Images from Agent Vinod (updated)
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thanks to Kassam..
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SATYAMSHOT 
March 28, 2011 at 7:49 AM
Now this is a film I am definitely looking forward to. I expect so much more from the director of Ek Haseena Thi than of Cash. (Sorry for bringing Ra.1 up again, but I’m not trying to compare Saif/ Shahrukh, I’m just comparing the two directors).
I think Saif has the talent and versatility to carry off different roles- from Omkara to Being Cyrus- very convincingly and he’ll be fabulous in this. I’m also relieved that he’s said in his interviews that he will be playing someone closer to his own age (as opposed to somebody Deepika’s age in LAK which looked very unconvincing) and that Agent Vinod is not trying to be a westernized, debonair, impeccable secret agent like Bond.
There were also reports of Kareena performing her own stunts, so hopefully she gets to be part of the actual plot in this movie and not just a glamorous add-on.
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March 28, 2011 at 8:05 AM
Actually gfb (abbrevation for screen name henceforth by me!) i completely agree with ur views!
And my reason is same as urs expecting much from the director ek hasina thi, a global thriller with explosions, betrayal, love, indian patriot agent and Bond girls 😉
it has to be my most awaited movie of the year! it has taken a long time, i hope its a classy and niche product… and i am sure Saif would ensure kareena getting better role.. and i m not bringing ra.1 but i am sure kareena would have better role here than ra.one.
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March 28, 2011 at 8:07 AM
This is definitely a film to look forward to..
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March 28, 2011 at 8:24 AM
But there was news of mis understanding between saif and director and saif taking over to shoot and edit it…
Dont you think it may be commercially success but not as brilliant as EHT and JG
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March 28, 2011 at 12:56 PM
Compare Don2 and Agent vinod please…and then you shall have an equal and level playing field for thoughts and reflections!!
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March 28, 2011 at 8:25 AM
Count me in. Surely looking forward to this one. Saif is a great one for this role. and Karena is great when she has a well-defined role, which I suspect she has here.
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March 28, 2011 at 10:26 AM
This is on my ‘must watch’.
Really looking forward to this film big time. I’m a fan of bebo’s and my word she ‘potentially’ has some monsters in her lineup.
1) RA -1
2) BODYGUARD
3) AGENT VINOD
4) REEMA KAGTIS with Amir.
Not bad hey?
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March 28, 2011 at 12:07 PM
Loving the look of this film
this is the dark horse of 2011
I think in terms of quality this will be better than Ra.1
my most awaited films of 2011 are:
Ra.1
Agent Vinod
Zindagi na mile dobara
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March 28, 2011 at 12:35 PM
yeah I expect it to be one of the very interesting movies of the year though one that might disappoint at the box office if the director’s earlier track record is anything to go by.. the problem is that if you don’t go the Abbas-Mustaan way the audiences don’t show up. Unless the film is exceptionally well made. This is true even for Hollywood. ‘Serious’ thrillers make a fraction of what potboilers do even when these do relatively well.
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March 28, 2011 at 2:06 PM
Action/ thriller films that I am looking forward to:
1. Reema Kagti’s next: Just the fact that she’s signed two competent actresses like Kareena and Rani along with Aamir Khan makes me look forward to this. I’m intrigued by the idea of a gritty thriller in Mumbai’s red light district, and I’m sure both women have strong roles, which is a must for me.
2. Agent Vinod: It would be number one on my list, if not for all the rumors that Saif’s taken over post-production, etc. One of the reasons I didn’t like LAK was that there was way too much of Saif and too little of everyone else. He was in every single frame of the movie. I’m hoping that doesn’t happen here.
3. Dum Maaro Dum- I liked Bluffmaster, and I like ensemble cast movies with intertwining stories. The cast has an interesting combination of actors, I think Rohan gets good performances out of AB and I love Bipasha and Pratiek. The songs don’t impress me that much (except Thayn Thayn) but I’m hoping that they’re the weak point of the movie.
4. Don 2 and Game- Don 1 was entertaining, but very flawed and I thought it was style over substance. I’m hoping Don 2 will be intelligent with a more cohesive plot, that SRK will be more convincing as Don and that Priyanka will have a stronger role. I’m still looking forward to it, because at the worst, it will be a mindless, stylishly entertaining film. And it has Kunal Kapoor, who is one of my favorite actors but hardly ever gets any roles.
Game could go either way. There’s lot of talk about the script which gives me hope, but it could just be hype and the movie might end up being nothing more than slick, frothy fun with AB not doing justice to the lead role. I do love the music videos and Kangana as the police officer though.
Ishqiya 2- if this happens, it goes to the top of my list. I loved the first movie and all three leads are fantastic actors.
Ra.1- I’m very underwhelmed by the teasers. I don’t like SRK’s G.One avatar. It looks like Kareena doesn’t have much of a role. I hate the idea of Bollywood music in collaboration with a rap artist and the teaser music was also mediocre. The one thing that will make me watch this is if they release some impressive promos of Arjun as Ra.1. I’m also waiting to see what they have to say about the script and how good it sounds.
Not going to watch- Joker, Singam, Dhoom 3, Bodyguard and anything else with Salman Khan/ Akshay Kumar in it (before somebody calls me a hater, I have nothing against either of them, I just do not enjoy watching them onscreen).
Any other major action movies releasing in 2011/12?
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March 28, 2011 at 2:30 PM
Abhishek’s Italian Job remake (Players). Also RGV’s Trishank with both Bachchans and Dutt is supposed to have action. There’s of course Bachchan’s masala Bbuddah with Telugu director Poori Jagannath. Hrithik’s doing the Agneepath remake.
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March 28, 2011 at 3:01 PM
Bbuddah tops my list along with DMD.
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March 28, 2011 at 6:46 PM
A promising film and one I am looking forwArd to now!
Said is best in the urbane persona– liked him in dch, namaste London, LAK but not in omkara or his other attempts at versatility.
He surely is taking his career and each move seriously unlike his laidback past…..
Somewhere he said that his biggest motivation came when he saw his juniors improving and doing better than him—
Unlike the pavlovian model of conditioning, humans use different ways to “self-motivate”
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March 29, 2011 at 12:37 AM
Saif is more into style than acting and He is pursuading Kareena to become another Saif. A present day Feroze Khan with less than quarter of the latter’s unique charisma. How boring to watch them on screen? Kareena can survive due to her versatality. But Saif???
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March 29, 2011 at 1:52 AM
Saif was good in a number of movies like Omkara, Being Cyrus, Ekalavya, Ek Haseena Thi, Parineeta, Hum Tum, Love Aaj Kal (esp in the role of the sardar), Dil Chahta Hai etc.
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March 29, 2011 at 3:26 AM
He was and is good. But nowadays he is more in the news for other things than films. Most of his success is before the Kareena phase. May be Agent Vinod may turn out to be a bigger hit that Love Aaj Kal if the music and direction are good.
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March 29, 2011 at 7:47 AM
I personally think that Saif & Ajay have been the best actors after Aamir/SRK, whichever u want to look into it. They have been a treat to watch in the last decade or so. We always knew that Aamir/SRK were destined for greatness, but Ajay & Saif were different in that they realised their talent late.
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March 29, 2011 at 7:02 PM
Agree with you KM. Ajay is also a good actor and done well esp in movies like Khakee, Raincoat, HDDCS, Once Upon a time in Mumbai etc
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March 29, 2011 at 8:41 PM
I find Ajay Devgn one of the ‘best’ actors out there. Just in a small role in HDDCS he overshadowed Salman. (and I’m a Salman fan). The only genre which he was not really good at was comedy but with ATB I feel he is more than competent in comedy now (he also did well in ATKJG). The guy is an allrounder.
I have loved many Saif films. I thought he was superb in DCH and OMKARA. I also liked him in KURBAAN amongst many others.
Said was also damn good in my most watched film ever, HSSH. 🙂
On a side note and am embarrassed to say I finally managed to catch Munnabhai MBBS (I’ve seen other Raju films and I found this just as good as the other two). At the end of the film I just went WOW coz no 1 and I mean no 1 could have played Munna better than Sanju. SUPERB PERFORMANCE.
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March 29, 2011 at 10:28 PM
Naveed, by HSSH are you referring to Hum Saath Saath Hain? God that was one boring syrupy movie from the Barjatyas! “Kurbaan” is in my “to watch” pile
I don’t know what ATB and STKJG stand for in the case of Ajay Dev.
I liked Salman in Kutch Kutch Hota Hai although the world is crazy about SRK for that one!
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March 29, 2011 at 11:57 PM
@ filmbuff – yes I was referring to Hum Saath Saath Hain.
Sorry to confuse you. ATB is All The Best and ATKJG is Atithi Kab Jaoge.
On just a personal note my fav Salman film till date still remains Pyar Kiya To Darna Kiya.
P. S I don’t know whether you’ve seen New York but I personally feel KURBAAN is the better film even though it failed and the former did very well.
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March 30, 2011 at 12:48 AM
Thanks Naveed for spelling out the 2 devgan movies.
I have Athithi and New York in my “to watch” pile. I hope to see them some time. I am watching a lot of old hindi movies ie from 60s and 70s at the moment hence i am not upto date with recent releases.
I haven’t seen the Salman movie you have mentioned. I am not a Salman fan although I liked him in Mene Pyaar Kiya and KKHH. Like wise I have liked some of SRK (Swades, Chak De, DDLJ) and Aamir Khan (Earth, DCH, Lagaan) movies but am not a fan of those two Khans either ! I liked the movies produced by Aamir though ie Peepli Live, Dhobi Ghat Taare Zameen Per (1st half/theme and child actor)
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April 27, 2011 at 9:27 AM
Saif gets into different body shapes for Agent Vinod
By Subhash K. Jha, April 27, 2011 – 12:36 IST
Saif had promised himself that whenever he did an action film it would be something that would make his kids sit on the edge of their seat. He is living up to his self-promise. It now comes to light that Saif will change his bodyline, muscle-tone and weight to a radical extent for every major action sequence in Agent Vinod. While for the recently-concluded sequences shot in and around locations in the outdoors of Delhi, Saif was athletic and agile on his feet, now for the next bout of action, a one-to-one combat where the camera will focus on Saif’s brawn quotient in tight close-ups, he will work building those rippling muscles.
Director Sriram Raghavan admits that Saif has been making those seemingly impossible physical transitions and leaps for different phases. “For the Delhi schedule, we needed Saif to be on the run. These were all sequences shot in heavy traffic with real crowds. Saif had to be in and out of camera range at full speed. For the next schedule the action sequences are of a different nature. They require a different physicality. Saif is working on it…and quite happily. Doing an espionage film is a childhood dream come-true for him…and for me too. We’ve kept the action in the realistic space. None of the fights and stunts would be outlandish.”
This explains why the action sequences require different body structures and language from Saif.
Says Sriram, “Saif is most happy to comply. It is our biggest challenge to do a spy film that is exciting and edgy and yet real. We do have VFX (visual effects).We recently shot a house being blown up. Now we need to shoot the interior portions of that sequence. Saif and I did a completely different film together in the past (Ek Haseena Thi).For both of us, Agent Vinod is a different epic world. We’re shooting the action sequences in an authentic location and physical space.”
There were reports from Delhi that the Agent Vinod crew completely disrupted shooting in key outdoor locations of Delhi earlier this month.
“Not true,” Sriram Raghavan protests. “Yes, there was a traffic problem on the Barapullah flyover. So we packed up and returned on the day of the World Cup semi-finals when the flyover was relatively empty. And so what if we missed the match? We got some extraordinary candid shots.”
Unknown to everyone except the immediate cast and crew of Agent Vinod, Saif Ali Khan is working towards making the film the ultimate espionage film, on a par with the Don series but far more realistic. And yes, Agent Vinod too will have a Part 2. Saif hopes to make Agent Vinod a franchise on a par with Shah Rukh’s Don. Interestingly, Don 2 opens two weeks after Agent Vinod releases on December 9. According to sources, though both the films are in the same espionage genre, Saif is working toward giving his spy’s character a kind of life beyond James Bond.
Says a source, “Agent Vinod is a far more believable spy .Don has a roving eye…a kind of ‘Spy Who Loved Meat’. Vinod is a one-woman man. That the woman happens to be Kareena, is just coincidental.”
If Don is the ultimate comic book actioner, Agent Vinod will occupy a different head-space. Saif is making sure of that. He has charted out a different body-tone for his character in the various action sequences.
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October 26, 2011 at 11:41 PM
Bollywood film crew damages heritage site
Three booked for defacing village
By Prakash Bhandari, Correspondent
Jaipur: The Jaisalmer district administration has booked three crew members of the upcoming Bollywood film Agent Vinod, which stars Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, under the Antiquity Act for defacing and damaging a historical and heritage structure during filming. The film is produced by Saif Ali Khan.
The official action came as the film’s crew was preparing to shoot its climactic scene at historic Kuldhara village on the outskirts of Jaisalmer city Wednesday.
Director Sriram Raghavan wanted to depict Kuldahara as a Pakistani village and the film’s art director used maroon oil colours to paint over the original yellow stones of Kuldahara.
Defacing
He also had mud filled into the stone layers of the walls of the ancient city’s houses, not only defacing the historical structure, but also causing permanent damage to the heritage site.
The film crew also used the old stones scattered in the area to build a wall with several layers.
Villagers of Kuldhara complained to a district official who visited the site and videographed the changes caused by the film unit.
Cameras, lighting seized
Based on the reports, M.P. Swami, the District Collector, booked the film unit under the Antiquity Act and police seized cameras, lighting and other equipment used for producing the film.
Swami said the film unit had applied to the state’s Home Department seeking permission to shoot the movie at Kuldhara but had not yet received the permission. They had simply gone ahead with their preparations even before being granted permission for filming.
In all such cases, where a film is being shot in a historical place, the state government appoints the state tourism department as the nodal agency to supervise the shooting to ensure that the original heritage and historical properties are not tampered with.
