Dump Maaro Dump

Watching Dum Maaro Dum is actually like taking a dump, coz you know "Oonche se ooncha banda, potty pe baithe nanga"(@0:39). Wow! Did I repel you with that first line? Then imagine how the viewers must have felt when this line was repeated 4 times in a hideous non-item song, 1.5 hours into a movie that started with so much promise and by then, had clearly lost its way. But I am getting ahead of myself here, for such movies should be reviewed with relish. So, lets start from the beginning!

DMD starts off as a cool,stylish feature with lots of promise. The first hour, although a little too episodic, is well-paced and manages to hold your interest. And Abhishek's entry heightens the expectations with the proverbial twist in the plot that makes you go "Alright! Now on to the real story!" And that is the last time you can say the words story and DMD in the same line. For the director chooses to show Abhishek, an ACP, rapping on the streets of Goa, while he cleans up the place. And not just rapping mind you, lip-syncing to the rap. Lame would be an understatement. Nevertheless, the movie doesnt nosedive right away, it continues to hold promise, but another 20 minutes later, it is clear that this is going to be a long ride with an utterly unsatisfactory end, coz there is no way they can tie up those loose threads with any credibility whatsoever, especially with the set of writers they have got. What follows is utter boredom, reel after reel showcasing basically nothing. No doubt it takes a lot of talent to show nothing with so much at your disposal, and that is in fact an art, its just not what I paid 12 bucks for! The Dump song is the nadir and the movie can only rise afterwards, which it does. Only it takes awfully long to do that, and by then, you are desperate to get out of the theatre, coz there's only so much of "Baki sabke liye Google hai" (@2:25) that you can take sanely.

Of the cast, Prateik Babbar is a sheer embarrassment, with his whiney, juvenile portrayal of a, well, juvenile! Bipasha Basu is non-existant. (Note to producers : A bikini scene would have enhanced her presence in the movie considerably! Since you anyways decided to give her a weak role, a few more bucks spent on a fancy bikini doesnt seem like such a bad idea now does it?) Rana Who-ggabati is wooden and his dubbing artist is a douchebag. Aditya Pancholi takes hamming and growling to new pathetic levels. Govind Namdeo doesnt. And yes, he hams too! Deepika Padukone's rib-cage is a total turn-off. And my dear AB baby is surprisingly better than most of his other roles. But that's not saying much for someone who has "Dus Ass Wale" Raavan and "Tha Tha Tha" ACP Jay Dixit to his credit. And what's with the incessant referencing to daddy dearest's movies?? Get a life son, and get your own identity. I know a lost cause when I see one and yet I am saying this out of sheer respect for your dad, or what he once was. STAND.UP.ON.YOUR.OWN.FEET.

Technically, the film is superior but when the script is boring, there's little technique can do. Nevertheless, kudos to the team for getting something right. Ultimately, DMD is not even like taking a dump, coz that activity is actually satisfying. Its more like suffering from a severe constipation after eating something that tasted good but left a bad after-taste.

Why?

Why does the hottest girl in class, who almost never sits next to you for lectures (because there is always a rare exception to the law of averages ), have to come and sit next to you right on the day of your mid-term? And why does she have to look hotter than usual on that day? And why does she have to forget her watch and ask you "How long before the exam begins?"? And why does she have to start chattering nervously about how she couldnt sleep the last night because there was so much to read? And why does she have to be all "Oh! This is sooooo time-consuming! How are we gonna get this done in 70 minutes??" in her cute voice during the exam that only you can hear because you are sitting next to her? And why does she have to forget her calculator and ask if she can borrow yours? And why does she have to bump your elbow with hers just when you are doing an ultra-tricky calculation? And why does she have to giggle when the professor makes a joke about there being only 5 more minutes left? And why does she have to ask you after, how you did in the exam? And why does she have to get a call and leave just before you could ask her name?

So many questions....no answers...none at all.

