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You are here: Home / Archives for Bollywood

Tinsel Town Round Up

August 26, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Kriti Sanon Varun Dhawan

Kriti Sanon admits that Varun Dhawan helped her in ”Dilwale”

Kriti Sanon is yet to shoot the final segment of the upcoming film “Dilwale” but the she gave full credit to her co-star Varun Dhawan for helping her to give her best shot.The 25-year-old actress, who is paired opposite Varun in the Rohit Sheet-directed film, said Varun’s infectious energy inspired her.

Nikhil Advani’s ‘Bazaar’ along the lines of ‘Trishul’

‘Bazaar’ is a story of Mumbai and after “Hero and KattiBatti”, director Nikhil Advani is ready to start his next project titled “Bazaar”, which he feels is in the same niche as Amitabh Bachchan-Sanjeev Kumar drama “Trishul”.

Katrina Kaifis ready to be a ‘clown’ for Yash Chopra!

Katrina Kaif, who has worked with the best of directors and actors in the industry, chooses her movies after analysing both the director and script, but when it comes to the Yash Chopra banner, she would have agreed to do a film even if she was dressed as a clown.

Sidharth Malhotra’s motto is not perfection, but something else!

“I feel that I learn something from every film. My motto is… it’s not about perfection, it’s about progress. I don’t need to be perfect right now as long as I am progressing, improving and adding stuff film by film, year by year,” Sidharth told to the media. From Student of the Year to Brothers, Sidharth Malhotra has shown just the progress as an actor that he’s striving for.

SRK and Leonardo DiCaprioto star in a film together?

Rumours are high that Shah Rukh would share screen space with Leonardo DiCaprio in a cross-cultural thriller titled, Xtreme City and the film was being directed by Martin Scorsese. Reports also claimed that the star had met the film’s team in Berlin to discuss the story.

Kareena Kapoor Khan’s latest look for R Balki’s’Ki &Ka’!

In her next project with Arjun Kapoor as the male lead, Kareena will be sporting a brand new avatar. R Balki’s film titled Ki &Ka will see her playing a corporate woman as she fits into stylish formals for her character.The role of a corporate woman on screen would be a first for Kareena as she slips into pant suits and knee-length skirts and she is excited about it.

Lara Dutta trying to balance between motherhood and movies

Lara, who is married to tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi, shared on Twitter on Monday: “Have had a blast shooting some exciting scenes for ‘Azhar’ in London. Now balancing out some ‘saira’ time.”Lara Dutta, who was shooting for the upcoming biopic Azhar, says she enjoyed shooting for the biopic in London and that she is balancing out time for her daughter Saira.

Vicky Kaushal’s ‘Zubaan’ to open Busan Film Festival

“Zubaan”, co-produced by GuneetMonga of “The Lunchbox” fame, will be the second Indian film to open the prestigious festival after Bengali film “The Wrestlers”, which raised the curtains on its fifth edition.”Zubaan”, a coming-of-age movie about a punjabi boy, starring “Masaan” actor Vicky Kaushal, will open the upcoming 20th Busan International Film Festival.

Ranbir Kapoor is a decent football player

Ranbir Kapoor, co-owner of Mumbai City FC,likes to believe that he can play football well and he considers himself as a decent football player.

Kapil Sharma with his team go white for Abbas-Mustan

The cast of KisKiskoPyaarKaroon was recently shooting for a song which is choreographed by Ahmed Khan.For one of the fun sequences and a small tribute to his directors Abbas-Mustan, Ahmed Khan and Kapil Sharma decided to dress up in an all-white ensemble.

Emraan Hashmi ‘thanks’ everyone for ‘Tigers’ response

Emraan Hashmi, who has made his international debut with the film Tigers, directed by DanisTanovic Tigers, the film was screened at the London Indian Film Festival last month. Emraanis feeling overwhelmed by the response to the film and has thanked his fans for supporting him.

Malaika Arora Khan’s husband and son keep her on her toes!

Malaika Arora Khan, who has always maintained her slim frame over the years, considers fitness not only a crucial part of her life but a religion. She also gives the credit of her fitness to her family as she admits that her husband and son keep her on her toes.

Salman Khan cuts scenes of ‘Hero’ by 30 minutes

Salman Khan is taking a keen interest in his next production, Hero, which will launch SoorajPancholi and Athiya Shetty in lead roles. Salman Khan has actively participated in the editing of the film. He cut out 30 minutes of the film. The film is now 2.04 hours.

Sonakshi Sinha is on top of the world!

Sonakshi Sinha, who has many item numbers to her credit, took to micro blogging site to share her ‘dream come true moment’. It was sharing the stage with the dancing diva, Madhuri Dixit Nene

‘Jiah will always remain in my mind and in my heart said SoorajPancholi’

SoorajPancholi was in the news for his alleged relationship with Jiah Khan who had committed suicide. However, the newbie had chosen to remain mum on the entire incident at the time. But now that he is promoting Hero, it seems that his mentor and the producer of his debut film, Salman Khan, has aksed him to answer questions about Jiah, so Sooraj has finally opened up about his alleged ex-girlfriend.

