Thursday, August 30, 2007

Saawariyan

Release Date November 9, 2007
DirectorSanjay Leela Bhansali
Star CastRanbir Kapoor,Sonam Kapoor,Rani Mukherjee,Begum Para,Achla Sachdev,Zohra Sehgal,Salman Khan...... Special appearance
Music DirectorMonty Sharma
ChoreographyMallu,Pappu,Ganesh Hegde,Shiamak Davar

Saawariya Preview
Sony Pictures’ first Indian Co-Production “Saawariya” (Beloved) is a unique collaboration with one of India ’s most well known and acclaimed directors, Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The tenderness and the visual splendor of “Saawariya” will transport world audiences to the golden era of the great romantic movies beginning November 9, 2007.

“Saawariya” is a musical based on the short story “White Nights” written by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It is the story of a shy dreamer, Raj, who spent most of his time isolated in his apartment, creating riddles and finding answers to them, jabbering poetry or arguing with his foolish landlady Miss Disa, with whom he shared a love/hate relationship. Raj was loved by one and all, for he always brought happiness to the people around him. Destiny plans a magical tale for Raj over the next four nights of his life that shall change his entire being

Synopsis:“Saawariya” is a tender and romantic musical which centers around the chance encounter of two people, Raj & Sakina and their obsession with each other over four successive nights. “Saawariya” is a contemporary story about the immortal emotion - live with the unmistakable imprint of Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

It is the story of a shy dreamer, Raj (22 years old), who spent most of his time isolated in his apartment, creating riddles and finding answers to them, jabbering poetry or arguing with his foolish landlady Miss Disa, with whom he shared a love/hate relationship. Raj was loved by one and all, for he always brought happiness to the people around him. Destiny plans a magical tale for Raj over the next four nights of his life that shall change his entire being.

“Saawariya” is the story of a couple’s chance encounter and the advance of their parallel obsessions over four successive nights. An impromptu romance is initiated in a remote town in the serene beauty of picturesque Simla, a quaint hill station in Northern India that was once the summer capital of India under the British Raj, known for its lakes, mist, heavenly snowfall, rains and the tall swaying pine trees. The bright, fun-filled winding streets of the mall come alive with singing clubs, rustic folklore, dancing, love ballads, flourishing colonies of artists and weavers, and chants from the monastery- all woven in perfect harmony into a magical dream.

It is here that the dreamer finds the ‘lost’ self in himself.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Review of Heyy Babyy-----Nei Baby!

Overall Rating:**
Cast Performance:**
Sound Track:***
Cinematography:**
I had lot of expectations like many from Sajid
Khan, him being my favorite comedian and with a awesome sense of humor...This
movie totally lacks the charm that a good comedy movie contains and is just a drag..
Unwanted scenes and potty humor were some of the higlights. He has made a similar mushy, cheesy, crappy and bland movie for which he used to criticize Hindi Movies about.. The beginning 25 minutes was completely a drag
and we were hoping we could expect a funny scene next up..Nothing happened like
that...so many repetitive scenes in the movie and for so long. Come on who
wants to see a nappy being changed 50 times in a movie. There were only a few
times where we could laugh genuinely for his rib tickling dialogues but that
too did not last for long....The baby was my favorite of the cast with a cute smiling face and even surviving
a nearly drowning situation without much trouble...Akshay proved to be the best
among the rest with his comedy avatar which has been following regularly from his earlier
releases. Ritesh was ok and fardeen was completely bland at some places. Vidya
was cute and cuddly as usual and boman was hardly funny this time around
The script on the other hand was rather too complicated but the local junta dint bother much either. The balance between emotion and comedy was not anywhere proportional. Too much emotional stuff in the second half of the movie that made the movie disappointing. So SRK was a truly refreshing change for many and I could see the whole theatre
go up with joy on his entry. His role was too short, lasting for a couple of minutes and I think that was simply added just to pep up the masses.The soundtrack was really good by SEL. Melodious tunes and fast paced songs were really good and the song picturization was neatly done..Considered as the most humorous person he has had a not so funny humor added in
the movie. I really feel bad that Sajid has
directed this kind of a movie...Also a film critic in Kehne main kya harz hai he has criticized so many films
and this one should really include in his list also...You can make better ones
with a simple film plot.. Totally dissapointed and had huge expectations from Sajid to direct a matured comedy movie. Heyy baby...Better luck next tim

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal

BannerUTV Motion Pictures
Release DateDecember 2007
ProducerRonnie Screwvala
DirectorVivek Agnihotri
Star CastJohn Abraham,Naveen Andrews,Bipasha Basu,Arshad Warsi,Raj Zutshi,Dibyendu Bhattacharya,Kushal Punjabi
Music DirectorPritam Chakraborty
Synopsis:Dhan Dhana Dhan… Goal, previously known as Goal,
GOAL is a story of that great optimistic trait – hope. The characters in this drama
fight the battle of hope through relationships, pride and their dreams.
Southall United is a football club going through a major crisis. The team has no stars, no sponsors, no spectators and most importantly, no coach. Yet, it nurtures the hope that is will win the cup this time.
The head of the city council, Anne, collaborates with Johnny Patel, a sports commentator, to acquire a large tract of land that is with this club. Together, they highlight the club’s lackluster performance and threaten to have the land taken from them, unless things change. Their biggest hope? That the team will lose, yet again.
Sir Devi Dayal Dhariwal, owner of the club, hopes to save the land from the greed of Anne and Johnny Patel.
Hanif, the captain of Southall United, hopes to win by playing the last card the club has. He brings in a celebrated ex-player to coach them.
And then, there is Sunny Bhasin (John Abraham) who hopes to become a member of a top team and play first division football – a dream every aspiring British footballer yearns for.
Will the coach manage to pull his team together? How does Sunny become a partof this team? And most importantly, will the club win the title and retain the ground?
Get Set GOAL is a contemporary story of the Asian community in UK told through the dynamic prism of professional football.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Dil Dosti Etc...