Filmfcuk awards

[rant]Alrit, this is gonna be a rant, if the tag wasnt clear enough. That Filmfare Awards are a big joke is no secret, it has been that way for years. In fact, they make this extra effort each year to ensure that everyone who attends returns home happily with a smile on their face and the black lady in their grasp, deserving or undeserving. Then why am I spending so much time talking about these awards if they are so obviously shitty?? The reason is in the last couple of years, it so appeared that the world of Bollywood was changing, people had begun to take note of good movies and real talent and had even started acknowledging them. This was definitely a step in the right direction. I mean any jury that has previously recognized screenplays of movies like Pardes and Kaho Na Pyaar Hai as best screenplays of that year had definitely grown up to acknowledge that Life In A Metro had a better script than Chak De India or Mumbai Meri Jaan was much better written than Fashion or Race! It seemed the jury finally had some sensible people in the team who could understand what the words story or screenplay mean and hence could judge better. But then, looks like the sanity reserved for the finer awards like story, screenplay, background score and cinematography, to name a few, is conveniently dumped when it comes to the popular awards - the ones that create the biggest buzz in the media, and in a sense the ones that matter the most - Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress. And this is precisely where Filmfare continues to be Filmunfair. 

Sample this : In the last 15 times out of 20, and in the last 9 times out of 10, the Best Actor trophy has gone to either Big B, SRK or Hrithik! One might argue they are brilliant and consistently come up with great performances, but before we jump the gun, lets take a look at which movies they got these trophies for and who did they "defeat" in the process.

Year 1998 : SRK won the trophy for Dil To Pagal Hai, a movie I love immensely btw, beating Anil Kapoor (Virasat) and Kamal Haasan (Chachi 420) in the process. Agreed, he was good, but was he better than Anil Kapoor? Probably not.

Year 1999 : SRK won again for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, a contrived and manipulative film, which was very enjoyable and a lot of fun. But his Rahul act was defintely not better than what Ajay Devgan did in Zakhm or what Aamir Khan managed in Ghulam.

Year 2001 : Hrithik bagged both, the Best Debut and Best Actor for a swashbuckling performance in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. He was superb and fresh, and it was ages since someone had had such a smashing debut, but was he better than Anil Kapoor in Pukar? Definitely not!

Year 2007 : Hrithik for Dhoom 2?? Really?? In a year that had Aamir Khan for RDB and  Sanjay Dutt for Lage Raho Munnabhai amongst the nominees?? Need I say anything else?

Year 2009 : Hrithik for Jodhaa Akbar. Better than Nasseeruddin Shah in A Wednesday? No way!

Year 2010 : Big B for Paa. Now I know it was an impossible role and he did a great job, but I wouldnt put him above Shahid Kapoor's brilliance in Kaminey, or even above Ranbir Kapoor's heartfelt honest performance in Wake Up Sid. I mean, Wake Up Filmfare!

Year 2011 : SRK for that hammy autistic character he botched up in My Name Is Khan?? Better than Ranbir Kapoor's silent killer performance in Raajneeti? Better than Ajay Devgan's cool as a cucumber job in Once Upon A Time In Mumbai? Better than Hrithik's sensitive, albeit slightly over-the-top portrayal in Guzaarish? And better than Salman Khan's lovable lunatic Chulbul Pandey in Dabangg?? Abso-fucking-lutely NO WAY!

The case for Best Actress is dicier since there are very few really good female roles in a year and even fewer good performances. But this year, both Vidya Balan for Ishqiya and Anushka Sharma for Band Baaja Baaraat were definitely better than Kajol. And dont even get me started on Best Director. Karan Johar for MNIK!! Above the directors of Udaan, Guzaarish, Peepli Live, Band Baaja Baaraat, even Dabangg? What the major fuck man!

I know most of these awards are decided by popular vote, but I cant help feeling the votes are rigged! Performances aside, there's no way SRK's act in MNIK was more popular than Sallu's Chulbul Pandey. And there's no way Karan Johar was a popular choice for director of the year! And finally, you know the award function is rigged when Kareena Kapoor wins for an atrocious monstrosity like We Are Family!! I rest my case[/rant]

Picks of the decade...

Update : This post is a submission for the Reel-life Bloggers contest by wogma and reviewgang.

