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Southern Movies Round Up

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Uttama Villain

As compared to films produced in Bollywoodian & Hollywoodian Cinema arena, South Indian Cinema is rapidly & regylaerly progressing by churning out its own brand of gems of milestone movies in all the 4 languages namely Kannada, Malyalam, Telugu & Tamil. In an exclusive Nasheman.In, Shaheen Raaj will present a sneak preview of the productional happenings of Southern Cinema every fortnight. Time to stay tuned in.

Kamal Hassan’ Film ‘Uttama Villain’ In Legal Hassles

Kamal Hassan’s ‘Uttama Villain’ was all set to release in 1st May 2015. Kamal Haasan’s ambitious project ‘Uttama Villain’, directed by his actor friend Ramesh Aravind, was slated for a release on 1st May, 2015. In fact the producers had planned a big release in Tamil & Telugu. Now a production company named ‘Thangam Cinemas’ has approached court claiming that Thirupathi Brothers banner, which produced the film, owe them Rs. 2 crores and asked the court to not allow the film’s release till the amount is settled. However, Thirupathi Brothers agreed to pay Rs.1 crore and said that they will pay the balance amount after the release. The court has adjourned the case and the film will release as planned, if the issue is settled.

Shruti Haasan Stuck In Legal Hassles Due To Her Controversial Item Dance

Shruti Haasan of late is also stuck In Legal hassles due to her controversial item dance. It is nobody’s secret that Shruti Haasan walked out of the Karthi-Nagarjuna bilingual flick and producer Picture House Media proceeded legally seeking a ban on the actress from signing any other film. The issue was then solved amicably after the intervention of the chiefs of the Producers Council and Nadigar Sangam. In a latest twist Shruti Haasan has agreed to do an item number in the film ‘Inji Iduppazhagi’ starring Arya & Anushka, which is produced by Picture House Productions. This is a clear indication that all is well with Shruti and her controversy with the producers.

The shooting of ‘Mellisai’ Complete

The shooting of ‘Mellisai’ has been completed recently. In fact the shooting of Vijay Sethupathi starrer ‘Mellisai’ is over and post production works are going on in full swing. Plans are also on to launch the film’s audio, composed by Sam C. S., soon. The movie, directed by Ranjit Jeyakodi, is tipped to be a musical thriller. Gayathri of ‘Naduvula Konjam Pakkathai Kaanom’ fame is the heroine, while cinematography is by Dinesh Krishnan.

Vijay Sethupathi, it is said, has tried his hands at a totally different genre in ‘Mellisai’. Meanwhile, his ‘Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai’ directed by S. P. Jhananathan, is getting ready to hit the screens on 15th May, 2015.

Vishnu Vishal Back In Action

Vishnu Vishal Back In Action. Vishnu Vishal has been lying low after giving the super hit ‘Mudasupatti’ and the acclaimed ‘Jeeva’  due to an injury while fielding for the Chennai Rhinos team during a Criket Club League match. The actor has ‘Idam Porul Yaeval’ & ‘Indru Netru Naalai’ ready for release. Vishnu has signed his next film titled ‘Veera Dheera Sooran’ directed by Shankar Dhayal of ‘Saguni’ fame in which his love interest will be played by Catherine Tresa who starred with Karthi in ‘Madras’ and is currently the 2nd heroine of Suriya in ‘24’.  ‘Veera Dheera Sooran’ is in the science fiction genre and formerly had Suseenthiran attached as director.

Venkat Prabhu’s Heroine To Quit Acting

Venkat Prabhu’s Heroine To Quit Acting. Director Venkat Prabhu’s 1st film as director was the cult hit ‘Chennai 600028’ which had Vijayalakshmi as heroine and the actress went on to do memorable roles in films like Mysskin’s ‘Anjathey’. And now Vijayalakshmi has decided to quit acting and take up film production and with this in mind has started a new company called TEA TIME TALKS. The 1st film under the new banner is likely to begin shooting in Jun, 2015 and an official announcement is expected shortly.

