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Best of 2010 - Top 10 Songs

Although tough there were fewer albums as mentioned in the previous post about the Top 5 albums it was a broader range as far as singles went. As is the case each year, this year too there is a mix of great numbers - peppy, romantic, item et al! And 1 insightful, telling observation - One of the top five albums - Raavan doesnt have a single number that made it in the top 10 and the album that finally scored the very top spot didn't even feature in the top 5 albums. So here goes.. the Top 10 songs of 2010, as collated by the group of us! #10 I hate Luv Storys The peppy number set to foot-tapping beats and sung by first half of the Vishal-Shekhar duo, rocked the charts mainly on its catchy feel.. and perhaps the video which was highly promoted and looked like a poor replica of "Bachna Ae Haseeno". #9 Zor Ka Jhatka (Action Replay) An instant hit, this one was also the most heavily promoted number of the film and choreographed with a funky signature step. Singers Richa Shar

Best of 2010 - Top 5 albums

Let me begin by dissappoitedly admitting that the albums this year have overall been the poorest show in many years.. Look at last year, when albums like Delhi 6, Dev D, Kaminey, Love aaj kal, Ajab prem... were all vieing for attention... Or the year before where jodha akbar, jaane tu.., rock on, dostana, were all in the same category... Or my fav year (2008) when any of the 5 nominees - guru, sawariya, omshantiom, jab we met, life in a metro - would've equally deserved the award.. And, I feel that ANY of the albums mentioned above were much better than MOST of the albums on our list below.. But... given that, there have been those albums which managed to grow on listeners.. So after careful deliberation ( and independent scorings from my co-authors ).. Here's the top 5 albums of 2010!.. #5 Ishqiya: This one didn't appeal to everyone equally. Filled with a mix of Soulful numbers, and the catchy Ibn-e-batuta... Gulzar magical lyrics, combined with Vishal Bhardwaj's telli

Best of 2010

So here's the plan.. The years ending and I've decided to put together a list of best of 2010.. mostly related to movies... Best album, song, singer, actor, actress... and so on..! We are strictly movie buffs and take our movies very seriously. I for one feel like I've been hit by Amnesia if I dont get the context of a Bollywood discusion right! ;) We also represent a wide range in taste (?) and otherwise, of movies.. :) So let me introduce my friends and the co-critics for this ' blog-athon': Swapnil - is a IT chap and a complete movie buff.. He is my partner in crime for watching movies back-to-back on weekends.. his taste is very filmy - hes open to listening to all kinds of music and usually doesnt dislike Harshad - another IT fella... I dont know anyone else who is as feverishly passionate of movies as harshad! he MUST see his kind of films in the opening weekend!.. Sometimes to get him to wait till monday is a challenge. And as the say, the more you want to se

The rest is of course--- Hissss-story

Some suggestions to recover from the recent insults: May be Mallika Sherawat should walk the red carpet in CWG 2010 - like she did in Cannes with snakes all over her– some positive would come out of it.. all this snake spotiing can be camouflaged by calling it a promotional activity for her latest ‘international’ film – hissss! Wink, wink. Or why not have the Wildlife SOS team in cultural outfits (aka Amrish Puri in Nagina..) Spot a snake? And you just won an exclusive show of the “SnakeCharmers of India” . Congratulations on winning the “Incredible India” experience.. Goes well with the ‘land of snake charmers’ image that we have fought O-so-hard against. Funny, eh? The sarcasm is a result of both – embarrassment and anger. Some say it is media that has unnecessarily highlighted just the negatives. Others say that the under preparedness of the venue exposes the deep-rooted corruption and inefficiencies of the system. I don’t know which one is right. But the fact remains, that it d

Endhiran Music Review - Robotic Perfection

So.. Enthiran’s topped the US iTunes Charts. What's all the fuss about? Rehman? Rajni? Ash? The combination I guess. It must be noted that every Rajnikanth film breaks the previous benchmark at box office (that’s no yardstick to judge whether the every film is better than the previous). The iTunes ranking, if nothing, proves both - the global appeal that Rahman has now and the fan following of Rajnikanth. But how’s the music? Here's what I think.. It took me a while to arrive at this conclusion. But I can comfortably say – this is yet another Shankar-Rehman combination set to top charts – not just by the merit of its ultra-famous star cast, but for it’s proper Shanker film masala, with a dash of Rajni-‘superstar’-lyrics and enough poetic metophars praising of the once-beauty queen Aishwarya. The album opens with ‘Puthiya Manitha’-sung by SPB and ARR – the song singing praises and hoping for miracles from the new human – the robot. Techno and trance in feel, the song takes a wh

