function nominated Rekha Jha for singing ‘Womaniya’. Jha babu came with her to Bombay, first time since he left it in 1991. Sitting inside Yashraj Studios, he finally saw the unreal world he wanted to jump from a high-rise for, up-close and live. I was reminded of Farogue Jafari, the poet and writer of/from Supermen of Malegaon – “Main kab se Bombay ki taraf chal raha hoon. Malegaon se Bombay bas ek raat ka safar hai. Par ye raat khatam nahin hoti.”  (I have been walking towards Bombay for a long time. Malegaon to Bombay is just an overnight journey. But this night is too long.) Jha babu’s jump also lasted for 22-years.

Cut to: May 2013. Purandar (Nawazuddin Siddiqui, terrific as always) in Dibakar Banerjee’s segment ‘Star’ is also in the middle of one such night/jump. But Purandar’s jump is not so simple. He is jumping in many directions simultaneously. Or may be he just thinks he is jumping while being magically, depressingly hanging static mid-air, like a cartoon dog from Tom and Jerry. The 25 minute film has all the best elements of all the good Dibakar Banerjee films. A very wry sense of humor, a sharp comment on social issues (right from the very first scene that stays on long enough for you to attempt decode its meaning),  pitch-perfect casting (our drunk-shaayar and a sincere assistant director Kartik Krishnan couldn’t have been cast in a better role, the lady playing Nawaz’s wife Shubhangi Bhujbal is a gem of a find from Marathi theatre though her name gets drowned in that horribly composed and shot end-credits song, and Sadashiv Amrapurkar’s comeback to cinema alone is worthy enough for this film to be made), a new world to explore, and a kick-ass opening scene – all DB strengths are at their top-game in ‘Star’.

In fact, a recurring structural-motif of DB’s films has been a meta-film like opening scene that has the sly-synopsis and tone of the entire film you’re going to watch. If you go back to any of his film after finishing it, and watch the opening scene again, you’ll be surprised by the number of hidden-meanings it contained. LSD had the short-film/meta-film element deliberately carved out but even the rest of his films have a masterful opening scene (OLLO has the strongest one). Shanghai generated many debates, chief among them was who the film ACTUALLY is about, and going by this motif the opening scene of the film clearly says that the film is about Bhaggu and Mama, the two ‘killers’.

And the first scene in ‘Star’ is as powerful and poetic as Dibakar has ever written/shot. Though in a different league/tone altogether (as Kartik Krishnan said ‘Full Bengali cinema hai re!’). And not just the opening scene, the entire film bears a noticeable stamp of Satyajit Ray as the screenplay is adapted from a Satyajit ray short-story (“Potol Babu Film Star”). I could spot a hat-tip to ‘Nayak’ (appearance of Sadashiv Amrapurkar scene), and another to ‘Mahanagar’ (working wife and daily memorabilia for child), and a pet-animal Purandar keeps reminded me of a couple more short-stories of Ray. (Fascination with abnormal/surreal animals/plants is a recurring motif in Ray’s stories for children.)

Keeping it spoiler-free so can’t write much more. Just enough to say that DB’s ‘Star’ alone is worth the price of admission for Bombay Talkies. (While K-Jo’s film too is as good as they come.) Nawaz+Dibakar+Satyajit Ray – and the sum is greater than the parts!

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In defence of the idiosyncratic – A response to Aiyyaa

Posted: October 22, 2012 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, film, Marathi, movie reviews, reviews
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Going by ReviewGang‘s calculation, the average rating for Sachin Kundalkar’s Aiyyaa is a poor 4.5/10. But almost every reviewer mentioned it that Kundalkar explored many interesting things in the film which never came together. Also, everyone felt that it was too long. On twitter, the most common word used to describe the film was “bizzare”. That made me more curious to find out how “Gandha” became such a wakdaa. I still haven’t seen the film but surprisingly got a post in my inbox which was on similar lines. So over to Shvetal Vyas-Pare and her take on the film and its Marathi original Gandha.

– @cilemasnob

Aiyyaa is a difficult film to like. It can be easily dismissed as having no plot, dragging out one idea for too long and then jumping into a quick conclusion. The tone does not help either – it is neither entirely realistic nor entirely parodied. The actors seem to constantly shifting from subtle to over-the-top, which makes them irritating – both as characters and as actors. However, I’ve been thinking about the film. It hasn’t grown on me, nor will I claim that it is actually a wonderful film that has been misunderstood. I want to use this blog post to think through certain things that I found interesting about the film, and about my reactions to it.

