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179 Responses to “Race 2, AkaashVani, Inkaar (Ongoing), the rest of the box office”
Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola Has 8 Crore Second Week
Friday 25th January 2013 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola collected 8 crore nett in its second week taking its two week total to 39.50 crore nett. The film held up better in the North with both Delhi/UP and East Punjab dropping 70% while other circuits dropped in the region of 80%.
The movie is of of most theatres in week three and will not add much more business. It is another Imran Khan which will finish in the 40 crore nett range after I Hate Luv Storys and Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu but Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola was a much wider release than those films.
Damn right. I recently saw FORCE and Abraham Sir was horrible in it..& was made to look more horrible by the fact that the villain in the piece Vidyut was far more agile and with a humongously better screen presence..In fact, it seems after the first few rushes of the film, the producers/director realized that Vidyut was coming off far more charismatic and forceful than Abraham Sir and asked him to ‘tone’ down his charisma!!!
RACE 2, the first biggie of 2013, opened to good houses in most circuits. The film started on a robust note [70% to 80%] in several circuits, but the occupancy at certain places was not as strong [40% to 50%]. However, the occupancy got better as the day progressed and should only get better towards the evening/night shows.
The holiday on Saturday [26 Jan] should give a big boost to its business. The film is expected to pack a solid punch in its opening weekend, although the reports are extremely mixed.
AKAASHVANI has opened to poor houses. It remains to be seen if it gathers steam over the weekend.
When Fanaa was banned in Gujarat (unofficially?), the other parts of India did not have any issues and supported the film to make it a big boxoffice success.
It seems Kamal’s Viswaroopam is being banned by state governments in a row and let us see how mumbai and other northern, eastern states react. the story seems to be quite an interesting one but how they handled the story is what matters.
Till now there are only some sporadic amateur reviews and no critics reviews.
Seems the film is good and layered. Definitey not for hindi audience who nowadays want to watch easy movies where they dont have to apply their grey cells.
Sorry Satyam Sir, Off topic, YOu can direct me if there is anotehr thread for this. Friends, I just finished season 5 of Breaking Bad, One of the best shows on television hands down. Anything else I can pick up? That already has about good 2 seasons available? watched Mad Men, Walking Dead, Lost, West Wing, Heroes (dont know why they shut this one down), anything current? Help a brother out. Lol.
Have you seen The Wire? If you want functional sociology go to The Wire; if you want psychological depth go to The Sopranos. I suspect neither will measure up to the sheer existential immediacy that Breaking Bad brings to the table.
If you are looking for comedies you should try out Peep Show.
Thank You Praz and Arturo, I have decided to pick up Entourage, Boardwalk Empire and Might squeeze in the Wire, Sopranos , I really want to pick that one up, But just never got around to it. Maybe after these are done, Sopranos and Homeland will be next. Thanks again friends.
Los Angeles: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said on Friday that a new film about the late Steve Jobs is factually “wrong,” judging by a first clip from the movie that has been released.
Where the freaking hell is the HIndi release in US for VISHWAROOPAM? What is stopping KH from releasing VISHWAROOP in US? I will have to settle for watching the Tamil version with English subs in DC I guess..which I don’t want to since the Hindi version is not a dubbed one..and I would like to watch Kamal Haasan mouthing Hindi since he is the rare actor –the other being Sudeep (although this is understandable since Bangalore CURRENTLY is more cosmopolitan than Madras ever was) — from the southern film industries to get the Hindi diction and nuances better..
We might be in some luck..the Hindi version is releasing on feb 1 in India..so it might in the US also..and maybe at your end..I so do not want to watch the sub-titled TAMIL version but the Hindi version..In any case I always felt a topic of such kind HAD to be made in a pan-Indian language and not restrict to regional (any) language..the subject itself lends itself to a national/international terrain..But everyone from Mani Ratnam to RGV has always succumbed to the ‘dual’ version syndrome..KH is no different either I guess..
Feel Ramesh Sippy got a Padma Shri rather later, For the man who gave us the Biggest Movie of all time, Gets its after 37 years after its release, Its rather sad. But, better late than never.
Ever since OMG! Oh My God turned out to be a goldmine for everyone associated with the film, there’s been intense speculation about Umesh Shukla’s next project. There were whispers about the director turning producer but that turned out to be idle talk.
We’re told that Bhushan Kumar was the first to sign on Shukla and it was kept well under wraps. Now the project has gone one step further. According to our source, none other than Abhishek Bachchan has been roped in to play leading man. The film, in all probability, will go on the floors in August.
Right now, only Bachchan Jr has been signed and the rest of the cast is yet to sign on the dotted line.
Yesterday I was wondering why Sajid Khan wants 80s to be back in the 1st place. But I realised that while most of the films from that decade are missable, there are quite a few which I like a lot. So here is a list of my ‘personal favourite’ ‘mainstream’ films of that decade (not in any order). I would love to see others add to it
This is quite an interesting list here Yakuza. From your choices I love Kranti and Masoom and like Prem Rog and Tridev (though I prefer the director’s Yudh and Mohra to it). Good to see someone remember Mithun’s Pyar Jhukta Nahin.
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla is by Basu Chatterjee though but yes, a very good remake
80′s was worst decade is just a myth .. you can not even list 1/3rd of this list from 90′s … 90′s was through out average or pathetic with exception of very few movies.
Reviewing this list one feels sad to think of the sorts of films Mahesh Bhatt used to make, and the sort of drivel he later associated himself with. I don’t recall what year Thikana was from, but that was also a good film.
Q, you are so right. From his days of making some excellent middle-of-the-road films to producing stuff like Murder, Bhatt is probably the biggest example of a director losing his cinematic conscience
I think Thikana is from the late 80′s and was a very effective film. It has also has my favourite Anil Kapoor performance alongwith Woh 7 Din and Saahab. After that Anil ceased to remain an ‘actor’
Glad to see Prem Pratigya on your list Saurabh — one of my favourite Madhuri films; the ending could have been avoided, but a sweet film overall, and a reminder of how good an actor Mithun was. I would also add JP Dutta’s Yateem. And Qayamat se Qayamat Tak (one of my favourite love stories). Is qudrat from the 1980s? If so, I would add that too.
I’d probably make a list excluding the Bachchan films, as, even though not as good as the 70s, I like too many of those. Certainly Shakti and Shaan could be added here.
Yakuza: it wasn’t a myth, because we used to compare to the 1970s. But compared to the 1990s, yeah things seem different. But where I agree with you is that for many imbeciles (eg Farah and Sajid Khan) the 1980s serve as stand in for all they are embarrassed about, a transparent way to legitimise their own work (actually what they need to be embarrassed about are their own films)…
Q, the only reason I did not include a lot of AB films is because otherwise I would have to create a separate list for his films.
Glad that you love Prem Pratigyaa. IMO this is Mithun’s best act alongwith Hum Paanch ( I actually preferred him to even Naseer here) and of course Mrigya. I like Bapu’s Bezubaan as well, Naseer was fantastic here.
And while 90s was the worst decade, 80s was mediocre too. Completely agree with your last para
Oooo…jara sambhal kay….We are talking about Nasir Sir here.
Aside: did you see his recent views on Farhan Akhtar. I am sure Satyam will start liking Naseer from now on
And he’s not too impressed with the Jack of all trades Farhan Akhtar. “His films I clearly don’t care for. I liked his first film Dil Chahta Hai. He’s a tremendous person and has so many facets to him. Tomorrow I won’t be surprised if I hear that he cooked a 10 course meal to perfection. He sings, acts, produces films and writes, I think it’s great he’s doing whatever he can. I’m not a great fan of his acting or his films. But I admire him”, says Naseer.
He’s also critical of Dibakar Banerjee. And I don’t necessarily disagree with these criticisms but it’s getting kind of funny how every now and then Naseer just pops up in the news randomly trash talking people. The TOI piece referenced here isn’t even really an article, it’s just a couple paragraphs that update us on what he’s currently criticizing.
He’s contradicting himself a bit. He claims he’s liked DCH but not the rest. Going by the critical and/or public response to all of Akhtar’s films it seems Naseer’s on board with everyone else!
On Naseer I have nothing against him as an actor. Or rather whatever I think of him in this sense has nothing to do with his polemics where I think he’s quite often off the mark and simply doesn’t make sense a lot of times. I’ve addressed all of this before and won’t repeat everything. My problem though is never with controversial/iconoclastic views. I don’t really have a problem if someone like Naseer often argues against Bachchan or any film of his or whatever. But any such dissent must be coherent at the very least and not verge on the ridiculous. So if one claims that there’s nothing special about Sholay and that people tend to completely overrate it and what not this to my mind isn’t a reasonable view. Unless of course one considers everything not directed by Ray to be mediocre! And on that note Sholay has never been a favorite film of mine. I admire it greatly but somehow have never loved the film. So I’m not part of the Sholay culture in this precise sense. My problem ultimately is never with anyone’s views on anything, without exception. However I certainly do take issue with the ways in which certain positions are articulated. These might range from the completely and insultingly superficial to the totally and blindly partisan to the deeply and madly contradictory. And of course there is then the meaningless kind of hyperbole and/or the complete cynical debate. It is all of this I often argue with, not the chosen subject. This is a point though that 95% of people miss if not indeed more than this. It is also true that many (like yourself at times!) have a problem with the claim itself which they find harder to attack for various reasons and therefore turn to the ‘messenger’ who can then be targeted far more easily.
“It is also true that many (like yourself at times!) have a problem with the claim itself which they find harder to attack for various reasons and therefore turn to the ‘messenger’ who can then be targeted far more easily. ”
ROFLOL
*attack*
hahah.
*messenger*
I am sure those “messengers” will be immensely offended. I used to call someone “sidekick” once upon a time.Also on SS each person has rather stronger personality…don’t think lawyers are sissys/soft targets…especially if they are from across the border.
Anyhow.
My take on Naseer and his “queer” views: I think he is not street smart type of person and gets manipulated by journos easily. At least he has no agenda or axe 2 grind.
P.S: on ‘cynical debate’: most of the time with you it is exceptionally hard/impossibl to get anywhere. e.g. If Rajen were to say same thing as I, you wholeheartedly agree with him!! So I give up. I am obviously not in the “friend list”!
No it’s not hard to get somewhere with me. The problem is you sometimes tend to start with a somewhat snide remark. I am not offended by the way but I also don’t shirk from pointing out what’s really going on. Notice how even here you’ve addressed my point by making another unfair accusation about ‘friends’ and the like.
@ Saurabh, This was a great list and discussion, Many of you echo the same films I would have put down as well, It was really really nice to see Prem Pratigya on the list and discussed, Agree with Q, its prolly Madhuri’s best act here, Such a simple love story told so beautifully. Agree about Mithun here as well, I would also give some points to Vinod Mehra here, Though a cameo but such and effective one. Started liking him from here on. Surprised that I didn’t see Parinda, Hero, Or Ghayal on the list.
Glad that you liked it Kash. Ghayal, I think, was in 91. Did like Parinda a lot when I first saw it but somehow it does not seem as engrossing today. Not a big fan of Hero though it’s perfectly watchable. The Ghai films I love are Kaalicharan, Khalnayak (his best IMO) and Vidhaata. Also like Meri Jung, Krodhi, Vishwanath, Karz and Black and White quite a bit
I have a weakness for more than one Subhash Ghai film, but I think he is at his peak as a filmmaker with Karz, a fantastic revenge/janam yarn that is never less than gripping — and very well cast, with Simi Garewal in one of my favorite roles of hers. And the “ek haseena the” moment is really my favorite “play within a play” sequence in Hindi films.
I do think that Ghai lost the “purity” of Vishwanath and Kaalicharan once he moved to bigger canvases, and those are very enjoyable masala movies…but I wouldn’t put them in the same league as Karz…
Q-agree about ghai and karz ..u seem to share a lot of my vibes lol
ghai was at his peak there. Also rishi, tina munim and the overall musical revenge thriller element was handled aptly in the mainstream setup
I feel ghai is under rated here and was a ‘showman’ to some extent during his time. Obviously he cant be/shouldnt be judged by his post khalnaayak era where he has lost it
My pick (one of the picks) from karz–lovely guitar, nice lyrics, music, effervescent rishi (liked tina munim in this flick)
Apparently an enthu ghai took over the choreogrhaphy as well here
enjoy
i was talking about jaane bhi do yaaron.
i don’t know what mainstream means. are naam and saaransh mainstream? or sadma and shaukeen?
good lists here. will add arth, saath-saath, katha, chashme baddoor, kalyug, 36 chaurangee lane, bazaar, sparsh, mirch masala, umrao jaan
have a soft spot for betaab, chameli ki shaadi (hilarious), burning train, karz, khubsoorat, saagar
not a bad decade for smaller films
I must say that I find Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron one of the most overrated films; I hadn’t ever seen it until 2012, when I checked it out on that new DVD series showcasing a bunch of “smaller” films from the 1980s ( an excellent initiative, by the way), and was sorely disappointed. I found it simply un-funny, and the humour quite forced (but then, I’ve never been one for farces). Perhaps it’s one of those things where one just has to have been there at the time, but if so, the film just hasn’t aged well.
Meant to reply to this earlier Antya. Great list here. And I am glad to see Betaab here (I had already put 3 Rawail films so I decided to omit this one). I also would have included many of your choices but I limited myself to mainstream films. Forgot abt Burning Train- love that film
And I am slightly ashamed to say that I have not heard of Saath-Saath. Thanks for the recco.
Do not like Bazaar (was too dry and less hard-hidding) at all. Also not a big fan of Arth (I of course see it as an accomplished product). Love Kalyug, Katha, Mirch Masala and Sparsh.
My fav art films from that period would be -
Vijeta- Govind Nihalani- this one is one of my all time fav films
Aakrosh- Nihalani- IMO alongwith Ankur (and probably Ardhasatya) one of the absolute great films of the ‘art cinema’ moment
Ardhasatya- Nihalani
Aghaat- Nihalani
Kalyug- Benegal
Junoon- Benegal
Kondura- Benegal
Sparsh- Sai Paranjpye
Hero Hiralal- Ketan Mehta
Mirch Masala- Ketan Mehta
Gehrayee- Vikas Desai and Aruna Raje
Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyo Aata Hai- Saeed Mirza
JBDY- Kundan Shah
Khamosh- Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla- Basu Chatterjee.
Also meant to add Pankaj Parashar’s extremely underrated Jalwa to my original list
Q, have you checked out Kissa Kursi Ka (Manohar Singh, Raj Babbar, Shabana Azmi). At many levels I find it a sharper film than JBDY- find its political commentary and humour more affecting and hard-hitting. Incidentally (as you must be aware) that Sanjay Gandhi got its release banned during the Energency. It’s easily available now though (was even there on YouTube when I last checked)
Race 2 had a very good opening day collecting 13.75 crore nett as per early estimates on its opening day. The first day collections are the 8th highest of all time. The film collected well all across India with each circuit having good or very good collections.
The opening is the biggest ever for all the actors in the film from Saif Ali Khan to John Abraham to Deepika Padukone.
The film will have a jump in business today as it is a holiday for Republic Day which assures it a huge weekend. A 45 crore weekend looks almost certain and the film can even go towards 50 crore if the film jumps 30-40% on Saturday which may be tough but possible as these big holidays have seen huge collections over the last year or so.
January 25, 2013
Movie Review
A Lot of Fizz and International Men of Mystery
By RACHEL SALTZ
“Race 2,” a Bollywood thriller set mostly in Turkey, has so much plot that it takes time out at the beginning to sketch in some details. As a portentous voice-over intones, we watch images of the characters on their yachts and in their fancy cars, their beautifully tailored suits straining to contain their meaty gym bodies.
Though this sequence is dull and dispiriting, it’s honest. “Race 2,” directed by Abbas-Mastan, has little to offer besides its loving gaze at wealth and flesh.
There are women here (Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernandez and Bipasha Basu, who makes a brief appearance). But the ostentatious bodies the camera can’t look away from belong to the men: John Abraham, who plays the super-bad gangster Armaan, and Saif Ali Khan, as Armaan’s nemesis, the super-bad-super-good guy Ranveer Singh.
“There’s something magnetic about you,” Armaan says to Ranveer.
“I think you’re magnetic,” Ranveer replies. Well, touché, gents, but a correction: neither of you is all that. You’re toned, dressed-up blanks, pulled out of the drawer marked International Man of Mystery. And your con-within-a-con game — the race, as you insist on calling it — has no fizz, no matter how many Champagne corks are popped.
But then you already knew that. When Omisha (Ms. Fernandez), at what seems like hours into the movie, asks Ranveer, “What happens next in this race?” he tells her, “Same thing that happened before.” His answer may be disheartening, but it’s honest.
Good for a B Grade movie, but doesnt surprises as first part, nor has good music to match with it.
Also the sad part is u cant upgrade katrina kaif in a movie this days, deepika is poor man’s hot girl ( she is good imo i liked her, but kat has more following i feel )
And saif is not reliable for the movie, and john and that fernadez girl are zero expression actors hence spoils the game, and along with the fact atleast akshay khanna could act!
Saket, great to see you here after a while. Salman might be following in SRK’s footsteps. Recall how the latter has refused everyone from Hirani to VVC and others and has instead settled for Anubhav Sinha and co.
Do feel Salman has no idea (or perhaps the ambition) to accept good scripts, but he’s been kind of unstoppable at the box office in the last 3 years. Credit where it’s due and all..
Now, Malaysia bans VISHWAROOPAM..I think the next country to ban will be Iceland..maybe VISHWAROOPAM is melting the ice there and causing global warming..