Padma Ram, the guard of the historic site, said he had warned the film crew while they were trying to colour the walls.
“I even showed them the department of archaeology’s notice board that clearly stated any person found damaging or defacing the historical structure would be liable for imprisonment for up to three years and a fine of Rs100,000 (Dh7,435). But the film unit ignored the instructions on the notice board,” said Ram.
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October 27, 2011 at 2:33 AM
This is shameful! I hope the strictest punishment is given…
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November 6, 2011 at 6:16 PM
Ann Lee is Saif’s secret discovery
Mumbai Mirror tells you all about the South African model, who’ll be playing a key role in Khan’s next home production Agent Vinod
Amrapali Sharma
Posted On Monday, November 07, 2011 at 02:14:08 AM
Saif Ali Khan seems to be getting into the habit of bringing international models to B-town. After introducing Brazilian Giselli Monteiro in his last home production Love Aaj Kal as Harleen Kaur, the actor will now unveil South African model Ann Lee Roberts in Agent Vinod.
Born in Durban to an Italian father and a mother of French and German descent, Ann Lee, was the face for a leading denim brand. After winning an international model hunt held at Johannesburg, she went on to work with supermodels like Kate Moss and Gisele Bunchen.
Acting, however, was Ann Lee’s dream. Having tried her hands at modeling, she even landed a role in an Indonesian film. And then Saif Ali Khan spotted her.
Ann Lee will essay the role that Priyanka Chopra was earlier offered in Agent Vinod, alongside Saif and Kareena Kapoor.
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December 8, 2011 at 6:25 AM
‘Agent Vinod’ riddled with woes
By: Hiren Kotwani Date: 2011-12-08 Place: Mumbai
Buzz is that Sriram Raghavan’s obsession with details is further delaying Saif Ali Khan’s ‘Agent Vinod’
Buzz is that the release date of Saif Ali Khan’s next, Agent Vinod will not be announced until director Sriram Raghavan is sure of meeting his deadline.
Sources also say that a couple of day’s time of shoot is also pending. Earlier, the film’s release was scheduled for December 9.
Saif Ali Khan on the sets of Agent Vinod
Talking about the time taken to make the spy-thriller, our source says, “After completing a schedule, Sriram would edit the portions and revisit the script.
This would help him figure out if some scenes in the next schedules could be replaced by just a couple of intermediate shots.
So the screenplay and shot division for the next schedules would undergo some change, for a better product, instead of salvaging it on the editing table.”
It is learnt that while the principle shooting and the songs have been shot and the film is in post-production stages, a couple of patch-work shots still remain. “Minor shots to connect two scenes better, are to be completed,” reveals our source.
Not to forget the special effects, for a better finishing of the action sequences. “There are a number of scenes that have been done with the help of cable and wirework.
So those have to be eliminated from the frames,” says our source, adding that the movie has about 500 special effects shots. “And that’s obviously going to take some time.”
Also, the director is equally fastidious about the right sound mixing for his movies. “Even if Sriram has locked things up to a portion of the movie, the next day he’ll go through the previous work just to be double sure. It’s never over till he’s satisfied with the final product,” sums up our source.
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December 10, 2011 at 8:16 AM
Director confirms that ‘Agent Vinod’ will releases on schedule
By: The Hitlist Team
Date: 2011-12-09
After reading the report ‘Riddled with woes’ on Agent Vinod’s release being postponed, director Sriram Raghavan maintains that the spy thriller is definitely releasing in February 2012.
He claims 95 percent of the movie is complete, including the edit with only some scenes to be shot. He explains, “These include some VFX plates.
It’s not too much work but the locations are varied which include shots inside a plane and a scene in a graveyard.
About their initial plans of releasing the Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor film in December, Raghavan states that meeting the deadline would have forced them to rush through post-production as they are currently working on the sound design and the background score.
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December 20, 2011 at 4:54 PM
Agent Vinod still not ready
The release date of the Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor starrer will be revised yet again
Amrapali Sharma
Posted On Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 02:47:22 AM
Two years in the making and Agent Vinod is still not sure about the day it’ll hit the theatres. Earlier, the film was scheduled for a December 9, 2011 release. However, a delay in the shoot got it postponed to February 2012. According to sources, the revised February 17 release date is all set to go under further revision.
When contacted, director Sriram Raghavan, who was busy with a patch work shoot for the film at Filmcity revealed, “We are in the middle of post production.” Our source from the postproduction house Prime Focus however had a different story to tell. “Prime Focus has still not received the complete footage of the film.”
Speaking about the release date, Raghavan added, “Our producer Saif Ali Khan will return from his shoot in South Africa by tomorrow. The release date will then be discussed and an announcement will be made in a couple of days.”
According to trade experts, a February release will not work for the film with leading lady Kareena’s Ek Main Aur Ek Tu releasing that time. March and April generally sees very few releases owing to the various school and college exams held during that period. This is followed by IPL. This means that fans will have to wait for at least another six months to see Agent Vinod.
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January 18, 2012 at 10:07 AM
Eagerly waiting for this one…very interested in what Sriram Raghavan comes out after the gripping “Johnny Gaddar”.
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January 18, 2012 at 1:19 PM
I like the poster. rira Raghaan is someone I can trust in making a high-octane thriller without borrowing from the west. I am a big fan of Johny Gaddar and Ek Hasina Thi. A most underrated director
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January 18, 2012 at 2:26 PM
have high expectations from this director.
But the way this film is getting delayed, think the apt name should be–
“ageing Vinod!!”
But whats uncomfortable to read is that kareena will be at her irritating best
” “Agent Vinod is a far more believable spy .Don has a roving eye…a kind of ‘Spy Who Loved Meat’. Vinod is a one-woman man. That the woman happens to be Kareena, is just coincidental.”
lol @‘Spy Who Loved Meat’
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January 18, 2012 at 9:08 PM
Loved the new poster. one of my most awaited movie of the year
My list of top 5 most awaited movies of 2012
1. Gangs of Wasseypur – Anurag with Manoj and some other talented actors
2. Talaash – Aamir Khan naam hi kafi hai
3. Shanghai – Dibakar with Abhay and Emraan
4. Agent Vinod – Sriram Raghvan
5. SRK’s next with Yash ji
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January 19, 2012 at 4:18 AM
i am unhappy with aamir as an actor – why the **** he needed 3 yrs to come out with a solo-hero project after 3i – it is beyond me…alright he has done well as a producer with DG, PL but all this delay was unnecessary – but that is aamir khan i guess!
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January 19, 2012 at 11:51 AM
I like what i’m reading abt Agent Vinod and the poster is good because it doesn’t reveal much.
I think this the closest we’l get to the Bourne series because Saif is a very versatile actor.
Really looking fwd to this
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January 19, 2012 at 11:54 AM
I think YRF’s nxt with SRK is going to be a chaval movie like RNBDJ….
I’m looking fwd to:
Talaash
Agent Vinod
Kahaani
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January 19, 2012 at 7:25 PM
I’m still not convinced Agent Vinod will be releasing any time soon, or that it will be a good film: too much seems to have gone wrong, too many delays, and when that happens the film rare;y turns out well. Hope I’m wrong, because Ek Haseena Thi (first half) is my favorite Saif role.
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January 19, 2012 at 7:39 PM
Q – have you seen Saif in “Being Cyrus”? Saif, Simone and Boman were good in Being Cyrus
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January 19, 2012 at 7:47 PM
I did — and of course he was good in Omkara too; but for sheer effortlessness and smoothness, he was in the zone in Ek Haseena Thi. Certainly, the role of a debonair chap was tailor-made for him, but he brought a nastiness, a darkness (that proceeds not for malevolence so much as from callousness taken to the nth degree) that made it his best outing for me…
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January 24, 2012 at 8:23 AM
That is the Saif no director could see before EHT, except Mr. Raghavan, ofcourse. He infact was pretty much zoned in only on Saif to play the suave, reckless, lead. And the rest, well, its out there for all to see. BC and Omkara seem offshoots of his take in EHT. And the credit indeed goes to Mr R.
As for AV, too much has gone the wrong way already. That it is finally releasing is good to know but theres just that niggling feeling, how much has Mr R compromised (made to)?..
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January 24, 2012 at 8:37 PM
Q agreed about EHT and Omkara. He was good in Ekalavya too. A film people rarely discuss on forums. I liked him in Parineeta too.
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January 24, 2012 at 8:21 AM
Will this movie post a 15 Cr or a 50 Cr opening weekend (domestic) ? Will Agent Vinod go the way of Players or Don ? Will it be a disaster or a block buster ?
So far so good. The posters have been decent. Looking forward to the trailor.
I expect a niche type movie, will appeal to MP audience but not to SS audience. This movie will do well in major cities and non-domestic markets, but will not do the business of Love Aaj Kal.
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January 24, 2012 at 8:44 AM
didn’t like the first poster. Like this one a lot more but something’s a bit off about the Saif look here even as the artwork is great.
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February 19, 2012 at 9:23 AM
“but something’s a bit off about the Saif look here” – agree, the look is nowhere near that of a daniel craig or even a brosnan – we are used to super-confident facial expression with these agents….saif here makes even srk’s don-2 look better….
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January 24, 2012 at 8:48 AM
This isn’t looking any great shakes. Very very disappointed. This has got ‘retro’ wrong, as much as Rowdy Rathore has got it right.
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January 24, 2012 at 8:53 AM
yes those Rowdy Rathore posters are super! And you’re right here. The art work is retro but Saif isn’t. The first poster suggests a different kind of retro, not quite the same thing. Certainly expect a good film here but the endless delays sometimes make me wonder otherwise. still like this poster overall.
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January 24, 2012 at 9:37 AM
This poster is good except Saif…I wish they had shown his back rather than his front……he looks the villain!?!
However I’m looking fwd to this film
And yes Rowdy Rathod posters are looking fantastic…best f 2012 so far
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January 24, 2012 at 10:42 AM
On a closer look…Saif looks bad because of his receding hairline
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January 24, 2012 at 1:58 PM
Re: I wish they had shown his back rather than his front
I thought you are an Aamir fan. Are you sure you are not an SRK fan?
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January 26, 2012 at 8:13 AM
Rajen,
Yes…I’m an Aamir Khan fan but loved SRK in the 90’s and some of his work in the last decade was good too…but Aamir is better because he provides refreshing stories/movies all the time
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February 19, 2012 at 5:31 PM
KM
Maybe you like school/college/university based stories.
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January 24, 2012 at 12:30 PM
Trade Buzz
by Box Office India (January 23, 2012)
There’s a strong rumour that Saif Ali Khan’s next home production Agent Vinod will not make the release date, March 23, as announced. The VFX and background music are yet to be completed, which will take the film beyond the deadline.
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January 24, 2012 at 2:12 PM
That was kind of disappointing
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January 24, 2012 at 2:12 PM
For Raghavan’s sake I hope this film is better than it looks. Saif is just not cut out for this kind of thing these days. He looks spent.
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January 24, 2012 at 2:59 PM
I wont blame anyone if this poster comes across as pedestrian to them but Saif’s striking style and posture in the pic gives it an edge over similar stuff that we’ve seen. Dont exactly know why, but the poster is indeed interesting!
Hoping for a fine film .. a lot of it has something to do with Raghavan
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January 24, 2012 at 4:22 PM
Easily one of the better films coming out this year
This will NOT replicate SAifs previous production LAK
SImply because of the genre and (better) sensibilities here
The latest poster does spell “ambition” with reference to saif
A somewhat “Raaavan” moment for saif
Hope he doesnt suffer the same fate in this “breakout’ venture
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January 26, 2012 at 9:29 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Vinod
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February 7, 2012 at 7:44 AM
wow
The new pics look gr8
Saif looks awesome and the new locales are different from your normal bolly movie. The action looks brilliant as well
Hoping this is good!
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February 22, 2012 at 1:05 PM
“Films always seem to have a deeper meaning when watched with some alcohol. LOL.”
Dont need to tell me that.. 😉
Incidentally am getting a lot of ‘goodwill’ (and other benefits) dont this sort of amateur voluntary stuff in spare time ..
Incidentally did it for fun twice & due to requests
but have been requested if i can make it an annual feature–a few days an year, if time permits
By the way–have been told to unleash two more bollywood films after this–
am wondering which ones
On ‘Dil chahta hai’- can now speak/guide endlessly without any preparation/ extempore
The others may need some prep though
Any suggestions–which one to include?
that is representative of contemporary bollywood but at the same time somethin that this target audience ‘relates to’ / identifies with/ can appreciate
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February 22, 2012 at 1:12 PM
“meant to put that above comment here. Satyam, If you dont mind can you delete it from above. Much appreciated.”
If you ask me, I would definitely include Khosla Ka Ghosla in that list. It may work as an exact opposite of DCH, where KKG would show them the everyday life of a middle class indian family. I dont think I need to promote this film to you on exactly why it makes that impact, I am sure you have seen it and with your sense of cinema I have a feeling you may agree with me here.
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January 26, 2012 at 12:55 PM
dont know how much similarity it has with older one but ya johnny gaddar was inspired from parwana …a film which most of hardcore big b fans hardly recall
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parwana_(1971_film)
raghvan is moving away from his strength and thats simplicity of old school
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January 26, 2012 at 2:35 PM
Satyam ji,
Nice poster of Agent Vinod.
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February 5, 2012 at 3:41 PM
saifs tryin his best ot look fit n trim
and must say he has succeeded quite a bit
but obviously he cant get as young as he is aiming for (in movies and in real life)
Any “Carry on” fans
revisited bits of “carry on loving”
WHat ‘innocence” even in sex comedies–kindergarten stuff
but makes u smile nonetheless …
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February 18, 2012 at 9:56 PM
saif’s character is giving me too much of a james bond vibe. the film looks pretty entertaining, though
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February 19, 2012 at 4:46 PM
The Gun Master’s salute to Hitchcock
Sriram Raghavan gives tantalising glimpses into his spy thriller, says it may just spawn a sequel
Amrapali Sharma
Posted On Monday, February 20, 2012 at 02:05:09 AM
Why was Agent Vinod delayed? Has it affected the final product?
