Krish on Amitabh Bachchan

As a kid who grew in the 80s, all i can say that Amitabh is the greatest superstar there has ever been. My first movie of his in theatre was the 5th or 6th rerun of Mr Natwarlal in Anand theatre Thane and that was sometime in 1984 or 1985 when the movie actually came in 1979 and i saw that in a packed house then. Unfortunately the electricity went and we had to come back home sadly 😦

An Jo on AB’s and SRK’s come-backs

On AB’s and SRK’s come-backs…

Quite surprised at the turn — maybe the colors of Holi did play their magic — of tide here: Marcus, Master, everyone acknowledging AB’s unparalleled stardom: Been wanting to write this for a long time. As I believe someone said here, it is difficult and futile to compare stars of different eras and their levels of connectivity to the audience.

Dichotomy of Opinions on the identity of ‘PATHAAN’ – An Jo

Dichotomy of Opinions on the identity of ‘PATHAAN’

“Munna/Jay – Now I cannot sit quiet with a dumb analyst’s, politically motivated reply and hitting below the belt by using ‘Jo’ Blow. I really do not have much time due to my travel and personal issues with close relatives’ health [which I have mentioned], but some hidden moles are just coming out and making a mockery of film criticism. NEVER, have I mentioned that PATHAAN is a bad film or a fine; honestly because, I haven’t seen it. I have put in my qualifiers that my reactions are purely based on the trailer, and the tropes SRK and his team have used to mint millions. I apologize since in one statement I used Z’s marital status; but even that, was with a semblance of decency. Still, I owe him an apology just on a human basis.

NewYork Magazine on “How a Nepo Baby Is Born”

How a Nepo Baby Is Born

How a Nepo Baby Is Born Hollywood has always loved the children of famous people. In 2022, the internet reduced them to two little words.

In 2022, the internet uncovered a vast conspiracy: Hollywood was run on an invisible network of family ties — and everybody was in on it! Everyone is someone’s kid, but it was as if everybody were somebody’s kid. Euphoria, the buzziest show on television, was created by the son of a major director and co-starred the daughter of another. Actress Maya Hawke was not only born to two famous parents but looked like them, too. Half of Brooklyn’s indie artists had dads with IMDb pages. Even Succession’s Cousin Greg turned out to be the son of one of the guys who designed the Rolling Stones’ lips logo. Aghast, content creators got to work. An unwieldy phrase — “the child of a celebrity” — was reduced to a catchy buzzword: nepo baby. TikTokers produced multipart series about nepo babies who resembled their famous parents, exposés on people you didn’t know were nepo babies (everyone knew), and PSAs urging celebrity parents to roast their nepo babies “to keep them humble.”

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Shivaay’s note on Oppenheimer and Nolan’s return to character oriented cinema

Oppenheimer and Nolan’s return to character oriented cinema

As I watched (and rewatched) the teaser of Nolan’s next Oppenheimer, one cannot but help noticing the master film maker’s return to character oriented cinema, a brand of story telling that has made him one of the finest film makers of contemporary times. Not that films like Interstellar, Dunkirk and Tenet were mediocre by any yardstick (such is the genius of Nolan that even his underwhelming films are perhaps few of the decade’s best!) but the entire idea of building a plot around the central protagonist(s) is something Nolan seemed to have forsaken in exchange for larger than life concepts where characters fitted in as nothing more than pawns.

On the ‘my moments’ with THE Bachchan…(part 3) by An Jo – Updated

Part 3
Continuing from the closing moments of the ‘70s, extending onto the late‘80s, time for the 48 year old AB to compete with the ‘young Khan’ blood: the innocent-looking Aamir, the go-getter/ham-expert SRK, the non-actor but damn good-looker/vada-pav seeker Salim Khan’s son.

“The best of Bachchan” by Shivaay (Updated)

The best of Bachchan 2a… 1980-85 : Sellout man!

Megastardom firmly established, it was time for film makers to feed off the same & fill their coffers!!

1. Shaan : Vijay Kumar

Suave, stylish and a Bond like figure in Hindi cinema, Shaan’s Vijay Kumar continues from where DON left off 2 years ago. A highly underrated film that eventually got its due despite record breaking costs thanks to director Sippy’s post Sholay demand!

Screen Test (The New Yorker Oct. 17, 2022 issue)

When the Hindu Right came for Bollywood

Read the complete article HERE

Rahul on Amitabh and Hrithik’s “Agneepath”

The new Agneepath worked and that’s a good thing, mainly for Dharma and HR. The latter tried a new interpretation of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. And HR himself said that if he tried to reprise the role in a similar way to Amitabh, he would have failed there as Amitabh Bachan was unbeatable in that element. HR’s Vijay Dinanath Chauhan was less larger than life persona and more of the common youth rebel who takes the law into his hands, more vulnerable also. It looks like a younger phase in life to Amitabh’s, where the former is coming into his own, while the latter starts to rule supreme soon after he comes on screen.

An Jo on Bollywood, Boycott and stuffs

picture credit

@Nykavi; thank you for coming back to the blog and commenting. I am afraid I might have to disagree with you on some points.

The BFI (Bombay Film Industry) has always, and always been left of center or in cases, maybe, at the center, the minimum extent possible. Aamir hasn’t taken anyone for ride. His association with VVC is bad; though it resulted in a fantastic performance from him in 3I but with a very weak film that, at most deserved 2.5 stars. A really poor film ripped off from engineering college jokes from my time and whats app forwards as to how a DC motor starts and is shut down!! And Chatur was made a clown, a real clown, whereas, infact, on the terrace when he combats verbally with Aamir, that was THE BEST scene of the movie and every sentence, every sentence he utters carries a meaning. I am an engineer, and I understand the sentiments we were working with.

An Jo on ‘Gangubai Kathiawari’ and ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ performances

The Performances’ weightage

Over the weekend, I finally watched ‘GANGUBAI KATHIAWARI’ on Netflix. Two things struck me; one, the horrible negation Aamir is getting for LSC, and two, the over-praise that Alia got for GK.

Shivaay on the best Bollywood masala films over the last decade

My take on the best Bollywood masala films over the last decade and why Hindi cinema needs at least half a dozen of such movies every year :

Reference : Sanjay Dutt’s own revelation that he thinks Hindi cinema has forgotten larger-than-life heroes onscreen and as such is losing out on audiences from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan.

How Dynasties Rule Bollywood

How Dynasties Rule Bollywood
A marriage brings out the clan power in the Hindi film industry.
Kaveree Bamzai

IN BOLLYWOOD, FAMILIES HAVE ALWAYS been the first port of call and also the last resort. When Sony Pictures Entertainment wanted to take on the might of Shah Rukh Khan at the height of his popularity in 2007, they put their money on Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who went back to two of Bollywood’s oldest families for inspiration, casting Ranbir Kapoor, a fourth-generation actor, and Sonam Kapoor, a second-generation actor, in Saawariya. The two families were connected informally, as indeed most dynasties in Bollywood are, through Sonam’s grandfather Surinder Kapoor who was secretary to actor Geeta Bali, who was married to Ranbir’s grand-uncle, beloved ’60s swinging star Shammi Kapoor.

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Jhund Review: Nagraj Manjule’s social drama packs a powerful message despite some roadblocks in the second half

Looop Lapeta’s Movie Plot Explained!

Instead of a movie review, this time I’ve tried to analyze the plot of the Run Lola Run remake, which has a strong Desi flavour and an open ending.

There are MAJOR SPOILERS in the video, so only proceed if you have seen the film!