3D Movies

There has been a lots of 3d hindi films coming this year. It started with Haunted, then Ra.One and now Don2. While Joker was officially the 1st one to be declared as 3d film, coming next year. Hollywood aneways produces plenty of 3d films, 'The adventures of Tintin' and 'Puss in Boots' being the only films I have seen till now. 'Wall-E' is the only film that I consider pending among animation films, heard a lot good about it.

I didn't see Haunted in 3d. But rest films, I have seen in 3d and what I wonder is that does 3D means a content like in a film we have drama, action etc. Or does it mean that the entire film should be shaped up in 3d. If its the latter then the films haven't been upto the mark in terms of 3d for me. There are far few scenes that actually make 3d viewing effective. And then the negative thing is you can't enjoy the visuals/cinematography of the film. The glasses reduce the effect a lot.

Either I haven't seen the films that are totally enriched of 3d or I have wrong opinion about 3d films. For now, I believe that a 3d film should not mean 15-20 mins of 3d and rest is normal stuff. Maybe, my views change with time as I am still a newbie in this 3d films viewing.


------
Yash.

The Adventures of Tintin/Puss in the Boots

I am yet to understand animation genre. Lack of proper knowledge makes it hard, especially how to judge it. When many people liked The Adventures of Tintin, I would it just about nice.. at places bit boring. But yesterday, when I saw Puss in the Boots(thanks to masand and one more review, forcing me to see it.. few occasions when reviews made me see a film) I enjoyed it a lot.

I don't know if as a animation film, it was upto the mark or not. But as a comedy adventure film, I liked it a lot. Plus, the cat character always has been one of my favs whenever I have seen cartoons too. The sequence, where he drinks milk, or dances with the female cat or the hillarious dialogues on dog and many more, made the film very enjoyable. Plus the looks of Kitty, Puss and Humpy were very good, and the dubbing suited it. Also, special mention to the young Puss scene, where he just meows for some mins without saying a word.

Even in Tintin, there were some good moments, though I liked the captain more in the film, than tintin himself. Also, 3d in both these films was nice, but not really required(more on 3d in next post).

In the past I had seen Roadside Romeo(1st animation film I saw) and Toonpur ka Superhero(not fully animated). Both were hindi films, Roadside Romeo was nice, little over the top while Toonpur ka Superhero wasnt upto the mark in its execution of the story.

Apart from how well the animation was judgement, two other problems for me in animation films are, connectivity factor is less and since I have seen less cartoons, I have very less knowledge, hence a scene's motive becomes hard to guess.

I remember a guy who was into animation course, and always use to comment the most on animation films only, while I was there on orkut. It used to surprise me, how there are people who are so fond of animation films, but then it was his career, so quite expected.

Aneways, I won't stop watching the animation films despite all this. I have plans to watch Arthur Christmas too this December. Lets see, how that one goes...

Film Review : Desi Boyz

Rohit Dhawan, son of David Dhawan with his debut film. One may expect a silly comedy film, but as his interviews suggested, he is not into same kind of comedy genre. Desi Boyz does show some glimpse of his saying, but in totality the film fails to deliver.

The story of 2 friends who in the times of recession, decide to become male escorts though influence of  Jerry (Akshay Kumar) is more here than Nick (John Abraham). We have seen female escort films in past like Rani's Laaga chunari mein daag or many other films have female escorts in substantial roles. Desi Boyz could be among those few films where we see the male escorts shown in detail.

But the escort angle is limited to just 1st half. Infact till 1st Half, the film goes pretty fine. Its the post-interval where it starts slipping away terribly. Nick trying to seek sorry from Radhika (Deepika Padukone) destroys major part of 2nd half, a predictable one. The screenplay dissappoints, so does the writing that is limited to same old seen stuff. While the climax contradicts a lot to the early mentioned story.. making a mockery of the film itself.

Also, a mention to the silly court scene.. does a comedy film you can make fun of court rules this way. Remember, the play scene on stage in 'Jaane bhi do yaaro', how well it was executed.. its all about the execution and thinking. Even the kid relation with Akshay, couldn't bring that emotional feeling it should had except for a odd scene or two.

Chitrangda is limited to small role, wonder why she even agreed to do the film. Also, poor costumes given to her in the film. Even in the allah maaf kare song, at places she appeared misfit. But, a proper commercial film would reveal better about her acting abilities in such films.

John Abraham has improved his comedy skills, yet he is far away to be admired in this genre.. inconsistent as always. Though girls loved to see him in police uniform scene, lots of whistles.  Akshay Kumar at places showed repititivity signs, but on the whole.. he was efficient and very much likeable in the film. The chemistry between Akshay and John is very good, they could make a good pair in action films in my view than the comedy.

