Saturday, January 19, 2013

Movie Analysis : Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola

Directed by : Vishal Bharadwaj
Imdb link-> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2106537/


Tu rokega nahi, toh main chalayunga kaise, 
Tu chalayega nahi, toh main rokunga kaise..

Nice entertaining political drama movie made by Vishal Bharadwaj, though I couldn't love it as much as I did 7 Khoon Maaf or Kaminey. The reason for that being unaware of what some dialogues meant, as political films aint my genre. Some dialogues went over my head but I knew they were aimed at something, probably a dig at real person or situation in some part of India.

Set in Haryanvi background, the film revolves around 3 characters Matru (Imran Khan), Bijlee (Anushka Sharma) and Mandola (Pankaj Kapur). A village that is ruled by Mandola with his police, and he wants to build factories malls taking up lands of villagers, giving them compensations in return..

As always Vishal Bharadwaj keeps the setting very dark and develops some unusual situations to bring humour. Like the gulaabi bhains that Mandola sees when he tries to skip drinking, Chaudhari Devi (Shabana Azmi) tellins her son Baadal (Aarya Babbar) why he is getting married to Bijli, Mandola watching people drink in party with noise of alochol bottles opening and being poured into glasses increasing his agony, Bijlee shouting 'Baaaaadal tum kahan ho' and flying around house like a aeroplane, Baadal's mission 'Mao' with khatre ka signal 'Mao Mao',  Mandola trying to control his hands when a large bunch of bottles are kept at the stairs of his house, and when Mandola offers left bottle to Matru saying, 'tu left wali le, tu toh mao se'. (Please tell me what this actually meant)

The writing and direction is very good. Dialogues are too good. Climax may have been executed slightly different, felt Vishal tried to make everything back to fine too easily. Also, Matru-Bijlee part wasn't convincing enough.

Where the film fails is the characters of Matru and Bijlee, especially Matru who is weakly presented by Imran Khan. He got just one great moment to shine through in the movie, where he and Bijli make up a story behind the doors fooling around. And the imitation of African dance he does in one shot. Imran's haryanvi accent wasn't smooth either, while his acting was decent but when you have Pankaj Kapur with you, just decent aint enough.

Anushka Sharma continues to over-act, didn't like her in JTHJ and the same goes here. She seems to have some love towards joyous and super fun characters, but its become monotonous to me. Even in the best scene, where she is drunk.. she just fails to make me like her. I just end up loving the writing instead in that scene. I so wish, there was some other actress in the role, would have increased my liking towards the movie. Special Mention to her costumes in 'Oye boy charlie' song, loved it.

Pankaj Kapur is the soul of the movie, he carries off the morcha against himself and then discovers his real side to himself and us that he has two people residing in himself, one before drinking, other after. One of rare occasions, when a drunk person does the right things, which he does as Mandola in the movie. I love the scene where he visualizes the dreams he has with Chaudhari Devi. His drunk scenes in some parts are tough to decipher specially because its total haryanvi he speaks. How much scared he looks when he meets gulaabi bhains in that climax scene, and that kid like face he makes when Bijli enters his room giving him bottle of alcohol to continue his drinking which he won't stop. But the most funny scene of the film is the bike ride 'tu chala main piyunga, tu rokega nahi toh main chalayunga kaise.. nahi tu chalayega nahi toh main piyunga kaise', followed by well sequence 'tu gaali de rahi haii, bheincho, bheincho..'. Somehow that 'well' scene to me resembled Om Puri drunk sequence talking to dead Satish shah in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.

Shabana Azmi looks so develish in both sequences with her son Baadal, one explaining why he getting married, other telling him who spoiled their Mao mission. Also, her flirtations with Mandola during the political land agenda meetings with cops and villagers around table, to keep Mandola's focus away.

Aarya Babbar was surprise package of movie, very much liked his performance. The actors playing cops were good too, though didn't like the way their first scene is written.

Music by Vishal Bharadwaj is good and complements the narration very well, my most favourite being 'Chori' and 'Chaar Dina ka'. Both chori chori and Lootne wale songs are filmed like a theatre based acts. I usually don't like slow romantic songs of Vishal Bharadwaj, but Khamakha was quite nice. Sukhwinder's rendition in the title track is amazing, love its choreography, and the 'chatak chatak dil chatak chatak' part. Oye boy charlie clicks to me in the final stanza only..


Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola won't be among my favourite Vishal Bharadwaj movies, but its still a decent watch, and Pankaj Kapur only makes it special with every scene in the movie. This actor carries the movie on his shoulders along with Shabana and Aarya as good support.


Verdict : NICE 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Attacks of 26/11 [Trailer]



The trailer went very good, and looked hard-hitting until the stupid background song started.. and the question Why o Ram Gopal Verma why. Also, so many extreme close ups.. that final Nana Patekar dialogue would have looked so good with mid close up shot.

The film would be good if the story does the talking, and not the routine background/camera that has become a trademark in every RGV film. Its one of awaited movies for me, and I hope RGV doesn't spoil it for me. Nana Patekar and the actor playing Kasab (I think his name is Sanjeev Jaiswal).. two characters I am keen to see.

Agar mere haath kanoon se bandhe nahi hote, toh inho haatho se main unhe cheer deta.... 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Most Awaited Films of 2013

Here's a look at my top awaited movies this year ..

P.S : The release dates are subject to change. 