Sudheer Varma Gets A Big Offer

Nagarjuna seems to have been very impressed with the working style of Sudheer Varma. Sudheer averred that after watching ‘Dohchay’, Nagarjuna appreciated him well and asked to prepare a stylish action entertainer subject for him. He said that he will prepare a subject and will narrate the line to Nagarjuna shortly. Hope the film materializes soon. Sudheer Varma further stated that Nagarjuna liked the way he presented Chaitanya and enjoyed the hilarious last 30 minutes. ‘Dohchay’ was released recently. Kriti Sanon romanced Naga Chaitanya in this film.

Allu Arjun’s Next In May 2015

Allu Arjun’s next film to roll In May, 2015. Allu Arjun is very happy with the collections of ‘S/o Satyamurthy’ and the Stylish Star is going to start his next soon, toi be precise in May, 2015. He will be working with Boyapati Srinu and the film will start in the 2nd week of May. This film will be produced under Geetha Arts banner by Allu Aravind and it is going to be a love story with commercial elements. Allu Arjun is going to sport a new look in this movie. ‘Jadoogadu’ fame Sonarika is being considered as the lead actress in this movie. Thaman is the music director.

Sudeep Not To Work With Samantha

Speculations have been rife for a few days now that young actor Sundeep Kishan is going to work with Samantha soon and gossip mongers were also abuzz with rumors that V. V. Vinayak will direct this film, which will be produced by Sundeep’s uncle Chota K Naidu. But of late Sundeep Kishan clarified that the news is false, but he would love to work with both of them. Sundeep took to his twitter handle and wrote : “There is no truth to the rumours about me doing a Film With Vinayak Garu & Samantha,as much as I would love to its not true..just clarifying”. Sundeep Kishan’s ‘Tiger’, which also stars his good friend Rahul Ravindran in a key role, is expected to hit the theatres soon.

Mohanlal To Join ‘Bharatratna’ Team In May 2015

Mohanlal is all set to join ‘Bharatratna’ team in May 2015. Mohanlal is currently shooting for Ranjith’s ‘Loham’ which features Andrea Jeremiah opposite him. He will essay the role of a Taxi driver in the movie. Soon after completing the movie he will join ‘Bharatratna’ team. The movie is being directed Anil who made his debut with the Mohanlal movie ‘Douthyam’.

Anil has also directed Mohanlal in movies like ‘Adiverukal’ & ‘Sooryagayathri’. His last directorial venture was the Suresh Gopi starrer ‘Gangotri’. Another movie titled ‘Manasu Muthal Manasu Vare’ starring Nishant, Sreevidya & Lena has not been completed. ‘Bharatratna’ is scheduled to begin by 15th May, 2015 at Hyderabad.

Prithviraj & Mohanlal In Padmakumar’s next

Prithviraj & Mohanlal in Padmakumar’s next. 2 of Mollywood’s top actors are gearing up to share screen. Prithviraj & Mohanlal are yet to play the lead in ace director Padmakumar’s next. The movie has been titled ‘Kanal’. Both Mohanlal & Prithviraj had been part of Padmakumar’s previous movies.

The script of ‘Kanal’ is by Suresh Babu, who had earlier scripted the Padmakumar-Mohanlal movie ‘Shikkar’. ‘Kanal’ is reportedly a revenge drama with a tagline ‘Every end is a new beginning’. The movie is all about to strangers with revenge in their minds meeting at Dubai. Prithviraj & Mohanlal will share screen for another movie, to be directed by Priyadarshan. This movie is touted to be a political thriller.

The Malashri vs Vijay Battle Is On

The Malashri vs Vijay battle is on. This week is a battle of one action hero & action heroine on silver screen in Kannada. Malashri in ‘Maha Kaali’ & Dhuniya Vijay in ‘Daksha’ have put down nearly 100 plus opponents. Malashri uses her muscle power while Vijay uses his muscle power and machine gun power. Malashri fights against local detractors while Vijay takes on terrorists. In ‘Maha Kaali’ Malashri after a fierce attack on wrong doers in the society receive a lethal blow on her head from Home Minister team in the film. She is thrown in a far off place. She gets from this place with blessings of goddess Maha Kaali. The action heroine who was trashing villains like a ‘Dhobi’ a washer man, she gets the goddess Trishul for utltimate round of action.

