By Vidya Pradhan
Short review – Silly movie, ridiculous plot, kids loved it.
Now for the longer one…… Continue reading
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic – Just for kids
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Category Archives: Entertainment
Dasavathaaram – Kamal Haasan’s magnificent obsession
By Vidya Pradhan
“15 bucks!” was my outraged gasp at the flea-bitten Cinedome East in Fremont yesterday. Yes, inflation is up all around, but over-pricing the already dubiously valued movie ticket is something really hard to stomach in these days of 5 dollar gas and 18 dollar atta sacks at Indian grocery stores.
The reason I discovered, courtesy the under-employed youngster at the movie hall, is that the filmmaker has decided this is what the movie is worth, going retro in the age of 99 cent songs and free movie downloads. Not surprising – the movie went over its budget of Rs.130 crores( about $30 million) and is now considered the costliest Indian movie ever made.
Well, I shelled out 30 bucks for my 12 year old and myself and entered the theater for a very private screening – there were just 2 of us inside. The same pimply youth at the counter had to be summoned to start the movie. We settled down with popcorn to see if we would get our “paisa vasooled” .
We did. Continue reading
Movie Review – Sarkar Raj
By Vidya Pradhan
As a director, Ram Gopal Verma has been curiously schizophrenic. The maker of such acclaimed movies as Satya, Rangeela and Company tends to go off the rails whenever he goes on an experimental path or panders to his latest obsession (Antara Mali, Nisha Kothari). It can be hard to believe that the same guy who produced and directed Shiva could have come up with a clunker like Daud.
Luckily, Sarkar Raj falls in the former category. Anchored by the “inspiration” of the Godfather movies and exploring the familiar territory of Mumbai’s underbelly, the movie rings authentic and is a taut, compelling piece of work. Continue reading
Tashan – Yash Raj Films has lost its way
By Vidya Pradhan
There was a time when movies from Yash Raj Films(YRF) were the most anticipated events of the summer. Tight scripts, sharp dialogues and crisp visuals were wrapped in a tasty confection decorated with chaste but gorgeous white-clad heroines and Swiss locales. YRF has been responsible for mainstream classics like Deewar and Trishul but lately, the prestigious banner seems to have gone into a prolonged slump.
I can almost pinpoint the beginning of the decline. The year was 1995, and young Aditya Chopra has just helmed one of the biggest Bollywood hits of all time, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Thrilled by the success of DDLJ, the elder Chopra passed the baton, content to direct the occasional movie under what was now, for all practical purposes, his son’s production house. Continue reading
"I am amazed by the power of the Internet"
By Vidya Pradhan
When my 12 year old first heard Sheena Melwani sing, his response was, “I never knew an Indian American could sing that well!” Sheena’s clear, dulcet voice, once reserved for friends and family, is now broadcast worldwide thanks to YouTube.
Sheena Melwani has been a singer “for as long as I can remember.” After singing in competitive choir while in school, Sheena joined a jazz band in high school and later went on to do her graduate studies in music. “I was singing all the time,” she says, “at choirs, weddings, functions. It never occurred to me to look for a professional gig.”
When her husband’s job took them to Tokyo, Sheena fretted because of the inactivity and decided to get a keyboard so she could resume singing and songwriting. She got herself a Macbook and a special microphone and decided to record some of her songs so she could send them to friends and family back home. Continue reading
U, Me Aur Hum – A review in points
By Vidya Pradhan
- I watch these movies so you don't have to.
- Note to Bollywoood – SCRIPT IS KING! SCRIPT IS KING! SCRIPT IS KING!
- Ajay Devgan, who makes his directorial debut with this movie, obviously did not get that note.
- He also takes credit for the story – alas, IMDB points us to the "inspiration" for UMAH's central premise, The Notebook, a rather saccharine love story by Nicholas Sparks which was made into an ok movie starring Rachel McAdams.
- Movies with cutesy bilingual names are usually an indicator of box-office poison but Jab We Met was refreshing, so I thought I'd give this one a try.
- UMAH starts well and ends strong..it's the middle that's the problem.
- If a previous engagement gets you to the movie only by intermission, thank your stars, the worst is over.
- Fat kids cannot be used for comedy in Hindi movies anymore.
- Scenes involving babies in jeopardy should be kept short in "family" films.
- Some directorial advice – next time don't be cheap about hiring a good supporting cast, it pays off.
- Kajol does her luminous best, her fans will be pleased with her acting and not so pleased with her cameraman.
- Ajay Devgan should not be playing 25 year old romantics anymore. Why not emulate "The Notebook" and have a different cast for the younger generation?
- Vishal Bharadwaj's music is pleasing, if unmemorable. Download the title song.
- Did I mention script is king?
- Sigh!
- Now that I have thoroughly turned you off the movie, who knows, you may even like it.
- Full disclosure – I watched this movie on a DVD with questionable antecedents, but guilt over journalistic integrity made me watch the entire movie at one setting without any fast forwards, and believe me, I was tempted.
U, Me Aur Hum – *ring Ajay Devgan, Kajol. Directed by Ajay Devgan
My rating – 2 out of 5 stars
Giving Rap a Good Name – Ajaxxx
By Vidya Pradhan
“I was in India recently, traveling from Chennai to Mumbai by train when a little girl came up to me begging for food,” says the rapper named Ajaxxx. “She told me her story, how she had been singing on the trains to earn something. It really shook me and inspired me to write a song about not taking what we have in this country for granted.”
Ajaxxx, or Ajay Dani, is an Indian American of Sindhi origin. He is also a seasoned rapper, well known in Orlando, Florida, with several CDs to his name. Continue reading
Rock and ghungroos – The Raghu Dixit Project
By Vidya Pradhan
You might not think the two go together, but the earthy, energetic, loud and lusty sounds of the Raghu Dixit Project make for a perfect harmony between folk and rock, between contemporary and traditional, between the overproduced sounds emanating from a recording studio and the simple but powerful tunes of a street musician.
The lungi-wearing, junk jewellery-sporting singer wows listeners with a pan-Indian sound that is difficult to classify and easy to listen to. What is clear is the gusto and the enthusiasm of the musicians collaborating with Raghu on his debut album as they use acoustic instruments to give a vibrant feel to the foot-tapping numbers. Continue reading
Chappar Faad Ke – One man's labor of love
By Vidya Pradhan
Sometimes you have a dream that is so big, so absurd, that pursuing it is like tilting at windmills. But if you happen to be that rare person who will stop at nothing, sometimes that sheer force of will can turn that dream into reality.
Aman Boparai, a project manager in the software industry, nursed his dream to make a full-length Hindi film for years. He tried his hand at short films and eventually wangled his way into assisting a Bollywood film company when they were in town. His experience convinced him that he was ready to tackle the rigors of his own production. Continue reading
Mithya – dark and quirky
By Vidya Pradhan
If you had any doubts about the survival of the film noir genre in Bollywood, this is the movie to put them all to rest. Mithya, meaning ‘fiction’, is another of director Rajat Kapoor’s eccentric, low-budget experiments and for the right viewer, this tragic comedy (or comic tragedy)is a worthwhile watch. Continue reading
Water, No Ice 