Yeah, the red jacket and the ghost gang dancing turned 25 this year. The album is being revamped and the Silver Jubilee edition is in stores now. But what actually reminded me of Thriller and made me listen to it (and yes, I even did the famous arm-swinging routine as well) throughout the week, was this- Signature performing the Bhangra mashed up with Thriller in Britain’s Got Talent’s first Semi Finals winning performance. If you haven’t seen it, you’ve been living in a cave.

Having said that, the magnitude of success of Thriller as an album to hold the Guiness Record of the most selling album worldwide does raise a lot of questions. Is it pop culture blown out of proportion? Is it showmanship winning over melody? Or is it just plain and simple-Jackson at its best. Sadly though, 25 years later after, the success story of Thriller still continues whereas Jackson has transformed into one of those zombie dancers (both physically and mentally) back and forth (Any one keeping count of the transformations, from Black to White to Nose to just Oh-I-donno-what’s that ?). CONTINUE READING—»

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Ghar [ Home ] is one of those movies which I have heard more than seen. I know it has Rekha and Vinod Mehra in the lead roles, and I know it has one of the most memorable songs ever in Indian cinema. But, apart from catching up with the songs, I had known or seen very little of the movie. And now that I have seen it, I find it quite pleasantly surprising, on how brilliantly subtle and sensitive this movie is. Ghar is directed by Late Manick Chatterjee [ contrary to the misconception that Gulzar directed it]. Be it the polka dots on Vinod Mehra’s shirt, or Vinod Mehra’s mentioning of the 1970’s movie Sunflower [the one where De Sica directs Sophia Loren]; being a movie of the 70s, this movie is filled with references of that period. But that is just me being a bit too inquisitive about that period. Ghar, as a movie, captures an intense husband-wife relationship which struggles through an unfortunate incident. And when you see Ghar, you get the realisation that it does not take huge mansions or eye-blinding visuals to tell a story, when simplicity does it all so perfectly. The title here is a metaphor which plays at different levels. It refers to the initial premise of the story, when the couple faces difficulty in finding a proper home to settle down. But it is also refers to the home shared by the hearts of two lovers brought to the test due to an unfortunate incident. The home which provides shelter also becomes a space of insecurity and grief. All of this is revealed in layers in the plot, and I won’t keep pondering over it. Oh, there is so much to talk about. Brevity has never been one of my skills, but I will do my best to keep my praises short.

SYNOPSIS: **SPOILERS** AVOID IF YOU WANT TO KNOW IT FIRST HAND!

Also after the Jump: The Immortal and ‘Second to None’ Soundtrack of Ghar
CONTINUE READING—»

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The best frigging episode of Naruto Shippuden..
in a long time:  Episode 113: The Serpent’s Pupil

I have waited a long time for this. Really long. For all those people who are still watching Naruto Shippuden, can definitely understand the utter frustration that we have went throughout the last couple of months. The entire arc has been shifting way too far from the main plot which kept us glued to Naruto at the first place, and that is Konoha,Uchiha and more Sennin, Genin and Junins. Instead the anime has been hovering over such stupid plots such as the Crystal Lady -Guren and the 3 tailed Biju controller-Yuukimaru. I hated that entire arc where everyone had a single piece of dialogue – You are the place where I return to. I think you can hear me scream out so loud right now. That one line makes me cringe every single time I hear it, and you know how many times it was being repeated. That kid Yuukimaru is just one stupid, annoying kid who carries around that crystal with a daisy. And Guren was another arse of a lady. Tragic melodrama oozes out from every corner possible when the two confront each other. But screw all that, we are back in BUSINESS. Shippuden’s latest episode: The Serpent’s Pupil showed to me, why I fell in love with this Anime at the first place. And you know what..It does not have a single frame of Uzumaki Naruto [except for the title credits and the end credits]. And it still rocked me socks off..!!!!
CONTINUE READING—»

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Korean movies are just top notch in terms of cinematical technicalities. The cinematography is unparalleled, the colors seem to be splashed straight from a palette chosen by Monet or Rembrandt, and the soundtrack breathes life into even the most dead of plots. All of it combined with a compelling romantic-drama plot like Daisy, can be best termed as an amplification of cinematic excellence to the fullest extent. When the director of the Infernal Affairs,Andy Lau teams up with three of Korea’s finest actors, the result has to exceed all expectations, and Daisy does it, and how so.

Tension, Tragedy, Twist!