‘Akshate’ Starts

The Kannada film ‘Akshate’ gets kickstarted. At the Freedom Park in Bengaluru the Kannada film ‘Akshate’ starring Raaj, Karthik & Mythria Gowda was flagged off by crazy star V Ravichandran. Actress Mythria Gowda wanted the real life ‘Akshate’ on her from a political family but she was discarded. This ‘Akshate’ is said to be having shades of recently dead IAS officer DK Ravi real life. Raju Devasandra is taking on debut direction for his story, screenplay & dialogues. He has been assistant director for a long time. He wanted to keep the title ‘Madhuve’ (marriage) for his film. Already a film in that name has come in Kannada compelled him to select ‘Akshate’.

Movie Review: 'Ishq Ke Parindey' is a very interesting, entertaining & musical social movie

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Ishq Ke Parindey

Banner: Shyam Motion Pictures
Presenter: Pawan Goyal
Director: Shakir Khan
Cast: Rishi Verma, Priyanka Mehta, Manjul Aazad, Yasir Iftikhar Khan, Monisha Rai, Pran Dawas & Abhishek
Music: Vijay Vermaa, Rashid Khan & Sajjad Ali

Débutante director Shakir Khan in his debut directorial offering ‘Ishq Ke Parindey’ has refreshed the musical era of earlier musical Muslim social movies like ‘Palki’, ‘Mere Mehboob’, ‘Mehboob Ki Mehendi’ et al. If only Shakir miyan had resisted the temptation of setting ‘Ishq Ke Parindey’ amidst the backdrop of “Gang Wars”.

Right at the outset ‘Ishq Ke Paridey’ starts conveying a loud & clear message that love surpasses all barriers & borders. In fact ‘Ishq Ke Parindey’ portrays Indo – Pak conflict against the backdrop of a powerful love story. The film strongly sends out the message of peace for the constantly warring neighbouring countries namely India & Pakistan. There are still a lot of things that bind India & Pakistan together and their tragic history is definitely one of them. A history which changed the lives of millions, a history which re – wrote the destinies of millions. So ‘Ishq Ke Parindey’ is a love story of Indo – Pak love birds, Sheen, a Muslim girl from Pakistan, and Faiz, a Muslim boy from Lucknow, India, both of whom protect the flame of their sacred love from hatred & violence. The scenario kickstarts when an innocent & beautiful Pakistani girl, Sheen arrives in Lucknow along with her family. It is in the royal city of Nawabs that she meets her soul mate, Faiz. Love blossoms for both of them and what follows is a deadly fight amongst their families. In the end ‘Ishq Ke Parindey’ comes accross as a soulful & lovable journey of Sheen & Faiz’s love story.

Débutante director Shakir Khan’s ‘Ishq Ke Parindey’ ultimatey comes accross as a very interesting, entertaining & musical Muslim social movie. As a director Shakir Khan is brilliant. His sensitive handling of the love story flourishing amidst cross cultural borders, of course steeped in bloodshed & gory Gang Wars, is laudable. The story & the scripted version with intense dialogues (Shakir Khan, Rituraj Tripathi, Dr. Abhishek Dwivedi & Rajeev Arora) & the music (Vijay Vermaa, Rashid Khan & Sajjad Ali) are the biggest and the well deserved highlights of ‘Ishq Ke Paridey). Some of the chartbursting memorable & extremely hummable numbers are “Maula Maula Karam”, “Rab Se Maangi”, “Ek Hatheli”, “Dil Tod Ke” & “Ishq Ke Parindey” (Title number). That apart cinematographer Najeeb Khan has mesmerizingly & beatifully captured Lucknow, the City of Nawab like never before. No doubt added & abetted by the razor sharp scissors of editor Tapos Ghosh.

Performance wise Rishi Verma as Faiz is a surprise discovery. He has essayed his character with natural gracefulness. He has delivered a very effortless & restrained performance. Priyanka Mehta as Sheen wins the hearts of the cinegoers right from the 1st frame. In short she is brilliant without an iota of doubt but of course minus her bluishly tinted contact lenses. Both Rishi Verma & Priyanka Mehta have an extremely bright future. They are adequately supported by Monisha Rai as Ghazala, Pran Dawas as Chhoroo & Abhishek as Vishal. Then of course to take care of the hamming department there is Manjul Aazad as Bhaijaan & Yasir Iftikhar Khan as Shadab.