Release Date:28 September 2007
Genre:Romance, Social
Producer :Prakash Jha
Director :Manish Tiwari
Cast :Shreyas Talpade, Nikita Anand, Imaad Shah, Smriti Mishra, Ishita Sharma
Editor :Hina Saiyada
Art Director :Sunil Chabra
Costume Designer:Priyanka Mundada
Photographer :Arvind K
Synopsis
When you are young, you believe, the possibilities are endless...
What does an eighteen year old guy in college really want? Dil Dosti Etc is a fresh and unabashed look at how young men of today think and choose to live their lives. Dil Dosti Etc is set around students in Delhi University. Through two university hostellers, Apurv (Imaad Shah), a rich, cosmopolitan guy and, Sanjay Mishra (Shreyas Talpade), an old-fashioned Bihari guy, the film juxtaposes the ?new/ liberal? and the ?old/ conservative? in our society.
Sanjay is an ambitious and focused student-politician in Delhi. He represents the romantic and the idealist who steadfastly pursues his political goals. On the other hand, Apurv?s life is directionless. With the abundance of time and money in hand, he searches for meaning in life through amorous escapades with various girls.
The three female leads ? that of a prostitute (Smriti Mishra), a school girl and a rich model, provide a myriad of social and emotional backdrops to the film. Vaisali (Smriti Mishra) plays an attractive but sharp-tongued prostitute. She claims never to get emotionally attached to her customers. Then there is the precocious school girl Kintu (Ishitta Sharrma), who coquettishly remains noncommittal to Apurv?s flirtations and plays hard to get. Prerna (Nikita Anand) is the rich South Delhi babe who aspires to become an international model, and yet finds herself attracted to the earthy and charismatic student-politician, Sanjay.Dil Dosti Etc uses a rich ensemble of characters, stories and themes to explore the very nature of friendship, male bonding, voyeurism, sexual perversion, love and betrayal. The film, based on an original screenplay, is full with realism and black humour and shows the coming of age of not only a young man but also explores the ambiguities and pre-occupations of an entire generation.
Dil Dosti Etc has been produced by Prakash Jha and directed by Manish Tiwary.

Manorama Six Feet Under

Release DateSeptember 21, 2007
GenreComedy, Thriller, Suspense
ProducerKetan Maroo
DirectorNavdeep Singh
Star Cast:Abhay Deol,Raima Sen,Gul Panag,Sarika,Vinay Pathak,Kulbhushan Kharbanda
SingersRoop Kumar Rathod,Mahalakshmi Iyer,Richa Sharma,Kailash Kher
Zubeen Garg,Jayesh Gandhi
LyricistManoj Tapadia,Irfan Siddique,Surendra Mishra,Rowdy
Music DirectorJayesh Gandhi,Raiomond Mirza
Story / WriterNavdeep Singh,Devika Bhagat
Synopsis:Homage to the noir genre, Manorama Six Feet Under is about an amateur detective in a small town who finds himself caught in a web of lies, deceit and murder.
SV (Abhay Deol) is a government engineer but his real ambition has always been writing detective fiction. Unfortunately, his maiden attempt, a novel called Manorama, sank without a trace and he has been reduced to writing for cheap pulp magazines.
Stifled by the dreariness of small town existence and frustrated by his failure, SV's life takes a turn when the wife of a powerful local politician arrives at his doorstep with an irresistible offer; the chance for SV to play a real life detective by spying on her husband. Intrigued and tempted by the opportunity to redeem his self worth, SV accepts.
Upon completion of his assignment, things take a turn when SV discovers that the woman is not who she claims to be. The situation get further complicated when she is killed in a mysterious accident.
Sensing foul play, SV begins investigating her death only to discover that nothing is what it seems to be and that redemption doesn't come easy….

Nanhe Jaisalmer

Releasing Date:14 September 2007
Presenter:Eros International
Producer:K. Sera Sera Production
Director:Sameer Karnik
Cast:Bobby Deol, Katrina Kaif, Dwij Yadav, Prateeksha Lonkar, Sharat Saxena, Bina Kak, Rajesh Vivek, Rushita Singh, Vivek Shauq, Sukhwinder Chahal, Adil Rana, Lokesh Pandit, Sudhir Kumar, Karan Arora, Vikrant Thakur, Amrish Sharma, Arun Kumar
Special Appearance :Vatsal Seth
Music Director :Himesh Reshammiya
Lyricist:Sameer
Story Writer :Sameer Karnik, Eklavya Singh Bhati
Background Sound :Monty Singh
Choreographer:Piyush Panchal
Synopsis:Young Nanhe speaks four foreign languages, but he's an 'angootha chaap'! He's all of ten years old, but he's the sole breadwinner for his family.
He lives in arid Rajasthan, but his room is as full of colorful posters, as his imagination is full of vivid dreams. But unlike other ten year olds his dreams are not fickle...not likely to change from day to day. Nanhe has just one dream... just one constant hope that keeps him dimpling through the hardships of life. That one day he will meet his dost, his best friend, actor Bobby Deol!
He makes his sister Suman write a letter to his dost every day; sharing all his news, his big battles, his little triumphs. He sees each and every film of his dost. His room is filled with cutting and photographs of his dost.
He lives, breathes, talks - dost. All of Nanhe's waking moments are consumed by his dost.
In his sleep, too, he dreams only of his dost. Then one day, one fantastic day, Nanhe actually comes face to face with his dost Bobby Deol!
And Nanhe's life changes forever...

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Meri Life Mein Uski Wife

BannerEvershine Films Pvt Ltd
Release Date7 Sep 2007
DirectorPartho Ghosh
Star CastVikas Kalantri,HeenaTasleem,ShaktiKapoor,UpasnaSingh,Rocky Sandhu,Jatin Garewal,Monalisa,Supriya Karnik
CinematographyAkram Khan
ChoreographyLolly PopPublicity StillsRakesh Shreshta
Story / WriterKamal Pandey

Apna Asmaan

Release Date7 Sep 2007
ProducerUmang Pahwa
DirectorKaushik Roy
Star CastShobhana...... Padmini,Irrfan Khan,Anupam Kher,Rajat Kapoor
Dhruv Piyush Panjnani...... Buddhi,Abdullah,Naseer,Utkarsha Naik,Barkha Singh,
SingersSukhwinder Singh,Shreya Ghosal,Chitra,Sunidhi Chauhan,Shaan
LyricistMehboob
Music DirectorLeslie Lewis
Executive / Associate / Co-ProducerSandeep Shandaliya
CinematographyBarun Mukherji
Synopsis:Ravi and Padmini share a strained relationship due to their teenage son Buddhi’s intellectual handicap. Buddhi, a mildly autistic slow learner displays his flair for art but his parents, with their middle-class insecurities, neither recognize nor encourage his talent. Driven by Padmini’s social insecurities and ravi’s guilt for dropping Buddhi as a baby, the parents chase an unreal dream of seeing their son as a normal, good student who, like others, must become an engineer or a doctor. While dr. Sen, the neurologist, tries hard to make Padmini accept the reality, Ravi’s accidental meeting with Dr Sathya – the maverick scientist, leads him to the experimental “Brain Booster” that can make Buddhi a genius. The side effect of this unnatural drug reveals the dark side of their dream, something the parents had not bargained for.

