Celebrating 20 years of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge!

(Source: Yash Raj Films)

It's been twenty years since we were invited to 'come fall in love' with Raj and Simran. The directorial debut of Aditya Chopra was the freshest thing Hindi cinema had seen. A love story about second generation British Indians, it reminded us that wherever in the world we may be, we are always Indians first.

Like most films from Yash Raj Films, there were songs in Switzerland. But Raj and Simran's first meeting, that took place in a train. And since then countless filmmakers have tried to replicate that magical meet-cute. But that's also largely due to the actor and actress who played them. Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol become one of the most beloved onscreen couples of Indian cinema. They would go on to make other films together but they are forever etched in our minds as Raj and Simran.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) gave us more than just an iconic screen duo. A whole soundtrack full of memorable songs, numerous quotable dialogues and an ardent wish to take the Eurorail! Shah Rukh Khan's "Senorita, bade bade deshon main, aisi chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain", grew so popular that even US President Barack Obama quoted it on his trip to India.

What's your favourite part of this iconic film? Mine's always been that scene by the river where Raj and Simran have that veiled conversation about their real feelings.

New Teaser Trailer: Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani

The newest teaser trailer for Bajirao Mastani released last week shows typical attributes of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. The sweeping score, the grandiose scale and lately, a doomed love story set against a periodic backdrop. The teaser for Bajirao Mastani releasing this December reveals its three stars gearing up for something... epic, we're just not sure what yet.

Ranveer Singh is Bajirao, the legendary Peshwa ruler, Priyanka Chopra is Kashibai, Bajirao's wife and Deepika Padukone plays Mastani, a warrior who ends up being Bajirao's second wife. The film will probably show they fall in love against all odds. Unfortunately, the fighting scenes especially those with the bow and arrow look so incredibly contrived. Deepika Padukone looks like she's about to finish painting rather than shoot an arrow across a distance. Also, Ranveer's sword in the last few seconds of the trailer looks like it's made of paper not metal. It's not just about hair and makeup that needs attention, these details matter too.

Let us wait and see what the full trailer will unveil. Bajirao Mastani goes up against another big film, Dilwale starring the star pairing of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol reunited on December 18, 2015. Who will prevail? Which film will you be rooting for?

First Look: Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in Dilwale!

Somedays it’s good to ponder over the journey…as you embark upon a new destination. (Corrected typo version) pic.twitter.com/y9fgjidZEH

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) June 13, 2015

A couple of days ago, Shah Rukh Khan posted a photo on Twitter that detailed his and one of his earliest co-stars Kajol's journey together. 22 years and 6 films later, they will work together again in Rohit Shetty's Dilwale releasing December 18, 20, 2015. They last worked together in Karan Johar's My Name is Khan (2010) and many thought it would be a Dharma Productions film that would cast them once again. Their much anticipated reunion (for fans, at least!) could not come sooner.

(Photo: Red Chillies)

 This first photo released of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol shows the pair in scene set in Bulgaria. Dilwale also costars Varun Dhawan and Kirti Sanon, while Shah Rukh Khan has previously worked with Shetty in Chennai Express, this will be the first time Shetty will be directing Kajol.

Movie Review: Margarita, with a Straw

In the past few years, the Indian film scene has changed dramatically. Bollywood is still king and rules the box-office, but somehow running parallel are these small films with big heart that are penetrating through and reaching its audience. Margarita, with a Straw is one such film.

The film is the story of a young girl, Laila Kapoor (Kalki Koechlin), living in Delhi with her parents and younger brother. Laila is an aspiring writer who likes to pour her feelings into song lyrics. She likes being with her family and friends. She also happens to have cerebral palsy. In any other movie, this would have been drawn out and melodramatic (yes, Black, we're looking at you!). But here in this film, Laila is given her own voice and that's an extremely refreshing to view.

Only recently have heroine-oriented films begun to take centre stage (see Queen, The Dirty Picture, Kahaani). And for Margarita, with a Straw to have a young female lead who's also differently abled is proof that all kinds of characters can inhabit Indian cinema, and judging by the size of the audience in the theater I was watching, the audience is eager to see and know more.