Tail Piece: ‘Ishq Ke Parindey’ is a good viewing both for the over the hills moviegoers as well as the Gen X. Time to go and bask in Glory of Romance before it is too late.

Movie Review: 'Kaagaz Ke Fools' lovingly depicts a middle class Punjabi family life in all its glory

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Kaagaz Ke Fools

Banner: Globe Filmy Entertainment
Producer: Faisal Kapadia & Arun Bhairav
Director: Anil Kumar Chaudhary
Cast: Vinay Pathak, Mugdha Godse, Raima Sen, Saurabh Shukla, Rajendra Sethi & Amit Behl
Music: Sangeeta Pant & Surendra Sodi
Media Promotion: Dwapar Promoters (Himanshu Jhunjhunwala)

Writer – Producer Faisal Kapadia indeed deserves a pat on his back for weaving an interesting & colorful albeit a relealistic story based on a middle class Punjabi family in all its glory. If only he had handed the directorial reigns to a more skillful director rather than an amateurish actor turned amateurish director like Anil Kumar Chaudhary, whose earlier credits include films like ‘Ye Mothers’ & ‘No Rules For Fools’ and now ‘Kaagaz Ke Fools’. How Symbolic!!!

The plotted scenario of the film starts off with a search operation by Dev (Saurabh Shukla) & Nikki (Mugdha Godse). This brother – sister duo are in search of Nikki’s ‘non – ambitious but honest’ husband Purushottam Tripathi (Vinay Pathak), who leaves the house after a tiff with his nagging (but loveable) wife Nikki. While on one hand, Nikki’s relatives help to reconcile her relationship with Purushottam, on the other hand, the couple’s common friend lays his bets on them getting divorced. Caught in a whirlpool of relatives, friends & emotional turmoil, Purushottam lands up in a gambling den, where he drinks heavily and wins not just the money but also the company of a ‘working woman’ prostitute Rubina (Raima Sen). Despite all her attempts to seduce him, the ‘patni – vratha’ Purushottam refuses to give in to her advances. Seeing a ‘truthful human’ in her, he starts staying with her, but without any intimacy between them. On a professional front too, his life is in turmoil as his book ‘Ek Thehri Si Zindagi’ fails to find any publisher, which further adds to his frustration. One day, when Purushottam is totally out of control emotionally, he again lands up at the same gambling den. Lady Luck favors him to the core and he makes a killing, so much so that he even defeats the owner of the gambling den ‘in his own game’. He, then, hands over all the winnings to Rubina asking her to fund her brother’s education. The next day, a series of incidents happen in quick succession that puts everyone including Purushottam in a tizzy. While on one hand, Purushottam gets kidnapped in broad daylight, on the other hand, someone renames his book from ‘Ek Thehri Si Zindagi’ to ‘Ek Tharki Si Zindagi’, which lands up being a Bestseller’ in no time of its publishing.

Not only director Anil Kumar Chaudhary but most of his technical crew seems incompetent like cinematographer Aniket Khandagale, music composer Sangeeta Pant (but of course Surendra Sodhi’s background score deserves a special mention), editor Kshitija Khandagale, sound designer Suresh Sharma et al. Need anything more be said.

Performance wise It is Vinay Pathak’s film all the way as his act as a simpleton wins the heart of the viewers as he always finds himself not only in the wrong place but at the wrong time too. In short he is ‘Brillanto’. While the rest of the cast like Mugadha Godse, Raima Sen, Saurabh Shukla, Rajendra Sethi & Amit Behl are all victims of serious miscasting and hence fail to impress and deliver the goods.

Tail Piece: Inspite of all its foibles and follies ‘Kaagaz Ke Fools’ is worth giving a try at least once without ending up being regretful.

'Bombariya's lovely bash At Zapatta

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Bombairiya

It was a star-studded night at the launch of Kreo Films & Beautiful Bay Productions’ much awaited film ‘Bombairiya’. The event was held at the renowned suburban joint, Zapata’s bistro & bar. Present at the venue were the starcast Radhika Aapte, Akshay Oberoi & Siddhanth Kapoor along with the director Pia Sukanya and India-born British producer Michael Ward.