With the year 2010 coming a close and a new decade getting started, the media is rife with lists and bests and worsts and what-nots...So, I thought, why not do a list of Hindi movies, one for each year this past decade, which all lovers of Hindi cinema should absolutely not have missed....These may not be the biggest blockbusters for those years, nor the ones getting best RoI for their investors, nor the ones with maximum awards or critical acclaim...just plainly movies, that I think changed something in Bollywood for good...and of course, movies that were, by definition, enjoyable, at least in part! :)

2001 - Dil Chahta Hai

Although 2001 will probably be remembered as the year Ashutosh Gowariker got his first big blockbuster with the backing of debutant producer and Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan, the Oscar-nominee and immensely enjoyable Lagaan, the movie that really ushered a change in Bollywood was a much lesser hit in the form of debutante director Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahata Hai. Yes, this was also the year Sunny Deol hit jackpot for his unabashed jingoism in Gadar, Karan Johar gave us the soppy drama with a whopping starcast in the form of the overtly melodramatic and yet partly entertaining K3G and Madhur Bhandarkar made a foray into serious cinema with the chilling Chandni Bar, which made everyone take notice of Tabu as a really fine actress after her previous superb outing in Astitva. However, the reason I find DCH a worthy pick is because it presented urban youth in a very contemporary way for the first time in Bollywood. Sure, we had seen youth stories before, but they were usually too cute to be true (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai). With DCH, what we saw was a peek into lives of people we could relate to, people who did not necessarily spout wittiest lines at the drop of a hat, people who had certain definitions about love and friendship, like normal, regular people do. No "dosti ki hai, nibhani to padegi hi" stuff. More like "You have crossed a line in friendship". Technically, it was the first movie to use sync sound, a technique in which audio is recorded at the same time as the video so that dubbing is not necessary for all scenes in post production. DCH showed us how effortlessly Aamir Khan can pull off a role he is 20 years too old for, it discovered the actor in Akshaye Khanna for us, it showed us a certain Saif Ali Khan had the ability to tickle our funny bone with his poker faced humor, and it made Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy a household name in a world monopolized by A R Rehman and Anu Malik! And most importantly, it showed us what being young and making mistakes and learning from them is all about! Kudos to the team for entertaining in such a subtle and classy way!

2002 - Company

A year that saw glamorous epic like Devdas and trite like Raaz take pole position at the box-office, one movie that didnt make a pot of money and yet managed to grab eyeballs was RGV's Company. This was back when he was still sane and not bitten by the I-want-to-take-the-biggest-movie-ever-in-India-and-give-it-in-the-ass bug. Company was an edgy thriller, almost a docu-drama on the Indian underworld and its equations, finely directed and enacted with some superb performances by Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi and Mohanlal. With Vaastav and Satya, Company forms a trilogy in my mind, and this is as good as movies in this genre can get in Bollywood. Of course, RGV could never repeat his feat, Vivek Oberoi miraculously lost all charm and acting chops thereafter and Ajay Devgan, although he continues to do well, has never been as acidic and effective while saying so few words. This one is the baap of crime dramas.

2003 - Munnabhai MBBS / Haasil

 A year ruled by Jadoo and Hrithik's different act as well as SRK's effortless charm in the wonderful Kal Ho Naa Ho, 2003 had a couple of little gems lurking in the background. While one of them - Munnabhai MBBS - at least made a decent amount of money and got lot of recognition, the other - Haasil - was reduced to a no-show at the Box Office and went largely unnoticed until a few months later, when it picked up on the DVD circuit and has enjoyed a cult following since. (I remember searching for the Haasil dvd in multiple stores in Bangalore for my cousin in 2007 and most of the store owners had no idea what movie I was talking about!).

Munnabhai MBBS, for me, is the most ultimate feel-good movie ever made. Its funny, its got a heart and in the right place, and there's something to take away, in fact, a lot! It is also the only movie to have done justice to Sanjay Dutt's acting talent apart from its wonderful sequel and Vaastav. Raju Hirani's debut film not only gave us jadoo-ki-jhappi but also a wonderful actor in Boman Irani. If you ever feel really down and out, just get a DVD of this wonderful movie and you are all set!