Sunny Leone is very proud on Priyanka Chopra!

Actress Sunny Leone who is recently in Los Angeles shared her feelings on twitter about Priyanka Chopra that she is proud watching her everywhere in the posters of American thriller series Quantico.

Fawad Khan to play gay in Kapoor & Sons since 1921!

Fawad joining hands with Dharma productions have started doing the rounds, everyone has been curious of what his role might be. Mr. Khan will be playing the role of a homosexual in Kapoor & Sons since 1921. His role will be daringly different from the roles the actor has ever taken up.

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Bollywood, Film, Movie

“Marriage has hardly made any difference to my film career as I am ready to spring more surprises”: Kareena Kapoor

August 24, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

kareena-kapoor-khan

Kareena Kapoor Khan, no doubt has carried forward the legacy of Bollywood’s 1st ever filmy family namely that of the Kapoor Khandaan. In fact right from her debut making  movie ‘Refugee’ with Jr. Big B to her last released film ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ with Salman Khan she has proved her histrionic prowess with each successive movies that she has starred in. That apart she has undauntingly climbed the ladder of talent & success, step by step, even after tying the knot with the Jr. Nawab, namely Saif Ali Khan. Besides she feels that marriage has made absolutely no difference to her career and she is now ready to spring surprises galore in the Bollywoodian arena.

On reflecting back on her journey in Bollywood Kareena Kapoor Khan avers, “Of course my journey in Bollywood was not a smooth sailing in the initial stages of my filmic career. But then slowly & steadily I gained a strong foothold with films like ‘Dev’ & ‘Chameli’, my first ever off beat roles, ‘Jab We Met’, ‘Bodyguard’ & ‘3 Idiots’ to name just 5 films. Yet I feel that I have a lot more surprises in store.”

Continuing further she states, “My marriage to Saif has really made no difference to my career as unlike other married actresses in the past I was not forced to take a backseat or even forced to switch to character roles (Read mother’s role). In fact now I am offered the meatiest roles, that I can really sink my teeth into, of my career.”

She becomes defensive on being pointed that she hardly had any role in the Salman Khan starrer ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, “But sir you have yourself answered the question on my behalf.

In a commercial set up a heroine is lucky even if she is noticed. I won’t say that in a male dominated Bollywood films a heroine hardly gets a chance to prove her worth. To say so is like making lame excuses. Even otherwise ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ was more of an Harshali Malhotra (the wonder Kid) film. In fact the entire film centered around her journey from Pakistan to India and then how she is taken back to Pakistan by Bajrangi. So I was more than happy and I really enjoyed the role of a teacher in ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’. Besides it was not a love story but more of a dramatic film and since this was my 1st film with director Kabir Khan I could not refuse the opportunity as I had heard a lot about his excellent directorial skills and I really wanted to work with him regardless of the role that I was offered. But you also cannot take away the fact that Salman is a great person. I am honoured that he took me in his 1st film as a producer. Which actress would say no to a Kabir Khan movie with Salman Khan? I had not worked earlier in any film with Kabir Khan.”

In this regard she further comments, “Yet another temptation of taking up ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ was that it was shot in Kashmir. You see sir, everyone in my family except me had shot in Kashmir including my father Randhir Kapoor, my mother Babita Kapoor, my sister Karishma Kapoor, Uncle Chintu Kapoor & aunt Neetu Kapoor, grand uncles Shammi Kapoor & Shashi Kapoor and also my cousin, Ranbir Kapoor. Though I had not shot there earlier, when I had reached the venue, I could feel I was there at the Lalit Hotel in Kashmir. It was quite an eerie yet a totally fulfilling experience.”

Kareena then went on to add her feelings about Salman Khan, “Salman is one of the finest co – star that I have ever worked with. ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is my hat trick film with Salman after ‘Kyon Ki’ & ‘Bodyguard’. I know Salman from the year 1990 when he was acting in Bhappi Soni’s ‘Nischay’ opposite my sister Karisma. Those days I was very raw & new to films. And in recent times Salman too has become a lot more calmer. In fact he is now mature enough not to show whatever comes his way in his personal life, on his work. Besides he is also one of the finest human being in Bollywood.”

On her striking a balance between the 2 arenas of films namely that of off beat cinema & commercial cinema Kareena has the following explaination to offer, “I have always felt that It is important enough to do commercial films. But on the other hand I have always wanted to strike a balance between off beat films & commercial films. I have done commercial films all my life. The big commercial bonanza films are a part of my blood. But I have also craved to do off beat films. So I think it is as important to do off beat films as it is to do commercial films. As commercial films helps you to earn name & fame whereas off beat films bring you histrionic recognition.”