‘Bombairiya’ will capture Mumbai’s multiple shades and the state of conflict that grips most of its dwellers. The film will not just capture the city of dreams in a new light but more importantly a true light. Based on events from tinsel town, the story revolves around Meghna, a film publicist (played by Radhika Aapte) who has her phone stolen on a city street and borrows one belonging to Abhishek a middle class IT programmer (played by Akshay Oberoi) so she can make contact with the nameless Thief (Siddhanth Kapoor).

Right at the outset Radhika Apte averred, “I fell in love with script and my character as soon as it was narrated. Beyond the script, I loved the degree of clarity that Michael & Pia have regarding the treatment and flow of film. When I met them I knew that this project was close to their heart and they had done their ‘homework’ rather thoroughly. I am excited for the shoot and I am sure we will show a side of Mumbai to the audience that most are unaware of”.

On the other hand producer Michael Ward added, “I am glad that we are ready to roll with ‘Bombairiya’. This is my debut project in Bollywood and this is the kind of script that has attracted international interest from Producer Colin Burrows of Beautiful Bay and the team at Kreo Films. Personally I have a very strong & deep rooted ties with both India & Bollywood and I am sure that this is the best time to create this kind of film, the way we intended, without any compromises.” Incidentally sopeaking Michael, is representing Kreo Films of Dubai who have tasked him to explore Indian opportunities. His marriage to Director Pia last year has paved the way for this and several more co – productions between India, UK & U.A.E. Michael was Lead Producer & Original Adaptor for “The Far Pavilions”, a West End Broadway Musical that ran at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre and also theatrical director for Miss Bollywood, a ‘dansical’ starring Shilpa Shetty.

As Director of ‘Bombairiya’ and of Beautiful Bay Entertainment, Pia also dons several hats. Direction, script – writing, acting, song – writing and singing are some of her talents. She avered, “As a debutante director, I am thrilled with the star cast and depth of acting talents that have come on board. I know Radhika will make a fascinating and captivating Meghna and Akshay will become her well – meaning but irritating knight in shining armour, till the circumstances force them to look at each other as possible mates!” I’m also looking forward to working with Ravi Kishan & SiddhantKapoor, son of the iustrios actor Shakti Kapoor.”

The film is all set to go on the floors on 23th April, 2015 and will be shot in one schedule in Varied locales of Mumbai.

"Bollywood music composers are downright plagiarist": Malkit Singh

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Malkit_Singh

Malkit Singh is a renowned & award winning Punjabi Bhangra singer based in Birmingam, England. Till this date he has crooned some of the most popular numbers like “Gur Nalo Ishq Mita”, “Tootak Tootak Tootiyan”, “Kurri Garam Jayee”, ‘Dekh Li Villait”, “Chal Hun”, “Jai Hind” et al. Malkit Singh was in Mumbai recently for a special show on Baishakhi when Shaheen Raaj cornered him for a little interactive session.

To set the ball rolling how about giving us a brief insight into your background?

Basically I hail from Punjab. Incidentally speaking I was born in Hussainpur and brought up in Nakodar, Punjab. But to pursue my musical inclination I had shifted to Birmingham, England in the year 1984. Till this date I have crooned some of the most popular numbers like “Gur Nalo Ishq Mita”, “Tootak Tootak Tootiyan”, “Kurri Garam Jayee”, ‘Dekh Li Villait”, “Chal Hun”, “Jai Hind” to name just a few, like a drop in an Ocean.

How come you have not lent your voice for Bollywood movies in a career spanning three decades?

To be very frank I have a flourishing global career as a crooner. And since I am based in England I do not find it feasible to shift bag & Baggage to the Mekkah of Bollywood. And perhaps the producers & the directors do not call me thinking that they may have to pay me the two way fare from England to Mumbai and back. Besides a handsome remuneration as my crooning fees. Well! it is a totally wrong assumption. I can bear all the expenses of my so called trip on my own. And I certainly can’t settle down in Mumbai forever, thereby chucking up my lucrative career in England.