Inkaar (January 18)
directed by Sudhir Mishra, starring Arjun Rampal and Chitrangada Singh

Based on sexual harassment, though that instantly reminds of Aitraaz but here its most likely the plot would focus much more on the issue. Trailer and 1st look have been good, plus Sudhir films in the past have clicked for me so have pretty high expectations.


AkaashVani (January 25)
directed by Luv Ranjan, starring Kartik Tiwari, Nushrat Bharucha

His previous film 'Pyar ka Punchnama' worked only for the three male friends bonding part to me, this time the responsibility is much more on Nushrat and Kartik alone. The trailers have been crazy, mad, romantic and very emotional. Their chemistry looking really good, and I have a feeling this film would click to me. Music also is quite good, Tera mera naam, Crazy lover and Rumaani to name a few. Only the ending worries me, whether Luv Ranjan tackles it properly and not hurries it up as most likely it may be a happy end going by the tagline 'Love gets a second chance'.


Race2 (January 25)
directed by Abbas-Mastaan, starring Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernandez and Amisha Patel 

This film in my list may surprise a few but I liked Race very much, so keenly waiting to see this new part in the series. Allah Duhaayi Hai (new version) is awesome, but the rest songs dissappoint. Saif-John rivalry in the movie (will it be as good as Saif-Akshay one) and Deepika in a possible grey role would be something to watch for.


David (Febuary 1)
directed by Bejoy Nambiar, starring Neil Nitin Mukesh, Chiyaan Vikram, Vinay Virmani, Isha Shervani, Monica Dogra, Tabu

The plot excites me, One name, three people and different era's. If the screenplay is good enough, this movie should be real good. Plus, I love stylish movies and Bejoy impressed me a lot in Shaitan with the way he filmed mad sequences. The theme is kickass, and the music is again creative plus worth listening to non stop. I am specially looking to see Chiyaan-Isha-Tabu part the most. And also one of my crush, Monica Dogra.. how good she looks even in that single shot of the trailer and I madly loved the trailer...


Special Chabbis (Febuary 8) 
directed by Neeraj Pandey, starring Akshay Kumar, Manoj Bajpaayee, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill, Kajal Aggarwal

A Wednesday was one of my favourite movies in 2008, and after a gap of 4.5 years finally Neeraj Pandey's next movie comes up. Though this time from the trailer it appears to be less serious and more comical unless the ending surprises again. The only shot that I didn't like in the trailer was the routine Akshay dancing with the actress. It would be great to see Manoj trying to catch Akshay who most of the times would be one step ahead. Asli power dil mein hoti hai..


Kai Po Che (Febuary 22)
directed by Abhishek Kapoor, starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Amit Sadh, Raj Kumar Yadav, Amrita Puri

Another director whose last film came way back in 2008 (i.e Rock On), Abhishek Kapoor with his new offering based on '3 Mistakes of Life' novel by Chetan Bhagat. The question is, will it go '3Idiots' way or 'Hello' ? When I read the novel, it always gave the feel of like I am reading story of a film specially the thrilling end. I hope the end isn't altered way too much. The choice of Raj Kumar Yadav in  Govind role is perfect, while Sushant Singh Rajput impressed a hell lot in the trailer who plays Ishan (the one who turns bad after chain of events). Amit Trivedi's music and background score could also give the screenplay an added edge.


The Attacks of 26/11 (March 1)
directed by Ram Gopal Verma, starring Nana Patekar, Sanjeev Jaiswal

It was good promotional strategy to release the first 7 minutes of the film instead of teaser/trailer as first look of the movie, and that boat sequence was very well done. The film based on 26/11 incident if well executed by Rgv is likely to bring him lots of praise, but it can be vice-versa too. I think he does well when it comes to hard-hitting movies, for instance Rann was a very good take on the state of media. How he captures the sad incident, and what kind of treatment he gives to Kasab character... will he show little or too much of emotions in his favour ? I hope not. Nana Patekar performance would also be something to look for. Going by Amitabh bachchan's tweets the film is very good (but then he is good friend of Rgv, so can't trust fully).


Jolly LLB (March 15) 
directed by Subhash Kapoor, starring Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani, Amrita Rao, Saurabh Shukla

Phas Gaye re Obama fame director's next movie, the trailer was superb with Arshad Warsi comic timing on the spot. With good starcast, and a director who gave very good last movie.. the expectations are high. The movie is about a struggling lawyer trying to become successful. Like his previous movie, this one also appears to be mix of drama and humour at same time. Plus, courtroom based movies always interests me a lot.


3G (March 15)
directed  by Sheershak & Shantanu, starring Neil Nitin Mukesh, Sonal Chauhan

A supernatural thriller by first time directors, with Sonal Chauhan making a comeback into main lead role since Jannat. The trailer gives resemblances to Karthik calling Karthik (if the dual role goes that way) and 13B (if the spirit revenge is similar). This could be Neil Nitin Mukesh film to impress critics, ever since Johnny Gaddar he has got less powerful roles though I have liked his performances consistently. By looks of trailer, he may have done very good work in this movie. Music is by Mithoon, another reason the film becomes important.. even his song in trailer is addictive.