SYNOPSIS: Daisy[ Korean name: Dei-Ji(2006)] stars my favorite Korean actress Jun Ji Hyun [now known as Gianna Jun] as a young artist Hye Young, living in Amsterdam. She assists her grandfather in running his antique shop, and works in the public square,drawing portraits. She starts receiving pots of Daisy from a secret admirer who she believes is the man who built a bridge for her [Its exactly how it sounds]. And then, one day she meets Interpol agent Jeong Woo [Sung-Jae Lee] who is actually tracking Asian drug dealers. Hye confuses her for the mystery man who sends her the daisies. While all this is happening, Hye Young’s real secret admirer,Park Yi [Woo Sung Jung] has a keen eye on her.
CONTINUE READING—»

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I have been absent from OKS for quite some time now. Not really! I have been recovering from the marathon of Liveblogging Britain’s Got Talent [ and I am not completely done yet! Yes, some more of it will be coming, and yet some more from America's Got Talent. What happened to the Indian version?] So, anyway, just to deviate my mind and body from all the nervewrecking tension involved with Live Television, here I am, plunging myself, yet again, into the “Dariyaaa” of Bollywood. But with a twist. Yes, as the title suggests: We are doing our second Separated at Birth [ after the lukewarm response on the first one]. But I can be so sure that this one is gonna appeal to audiences from the caves of Chambal to the skyscrapers of Shanghai [Aila! What a dialogue. On a serious note, please donate for the Cyclone Aila relief ;  BTW, who the f names a Cyclone as Aila. It just loses its credibility. Ok now its obvious that I am ranting.]

Coming back to the post; In the Red corner, we have someone who cannot be described with any adjectives – JOHN LENNON. Who you say? Get yourself sorted dear! Listen to some music, and get some education. And in the Blue Corner, we have none other than [arguably] the most monstrous Villain of Indian cinema – Amrish Puri. Both monstrous in their own right. It’s been such a delight to bring these two on the same canvas.

70’s fashion checklist:

Hair: Check

Glasses: Check

Hair-Style: Check again

Uncanny colors for Shirts, Collars: Check Check!! You likey?

For a more colorful and uber-70s version of Mogambo, click this link.

Image Courtesy:
John Lennon [from Google Image Search]
Amrish Puri [ from the screencap of  Beth's post on Salaakhen ] .

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**DIVERSITY** Winner of BGT 2009

Yes, the big moment is here. It is Big Finale night of Britain’s Got Talent. All the blood, sweat and hardships end tonight. Will it be a night to remember with stellar performances from all the ten acts, or is the pressure of Final night going to be way too much to handle for some of them. No matter what, we are in for a treat for sure. From the auditions, to Shortlisting for the Semi-Finals and then to the Weeklong Live Semi-Finals, it has been such a strenuous journey. For the finalists as well, this has been such a roller-coaster ride.

Who’d have thought an old lady from a Scottish village would become the Internet sensation of the year, and at the same time the target of the Paparazzi!!

Who’d have thought a small lad from Wales could pull off a legendary Jennifer Holiday number!!

Who’d have thought Greeks dancing in an Irish fashion could be so much fun!!

Who’d have thought a Saxophone could emote so much, so well!!

Who’d have thought Dancing could reach levels of national praise!!

And finally, who’d have thought that we would find someone as good [if not better] as George Sampson!!
[The other acts that I did not mention, I believe are not potential contenders for the title].

Coming back to the Finale, it’s on at an early time slot: 6:45 pm, London Time. We will be covering it Live, yet again. [ I am already getting depressed that after tonight, the show will be over. Darn! But that's life.]
See you at the Finale.

*** AFTER THE JUMP ***

The Liveblogging of the Finale of Britain’s Got Talent 2009 [ As and when it happens]

CONTINUE READING—»

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We are less than 20 hours away from the Big Finals of Britain’s Got Talent 2009. From thousands of auditions shortlisted to 200, then 40 for the live Semi-Finals, we are now down to the 10 Finalists. We have gone through one helluva rollercoaster week of mind-numbing, ear-bursting, earth shattering performances. We have also tolerated the utterly ugly and disgusting ones too [You know which ones I am referring to]. But here we are just going to talk about the Final 10.

**LIST OF FINALISTS OF BGT 2009: Season 3**

Shaheen Jafargholi
Flawless
Julian Smith
Stavros Flatley
Susan Boyle
Diversity
Shaun Smith
2 Grand
Aidan Davis
Hollie Steel

We are gonna discuss each of them and make our predictions of the winner of this years Britain’s Got Talent. But before that, lemme just say it. This years bunch is bigger, better and a healthy bunch of absolutely deserving finalists. And by that I mean, we wont have to see any buzzers go off in the finals. We wont see negative comments [hopefully] for any of the performances. But as Simon said: They all have their shot at it. It can be anybody’s game now. On one hand , we have the entire world rooting their eyes on the Internet sensation: Susan Boyle. But we know [ secretly, we all know] that there are actually better performances than Susan Boyle [arguably. Yeah yeah! I don't get her vocals etc etc!!] Looking at the list of the Final 10, the obvious names that emerge as potential threats, or even show stealers for tomorrow’s Finale are: Shaheen Jafargholi, Aidan Davis, Julian Smith and finally either of Diversity and Flawless.
Anyway, let’s get back to the Final 10 oneact at a time. First it’s Shaheen.