“Now, Malaysia bans VISHWAROOPAM..I think the next country to ban will be Iceland..maybe VISHWAROOPAM is melting the ice there and causing global warming..”–haha Ann ace cumment!
Yeah this is getting on the nerves now !!!
‘Cultural terrorism’ in full flow….
Ps–has any1seen this film
Pps–Ann -what your fave kamal hassan films –hav u seen hey raam…
I am a big fan of KH from the ’70s and ’80s, when he let directors like Mr. Balachander and Mr. Balu Mahedra or even SS Rao do their work and he concentrated on acting..he was superb..after Nayagan and especially during mid to late ’90s, the Marlon Brando aping bug bit him and he started going over-board with his histrionics..(watch him sitting/sliding down the stairs in MAHANADI when he comes to know that his daughter is a whore in Calcutta; a totally unnecessary pulling all the attention to himself and detaching the audience from the situation as a whole). Still, there were gems in the ’90s in spurts like THEVAR MAGAN, HEY RAAM, MICHAEL MADAN KAMA RAJAN.. VIRUMAANDI was more of success for the writer in KH I think..He was actually better at comedies during this phase..It was only during non-comedy genres that he really started going over-board..
Watch this movie and you will understand what I am saying..this is by the master Balachander and KH is marvellous as a lovable rouge in this movie..simple, straight from the heart acting & terrific..compare such acts with his millenium time-frame performances and you will know what I am saying..
I thought Primer was one of the best sci-fi films of the past decade so I was waiting for Shane Carruth’s nxt
Trailer of Shane Carruth’s (Primer) upcoming film “Upstream Color”
Plot-
Kris is derailed from her life when she is drugged by a small-time thief. But something bigger is going on. She is unknowingly drawn into the life cycle of a presence that permeates the microscopic world, moving to nematodes, plant life, livestock, and back again. Along the way, she finds another being—a familiar, who is equally consumed by the larger force. The two search urgently for a place of safety within each other as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of their wrecked lives.
From the director of the original Swedish The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo, Neils Arden Oplev, comes a new film starring Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace- “Dead Man Down”
It’s a question as important to lovers as it is to filmmakers working on a sequel to a beloved franchise: How do you keep the spark alive? With Before Midnight, the third instalment in the series that began with 1995’s Before Sunrise, the answer is the same in both cases: by honouring what made it so special in the first place, no matter the passing of time and the obstacles along the path.
This very honest and very funny film may lack the exuberant romantic spirit of the first two movies, but for director Richard Linklater and his stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, that’s precisely the point. Before Midnight argues that romance is easy — deep, committed love is a far more treacherous, but also more rewarding, pursuit. By seeing that reality clearly, they’ve made a complicated, meandering but also wonderful film.
Premiering at Sundance, which also played host to Before Sunrise, Before Midnight will be welcomed warmly by audiences that have seen Before Sunrise and 2004’s Before Sunset and want to know what’s happened to Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Delpy) since the last film. It will be difficult for those unfamiliar with the first two films to leap directly into Before Midnight, but expected strong reviews will help build awareness for one of the festival’s most-anticipated titles.
The filmmakers had been tight-lipped about Before Midnight’s plot line, which helps make the movie’s early reveal so surprising: Nine years after Before Sunset, Celine and Jesse are now a happy (but unmarried) couple living in Paris with their twin girls. Wrapping up a six-week holiday in Greece, Celine and Jesse spend the day and evening talking honestly about their lives and their relationship, bringing to light difficult questions about their future.
The Before series remains an astonishing thing: a modest indie franchise that tracks its lovers’ progress every nine years over the course of no more than 24 hours. It’s a structure that continues to reap huge benefits, even though the new film plays with the formula some by changing Celine and Jesse’s relationship status and bringing peripheral characters into the mix for once. (Celine and Jesse spend a little time chatting with friends about the differences between men and women, questions of identity, and the challenges in making love last. It’s interesting, sometimes longwinded talk, but it’s merely a prelude to the heartfelt conversations that Celine and Jesse will soon engage in.)
As with Before Sunset, Before Midnight was written by Linklater with his two stars, and the new film wizardly concocts several lengthy single-take scenes in which the couple talk quite casually about matters both big and small. As they grow older, Hawke and Delpy even more convincingly suggest their characters’ long-time bond, the intriguing wrinkle in Before Midnight being that, while love remains, the accumulated years of domesticity, compromise and parental responsibilities have drained some of the light from their eyes. The complexity of relationships is felt potently, and indeed all the resentment, shared language, small truces and incisive insults that can be part of any romantic commitment are on display through the utterly natural performances.
If the first two films were about trying to capture the ineffable euphoria of new love, then Before Midnight, by design, is a more difficult and nuanced exercise, showing how ardour can last despite the pain and disappointment that has built up. Perhaps that’s why it’s so gratifying that this is also easily the funniest film in the series. Linklater and his stars have sobering things to say about mortality and regret, but the fact that they find so much spiked humour in the material speaks volumes about the very optimistic heart still beating at the core of this franchise. Love isn’t easy, and neither is moviemaking. With Before Midnight, Linklater, Hawke and Delpy’s on-going affair grows all the more poignant and inspiring precisely because of how hard it is.
I will have to strongly disagree with Qalandar’s take on JBDY. Don’t think it’s overrated at all.
It’s perhaps an odd film in the sense that it mixes elements of comic farce with politics — a bit like The 3 Stooges meets Z; but what it does essentially is expose the rampant nexus (one of the first films to do so) between politicians, bureaucracy, the media, corporate houses and the law. The satirical tone doesn’t blunt the otherwise edgy underpinnings…rather it enhances the overall effect. Made on a shoestring budget (albeit with a great array of talent on display), as is well documented by now, I think it achieved its overall goal quite effectively. And the ending is quite nihilistic as well, which doesn’t leave much doubt about the film’s intentions.
I think it’s every bit as incisive as Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove…some people I know think that’s the only good film in Kubrick’s canon… and I’d disagree strongly with that too
but in this space, even bachchan’s weak 80′s films are all timeless classics, dum maaro dum is a modern masala masterpiece, rohan sippy is a cinematic genius and jaane bhi do yaaron is over-rated.
you’ll learn if you visit more often. i have, so i limit my visits to pertinent posts now.
But notice how you’re mixing two different kinds of claims. Bachchan’s 80s films are many of them classics, even relatively weak ones. In fact as a strong proponent of 70s Bachchan I have always found this development less than completely pleasing. But it is the case that for very many viewers these weaker 80s films have the status of the stronger 80s works. So here it seems to me it’s less about opinion. With Rohan Sippy on the other hand we’re talking about something else altogether. He might make a universally loved classic one day but so far he doesn’t seem to have those instincts. One could argue about the significance of his work but this is a very different debate from the Bachchan one where we’re precisely not arguing how good some of those films are, just that they’re classics or accepted as such. Could things be different tomorrow? Sure! There is no judgment or expression of popular taste that stands every test of time.
In general though I tend to be wary of such juxtapositions where things seem connected but are so only in a deceptive sense and where the ‘conceit’ holds because it feeds on certain kinds of prejudice. In other words it’s harder to argue ‘for’ Rohan Sippy than Raju Hirani. Not because the latter might be better than the former (I am not subscribing to a position either way at the moment) but for the reason that the latter is vastly more successful. On forums such as this one it is very easy to dismiss the Salman or Akshay kind of film (not that there aren’t good reasons for doing so!) or alternatively the somewhat more interesting work (whether at the more commercial end of the spectrum or at the niche one). But an interesting commercial film that is a huge box office success and/or universally loved or on the other hand the truly fashionable nice/cult director (Kashyap, Bannerjee etc) can never really be argued against as effectively. Because even when people might have different opinions on these names they always take the extolling of the same as ‘serious’ opinion. Meanwhile celebrating Rohan Sippy comes across as a more eccentric or whimsical choice. Because the popular culture/media establishments don’t offer the same cues with him or some others like him.
Not suggesting you’re consciously doing all of this but certain statements rely on certain assumptions. And as I say ad nauseam this does not at all mean that one has to like anything Rohan Sippy does but one cannot simply dismiss someone without engaging in the serious claims people might have made about the same. And again I have forever argued against Bachchan’s 80s phase even as I enjoy many of the films or even admire some of the political gestures here. So I am not against iconoclasm of any sort. But the latter has to be grounded. Once more (since this was your impression the last time around) I am not offering specific criteria that should be respected. here’s an example however — Raj Kapoor’s SSS… a work which at one level I consider a disaster but at another find interesting because it illuminates certain aspects of the director’s work elsewhere and also because on its own it offers a series of registers that are not non-serious.
I’ll repeat what I said to Utkal yesterday. Why are we always in a hurry to as it were close the file on a movie? Why not let things remain open? If someone considers Rohan Sippy important we have every right to disagree but why is there this instinctive resistance? the same for anything else. I just just said I have always found JBDY overrated. I might not think the same way 20 years from now. These opinions remain provisional. By the same token how often do we really change our views or at least ‘complicate’ them when we find other perspectives on films that we love or hate? I’ll just offer one last example here. For a long time I felt on Iruvar that the first half was extraordinary (to my mind the best such directed in all of Indian commercial cinema) and the second half despite a series of very strong moments not as cumulatively built up or more vignette-like in its approach and so on. I still believe a lot of this. However a long time back in a debate with GF he suggested that the second half was indeed ‘fractured’ but that this reflected the fracturing of the friendship that was at the center of the film. I found this to be an astute point, one that I didn’t necessarily have to embrace whole-heartedly but certainly one I had to ‘account’ for. And so now whenever I think of that second half I keep that point in mind. when Guru was close to release Rajeev Menon I think said that the two halves of the film were shot very differently. In short the first half had much more dynamic camera movement and cuts and so forth while the second half was much more traditionally done for the most part. Why? Because the second half was supposed to reflect the institutionalization of the lead character while the first was a reflection of his restlessness and greater openness to the new etc. So there is a kind of ‘internal’ link if you will with the Iruvar choice, at least as GF understood it (and of course there are some significant links between the two films in some other ways). The larger point is that even with films one worships one need not close the circle of possible meaning. And vice versa.
I am with antya and saket on JBDY and disagree with Qalander that it has not aged well. It has aged outstandingly otherwise nobody would be discussing it when it was re-released on screens a few months ago..It was one of those films from that period that nailed black humor perfectly and it was a damn good alliance amongst terrific script, outstanding actors/characters, and a very pertinent India-of-the-times. There are some I still fall of my chair when I see the Mahabharat scenes..there are vignettes which still stand the test-of-time; in the hilarious scene where NASSER, with Bhakti Barve, comes in to interview OM PURI\, both of them claim to be from TIME MAGAZINE, US. Now Bhakti Barve is actually an editor of a vernacular language newspaper but still goes with TIME. This is pre-globalization and note the obsession with everything AMERICAN even then. In fact, INDIA TODAY and ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY were the ones that were a hit among the English-media readers in those days..Note how the same scene in TALAASH (in the song JEE LE ZARA, when Aamir walks in, Rani is shown browing TIME MAGAZINE) passes of as ‘oh-just another issue of TIME magazine today after post-globalization).There are many such small but important things; the Marathi-speaking Pandu hawaldar asking for a bribe RIGHT under the bridge that stands as a monument of corruption..
Now there might have been movies made in the south of this nexus-topic as Satyam mentions but as far as the Hi fi (Hindi film industry) is concerned, this is a gem of a movie..
This discussion has made me revisit the movie..I should..
I must I too have never quite been able to understand the ‘fuss’ over JBDY. There are some Malayalam films from roughly the same period that are vastly superior in terms of the same terrain. But even leaving aside the comparison I just don’t find JBDY strong enough. Not a criticism really but its cult status mystifies me a bit. On Kubrick I’d partially agree with you. He has better films than Strangelove. The latter certainly from this vantage point appears rather dated though not uninteresting.
“must I too have never quite been able to understand the ‘fuss’ over JBDY”– I agree Satyam–Though must add I have watched it only in ‘spurts’ and never in totality –the little I did watch was, well, ‘unfunny’
I do know some who are really find of this movie though–so it has a certain ‘iconic appeal’ for some–
So yeah-anya has a point that in a world where Rohan sippy is an auteur and DMD a classic, JBDY deserves more respect
Ok sanju madam–won’t miss it-will read it later
Lol @”and a role in Mahesh Bhatt’s film.”
Bhatt may already be eyeing a haedley-sunny leone starrer–how bout that
@ saket- good 2 see u bak-what’s up lately
As for JBDY–agree with qalander somehow –Inspite of your well articulated thoughts, I (like q) found it ‘unfunny’, but again many love it so it’s done it’s job, I guess –u can’t please all…
@ qalander –if I remember correctly u scorned at rowdy rathores ‘preterm pyaare’ –but on my pointing out, u (more than) changed your mind
Similarly –another reccomendation for ‘open minds’ like q
Try out –’lat lag gayee’ from race2–@ first glance sounds a crap remix but Obama few listens, the groove grips u–lemme know
Goin for a brief drive –with this on the playlist amongst some Richard Marx!
Yay
No problems q–”Have not heard that song aa”– hmm there more to it than just ‘hear’!
lemme take take u thru this guided tour…
Check out the addictive beats,
‘Innovative’ dance steps esp by Jacqueline eg the lip brush with hand manoeuvre
Also some ‘imaginative’ lyrics
Poor saif trying to match up (partly succeeding)
Note: it needs atleast three four listenings (& dancing shoes)
Ps: that’s y I entrusted this ‘key track’ to anya ( who did a good job)– I had a touch time trying to catch up with her
India was/is and will always remain a soft nation. It is good Headley will be in American prison. Let him get a taste of a big thing going up his posterior when he bends to pick up his soap. Otherwise in an Indian jail, he will be complaining of how the salt and spice in his mutton biriyani is under-served..& the Indian machinery will be kept busy providing him a better menu..
The morons in India are more concerned about ‘internet Hindus’ than the ones coming in and planting bombs as though it was a garden..
Came to know that the Delhi rapist’s name is Afroze..the media and every numb-wit has nick-named his Raju..why destroy such a common name that is at the sub-conscious level of a community? When QURBAAN used KHALID as the name of a terrorist, Khalid Mohamed spewed vitriol in his review..and has a life-long grude with RGV because 2 kidnappers in one of his movies called themselves KHALID and MOHAMED.
Don’t tell me you have named him RAJU to ‘protect’ his identity in case of a mob-attack..If that were the case, his name should have been Dhritarashtra or Saladdin..
“he will be complaining of how the salt and spice in his mutton biriyani is under-served”– make it mutton tikka masala …. (Spicy version) with poppadums/ garlic sauce & butter naan (& cobra beer!!)
Agree that naming ‘raju’ is inappropriate / misleading…
Race 2 showed a 25% jump in collections on Saturday due to the Republic Day holiday. The film collected around 18 crore nett on Saturday taking the two day collection to a little over 32 crore nett
The growth on Saturday was very strong in places like Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Mysore but less in circuits like Rajasthan, CI and Bihar. The film will show a drop today (Sunday) as the case after a big holiday but it should cross 45 crore nett for the weekend.
The weekend business is set to be good with the holiday giving the filman extra boost of 3-4 crore nett while the weekday business of the film likely to tell where the film is going.
“That headline makes it sound like a tumour”– haha but only a tumour but a ‘malignant’ one – inv the brain!
Btw Satyam we r not trying to boast but whenever we collaborate for a spoof, the minimum is a hit!!
Note that even JTHJ was a hit ( though relative underperformer) it had other ‘perks’ ( while shooting) besides rahmans music.
So let’s start counting the race2 cash
Ps: apparently race2 will be the biggest hit ever for the whole cast involved — so were all my other spoofs
Ofcourse cocktail was a modern day ‘woody allenesque’ classic haha
Oh, pyaar ka punch naama was a fun movie –liked it actually…
An ‘exposé’ on the way guys are ‘(ab)used’ by ‘shrewd’ girls –is that the one!
There was a guy called ‘liquid’in that flick–reminds me of some ..hahaha
Beware guys!!
OT– a typically hilarious post by filmigirl on bolllywood parodies.
Posting with your (implied) consent, filmigirl–know u wont mind–how u are coping well (with the snow)
Went to catch Les Miserables PVR –Forum Mall at 10 am, since that’s the only slot I had free in a long long time. The ticket girl said sorry , no show, as you are the only one in line to buy a ticket for the film. Maybe because it was the Gold Class costing 700 bucks. Any way , since I could not go back home and show my face to my wife, after having rushed from home without breakfast, I tried to check what else was running. There was Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola and I walked in. And was I surprised, delightfully!
This was easily the most accomplished Vishal Bhradwaj film by miles for me. A high-concept film that he managed to pull off with aplomb. Right from the first frame with Pankj Kapoor and Imran Khan looking perfect as Master and Servant, in the mould of Don Quixote-Sancho Panza, Pozzo and lucky…, the eternal , mythical duo…caught in a see-saw struggle for power, and a complex web of relationship a based on deceit, trust, mutual need, and conflict as well as confluence of interest.
