SRK is back....and how !

His name is Khan and he is certainly not a terrorist....he just happens to be the BIGGEST SUPERSTAR OF INDIAN CINEMA. He is the BADSHAH of Bollywood. He is Shahrukh Khan.

No review can ever do justice to the magic called My Name Is Khan. It is 180 minutes of superb wholesome entertainment. From the first frame till the last, the movie captivates the audience. The beautiful romance between the magical on-screen pair of SRK and Kajol is wonderfully captured and presented. The strong emotional moments have been brilliantly portrayed. The story effortlessly flows through various phases in the life of Rizwan Khan. Several scenes leave a smile on one's face and yet several leave a choke in the throat. Through all these little and big moments is Shahrukh Khan. He comes out tops with his portrayal of Rizwan Khan. He makes the audience smile, he makes them cry, he makes them believe in love, he makes them believe in the good. This is a career defining performance....a league of its own. Giving him company with yet another stellar performance is Kajol. Impaccable direction by Karan Johar makes this movie India's best shot till date at the ultimate award in cinema in the globe - the Oscar.

The beautiful theme of the movie about religious tolerance is a wonderful lesson that needs to be learned the world over. People are defined not by their religion but only by whether they are good or bad. In the Indian context it is very very sad that some Mumbaikars have chosen to disrupt screening of this masterpiece. This movie is ironically meant for such elements. If only they would go and watch the movie they would come out and repent at their intolerant behaviour. Things need to change in the world, in India. We all need to find ways to spread peace, find ways to live and let live. Go watch this movie TODAY. Go out there and relish every moment of the journey of Khan.


Goes without saying this one more than deserves 10/10 !!

Bow down to MAGADHEERA !!

My brother, the great blogger, Kamal - http://www.kamaldshah.com/ had seen Magadheera within the first week of its release. This is by no means a small feat. To get a ticket of this super hyped up movie running to packed houses was an achievement. The next day on asking him about how the movie was, he remarked "Super duper colossal hit". Now, coming from an 'almost' Ram Charan Tej fan club member it was an obvious remark.

Anyways, considering that it might be a movie worth watching, even if not a super duper colossal hit, I opted to give it a shot. The venue this time was Prasads. The first scene shows the death of the great warrior 'Kaal Bhairava' and his love interest. Fast forward 400 years and you are in the present. Enter young and stylish RAM CHARAN TEJ. The movie breezily moves on with some light moments between the protagonist and the actress Kajal Agarwal. While this portion is very good what blows your mind away is the track 400 years behind where it is an out and out RAM CHARAN show. The entire scale of the movie is grand and does full justice to the 70mm screen. Full credit to the director to take a good movie and make it what it is.

This movie is truly a 'super duper colossal hit' and what makes it one is the mind blowing depiction of Kaal Bhairava by the fantastic Ram Charan Tej. He proves beyond doubt that he is the son of the MEGASTAR. Speaking of which, Magadheera springs up a surprise special appearance by the Megastar himself. This is another highlight of the movie. The one negative that comes across in this movie is the crudity of a few scenes. This certainly is an Adult movie strictly not for children.

There's no stopping this warrior from winning the hearts of its audiences. 8.5/10 for this epic !

Kambakht critics...

I just love it when the critics thrash down a movie left right and centre. This makes the expectation level rock bottom. This is what happened with Kambakht Ishq as well. As usual, this Akshay flick was hyped up tremendously. For the first time an Indian movie was show casing Stallone in a special appearance and then there was Denise Richards (no matter if 99.9999% of India didn't know who the heck she was in the first place). I, for one didn't have much expectations from this movie and expected it to flop miserably. My expectations seemed spot on with the kind of reviews the movie got.

One evening, my brother and I were just in a frame of mind to go for 'any' movie and ended up blocking seats for Kambakht Ishq at Inox. I was in two minds while leaving home as well thinking why are we going for a miserable flop. Anyways, the urge to see a movie was too great to change the plans. Firstly, I have to mention that I was very impressed with Inox, Hyderabad. The auditorium had a very rich feel to it, very unlike any other. The first frame set the tone for the movie with a spat between Akshay and Kareena. The entire (almost) movie has this as the central theme, unlike all movies when the central characters are falling for each other. There is an abundant dose of comedy throughout the movie. Some scenes are simply hillarious. Special mention for the best scene where Akshay keeps hearing the mantra in the background. It is outrageously funny. Of the 2 hours and 15 mins humour takes up about 1 hour and 45 mins. I don't care for the other 30 mins as I've already had more than my money's worth.