But you are still very popular in Bollywood!

Yes! You are right. And all thanks to my runaway hit songs. I became more known out here especially after my two songs “Chal Hun” & “JaI Hind” became a part of the soundtrack of Gurinder Chhadha’s movie ‘Bend It Like Bekham’. And I would also like to thank all the Bollywood music composers especially Mr. Bappi Lahiri for blatantly coping my chartbusting numbers like “Gur Nalo Ishq Mita” & “Tootak Tootak Tootiyan”. These so called music composers may term it as an inspiration. But I would say that they have been indulging in blatant plagiarism down the years.

One last question your daughter Amardip was recently sentenced to 2 years of jail in UK for having sexual relations with a handicapped minor. Comment.

You have said it all sir. I would not like to make anymore comment as this is strictly supposed to be a very private family matter and since everyone kept on harassing me or rather pestering me with all sorts of questions I have removed myself from each and every social media outlets. Period!

Movie Review: The Avengers: Age of Ultron

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The-Avengers-2-Age-of-Ultron

Producer: Kevin Feige
Director: Joss Whedon
Star Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johnsson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor – Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Haylay Atwell, Idris Alba, Stellan Skarsgard, James Spader & Samuel L. Jackson
Genre: Action – Fantasy
Verdict: Very Good

Don’t Miss!

Director Joss Whedon returns, after a long hiatus, with Avengers: Age Of Ultron, a super hero film which happens to be a sequel of The Avengers. No doubt the sequel is spectacularly mounted but something is still amiss. Frankly speaking Avengers: Age Of Ultron is surely a visual delight for the viewers but on the other hand one can say that Joss Whedon has failed to live up to the expectations, that the earlier instalment had raised for its sequel.

Plot: When Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) jumpstarts a dormant peacekeeping program, things go terribly awry, forcing him, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the rest of the Avengers to reassemble. As the fate of Earth hangs in balance, the team is put to the ultimate test as they battle Ultron (James Spader), a technological terror hell bent on human extinction. Along the way, they encounter two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.

Aces: Avengers: Age Of Ultron is big, bold, funny, thrilling, absorbing all rolled into one. That apart the outstanding performances from its ensemble cast specially Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth & Mark Ruffalo leading the male brigade and Scarlett Johnsson and Elizabeth Olsen leading the female brigade.

Minuses: The robotic, sometimes undecipherable, jargon and the overall pointless destruction created during the battle between the avengers and the Ultron.

Last Word: A well crafted movie to suit the palate of audiences of all ages.

Movie Review: 'Margarita With A Straw' is an extremely sensitive, heartwarming & heart touching movie

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Margarita-with-a-Straw-2015

Banner: Viacom 18 Motion Pictures
Producer: Shonali Bose & Nilesh Maniyar
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Kalki Koechlin, Revathi, Sayani Gupta, Kuljeet Singh, Hussain Dalal, Malhar Khushu, Jacob Berger, Tenzin Dalha, Shuchi Dwivedi & William Moseley
Music: Mickey McCleary

Director Shonali Bose had proved her directorial versatility with her debut directorial offering ‘Amu’ an extremely sensitive film dealing with a woman’s sensitive issue. And now she has climbed a notch higher with her directorial finesse in her 2nd outing ‘Margarita With A Straw’. The film deals not only with a disability (Read Cerebral Palsy) in a budding persona Laila but also scratches the surface of her inherent sexual desire with “gay” abundance.