Haasil, on the other hand, is more grim and dark. Its small, has low-key production values and was probably made on a shoestring budget, but it doesnt fail to pack a punch! The dialogues, the innocence of Jimmy Shergill and most of all, the legendary performance of Irfan Khan, that earned him awards and recognition as an actor to reckon with, and of course, who can forget that memorable Abhijeet song "Aankhen Bhi Hoti Hain Dil Ki Zubaan". Haasil is definitely the best campus-politics movie ever made in Hindi cinema, although Gulaal challenged that claim in 2009.

2004 - Lakshya / Yuva

A year ruled by out-and-out entertainers like Main Hoon Na, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Hum Tum and Dhoom, 2004 produced two of the most relatable films for youth. Lakshya, Farhan Akhtar's follow-up to his amazing debut, was as much about a young man's journey to find his inner self, as it was about finding your ambitions in the unlikeliest of professions. Farhan and Hrithik portrayed the confusion resident in a young mind perfectly. I mean, who amongst us hasnt felt what Hrithik's character feels in his early 20's! It took him 24 years and 18000 feet to discover himself! Amazing movie that got overshadowed by the Kargil backdrop and did surprisingly poorly at the BO. These are moments when you want to shout out to the audience "For Gods sake, grow up!" :(

Yuva is, in IMO, Mani Ratnam's finest product this side of the millennium. A story about why and how Indian youth can and should enter politics, it laid the foundation for the Rang De Basanti kind of thinking. Technically sound and told from three character's vantage points, Yuva not only made us realize that Abhishek Bacchan in fact could act, it also gave us Sonu Sood and some brilliant techno music from the maestro. An inspiring story, Yuva should have been seen by more people, many more, but unfortunately, it made no impact whatsoever due to surprisingly bad reviews and critical panning. Totally under-rated!

2005 - Page 3

In a year, that saw the hilarious No Entry, the pathetic Bunty and Babli, the puke-worthy Salaam Namaste and that utterly over-rated monstrosity called Black hit Box-Office gold, along came a smart, small film about the rich upper class and their ways of life as seen by a Page 3 journalist. A gritty, at times gut-wrenching and witty saga about the rich and the famous, sans the glamour, Page 3 made Konkona Sen and Sandhya Mridul household names and catapulted Madhur Bhandarkar into the league of really good directors, a tag he was unable to keep later, after churning out horrific films like Traffic Signal, Fashion and Jail. Aided by a great ensemble cast performance, and some hard-hitting moments, Page 3 made us more aware of what goes on behind those super-rich closed doors and what we may not be envying them for.

2006 - Rang De Basanti / Lage Raho Munnabhai

2006 was an epic year in every sense - it marked the comeback of super-blockbusters in the form of super-trite but super-hyped Dhoom 2, superhits like Fanaa, Krrish, Don, KANK and Phir Hera Pheri (all flawed pieces of cinema, all huge hits!), delicious films like Khosla Ka Ghosla, Corporate and Omkara making their mark, and most importantly, the year when amazingly well-made message movies like RDB and Lage Raho struck a chord with the paying audience! 2006 was perhaps the most successful year for Bollywood in terms of creativity as well as economics.

The more I say about RDB, the less it will be. It is the most inspirational piece of cinema I have seen - stupendous script, brilliant performances from a huge cast, great dialogues, great music and a message that hits you like a ton of bricks - "Zindagi jeene ke do hi tareeke hote hain, ek - jo hota hai hone do, bardaasht karte jao...ya fir - jimmedari uthao use badalne ki". Brilliant parallels drawn with the pre-independence revolutionary movement and superb direction, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra and team nailed this one really really well! Hats off, is all we can say! Movies like these are made once in a long long time and we are lucky to have witnessed one in our lifetime!