One is not likely to see a character as richly textured , as complexly rounded and as delightfully eccentric as Mr Mandola. Pankaj Kapoor was born to play this. Looking more like a Kurosawa hero from a Japanese tragic-comedy rather than a Bollywood character, Kapor gives it his all, and there is plenty that he has to give, from his impeccable alcoholic slur to his power-drunk swagger to his tenderness soaked with vulnerability when he interacts with his daughter Bijlee. Imran Khan is perfect as the JNU leftist activist Hukum Singh masquerading as Matru, the driver –cum-drinks-inhibitor of Mandola. Anushka is her usual bubbly self. And I wish shew as 3.5kgs heavier. But she too gets her fifteen minutes of limelight in the final drunken bride act. Mummy, Apki bahu nikammi, she says to her would-be sasu, Shabna Azmi, whi incidentally is top class as the Lady Macbethian scheming politician. Some of her lines, especially with her son ( Kuchh bhi ho sakta hai are blood-curdling.
The film is littered with many verbal acrobatics and priceless witticism. The writing is insightful and sophisticated. But is the comic invention and the outlandish gags that make you tip your hat to Bhradwaj and Abhishek Chaubey , the co-writer. I especially liked the episode where Madola takes Matru for a ‘ night walk’ on his helicopter and when the fan catches fire , Mandola trying to light his cheroot from the fire on the fan blades, before jumping out with the parachute.
The pink buffalo is of course as outlandish character as you would have ever seen in a Hindi film and Bhradwaj uses it well, reprising it in the climax quite effectively. Even the African dancers whom I had looked on with skepticism in the trailer were intelligently integrated into the script and add a piquant touch to many song picturization.
And talking of songs, every single one has been penned lovingly by Gulzar like he only can and they have all been picturized very well. ( Nazar mein tu hi tu, Tu hi neri Timabktoo. Oh boy oh boy Charlie, Tune dil ki baazi marli…Mere ird-gird na ghuma kar, Mera haath-vaath na chuma kar… Oh boy! Haven’t had so much fun with words in along long time) . The African as well as the Hariwanvi elements have been integrated into the music seamlessly, none so adeptly as in the song Khamakha ( Loved those Hariwanvi taus on the tree top singing ‘ Bolo Ram Ram Ram)
But beyond all the song and dance, all the fun and frolics, Matru works as a serious political satire with some pretty sharp writing all through. The episodes like Neta-Janata Chor-Police or the chilling monologue where Mandola is dreaming of the wheat fields giving way to shiny malls and multiplexes, cut to the bone of the issue with razor sharp insight.
Watching Matru is like watching some first-rtae absutd theater packed with grrat lines, a tight scrit and delightful performances. In the last twelve months, the only other film I have been this thoroughly entertained by is Gangs of Wassseypur. With this film Vishal Bhradwaj has really come into his own and he now joins my pantheon of must-see directors that include Anurag Kashyap, Rajkumar Hirani and Imtiaz Ali.
pankaj kapoor was effective in his role of split personality and his role as drunkard was an extension of his jalwa’s small but effective role with that mumbling voice allready used in maqbool
vb makes fun of everything right from censor in the beginning to even establishment to Shakespeare and this is vishal’s most original work
in the first scene an alcoholic pk standing tilt rather than straight compared to stoned and stiff imran says it all about the difference in acting class and mocks fun at everything from establishment to luxuary owned vehicle owners which openly mocks law
alcohol is not destruction but a sort of resurrection here
one imagine why vb went with this absurd title whch puts off lot of people simply to avoid controversies…mandola is synonymous with present india
shabana the powerful lady and his useless nri returned son having zero iq indeed reminds of someone rather a strong political figure with one strong dialogue linking his son to famous dynasty sons having political background was indeed brave
the love angle was indeed waste….
scarcastic humour on revolution(from china to haryana) and how it was finished by son of soil who finally throws out outsiders from land gives enough vb’s political lineage
shabana the present day politician and a member of parliament of congress ironically plays the evil mastermind politician effectively
anushka plays the tomboyish role rather well with the highpoint point being bold dialogues between father and daughter
imran does what he does best stand stiff and for a change he mouthed some dialogues but remains ineffective but surprisingly arya babbar as ch*****a is more effective and has better screen presence
vb mocking potshots at cia, replacing drones with gober attack as retaliation provides a curious example along with numerous other (likes slavery of africa to revolution of china) but only at surface is the classic example of loseness which script is rather than tight and coherent
Thanx utkal uncle–it’s always a pleasure to read your views
Good to see u loved matru
Actually matru is the only bhardwaj film I could watch fully–& must say I was pleasantly surprised
I personally felt this was his best yet but coudltn say for certainty since haven’t watched any of his other films fully (though never had the inclination to complete them)
“This was easily the most accomplished Vishal Bhradwaj film by miles for me. A high-concept film that he managed to pull off with aplomb”– that’s reassuring to hear from u!!
I had penned some random thoughts on matru in this link & the ensuing comments https://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/matru-ki-bijlee-ka-mandola-the-rest-of-the-box-office/#comment-205589
Agree about the richly textured mandola & his mood swings.
Also as an afterthought felt the movie was more than what it seemed on the surface-
Addendum to my post above on Mkbkm
As an afterthought, this film should have been aptly titled ‘dilemma’ or the ‘perpetual tug of war’ between
The heart & the brain
Right n wrong
Capitalism vs communism
Dependence vs freedom
Besides being a case study on addiction & the withdrawal symptoms
Alcohol is the conveninent device/trope used here
About Imran he continues to be flat n insipid bit what saves him is the earnestness and intent to learn n improve which translates/fits into the good manliness vibe of the character. But that’s it (though for him it’s notable that he does show some movement as an actor!)
Addiction/dependence
What happens when something really dear/essential to a human is withdrawn or he/she renunciates it?
Even heavens cry –literally !
Or so it appears (to THAT Person)
In a masterful scene (punctuated by some hamming by shabana) the skies ‘rain’ on mandola leaving ‘alcohol’ (or Harry or his spilt personality or alter ego or the ‘humane side’!) this time he is genuine and it works!
Though to the detriment of the farmers’ interests!
This scene had a remarkable parallel in another loved film of mine called guide.
The conman/guru Has a genuine fast and it rains –in that occasion for the farmers good!
Professional reviews
Usually my thoughts are ilnit just in the film but more importantly on the overall discourse. Just skimmed through some notes-Masand was good
And b rangan again is delightfully witty and comes up with the usual delicious allegories BUT misses all the main points !
No wonder rangan founds that the ‘main course’ was the ‘distractions’! Rangan the day u start discriminating a distraction from the main course will be the day u will become what u claim to be–till then u will remain a delightful user of words and imagery–but that’s it!
The scene where Pankaj Kapoor is tip-toeing through the maze of Gulabo bottles , resisting temptation evey step of the way could rival ‘ to be or not to be’ in depiction of existential dilemma.
Agree utkal uncle–u reminded me of pankaj kapoors delectable performance. At the risk of repetition, need to post an extract of what I felt bout it– if only as my ‘tribute’ to this misinterpreted work that didn’t get the appreciation it deserved imo
MKBKM-Split personality of the seriocomic political romcom-Of delirium tremens, pink buffaloes !
‘Prelude’
As they say, the seven elements had to conspire to make me complete my first VB film ever. Nowadays getting stuck in a plex, seems the only way for me to catch a film in its entirety –due to my ‘testosterone driven video game attention span’. Unlike Yrf, bhardwaj films don’t get widespread release here in the west but seems the fox coproduction helped. Also credit to anya for inciting me to view this.
Tone
Quirky, whacky, seriocomic, political romcom that is deeper than it appears on the surface–there are inconsistencies though and points at which things sag . The strength is the rich texture, layered script & reasonable screenplay. Being a moody guy myself, following mandolas moods helped scale the notes of the film.
References galore
VB doesn’t dumb down or employ the neon sign ‘large print’ for the ‘wider audience’. The kusturica band, Maoism and heck, even the opening scene (liked it) is a nudge to Tarantino, I think.
Authentic rural ambience/ India ‘shining’ model
VB is known to depict this well but here he also illustrates the many different facets of the India ‘success story’ in different places. One enjoys getting transported to the hinterland albeit in a fictional village. There are convenient ‘twists’ & predictable banter also.
Performances
Pankaj Kapoor plays the literal ‘double role’ in a delectable manner. His mood swings and shifts, the split personality quirks are alluring.
He is the main course of the movie and takes the the bull/film by the horns). His hallucinating, attempts to resist alcohol, moments of reflection and also the ‘throwing caution to the winds’ are all nice to watch. Check him out lighting his cigar from the fire in his own plane!
Thanx anya for that v good link on that little gal battling cancer with the help of Rahmans melodies –
Ditto with me though fortunately don’t have to use it against any ‘cancer’ lol
Btw note the tagline of the newspaper u sent the link of –” the Hindu–morphine for the mind!” –peddling drugs eh
Race 2 did well on its first weekend by collecting around 46.25 crore nett. The breakdown for the weekend was 14.25 crore nett on Friday, 17.50 crore nett on Saturday and 14.50 crore nett on Sunday.
The weekend total is good but the weekend trend is not so good as some centres had less collections on Sunday than Friday. Also the jump on Saturday was not as big as it should have been considering it was one of the biggest holidays of the year. On a national holiday which comes in the first three days, a big film like Race should be 20 crore nett plus.
The performance of the film is best in the North with places like Bihar and CPCI underperforming. Monday is the all important day for the film and if can pull out a 7 crore or higher Monday it is likely to go on and be the first hit of 2013.
Emraan Hashmi, Kareena Kapoor signed for Balaji-Dharma co-production-
In what is definitely a casting coup of sorts, Emraan Hashmi and Kareena Kapoor have been signed together for the first time for a romantic drama to be produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji and Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. The as yet untitled film will be directed by debutant Akshay
Roy.
Confirming the same, Tanuj Garg (CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures) tweeted, “For those asking, the untitled Balaji-Dharma romantic drama is taking off in September. Starring Emraan Hashmi & Kareena.”
This will be Emraan’s second film with Dharma Productions after Ungli.
So Emraan now has this Kjo-Ekta project, Ek Thi Daayan, Ghanchakkar, Danis Tanovic’s next (Kashyap co-producing this) and Rensil D’Silva’s Ungli (also stars Dutt, Kangana, Randeep Hooda, Neha Dhupia). Not bad!
“Seems Deepika is lucky for Saif.”–
Well picked up sanju-i think its vice versa–they also havr good ‘chemisty’ after
Cock tail–maybe deepika ks kareena no2 (in thw wAiting lol)
Ps: a near 50 crore weekend is good –race2 is a ‘multistarrer’ technically but the true ‘stars’ are only 2 here maybe 21/2..so good the team is getting their biggest hot ever apparently
“Seems Deepika is lucky for Saif.”–
Well picked up sanju-i think its vice versa–they also havr good ‘chemisty’ after
Cock tail–maybe deepika is kareena no2 (in thw wAiting lol)
Ps: a near 50 crore weekend is good –race2 is a ‘multistarrer’ technically but the true ‘stars’ are only 2 here maybe 21/2..so good the team is getting their biggest hot ever apparently
Satyam, have you seen the Bachchan-Shatru film “Yaar Meri Zindagi” (the one which was long delayed and released some time back).
Also since you like Hollywood action thrillers have U seen the Indonesian film The Raid: Redemption and the French one Sleepless Night- IMO both are better than anything Hollywood has produced in the genre since B.Ultimatum
JA is turning out to be a smart producer – first Vicky Donor which was BB stuff (i mean return to reward ratio must be bigger than ETT ) and now this looks too good with He and CS – two sexy people….
Race 2 made 46-47 cr in the opening weekend but has a very high cost of 90 cr. So unless it makes more than 100 cr, it will not be a success. If it has a big drop beginning Monday then it will end around 80-85 cr.
A high opening weekend is good but does not guarantee box office success.
It has done less than I would have expected. Leaving aside the lower Sun number which is rare the first Race was within the D2 range. Even if it released a year or two after the latter the starcast was in no way comparable plus D2 was a sequel. of course the Race fizzled out relatively quickly but the opening was surprisingly strong and really up there with some of the best ones. This one on the other hand will be nowhere close to putting up comparable numbers despite being a sequel. Even for the 100 crore mark to be possible it will have to be more stable on the weekdays than the Sun number suggests. It’s certainly possible but not a done deal by any means.
OT—skimmed thru a few scenes of “Dil Kabaddi”
Has someone seen it here–is the rest of it worth seeing?
… apparently the complete movie available on youtube
must say, in a few scenes Irrfan khan and even rahul bose were funny…check em out folks
also konkona is a brilliant nuanced actress i think…
Oh Cmon! Baap apni betiyon ko pyar jata raha hai. Is mein kya gunaah? Those are friendly pecks on cheeks. Very affectionate imho. BigB is finally settling down into the ‘Industry grandpa’ shoes of Ashok Kumar.
A supposedly older comment of Babi (this seems to be from the time when she had completely turned into a schizo and started making bullshit statements)
“I then left India in 1983
after I realized that Amitabh Bachchan was making attempts on my life
since I had discovered that he was a part of the underworld
syndicate. He had once asked me if I wanted to transfer money to
Luxembourg and invest it in Euroshares for Indians. When I refused,
he tried to kill me through an accident on the sets while we were
shooting together. So, if I hadn’t left the country, I would have
been surely killed. ”
“Ever since I said that Bollywood had links with the underworld and
that I had enough evidence to prove that, my life has been under
threat. But I know what I am saying is true because I have witnessed
it. They are all people with blue collar jobs who cannot be suspected
and Sanjay Dutt is one of them. Even Amitabh Bachchan is involved.”
The entire interview-
From being one of the sexiest actresses ever on the Indian screen to
becoming a paranoid schizophrenic, Parveen Babi’s life is what
legends are made off. The actress, who quit films in the early 80′s
after suffering a nervous breakdown, disappeared for six years before
she came back to India. But on her return, she was a far cry from the
earlier svelte stunner. Bloated beyond recognition, the actress had
developed an acute fear of being the mafia’s target and till date
that fear hasn’t left her. Today, almost 15 years after her return,
she is once again in the news after she recently went to court
claiming to have evidence against actor Sanjay Dutt in the 1993 bomb
blasts case. In this interview with Sify, the scared Parveen Babi
reveals all about her paranoia and insists that she is not
Related Links
crazy. Read on and decide for yourself…
The past few days have had you once again in the spotlight.
Ever since I said that Bollywood had links with the underworld and
that I had enough evidence to prove that, my life has been under
threat. But I know what I am saying is true because I have witnessed
it. They are all people with blue collar jobs who cannot be suspected
and Sanjay Dutt is one of them. Even Amitabh Bachchan is involved.
But why are you hell bent on making Sanjay Dutt out to be underworld
connected?
I am saying the truth because I know he is connected to the mafia. I
would have never filed an affidavit with the TADA court about the
1993 bomb blasts if I didn’t have enough evidence in my possession
against the actor. I have been collecting this evidence of the
international crime syndicate since last year.
But then why didn’t you turn up in court on the day you were to
appear as a witness?
I could not appear in court as there is a threat to my life. And I
will not go to court even if I am called again, as I know for a fact
that they will get me killed through Sanjay Dutt if I go there. I
really didn’t understand why didn’t they summon me last year when I
submitted my letter. I even called the CBI but there was no response
from their side. And now suddenly they want me to testify in court
when the verdict is almost out.
Do you realize that most people think you are mentally unwell?
The media has been very unkind to me. They have been calling me names
and saying that I am sick, insane and crazy. But they don’t realize
how much it hurts and how damaging their words can be. Even earlier I
was forced to declare myself a paranoid schizophrenic. But I know I
am okay and that is all that matters.
Why did you leave films at the peak of your career in the early 80′s?
I had everything going for me in the late 70′s. I had a great film
career, was rich and famous. But then I got into trouble when I
stumbled upon the activities of the organized crime syndicate in
1979. Everything collapsed around me after that and I was forced to
admit I was mad, as I feared for my life. I then left India in 1983
after I realized that Amitabh Bachchan was making attempts on my life
since I had discovered that he was a part of the underworld
syndicate. He had once asked me if I wanted to transfer money to
Luxembourg and invest it in Euroshares for Indians. When I refused,
he tried to kill me through an accident on the sets while we were
shooting together. So, if I hadn’t left the country, I would have
been surely killed.
But you came back in 1989.
Yes, I came back in 1989, as by then things had cooled off a bit.
Since then, I have been compiling and philosophizing theories,
studying law and monographs. I even started doing up homes, as I am
an interior designer, but there was a deliberate attempt at
sabotaging my career and life at large. Luckily, I had made some
sound investments and I inherited from my mother as well. You won’t
believe it that there was an attempt to take that away from me too,
but I had to fight to get them back.
Finally, where do you see this case headed?
I am sure about this nexus between Bollywood and the underworld. I
have evidence regarding an international crime syndicate, involving
the UK and US governments, their heads of state and intelligence
agencies, the BJP government, Hollywood and Bollywood personalities,
the Roman Catholic Church and the mafia, which proves that they are
all connected. The governments of the US and UK have pressurized the
Indian Government to implicate Sanjay Dutt with the Mafia. And if I
go to testify against him in court, they will have me killed on the
way, and then the blame will be put on Sanjay Dutt and this would
acquit the US and the UK governments and the others accused in my
criminal complaint. But I just hope that I am proved right and not
harmed because I have total evidence in this case
this was nothing saurabh – she even seems to have accused many other celebrities and leaders…..after a certain point – people stopped taking her seriously.
What do you mean “astonishing rumour”? Praveen Babi’s mental health issues have been well documented, and she clearly tended toward paranoid delusions where Amitabh Bachchan was concerned.
It mightve been astonishing when she originally made that claim. But subsequently, her mental health issues came to light, and people disregarded her statements. She died lonely, ignored, and I believe only Mahesh Bhatt (one of her original paramors) attended her funeral. Very tragic life and end of a beautiful woman.