Ek Thi Daayan (April 18)
directed by Kannan Iyer, starring Emraan Hashmi, Konkana Sen Sharma, Kalki Koechlin, Huma Qureshi

Its trailer was interesting, very dark feel though I didn't love it that much as many did. But, its story about a successful musician who gets hallucinations about a daayan haunting him, the one who killed his parents when he was a child and he thinks its the same daayan who is back to destroy him.. This plot appealed to me. I won't be surprised if Konkana or Huma turns out to be that Daayan, most likely it wont be Kalki unless the writers went a step ahead having all 3 as daayans (you never know). Would be great to see Konkana back into a film after quite a gap. Huma within a year has become one of my favourites, and in that single shot of trailer her expressions look is too good. Vishal Bharadwaj has written dialogues and done music, with Gulzar as lyricist so that raises the expectations bar.


Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (May 31) 
directed by Ayan Mukerji, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Aditya Roy Kapur, Kalki Koechlin

After doing different roles one after another, Ranbir will finally be seen in a regular commercial hindi movie. But with Ayan Mukerji director (wake up sid fame), I expect it to still be different from other films. Ranbir-Deepika were last seen in Bachna ae Haseeno, so after a long gap they coming together.. most likely this film would generate lots of curiosity once the 1st look and trailer comes out. Kalki and Aditya play the supporting roles. Pritam as music composer has to be very good, I feel these movies require great music. Can't wait to listen the title track, how well they re-make it.


Ghanchakkar (June 21)
directed by Rajkumar Gupta, starring Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan

The talented Rajkumar Gupta who made No one killed Jessica is now back with a comedy thriller. Emraan plays a con-man good at safe cracking, with Vidya playing his wife. He's set on one last final heist that would give lots of money, but has some plans unknown to the people  involved with him that would lead to chaos and confusions. I liked their pair in 'The Dirty Picture' even if I didn't like that movie. Plus Vidya worked with Gupta previously, and he very well portrayed the suffering her character went through. Loved both his previous movies, so keenly awaiting this film.


Lootera (July 5)
directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, starring Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha

His 2nd film after the much praised 'Udaan'. Ranveer plays a character who is fond of the style of Dev Anand. The film is set in 50's backdrop, with Ranveer and Sonakshi falling in love under strange circumstances. Its going to be first film for Ranveer Singh outside the Yashraj banner. It was expected to release last year, hope there are no further delays now.


Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (July 12) 
directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, starring Farhan Akhtar, Sonam Kapoor

The theme of the film is 'Zindagi se bhaago nahi, zindagi ke saath bhaago', based on the legendary athelete Milkha Singh. Its first teaser was pretty good, with Shankar Ehsan Loy doing well in the background and the song 'zinda hai toh'. Though, I still feel AR Rahman would had given more into this kind of movie (SEL may prove me wrong when film comes out). Looking forward to watch Farhan in what could be a very important film to him as a actor (yet to have a solo hit). Sonam expectedly would be weak link in the movie..


Once upon a time in Mumbaai 2 (August 8) 
directed by Milan Luthria, starring Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, Imran Khan, Sonali Bendre

The story moves forward from the 1st part, so its on Shoaib and how he expands his power on Mumbai after killing Sultan. Its set in 80's showing the rise of the evil prince to turn the king of the Underworld. Akshay Kumar replaces Emraan as Shoaib in this part, and I think he would perfectly suit the character (not taking anything away from Emraan who was brilliant in the 1st part). Sonakshi Sinha would be right choice only if her character has same shades as that one of Mumtaz because she can look the innocent girl who can be fooled easily. Imran Khan could possibily be playing one of key person working for Shoaib, as I don't see him into a main role. The movie surely be stylish and with some great punchlines, and its next to my birthday so hope its good one.


Phata Poster Nikla Hero (August 23)
directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, starring Shahid Kapur, Ileana DCruz

I liked his last comedy 'Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani', though it was nowhere close to his classic Andaz Apna Apna (can't even make a film as good as that again). This one too is on same lines, comedy with lots of masala, typical hindi commercial movie. Shahid Kapur ever since Kaminey has been completely off-track, plus his movies aren't doing great at boxoffice either so its important that this film clicks for him. Ileana DCruz after a superb performance in Barfi as supporting actress, would get the main lead role for first time in Hindi industry, interesting to see if she lives upto the standard she has built with her 1st film or she fades like Asin.


Bullet Raja (September 6) 
directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, starring Saif Ali Khan, Jimmy Shergill, Irrfan Khan, Sonakshi Sinha

He got plenty of praise for Paan Singh Tomar, I liked his work in Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster too. His new film is based on crime in Uttar Pradesh with touch of humour, with the first look of both leading actors looking quite good, this film could well surprise at boxoffice.


Besharam (October 2)
directed by Abhinav Kashyap, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Pallavi Sharda, Neetu Singh, Rishi Kapoor

After Dabangg, Abhinav's next film is a crime-drama about a con-man from Delhi i.e Ranbir who tries to escape the law with two Haryanvi cops, Rishi and Neetu, after him. Neetu would be more aggressive out of the couple in this movie, should be fun watching them both in this new avatar. Also, another new role that Ranbir gonna try with this movie, the first look is pretty good and the tagline 'Na Sammaan ka moh, na apmaan ka bhay'. Pallavi Sharda gets the lead role who was one of the supporting actress in Dia Mirza's home production Love BreakUps Zindagi.