No, the final product has obviously not been affected, but become even better. It was an ambitious film. When we were writing the script, we visited many countries. Ideally, we should spend one year in pre-production and then take dates from stars for shooting. But, we started shooting as we were excited to add a punch. I needed some more dates from my actors and this took time. I think the end product shows it’s worth it. When you see the movie, you’ll realise it.
Who is Agent Vinod? Is he a James Bond?
The film is an action-packed spy thriller set in today’s times. I am a big fan of old Indian spy thrillers like Aankhen of Dharmendra and Hitchcock films. It’s a mix of such stories. Mithun’s Gun Master was very successful and they made two of them. But, later, there hasn’t been such a film. After the old Agent Vinod’s release, there were no spy films for almost 10 years. If our film does well then there can be more Agent Vinod stories.
You actually introduced Saif to dark cinema with Ek Haseena Thi. How did you convince him to play a negative role then?
Dil Chahta Hai released and people were enjoying him in that role very much. When we approached him, he was initially worried that it might affect his fan base. Somehow, once we started talking, we got along well and I told him, ‘It’s a negative character but also, charming and cunning. It’s a fun role to play.’ Once he agreed, he was comfortable with everything , including the climax, when rats surround him.
How important is the Mujra song for the film? Did you incorporate it to add to the commercial value of your film?
No, it’s a wedding scene. Kareena and Saif are on a mission, searching for a third person. In foreign films, they have a different background score but since, it’s a Hindi movie, we planned a Mujra. One, people will wonder about a Mujra in such a film and two, it will make the viewers curious. They will enjoy it.
There were rumours that Saif has already planned its sequel. Is it true?
We keep wondering. If the film works, Inshallah! There may be a chance to make another.
Does the darker side of life fascinate you?
I like happier movies but yes, I enjoy dark thrillers and crime dramas a little more. It’s my first choice in books or even at a DVD library.
You had signed Ramesh Sippy’s Happy Birthday with John Abraham and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, long ago. Will you reconsider the casting now since, Aish’s life has changed?
In the last two years, I was busy with Agent Vinod so I have to meet them and find out before taking it forward. I might make certain changes in it. Happy Birthday is a fantasy film. It’s different from what I have done so far. I want to break away from the genre of dark thrillers. But, first of all, I will be taking a break and watch films that released last year.
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February 20, 2012 at 6:56 AM
‘Agent Vinod’ has potential to cross 100 cr: Saif Ali Khan
By: PTI Date: 2012-02-20 Place: London
Saif Ali Khan, who has produced the upcoming spy thriller ‘Agent Vinod’ alongwith Dinesh Vijan, says the film has the potential to cross the 100 crore mark.
Agent-Vinod-Saif-Ali-Khan
Saif Ali Khan in ‘Agent Vinod’
“The film will be released both in multiplexes and single screens and it has the potential to cross Rs 100 crore in revenue and I look forward to it,” Saif, who was here to promote the film, told PTI.
Produced at a cost of Rs 60 crores, the film was completed in 19 months. It will be released in 3,500 screens globally including 2,500 in India on March 23. Saif, 41, who also plays the lead role in the film, said “it will give value for money,” adding, “The film has been produced keeping Indian sensitives in mind.”
Dinesh said, “It is a fun movie with a very Indian hero. The film has been shot keeping Indian sensibilities in mind. It is a realistic film but larger than life.” Describing it as a fast-paced film, Dinesh said the film was shot in 12 countries including Riga, Latvia, Morocco, Russia, Uzbekistan, UK and India.
Saif, known for his roles in the cult movie ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, ‘Parineeta’ and ‘Omkara’, said he had gone to Vietnam for a couple of weeks to undergo training in action for the film. He said he did all the stunts himself. “In India we do the stunts and we have good technicians in India. What we need is good writers.”
Saif described his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor, the heroine of the film as a “phenomenal actor. She is just made for the film.” The film is written and directed by Sriram Raghavan. Pritam Chakraborty has provided music for the film which will be distributed by Illuminati Films owned by Saif and Eros Entertainment.
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February 21, 2012 at 4:26 PM
Kareena bags KJo-Balaji biggie
Pips Kat in the race to play the lead in the romantic thriller. Shoot starts in December. Is this why the wedding has been pushed to next year?
Vickey Lalwani
Posted On Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 02:15:39 AM
In December last year, Karan Johar and Ekta Kapoor, the filmmakers who are also best friends, had announced their co-production venture. However, the leading lady for the ambitious project remained undecided. Reportedly, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif were both being considered for the project. And now, Mumbai Mirror has learnt that Bebo has won the battle.
Kareena, who had reportedly opted out of two major projects – Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express and Milan Luthria’s Once upon A Time In Mumbaai Part 2 recently, surely had bigger plans up her sleeve. A source close to the film told the newspaper, “Kareena has bagged a very big role in this film. Currently, she is Karan’s favourite. He was very happy with her performance in Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, directed by Shakun Batra.”
In fact, Karan and Ekta have apparently had plans to work together for a very long time. The film that has finally realised their dream will be directed by newbie Akshay Roy. It will go on floors by December, this year.
Karan and Ekta, who have been meeting rather frequently to discuss the film, plan to finish the casting of their co-production by the end of this month.
Our source revealed, “Both Balaji and Dharma are considering Emraan Hashmi for the male lead. In fact, Emraan has recently signed his first Dharma production to be directed by Rensil D’Silva.”
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February 22, 2012 at 5:54 AM
hmm… this seems a ‘promotional buildup’ for agent vinod or is it another guy in midlife crisis–
After Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, it’s now Saif Ali Khan who’s got punch happy.
According to reports, the actor got into a scuffle in a five star hotel pub last night and also apparently punched a man in his face.
A case under section 325 of the IPC has been registered against Saif. The actor will be booked under Indian Penal Code 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), a bailable offence.
Whoever, except in the case provided for by section 335, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
The incident took place last night at Wasabi restaurant at Taj Hotel when he, along with Kareena and a few friends, were having dinner.
Iqbal Sharma, a resident of Juhu, was also having dinner with his family at an adjoining table. Apparently, Iqbal complained about the noise that Saif and his guests were making after which Saif was ticked off about it. Hearing this Saif and Iqbal had a scuffle, as Saif, reportedly, told him to go to a library to find peace.
Although some reports suggested that the fight actually took place between Amrita Arora Ladak’s husband Shakeel Ladak and Iqbal. It was only when Saif intervened that he got into the brawl with Iqbal.
Post the scuffle, Iqbal lodged the complaint that Saif Ali Khan and two of his associates assaulted him with fist blows, causing fracture to his nose. A case has been registered against the actor with the Colaba police station.
Malaika Arora Khan and Amrita Arora Ladak were also reportedly present there with Saif Ali Khan and Kareena when the incident took place.
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February 22, 2012 at 8:56 AM
good new promos
but seems saif may be jailed now
well deserved
wtf–hitting out @ people to promote a film/ ego boost in front of boyfriend (kareena)
ps–laughable–bobmbay police trying to trace saif
how efficient of em….
put kareena in jail as well (indefinitely) for her EMET abuses on poor imran
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February 22, 2012 at 11:44 AM
Unrelated but have been send this link by a European doing a research project on Bollywood
Was asked to name one of the recent ‘cult’ films
One of the names I gave was ‘dil chahta hai’
The mother of many recent growin up flicks
An interesting piece from the university of Iowa -Philip luntgendorf
A blast from the recent past
(“the heart wants”)
2001, Hindi, 185 minutes
Directed by Farhan Akhtar
Story, screenplay, and dialogue: Farhan Akhtar; Lyrics: Javed Akhtar; Music: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy (Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonca); Cinematography: Ravi K. Chandran
The directorial debut of Farhan Akhtar (son of famed script and lyric writer Javed Akhtar) was a huge hit, especially among young upper-middle-class urban viewers, who greeted it with an almost messianic fervor. Shouted The Indian Express, “Finally, a film that the youth of this country can unabashedly embrace!” (Translation: well, actually about 10% of “the youth,” though doubtless the most unabashed among them.) And the Sunday Times of India trumpeted, “Dil Chahta Hai gives some substance to the contention that our films are coming of age…” (Translation: “Here is a Bollywood movie you can show your foreign friends without undue embarrassment or tedious cultural explanations.” Of course, there are some of us who think Indian films “came of age” about ninety years ago, but that’s another matter….) Yuppie media frenzy aside, this is an exceptionally well-made film about three urban upper-middle-class buddies who live in flats that are coolly modern but not glitzily ostentatious, wear trendy but “relaxed” clothes, speak authentically diglossic Hinglish, and relate to one another with a casual and endearing playfulness that celebrates good ol’ Hindustani male bonding while avoiding the tear-jerking excesses (even when occasionally jerking tears) of typical dosti film plots. Moreover, it possesses an irresistible score, nifty camerawork, and stellar (but suitably understated) performances from all the leads. It is, in short…..a Bollywood movie you can show your foreign friends without etc., etc. And of course, you can also enjoy it yourself, as millions did.
As the film opens, a tense Siddharth (a.k.a. “Sid,” played by Akshaye Khanna) arrives with an ambulance at a posh hospital, accompanying someone (yet unidentified) who is suffering from severe cirrhosis of the liver. He calls up his old pal Sameer (Saif Ali Khan), a computer programmer, who soon rushes to his side, but Sameer is unable to bring along their third buddy Akash (Aamir Khan), who apparently has had a rift with Sid. A flashback recalls happier days, when the three were in college together, or rather, at a trendy disco (one of those places with a strict dresscode mandating mylar and leather) celebrating their impending graduation from college with the rousing song Koi kahe, kahta rahe (“Someone may say [about us]…”), a driving, pumping, carpe diem hymn to youthful hopes that became an instant anthem for urban 20-somethings. The character of each of the three buddies is quickly but effectively sketched: sincere love-puppy Sameer (who falls for every girl he meets, then lets them dominate him—his pals soon engineer a falling out with his current bossy girlfriend, Priya), jaded and madcap operator Akash (who likes relationships that last two weeks at most), and brooding, sensitive artist Sid (who is waiting for that special someone to come along). Akash, though, is sufficiently attracted to a girl at the disco named Shalini (Preity Zinta) to mug a Hindi film love scene with her, and get punched out by her fiancé, Rohit (Ayub Khan).
The boys soon embark on a sun-n-fun trip to Goa, which gives them a chance to show off cool toys like a BMW convertible and Yamaha waverunner, their skills at sand volleyball, and their well-toned bods—but not before Sid has had a chance meeting with a new neighbor, Tara Jaiswal (Dimple Kapadia), an interior designer and divorcee. After helping her move into her flat, Sid invites her to come up and see his paintings (really), and she understands them, and him, as no one ever has. The trio’s Goan idyll is backed by the film’s catchy title song, which is performed, Hollywood-style, as a soundtrack by unseen singers and even broken up by several dialogue scenes (for which, incidentally, the film uses synch-sound throughout). In the artfully-interwoven adventures that ensue, the lazy and self-centered Akash is forced by his parents to face the Real World (but relax, it turns out to be Sydney, where the family owns one of those posh NRI businesses that involve suits, skyscrapers, secretaries, but little apparent work, and where he again runs into, and slowly falls for, the soon-to-be-wed Shalini). Meanwhile Sameer unexpectedly falls head over heels for a girl named Pooja (Sonali Kulkarni) whom his parents have actually selected for him to have an (anathema to both of them) arranged marriage with. And Sid grows closer to the worldly-wise and suffering Tara (now revealed to have a young daughter whom her cruel ex- has forbidden her to see) by painting her picture. Each hero gets an appropriate, surreally picturized lovesong. Sid’s is the dreamy Kaisi hai ye rut (“What season is this?”), in which scenes of him painting Tara are intercut with digitalized imagery of butterflies, soap bubbles, and leaping porpoises. Akash’s is (like his character: the type-A playboy who gets serious when he meets the Right Girl) the most conventional, showcasing exotic Australian locations. Sameer’s takes the cake, picturization-wise, with Woh ladki hai kahan (“Where is that girl?”), a tour-de-force reflexive fantasy in which he and Pooja fall in love while watching a Hindi film in which they see themselves on screen, singing verses that brilliantly parody (and pay homage to) the styles and stars of successive eras in Bollywood romance (including the ‘90s, which are signaled by the couple done up as Madhuri and Shah Rukh, dancing in the Western Ghats amidst Yash Chopra-esque mist).
Sid helps Sameer confess his love to Pooja, who reciprocates, and Sameer in turn helps Akash to get his message across to Shalini (again, through a relatively conventional episode, involving an eve-of-the-wedding intervention). Two of the boys are now accounted for, and that leaves Sid, with his hopeless crush on a lady old enough to be his….well, old enough to have frolicked in a bikini with Rishi Kapoor. The filmmakers flirt (as Bombay filmmakers are wont to do) with breaking a Big Taboo here—but also open space for public reflection on such real problems as India’s father-friendly divorce courts, and the enduring social stigma against single older women. But they stop short of going All The Way for Sid and Tara, and if you guessed that the critically ill alcoholic in the opening scene was she, you guessed right. Once she is out of the picture, there’s a tacked-on feel-good ending in which, as Sid vacations in Goa with his two pals and their soulmates, a nymphet floats into his path, and we instantly know that she will be The One for him.
The songs to DIL CHAHTA HAI (by the “Amar, Akbar, Anthony” of Bombay composing teams) are not only memorable, but display the wildly syncretic, loot-the-world tendencies of contemporary Bollywood scores at their toe-tapping best. The title song is cool, international jazz-pop, while Koi kahe is driving disco rock. Kaisi hai ye rut is dreamy, almost New Age, Woh ladki jigs to frenzied Celtic and bluegrass fiddling, and Jaane kyon, performed at harborside in Sydney, is backed up by digeridoo and a mock-Aboriginal chorus. Javed’s lyrics are in each case well suited to the occasion. Heck, there’s even a bit of opera thrown in (a version of “Troilus and Cressida,” in French, no less) and a lush symphonic backup, “Akash’s love theme,” composed by one Mike Harvey.