‘Maragarita With A Straw’ relates the story of a wheel chair bound Laila (Kalki Koechlin) who is suffering from a disease known as cerebral palsy disoder. She is living with her mother Shubhangini (Revathy), her brother Monu (Malhar Khushu) & her father Baljit (Kuljeet Singh). Laila, in fact is a strong headed girl, who doesn’t let that ‘handicap’ word obstruct her from penning soul stirring lyrics for her rock band. Laila yearns to be counted amongst the ‘normal’ people and lands up dumping her boyfriend Dhruv (Hussain Dalal) because he is handicapped and she even has the guts to show her middle finger to the judges of a rock show amidst a huge audience because they decide to give her band the 1st prize, only because, the lyrics were penned by a ‘handicapped person’ like her. As time passes by, Laila ultimately falls in love with one of her band member Nima (Tenzing Dalha) but when he doesn’t reciprocate her feelings, her world comes crashing down. Life moves on as Laila decides to start afresh when she shifts with her mother for her creative writing course at New York University. Out here Laila, starts developing feelings for her classmate Jared (William Moseley), with whom she eventually gets physical. However, there appears a twist in Laila’s life, when her blind room partner Khanum (Sayani Gupta) confesses that she is “gay” and that she loves her a lot. Eventually Laila also starts developing a liking for Khanum and they both end up getting intimate with each other. That’s when Laila realizes that she is a bisexual, who is torn between the battle of two sexes & her own sexual preferences. Gathering all the courage & confidence, she confesses to her mother about her sexual orientation. Life however gets topsy-turvy for Laila when she discovers a startling truth about her mother Shunbhangi too.

Hats off to director Shonali Bose for tackling such a complex theme of a girl’s disability in lieu with her sexual orientation. Shonali really needs to be applauded for shooting the sex scenes without making it look vulgar or cheap. Three cheers for presenting the whole complicated journey of Laila so lovingly, adding a sensitive directorial touch of her own. So much so that it leaves you absolutely shaken and teary eyed by the time you leave the auditorium. Her message is loud & clear that it is pointless to hate a person for his or her disability & even a preferred sexual orientation. Poking fun at such persons where it hurts most, that too time and again is downright disgusting & shameful. Such persons should look within themselves before even trying to find fault in others. Full marks & kudos to Shonali Bose’ entire cast & crew for their brilliance in all the department. The film has won National & International appreciation not to forget the rave reviews in its global festival circuits. Now it only needs a word of mouth appreciation from the national audiences.

Performance wise Its a Kalki Koechlin film all the way right from the word go as she has literally lived the role of Laila by fully & totally getting into the skin of the character. She has delivered an absolutely convincing & flawless act. Her body language portraying the disability and the feelings depicting the sexual orientation is shockingly stunning. The next in line memorable performance comes from Revathy as she lends her own finesse. She is brilliant when she silently conveys her own pain & suffering. Sayani Gupta is ok in her ill sketched character. The other actors like Kuljeet Singh, Malhar Khushu, Hussain Dalal, Tenzing Dalha, William Moseley have lended their own adequate touch in this sensitive tale of Laila.

Tail Piece: ‘Margarita With A Straw’ can be surely & definitely recommended as a not to be missed film.

Movie Review: 'Ek Adbhut Dakshina – Guru Dakshina' is a highly disappointing fare

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k Adbhut Dakshina Guru Dakshina

Banner: Moonwalk Production
Producer: Aayush Phadnis & Eshaan Phadnis
Director: Kiran Phadnis
Cast: Rajeev Govinda Pillai, Sulagna Panigrahi, Rajesh Shringarpure, Roopa Ganguly & Girish Karnad
Music: Ismail Darbar, Som & Siddharth Chopra

Débutante director Kiran Phadnis in his debut directorial offering ‘Ek Adbhut Dakshina – Guru Dakshina’ did try to tackle the touchy subject of a relationship between a Guru & his disciple but mid way he got carried away and brought in multilateral sub – plots of the triangular love story, the revenge angle, the naxalism’s deceit & treachery et al. Needless to add he meandered away and confusingly, fully or rather deliberately lost his focus.

An orphaned boy Dev (Rajeev Govinda Pillai) is adopted by a Guruji (Girish Karnad) and brought him to his dance academy in Kolkata, owing to his dancing skills. Impressed by his talent, Guruji takes him under his wings. However, Dev’s one-sided love for Guruji’s daughter Sanjukta (Sulagna Panigrahi) changes their lives forever. Sanjukta finds herself seduced by Chhau dancer Gambhira (Rajesh Shringarpure) instead, who seems like a man of dubious intent. It turns out that he is a Naxalite, on a secret mission. Dev suspects Gambhira’s motives and warns Sanjukta but she doesn’t pay heed. Dev is heartbroken & Guruji is devastated, when Sanjukta secretly marries Gambhira. Post marriage, Gambhira shows his true colors, thus ruining the life of his wife & Guruji. Meanwhile, an accident takes Dev to Himachal. An then starts the revenge drama too.