Krrish3 (November)
directed by Rakesh Roshan, starring Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Vivek Oberoi, Kangana Ranaut

The father-son duo returns this Diwali, the much talked about 3rd part in the superhero series after Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish. The story would continue forward which means there should be dual role of Hrithik, plus the villian shoes taken up by Vivek Oberoi who offlate had been doing nonsense films, if this role is well written and he enacts it rightly then could be the film after 'Shootout at Lokhandwala' that would give him lots of applause. For me, Krrish was decent film with 1st half full of forced humour, so this time around hoping they have more of action and special effects.


Dhoom3 (December)
directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, starring Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Katrina Kaif

Aamir in a yashraj movie, and playing the villian role in the next part of Dhoom series, was surprising to everyone including Aamir fans. He's choosy about right scripts, so that either means that this movie has something special that attracted him or it means he is desperate for another masala movie, as his last such film was Fanaa. Whatever be the reasons, for a film lover it would be a sight watching him play a villain role after quite a while (or grey role as it would be most likely). Also, Katrina-Aamir pair is something I am keenly waiting for, she lived upto my expectations against Salman as well as Shahrukh, so this is the final hurdle for her. For me, once again Uday Chopra would be the weak link.. he was tolerable in Dhoom, but in Dhoom2 he was bit irritating to me. Vijay Krishna Acharya dissappointed me in Tashan big time, but those video game style action sequences were very nicely directed. This time around he has to weave a better screenplay, and not just some good action sequences to impress about.


Ugly (after May)
directed by Anurag Kashyap, starring Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Rahul Bhatt, Surveen Chawla, Vineet Kumar Singh

Anurag Kashyap movie is always bound to be there in my awaited films list every year. Its a edge of the seat thriller with a emotional angle. In a interview he said that 'the film is about that point in one's life where a character looks back (at his life) and realises that none of his dreams are fulfilled. Then something happens which makes him realise that he and the morality is so fragile'. Though there are no big stars in the movie, Ronit Roy and Tejaswini are actors I have liked in the past. Tejaswini was superb in Paanch (unreleased debut movie of Anurag).



Some of the other movies that I may like this year are : 

• Murder3 (directed by Vishesh Bhatt, starring Randeep Hooda, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sara Loren)
• Aatma (directed by Suparn Verma, starring Bipasha Basu, Nawazuddin Siddiqui)
• I, Me Aur Main (directed by Kapil Sharma, starring John Abraham, Chitrangada, Prachi)
• Saare Jahaan Se Mehnga (directed  by Anshul Sharma, starring Sanjay Mishra, Zakir Hussain)
• Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns (directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, starring Randeep, Jimmy, Irrfan, Mahie, Soha)


• Himmatwala (directed by Sajid Khan, starring Ajay Devgan, Tamannaah Bhatia)
• Chasme Baddoor (directed  by David Dhawan, starring Ali Zafar, Siddharth, Divyendu Sharma, Tapsee)
• Nautanki Saala (directed by Rohan Sippy, starring Ayushmann Khurana, Kunal Roy Kapur)
• Aashiqui 2 (directed by Mohit Suri, starring Aditya Roy Kapur, Shraddha Kapoor)
• Zanjeer (directed by Apoorva Lakhia, starring Ram Charan, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt, Prakash Raj)


• Aurangzeb (directed by Atul Sabharwal, starring Arjun Kapoor)
• Boss (directed by Anthony D'Souza, starring Akshay Kumar, Aditi Rao Hydari
• Ramaiya Vastavaiya (directed by Prabhu Deva, starring Girish Taurani, Shruti Hassan)
• Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (directed by Sangeeth Sivan, starring Bobby, Dharmendra, Sunny, Neha S)
• Fukrey (directed by Mrigdeep Singh Lamba, starring Pulkit Samrat, Richa Chadda, Manjot Singh)


• Raanjhnaa (directed by Aanand L Rai, starring Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor)
• D-Day (directed by Nikhil Advani, starring Irrfan, Arjun, Huma, Ronit, Chandan, Shruti, Rishi)
• Kaanchi (directed by Subhash Ghai, starring Rishi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty)
• Satyagraha (directed by Prakash Jha, starring Amitabh, Kareena, Ajay, Manoj, Arjun)
• Ungli (directed by Rensil DSilva, starring Emraan, Randeep, Sanjay, Kangana, Neha D)


• Ram Leela (directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, starring Ranveer, Deepika, Richa Chadda)
• Sher Khan (directed by Sohail Khan, starring Salman Khan)
• Rambo Rajkumar (directed by Prabhu Deva, starring Shahid Kapur, Sonakshi Sinha)
• Chennai Express (directed by Rohit Shetty, starring Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone)
• Kick (directed by Sajid Nadiadwala, starring Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha)


• Shoot Out At Wadala (directed by Sanjay Gupta, starring Anil, John, Sanjay Dutt)
• Gunday (directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, starring Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra)
• Shahid (directed by Hansal Mehta, starring Raj Kumar Yadav)

P.K, Happy New Year, Dedh Ishqiya, 2 States, Ghayal Returns, Kill Dil are some films that I am not sure if they would release this year or not, else they are on my list too.


Hollywood : 

The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo, Iron Man3 starring Robert Downey Jr and The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp are the films that I am waiting. Rest films I am gonna explore, as not much knowledge of directors and actors in english films.

