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2015-12-18T14:41:00.002+00:00

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Ganpati dance

2015-09-18T07:04:00.001+01:00

It is Ganpati time. It is the time of big Ganesh idols being magically balanced on juxtaposed thelaas (hand carts) and squeezed through narrow by-lanes of by-lanes.

Every year a new pandaal sprouts up. Every year a new team of youth assembles and decides to have their very own Ganpati pandaal. Every year is promised to be bigger than the last year.

To be fair, it even is.

Fireworks are passe. They now hold a matchstick against a big red can of HIT cockroach repellent or any other inflammable spray. Gulaal is old world. They now have party poppers in glittering colours. Head bands and blue coloured glasses are no longer in. Honey Singh was so last year. Nashik band and dhol was ubiquitous a couple of years back. The vehicle that accommodates the idol is led by another one which holds only huge speakers. The bulbul tarang and the banjo has made way for the music CD operator (aka DJ) who makes himself comfy somewhere behind the tall speakers.

What hasn't changed much is the trickling stream of faithful crowds that join the processions at regular intervals of a few metres.

What has not definitely changed at all is the Ganpati procession dance.

What is Ganpati procession dance, you ask? Now that is a difficult one. How can one even start to explain in words something that is inimitable? Once someone performs a step in the this style, it is difficult for even that person to repeat it.

This dance form has only one motto - "dance like no one is watching". Ironically, there are hordes gathered just to watch the adrenaline junkies make their killer moves.

Here is my humble attempt in jotting down some of the things one might notice in this form:
1. streams of sweat profusely flowing down the face of the dancer
2. first 3 buttons of the shirt are unbuttoned to show a bare chest or a bright coloured vest
3. if the eyes are open, the dancer's gaze is not looking anywhere in particular; definitely not the crazy flickering cameras
4. the beats of the song are for the listeners and not the dancers
5. choreography is for the meek
6. follow the leader and mind it, everyone is a leader; no can-do what others do

Still don't get the picture? Hmpff! Let me show you the epitome of all that I attempted to put in words.
Presenting the one and the only... Anil Kapoor.

Exhibit 1: Anil Kapoor has been let loose in from of the camera and they turned on some music for the rest of the people in the frame. The choreographer was on a leave. The camera man kept yelling to let Mr Kapoor know where he is. Mr Kapoor gives a damn. Notice the buttons on that expensive designer shirt. Notice where the trouser hangs. This was the song 'Inshaah Allaah' from the movie 'Welcome'. As if he cares which song it is.

Exhibit 2: You could say that in Welcome, Anil Kapoor plays a gangster and he was just in character. So, here is an example where Mr Kapoor plays a suave uber rich character in 'Dil Dhadakne Do'. This is a single shot song where the choreographer and director have taken great efforts to make sure that everyone knows what to do. Each character has been made to rehearse well choreographed steps. In comes a lady trying out some thumkaas and that is enough for Mr Kapoor to break loose. You can keep your money, Mr Producer and I will show some moves, Mr Choreographer. I mean, look at Farhan Akhtar and Parmeet Sethi and the usually loud Ranveer. Everyone is following orders. But there is Mr Kapoor, pulling out the pelvic thrusts. Look how close he gets with them. The shirt buttons are magically still fastened.

That ladies and gentlemen is all for now. See you at the visarjan procession.

Random Trailers I like - Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!

2015-01-25T13:00:00.002+00:00

A good trailer should be like a mini skirt, they say, reveal just enough and keep everyone interested. Does the trailer for 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!' do that? You bet, it does. It clearly has traces of the Guy Ritchie's take on Sherlock Holmes and the recreated Victorian era.

Before we proceed, here is a list of things that we already know about the characters from the version that Basu Chaterjee directed for Doordarshan:

Byomkesh Bakshi (note that this spelling does not have a 'Y' at the end. Neither does it have the exclamation. The former is for typographical balance, but the latter cannot be justified.) - A detective and introduces himself as Satyanveshi.
Ajit - BB's assistant, sidekick and friend
Satyabati - BB's wife with whom he bounces off his thoughts
Puntiram - BB's servant

Lets take a look at what it reveals and try to connect some dots about the much closely guarded movie story line.

The trailer starts with the production houses logo and moves on to define 'detective' based on pages from dictionaries and thesauruses. 'Satyanveshi' is what catches the eye as being the one that had been associated before as BB's nickname.

We see the first glimpse of BB being pulled by a rickshaw and he is traveling through the lanes of Chinatown. Note the red vertical scroll behind the boy. It has some Chinese writings on it.

We are taken to a conversation in a canteen full of people smoking cigarettes and drinking tea or some other hot beverage. The restaurant serves some dish made of potatoes. Note that the logo on the dish has a map of undivided India. So, the period is before 1947.

BB is shown sitting lost on a bench in an empty classroom with a pack of cigarettes and matches. Note the writing on the blackboard: "History of Love - Sexual - Divine - Obsession - (I cannot make out the text in the last circle)"

BB is seen angrily kicking a football. The wall in the background has the phrases -

"Mahamaya boarding house" - the letter box

"Yahaan sharaab evam afeem ka sevan karna sakt manaa hai" - left of door, below the letter box

"Homeopathy clinic" - Red, yellow, blue board on the right of the door

"Kamraa khaali hai" - Below the board

This scene is also the first clear view of the connected eyebrows of BB.

This has to be the lodge which has a connection to the story. The board on the right is particularly a freshly written one indicating that the room has been vacated only recently. Perhaps, the earlier occupant is a victim.

Next BB is shown moving between vehicular traffic. Note the advert of some saabun on the back of the red bus - "Angoori devi ki pasand - Film staaron ka sondarya saabun". Also, note the white skinned guy on the right in army clothes.

So, there is a film actress named 'Angoori Devi' and there is a war going on.

The banner reads - "SPECIAL RED CROSS DANCE - IN AID OF WAR FUNDS AT MIDNIGHT ON 15TH 1943" and more soldiers in a truck. The text on the screen clears any doubts about the location and period of the setting - 1943 Calcutta.

Ajit (Anand Tiwari) makes an entry informing that his father has been missing since the last 2 months.

Neeraj Kabi makes an entry. He seems to be expressing disbelief at BB's audacious claims.

