The Movie Antakshari: Maine Pyar Kiya (movie review)

Tweet

Baithe baithe bore hue karna hai kuch kam

shuru karo antakshari leke prabhu ka naam

Spanning Bollywood's most memorable films, The Movie Antakshari is brought to you by EatPrayLove and The Bolly Hood. The twist is - it involves no singing (though, I bet I could do it better than Bolly Hood ;), it involves Bollywood film titles.

Bolly Hood took off with Hum. (For the uninitiated, my obvious pick is 'M' - the last letter of the film title, and since I choose Maine Pyar Kiy'A', bollyhooha's next pick would be a film starting with 'A.')

Thirteen 2011 Films We're Excited For

Tweet

Puss in Boots
Release Date: October 28
A story about the events leading up to the sword fighting cat's meeting with Shrek and his friends; starring Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, and Zack Galifianakis. 

-----

In Time
Release Date: October 28
In the future people stop aging at 25 and must work to buy themselves more time, but when a young man finds himself with more time than he can imagine he must run from the corrupt police force to save his life. Starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, and Olivia Wilde.

'Worst of Bollywood' Awards: 2011

Tweet

The Hindi film industry gives away countless awards each year honoring the best performances. I wondered if there were any awards for the 'worst' until I discovered goldenkela.com. Here are my picks for 2011 in each of their categories:

Most 'Original Story' Award - Bodyguard

The Ides of March: The Godfather of Politics

Tweet

George Clooney is very likable. Through his Ocean's 11,12,13 franchise, he's proved that bad guys don't have to be "bad guys". And except his powerful performance in "Syriana" (which I have to admit I stopped watching half way through and never really got time to finish), his character is always the guy every woman wants and every guy wants to become.


The Ides of March is a different side of Clooney. In this film, which he also directed, he plays a State Governor and a (hopeful) presidential candidate on his path to become the President of the United States. If you knew this walking into the theater, you were prepared for a less-lovable-but-more-respectable Clooney.


Which he is. Shown through the eyes of Stephen Meyers, a senior staffer on his campaign played by Ryan Gosling, Clooney's Mike Morris is the voice and face America needs, and you as the audience believe it.


The title "The Ides of March" refers technically to the 15th of March, the day the public is to vote for Clooney's character. But the metaphorical (and not that cryptic) reference is to the day when Julius Caesar, the political leader of ancient Rome, was assassinated by those most trusted by him in a literal "backstabbing". These conspirators believed he was becoming too big, not just as a man, but as a symbol and a leader. While Clooney's Mike Morris isn't exactly Caesar (yet), Gosling's Stephen Meyers surely goes through his Brutus phase. Eventually, it's the film's climax that really brings out the rivalry between the two, and shows what would go down if history was to repeat itself in today's world.

Jagjit Singh's top 9 ghazals

Tweet

It's tough to single out one best from his countless soul-stirring compositions. So here's a list of my favorite nine (in no particular order): 

1. Tere bare mein jab socha nahi tha (Album - Saher)

2. Tamanna phir machal jaye (Soz)

3. Mujhse Bichad kar (Album - Saher)


Had a tiff with a loved one? This song will make you want to undo all and go give him/her a tight hug. And yes, don't call yourself a Jagjit Singh fan if you're yet to hear it. 

4. Tum hamare nahi toh kya gum hai

I remember how I would listen to this song over and over. Can't recall the name of the album now. It came out in the late nineties, if 'm not wrong. 






5. Shaam se aankh mein


This one is a package - the music, the shayari, and the video featuring, Jimmy Shergill and Simone Singh, shot by Gulzar and daughter Meghna.






6. Koi Fariyad (Tum Bin - 2001)

7. Pyar ka pehla (Face to Face - 1993)

8. Koi yeh kaise bataye (Arth - 1982)

9. Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya (Sarfarosh - 1999)

Hum labon se keh naa paaye, unse haal-e-dil kabhi
aur wo samjhe nahin, ye khamoshi kya cheez hai

Courtesy Nida Fazli saab. 

We're lucky to have been part of a generation that bore writers like him. My mum had this massive collection of ghazals. And almost every cover I'd flip through had Fazli saab's (who coincidently turns 73 today) name. Together, he and Jagjit Singh created some of the most unforgettable ghazals. 

5 longest Bollywood films

Tweet

Mera Naam Joker - 1970 - 4 hours, 15 minutes

Director by showman Raj Kapoor, the 255-minute film was in the making for almost 6 years after it finally saw light of day. (Originally filmed for 5 hours, MNJ is still the longest Bollywood film). It is also the first Hindi film to have 2 intervals. But despite heavyweights like Raj Kapoor, Manoj Kumar, Dharmendra, Rajendra Kumar and Simi Garewal, the film failed at the box office. 

LOC - 2003 - 4 hours, 2 minutes

At 242 minutes run-time, the film was not only one of the longest running films in Hindi cinema but also the biggest flops of all times. Made out of a budget of Rs 40 crores, the film collected barely Rs 19 crores. Even a grand starcast failed to keep the boat from sinking. 

Sangam - 1964 - 3 hours, 58 minutes

Directed By Raj Kapoor (his first color film), with a run time of 238 minutes, this love triangle went on to become a classic.

Jodha Akbar - 2008 - 3 hours, 50 minutes

Despite its run-time, the Asutosh Gowariker-directed film made it to the list of most successful films with box office collections topping Rs 59 crores. The 230-minute long film was made out a budget of Rs 40 crores. [If Akbar was as Greek-godly handsome as Hrithik, I wish I was born in the 16th century ;)]

Lagaan - 2001 - 3 hours, 44 minutes

The Amir-starrer epic made a whopping 38 crores out of a budget of 25 crores landing itself a long inning even at the box office. The film was nominated among Channel Four's '50 Best Films to See Before you Die.' Lagaan also became the highest selling DVD in India, trumping Sholay.

'Long' live Bollywood!