Saare Jahaan Se Mehnga [2nd Trailer]



Sanjay Mishra and Zakir Hussain looking good in a interesting story based on mehngai. How well rest cast enact their roles, and how drama is mixed with humour would determine the quality of the movie... Some dialogues in trailer didn't make me laugh as they intended to..

Delhi nahi gaye ?
 Gaya hoon.. 
Jail gaye ho ?

Monday, January 14, 2013

Gangster Squad [Views]

Directed by : Ruben Fleischer
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1321870/

These cops they trying to steal what's mine.. Los Angeles belongs to me.


The story is set in 1949 when  a gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) who runs the city Los Angeles has plans of expanding his control over the city. A cop John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) is handed a secret mission of destroying Cohen's plans and take him out of the city. John forms a squad of varied skillfull people and names it 'Gangster Squad'.

The screenplay of this movie follows the numerous past gangster films with a voiceover of a character narrating the story at various parts of the movie. The way squad struggles and then starts getting the job done is very well done. But, what makes the film not work for me is there's no building up the characters except for John and Jerry (Ryan Gosling). The editing too should had been tighter and probably more use of slow motions and unusual camera angles as the feel of gangster movie fades a lot of times.

Sean Penn doesn't get scope to outperform as the main person the gangster squad is against, except for that 1st violent sequence he has and then the one where he in anger comes out of his room shooting around. He should have had more action scenes where he wins. John's scenes with his wife also appear not too good, leaving the one where she helps him choose right people for the mission.

Ryan Gosling was the best for me, as he's the one who takes time to join the squad realising John doesn't care about death and he prefers to be alive. He examines everything before moving forward. Love the scene where he survives getting killed by a whisker.

There's good humour that the magazine detective guy brings into the squad, specially the scene where he shows his shooting skills. And, his assistant who follows him everywhere, even joins the squad. The final scene between them was very good one.

Its the weak direction and poor characterization that lets the movie down. Still, Gangster Squad has some very good action sequences to watch it for.



Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story [Trailer]



Poor trailer that reminded me a lot of 'Kismet Love Paisa Dilli', this movie too appears to be full of stupid dialogues and humour that makes me yawn. Only Music and Neha Sharma reasons for me to watch this film. Vivek Oberoi is spoiling his career doing these kind of films. Though it maybe early to predict the quality of the movie, at the moment I have no expectations at all.

Jab bhi hero ka sab kuch settle ho jaata hai na, tabhiich saala villian log entry maarta hai.. 

Friday, January 11, 2013

Zila Ghaziabad [Trailer]



One of very badly cut trailers I have seen in recent past. Some scenes are repeated so many times uselessly (with different shots). Plus, the action looks completely over the top specially 2:28 onwards. Only Arshad Warsi I think would be worth watching this film for, he's looking in supreme form as a baddie.

Surrender kar le, zinda rahega
Tabaadla kara lo, zinda rahoge.. 

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Ek Thi Daayan [Trailer]



Vishal Bharadwaj and Balaji co-producing together for 1st time, and directed by Kannan Iyer. When I read the plot of the movie that its based on a famous magician played by Emraan Hashmi whose parents were killed by Daayan and the Daayan intends to return back to haunt him, whether its just his hallucinations that needs psychiatric help or it is really the Daayan. This story got me interested straightaway.

The trailer is decent, some very good shots like the one that introduces Emraan with his magic trick, or the description Emraan gives about Daayan through his narration. And the 'chotti' scene, I think it was probably Konkana. Huma Quereshi has just one scene in trailer, and how effective she looks in it alone. Also, great to see Konkana Sen back, one of my fav actress which further increases my curiosity towards this movie. The Kalki horror scene (which I am assuming is a dream sequence) kind of spoiled trailer for me, I don't like such shots. Also, the lines or mantra Daayan recites was just not understandable.

Emraan Hashmi was quite the usual, seen him in such roles many times. Hope this feeling doesn't come while watching the movie.

What interested me the most in the trailer was the dark feel it had, the camera angles taken (specially that 1st shot) and the background score. How good the genre is handled by the director is left to be seen now and how good the script is as mostly horror films have something stupid in it.

Music is by Vishal Bharadwaj and lyrics Gulzar.. so expecting some great stuff in that department too.

One good thing about the trailer though was, it doesn't reveal much, as a result keeps me curious for more.

Pracheen vidhvaano ka kehna tha ki, Daayan ki saari shakti uski chotti mein hi bandh rehti hai ... 

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Jolly LLB [Trailer]



Mere toh L lag gaye .. those who understand this line, would most likely have got interested in the trailer very much right from the start like me. Arshad Warsi looks in super form with his comic timing. The court scenes arguements between him and Boman Irani would be fun to watch. Amrita Rao even while saying Karne dungi bhi nahi, baap ka maal hai, looks too sweet. Plus a very good supporting cast of Saurabh Shukla, Manoj Pahwa, Mohan Kapoor.

Except for that hammer shot of Saurabh Shukla at the last (thora jyada ho gaya yeh), loved the trailer very much.

Its directed by Subhash Kapoor whose last film was Phas Gaye re Obama, so expectations increases much more. If Jolly LLB has good drama along with comedy (which appears to be good from trailer), then it could be another great movie by Subhash.