To a large extent, DIL CHAHTA HAI looks, sounds, and (almost) feels like a Hollywood movie. This is no doubt part of its appeal to its target audience. Another part, however, is that when all is said and done, DIL’s dil remains Hindustani, with its three principals professing a dosti that they will never torenge (“I will always be there for you”), Sid’s lap-hugging loyalty to mother —even after she says cruel and unfair things to the woman he loves, and (as in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Pardes) benevolent paternal fiat the crucial ingredient for making Akash and Shalini’s boat-rocking “love marriage” acceptable.
[The Spark 2-DVD set of DIL CHAHTA HAI ought to be as world-class as the film, and comes with all the usual perks, but my copy also arrived with a fatal disc error that made about a third of the film unviewable and caused my computer DVD player to crash repeatedly. Of course, this might only be a fluke…except for the fact that the same defect appears on the copy purchased by a colleague of mine. Perhaps there are other sufferers out there? (Hel-lo, quality control?) If you can avoid this problem though, the image quality is excellent and subtitles—mostly good, though occasionally sloppy—are provided for songs as well as dialogue.]
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February 22, 2012 at 1:54 PM
“Was asked to name one of the recent ‘cult’ films”
Which names you gave him.
Poor dude..you must have misled him terribly!
lolz
P.S: did you give him desi western (Ishkiya)?
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February 22, 2012 at 1:58 PM
“P.S: did you give him desi western (Ishkiya)?”
To be able to critique/ guide, one has to be aware of somethin yourselves
Havent seen ishqiya myeslf 😉
Somehow the thought of the perverted duo of grand dad naseer and the shady dodgy warsi kissing and doin ol sortsa stuff to poor Vidya always put me off
Never saw this film….
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February 23, 2012 at 9:04 AM
“Havent seen ishqiya myeslf….”
Lordie…this movie made MD relocate to India!!
You MUST see it. I can’t believe you haven’t seen it!
You would love-love it.
Go to this website…you will want to see the movie after this:
http://www.ishqiya.com/
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February 23, 2012 at 9:29 AM
“To be able to critique/ guide, one has to be aware of somethin yourselves…”
All the dialogues/millieu of Ishquiya I am totally unfamiliar with the way I would be about calcutta in Kahani! Dialogues in Ishquiya In fact are downright crass for middle class sensibilities. I cannot tell you why technically it is a superior movie (leave it to GF/Satyam) but from story/acting/humor/scenery/autheticity (etc), it is fun to watch again and again (and I seldom watch even a very good movie again). If you give Agneepath (new one) a chance and not Ishquiya, I will be completely offended. Go watch it. And tell me if you liked it or not. Well…don’t tell me if you don’t like it 😉
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February 23, 2012 at 10:00 AM
Thanx di—
will try it out
As of now, need to settle some unfinished business from yesterday nite 😉
The perks of life…
back in a bit lol
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February 22, 2012 at 11:56 AM
Dil chahta Hai
Satyam: among other films , this is one that does need a ‘minihomage’ from time to time IMO
Did u do a DCH post WHEN it released-would be interesting to release that as a new thread-would be enlightening to those doing ‘research’ 🙂
I could see the ‘germs’ in DCH this time that later on grew to becum rock on and ZNMD (to name a few)
Just revisited parts of it (as part of someone’s research thesis bit lol)
Well ,
I’m surprised how it has not aged badly
()even though the leads may have ..)
The other day a female German Srk fan surprsied me by claiming to not even know aamir khan
She asked me for a sample
Just sent her this teaser
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February 22, 2012 at 12:41 PM
part of an older comment on DCH:
“If globalization destabilizes existing economic hierarchies, introduces new opportunities in this sense it also does the same for social arrangements. But there are instances where a certain contradictory ‘marriage’ can be sustained for a while — those who are beneficiaries of the new system and also feel they can maintain their ‘traditional’ values, in fact return to them with a certain force. The Barjatya universe involves putting your head in the sand and ‘regressing’ to am imagined extended family paradise. The Johar world is the more symptomatic one as it does both. One is awash in the new consumerism but it’s also all about loving your family! Things change a bit and you get to IHLS which is the ‘head fake’ moment of the same dynamic. You repeat all the moves of the 90s love story except that you pretend to scoff at it. In the end you get there despite yourself. This too is a move inaugurated by DCH (as GF reminded us the other day this was probably the most influential film of the decade). Those who have been following me since those days will probably recognize this criticism but Farhan Akhtar (we began with his father) eventually opted for a conservative ending in DCH. In the second half everything gradually becomes more and more ‘regular’ and conformist. When DCH ends it’s not a film Johar disagrees with! In some ways Farhan Akhtar provided the even better configuration for this age. Johar created a world that also started seeming archaic somewhat soon despite Johar’s best attempts to update it. Even the emotional tone of the narratives was something that a younger audience had trouble dealing with. We then entered with Farhan Akhtar into a certain ‘ironic’ age where the first casualty is really enough emotional investment by the viewer. It’s not just that the films have to be kept light, they must have all the weight and aftertaste of M&Ms! And most days I’d take the latter! ”
and then from elsewhere:
“I’d disagree on the K3G-DCH point.. the dramatic conflict in K3G falls within the framework of what I’ve described in the post. It is an inter-generational one where both sides have the very same lifestyle choices. It’s not like the old family conflicts where each side represented a different set of values.
On DCH while I certainly think it got a bit too conformist towards the end in some ways the Gen X format also comes with some built-in angst. In other words each of the characters despite coming from various degrees of affluence is nonetheless trying to find his place in his social order. They are not completely integrated. They become so over time. But a general bourgeois system of values is perhaps upheld here far more than the economic system of the ‘present’. Also note how these characters have parents who seem to be success stories of this new order. But even as Aamir works on the VAIO laptop (if memory serves!) he is not wedded to the lifestyles choices of which that instrument is a symptom. If he were there wouldn’t be a crisis. Much as when SRK is in India working with his father and then in London estranged with his father he follows the very same lifestyle without the slightest trace of angst. Hrithik too the very same. Bachchan as well at every point. ”
Nonetheless:
“Dil Chahta Hai though remains in a class of its own. Somewhat conformist in the second half. Farhan didn’t quite follow through on some of the interesting premises he set up but nonetheless I don’t quarrel too much with the film.”
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February 22, 2012 at 12:52 PM
these are more thematic comments but in visual terms I think it’s head and shoulders above most of the competition, certainly all of it within the genre. But my favorite Akhtar visuals in this sense are still in the first half of Lakshya where I really love his open spaces. A film that in some ways was a lot more promising than DCH but where Akhtar just wrecks things in the second with a boring resolution where to discover himself the character somehow has to become a nationalist as well. In the same sense (perhaps even worse) Dutta totally ruined the Refugee ending. Really an unpardonable sin in the world of this film and one where once again the stale nationalist move towards the end completely destroys the controlling metaphor of the entire film. Again some extraordinary visuals by Dutta here in the Rann of Kutch (bachchan was there recently and earlier).
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February 24, 2012 at 5:48 PM
on Lakshya I should also say that this was one of those absolutely stellar UTV DVDs that is weirdly now pretty hard to track down in the US. It’s still available on Amazon’s British site. In India MoserBaer did a release (which itself does not seem readily available) but I don’t trust them. First of all the Moserbaer logo stays on screen all the time, but also in some instances their transfers are cropped (as is the case with their D6 released as opposed to UTV’s though I am also told that the film was released in two different ratios in India). In the US as a matter of fact I saw the more cropped ratio in my theater. But in any case getting back to Lakshya for anyone who didn’t see this in the right theater it’s visuals are best appreciated on the UTV DVD.
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February 25, 2012 at 2:12 PM
And these weren’t great commercial decisions either. Because the resolutions in both cases seemed too easy or ‘unearned’. In Dutta especially this is the ‘unthought’. He’s director who is always most at home representing ‘anarchy’. But he makes the nationalist move in the 90s with his war films because his original Rajasthan perspectives become far less possible (for a variety of reasons) in the later periods. And one can see Dutta then struggling with this. Of his war films LoC is in some ways the far more interesting work compared to Border and also has some truly awesome visual compositions (the sequence just pre-interval is for example a tour de force). But Refugee had a truly extraordinary premise (and lead character) and it was a shame to have compromised all of this later on. In a dream scenario of mine Dutta revisits the film with Abhishek and makes the ‘right’ second half!
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February 25, 2012 at 3:39 PM
Parts of Lakshya were really good. At one point, Farhan was a very promising young director.And then, he turned to the idiotic Don remake-franchise. And, in the process ended up becoming an SRK groupie. What a fall from grace.
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February 22, 2012 at 12:37 PM
“Two of the boys are now accounted for, and that leaves Sid, with his hopeless crush on a lady old enough to be his….well, old enough to have frolicked in a bikini with Rishi Kapoor. The filmmakers flirt (as Bombay filmmakers are wont to do) with breaking a Big Taboo here—but also open space for public reflection on such real problems as India’s father-friendly divorce courts, and the enduring social stigma against single older women. But they stop short of going All The Way for Sid and Tara, and if you guessed that the critically ill alcoholic in the opening scene was she, you guessed right. Once she is out of the picture, there’s a tacked-on feel-good ending in which, as Sid vacations in Goa with his two pals and their soulmates, a nymphet floats into his path, and we instantly know that she will be The One for him.”
hahahaha
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February 22, 2012 at 12:40 PM
At the time of the release—satyam–did u write a review–maybe difficult to track down now?
Anyhow–the above review of DCH is not only tongue in cheek hilarious but what gives i an edge to some other western reveiws of bollywood is this last para, that somewhat makes up for some of the lacunae in the rest–
“To a large extent, DIL CHAHTA HAI looks, sounds, and (almost) feels like a Hollywood movie. This is no doubt part of its appeal to its target audience. Another part, however, is that when all is said and done, DIL’s dil remains Hindustani, with its three principals professing a dosti that they will never torenge (“I will always be there for you”), Sid’s lap-hugging loyalty to mother —even after she says cruel and unfair things to the woman he loves, and (as in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Pardes) benevolent paternal fiat the crucial ingredient for making Akash and Shalini’s boat-rocking “love marriage” acceptable.”
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February 22, 2012 at 12:42 PM
never did a review on DCH.
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February 22, 2012 at 12:46 PM
satyam–could u pen down some quick thoughts on DCHs overall ‘impact’ or soemthing and a nutshell summary
ps btw not sure if u think much of DCH
Obviously will credit your contribution in my talk…
do this as a hobby/ social interactions
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February 22, 2012 at 12:52 PM
just put up some older comments in this thread.
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February 22, 2012 at 12:44 PM
The deals done-‘Dil Chahta Hai’ is the chosen one, to begin with!!
Will be showing off Dil chahta hai (& doing a guided introduction of sorts) to certain bollywood naive university research crowd element …
semiformal over a snack, viewing
and will allow me to speak extempore on this topic…
Needless to say that this allows one to ‘mould’ opinion of naive people @ the outset
Looking for any more reviews to ‘cut n paste’ in my mind 😉
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February 22, 2012 at 12:56 PM
This sounds interesting, maybe treat them with some good wine to indulge with. Films always seem to have a deeper meaning when watched with some alcohol. LOL.( Not taking anything away from DCH One of the cult films of our times),
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February 22, 2012 at 12:58 PM
thanx satyam
unknown to u, there are certain ‘fans’ of your writings (and even mine)
Not only bcos they like your writing.
buit have also been caught red-handed by me ‘copying’ stuff-even mine 😉
but since they are nubile harmless elements, im sure u wont mind (just like i dont mind..)
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February 22, 2012 at 1:44 PM
whatever gets you through the day!
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February 22, 2012 at 1:18 PM
thanx kash-yes thats a v good film-liked kher here..
liked all of dibakar banerjees films including this one
though have a softer corner for Dev d 🙂
input from others also welcome (including on dch)
good 2 get the whole specturm–age/preference wise..
cheers
ps–have a few unexpected holidays
wot a way 2 socialise/ expand horizons hahaha
btw enjoy unprepared public speaking and playing with the audience (esp if it is totally naive witht the subject)
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February 22, 2012 at 1:20 PM
wt about znmd/ dhobi ghaat/lagaan/3I, to name a few
Oops this is becuming an aamir show–how uncanny
maybe illustrative of aamirs impact
oh yes–rockstar , yeeeessss
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February 22, 2012 at 1:50 PM
I wouldn’t count ZNMD as a cult film, that made a difference to film-making per se. Yes, Lagaan indeed. Not sure who your target audience is here. If they are completely oblivious to India and its culture. Then from DCH I would certainly jump to KKG to show these 2 facets of real India. One is an elevated society of India as in DCH and other the life of a common man and its troubles in KKG. It would be an interesting contrast to educate them with. (I am sure they have seen the 3rd kind in Slumdog, which is not really true, I am from Bombay myself and do not agree with most of it what’s shown here).
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February 22, 2012 at 1:54 PM
agree Kash –u r right
that znmd is neither cult nor too disparate from DCH
(though have to squeeze in the ‘bike scene’ & a few others by one pretext or another)
cheers
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February 22, 2012 at 1:34 PM
thanx satyam, kash
off for some unprepared ‘public speaking’
see ya in a bit
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February 22, 2012 at 1:48 PM
Finally –this is a good summarising bit
thanx-will put it to gud use 🙂
“The Barjatya universe involves putting your head in the sand and ‘regressing’ to am imagined extended family paradise. The Johar world is the more symptomatic one as it does both. One is awash in the new consumerism but it’s also all about loving your family! Things change a bit and you get to IHLS which is the ‘head fake’ moment of the same dynamic. You repeat all the moves of the 90s love story except that you pretend to scoff at it. In the end you get there despite yourself. This too is a move inaugurated by DCH (as GF reminded us the other day this was probably the most influential film of the decade). “
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February 25, 2012 at 1:20 AM
Ha ha! Good one.
