Jaane Bhi...cast upset with NFDC

It remains a cult classic for an entire generation of filmgoers. "So, when Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, the 1983 satire directed by Kundan Shah and produced by NFDC, was re-released this week in a new, technically enhanced avatar, it should have been cause for celebration for the cast and crew of the film.

   But while they are happy about the film's resurrection, they aren't too pleased with the way it was released, minus any fanfare.
   Naseeruddin, who played the lead along with (late) Ravi Baswani, said without mincing words, "I am pretty p***ed off with the way the NFDC has released the film without any publicity at all. "Another member of the cast said, "No one is pleased with the cursory way the film has been released. Even the so-called restoration is not up to the mark. NFDC should check out what Martin Scorcese has done with Uday Shankar's Kalpana. But at the end of the day, our film has been given a new lease of life, and I am happy about that." Satish Kaushik, who played a significant role in the film, said, "You wish they had applied more thrust to the marketing and release. But then you need budgets for that which NFDC of course won't have." NFDC's Head Of Production Vikramjit Roy was unavailable for comment.

Horrlarious

1920: EVIL RETURNS

Vikram Bhatt has taken over the horror genre since RGV went haywire handing over his cell phone cameras to his actors. This is not to say that Bhatt has been producing masterpieces at a prolific rate, but is still stuck in the Bermuda Triangle of Bollywood: where sings and a ‘classic’ treatment are used to tell an oft-repackaged tale of possessive spirits and their exorcisms.

    1920 Evil Returns has nothing to do with the equally horrlarious 19620 thought it is still set in the English countryside pretending to be the Himachal countryside. And it is still 1920. We know this only because of the title of the film because a sense of the modern seeps through. It’s all very abstract and KJo-ish of course trying to pass off England as pre-independence India. Even the help here dresses well. This is poor production design because you know they’re faking it. It is not only the mere absence of contemporary props  and architecture but rather the skill of the art department in creating the period that enriches the experience and convinces as audience of its authenticity. Horse carriages and candles don’t a period make.

      Anyway, Aftab Shivdasani is an alcoholic poet and in love with a woman whom he exchanges letters with has nevr met. But she does come onto his life with her yaaddash lost and revealingly puts a tune to his written words. This sounds more dramatice than it really is. Now enter a few bhatko-ing aatmas (body is in another village, kabootars are taking off in another cemetery) and well, a lot of the rest you’ve already seen in The Exorcist. What is with that? Why is Bollywood STILL stealing scenes and concepts from The Exorcist? It is 39 years old and everyone and their grandparents have seen it!

     Having said that, director Bhushan Patel’s clichéd climax does have a couple of mild twists, a singing ghost, and a feisty performance by Tia Bajpai that somewhat rescue you from the tiresome screenplay. But it’s too little too late.

    Even technically, 1920:ER is well below par. For a film that was supposed to have only the sun, moon, and candles as practical sources of light; scenes are brightly lit, especially the exteriors with looming HMIs hiding behind trees and throwing a perfect spread of dazzle that even The Ramsays would scoff at. Songs are entirely unnecessary appendages, the camera is uninspired, and most disappointing of all: the horror elements don’t work. If anything, they’re unintentionally funny. If you’re looking for a fright, stay home, switch off the lights, and put on a DVD of the original The Exorcist.

Missing the Secret Ingredient

LUV SHU TEY…..

 There is nothing wrong with Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, in fact Sameer Sharma’s debut film is a decent desi rom-com of sorts, despite getting off the wrong foot with its opening credits in Comic Sans.

     Set in idyllic winter rural Punajb amidst open fields, lori celebrations, reliable dhabas that serve you food of the highest order, and ultra sweet characters (even goons and rivals in negative roles are indescribably cute) LSTCK is the story of Omi who returns home after a decade from  London neck deep in debt and threatened with his life. His plan is to repeat what he did to fund his escape to the UK: steal his grandfather’s dhaba earnings to payback the goons. Problem is granddad now has Alzheimer’s and the Chicken Khurana recipe that made the dhaba famous is forever lost.

     Perfect are the characters: the patriarchal grandfather, the love of his life whom the family claims has reincarnated as a crow, the mad hatter uncle who claims he’s perfectly fine (andto be honest, given his sense of humour, he does seem sane), the suspecting chacha, the unconditionally loving chichi, the brother with  his issues, the feisty exgirlfriend who’s now a doctor (loved the choices written for her), and of course, a spineless Omi who must change and stand up for himself.

    Perfect is Amit Trivedi’s music – unconventional Punjabi pop – that stays with you well after the film. Perfect is the production design: authentic winter costumes, nicely art directed rural countryside shot mostly on location. Unlike your typical Bollywood fare, true-to-life detailing enriches the look.

    Of the performances, Huma Quereshi  (doc love) and Rajesh Kumar (nutty unc) stand out because of their author-backed roles. Kunal Kapoor comes to the party in the climatic scenes but delivers a lot of his lines inexplicably flat.