Off beat films has helped Kareena to garner critical acclaim left, right & centre but notable awards trophies have mostly eluded her. Yet Kareena has no regrets whatsoever, “So what if the most prominent awards statutes have mostly eluded me. I am content with my body of work. What matters to me most is that my work has earned me more than recognition with my family & my fans too. I am indeed considered as one of the most versatile, most dependable & most bankable actress. More than that I am considered an actress of repute who can deliver the goods even in cameo roles. But then sometimes I am also being pulled up for doing cameo roles. Let me give a cliched reply for that, every actress has done such roles in her filmic career as a personal favour and so have I. But I also agree to do such cameo roles which forms an integral part of the film’s storyline. A case in point are films like ‘Gabbar Is Back’, ‘Brothers’ et al.”

That apart Kareena also takes pride in the fact that she has got the opportunity to act with all the Khans that too more than once. She avers, “I have worked with all the Khans, whether it is Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan or Aamir Khan or for that matter even with Saif in more than 1 film. I have always had a great professional tuning with Salman, Shahrukh & Aamir and of course both professional & personal tuning too, with Saif. Not only these I am also happy working with Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor et al. And finally I am also working with the younger lot. I mean It is a great honour for me that after working with Anil Kapoor, I am also working with Arjun Kapoor as his wife. And after working with him I felt that the younger generation of actors are also brilliant and a lot more aware & conscious. And I would also like to state that It is all about your passion and what you believe in. And in this regard I am also of the opinion that you needn’t be seen in every film as you are as old as you look.”

She also expressed her opinion regarding the return of the era of heroine oriented films, “But the era of the heroine oriented films was always omnipresent in all the time zone. At every turn it has strongly made its presence felt just as with the recent releases like ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’, ‘Piku’ et al. Just like In the 70’s era there were films like ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’, ‘Amar Prem’ et al where the heroines had strong roles. Even my own film ‘Jab We Met’ was also a heroine oriented film. In fact most of the times I have ended up doing heroine oriented films whether it was ‘Omkara’ or ‘Jab We Met’. ‘Omkara’ was a title role for the heroine but Saif played the lead. And for that matter I will not do a heroine oriented film till the script demands because everyone is doing one.”

And as a parting shot Kareena clarified her stance once again that marriage has certainly made no difference to her career wise, “What difference sir, as after marriage, only the surname Khan has been added to my name, moreover it was 15 years after I came in the film industry. It is indeed a big achievement for me that Salman is still ready to work with a married woman like me. I am also glad that Kabir thought of casting me ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’. I should once again repeat that marriage has not made any difference to me. I have been an exception to the rule. I do not think I lost even one brand ever since I got married. After marriage I thought this is the time to work with new as well as different directors. After a certain stage in your career, it is nice to work with different people. Kabir Khan is also one of my favourite director as he makes larger than life kind of movies which are not mindless and which also has a strong story to narrate. And lastly please don’t ask me about my forthcoming fims. As I have many milestone achievements to conquer, but as usual I will speak about them just before its release and during its promotinal drives. Period!

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Bollywood, Film, Kareena Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Movie

Movie Review: Bangistan is purely a puerile & futile attempt and a waste of time, energy & finances

August 17, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Bangistan

Director: Karan Anshuman
Cast: Ritesh Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez & Pulkit Samrat

Director Karan Anshuman has followed the same oft repeated & beaten to death path of terrorism topic in ‘Bangistan’, mainly with the same satirical depiction of the same anti – terrorist elements existing between the 2 countries India & Pakistan since they got Independence. And after watching the film everyone will agree that it was purely a puerile & futile attempt and a waste of time, energy & finances of everyone concerned including this reviewer & of course the cine goers too.

Any ways the dullest scenario of ‘Bangistan’ kick starts with the ‘demographical introduction’ of a fictitious country named ‘Bangistan’. The country is divided into 2 parts with North Bangistan occupied by the Muslims while South Bangistan is occupied by the Hindus. As the name suggests, the country is full of people who believe that the only way to bring peace to the world is by means of violence and the south & the north are always at war with each other. On the other hand, the focus shifts to a video conferencing call between religious heads of Bangistan, Imaam (Tom Alter) & Shankaracharya (Shiv Subramaniam), discussing about the upcoming ’13th World Religious Conference’ that is to be held in Poland. Then there happens to be the introduction of Hafeez Bin Ali aka Harold (Riteish Deshmukh), who quits his job at a call centre after a certain ‘religious backlash’. He then gets handpicked by the chief of ‘Al – Kaam Tamaam’ to represent their outfit and to become a suicide bomber to blow up the peace conference. In order to avoid being ‘recognized’ by anyone, he completely metamorphosis into a Hindu as ‘Ishwarchand Sharma’. On the other hand, there also exists a struggling actor Pravin Chaturvedi (Pulkit Samrat), a devout Hindu and also a follower of the religious Hindu outfit ‘Maa Ka Dal’. He too gets handpicked by the leader of ‘Maa Ka Dal’ in order to double up as a human bomb at the peace conference. Just like Hafeez, Pravin too undergoes a completele metamorphosis, the only difference being that he disguises himself as a Muslim under the name of ‘Allah Rakha’. Destiny makes the duo meet each other not only at the airport on reaching Poland (where they strip themselves to their bare minimum on ‘humanitarian grounds’), but also end up as neighbours. Noticing how much they respect each other’s religion and how similar they are, the duo become close friends in an alien country..…..until one day Pravin discovers the real motive of Hafeez Bin Ali.