The premise of any story can be outrageous, and it is up to individual viewers whether the story resonates with them or not. Logically, it is absurd to suppose that a wife would not know her husband in a different get-up (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi) or that a man could pass off a concentration camp as a massive game (Life is Beautiful). I’ve heard people tear the former apart while waxing eloquent about the latter. I’m sure there are also people out there who love Rab Ne… and don’t mind its logical inconsistency. I’m not saying that the two films are at par with each other. The point I am trying to make is that both films accept seemingly outrageous premises as givens and go ahead with their narratives. As I strongly feel that films/books should be allowed to tell the stories they want to rather than those that seem more logical or natural to any individual viewer/reader, an outrageous premise rarely bothers me.

Aiyyaa too has a premise that seems illogical, that of a woman who is attracted to the way a man smells. Come to think of it, smell is difficult to convey on film. You have to rely on familiarity and on audience experience. Like all human experiences, smell is subjective. It is difficult to explain the power of the smell of the mud after the first rains in India to someone who’s never smelt it. It is easier to make films about colour, about touch, about sensation and Aiyyaa too brings in colours – yellow for Rani and blue for Prithvi – and uses them to play around with notions of smell. Perhaps they thought that colours would make smells more tangible. Aiyyaa also reminds one of the odour that one so completely takes for granted in India, showing public toilets and garbage lying open on the streets. Who in India has not scrunched one’s nose, and then passed on?

The other major motif of the film, intertwined with smell, is desire. Meenakshi desires Surya, and is somehow convinced that he is not the monster that everyone else thinks him to be. There is no logical reason behind this belief, and part of the disconnect you feel with her character is because of how illogical her behaviour is. Yet it is good to see the woman rather than the man as the desiring subject in Bollywood cinema, though of late this has become more common. Dreamum Wakeupum (and Ijjajat papad!) are pure genius on the part of Amitabh Bhattacharya. All those thrusting, pumping, heaving dance steps in all those Hindi films over the ages – they were all metaphorically sexual, and this song dispenses with the metaphor.

Another major problem area in the film is the ‘falling in love’ narrative. Meenakshi tries to speak to Surya often, but never actually gets to do so. Until one miraculous evening, wherein they talk, the mystery about him is solved, they confess their feelings, and get engaged to one another, all in the space of one evening. This is again something that induces impatience – how illogical can you get? Behind this impatience however is the assumption that other things that are shown in more realistic narratives are more ‘natural’, whereas they just have become more sedimented in our minds as ways of being in love, ways of performing romance.

Aiyyaa juxtaposes desire, as represented through smell, and the stifling nature of social life in India, as indicated through the odour of the garbage that haunts Meenakshi even in her dreams. The film finds some subtle moments here and there – walking around the clean, rose-garden terrace of a man whom Meenakshi does not find attractive does nothing for her. This garden of red roses must presumably smell great, and brings in notions of conventional romance, but she is entranced neither by the smell nor the appearance of this ideal space because this is not the man for her.

The Marathi original, Gandha, is actually a combination of 3 different stories, each dealing with the motif of smell, and the story that goes on to become Aiyyaa is crisper, told in half an hour. To stretch out the narrative, Aiyyaa adds a younger brother and a rival suitor to the mix, as well as making the boy Tamilian and putting Meenakshi through the task of learning a new language and a different culture. Not just that, the friend of the heroine becomes more bizarre.As ideas, all of them are interesting, though some translate well and some not so well.

Gandha is not as quirky as Aiyyaa and captures its particular Marathi milieu well. In many ways, it is less imaginative than Aiyyaa, perhaps because it is under less pressure in terms of time, and so is more straightforward in its storytelling. Amruta Subhash does an excellent job of conveying the vulnerability as well as the charm of the protagonist. Rani Mukherjee does a good job, but it is easier to understand and relate to Veena in Gandha than to Meenakshi in Aiyyaa.

What seems a small change in the script from the Marathi to the Hindi version brings to light one of the biggest silences of Bollywood cinema. In both versions, the hero is a painter by day and works at an incense factory by night. However, in the Marathi version he had done a diploma in repairing refrigerators and works at the factory to make money and pay for his art education. In the Hindi version the hero is the owner of the factory, left to him by his father, and works alongside his employees. A Bollywood hero cannot be a simple employee, he has to at least own the factory. After all, how could he think about romance otherwise? As if those who repair refrigerators do not have love stories of their own.

Ultimately, my reaction to Aiyyaa is as much about my expectations as about the film itself. I like films to stick to tones and genres. The realistic feel of a college library – the old computers, the library membership cards, the dust on the books – was good. The presence of an overtly sexualised librarian, however, was jarring – such a person would never exist in such a space. But do films have to necessarily be either realistic, or fantasy as accepted by Bollywood convention (i.e. either melodrama or a fantasy of excess, a la Karan Johar or Salman Khan), or totally bizarre? Can a film not be a little bit of each?