Kayi baar yeh dialogue suna hai, kanoon ke haath lambe hote hain ... Ghanta Lambe Hote Hain.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Recap 2012 : Top 100 Songs

Unlike last time around (Mohit in 2011), no male singer dominated the year. While in females, Sneha Khanwalkar got my attention thanks to those two awesome songs 'Kaala Rey' and 'What to do'. Apart from singing, she had quite a some year as composer too, with plenty of experiments in tunes or singers for Gangs of Wasseypur albums.

Talking of experimentation, Amit Trivedi also did pretty well with 4 albums in the year and each having atleast one song that had Amit trademark written all over it. Aafaton ke Parinde, What to do, Manhattan and Kikli Kalerdi were my picks from them.

Vishal Dadlani also did very well, both as composer and singer. Shanghai and Kahaani had great music, with Aamit Shotti Bolchi, Dua and Khudaaya best picks.

Kay Kay got 2 songs 'Jannatein Kahan' and 'Padd Gaye Ji', both awesomely sung kept the singer I love feeling alive though he has faded over the years.

Sonu Nigam gave me just one song to remember which ironically I saw very few people praise out, 'Jab se mere dil ko uff'.

Special Mention to 12 yr old Durga who sang one of year's famous song 'Chi cha ledar'. Shalmali Kholgade was another great find in female singers, with her song 'Pareshaan' in Ishaqzaade.

And then there was Rabbi who sang 'Challa' brilliantly..


TOP 25 SONGS : 

1. Kaala rey - gangs of wasseypur II

Sneha Khanwalkar's composition and vocals, very darkish feel in the lyrics and also the tone of the entire song. It was this song that made me feel Sneha is female Rahman, specially if you notice the starting and ending of the song.. it is bound to give goosebumps. The lyrics has everything being termed black, just to add to the theme. Love how the vocals pitch change during 'Kaali garmi, suraj kaala, kaala, kaala, kaala'. The song has a haunting effect and it remains stuck into head for very long. No song came even closer to beat Kaala rey, easy winner for song of the year. 

2. Challa - jab tak hai jaan

Rabbi + Gulzar + Rahman. The song had more of Rabbi and Gulzar feel, and it was very strong enough to become no.2 song of year. Challa refers to a mad lover who is in search of love. I like the way its picturised in the movie too, all versions. I haven't liked any of Rabbi's song in past, quite a surprise for myself to be able to love the song to such extent. Rabbi brought that punjabi flavour and yet very romantic feeling in this song very well. 'Challe tu sabda, challe tera koi nahi' and 'Ishq de kaidi ki, na rihaayi hoyi', were best lines from the song.

3. Dua - shanghai 


Nandini, Arijit and Shekhar's vocals in this song. Very emotional lyrics, and slow composition highlights it much more. 'yehi  baar baar sochta hoon tanha main yahaan, mere saath saath chal raha hai yaadon ka dua', my fav lines. Only complaint from this song is why no 2nd antara. In a way, this song refers to broken faith and lost hope.

4. Paani da rang - vicky donor


Whenever I think of my liking towards this song, I will always think of that time when the song came on net and I commented on twitter that its a decent song. If you don't like the song, and haven't seen film then you should watch it, most likely the song will click.. thats how some songs work for some people. Ayushmann Khurana has sung it very well, another punjabi romantic song in Top5. Though its ayushmann song completely, the use of background female vocals at places is well done.. 'Tere utte marda, pyar tenu karda.. milega tujhe na koi aur.. tu bhi aa sabko chorh ke', my fav lines..

5. Aafaton ke parinde - ishaqzaade

Suraj Jagan voice so well suits this genre of song. The song is a take on the kind of lovers used to be earlier, and kind of lovers you get now. Great use of words like Fasaano mein, Halaalo mein, Haraamo mein. Good composition by Amit Trivedi, great song without going for something completely hatke. 'Sitaaron mein, taaranon mein, jo milte the fasaanon mein'. 

6. O Womaniya - gangs of wasseypur

Sneha's great composition, and lovely rendition by Khushboo Bajaj.  Special mention to the alaap 'ho ooh oh oh oh' and the innovative lyrics by Varun Grover. 'Badle rupaiya ke de na chavanniya, haaye, badle rupaiya ke de na chavanniya'.. 

7. Yeh jism - jism 2


Ali azmat's vocals, and Arko Mukherjee composition.. Comparing it with awarapan banjaarapan would always make it hard to love this song.. I wish the song got used in a better made film instead of this one, such is the luck for some great songs. One of those songs that I was hooked for many days right from the first time I heard it, vocals, composition and lyrics all worked together. 'Fanaa kiya mujhe yeh chahne ki aas ne, daraa, daraa, shikast hi hua'

8. Muskaane jhooti hai - talaash


Suman sridhar's voice has something that attracts me, right from the time I heard her first time singing 'Tonight' in Luv ka the end. I would sum up her voice as a soft and sexy combo. Muskaane has a retro feel, and Suman gives it that special feel. Special mention to the alaap 'aa haa, aa haa..', and the background tune that plays before it. Javed Akhtar's lyrics has the whole film in this single line 'Jo rooh pyaasi hai, jismein udaasi hai.. woh hai ghoomti'...

9. Taar bijli - gangs of wasseypur II

Varun Grover's lyrics take away the limelight easily, and Richa Chadda in the movie made it her own the way she portrayed happiness and sadness as the song went on. Good rendition by Sharda Sinha. 'Sookh ke ho gaye hai chhuaare piya, bechaarey piya, sab haarey piya.. kuch khaatey nahi hai humaare piya'... 