Next enters, who I believe, is the Angoori Devi character mentioned above. She is shown to be a rather unabashed and flirtatious actress. The luxurious house and the lavish settings highlight that she is a rather wealthy personality. I doubt if actresses were known to earn that well in those days. So, she might be into other covert businesses, as well.
The opulent settings include a Jaguar vehicle, as well. But, this smooth Jaguar logo of the 'leaping cat' was adopted after the World War 2. There are not of retrospectively fitting this logo into the 1938 model, but that was after the World War 2, too. This might be a blooper.

BB is meeting Angoori Devi to inquire about the disappearance of Bhuvan Banerjee, possibly Ajit's father. She is shown to be leaning on a white vehicle this time. The vehicle is also shown to be driven with BB and Angoori Devi in it. It seems she is not comfortable about the investigation is afraid of something. She is shown nervously smoking a cigarette. She is certainly aware of some wrongdoings.

The trail of the investigation takes BB to Divya Menon (Sabyasachi's assistant). She plays Satyabati and she is not yet married to BB. So, there is a love story between them, as well.(She has a resemblance with Tulip Joshi, no?)

BB and Ajit are shown arguing about the latter's father's disappearance. So, the police might be hand in glove with this. BB enters an unused dusty room. He is seen to have discovered a newspaper with letters being cut out... for a collage?

Some missing letters in caps: prOclamation dAy. GUard your mouth agaiNST germs.

A bloodied hand holding a paan box is being handed over to Ajit, who looks at it with fear and anxiety. There should be some clues to his missing father in there or he could have be dead as BB instinctively claimed earlier.

The tempo of the music and the scenes suddenly switches to give a feel of the on going war. There are soldiers marching, there is the building that looks like a police head quarters and possibly a police officer conversing with BB (seen blurred in the mirror) about a 'green gang from Shanghai'. A disguised Ajit and BB are seen walking through a dark alley. They might be following someone or going to a rather some place where they can get more information.

There are frames of that actor from Kung Fu Hustle, threatening to kill another person of same origin using chopsticks! The design on their clothes seems like they are Chinese. Note the hand on the glass in the back.

BB is shown to be approaching a dressing table and taking out sheet(s) of folded paper. When he is reading it, he is shown to be held over the keys of a piano. These might not be contiguous scenes and they might not be BB's hands either.

The notes read:

"I know what you are upto meet me or everyone will know"

"Last chance tonight at the factory nine"

These are definitely related to the newspaper cut-out scene mentioned above.

The next is a series of scenes of transportation - tram to Shambazar, bus over the Howrah bridge and the map of Calcutta with 'x' marks.

Note the advertisement board for the cigarette brand seen in the canteen scene. Maybe this is BB's brand, too.

Another scene of Angoori Devi with the Jaguar follows. The 'leaping cat' logo again.

A wall mural scratchily painted in shades of red is shown. The text in white reads - Calcutta Kiss. Young Gun? The painting resembles the face of a wolf. A black car is shown trying to kill a what look like a disguised BB and Ajit. BB and Ajit are visiting a Buddhist monk, who was shown practicing martial arts earlier. The monk does not appear friendly.

The duo is then shown trying to administer medical aid to a bloodied young man. He has a long cut across his front upper half. He hands over what looks like the bloodied map we saw earlier.
The paan box features again. It certainly has some importance in the mystery. The father could have been missing because of a mistaken identity and only because he was holding the box.

What follow are very quick glimpses of BB being kidnapped and kept in a torture room with a security guard in khakhi uniform. A pathan with a white dog visits the kidnapped BB. Chinese goondaas assault BB.

Punchline dialogue: sach ke aas paas wala jhooth pakadna mushkil hota hai.

So, what can we make out of this about the story. Only that this is about BB's first case which starts with the search for Ajit's missing father and it involves among many - the mysterious actress named Angoori Devi, the police, the green gang of Shanghai and a missing tenant of Mahamaya lodge. Somewhere, Satyabati gets involved and there is a love story. I have totally skipped the intimate scenes between BB and Angoori Devi, as they are definitely distractions. The villain speaks hindi, but seems to have some influence over the Chinese and he has marked important areas in Calcutta for what I imagine is bomb blasts.

In conclusion, the trailer meets it purpose. We have something to look forward to in the month of April.

Item songs

2013-04-02T16:41:00.001+01:00

Wiki even has a definition of an item number! Is it a phrase in the Oxford dictionary yet? I would not be surprised by the answer to that one.

Heck some talented dudes out there have even compiled a list of Item Numbers in Indian cinema. On WikiPedia! No, really! It is a quite an exhaustive one. Detailed even. The criteria might be a bit vague there. But this argument is not what the blog is about. So what is it about, you might ask. Bataataa hu, bataataa hu, bhai.

The blog is about 3 item numbers that are not featured, yet, in the above Wiki list. They are on my repeat-view worthy list of Item numbers.

I love to love you baby - Not the Donna Summer hit. This one is from the critically acclaimed Saahib Biwi Aur Gangster. It has been sung energetically and sometimes in well-timed whispers by Rekha Bhadwaj. She already has some Vishal Bhardwaj item numbers in her cap. But, this one is composed by Anuj Garg, about whom I do not know anything else. The song starts with the director of the movie, Tigmanshu Dhulia, doing a sound check on the stage's mike, while a Shiny Alex (Lola Kutty's assistant) gapes at him from under his curly mop. Wow, so much trivia already and the song has not yet started. The item girl has not yet arrived. The legs of a damsel enter the frame. Who is she, we wonder. She sashays down the stage in her ghagra choli, she flirtatiously winks at the Saheb, she directs the band to get on with it and she takes it ON after the dance starts. It is Mukti Mohan, the talented sister of Shakti Mohan who won the Dance India Dance competition a couple of years back. She is joined by Bharat Bendre who is also the co-singer of the song. He is that guy in pink who gets a solo vocal and also gets to do a synchronised Mithun step with the lead dancer. He also get a tapli from Saheb's right hand man for tying to flirt with the Biwi's maid. The song kind of summarises the whole movie from the point of view of the Biwi. The on-screen rendition is interspersed with dialogues and the quick flashbacks. But one does not lose the connect with the song and drums even in the of the twists that unfurl though it. (ok ok... it was the most predictable twist). All this writing makes me go to 1h46m into the movie and view it again. I wonder who is the lyricist.

