BollyViewed.com

slumdog millionaire

2009-01-11T21:01:00.002+05:30

imagine a movie called 'gali ka kutta bana crorepati' , and you have the answer to the question so many people are asking.."why an Indian , home grown director could not make a movie like slumdog". I thought slumdog millionaire was a superbly crafted, movie with an outstanding script , but I also think , that if the same movie , made the same way , were to be made by an Indian director , it would not have had such a resounding success..
Slumdog millionaire , a film which deals with the life of two brothers, brought up on the streets of mumbai , who spend there childhood running from religious fanatics, eye gauging mobsters, wading through the slush, shit and sewage ... and both ending up rich , is essentially a rags to riches tale retold.
So why does it rock?
Because it's so real ,it hurts.. it's so true that ,it demands your attention..
Movies like 'page 3', 'sarkar' 'company' traffic signal'.. have in ways shone us the gore before..
the bylanes of mumbai have been a backdrop in a lot of movies.Slumdog stands out because it is in english.. by a non Indian, and it amazes me that he has captured the essence of all that is Indian. Our almost devout love for film stars ,when young Jamal ,wades through shit to meet Amitabh. Our impoverished, who would sell what is closest to them for a few rupees. Our religious fanaticism, and needless loss of life thereof.Our street children and their plight, the blind beggars. the juta chors[shoe thieves] outside temples and mosques..
Our call centres , our 'kaun banega crorepati?'
The movie is not just about what to tell but how to tell it.. the taj mahal being a hotel scene..
the last question on the quiz show..
I am glad the movie was made outside of India, because we would not have valued it if it was made here.. because, it is soo real..like the beggars on the street..we see them every day.. and we have discussed it in our drawing rooms about the child beggars racket and how it is a flourishing business.. we speak of it like mundane ordinary everyday life.. because this is India..
but to the rest of the world .. like the American tourist in the movie..who gets excited on seeing the dhobi ghat in agra.. well for them this is a glimpse into the 'real india'.
But then it will take more than a movie to describe the real India.. till then we have 'slumdog millionaire'.

a wednesday - a review

2008-10-01T16:27:00.002+05:30

It's been a long time since i wrote a review for a movie.. not that i haven't seen any good [or bad ] movies lately, but mostly because, i didn't have any thing to say, that hadn't been said already.
but after seeing wednesday, i thought to myself here is a movie that speaks it's mind, has an opinion, and asks the common man to take a stand, and speak up, a movie that deserves an opinion, deserves to be talked about, and deserves a review.
it's not a brilliantly made movie..
it's about a certain wednesday, when a common man , decides to take justice in his hand and plant bombs across the length and breadth of mumbai , and in the police head quarters none the less, ala terrorist style. and terrorist style , his demand is to free four former al quaida men... but the twist in the tail is when he blows them up sky high !!
so what is so wonderful..
1 the name.. it is uninspiring, and common, an ordinary day..much the way ,these life altering days come on ordinary days. life altering saturdays in delhi lately for example. the movie is not called 'hamari jung' or 'revenge' or some equally commanding tiitle. but it's brilliantly subtle.
2. the movie is blatantly non gandhi. In a land where we are asked to turn the other cheek when we are slapped, here is a movie which says to give a resounding one back . sure there will be retaliation , in the form of more bombings, but then the situation would not be any different than it already is now..
atleast that is what the movie says...
we have movies made earlier on the resilience of the public, and the spirit to move on, but here is a film , which categorically states that we are resilient by force and not by choice becuse we have a living to make, and families to care for. and tht is true, it is not a sign of bravado that train commuters climbed back into the very same blasted mumbai locals, but they had no other choice.
it shakes you, makes you wonder what would you do in such a situation..
i didn't have these issues with rang de basanti..i would have gone right ahead and done what aamir khan and the gang did..
but i would love to know what people would do.. rationally.. kill a few terrorists in prison, and risk the wrath of the free terrorists on other innocents?? do a wednesday ?? or sit and tolerate??
as i said it's a brave film , because it is so blatant..
recently i saw dark knight, the bat man movie , and their in a similar situation , the common people do not blow up the convicts... and we all know that Americans of all people are not the forgiving types..
so maybe wednesday makes an impact, because of it's novelty, it's radical.
but you need one radical, do deal with another radical.