Bhool Bhulaiya

Releasing Date 12 Oct 2007
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Shiney Ahuja, Amisha Patel, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Asrani
Director: Priyadarshan
Producer: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar
Music Director: Pritam
Synopsis:
Director Priyadarshan, who gave us hit remakes like “Virasat”, “Hera Pheri”, “Hungama” and “Hulchul”, is busy these days shooting his new film Bhool Bhulaiya, a comic thriller dealing with human psychology, in the beautiful locales of Rajasthan. Bhool Bhulaiya is the Hindi remake of the critically acclaimed Malayalam blockbuster, Manichitrathazhu. The film was also remade in Telugu as Chandramukhi in 2005.
The plot of Bhool Bhulaiya revolves around a small village whose denizens are very conservative and superstitious. The film tells the story of a young couple arriving at the ancestral mansion. Ignoring the protests of their superstitious uncle, they move in to mansion, when unusual and supernatural events begin to happen. The couple’s close friend, a psychiatrist is called in to investigate. Vidya Balan will be seen playing a Kathak dancer who suffers from split personality.
According to Priyadarshan, “It is a blend of thrill and humour. With this movie, I am trying to reveal many dimensions of human psychology.” The film stars Shiney Ahuja and Vidya Balan in the lead roles. The film will also feature Akshay Kumar, Amisha Patel, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav in pivotal roles. Pritam will compose the music for the film.
The screenplay and dialogue of the film have been penned by Neeraj Vora. S. Theeru and N. Gopalakrishnan are handling the cinematography and editing of the film, respectively. The film began shooting on February 18, 2007 in Jaipur. The shooting of the film will be wrapped up in 41 days and then the post production work will start.
Apart from making the audience spellbound by the humourous elements in his movies, Priyadarshan has also crafted the art of story telling. He always comes up with new plots and ideas. Going by the records, this will certainly be a complete entertainer.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Box Office Report 1st September 2007


Movie name Week Note
Dhokha New Dhokha had a limited release and opened to poor houses of 15%. Its low costs will be its biggest advantage.
Ram Gopal Ki Verma Ki Aag NewThe film was expected to open well due to the hype and being a remake of the legendary blockbuster film Sholay(1975). But the opening was a shocker at 20-25%. It may do better in Mumbai and South but not enough to recover costs. In the North it has bombed already. The reports are very poor.
Victoria 203 NewThis remake also had a poor opening of around 15% and will struggle at the box office.
Heyy Babyy 1 Heyy Babyy has done very good business of around 25-26 crore in its first week. The film had drops at small centres from Wednesday but multiplexes and big cities have gone into the second week with good 65-70% collections. The film is hit and remains to be seen if it becomes a superhit.
Chak De India 3 Very poor first week business.
Cash 2 Falls 50% in week three but with many states going tax free the film could reach Blockbuster status in the long run.



Chak De India will emerge a hit or better in Mumbai, Delhi/UP(UP is only fair but Delhi/NCR is strong), East Punjab, CI, Nizam and Mysore. The other circuits will depend on how well they sustain collections from here on. But it’s unlikely to have a losing circuit as even Bihar may notch up 18-20 lakhs from the 7 prints sent to the circuit.On an all India basis the first week nett business should come in the region of 17-19 crore.. The approx breakdown of collections are Friday-2.35 crore, Saturday-3.40 crore and Sunday-3.75 crore giving it a 9.50 crore nett gross for the first three days.
Cash scores over the weekend
Cash has managed business of 11crore in its first three days. Despite a bashing from the media and critics the film managed to rake in the moolah over its first 3 days. The film did drop from Monday onwards but will still manage business of around 18 crore in its first week. Gandhi My Father managed just 1.50 crore business over the weekend and is struggling at the box office.
Partner collects a massive 95 crore world wide in 2 weeks
The figures after 2 weeks are as follows
India-80 crore(48.75 crore nett)
UK-5.50 crore
USA-4 crore
Rest of the World-5.50 crore
TOTAL-95 crore

Movie name Week Note
Buddha Mar Gaya New Poor opening of 15-20%. The film will struggle at the box office.
Marigold NewPoor opening of 10-15% and has had a very small release for a Salman Khan film. Reports are poor.
Chak De India 1The film recorded good first week collections of about 20 crore but it is in the second week that the will come into its own as 8th day was excellent at 80% with the weekend expected to be better. The film will emerge the second major hit of 2007 after Partner.
Kaafila 1 Extremely poor first week all over.
The Blue Umbrella 1 Very poor first week business.
Cash 2 Falls heavily in week 2FLOP.
Partner 4 BLOCKBUSTER.

Jhony Gaddar

Release DateSeptember 28, 2007
Cast: Dharmendra, Rimi Sen, Vinay Pathak, Zakir Hussain, Govind Namdeo, Rasika Joshi, Neil Nitin Mukesh
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Music: Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani
Synopsis The story revolves around a gang of five men, the eldest (Dharmendra) over 60, the youngest (Neil) in his twenties, who face the bright prospect of making a fortune through what seems to be a simple exchange of contraband for money on a train.
However, this goes badly wrong with one of the gang members being killed before he can make the exchange and the money he was holding disappearing. Then follows a ruthless search for the thief and killer who must be a traitor amongst them for who else could have known about the heist? Not a typical whodunit in the literal sense of the word, Johnny Gaddaar is an interesting mix of greed, betrayal, corruption, love, desperation and murder.
The film features an ensemble cast featuring the iconic Dharmendra and introducing in a leading role Neil Nitin Mukesh, the son of Nitin Mukesh and grandson of singer Mukesh.
The cast also comprises Rimii Sen in a departure from her previous roles Zakir Husain, Vinay Pathak, Daya Shetty and Ashwini Kalsekar.. The film will have a mega stylish soundtrack, with Vishal Shekhar at the helm.

Victoria No.203

Release DateAugust 31, 2007
GenreComedy / Suspense
ProducerKamal Sadanah
DirectorAnant Mahadevan
Star CastAnupam Kher, Om Puri, Jimmy Shergill, Preeti Jhangiani, Sonia Mehra, Kamal Sadanah, Javed Jaffrey, Tora Khasgir, Johny Lever SingersJaved Jaffrey
LyricistSameer
Music DirectorHimesh Reshammiya,Viju Shah
ChoreographyJaved Jaffrey
ActionShyam Kaushal
EditorSanjib Datta
ScreenplaySunjiv Puri,Manoj Tyagi
DialogueSunjiv Puri,Manoj Tyagi
Synopsis : A remake of the original 70s blockbuster hit, Victoria No. 203 is about a diamond heist and how the lives of several colourful players get intertwined in the search for the stolen diamonds. The movie takes off with a display of the 100 crore diamonds. Bobby Bombata (Jaaved Jaafri), a nefarious industrialist and Devyani (Preeti Jhangiani), his mole, are smitten by the diamonds. Bombata is willing to acquire them at any price but when his offer to buy the diamonds is turned down, he hires the services of a cat burglar, Tora (Tora Khasgir), in order to steal the diamonds. Tora performs a daredevil heist and escapes with the diamonds. But she has an agenda of her own and plans to double-cross Bombata with the help of her brother Karan (Rajesh Khera). Just as she is about to make good her escape she runs into the infamous Ranjit (Kamal Sadanah), who stabs her. Wounded and on the run, she falls next to Victoria No. 203 in which she hides the diamonds. Raman, the Victoria owner, offers to take her to the hospital and in the process gets caught by the police who suspect him of attempted murder.
Raman’s daughter Sara (Soniya Mehra) is forced at this stage to ride the Victoria in order to make money for her father’s trial, unaware that she is riding around Bombay with 100 crore worth diamonds in her Victoria! Or is she? Enter Jimmy (Jimmy Sheirgill), an expert on diamonds, who takes a ride in the Victoria and falls instantly in love with Sara, bringing romance to the proceedings. But Jimmy is more than just an expert on diamonds, as the two key players in the film, Raja (Anupam Kher) & Rana (Om Puri), small time crooks out to make a fast buck, find out. Just out of jail, they come across a key that promises to reverse their ill fortune. The key leads Raja and Rana to the Victoria and the ride begins, culminating in all the characters meeting in an unbelievably hilarious climax. The film also stars Johnny Lever, and has music by Viju Shah, with the classic hits Do Bechare and Thodasa Thehro making a comeback. Produced by Kamal Sadanah and directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, Victoria No. 203 is a comic caper that promises an unmissable ride of fun and excitement.Take the ride at a cinema near you.