Deepika Padukone could had skipped doing this film. But then she wanted to do a commerical film, although she has very less scenes to shine out. Anupam Kher is brilliant even in a small role, special mention to the court scene where he and Deepika share a great scene 'kuch miss toh nahi hua ? Nahi, popcorn aur pepsi nahi laayi ? ' ..

Sanjay Dutt in a over the top role was decent, the khal nayak background theme on him was a very good idea. Omi Vaidya career won't last long, with the irritating similar tone acting in all films.

There are scenes where both male leads, communicate without speaking directly.. those were very well directed by Rohit. Also, the sequence where Nick and Jerry meet the Desi Boyz owner, i.e Sanjay Dutt. And the pre title song scene...

The songs are well used in accordance with the screenplay chosen. Pritam gave very good music, not kind to remember in long run but worth a listen especially title track and tu mera hero.


Overall, Desi Boyz despite poor 2nd half and bad screenplay.. has its share of good comic moments. Decent enough one time watch.


Verdict : Average

Rockstar : Movie Analysis

Rockstar, is journey of Jordan(Ranbir Kapoor) from Pitampura, Delhi who dreams to make it big and become a Rockstar. How his songs reflects his journey, his love, his dreams, the people he meets forms the plot of the film.

Imtiaz Ali has a different way of handling post-marriage life, just like he did in Love Aaj Kal. He has a different take on love, which for him isnt bound or restricted by marriage. He continues that theory in Rockstar too, and this time he goes little further into it as he exploits the moments of lovers when they are most vulnerable, when they commit mistakes.. One of main reasons, why the film doesn't find any connect to lots of people..even if its real.

With Rockstar, Imtiaz has kept the story structure complex by making it non-linear and using lots of montages as well as flashbacks. Editing is simply terrific, how well different get ups of Jordan are combined together and also choosing the perfect angle that enhances every scene. Special reference to Prelude of Aur ho, fast cuts of Jordan-Heer are inserted there.

Camera-work is superb, for instance, the shot succeeding 'yeh chand sa roshan chehra' scene.. where camera zooms in towards Heer and Jordan with Kateya background, and then while panning left, zooms out. It establishes, one of their normal conversations when no one is around. And then, the tilt down and zooming out during Saadda Haq. Also, the video shots taken, like the starting of film(one may say it was just a edited shot, and not a video), Mandy shooting Heer-Jordan dance on Shammi's hit song, and the fans shooting video of Jordan on road.

Cinematography is very good, the locales of Prague, Kashmir are well captured.. Plus, I love the way they zoom out the entire space area where the Naadaan Parindey concert would happen. The dialogues give a real life feel as is the case with Imtiaz films, 'control nahi kar paata main', 'Mujhe hug kar sakte ho', 'appointment leni hogi daatne ki', 'chal gandh machaate hai'. Also, special mention to the costumes, both Jordan and Heer look wonderful in different get ups as they travel from Delhi to Kashmir to Prague.

Now, the three main aspects through which one can view Jordan, his hairstyle/costumes, how he plays guitar, and his music. He begins with a innocent short hairs look, wearing sweater, shirt, jeans.. more of a wanna-be rockstar. No wonder, we just see him auditioning, not sing any of his songs. Its only from dargah onwards when he doesn't care what people feel and starts wearing kurta's. Later, he wears police uniform in Saadda Haq as a rebel. And the military kinda of uniform in Naadaan Parindey. And he always wears a chain holding his first broken guitar string and he keeps adding stuffs to that chain as he travels around the world to keep memories.

Every-time he is away from Heer, the best music comes out from him. Maybe, that is one of the reasons why all the songs are kept at a time when he is away from her, be it Phir se udh chala, Kun faaya kun(which is more of god seeking song for Jordan), Aur Ho(showing his restlessness, his feelings towards Heer), Saadda Haq(an angst song against everyone who couldn't understand him or his moves, be it police or media.. plus Free Tibet that is blurred due to censor), Tum Ho Rock (the agony, the pain he has inside him further comes out in this instrumental) and Naadaan Parindey(the bird who is not willing to return now). In most of these songs, we see him in long hairs and beard look, especially the final three.

His maximum use of guitar comes in the Naadaan parindey song, while its in Aur Ho, when you see that rock feel coming into his song, with the kind of way he plays guitar in closing moments of the song. Saadda Haq takes it to the next level, plus in this song, you notice the kind of attitude(phaad dene wala as described in beginning of film) he has while holding guitar. He has now become, the Rockstar, he always wanted to be.

Hawa Hawa and Kateya Karoon are used as songs to bring Heer and Jordan more close to each other, they are most happy together during these times, enjoying and having fun. Also, they are the songs where we see the 'not so neat n clean' side of Heer.

Jo bhi Main is the theme of Jordan, that he carries with him since childhood probably upto the end of the film. He is able to express with his music most of the times, not with his words.