Lage Raho Munnabhai, that lovable sequel to Munnabhai MBBS, which reminded us of Gandhi and how his values can still be safeguarded in today's materialistic world, is again a cinematic masterpiece that gets everything right - from the cast with Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani revving it up even further, to the screenplay which is immensely enjoyable and relatable, to the subtly embedded comedy, to the social values it stands for, to the breaking of the sequel-jinx! While Munnabhai MBBS taught us how to live for ourselves, Lage Raho was a lesson in standing up for whats right, and in a non-violent way. Raju Hirani cemented his position as a master-director with this one! Superb feel-good cinema in all respects! If Gandhi were to come back, he would surely say "Aal Is Well" :)

2007 - Jab We Met

A true-blue rom-com as the most notable film of the year? Really? In the year that had Taare Zameen Par and Chak De India, not to mention Life In A Metro, Manorama Six Feet Under and Namastey London? Yes!! Because, nobody has done the boy-meets-girl story as wonderfully as Imtiaz Ali did, since perhaps DDLJ! The oddball pair of Shahid-Kareena worked wonders on screen with Kareena coming into her own as Geet while Shahid showed us he can be even more charming when he is not trying. Pritam hit the bull's eye after being just about there for a while and what we had on our plate was an unexpectedly delightful and super super fun ride that left us wanting for more!! Jab We Met is one of those rare films that brings a grin on your face even at the slightest mention of the name of the movie. A true entertainer that also subtly asks you to live life your way so you have no regrets later, this ones for everyone who's ever been in love or hopes to be!

2008 - A Wednesday

A movie with 50+, unconventional looking actors in the lead roles and no music - no chance at the Box Office right? Wrong! Indian audiences grew up and how! In the year that saw Ghajini smash all box-office records to smithereens, with super crappy stuff like Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Singh Is Kingg and Race making tons of money, while sensible and enjoyable movies like Rock On and Oye Lucky Lucky Oye thankfully also made their mark, A Wednesday rose above all, primarily on the basis of a rock-solid script and towering performances from Nasseruddin Shah and Anupam Kher , two actors who finally got their due at the Box Office! A film that vented the frustration seething in every Indian's mind in a very effective way, this was one heck of a thriller, that had a point to make, and that made it in a very very strong way! A Wednesday told us that movies without superstars and music and hotties dancing in skimpy wear can succeed!

2009 - Dev D / Gulaal

The world woke up to Anurag Kashyap and his creative bent of mind in 2009 with a bang! While neither Dev D nor Gulaal set the BO on fire, both made for some game-changing cinema that took the very concept of telling a story by its guts and doused it in new colors! Lets not forget, this was the same year that saw the biggest blockbuster ever in Bollywood - 3 Idiots - hit the screens, as also great stuff like Kaminey and Love Aaj Kal that saw huge turnout. Of course, there were crowd pleasers like Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Wanted and intellectual fare like Luck By Chance. But, all of them were overshadowed by the unabashedly bratty egoist Dev, the rustic and bindaas Paro and the uber-cool Chanda in a dopey twist on the original novel. With insane camerawork, some utterly genius stuff dished out by Amit Trivedi and true-to-the-core performances by Abhay Deol, Mahi Gill and Kalki Koechlin, Dev D was cinema on ecstasy and indeed, it gave a high to all and sundry! Devdas will never be made again, simply because it cant get any quirkier than this! Two thumbs up!

Gulaal, on the other hand, is grim, almost depressing. Again powered by an ensemble cast led by the wonderful Abhimanyu Singh and the ever-efficient Kay Kay Menon, with zany music by Piyush Mishra, Gulaal is a very real take on youth politics in erstwhile kingdoms and how it can lead to destruction of multiple lives. Visceral to the core, Gulaal explores the dark side of the human mind and gives violence a new meaning. Another gut-wrenching fare, this is not for the faint-hearted, but it packs a severe blow right in the solar plexus, where it registers the most! With Dev D and Gulaal, Kashyap showed us what he's capable of after the superb Black Friday and the eccentricity called No Smoking.