The attempt to make a film that is a little bit of each is jarring, but I think that it is a brave attempt. It would not have been that difficult to make Aiyyaa a bit more like Vicky Donor and English Vinglish: emphasise the Marathi – Tamil aspects of both families, show them as more lovable and less quirky, remove the bizarre, give the hero-heroine more conversations, show the heroine as the underdog who finally convinces her family that she has the right to choose her own life partner and so on. I do not think Anurag Kashyap and co. are stupid enough to have not thought of this alternative, safer option. It would have been an easier option to sell too, and that is often a big criterion that drives the way films get made. While I do not quite like the final product thatAiyyaa is, I do admire the fact that they made it their way – bizarre, quirky and idiosyncratic.

(PS – You can watch Gandha with English subtitles here)

(PS – A different version of the write-up was first posted on Shvetal Vyas-Pare’s blog)

List of Indian films selected for BFI London Film Festival, 2012

Posted: September 5, 2012 by moifightclub in cinema, film, Film Festival, first look, Indie, News
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The BFI London Film Festival has unveiled its complete line-up for 2012. And there are quite a few Indian films in the list.

– The only film with desi connect which is in official competition section is Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children. Click here for more details.

– After its TIFF premiere, Anand Gandhi’s Ship Of Theseus is going to compete for “The Sutherland Award” in The First Feature competition category. To know more about the film click here and here.

– Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalis had its world premiere at the Venice Festival. Now it will have its Gala in the “Dare” segment at LFF. More details about the film here.

– After Cannes and Toronto, Peddlers continues its fest run with screening in “Dare” segment of the fest. Click here and here for more details.

– Rani Mukherjee and Prithviraj starrer Aiyya will have its world premiere at the fest. This is Sachin Kundalkar first Hindi feature film.

– Prakash Jha’s Chakravyush will have a Gala in the Thrill segment and Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar will have a screening in “Treasures” seection.

– The official website of the festival also lists two more films in Indian segment – Save Your Legs and Sri Lankan production With you, Without You.

– To know more about the film festival, films and the screening schedule, click here.

First Look : RajKumar Gupta’s No One Killed Jessica (Poster)

Posted: November 14, 2010 by moifightclub in bollywood, film, first look, pics
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The film stars Vidya Balan & Rani Mukherjee, has music by Amit Trivedi and has been produced by UTV. Story ? Well, the title says it all. Will put out the official synopsis soon.

First Look : Koochie Koochie Hota Hai’s trailer, Salman Khan is MIA & no hotdogs here!

Posted: February 15, 2010 by moifightclub in bollywood, cast & crew, first look, News, songs & videos
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As if one Shah Rukh Khan wasnt enough, now we have a doggie version too! Awwwww…wwwwful! Or is this the Aamir’s doggie who was named after King Khan ? Koochi Koochie Hota Hai is the animated (read doggie) version of Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota hai.

Its directed by Tarun Mansukhani and has voiceovers by Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh, Simi Agarwal, Anupam Kher, Uday Chopra and Sajid Khan. Guess who is not here ? Salman Khan. Missing In Action. And you dont need to be genius to guess the reason.

And whoever thought about the “Koochie Koochie” title, needs to get into doggie avatar soon. Woof teri ada, woof tera badan, woof woof tera ya title! The trailer looks, sounds and feels terrible! And more so, because in a year when UP makes it to the Oscar nomination in the Best Film category, we are still rewinding back to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Spare us. We are not buying the tickets! Feels like its made for Under-5 category! Take a look.

  

30 Filmy Fundas of 2009 – The good, the bad & the fuglies!

Posted: December 31, 2009 by moifightclub in bollywood, cast & crew, cinema, News, Thoughts
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2009 – The Master of Feel Bad started the year delivering his career’s first hit and the Master of Feel Good Cinema ended the year with a recording breaking monster hit! Aha, not that bad if we count only the boundaries. After the musical notes of the year, we sat down to discuss the filmy notes of the year. Here it is – the good, the bad and the fuglies!

1. Best Credit Roll – If ever a credit roll said something so simply and superbly, this is it. Luck By Chance. Also great debut by Zoya Akhtar.

2. Anurag Kashyap turned musical and how! More than a dozen songs and we discovered Amit Trivedi.

3. Anurag Kashyap – 2009 belongs to only one director. Dev D, Gulaal and even Paanch finally got a release, you know where. Whats more, he finished shooting his next film That Girl In Yellow Boots in just 13 days. Aur bolo ?

PS : The same Anurag Kashyap wrote the dialogues for Kurbaan ! Strange bedfellows remained strange.

4. Nobody, we repeat nobody, can save Harman/Hurrman/Harmann/Harrman/Whatever it is Baweja.

5. Wooden Film of the Year – New York. Three good looking woods with zero expression.

6. Ranbir Kapoor – Dude of the year! He is not only working with best directors of bollywood but delivering his best too. Cool & confused, fool & romantic, middle class & lost – he did it all.