Review Of Marigold

Rating *
We often criticize Bollywood for churning out movies that make no sense. But after you've watched Marigold, you'd agree that Hollywood churns out bigger turkeys.
Marigold, directed by American director Willard Carroll, is as off-putting as a week-old omelette. In fact, Marigold has nothing to keep your eyeballs glued to the screen. An apology of a story, a powerless screenplay, shoddy visual effects, poor music and nightmarish direction, that's the ideal description of Marigold. No redeeming aspects? Nothing, except for a pretty looking Ali Larter..
Seriously, what were the makers thinking when they okayed this amateurish piece of writing? Look at the kind of cinema being churned out in India today. Good, bad, whatever, it's better than Marigold.
In a nutshell, Marigold is a classic case of 'Bad Cinema'. This one deserves to be watched by every director for understanding what not to make. One big yawn!
Marigold is about a young American woman who travels to India and finds that her life is transformed in the most unexpected ways by her experiences and adventures there.American actress Marigold [Ali Larter] arrives in India with no luggage and a bad attitude. Stranded in Goa when financing for her low-budget Hollywood movie falls apart, Marigold finds herself cast in a small role in a Bollywood musical. Eager to prove herself, she enlists the aid of Prem [Salman Khan], the film's choreographer. Marigold is most definitely not a natural dancer, but she experiences renewed confidence and growing love for Prem.
In rapid succession, Marigold discovers that Prem will be marrying a beautiful India girl Janvi [Nandana Sen]. Unable to deal with this development, Marigold angrily departs from Prem's family estate. But she is urged back by Janvi who confesses that Prem doesn't love her and never will.
Another complication arises in the form of Marigold's boyfriend, Barry [Ian Bohen], who arrives in India unexpectedly and finds Marigold very much in love with Prem.
Marigold disappoints on Level 1 itself. The storyline brings back memories of the forgettable stuff that dominated Hindi cinema in the 1970s. Thanks to a poor plotline, what unravels in the next 2 hours is as spiceless as boiled food. There's not a single moment in the film that makes you jump with joy or pine for the lovers.
The writing is so inane and amateurish that you actually pinch yourself, Is this for real? Are you actually watching a film or watching a bad dream? That's applicable for Willard Carroll's direction as well. Without doubt, 'The Razzie' for 2007 should be awarded to Mr. Carroll. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is of fast-forward quality. Anil Mehta's cinematography is alright, although the D.O.P. isn't in form here. The production design/sets are tacky.
Salman Khan is terrible and so is his dialogue delivery. What were you saying in the movie, Mr. Khan? Were you chewing beetle nut? His lines are hardly audible. Also, he tries hard to ape the American accent, but falls flat. Ali Larter is as fresh as Marigold, the flower, not the movie. Her performance is quite interesting.
Vikas Bhalla is pure teakwood. So is Roopak Saluja -- absolutely wooden. Suchitra Pillai does well. Nandana Sen is unintentionally funny. Rakesh Bedi makes you laugh, for the right reasons. Vijayendra Ghatge and Kiran Juneja seemed to have walked out of the sets of Dharam-Veer. And what was Gulshan Grover doing in this film? Ian Bohen adds to the list of non-actors.
On the whole, Marigold is a terrible film with gloomy prospects. A sure-shot disaster!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Om Shanti Om

PresenterGauri Khan
BannerRed Chillies Entertainment
Release Date Nov 2007
GenreReincarnation
ProducerShahrukh Khan
DirectorFarah Khan
Star CastShahrukh Khan,Deepika Padukone,Shreyas Talpade,Malaika Arora,[Vishal Dadlani,Rishi Kapoor,Subhash Ghai,Karan Johar,AmitabhBachchan,Abhishek Bachchan,Hrithik Roshan,Rani Mukherjee,Preity Zinta,Javed Sheikh (Pakistan),Arjun Rampal,Zayed KhanArbaaz Khan,DinoMorea,RiteshDeshmukh,Aftabshivdasani,Rekha,Shabana Azmi,Kajol,Priyanka Chopra,Shilpa Shetty,Lara Dutta,Vidya Balan,Amrita Arora,Juhi Chawla,Saif Ali Khan,Sanjay,Jeetendra,Tusshar Kapoor,Mithun Chakraborty,Karisma Kapoor,Tabu,Urmila Matondkar,Sunil Shetty,Govinda,Bobby Deol,Sridevi In Special appearance]SingersAbhijeet,Sadhana Sargam
LyricistGulzarMusic DirectorVishal Dadlani,Shekhar Ravjiani,Pyarelal
ActionAmar Shetty
EditorShirish Kunder
Story / WriterFarah Khan,Mayur Puri,Mushtaq Sheikh
,
synopsisBollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is to be reborn. The cat is finally out of the bag, Farah Khan has finally revealed the synopsis of her new film Om Shanti Om, and it is not a remake.
Rumours going around the media were that Farah Khan was going to base the film on the remake of classic hit Karz, which starred Rishi Kapoor.
But Farah has said that the film is defiantly not a remake but it has similarities with Karz.
The film is set during the 70’s and the present. Shah Rukh Khan plays a character who dies during the 70s but is reborn soon after, and starts to remember his previous life when he reached his adult age. In Karz, Rishi Kapoor’s character was also reincarnated.
That is as far as Farah Khan has gone, but we here at radiosargam.com can reveal a little more, about the actual story of the film. We were the first to reveal the story of Veer-Zaara, upsetting Yash Raj Films, and we can now reveal the story to this Farah Khan film also.
The story is a mix of Hrithik Roshan’s Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, Rishi Kapoor’s Karz, and the Nicole Kidman starrer Birth.
The story begins in the 70s where Shah Rukh Khan’s character falls in love with a beautiful young girl (played by newcomer Deepika Padukone). However, certain incidents take place, and Shah Rukh Khan is murdered.
He is immediately reborn, and as soon as he reaches adulthood, goes in search of the girl that he left behind in the 70s. The only problem is that his love is now in her golden age and there is a huge age difference.
Will both overcome that?
Will Shah Rukh be able to avenge his death?
Will both lovers be able to live together?
That is the premise of this film.