Director Karan Anshuman utterly fails to connect with the audiences in all aspects & respects. He has projected himself as a bad director as he not only lacks the directional skills & expertise but also fails to extract work from both his cast & crew. Here again he has wasted everyone’s talent. The first thing he should do is to take a sabbatical and then to take a fresh & intense course in direction. Besides why make such films and increase more enmity between the Hindus & the Muslims or more espcially between India & Pakistan. Just let everyone be in peace and refrain from making such non – sensical films in future.

Performance wise there is not even a single performance that can be singled out for holding out even an iota of interest of the viewers. Everyone from Ritesh to Pulkit to Jacqueline and even the bit roles players seemed to be disinterested and have sleep walked throughout the film.

Tail Piece: Stay miles away from a film called ‘Bangistan’ even in your wildest dreams.

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Bangistan, Bollywood, Film, Jacqueline Fernandez, Movie, Movie Review, Pulkit Samrat, Ritesh Deshmukh

Movie Review: Brothers is strictly recommended for die hard fans of action movies

August 17, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

brothers

Director: Karan Malhotra
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez, Siddharth Malhotra, Jackie Shroff, Shefali Shah, Ashtosh Rana, Kiran Kumar, Ashok Lokhande et al & Kareena Kapoor – Khan in an item number.

Director Karan Malhotra in his last outing ‘Agneepath’ had made a really decent film. But his latest offering ‘Brothers’, which is an official remake of ‘Warrior’, leaves enough room for doubts. In a way he does not fully live up to the audience expectations. Besides the film has too much of blood & gore in the excessively violent street fights as well as the boxing ring fight sequences.

The loosely emotion less plotted scenario of ‘Brothers’ opens with the release of Gary (Jackie Shroff) from a jail after having served imprisonment for accidentally killing his wife Maria (Shefali Shah). Upon his release from the jail, he is received by his son Monty (Sidharth Malhotra). When Gary asks Monty about his elder son David (Akshay Kumar), the story goes into a flashback mode which reflects the past life of Gary and all the reasons & incidents that led him to be jailed. Realising his mistake, when Gary goes to David to ask for forgiveness for all his misdoings, David refuses to forgive him. David’s life now only revolves around his wife Jenny (Jacqueline Fernandez) and his 6 year old daughter Maria, who is suffering from a serious kidney ailment. It is for the treatment of Maria that David doubles up as a Physics professor as well as a street fighter. However, fearing the impression that he will leave on his students, the school authorities debar him from his job. This makes David furthermore helpless and street fighting becomes his only hope of survival. Around the same time, enters Peter (Kiran Kumar) who is all set to give the street fighting a much needed facelift in the form of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) by organising the world renowned ‘R2F’ tournament (Right To Fight) in India, which boasts of a prize money that amounts to a whopping Rs. 9 crores to the ultimate winner. Monty, who is already a street fighter, gets attracted to this contest while Paasha (Ashutosh Rana) signs up David as his fighter for the tournament. Monty receives all the possible training under his ex – fighter father Gary, on the other hand, knowing this is a lifetime opportunity David grabs it with both the hands. With no trainer guiding him, David starts his set of hardcore training for the deadly combat. The tournament begins and David & Monty beat their powerful opponents one after the other. After having defeated all the opponents, there comes a time when the final battle is between David & Monty and the one who ‘cripples’ the other will become the ultimate winner.

Incidentally speaking director Karan Malhotra deserves brickbats as wells kudos for this Hollywoodian remake. Brickbats, because he failed to convey the exact emotionalism quotient mainly because of the poorly scripted  characterisation. Kudos for his depiction of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and also in portraying the struggles of a middle class Indian family.

Performance wise Akshay Kumar tops the list, first as a Physics lecturer and then as a street fighter and of course as an emotionally charged father too who goes to all lengths, just to save his daughter’s life. But then he lacks conviction in portraying his angst against his own father. The next towering performance, in fact his career’s best act, has been delivered by none other than Jackie Shroff. Its sad that Siddharth Malhotra has been pitied against the 2 excellent performers namely Akshay Kumar & Jackie Shroff. Yet Sidharth Malhotra has stood his ground and delivered a credible performance. Jacqueline Fernandez as a de – glamorised mother, her career’s first, of a 6 year old ailing kid has delivered a very realistic & convincing performance. On the other hand Shefali Shah has delivered an excellent performance in her strong albeit briefest role. The other notable performances has come from seasoned actor’s like Kiran Kumar, Ashutosh Rana et al. By the way a special well – deserved mention must also be made of the child artistes
and the young actors who have played the childhood and the younger versions of Akshay Kumar & Siddharth Malhotra respectively.