Performances wise,

Ranbir Kapoor at very few places appears like acting(just 2-3 shots), otherwise its always Jordan you see in the film. He sings like a musician, he holds guitar like a rockstar, he even makes best use of stage(unlike ajay in london dreams if u remember). He appears to be completely lost into his character, and as a result bringing his best performance till date. He even changes dialect very well in different parts of film, from punjabi to haryanavi to normal hindi.

Nargis Fakhri was very good in some particular sequences, but at many places she went over the top. The dubbed voice also worked against her for me. Still as a debut, she made a fair start and looked really good in looks especially the wedding costume. Some scenes do belong to her despite a inconsistent performance.

Kumud Mishra was hamming in early parts of film with the overdose of head movements, in the rest film he was pretty good in a supporting role. He also reminds of Satish Kaushik in appearance as well as voice.

Aditi Rao Hydari played the role of a journalist come Jordan's well wisher/fan(secret love if it was) very well.

Shammi Kapoor had a great entry scene, and one of most notable dialogue of the film that defines Jordan perfectly. And the dictohamy of fame theme, where he and Ranbir shared a scintillating chemistry.

Shernaz Patel continues to impress me with her acting, she is most likely to feature in many many films in future. She plays a loving and optimistic mom very well.

Piyush Mishra is good in supporting role, especially the brilliant massage scene.


Spoilers - Detailed Views (Read the next part only if you have seen the film)

• The opening sequence, slowly background music builds, beats get louder, Jordan walking in complete angst, side angle shot, front shot, back shot, he enters the concert stadium.. loud cheer by audience, Jordan corrects his mouth after being hit by locals. The routine water spray on his face, cools himself down. And turns around, goes near the mike in complete angst, and cut to 4 yrs back, his college life.


• The use of 'Jo bhi main' song in entire film. Jordan sings it in audition, canteen, friends, indirectly to Heer, directly to Heer(if she watches jordan the rockstar in Himachal 1 city tour, he must have sung it there too), with Hawa Hawa folk people, with the prostitutes, with the small girl(I think bittu was her name), in the Naadaan parindey hairstyle sitting on terrace, during jagrata place where he sang jaiambe too, at the dargah and the 7 city tour during 'Negative' phase. 

• How much Jordan appears not made to be a 'Rockstar' due to his mannerisms until he meets Heer. Along with his act, thanks to the costumes, and hair stylist. Just as Khatana says 'ek personality hoti hai, teri zindagi nahi hai na waisi .. '. 


• The comic timing when Jordan says 'hainnnnn' coming to know Heer is the girl who will let him become rockstar by breaking his heart. And then the pagalpan eg of a girl 'oh my god aaj toh kitna crazy kar liya maine'.  Also, other small comic scenes in the screenplay like 'sochna pade toh ghanta pyar hua hai', 'appointment de de, kab daant khana pasand karega tu' or 'lagta hai tujhe ab tak pyar nahi hua, this is different', 'kutto ke saamne naachegi, basanti'. 


• The 'broken heart' act by Jordan, starting from shot with Heer 'tu dil todh rahi hai mera', 'Okayy :|' and he enters canteen, regains the broken heart expressions and moves in. 'Kya bataayu kaisa laga, jab usne kaha burger off.. iska toh matlab bhi nahi maloom mujhe'. And when Khatana scolds him for this childish thing, the rock background theme at his angst 'toh kya karu, kya karu jisse' , and eats up the left samosa. 


• Heer reactions to Jordan knowing he considers her 'neat and clean', she looks down for a moment, then looks at Jordan, and tells him about amar talkies theatre, revealing her unknown side.


• The kashmir boat scene, tribute to shammi kapoor 'yeh chand sa roshan chehra'. How Ranbir keeps it natural, without going over the top in a song that could had resulted in that way. Plus, Nargis looking awesome in that dress, and those shy poses she makes through hands and maala thrown by Ranbir. 

• Heer realizing she is in love with Jordan, and asks him if he can hug her once tightly. Jordan totally unaware why she suddenly asks for this. Later at wedding scene, she warns Jordan 'poochna mat kuch, main sach bol dungi', Jordan still not aware what she is upto and says 'haan toh darta kaun hai, bol de' and she says 'haan' , Jordan clueless 'huh', Heer looks for few moments at him but then gives up and changes the conversation. And again in the same scene, the final dialogue 'chal tu aa jaana prague, milke gandh machayenge.. yeh plan theek hai, ya abhi bhaag chale? '. 


• The shot of Jordan looking at the place where he and Heer once had daaru together, and the background lyrics 'kheenche teri yaadein mujhe teri ore ... ' . 


• The three goosebumps scenes in single song 'kun faaya kun'. 1st when Jordan's eyes close up shot is taken as Khatana asks him, 'kiya kya dargah pe 2 mahine'. The background begins 'ya nizamuddin ... '. 2nd when Jordan gets totally involved with the people at dargah, plays the tunes of songs on guitar and now for 1st time joins them in singing at the main place in dargah 'sajda savera mera tann barse'. The 3rd time when Shammi Kapoor makes a entry right after Jordan's lines 'kar de mujhe, mujhse hi rihaaa ... '. 


