Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi..

Indian movies run on star power. This is no exception. SRK power guides the movie right from word GO to ENOUGH!

Watchable for all the fans of SRK (me included), but bearable for others. Not worth spending 180 bucks in PVR/Inox. Better spend that watching Gajini.

Songs are a drab. Both Haule Haule and Dance Pe Chance were so badly picturized that I had a hard time believing human were involved in their choreography.

Cannot summarize better than this-
"Destiny plays a cruel joke on an extremely enthusiastic young girl Taani (Anushka) as she loses her fiancé and his family in a road accident on the eve of her marriage. Her father, a retired professor, on his death bed requests her to marry his old favorite student, Surinder Shahani (SRK). Taani obeys his last wish and thus begins the start of this extraordinary love story between an otherwise ordinary jodi".

Mix this with dance, music, hip hop gyrations and 'love wins over lust' idea.. and you have a Bollywood hit in the making.

Shah Rukh Khan (as has become his vogue) is simply superb throughout the movie; first as the shy Suri and then the flamboyant, full of energy, Raj. Anushka does well through the film and hard to believe its her first film. She will be more than just another pretty face in Bollywood in time to come.

All in all a movie showing reportaire of SRK skills from the Chopra stable. Most memorable line in the film- 'KUCH RISHTE HUM KHUD CHUNTE HAIN KUCHH RABJI HAMARE LIYE CHUNTE HAIN'

So.. lemme sign off with Phir milenge.. chalte chalte...!

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Taare Zameen Par

As I walked out of the theater, I could see grown men with moist eyes. There were no comments like- 'Aamir Khan stole the show' or 'The title song was good' or for that matter I did not hear any comments at all..

In a strange way there was a general acceptance that - a raw nerve was touched here. The movie demanded a minute's silence to digest the message it tried to convey.

It's a fast paced world.. men are breaking all sorts of records left, right and center. Man running 100m below 9.5s looks a real possibility, 20-20 cricket seems to be catching the craze waves, computers a commonplace now to accomplish our tasks at that lightening speed, 24hrs a day sometimes seem a little less for the work we try to accomplish in a day...

Speed, in short.. has become the name of game. Where is the place for those who do not fit into this world? What happens to the chap who finishes last in the class, where will a non-Engineer/Doctor/MBA be in today's world? Does one have hope if he does not perform academically? Does academic failure in short mean failure in life? Does everyone needs to run in the same track, is it necessary to always take the beaten path? Can one live life on the parallel paths along the mainstream...?

These are some of the questions that the film tries to pose.

In the midst of it all, one message come out strongly- 'It is OK to be different'. World not only requires the fast paced professionals who have become one-too-many, but also those who can bring in fresh ideas, remind us that it is still a beautiful world to live. We also require artists, poets, paintists, actors, musicians...

The story is reminiscent of Dickens caricaturization of Tom Sawer or David Copperfield. The difference seems to be more mental than the physical variety depicted in these classics of Victorian age.

All in all... without getting philosophical, let me just say- this movie is simply too good. This is just the right kind of wake up call for all of us.

As W H Davies has commented in the poem 'Leisure'-
"WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?"

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Chak de India!!

Back after a long hibernation. Writing again fighting all inertia, because after watching this awesome film....somehow the patiotic jingoism has caught up with me too!


One of the better made films of our times, gives a patriotic fervour to anyone watching it- especially if you happen to see the film in a run down theater... in first row... with ppl whistling at every dialogue... well, actually quite a experience to me after the pvr's and inox'es of Bangalore!

Aficionados would vouch for Shah Rukh's performance. He carries off the role of a hockey coach aplomb bringing reminiscences of Swades. Most others are nameless actors carrying off the roles of nameless hockey players... a pity goes out for sports in India (I do not call cricket a sport in India any longer- It is more akin to religion).

Making a mockery of cricket (particularly a poor punjab lad who happens to be one of our better cricketers- Yuvraj), a jig at Jharkhand, Andhra, North East... somehow the film manages to carry off that message it intends to ingrain in us: we are a nation of over-emotional people.

Be it cricket, caste system, religious animosity, blazen-headed babudom; we are emotional about everything... we fight one another with passion- bomb blasts, territorial fights, naxalism, what not... love with such a passion tht you can't let go- every newspaper has a acid attack/rape case in the first page, dry hoarse about security issues- be it nuclear agreement, indo-pak, indo-china border issue... ad infinitum...

There is also a subtle message which comes out beautifully in the film- We are a bunch of individuals, never a team. We can excel individually, never brilliant on team spirit. Finally- most of us have EGOs which can dwarf a hockey field.

Well gentlemen, if you have not seen the film yet- go see it now. Chak de India!

Here are some interesting reviews on this film-
Wiki
Imdb
IE


PS- Well, I have been reading some interesting books in past few weeks- will come up with some reviews if time permits. Here are the ones which I have read in past month & think is worth reading- Seabiscuit, Harry Potter- Deathly Hollows, Reminiscences of a stock operator, Every business is growth business from the one and the only Ram Charan, The Leadership pipeline- from him again, Copycat marketing 101..

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Cheeni Kum?

Watched this film again for a second time. Not becasue it is so good, but because the movie ticket came free... this was an exclusive screening for Cypress employees- so along with the movie came: free pop corn, coke and burger @ Garuda mall, Bangi -:)


I personally felt the movie to be an eminently watchable one (certainly a one time watch.. it gets a little too boring if you are seeing it for second time as I did- since you already know the jokes and gags). Heartening to see people like Balkrishnan (the ad guru) entering the Bollywood waters- the concept and caricaturing in the movie was reflective of the creative prowess of the man.

Story itself is light revolving around the budding romance between the 64 yr old top chef in a Indian restaurant in London and a 34 year old unmarried woman (who is on a first time London visit). Two extremes in age, character and attitude, meet and against all odds fall in love- the twists and turns in the tale are both intriguing and absorbing. The web woven around the lives of 8, 34, 58, 64 and 85 year olds is quite strong. The common bond that breaks age barriers is humourous and mostly tactfully handled. Music by the master- Ilayaraja does not do justice to his talents, but the title song is imminently hummable.

Apart from the storyline, I liked the role of Amitabh as the 64 yr old chef. One cannot but appreciate the zest and drive of the character. Left me wondering how I would be when I grow old!! Yeah... need to start gyming -;)

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Spiderman- Make way for the desi Makkadman

Watched Spiderman 3 today. After spending nearly 720 bucks on the movie (180*4) at PVR Cinemas; expected a lot more from it! Except for the initial half and some parts in second half where Peter Parker interacts with his Aunt.. the whole movie seemed like a dubbing straight from our Karan Johar flicks..

I was left wondering if it was Shah Rukh Khan wearing a mask and playing Spiderman?! Especially in scenes where he romances 2 women, it became increasingly clear that the movie had strong undercurrents from our desi flicks...

After the movie, I had to console myself by watching this yet again amazing mimic from Webchutney (I am becoming increasingly enamoured by this amazingly creative group). Here comes the amazing spoof- MAKKADMAN!! Enjoi maadi...




Ciao till next time...Harsha