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February 22, 2012 at 2:08 PM
Thanx Di
Also depends on the target audience
Actually lagaan and company/sarkaar/satya are gud options as well
Will see-getting late
Cya in a bit 🙂
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February 22, 2012 at 5:04 PM
I have been brought up in a cultured family
Nazia Sayed and Kunal M Shah
Posted On Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 02:05:47 AM
Patrons at the tony Wasabi restaurant in Taj were treated to more than sushi rolls late on Tuesday. It became a near war-zone between a family that was looking to celebrate a private occasion and actor Saif Ali Khan who was here socialising with his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor and close family friends.
It resulted in the arrest of Saif Ali Khan, Bilal Amrohi and builder Shakeel Ladakh who were part of the party, and later bailed out after paying a surety of Rs 15,000 each.
The incident happened a little past midnight, when Iqbal Navin Sharma, 44, accompanied by his wife and in-laws, for a quiet dinner to celebrate his wedding anniversary, summoned the manager to request Saif and his friends to keep it down a little. According to the police, Khan, his girlfriend, her sister Karisma Kapur, designer Vikram Phadnis, Amrita Arora and her husband Shakeel Ladakh, Bilal Amrohi and Malaika Arora were having a small but noisy get together at the next table.
“They were shouting and talking so loudly that it was disturbing us. We wanted a little peace and not this hungama. I called the manager and asked him to tell them to lower their voices,” said Sharma. The manager conveyed the message to Khan, who paid no heed to it. Subsequently, Sharma and his family decided to shift to another table downstairs and asked the waiters to shift the food as well.
“As we were headed downstairs Saif crossed our path as he was going towards the washroom. Seeing me he stopped and said ‘You know something, you are an idiot. If you want some peace go to a library. This place is not for you’,” said Sharma. Unable to contain his rage, Sharma screamed back ‘You are an idiot’. Following this, Saif turned back and punched Sharma on his nose, sending him flying down the stairs. Seeing his son-in-law in distress, Ramanbhai Patel, 68, came to his rescue and tried to intervene. This resulted in Saif pushing Patel on the ground.
“I landed on the stairs and hurt my head. It was then this friend of Saif (Shakeel Ladakh) charged towards me and punched me hard on the face. Even the girls who were with them did not try to stop them.
They were in fact cheering their friends and hurling abuses at us,” recalled Patel.
Subsequently, Khan realised that the situation had gone out of hand when he saw the senior citizen in pain. He apologised but Patel demanded an apology to his son-in-law too. Saif refused and walked out of the restaurant, screaming, “I have been brought up in a very cultured family.”
When contacted, Saif said, “There was an ugly incident last night where my friends and the ladies accompanying us were abused and I was assaulted. I was hit and I defended myself. I have been to the police station to abide by the requirements of law as I am a law abiding citizen. I have also filed a complaint about what happened last night and I am confident justice will be done.”
Amrita Arora said, “I guess we are paying the price of being celebs and whatever has happened is very unfortunate. They are on TV giving interviews; it’s a common case of getting 15 minutes of fame. When you punch one of our guys and abuse the woman on our table, any man would respond in this fashion.”
Following the incident, Sharma called up a friend who later drove them to G T Hospital first and then to the Colaba police station. An FIR was registered by 3.30 am.
Sharma and his family run a trade and investment business in South Africa and runs a business there. They are in India on a vacation, residing in Chrysalis building in Juhu. “I didn’t even know who he was until the manager told me that he was a well-known actor in Bollywood. I know that he will easily get a bail and the matter will die down. But I will fight it to the end and see that these people are punished,” said Sharma.
ACP Iqbal Shaikh said, “Saif, Shakeel and Bilal were detained at their lawyer’s office and later officially arrested in the police station, and subsequently released. We are now taking down the statements of the witnesses and the matter is under investigation.”
How cops goofed up
Although the FIR was registered at 3.30 am and the complainant insisted that the police act quickly as the actor was drunk at the time, Colaba police allegedly made no quick moves. More than 12 hours after the FIR was registered, Colaba police detained Saif Ali Khan when he visited his lawyer at Raheja Chambers in Nariman Point on Wednesday evening. He was then brought to the police station through the back door.
Sources alleged that a senior Crime Branch officer called up Colaba police station allegedly instructing them not to hurry the arrest and instead give the actor some time to surrender.
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February 23, 2012 at 8:35 AM
Twitter jabs on Saif’s punch
By Bollywood Hungama News Network, Feb 23, 2012 – 16:59 IST
Saif Ali Khan As the news of Saif Ali Khan assaulting NRI businessman Iqbal Sharma at Taj Hotel in Mumbai broke out, Saif started trending on Twitter. The micro-blogging site was flooded with jokes on the incident. Check out some really funny tweets on Chotte Nawab’s famous punch.
@Ohfakenews: Saif ali khan beats up a guy named iqbal sharma in Wasabi restaurant in taj yesterday night who asked ‘Is kareena your Daughter’. #bollywood
@MTVIndia: Next time you go to Wasabi, try the punch. Saif Ali Khan recommended it.
@BollywoodGandu: Saif beats up a guy in Wasabi restaurant after he was told he was being loud. This is what happens when you make it large. Repeatedly.
@kiduva: Saif Ali Khan always used to say that Sharukh khan was an inspiration to him. Who thought that was true!!
@dockydockrat: So the guy Saif Ali Khan hit in the Taj Hotel in Mumbai-Iqbal Sharma is South African. Makes him the first SA’n to be a hit in Bollywood:)
@creative_g33k: @ComedyCentralIn Saif Ali Khan punched Iqbal at The Taj because Iqbal refused to say “Wah! Taj..”
@fuzzhead045: I wonder what strategy would Saif Ali Khan come up with in a bar fight against Voldemort… You cant punch him on his nose man!!
@MTVIndia: So Saif Ali Khan punched some guy last night. Maybe he was trying to Pataodi his girlfriend.
@BewakOOf_Ladka Close: Saif Ali khan’s favourite book “Punch-Thantra” #lrlr
@loveforlingerie: Maybe Saif Ali Khan was wearing a boxer yesterday #unhooked
@anirbanbhar: The Saif Ali khan case is being probed by an inspector named VINOD.
@thetanmay: So it’s true what they say – Wasabi really hits you in the nose. #SaifAliKhan #re
@iambhavin: Saif Ali Khan punched Iqbal & broked his nose cos he said, mine is bigger than yours
@thetanmay: Know why Saif punched Iqbal Sharma so many times? Because no one can eat just one. #Sorry
@ranj_vktl: Saif Ali Khan to the PR team of #AgentVinod : “Have I made it large??”
@thetanmay: Iqbal Sharma is a weird name. One half of his name bowls damn well and the other half gets hit for a six by Javed Miandad off the last ball
@mojorojo: Saif didn’t punch anybody. He walked out of the place, and his nose clocked someone. That’ll happen.
@thebest_abhi: If you ever want to commit suicide, jump from Saif Ali Khan’s Ego Level to Kareena Kapoor’s IQ Level.
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February 23, 2012 at 9:33 AM
From when did culture stop people from committing crime? Wasn’t Saif the guy who led Salman on for the blackbuck hunting? Of course he was a much smaller star then, do no one even cared with all the focus on Salman.
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February 23, 2012 at 9:45 AM
Forget Taj, even to go to chota-mota (nice) restaurant, you have to find a baby-sitter and not take your small kids who can make noise. The logic being that others are doing the same and your loud/crying kids can ruin someone else’s dinner! If kids cannot make noise then how come adults make it noisy?! if he is indeed from a “cultured” family, he should have booked a room in Taj and made noise there not in dinner area. Saif is in the wrong here. And to slap a senior citizen. I am glad he got arrested. Actors have big egos (especially in India)..they think that because they are celebrities they have more rights/privileges. Actors have been hitting (even female) journos from a long time (dharmendra); junior too did it but father intervened and made the press not give it too much importance and publish that news. Shame on the *stars*
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March 1, 2012 at 9:17 AM
If this story is then I’m so disappointed with Saif…..I really like him as an actor
I’m disgusted with his friends who instead of stopping him joined in the beating and hurling abuse.
The audience should boycott their films and write to the companies who pay them for advertisements etc.
That’l teach them a lesson.
Shame on the police station too, for treating a star differently to the general public – the police are supposed to uphold the law and judge everyone equally.
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February 23, 2012 at 9:52 AM
Still cranky after a late nite (and dizzy heights)… 😉
but couldnt read this one—feel like beating someone up!!! lol
“Saif turned back and punched Sharma on his nose……. Seeing his son-in-law in distress, Ramanbhai Patel, 68, came to his rescue and tried to intervene. This resulted in Saif pushing Patel on the ground.They were in fact cheering their friends and hurling abuses at us. Subsequently, Khan realised that the situation had gone out of hand when he saw the senior citizen in pain.”
wtf
sheer cowardice–hitting senior citizens and uncles etc
if this version is true, am really annoyed with saif
wanna kick his butt…and punch him hard
This guy spent an eternity in sub-medocrity injecting testosteroines to grow facial hair
and giving srk a shave (really–it is on youtube–in concerts)
and standing next to srk in award shows like his back-up helper
And the first hint of things looking up somewhat
and this is what he ends up doin
Never really seen the likes of hritik, bachchan doing it–even @ much greater ‘heights’!!!!!
this is not just a matter of temperament, i think….
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February 25, 2012 at 1:10 AM
Yeah these Salman-SRK-Saif are real ‘pussies’ in real lives (no matter how many abs they build or how much steroids they intake).
What glory is there to drive over homeless people or slapping a coward like Shirish or beating up elders?
Why cant SRK have the balls to slap Salman? Or Saif to attack someone of his own size and age?
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February 25, 2012 at 1:30 AM
‘This guy spent an eternity in sub-medocrity injecting testosteroines to grow facial hair
and giving srk a shave (really–it is on youtube–in concerts)
and standing next to srk in award shows like his back-up helper
And the first hint of things looking up somewhat
and this is what he ends up doin
Never really seen the likes of hritik, bachchan doing it–even @ much greater ‘heights’!!!!!
this is not just a matter of temperament, i think….’
Agree. and i hope my fav , A Khan, doesn’t ever go punch happy. He hasn’t done it all these years–and I hope he doesn’t do it ever, even under provocation. Seriously, the trio that’s already now notorious for party- punches–they’ve given a bad name to 1.Bolly stars, 2. Muslim actors. The baying crowd is already at it, writing horrible comments at sites like TOI and rediff, unnecessarily communalizing the issue.
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February 25, 2012 at 5:19 AM
Please LS, don’t let me get started 😉
While I don’r support brawling, there are other things which I find EQUALLY bad, and your fav AK guilty of.
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February 25, 2012 at 3:06 PM
Why am i not surprised at this reaction from Aamir’s pet hater (if I may be allowed to use such a childish term). Aamir may have other faults–but thank God that so far in his two decade plus career , NEVER has he behaved carelessly and badly in public. And i hope he maintains this record, never allows any provocator to make him lose his cool–it’s seriously bad that the other three Khans have allowed such situations to escalate into avoidable public confrontations. It feels sad to read comments from public, decrying these leading stars in the worst possible manner.
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February 25, 2012 at 3:26 PM
>NEVER has he behaved carelessly and badly in public.
I think the term you are looking for is hypocrisy/slyness.
Good behaviour *everywhere*, not just in public, but also in personal life is what has to be commended on.
Ego consciousness at any place at any time for any reason is the SAME for me.
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February 25, 2012 at 3:51 PM
An addition to my own comment, being made after reading yet another sly attack on Aamir–i can use the word sly too, unnecessarily. Being well behaved in public is important for a public figure. Being a good person in private is equally important. And a public figure’s private life is just that –private. Speculation, sly remarks about a certain star’s supposed slyness, all this sort of roundabout talk against somebody whose guts one hates–none of it can reveal what really goes on in a public figure’s home and hearth. All we see is what happens in public. the rest is mere speculation and reportage, depending on one’s bias.
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February 25, 2012 at 4:39 PM
Please note my last para.
I just don’t want to get into unnecessary narration at this point, with my opinion about some things which I detest re: Amir.
My slyness does not eliminate Amir’s slyness.
I am sly, SRK is sly,………. what I’m saying is,…. Amir is sly too, in addition to being a hypocrite.
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February 25, 2012 at 4:43 PM
So SRK is sincerely, honestly, authentically ‘sly’ while Aamir is so in very devious, hypocritical, insincere ways..
How some of us abuse the English language..!
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February 25, 2012 at 5:00 PM
NO!! satyam.
That’s the word picked by LS for me, I’m playing along.
It’s actually the English word I picked up to describe Amir as I see him in many of his ways.
Anyway – welcome to the discussion.
Hopefully we won’t go astray with other things, like the English language, but remain focussed on what I’m trying to express as my opinion that there are many *EGO ORIENTED* acts equally distressing as a brawl.
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February 23, 2012 at 9:57 AM
“If you ever want to commit suicide, jump from Saif Ali Khan’s Ego Level to Kareena Kapoor’s IQ Level.”
hahaha
Kareena Kapoor—the absolute pits
reminds me of something–
Salman fans like sm –sorry (know even u are apologetic bout being a salman fan and have becum a closet fan now)–nothin personal agaist salman
but here have to incluide him in the august company of kareena
kareena, salman and size zero (IQ)
The beauty of modern-day living is that it has thrown up plenty of dizzying choices at the dining table, a plethora of succulent options in terms of cuisine, none of which a human being can begin to eat without feeling extremely guilty or scared of its ramifications in terms of health. People, who till the other day were believing that protein was the name of teenage support group, are now discussing with authoritative gusto fibre content in foods with hotel waiters, who generally have the understanding and reasoning power of lettuce.