Tail Piece: Strictly recommended for lovers of action films & fans of Akshay, Jacqueline & Siddharth. Period!

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Akshay Kumar, Bollywood, Film, Jackie Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez, Movie, Movie Review, Siddharth Malhotra

Movie Review: Gour Hari Dastaan – The Freedom File is a brilliantly crafted film that are made once in a lifetime

August 17, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

gour-hari-dastaan-the-freedom-file

Banner: Siddhivinayak Cinevision
Producers: Sachin Khanolkar & Bindiya Khanolkar
Director: Ananth Narayan Mahadevan
Cast: Vinay Pathak, Konkana Sen Sharma, Ranveer Shorey, Tanishtha Chatterji, Asrani, Rajit Kapur, Vikram Gokhale, Neha Pendse, Vinay Apte, Mohan Kapur, Achint Kaur, Khusboo, Viju Khote, Vipin Sharma, Neena Kulkarni, Bharat Dhabolkar, Ganesh Yadav, Murli Sharma, Siddharth Jadhav & Gary Richardson
Music: Dr. L. Subramaniam

Anant Narayan Mahadevan, an actor – director of repute & one who has also delivered milestone gems earlier, in his latest directorial offering ‘Gour Hari Dastaan – The Freedom File’ has depicted the painstaking struggle, of over 3 decades, of an ex – freedom fighter Gour Hari Das to get his overdue rights of being properly & lawfully recognised as one of the original freedom fighter by the Indian Government. The film has been brilliantly crafted portraying all the right nuances, of a helpless man, at the right places & at the right time.

Gour Hari Das (Vinay Pathak) an ex – freedom fighter from Odisha is now residing in Mumbai & working in Khadi Kraft. He is living a happy life with his wife (Konkana Sen Sharma) & son. But somewhere along the way he is also troubled by the fact that no one believes him or takes him to be an ex – freedom fighter. So along with his Khadi Kraft job he also struggles, by running from pillar to post, to get his Tamrapatra, given by the Goverment to ex – freedom fighters in recognition of taking part in India’s struggle for Independence from the British Raj, which will ultimately prove that he was indeed an ex – freedom fighter and had also gone to jail in the process. Little did Gour Hari Das knew that he will also get viciously caught in the beaucratic web. At last his over 3 decades of the painstaking struggle ends and he ends up getting his due recognition, in the process of which he is also helped by 2 media guys namely Ranveer Shorey & Tanishtha Chatterjee and many others. While there have also been people who have discouraged him in fulfilling his mission.

As a director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan indeed deserves a salutation oriented standing ovation for presenting on the celluloid silver screen, a real life saga of an ex – freedom fighter named Gour Hari Das now residing in Dahisar. That apart the producers duo of Sachin Khanolkar & Bindiya Khanolkar also deserves full marks for backing director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s ambitious & heart touching project. For over a year the film ‘Gour Hari Dastaan – The Freedom File’ has been doing the Indian & global Fest circuit rounds and bagging awards & adulations galore. But though the film will be liked by the elite & the classy cine goers, its main drawback is its exceedingly slow pace Which may not appeal to the masses.

Performance wise Vinay Pathak has delivered an extraordinnaire performance by literally living the life of a forgotten hero Gour Hari Das on the celluloid silver screen. His complete transformation as the real hero Gour Hari Das is really seen to be believed and speaks volumes of his histrionic prowess. In fact he really walks away with all the acting honours. The rest of the cast comprising of veterans as well as others like Konkana Sen Sharma, Ranveer Shorey, Tanishtha Chatterji, Asrani, Rajit Kapur, Vikram Gokhale, Neha Pendse, Vinay Apte, Mohan Kapur, Achint Kaur, Khusboo, Viju Khote, Vipin Sharma, Neena Kulkarni, Bharat Dhabolkar, Ganesh Yadav, Murli Sharma, Siddharth Jadhav & Gary Richardson have formed a picture perfect foil to Vinay Pathak’s Gour Hari Das, albeit in their briefest cameo roles.

Tail Piece: As mentioned earlier ‘Gour Hari Dastaan – The Freedom File’ is primarily meant for the classes and not for the masses. Besides at the box office it may not set the cash registers ringing, but it will certainly shower awards galore for director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan.

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Bollywood, Film, Gour Hari Dastaan - The Freedom File, Konkana Sen Sharma, Movie, Movie Review, Ranveer Shorey, Vinay Pathak

Movie Review: Shaun The Sheep Movie is delightfully funny it is meant for cine goers of all ages

August 14, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE

Producer: Paul Kewly & Julie Lockhart
Director: Richard Starzak & Mark Burton
Star Cast: (Voice) Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Omid Djalili, Kate Harbour, Richard Webber, Tim Hands, Simon Greenall et al.
Genre: Comedy (Animation)
Verdict: Very Good

The director duo of Richard Starzak & Mark Burton have delivered many movies till this date especially animated comedy, but the latest offering ‘Shaun The Sheep Movie’ has surpassed all of them. Besides they have enlivened the film by using the stop animation motivated technique.