7.Imran Luck Khan – The poster boy of 2008 is light years behind Ranbir. He only talks cool and acts still uncool.  Competition, whats that ?

8. Imtiaz Ali has only one story to tell. The journey of cool and confused lovers on the verge of marriage. First time, they were about to mary. Second time, they were close to marriage. This time, they finally married and then solved their problem. More here and here.

9. Samir Karnik got money to make one more movie. Who ? Where ? Why ? How ?

10. Rani Mukherjee’s career is over. Hadippa!

11. Multiplex cinema & hits are not everything. Its a big myth. Ask the makers of Wanted. Or is it only Salman Khan ?

12. And if its Salman Khan, why Main Aur Mrs Khanna packed up in just two days ? As they say, nobody knows anything. And what was UTV smoking ? 

13. Overrated Gimmicky shit of the year – Paa. More ramblings here.

14. R Balki should stick to making tv commercials. One idea and thats it. He also told the same story again. Smart & dying child bring lovers back together. Age gap somewhere. Check.

15. Akshay Kumar’s bubble busted and how!. He failed everywhere. Chandni Chowk, China, Hollywood, under water, inside or outside Tasveer.

16. The Invisible Director – Who is Anurag Singh ? Does anyone knows him ? The man who put the last nail in the coffin of Rani’s acting career. Hadippa!

17. Sanjay Gupta and gang (read Suparn) are still copying. Even the promos! Now the Unknown ones! More here.

18. Suresh Nair – the only writer to have two big films releases on the same friday. Aladin & London Dreams and both flopped.

19. Underrated Film – Sooni Tarporevala’s delightful Little Zizou, where all the possible parsis united to turn bollywood into pollywood! ( Missed Barah Aana, Mohandas)

20. Ripley’s Believe It Or Not – Sunil Shetty got an award for acting in Anant Mahadevan’s Red Alert – the War Within. Believe it, nobody has seen the film yet.

21. Most Subtle Expression of the year – In Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi 6, a man lands up with a mirror to show your andar ka kala bandar! Beat this!

22. Nagesh Kuknoor – Dont give him big budgests and big stars. He will go cuckoo-noor!

23. Vishal Bhardwaj delivered again. Five films in a row. And showed us Amole Gupte – the actor. More here.

24. Ajab Prem ki Gazab Kahani tried too hard to be Andaz Apna Apna. Insanity happens! You cant plan and design it.

25. ENG Filmmaker -Madhur Bhandarkar continued his expose and it finally flopped.

26. Smirk & Smug of the Year – Vivek Oberoi in Kurbaan. It was the ROFLOL film of the year where terrorism was wrapped in chiffon saree.

27. RajKumar Hirani lied to all of us and made the same film again. As a friend said, its Munnabhai B Tech. More here.

28. Couple Of The Year – Jaideep Sahni & Shimit Amin who delivered Rocket Singh – Sales Man of the Year! More here.

29. The only U-25 who proved us wrong – Ayan Mukherjee. Wake up Sid. Confident debut. More here.

30. Only 12 scenes, not 12 roles – Ask Priyanka Chopra. Easily the best performance of the year. Length doesnt matter, performanace counts. Vishal did it. Gowariker failed.

Bravery Awards  – Aftab Shivdasani turned writer and producer with Aao Wish Karein.

Someone directed a film titled Jai-Veeru!

Abhijeet Sawant turned actor.

LOL Titles Of The Year  – They said it all. No explanations required.

Kal Kisne Dekha

Do Knot Disturb

Fruit & Nuts

London Nightmares

Blue-s

Aa Dekhein Zara

Dhoondte Rah Jaoge

Ek Se Bure Do

(Tough) Luck

Shorkut – The Con Is On

PS. ENG – Electronic New Gathering.

Coming up next –  what to expect in 2010!

Film Reviews : Dil Bole Hadippa and Wanted

Posted: September 18, 2009 by moifightclub in bollywood, cast & crew, News, reviews
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Dil Bole HadippaTwo big releases this friday. Though neither my Dil Bole Hadippa nor my dimaag WANTs anything. Few early reviews are out. Check out!

Dil Bole Hadippa is directed by debutant Anurag Singh, produced by Yashraj Films and stars Rani Mukherjee and Shahid Kapoor.

