Akshay gives Bollywood gyaan to Katrina on TMK promotional tours

Nowadays thanks to the promotional tours and events for their new film together, Akshay Kumar is spending a lot of time with Katrina Kaif. And we can safely say it's time well spent for Katrina. Akshay is constantly enhancing Katrina's knowledge of Hindi films, their titles and other trivia.

By now it's common knowledge that Katrina is not quite clued into the nuances and titles of Hindi cinema. Her co-star Akshay Kumar, who prides himself for being just the opposite and is a veritable encyclopaedia of filmy titles and other trivia, has found an ingenious method of educating his co-star. He plays Dumb Charade with Katrina providing her signs and hints from commercial Hindi films as clues.

And boy, is Katrina getting clued in!

Lets hear it, Sheila ki zubaani (voice). "I've to admit I couldn't have hoped for a more fun teacher than Akshay. I come from a place where I can't gush about how I grew up on a staple diet of Sholay and Mughal-e-Azam. Akshay knows it all. He is completely clued into the cult of potboilers and can mimic every actor and act out every famous sequence. Being with him over the last few weeks, I am finally getting knowledgeable about Hindi movies."

The games of Dumb Charade are being played between bouts of promotion on cars and flights in several cities across the country. Akshay and Katrina have hired a private plane for the 12-city 25-day tour.

"So we get a lot of time to play Dumb Charade. By the time the promotions for Tees Maar Khan are over, I think I'll be an expert on Bollywood trivia," Katrina has her fingers crossed.

The education works both ways. While Akshay acts out scenes from Hindi films during Dumb Charade, Katrina mimes magical moments from Hollywood films for Akshay.

"So I guess we are both learning on the job," she chuckles.

Guzaarish


Producer: Ronnie Screwvala, Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Monikangana Dutta, Rajit Kapoor, Shernaz Patel,Nafisa Ali, Sanjay Lafont
Music: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Lyrics: A.M. Turaz, Vibhu Puri
Genre: Drama
Recommended Audience: General
Film Released on: 19 November 2010


Hrithik Roshan. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Three powerhouse names in a single film, and the potential viewer has nothing but the universe to expect for the film. And yet, there will be some skeptics who have lost faith in Bhansali a la Saawariya. The questions that now remain on the mind are: Does Guzaarish score? Has Bhansali made a gem? Do Hrithik and Aishwarya get it right again with their chemistry?

Set in Goa, Guzaarish traces the lives of a paraplegic Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik Roshan), once a famed magician who lost his ability to feel or work with anything below his neck level. He is now a radio show host of the program Radio Zindagi – a show that speaks about life and living it to the fullest – in an unknown radio station, and is taken care of by his nurse, Sofia D’Souza (Aishwarya Rai), who shares a strong but silent bond with him. One fine day, he calls his lawyer friend, Devyani Dutta (Shernaz Patel) and asks her to file a petition in the court for his own death, leaving Devyani and Sofia stunned. In this time, an eager magician, Omar Siddiqui (Aditya Roy Kapoor), comes into his life to learn magic – and it is here that Ethan decides to hand over his entire knowedge to him. Slowly, he learns to live, to absorb and to love… all in more ways than one!

Now we all know that Bhansali films are unique in their own, regardless of how good or bad the box office collections or critical reactions may be may be. While Khamoshi is still the standpoint of his career, the only film in which he has given a glimmer of hope to see more of the filmmaker’s potential was in Black. And when Saawariya released, most felt the hope was diminished, as though it was made on a large scale, the movie was slow, and the screenplay of the story lacked punch to attract a universal crowd; hence the extremely mixed buzz for Guzaarish. In fact, many people stated that the promos and trailers of Guzaarish had a certain déjà vu from Saawariya.

Guzaarish is not only different from Saawariya; in fact, here, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has finally outdone Khamoshi and has given us a moving storyline with an equally sensational screenplay (Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bhavani Iyer), having fantastic dialogues (Vibhu Puri, Bhavani Iyer) that will sting your mind long after the movie’s over. Post Black and Saawariya, we already know that Bhansali is a fan of the bluish color tone, and here too, though it hasn’t been added in dollops, there’s just the right amount of it with subtlety all over it. Even if there’s so much pain and tragedy in display in the lives of the protagonists, each frame looks picturesque; thereby forming an ironical correlation between pulchritude and desolation.

Production design and styling of the characters give the movie and the protagonists an old-world feel. Sudeep Chatterjee’s cinematography captures each frame with a hauntingly dark aesthetic that will not just seduce the viewer, but arouse a lot of curiosity in one’s mind concerning the lives and the incidents of the protagonists.