2010 - Peepli Live

In a year ruled outright by Dabangg, with not much else, except the wonderful Raajneeti, the triter-than-trite Golmaal 3 and the wannabe My Name Is Khan, registering much of an impact, Peepli Live was like a lantern that kept the sanity flickering in Bollywood along with movies like Udaan, Tere Bin Laden and Band Baaja Baaraat. This Aamir Khan backed vehicle - a political satire on plight of farmers in India - can be a brilliant case-study on how to market films that have no known stars and have no prospects at the BO unless marketed exceedingly well. Filled with spunky performances by an ensemble cast, notably Onkar Das Manikpuri and Raghuveer Yadav, Peepli Live was a realistic take on the Indian media's frenzy to make news out of anything and everything that succeeded in drawing accolades even from the media, which speaks volumes of its success. Not only that, it made thrice its initial investment, making it a smart little product with great RoI! Kudos to the team and especially Aamir Khan. Coz without the marketing, this could well have been like any other indie film that is great but goes sadly unnoticed!

That was my take on the last decade and its films. The format for this was inspired by a post on rediff, that mentioned top films of the last decade. Although I do not claim credit for the concept (best-of lists have existed since times immemorial!), I do claim credit for the stuff posted here coz its all my own :) Hope you enjoyed reading what I immensely enjoyed writing :)

Kal ho na ho...

Its unfair to expect all life's experiences to happen to you...sometimes you have to make do with learning from other's experiences too...Last year has been full of learnings for me - some sweet, some bitter...but one thing I learnt recently left an indelible impression, and it was through someone else's experience...Nothing can sum it up better than these lines penned by the legendary Javed Akhtar...


चाहे जो तुम्हे पूरे दिल से, 
मिलता है वो मुश्किल से, 
ऐसा जो कोई कहीं है, 
बस वो ही सबसे हसीन है|


उस हाथ को, 
तुम थाम लो , 
वो मेहरबान, 
कल हो ना हो ...


Sad...probably even unfair, but that doesnt stop it from being true.

And my award goes to....

Like every year, I present my nominations and winners for the year that was...I dont really care about any of the other awards, but this year I really really hope that Salman Khan gets at least one Best Actor award for his daredevil act in Dabangg...If he ever had a sure-shot chance of winning, it is this year!


Best Film 
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha
Raajneeti
Udaan
Peepli Live
Dabangg
Tere Bin Laden

Best Director
Prakash Jha - Raajneeti
Dibakar Banerjee - Love, Sex aur Dhokha
Anusha Rizvi - Peepli Live
Maneesh Sharma - Band Baaja Baaraat
Habib Faisal - Do Dooni Chaar
Vikramaditya Motwane - Udaan

Best Actor
Shahrukh Khan - My Name Is Khan
Ranbir Kapoor - Raajneeti
Salman Khan - Dabangg
Onkar Das Manikpuri - Peepli Live
Rishi Kapoor - Do Dooni Chaar
Ajay Devgn - Once Upon A Time In Mumbai

Best Actress
Kajol - My Name Is Khan
Vidya Balan - Ishqiya
Sonakshi Sinha - Dabangg
Anushka Sharma - Band Baaja Baaraat
Neetu Singh - Do Dooni Chaar
Katrina Kaif - Raajneeti

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Arjun Rampal - Raajneeti
Manoj Vajpayee - Raajneeti
Nana Patekar - Raajneeti
Raghuveer Yadav - Peepli Live
Paresh Rawal - Aakrosh
Sonu Sood - Dabangg

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Shruti Seth - Raajneeti
Sarah Thomson Kane - Raajneeti
Ira Dubey - Aisha
Amrita Puri - Aisha
Aditi Vasudev - Do Dooni Chaar
Malaika Shenoy - Peepli Live

Best Music

Amit Trivedi - Aisha

Vishal Shekhar - Anjaana Anjaani

Sajid Wajid - Dabangg

Pritam - Badmaash Company

Vishal Shekhar - Break Ke Baad

Vishal Shekhar - I Hate Luv Storys

Amit Trivedi - Udaan

Best Playback Singer - Male

Toshi Raina - Gal Mithi Mithi - Aisha
Amit Trivedi - Suno Aisha - Aisha
Nikil D 'Souza - Shaam - Aisha
Lucky Ali - Hairat - Anjaana Anjaani
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - Fakeera - Badmaash Company
Neeraj Shridhar - Ajab Leher Hai - Break Ke Baad
Neeraj Shridhar - Kya - Crook
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - Tere Mast Mast Do Nain - Dabangg
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - Dil To Baccha Hai Ji - Ishqiya
Aadesh Srivastava - Mora Piya - Raajneeti
Mohit Chauhan - Pee Loon - Once Upon A Time In Mumbai