How are people SO sure that ALL of her allegations were delusional and paranoid
Obviously there are stages & degrees of involvement –mild moderate severe intermittent sporadic relapse remission!
Am I right anya ?
To answer your question AA, consider this answer of hers –
***I am sure about this nexus between Bollywood and the underworld. I have evidence regarding an international crime syndicate, involving the UK and US governments, their heads of state and intelligence agencies, the BJP government, Hollywood and Bollywood personalities, the Roman Catholic Church and the mafia, which proves that they are all connected. The governments of the US and UK have pressurized the
Indian Government to implicate Sanjay Dutt with the Mafia. And if I go to testify against him in court, they will have me killed on the way, and then the blame will be put on Sanjay Dutt and this would acquit the US and the UK governments and the others accused in my criminal complaint.***
(a) In the above greatest conspiracy the world has never seen, she names almost each and every country/organization/person, but misses out Pakistan..how could this have been possible without Pakistan (read ISI)??Dawood?? This is exhibit 1 of delusion.
(b) She says AB wanted to get her killed because she refused some investment in Euroshares…arre bhai, why should AB take so much of trouble? All that he had to do was ask Rekha to invest!!! She would never have said no to AB!! Why to kill a rat with a Bofors gun?? Huh? This is exhibit 2 of a grander delusion..
Thanx for that info
Though I feel she became more schizoid than schizophrenic towards her later years & literally a recluse. These statements emanated from her advanced stage, it appears.
Ps: don’t blame bachchan for his alleged escapades with her at her peak actually
(Btw liked her eyes n long hair)
Race 2 dropped on Monday as it collected around 6 crore nett. The drop from Friday is around 55% plus. The total for four days is 52.50 crore nett.
The film dropped all over with North India holding best but even in North the drop was 50% plus. The first week total of the film will still go to around 65-66 crore nett which is pretty good but the trend is not there for it to sustain well from second weekend onwards.
There are no big releases on Friday which could help the film a bit but probably not to the extent that the film needs.
i loved sadhna, she was a beauty. she suffered from a thyroid condition that pretty much ruined her looks starting in her late 20′s. the loss of looks is not the worst thing in the world, can happen to anyone, but she lost her husband too. sad.
I did not care for Sadhna otherwise (did not mind her on screen though) but liked her in Geeta Mera Naam where in one scene she is dressed like a dominatrix (a lot of psychosexual overtones were there in the film). And loved those ‘wax statues’- In the film one of Sunil Dutt’s doubles used to throw his enemies in a vat of hot molten wax and after which the body of the man appears in one of the glass cases lining the wall as a glistening wax statue- crazy hit
Sadhna was beautiful, and graceful. Much more than the other Sindhi heroine of yesteryears, ie Babita. They were cousins, btw, so that makes Sadhna an aunt to the Kapoor sisters. Unfortunately, Kareena/Karishma inherited more of their father’s face.
thanx nykavi for that info
Didnt know sadhana was related to babita!-Though the kareena connection doesnt add to her appeal (now that we know it).
Hadnt noticed Sadhana much but recently while flipping channels, checked out some tracks.
She does (did) have a certain ‘grace’ and ‘dignified presence’
And as anya points out, before her eyeballs bulged out due to thyroid–she did look good..
Incidentally some awesome tracks were filmed on sadhana!
“Lag Jaa Gale” from “woh kaun thi” happens to be one of my favorites …
ps–time for oldgold to add some special bits ….lol
ok folks–on popular demand–a repeat of this track i fully discovered recently
Even rajendra kr looks alright
check out the seemingly ‘in’ setup of that time–the uncle with the cigar and the aunt who seems to be ‘playing’ the piano (or touching it for the first time!)…
And Sadhna (& lata) @ their peaks …
i may check out this film (pr atleast parts of it)
Ha thanx kash –butI think the one posted by anya above was better (ofcourse I’m not biased lol )
Btw folks–was skimming thru some hd channels. Thought I will also watch some classic literary stuff like the esteemed folks here and then be able to talk bout it!!
Thought I will sample an adaptation of DH Lawrence’s work..
Lady chatterley ( French version)!!
Errrrmm well…–nobody does this stuff better than the French –(a full hour down the drain though lol)–may opine on it later..
1. Ghayal
2. Agneepath (if u consider it in 90′s)
3. Khalnayak
4. Aankhein
5. HAHK
6. DDLJ
7. Karan Arjun
8. Judwaa
9. Tere Mere Sapne
10. Machis
11. Hindustani (dubbed)
12. Bombay (Dubbed)
13. Dil Se
14. Border
15. Lal Badshah (Kill me please)
16. Hum DIl De Chuke Sanam
17. And most of David Dhawan + Govinda Stuff
However compared to 80′s .. only few like HAHK, DDLJ, Agneepath stands out ..
Dutt looks good here, I know satyam sir and many others recommended saamy to me some time back. (have yet to see it).Does anyone know if they have stuck to the original or changing it completely?
BTW Alex, I did end up watching Les Miserables last night. I actually enjoyed it. The opening scene is brilliantly done. Love the camera angles in this one. Very well acted by all (Did Jackman get robbed from nominations all over?).
My only problem was that if it was in regular dialogue it would have been a better film, cause it was very well directed. But i do get the criticism it would have got for not doing it as a musical.
“BTW Alex, I did end up watching Les Miserables last night. I actually enjoyed it.”
good boy kash–so u finally took your wifey out(did she like it) !
Yeah it IS a good ‘epic’ flick but one has to be in the correct mood for it
Why dont u write a piece on it ..
ps–like anne hathaways song
She didn’t enjoy it as much as i did but didn’t mind it either. I really went in with really low expectations, maybe that’s why it took me by surprise. Yes, the dream song is done very well. My favorite is the opening one. “Look down” and loved the scenes there. Beatifully shot film. Tried to catch the broadway for it a few times, but never got around to it. (Have watched many in NY fav being Lion King & Jersey Boys, If you ever go do check em out). Loved the story and the pace that it moved. You will not be disappointed. Do check it out.
“She didn’t enjoy it as much as i did”–kash –@least during the movie–spare the poor girl haha !!
Let her relax n enjoy a movie
ps–try out movie 43 –some females are going gaga bout it— if time/schedule permits–may catch django/flight//
Instead there are lots of takers for movie43 but not many for du/flight !
Hahaha, No comment on your first bit. yeah want to check that one out as well. No plans this weekend so just might go see that. I am really trying to catch Hitchcock somewhere. Can’t find a theater that’s playing it nearby.
Golden opportunity to see Silsila, Kabhi Kabhi and other Yash chopra romance on big screen … in Feb .. for those who live in NCR, Puna, Bangalore, chandigarh, Mumbai, Surat, Ludhiana .. I have to fly to nearest town to catch these.
Race 2 has seen dropping collections on the weekdays but will still be the top film at the box office this week due to no major release.
The films releasing this week are Vishwaroop, David, Deewana Main Deewana, Mai and Listen Amaya but none are initial films. The bilinguals Vishwaroop and David are likely to lead and the former may be helped by the controversy it has been involved in over the last month or so. Deewana Main Deewana does feature stars like Govinda and Priyanka Chopra but has been in the making for 10 years.
Race should comfortably record better figures in its second weekend than all these films though a big second weekend is not looking on the cards despite little competition.
January 25, 2013 at 2:35 AM
Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola Has 8 Crore Second Week
Friday 25th January 2013 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola collected 8 crore nett in its second week taking its two week total to 39.50 crore nett. The film held up better in the North with both Delhi/UP and East Punjab dropping 70% while other circuits dropped in the region of 80%.
The movie is of of most theatres in week three and will not add much more business. It is another Imran Khan which will finish in the 40 crore nett range after I Hate Luv Storys and Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu but Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola was a much wider release than those films.
January 25, 2013 at 9:05 AM
not bad at all at least relative to the initial doomsday predictions BOI had..
January 25, 2013 at 3:38 AM
I was so looking forward to this. Have not seen anyone any Indian actor do action as well as Vidyut Jamwal does. Superb splits and kicks
January 26, 2013 at 5:25 AM
Damn right. I recently saw FORCE and Abraham Sir was horrible in it..& was made to look more horrible by the fact that the villain in the piece Vidyut was far more agile and with a humongously better screen presence..In fact, it seems after the first few rushes of the film, the producers/director realized that Vidyut was coming off far more charismatic and forceful than Abraham Sir and asked him to ‘tone’ down his charisma!!!
January 26, 2013 at 5:40 AM
Lol, you are damn right. As far as action is concerned there is no one even close to him in India. Check this out-
January 25, 2013 at 6:14 AM
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/trade/update/id/307/date/2013-01-25
RACE 2, the first biggie of 2013, opened to good houses in most circuits. The film started on a robust note [70% to 80%] in several circuits, but the occupancy at certain places was not as strong [40% to 50%]. However, the occupancy got better as the day progressed and should only get better towards the evening/night shows.
The holiday on Saturday [26 Jan] should give a big boost to its business. The film is expected to pack a solid punch in its opening weekend, although the reports are extremely mixed.
AKAASHVANI has opened to poor houses. It remains to be seen if it gathers steam over the weekend.
January 25, 2013 at 9:11 AM
Top 5: ‘Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola’ 41 cr, ‘Inkaar’ 9.5 cr
January 25, 2013 at 6:30 AM
When Fanaa was banned in Gujarat (unofficially?), the other parts of India did not have any issues and supported the film to make it a big boxoffice success.
It seems Kamal’s Viswaroopam is being banned by state governments in a row and let us see how mumbai and other northern, eastern states react. the story seems to be quite an interesting one but how they handled the story is what matters.
Till now there are only some sporadic amateur reviews and no critics reviews.
January 25, 2013 at 6:37 AM
The NDTV Review is up:
http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_story.aspx?section=Movies&Id=322282&keyword=regional&subcatg=MOVIESINDIA&nid=322282
January 25, 2013 at 7:22 AM
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/vishwaroopam-a-riveting-spy-thriller/article4344217.ece
Review from The Hindu
Seems the film is good and layered. Definitey not for hindi audience who nowadays want to watch easy movies where they dont have to apply their grey cells.
January 25, 2013 at 9:57 AM
Sorry Satyam Sir, Off topic, YOu can direct me if there is anotehr thread for this. Friends, I just finished season 5 of Breaking Bad, One of the best shows on television hands down. Anything else I can pick up? That already has about good 2 seasons available? watched Mad Men, Walking Dead, Lost, West Wing, Heroes (dont know why they shut this one down), anything current? Help a brother out. Lol.
January 25, 2013 at 5:38 PM
Mad Men, Entourage, Skins, Lie To Me, Californication, Pushing Daisies, Monk, Boardwalk Empire!
January 25, 2013 at 6:19 PM
Have you seen The Wire? If you want functional sociology go to The Wire; if you want psychological depth go to The Sopranos. I suspect neither will measure up to the sheer existential immediacy that Breaking Bad brings to the table.
If you are looking for comedies you should try out Peep Show.
January 29, 2013 at 10:29 AM
Thank You Praz and Arturo, I have decided to pick up Entourage, Boardwalk Empire and Might squeeze in the Wire, Sopranos , I really want to pick that one up, But just never got around to it. Maybe after these are done, Sopranos and Homeland will be next. Thanks again friends.
January 25, 2013 at 10:15 AM
Here is a clip from the movie JOBS, Biopic on Steve Jobs.
January 26, 2013 at 5:22 AM
Steve Wozniak blasts this clip:
Los Angeles: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said on Friday that a new film about the late Steve Jobs is factually “wrong,” judging by a first clip from the movie that has been released.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/apple-co-founder-says-new-steve-jobs-film-wrong-322489
January 25, 2013 at 11:13 AM
Where the freaking hell is the HIndi release in US for VISHWAROOPAM? What is stopping KH from releasing VISHWAROOP in US? I will have to settle for watching the Tamil version with English subs in DC I guess..which I don’t want to since the Hindi version is not a dubbed one..and I would like to watch Kamal Haasan mouthing Hindi since he is the rare actor –the other being Sudeep (although this is understandable since Bangalore CURRENTLY is more cosmopolitan than Madras ever was) — from the southern film industries to get the Hindi diction and nuances better..
January 25, 2013 at 5:38 PM
No release in NZ either…
January 25, 2013 at 10:26 PM
We might be in some luck..the Hindi version is releasing on feb 1 in India..so it might in the US also..and maybe at your end..I so do not want to watch the sub-titled TAMIL version but the Hindi version..In any case I always felt a topic of such kind HAD to be made in a pan-Indian language and not restrict to regional (any) language..the subject itself lends itself to a national/international terrain..But everyone from Mani Ratnam to RGV has always succumbed to the ‘dual’ version syndrome..KH is no different either I guess..
January 25, 2013 at 11:21 AM
List of Padma’s this year, Rajesh Khanna and Jaspal Bhatti recieve it posthumously.
http://vaartaahaa.blogspot.com/2013/01/padma-awards-2013-full-complete-list.html
January 25, 2013 at 12:48 PM
Feel Ramesh Sippy got a Padma Shri rather later, For the man who gave us the Biggest Movie of all time, Gets its after 37 years after its release, Its rather sad. But, better late than never.
January 25, 2013 at 4:21 PM
Umesh Shukla To Direct Jr AB
by Box Office India (January 25, 2013)
Ever since OMG! Oh My God turned out to be a goldmine for everyone associated with the film, there’s been intense speculation about Umesh Shukla’s next project. There were whispers about the director turning producer but that turned out to be idle talk.
We’re told that Bhushan Kumar was the first to sign on Shukla and it was kept well under wraps. Now the project has gone one step further. According to our source, none other than Abhishek Bachchan has been roped in to play leading man. The film, in all probability, will go on the floors in August.
Right now, only Bachchan Jr has been signed and the rest of the cast is yet to sign on the dotted line.
http://www.boxofficeindia.co.in/umesh-shukla-to-direct-jr-ab/
January 25, 2013 at 8:33 PM
I liked Oh My God, hope this is another “film with a kick”…
January 26, 2013 at 3:38 AM
the film shd be named “Aradhya deva”
January 26, 2013 at 4:53 AM
Yesterday I was wondering why Sajid Khan wants 80s to be back in the 1st place. But I realised that while most of the films from that decade are missable, there are quite a few which I like a lot. So here is a list of my ‘personal favourite’ ‘mainstream’ films of that decade (not in any order). I would love to see others add to it
Naseeb- Manmohan Desai
Lawaaris- Prakash Mehra
Bemisal- Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Aakhree Raasta- K. Bhagyaraja
Hum Paanch- Bapu
Woh Saat Din- Bapu
Prem Pratigyaa- Bapu
Ghulami- J. P. Dutta
Hathyaar- J. P. Dutta
Arjun- Rahul Rawail
Dacait- Rahul Rawail
Love Story- Rahul Rawail
Naam- Mahesh Bhatt
Kabzaa- Mahesh Bhatt
Kaash- Mahesh Bhatt
Saaransh- Mahesh Bhatt
Aitbaar- Mukul Anand
Aaj Ki Awaaz- Ravi Chopra
Baseraa- Ramesh Talwar
Shaukeen- Basu Chatterjee
Sadma- Balu Mahendra
Andha Yudh- Dayal Nihalani
Qurbani- Feroz Khan
Vidhaata- Subhash Ghai
Ankush- N. Chandra
January 26, 2013 at 9:06 AM
good list. i’d add masoom and mr india to that too
January 26, 2013 at 9:55 AM
I love Masoom. Mr. India not so much
January 26, 2013 at 9:42 AM
Few additions :
Karma, Hero, Ram Lakhan, Karz – Subhash Ghai
Mr India – Shekhar Kapoor
Agneepath – Mukul Anand
Tridev – Rajeev Rai
Maine Pyaar Kiya – Suraj Bartajya
QSQT – Mansoor Khan
Tezaab – N. Chandra
Coolie,Mard – Manmohan Desai
Sharaabi, Namak Halaal – Prakash Mehra
Shahenshah – Tinu Anand
Nagina – Harmesh Malhotra
Kranti – Manoj Kumar
Gireftaar – Rama Rao
RTGM, Prem Rog – Raj Kapoor
Satte Pe Satta – Raj Sippy
Shakti – Ramesh Sippy
Ek Ruka Hua Faisala – V Chopra
Main Azaad Hun – Tinu Anand
Masoom – Shekhar Kapoor
Pyaar Jhukta Nahi – Bokadia
Disco Dancer – B Subhash
Ghulami – J.P. Dutta
and many more .. List is too exhaustive to remember and listed here.
January 26, 2013 at 10:01 AM
This is quite an interesting list here Yakuza. From your choices I love Kranti and Masoom and like Prem Rog and Tridev (though I prefer the director’s Yudh and Mohra to it). Good to see someone remember Mithun’s Pyar Jhukta Nahin.
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla is by Basu Chatterjee though but yes, a very good remake
January 26, 2013 at 11:40 AM
Impressive list. 80s seems to be one of the best periods for moviegoers. And 2012 seems pathetic in comparison.
January 26, 2013 at 9:44 AM
80′s was worst decade is just a myth .. you can not even list 1/3rd of this list from 90′s … 90′s was through out average or pathetic with exception of very few movies.
January 26, 2013 at 11:53 AM
Reviewing this list one feels sad to think of the sorts of films Mahesh Bhatt used to make, and the sort of drivel he later associated himself with. I don’t recall what year Thikana was from, but that was also a good film.