Anupama Chopra (NDTV) – Dil Bole… is worth seeing for the sweetness and charm that Rani and Shahid conjure up. Catch it if you have nothing else going on this weekend – 2.5/5

Sukanya Verma (Rediff) – If you can discount some of the Veer-Zaara inspired cheesiness to follow along with terrible exercises of humour – namely broken Hinglish exchanges (You Kaala bhainslo, yadda yadda) and gems like, ‘Yeh Indian dil hai. Cello tape se nahi Judta and a reaa-llll-yy long climax, your ‘Dil’ might just find enough strength to mutter ‘Hadippa’. Ha, like that’s ever going to happen – 2.5/5

Anand Vaishnav (Buzz18) – It’s a long weekend ahead. And Dil Bole Hadippa is just the kind of movie you will enjoy with your family. This one is an easy watch – 2.5/5

Gaurav Malani (Indiatimes) – Dil Bole Hadippa comes as another feel ‘good’ film from the Yash Raj banner but off late audiences have upgraded to ‘better’ narratives – 2.5/5

Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, DIL BOLE HADIPPA is an ordinary fare. At the box-office, the film has some chances in North mainly thanks to the Punjabi flavour. The holidays ahead may help its prospects at plexes essentially, but the single screens will be dull – 2/5 

Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – it’s a crushing bore of a film that’s neither thrilling in its cricket scenes, nor entertaining in its humour. What’s it going to take to expect some originality and inventiveness from one of the biggest players in Bollywood? To be honest, dil bole sudharjaa! – 1.5/5

Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – For Rani fans, it’s a must watch, the rest can go see Wanted instead – 2/5

Kaveree Bamzai (India Today) – What do you say to a movie which is a cross between Veer Zaara and Chak De! India? With large dollops of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge thrown in? YRF has developed a niche niche now-Punjabi films about sports and involving Pakistan -2/5

Khalid Mohamed (Aslibaat) – Next time around, you do wish the Chopras would show more of Punjab than its mustard fields, dupatta-cholis, trucks and tractors. Till then, this cricket balle balle makes for a fairly engrossing matinee – 3/5

Mayank Shekhar (Hindustan Times) – As an idea, this remains still a full-on film festival designed around the female lead. She is decent. She usually is. But, what is this film? – 1/5


WantedWANTED is directed by Prabhu Deva and stars Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia and Prakash Raj.

Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, WANTED rides on Salman, Salman and only Salman Khan’s star power. A masala film that’s aimed at the masses, WANTED is backed by tremendous hype and hoopla, which will result in the film taking an earth-shattering start at the ticket window – 4/5

Anupama Chopra (NDTV) – Yes, there is plenty here for action buffs, including a ripped, shirtless Salman going on a killing spree in the climax. The rest of us should just steer clear – 1.5/5

Raja Sen (Rediff) – Khan might be having fun, but the fact a film like Wanted underscores is how badly Bollywood needs a breed of younger leading men. And how the existing lot need roles that fit – 2/5 

Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – For die-hard fans of the star who don’t have a problem with extreme violence and juvenile comedy, this might be a treat. For others though, it’s strictly average entertainment. Carry cotton for your ears and a Crocin for the headache – 2/5

Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – In a nation where crooks sit in Parliament and mammoth corruption scandals are made to disappear conveniently, Salman Khan is the real poster bad boy, an Indian icon far truer than most other created ‘brands’ around. So let us celebrate the self-man, instead of constantly denigrating him – 4/5

Kaveree Bamzai (India Today) – The question why occurs to you several times during the movie. Why was it remade in Hindi? Why did Salman work so hard for a film that was so obviously coming after Ghajini had been there and done that? And why did Boney Kapoor spend so much money on making this? – 1/5

Khalid Mohamed (Aslibaat) – Sure, Salman Khan strives to be uber cool;  it’s only because of his star presence that you watch this potty pourri. Otherwise, for most of those seeking three hours of a chill-out at the multiplex, Wanted is about as desirable as bullets-‘n’-guns in your boudoir – 2/5

Mayank Shekhar (Hindustan Times) – The hinterlands will be happy. But what’s the story? Well. That’s what producer Kapoor paid up Rs 12 crore in copyrights for, by the way. Such s**t, better be hit! – 1.5/5

Jaya Biswas (Buzz18) – An out-and-out entertainer, Salman is sure to enthrall you not only with his action but his brilliant dance steps – 3/5

Gaurav Malani (Indiatimes) – There are times when you care a damn for nutrition and want to indulge in some lip-smacking junk food. Wanted is just that recipe. Never mind some extra calories! Try watching it in a single screen – the cheese melts faster there – 3/5

So, its 2.5 for Dil Bole Hadippa and Wanted has scored on both the extremes! 

Dil Bole Hadippa@TIFF – Wasabigirl gives out the full story in detail!

Posted: September 14, 2009 by moifightclub in bollywood, cast & crew, cinema, Film Festival, gossipmongers, News, pics, reviews, Story / Plot / Synopsis, Thoughts
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Dil Bole Hadippa – Not sure how many of you are interested in knowing more about the film, but if you are, do read on.

In short, DBH = Chak De India + Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi! Thats what it looks like from this post. Produced by Aditya Chopra (Yashraj Films), its directed by Anurag Singh and stars Rani Mukherjee and Shahid Kapoor.