Laila is able to have a normal upbringing mostly due to her loving parents. She's especially close with her mother Aai (Revathy) who encourages Laila to be herself. When a crush on her friend Nima (Tenzin Dalha) leaves Laila brokenhearted, Aai insists that she pursue her dreams of a creative writing course at New York University. In New York, both mother and daughter see a different side to life.

I read a review of this film which wondered why Laila's enlightenment had to take place in India. The answer was right there on the screen. Unfortunately, India is woefully inadequate when it comes to taking care of and incorporating the differently abled in the public sphere. Aamir Khan's show Satyamev Jayate did a wonderful episode dedicated to that very problem in his first season.

The reason why Laila's enlightenment happened in a city like New York was because she was just another citizen. She could board the bus by herself, do her own shopping or even attend a bar with her friend. Compare that to her humiliation at being carried up the stairs of her own school like a piece of furniture because the school lift perpetually doesn't work. Laila needed the experience of being in a city like New York to further blossom.

Laila also discovers who she really is by exploring her sexuality, first with a Pakistani-Bangleshi activist Khanum (Sayani Gupta) who happens to be blind, and later with her British classmate Jared (William Moseley). The story moves back to Delhi for the latter half where it gets a bit confusing when secrets revealed lead to further conflict but still the film never wavers about who Laila continues to be.

Margarita, with a Straw won the NETPAC award World or International Asian Film Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2014. The film is filled with great honest moments of Laila with her mother, with her friends and just being herself. While uneven at times, the film is forthright, funny and heartfelt, especially in the performances of Revathy and Koechlin. Their bond as mother and daughter rings true onscreen. If you are looking for distinct and unique voices in Indian cinema, do make it point to seek out Margarita, with a Straw.

Directed by Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar; Co-written by Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar; Hindi Dialogue by Atika Chohan; Cinematography by Anne Misawa; Edited by Monisha R Baldawa and Bob Brooks; Music by Mike McCleary

Rating:

New Trailer: Dil Dhadakne Do

Writer-director Zoya Akhtar's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara made you want to pack up your bags and take a looooong Spanish holiday.  Will her upcoming film Dil Dhadakne Do make you want to do the same on a cruise ship? I'm certainly game to know more.

Featuring an all-star cast with Anil Kapoor, brother Farhan Akhtar, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh and Shefali Shah, the film's first trailer takes us behind the public facade of a family, the Mehras.

The Mehras, along with a few close family friends, take off on a cruise to Turkey and Greece.  With the parents are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, their children Ayesha (Chopra) and Kabir (Singh) are venturing off on adventures of their own.  Will Kabir settle down and marry the girl of his parents' choice? Or is the new girl Farah he meets on the trip the one? Will Ayesha divorce her husband and reconnect with an old friend Sunny (Akhtar)? We'll find out this and much more when the film releases on June 5th, 2015.

Movie Review: The Lunchbox

The Lunchbox is a uniquely Mumbai story of how a wrong connection through a lunchbox brings hope and a purpose of being to two of its citizens. A lonely housewife Ila (Nimrat Kaur) and a curmudgeonly accountant Saajan (Irrfan Khan) forge an unlikely friendship by way of food and letters.

As the dabbawalla points out in the movie, Harvard University has evaluated their system and says no delivery can go wrong.  Even Prince Charles stopped by for a look to see how they operate. Turns out that one of those statements is false as one in four million lunchboxes is delivered to the wrong place. Ila's lunchbox for her husband Rajeev (Nakul Vaid) lands at the desk of one Saajan Fernandes who sends back an empty box. Saajan even stops by the restaurant where he believes the food is coming from and tells them to keep the food coming. Meanwhile, Ila thinks the old adage is coming true, the way to man's heart is really through his stomach.

Both of them are delightfully wrong. Ila starts off by sending a note informing Saajan of the mix-up and thus begins their awkward, funny and insightful exchanges. Slowly but surely, they begin to reveal their hopes, their disappointments, their regrets. It begins to free them both as they don't have any other confidantes in their lives.