January 26, 2013 at 12:44 PM
Q, you are so right. From his days of making some excellent middle-of-the-road films to producing stuff like Murder, Bhatt is probably the biggest example of a director losing his cinematic conscience
I think Thikana is from the late 80′s and was a very effective film. It has also has my favourite Anil Kapoor performance alongwith Woh 7 Din and Saahab. After that Anil ceased to remain an ‘actor’
January 26, 2013 at 11:57 AM
Glad to see Prem Pratigya on your list Saurabh — one of my favourite Madhuri films; the ending could have been avoided, but a sweet film overall, and a reminder of how good an actor Mithun was. I would also add JP Dutta’s Yateem. And Qayamat se Qayamat Tak (one of my favourite love stories). Is qudrat from the 1980s? If so, I would add that too.
I’d probably make a list excluding the Bachchan films, as, even though not as good as the 70s, I like too many of those. Certainly Shakti and Shaan could be added here.
Yakuza: it wasn’t a myth, because we used to compare to the 1970s. But compared to the 1990s, yeah things seem different. But where I agree with you is that for many imbeciles (eg Farah and Sajid Khan) the 1980s serve as stand in for all they are embarrassed about, a transparent way to legitimise their own work (actually what they need to be embarrassed about are their own films)…
January 26, 2013 at 1:00 PM
Q, the only reason I did not include a lot of AB films is because otherwise I would have to create a separate list for his films.
Glad that you love Prem Pratigyaa. IMO this is Mithun’s best act alongwith Hum Paanch ( I actually preferred him to even Naseer here) and of course Mrigya. I like Bapu’s Bezubaan as well, Naseer was fantastic here.
And while 90s was the worst decade, 80s was mediocre too. Completely agree with your last para
January 26, 2013 at 1:01 PM
How could I forget bezubaan? I love it when naseer plays the swine! It seems to come naturally…
January 29, 2013 at 11:04 AM
Oooo…jara sambhal kay….We are talking about Nasir Sir here.
Aside: did you see his recent views on Farhan Akhtar. I am sure Satyam will start liking Naseer from now on
January 29, 2013 at 11:30 AM
And he’s not too impressed with the Jack of all trades Farhan Akhtar. “His films I clearly don’t care for. I liked his first film Dil Chahta Hai. He’s a tremendous person and has so many facets to him. Tomorrow I won’t be surprised if I hear that he cooked a 10 course meal to perfection. He sings, acts, produces films and writes, I think it’s great he’s doing whatever he can. I’m not a great fan of his acting or his films. But I admire him”, says Naseer.
http://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainmenttags/naseerudin-shah/farhan-akhtars-films-i-clearly-dont-care-naseeruddin-shah
January 29, 2013 at 11:40 AM
He’s also critical of Dibakar Banerjee. And I don’t necessarily disagree with these criticisms but it’s getting kind of funny how every now and then Naseer just pops up in the news randomly trash talking people. The TOI piece referenced here isn’t even really an article, it’s just a couple paragraphs that update us on what he’s currently criticizing.
January 29, 2013 at 11:40 AM
He’s contradicting himself a bit. He claims he’s liked DCH but not the rest. Going by the critical and/or public response to all of Akhtar’s films it seems Naseer’s on board with everyone else!
On Naseer I have nothing against him as an actor. Or rather whatever I think of him in this sense has nothing to do with his polemics where I think he’s quite often off the mark and simply doesn’t make sense a lot of times. I’ve addressed all of this before and won’t repeat everything. My problem though is never with controversial/iconoclastic views. I don’t really have a problem if someone like Naseer often argues against Bachchan or any film of his or whatever. But any such dissent must be coherent at the very least and not verge on the ridiculous. So if one claims that there’s nothing special about Sholay and that people tend to completely overrate it and what not this to my mind isn’t a reasonable view. Unless of course one considers everything not directed by Ray to be mediocre! And on that note Sholay has never been a favorite film of mine. I admire it greatly but somehow have never loved the film. So I’m not part of the Sholay culture in this precise sense. My problem ultimately is never with anyone’s views on anything, without exception. However I certainly do take issue with the ways in which certain positions are articulated. These might range from the completely and insultingly superficial to the totally and blindly partisan to the deeply and madly contradictory. And of course there is then the meaningless kind of hyperbole and/or the complete cynical debate. It is all of this I often argue with, not the chosen subject. This is a point though that 95% of people miss if not indeed more than this. It is also true that many (like yourself at times!) have a problem with the claim itself which they find harder to attack for various reasons and therefore turn to the ‘messenger’ who can then be targeted far more easily.
January 29, 2013 at 4:33 PM
“It is also true that many (like yourself at times!) have a problem with the claim itself which they find harder to attack for various reasons and therefore turn to the ‘messenger’ who can then be targeted far more easily. ”
ROFLOL
*attack*
hahah.
*messenger*
I am sure those “messengers” will be immensely offended. I used to call someone “sidekick” once upon a time.Also on SS each person has rather stronger personality…don’t think lawyers are sissys/soft targets…especially if they are from across the border.
Anyhow.
My take on Naseer and his “queer” views: I think he is not street smart type of person and gets manipulated by journos easily. At least he has no agenda or axe 2 grind.
P.S: on ‘cynical debate’: most of the time with you it is exceptionally hard/impossibl to get anywhere. e.g. If Rajen were to say same thing as I, you wholeheartedly agree with him!! So I give up. I am obviously not in the “friend list”!
January 29, 2013 at 5:27 PM
No it’s not hard to get somewhere with me. The problem is you sometimes tend to start with a somewhat snide remark. I am not offended by the way but I also don’t shirk from pointing out what’s really going on. Notice how even here you’ve addressed my point by making another unfair accusation about ‘friends’ and the like.
January 29, 2013 at 10:40 AM
@ Saurabh, This was a great list and discussion, Many of you echo the same films I would have put down as well, It was really really nice to see Prem Pratigya on the list and discussed, Agree with Q, its prolly Madhuri’s best act here, Such a simple love story told so beautifully. Agree about Mithun here as well, I would also give some points to Vinod Mehra here, Though a cameo but such and effective one. Started liking him from here on. Surprised that I didn’t see Parinda, Hero, Or Ghayal on the list.
January 29, 2013 at 2:55 PM
Glad that you liked it Kash. Ghayal, I think, was in 91. Did like Parinda a lot when I first saw it but somehow it does not seem as engrossing today. Not a big fan of Hero though it’s perfectly watchable. The Ghai films I love are Kaalicharan, Khalnayak (his best IMO) and Vidhaata. Also like Meri Jung, Krodhi, Vishwanath, Karz and Black and White quite a bit
January 31, 2013 at 12:18 PM
I have a weakness for more than one Subhash Ghai film, but I think he is at his peak as a filmmaker with Karz, a fantastic revenge/janam yarn that is never less than gripping — and very well cast, with Simi Garewal in one of my favorite roles of hers. And the “ek haseena the” moment is really my favorite “play within a play” sequence in Hindi films.
I do think that Ghai lost the “purity” of Vishwanath and Kaalicharan once he moved to bigger canvases, and those are very enjoyable masala movies…but I wouldn’t put them in the same league as Karz…
January 31, 2013 at 12:33 PM
Q-agree about ghai and karz ..u seem to share a lot of my vibes lol
ghai was at his peak there. Also rishi, tina munim and the overall musical revenge thriller element was handled aptly in the mainstream setup
I feel ghai is under rated here and was a ‘showman’ to some extent during his time. Obviously he cant be/shouldnt be judged by his post khalnaayak era where he has lost it
My pick (one of the picks) from karz–lovely guitar, nice lyrics, music, effervescent rishi (liked tina munim in this flick)
Apparently an enthu ghai took over the choreogrhaphy as well here
enjoy
January 26, 2013 at 4:37 PM
We are missing the best film of the 80′s
January 26, 2013 at 9:08 PM
Which are those? Would like to know your choices but remember we are talking abt mainstream films
January 26, 2013 at 10:30 PM
i was talking about jaane bhi do yaaron.
i don’t know what mainstream means. are naam and saaransh mainstream? or sadma and shaukeen?
good lists here. will add arth, saath-saath, katha, chashme baddoor, kalyug, 36 chaurangee lane, bazaar, sparsh, mirch masala, umrao jaan
have a soft spot for betaab, chameli ki shaadi (hilarious), burning train, karz, khubsoorat, saagar
not a bad decade for smaller films
January 27, 2013 at 12:04 AM
I must say that I find Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron one of the most overrated films; I hadn’t ever seen it until 2012, when I checked it out on that new DVD series showcasing a bunch of “smaller” films from the 1980s ( an excellent initiative, by the way), and was sorely disappointed. I found it simply un-funny, and the humour quite forced (but then, I’ve never been one for farces). Perhaps it’s one of those things where one just has to have been there at the time, but if so, the film just hasn’t aged well.
January 27, 2013 at 12:06 AM
Aap Purush hi nahi….
January 27, 2013 at 10:03 AM
Q – yes – it was more of a periodical satire. If seen in 80s -it wud have looked great but if one revisits it now – it looks crap…..
January 29, 2013 at 3:44 PM
Meant to reply to this earlier Antya. Great list here. And I am glad to see Betaab here (I had already put 3 Rawail films so I decided to omit this one). I also would have included many of your choices but I limited myself to mainstream films. Forgot abt Burning Train- love that film
And I am slightly ashamed to say that I have not heard of Saath-Saath. Thanks for the recco.
Do not like Bazaar (was too dry and less hard-hidding) at all. Also not a big fan of Arth (I of course see it as an accomplished product). Love Kalyug, Katha, Mirch Masala and Sparsh.
My fav art films from that period would be -
Vijeta- Govind Nihalani- this one is one of my all time fav films
Aakrosh- Nihalani- IMO alongwith Ankur (and probably Ardhasatya) one of the absolute great films of the ‘art cinema’ moment
Ardhasatya- Nihalani
Aghaat- Nihalani
Kalyug- Benegal
Junoon- Benegal
Kondura- Benegal
Sparsh- Sai Paranjpye
Hero Hiralal- Ketan Mehta
Mirch Masala- Ketan Mehta
Gehrayee- Vikas Desai and Aruna Raje
Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyo Aata Hai- Saeed Mirza
JBDY- Kundan Shah
Khamosh- Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla- Basu Chatterjee.
Also meant to add Pankaj Parashar’s extremely underrated Jalwa to my original list
January 29, 2013 at 4:17 PM
Q, have you checked out Kissa Kursi Ka (Manohar Singh, Raj Babbar, Shabana Azmi). At many levels I find it a sharper film than JBDY- find its political commentary and humour more affecting and hard-hitting. Incidentally (as you must be aware) that Sanjay Gandhi got its release banned during the Energency. It’s easily available now though (was even there on YouTube when I last checked)
January 31, 2013 at 12:35 PM
Thanks Saurabh — I have heard of Kissa Kursi Ka (i.e. I’d heard about it because of the banning) but haven’t seen it…
January 26, 2013 at 6:07 AM
Race 2 Has Very Good Opening Day
Saturday 26th January 2013 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Race 2 had a very good opening day collecting 13.75 crore nett as per early estimates on its opening day. The first day collections are the 8th highest of all time. The film collected well all across India with each circuit having good or very good collections.
The opening is the biggest ever for all the actors in the film from Saif Ali Khan to John Abraham to Deepika Padukone.
The film will have a jump in business today as it is a holiday for Republic Day which assures it a huge weekend. A 45 crore weekend looks almost certain and the film can even go towards 50 crore if the film jumps 30-40% on Saturday which may be tough but possible as these big holidays have seen huge collections over the last year or so.
January 26, 2013 at 6:07 AM
Race 2 First Day Territorial Breakdown
Saturday 26th January 2012 15.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Race 2 collected 14.50 crore nett approx on its first day. The first day territorial breakdown is as follows
Mumbai – 4.90 crore
Delhi/UP – 2.98 crore
East Punjab – 1.24 crore
West Bengal – 55 lakhs
Bihar – 25 lakhs
CP Berar – 70 lakhs
CI – 57 lakhs
Rajasthan – 90 lakhs
Nizam – 80 lakhs
Mysore – 83 lakhs
Others – 65 lakhs
TOTAL – 14.37 crore
January 26, 2013 at 7:54 AM
NY Times:
January 25, 2013
Movie Review
A Lot of Fizz and International Men of Mystery
By RACHEL SALTZ
“Race 2,” a Bollywood thriller set mostly in Turkey, has so much plot that it takes time out at the beginning to sketch in some details. As a portentous voice-over intones, we watch images of the characters on their yachts and in their fancy cars, their beautifully tailored suits straining to contain their meaty gym bodies.
Though this sequence is dull and dispiriting, it’s honest. “Race 2,” directed by Abbas-Mastan, has little to offer besides its loving gaze at wealth and flesh.
There are women here (Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernandez and Bipasha Basu, who makes a brief appearance). But the ostentatious bodies the camera can’t look away from belong to the men: John Abraham, who plays the super-bad gangster Armaan, and Saif Ali Khan, as Armaan’s nemesis, the super-bad-super-good guy Ranveer Singh.
“There’s something magnetic about you,” Armaan says to Ranveer.
“I think you’re magnetic,” Ranveer replies. Well, touché, gents, but a correction: neither of you is all that. You’re toned, dressed-up blanks, pulled out of the drawer marked International Man of Mystery. And your con-within-a-con game — the race, as you insist on calling it — has no fizz, no matter how many Champagne corks are popped.
But then you already knew that. When Omisha (Ms. Fernandez), at what seems like hours into the movie, asks Ranveer, “What happens next in this race?” he tells her, “Same thing that happened before.” His answer may be disheartening, but it’s honest.
January 26, 2013 at 8:15 AM
Ha ha – an “honest” review….
January 26, 2013 at 9:46 AM
surprisingly no one is reporting Akashwaani BO .. it was damn good movie I prefer to see over Race-2 .. i sincerely hope this will pick with WOM
January 26, 2013 at 11:32 AM
Race 2
Good for a B Grade movie, but doesnt surprises as first part, nor has good music to match with it.
Also the sad part is u cant upgrade katrina kaif in a movie this days, deepika is poor man’s hot girl ( she is good imo i liked her, but kat has more following i feel )
And saif is not reliable for the movie, and john and that fernadez girl are zero expression actors hence spoils the game, and along with the fact atleast akshay khanna could act!
Generously rated 2/5
January 26, 2013 at 3:27 PM
So Race 2 will out-gross Players in about… 2 days!
January 26, 2013 at 3:35 PM
.Farhan Akhtar Offered Me Talaash: Salman
http://www.indiatimes.com/bollywood/farhan-akhtar-offered-me-talaash-salman-56347.html
January 26, 2013 at 3:36 PM
Sort of irrelevant at this time, but I remember reading here that Salman Khan doesn’t/will never get ‘prestige’ projects…
January 26, 2013 at 3:40 PM
Saket, great to see you here after a while. Salman might be following in SRK’s footsteps. Recall how the latter has refused everyone from Hirani to VVC and others and has instead settled for Anubhav Sinha and co.
January 26, 2013 at 4:01 PM
Thanks for the welcome, Satyam…
Do feel Salman has no idea (or perhaps the ambition) to accept good scripts, but he’s been kind of unstoppable at the box office in the last 3 years. Credit where it’s due and all..
January 26, 2013 at 5:58 PM
yes he’s certainly been extraordinary at the box office for the period you’ve mentioned…
January 26, 2013 at 9:48 PM
sallu in talaash would have made Inspector shekhawat killing the sharks and whales in the sea while kareena’s ghost would do an item no. underwater
January 26, 2013 at 10:33 PM
this piece of news is more a comment on farhan than salman. may be he’ll do a remake of sharaabi or shakti or some such next and sign up sallu
January 26, 2013 at 3:53 PM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh
#Race2 has a FABULOUS start at the domestic BO. Collects Rs 15.12 cr nett on Friday.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh
#Race2 Saturday trends: Has chances of touching 20 cr, if it maintains the momentum. Awesome!
January 27, 2013 at 5:31 AM
Should cross the 100 CR mark easily at this pace..
January 26, 2013 at 4:26 PM
Just finished with The Sessions. A very good film, sensitively directed. loved it.
January 26, 2013 at 6:03 PM
Now, Malaysia bans VISHWAROOPAM..I think the next country to ban will be Iceland..maybe VISHWAROOPAM is melting the ice there and causing global warming..
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/now-malaysia-bans-kamal-haasan-s-vishwaroopam-a-day-after-it-was-released-322638?pfrom=home-otherstories
January 26, 2013 at 6:11 PM
“Now, Malaysia bans VISHWAROOPAM..I think the next country to ban will be Iceland..maybe VISHWAROOPAM is melting the ice there and causing global warming..”–haha Ann ace cumment!
Yeah this is getting on the nerves now !!!
‘Cultural terrorism’ in full flow….
Ps–has any1seen this film
Pps–Ann -what your fave kamal hassan films –hav u seen hey raam…
January 27, 2013 at 11:18 PM
I am a big fan of KH from the ’70s and ’80s, when he let directors like Mr. Balachander and Mr. Balu Mahedra or even SS Rao do their work and he concentrated on acting..he was superb..after Nayagan and especially during mid to late ’90s, the Marlon Brando aping bug bit him and he started going over-board with his histrionics..(watch him sitting/sliding down the stairs in MAHANADI when he comes to know that his daughter is a whore in Calcutta; a totally unnecessary pulling all the attention to himself and detaching the audience from the situation as a whole). Still, there were gems in the ’90s in spurts like THEVAR MAGAN, HEY RAAM, MICHAEL MADAN KAMA RAJAN.. VIRUMAANDI was more of success for the writer in KH I think..He was actually better at comedies during this phase..It was only during non-comedy genres that he really started going over-board..