Best Playback Singer - Female

Anushka Mani - Lehrein - Aisha
Shreya Ghoshal - Aadha Ishq - Band Baaja Baaraat
Mamta Sharma - Munni Badnaam - Dabangg
Shreya Ghoshal - Chori Kiya Re Jiya - Dabangg
Sunidhi Chauhan - Sheila Ki Jawani - Tees Maar Khan
Sunidhi Chauhan - Ainvayi - Band Baaja Baaraat

Best Lyrics
Amitabh Bhattacharya - Lehrein - Aisha
Vishal Dadlani - Hairat - Anjaana Anjaani
Anvita Dutt Guptan - Fakeera - Badmaash Company
Prasoon Joshi - Adhoore - Break Ke Baad
Faiz Anwar - Tere Mast Mast Do Nain - Dabangg
Niranjan Iyengar - Rang De - My Name Is Khan
Sameer  - Mora Piya - Raajneeti

Dum Dum Dum Mast Hai!

Band Baaja Baaraat...the name doesnt do much justice to the film, in spite of the obvious reference to weddings. At most, it makes it sound like a tacky, over-the-top rendition of a wedding related tale. Thankfully, BBB is anything but that! And are we thankful to YRF for making an enjoyable film devoid of the Swiss Alps and sucky cliches! Hell yeah, we are! Because its been a while since I enjoyed a Hindi movie (Aakrosh was the last I liked, and that was 2 months back).

BBB, a tale of two wedding planners and their partnership, has a brisk narrative and an interesting story at heart. Predictable, yes, but there are enough interesting twists to keep you hooked. The dialogues by Habib Faisal are simple and interesting enough to keep the goings-on fun. Music by Salim-Sulaiman is really good, ranging from lilting tunes to foot-tapping numbers. Ainvehi and Dum Dum are the picks of the lot mainly due to energetic picturization. But what lifts this movie above the average are the performances of the leads as well as character actors and the direction by debutant Maneesh Sharma. Sharma avoids most cliches and although a couple of convenient plotholes escape his notice, we are willing to let that go as long as the movie is engaging. The character artists avoid caricatures and paint realistic yet non-boring characters, which adds to the fun quotient. Debutant Ranveer Singh pitches in a near-perfect performance as as the wannabe Bittoo. He is no Aamir Khan in acting chops, nor does he charm like a Shahid Kapoor but his sincerity can give some of the potential stars-in-the-making a run for their money! Anushka Sharma is a revelation, showing she possesses decent acting skills and carrying a lot of the film on her shoulders. Her looks are hardly conventional and yet she manages to look really good and perform really well. After a so-so performance in Rab Ne Bana Di BS and a half-baked role in the decent Badmaash Company,we are definitely impressed Miss Sharma!

BBB brings the fun back in watching movies, reminding you of an era when not all movies were magnum opuses, not all movies were touted to be the next big thing, not all movies were about more glitz and less script, not all movies were about more slapstick and less simple humor. This one deserves to be paid for and watched, for its an honest effort that delivers more than it promises and ensures you walk out of that cinema hall happy and satisfied. :)

Ganda mazaak hua aitbaar....

Amit Trivedi delivers again and how! Although his latest album NOKJ is no Aisha or Dev D, it still is in a class of its own. I have a project due tomorrow, which I should be working on right now, so lemme get down to business straight away.

Dilli Dilli : Undoubtedly the heart and soul and beat of the album! Pulsating would be an understatement for this rollicking track which has spirited vocals by Tochi, Shriram Iyer and Aditi Sharma. The "d-d-d-d-d-d" hits you like a ton of bricks every single time. Lyrics are earthy and blend amazingly well with the brilliant guitar riffs. Its not even Jan 2011 yet, and I am gonna go out on a limb here and say this is sure to be the track of the year 2011.