Tragically the makers were too obsessed in trying to get Stallone and Denise to have a part in the movie, which was totally unnecessary. This part of the movie turns out to be the negative (so much for the hype). The other negative is the music, which badly dissappoints. While all the central actors play there part, the crown should go to the script writer for the comedy which makes this movie a winner. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and wouldn't mind it a second time as well ! 7.5/10 for this one. Go for it.

Under promise over delivery - New York (the movie)

Its all about expectations....I guess. In more n more instances I have seen the impact of expectations on the likability of a movie. New York had a lot of pre-release hype around it, especially it being the first good starer to release after the long stand off between producers and multiplexes. I for one was eager to see the movie and had built in a lot of expectations. I have this habit of looking thru the review on www.rediff.com on the day of the release to know what to expect. To my surprise rediff tore the movie down. My expectations came crashing down as well. I went ahead to see the movie nevertheless on Sunday evening.

PVR was the venue. I have never quite liked this theatre in Hyderabad coz of many issues which we can discuss later. Anyway, the first few scenes of the movie went by nicely. I was waiting for the movie to take the wrong direction was become horrible. However, my wait continued and continued but this flick didn't give me a dull moment. The quick transformation from the carefree college life to the bad bad world of terrorism post 9-11 was wonderfully depicted. The storyline was well paced. John, Neil and Katrina bring loads of freshness and have acted well. Katrina was outstanding towards the end. Irrfan (thats how his name is spelt) was the usual and seemed to have a Slumdog hangover.

The movie did have its share of negatives though. The diction of Neil and Katrina was not fluent. The difficulty in their Hindi was evident. The music was average except for 'Junoon' which was good. The story was made to seem like a Hollywood thriller however lacked pace. It should have been more fast paced and edge of the seat.

As I said, I went in the theatre with low expectations and came out liking the movie. I would give a 6.5/10 for this above average movie.

Aakasamantha - beauty in simplicity !

I have been a part of the audience for mostly Hindi flicks. Only once in a way when I've heard of a movie being very good, do I go watch a Telugu movie. I don't think I have ever watched a bad Telugu movie. Aakasamantha has ensured that this record is maintained. I am glad I watched this beautiful movie.

For starters, I enjoy Prakash Raj. I have seen a few movies of his and his very presence is a draw for me as a viewer. The movie is set in a small hill station town. It is a journey of a father and his daughter from birth until her marriage. The movie revolves between these two characters and thankfully doesn't stray. The feelings, reactions and upbringing of a father has been aptly displayed. Comic moments are present all through. There are many scenes that are wonderful but the best among the best are the ones when Prakash Raj slaps the mother when he mistakenly thinks she dropped hot water on his daughter; when he requests his daughter's principal to ask a few questions to him during the interview because he prepared; the introduction of the Sardarji damaad and many more.

The movie moves at a nice pace and with a length of a little over 2 hours, it is just perfect. All actors provide good support to the main lead, Prakash Raj. It is because of him that this good movie turns into a beauty. The only negative that could be pointed out is the music. This movie transcends all ages and linguistic barriers and is a must watch by one and all.

I would rate it 8 out of 10.

LOL - Its Pink Panther 2 !

If laughter is the best medicine, Pink Panther 2 is one of the best among the medicines.

Inspector Jacques Clouseau, portrayed by the inimitable Steve Martin is a treat for movie goers. The movie has the usual plot - precious artifacts get stolen from different countries and inspector Clouseau is asked to lead an international dream team to crack the case. The journey of the team in cracking the case is the crux of the movie.

The 1 and a half hour movie is filled with laughs from the word go. Steve Martin's French accent itself is so funny that it makes a plain dialogue seem funny. There are many superb comic scenes all through. The scene with the Pope takes the cake though. I must warn you to take some pills for a stomach ache as this scene in particular and the whole movie in general is going to make you laugh real hard till your stomach pains. It is unbelievable. Steve Martin rocks.