Watch this movie and you will understand what I am saying..this is by the master Balachander and KH is marvellous as a lovable rouge in this movie..simple, straight from the heart acting & terrific..compare such acts with his millenium time-frame performances and you will know what I am saying..
January 27, 2013 at 3:54 AM
Trailer of Michael Gondry’s (Eternal Sunshine Of the Spotless Mind) new French film “Mood Indigo”
January 27, 2013 at 3:59 AM
I thought Primer was one of the best sci-fi films of the past decade so I was waiting for Shane Carruth’s nxt
Trailer of Shane Carruth’s (Primer) upcoming film “Upstream Color”
Plot-
Kris is derailed from her life when she is drugged by a small-time thief. But something bigger is going on. She is unknowingly drawn into the life cycle of a presence that permeates the microscopic world, moving to nematodes, plant life, livestock, and back again. Along the way, she finds another being—a familiar, who is equally consumed by the larger force. The two search urgently for a place of safety within each other as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of their wrecked lives.
January 27, 2013 at 4:05 AM
From the director of the original Swedish The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo, Neils Arden Oplev, comes a new film starring Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace- “Dead Man Down”
January 27, 2013 at 4:32 AM
This for the fans (like Ami) of Richard Linklater and Before Sunset/Sunrise series-
First image from Linklater’s last film of Before trilogy- “Before Midnight” (Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy)
http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/before-midnight-julie-delpy-ethan-hawke1.jpg
Screendaily review
It’s a question as important to lovers as it is to filmmakers working on a sequel to a beloved franchise: How do you keep the spark alive? With Before Midnight, the third instalment in the series that began with 1995’s Before Sunrise, the answer is the same in both cases: by honouring what made it so special in the first place, no matter the passing of time and the obstacles along the path.
This very honest and very funny film may lack the exuberant romantic spirit of the first two movies, but for director Richard Linklater and his stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, that’s precisely the point. Before Midnight argues that romance is easy — deep, committed love is a far more treacherous, but also more rewarding, pursuit. By seeing that reality clearly, they’ve made a complicated, meandering but also wonderful film.
Premiering at Sundance, which also played host to Before Sunrise, Before Midnight will be welcomed warmly by audiences that have seen Before Sunrise and 2004’s Before Sunset and want to know what’s happened to Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Delpy) since the last film. It will be difficult for those unfamiliar with the first two films to leap directly into Before Midnight, but expected strong reviews will help build awareness for one of the festival’s most-anticipated titles.
The filmmakers had been tight-lipped about Before Midnight’s plot line, which helps make the movie’s early reveal so surprising: Nine years after Before Sunset, Celine and Jesse are now a happy (but unmarried) couple living in Paris with their twin girls. Wrapping up a six-week holiday in Greece, Celine and Jesse spend the day and evening talking honestly about their lives and their relationship, bringing to light difficult questions about their future.
The Before series remains an astonishing thing: a modest indie franchise that tracks its lovers’ progress every nine years over the course of no more than 24 hours. It’s a structure that continues to reap huge benefits, even though the new film plays with the formula some by changing Celine and Jesse’s relationship status and bringing peripheral characters into the mix for once. (Celine and Jesse spend a little time chatting with friends about the differences between men and women, questions of identity, and the challenges in making love last. It’s interesting, sometimes longwinded talk, but it’s merely a prelude to the heartfelt conversations that Celine and Jesse will soon engage in.)
As with Before Sunset, Before Midnight was written by Linklater with his two stars, and the new film wizardly concocts several lengthy single-take scenes in which the couple talk quite casually about matters both big and small. As they grow older, Hawke and Delpy even more convincingly suggest their characters’ long-time bond, the intriguing wrinkle in Before Midnight being that, while love remains, the accumulated years of domesticity, compromise and parental responsibilities have drained some of the light from their eyes. The complexity of relationships is felt potently, and indeed all the resentment, shared language, small truces and incisive insults that can be part of any romantic commitment are on display through the utterly natural performances.
If the first two films were about trying to capture the ineffable euphoria of new love, then Before Midnight, by design, is a more difficult and nuanced exercise, showing how ardour can last despite the pain and disappointment that has built up. Perhaps that’s why it’s so gratifying that this is also easily the funniest film in the series. Linklater and his stars have sobering things to say about mortality and regret, but the fact that they find so much spiked humour in the material speaks volumes about the very optimistic heart still beating at the core of this franchise. Love isn’t easy, and neither is moviemaking. With Before Midnight, Linklater, Hawke and Delpy’s on-going affair grows all the more poignant and inspiring precisely because of how hard it is.
January 27, 2013 at 8:43 AM
wow, didn’t realize this was going to be a trilogy..
January 27, 2013 at 6:21 AM
I will have to strongly disagree with Qalandar’s take on JBDY. Don’t think it’s overrated at all.
It’s perhaps an odd film in the sense that it mixes elements of comic farce with politics — a bit like The 3 Stooges meets Z; but what it does essentially is expose the rampant nexus (one of the first films to do so) between politicians, bureaucracy, the media, corporate houses and the law. The satirical tone doesn’t blunt the otherwise edgy underpinnings…rather it enhances the overall effect. Made on a shoestring budget (albeit with a great array of talent on display), as is well documented by now, I think it achieved its overall goal quite effectively. And the ending is quite nihilistic as well, which doesn’t leave much doubt about the film’s intentions.
I think it’s every bit as incisive as Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove…some people I know think that’s the only good film in Kubrick’s canon… and I’d disagree strongly with that too
January 27, 2013 at 10:20 AM
but in this space, even bachchan’s weak 80′s films are all timeless classics, dum maaro dum is a modern masala masterpiece, rohan sippy is a cinematic genius and jaane bhi do yaaron is over-rated.
you’ll learn if you visit more often. i have, so i limit my visits to pertinent posts now.
January 27, 2013 at 10:59 AM
But notice how you’re mixing two different kinds of claims. Bachchan’s 80s films are many of them classics, even relatively weak ones. In fact as a strong proponent of 70s Bachchan I have always found this development less than completely pleasing. But it is the case that for very many viewers these weaker 80s films have the status of the stronger 80s works. So here it seems to me it’s less about opinion. With Rohan Sippy on the other hand we’re talking about something else altogether. He might make a universally loved classic one day but so far he doesn’t seem to have those instincts. One could argue about the significance of his work but this is a very different debate from the Bachchan one where we’re precisely not arguing how good some of those films are, just that they’re classics or accepted as such. Could things be different tomorrow? Sure! There is no judgment or expression of popular taste that stands every test of time.
In general though I tend to be wary of such juxtapositions where things seem connected but are so only in a deceptive sense and where the ‘conceit’ holds because it feeds on certain kinds of prejudice. In other words it’s harder to argue ‘for’ Rohan Sippy than Raju Hirani. Not because the latter might be better than the former (I am not subscribing to a position either way at the moment) but for the reason that the latter is vastly more successful. On forums such as this one it is very easy to dismiss the Salman or Akshay kind of film (not that there aren’t good reasons for doing so!) or alternatively the somewhat more interesting work (whether at the more commercial end of the spectrum or at the niche one). But an interesting commercial film that is a huge box office success and/or universally loved or on the other hand the truly fashionable nice/cult director (Kashyap, Bannerjee etc) can never really be argued against as effectively. Because even when people might have different opinions on these names they always take the extolling of the same as ‘serious’ opinion. Meanwhile celebrating Rohan Sippy comes across as a more eccentric or whimsical choice. Because the popular culture/media establishments don’t offer the same cues with him or some others like him.
Not suggesting you’re consciously doing all of this but certain statements rely on certain assumptions. And as I say ad nauseam this does not at all mean that one has to like anything Rohan Sippy does but one cannot simply dismiss someone without engaging in the serious claims people might have made about the same. And again I have forever argued against Bachchan’s 80s phase even as I enjoy many of the films or even admire some of the political gestures here. So I am not against iconoclasm of any sort. But the latter has to be grounded. Once more (since this was your impression the last time around) I am not offering specific criteria that should be respected. here’s an example however — Raj Kapoor’s SSS… a work which at one level I consider a disaster but at another find interesting because it illuminates certain aspects of the director’s work elsewhere and also because on its own it offers a series of registers that are not non-serious.
I’ll repeat what I said to Utkal yesterday. Why are we always in a hurry to as it were close the file on a movie? Why not let things remain open? If someone considers Rohan Sippy important we have every right to disagree but why is there this instinctive resistance? the same for anything else. I just just said I have always found JBDY overrated. I might not think the same way 20 years from now. These opinions remain provisional. By the same token how often do we really change our views or at least ‘complicate’ them when we find other perspectives on films that we love or hate? I’ll just offer one last example here. For a long time I felt on Iruvar that the first half was extraordinary (to my mind the best such directed in all of Indian commercial cinema) and the second half despite a series of very strong moments not as cumulatively built up or more vignette-like in its approach and so on. I still believe a lot of this. However a long time back in a debate with GF he suggested that the second half was indeed ‘fractured’ but that this reflected the fracturing of the friendship that was at the center of the film. I found this to be an astute point, one that I didn’t necessarily have to embrace whole-heartedly but certainly one I had to ‘account’ for. And so now whenever I think of that second half I keep that point in mind. when Guru was close to release Rajeev Menon I think said that the two halves of the film were shot very differently. In short the first half had much more dynamic camera movement and cuts and so forth while the second half was much more traditionally done for the most part. Why? Because the second half was supposed to reflect the institutionalization of the lead character while the first was a reflection of his restlessness and greater openness to the new etc. So there is a kind of ‘internal’ link if you will with the Iruvar choice, at least as GF understood it (and of course there are some significant links between the two films in some other ways). The larger point is that even with films one worships one need not close the circle of possible meaning. And vice versa.
January 27, 2013 at 12:11 PM
I am with antya and saket on JBDY and disagree with Qalander that it has not aged well. It has aged outstandingly otherwise nobody would be discussing it when it was re-released on screens a few months ago..It was one of those films from that period that nailed black humor perfectly and it was a damn good alliance amongst terrific script, outstanding actors/characters, and a very pertinent India-of-the-times. There are some I still fall of my chair when I see the Mahabharat scenes..there are vignettes which still stand the test-of-time; in the hilarious scene where NASSER, with Bhakti Barve, comes in to interview OM PURI\, both of them claim to be from TIME MAGAZINE, US. Now Bhakti Barve is actually an editor of a vernacular language newspaper but still goes with TIME. This is pre-globalization and note the obsession with everything AMERICAN even then. In fact, INDIA TODAY and ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY were the ones that were a hit among the English-media readers in those days..Note how the same scene in TALAASH (in the song JEE LE ZARA, when Aamir walks in, Rani is shown browing TIME MAGAZINE) passes of as ‘oh-just another issue of TIME magazine today after post-globalization).There are many such small but important things; the Marathi-speaking Pandu hawaldar asking for a bribe RIGHT under the bridge that stands as a monument of corruption..
Now there might have been movies made in the south of this nexus-topic as Satyam mentions but as far as the Hi fi (Hindi film industry) is concerned, this is a gem of a movie..
This discussion has made me revisit the movie..I should..
January 27, 2013 at 10:33 AM
I must I too have never quite been able to understand the ‘fuss’ over JBDY. There are some Malayalam films from roughly the same period that are vastly superior in terms of the same terrain. But even leaving aside the comparison I just don’t find JBDY strong enough. Not a criticism really but its cult status mystifies me a bit. On Kubrick I’d partially agree with you. He has better films than Strangelove. The latter certainly from this vantage point appears rather dated though not uninteresting.
January 27, 2013 at 12:31 PM
“must I too have never quite been able to understand the ‘fuss’ over JBDY”– I agree Satyam–Though must add I have watched it only in ‘spurts’ and never in totality –the little I did watch was, well, ‘unfunny’
I do know some who are really find of this movie though–so it has a certain ‘iconic appeal’ for some–
So yeah-anya has a point that in a world where Rohan sippy is an auteur and DMD a classic, JBDY deserves more respect
January 27, 2013 at 7:32 AM
This mediacrooks article is really good and also entertaining. It is about Arnab’s rants.
http://www.mediacrooks.com/2013/01/india-rendered-incapable-of-fighting.html#comment-form
Extraditing Headley means giving him freedom, publicity and a role in Mahesh Bhatt’s film.
January 27, 2013 at 7:39 AM
Dont miss this article.
January 27, 2013 at 8:27 AM
Ok sanju madam–won’t miss it-will read it later
Lol @”and a role in Mahesh Bhatt’s film.”
Bhatt may already be eyeing a haedley-sunny leone starrer–how bout that
@ saket- good 2 see u bak-what’s up lately
As for JBDY–agree with qalander somehow –Inspite of your well articulated thoughts, I (like q) found it ‘unfunny’, but again many love it so it’s done it’s job, I guess –u can’t please all…
@ qalander –if I remember correctly u scorned at rowdy rathores ‘preterm pyaare’ –but on my pointing out, u (more than) changed your mind
Similarly –another reccomendation for ‘open minds’ like q
Try out –’lat lag gayee’ from race2–@ first glance sounds a crap remix but Obama few listens, the groove grips u–lemme know
Goin for a brief drive –with this on the playlist amongst some Richard Marx!
Yay
January 27, 2013 at 10:13 AM
Have not heard that song aa, will check it out — thanks for the recommendation…
January 27, 2013 at 11:43 AM
No problems q–”Have not heard that song aa”– hmm there more to it than just ‘hear’!
lemme take take u thru this guided tour…
Check out the addictive beats,
‘Innovative’ dance steps esp by Jacqueline eg the lip brush with hand manoeuvre
Also some ‘imaginative’ lyrics
Poor saif trying to match up (partly succeeding)
Note: it needs atleast three four listenings (& dancing shoes)
Ps: that’s y I entrusted this ‘key track’ to anya ( who did a good job)– I had a touch time trying to catch up with her
January 27, 2013 at 12:38 PM
India was/is and will always remain a soft nation. It is good Headley will be in American prison. Let him get a taste of a big thing going up his posterior when he bends to pick up his soap. Otherwise in an Indian jail, he will be complaining of how the salt and spice in his mutton biriyani is under-served..& the Indian machinery will be kept busy providing him a better menu..
The morons in India are more concerned about ‘internet Hindus’ than the ones coming in and planting bombs as though it was a garden..
Came to know that the Delhi rapist’s name is Afroze..the media and every numb-wit has nick-named his Raju..why destroy such a common name that is at the sub-conscious level of a community? When QURBAAN used KHALID as the name of a terrorist, Khalid Mohamed spewed vitriol in his review..and has a life-long grude with RGV because 2 kidnappers in one of his movies called themselves KHALID and MOHAMED.
Don’t tell me you have named him RAJU to ‘protect’ his identity in case of a mob-attack..If that were the case, his name should have been Dhritarashtra or Saladdin..
January 27, 2013 at 12:54 PM
“he will be complaining of how the salt and spice in his mutton biriyani is under-served”– make it mutton tikka masala …. (Spicy version) with poppadums/ garlic sauce & butter naan (& cobra beer!!)
Agree that naming ‘raju’ is inappropriate / misleading…
January 27, 2013 at 8:44 AM
Race 2 Has Growth On Republic Day Holiday
Sunday 27th January 2013 12.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Race 2 showed a 25% jump in collections on Saturday due to the Republic Day holiday. The film collected around 18 crore nett on Saturday taking the two day collection to a little over 32 crore nett
The growth on Saturday was very strong in places like Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Mysore but less in circuits like Rajasthan, CI and Bihar. The film will show a drop today (Sunday) as the case after a big holiday but it should cross 45 crore nett for the weekend.
The weekend business is set to be good with the holiday giving the filman extra boost of 3-4 crore nett while the weekday business of the film likely to tell where the film is going.
January 27, 2013 at 10:10 AM
That headline makes it sound like a tumour.
January 27, 2013 at 11:48 AM
“That headline makes it sound like a tumour”– haha but only a tumour but a ‘malignant’ one – inv the brain!
Btw Satyam we r not trying to boast but whenever we collaborate for a spoof, the minimum is a hit!!
Note that even JTHJ was a hit ( though relative underperformer) it had other ‘perks’ ( while shooting) besides rahmans music.
So let’s start counting the race2 cash
Ps: apparently race2 will be the biggest hit ever for the whole cast involved — so were all my other spoofs
Ofcourse cocktail was a modern day ‘woody allenesque’ classic haha
January 27, 2013 at 12:31 PM
anyone saw akash vani? as amusing as PKP ?
January 27, 2013 at 12:32 PM
What’s akash vani, tony? Is it a TV serial…
Ps: what’s happened to your ‘testes’
January 27, 2013 at 12:33 PM
Ooops typo–meant ‘tastes’ not ‘testes’ lol
Some habits ….
January 27, 2013 at 12:51 PM
lol.. it’s a movie from the director of pyar ka punchnama..
January 27, 2013 at 12:58 PM
Oh, pyaar ka punch naama was a fun movie –liked it actually…
An ‘exposé’ on the way guys are ‘(ab)used’ by ‘shrewd’ girls –is that the one!
There was a guy called ‘liquid’in that flick–reminds me of some ..hahaha
Beware guys!!
January 27, 2013 at 1:22 PM
OT– a typically hilarious post by filmigirl on bolllywood parodies.