The film had its premiere at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival. And a blogger Wasabigirl, who saw the film at TIFF has given out all the details about the film on her blog. Every small twist and every plot point of the story. Am sure Yashraj guys will not be too happy to read it. You can read the full post here (including premiere details) or scroll down, after the pics.

Complete story of Dil Bole Hadippa

The film starts out with Veera Kaur (Rani Mukherjee), a hardcore typical Punjabi kudi who is completely obsessed with cricket. She’s so confident of her abilities that she boldly claims that she can hit six sixers in a row, even when a pro pitcher takes her up on the bet. Not only does she succeed in putting the big strong man in his place by hitting all six sixers in a row, she even does so while switching from right-handed batting to left-handed batting! Clearly she is skilled, and as the first song montage Dil Bole Hadippa shows, she is a carefree spirit with very big dreams.

Veera also works alongside Shanno (Rakhi Sawant) and others in a dance troupe that performs regularly. Of course, while they perform, she’s backstage playing cricket with the kids, which is extremely endearing. Most of the time her elders tell her she’s dreaming way too big, but she doesn’t seem to care. She knows that dreams can come true, and for her, they will!

Enter into the story Rohan Kapoor (Shahid Kapoor) and his father Vikram Kapoor (Anupam Kher). Rohan is an accomplished cricket player in England who has lived there for many many years. His mother (Rati Agnihotri) stayed in England while Rohan’s father chose to stay in India and they have remained estranged for all of these years. In this way, Rohan has not returned to India. To get his son back to the land of Punjab, Vikram pretends he’s had a heart attack. Rohan rushes to India, but realizes that his father just wants to spend time with him, since they have been apart for so long. And besides spending quality time, Vikram also has other plans…

You see, Vikram’s close childhood friend, Liyaqat Ali Khan (Dilip Tahil) is from Lahore, Pakistan. To foster peace between the two nations, the friends have set up an annual Peace Cup where a team from Amritsar plays a team from Lahore in a cricket match. It’s all in the spirit of camaraderie, but Vikram and Amritsar have lost 9 times in a row! And now Vikram’s dream is to finally see the Indian team beat the Pakistani team, once and for all. He wants to feel proud again. That’s where Rohan comes in. Vikram asks Rohan to captain the Amritsar team and lead them to victory.

Rohan’s return to India leaves him mostly amused. When he comes across Veera for the first time, her adorably bad English and her defensive patriotism catch him completely off guard. She’s most definitely like no one he’s met before. The scenes between Rani and Shahid are amazing. These two have GREAT chemistry together. I could go ahead and describe their first meeting in more detail, but it’s something you have to see to really appreciate. 🙂

So, as time goes on, Veera finds out that the Amritsar cricket team is holding tryouts for selection. She gets EXTREMELY EXCITED and runs off to become the town’s new batting star. Unfortunately, when she goes to the tryout the security guards and the rest of the men in line scoff at the notion that a woman could play cricket with them. Rani is heartbroken and chastises them for their hypocrisy of revering Goddess Durga yet being unable to respect the women around them.

Veera returns to the dance troupe and is forced to replace the main male dancer in the show, because he’s drunk. In doing so she not only has a spiffy dance number, Bhangra Bistar, with Rakhi Sawant, but she also realizes that she can dress up as a man and possibly fool the cricketers into letting her onto the team! It’s worth a shot, na?

Rani freaks out when she sees that the same foreign jerk who annoyed her, Rohan, is the captain. He’ll figure out it’s her, won’t he?! She stumbles and lies and tells him her name is Veer Pratap Singh. She makes all sorts of bold claims and states that she has never been bowled out in her life. There’s not a man alive who can bowl her out! Vikram doesn’t like her attitude, so he challenges her, ends up bowling her out, and tells Veer to leave. She begs and pleads for a second chance, and Rohan’s father convinces him to give Veer another shot. Veer succeeds in impressing Rohan and is accepted into the team.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to Rohan’s friend from England who has a serious crush on him, Soniya (Sherlyn Chopra). She’s basically there to show off her body in short-shorts and make passes at Shahid’s character, most of which he ignores. 😛

Veer trains with the cricket team and isn’t all that great. Can you blame her? Veer aka Veera is really a girl, so of course she can’t always keep up physically. But Rohan pushes her hard. This pretty much increases Veera’s dislike for Rohan. She sees him as a bossy know-it-all. Anyway, throughout the initial training, we get to see lots of Veer-related hijinks to the song Gym Shim. Rani is pretty adorable as the bizarre Punjabi guy. You just have to see her crazy facial expressions to know what I mean. 🙂

We also get to see some cute flirting and dancing from Rani and Shahid in the song Discowale Khisko. They both can dance so well, yay! And it’s the typical fun Yash Raj number with the gorgeous outfits and tons of background dancers. Oh! And we get to see that Rohan has a thing for Veera. Veera still seems annoyed with him, but Rohan is quite fond of her.