• Jordan trying to follow what the composers asking from him in 'Sheher' song, but he has his own conventional style of singing, and isn't ready to bend. 


• The way edit is done of Jordan's laugh diminishing when he hears the mention of 'Prague' by journalist Sheena. 


• The expressions on Jordan's face when he is trying hard to avoid laughing at Dhingra during 'massage scene'. 


• Jordan commanding his right over Heer on two occasions, one when he reaches Prague and despite Heer asking to meet next day, he just says 'Chal aaja', and other one is after Aur Ho song, when he wants Heer to say bye properly and shouts 'Idhar aa'. 

• Jordan walks across a path on a street, trying to find where the music is coming from, and then carefully notices the person, by playing the tune through his hands before moving into guitar in next shot.


• The fun dance steps kept during 'Haawaa Haawaa', along with those getting close moments during strip, red light streets and dirty pubs. That 'yeh toh chalenge, nach lenge, yahan wahan.. yahan kahan kahan kahan .. chiki chiki ta ra .. o ho ' when they madly dance in the dirty pubs, one of my personal fav moments of film. Also, the song how well signifies Nargis, who like the queen in the song is letter herself free of rules and society. 


• The intermixing of two songs done at few places, like Haawa Haawa leads to Tum Ko without ending the former, similarly Tum Ho instrumental leading to Phir se udh chala instrumental. And Naadaan Parindey(though there is a small gap this time) leading to Tum Ko. And in the climax too, we see Tum Ko mixed with Tum Ho later. 


• The getting close moments of Heer towards Jordan. Jordan can't get away from her now, and Heer has her marriage and society on her mind, even though her heart was in love with Jordan before her marriage. And hence, the dilemna you see in her actions, during kiss or hug scene. 


• The helplessness/restlessness of Jordan, as he tries to sleep but can't. He goes out in verandah, and plays the prelude of  'Aur Ho' on guitar. 


• The entire Aur ho track, which begins with the magic touch as Jordan makes Heer hug him. The slow trolley back shot onto Jordan at mike 'meri bebasi ka byaan hai'. How well he emotes through his eyes during 'iss lamhe kya kar dun main, jo mujhe chain mile aaraam mile'. Also, the way he sings the entire song enriches the visuals. Also, special mention to the shot where Jordan runs towards Heer 'main hasrat mein ik uljhi dor hua, suljha de'. It may not be my fav song, but in the film its one of my topmost loved song.


• The 'background music' when Heer tells Jordan its all over between them, the hurt feeling he gets when his love is given wrong name by Heer(which was ofcourse done deliberately by her, not real). It does help, as the violence and anger builds inside him. Staying 2 yrs away from Heer, songs like Sadda Haq, Jo bhi main(rock version if you can call it), Tum Ho(guitar instrumental) plus the epic Dum maaro dum track(duniya ne hamara kiya kya, hum duniya ki parwah kare kyu) come out from Jordan. 


• Jordan's equation with Media and Police always remains bad. The only time we se Jordan talk with a journalist properly is when Sheena comes to interview him at his place, which eventually he doesn't the moment she tells about Prague. So, indirectly he insults the media there too. After end of Aur ho song, he says to media 'One minute, excuse' and later returns with the heer conversation anger put on the media 'door raho mujhse', punching onto camera of a journalist. 
He beats police when he sees Heer has fallen down, he beats media person before start of Saadda Haq who pushed him down, later he beats media ppl when they try to take snaps of Heer in Himachal with Jordan. And the final reaction comes when heartbroken from the fact that he is responsible for Heer to be in coma, he forgets he is walking openly into media place, and the result he smashes a journalist. And when a police person slaps him for his reaction, Jordan reverts back with aggression onto the officer too. The middle finger dialogue he says in beginning of film about Jim Morrison on stage, is combined with Jordan showing the middle finger to the media gathered outside the hearing of his case in court. 


• Jordan's equation with his fans is also poor. He never cares for them, their madness and love towards him goes un-noticed for him. He is even rude to some of them, for instance the fan who tries to ask for a pic, and he refuses or during dictohomy of fame, walking through a place surrounded by fans all around, girls falling over, he does notice it but without any joy feeling. The reasons are simple - 'he is lost into Heer to notice anything else apart from his musical concerts'. 


• Aditi Rao standing at a press conference during Saadda Haq song, looking at Jordan in a admirable pose when his reputation is decreasing due to his bad behavior. 


• The moment in Saadda Haq song when Jordan shouts out loudly, a sign of the inbuilt anger leashed out through a mad scream. He repeates it in final moments of song too. Also, during Naadaan Parindey song, he does this, though one could relate that as more of a cry as the shout this time is emotional. 


