Published April 7th, 2008
in Bollywood, Politics and Silly.
Should Aamir Khan run with the torch? Or shouldn’t he?
A lot can be said of Aamir Khan’s rather ingeniously hypocritical blog-post where he basically repeats the done-to-death moral equivalence of Kashmir, Palestine, Tibet and all the “human rights abuses” of the world, while not forgetting (and this is where the ingenuity lies) to throw in the plight of Kashmiri Pandits as a counterbalancing afterthought (as if that too is somehow an example of state-sponsored atrocity). Similarly B Raman’s open letter to Aamir Khan, correct though its central theme of how India and China differ in their reaction to dissent, can be criticized as introducing a rather tortuous “Muslim” angle —that being that the reason why Aamir Khan and Saif were asked to run with the torch was that it would be interpreted as an endorsement of China’s policies by “widely-respected Muslim personalities”
The truth, as most of us all know by now, is that Coke and Lenovo (not China or India directly), two corporate partners of the Beijing Olympics, have chosen their brand ambassadors Aamir and Saif Ali Khan respectively to run with the Olympic torch. That’s all that the torch-carrying ceremony is—an advertisement opportunity for the corporations and an obligation-discharging one for the stars on its payroll.
In other words, principles ko maaro goli. It’s all about dollars, cents and thanda matlab Coca Cola.
Continue reading ‘Of Torches, Tibet and Shakti Kapoor’
Published March 30th, 2008
in Bollywood and Silly.
[UPDATED POST]
Shocking stuff.
Protesters mobbed Filmistan Studios in Mumbai seeking an apology from actress Tanushree Dutta for allegedly insulting actor Nana Patekar during the shoot of an item song.
On the sets of the film Horn Ok Please, Tanushree was to make some physical contact with Patekar during the item number, which she refused.
Her refusal was seen as an insult to the actor.
The protesters surrounded her car outside Filmistan Studios seeking an apology from her, but she refused to leave her car.
Even her father reportedly got involved in a scuffle with the protesters.
The film’s producer has removed her from the movie
[Video]
What’s the matter Ms. Dutta? What’s wrong with an intimate step or two with Nana Patekar? Remember that the name of the movie is “Horn Ok Please” which means everything is “ok” as long it concerns artificial (”artificial” being the operative word here) spherical artifacts that resemble trucker’s horns and as long as the magic word “please” is being used.
Or is the problem not the act itself but its horn”-Y perpetrator?
In other words, is the supremely handsome Nana Patekar not good enough for you, Ms. Tanushree Dutta?
Continue reading ‘Na Na Nana’
Published February 11th, 2008
in Bollywood and Video.
[Update: Many of the video links are dead links as Youtube seems to have suspended many accounts of users who have uploaded Hindi movie songs.]
Yes folks. Valentine’s Day is almost here. Which means its time to show how much you love your lovey-doveys. And as we all know there is nothing that expresses ethereal longing as purely as expensive greetings cards, shiny chocolates and overpriced flowers. But, this year, before you rush over to the Archie’s outlets either to empty your wallet or to try to pelt stones at the store and harass its customers, let me take a moment (and a few more) of your time to tell you of a new Valentine’s Day gift-item that is sure to arouse your interests.
Among other things.
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me present GooGooGaGaChoChweetChweet, a CD of the very best, and I mean the very best of Valentine’s Day music brought to you by GB Industries —yes the same corporation that ushered in a lingerie revolution in India with its “Victor Banerjee Secrets” line of sensual inner-wear.
Oh no you say. Been there, heard that. “Valentine Day ke din main kahe doon ankehi”. “Abh mujhe raat din tera hi khayal hain.” Every music company with a CD burner releases these sappy tracks around this time of the year, hoping to rake in a quick buck.
But wait. This one is different.
Continue reading ‘GooGooGaGaChoChweetChweet’
Published December 28th, 2007
in Bollywood.
There is so much tequila one can drink and head-ache pills one can take and time one can kill. Which is why I have been unable to see many of the gems that have been released this year, each of them possible candidates for my “awesomely great movies”— the “Reds”, the “Cash”s, the “ShakalakaBoomBoom”s, the “Fool N Finals”, the “Good Boy Bad Boy”s and the “Naqaab”s. Based on the ones I did manage to see however, here is my list of the 5 movies of 2007 that will be remembered in the anals (intentionally misspelt) of Hindi filmdom.