Aankh milaaungi - Khalid Mohammed brought together Asha Bhosle, Anu Malik, Sameer and Saroj Khan for this song. Karisma Kapoor dances out of her skin in a Mumbai discotheque, Velocity. A tight black leather shining in the disco lights tries to give her a look that is completely indifferent to the character of Fiza that she plays. Her efforts in this song serve enough to get her the Filmfare award. I first heard this while traveling in a rickshaw in Mumbai. Imagine the wub-woofer going dhing dhi dhing and the treble going chinksy-chi-chinx at full volume as you sit in the enclosed back seat of the rickshaw. You can resist it for the first few seconds, but after the first stanza, you are sucked into it, the song is hammered into the head and you realise that you are still humming it even after you have entered home. The movie also had the unforgettable qawali by A R Rehman, which we will leave for another post.

Abhi toh main jawaan hu - Before 'Fevicol Se', there was 'Abhi toh main...'. Before Mamta Sharma, there was Alisha Chinai (and before here was Ila Arun). Before Kareena Kapoor was Nisha Kothari as Ria in the utterly forgettable remake of Collateral. The music-duo Sajid-Wajid recently rehashed the song into what became the item song for Dabangg 2. No, really... its the same bass, the same beats, the same tempo even. No wonder the music album for Dabangg 2 was completed in 9 hrs straight! Lets get back to the song that is also the opening sequence of 'The Killer' and gets everyone in the stalls of the New Vijay theatre lifting their lungis and dancing in the aisles. "ONCE MORE", they all shout and the projectionist gives them what they want because there is nothing else in the movie that can give them value for their Rs. 25. How could someone who is associated with the direction department of the Krrish series make something like this!

By the way, 'Item' is also a word whose letters make 'Emit', 'Mite' and 'Time'; a starting letter for each letter.

Fake tha Tiger

2012-09-01T19:22:00.001+01:00

Ek tha Tiger

Loved the following 2 takes on the movie :)

*ing: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Girish Karnad

Director: Kabir Khan
Music: Sohail Sen, Sajid-Wajid

The film is the story of a RAW agent (Salman) who falls in love with a girl (Katrina) during one of his missions and then decides to quit espionage to be with her. The RAW agency considers it a risk to their agency's functions and the rest of the film is how they escape the agencies attempts to capture them.

Pros:

The production values of Yashraj studios
Very new locales for a Hindi movie
Story by Aditya Chopra
Just the right length
Action scenes

Cons:

Abrupt song sequences
Some very over the top stunts
Poor dialogues

Things I remember:

A hyped song, 'Mashaallah', appears at the end of the movie
"102 mulk hai duniya mein aur saale Tiger ko ek Pakistani pasand hi aayi!"

Trivia:

Kabir Khan has directed Katrina earlier in New York, also a Yashraj production.
He also roped in Abbas Ali Zafar (director of Yashraj's 'Mere Brother ki Dulhan') for supervising the action scenes as the latter had assisted him earlier.
There are many resemblances with Agent Vinod that released earlier this year.

A Gent We Know

2012-03-24T10:40:00.000+00:00

Agent Vinod

*ing: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor

Vinod is a super spy on a mission to find out what '242' means to an international group of terrorists. This involves guns, chases, globe trot and lots of action.

Director: Sriram Raghavan
Music: Pritam

Pros:
- The pace of the film in the first half is twice that in the second half.
- An eye-for-detail is exhibited in every scene (e.g. the seekh with half-eaten kababs in the opening sequence in the middle of an Afghan desert.)
- The background score brilliantly translates the on-screen actions to sound (e.g. the background music stops as soon as Kareena turns off the faucet and fills her glass)
- The action is super fast and does not rely on super-slow-mo to create an impact
- Retro, stylish and slick
- New foreign locales
- Hardly any logical loose ends

Cons:
- The narration slows in the second half and becomes predictable in bits
- 'Muft ka' song was easily avoidable

Things I remember:
- 'Raabta' filmed in a single continuous shot (earlier done by Farah Khan in 'Main hoon Na'). All songs except 'Muft ka' are in the background and yet complete.
- The viewer is taken through a quick touristy tour of Delhi - Red Fort, India Gate, Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh and Ring roads.
- If 'BBuddah hoga tera baap' was done by Sriram Raghavan, it would have made an even better Agent Vinod (of Agent Vijay)

You would like this if:
- you liked 'Johhny Gaddar'

Trivia:
- It has become a norm for Sriram Raghavan to pay homage to bollywood of 70/80s. He does it by using 2 Nasir Husain songs this time.
- More homage to the 70s is offered generously:

"Kaun hai?"
"Mahendar Sandhu." << Name of the hero who played the original Agent Vinod in the 70s
"Yeh jheel si neeli aankhen, koi raaz hai inmain gehra" << Lyrics of the hit song from Kashmir ki Kali debuting Saif's mom, Sharmila Tagore.
"Naam kya hai?"
"Vinod. Vinod Khanna. Rishi Kapoor, Akbar. Amitabh, Anthony. My name is Anthony Gonsalves."
Persis Khambatta (model of the 80s and starred in Star Trek) and Freddie Mercury (of Queen) - both with Parsi roots - are used as a character named 'Freddie Khambatta'
Boney M's Rasputin

- 242 is the BEST bus number that ferries to the offices of some popular TV production houses.

Hagneepath 2012

2012-01-29T16:06:00.000+00:00

Agneepath (2012)

*ing: Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra

The movie is about Vijay (Hrithik) who, as a child, witnesses the murder of his father in his native town - Mandwa. Kancha bhau (Sanjay Dutt), a heroin businessman, is the schemer and the main stakeholder for the murder. Vijay and his mother abandon Mandwa and settle in Mumbai. He grows up being part of the Mumbai underworld (?). His aim is to become as powerful as Kancha in order to avenge his father's murder.

Director: Karan Malhotra

Music: Ajay-Atul (the beauty of the marathi version of Chikni Chameli was the rustic male voice which is sorely missed)

Pros:
- The title and some names (character + location) resemble a cult movie
- Rishi Kapoor as Rauf Lala makes a super-kameena character
- Sanjay Dutt as Kancha bhau looks menacing with his no-hair-no-eyebrows look
- Katrina Kaif's Chikni Chameli provides the refresher in the otherwise tense environment

Cons:

- Comparisons with the namesake is inevitable from the pre-release

- The characters of Vijay's dad, mom and sister seem half-baked almost like the director assumes that people are already aware of them

Things I remember:

- The appearance and disappearance of greenish shade on the scalp of Sanjay Dutt almost breaks the continuity of some scenes.