Saajan's wife has died and he has no friends. With a month to go to his retirement, his eager young replacement Shaikh (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) cheerfully tries his hardest to break Saajan's shell. Ila, too, has no friends and gets cooking and life tips from Deshpande Auntie who lives above her.  Her only reason to go on in life is her young daughter Yashvi. So what happens when the friends finally decide to meet one day?

I'll let you find out yourself. Watch the movie for the actors' spectacular performances (Nawazuddin practically steals every scene he's in) and you'll find caring as to what happens to these characters that you've just met. I laughed many a time, I was moved and delighted by the film.  Director Ritesh Batra really captured the mood of city so well, the office life to the commute home to the kids that play ball on the many by lanes of Mumbai.    

The Lunchbox is one of those films that you will be recommending to your friends and family. At least, I know I will be.

Written and Directed by Ritesh Batra; Cinematography by Michael Simmonds; Editing by John F. Lyons; Music by Max Richter.

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Movie Review: Ship of Theseus

It took me a while to write down this review mainly because this is the kind of film that requires you to introspect after you've seen it. Anand Gandhi's Ship of Theseus is the story of three different protagonists whose struggles will make you question what would you do if you were in their places?

We are first introduced to Aaliya (Aida Elkashef), a young Egyptian photographer who just happens to be blind.  She shoots images based on sound and instinct; the results are these wonderful slices of life that would be vastly different if a sighted photographer were to take them.  Aaliya turns her photographs in highly contrasted vectorized images that she can feel by hand.  While in Mumbai, she undergoes an eye transplant that allows her to see again.  At first, she is overjoyed.  She can see her family, her boyfriend, her art and so much more. But how will her photography be affected now that she can see?

The second story focuses on a monk Maitreya (Neeraj Kabi) who is pursuing a legal case against animal testing in India, something he believes very strongly in.  However, when he himself is diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and has to resort to taking medication that might very well be tested on animals.  This section of the film has some stunning visuals but also some very difficult scenes to watch as Maitreya struggles with his decision.

And finally, the final story is the film is about a stockbroker Navin (Sohum Shah) who just undergone a kidney transplant.  When Navin comes across a poor man who has his kidney stolen through an appendix operation, he goes to many lengths to make sure he gets justice. The film asks us through the characters about our beliefs and social conscience (if we do have one).  

The film opens with the story of the actual ship of Theseus. If piece by piece, all the parts of a ship are replaced, is it still the same ship? Or has it been irrevocably changed forever? You will be thinking of this film and its characters long after you leave the theater.  This movie has stayed with me still. Ship of Theseus is the best Indian film I have seen this year and it makes me so glad to think that films like this can exist.  Indian films are not just about Bollywood only. We have so many stories to tell.  I can't wait to see what story Anand Gandhi will tell us next. 

Written and Directed by Anand Gandhi; Written by Anand Gandhi, Pankaj Kumar, Khusboo Ranka; Cinematography by Pankaj Kumar; Edited by Adesh Prasad, Sanyukta Kaza, Satchit Puranik; Music by Naren Chandavarkar and Benedict Taylor

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Movie Review: Barfi!

I missed this film when it initially released in theaters but finally watched it last month. There's no doubt that Ranbir Kapoor is one of the finest actors in India presently.  His portrayal of Barfi is incredibly sweet and selfless.  Barfi is a devil-may-care young man who lives life to the fullest in 1970s Darjeeling.  He also happens to be deaf and mute but doesn't let that get in his way.  Enter Shruti (Ileana D'Cruz), a young woman vacationing before her engagement.  Barfi and Shruti fall in love but he realizes that her family won't accept him so he gives her up.  Eventually an old childhood friend Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra) reappears in his life and he gets involved in some hilarious and madcap schemes all the way to Calcutta.  Barfi then has to fight for reunite with the love of his life.

The film was India's submission for the foreign film category at the 2013 Oscars and while it is entertaining and endearing, at places it gets over long and confusing with multiple flashbacks.  Ranbir Kapoor is the main reason to watch the film as he will bring to mind some of the antics of silent movie comedy actors like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Barfi! liberally 'borrows' scene inspirations from movies like The Notebook and Singin' in the Rain. If you've seen those movies, it might dampen your experience, knowing what's coming next. 