Tubby and Parik’s background score is absolutely breathtaking, and one of the best since Love Aaj Kal. The score is something not to be listened, but to be experienced deep within while watching the film. Camerawork is smooth and consistent throughout, keeping the overall pace uniform. Hemal Kothari’s edit is excellent. Music by the auteur, Bhansali, himself, is terrific, and the visuals totally support the lyrics and the compositions.

Moving on to the performances, Hrithik Roshan is the showstealer. Here he takes the whole movie forward with the varied emotions he exhibits, whether it’s the awkward laugh, or the tears when he cries hearing the voice of his muse Estelle after fourteen long years. His aggressiveness and the way he reacts like an excited 10-year old while touching upon matters of sexual arousal.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan gets back at her detractors like a raging tigress after the failure of Raavan, and performs stupendously. She impresses with her absolutely restrained performance, her aura and her overall controlled self. She plays the part of the nurse more like she is the nurse. The chemistry they both display, as usual, is phenomenal. Each scene they’ve shared with each other has a certain uniqueness of intensity attached to it.

Aditya Roy Kapoor shines. He’s already proved himself in London Dreams and Action Replayy, and he’s continuing to do so in his own inimitable style. This guy’s got a lot of potential. Shernaz Patel is a natural. Nafisa Ali charms, even though it is in a small role. Ash Chandler enacts his part efficiently. Others are laudable.

Overall, I’ll have to say that never since Khamoshi, have I seen something Bhansali has done better till Guzaarish came along. Guzaarish is easily the best film of Bhansali, and the best film of the year so far. In a year where we’ve seen a lot of masala moneymakers, the audience has always thirsted for something far different and meaningful. Guzaarish is not just those, it’s THE actual, genuine, bona fide deal. It’s food for the mind and the soul. It’s relish for each of the body’s senses. It’s well-worth the big screen experience, and is to be appreciated in a whole new way!

Break Ke Baad


Producer: Kunal Kohli
Director: Danish Aslam
Starring: Imran Khan,Deepika Padukone,Shahana Goswami,Yudishtir Urs,Navin Nischol, Lillete Dubey
Music: Vishal-Shekhar
Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi
Genre: Romantic
Recommended Audience: General
Film Released on: 26 November 2010


Kunal Kohli has, and will always be known for his surprise hit Hum Tum, for which actor Saif Ali Khan became a star overnight. Post Hum Tum’s success, Kohli directed an average Fanaa, and followed it up with a decent Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, which also announced the debut of his production cell, Kunal Kohli Productions. More than two years later, Kohli is back, albeit only to produce debutant director Danish Aslam’s film under his banner. This movie has a lot going for it – Vishal-Shekhar’s excellent music, Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone’s extra-promising pair, and a genre (romantic comedy) that has proven to be a success more often than not.

But there are times when the genre doesn’t work, and when the formula fails to generate success. Does Break Ke Baad succeed or does Danish Aslam fail to execute a good product? Let me analyse.

They grew up together, they became the closest of friends, and then they decided to be in a relationship for around eight years, till she finally gets to achieve her dream of being an actress, post getting elected in a scholarship for acting in Australia, and this is when Abhay (Imran Khan) and Aaliya (Deepika Padukone) decide to “take a break” in their relationship. And then life changes for them…

I’ve always said that, and I repeat, that story and screenplay is very important for the viewers to hold their attention, but here, the screenplay (Renuka Kunzru, Danish Aslam) is full of glitches. Most of the movie borrows from the attitude of Love Aaj Kal, which was a far superior product, which successfully conveyed the confusion in relationships and kept it far more real than any other. While the character development is something viewers must watch out for, the story fails to grip post interval – it just goes all slow, and the viewer wonders why did they come to see the film.

The pre-interval portions hold some interest due to the imaginative writing of the lead characters and engaging chemistry between the two; along with some witty realistic one-liners and some scenes you could relate to. But post-intermission, the movie drags and goes into various subplots such as the two trying to make a secure life out of their ambitions and dreams, which for most part makes the story drab and boring. What makes the movie worse is the random climax, which makes the viewer feel it was as if the movie was written in a hurry. Though Imran Khan’s previous film had nothing new to say, it was far more entertaining because of some smart writing, something that’s only shown in bits and spurts here. I’d like to mention, however, that though Danish the screenwriter requires a lot more to work on, Danish the director has a lot of potential and is here to stay, provided he gets better scripts to work on.