- Vijay stabs his childhood enemy at the beach during Ganesh visarjan and whispers to him "Naam Vijay Chauhan... Vijay Dinanath Chauhan... poora naam... baap ka naam master Dinanath". The scene gets help from the Nashik dhol background music and gulaal. For me, this is the only scene where Vijay appeared angry.

- Vijay and his mom travel from Mandwa by boat and land at Dockyard and then settle in a chawl Dongri.

- People in the theatre yawning :P

Trivia:

This is not the first time that the Chikni Chameli tune has appeared in a hindi movie. I had blogged about it earlier in the trivia section of another phillum post here.

KBC for the filmy keedas

2011-09-18T15:34:00.001+01:00

While watching an Amitabh movie on Sony Set Max channel, my mom reminded me that I have watched this movie a million times already. She was, of course, exaggerating. The actual number might be in 2-digits, though. So, when there is an ad break, she rushes to switch to her daily soap on some other channel. This is where I need to be quick and agile in putting my hand between the remote and the sensor on the TV.

"Mom, this is the most interesting part."

"What? The ads?!"

"No, maa, the Extra Shots."

And then a nugget of trivia related to the movie unfolds on the screen.

How else would I have known that Alisha Chinoy debuted as a playback singer in Tarzan at the insistence of B Subhash who heard her sing in Dalip Tahil's play named Evita?

Or that the role played by Zeenat Aman in Yaadon Ki Baaraat was first offered to Asha Parekh, who turned it down because she was scheduled for dance shows in a world tour.

Or that Amitabh Bachan had the switch to the lights in his hands for the "Saaraa Zamana" song in Yaarana.

All of this came back to me because today I am looking forward to the first episode of the quiz show based on all such trivia... Extra Shots Challenge.

[This post was inspired by Dipta Kirti's awesome blog promoting the show with 18 filmy questions.]

Deewana banaa de.

Gaudy-Bard

2011-09-04T16:51:00.000+01:00

Bodyguard

Starring:
Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Raj Babbar, Asrani, Aditya Pancholi, Mahesh Manjrekar

Lovely Singh (Salman) is a professional bodyguard assigned with the job of protecting Divya (Kareena). She is a MBA student under threat of being killed by the villains. However, her college life seems to be disturbed because of the bodyguard that trails her all the way to her classroom. In an attempt to keep him busy elsewhere, she keeps calling him (as Chhaya) from an undisclosed private mobile number and serenades him to fall in love with Chhaya. He is not aware that Divya and Chhaya are actually the same girl till the very end of the movie. He performs his duty of protecting her from the villains.

Pros:
- Salman and Kareena put in decent performances
- A typical bollywood pot boiler masala film - action hai, masti hai, dance hai, music hai, drama hai, suspense hai

Cons:
- The comic track featuring Sunami Singh is too loud and most times unbearable

Music:
Himesh (yes, he is back!) and Pritam

You will like this if (and only if):
- You are a Salman fan
- You do not mind a mindless time pass popcorn movie

Trivia:
- Check the spellings of the names in the titles and the poster above (numerology seems to have caught with everyone)
- Salman's real life bodyguard - Shera - appears dancing in the entry song; along with Katrina Kaif
- Himesh ended his if-I-give-music-I-act-too condition for Salman Khan
- Eventually, there is a going to be an article which lists the different ways that Salman has unbottoned his shirt. In this movie, his shirt tears open by a blast of water from a broken pipe.

Hawa Hawai

2011-06-08T03:40:00.000+01:00

Imagine
Laaka chik laaka chik
Chiki laaka chiki choom.

Imagine that in reggae.

Now replace Kavita Krishnamurthy with the unmelodious scratchy voice of Suman Shridhar without any of the sound engineer's polishings.

Doesn't seem good, no?

But then listen to the remastered version of Hawa Hawai from the OST Shaitan. I am not sure if it is available on the music CD. I first heard the song playing in a promo for the movie and got an mp3 from Cooltoad and have been stuck with the song since then. The scratchiness of the voice adds to the fun. How it makes the song feel like anyone can sing it!

The vocal twang in the lines -
Soorat hi maine aisi paayee
Kehte hai mujhkooooo
- is fun.

The rest of the album itself is a DJs playground. It has a variety of places for those who can play with the tempo and can get the dance floor moving. I liked the Nasha number a lot. It reminds me of Naach from Karthik Calling Karthik.

Repeat view-worthy: Khakee

2010-09-12T13:04:00.006+01:00

Toofaan ab karegaa roshni ka faislaa,

Diyaa woh jalegaa jis mein dam ho.

Only Amitabh could say these lines with the charisma with which he does.

Rajkumar Santoshi directs this fast paced thriller with his usual touch of comedy and songs. His intention was to bring together all actors with names starting from the latter 'A'. However, Akshaye Khanna turned down the role which eventually went to Tushar Kapoor.

The movie caught my attention when I first saw the poster at New Excelsior theatre in South Bombay. During those days Amitabh was sporting a french beard and it was a refreshing change to see him in this avatar. Check out the similarities with the Deewar poster... signifying the arrival of a Big B movie. (wasn't Amitabh supposed to be in blue shirt, instead of red?)

The film revolves around a group of 5 police officers assigned with the task of moving a suspected terrorist, Dr Iqbal Ansari (Atul Kulkarni) from the jail to the court. The story unfolds to reveal the darker motives of the politician and the corrupt police in falsely implicating Dr Ansari.

Amitabh stands out tall as the leader of the police group, DCP Anand Srivastav. Ajay Devgan as Angre puts in a villainous performance (perhaps bettering the one in 'Deewangi'). Aishwarya Rai's work as Mahalaxmi in the movie is not just restricted to songs-dance or being the glam quotient. Akshay Kumar provides the comedy relief with his role of the corrupt cop who is moved by Amitabh's speech towards the middle of the movie. Tushar Kapoor plays the role of a newly joined officer who aces at shooting.

The film gets its repeat value from scenes where

- Angre makes the hawaldaars slap their DCP (Amitabh) and says 'tumne mujhe maaraa toh chamdi pe lagaa, maine maaraa toh yahaan (pointing to the DCP's heart) lagaa. isko bolte hai badlaa; jimein maar khaane waalaa bhi roye aur maarne waalaa bhi.'