sarkar raj - a review

2008-06-09T23:13:00.003+05:30

'ek chai lana' the last woerd of the movie..pretty much sumarises the feel of the movie.it's like mumbai chai, served in it's own thick glass chai gilas , complete with it's chipped edge , nothing pretencious , in fact revelling in it's unpretensciousness.. the tea in itself is strong in flavour and the masala of the masala chai is un mistakably mumbaya..
RGV gives yet another look into the murky wters of mumbai, for a man not born in mumbai, or brought up in it, ram gopal verma has a ' mumbai ki nas pe pakad' in the words from the movie itself..
the story itself is a sequel to sarkar , and this time they have named it sarkar RAJ , to remove all ambiguity , as to who the story is based on..
the story is something of a who-dun-it, with papa bachchan playing the much agrieved father turned sherlock holmes, and bahu bachchan playing the dumb side kick with her inane questions like...'bomb kisne lagaya?' ' kisne use kidnap kiya?' you want to reply back saying 'darling if i knew you'de be the first to know,' but the bachchan men have loads of patience for miss ash , unlike me.Ash tries to pass of as a business tykoon with her power dressing, but ends up looking like a doll with extra long l'oreal eye lashes, because ... [apparently] she's worth it!
antways despite aishwarya rai, here is a story , with a taut story line, with a scintillating cinematograpphy , and a gripping back ground score. an interesting set of characters.
the dialogues though are predictable, and cliched in a few places, jarring in it's tackiness, against the stylish goonda cum neta look of abhishek bachchan.
i'd say worth a dekko, good for a rainy day.

lovesongs- a review

2008-04-06T18:02:00.002+05:30

An indian english movie,which tries to delve into the intricacies of mother daughter relationships.What could have been a poignant and an insightful take on the subject, turns out to be a half baked mashed up mess of emotions.Not to be too harsh on the story teller-the movie atleast lives up to it's name 'love songs' because the movie does have a few good music pieces.To be fair, the story begins promisingly with Jaya Bachchan [a grand mom] who is awaiting the return of her lawyer grandson.There are promises of a passionate love story between a bengali and a muslim[ played by jaya and om puri] ,there are promise sof stirring the soul...witha lyrical meeting of tagore and Ghalibin the calcutta coffee house...but all these are just empty promises..
ok i am bored trying to liven up the movie..
so lets see what went wrong..
1 casting..the grandson was pathetic,.period, he could not act even if his life depended on it. his mom equally wierd but then that was because of poor character building by director..soo
2 poor characterization and poorly defined roles.
3 link less story..the whys and hows and where ofs of the story are just left hanging in mid air..
4 slow pace..but we were any ways going in circles..
need i go on...
forget it ..it is a waste of precious time..

shaurya- a review.

2008-04-06T17:28:00.002+05:30

A good original movie, well acclaimed , oscar movie....so how does it translate in the indian scenario..?
Does Kk menon do justice to jack nicholson's role?
Does Rahul bose, as the dashing lawyer, seem credible?
ahh.... yes.
This hindi remake of a few good men, stands apart because of the brilliant performance by it's actor's , and so this review will start with a review of the actors.
I come from an Army background and i think the most fitting praise was when my father , sitting next to me , said, "the army generals are just like KK."
KK Menon is superb, not just in dialogue delivery but , in stance, in carriage, in general demenour, all the things that go in making an Army Officer. His pitch and style in dialogue delivery, his 'pregnant pauses' before he says something of importance, his use of facial expressions, can be a lesson in acting in itself.
Rahul bose, is quirky and has some of the best dialogues ,to which he does full justice. His signature acting style of rolling his eyes, has been used wonderfully here too, to potray a suave maverickish Army officer. The coffee scene with minissha is hilarious. Here is an actor who is both style and substance..
Javed jaffrey... in a totally different avatar, has an easy camrederie with the camera and Rahul Bose. Contolled and 'correct'.in his conduct and reactions to situations, since he is mostly reacting to situations i think he has done a commendable job.
Ahhh now to the story, i would say that i have saved the best for the last.To adapt a story to suit indian tastes and yet not lose sight of the vision. SHAURYA.. yes the movie is about bravery, but not the type mostly shone in Army movies.. Here the enemy is within. Within not just the ranks of the Army , but in the mindset of a nation at large.
To question what is right.. to believe in the truth, and to lead a life by the rules..no matter what the consequence. Bravery is what the movie offers , and each of the characters have their own take on it.
You are forced to question the idea of shaurya, when a much medalled and "decorated" [as they call in the army]officer is killed and ,his wife has only bitter words to speak about him. To kill is not bravery alone. 'there are many a story behind each medal'
This is not to say that , the movie points fingers at the workings of the army. It is not an attempt to show them down. Instead it tells a tale of passing equal and rightful justice .
The best part of the movie..
KK Menon and his describtion of single malt whiskey..:)
and the news clipings in the end and shahrukh khans oration on what it is to be truly brave..
According to me ..a must watch

RACE-the review..