Shaheen Jafargholi:
Auditions: He gave us Jackson 5.
Semi Final: He gave us Jennifer Holiday.
What is in store for tomorrow’s performance? What can be bigger than a Jennifer Holiday song? Can it be some Arethra Franklin? What do you say? Will a “Chain of Fools” do justice to Shaheen’s vocal range? Too many questions. The answer is simple. Whatever maybe the outcome, Shaheen is definitely getting a record deal with SyCo [Simon Cowell] and with a voice like that, he will make it big for sure. He is very young, talented, confident and has the charms to make him a complete saleable commodity. He is already a winner. And with reported upset replies from Susan Boyle, we can surely see the reason. Of course, we are cheering for Shaheen all the way. GO SHAHEEN!!!

CONTINUE READING—»

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AIDAN DAVIS and HOLLIE STEEL

~~ Through to the Finale of Britain’s Got Talent 2009

** Finalists Review and Predictions of the Winner of BGT Finale. Click here **

Right, time to roll the dice . This is the last Semi-Final night. It’s Friday and at 8:30 pm, London Time, on ITV1, we will witness the final 8 semi-final performers trying to make a place in the last two spots left at the Grand Finale to be held tomorrow. It is Semi Final 5 of Britain’s Got Talent 2009. We are almost there with the complete list of the finalists to perform; the only two missing will come from tonight’s list of performers and they are:

LIST OF PERFORMERS IN SEMI-FINAL 5:
Aidan Davis (Solo Dance Act; very George Sampson-esque, and he is pretty damn good)
DCD Seniors (Dance Troupe from Cardiff)
The Dreambears (Comedy Dance Group; It was actually quite funny in the auditions)
Good Evans The cute singing family act from Coventry. They are such a cute act to watch
Greg Pritchard ( He sang Nessun Dorma in the auditions at an unattainable pitch; He looks like a rockstar and sings opera;definitely not the favorite of the night)
Hollie Steel (The favorite to win the night, and for sure a strong contender as well, she looks like a little ballerina and has the voice of an angel)
Luke Clements (The fruit juggler act, and he loves apples; Simon challenged him to do it with melons)
Martin “Gos” Matcham (Did a very Karaoke version of “I want to Break Free”, but has the world’s coolest guitar[at least the most glowing]. But is he good enough to make it, and will Simon get a good bashing from Martin’s mother-in-law yet again? Watch the clip.)

PREDICTIONS:
My favorite act of the night [and also to win]: Hollie Steel
Most undeserving act: Martin Matcham
Likely to win the audience vote: Hollie Steel
Most likely to be buzzed off: Martin Matcha,
Judges choice: Aidan Davis

So to sum up my predictions, the acts that are going through for the finals from tonight’s Semi Finals are: Hollie Steel and Aidan Davis. Would you support my judgement?

The Fifth Semi-Final is on tonight :8.30 pm, London Time, on ITV1. We’ll be there to cover it live. And yes, Paul Potts, winner of Season 1 of BGT will be performing tonight as well. See you there!!!

*** After the Jump: ***

The Liveblogging of Britain’s Got Talent 2009 – Semi Final 5. [ As and when it happens]
CONTINUE READING—»

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**JULIAN SMITH and 2GRAND**

~~~Through to the Finale of Britain’s Got Talent 2009.

** Finalists Review and Predictions of the Winner of BGT Finale. Click here **
**For Britain’s Got Talent Semi Final 5: Liveblogging… Click this Link**

We are back today after yesterday’s pause in the Live schedule. It was such a shameful Champion’s League Final. Barca outperformed ManU by miles. They almost treated ManU like babies, and kept the ball with them throughout the game. And ManU could do nothing but stare at the ball with their jaws dropped to the floor and hearts skipping to beat with fear. Anyway, coming back to Thursday night it is-Britain’s Got Talent 2009 Bay-Beh. Semi Final 4 . We are nearing the finals, one night at a time. The list of finalists so far are:

Susan Boyle; Diversity;
Shaun Smith; Flawless;
Shaheen Jafargholi and Stavros Flatley [ click on link to their Semi-Final Performances here]
Tonight 8 more semi-finalists will perform before the British audience. Here is the lists of the performers tonight.

PERFORMERS OF SEMI-FINAL 4 OF BRITAIN”S GOT TALENT 2009:

2 Grand(Duo of Granfather and Grand-daughter; very emotional act)
Brit Chix(Wannabe Spicegirls meets Hair-Metal)
Callum Francis (Young musical performer; He is quite a confident performer)
Fabia Cerra ( The big shocker at the auditions when she made ITV censor the footage with the Union Jack, you know where. Can a dancer/stripper make it through, in the name of variety,to the Royal Variety?)
Fred Bowers (73 year old Breakdancer; Can it get any more inspiring than this?)
Jackie Prescott and Tippy Toes ( Dog act; We have one such act every year. Sure it’s cute, but I can bet that its never gonna win the finals)
Julian Smith (Saxophonist; I believe he is the favorite for the night)
Sugar Free (Street Dance Hip Hop Troupe)

PREDICTIONS:
My favorite act of the night [and also to win]: Julian Smith
Most undeserving act: Brit Chix
Likely to win the audience vote: 2 Grands
Most likely to be buzzed off: Brit Chix, Callum Francis,  Fabia Cerra, Jackie Prescott
Judges choice: Sugar Free

The Fourth Semi-Final is on tonight :8.30 pm, London Time, on ITV1. We’ll be there to cover it live.

*** After the Jump: ***

The Liveblogging of Britain’s Got Talent 2009 – Semi Final 4. [ As and when it happens]

CONTINUE READING—»

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**STAVROS FLATLEY and SHAHEEN JAFARGHOLI**