- Tushar Kapoor breaks out the sad news of hawaaldaar Sawant to Ahswini Khalsekar (Mrs Sawant).

- Tanuja (Dr Ansari's mother) slaps Amitabh on learning that her son was killed. I do not remember any other movie where Amitabh has been slapped these many times.

- Akshay Kumar throws the total filmi dialogue when he is going to be killed 'kisiko bataana mat ki mujhe kaise maaraa gaya nahi toh duniya ka pyaar aur mohobbat se bharosa uth jaayega'

Ram Sampath (of Peepli Live fame) provided a decent soundtrack. I especially like the haunting melody of 'Mere maula' and the catchy rendition of 'Uparwaale' by the trio of Sonu, Kunal and Sukhwinder.

Ikes

2010-05-23T16:12:00.004+01:00

Kites

Starring: Hrithik, Barbara, Kangana
Director: Anurag Basu
Music: Rajesh Roshan

Plot:
This is a love story of Linda and J. Linda speaks only Spanish and the 2 do not understand each other's languages. They manage to win the wrath of a powerful and rich casino owner. Guns and chases follow.

Pros:

Stunning cinematography
Hrithik Roshan
Unseen locales
A truly international look due to the expansive processing and re-processing

Cons:

Jarring background music
Too many scenes seem to have been edited out (e.g. Robin warning J that some day he would fall in love and face the consequences)
Minor continuity jerks (e.g. Linda throwing away her shoes in the rain and is seen wearing them again in the next scene)

Things I remember:

Nothing really happens through out the film. There is not a genuine wow-moment. Not even where one normally expects it; i.e. during Hrithik's dance. Perhaps, there was this one visually stunning bit of choreography for Fire, where Kangana jumps up in the air in a perfect arc from behind Hrithik... together with audio track, this was as close as it get to the wow-moment for me.
Hrithik crooning the title track of the movie; the track sounded very similar to Enrique's Hero.
Unlike the hindi films, the hero heroine do not break into an abrupt song-dance routines, rather, the songs are played in the background.

Trivia:
The song 'Tum bhi ho wahi' and 'Humko aajkal hai intezaar' (Sailaab) have one thing in common that the main singer repeats the few lines while the chorus get to sing rest of the song. Really, check them out.

Conversations

2010-05-01T09:46:00.002+01:00

There was an unnatural calm in the cubicle as RK, KB and me were punching through the keyboard. And like little red riding hood, a girl jaunted past us in red track-suit-like garb. Needless to mention here that the big bad wolves in the cubicle got distracted from their work.

Me: lagtaa hai gym se aayi hai seedha.
KB: Gym, hmm. (sigh!)
Me: Hey RK, tu gym gaya tha aaj?
RK: Nahi. 1 week se nahi gaya.
Me: Gym join karke 10 din hi toh huay hai!
RK: (with an unconvincing smirk) Kal jaaunga.
Me: and you, KB?
KB: (amidst roaring laughter) méré toh chaar hazaar hee barbaad huay hai, iské toh gyaarah hazaar doob gayé.

The process

2010-04-25T14:07:00.003+01:00

I have been a couch potato today. My TV remote has been praying for a break from the constant punching and the plastic crunching. (Yes, like a true Indian, my remote has not come out of the plastic bag it was packed in.) I watched cartoons, reality shows, movies, news, music videos, cricket highlights and lots of advertisements.

I watched Amar Akbar Anthony and Taken for the I-don't-know-how-many-th time. I have always known what their ends would be. I mean, a family who separates at the beginning of the film has to re-unite before the film ends. The point to be noted my lord is that it is more about the process of reaching the end. In the same vein, I don't care if cricket matches are fixed or not. I am going to still keep watching the game and enjoy the process.

So, COME ONNN SAACHINNNN ... COME ON DHONIiiiii... lights, camera, roll sound, ACTION.

Vaanar sena

2009-12-19T13:23:00.004+00:00

... and then there is a group of jokers who add on to the proofs that they have nothing better to do than go on causing destruction because some movie calls their city Bombay instead of Mumbai. Where were they and where was their love for the city when it was attacked by terrorists or when it was flooded with water. The hooliganism shows even in their annual Ganesh festival mandaps where they block roads in the evenings for putting up a stage where crowd assemble waiting for the speech to finish and the cacophonous musical orchestra to start. I have not heard of even one constructive activity that the Shiv Sena has done in the past 5 years.

The obsessive compusive disorder of this political gang to meddle in unrelated incidents and cause problems has given us the phrase:
Lenaa na denaa, Shiv Sena

e.g.: For a delivery, Ram had to stay back late finishing Shyam's task because Shyam went home early. Ram said - 'Mera toh Shiv Sena hogaya aaj.'

Mumbai calling

2009-11-26T10:13:00.005+00:00

Ahh Mumbai. My place. My people.

The people in Mumbai are an emotional lot. Bollywood and TV ads plays a vital role in everyone's life in Mumbai. There has not been one day when I have not heard someone quote a Bollywood hero/ heroine or an advert slogan.

An uncle pulling out a chocolate from his pocket for a kid would inadvertently back it up with a dhan-ta-dhan (a la Kameeney) while handing it over.

Occassionally at a lunch table in the office, someone would come up with 'tere paas burger hai, tere paas lunch thaali hai. Mere paas kya hai? Mere paas maa hai.' and then opens his home made lunch box.

Every group, community and organisation has been impacted by hindi movies. Some of the departments in the government services seem to have taken hindi songs too seriously, no? For example, there is the department which is searching for that evading golden bird mentioned in the song:
jahaan daal daal par sone ki chidiyaan karti hai baseraa...
Or the roads work department, who are always digging for the hidden gold on the streets of the city based on the message from Manoj Kumar:
Meri desh ki dharti sonaa ugalay

This is what makes Mumbai, "Mumbai". The sights and sounds of the city.

Of birthdays

2009-08-30T03:32:00.006+01:00

It is was the sister's birthday. Every year, I tell her that she shares birthday with Michael Jackson and Dhyanchand. The latter being the great hockey player and captain of the Indian team, who brought gold medal and pride to the nation. While even Google paid homage to the pop star today, I wonder there was any mention of the hockey player on the 24 hour news channels in India. But that is a different debate left to the purists.