It seems the makers try very hard to cover their screenplay by trying to gloss it up with technically superior stuff. The movie boasts of amazing cinematography, where each frame looks beautiful, and with the help of some neat camerawork, makes it look on par with international films. Background score gels well with the scene. Music by Vishal-Shekhar is absolutely fresh, and the visuals complement the song terrifically. Lyrics by Prasoon Joshi have been well written and fit the songs and the situations they support well. What’s good about it is that the songs don’t have lip-sync, which make it pretty grounded. Styling for the lead characters is spot-on. Editing by Anand Subaya is phenomenal; especially noteworthy is the split-screen scene where the two are leading separate lives, feeling the same way.

Moving on to the performances, Imran Khan does really well, but he seems repetitive, just like Deepika Padukone’s character graph looks like. Imran Khan played a similar “understanding” guy in Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, but when actors look repetitive in their roles, the future doesn’t look good unless they get more versatile even though they want to stick to the same genre. Nevertheless, he hooks you because of the slightly different mould of the character he’s playing.

Deepika Padukone has spunk, but her role reminds you of both Bachna Ae Haseeno and Love Aaj Kal. While her commitment phobia reminds you of Bachna Ae Haseeno, the bold, thinking attitude of her character reminds you a bit of Love Aaj Kal. While Deepika’s mad act is probably the only reason one might stay to watch how the film unfolds, post her gripping act in Lafangey Parindey, one expected her to reach new heights, and with the promising promos, it looked quite like it, but apparently all that glitters isn’t always gold!

Lillette Dubey is a far more gripping character to look out for, and when supporting characters like herself and Sharmila Tagore (playing Ayesha Khan, Aaliya’s ex-star mom) become more interesting than the lead characters themselves, you know there’s something wrong. Navin Nischol is good. Yudhishtir Urs, otherwise known as the host of Channel [V]’s hatke show Truth/Love/Cash, is hilarious! Shahana Goswami is amazing! She is one actress to look out for! Her body language as the no nonsense person is perfect! Others are good.

Overall, Break Ke Baad tries to hard to be cool and modern, but also tries to pack in too many subplots and shaadis and over-exaggerated coolness, that it gets difficult to view the movie as a romantic comedy anymore! This is a clear case of the trailers giving dubious promise! Watch this film only if you’ve got nothing to do! Disappointing.

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey


Producer: Sunita Gowariker, Ajay Bijli, Sanjeev K Bijli
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Vishakha Singh, Sikandar Kher
Music: Sohail Sen
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Genre: Historic
Recommended Audience: Parental Guidance
Film Released on: 03 December 2010


Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is a book to movie adaptation by the gifted film-maker Ashutosh Gowariker. The film is based on the book 'Do And Die: The Chittagong Uprising 1930-34' by Manini Chatterjee. Once again Ashutosh Gowariker has returned to the forgotten era. And once again he has shown that this most definitely his forte, previously with Lagaan , Jodhaa Akbar, and now Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey. Speaking with Ashutosh Gowariker he spoke about the difficulties which arose whilst shooting this film and the most difficult hurdle by far was in re-creating the 1930s in Chittagong. Not only is this demanding and a lengthy process, but Gowariker sure convinces the audiences of the realities of the 1930s.

The film is set in the 1930s British India: In the province of undivided Bengal lies the sleepy, peaceful port of Chittagong. In this unassuming little town a revolution is about to begin; a revolution which will forever wake all of Chittagong and inspire the entire nation. The plot of the movie is based on a real incident...April 18. One night. Five simultaneous attacks. A band of 64 people; 56 innocent yet fearless young boys, five defiant revolutionaries, two determined young women, and an idealistic leader - Suriya Sen, a school teacher by profession.

This group of 64 represents a little-known chapter in history; a forgotten night that reigned terror on the British through a series of calculated attacks. Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is a true story of these forgotten heroes and the narrative takes us through every step of the action from the initial trepidation, to the thrill of the attack, to the underground movement, daring escapes and tragic captures, and most importantly, their undying legacy. The film has been shot in Goa and not in Chittagong as some may think, Despite not shooting in the original locations of the 1930 revolution; the film most certainly captures the feel and spirit of the youth in that era.

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is embroidered with some beautifully soft instrumental pieces alongside two songs “Naiyn Tere” [Pamela Jain and Rajini Jose] and “Sapney Saloney” [Sohail Sen and Pamela Jain] hit a chord with me besides the patriotic number “Vande Mataram” [Revised Sanskrit To Hindi] by Cine Singers Association Chorus Group. The music was impactful in every scene and added to the screenplay.