Plot: Shaun is a mischievous sheep living with his flock at Mossy Bottom Farm. Tired of the routine life on the farm, he hatches a plan for a day off, by tricking the farmer into going back to sleep by counting the sheep repeatedly. However, the travel – trailer in which they put the farmer to bed accidentally rolls away, taking him the entire way into the big city. Bitzer, the farmer’s dog, goes after him, ordering the sheep to stay on the farm until he returns.

Aces: A sweet & simple story whose punctuated silence also speaks volumes. Besides the animation has been done brilliantly.

Minuses: Some more addition of gags & wisecracks would have made the film even more lively.

Last Word: It is one up on the television series of the same name. Go for it, as it is meant for cine goers of all ages & from all walks of life.

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Bollywood, Film, John Sparkes, Justin Fletcher, Movie, Movie Review, Omid Djalili, Shaun The Sheep Movie

Bollywood’s patriotic films

August 13, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Purab Aur Paschim

Purab Aur Paschim

There seems to be a very thin line separating the war films, the historical films or even the patriotic films of the Hindi Cinema, in a way all these three categories are totally interlinked. As the real or even the reel life warriors have always fought the various battles out of sheer patriotism, for the intense love for their country and have then become historical figures in the process.

So some of the earliest Black & White Patriotic Films, steeped in extreme patriotism, of the Hindi Cinema have been made as early as the year 1925 onwards for i.e. ‘Charkha’ & ‘Veer Kunal’ in the year 1925, ‘Bhagwa Jhanda’ alias ‘Saffron flag’ in the year 1926, ‘Flag Of Honor’ in the year 1929, ‘Patriot’ in the year 1930, ‘The Battle’, ‘Martyr’ & ‘Sword Of Allah’ in the year 1931, ‘Shan – E – Hindustan’ & ‘Hindustan’ in the year 1932 & ‘Bharat Veer’ in the year 1933 to name just a handful of them.

And then with the advent of the color era it was Manoj Kumar, more popularly known as Mr. Bharat, who had totally dominated the patriotic scenario in 60’s & 70’s decade firstly by acting in a Black & White film titled ‘Shaheed’ in the year 1965, in which even the late Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had made a special appearance, and secondly by going on to make more and more such patriotic films in color like ‘Upkar’, ‘Kranti’, ‘Purab Aur Paschim’ , ‘Roti Kapda Aur Makaan’ et al and of course all his films not only emphasized but also reflected his intense patriotic fervor and even his deep rooted love for his motherland, India. In fact Manoj Kumar was to Patriotic films, what the Ramsays were to Horror films.

Then it took a Hollywood director like Richard Attenborough to rekindle the patriotic loyalty of the Indian’s by making a Celluloid Masterpiece film ‘Gandhi’ starring who else but a Hollywood actor Ben Kingsley in the title role. No wonder then, that the Indian directors followed suit with Shyam Benegal leading the brigade, when he made a film titled ‘The Making Of Mahatma Gandhi’ starring Rajat Kapoor in the title role of Mahatma Gandhi.

Thereafter the decade of the 60’s also saw a few classic yet very successful Patriotic Films made by the late Producer – Director Chetan Anand titled ‘Haqueequat’ {Not to speak of the Ajay Devgn starrer of the same name but made in the 90’s decade} starring Dharmendra and the late Priya Rajvansh besides a host of other stars of that era. Then there were also films like ‘Hum Hindustani’ starring rank newcomers and Producer – Director Mehboob Khan’s film ‘Son Of India’ also starring newcomers.

While some of the other such patriotic films of the 40’s and the 50’s decade include ‘Pyara Watan’, ‘Hum Dono’ starring the evergreen Dev Anand in a double role, ‘Sher – E – Watan’, ‘Hind Ke Lal’, ‘Hamara Watan’, ‘Hamara Desh’, ‘Hindustan Hamara’, ‘Bharat Ke Lal’, ‘Bharat Ki Beti’ and the most talked about film of that era namely ‘Dharti Ke Lal’. And a series of films, of the funster duo the late Mehmood Ali – I. S. Johar starrer like ‘Johar Mehmood in Goa’, ‘Johar Mehmood In Hong Kong’ etc.. Yet all these films were like just a few drops in an ocean.

Dharti Ke Lal

Cut to the decade of the 60’s to the 90’s where apart from the Manoj Kumar brand of Patriotic Films there were other notable films too like ‘5 Rifles’, ‘Leader’, ‘Jhanda Ooncha Rahe Hamara’, ‘Desh Ke Dushman’, Rajesh Khanna starrer ‘Apna Desh’, ‘Azaad Desh Ke Ghulam’, ‘Bharat Ke Shaheed’, Mithun Chakroborty starrer ‘Watan Ke Rakhwale’, Kamal Hasan starrer ‘Mayor Saab’ {Dubbed version of the original Tamil film} and then even the mighty Big B had acted in a couple of such Deshbhakti oriented films like ‘Desh Premee’, ‘Inquilab’, ‘Main Azaad Hoon’, ‘Hindustani’, ‘Hindustan Ki Kasam’, ‘Major Sahab’ & ‘Khuda Gawah’. Besides how can one forget the midget hero Aamir Khan’s earlier film ‘Sarfarosh’, ‘Rang De Basanti’ and the last released patriotic saga ‘Lagaan’ albeit being a little off track.