For me, all the 3 mentioned above are greats. MJ was probably my introduction to the American popular music. Dhyanchand was the prodigal genius that he was. My sis joins their ranks of greatness for me for having jhello-fied me all along.

Happy birthday

Radio (2009)

2009-08-30T03:15:00.002+01:00

Himesh music is back after a long time.

His new movie Radio does not appear on imdb.com! The music has just released at Lalbagcha Ganpati pandaal. The album is very unlike the usual Himesh... maybe because it misses the nasal twangs. Rumour is that Himesh has undergone a surgery of the vocal chords. The result is that all the tracks are softer and very light... and on a couple of occassions - uncomfortable. 'Shaam ho chali hai' even has a very audible amateurish jump in the voice. There are glimpses and traces of the old Himesh in the remix version of 'Zindagi jaise ek Radio'.

All tracks, except Kailash Kher's 'Damadji' are catchy tunes. But, the Mumbai rickshaws are going to be disappointed as this is definitely not a 'Tere Naam' or 'Aksar'. Perhaps, the usual T-series ploy of hammering the songs on all music channels might help this one get on the humming-of-the-day lists.

Comin' Age

2009-08-26T18:47:00.003+01:00

Kaminey

The critics had been all ga-ga over this new movie from the maker of Maqbool, Makdi, Omkara - Vishal Bhardwaj - the one man movie machine. He features in all the major departments for this film (strictly in order of recollection only) - music, direction, story, screenplay, dialogues, singing.

Starring:
Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopora, Amole Gupte

This is a gangster movie highlighting a day in the life of twin brothers (Shahid Kapoor) - Charlie and Guddu. The former is a gangster who wants to earn money to become a horse race bookie and the latter is a student working for an NGO. Sweety (Priyanka) is Guddu's love interest and the sister of a crook, Bhau Bhope (Amol Gupte) aspiring to be politician. Charlie stumbles upon drugs worth 10 crore. Expectedly, there is a case of mistaken identity and more gang fights. Everything culminates into a happy ending.

Pros:
- Filmed in Mumbai (and Gujarat, probably)
- A fresh style of story telling. Reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie.
- A fair importance given to all the characters. Strong characterisations.
- This film has dialogues in bengali, marathi, english, african and yet, no subtitles. No time is spent in romance between the Guddu and Sweety. The audience is not expected to be dumb.

Cons:
- Cannot think of any!
- Did not understand the NGO angle to the Guddu character. Did I miss something?

I had earlier read somewhere that the story has been borrowed from a short story based in Kenyan slums. That story was by Cajetan Boy, who has been given due credit at the start of the movie. The Rs.44 crore spent on the movie includes his 2 lakhs fee. Vishal Bhardwaj met him at the Mira Nair's workshop (MAISHA) and so, the movie starts with credit to the workshop, as well. Additionally, the Kenyan diamond/ drug smuggler has been named 'Cajetan', too.

Amol Gupte was last time associated with the screenplay for 'Taare Zameen Par'. He debuts as an actor this time. Coincidentally, the lead characters in both these hits have had a medical condition.

I found a scene very funny. 'Tashi' enters Bhope Bhau's ilaaka with all the style of a king. He has a hat on his head and walks chest high, chin high along with his 3 side kicks. Suddenly, they hear a bullet shot and all of them meekly disperse away.

'Do lafzon ki' (The Great Gambler) and 'Duniya mein logon ko' (Apna Desh) are 2 old songs that play in the background. The latter is only for an exhibition of Shahid's oiled physique. Check the 'Making of...' for details on that one. But this should be enough to revive the songs in the remix club houses. Bhau Bhope's mobile ring tone is a hit a marathi film song - Kombdi. Watch out for a remixed video.

Dawn

2009-03-29T18:24:00.002+01:00

The credit/ blame for my tryst with movies goes to my dad and my uncle. They introduced me to the magic, masti, manoranjan and escapist world of movies. After the introductions, however, it was Amitabh who made me want to revisit the realm. When I was still about 3 years old, I brought the whole house down because my uncle watched 'Don' without me. I was only quitened by saying that he had actually gone to see 'Dawn' baniyaan (vests)!

Don was one of the wholesome entertainers. This was possibly Big B's first attempt at comedy. It was just that Amar Akbar Anthony was released earlier than Don because the latter almost got shelved after its producer, Nariman Irani (NI), died on the sets during the shooting. It is a pity that Mr NI never got to see the success achieved by his product. It did enough business to take care of the loan of 12 lakhs that had stressed him out and even kept his production house alive. NI was a photographer and cameraman by profession, who was under huge debt following the debacle of Zindagi zindagi, was pursuaded by the big B, Zeenat Aman and Chandra Barot to make another movie to settle the financial mess. Amitabh and Zeenat agreed to work for the film at nominal rates. Factually, Pran was paid 5 lakhs and Amitabh agreed for half of it. Salim-Javed's payment was the distribution rights of the film for the Indore and Bhopal territories.

The hit duo of Salim-Javed had approached Jeetendra, Dev Anand and Prakash Mehra with an untitled script based on 'House of secrets'. With no takers, the script was left collecting dust with Salim. When NI requested him for a script, he said- 'Humare paas ek breakfast script padi hai jo koi nahi le raha hai.' NI gleefully accepted - 'chalega'.

In Farhan Akhtar's version the 'Khaike paan banaraswala' song starts with the words:

Arre tumka ka bataai bhaiyya, hamraa haal kaa hai?

(chorus: arree bataai do, bataai do)

Nikle the halwa khaane, muh hi jal gaya hai!

Ironically, this is exactly what had happened to Amitabh because he was made to chew 40 paans to get the red-spew-effect. Anandji had suggested this, but he forgot to mention that for the red one need not apply chunaa (lime) to the paan. Amitabh suffered from burnt lips for days after the shoot. On the other hand, to grant authenticity to the song, Kishore Kumar ate paan and spat on a plastic sheet during the recording. The song was not part of the original screenplay and was added after the interval following Manoj Kumar's suggestion to bring down the pace a bit. The song, eventually, played a big hand in the popularity of the film. Another late addition to the screenplay was Pran's broken story which was a result of an accident he had met.

Inspite of the success, Hindi screen did not get any more films directed by Chandra Barot. In 1996 'Nariman Pictures' produced 'Shastra'. A remixed version of 'Don' was presented by Farhan Akhtar which scored over the original in the technical department, but, it could not make an impression as the version by late Mr. Nariman Irani.