Yes, food has now evolved to be the new F word and calories, which were once just the unit of heat, has now become the measurement of people’s fear and anxiety. However, it is not right to ridicule people’s desire to look fit and stay hearty as it is a question between living unhealthy and dying and living healthy and still dying.
Once you decide on the latter, more than what to eat and how to sweat it out, what to wear become imperative needs, because there is no bigger show off in the world than the one who is working out in gyms and supposedly eating all the right food. It is never impossible to spot the physical fitness fiend even in the midst of thousands: He is usually the one in the T-shirt four sizes smaller than his regular fit. Yes, regular fitness exercises come at a price: Reduced thinking faculty. Exhibit A: Salman Khan.
But since that has become the norm of the times, it is important that we answer a few vital questions related to individual well-being and workouts so that we are done with bigger exercise, which is to find reasonably healthy material for this weekly column.
What is the best time to exercise?
This is a good question to ponder over, because this gives you a valid excuse to further delay your decision before you actually get down to go on a fitness regimen. But the moment you make up your mind one way or the other, there can be no room for complacency, as you have to keep thinking up fresh reasons to further stay away from working out.
Luckily for souls like you, enough opportunities would present themselves to be thrown up as excuses to remain committedly lazy. During summers, in the mornings, it is a no-brainer to go to a gym to sweat it out when you can actually manage that better in the comforts of your own AC-ed bedroom. In the evenings, it is even worse, as people perspire so much that some of them may even think of fitting a sweat-water harvesting apparatus to their bodies. The winters, fortunately, are easier, as the weather itself is conducive for convenient and compelling lies to keep you warm in your laziness.
If for some strange reason, if you indeed take your exercises seriously, it is usually advised to get in touch with a physician. This is done with the fond hope that he will helpfully suggest some practical ways and means for you to avoid fitness routines altogether.
Can you explain the difference between calisthenics and aerobics?
Aerobics, as the dictionary defines it, is a set of physical exercises that are designed to increase the need for oxygen. This is usually managed by the commonsense logic of wearing extremely tight-fitting clothes. The beauty of aerobics attire is that it almost garrotes people at all the wrong places. Strangulation of little finger is a common cause of death among aerobics people.
Calisthenics, on the other hand, is another clutch of general fitness routines that involve specially trained people looking foolishly cheery even when they are making a complete ass of themselves in front of a rolling camera. Calisthenics, it should be said here, is only for demonstration purposes, and there may not be anybody out there who is actually doing it. Calisthenics is known to impart a suppleness in joints, especially since it can be spelled as callisthenics, too.
Which is better: Yoga or aerobics?
This is a very important question, and is actually a personal call a person has to take, taking into consideration various things like the smartness and personableness of the instructors. Yoga teachers are generally known to be flexible while aerobic tutors can be pliable. You decide which type suits you better.
Yoga, at the core, is a form of holistic routines conceived for the overall well-being of an individual, and is constructed on the traditional truths of this land, which is to thoroughly zap unwary individuals with high-sounding Sanskritized terms. Yoga involves various asanas that provide immediate litheness to tongues that utter them.
The main difference between yoga and aerobics, and an important reason why yoga usually tends to score over aerobics, is that a yoga expert can somehow trick people to believe that he or she is a yogi while an aerobics instructor cannot for the implicit reason that there is no word called ‘aerobi’.
How much time should one spend (on an average) at the gym daily?
Experts are unanimous that nothing less than two hours daily at the gym will deliver the necessary results. Experts also suggest that the two hours at the gym can be handily split into operational parts like: Five minutes of some random physical activity with weighty implements, including vigorously looking at them. And 115 minutes of ogling at your own figure from every possible angle on the myriad mirrors provided helpfully by the gym authorities.
What’s size zero? How does one attain that?
Size zero, as is self-evident, indubitably refers to the IQ of those who become so desperate in life that they end up believing that looking thin is chic and beautiful, when in reality they seem like walking, tragic exclamation marks.
Ramp-walk models are size-zero specialists and they achieve this exalted state by eating food that provide energy just enough to carry the little shreds of strangely cut cloth, which they are wont to wear in joyless casualness.
Write a note on Kareena Kapoor
There are some sceptics who assert that the Kareena who is seen in public with an impossible figure is actually a computer graphics-enabled model while the real Kareena is somewhere living happily and eating contentedly like the rest of the humanity. The sceptics base their argument on the unimpeachable logic that Kareena’s public looks and body structure are possible only if she were to subsist solely on decaffeinated, calorie-cut and fat-less oxygen.
Anyway, the Kapoor gal is a wonderful example of the strong-willed and steadfast types in Bollywood who sincerely live out the ultimate dictum of show business: Truth doesn’t matter.
How do health foods work?
Oh, do they?
But as long as there are people who are ready to shell out large sums of money for fat-free chocolates and sugar-less coffee when elementary logics suggests that they should pay less for all the things that are removed from their eatables, the health food will continue to be in good health.
If the Great God had really wanted us to consume tasteless things, which is what health foods are really, he wouldn’t have given us a long tongue embedded with taste buds and a longer tongue to complain if what is served is vapid
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February 25, 2012 at 1:01 AM
Alex–I am putting up this comment of yours on my fb page. pl don’t mind, it is too funny, ironically true and neeeds to be shared. I have a specially wacky fb friend Ashwin s Kumar who blogs , writes real and faking posts, makes music, the lot–he and some others will enjoy it. So, am posting this, ok? With link of course.
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February 25, 2012 at 1:15 AM
BTW–Alex–if the above stuff is your own–congrats on a great funny piece. In case there is a link to same–congrats on finding it. Whatever–quite a bit of irony and sachchai there!
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February 25, 2012 at 7:12 AM
thanx LS-thats fine
Anyhow–anyone for coffee
what do u prefer—cappucino, espresso or mocha-
raise your hands
btw theres so much talk now of giving an oscar to Gary ‘old’man–loads of teenagers also joinin the chorus
IMO he should ve got something ages ago –when he wasnt ‘old’man–perhaps now it seems more of a ‘lifetime achievement’ award since he is not at his peak now imo–try ‘immortal beloved’–for the ambience, beethoven and oldman (and that ravishing beauty)
revisited one of his films
liked it more this time–since have now got some maturity/capacity (hopefully lol) to understand/appreciate the mastery of Ludwig Beethoven
To all admirers of ‘art’ and music
try this movie-not better then amadeus but in its own way- a class act
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February 25, 2012 at 7:42 AM
And LS–do try out this movie, if u havent seen it already and if u have ANY interest in music
btw any fresh book recommendations
we folks here, dont read much u know
its only when enlightened souls like u visit, we see the light of day / save us from srk/kjo/abhishrek-isms
🙂
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February 25, 2012 at 11:56 AM
loads and loads of kareena visuals here spoiling the mix!!
just one pic of that ‘I’ll do the talking tonite” song (rasputin remix) girl trumps all of kareena visuals
whos that gal?
she moves well …
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February 25, 2012 at 1:57 PM
the music is perhaps better than the film
worth a watch
satyam -have u seen this 1
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February 25, 2012 at 3:13 PM
Re: “If you ever want to commit suicide, jump from Saif Ali Khan’s Ego Level to Kareena Kapoor’s IQ Level.”
Thats golden. Cruel but so funny.
I think both of them are capable of superficial and OTT behaviour but doubt if Saif’s ego is so bloated or Kareena’s IQ so low.
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February 25, 2012 at 4:33 PM
Often the problem is sheer ignorance about many things as opposed to a pure IQ Level. Kareena looks quite intelligent but I suspect one wouldn’t want to be trapped in conversation with her! Of course some might chide me for desiring conversation with her anyway. But that’s another matter.
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February 25, 2012 at 5:03 PM
how bout some telly-ok “What happens in Vegas”–worth a watch?
Atleast there wont be kareena to tolerate (as in EMET..)
Lets see how long it can sustain my interest lol
haven seen it b4
satyam–have u seen ‘end of days’
“Kareena looks quite intelligent …”–satyam r u ok–take it back lol
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February 25, 2012 at 8:30 PM
Satyam: Y don’t U do a blog post on “Paan Singh Tomar” releasing March 4th week. Has a really good cast and story is interesting (true life) too.
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February 26, 2012 at 8:23 AM
Unrelated
But saw bits of ‘what happens in Vegas’
Someone came uP so couldn’t complete
Know it’s easy to ridicule and mock this as contrived silliness
But to be frank-had fun
May watch the rest of it sometimes
And cameron Diaz the ageless wonder continues to surprise
Don’t know -but sometimes she makes the most idiotic and moronic films worth a watch
Her comedic timing is (not the only thing) good..
Heck-could sit thru
Bad teacher as well
And didnt mind ‘knight n day’ either
Was reminded of kareenas facial structure a bit in a strange way with Diaz
Bit surprisingly for me the former is the height of irritating disgust an the latter is …
Not sure if EMET is the remake of what happens in Vegas
But the former (EMET) does have an allergenic actress and an impotently inane ‘hero’
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March 1, 2012 at 3:49 PM
Mariyam Zakaria: Saif Trusted Me Completely
by Jigar Shah (February 29, 2012)
If the trailer of Agent Vinod is anything to go by, we are in for some mind-blowing stunts by Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. And guess what? The stunts are not restricted to the lead actors.
Swedish import Mariyam Zakaria, who shares screen space with Kapoor in the mujra song, comments on a hair-raising stunt she performed with Khan. “This is my first film as an actress and I did my own stunts. I was sitting in the passenger seat of a military jeep with my hand on the wheel as Saif was shooting at the enemy with a machine gun.
This took some delicate coordination between Saif and me as the scene depended on my driving skills.
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March 1, 2012 at 5:40 PM
Swedish import?! She looks very Indian to me! And she dances well. Hope to see more of her.
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March 1, 2012 at 3:55 PM
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March 6, 2012 at 12:48 AM
These new AV posters look like the fake genre-parodying posters that you find on certain humour websites. Actually a lot of the promotional material for AV looks like it’s been made by people who have knowledge of the action movie cliches but don’t really know much about action movies itself.
Some of the footage is intriguing and Shriram Raghavan probably intends a lot of this to be self-aware and tongue-in-cheek but it looks like Saif is taking this dead seriously. I wonder how much creative freedom Shriram Ragahavan had- a lot of this looks like he was forced to create a homage to Saif’s suaveness and kickassness (as perceived by Saif). He has gone n record to say that he is not interested in directing any sequels- if they are made.
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March 6, 2012 at 6:51 AM
The advertising campaign for this film has just been very inconsistent. I’ve liked a lot of it but it doesn’t all seem to belong to the same film.
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March 6, 2012 at 7:51 AM
Yes exactly- some of the stills and video feel like they’re from a quirky, interesting Shriram Raghavan action movie- but the rest feel like they are an advertisement for Saif’s awesomeness- made by someone who has watched Johnny English or one of those spy spoof movies and assumed that this is how the genre operates in earnest.
I liked the teaser trailer in it’s entirety, parts of the theatrical trailer, the mujra song and a lot of the actual stills from the movie. But the song with Saif killing the men in the camera room as well as all the posters and bits of the theatrical trailer are very unintentionally amusing.
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March 6, 2012 at 4:58 PM
The ‘mujra’ is pathetic
Though the female OTHER than Kareena is not bad-who’s she
Anyhow watching bits of ‘salaam namaste’ (amongst doin other things)
Actually like this film
For the urbane ‘fluidity’ of saif
And preity zinta ( though she is slightly over the hill here but still)
And hang on-may cum up with some thoughts of salam namaste (of all films)
Due to seem strange reasons:like this film
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March 6, 2012 at 5:16 PM
agreed on the mujra.. the other female is the model referenced earlier in both this thread and the Rowdy Rathore one.
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March 6, 2012 at 5:12 PM
I mean, this is the type of stuff that comes naturally to saif
Like him here And preity zinta who reminds me of…
Even warsi was in form here
Any female who rejects him -gets labelled as a lesbian 🙂
Nice fun film- the vibe here reminds me..
Some out takes
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March 7, 2012 at 9:44 AM
Waiting for the film with bated breath( if promos are to be believed this film will set a gold started for a spy-actioneer in india, it seems like a much slicker and intelligent product than don2). Found the posters really good apart from the last one where saif posing with so many chicks- this one has dumbed-down the overall smartness the pictures created. Also, i am greatly liking the enitre retro vibe. I believe casting gulshan grover and prem chopra as one of the shady charcters is a part of keep that retro feel. anyone else here also feel that way too?
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March 7, 2012 at 2:40 PM
Clueless interview from Saif:
“Is the film also a little kitsch?
I don’t think kitsch is commercial. Kitsch doesn’t really resonate with the large audiences. You can do it with your fashion sense at the racecourse, but not in a mainstream Bollywood film (laughs). ”
Does he even know what kitsch is? The Dirty Picture was pure kitsch and it worked in a huge way- and a lot of AV looks very kitschy.
“India has always had cheesy rip-offs of Bond films, like the ones in the ’70s. So, I thought why not make a non-cheesy film in the same genre. The idea is to revamp a genre that, in retrospect, is a little cheesy… a little low-brow…In today’s Bollywood, you can’t get away with what Sanjay Gupta was doing in the ’90s… showing people smoking and looking coolly into the camera.”
You’d think he’s collaborating with Jean Pierre Meville on an auteur thriller not hiring out item girl after item girl and putting out the cheesiest posters possible. Not that there is anything wrong with that…but why the smug superiority when he is obviously making an effort to make Ragahavan’s style much more ‘mass’y?