• The conversation of 'Main unn parindo ko dhoondh raha hoon, dekha hai unhe' which leads to the best portion of Saadda Haq almost for everyone 'O Ecofriendly Nature ke rakshak, main bhi hoon nature'. Its clear, Jordan considers himself as a Parinda too, which is the reason he queries if anyone knows where the other parindey are, so that he could meet them. Phir se udh chala, Shammi's reference as jaanwar and then the final conert of Naadaan parindey, Jordan is always considered as a Parinda(bird) throughout his journey. 


• Jordan telling Khatana that he has the fame but he doesn't get any happy feeling about it which leads to the 'Dictohomy of fame' theme, so brilliantly used, it was my fav in album too. We see Ustad Jamil Khan and Jordan together. Ustad plays shehnai and Jordan puts the tunes onto his guitar. At places we see Jordan with angry expression, at places we see him normal with a trying to learn as a student pose and at places we see Ustad acknowledging how well he is playing guitar. And in between we have that passing through fans scene of Jordan, and the old friends meet who are all just interested to get a photo with well known Rockstar, and not the guy who was their friend during college. A proof that he never had real friends, only Heer was his friend and love both. 


• Jordan tearing away the contract of Dhingra, as he no longer can be made to work as per Dhingra's demands. He jumps near the table, and starts the mantra 'Om maa ki aankhun swaha, Om everything is image, image is everything swaha, Om raid pit gayi swaha.. Om chal ukhar le swaha'. Dhingra picks call and shouts loudly at Jordan ' aeeeeeee' and Jordan shouts back even loudly 'Aeeeeeeeeeeeeee'. And cut to end of some stage performance by Jordan. Awesome!


• How well Imtiaz handles the optimism of Heer's mom which could had worked against, had he made her optimism true.. aneways he didn't opt for it rightly. 

• The kun faaya kun background theme running to bring the divine reference that is connecting Heer and Jordan again despite 2 yrs gap. Also, when Jordan walks in and Heer comes down stairs with Tum ho background piece. The whole scene very much reminded me of Love Aaj Kal climax, pretty same in terms of emotions.


• Heer hugging the sweater of Jordan, crying, remembering him and those romantic moments with Kateya Karoon in background, small flashbacks of their old memories. She later wears the same sweater of Jordan at the dining table, before we see her going into coma in next shot.


• The polite talk to police for a change by Jordan, and then turning to Khatana saying 'mera dil nahi tootna chahiye.. mujhe bada nahi banna.. mere paas aur kuch nahi hai'. The same person to whom he once happily admitted Heer broke his heart during beginning of film. This time its real! 

• The Naadaan parindey song, Jordan in total beard look, drunk, coming out of car and later in bathtub looking at a guitar on fire(artistically ofcourse). And then, the kaaga re lines where a shot of Heer in hospital is brought in. A echo of ghar aaja comes when Jordan suddenly turns his head back, because he has entered into Jordan-Heer world for few moments away from the real world. 'Tum ko paa hi liya maine yun, jaise main hoon ehsaas tera', Jordan could feel her even when she is not there ... 


• The final conversation of Jordan and Heer(which happened earlier but we see at climax) was another of very emotional moment of film. A new world Jordan has set for his love, and then when he comes out of it .. there is ' oo  oo .. tum ho.. ' alaap as Jordan's face close up shot shows his expression of 'I can never talk or meet her now in the real world, he has lost her forever.' 


• The final credits 'Tum ko' showing the montage of all clips where Heer had good fun moments with Jordan, which is then mixed into 'Tum ho' where for first time in the entire film we are shown the shots where Jordan had sung for Heer, only for her. It just enhances the romance in this already very romantic song(ofcourse making it more emotional with the ending we know now). 


• Ending with the final quote of Rumi 'Away from every wrong and right doing, there is a field, I will meet you there', the one with which film eventually began as Jordan spoke the lines in hindi. It maybe considered real place as we are shown in interval, they are in that field, or it maybe taken as imaginary as in the end Jordan can no longer meet her in real life, Heer remains in Coma(unless she dies which ain't shown). Plus, I love that shot which comes after this written quote, the mehndi hug one, complete camera revolve. Very Romantic!




Overall, Rockstar works a lot for me for Ranbir-Imtiaz-Rahman trio combo. Can't seperate anyone, these 3 together constituted into making this film so memorable. Its a film that says a lot about love, how love can transform you into good or bad, and those uncomfortable moments you go through in a love relationship. Imtiaz's outdoes Jab we Met with this film, its deeply layered and the more you see, the more you would get in love with it. 




Verdict : Memorable 

Happy Birthday Shahrukh Khan

He did few T.V serials like 'Fauji', 'Circus', 'Idiot' etc, and I haven't seen any of them, not a single episode.