Movie Review - Kites - Not Verrrrrry Bad

Not verrrrrry bad. So how do we start?.. Kites - one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year. Promoted virtually as Hrithiks passport to Hollywood - with an english version slated to release in a few weeks. Good music. Produced by the stalwart of thrillers (Rakesh Roshan) and a contemporary guru in handling relationships (Anurag Basu). A hyped palpable on&off screen chemistry between the lead pair. What more does a movie need?.. More often than not, hyped films are a victim of their own doings. Remember how Love story 2050 was India's answer to Star Trek? For all the hype, Kites is eventually a very formula masala Bollywood movie - think same old wine in a flashy new bottle. Eventually, it isnt a terrible on its own, but after all the hype, it's a tragedy (pun intended). Its very average. A marriage agent J (Hrithik) - (the kinds who marries women for money in exchange of green cards) based in Vegas - who is a kickass dancer - has Kangana - the daughter of this multi

Music Review - Raavan – an addictive evil apetiser.

For a while I have realized that listening to A R Rehman’s music albums before watching the films is like reading a novel before seeing its interpretation on screen. For his music creates images in your mind. Powerful images that you take with you to the cinemas. So tough luck, Mr Ratnam, for you have your task cut out with this album. Be it the pompous Beera or the bubbly Ranjha or the naughty Kata Kata , this album is a visual treat, if that makes sense. The album starts with Beera Beera , aptly used as a teaser to its music launch. One hearing and you know it’s full of promise. The only problem is its too short. 3 minute something – o come on, we need of more that ‘dhama-dham-dham-dham’! Filled with tribal chanting (gibberish?), sound effects and percussions like in Azeemoshan shehnshah , the album sure starts a high note. Then comes the subtly written Behne de – its sacrificial lyrics and soulful vocals give the album a mature depth. Next up is Thok de Killi . What's with

Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag 2 ????

No.. He'd dare not do that. (Then again, never say never). But what I am trying to say will make sense in a while. Remember Mile sur Mera tumhara? Who doesnt? Everyone of us has grown up listening to this. Mile Sur, along with Baje Sargam, Ek Chidiya are among unerasable visual memories of childhood of most of us Indians.I know only four of the languages sung in this song, but i can sing the entire song, even today. And then, on the 60th year of India's Republic day, TOI group (Zoom TV) decides to redo Mile Sur, calling it Phir Sur . Great idea, at the onset. Or is it? I am in admiration of the gesture. I really am. I have myself felt that something to that effect has been long pending. In fact whenever I visit the cinemas and see the beautifully picturised Jana Gana Mana by Bharatbala, I think that this is something that matches the standards of Mile Sur. Why not extend the musicians to filmstars. So when I finally saw Phir Mile Sur - I was already full of expectations. I miss

5 points about 3 idiots... Lot's in the name!

5 points about 3 idiots... Lot's in the name! Kartik KJ When I saw news clippings of the war of words between 3 idiots team and the writer of 5 point someone, I was moved to think and heres what I personally feel. its 5 points really.. (pun probably intented). 1. Is this a marketing gimmick? Sorry Chetan, but that's the first thing that comes to my mind. For of late, bollywood has stooped to abysmal levels to get people into movie halls. I am thinking, this is a reallllly cheap one (if it is, and I hope it isn't). Do you need such a bad gimmick for a film as strong as this one. But then again, this was the same team that withdrew the trailer of Prakash Jhas Raajneeti from the films launch, because they 'would rather do away with the trailer than have people distracted from 3 Idiots'. ???????? Duh!! Can a 3 minute trailer (I dont know the length really, but how big can a trailer be??) take away from the brilliant film that 3 idiots is???? Can crediting the author re