Paheli, India's entry !

Ok, guys, I am here after quite some time ! Sorry for the delay, loads of things have been happening in my life !

Now, some great news ! The Shahrukh, Rani starrer Paheli has been chosen as India's entry for the Oscar !

Now, let me a bit frank. I personally believe Paheli is a great film with stunning visuals, great performances and a very sensitive story. But, I don't really believe this was THE film which should have gone to the Oscars. I would have personally chosen the awesome Black. But, if the issues regarding Black being inspired by "The Miracle Worker" interfered, I believe it would have been Iqbal and Swades. Swades is an fascinating film. I've already spoken about it loads of times. Iqbal would also have been a good choice because it has an imporant theme of India in it : cricket. And let's not forget Veer-Zaara, it had loads of Indian elements in it with great performances !

But, now that Paheli has been selected, I wish it all the best ! Here's hoping Paheli gives us the long coveted Oscar !

"Chocolate" Doesn't Excite "James" !!

Four films released this Friday. All of them were radically different but they had one thing in common, they had dismal openings !

"Chocolate" was by far a big film. Having big names like Anil Kapoor, Emraan Hashmi, Suniel Shetty, Irffan, Tanushree Dutta, Arshad Warsi and Sushma Reddy, the makers had promoted it nicely but this went againt the film. Because, a film like this has to be promoted very very widely. You have to give the viewers in-your-face promotion or else, no one's going to watch suspense thrillers. But, Chocolate had an awful opening 30-35%. The reports and reviews are also discouraging, "it's a confusing film" is the main refrain.

"James" was another film from RGV's Factory (Can anyone remember a film from RGV which did not have violence ?). But, it didn't live up to the "radically-different" tag which we've come to expect from Ram Gopal Varma. A typical masala film, it had all the hackneyed plot elements which have given Hindi cinema a bad name. Unknown faces like Mohit Ahalwat and Nisha Kothari also made the difference. But, from what I can see, I think Nisha Kothari can make it really big.

The other two films were "Kal", a corporate multiplex film, and "Sau Jooth Ek Saach". None of them were excessively promoted and thus the opening was disastrous.

Bollywood is now gearing up from the Diwali season, which should start from November. But, till then, not too many big films are going to release. This Diwali has some big releases like "Garam Masala", "Kyun Ki" and "Shaadi No 1". More on that, later.

Salaam Namaste to fun !!

Aa mil ja phir gaale haste haste
Salaam Namaste !

Releasing this week, is one film which I've personally been waiting for a long time. Yep, the youthful, fun-filled, light "Salaam Namaste" is here starring Saif Ali Khan (after an awesome performance in Parineeta) and Preity Zinta. I'm seriously been waiting for this film and I have no qualms in paying to watch this on the big screen. Why ? Because, it's fun, laidback, snazzy and not too intense. It's like a fresh breeze which you can just enjoy and laugh while sitting in your seat and you don't have to think much. Bully for realistic cinema (Dansh), gimme films like Hum Tum and Salaam Namaste anyday.

The film mainly is a quirky take on live-in relationships in farwaway Melbourne, Australia. Saif and Preity share a live-in relationship bcoz they don't want to marry !

Me ? I don't care if it's a hit or flop, I'm going whenever I can !

A Great Year For Bollywood..

Well, at last, my exams have finished and I am FREEEE !!! Holy cow, it feels so great.

A few days, I wrote a post noting down my 5 gems of Bollywood. I was thinking about it and I just realized, it's been a wonderful year for the industry ! They've had a hit in every month ! Just see the following table

JANUARY- Page 3
FEBRUARY-Black
MARCH-Zeher
APRIL-Lucky and Waqt, also Kaal as it opened in the last week of July
MAY - Kaal might be taken, but if you don't want it, there's still Kajra Re! Bunty Aur Babli ! ALSO, biggest hit of the year, KYA KOOL HAI HUM !
JUNE- Media might have rubbished it, but Paheli was a moderate success. But, if you don't want to accept it, there's always Sarkar (released on June 30th)
JULY - Dus(though it was an awful film), Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya
AUGUST- Mangal Pandey is turning out to be big, Barsaat also had good collections.
SEPTEMPER - No Entry is having good collections as well! I'm pretty sure "Salaam Namaste" will do well !

So, what an year for Bollywood !. Let's breakdown the genres of the hit movies :
Page 3 - Drama/Urban
Black - Drama
Zeher - Action/Romance
Lucky - Romance/Drama
Waqt - Family/Romance/Comedy
Kaal - Action/Horror
Bunty Aur Babli - Comedy/ Romance
Kya Kool Hai Hum - Comedy
Paheli - Drama/Romance
Sarkar - Gangster/Action
Dus - Action
Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya - Comedy/Romance
Mangal Pandey - Historical/Drama/Romance
Barsaat - Romance
No Entry - Comedy

It seems Comedy films are ruling the roosts here ! Throw in some romance and a good script and you should get a good film. But take care to market it well.

A Big Variety This Week !

We have four very different films this week. All of them are not the same in any means of imagination.

"Pyar Mein Twist" - Starring the original dream couple Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia who rocked in "Bobby" and "Sagar" over 20 years ago, "Pyar Mein Twist" is another film about a couple at the sunset of their lives who decide to fall in love. But, their families especially their grown-up children are not ready to accept this. What's going to happen now ?

I personally believe that this film would be a nice film great for passing the time. I would watch to just Rishi and Dimple again. I don't care who else is there !

"Ramji Londwaley" - Another different film starring Madhavan from the south, "Ramhi.." is about a Bihari cook who comes to London for a job but finds his owner has died ! Now Madhavan starts wandering the streets and the film is about his experience with London !

Both the promos and the trailers have made the films look hilarious. This seems a different film and it *might* get a good opening. 50/50 at this stage !

"Aashiq Banaya Aapne" - There's not too much different about this film aside from the fact that it's being released in a week where the other films are very difficult about it. It's yet another college romance and having a triangle with Emraan Hashmi, Sonu Sood and Tanushree Dutta. But I must add, the music is pretty good even if it doesn't come up to "Zeher" standards.

Because of the provoking nature of the film, it might get a good opening. If I had to watch the film, I would watch it only to see Tanushree Dutta !

"Dansh" - Dansh is yet another parallel film. As usual, it has all the elements required for the film in its genre..it's dark, it's grim, it's pace is slow..etc. But I don't want to watch films like these because they leave a bad taste in my mouth...