He has done 56 films till now(not counting the special appearances). And there are few big films that I haven't seen yet like Swades, Chalte Chalte, Ashoka, Devdas and Yes Boss.

Just like Salman keeps doing stupid films, Shahrukh has done many such films too. For me there are 20 excellent films in his entire filmography. 

Shahrukh's Best Performances (along with my fav moments) :

Sunil (Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa) - Scene
'The scene where Sunil is very sad because he realizes he can't have Anna now. Beautiful background music.".

Ajay Sharma (Baazigar) - Scene
"Madan Chopra laughing, feels he has won over Ajay, and suddenly Ajay starts laughing. Whenever I think of the best evil/non-evil laughing scenes, this always comes to my mind."

Rahul Mehra (Darr) - Scene
"Tum kisi aur ki nahi ho sakti,kabhi nahi ho sakti.. Naaaahhhhhh! How well he improvises in this scene, making it extremely dramatic."

Raj Malhotra (Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge) - Scene
"He doesn't know how to pray, but he prays because he founds it cute to see a lovely girl believe so much in prayers, as he ends up praying for her wishes. Very Sweet!"

Rahul (Dil Toh Pagal Hai) - Scene
"She is not happy because her best friend Rahul loves other girl, not her. She doesn't like the fact that she isn't happy in her friend's happiness. She feels she is bad girl. Rahul consoles by telling, its the  God who is bad. Amazing emotions put in by both the actors in this scene, note the repitition of 'tum sorry mat bolo rahul, main ro padhungi'. "

Arjun Saagar (Pardes) - Scene
"One of my personal fav scenes ever! For the 1st time in the film, Arjun speaks against a person he valued the most, to a extent he gave up his love on Ganga. 'Sach, sach toh aap sunna hi nahi chahte hai sir'."

Amarkanth Verma (Dil Se) - Scene
"Its one of few romantic sequences between Amar and Meghna. 'Mujhe sabse jyada pasand tumhari yeh aankhein hai, kyunki inmein main jitna bhi dekhna chaahun, mujhe kuch dikhta hi nahi hai'. And the silence followed after this dialogue, with a background piece."

Rahul Khanna (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) - Scene
"Among the top romantic scenes ever! A imaginary dance with music, great thought. Shahrukh in black shirt, Kajol in red saree, hotness doubles and its shot very romantically too."

Raj Aryan Malhotra (Mohabbatein) - Scene
"Raj tells his 3 best students, not to ever loose hope from love through his own love life experience. 'Mohabbat bhi zindagi ki tarah hoti hai, har mod aasan nahi hota, har mod pe khushi nahi hoti, par jab hum zindagi ka saath nahi chorte, phir mohabbat ka saath kyun chore.' A good dialogue can be spoilt, if not enacted properly.. but not the case here, Shahrukh enriches the dialogue further."

Rahul Raichand (Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham) - Scene
"Its actually 2nd best moment, but other one is dominated by Kajol. Shahrukh adds that extra romance into the scene through his act 'chubha toh nahi'."

Aman Mathur (Kal ho na Ho) - Scene
"He has the 'happy-go' nature in the film. And keeps giving some important advices in between like this  'Ishwar ki prathna karne ka kya fyada, jab uski di huyi zindagi ki kadar karna na jaano.' Fun ka fun, and message ka message."

Veer Pratap Singh (Veer Zaara) - Scene
"Two people deeply in love, meet here to tell each other, that we have to live seperately, bound to our parents wishes. You may not get such kind of lovers in real life, or maybe somewhere they exist. One of best seperation scenes, the 'main yahan hoon' alaap makes it more emotional, with Sonu's do pal rendition. Very romantic way to end your love!"

Dev Saran (Kabhie Alvida na Kehna) - Scene
"Mohabbat ke zamaane guzar gaye janaab, ab choti mote pyar se hi kaam chala lijiye aap. Its one of few sequences of film, where Dev is in good mood, not the angry, rude or chirchirapan nature. I adore this film, and this sequence develops the topic of 'Love after marriage, right or wrong' very well."

Kabir Khan (Chak de India) - Scene
"I don't know if I am the only one to say that this was my fav scene from the film. Absolute anger, rudeness at its high.. because the players needed it to be hurt from inside.  Coach Kabir Khan doesn't spare anyone in this scene, and the dialogue 'Har team mein sirf ek hi gunda ho sakta hai.. aur iss team ka gunda main hoon'.Also special reference to the camera-work and editing in this sequence."