Gauri Khan makes a cameo in 'Om Shanti Om'

For the first time Shah Rukh Khan’s wife Gauri Khan is making an appearance in a film.
None other than Mira Nair has expressed a desire to cast Gauri Khan in her film. But it is Farah Khan who has made the gorgeous wife of Shah Rukh Khan face the camera in Om Shanti Om .
Gauri’s appearance in the film will be a part of the end-credit song in which all the technicians and crewmembers make an appearance. Gauri appears as the official producer of the film.
‘Om Shanti Om’ is being made under the banner of Red Chillies Entertainment.
Farah Khan says he wanted to have Gauri for the end-credit song in her previous film Main Hoon Na also but Gauri was too shy back then to appear before the camera.
This time, however, the somewhat reticent wife of SRK has taken the plunge. Farah Khan says Gauri was natural before the camera.
Gauri has been involved in various aspects of films produced by Red Chillies. She has also been finalizing costumes for her hubby in films. However, there is little chance that she will take up acting in movies.

Jab We Met

Releasing Date:7 oct 2007
Cast:Kareena Kapoor,Shahid Khan
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Producer: Dhillin Mehta
Music:Pritam
Lyrics:Irshad Kamil
Cinematographer: S Natarajan Subramaniam
Costume Designers: Manish Malhotra & Shabina Khan
SynopsisImtiaz Ali's Next, is a forthcoming Bollywood film directed by Imtiaz Ali who earlier directed Socha Na Tha starring Ayesha Takia and Abhay Deol. The film stars Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor in their fifth film together and will be produced by Dhillin Mehta under Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd. The film's score and soundtrack will be composed by Pritam with lyrics by Irshad Kamil and is scheduled for a release in October 2007.
The movie apparently will tell a love story between a loud Punjabi girl Kareena Kapoor and a Mumbai guy Shahid Kapoor. The story begins with a chance meeting between two strangers and develops into a kind of romantic adventure set in Patiala, Punjab.
Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd and Director Imtiaz Ali have come up with a fun contest to decide the title of their Untitled film starring Shahid and Kareena Kapoor in the lead!!
The audiences will be given three choices to choose from!! 'Actually the idea came from Shahid. All of us had different ideas about the title... we finally narrowed it down to three titles but couldn't decide which one. So we thought we would ask our audiences!! The title with the highest votes will win.' says Director Imtiaz Ali. The film is produced by Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd (Of Golmaal and BhagamBhag fame)
The first title is PUNJAB MAIL - it signifies a relationship between two strangers (Shahid and Kareena Kapoor) who meet on a train to Punjab

The second title is ISHQ VIA BHATINDA- since both the characters end up going there because of certain incidents and

The third title JAB WE MET is a mix of Hindi- English words since the youth today use both in a eclectic mix...

Will it be Punjab Mail, Ishq via Bhatinda, or Jab We Met...

Aaja Nachely

Presenter:Yash Chopra
Banner:Yash Raj Films
Release Date:November 30, 2007
Genre:Musical
Producer:Aditya Chopra
Director:Anil Mehta
Cast:Madhuri Dixit,Akshaye Khanna,Konkona Sen Sharma,Kunal Kapoor,Ranvir Shorey,Irrfan Khan
Music Director:Salim Merchant,Sulaiman Merchant
Cinematography:Anil Mehta
After long haitus, The original Queen of Hearts - Madhuri Dixit will be glowing the silver screen with Yash Raj’s forthcoming ‘Aaja Nachle’. We bring you an exclusive thearatical teaser of the movie. After Dil To Pagal Hai, Madhuri is once again roped into musical love story by Yash Raj Production.
Post marriage, Madhuri left bollywood to settle down with an NRI Dr. Nene in USA. They had two wonderful childrens too, but Madhuri was longing for her first love - Bollywood. So after raising up her kids and handling her family she once again came back to Mumbai - the filminagari of India.
So, this november, there is one strong reason to dance along - with Madhuri Dixit !

Friday, August 17, 2007

Speed

Release Date : Sep 2007
Genre : Thriller / Action
Director : Vikram Bhatt
Producer : Pammi Baweja
Banner : Baweja Movies Pvt. Ltd.
Presenter : Harry Baweja
Lyricists : Mayur Puri, Shabbir Ahmed
Choreographers : Raju Khan, Remo, Shabina Khan, Joy, Antara Mitra
Playback Singers : Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam
Cast :Zayed Khan as Sandy,Urmila Matondkar,Aashish Chaudhary,Aftab Shivdasani,Sanjay Suri as Siddharth,Sophie Chaudhary,Tanushree Datta,Amrita Arora,Yaseen Choudhary as a British Child ArtistSynopsisThe director of the acclaimed movie 'Raaz', 'Awara Paagal Deewana' and Elaan, comes an action comedy Wrong Number.
What do you do when you get a phone call from a stranger begging you to save her life? What would you do if your only ray ray of hope is your phone? Would you sacrifice your love to save somebody's child? Wrong number answers these questions in a dramatic way. It's a great mix of mystery, action and comedy, on the beautiful backdrop of London.
Zayed comes to London to convince his girlfriend Minisha to give him another chance to prove his love for her. Meanwhile, Sanjay, an undercover MI5 agent, receives a CD from Sohail Khan and his lady, Tanushree, which contains the recording of his kidnapped wife, Urmila, and is asked to follow the instructions. He asks his colleague Amrita to crack the code and moves off. He's completely confused about what's happening. Soon he realises that he is being used as a weapon to assassinate the PM of India on his London tour. As he is still not agreeing to plans, Sohail finally decides to kidnap his kid.Sanjay's kidnapped wife, Urmila, starts trying to escape. Her only ray of hope is the telephone call she's accidentally made to Zayed Khan He's in touch with her throughout the movie on his cell phone. Continuously talking with her and giving her moral support. As Zayed decides to help Urmila, his love of life,Minisha gets pissed off and threatens to break up again. A happy-go-lucky brat Zayed, who never takes anything seriously, risks his own life to save an unknown family just because of a call.
Aashish Chaudhary - the super-cop of London is in charge of security of the visiting Prime Minister. But as his girlfriend has her birthday the very same day, Ashish is caught between his personal life and duty. He obviously chooses the later.
Wrong Number deals with many different characters and their lives on a parallel ground. It's a story of how lives of unknown people get intermingled during this crisis.
Will Sohail and tanushree succeed in their sinister plans? And will Zayed be able to save his love life with Minisha?, Will Urmila and her kid live another day just with the help of Zayed's phone? Will Ashish be able to protect the life of the Prime Minister?
Speed is a visual extravaganza with a touch of humour, action and suspense.

