Movie Reviews | Trailer Reviews | Opinion posts | Critique

From the-flexing-biceps move in the title song, to the jump from train to another train to an overhead bridge; to the way the his boss at “Tiger Securities” introduces his credentials – within the first ten minutes of the movie, there is a sense of cockiness that one has learnt to associate with Rajnikant’s (and now Salman’s) movies. The tone is set for what you expect to be an out and out action film, with action sequences ranging from incredulous to well-choreographed to downright hilarious. Was it with “Wanted” that Salman learnt he had a untapped and unexplored Rajni Quotient within him? That combination of cheeky humor, super heroic stuntability (and looks and body that take him beyond Rajni in a way) makes him a big hit with his already mad fan base. So let’s make it clear – irrespective of what I or the critics or Salman (or even Rajnikant thinks) thinks of this film, it is bound to be a hit. The formula works for sure – even if the same formula comes from the same guy not...

Everytime I heard Munni, I would be amazed at both, the audacity with which the lyricist thought of and the lack of vocabulary with which he chose the phrase “Zandu balm” to convey what Munni becomes for her darling! The song, celebrated as one of the best item numbers in recent years, is filled with such ‘poetic’ gems – “Popat na jaane mere peeche Saifu….”; “tu atom bomb hui” to quote a few. Is this degeneration of poetry? Coming of age of slang in cinema? Or a sheer disgrace? Whatever it is, it is the reality. And it is working. Remember, there was a time when any bollywood album was not complete without the infamous mention of a choli, khatiya or takiya. History is repeating itself. Only this time, the words are shittier – literally. As someone who has taken writing seriously, I love to weigh my words even in emails. My professor told me once to imagine the expression of the reader as he or she reads what I have written. So I believe the today’s lyricsts are visualizing puking...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...