2008-03-22T16:25:00.002+05:30

predictably ,unpredictable.
race provides all that it promises in it's promos..and more.here is a set of directors who have a clear vision of what their nache audience wants and they have been consistently churning out their quintessential abbas -mastan botboilers.
Race begins grippingly with a well executed 'accident' but in the next scene itself they let the pace slow down while introducing t5he characters to us..the deadpan sutradhar tries an amitabh baritone but does not hold interest..the introduction of the characters could have been more saucier and stylish..but then after the faltering start ,the story goes at a steady trot, and by interval our race horse is cantering.
after the interval our racing stud is burdened with too many fruits ala anil kapoor and way too much silliness ala miss reddy. What was till then a winning bet of a race , slowly falls pray to the stumblinghurdles of movie making..
to keep the audience rivetted ,the director duo put in way too many twists , to the point of ,as i put it earlier, predictably unpredictable.So much so that the good turn bad, and the bad turn ugly. Nevertheless here is a bollywood film ,which is truly a bollywooded film, in true international styling.[like the jumbo vada pav in true schechwan sauce- it's essentially mumbai with a touch of the international......]:)
Race is a sensual movie..and plays to the senses.Aatif aslams rendition of pehli nazar mein has everyone plugging on their ipods and title track has us taking to the dance floor.Bipasha is hot as ever, and stylish Katrina manages not to be over shadowed ,which is quite a feat in itself.Saif with his stubble and suave dressing fits the role to the hilt. Akshaye gives a stellar performance .Anil kapoor has a great role but over does it and meghna reddy is a waste, but i feel sorry for her, poor thing.
All in all here is a total paisa vasool flick, and worth a dekko.

august rush the review....

2008-02-19T18:05:00.002+05:30

A lilting love story that tugs at your heart strings. A valentine special movie ,with an unlikely name like August rush,begins as a lovestory between an upper class violinist playing with the NY philharmonica and the lead guitarist of a rock band..
they meet on a terrace of a building,romance under the moonlight , and then their lives move separate ways when dawn arrives with it's harsh realities..
heartbroken they decide never to play music again.Lyla the girl has a love child born from the fateful day..the kid is put in an prphanage even as the mother is unaware of it..
11 years later..destiny strikes..and what unfolds can only be described as orchestrated fate.Every THUD! SCREECH!FLUTTER!SPLASH! noises and sounds of every day life come together in a symphony august rush the 11 year old love child of the love torn couple composes music for his parents.
a must watch movie for people who love music,and who believe in the universal lavguage of love ,music and siply listening..

Apologies

2007-12-11T00:16:00.001+05:30

Apologies for the delay in posting. Did actually happen to catch 3 movies in the past couple of weeks...but just didn't get time to post.

Saw Goal, Aaja Nachle and Khoya Khoya Chand. Will be putting up these reviews in the next couple of days and will try to remain a little more punctual with the movie reviews from now on.

Regards.

Om Shanti Om - Ridiculously Entertaining (Review)

2007-11-15T12:11:00.001+05:30

Om Shanti Om

At times you come across something so ridiculous that you actually don’t seem to mind it! Why? Because you still manage to feel entertained.

OSO is a typical masala movie – made for the masses. It’s got song, dance, humour, atrocious humour, predictable humour and humour for the sake of humour.

You might actually slam your head against a wall during the fight sequence between the stuffed tiger and Shahrukh Khan. ‘Pussy cat, Pussy cat where have you been? Have you been to London, to see the queen?’

Then it has heart-break, a main-tuhaari-bachche-ki-ma-banne-waali-hoon dialogue, crying in the rain, fighting in the fire, murder and mind you…all this before the interval!

What follows is stupidity forcibly mixed with glamour. The King Khan shows off his newly acquired six-packs in an item number. A masaale-daar Filmfare sequence follows where Farah and SRK prove their PR skills and manage to squeeze in 30+ stars for a few minutes.

After this starts the revenge phase which culminates in a ghostly climax!

Performance wise – Shreyas Talpade is fine, Kiron Kher does her filmy bit, Deepika is plain lucky get such a big banner launch – she’s pretty ordinary and any tall decently looking model could have sufficed for this role. Arjun Rampal looks good and performs pretty decently for his short part.

Shahrukh is OK (Lol! Pun intended). Well the movie is all about SRK and he manages to get the message across to the one and all. The movie is worth a dekho for the sheer stupidity and entertainment factor and also that all your friends and colleagues are going to be talking about it – so why miss out on a couple of conversations?