Jodha Akbar

Release Date:12 October 2007
Genre:Action, Drama, Romance, Epic
Banner:Ashutosh Gowariker Productions
Presenter:UTV Motion Pictures
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala, Ashutosh Gowariker
Director:Ashutosh Gowariker
Cast:Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Sonu Sood, Punam S. Sinha, Raza Murad, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Suhasini Mulay, Ila Arun, Rajesh Vivek, Pramod Moutho, Surendra Pal, Visswa Badola, Pramatesh Mehta, Shaji Choudhary, Manava Naik, Disha Vakani, Abeer Abrar, Indrajit Sarkar, Aman Dhaliwal, Nikitin Dheer
Music Director :A. R. Rahman
Lyricist:Javed Akhtar
Cinematographer:Karan Deohans
Story Writer :Haidar Ali
Dialogue Writer :K. P. Saxena
Costume Designer :Neeta Lulla
Action Director :Ravi Dewan
Background Sound:A. R. Rahman
Choreographer :Chinni Prakash, Rekha Chinni Prakash, Raju Khan, Ash Kumar

SynopsisJodha Akbar is an epic period film based on history and fiction. The story depicts the romance between a Hindu Princess Jodha bai and Muslim Mughal Emperor Akbar. The setting is the historical and political background of Hindustan (India). It is a love story set in the sixteenth century. The film has been produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and the film stars the hit on-screen pair of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. A huge set was put up at Karjat to replicate the royal palaces and courts of the 16th century. The music for the film has been composed by A.R Rahman and the story has been written by Haider Ali.

Mughal Emperor Akbar is both revered and feared by his people. He is powerful and honest and yet when it comes to battle he is fierce, giving his enemies no opportunities for victory. Meanwhile 16th century India is dominated by a mixed culture of Muslim Emperors and Hindu Kings who guard their territory and subjects loyally. It is in this ambience of mixed cultures that the Hindu King Bharmal of Amer offers a hand of friendship to Emperor Akbar. This friendship is then turned into a relationship when the Hindu King offers Emperor Akbar his daughter, Princess Jodha’s hand in marriage. This union or offer of peace is made for political benefits by the Hindu King, but King Akbar accepts this marriage proposal. And thus begins a new journey in history and the lives of Akbar and Jodha, a feisty young Princess for her times.

The film delves into the life of Emperor Akbar, how he is crowned Emperor, his victorious battles and his love for the beautiful Princess Jodha. The romance is set within the background of political warfare and gruesome battles. Can a romance between a strong headed Hindu Princess and a passionate Muslim Mughal Emperor thrive in such conditions?

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Halla Bol

Release Date :12 October 2007
Cast:Ajay Devgan,Vidya Balan,Pankaj Kapoor,Ishteyak,Darshan Jariwala,(Kareena Kapoor Tusshar Kapoor,Sridevi,Boney Kapoor,Jackie Shroff,Ruby Bhatia,Pahlaj Nihalani,Neeraj Vora,Ranjit Kapoor, Mukesh Tiwari, Lekh Tandon
Director: Rajkumar Santoshi
Producer:Suresh Sharma
Editor: Steven Bernard
Cinematogrpaher: Nataraja Subramanian
Music: Sukhwinder Singh
Choreography: Ganesh Acharya
Synopsis:Ashfaque (Ajay Devgan) is a small town boy aspiring to be a film star in the Hindi film industry. He joins a street theatre group run by a reformed dacoit Sidhu (Pankaj Kapur) who uses street theatre as a medium to bring about an awakening in the masses. Ashfaque struggles to give a creative vent to the actor in him in order to realize his dreams..Ashfaque's determined struggle pays off and he gets a break in films. He gets a new screen name - Sameer Khan. With the passage of time, the roles start becoming better and he moves up the success ladder in a very short time. Soon, he becomes Sameer Khan the superstar - one who can enact any role with finesse, get under the skin of any and every character with ease and walk away with audience applause
Sadly, amidst all adulation and applause, he slowly loses his own identity. He forgets his real self and imbibes all characteristics of the various roles essayed by him on screen. Corruption takes over his entire system, alienating him from all loved ones, including his wife Sneha (Vidya Balan).
A shocking incident at a party changes everything, rocking Sameer Khan's lifestyle. He gets caught between his human self on one side and his corrupted superstar image on the other.
Whether the conflict within him gives way to good sense and whether he is able to discard his corrupted image and emerge as a true life hero, becomes an integral part of this true life cinema.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Buddha Mar Gaya

Release Date :17 August 2007
Genre :Comedy
Producer :Rahul Rawail, Sunil Lulla
Executive Producer :Rohit Kumar
Director :Rahul Rawail
Cast :Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Raakhi Sawant, Ranvir Shorey, Murli Sharma, Mukesh Tiwari, Mona Ambegaonkar
Music Director :Bappi Lahiri
Lyricist : Manoj Muntashir
Story Writer :Raju Saigal
Editor :Rahul Rawail
Background Sound :Ashish Manchanda

Synopsis:Buddha Mar Gaya - a black comedy about dead bodies, mucho moolah and funerals.Laxmikant Kabadiya aka LK, is one of India's richest industrialists, a self made man who's risen from selling scrap to become a construction magnate. His conglomerate is on the verge of a 5000 crore IPO that should make them one of the largest companies in the country. LK's family - comprising of his spinster twin sister Prerna, his two sons Ranjeet and Sameer, their wives Shruti and Anju respectively and Ranjeet's daughters Sanjana and Namrata, and Sameer's son, Pawan, can't stop salivating at the thought of all that money. Unfortunately for all of them fate displays a wicked sense of humour. On the night before the IPO opens, LK dies while copulating with a starlet who's aspiring to become the heroine of a film that LK plans to produce. The family is distraught and horrified. Not because a loved one has died but because now no one will buy their shares. So, on the advice of their family guru - Vidyut Baba, the family decides to hide the death of LK for a period of two days till the shares are all sold out. Little do they realize the crazy series of events that will follow on account of this duplicity.
After all, hiding the death of a man as famous as LK, is a Herculean task. To make matters worse, every time they're ready to announce LK's death, fate intervenes forcing them to keep his death hidden for another couple of days. Which results in them having to announce the death of a fictitious friend or relative of LK's... And stage fake funerals. Which of course means generating dead bodies and worse, getting the dead LK to make appearances at these funerals.
Complicating matters further are an inquisitive and greedy servant, the Prime Minister's fixer, a procurer of dead bodies, the paparazzi and for good measure a couple of cops. And of course internal jealousies, greed, rivalries within the family only add spice to the goings on.
Buddha Mar Gaya takes you on a rip-roaring ride into a world littered with dead bodies, body parts, unending greed, corruption, funerals, ice cubes and a femme fatale.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Review Of Blue Umbrella