During cricket team practice, Soniya shows up, hoping to ogle Rohan while he’s hard at work (lol, it’s what we were all doing XD). Unfortunately, due to some happenings on the field, Veer ends up tumbling over Soniya and falling on top of her. Soniya thinks that Veer’s trying to get fresh with her, but Veer scoffs at the notion that she would ever want to touch Soniya. Soniya gets pissed and throws her drink on Veer’s face. Veer runs away and Soniya complains about him to Rohan, who runs off to find Veer and talk to him.

Rohan heads off into the change room, calling for Veer. He opens the change room door only to find…a naked Veera?!! O_O (Lol, this part was SO HILARIOUS!!!) Rohan and Veera try desperately and awkwardly to salvage the situation. When Rohan asks what the hell Veera is doing there, she lies and says that Veer is her brother. More insanity and arguing ensues; Rani and Shahid perform brilliantly in a great comedic scene. Seriously, the change room scene is amazing. It’s another one that I can’t really describe, because you have to see it for yourself.

Veera quickly changes back into her Veer avatar, and when Rohan finally finds her, he is all forgiving and sweet. Of course, his reason for suddenly being so nice to Veer is because he just found out that Veera is Veer’s sister, and he wants to make amends. Naughty boy! 😉 Veer lies and says that Veera is probably back at the dance troupe, so they head off together. Veer tries to do whatever she can to get away from Rohan and change back into her regular Veera clothes. She uses the dance troupe show as a diversion and changes back into Veera.

Rohan wants badly to apologize for the things he said to Veera in the change room. She is not willing to relent. But Rohan is not one to give up! As Veera gets on stage and starts performing the show, she gets a big surprise. I don’t really think I can give it away, but suffice it to say that if you’re a fan of filmi references in movies, you’ll love this bit. Shahid and Rani are too cute together! 🙂 So, Veera finally forgives him and all is well in the world again.

The next day during cricket training, Rohan asks Veer if Veera said anything about him the night before (aww!). Veer is confused and asks why Veera would talk about Rohan. Veer then realizes that Rohan is interested in her. It doesn’t sit well with her, so she goes over to talk to Soniya and convinces her to try harder with Rohan. Veer tells Soniya to be more desi and traditional to get her man.

Soniya tries to do just that, wearing a sari and taking Rohan and his father around Punjab for a tour. She kinda fails at being desi, though. 😛 Along the way they run across Veera and the dance troupe truck. Rohan’s father takes a liking to Veera and tells her that if she shows Rohan around Punjab that he might see just how great it really is. Veera is completely fine with showing off the nation that she loves and we are given the very sweet song Ishq Hi Hai Rab. Veera and Rohan spend a lot more time with each other and Rohan becomes more and more comfortable in India.

Veer goes back the next day and tells Soniya to find someone besides Rohan, because, obviously, Veera kinda likes Rohan now. Rohan asks to speak with Veer and says that he wants permission from Veera’s brother to ask her out on a date (double aww!). In another ridiculously hilarious and adorable scene, Veer accepts the proposition and says that Rohan is allowed to ask Veera out.

Time for a cute date with Rani Mukherjee and Shahid Kapoor! Veera shows up looking hip, modern and GORGEOUS, which Rohan loves, but he also tells her that she should just be herself. They share an Indian dinner together and they laugh and generally have a good time. Rohan even goes so far to say that he wants a girlfriend just like Veera and that he has fallen in love with her. After I melted at how freaking GUUUUHHH Shahid is and re-solidified with hearts in my eyes, I got to see Rani’s sweet expression to his confession. Rohan leans in to kiss Veera and although she’s shocked at first, she leans in too…only to be interrupted by the honking horn of the dance troupe truck. Her ride is there to pick her up and the date is over. Their romancing will have to wait until the cricket match is over!!

Now, describing the cricket match is hard for me. I understood exactly what was happening while I watched it, but I’m not so well-versed in cricket that I could explain it in retrospect. So you’re going to have to bear with my vagueness.

Rohan’s mother comes down from England to see the match. This also allows her and Vikram to reconcile a bit. You know, it’s a Yash Raj Film, tied up loose ends and all that. The game starts off with India fielding and Pakistan bowling. Rohan is an excellent bowler and the Indian team is hitting wickets left right and centre. Not to mention that Veer catches a ball before it can reach the outer field. The rest of the cricket team is rejoicing at the auspicious start that they have and the boys dog pile Veer. In the process, Rohan ends up with one of Veer’s contacts in his hand and realizes that Veer was actually Veera all along. He hands her back the contact, but the look in his eyes says it all. He’s furious.