Posting with your (implied) consent, filmigirl–know u wont mind–how u are coping well (with the snow)
http://filmigirl.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/an-open-letter-from-filmi-girl-to-all.html?m=1
January 27, 2013 at 2:11 PM
Went to catch Les Miserables PVR –Forum Mall at 10 am, since that’s the only slot I had free in a long long time. The ticket girl said sorry , no show, as you are the only one in line to buy a ticket for the film. Maybe because it was the Gold Class costing 700 bucks. Any way , since I could not go back home and show my face to my wife, after having rushed from home without breakfast, I tried to check what else was running. There was Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola and I walked in. And was I surprised, delightfully!
This was easily the most accomplished Vishal Bhradwaj film by miles for me. A high-concept film that he managed to pull off with aplomb. Right from the first frame with Pankj Kapoor and Imran Khan looking perfect as Master and Servant, in the mould of Don Quixote-Sancho Panza, Pozzo and lucky…, the eternal , mythical duo…caught in a see-saw struggle for power, and a complex web of relationship a based on deceit, trust, mutual need, and conflict as well as confluence of interest.
One is not likely to see a character as richly textured , as complexly rounded and as delightfully eccentric as Mr Mandola. Pankaj Kapoor was born to play this. Looking more like a Kurosawa hero from a Japanese tragic-comedy rather than a Bollywood character, Kapor gives it his all, and there is plenty that he has to give, from his impeccable alcoholic slur to his power-drunk swagger to his tenderness soaked with vulnerability when he interacts with his daughter Bijlee. Imran Khan is perfect as the JNU leftist activist Hukum Singh masquerading as Matru, the driver –cum-drinks-inhibitor of Mandola. Anushka is her usual bubbly self. And I wish shew as 3.5kgs heavier. But she too gets her fifteen minutes of limelight in the final drunken bride act. Mummy, Apki bahu nikammi, she says to her would-be sasu, Shabna Azmi, whi incidentally is top class as the Lady Macbethian scheming politician. Some of her lines, especially with her son ( Kuchh bhi ho sakta hai are blood-curdling.
The film is littered with many verbal acrobatics and priceless witticism. The writing is insightful and sophisticated. But is the comic invention and the outlandish gags that make you tip your hat to Bhradwaj and Abhishek Chaubey , the co-writer. I especially liked the episode where Madola takes Matru for a ‘ night walk’ on his helicopter and when the fan catches fire , Mandola trying to light his cheroot from the fire on the fan blades, before jumping out with the parachute.
The pink buffalo is of course as outlandish character as you would have ever seen in a Hindi film and Bhradwaj uses it well, reprising it in the climax quite effectively. Even the African dancers whom I had looked on with skepticism in the trailer were intelligently integrated into the script and add a piquant touch to many song picturization.
And talking of songs, every single one has been penned lovingly by Gulzar like he only can and they have all been picturized very well. ( Nazar mein tu hi tu, Tu hi neri Timabktoo. Oh boy oh boy Charlie, Tune dil ki baazi marli…Mere ird-gird na ghuma kar, Mera haath-vaath na chuma kar… Oh boy! Haven’t had so much fun with words in along long time) . The African as well as the Hariwanvi elements have been integrated into the music seamlessly, none so adeptly as in the song Khamakha ( Loved those Hariwanvi taus on the tree top singing ‘ Bolo Ram Ram Ram)
But beyond all the song and dance, all the fun and frolics, Matru works as a serious political satire with some pretty sharp writing all through. The episodes like Neta-Janata Chor-Police or the chilling monologue where Mandola is dreaming of the wheat fields giving way to shiny malls and multiplexes, cut to the bone of the issue with razor sharp insight.
Watching Matru is like watching some first-rtae absutd theater packed with grrat lines, a tight scrit and delightful performances. In the last twelve months, the only other film I have been this thoroughly entertained by is Gangs of Wassseypur. With this film Vishal Bhradwaj has really come into his own and he now joins my pantheon of must-see directors that include Anurag Kashyap, Rajkumar Hirani and Imtiaz Ali.
January 27, 2013 at 6:12 PM
Agreed, it is not a bad movie as the critics suggested. I thought pacing coud have been litte better in some parts.
January 28, 2013 at 4:14 PM
found it enjoyable in parts
pankaj kapoor was effective in his role of split personality and his role as drunkard was an extension of his jalwa’s small but effective role with that mumbling voice allready used in maqbool
vb makes fun of everything right from censor in the beginning to even establishment to Shakespeare and this is vishal’s most original work
in the first scene an alcoholic pk standing tilt rather than straight compared to stoned and stiff imran says it all about the difference in acting class and mocks fun at everything from establishment to luxuary owned vehicle owners which openly mocks law
alcohol is not destruction but a sort of resurrection here
one imagine why vb went with this absurd title whch puts off lot of people simply to avoid controversies…mandola is synonymous with present india
shabana the powerful lady and his useless nri returned son having zero iq indeed reminds of someone rather a strong political figure with one strong dialogue linking his son to famous dynasty sons having political background was indeed brave
the love angle was indeed waste….
scarcastic humour on revolution(from china to haryana) and how it was finished by son of soil who finally throws out outsiders from land gives enough vb’s political lineage
January 28, 2013 at 4:35 PM
shabana the present day politician and a member of parliament of congress ironically plays the evil mastermind politician effectively
anushka plays the tomboyish role rather well with the highpoint point being bold dialogues between father and daughter
imran does what he does best stand stiff and for a change he mouthed some dialogues but remains ineffective but surprisingly arya babbar as ch*****a is more effective and has better screen presence
vb mocking potshots at cia, replacing drones with gober attack as retaliation provides a curious example along with numerous other (likes slavery of africa to revolution of china) but only at surface is the classic example of loseness which script is rather than tight and coherent
January 27, 2013 at 2:25 PM
Thanx utkal uncle–it’s always a pleasure to read your views
Good to see u loved matru
Actually matru is the only bhardwaj film I could watch fully–& must say I was pleasantly surprised
I personally felt this was his best yet but coudltn say for certainty since haven’t watched any of his other films fully (though never had the inclination to complete them)
“This was easily the most accomplished Vishal Bhradwaj film by miles for me. A high-concept film that he managed to pull off with aplomb”– that’s reassuring to hear from u!!
I had penned some random thoughts on matru in this link & the ensuing comments
https://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/matru-ki-bijlee-ka-mandola-the-rest-of-the-box-office/#comment-205589
Agree about the richly textured mandola & his mood swings.
Also as an afterthought felt the movie was more than what it seemed on the surface-
Addendum to my post above on Mkbkm
As an afterthought, this film should have been aptly titled ‘dilemma’ or the ‘perpetual tug of war’ between
The heart & the brain
Right n wrong
Capitalism vs communism
Dependence vs freedom
Besides being a case study on addiction & the withdrawal symptoms
Alcohol is the conveninent device/trope used here
About Imran he continues to be flat n insipid bit what saves him is the earnestness and intent to learn n improve which translates/fits into the good manliness vibe of the character. But that’s it (though for him it’s notable that he does show some movement as an actor!)
Addiction/dependence
What happens when something really dear/essential to a human is withdrawn or he/she renunciates it?
Even heavens cry –literally !
Or so it appears (to THAT Person)
In a masterful scene (punctuated by some hamming by shabana) the skies ‘rain’ on mandola leaving ‘alcohol’ (or Harry or his spilt personality or alter ego or the ‘humane side’!) this time he is genuine and it works!
Though to the detriment of the farmers’ interests!
This scene had a remarkable parallel in another loved film of mine called guide.
The conman/guru Has a genuine fast and it rains –in that occasion for the farmers good!
Professional reviews
Usually my thoughts are ilnit just in the film but more importantly on the overall discourse. Just skimmed through some notes-Masand was good
And b rangan again is delightfully witty and comes up with the usual delicious allegories BUT misses all the main points !
No wonder rangan founds that the ‘main course’ was the ‘distractions’! Rangan the day u start discriminating a distraction from the main course will be the day u will become what u claim to be–till then u will remain a delightful user of words and imagery–but that’s it!
January 27, 2013 at 2:45 PM
The scene where Pankaj Kapoor is tip-toeing through the maze of Gulabo bottles , resisting temptation evey step of the way could rival ‘ to be or not to be’ in depiction of existential dilemma.
January 27, 2013 at 2:53 PM
Agree utkal uncle–u reminded me of pankaj kapoors delectable performance. At the risk of repetition, need to post an extract of what I felt bout it– if only as my ‘tribute’ to this misinterpreted work that didn’t get the appreciation it deserved imo
MKBKM-Split personality of the seriocomic political romcom-Of delirium tremens, pink buffaloes !
‘Prelude’
As they say, the seven elements had to conspire to make me complete my first VB film ever. Nowadays getting stuck in a plex, seems the only way for me to catch a film in its entirety –due to my ‘testosterone driven video game attention span’. Unlike Yrf, bhardwaj films don’t get widespread release here in the west but seems the fox coproduction helped. Also credit to anya for inciting me to view this.
Tone
Quirky, whacky, seriocomic, political romcom that is deeper than it appears on the surface–there are inconsistencies though and points at which things sag . The strength is the rich texture, layered script & reasonable screenplay. Being a moody guy myself, following mandolas moods helped scale the notes of the film.
References galore
VB doesn’t dumb down or employ the neon sign ‘large print’ for the ‘wider audience’. The kusturica band, Maoism and heck, even the opening scene (liked it) is a nudge to Tarantino, I think.
Authentic rural ambience/ India ‘shining’ model
VB is known to depict this well but here he also illustrates the many different facets of the India ‘success story’ in different places. One enjoys getting transported to the hinterland albeit in a fictional village. There are convenient ‘twists’ & predictable banter also.
Performances
Pankaj Kapoor plays the literal ‘double role’ in a delectable manner. His mood swings and shifts, the split personality quirks are alluring.
He is the main course of the movie and takes the the bull/film by the horns). His hallucinating, attempts to resist alcohol, moments of reflection and also the ‘throwing caution to the winds’ are all nice to watch. Check him out lighting his cigar from the fire in his own plane!
January 27, 2013 at 6:49 PM
so touching……
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/morphine-for-the-mind/article4349447.ece
January 28, 2013 at 8:39 AM
Thanx anya for that v good link on that little gal battling cancer with the help of Rahmans melodies –
Ditto with me though fortunately don’t have to use it against any ‘cancer’ lol
Btw note the tagline of the newspaper u sent the link of –” the Hindu–morphine for the mind!” –peddling drugs eh
January 27, 2013 at 8:18 PM
has anyone else seen the promo of filmfail awards? too funny!
January 28, 2013 at 7:04 PM
haha anya–just checked it–that was a funny one ^^^
natalie portman/amisha patel …
son of sardar–popopo
coen bros–abbas mastaan
January 28, 2013 at 9:28 PM
hahahaha…this is awesome…
January 29, 2013 at 3:26 PM
shirish kunder hagega to andar se dus spielberg niklenge.. ROFL!
January 29, 2013 at 3:39 PM
January 28, 2013 at 6:56 AM
Race 2 Has Good First Weekend
Monday 27th January 2013 10.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Race 2 did well on its first weekend by collecting around 46.25 crore nett. The breakdown for the weekend was 14.25 crore nett on Friday, 17.50 crore nett on Saturday and 14.50 crore nett on Sunday.
The weekend total is good but the weekend trend is not so good as some centres had less collections on Sunday than Friday. Also the jump on Saturday was not as big as it should have been considering it was one of the biggest holidays of the year. On a national holiday which comes in the first three days, a big film like Race should be 20 crore nett plus.
The performance of the film is best in the North with places like Bihar and CPCI underperforming. Monday is the all important day for the film and if can pull out a 7 crore or higher Monday it is likely to go on and be the first hit of 2013.
January 28, 2013 at 6:58 AM
Midweek: ‘Race 2′ has fabulous 51.35 cr weekend
January 28, 2013 at 7:07 AM
Emraan Hashmi, Kareena Kapoor signed for Balaji-Dharma co-production-
In what is definitely a casting coup of sorts, Emraan Hashmi and Kareena Kapoor have been signed together for the first time for a romantic drama to be produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji and Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. The as yet untitled film will be directed by debutant Akshay
Roy.
Confirming the same, Tanuj Garg (CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures) tweeted, “For those asking, the untitled Balaji-Dharma romantic drama is taking off in September. Starring Emraan Hashmi & Kareena.”
This will be Emraan’s second film with Dharma Productions after Ungli.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Bollywood/Emraan-Hashmi-Kareena-Kapoor-signed-for-Balaji-Dharma-co-production/Article1-1002906.aspx
January 28, 2013 at 7:13 AM
So Emraan now has this Kjo-Ekta project, Ek Thi Daayan, Ghanchakkar, Danis Tanovic’s next (Kashyap co-producing this) and Rensil D’Silva’s Ungli (also stars Dutt, Kangana, Randeep Hooda, Neha Dhupia). Not bad!
January 28, 2013 at 7:23 AM
Seems Deepika is lucky for Saif.
January 28, 2013 at 8:34 AM
“Seems Deepika is lucky for Saif.”–
Well picked up sanju-i think its vice versa–they also havr good ‘chemisty’ after
Cock tail–maybe deepika ks kareena no2 (in thw wAiting lol)
Ps: a near 50 crore weekend is good –race2 is a ‘multistarrer’ technically but the true ‘stars’ are only 2 here maybe 21/2..so good the team is getting their biggest hot ever apparently
January 28, 2013 at 8:34 AM
“Seems Deepika is lucky for Saif.”–
Well picked up sanju-i think its vice versa–they also havr good ‘chemisty’ after
Cock tail–maybe deepika is kareena no2 (in thw wAiting lol)
Ps: a near 50 crore weekend is good –race2 is a ‘multistarrer’ technically but the true ‘stars’ are only 2 here maybe 21/2..so good the team is getting their biggest hot ever apparently
January 28, 2013 at 8:57 AM
Xhobdo:
January 28, 2013 at 9:06 AM
Satyam, have you seen the Bachchan-Shatru film “Yaar Meri Zindagi” (the one which was long delayed and released some time back).
Also since you like Hollywood action thrillers have U seen the Indonesian film The Raid: Redemption and the French one Sleepless Night- IMO both are better than anything Hollywood has produced in the genre since B.Ultimatum
January 28, 2013 at 9:51 AM
JA is turning out to be a smart producer – first Vicky Donor which was BB stuff (i mean return to reward ratio must be bigger than ETT
) and now this looks too good with He and CS – two sexy people….
January 28, 2013 at 10:00 AM
Yes, he is turning out to be a smart producer..After all, Touch’wood’ en…
January 28, 2013 at 10:05 AM
Race 2 made 46-47 cr in the opening weekend but has a very high cost of 90 cr. So unless it makes more than 100 cr, it will not be a success. If it has a big drop beginning Monday then it will end around 80-85 cr.
A high opening weekend is good but does not guarantee box office success.
January 28, 2013 at 10:34 AM
It has done less than I would have expected. Leaving aside the lower Sun number which is rare the first Race was within the D2 range. Even if it released a year or two after the latter the starcast was in no way comparable plus D2 was a sequel. of course the Race fizzled out relatively quickly but the opening was surprisingly strong and really up there with some of the best ones. This one on the other hand will be nowhere close to putting up comparable numbers despite being a sequel. Even for the 100 crore mark to be possible it will have to be more stable on the weekdays than the Sun number suggests. It’s certainly possible but not a done deal by any means.
January 28, 2013 at 12:53 PM
OT:
Sad to see so many young lives lost.We have too many such tragedies in India too. Some codes should not be altered and folowed to the T.
http://news.yahoo.com/funerals-begin-233-killed-brazil-133908722.html
January 28, 2013 at 7:20 PM
OT—skimmed thru a few scenes of “Dil Kabaddi”
Has someone seen it here–is the rest of it worth seeing?
… apparently the complete movie available on youtube
must say, in a few scenes Irrfan khan and even rahul bose were funny…check em out folks
also konkona is a brilliant nuanced actress i think…
January 28, 2013 at 9:32 PM
well well satyam – big b having all the fun here:
http://www.divyabhaskar.co.in/article/ENT-BOL-photos-amitabh-bachchan-on-kissing-spree-4161526-PHO.html?seq=4&RLT=
January 28, 2013 at 9:33 PM
and this
(i think u need a seaparate post with pics of Big B kissing all the beauties one by one)
http://www.divyabhaskar.co.in/article/ENT-BOL-photos-amitabh-bachchan-on-kissing-spree-4161526-PHO.html?seq=5&RLT=
January 28, 2013 at 10:05 PM
Desperate leading ladies! Waiting to be kissed by the famous.
Thats why these heroines are treated like trash.
January 28, 2013 at 10:25 PM
Oh Cmon! Baap apni betiyon ko pyar jata raha hai. Is mein kya gunaah? Those are friendly pecks on cheeks. Very affectionate imho. BigB is finally settling down into the ‘Industry grandpa’ shoes of Ashok Kumar.
January 28, 2013 at 10:29 PM
These will stand in queue even if the kisser or pecker is SRK, Sallu or Ranbir.
January 28, 2013 at 11:23 PM
Astonishing rumour on Parveen Babi-
A supposedly older comment of Babi (this seems to be from the time when she had completely turned into a schizo and started making bullshit statements)
“I then left India in 1983
after I realized that Amitabh Bachchan was making attempts on my life
since I had discovered that he was a part of the underworld
syndicate. He had once asked me if I wanted to transfer money to
Luxembourg and invest it in Euroshares for Indians. When I refused,
he tried to kill me through an accident on the sets while we were
shooting together. So, if I hadn’t left the country, I would have
been surely killed. ”
“Ever since I said that Bollywood had links with the underworld and
that I had enough evidence to prove that, my life has been under
threat. But I know what I am saying is true because I have witnessed
it. They are all people with blue collar jobs who cannot be suspected
and Sanjay Dutt is one of them. Even Amitabh Bachchan is involved.”