The rest of the cast is wonderful as well. Among them is our own Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Unlike popular belief, she does have a good role, which she plays very well. She obviously looks gorgeous as well. I am sure we are going to see a lot more of her in Hollywood.

This is a MUST WATCH and deservedly gets 8.5/10.

Billu Bhayankar !

Don't judge a book by its cover and a movie by its trailer !

Billu, the new name for Billu Barber, came out with fast paced trailers with super hit songs and gorgeous actresses. The movie on the other hand hardly has Shah Rukh Khan. His cannot be termed as a full role and is nothing but a cameo. It is an out an out Irfan Khan movie. You can't project it to be an SRK movie and then give him a long dialogue in the climax with a few songs in between and hope to deliver a hit.

Billu revolves around a village barber, played by Irfan Khan. He is a simple, honest and very poor guy. The entire village goes into a tizzy with the grand arrival of super star Sahir Khan, played by SRK, for a shooting. Now, Sahir Khan was an old friend of Billu. This word spreads throughout the village. For most part of the movie, the villagers try to persuade Billu to make them meet Sahir Khan. But Billu, doesn't want to meet the super star as he is very poor and isn't sure if the star remembered him. Finally, to no ones amazement SRK and Irfan meet.

The movie is devoid of any storyline. The entire movie is just the villagers trying to get to meet the super star. Brilliant actors like Om Puri, Asrani and even SRK as totally wasted. The longest comic scene in the movie, when the lodge manager takes a shot at acting, is terrible. The actors are loud and jarring. The scene where SRK clarifies the Khan vs.Khan, filmi bhaichara, etc.is bakwaas and boring. Not everything is bad with the movie though. Irfan Khan comes up with a very nice performance. The music is also one of the strong points of the movie. However, even the presence of SRK cannot salvage this blunder.

I would give it 4/10.

Anurag Kashyap ka Atyachar !

I am on the look out for the guy who posted the review on Times of India last Sunday. The guy gave Dev D 5 stars. I was shocked to read the review and thought that 5 stars would probably be over rated but at least the movie would be good.

I then eagerly took the tickets for the same night. The first few scenes into the movie and I started to get a feel of things to come. However, the movie surpassed all my expectations. Scene after scene it went from trash to trashier. All through this "Modern Devdas" attempt I felt like I was being cheated. It was an unbearable movie. The only thing good about the movie was - "The End". Forget the story, the performances, everything else about this piece of crap. The movie sucks.

Please do yourselves a favour and stay miles away from any theatre that plays this movie. It is an insult to even rate this movie so I have decided not to give any rating. It deserves below a minus rating.

Luck...by chance - Go watch this flick !

Farhan Akhtar's performance in Rock on was spell bounding. I looked forward to another smashing performance from Farhan and went for Luck..by chance solely for him.

Unfortunately, luck......is no Rock on. Without a comparison it is a movie worth watching. Its got good performances by the entire cast. Special mention to the wonderful portrayal of Romy Rolly by Rishi Kapoor. He excels in his part. While Farhan does justice to the role, he does not cast the spell that he did with Rock on. The small little cameo by Hrithik Roshan is fun. By the way, this is the first movie to star Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan together, even though not in the same frame. The movie has its moments. The scene in the acting school is hilarious. A comic scene here and there keeps the movie alive all through. The story is different and good. Almost like a toned down Madhur Bhandarkar movie. Music is ok.

This movie would not run forever in the multiplex near you. Until its there please go, grab your pop corn n drink and enjoy this flick. I would give it a 7/10.

Slumdog....lives up to the hype

Although I was eager to catch the earliest show possible of the much anticipated movie Slumdog Millionaire, I was able to finally get to watch it only a couple of days back.

Not many movies in the past have lived up to the expectations or hype generated prior to its release. Case in point being the movies of Indian movie super stars SRK and Akshay Kumar's Rab ne..., Singh is king and the recent Chandni Chowk...etc. However, Danny Boyle's Slumdog is a wonderful tale of the journey of a boy from the slums of Mumbai. There was a lot of hue and cry over the manner in which India is depicted in the movie. Although I felt sad with this portrayal, it was real. The entire episode of the slum kids can shake any person up. But, it would be more appropriate to take up this cause with our governament than criticize the makers of the movie.