~~~Through to the Finale of Britain’s Got Talent 2009.

** Finalists Review and Predictions of the Winner of BGT Finale. Click here **

**For Britain’s Got Talent Semi Final 5: Liveblogging…  Click this Link**

It is the third night tonight. So far, 4 have made it to the finals; Susan Boyle, Diversity, Shaun Smith and Flawless – two dance acts and two singers. Tonight’s third Semi-Final of Britain’s Got Talent Season 3-2009 is going to bring us some more brilliant performances and some absolutely stunning, off-the-hook and shocking ones. The list of the eight Semi Finalists performing tonight are given below.

8 PERFORMERS FOR SEMI-FINAL 3:

The Barrow Boys (Farmers dancing with Wheelbarrows)
Ben & Becky (Ballroom dancers)
Floral High Notes (A combination of opera with flower arrangement)
Harmony (Musical Theatre performers)
Kayode Oresanya (Human Saxophonist…how did he get through?)
MD Show Group (Street Dancers)
Shaheen Jafargholi (The sweet lad from Swansea who sang “Who’s loving you?” by MJ in the auditions and wowed us all . This is the kid to look out for.)
Stavros Flatley (The Greek father and son dance duo; hilarious and entertaining)

PREDICTIONS:
My favorite act of the night [and also to win]: Shaheen Jafargholi
Most undeserving act: Floral Highnotes and Kayode Oresanya
Likely to win the audience vote: Shaheen Jafargholi
Most likely to be buzzed off: Floral Highnotes
Judges choice: Stavros Flatley

The Third Semi-Final is on tonight :8.30 pm, London Time, on ITV1. We’ll be there to cover it live.

*** After the Jump: ***

The Liveblogging of Britain’s Got Talent 2009 – Semi Final 3. [ As and when it happens]

CONTINUE READING—»

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*** SHAUN SMITH and FLAWLESS ***

~~Through to the Finale of Britain’s Got Talent 2009

** Finalists Review and Predictions of the Winner of BGT Finale. Click here **

**For Britain’s Got Talent Semi Final 5: Liveblogging…  Click this Link**

After last night’s brilliant showdown where Susan Boyle and Diversity progressed (as expected) to the Grand Finale, we have eight more acts trying their luck to impress the viewers at home and the studio, and the judges as well. As expected, the eight semi-finalists are a mixed bag of the good, the bad, the ugly and the utterly weird.

The acts that are ‘On Tonight’ in Semi-Final 2 of Britain’s Got Talent 2009 are:

DJ Talent (Some guy who happens to be a DJ. Just a waste of a slot)
Flawless (The other awesome streetdance group)
Gareth Ol(Funny ventriloquist with an Asian twist)
Hot Honeyz (Girls Dance Act)
Jamie Pugh ( Sang ‘Bring Him Home’ from Les Miserables and enchanted everyone. Not as big a favourite like Susan Boyle, but you never know.)
Merlin Cadogan (He aspires to be the next Houdini; Escape artist)
Peter Coghlan( Yes, the weirdo in the bunch; aka Mamma Trish; You decide for yourself)
Shaun Smith(17 year old singer, who sang ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ at the auditions; could be a teenage sweetheart)

The Second Semi-Final kicks off at 9:00 pm, London Time on ITV1  and we shall be covering it live, as it happens. Be here to see who makes it to the Finale.
My favorite act: FLAWLESS.
Most undeserving act: DJ Talent.
Likely to be win the audience vote: Jamie Pugh.
Most likely to be buzzed off: DJ Talent

*** After the Jump: ***

The Liveblogging of Britain’s Got Talent 2009 – Semi Final 2 .

CONTINUE READING—»

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