The entire interview-
From being one of the sexiest actresses ever on the Indian screen to
becoming a paranoid schizophrenic, Parveen Babi’s life is what
legends are made off. The actress, who quit films in the early 80′s
after suffering a nervous breakdown, disappeared for six years before
she came back to India. But on her return, she was a far cry from the
earlier svelte stunner. Bloated beyond recognition, the actress had
developed an acute fear of being the mafia’s target and till date
that fear hasn’t left her. Today, almost 15 years after her return,
she is once again in the news after she recently went to court
claiming to have evidence against actor Sanjay Dutt in the 1993 bomb
blasts case. In this interview with Sify, the scared Parveen Babi
reveals all about her paranoia and insists that she is not
Related Links
crazy. Read on and decide for yourself…
The past few days have had you once again in the spotlight.
Ever since I said that Bollywood had links with the underworld and
that I had enough evidence to prove that, my life has been under
threat. But I know what I am saying is true because I have witnessed
it. They are all people with blue collar jobs who cannot be suspected
and Sanjay Dutt is one of them. Even Amitabh Bachchan is involved.
But why are you hell bent on making Sanjay Dutt out to be underworld
connected?
I am saying the truth because I know he is connected to the mafia. I
would have never filed an affidavit with the TADA court about the
1993 bomb blasts if I didn’t have enough evidence in my possession
against the actor. I have been collecting this evidence of the
international crime syndicate since last year.
But then why didn’t you turn up in court on the day you were to
appear as a witness?
I could not appear in court as there is a threat to my life. And I
will not go to court even if I am called again, as I know for a fact
that they will get me killed through Sanjay Dutt if I go there. I
really didn’t understand why didn’t they summon me last year when I
submitted my letter. I even called the CBI but there was no response
from their side. And now suddenly they want me to testify in court
when the verdict is almost out.
Do you realize that most people think you are mentally unwell?
The media has been very unkind to me. They have been calling me names
and saying that I am sick, insane and crazy. But they don’t realize
how much it hurts and how damaging their words can be. Even earlier I
was forced to declare myself a paranoid schizophrenic. But I know I
am okay and that is all that matters.
Why did you leave films at the peak of your career in the early 80′s?
I had everything going for me in the late 70′s. I had a great film
career, was rich and famous. But then I got into trouble when I
stumbled upon the activities of the organized crime syndicate in
1979. Everything collapsed around me after that and I was forced to
admit I was mad, as I feared for my life. I then left India in 1983
after I realized that Amitabh Bachchan was making attempts on my life
since I had discovered that he was a part of the underworld
syndicate. He had once asked me if I wanted to transfer money to
Luxembourg and invest it in Euroshares for Indians. When I refused,
he tried to kill me through an accident on the sets while we were
shooting together. So, if I hadn’t left the country, I would have
been surely killed.
But you came back in 1989.
Yes, I came back in 1989, as by then things had cooled off a bit.
Since then, I have been compiling and philosophizing theories,
studying law and monographs. I even started doing up homes, as I am
an interior designer, but there was a deliberate attempt at
sabotaging my career and life at large. Luckily, I had made some
sound investments and I inherited from my mother as well. You won’t
believe it that there was an attempt to take that away from me too,
but I had to fight to get them back.
Finally, where do you see this case headed?
I am sure about this nexus between Bollywood and the underworld. I
have evidence regarding an international crime syndicate, involving
the UK and US governments, their heads of state and intelligence
agencies, the BJP government, Hollywood and Bollywood personalities,
the Roman Catholic Church and the mafia, which proves that they are
all connected. The governments of the US and UK have pressurized the
Indian Government to implicate Sanjay Dutt with the Mafia. And if I
go to testify against him in court, they will have me killed on the
way, and then the blame will be put on Sanjay Dutt and this would
acquit the US and the UK governments and the others accused in my
criminal complaint. But I just hope that I am proved right and not
harmed because I have total evidence in this case
January 28, 2013 at 11:40 PM
this was nothing saurabh – she even seems to have accused many other celebrities and leaders…..after a certain point – people stopped taking her seriously.
January 29, 2013 at 1:00 AM
What do you mean “astonishing rumour”? Praveen Babi’s mental health issues have been well documented, and she clearly tended toward paranoid delusions where Amitabh Bachchan was concerned.
January 29, 2013 at 2:42 PM
It mightve been astonishing when she originally made that claim. But subsequently, her mental health issues came to light, and people disregarded her statements. She died lonely, ignored, and I believe only Mahesh Bhatt (one of her original paramors) attended her funeral. Very tragic life and end of a beautiful woman.
January 29, 2013 at 2:44 PM
How are people SO sure that ALL of her allegations were delusional and paranoid
Obviously there are stages & degrees of involvement –mild moderate severe intermittent sporadic relapse remission!
Am I right anya ?
January 29, 2013 at 8:49 PM
To answer your question AA, consider this answer of hers –
***I am sure about this nexus between Bollywood and the underworld. I have evidence regarding an international crime syndicate, involving the UK and US governments, their heads of state and intelligence agencies, the BJP government, Hollywood and Bollywood personalities, the Roman Catholic Church and the mafia, which proves that they are all connected. The governments of the US and UK have pressurized the
Indian Government to implicate Sanjay Dutt with the Mafia. And if I go to testify against him in court, they will have me killed on the way, and then the blame will be put on Sanjay Dutt and this would acquit the US and the UK governments and the others accused in my criminal complaint.***
(a) In the above greatest conspiracy the world has never seen, she names almost each and every country/organization/person, but misses out Pakistan..how could this have been possible without Pakistan (read ISI)??Dawood?? This is exhibit 1 of delusion.
(b) She says AB wanted to get her killed because she refused some investment in Euroshares…arre bhai, why should AB take so much of trouble? All that he had to do was ask Rekha to invest!!! She would never have said no to AB!! Why to kill a rat with a Bofors gun?? Huh? This is exhibit 2 of a grander delusion..
January 29, 2013 at 9:03 PM
poor woman was schizophrenic. probably didn’t get the help and right treatment that she needed and died alone. very sad
January 29, 2013 at 10:34 PM
Thanx for that info
Though I feel she became more schizoid than schizophrenic towards her later years & literally a recluse. These statements emanated from her advanced stage, it appears.
Ps: don’t blame bachchan for his alleged escapades with her at her peak actually
(Btw liked her eyes n long hair)
January 29, 2013 at 1:47 AM
is this the same interview that was published months before her death?
January 29, 2013 at 6:24 AM
Race 2 Monday Business
Tuesday 29th January 2013 10.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Race 2 dropped on Monday as it collected around 6 crore nett. The drop from Friday is around 55% plus. The total for four days is 52.50 crore nett.
The film dropped all over with North India holding best but even in North the drop was 50% plus. The first week total of the film will still go to around 65-66 crore nett which is pretty good but the trend is not there for it to sustain well from second weekend onwards.
There are no big releases on Friday which could help the film a bit but probably not to the extent that the film needs.
January 29, 2013 at 6:25 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh
#Race2 registered a 55% to 60% fall on Monday [when compared to Friday biz]. Collected 7.5 cr on Monday. Total: Rs 58.85 cr nett.
January 29, 2013 at 8:11 AM
heading for 75-80 cr week 1 – super!
January 29, 2013 at 4:02 PM
Never seen her any of her interviews, Quite shocking how she aged here.
January 29, 2013 at 4:07 PM
Hahaha “Shatru’s ego was bigger than his stardom”
January 29, 2013 at 4:32 PM
She is appearing obese because she became diabetic- polyphagia is one of the symptoms (apparently she started having 16 eggs a day).
My all time favourite actress anywhere in the world
January 29, 2013 at 5:11 PM
Yeah man really sad to see here like this. One of my favs as well.
January 29, 2013 at 10:12 PM
check this picture of Sadhna – now that is a terrifying pic.
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/2013013020130130045419126c06ecda/Asha-Bhosle-sells-Santacruz-bungalow-Sadhana-lives-in.html
and now check this pic. of sadhna from her golden years –
http://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c7/Sadhana_in_film,_Ek_Musafir_Ek_Hasina_%281962%29.jpg/220px-Sadhana_in_film,_Ek_Musafir_Ek_Hasina_%281962%29.jpg&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadhana_Shivdasani&h=169&w=220&sz=8&tbnid=IF4haXFXzom_6M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=117&zoom=1&usg=__YnwPqzinM4gchgSV425wZrSJYHE=&docid=9KVZlW4S92w1TM&sa=X&ei=SY8IUa2vJMm8rAfFq4CICg&ved=0CEsQ9QEwBg&dur=381
January 30, 2013 at 9:29 PM
i loved sadhna, she was a beauty. she suffered from a thyroid condition that pretty much ruined her looks starting in her late 20′s. the loss of looks is not the worst thing in the world, can happen to anyone, but she lost her husband too. sad.
January 30, 2013 at 10:30 PM
I did not care for Sadhna otherwise (did not mind her on screen though) but liked her in Geeta Mera Naam where in one scene she is dressed like a dominatrix (a lot of psychosexual overtones were there in the film). And loved those ‘wax statues’- In the film one of Sunil Dutt’s doubles used to throw his enemies in a vat of hot molten wax and after which the body of the man appears in one of the glass cases lining the wall as a glistening wax statue- crazy hit
January 30, 2013 at 10:31 PM
Must have been copied from that old classic House of Wax.
January 30, 2013 at 11:44 PM
hehe. not that i would watch that, but find your description hilarious!
January 30, 2013 at 11:48 PM
Sadhna was beautiful, and graceful. Much more than the other Sindhi heroine of yesteryears, ie Babita. They were cousins, btw, so that makes Sadhna an aunt to the Kapoor sisters. Unfortunately, Kareena/Karishma inherited more of their father’s face.
January 30, 2013 at 11:56 PM
Here she is with her famous ‘Sadhna cut’ hairstyle:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeawkddisUY&w=420&h=315%5D
January 31, 2013 at 11:03 AM
thanx nykavi for that info
Didnt know sadhana was related to babita!-Though the kareena connection doesnt add to her appeal (now that we know it).
Hadnt noticed Sadhana much but recently while flipping channels, checked out some tracks.
She does (did) have a certain ‘grace’ and ‘dignified presence’
And as anya points out, before her eyeballs bulged out due to thyroid–she did look good..
Incidentally some awesome tracks were filmed on sadhana!
“Lag Jaa Gale” from “woh kaun thi” happens to be one of my favorites …
ps–time for oldgold to add some special bits ….lol
January 31, 2013 at 11:07 AM
As absurd as this may sound, But she was considered as Katherine Hepburn of Indian cinema for her poise and class and soemwhat looks.
January 31, 2013 at 11:10 AM
sorry meant Audrey Hepburn.
January 31, 2013 at 11:11 AM
Sadhna was compared to Audrey and not Katherine IMO- mainly for having similar hairstyles
January 31, 2013 at 11:19 AM
ok folks–on popular demand–a repeat of this track i fully discovered recently
Even rajendra kr looks alright
check out the seemingly ‘in’ setup of that time–the uncle with the cigar and the aunt who seems to be ‘playing’ the piano (or touching it for the first time!)…
And Sadhna (& lata) @ their peaks …
i may check out this film (pr atleast parts of it)
January 29, 2013 at 10:16 PM
Ha thanx kash –butI think the one posted by anya above was better (ofcourse I’m not biased lol )
Btw folks–was skimming thru some hd channels. Thought I will also watch some classic literary stuff like the esteemed folks here and then be able to talk bout it!!
Thought I will sample an adaptation of DH Lawrence’s work..
Lady chatterley ( French version)!!
Errrrmm well…–nobody does this stuff better than the French –(a full hour down the drain though lol)–may opine on it later..
January 30, 2013 at 3:37 AM
My favourite mainstream films from the 90s-
Shiva- RGV
Kaun- RGV
Ajooba- Shashi Kapoor
Khuda Gawah- Mukul Anand
Zakhm- Mahesh Bhatt
Sir- Mahesh Bhatt
Sadak- Mahesh Bhatt
Mohra- Rajiv Rai
Border- J. P. Dutta
Baazigar- Abbas-Mustan
Yugpurush- Partho Ghosh
Thakshak- Govind Nihalani
Aankhen- David Dhawan
Saajan- Lawrence D’Souza
Khalnayak- Subhash Ghai
Aatish- Sanjay Gupta
Ghayal- Rajkumar Santoshi
Dil- Indra Kumar
Sarfarosh- John Matthew Mathan
Kabhi Haa Kabhi Naa- Kundan Shah
Dushman- Tanuja Chandra
Vaastav- Mahesh Manjrekar
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander- Mansoor Khan
China Gate- Rajkumar Santoshi
Khamoshi- Bhansali
Some non-mainstream and non Hindi films I liked-
Hu-tu-tu – Gulzar
Maachis- Gulzar
Raakh- Abhi Bhattacharya
Geethanjali- Rathnam
Earth- Deepa Mehta
Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin- Sudhir Mishra
January 30, 2013 at 12:27 PM
From 90′s I can only think of
1. Ghayal
2. Agneepath (if u consider it in 90′s)
3. Khalnayak
4. Aankhein
5. HAHK
6. DDLJ
7. Karan Arjun
8. Judwaa
9. Tere Mere Sapne
10. Machis
11. Hindustani (dubbed)
12. Bombay (Dubbed)
13. Dil Se
14. Border
15. Lal Badshah (Kill me please)
16. Hum DIl De Chuke Sanam
17. And most of David Dhawan + Govinda Stuff
However compared to 80′s .. only few like HAHK, DDLJ, Agneepath stands out ..
January 30, 2013 at 12:40 PM
Nice list Yakuza. I too would put Hindustani in the list- mu favourite Shankar film. Glad to see Tere Mere Sapne. Not a bad film by any means
January 30, 2013 at 9:56 AM
Image from Policegiri (I think this is the remake of Saamy)
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/more/photos/view/stills/moviestills/id/1705610
January 30, 2013 at 12:36 PM
Dutt looks good here, I know satyam sir and many others recommended saamy to me some time back. (have yet to see it).Does anyone know if they have stuck to the original or changing it completely?
BTW Alex, I did end up watching Les Miserables last night. I actually enjoyed it. The opening scene is brilliantly done. Love the camera angles in this one. Very well acted by all (Did Jackman get robbed from nominations all over?).
My only problem was that if it was in regular dialogue it would have been a better film, cause it was very well directed. But i do get the criticism it would have got for not doing it as a musical.
January 30, 2013 at 2:36 PM
Just checked, Jackman is nominated for the Oscars..
January 31, 2013 at 11:10 AM
“BTW Alex, I did end up watching Les Miserables last night. I actually enjoyed it.”
good boy kash–so u finally took your wifey out(did she like it) !
Yeah it IS a good ‘epic’ flick but one has to be in the correct mood for it
Why dont u write a piece on it ..
ps–like anne hathaways song
January 31, 2013 at 11:15 AM
She didn’t enjoy it as much as i did but didn’t mind it either. I really went in with really low expectations, maybe that’s why it took me by surprise. Yes, the dream song is done very well. My favorite is the opening one. “Look down” and loved the scenes there. Beatifully shot film. Tried to catch the broadway for it a few times, but never got around to it. (Have watched many in NY fav being Lion King & Jersey Boys, If you ever go do check em out). Loved the story and the pace that it moved. You will not be disappointed. Do check it out.
January 31, 2013 at 11:28 AM
“She didn’t enjoy it as much as i did”–kash –@least during the movie–spare the poor girl haha !!
Let her relax n enjoy a movie
ps–try out movie 43 –some females are going gaga bout it— if time/schedule permits–may catch django/flight//
Instead there are lots of takers for movie43 but not many for du/flight !
January 31, 2013 at 11:31 AM
Hahaha, No comment on your first bit. yeah want to check that one out as well. No plans this weekend so just might go see that. I am really trying to catch Hitchcock somewhere. Can’t find a theater that’s playing it nearby.
January 30, 2013 at 12:18 PM
Golden opportunity to see Silsila, Kabhi Kabhi and other Yash chopra romance on big screen … in Feb .. for those who live in NCR, Puna, Bangalore, chandigarh, Mumbai, Surat, Ludhiana .. I have to fly to nearest town to catch these.
photo/1
January 31, 2013 at 8:51 AM
Race 2 To Lead This Week
Thursday 31st January 2013 12.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Race 2 has seen dropping collections on the weekdays but will still be the top film at the box office this week due to no major release.
The films releasing this week are Vishwaroop, David, Deewana Main Deewana, Mai and Listen Amaya but none are initial films. The bilinguals Vishwaroop and David are likely to lead and the former may be helped by the controversy it has been involved in over the last month or so. Deewana Main Deewana does feature stars like Govinda and Priyanka Chopra but has been in the making for 10 years.
Race should comfortably record better figures in its second weekend than all these films though a big second weekend is not looking on the cards despite little competition.
January 31, 2013 at 8:52 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh
#Race2 Wknd 51.35 cr, Mon 7.5 cr, Tue 6.5, Wed 5.75 cr. Total: Rs 71.10 cr.
January 31, 2013 at 9:01 AM
Trailer of Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak and Randeep Hooda starrer “The Coffin Maker”