After this point, the Indian team falls apart. They had been doing excellently, but suddenly Rohan can’t bowl at ALL anymore. He’s completely distracted and the batsmen take full advantage. Even Veer is unable to catch the balls while fielding. After 10 overs Pakistan ends with a score of 213, which is pretty un-freaking-believable. The announcers admit that, once again, India is pretty much screwed.

Back in the change room, Veer attempts to explain to Rohan why she lied, but Rohan will have none of it. He’s angry and hurt and honestly thinks that Veera used him, in the romantic sense, so that she would stay in his good graces and on the team. Veera is shocked and upset but Rohan just won’t listen. Rohan dismisses her from the team and India starts off batting without their star batsman.

The first few overs of batting are a complete mess. Rohan is basically keeping the team alive, because the rest of his team are pretty terrible at batting. The whole game seems hopeless and Veera sits solemnly, neither watching the game nor leaving the stadium. Rohan’s father, who walked in on the argument Veer and Rohan had in the change rooms, knows that Veera was actually Veer. He convinces Rohan to let her back onto the team, as she is the only hope.

Veer gets back on the field and the duo of Rohan and Veer get into the groove. Rohan claims that he only called Veer back for his father’s sake, and not for her sake. Veera understands and admits to herself that she is not batting for herself, but for Rohan’s sake. They continue on triumphantly, closing the impossible gap between India and Pakistan.

One of the Pakistan players accidentally trips Veer during a run and she ends up injuring her arm badly. Rohan rushes to her side and quickly calls the medical team. They say that her arm is broken and that she cannot bat, but Veer is adamant that she will keep going, regardless. Rohan gives her an appreciative nod.

The Pakistani bowlers are shocked when Veer switches over from right-handed batting to left-handed batting and is still able to bat reasonably well. We are given many a dramatic moment after that (seriously how am I supposed to explain this? ;)) and finally the Indian team wins! Not that any of us was surprised.

They are all freaking ecstatic and Rohan is about to be awarded Man of the Match. He’s happy too, but he knows there’s still something left for him to do. He grabs Veer’s hand and brings her to the stage with him. Rohan announces that he was not the Man of the Match and that, really, the man of the match wasn’t a man at all! He takes off Veer’s turban, facial hair and contacts to reveal that Veer is actually Veera. People are pretty pissed off.

Veera sees that everyone is angry with her and that they can’t believe a *gasp* WOMAN has beaten them. Or played with them. Deceived them! So she steps up to the microphone to knock some sense into everyone. In the usual dramatic flair of Bollywood movies, we get an emotional speech about equality, ambitions, perseverance and dreams. The women watch with a knowing look on their faces while the men look on in shock. But Veera’s words are strong and true. By the end, they are left standing silently until the captain of the Pakistani team starts to clap. One by one the crowd begins to cheer for Veera Kaur and her amazing achievement. She not only kept up with the men, she surpassed them!

We are left with a very happy ending with the team lifting the trophy and Veera and Rohan reuniting. Your typical Yash Raj film, but just as satisfying as you would expect. To top it all off, we get to see an extremely hot Shahid and Rani in the video Hadippa The Remix as the credits roll by.

WTF : DBH & WYR@Toronto International Film Festival!

Posted: July 30, 2009 by moifightclub in bollywood, cast & crew, cinema, Film Festival, News, Xclusive
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Dil Bole HadippaAs a friend told us, its Kanaadda yaar, anything can happen! Its mini-punjab. They love dhol-nagada!

So here is anything….Xclusive and first on Fight Club! Yashraj Films’ Dil Bole Hadippa and UTV’s Whats Your Rashi will have their premiere at the Toronto International Film festival.

Dil Bole Hadippa is by debutant director Anurag Sinha and stars Rani Mukherjee and Shahid Kapoor. And if the promo is any indication of things to come, we wold never dare to go to any film festival with DBH. But then, it might be a ticket event, the festival needs stars, bollywood sells in kanaadda and so the dots get connected easily.

Whats Your Rasshee is by Ashutosh Gowariker and stars Piyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja. The first promo is just out. Will soon put it up as a separate post.

Both the films will be in Gala Presentation segment.

First look : Dil Bole Hadippa – theatrical trailer

Posted: June 26, 2009 by moifightclub in bollywood, cast & crew, first look, News, songs & videos
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The theatrical trailer of Rani Mukherjee  & Shahid Kapoor starrer Dil Bole Hadippa is out. Have a look.

Dil Bole Hadippa is a romantic comedy set in Punjab and it’s a story of a girl who disguises as a man to fulfil her dreams. The film is directed by Anurag Singh and produced by Yash Raj Films. Dil Bole Hadippa is slated to release on 18th September 2009.

We just have one question – Is there anything more in Punjab & Punjabi culture, naach-gaana, balle-balla that we dont know ? That we must know now! That Yashraj will tell us! Arrrrggghhhh.

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