Besides how can one overlook the Punjabi Jat Dharmendra & director Anil Sharma’s contributions in this field as together the duo have given quite a few of such hit films like ‘Elaan – E – Jung’, ‘Hukumat’ & ‘Tehelka’, While Dharmendra on his own did Ramanand Sagar’s films like ‘Aankhen’ & ‘Lalkar’. Next, patriotically following in the footsteps of his father even Sunny Deol has served his own doses or rather sometimes overdoses of patriotism from time to time with a few notable films like ‘Indian’, ‘The Hero’, ‘Zor’, ‘Gadar – Ek Prem Katha’ and many more besides the dud caper ‘Jaal – The Trap’. So what if terrorism had also seeped in, in some of them, by raising its ugly head.

In between there were other such highly impressive films too like the Nana Patekar starrer ‘Krantiveer’ directed by Mehul Kumar, ‘Krantishetra’ & ‘Sardar’, while one more last released patriotic film turned out to be ‘Subhashchandra Bose’. Incidentally the last 2 films both directed by Shyam Benegal had also given a great insight into the life & times of these patriotic leaders of our Nation.

A special, well deserved mention at this juncture should also be made of the Vidhu Vinod Chopra film ‘1942 – A love story’ starring Anil Kapoor & J. P. Dutta’s film ‘Border’ & ‘LoC – Kargil’ starring a galaxy of Bollywood stars. But the earlier mentioned film had also claimed quite a few of the casualties in the Capital State New Delhi, a result of a bomb explosion allegedly planted by some anti – social elements, while the devout & the patriotic patrons were engrossed in watching the same film in Uphaar theatre out there.

Border

And finally in the new millennium one also witnessed a new trend of patriotic filmmaking, in fact a mad rush to jump onto the bandwagon of simultaneously making films based on one subject, on one particular patriotic figure and this time around and in this case it was our nation’s most revered martyr Shaheed Bhagat Singh. Hence as many as 5 films were made on the legendary cult figure namely Tips films ‘The Legend Of Bhagat Singh’ starring Ajay Devgan, Dharmendra’s home production banner Vijeta films ‘1931 Shaheed Bhagat Singh’ starring Sunny Deol as Chandrashekhar Azaad & Bobby Deol in the title role, ‘Shaheed – E – Azam Bhagat Singh’ starring the then rank newcomer Sonu Sood, besides two other unreleased films with inane titles which incidentally also got dumped into the trash cans of the cine laboratories of Mumbai.

Not only this, as believe it or not there were as many as 5 films being made on another legendary political figure the late Indira Gandhi. But nothing of those films was heard after its initial launch with a big fanfare.

The Legend Of Bhagat Singh

Besides not to be left behind and out of the rat race of this patriotic wave even the small screen at that time had dabbled with its own version of the patriotic brand of tele – serials like ‘Kashmeer’ on Star Plus channel which was also later on unceremoniously pulled off the air midway and then there was ‘Mulk’ on Zee TV Channel which had also suffered the same fate.

To round it off on a patriotic note all the Satellite Channels then in the mad rush of being one up on each other, as each one of them drew up their own schedules & plans to telecast most of the past patriotic films of those times, no doubt, to commemorate the eve of the Independence day, a trend which is still followed sometimes on the small screen. Period!

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Bollywood, Film, Movie

Ajaz Khan & Sunny Leone share a screen space in ‘Love Day’

August 12, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Ajaz Khan Sunny Leone

The cine goers will soon see 2 of the most controversial stars, named Ajaz Khan & Sunny Leone share a screen space in the soon to be released film ‘Love Day’. The audiences will get to see their 2 favourite stars on the celluloid silver screen. In fact Ajaz Khan and nation’s current hot favourite Sunny Leone recently featured in an item song picturized on them for ‘Love Day’.

Incidentally speaking Sunny Leone had earlier on promised Ajaz Khan that she would surely work with him, but at last Sunny Leane has kept her promise.

By the way Ajaz Khan, who rose to fame with his successful stint in a reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ Season 8 and vowed the audience with his wit, energy & Humor is all set woo the nation, in tandem with Sunny Leone, in ‘Love Day.

Nevertheless Life without friends is like living in hell but when you have friends who are no less than devils can make your life a living hell. But then, that’s what friends are for to make your life hell and then burn with you in the hell. This is what the upcoming film ‘Love Day is all about.