And now coming to the crunch time, Abhishek Bachchan suited the character of Suriya Sen. His character appears very passionate, but at the same time very composed and it was great to see that contradiction. Abhishek emerges into the character very well. The cool, calm collected teacher to the successful revolutionary he really is. After Guru this has to be Abhishek’s most memorable performance to date. Let's hope he receives some accolades for this role. He portrayed the character to the fullest.

Deepika Padukone discards her glamorous looks that we usually see her sport in films. For accepting a role like this so early on in her career, she should be commended. She lived up to the strong, determined and ambitious character of Kalpana Datta and brought her own elements in to the role. She looked stunning in simple sarees draped in a Bengali manner.

Sikander Kher who essays the role of Suriya Sen’s friend Nirmal Sen, left me with a lasting impression. He stood out in most of the scenes he was in. Kudos to Sikander for pulling off a supporting actor role so brilliantly. The rest of the supporting cast and comrades of Suriya Sen were played by Samrat Mukerji, Vishakha Singh, Maninder and Feroz Wahid Khan, each actor gave an honest and natural performance. I would not want to forget the teenage actors, some whose faces I did recognise from television serials. Each youth artist gave an honest performance; all of them looked the part, showed enthusiasm and charisma.

One must mention the production design by Nitin Desai and costume design by Neeta Lulla which proves to be very authentic and transports you to the 1930s era in India.

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is truly an enlightening and enriching experience especially as this revolution was almost unheard of within our Indian history. It certainly evoked the Indian in me and brought me to tears in many scenes. The only flaw with the film (as with all Gowariker's films) is the length. It is approximately 2:50 hours long and there are parts that could have been condensed. It may not rake in the coins at the box office, but it’s by far one of this year’s epics and runaway success in terms of creativity. It is a film that needs to be encouraged and appreciated by all.

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan on ‘Koffee With Karan’


KOFFEE WITH KARAN

Karan Johar’s ‘Koffee With Karan’ third season is undoubtedly spicier than the previous ones. Each episode throws up surprises. This weekend, it’s the smashing Bollywood couple Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan on the couch.

What so special about this episode? Read on...

On the show, Saif looked dashing, and Kareena quite saucy in a saree. Saif once again proved he is one of the best in clever quips and ripostes. He sure does impress with his wit and humour. When asked by Karan, what his advertising punchline would be, he replied, “Reliable, strong and very long!”

Here are the stills of the duo with Karan:

Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor in an epic love story


The director of films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Black and Guzaarish is now planning to revive his once-shelved film which will star Salman Khanand Kareena Kapoor in lead roles.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has recently admitted that he makes films, not money, so reviving an old film requires courage. If the recent buzz is to be believed than the director has started thinking again about his magnum opus Bajirao Mastani with Salman and Kareena. The movie was planned in the year 2003 and Sanjay was eager to have Aishwarya Rai in the lead role of Mastani opposite Salman. But because of the Salman and Aishwarya break-up, the director abandoned the thought of making the film with the couple.

Later he went on to make other films but he couldn’t actually part withBajirao Mastani. Sanjay even thought of Kareena at that time for the role but nothing could materialize. Afterwards, Bajirao Mastani was tagged as a jinxed film.

The film narrates the love story of Peshwa Bajirao and his second wife Mastani, who was a Muslim. Their relationship was also the reason of much rift in the orthodox Marathi society of that time and led to a major crisis within the royal Peshwa family. Mastani was a brave lady; she was a skilled horse-rider and used to go to the battlefield with her valiant husband.

With a skilled director like Sanjay, we can expect Bajirao Mastani to be another grandiose, epic film.

A white X'mas for Kareena

Actress Kareena Kapoor has been hoping and dreaming of having a White X'mas for some years now. However, she has never made it happen.

"There's always been work, or then some show..." she goes on. However, this year maybe a different story, what with beau Saif Ali Khan making all her dreams come true.

Though Saifoo claims to be mighty busy with the post production of 'Agent Vinod', a movie of which Kareena is also a part, we hear that the actor is planning a surprise Christmas for Kareena in Europe. Now we weren't so sure if this cat was to come outta Santa's goodie bag this soon...

New Year's we hear will be spent abroad as well, and there'll be no dancing at any New Year bash back home this time round. This is of course what we hear. Now, unless some organisers are willing going to throw in an abundance of moolah that Bebo can't refuse...

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