      And yet, much like the secret ingredient that made the dhaba’s chicken khurana tick, LSTCK is missing something. Call it the knockout uppercut. LSTCK is a screenwriting guru’s dream script. Establishment, conflict, three acts, character’s choice, resolutions are all lined up in a manner that you see them coming from a mile away. The problem is that it is boring. Given the setup, you know far too early on that everything’s going to be perfectly tied up and indeed there are no twists or surprises, only minor hurdles and their solutions. As the story trundles along, the pieces fall elegantly into place like a jigsaw puzzle that you’re constructing using a finished reference image. You already knew what it looked like to begin with; it was just a matter of getting there. In end you come out feeling a little empty and dissatisfied but then again, also a little hungry for some Chicken Khurana.

Never Let Go Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro

This weekend, re-releasing for the first time since it first hit screen almost 30 years ago is a cult classic that came to define comedy and satire in Hindi films: Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.

      Arguably one of the best films of the 1980s, JBDY emerged from the collective helming the parallel cinema movement that was mostly funded by the NFDC at the time. Kundan Shah opted to use satire and wit as his weapons of choice to depict the human condition, a running theme of the New Wave.

    The story of two bumbling photographers who inadvertently get involved in a case of corruption and scandal between a builder, a municipal commissioner, and a magazine editor is timless and perhaps even more relevant today. One comic sequence after another builds up towards a hilarious, extended climax that will have you rolling with sidesplitting laughter, a high point reached during the Mahabharat performance on stage where  corpse takes on the role of Draupadi. And even as you recover your breath from all that chortling, the irony of the dark culmination will drown you in despair.

    Superlative performances from the ensemble especially Naseeruddin Shah, the late Ravi Baswani, Satish Shah, and the entire ensemble ensure that the genius script gets its due.

   Shah takes a dig at evry institution – government, media, private enterprise – with thinly veiled allusions to people and circumstances of real life. The film has now come to signify a sense of artistic freedom that seems so lacking in movies today. Shah’s personal tributes to his friends and film heroes – protagonists named Sudhir Mishra and Vinod Chopra, a park called Antonioni that is the settling of a blown up photograph – complete the masterwork.

    The film hasn’t aged. Made in a paltry 7 lakh, its place a classic of Indian cinema is forever indisputable and will continue to serve as inspiration – as it has in the last three decades – for many more films to come. Shah has even hinted at his own possible sequel. Can’t wait.

   Most of you have probably already seen this films. If you haven’t , you’re probably under-25 and it might take a moment or two for those who saw their first film on a computer screen to come to terms with a 130+minute film with a slighty washed out look set in the 80s; but be assured that ultimately Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro will win you over. Again and again. An all time classic, not to be missed on the big screen.

Sasha-Harman’s brewing bromance

The two have put their past (read PeeCee) behind and have been bonding over poker 

Shahid Kapoor and Harman Baweja would have verylittle in common had it not been for a certain Priyanka Chopra. The men had been involved with the actress in quick succession, and expectedly did not get along with each other till recently. In fact at a party hosted by Race 2 co-producer Jay Shewakramani in Bandra last year, the two avoided had each other like the plague. But with no PeeCee in their lives – at least not romantically – the two men have struck an unlikely friendship of late. Mirror has learnt that since the past few days, there is a healthy bromance brewing between Shahid nad Harman. In fact, Harman drops by at Shahid’s Yari Road apartment every night. The two apparently are passionate about poker, and are often joined in by their other friends as well. The poker parties go on for long happy hours.

    A source close to Harman said, “This friendship is raising eyebrows in the industry. Ever since Priyanka parted ways with Harman and started dating Shahid, there was lot of bad blood between the two.” 

   At that time Harman had admitted in an interview that he could not cope with Shaid and Priyanka’s romance. “It was hard to see her talk on the phone and text. I knew what was happening. I just didn’t want to see Kaminey. I just booked tickets and left the country. It was hard for me to even listen to the songs of that film. I don’t think I will ever see it,” he had said at that time. So what gives?

    Mirror learns that this friendship between Shahid and Harman –who even occasionally went on double dates when they were dating Kareena and Priyanka respectively – is an off shoot of a chance meeting at a party sometime back. “The two decided to let by gones be bygones,” said a source present at the party, adding, “Thank god, the animosity is over. Their body language and the way they kept avoiding each other at Jay’s party was really embrassing.”

    Guess Harman and Shahid were tired of being ‘poker’-faced.

Stop sabotaging my film

Hirani denies that PK has been indefinitely postponed, says Aamir will shoot soon

The soft-spoken Rajkumar Hirani, who is not known to lose his equanimity easily, is an angry man. He is upset with the volley of reports that have been appearing of late, aimed at ‘sabotaging’ his under-production film PK. Especially damaging, say his friends, are the comparisons with recent Akshay Kumar-Paresh Rawal starrer OMG-Oh My God, and the rumours that the similarities may have forced him to rewrite the script entirely, pushing back the schedule indefinitely.

     A crew member (on request of anonymity) told this newspaper, “Somebody is clearly out to sabotage PK. And that is simply because Hirani is a man of few words. PK has no resemblance to OMG-Oh-My God, it is an entirely original fim. Hirani took his time to write it and he is not a fool to put Kanji Virrudh Kanji on celluloid all over again and lay claims on a film based on it.”