10. Aami shotti bolchi - kahaani

I dont know if Kolkata people felt this, but for me I got another great song based on a city, after the likes of 'Bam bam bambayi, Bombay Bombay, da da dilli, yeh delhi hai mere yaar etc etc'. Usha Uthup and Vishal right choice for this high energy track, and special mention to Namrata Rao who made the song looked even better with her cuts in the movie. I love the part where Vishal joins Usha in the song through 'Aami Shotti Bolchi' lyrics. 'Aisa shaher hai jiska double-role hai, chalta rehta hai phir bhi jaata kahin nahi.. udi baba kuch toh serious gondogol hai'.

11. Chi cha ledar - gangs of wasseypur II


One of those songs which may not have any logic, but the lyrics have a certain madness that you can't stay away from. 12 yr old Durga has given voice to the song, and the choice of making her sing the song also contributed to the madness. I like the use of 'Raadhe bhaiyya' words, since Definite is a salman fan and its filmed on him. The song had a great chase sequence in the movie, very much similar to Black Friday. 'Woh humse poochey, whether I like the weather'...

12. What to do - aiyyaa


Amit Trivedi's experiment worked the best in this song for me. Sneha Khanwalkar again the singer, with Amitabh Bhattacharya male singer. Special mention to the various background voices Sneha does while Amitabh sings, specially that 'ae he he, oh ho ho' and that final harkat she does. Even Amitabh gets lots of moments in this song. The use of ;Ijjat Pappad; words was fantastic, and also 'ichak daana' in the end. The song is kinda of adult based, expectedly video was on same lines but I wish it was on any other actors. 'Aayi jawaani kis modh pe, hilti hai vibrate mode pe, dil pada hai mera road pe'..

13. Jannatein kahan - jannat 2 


This would be the only song that I have rated very high just because I listen to it way too often. Kay Kay vocals, the english lyrics in between and the alaap of Zara sa from Jannat makes it a very good song. It does miss the madness Jannat Jahan had, still good enough to make me like it a lot. Its picturisation was a big dissappointment. Tere hi liye tujhse hoon juda, jannatein kahan bin huye fanaa... 

14. Khudaaya - shanghai 

Great composition + Lyrics + Singing. Its a short song but still too good to miss a top position. Shekhar's voice goes with the song very well, and special mention to this song's video, uniquely thought which one can understand only if seen the movie. Lamho ki iss bheed mein, mujhko pal de fursat ke ..

15. Jugni - cocktail


Great composition by Pritam, Arif's original song but the way he has mixed Arif and Harshdeep voices together specially the same lines they sing alternately. The fast part makes the song very dramatic, one of reasons it gets that extra emotional quotient. Plus, love the way its picturised in the movie. Jugni ishq de raste jaave, kidre dhokha hi na khaave, ohnu zara samajh na aave, laave ya na dil nu laave, naale pak mohabbat kare saayo ni...

16. Pareshaan - ishaqzaade


Great start for Shalmali Kholgade as playback singer, she has a good voice and might go long way if her choice of songs is good. I like the part 'main pareshaan, main pareshaan', with rock kinda beats used on it. Also, the harmonium part used as background, special mention to the place where there is small stop after shalmali vocals and this tune follows up. Good composition by Amit Trivedi. Zara zara fitrat badalne laga dil mera, zara zara kismat se ladhne laga dil mera...

17. Kyun - barfi 


Another of those singer's who have different voice that appeals to me. After Jiyein Kyun, he impresses yet again.. this time not a emotional song, but kind of motivational one on life. Sunidhi has small part in the song, always love to hear her in soft songs. Sun khankhanati hai zindagi, le humein bulaati hai zindagi, jo karna hai aaj kar, na isko taal baawre...

18. Keh ke lunga - gangs of wasseypur 


Love the use of words 'keh ke lunga', the way the song is written on these words.. just creates that feeling of revenge so brilliantly. The composition keeps that revenge feel alive, so does the rendition by Amit Trivedi and Sneha Khanwalkar. Jismein bachna ho bach le, jismein bachna ho bach le, bach meri jaan, teri keh ke lunga...

19. Saans - jab tak hai jaan

So much fight it was, to like this song. Eventually, I did liked it but still have problems with the line 'saans mein teri saans mili toh mujhe saans aayi', that doesn't appear Gulzar but unfortunately it is. If I ignore this part of song, I very much love the song. The starting tune that leads to vocals, and ending the song on same tune. Also, the same tune is used as background theme in some parts of the movie.. so that helped in liking the song too. Visually, Yashji filmed this song as romantic as it could had been. I specially love the 1st antara both audio and video wise. I prefer Mohit more in the song, Shreya is decent. Dil kab seedhi raah chala hai, raah mudhe toh mudh jaane do...

20. Teri yaadon - blood money


Quite a gap since Mustafa Zahid sang again (Toh phir aao fame). This was the song that appealed to me the most out of the three songs he sang in this movie. Very good lyrics too, and good drunk picturisation. Tere bina main tanha hoon, waqt se toota lamha hoon..

