Bombay’s Paradise cinema

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SOTD: Arey Yaaron from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander

I just love this entire musical episode, and the best was no doubt Aamir’s segment…!

Bachchan — 559

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“Now, almost 4 months gone by, to be sanitized in a sound recording studio, with just a microphone above and the soundtrack of the audio in your ear through ear phones, it is a daunting task to recreate all that we did, with the same performance and color that is being shown on screen. More so in a film such as PAA, where we do know the changed and different circumstances that the character undergoes.”

Pakistan film industry bombarded by Bollywood

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This year, the Pakistani film industry produced only nine films. The reasons for this dwindle are many but most fingers point to one culprit who, they claim, has killed their industry: Bollywood.

Sanjay Dutt & Rati Agnihotri on Star & Style (June 24-July 7, ’83)

Discordant notes…Sandy’s review of London Dreams

Director: Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Starring: Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan, Asin, Ranvijay, Aditya and Om Puri
Rating: **

Another big budget film bites the dust. The reason is the same. Low on concept, low on imagination and a story that just does not cut ice.

Director Vipul Shah’s intentions are grand but they hang on an incredibly shaky and silly premise, making it a chore to sit through this. When was it that you had Indian pop singers attracting such fanatical fan base among the goras of the world as the film wants us to believe? And that too watching an Ajay Devgan sing, who frankly doesn’t appear to have one musical bone in his body.

Pritam – ‘You never know about tomorrow’

‘You never know about tomorrow’
Saubhadro Chatterji / New Delhi November 1, 2009, 0:11 IST

He’s one of Bollywood’s busiest music composers. But Pritam is careful not to take money and fame seriously.
A pair of twin flats on the seventh floor of a housing society in Oshiwara, Mumbai, is music director Pritam Chakraborty’s office, residence and hi-tech studio all rolled into one. As I wait to meet him in the guest room, actor Akshay Kumar (wearing red trousers) comes by with director Priyadarshan. “Not every star comes for music sittings,” says Pritam, “but this is Akshay’s home production, Khatta Meetha, so he is more serious.”

Abhishek-Kareena in Abbas-Mustan’s Italian Job remake?

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Over the years, Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor have been quite vociferous about not wanting to work together after his marriage to Karisma. Now things seem to be looking up as Kareena and Abhishek are in the mood to move on and have agreed to star together in a film after six years. Buzz is that the two have been signed for Abbas Mustan’s untitled film, a remake of the Hollywood film, Italian Job. The movie will also star Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh in lead roles.

The Road trailers (updated)

Allegory in Aankhen

[this piece first appeared on Indolink soon after the film's release in 2002]

What an odd name for a bank! The Vilasrao-Jefferson Bank. This odd compound of the ethnic and colonial, both in remarkable ways. The former suggests not just the local but the militant native of Indian history who then forms a very crucial component of independence age nationalism and who also in turn is partially responsible for the most virulent forms of exclusive nationalistic politics in current day India.

My thoughts on UNNAIPOL ORUVAN (Tamil, 2009)

A WEDNESDAY is still my favourite movie of 2008 and IMO it’s arguably the finest too! I was initially surprised to hear Kamal Hassan announce a Tamil and Telugu remake, though given a large part of populist Tamil cinema is vigilante based films it did make sense. So how does the remake compare to the original? Surprisingly different!

Hari Kunzru on Haneke (Guardian)

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According to legend, the Austrian flag was invented during the Third Crusade by the Babenberg duke Leopold V. After a particularly gory battle outside the city of Acre, the duke found his tunic was completely drenched in blood. When he removed his belt, the cloth underneath was still white. So taken was he by this colour combination that he adopted it as his banner. In 1946, the provisional Austrian government, recognised by the Allies after the previous year’s surrender, published the Red-White-Red book, an attempt to show that Austria was culturally completely separate from “Prussian” Germany, and should be treated as “the first victim” of nazism, “left in the lurch by the whole world”, rather than as a perpetrator of atrocities.

Amitabh Bachchan, Priyardarshan join hands with Toonz

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(Hanuman)
Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, ace director Priyadarshan and animation major Toonz Animation have joined hands to prepare a Rs.20 crore 3D animation film titled ‘Twinergy’. Addressing reporters on the eve of Technopark-based Toonz celebrating its first decade of operations, its CEO P.Jayakumar said that the pre-production work is over and the production of the film has commenced.

The Lasting Hues (Screen piece on V Shantaram)

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V Shantaram’s prismatic paen released in Diwali 50 years ago, still remains fresh in the memory of cinephiles. His son Kiran Shantaram, who was the assistant director on the film takes a walk down the colourful memory lane

Me and Orson Welles (Linklater) trailer

Revisiting HEY RAM (Tamil, 2000)

One of the most exciting things to have happened to Kamal Hassan over the years is his turn as a director. CHACHI 420 (1998), HEY RAM (2000) and VIRUMANDI (2004) are all timeless films which remain a true testament to the actor’s ability as a director as he masterfully creates three films in entirely diverse genres (and across languages) to carve out films which get better with time.

Read the rest from HERE

Mohanlal and Shaji Karun?

I’ll believe it when I see it. This film was in production for the longest time ever and was supposed to have Lal and Jaya Bachchan in the lead roles.

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Shaji N Karun-Mohanlal team up for ‘Gaatha’

After a short sting with regular potboilers, superstar Mohanlal is back to classy act. One of his new projects for the next year will be with the celebrated director Shaji N Karun. Titled as ‘Gaatha’ the movie will be based on “Kadal”- the famous short story by T. Padmanabhan. Expected to shoot at locations in Ladakh, the movie will once again bring in world famous cinematographer Reneto Berto to Mollywood. The last time, the threesome were together was for the much acclaimed movie ‘Vaanaprastham’ which was a hot favourite in many festival circuit.

Revisiting HERA PHERI (Hindi, 2000)

Despite the countless comedies made in Hindi cinema only a few truly stand-out. Rajkumar Santoshi’s ANDAZ APNA APNA, Rajkumar Hirani’s Munnabhai series and Priyadarshan’s HERA PHERI.

Read the rest from HERE

Hindustan Times on Aamir Khan and 3 Idiots

thanks to Kassam..
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A passing note on Ram Gopal Varma’s RAAT (Hindi, 1992)

This piece originally appeared here


Chances are you haven’t heard of RAAT or seen it in your video stores. Whatever the case may be, this indianized version of THE EXORCIST is a slick, well-acted horror flick, a genre you don´t get to see very much in India (though Varma has later remade RAAT several times with BHOOT and PHOONK which he openly admits).

Read the rest from HERE