Here’s a video of the making of the song Deewanagi (Om Shanti Om title track):

Om Shanti Om vs Saawariya

2007-11-14T18:59:00.000+05:30

So which movie did you like better? Or did you think both of them were horrible? Kuheli's put up a review of both the movies and I shall be putting up my reviews of the two films too...

In the meanwhile why don't you take the Om Shanti Om vs Saawariya Poll:

Diwali Dream Sequence – Saawariya and Om Shanti Om

2007-11-14T02:11:00.000+05:30

I wish a delightful diwali to all BollyViewed.com readers.
This Diwali saw the release of two huge, mega, big budget movies…Saawariya and Om Shanti Om.

Now why would I write one post to review both...hmmm coz both movies have a lot in similar...even though it may not appear on the surface...
Plus there isn’t much to write about each of them..[snigger]

Saawariya:

I went to watch Saawariya with the intention of being swayed by a great romance to be mesmerised by the artistic sets. The movie starts promisingly the first scene is just out of a Walt Disney picture ala Alladin. But then it goes awry...so u have a Moulin rouge type brothel, set amongst a Shakespearan Venice complete with gondolas, and as if Moulin rouge in Venice was not enough you have women in black lace and burkhas, with a gorgeous larger than life Budhha statue as back drop...!! And would you believe it...it starts snowing in Venice during the climax!! Now I am a dreamer myself and have nothing against a healthy dose of make belief but dude this is...Weird.

So u have Sakina [Sonam Kapoor] who weaves Persian carpets and weaves a life of love and togetherness with a mystique man...Iman. Then u have a Peter Pan like orphaned singer [Ranbir] Raj who is besotted by Sakina. It would have made for a good if not great film but for the myriad songs which all sound and look the same. The only person of substance in the movie is Rani as the wise cracking prostitute Gulabo. Zohra Sehgal as Lillian ji is cute.

My best scene is when Gulabo calls the staid Lillian a dhande wali and Lillian reciprocates with a profound, ‘bitch’.

Enough said, I liked the ending…I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
I loved the way the movie was marketed and the teasers since the past few months were a treat to the senses and artistic brilliance but they over shadow the movie.

Saawariya should have been a music video or an opera type stage play and not a Diwali release. Ya, Ranbir in his buff does not count as Diwali bonanza.

Om Shanti Om:

Shahrukh rocks! At least here they are honest enough to tell us in the beginning that,’yes we are giving you a Masala flick, an over the top ham show, which is going to be irreverent in parts, ridiculous in parts, but we don’t have any problem in playing to the masses, bas mazza aana chahiye boss!’ and so u have it - the quintessential bollywood dream but this time done in fuschia pink and pista green of the 80’s and if that was not kitch enough we will add glitter too. Party on!

So there is Om Prakash Makhija as a junior artist in Karz , gyrating to Rishi Kapoor’s Om shanti om. Om prakash has dreams of making it big as an actor but realizes that only a ‘solid surname’ can bring him stardom. And so he is reborn as a Bollywood kid Om Kapoor, son of a super star! ‘The circle of life’ in Om’s own words. The Shanti of the Om Shanti OM is Deepika, the dreamy girl, and she looks her part. Arjun Rampal as the villain looks a dish…yumm.

OSO is like the ispeshul dish in a road side dhaba. It has masala, garnished with kaju badam, kishmish and tutti frutti…onion rings and lemon by the side and papad to go with it. Makes for a filling meal but not exactly sumptuous. But you have Shahrukh as the waiter who serves us a below average meal with such flourish and élan that you forgive the chef .

I am not a big fan of Shahrukh Khan but when a forty year old man, takes up challenge of procuring six packs and romances a woman half his age, wears pink psychedelic shirts, cries, laughs, strips and does an item number...I think it is an effort worth applauding.

All in all, OSO gives us what it promised while Saawariya does not.

About Us

2007-11-14T00:25:00.000+05:30

The idea of BollyViewed.com sprung up when I was traveling from Pune to Mumbai in the train and almost all the conversations around me were revolving around Om Shanti Om and Saawariya. Every one has an opinion and I always have more than one!

Bollywood simply drives this nation and it's unbiased, cut-2-cut reviews which one really requires before watching a movie these days. Well me, my sister and some friends are going to be serving you your filmy dose wrapped in humour and loads of masala.

We will be Bolly Viewing the latest movies, some old classics, some ridiculous C-grade movies along with the latest music releases and some refreshing gossip!

If you want to join our Bollywood Reviewing brigade or simply want to drop in a guest review - feel free to mail us at contact@bollyviewed.com

Cheers!