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March 7, 2012 at 2:41 PM
Satyam- this is Ami
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March 7, 2012 at 2:42 PM
Sorry to keep bothering you about changing the comments- my flatmates use my laptop and don’t log out- hope it isn’t too much of a bother…
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March 7, 2012 at 3:54 PM
Don’t worry about that Amy
We know your flatmates name
Say my hello to her, will u 😉
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March 19, 2012 at 9:33 AM
five days to go.. I hope this one doesnt disappoint
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March 19, 2012 at 12:43 PM
The promotional campaign on this has been so scattershot it’s really difficult to tell what you’ll end up with here. Raghavan is one of the good guys and I’d like to see a good film here but there’s nothing I’ve seen in the promos that leads me to believe that this is particularly special. This will be a word-of-mouth watch for me in all likelihood.
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March 19, 2012 at 12:47 PM
agreed..
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March 19, 2012 at 2:22 PM
satyam, i wanted to put up a small note on this film called as ‘drive'(starring ryan gosling, albert brooks- the director was awraded the top prize at cannes last year for the film). i saw the film yesterday so thought abt sharing my views on it. should i put my note in this thread itself or sumwhere else(if at all i am allowed to put it up)?
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March 19, 2012 at 2:59 PM
put it up in this thread.
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March 19, 2012 at 2:12 PM
agreed. i will surely watch this one(for raghavan). but sumwhere deep down, i have a feeling that the original script may have undergone a lot of modification on the editing table.the first teaser was exciting, had some sort of a sort of a dark-humour tone to it. subsequent trailers have been insipid, they all seem to be soe somwhere in ‘race'(abbas-mustan’s film) mode with kareena desperate to hog limelight. still this one has potential to be a game-changer of sorts.
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March 19, 2012 at 4:07 PM
Y/ how is kareena looking (slightly) more tolerable in these pics!!!!
It is ‘love’ or “sex” or “surgery”?
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March 19, 2012 at 4:29 PM
haha, what an observation. but alex, the increased tolerability is not due to surgery but due to ‘purgery'(by which i hereby mean ‘part of a sugarhouse where molasses is drained from sugar)- all her irritating pretentious attitude has been somwhat drained by saif’s godzilla(as saif mentioned on koffee with karan)on the bed.
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March 19, 2012 at 4:39 PM
“but alex, the increased tolerability is not due to surgery but due to ‘purgery’(by which i hereby mean ‘part of a sugarhouse where molasses is drained from sugar)- all her irritating pretentious attitude has been somwhat drained by saif’s godzilla(as saif mentioned on koffee with karan)on the bed.”
HAHAHAHA
wot a comment
read somewhere shes a nymphomaniac 🙂
btw am not sure of saifs ‘ability’ on this front either
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March 19, 2012 at 4:48 PM
u know what, she maybe a nymphomaniac but ‘nymphomaniac’, in a slightly different way, is an oxymoron for kareena.i mean she hardly has the ‘grace’ of a nymph(though sexual appetite may be anoyher thing). by the way alex, u really make sum ‘smart alecky’ statements on this blog, hats-of to u for keeping this blog spicy and funny
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March 20, 2012 at 3:56 AM
” by the way alex, u really make sum ‘smart alecky’ statements on this blog, hats-of to u for keeping this blog spicy and funny”
Thanx minor… 🙂
So how long have u been reading my cumments ; for a while now?
Well, think I should start charging satyam for them 🙂
I do get ‘favour’ somewhat though-a few here know what I’m taking about lol
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March 20, 2012 at 5:22 AM
reminds me of something..
for those who dislike roadies:
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March 20, 2012 at 5:34 PM
Just saw a racy ensemble promo of “Ageing Vinod”
WIth any lesser director, wouldve dismissed it
but from Raghavan and the pair Saif-Vijan, seems to be a neatly packaged designed winner
Hoping to catch this one on the big screen
Am taking some Bollywood naive chumz to this one…
feel this one is a box office winner
So what are the predictions folks–in black n white
opening day, weekend and lifetime gross
beginning from satyam
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March 20, 2012 at 7:45 PM
OK
havent seen the film yet
But feel like patting the back of Saif ali khan, Dinesh vijjan, Sridhar Raghavan and pritam
This SHOULD be the biggest film of saifs career
Lovedthe dialogue and the lyrics here
For the FIRST time, kareena looks reasonable
Again, is it
love or surgery
or plain and simple crude sex
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March 20, 2012 at 7:56 PM
And finally
As expected–
Ageing Vinod showing near me (seems they know my taste lol)
Will be seeing it this weekend
and taking along some bollywood naive chumz to ‘show them” and teach em bout bollywood lol
I know all this talk of ‘commercialisation’ and ‘commodification’ etc etc
cmon not a sin to make a relatively sensible hit
for me
atleast this is better than the mindless crap dished out by many ohters
the sensibilites should be fine
ps–someone sent me “raabta’ just now
love the lyrics, tone, voice and the dialogue
Gets my tick
Now dont care for numbers
This movie is a suxess for me
This spy thriller with the crisp one liners and pesky music seems up my alley
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March 20, 2012 at 8:10 PM
totally agree wth u alex. i have been dying to see this film since it was announced 2 yrs. yes, ‘spy thrillers’ r my kind of thing too(sadly bollywood hardly makes them). sumhow feel saif is cut-out for this role. in the last 10 yrs, i have almost liked films and performances(barring tashan), sadly the guy never gets his due. one of his performance which is always criminally ignored was in ‘eklavya'(a film, for all its deficiencies, i find ratjer brilliant).he matched up to bachchan in every scene.
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March 21, 2012 at 8:51 AM
Pakistan’s ban on Agent Vinod a shame: Saif
Actor-producer Saif Ali Khan has said it is a shame that Pakistan’s Censor board has banned the release of Agent Vinod in that country. The Bollywood film has been banned in Pakistan as the movie contains references to the ISI that could hurt the sentiments of Pakistani people.
“It is a shame that the movie is banned, with no offence to anyone, as the idea is to have open films between the two countries. I was proud that this film was to release there,” Saif said at an event here today.
“In fact the heroine in our film is a Pakistani girl. We were hoping that they would appreciate that,” he added.
The 41-year-old actor, who plays a RAW agent in the film with girlfriend Kareena Kapoor in the female lead, said that Agent Vinod has drawn references from the real-life tension between Pakistan and India.
“This is a realistic kind of a thriller. We have shown that there are some negative elements in Pakistan towards India and their Censor have a problem showing that.
“We have shown a few most-wanted criminals, those that are harboured in Pakistan, which is a known fact. May be they have taken offence to that. But ultimately we want a RAW agent to win and baddies to lose.
“If they are uncomfortable with that then they should publicise that fact that they are banning Agent Vinod in Pakistan,” said Saif.
The actor also said that the ban in Pakistan will also lead to increase in its piracy.
“Pakistan forms a large portion of our audience. The minute you put a censorship or ban, people will make sure they watch it. And we want them to see the film. In fact we wanted them to see the mujra performed by Kareena.
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March 21, 2012 at 9:39 AM
Its immature o Pakistan’s part.
Eevn the Pakistani film Khuda Kay Liye, brilliant though it was, had taken some lame jigs at India (the character specifying that Taj Mahal is a ‘Pakistani’ creation than an Indian one) and a few others where Indians were shown as short-tempered and abusive. Did India put a ban on that film?
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March 21, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Ageing Vinod–the prelude
The Review (before the viewing)
Have been trying to downplay it but no more really..
This is one of most awaited films this year for me.
Lemme pen down some thoughts and will see how much they will change AFTER the viewing–the blog is here and the comment will be here!!!
There is an old adage–‘Better late than never!!!’
Holds true for saif and seemingly kareena here .
Saif spent the first part of his career tagging along akshay and ajay and then graduated to tagging along srk
Not only tagging along–but publically and humiliatingly giving srk a ‘close shave’ (really) in award concerts like his stand in make up guy
Then he graduated to trying different roles –not a big fan of them but people liked him in langda tyagi etc–wasnt impreessed
WAS impressed in Salaam Namaste, Hum Tum, love aaj kal and similarly urbane roles
His slick comedic timing and urbane demeanour was an instant hit (and source of identification somewhat atleast with me)
But this is his biggest hour–
A REALLY head on classy-ish project also taking on the added responsibility of box office wherein he IS the MAN…
Can he deliver
Can this film deliver
Can this director and the music deliver
For me, it HAS already
the fact that this theme has certain ‘added interest’ also adds up
now a disastrous box office perfromance wont change my views on this
But my suspicion is that it may do subpar on single
screens and thats NOT surprising
But the multplex may well jiggle and shake
Hope they shake all the way to the three digit crore figure makr since one can see the effort, planning
On many occasions, one can see how the director and actor has held himself back to cater to the average viewer and make things uber accessible
Things seem to be taut
I hope the actual film doesnt make me eat me words
But will revisit this after viewing it actually this weekend!!!
All the best to the team @illuminati!!!!
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March 22, 2012 at 2:14 PM
going tomorrow
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March 22, 2012 at 2:59 PM
Any reviews for this yet- I’m pretty curious to see how it is received- I really cannot tell if its going to great fun or very wannabe.
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March 22, 2012 at 4:59 PM
International Reporter – 2/5
Agent Vinod review: Khan’s Vinod fails to impress
Posted by PG on March 22, 2012
STAR CAST: SAIF ALI KHAN, KAREENA KAPOOR PREM CHOPRA RAM KAPOOR ADIL HUSSAIN SHAHBAAZ KHAN
DIRECTOR: SRIRAM RAGHAVAN
Do stylised editing, supersonic paced screenplay, umpteen twists – not to mention some breath taking stunts- make a great film? Sadly, while all of the above may translate into an out-of-breath experience for the viewer, it doesn’t- at least not in chhote nawab’s first production the talented director Sriram Raghavan’s latest offering Agent Vinod. And hence Khan’s Vinod fails to impress.
Supposed to be a spy thriller, this Saif Ali Khan Kareena Kapoor starrer has a series of seemingly unconnected events across the world that lead to –you guessed it right- terrorism.
But don’t be too optimistic, the secret agent in this globe- trotting thriller undertakes a mission to discover why his colleague was murdered, and in trying to unearth numerous answers, gallivants around several not just cities, but countries. Hence Agent Vinod traverses Morocco, Latvia, Karachi, New Delhi and Mumbai with the alacrity of a Swift while unraveling many sub plots.
Real life couple – both Kareena and Saif – try to infuse as much energy into their rather convoluted characters as the script requires. But the viewers are panting and gasping for a semblance of a plausible, coherent storyline that leaves them somewhat less confused.
Of course one would give a thumbs up to Raghavan- who made the immensely watchable brilliant film Johnny Gaddar (Neil Nitin Mukesh’s debut pitted against the formidable Dhram paaji) as also the edge of the seat thriller Ek Haseena Thi, but this one probably had too much at stake for the Khan, who it seems tries desperately to prove a point to the other Khans (Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir) that he too can deliver. Alas…he leaves a lot to be desired. While his heavily American drawl for once, may work to his advantage, his wooden face delivers little. C’mon Saif, even thrillers have plots where actors need to emote!
http://www.internationalreporter.com/News-10054/agent-vindo-review-khans-vinod-fails-to-impress.html
As usual, Taran gave a good rating of 4/5. But word of mouth on Twitter is average to bad.
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March 22, 2012 at 6:00 PM
Thanks for the info Tyler. 🙂
“Of course one would give a thumbs up to Raghavan, but this one probably had too much at stake for the Khan, who it seems tries desperately to prove a point to the other Khans (Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir) that he too can deliver.”
Yeah- I was afraid this would happen. Still- will wait for Anupama Chopra or Baradwaj Rangan to review the film and then maybe book tickets for the film.
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March 22, 2012 at 6:14 PM
Hmm…a positive review:
Coming with the hype of a desi Bond flick, I was interested to see what Saif Ali Khan’s first production would churn out.
Agent Vinod borrows its name from the 1977 Hindi movie, which itself was inspired by the Bond franchise. After a nuclear suitcase bomb goes missing, Agent Vinod (Saif Ali Khan) travels through a dozen countries (Uzbekistan, Russia, Morocco, Karachi) across the world to prevent the bomb from reaching enemy hands and threatening lives of innocent Indians. In his pursuit, he joins up with Dr. Ruby Mendes/Iram Parveen Bilal (Kareena Kapoor) to stop the bad guys.
Directed by Sriram Raghavan of Ek Hasina Thi fame, Agent Vinod definitely reminds you of the Bond franchise. The hero is suave, slick and has an undeniable effect on the ladies even while he manages to squeeze out of one deadly situation after another. The film is shot on a lavish scale with a number of hot women (Ann Lee Roberts, Mallika Haydon, Maryam Zakaria) making fleeting appearances. While the gadgets are missing and the action very basic, you do enjoy this quest. Where the movie differs from Bond is that it never takes itself too seriously and the dark humor ads freshness to the proceedings.
While Agent Vinod manages to make a decent attempt at the action thriller genre, it doesn’t soar as high as it could have. The excessive runtime and jumping through countries leaves the viewer confused. Also, by choosing to (SPOILER!) leave room for a sequel, the effectiveness of the climax is diluted, thus leaving the viewer with an unsettling feeling.
Saif Ali Khan is believable as our Desi Bond. He’s come far from his chocolate boy days of Yeh Dillagi and Kal Ho Naa Ho and looks and acts the part of Agent Vinod. He has a great physique and his comic timing is top-notch as always. Kareena Kapoor does a good job but her role is a supporting one and you wish she got a chance to kick the villains’ butts. Nonetheless, she manages to look glamourous, especially in the “Dil Mera Muft” number.
Pritam’s music is a highlight of the film, but in an action film like Agent Vinod, it just slows down the proceedings. Chartubuster “I’ll Do the Talking Tonight” is greatly edited and “Pungi” only appears in the end credits. However, special points are deserved for the choreography and composition of the “Raabata” number.
Agent Vinod is a solid attempt at the action thriller genre and I have to admit that Saif Ali Khan does well as the Indian Bond. However, you can’t help but think this could have been a snappier ride had the editing scissors been used more liberally.