Rating: ***
Cast: Pankaj Kapoor, Shreya Sharma;
Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
Visal Bharadwaj the man who continues to surprise us with his incredible movies, has already proved his skill in doing so in his debut film ‘Makdee’. Now, he comes up with another enchanting movie Blue Umbrella , based on a Ruskin Bond novella of the same title‘Blue Umbrella’ is a simple tale told well..
This film will make you smile.Vishal Bharradwaj, the Writer-Director along with his team of writers (Minty Kunwar Tepal, Abhishek Chaubey), has transformed the novella by Ruskin Bond into a nicely etched screen fable.Vishal doesn’t treat his audience like they were kids. That is why ‘Blue Umbrella’ is a film that will appeal to adults as well. A child’s mind usually thinks on the level of fantasy. And ‘Blue Umbrella’ has a well-balanced blend of fable and realism.
The story is set in a scenic, lush-green village somewhere in Himachal Pradesh. Biniya (Shreya Sharma), an eleven-year-old girl finds a beautiful, blue umbrella, and is enchanted by its form and beauty (apparently a Japanese design). The umbrella becomes Biniya’s priced possession and the object of envy for some people in the village. One among them is Nandkishore Khatri ( Pankaj Kapur ), who runs a small shop..
While Biniya goes on flaunting her blue umbrella to her friends and everyone in the tiny hamlet, Nandkishore has his plans to swindle the umbrella from her.
Things take a turn when the umbrella is stolen. Biniya suspects Nandkishore. But a search in Nandkishore’s shop produces no sign of the blue umbrella. So who is the thief?
‘Blue Umbrella’ is a simple story told in a beautiful, uncomplicated way. As the cinematographer’s camera captures the captivating beauty of the idyllic mountain village, the narrative moves at a relaxed pace. And the proceeding become engrossing after the umbrella goes missing. The story not just absorbs you it also tugs a few strings at your heart.
‘Blue Umbrella’ rests on the firm shoulders of Pankaj Kapur, one of the best acting talents in India. It is hard to catch Kapur acting. He actually becomes the character – the miserly and shrewd Nandkishore who speaks in a delightful rustic accent.Child actor Shreya Sharma is terrific. It is clear that Vishal Bharadwaj lets herself be rather than making her play a character. That is why her performance looks natural, even though it doesn’t demand much histrionics.
The blue umbrella is the third protagonist in the film. Without doing anything, the umbrella signifies people’s envy, owner’s pride and a wily man’s greed.
Vishal Bharadwaj has made a great film.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007)

Releasing Date:12 Oct
Genre :Drama
Banner :Yash Raj Films
Presenter :Yash Chopra
Producer :Aditya Chopra
Director :Pradeep Sarkar
Cast :Jaya Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kunal Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Ameya Pandya
Music Director :Shantanu Moitra
Story Writer :Aditya Chopra
Our bollywood queen Rani Mukherjee is playing a Prostitute , in her upcoming movie Laaga Chunari Mein Daag.Pradeep Sarkar's Bollywood drama Laaga Chunari Mein Daag concerns two sisters who learn that life is not nearly as simple in the big city as it was when they grew up in a loving family in their rural home. Soon both of them make compromises that lead to a loss of innocence.
Rani Mukerjee has taken the portrayal of bitter reality in films very seriously. From playing glamorous roles in the likes of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega and Hum Tum, the Queen of Bollywood sure has come a long way. She portrayed challenging roles in Yuva, Black and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna among others. But what stands out in the nature of roles Rani is doing now at the apparent peak of her career is her current choice of a playing prostitute in a couple of upcoming prominent films.
She had played the role of Heera in Aamir Khan's Mangal Pandey - The Rising where she was a tawaayaf. Now, the latest buzz is that Rani is playing middle class girl who takes on to prostitution in Yash Raj's Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. The film is directed by Pradeep Sarkar. Apparently, she will also be seen playing a prostitute by name Gulab in Sanjay Leela Bhansali Saawariya
It is now to be seen if this glamorous actress will be able to pull such hard hitting roles with ease and amaze the audiences.

Dhamaal (2007)

Starring:Sanjay Dutt,Ritesh Deshmukh,Arshad Warsi,Sharman Joshi,Tiku Talsania,Asrani,Javed Jaffrey,Aas
Director: Indra Kumar
Music: Adnan Sami
Indra Kumar is one film maker who has rarely missed making a mark in any of the films he has directed. In fact he has moved on as per the changing times, as witnessed in MASTI which was an out and out laugh riot based on male bonding.

DHAMAAL, as the name suggests, is a fun filled caper about four friends – Deshbandhu Roy aka Roy (Riteish Deshmukh), who believes that he was born to be the best detective in the world; Manav Shrivastav (Javed Jafferey), who actually happens to be the biggest idiot in the world, but is blissfully unaware about it and his elder brother, Aditya Shrivastav aka adi (Arshad Warsi), whose encyclopedic half knowledge about everything only adds to the great expertise of this group; the final component of which is Mr. Scared of everything, Boman Contractor (Aashish Chowdhury), whose greatest fear is his father, Nari Contractor (Asrani).
Here begins their misfortunes! Police Inspector, Kabir Nayak (Sanjay Dutt) has been chasing Bose for the last ten years. He finally finds him. Only dead! Desperate for his promotion, he questions the suspicious looking foursome he finds next to the body. When they manage to give him the slip, begins the Chase.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Inteview Of Shah Rukh Khan on Chak De India

Shah Rukh Khan interview about Chak De India
You won't see him cry, you won't see him clean shaved, you won't see him romancing his co-stars and you won't see him bash up bad guys. King Khan, as he is fondly called is back in his third off-beat role after Swades and Paheli where he plays the coach of a women’s hockey team in what's considered to be one of his most challenging characters he has ever portrayed onscreen. Here’s an exclusive interview with Shah Rukh Khan on his next big release Chak De India.
Chak De India appears like a very non-SRK film with you having no romantic liaisons or tear-jerking concerns.
I have known the director (Shimit Amin) for years. He is a very simple, hardworking and talented guy. He has worked with me in the film Asoka. He's a very sweet, unassuming kind of a guy and to choose a film which is on sports and which is normally neglected is daring. Apart from Lagaan, Hip Hip Hurray and Iqbal we haven't really made sports film now. It’s something that I wanted to do when I was younger but I didn't get a chance. So when I am old and grey and over the hill I am glad someone like Shimit thought that I could sort of fill in to a sports film. Field hockey has been a personal favourite sport of mine and I have been wanting my kids to learn it. I do feel I am no one to really comment from the outside that the state of Indian Hockey is not good but I have always felt that if there is anything I can do via the medium I love, that is acting, I will go to any extent to do it. Plus the fact that Yash Raj was producing it made it even special because they are all friends and family to me.