Kiran Phadnis had a good backing and a fair chance of a lifetime but he faltered miserably in his debut directorial effort. Need I say anything more.

Performance wise both Rajeev Govinda Pillai & Sulagna Panigrahi have made a decent debut and that’s just about it. But on the other hand it is Rajesh Shringarpure who has left a lasting impression. Lastly senior actors like Girish Karnad & Roopa Ganguly have tried their level best to bring some semblance to the entire sordid affair.

Tail Piece: if you are still interested in watching ‘Ek Adbhut Dakshina – Guru Dakshina’ then go ahead and do so. The risk is entirely yours. I rest my case here.

"I am playing the lead role in "Makad Jaala" albeit with negative shades": Amit Pundir

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Amit Pundir

Hailing from Meerut the bronze & brawny actor happens to be a farmer’s son but has always nurtured dreams of being an actor since childhood.

Amit avers, “Basically I am from Meerut but since last 8 years I am in mumbai trying to make it big in Tinsel Town. My father is a farmer and I have completed my academic qualification from C C  University in Meerut. At last my dreams have come true and I have got a chance to play lead role of Rana in ‘Makad Jaala’, albeit it is a negative role with soft romantic touches. I am enacting the character of a big bad boy who is into eve teasing and what not, but he finally mends his ways. And I am very thankful to my director Dinesh Kumar Sahoo, my co – star Ashmita Bakshi and the entire team of ‘Makad Jaala’ for their sincere & utmost cooperation. My expectation from ‘Makad Jaala’ is good and whoever sees this film will miss his college days and will also get a good message. I am looking out for meaty roles. Things are in the pipeline. Let’s see what happens till then I am keeping my heart, fingers & toes crossed.”

"In 'Makad Jaala-A Poilitical Trap' I am playing a lead role of a character who is a bold & bindaas girl": Ashmita Bakshi

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Ashmita Bakshi

Ashmita Bakshi, an extremely beautiful girl from Aamchi Mumbai has no qualms in accepting that she had absolutely no connections in Planet Bollywood. Neither did she had any dreams of becoming a celluloid silver screen heroine. Besides she is frank enough to admit that probably her filmic journey may have gained its roots from her college days when like any other bubbly girl even she had taken part in the dance competition & fashion shows of the intercollegiate festival. Anyways Ashmita is now already 1 film old. Her debut film ‘Black Home’ was released just last month and now she is waiting with batted breath for the release of her next film titled ‘Makad Jaala – A Political Trap’.

Ashmita Bakshi

Ashmita avers, “I was born & brought up in Mumbai. You can say that I am a typical Mumbaite girl, an IT graduate topped with an MBA degree. I stay with my family who are absolutely non – filmy. And of course I have no filmy connections whatsoever to my credit. I had never thought even in my wildest imagination that even I would don the grease paint & face the arc lights. So as I was telling you I did take part in the dance competitions & the fashion shows in the intercollegiate festival. Which eventually got me interested to try my hands at acting in films. And luckily for me one of my film titled ‘Black Home’ has already been released on 20th Mar, 2015, In which I did an important character. And now my upcoming film ‘Makad jaala-A Political trap’ is all set for release on 24th Apr, 2015. In ‘Makad Jaala-A Poilitical Trap’ I am playing a lead role of a character whose name is Neha and who is a bold & bindaas girl, one who loves her boyfriend Rada (Amit Pundir) but at the same time I even slap him when he tries to go in the wrong track. Neha potrays the role of a strong headed girl. Personally too, i am a strong supporter of what is right. Strangely enough even before the release of  ‘Makad Jaala-A Political Trap’ I started getting good roles in movies in lead. It changed my life, thanks to my director Dinesh kumar Sahu. I should also thank my co-actor Amit Pundir and the entire team of ‘Makad Jaala-A Political Trap’. To sum it up I would say that I  have more films coming up. One of them is titled ‘Honeymoon Hungama’. No doubt I am playing the main lead in it and for which I have just completed the shoot. I have 2 more films lined up but I shall reveal their names once I sign on the dotted lines.”

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