Directed by Anurag Basu; Written by Anurag Basu and Sanjeev Datta; Cinematography by S. Ravi Varman; Editing by Akiv Ali; Music by Pritam

Rating:

Movie Review: Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

The last time Ayan Mukerji and Ranbir Kapoor got together, they produced the real and extra likable Wake Up Sid (a very different Dharma Productions film).  I remember being very impressed by the pair of them back in 2009.  This time as they are back for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, the real is missing her but instead we have great leads and supporting players who deliver some great moments of friendship, laughter and good times.

Naina (Deepika Padukone) is the stereotypical straitlaced girl in most films who is scholarly when she wears glasses and sheds her inhibitions once the glasses are off.  Kabir aka Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor) is her opposite, who loves to experience life and wants to explore the world.  She is happy with who she is, where she is.  Meanwhile Bunny can't stay in one place for too long and is always longing for more adventures.

Yet these two meet on a trek to Manali which Naina tags along at the last minute to experience some fun and spontaneity in her life.  Also on the trip are Aditi (Kalki Koechlin) and Avi (Aditya Roy Kapur) who along with Bunny are best friends. Along the way, hijinks ensue, songs are sung and Naina and Bunny begin their journey of falling in love.

But of course, they must part only to meet again and realize what they really want. This obstacle doesn't make that much sense and seems forced in the screenplay only to be solved quite neatly in a sequence set in a palace wedding in Udaipur.  No, really! This is a Dharma Productions film, what did you expect? The majority of the songs are extremely pleasing to the eyes and ears and only 'Dilliwaali Girlfriend' seemed unnecessary.

Ranbir and Deepika's chemistry is crackling and their moments onscreen are hilarious and very endearing.  Ranbir is super charming (sigh) and absolutely effortless in any kind of scene one can throw at him. You'd fall in love with him too.  Deepika surprised me.  She really has improved film to film.  Kalki Koechlin also seems quite different in the film and I especially enjoyed how real and gritty the friendships between Avi, Aditi and Bunny felt.

This is where the true strength of the film lies and not in the romance it's marketed to be.  All in all, it's an enjoyable trip to the cinema especially if you're a Ranbir Kapoor fan which I'm guessing many people are.

PS-Kunal Roy Kapur has a small role in the film but he totally shines every moment he's onscreen.

Directed by Ayan Mukerji; Screenplay by Ayan Mukerji; Cinematography by V. Manikandan; Editing by Akiv Ali; Music by Pritam

Additional cast: Farooque Sheikh, Dolly Ahluwalia, Poorna Jagannathan

Rating: (an extra gold DVD for Ranbir)

Revisting Sholay (1975)

Sholay is like a rite of passage if you're Indian.  You have to see it and if you don't you'll get a horrified look with an exclamation, "You haven't seen Sholay!"  I've been guilty of this myself and while I have seen Sholay before, I had never experienced it on the big screen.

Yesterday though I crossed that off my list.  And what an experience it was.  From the first reel, nay, when the censor certificate first showed up on the screen, the hoots and whistles started.  Directed by Ramesh Sippy, Sholay is a story of a classic yarn of revenge, obsession and an good old-fashioned friendship between two rogues.  Starring legends of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri, the film is so popular that to this day, the songs, dialogues and scenes are etched forever in people's minds. 

The comedy still makes me laugh, the songs are still as hummable as ever and the story (an everlasting script by writers Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan) still makes you gasp even if you know what's coming.  If you've never seen Sholay, make haste and watch this evergreen classic, which is quite long, will entertain you and give you your money's worth.

Directed by Ramesh Sippy; Screenplay by Salim-Javed; Cinematography by Dwarka Divecha, Edited by M.S. Shinde; Music by R.D. Burman

Additional Cast: A.K. Hangal, Satyen Kappu, Sachin, Asrani, Jagdeep, Macmohan and Viju Khote

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Movie Reviews Monthly Roundup: Kai Po Che!, The Words, 10 Years and more...

So I haven't been able to make each review post individually but here's a look at some movies I saw in the past month.

