How do you define ‘fluff’ ? Quite a random question to begin a post with, isn’t it? Exactly! I Hate Luv Storys or #IHLS is just that – both fluff and random. Fluff, by definition means any light downy material. It also means something which is of little value or significance. And IHLS qualifies on both those categories. It is just fluff; no pulp, no substance and definitely no juice. The only thing it has is Sonam Kapoor’s electric smile trying to charge up this otherwise charge-less movie, which suffers from a desperately-trying-hard-2b-cool-syndrome.
The biggest thing that irritates me to allergic levels about this movie, is its unashamed and narcissistic self-promotion of supposed Hindi ‘romantic cult favourites’. If you think I am wrong, then how on earth will you explain, plugging in KANK and K3G tribute scenes into the movie narrative, as not being narcissistic? Yes, this is a Karan Johar movie, and this is his way of taking a piss at his own movies, kinda like being the cool guy who doesn’t shy away from laughing at himself. Oh please grow up. Spoofs are made by B-grade directors and geeky nods to movie classics do not mean flashing out family poster frames and pink teddy bears from Archies galleries. And if you think making the director in the movie – Veer [Samir Soni ] be an onscreen version of KJo would be a good idea, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Oh, I really don’t know where this movie review is going. Pretty much like the movie. It is just pointless and worthless as well. So I’ll rather write some bullet points about this movie.
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This is a repost of a post I did a long time back. I completely forgot to post it on the right day, i.e. June the 27th, the birthday of one of the greatest composers of India – Rahul Dev Burman.
Happy Birthday BOSS. Janamdin Mubaarak ho Panchamda!
Each and every word or phrase written in his praise falls short..because he is THE PAPA of all Music Directors on the face of the Indian Music Industry…because he is the reason why today’s “music directors” wanted to be it,.. because the entire Remix industry exists because of his yesteryear’s hits..because it is for his albums that DJs and retro nights exist..because he can make Asha Bhonsle sound the best – whether it is a ghazal, hindustani classical song, cabaret, or simply bollywood. Because he is Pancham, RDX, Rahul Dev Burman..because he is THE BOSS.
To the Baap of Bollywood Music..this is my heartfelt “paay-laagu” or “pairi-pona” of sorts. Because I am so small to talk of his genius. But that is not going to make me stop writing this blog about him. Because I have grown up on his music, totally breathed it, have literally lived on it till today, and I am sure will, till I die. This is not a chronicling of the body of work of Panchamda, but is more of a celebration of his melodies which have left an indelible impression on our minds, bodies and soul.
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The year was 2001. Jhamu Sugandh and Aamir Khan Productions’ ambitious project – Lagaan, had just released its publicity material on TV. In an age of no-twitter and zero-presence of social networking sites, TV trailers and theatre publicities were the only way to go. The first trailer was indeed very intriguing. It only showed an incomplete political map of India, and a Rupee coin rolling over it. The heavy beats of the percussion filled the air, and as the short teaser concluded, the anticipation levels were soaring high. As I look back to that period of pre-Lagaan release, I feel an intense nostalgic rush filling me with smiles.
Lagaan was released and was widely loved and adored by audiences and critics alike, locally and globally. It has been 9 years since, and even then, the melody of Lagaan’s soundtrack, the drum beat and the passionate voices of the villagers of Champaner continue to linger in my head; all of them crying out – Re Bhaiyya Chhoote Lagaan!!
So, on this 9th anniversary of one of the most uplifting pieces of cinema ever, let’s celebrate the music of Lagaan – one which not just serves as a Bollywood routine element of the movie, but also a medium which translates a thousand emotions in a single line. The music of Lagaan transcends many levels and goes beyond the limits of boundaries, languages and cultural differences. A.R.Rahman scores, arguably, one of his career’s best soundtrack, and the translation to screen is equally breath-taking.
So hit the jump to experience with me, and celebrate the magic of the soundtrack of Lagaan – Once Upon A Time in India.
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After a frustrating 90 minutes of the struggling Gerrards and Rooneys, I thought I’d cleanse myself from that, and quite desperately needed an entertainer; not just any entertainer, but an engaging, pretty and strong piece of cinema. So, I went to my nearest Vue cinema for the late show of Raavan, and it turned out that Raavan was a huge disappointment. For starters, this was a Mani Ratnam movie which he had simultaneously made in two languages – I don’t know why he does that – to cut production costs, or to reach out to more audiences without going down the dubbed route. Hmm!! But having watched Raavan, I believe, the Tamil version has to be a quite different film for it to work. It is so pretty to watch at, and the visuals are stellar no doubt, sometimes to the length that it looks like an extended version of a cross between the Roshni Se Bhare Bhare – video from Asoka [Santosh Sivan] and Mani Ratnam’s own – Barso Re Megha from Guru.
A little premise for those who don’t have any clue what the fuss is all about. Mani Ratnam’s latest feature since 2007′s Guru, Raavan tells us the story of a village called Laal Maati, a place where Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) rules, rocks and reigns. He is the law and order and he is the chaos too – for the official law and order ie. That’s the modern take on the Hindu mythology epic -The Ramayana. Dev (Vikram) is the parallel for Rama, the cop who would not give in to the control of Beera in Laal Maati. And he would not confine himself to the lawful means. Dev’s wife Ragini (Aishwarya ) gets kidnapped by Beera, and that’s when all hell breaks loose. Dev is on the hunt of Beera with double the intensity, and is aided by a drunkard Sanjeevani (Govinda – I believe he’s playing Hanuman). Dev’s search for Beera and what follows next is just a turn of events about Beera’s reason for revenge against Dev.
Now, I know that the epics are making an epic return to the big screen – first Rajneeti with the Mahabharat and now this . But Raavan is not an epic by any stretch of imagination. The visual opulence is the only thing that Raavan can boast of. The music is by A.R.Rahman is by all means sub-standard. But the biggest flaw of the movie is its hollow screenplay and the hammy Abhishek Bachchan who puts on a million expressions just for the sake of looking schizophrenic. C’mon dude, Raavan isn’t suffering from multiple personality disorder. He had 10 heads, 10 brains – that is meant to be a metaphor of how intelligent and how mentally advanced was he compared to the normal man, and not to mean a person of conflicting opinions. I have so many complaints with this movie, and I have listed them below.
Hit the Jump for the list.
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