Favourite Quotes -------


'To me, Devdas is the end of love stories. I've portrayed an obsessed lover, a nice lover, an angry lover, a romantic lover. And now I've played Devdas. For someone who doesn't even like love stories, I've played an awful lot of lovers. Personally speaking, I wouldn't see any of the romantic films I've acted in.'
This quote he said during Devdas probably, and here he very rightly covers the point of Versatality. The shahrukh bashers have always said Shahrukh does same kind of roles, but that's not true. The romantic roles differ with each other, one is obsessed like Darr, one is mad like Dil Se, one is nice like Rab ne bana di jodi or Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, one is angry like Kabhi Alvida na Kehna, one is romantic like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai or Dil Toh Pagal Hai. But, as a dialogue of Shahrukh in Pardes says 'Woh sochta hai, jo usne socha.. wahi sach hai', people who don't like shahrukh won't ever accept this point of  versatility.

'I haven't given up smoking. I'm very clear about it, it's a personal choice. I want to cut down on it. It shouldn't be made into an issue to say, damn good or damn bad. Whether I give it up or not shouldn't be an issue.'
Quite right, shouldn't be made a issue as I have seen people make on his smoking. But, yea I do feel, it affects his face, due to which he appears bit aged in comparison to Aamir and Salman.


'You must respect your seniors, but never get intimidated by them. Winning should be a habit, not an option. The four Hs are important when you play to win --- honesty, humor, hard work and a bit of haraamipan.'

He knows how to say out the stuff with a great sense of humour.  

'Togetherness, passion, laughter, faith, trust and jealousy are the essential ingredients of love.'

Absolutely, no wonder.. He and Gauri share a very good married relationship, a inspiration to the youth of today. 

'Directors who treat me with gentleness, I like to work with them. Its a wrong rumour people have that I work with only selected people. I don't listen to story, just be good with me and treat me like a child. I like being loved.'

Its a completely different theory he has, unlike many other well known actors who give importance to 'Script', if not good, they won't do it. But Shahrukh most of the times like the environment, the director to be good and friendly. Though, it backfires too, maybe some of his bad films were a result of this theory. Quite possible! 

'If film does very good on Friday, will feel happy. If not, then hope it does well on Saturday. But I dont calculate these collections. I never ask what the collections are, I only ask people liking the movie ? I have come to this realisation, that I was born so that I can make films.'

Best answer to the bashers who believe in comparing collections of films. May they grow up some day, if at all they do.

Happy Birthday Shahrukh Khan. My love towards your work hasn't changed ever since Kuch Kuch Hota Hai days. To add to it, you are one of those few celebs whom I find interesting as a person too, thanks to your way of talking and the awesome sense of humour, which I don't think any other celeb has. I can never be like your die-hard fans are nor I intend to be ever, so  there will be times when I wont like your work, be it Don or Om Shanti Om or to some extent Ra.One.

Looking forward to see Don2, and the much awaited Yash Chopra film next year. Fully trusted directors, hence expecting two treatworthy films for me. Keep rocking with your good performances, thats all that matters to me. 

'Sitaaron se aage jahaan aur bhi the, abhi ishq ke imtihaan aur bhi the.' Dil Se

The journey is long, keep going as long as your work is good, the journey would be enjoyable.

-------

Yash.

Films - Ever learnt anything from it ?

We connect to the films, a lot. Most of us do. But, how many times have we tried to do something because you liked it in the film, how many times after watching a film you say 'Yes, I should do like that guy/girl did in movie from today onwards in my life' or 'Hey, I should talk to him/her' or 'I should respect him/her' or 'I should give him/her proper space' etc etc etc.

Films are just like friends, they inspires us, they guide us to some aspects which sometimes we forget or ignore about ourselves. Yup, I take them that much seriously, they help me seek answers to my problems. Sometimes they help, sometimes they dont. But, no hard feelings.

Like in 'No one killed Jessica' , the girl watches a film 'Rang de Basanti' in theatre, and comes out, does sms to her friends, for a same candle march. Fine, I agree it was a dramatic scene in the film. But, if it was your life situation, you would had done it too, maybe not that fast.

Ofcourse getting inspired from evil films or stunts like dhoom, is silly and wrong. And many times, films do give a wrong message to the youth and we all know how quick the youth responds to a bad message that has a kind of style in it.

Also, films are a reflection of your current mental state. At a particular phase of your life, a film would make a certain impact on your life, and at another phase, it would make no impact.

I have had few personal experiences, that I can recall. One was Rab ne bana di jodi, it reminded me some important things about love, that I was ignoring or not able to look in my life. It almost worked for me. From Luck by Chance, I told myself, that I would never take success by cheating people who are close to me. While Love Breakups Zindagi too told few things about love to me, I did apply them to some extent to me, not fully though. But all these films keep you thinking. Dev.D is another film, that I always keep thinking about, can't write the reasons for it. Wake up Sid helped me lessen my arrogant nature especially towards parents.You know, when you see the negative side of yours in a film, you feel what you need to improve on.

I won't deny that I haven not taken bad inspirations from films too, everyone does(or atleast many do). Everytime I see a romantic emotional story, I get totally involved in them. The reason why Rockstar holds important film for me this 11th Nov. Because its not, the status of the characters in the films that matters to me, 90% of the times I look at their love, in what way they love, what they do for their love and upto what madness they go to achieve or remain in their love.