    Apparently Hirani was amused when the reports of the similarities first started trickling in. But then the rumours intensified, and he did not find it funny any more. Worse, some publications even reported that PK has been indefinitely postponed. “Hirani starts the film in December as planned after Aamir from his Talaash commitments,” says the source.

     When contacted, Hirani confirmed that PK is on time. “I wanted to capture the winter in Delhi and that’s when we start shooting. We are very much on schedule,” he said, adding, “I am busy with recce of locations in Delhi. In fact, my second unit has already started shooting on schedule almost 15 days back.” The Munna Bhai dirtector has also been scouting Rajasthan for locations. “All my energies are focused on the film. Nothing has changed,” he concludes.

HEARDTHIS

DADA CALLING AAMIR

Saurav Ganguly is certainly not the kind who forgives or forgets easily. And being dropped from the KKR team is something he would probably hold against team owner Shah Rukh Khan for as long as he lives. Maybe that’s the reason, when he wanted to introduce his young friend from the Bengali film industry to an A-Lister, he chose Aamir over SRK. Buzz is, up and coming Bengali actor Hiran Chatterjee, who has been seeking Dada’s help to further his carrer, wanted some tips on how to break into the big league. And Dada promptly called up Aamir, who was on his way to Haj. We hear Hiron got to meet Aamir and even got a tip or two about stardom, marketing and of course acting. Guess Dada is still on the top of his game.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s birthday pics: Baby Aaradhya’s media debut!

The actor celebrated her 39th birthday with her family at an event hosted by the French government honouring her with a civilian award

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan turned 39 on Thursday, and her birthday was celebrated as a media affair, with the French government conferring the prestigious award of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters upon her for her contribution to the arts. The former beauty queen also cut a cake and celebrated the occasion along with her hubby Abhishek and in-laws Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, and her own family that included her parents and brother Aditya. And while the proud mommy seemed completely at ease as she showed off her cute little daughter Aaradhya to the media for the first time – no the glimpse we got at Amitabh Bachchan’s birthday celebrations doesn’t really count – the little toddler was spotted in various moods through the event, all oblivious to the media glare!

Although she did break into a teeny little crying spree when she was in daddy Abhishek’s arms, Aishwarya quickly held Beti B and pacified her after which the infant was back to being her oblivious, zen-like happy self!

Aamir Khan & Katrina Kaif on the set of Dhoom 3

Bollywood Celebs at Premiere Of Skyfall Photos

Katrina Kaif: The latest victim of a wardrobe malfunction

The Resurrection of 007

You can tell a good director is at work when some of the action best scenes in an action movie are those without chases and without special effects. In fact, the test of a solid thriller is whether it not it holds in between the 'whammy' scenes depending strongly on performances and dialogue exchanges alone.

    One such scene in Skyfall is the entry of Javier Bardem playing the psychologically-affected genius Raoul Silva who walks towards a tied up, helpless Bond recounting a personal parable that eventually provides an insight into the deep rooted backstory they share. As he delivers this monologue with menace and perhaps even compassion to his estranged colleague, we hang on to his every word, enraptured. This battle is not going to be about guns and technology you realize, but of wills and words.
    Director Sam Mendes realizes that to keep a James Bond film a cut above its competition (other action films now do Bond better than Bond), his USP has to go beyond the gimmicks that made the franchise popular in the first place.
    And he holds on to this thought throughout, going back to the basics and making it the core theme of Skyfall.
    After the disappointing Quantum of Solace (plot: criminals buying up tracts of land in Bolivia to horde water), Skyfall looks inwards. This time's theme ofoldvs new is explored at many levels. M has gotten incompetent in the eyes of the government; the idea of field agents seems passe in the age of technology; 007 can't seem to aim right any more; is it the end?
    Most of the action actually takes place in London, away from an exotic Siberia or Udaipur (though the idea of a motorcycle chase across the rooftops of Istanbul for the opening scene is an idea hard to shun), and in more familiar surroundings of tube stations and Westminster. But what good are British spies in Britain? You can't take England out of Bond, but you can (and must!) take Bond out of England. He travels to Shanghai for a sequence so beautifully shot: symmetrical, soul-less buildings, a hand-to-hand-combat sequence in silhouette against the play of moving neon; it makes for one of the most memorable scenes. In Macau, at a casiono, a gladiator-style face-off takes place in a pit with hungry komodo dragons sneaking around. Certainly logic and physics are traded in for spurts of hyper adrenalin-including highs but then these are guys who practically invented and packaged the concept.
     Skyfall, Mendes, Daniel Craig, Bardem resurrect the idea of James Bond and give it the edge it lacked in the last few editions. It's not quite Oscar-ready yet, but it's headed in the right direction. There is more than a hint of influence from Christopher Nolan's take on Batman. Judi Dench in her longer-than-usual avatar as M and Ralph Fiennes as Mallory serve to enhance the experience.
    Layered, stunning-looking, with bravura performances; Skyfall is one of the best Bonds ever.