The real life experiences coming to help the protagonist in answering the questions on the game show is well presented. However, on a few questions one feels the real life reference seems unreal. Such minor shortcomings are pardoned. The entire cast comes up with very nice performances. The award winning music by Rehman is nice as well. Anil Kapoor has done justice to his part and excels in the final scene. The credit however, to keep us all glued to the seats until the very end of the credits MUST go solely to its director - DANNY BOYLE ! Hats off to him.

I would give the Slumdog 8/10.

Where are the laughs ?

Comedy.....oh comedy, where have you gone ?

I miss the days when our family used to go for the saturday evening show of a Govinda starer. That was the period when everyone left their brains at home and filled the theatres to get thoroughly entertained watching the comic brilliance of Govinda. The combination of Govinda and David Dhavan meant a roller coaster ride from the first frame to the last. All the movies from this jodi were super hits.

I miss those days....I miss those movies. Be it Coolie No.1, Saajan Chale Sasural, Aakhen, Hero No.1......the list can just go on and on. There were other hilarious movies which I would do tremendous injustice to if I were not to mention them on this topic. Masterpieces like Andaz Apna Apna and Hera Pheri will forever be remembered. Each and every character has left an indelible mark on the minds and hearts of the viewers.

There are movies of different genres being exhibited these days which is wonderful but among all this the one type of movies that aren't quite up to the mark are comedies.

VOTE for your Superstar

Amitabh Bachchan was the 'SUPERSTAR of the millenium' !

Rajanikanth's name is ALWAYS preceded with 'SUPERSTAR' !

Aamir Khan, the 'PERFECTIONIST', has always been called the best actor !

Shahrukh Khan is popularly called 'BADSHAH' of Bollywood !

Akshay Kumar is now being called the 'Hit Machine' !

Show your loyalty and love for your favourite superstar by casting your e-ballot on the right of this blog. Remember, you can vote only once (from each computer), so get going !

....and the Oscar goes to TZP !

Wouldn't that be a dream come true. Taare Zameen Par is one of the finest movies to have been made. It is probably the only movie which made the audience thank the producer/director. It surely is the most deserving nomination from India for the Oscars.

Aamir Khan has done a commendable job as a director while Darsheel gave the performance of a lifetime in his first film itself. For the few who have not yet seen the film, it is a moving tale of how a dyslexic child overcomes his shortcomings with the help of a teacher. I am quite certain that a large percentage of viewers of the film had tears in their eyes. It is a must watch for everyone, especially for a parent and especially in today's times. One could find some interesting information on the movie's official website - http://www.taarezameenpar.com/

I would also strongly recommend everyone to go buy a DVD of the movie, the presentation of which is also a treat and very unlike the packaging of any other DVD. One does expect this only from Aamir Khan. He is not called 'the perfectionist' for nothing.

All the best Aamir. You have a Billion behind TZP !

Is Rajanikant India's biggest Superstar ?

Milk was being poured all over Rajanikant's poster not only in Chennai but also in Delhi ?!

Yet another movie, yet again the familiar frenzied scenes all over. If Sivaji was a super hit, Kuselan promises to be better. Fans waited since 4am outside the theatres in Chennai for the opening day opening show. Its mass hysteria all over and the nation is gripped with Rajni mania once again. All news channels have snap shots of the movie. Interviews with celebrities and fans who were 'lucky' enough to get to see the premier show the night before the opening are being aired all over.

One must ask the question - Is this all for real ?

Can Rajni turn any movie into a super hit ? Do people not care about anything while watching the movie if their God makes a few trademark gestures ? While there is certainly a huge percentage of the superstar's loyal fans who throng the theatres only to get a glimpse of Rajni, there are also others who might be lured in to see the movie due to the hype generated by the media.

The fact is NO other star in India can generate this sort of a media frenzy. It really doesn't matter if you're a Big B or a King Khan, Rajni has showed time ang again that he is certainly the 'BOSS'.

Jaane tu....

Aamir Khan must be upset with me. I did not watch his movie in the first week !