CC2C

2009-01-17T22:46:00.002+00:00

Chandni chowk to China

'China Gate' and '36 China Town' are two other movies that have the name of India's neighbouring country in their titles. Inspite of the big productions for all the 3 movies,they did not hit the mark.
In the January, 2 years back, Nikhil Advani had an equally over-hyped, Salaam-e-Ishq that got criticised and panned down. It was not a bad hindi movie, either.

So, superstitiously, the following are inauspicious for the box-office success of a Hindi movie:

combination of Nikhil Advani and a January release
'China' in the title of the movie

Durr ka connections in CC2C:
Rohan Sippy (producer of CC2C) was director of Bluffmaster (2005), which was scripted by Rajat Arora, who also scripted CC2C along with Sridhar Raghavan, the brother of Sriram Raghavan who made Johhny Gaddar, whose background music is done by Daniel George. Daniel has scored for CC2C, too.

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Mithun,

Director: Nikhil Advani

Genre: Comedy, kung-fu action

This is the story of an orphan, Sidhu, who grows up to be a cook at an eatery owned by his foster brother, Dada, in the famous Chandni Chowk. His only skill is chopping and cooking vegetables. An ancient chinese prophecy and mistaken identity lands him in China to face the evil drug lord, Hojo. Dada travels to China to bring back Sidhu to Chandni Chowk, but gets killed in a fight with Hojo and Sidhu only watches helplessly. Chang, who was wronged by Hojo many years ago teaches kung fu to Sidhu and he gets his revenge.

Pros:

Comedy
Action by Dee Dee
Masala entertainer
The first 20 mins makes one expect a riot like the 'Kung Fu Hustle'

Cons:

Deepika
Music; nothing worth remembering
A predictable 2nd half

Things I remember:

The very fresh fight scenes at the Great wall of China.
Akshay Kumar says - Yeh chini sindhi kyu bol rahe hai? Dado Hojo!
The background music by Daniel B. George (Johnny Gaddaar) seems to be inspired by Nayak nahi (Khalnayak), a song from Drona and the Saw series theme.
Bhappi da singing 'India se aaya mera dost'

Rab ne banaa di kodi

2008-12-25T13:27:00.004+00:00

We have been treated to tickets to Rab Ne Banaa di Jodi as part of a leaving-party by a friend. The seats are quite close to the screen. We are enjoying trailers of some hindi movies before the main film starts. This helps us to get used to the closeness of the screen and the big faces in our faces.The theatre has an equal number of Indians and British.

The mandatory censor board certification is displayed. The film starts with the title in bright colours and dazzle and we are all set for the usual bollywood reds and greens and blues and yellows and the chutzpah.

Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Anoushka Sharma, Vinay Pathak
Director: Aditya Chopra
Music: Salim Suleiman

This is a story of a very simple middle class shy guy named Suri who happens to marry a simple girl named Taani. Suri loves his wife so much that he disguises himself as a hep and talkative Raj to win the love of his wife. The Raj-Taani proceedings flow with the backdrop of a dance competition. Of course, Taani does not recognise him in this disguise and she falls in love with Raj. Eventually, all ends well, Suri gets his wife to appreciate his love and they win the couple-dance competition. They call it SRK's ode to the simple Indian man.

Pros:
Shahrukh Khan. One cannot help but feel the energy.
Spot on acting
Screenplay
Cinematography and choreography

Cons:
Too sugary
Too much Shahrukh for the eyes
Music. Nothing worth remembering.

A dream song sequence is dedicated to the film oldies - Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and Rishi Kapoor. Each actor having its own piece of action through SRK and being glamourised by the precense of Kajol, Bipasha, Lara, Preity and Rani. (4 pretty bongs!!) This is a cleverly written and choreographed song. The production has shamelessly and neatly placed brands like Pepsi, Bajaj, Santro and Hero cycles.
There are references to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Dilwale dulhaniya le jaayenge. The title was a song from the Amitabh starrer - Suhaag - and SRK and Vinay do a impromptu celebration scene to that song playing in the shop.
Aditya Chopra gives a new definition to love here - 'jismein rab dikhta hai'. Funnily enough an old SRK- Sonali Bendre movie 'English Babu Desi Mem' had a more hummable song/ bhajan of the words - 'tujh mein hai rab dikhta'.

Slumdog Millionaire

2008-12-25T12:02:00.001+00:00

I have always liked Hollywood productions that are shot in India. They make the entire country look richer and livelier. Slumdog Millionaire was no exception. The story is nothing different than a late 80s hindi movie starring the likes of Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff. In fact, it runs a track very similar to Parinda. But, as Abbas Tyrewala said 'It is not the story itself, but how one narrates the story that is important'. And David Boyle does a great job with this production for the British production - Film 4. He does a great job of ending this neo-noir movie in a feel-good tone. The casting by Loveleen Tandan is spot on and that was half the battle won. The English production house has delivered a sincere hindi masala movie, complete with references to Amitabh Bachchan and a promotional video shot on the platform of VT station for the end credits.

I heard the soundtrack by A R Rehman before watching the movie and I wondered if he had lost his magic. But the genius of the man is appreciated with the flow of the movie and as I write this I am replaying the songs to a completely renewed effect.

Entertainment, overall.

Breaking news

2008-11-30T13:04:00.004+00:00

I was in Mumbai till the 25th and joined work in London on Wednesday. I had got sweets and savouries from Mumbai for my friends on London. When everyone asked me how the vacation was I glowed up recalling my days in the bright day light of Colaba causeway, Churchgate station, VT station, Bandra, Andheri and the various theatres. I was all recharged and telling everyone that Mumbai is the best city in the world. The day whizzed past as the after taste of my short vacation in Mumbai was still lingering.

Ironically, when I went back home that evening the news channels were show casing the audacity of the terrorists who had entered and ruined my favourite place. Nothing can undo or make up for what they have done. The effects of the attacks will stay in the memories of the world for a long time. Mumbai will soon be considered one of the most dangerous places in the world. There will be a constant fear attached to the name of my city.