Also this time your character doesn’t have a lover-boy image.
Yes. I play Kabir Khan. He is a coach and an ex-Indian hockey player. He is having some problems in his life and wants to overcome them without being cynical and disturbed. He decides in his mind and heart that he is going to do something positive about it. It's a film about achievement in the face of failure and it's a film that looks at failure in a positive way. The idea is to take on some kind of a challenge and try to overcome that obstacle which had stopped you earlier so I would say the character is quite aggressive when he wants to be. It’s a mix of Jaideep's writing, Shimit's outlook, Adi's belief and my mannerisms and style – all rolled into one.

You don’t look the regular Shah Rukh in Chak De India
I have reached a stage where directors do not want me to look the same old Shah Rukh Khan. Shimit wanted Kabir Khan and that's how I look. A tough coach and a determined coach. I think the producer, director and the writer all thought that may be with a beard and shorter hair I would look different and I was fine with it. Only it’s very scratchy when you wake up in the morning. Even after a bath, you don't feel clean. I hope I don't have to grow a beard for another role for the next couple of years.

The entire hockey team in the film comprises of new actors.
Earlier I thought that working with newcomers would be a bit of a hassle because they would not know their lines. You know you become a little patronizing and a little kind at times, a little agitated and irritated too because things are not going the way you think they should go. But I think the whole production team had worked very hard with them and I do not want to take any credit away from these girls. I think they are very hardworking and wonderful. They have put their heart and soul into the film. They have practiced and learnt hockey, they have learnt the lines, they know the scenes they knew everything and at the end of it all after having worked for 18 years as an actor I thought I got a lot to learn.

Among the girls in the team, many of them must have been your fans.
We had a lot of readings before we started the film and couple of meetings so that we got easy with each other apart from some of them liking me. It's a little embarrassing because some of them were five to six years old when they saw my films. Then you suddenly realize, god! you are old and you've been in this industry for long. It was also important for me to be comfortable with them and not treat them like kids because the whole purpose of the character of Kabir is that he doesn't treat them like kids or girls he treats them like grown up, tough people. I think that little bit of being fans and stalwart compared to the others got over very fast in the reading and meeting stage and then we were all co-actors and co-actresses, just working together and having a great time.

You are known to be a sporty person. Did you play hockey in school?
Yes. I used to play a lot of field hockey in my school days. I was good at it but when I went and played for the film I was horrible. I was really awful. I had no stamina left. I think the technique of hockey has changed, Astroturf itself is very tiring. As shameful as it is to say but I thought I would be able to beat the girls but they kicked my butt as they were really good. I am no good at playing field hockey I realised. I realised while playing with them that it would be better if I use my status as a super star and not practice at all and tell them that I can pull it off by acting so I did that because I knew that no matter how much I practice, I would never be good at it but I have given it my best shot and hopefully it looks good enough.

What was your experience of working with Shimit Amin?
I think Shimit is a very sweet director. He's very quiet and very unassuming. He is an amazing technician because he himself is very skilled at editing which I think is half the battle won for a director and knowing fully what he wants, where he wants and how he will edit it. A sports film has to be shot in a very special way and normally it required somewhere between two to six cameras at times to shoot the film, so its very difficult to keep track of all that unless you happen to be a good technician. I think he has had a lot of education in world cinema and not just Indian cinema. He loves Indian cinema. Thus his exposure to both kind of cinema gives him an edge over a lot of other directors. He's young and he's made a wonderful film in the past Ab Tak Chhappan and he's a friend. I have known him for years and he is very comfortable to work with. A really sweet guy, he doesn't get angry, is great by nature and knows his job. He's an ideal director to work with.

Hockey as a sports option is not very common in schools today. Do you think it's a good game for the children of today?
I just hope the film can educate people to understand that even though Hockey is played with a stick and white ball it's not pool, it's not billiards, it's a different sport. It's a national sport. I would tell kids to give it a shot if they like it and go ahead otherwise there is always soccer, cricket or a Taekwondo.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the words Chak De India?
Chak De strangely to me is a line from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge. I remember we used to say Chak De Phate in DDLJ. I hope Chak De India becomes like a sporting line whenever Sachin is playing. Or perhaps when Dhanraj Pillai is going with the ball, somebody screams Chak De India which means score a goal or hit a sixer or get Sania Mirza to win the Wimbledon.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Review of Chak De

Cast:Shah Rukh,Vidhya maldav,Tanya Abrol,SandiaFurtado,Lalhmingkimi Khiangte,Shubhi Mehta,Arya Menon,Anaitha Nair
Director: Shimit Amin
Producer: Aditya Chopra

Overall Rating
Story ***
Cast Performance ****
Soundtrack ****
Cinematography ****

Kabir Khan (Shahrukh ) is branded as a traitor after he loses the match against Pakistan in the capacity of the captain for Indian hockey team. Everybody hates him. After 7 years, he comes back as the coach for Indian women hockey team. The rest of the story is all about how he trains the 16 women of various states, different mindsets and attitudes to play as one and win the world cup
Shahrukh Khan did the role of a brilliant coach whose respect is battered by the misconception and the media. He is exceptional as an inspiring and tough coach. The actor in Shahrukh dominates the star in this film. It is nice to see Shahrukh Khan doing purposeful films like Swadesh and Chak De India once in a while. The girls who played the women hockey team are exceptionally good. The girls who did the roles of Preeti, Balbir and Komal dominate the scene.
The story of the film is about a typical underdog winning the game. The aspect of coach seeking redemption by making his team win added lot of grip to the story. What makes this film different is extraordinary script writing and superb direction. Screenplay is just perfect. The entire film is realistic barring certain episodes demanding creative freedom. The writer avoided the board's politics aspect in the storyline, in order to focus on establishing each and every character of player well and then show how they change their attitude to become team players. The following scenes are defining moments of the film "The McDonald's scene where the entire team shows team spirit by entering into a physical fight with the eve teasers.The applause team gets after playing against the men's teamThe phone call from Shukla. Coach telling Preeti and Komal about how they can make or mar the match."
Cinematography is amazing. Music is good. The baground music is peppy and suits the theme. Dialogues are very good. Editing is nice. It is nice to see Yashraj Films producing a purposeful film like this instead of box-office winning inspired popcorn entertainers.
The entire first half is concentrated on establishing all the characters in Hockey team and then inculcating the sense of belongingness among the team members. The second half is more entertaining with nice twists and engaging games. The plus points of the film are writing performances , direction by shimit and Cinematography by sudeep. It is a sensible and a brilliant film with soul. On a whole, Chak De India is one the best sports based films ever made in India. A must watch for everybody .