Aali Re : Sung by as many as 8 singers (yeah! you read that right! 8! ), Aali re will probably sound really irritating the first time you hear it...It did to me...But rest assured, it is one of the most "mooh-phat" tracks we have heard in Hindi music till date. Amitabh Bhattacharya weaves magic with acidic words and phrases which sting and yet manage to touch your senses - of humor and otherwise. Might turn out to be the most unconventional party track ever if promoted well!

Aitbaar : Vishal Dadlani rocks the rock-ish Aitbaar, which is slightly reminiscent of Nayan Tarse in terms of music arrangements and resembles Zehreeley from Rock On! in terms of vocals, but again manages to stand tall on its own. Lyrics again are caustic and brilliant!

Dua : Starts with some lilting work on the keyboard, and slowly but surely rises to move. Newbie Meenal Jain shines while Amitabh Bhattacharya changes gears to give us some nice lyrics, and also pitching in as one of the three chorus singers. As mentioned before, the song rises from a melody to an anthem, much like Khoon Chala from RDB. The eventual effect is inspiring and exhilarating at the same time.

Yeh Pal : Sung by Shilpa Rao, Yeh Pal has that quality which keeps you gripped to the track inspite of being slightly slow. The instrumental piece in the latter half is particularly well arranged. Something about this song struck me as Rahman'ish, not sure what. But another different and difficult composition that cannot be classified into any genre.

The first promo caught my eye like a spicy Mexican hottie or like an underdog startup which comes out of nowhere to capture 100,000 hits in a few days of launch. The audio has definitely lived up to expectations and the following promos have shown a glimpse of what lies in store. I must confess I have never been a fan of Rani Mukherjee's histrionics but this definitely looks like her comeback movie. That's good news because its been a while since we have seen an actress pack a punch on-screen. As much as I like the long-legged Deepika and the cute Kat, I would rather watch some good acting than over-hyped Sheilas on-screen.

Looks like 2011 is gonna start with a BANG! To more issue-based movies and more Rajkumar Guptas! And of course, more Amit Trivedis and Amitabh Bhattacharyas!

Are you kidding me!

Read this online a while ago :

"One fails to understand why the girl drops the guy like a hot brick. Actually, there's no valid reason for her to do so. He is so committed, so devoted, so trustworthy that any girl would give her left arm to be with him. "

LOL! Clearly the writer has not been living in the real world! Who said committed, devoted and trustworthy guys dont get dumped!! That's like assuming all guys are commitment-phobic and all girls are commitment-centric. So stereotypical! 


The world is not black and white - its shades of gray...always has been, always will be.

A bitter-sweet symphony....

Just when you begin to feel things are finally falling into place, a piece of the puzzle lifts itself and turns over...and ur back where you began...Just when you think you can now come to terms with reality, reality decides to play the bitch and refuses to come to terms with you....Just when you think this is it, this is the moment I have been waiting for all these years, you get an email which tells you the moment isnt coming anytime soon...Just when you think you have made a sweet discovery, you make another one which sweeps the first one off its feet and not in a good way....Just when you think things couldnt get any colder, a ray of sunshine pierces the clouds and brightens your day...Just when you think you cant be more lost, you are given a map which tells you you are not even in the same book, forget the same page as others....Just when all seems lost, you come home and find a surprise waiting for you....Just when you think, you are right on track, you find that the game has changed now, and you need to switch if you want to continue playing....Just when you begin to harbor hopes of a new beginning, you find ghosts from the past trying hard to haunt you...Just when you get rid of them, you run into new potential ghosts...Just when you want to move forward, you take a step back....Just when you think all is lost, someone comes along and holds your hand....Just when it seems life cant get any better, it surprisingly does...

Time flies, shit happens, people move on, seasons change...friends and family remain the only constant in life....enabling you to play the symphony....ensuring you continue playing even if you miss a note or two...