Based on the book, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, by best-selling author Chetan Bhagat, this film doesn't faithfully follow it.  However, it retains the feel and flow of the book which is about three friends in Ahmedabad, Gujarat who have aspirations to become something in their lives. The three boys are so different from one another: Omi (Amit Sadh) is defined by his family, Ishaan (Sushant Singh Rajput) is the has-been cricket prodigy, his shine dulled by not making the Indian national team and Govind (Raj Kumar) is the one with his head on his shoulders and the voice of reason.  But they are friends throughout the thick and thin of it all, brothers for life! However, some real world events threaten their livelihood and the strong bonds of friendship which all comes to a head in an explosive climax.  The 2001 earthquake on Republic Day shatters their dreams of expanding their business in an upcoming mall and the 2002 riots in Gujarat and their participation in it changes their lives irrevocably. Being Gujarati myself, I enjoyed the look and feel of early 2000s Ahmedabad in the production design and especially the language interspersed into the dialogues. It felt exactly how people living in Gujarat would speak not what screenwriters think they would say.  The film is well-made and acted and has some nicely composed visuals. Great start to the year in Bollywood with Kai Po Che! Directed by Abhishek Kapoor (who also co-wrote the screenplay).

Rating:

Bradley Cooper plays yet another frustrated novelist Rory Jansen who just can't get published in The Words.  When he comes across the perfect manuscript in a valise purchased by his lovely and supportive wife Dora (Zoe Saldana), he finds his solution.  Pass the manuscript as his own and no one will be the wiser. Except an old man (Jeremy Irons) shows up with the other half of the tale of the family in the book.  What will Rory do now?  The story contains a bit of a extra twist when the characters of Clayton (Dennis Quaid) and Daniella (Olivia Wilde) who are introduced early in the film but it begins to push it a bit once we delve into the flashback of the old man's past in France with his younger self played by Ben Barnes.  It suddenly became all too predictable too fast. Directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal.

Rating: 

Zarafa is based on a true story of the Pasha of Egypt’s gift of a giraffe to the King of France to get some aid in their ongoing skirmish with Turkey.  But before that, the film opens in the wilds of Africa, where young Maki is trying to escape the evil clutches of slave trader and comes upon a herd of giraffes and a young calf.  The slave trader kills the young calf's mother and from thereon Maki decides it will be his responsibility to protect the calf no matter what.  He meets Hassan whose job it is to take Zarafa (Arabic for giraffe) to France.  Along the journey across the seas, mountains and villages, they come across some truly eccentric characters like the inventor Malaterre, a female pirate and pair of twin cows.  I liked that this French animated film attempted to tell the tale of some not-so-glamorous parts of our past.  It may be a bit scary and confusing for very young children as Maki and Zarafa are mistreated quite often.  The semi happy ending tries to make up for it.  Directed by Remi Bezancon and Jean-Christophe Lie.

Rating:

You know the world does not have enough 10 year high school reunion films.  This extremely likable film works so well because of its large and likable cast.  You've seen most of them before, in other movies or on television show but in 10 Years, they manage to show yet another side of themselves.  Especially in the case of Oscar Isaac (where did that voice come from?) in his character's arc of meeting up with his unrequited high school crush.  The movie is not just about Channing Tatum (who also produces) and Rosario Dawson as former high school sweethearts, but mostly about the ensemble cast of Ari Graynor, Kate Mara, Chris Pratt, Max Minghella, Justin Long and Lynn Collins all of whom deliver solid performances. You might end up with an urge to ring up your high school friend after this to reminisce.    Directed by Jamie Linden.

Rating:

This was a true disappointment. When the premise of the movie is that Melissa McCarthy steals Jason Bateman's identity by maxing out all his credit cards and he decides to take matters into his own hands, one should hope it would be funny.  Hope is the operative word here.  The humor was tedious and out of nowhere the characters became sentimental. What happened to the comedy? There was none.  For two actors who make me laugh so hard in their other projects, both McCarthy and Batemen never quite found their groove for this film.  But I will admit that 'Sandy Bigelow Paterson' is a darned hilarious name for a character in a film.  And it made me wish I could watch Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo instead.  Yeah, that bad.  Skip the film and go rent Bridesmaids or prepare to watch the first three seasons of Arrested Development instead. Directed by Seth Gordon.

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