People who see films only for timepass or their fav celebs, may not really agree or connect with this blogpost of mine. I hope rest must have got some film names in their mind, write them down if you wanna share.. ;)

------
Yash.

Film Review : Ra One

It was a ambitious film for Shahrukh Khan. He told in a interview, that he wants Indian people to have that kind of love for G.One character which Spiderman has in Hollywood. Only wish, he had more sittings with the writer and a different director to direct the key scenes of the film. Even the last super-hero film Krrish suffered with a poor 1st half, yet that film had more emotional quotient I felt, than in Ra.One.

The story is about a video game Shekhar(Shahrukh Khan) invents for his son Prateek (Armaan Verma), who wanted a game where Villian is more powerful. Shekhar doesn't know, that the villian in game i.e Ra.One is actually about to come out of the game, proving a lot of trouble for everyone. Only way out, is a super hero, G.One who maybe less powerful but knows the tricks to battle Ra.One.

The concept or the screenplay to be precise, reminded me lot of Robot at first and the climax totally referred to 'Toonpur ka Superhero'. The narration is so inconsitent in terms of pace. The 2nd half especially goes into a total slow motion. And I thought in a super-hero film, the action should fasten in later half.. Wierd!

Even though Shahrukh mentions in a interview, that he has allowed film to be slow at parts where he could had been strict only to let every person enjoy film.. still I feel the editing was bad, take for instance the scene where Shekhar is drunk and comes to know some problem in the video game, how long that whole scene is, which wasnt needed, same is the case with the G.One's train sequence.

You have the film named on a villian, and how much scope do you actually give him in the film. Agreed, if you want to contradict me by saying, it was about the fear of villian in the entire film as to what he can do, and not instead showing more what he can do. But, in that case.. you needed to make the G.One-Sonia(Kareena Kapoor) part emotional and enjoyable. Or further develop Shekher-Sonia relationship, or some extra masala. At places, you wonder if G.One has come from game in real sense or is another human, so inconsistent.

Even in the few of Ra.One vs G.One action sequences, you are left to desire for so much more, because there is that 'Wow' moment missing in all of them. The unwanted humour in the final battle doesn't help either. Why do our films indulge in comedy so much, dont you realize the situation demands seriousness?

Even though the writing of the film isnt good, yet Anubhav Sinha doesn't miss out to show his incapabilities as a director. And such a terrible way to introduce Shahrukh, could he not work on a better dream sequence of Prateek.

The VFX effects are very good, since it was my 1st 3d film. I enjoyed them a lot more, specially the pieces joining to form a person. Also, the sets made for the whole game lab place, was very nice work, all those wires.. must had been tedious work.

Criminal to me was the best picturised song in the film, because there was the parallel threat of Ra.One about to come. Bhare naina probably brought the best out of the emotional content in the entire film. Chammak Challo's situation wasnt impressive, again more to blame on writing. Though, it was fun to watch that song on screen. I liked Shahrukh's steps more in Criminal than Chammak Challo.

Raftaarein would had made more impact only if the train sequence was well edited. While the I am on theme was used a bit too much. Also, what was it with some scenes going into a old hindi track background, really important to extra dramatize a scene ?

The best moments of the film ----
• Ra.One asking 4 kids near a ground on occasion of Dussehra burning the putla. And his dialogue 'Tum har saal ra one ko isliye jalate ho, kyunki tum jaante ho.. woh kabhi nahi marta'
• Shekhar explaining he ain't coward to his son Prateek. Well shot!
• The parallel cutting of the party and the ra.one game during criminal song.
• The train collapsing out of the building. Brilliantly done ..


Performance wise,

Shahrukh Khan is very good in South character, which I felt he won't be. But he excels in it, the comic timing works in this getup. As, G.One he is good in parts.

Kareena Kapoor, looks very good throughout the film especially Criminal and Chamak Challo songs. Acting wise, she was fine.

Arjun Rampal is superb in what can be called a very small cameo. His dialogue deliver, and different look works.

Armaan Verma is good, though his hairstyle irritated me. Good start as a kid in the filmi career.

Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra are total waste in a silly sequence of the film. While Rajnikanth's much talked about scene too had nothing to do with Ra.One, completely forced and unwanted.

Shahana Goswami dissappears totally from the 2nd half, she was fine though. Tom Wu is okay, good choice though for the character. Satish Shah, Dalip Tahil and Suresh Menon was okay in their supporting cameos.


Overall, Ra.One had a great concept, good actors, good songs but it didn't have good Writing and Direction. Hence, it ends up as a Average product.. Shahrukh lovers can still enjoy the film, as his screen presence makes up for lots of the flaws, but for rest, the film won't be much pleasing at all.


Verdict : AVERAGE