Dollz Rating: 3 stars out of 5
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March 22, 2012 at 6:20 PM
will be checking this one out tomorrow(the above review has dampened my spirits a bit, this was the film i was most eager to watch this year). but i am sure it’s going be way smarter and better than that tripe called don2(though that’s not saying much as i expect thid one to be a game-changer for indian action-thrillers)
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March 22, 2012 at 7:08 PM
Good article- sounds very positive about the film as well:
In late 2001, I had begun work with Ram Gopal Varma. The desk from where I wrote Darna Mana Hai overlooked the cabin of a professorial-looking man, who talked movies non-stop — obscure B-grade movies, C-grade movies, everything. Once, he asked me to watch Vijay Anand’s Chhupa Rustam. I did, and gave my opinion the next day: “It was tacky”. He replied, “Well, learn to look beyond the tack.”
I had come from Agra, where I was brought up on a regular Hindi film diet — I grew up familiar with everything, from Guru Dutt to Anil Kapoor to out-of-the-way small films. But like many other adults, I was embarrassed of the stuff I watched, growing up. I wanted to discuss Truffaut and Godard and Scorcese, and all the other names that were thrown around by people I hung out with, drank or smoked with. In everything I watched, I was in search of cinema, for what was cinematic, aesthetic.
Long long ago, when movies were born, they were taken on their own terms. Hollywood during and after World War II became the hub for foreign and local talent. As it became the most popular source of entertainment, studios and filmmakers and technicians kept pushing the envelope to make big screen viewing even bigger and better. Aspect-ratios and negative-formats were invented and patented. Model-building and set-building grew into a large industry for genres like science fiction. Sound had a journey of its own from silent to talkies to Mono, Stereo and now 5.1. Hollywood gave the movies ambition.
Like the rest of the world, Hindi films also looked to Hollywood. From silent black-and-whites of Dadasaheb Phalke, we came to the era of Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Mehboob Khan and K. Asif, to the Eastman Color explosion of the ’60s. We were still trying to make the screen experience bigger, with films like Mughal-E-Azam, Mother India and Mera Naam Joker. Then came Ramesh Sippy came with his 70 mm Sholay in 1975, determined to make it look as good as any Hollywood western. The Sippys gambled on the film’s success — had it not, they might have been on the verge of bankruptcy. But never again was that vainglory repeated — “ambition” became a bad thing in the industry (apart from, perhaps, Boney Kapoor and Shekhar Kapur’s Mr India).
Someone recently asked me why a filmmaker in Bombay receives only a handful of scripts to look at, as opposed to the 50 or 60 that a Hollywood director picks between. I told him that we essentially have only three or four genres in Hindi films — comedy, crime, romance and family. We can do a permutation-combination within these — comic-crime, family-romance, violent-love-story, etc — but we don’t have genres like war (unless you want to count films like Border), science-fiction (unless you want to count Koi Mil Gaya), fantasy (Ra.One?), espionage (hold that thought for a bit). And you don’t even have to look as far as Hollywood for a reality check. Look at film industries that grew up alongside ours, like China (Zhang Yimou’s Flowers of War) or South Korea (Bong Joon Ho’s The Host). The problem is not that we have only a few films in such genres. The problem is how many of these can claim the bravado of Sippy’s Sholay — to make it as good and engaging as any Hollywood movie.
Bollywood can afford this slumber, perhaps. Hindi television is no competition (unlike in the US and UK), it’s not even up to the old Doordarshan standard. Documentaries don’t have good distribution/exhibition, shorts and animation are still at a very nascent stage. Nothing can take our movie-going audience away for now.
And to be fair, there are some worthwhile attempts on the “cinema” side of things. But even then, there is a comfort zone — small-town north India. We rarely move out of UP, Bihar, Punjab and sometimes, New Delhi (and this can go on for a while, because regional cinema in these areas is not as robust as Tamil or Marathi). Hindi films, though, need to wake up and really look around.
Going back to that man in Ram Gopal Varma’s office, he was struggling over a film he was making. Every day, he would struggle with questions like, “Urmila has to escape in this scene, we know that, the audience knows that, so how can I still keep them at the edge of their seats” or “the best thing would be if Urmila’s revenge is still to come, five minutes before the end. Can what looks impossible be suddenly made possible”? I never understood his struggle back then.
Now that man, Sriram Raghavan, has made a film called Agent Vinod. And in making it, he has taken out “all the tack” from ’60s and ’70s Bollywood capers, infused it with tonnes of that missing thing, ambition, and truly sweated to make it a big screen spectacle. If only Bollywood could take away, from his movie, what they missed 37 years ago with Sholay — the need for story and spectacle. And yes, now you can strike out “espionage” from that list of things we don’t do.
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March 22, 2012 at 7:15 PM
I hope the movie succeeds for the sake of Saif and Sreeram Raghvan. A lot of labor and love. Am somewhat skeptical as the buzz is not great.
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March 22, 2012 at 7:27 PM
I want it to do well only so that Sriram can be recognized and be given the money to make his own kind of films. Not so much Saif- if it turns out that he has bastardized Sriram’s style and made him come out with a subpar film.
If all Saif wanted was a mindlessly slick thriller to join the 100 crore club- he should have involved Abbas-Mustan not wasted Sriram’s talent. Still- waiting for the reviews tomorrow and hoping that my first impression is wrong. Sriram-Saif in EHT were an amazing combination- maybe the trailers are deceptive in order to sell the film and the content itself will be good.
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March 22, 2012 at 7:46 PM
@ami- think abt this for a minute.isn’t it relatively better that raghvan took this script to saif and not sumone like salman(whose presence would have certified it with a blockbuster status but we can easily imagine how the script would have been ‘gutted’ to be removed of all its cleverness and quirkyness and cruelly replaced with cheap-thrills,case in point being ‘dabanng’ where irrfan was initially suppose to star in a far ‘grittier film’ but was ousted to make for sallu in orfer to rake in the moolah)
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March 22, 2012 at 7:57 PM
Saurabh-good point- there aren’t really too many stars out besides Aamir there who would support an intelligent thriller- we’ll have to how Ek Tha Tiger turns out I suppose. I think Sriram should do a film with Hrithik though- he would suit such a terrain- and from what I can tell- doesn’t interfere with the director’s vision- plus it will be way better than him doing another Krrish.
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March 22, 2012 at 8:04 PM
V Good point there minor
Btw Amy -so why do u think kareena is looking BETTER here -out of my options given earlier
🙂
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March 22, 2012 at 9:22 PM
@ami- i was aghast when i heard that sallu was doing ek tha tiger,reasons being (1)the script, will not remain ‘script’ anymore once it comes to ‘sallu-universe’ where even a shakespearean tragedy can becum a slap-stick comedy.2-kabir khan’s and sallu’s sensibilities just don’t match.3- most importantly,this film promises ‘slick-edgy-jason bournish’ action set-pieces which r way different from sallu’s ‘cartoonish’ action-these r tough to perform,don’t think sallu can pull these off-he is no damon/statham
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March 22, 2012 at 9:26 PM
I have high hopes from ETT. I have faith in people associated with the project. This will NOT be regular Salman fare.
Raghvan-Hrithik is an interesting idea.
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March 22, 2012 at 9:37 PM
@ami- hrithik with raghavan- lovely thought ami- seems like an ‘enticing prospect’- 2 different personalities cuming together in a ‘darker film'(hrithik has not done a thriller ever-so this one can be sumwhat ‘iconoclastic’ as far as usual image of ‘he’s just too good-looking to play quirky/ dark roles’. simply on the basis that he has never done this previously(not doubting his acting),i mave have some reservations seeing him in such a film.but then hrithik always ups the ante when the bar is raised
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March 22, 2012 at 9:56 PM
@ami- on krrish 3 i beg to differ from u. i want that film to happen, because ‘krrish’ is the only bwood film which can stake a proper claim of being a super-hero.as a fan of ‘superhero/fantasy’ films,i feel sad that hardly anything comes out from bwood in this regard. atleast krrish should be there to represent the genre(ra1,drona were horrible).also hrithik is probably the only bwood actor who fits the bill as a superhero and rakesh roshan knows how to ‘indianize’ the genre in order to suit the milieu.
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March 22, 2012 at 11:57 PM
On ETT- I’m not the biggest fan of Kabir Khan- I wasn’t impressed with New York and I enjoyed Kabul Express but I don’t think its a great film or anything. And I know that there is a very good chance that Salman could override everybody else and reduce this to his usual level of nonsense- but I’m still looking forward to the film for some reason.
I’m not expecting this to be an intelligent/ gripping thriller – but I think that it could be a glossy, pleasantly entertaining action flick of reasonable quality- as long as Salman is not allowed creative control.
With Krrish the film is a guilty pleasure and I enjoyed it- but the sequel sounds very dodgy. Apparently Rakesh Roshan has X-Men aspirations and Kangana is being cast as some kind of desi mystique- whatever. And its so obvious that they chose Vivek Oberoi because Papa Roshan wanted a villain who wouldn’t take any of the attention and praise away from Hrithik. What is the point of a superhero film where the hero towers effortlessly over the villian? If they had cast Rana Daggubatti -as they originally intended to- he would have atleast offered Hrithik some competition in terms of screen presence and intensity.
But Rakesh Roshan and Hrithik together always manage to produce trashy but very enjoyable films- so I’m not completely cynical about it.
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March 22, 2012 at 7:28 PM
He is deperate to join the 100 crore “club” and the stress shows on his face!
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March 22, 2012 at 7:20 PM
Now have never been an Urdu fan ( and most of it is OHT)
But recently have been noticing some lyrics
And a few really stand out even for the uninitiated
Check this out
For all the
Jungli billis 🙂
Courtesy google –
Kehtein hai khuda ne
Iss jahan mein sabhi ke liye
Kisi na kisi ko hai banaya
Har kisi ke liye
Tera milna hai uss rab ka ishaara
Mano mujhko banaya tere jaise hi kisi ke liye
Kehtein hai khuda ne
Iss jahan mein sabhi ke liye
Kisi na kisi ko hai banaya
Har kisi ke liye
Tera milna hai uss rab ka ishaara
Mano mujhko banaya tere jaise hi kisi ke liye
Kuch toh hai tujhse raabta
Kuch toh hai tujhse raabta
Kaise hum jaane
Humein kya pata
Kuch toh hai tujhse raabta
Tu humsafar hai
Phir kya fikar hai
Jeene ki wajah yahi hai
Marna isi ke liye
Tera milna hai uss rab ka ishaara
Mano mujhko banaya tere jaise hi kisi ke liye
Kuch toh hai tujhse raabta
Kuch toh hai tujhse raabta
Kaise hum jaane
Humein kya pata
Kuch toh hai tujhse raabta
Tu humsafar hai
Phir kya fikar hai
Jeene ki wajah yahi hai
Marna isi ke liye
Kehtein hai khuda ne
Iss jahan mein sabhi ke liye
Kisi na kisi ko hai banaya
Har kisi ke liye
Ho ho ..hmm..oh ooo..hey
Hmm..Meherbaani jaate jaate
Mujhpe kar gaya
Guzarata sa lamha ek
Daaman bhar gaya
Tera nazaara mila
Roshan sitaara mila
Takdeer ki kashtiyon ko
Kinaara mila
Sadiyon se tarse hai
Jaisi zindagi ke liye
Teri saubat mein hai
Duayein usi ke liye
Kehtein hai khuda ne
Iss jahan mein sabhi ke liye
Kisi na kisi ko hai banaya
Har kisi ke liye
Ho ho ..hmm..oh ooo..hey
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March 22, 2012 at 7:31 PM
A movie that makes even kareena look reasonable -can’t be bad
Again : maybe I’ve spoke. Too soon and may have to eat my words this weekend infront of some bollywood naives
But as for kareena–
Is this surgery/ Botox or
Love or
Pure hardcore sex
What dya think folks –amy : what’s your take here!
Since u r a kareena fan 🙂
C’mon guys
give this odd couple of aShemale and an ageing ex transvestite a chance!!!
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March 22, 2012 at 7:40 PM
“give this odd couple of aShemale and an ageing ex transvestite a chance”
I thought you were a Saif fan? Why are you calling the poor thing an aging transvestite now?
I don’t think that Bebo has a conventionally beautiful facial structure- but I think that she is EXTREMELY charismatic- I like watching her onscreen. Anyway- try and say something positive about her for once. Obsessively insulting somebody implies that are quite passionate/ concerned about them- one way or the other. 😛
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March 22, 2012 at 9:09 PM
@ami- to curb this off-colour of alex, one needs to employ ‘reverse psychology'(the way it was used by ‘petuchio’ to tame ‘katherine’ in the ‘bard’s’ ‘taming of the shrew’- even when alex says such crude things abt kareena, we need to tell how sweet and gentle was his remark. (just kidding guys)
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March 22, 2012 at 9:05 PM
smart aleck- thanks man, glad that u liked the post. ‘she-male and transvestite’- funny one, so typical of u. by the way this ‘toilet humour’ of can easily be ‘flushed’ into one the ‘askew comedies’ of seth rogen-judd apatow(they can learn a thing or two from ur ribaldry). take a bow
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March 22, 2012 at 9:16 PM
Hahaha
U r being kind: minor
I’m just a ‘learner and admirer of life’ 🙂
Btw need to take Amy, di and oldgold to discuss further details of this transformation of kareena
Oof can get hectic for me!!
Gud note folks
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March 22, 2012 at 7:46 PM
“Obsessively insulting somebody implies that are quite passionate/ concerned about them- one way or the other. ”
Wow -what a statement-Amy !!
Quite an insightful thought !
Bright gal
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March 22, 2012 at 8:01 PM
This critic is always very cynical and condescending so take his scathing review with a bucket of salt- but its hilarious:
http://in.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-reviews/agent-vinod-review-111213483.html
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March 22, 2012 at 11:21 PM
Another review
http://www.upperstall.com/films/2012/agent-vinod
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March 22, 2012 at 8:13 PM
And What’s happened to Di ?
Watching PST again?
With toy boys ?
C’mon Di -what r u up2
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