5. Raqeeb–Rivals in Love: The reasons why I loved Raqeeb are:
a) A love quadrilateral. Nothing gets my respect more than when people dare to dream beyond the hoary triangle.
b) Rahul Khanna standing up in a restaurant and saying ” I am not gay” ala Larry Craig.
c) Plump bird Tanusree Dutta and her Jharkhands.
d) The most wicked plot resolution. Ever. After the villains make an elaborate (and I do mean elaborate) plan to murder the hero, they find that the hero has seen through their whole plot. How? Through deduction? No. Through guesswork? No. Then how? Well as the hero reveals: when the villains were making their plots, “sab computer pe record ho gya” and he came to know of it immediately. That’s it. Wickedly simple and yet like all great twists I never saw it coming.
Continue reading ‘Greatbong’s Awesomely Great Movies of 2007′
Published December 26th, 2007
in Bollywood.
[This list is based on the movies I have seen through 2007. I have not seen “Dharm” or “Blue Umberella” , which is why they were not considered in the making of this list. ]
6. Guru Is it a public-relations piece that seeks to white-wash the sleazy legacy of a corporate criminal by presenting him as a crusader against a flawed economic system ? Or is it a “warts-and-all” biopic of one of modern India’s most significant figures colored by director Maniratnam’s over-all sympathy for the main character?
What makes “Guru” such a delight, besides the Maniratnam-signature polish and the rock-solid performances (Mithun-da rocks but what’s new?), is that it provokes debate, not just on the director’s motivations or the saintliness of the protagonist but also whether it was “Guru”bhai who corrupted the system or whether it was the corruption inherent in the system that made “Guru”bhai inevitable ? A detailed review here.
Continue reading ‘Greatbong’s Best Movies of 2007′
Published December 22nd, 2007
in Bollywood.
[Explanation: The lower down in the list, the worse the movie is. And I should add—this is the worst among those I have seen. For instance I have not seen “Tararumpum”.]
7. No Smoking: Going through the blogpost of director Anurag Kashyap and the comments thread below, I understood that if you declare “No Smoking” to be anything except sensational film-making, you are either of two things 1) a philistine who does not understand alternative narrative styles in films 2) a motivated industry-reviewer in the pay of the big studios.
In my defense, I do appreciate (not always though) the David Lynch style of movie-making. I have nothing against movies with non-linearities and more than a dash of the surreal. I admire Anurag Kashyap–I loved “Black Friday” (it was my movie of the year 2005). I did get the Howard Roark-inspired philosophy of arrogant contempt for the hostility of second hand souls that guides both the director of “No Smoking” and its principal protagonist K. I have also not been paid off by the big studio houses nor have I sent lovey dovey SMSs to the director and been rebuffed. And yet I found “No Smoking” to be nothing but a heavy-handed, bloated work of film-making where the relentless obscurantism leads not to a revelatory pay-off (the “aha” moment that Mulholand Drive brings you) but to utter disorientation and ultimately boredom.
Continue reading ‘Greatbong’s Worst Movies of 2007′
Published November 7th, 2007
in Bollywood, Sexuality and Silly.
It’s Diwali.
And that means new clothes, fireworks, gratuitous male nudity and of course controversy.
This year has been no different as families and friendships have split down the fault line of “Saawariya vs Om Shanti Om” as two of the biggest releases of the year hit the screens on the same day all across the country, competing for eyeballs in particular and balls in general. And if the battle between the two titanically iconic directors Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Farah Khan is not enough to satisfy the palate of the newshounds, this year the stakes are even higher because of THE controversy, the one that pundits are now referring to as “Towelgate”.
Continue reading ‘Diwali Dhamaka’
Published November 10th, 2006
in Bollywood and Silly.
Somehow, and I do not realize why, this picture triggered memories of an old advertisement jingle for Vics:
“Bheriye ne memne se kaha ki main tumhe kha jayoonga, *** ki goli lo khich khich door karo”
Wonder what he is saying though.
Could it be something as helpful as:
“I seriously think you need some professional help for your MMS clips next time…”
[Picture courtesy: Rediff]
Co
Atul, aylamrin, Kishor, BalalSangh Parivar [...]
Bhaumik, saurabh somani, tapas, naina [...]
Hara hara bom bom, Bengal Voice, mohan, vibhash [...]
Hara hara bom bom, Shan, Trailblazer, katya [...]
Zero to Infinity, Utsab Brata Dhar, Rom, S..... [...]