21. Padd gaye ji - akaashvani

Very romantic song by Hitesh Sonik, sung by Kay Kay and Sunidhi Chauhan. The rise in beats at the first mention of 'tere pyar mein', and once again softly sung by Sunidhi. My fav part though is the haya sharam, its super romantic and has that mad feeling attached to it. If you get to see film, you would know what I mean. The song portrays the fallen in love and gone mad, nothing else visible to me now' feeling very well. Interestingly, this song too I liked only after watching the film. Deewaron par bhi likh diya tera naam, hum toh ji takh rahe khule aam...

22. Bharat mata ki jai - shanghai 

Vishal Dadlani and Kirti Sagathia in this track that gives reference to people who forcefully get their work done, mainly the ones working for politicians or well known people. And yet they believe they are doing something great for India. This one unlike 'Mera bharat mahaan' (Rann) song isn't sarcastic in tone but reflects a lot about a section of people prevailing in India. I like this song mainly for this reason, plus the lyrics. Dhandha yeh agar chanda nahi, donation sahi bolo kya doge ...

23. Velle - student of the year

Loved this song from the movie, was addicted to it for many days, I am sure at dance places/clubs this song would had got played a lot too. The song has flavour of typical lifestyle of a college guy that includes drinks, girls, non-studious, masti with friends etc. And all that was covered in its picturisation too. Its a shekhar song completely for me, Vishal has mainly done the english parts. Yaar hai apne favour mein, ghoome hai phir toh tevar mein..

24. Main sharabi - cocktail 


A song on alcohol, probably among best ones but irony being I no longer drink though that doesn't stop me from humming this song every now and then. Yo Yo Honey's rendition along with Imran Aziz. Lovely beats, another song that makes you dance, and picturised on Deepika in the movie in a very sexy way. Sharaab peene ka yeh faayda niraala hai, aam sa chehra bhi jannat ki hoor hota hai..

25. Ishq shava - jab tak hai jaan 


One of those typical Rahman songs that at 1st try would song decent, but there's something that you want to listen it again and again, and eventually the song grows and becomes one of your favourites. Raghav Mathur has given male vocals, but its Shilpa Rao whose voice I loved more. Aaj ki raatein kiski hai, kal ki raat teri na meri, chaand utha chal toss kare, chehra tera aur chaal meri ..


26 TO 100 SONGS ------ 


26. Dil mera muft ka - agent vinod
27. Aabroo - gangs of wasseypur 2 
28. Kho jaane de - vicky donor 
29. Jabse mere dil ko uff - teri meri kahaani
30. Aromale - ek deewana tha 
31. Tumhi ho bandhu - cocktail 
32. Main kya karun - barfi 
33. Saiyaara - ek tha tiger
34. Second hand jawaani - cocktail
35. Imported kamariya - shanghai 
36. Pungi - agent vinod
37. Moora - gangs of wasseypur 2 
38. Bas main aur tu - akaashvani
39. Chaahat - blood money 
40. Jiya re - jab tak hai jaan 
41. Aashiyaan - barfi 
42. Mar jayian - vicky donor 
43. Rumani - akaashvani
44. Matru ki bijlee ka mandola - matru ki bijlee ka mandola
45. Jee le zara - talaash
46. Jo tere sang - blood money
47. Tujhe sochta hoon - jannat 2 
48. Ik bagal - gangs of wasseypur
49. Gustakh dil - english vinglish 
50. Darta hoon - jism2 



51. Daaru desi - cocktail 
52. Ekla cholo re - kahaani
53. Rab ka shukraana - jannat 2 
54. Oye boy charlie - matru ki bijlee ka mandola
55. Dhadang dhang - rowdy rathore 
56. Sunlo zara - ek deewana tha 
57. Mumkin nahin - rush 
58. Right now now - housefull 2 
59. Dreamum wakeupum - aiyyaa
60. Aa re pritam pyaare - rowdy rathore
61. Fevicol se - dabangg2 
62. Hunter - gangs of wasseypur 
63. Crazy lover - akaashvani 
64. Yeh kasoor - jism2 
65. Kikli kalerdi - luv shuv tey chicken khurana 
66. Mashallah - ek tha tiger
67. I will do the talking tonight - agent vinod 
68. Dil garden garden ho gaya - kyaa super kool hai hum 
69. Voh dekhne mein - london paris new york 
70. Hosanna - ek deewana tha
71. Tera mera naam - akaashvani 
72. Manhattan - english vinglish 
73. Ala barfi - barfi
74. Zindagi se - raaz3 
75. Saawali si raat - barfi 



76. Heer - jab tak hai jaan 
77. Sharminda hoon - ek deewana tha 
78. Khamakha - matru ki bijlee ka mandola
79. Rafta rafta - raaz3 
80. Electric piya - gangs of wasseypur 2 
81. Radha - student of the year 
82. Khawishein - heroine 
83. Tu mohabbat hai - tere naal love ho gaya 
84. Jhalla wallah - ishaqzaade
85. Raabta - agent vinod 
86. Aaja - london paris new york 
87. Luttna - cocktail 
88. Gunaah - blood money 
89. Dost hai - ek deewana tha 
90. Manmauji - gangs of wasseypur 
91. Dagabaaz re - dabangg 2
92. Hona hai kya - talaash
93. Fukraa - talaash
94. Kafirana - joker 
95. Tu - ajab ghazab love
96. Banjaara - ek tha tiger
97. Darmiyaan - jodi breakers
98. Sun soniye - ajab ghazab love
99. Navrai maajhi - english vinglish 
100. Go go govinda - oh my god 


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