This will all be followed by the usual politics and blame games. Pakistan will incorrigibly deny any part in the attacks. The ISI will diplomatically deny any links. The local politicians will try to gain mileage at the cost of Indian tax payers' money. An enquiry commission will be duly setup that will take months to come up with any useful conclusion. There will be a lot published in newspapers, magazines, blogs and even, movies. The news channels, who had been foolishly disclosing all the army tactics during the attacks, will continue with the 'breaking news'. Group discussions will continue highlighting the stoic spirit of the city. Soon all this will fade away and everything will be forgotten.

Sigh.

I hope that these attacks have shaken the Mumbaikars enough to make them take things in their own hands and elect the right people this time. We need leaders who can take responsibility and lead from the front. The city that provides the most income taxes deserves at least a sense of security in their homes. The financial capital that boasts of a sea of educated thinking minds is capable of calling it the shots. Like Shobha De said - Enough is enough.

Sequel Server

2008-11-03T07:28:00.007+00:00

Unlike its western counterpart, Bollywood has been churning them out in relatively smaller numbers. Excluding the dubbed versions (the likes of Makdi-manav), I have tried to list out the hindi sequels.

Nigahen - Sridevi is back as the human daughter of the naagin-Sridevi from the hugely successful first part. Sunny Deol plays the naag held in captivity by the evil tantrik Anupam Kher. The fight of good vs evil is for a magical diamond called naag-mani. Harmesh Malhotra directed both the parts that have had a major contribution in fueling many of the myths related to snakes. This was an average success.

Return of the Jewel Thief - One of the masterpieces of Indian cinema, Jewel Thief, was sequel-ed after nearly 30 years. It brought back Dev Anand and Ashok Kumar from the original and the Kohinoor diamond from the UK. This one was not blessed with the S D Burman's evergreen music or Vijay Anand's slick direction. Ashok Tyagi roped in a string of actors for this multi-starrer thriller. The title had the Kohinoor diamond and the famous jewel-thief cap.

Hathyaar - Sanjay Dutt is back as the son of the underworld don (Raghu, played by Dutt) from Vaastav. Vaastav was a huge hit, but there were no attempt to publicise Hathyaar as its sequel. This was a gritty movie that went un-noticed. ("Yeh picture aa-gaya?" "Haan, aaya bhi aur gaya bhi.") The son of the don struggles to fit into the society because of his infamous middle name. Mahesh Manjrekar does a talented job of maintaining the tempo of this drama. At a couple of occassions, whenever the tension is high well placed gangster jokes provide relief ('Boxer bhai song' and 'the hospital scene were dedh-footya's mom yells at a goon - daal doo kya?').

Phir Hera Pheri - The trio of Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty are back; this time without Priyadarshan. The look and feel seems quite different to the hugely enjoyed, Hera Pheri. This time the comedy of errors leads them to a load of drugs and a hidden diamond. The climax is a mad-cap chase at a circus. The comedy fails to work mainly because of the lack of its closeness to the homely feel of the original.

Sarkar Raj - Ram Gopal Verma got Amitabh to do what he does the best - act. Amitabh's character was considered to be a depiction of the Shiv Sena chief - Bal Thakerey - whereas, this was actually RGV's version of the Godfather. No less. Sarkar was not a huge hit, but it certainly got noticed by everyone. Sarkar Raj brought back together the Bachchan father-son duo and the to-be-bride of the family. Aishwarya plays a foreign-based businesswomen who needs help from Sarkar to establish a power project in India. The story evolves into an intriguing thriller-drama of mind games between Sarkar and a rural leader played intently by Dilip Prabhavalkar. The end builds up enough to create another part.

Lage Raho Munna bhai - The feel-good team of the local goons Munna bhai and Circuit are back. Munnabhai MBBS did a great deal to improve Sanju baba's image. Raj Kumar Hirani creates another breezy feel-good movie on the backdrop of Gandhi-giri. It is fun to watch a feared goon taking up the non-violent path of Gandhiji (played by the talented Dilip Prabhavalkar) as he tries to win his love (Vidya Balan). Munna is fighting non violently against a scheming Sikh builder, played by Boman Irani. A loveable show of Munna and his chum, Circuit. I have seen trailors of the 3 part - Munnabhai chale America.

Hyderabad Blues 2 - Nagesh Kukunoor debuted with his Hyderbad Blues, an auto-biographical account of adventures of an NRI coming back to India and finding an Indian bride. The entire ensemble is back with the post marriage comedy of the normal middle class couple with the backdrop of a conservative South-Indian culture. The multiplexes lapped it up.

Krrish - Rakesh Roshan dares to create an Indian superhero as a follow up to the ET-inspired Koi mil gaya. Hrithik plays Krrish who gets his superpowers from the alien, Jadoo. He goes on to save the world and rescue a secret towards the end. This was a thoroughly enjoyed hindi-masala adventure, Bollywood got a new superhero and Priyanka got a major hit.

Dhoom 2 - Sanjay Gadhvi and Yashraj films brought together the top actors of the year to create screen magic and rake in a lot of overseas moolah. Abhishek and Uday are carried forward from Dhoom, this time to chase an elusive and stylish thief named 'A', Hrithik Roshan. Bipasha (in double role) and Aishwarya (more important role) provide the oomph and promote size-zero. The thief does some daring stunts and the cops nab the thief in the end. The Diwali opening for this pacy thriller was a huge hit.

Golmaal Returns - Rohit Shetty brings the loony team of Ajay Devgan, Tushar Kapoor, Arshad Warsi and Shreyas Talpade together for a mindless comedy of lying men. Sharmaan Joshi from Golmaal was left out for this one. Kareena plays a shrieking doubting wife and dances to a couple of item songs. Tushar is probably seen in the best act of his life as a dumb hair-stylist act. This was a Diwali hit, a surprise one.

Jodha Akbar - This one is not a sequel, but rather, a prequel to one of the biggest films from the B&W era of Hindi cinema. Ashutosh Gowarikar asked what can one do after 'Lagaan' and 'Swades'? His writer replied that it would be only fitting to create something that would outdo the greatest in Indian cinema - Mughal-e-Azam. It was a classic love story of Akbar's son, Salim, and a dancing slave, Anarkali. Jodha Akbar is the lavish story of the love between two proud royalties, the Mughal (Shahenshah Akbar) and the Rajput (Rani Jodhabai). Hrithik and Aishwarya get together for this period drama and Ashutosh creates magic with help from A R Rehman. It might not have worked at the box-office, but it represented India to the world and got appreciated.