In fact It is a journey of 3 friends which brings out the true meaning of friendship. In a nutshell the story revolves around 3 where Monty (Ajaz Khan) débutante Harry (Harsh Nagar) & Sandy (Sahil Anand) do all the wrong things right from childhood. Sandy & Harry often fall into trouble due to Monty’s antics. Their bond of friendship is not approved by their families and even the situations arises such that it forces them to shift to Mumbai from Missouri in their childhood.

Further details of the movie are Shree Rajlaxmi Entertainment Presents ‘Love Day’. The other credits of the film are produced by Baldev Singh Bedi under the banner Shree Rajlaxmi Entertainment, written & directed by Harish Kotian & Sandeep Choudhary, music by Sumesh Himanshu, Raina Sawan, Sagar Sarkar & Vishnu Narayan, crooners are Mika Singh, Shaan, Mohit Chauhan, Bhumi Trivedi, Aneesh & Shreya Shaleen & above all media consultancy by Picture N Kraft (Parul Chawla). Its starcast includes Ajaz Khan, Sahil Anand, Harsh Nagar, Anant Mahadevan et al.

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Ajaz Khan, Bollywood, Film, Love Day, Movie, Sunny Leone

Aditya Pancholi slaps co-actor Vije Bhatia

August 6, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

aditya-pancholi-vije-bhatia

No this is not some kind of a breaking news conidering Aditya Pancholi’s temper tantrums throwing nature. But of late he seems to have sobered down a lot. It so happened that while shooting for his upcoming film ‘Lakhon hain yahan Dilwale’, Aditya Pancholi slapped the lead actor Vije Bhatia while shooting a scene.

On this eve Vije Bhatia later on averred, “Aditya sir walked up to me & without saying much slapped me in front of the entire unit, not only that he abused & insulted me for almost an hour, I was obviously annoyed & helpless at the same time, but the only choice I had was to give my best shot, for the scene I had with him.”

The scene went off so well that its one of the highlights of the film.

“It was only after we finished the scene that Aditya sir walked up to me & said that he’d done it on purpose so that I could get my anger right in the scene. He was generous enough to apologize for the incident. Since I don’t have much interaction with Aditya sir in the film, I didn’t have much of an opportunity to build a rapport with him, which was affecting the scene. Aditya sir has been the best support that I could have asked for, he’s helped me in everything, he also took keen interest in my look & grooming. I could not have asked for a better co star”.

‘Lakhon hain yahan Dilwale’ is a romantic musical with 11 super hit songs of 1960 era produced & directed by Munnawar Bhagat.

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Aditya Pancholi, Bollywood, Film, Movie, Vije Bhatia

Ajaz Khan walked the ramp for the “BETI” show at IIJW’ 15

August 6, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Ajaz Khan Walked The Runway At India International Jewellery Week 2015 (IIJW) To Extended His Support To The “BETI” Movement.

Ajaz Khan

Bollywood celebrities have become the unspoken Gods of the country. The kind of devotion the public worships them with is something beyond the level of understanding. People religiously follow their favourite film stars; therefore, Bollywood celebs have now become one of the best mediums to connect with the masses. One of the best ways in which Bollywood is affecting their lives is by spreading awareness about some of the most crucial concerns of our society.

Ajaz Khan who gears up for his next release, LOVE DAY walked the ramp for leading Jewellers of The World- Gitanjali Group in association with designer Shaina NC for the “BETI” foundation. Looking dapper in a black suit, Ajaz was overwhelmed to have got a chance to be a part of the “BETI” movement.

Standing firm in support of the cause “BETI”, Ajaz Khan averred, “Ever since we have realized our power of influence, we have been making continuous efforts in using our magnificence for a good cause. When a celebrity stands up for a cause, he does not actually stand alone! With him stand his millions of fans who blindly follow their favourite stars as the ultimate preachers”

Continuing further he averred, “Life without friends is like living in hell but when you have friends who are no less than devils can make your life a living hell. But then, that’s what friends are for to make your life hell and then burn with you in the hell. This is what the upcoming film “LOVE DAY” is all about.

It is a journey of 3 friends where we bring out the true meaning of friendship. The story revolves around these three; where Monty (Ajaz khan) introduces Harry (Harsh Nagar) & Sandy (Sahil Anand) to all the wrong things right from childhood. Sandy & Harry often fall into trouble due to Monty’s antics. Their bond of friendship is not approved by their families and even the situations such arise that it forces them to shift to Mumbai from Mussoorie in their childhood.

Shree Rajlaxmi Entertainment” presents “LOVE DAY”. Produced by Baldev Singh Bedi under the banner Shree Rajlaxmi Entertainment. The film is written & directed by Harish Kotian & Sandeep Choudhary. The Star Cast includes Ajaz Khan, Sahil Anand, Harsh Nagar & Anant Mahadevan. The music is by Sumesh Himanshu, Raina Sawan, Sagar Sarkar & Vishnu Narayan. The album consists of singers like Mika Singh, Shaan, Mohit Chauhan, Bhumi Trivedi, Aneesh, & Shreya Shaleen and above all the media consultant is Picture N Kraft (Parul Chawla).

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Ajaz Khan, BETI, Bollywood

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