However, after reading my review he surely would be at ease. I've got to be honest with my readers. The movie lacked stars, the music was bad, the performances were not award winning, there was no great comedy, action, etc. Inspite of this Jaanu tu...ya jaane na connected with me. The innocence in the performances of all actors was refreshing. All characters were someone you could relate to. While there was no great comedy, the entire movie was fun filled, simple and light hearted. I certainly liked Imran Khan and expect him to take over the reigns from his mamu over the years. Genelia was good but seemed uneasy with her Hindi. The supporting cast was very good as well. Paresh Rawal was wasted, which was a let down for me. The other let down was Mr.A.R Rehman - I actually doubt this was his music.

All in all a nice film certainly worth a watch. No wonder that the AMC 30 theatre at Barrington, Illinois, USA which screened this flick was crowded. Just to mention the screens with Will Smith's Hancock (supposedly a block buster) were greeted with empty chairs as against an almost full upper house for Jaane tu....Way to go Indian film industry (Mr.Amitabh Bachchan and I do not like to use the term 'Bollywood') !

I would give the film 7.5/10 !

Who said Rajni can't ??

Once, Newton came to India and watched a few Tamil movies that had his head spinning. He was convinced that all his logic and laws in physics were just a huge pile of junk and apologized for everything he had done.
In the movie of Rajanikanth, Newton was confused to such an extent that he went paranoid. Here are a few scenes -
1) Rajanikanth has a Brain Tumor, which, according to the doctors can't be cured and his death is imminent. In one of the fights, Rajanikanth is shot in the head. To everybody's surprise, the bullet passes through his ears taking away the tumor along with it and he is cured !
2) In another movie Rajanikanth is confronted with 3 gangsters. Rajanikanth has a gun but unfortunately only one bullet and a knife. Guess, what he does? He throws the knife at the middle gangster & shoots the bullet towards the knife. The knife cuts the bullet into 2 pieces which kills both the gangsters on each side of the middle gangster & the knife kills the middle one.
3) Rajanikanth is chased by a gangster. Rajanikanth has a revolver but no bullets in it. Guess, what he does. Nah? not even in your remotest imaginations. He waits for the gangster to shoot. As soon as the gangster shoots, Rajanikanth opens the bullet compartment of his revolver and catches the bullet. Then, he closes the bullet compartment and fires his gun. Bang... the gangster dies...
This was too much for our Newton to take! He was completely shaken and decided to go back. But he happened to see another movie for one last time, and thought that at least one movie would follow his theory of physics. The whole movie goes fine and Newton is happy that all in the world hasn't changed. Oops, not so fast! The 'climax' finally arrives. Rajanikanth gets to know that the villain is on the other side of a very high wall. So high that Rajanikanth can't jump even if he tries - like one of those superman techniques that our heroes normally use. Rajanikanth has to desperately kill the villain because it's the climax. (Newton is smiling since it is virtually impossible?) Rajanikanth suddenly pulls two guns from his pockets. He throws one gun in the air and when the gun has reached above the height of the wall, he uses the second gun and shoots at the trigger of the first gun in air. The first gun fires off and the villain is dead. Newton commits suicide...

Sarkar ka nahin hai Raj !

Well...what I never understand is WHY would anybody have the BigB in a film and not use his genius to the max. Especially after the wonderful Sarkar, my expectations from the sequel were obviously sky high. To my dissappointment the movie gave Mr.and Mrs. SmallB a lot more footage than the trump card.
The movie does not engross the viewer like Sarkar. Although I would not say it is a bad movie and is surely watchable. Performances by all are good. The length of 2 hours is a pleasant surprise and the correct length for a film of this nature. However the audiences could have sat thru without budging had Ramu given Amitabh more time on screen.
Story was OK; no songs - actually let me say there was 1/2 a song; background score was nice; etc etc...
To sum it all I would give 6/10 for this one.

Whats up ?

Cant help but accept that I was influenced to create my blog after all the recent news from the big stars related to their blogs.
I thought the blogs from Aamir were very humourous and should have been taken in the right spirit. SRK has on several occassions poked fun at Aamir, which were very enjoyable as well.
I happen to be a big fan of both these stars and have enjoyed these tit bits from them and wish we get a bigger dose from both in future as well !!