by Sujoy on April 9, 2009
in recap,TV
Once upon a time, long before television was invaded ( read:screwed over) by kanjeevaram sari clad women with jewellery as heavy as themselves, witchcrafty make-up, mean plans and super-repetitive close-up shots (or in other words Balaji Telefilms), was the era of Doordarshan’s Prime Entertainment. And that was when, long before becoming the Bhabhi of the Nation (singing Lo Chali Main with Salman Khan in Hum Aapke Hai Kaun), Renuka Shahane entered our lives as the Lady with the Electrifying smile, greeting us “Namaskar” every Sunday Night with Siddharth Kak on SURABHI. CINEMA VISION INDIA’s production, Surabhi brought information packaged in an entertaining 30 minutes box like never before. It wowed us to the core. Children, adoloscents and adults across the nation were glued to the half hour of culture explosion that ranged from dizzying heights of Ladakh to Aleppey’s backwaters, from the fields of Paan cultivation to remembering the greatness of cinema legends like Raj Kapoor and K.L.Saigal. Surabhi was my Indian Wikipedia; even better, it was on Television and I competed with my Dad in answering the Sawaal Jawaab. [Continue Reading…]
by Sujoy on November 30, 2008
in blog,oks
In the voice of Mohd. Rafi from the movie C.I.D, when Johnny Walker sings, “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Jeena Yaha, Zara Hatke, Zara Bachke, Ye Hai Bombay Meri Jaan”, never did anyone realise how these words would hold a whole different meaning on Nov 26th, 2008. Or is it? Has Mumbai or Bombay as we prefer to call it, witnessed too much that it can hold in its belly all these events and still carry on and on and on? Resilience and “Spirit of Mumbai”- are these words just to solace ourselves and are now turning out to be synonyms of lack of security, lack of facilities, and lack of proper administration and trying to come in terms with it. Is the ‘chalta hai’ attitude making us into ‘jalta hai’. I am writing this from the comfort of my secured room in Southampton, England. And I wonder what my friends working back in Mumbai are feeling right now. Do they feel safe, now that the 60 hour plus tussle is over? Or is it just the beginning of a series of sleepless nights? Paranoia, Panic and the sense of fear, and then trying to come in terms with it as life moves on and we all look forward to another day, facing the rush and hustle-bustle of the busy Mumbai. Braving the danger? Don’t think so. It is bread we need to earn and hence, work to attend. But amongst all these, scores of questions bother me. Can anyone answer me? Is anybody hearing?
1. Has the involvement of the international press in broadcasting this event as a terror attack of a similar magnitude as 9-11, brought the much-needed attention of issues in India? How much is too much? Is it the death-poll that decides if the news features in the headlines or in the ‘international section’ where they also discuss ‘the new Made in China fake iPhone’. Is it because a Rabbi was killed, and a Jewish center was held hostage that the world is taking notice? Or is it because of the supposedly Britons that are involved? [Continue Reading…]
by Sujoy on September 20, 2008
in Bolly
**Late Post..Sorry**
Rang de Basanti (RDB) fills in me a feeling of Triumph, Euphoria, Sincerity, and Pain,Anguish and Heart Stirring Emotions all at the very same time.This is one movie which has left me stirred to the core. I am speechless, totally. For those who haven’t seen, it’s high time to wake up, and buy your tickets or DVD. Now, I am no big movie critic.But in my venture of blogging reviews of movies I had started watching movies from the eye of the maker, eyeing details of the lenses of the filmmaker, hearing every sound, measuring every note. And then , RDB happened. This movie has thrown me back to those days when cinema was completely swallowed by my hungry feasting senses , without a burp.
As I said, I am clueless–Clueless whether I should marvel at the technical finesse and cinematic expertise of the brilliant story-telling , or do I wake up to the stirring story, the spirit of “Saffron“.I do not have any clue where to start from. Rang de Basanti is by far, the most brave movie that has come across in our times, or perhaps in Indian Cinema. Rang de Basanti, is a triumph in all ways imaginable.This review is just not meant to be yet another review about yet another Bollywood movie . I feel, I am dwarfing it by limiting its span by terming it “Bollywood”. It is so different from those patriotic genre movies we have seen (which includes the Manoj Kumar’s school of patriotic cinema displaying jingoistic shades of the tricolor, which at times seemed so unreal). Patriotism as in RDB, is subtle and wonderfully weaved into the narrative. Okay, let’s stop the “taarifon ke pool bandhna” for a while and get on with the review. Because I can just speak volumes about this movie, and how it has affected me, but well, getting back to the review part, lets get started..so Read On..!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Guest Author: Prakash Rajgopal ( the guy in the Gulshan Grover beard).
BENGALURU, Bangalore or just same ol’ BANGY. Oh how fortunate art thee to have been the soil which played host to Rock in India. How golden is thy spirit to have seen history in the making!The biggest International Rock Festival India has ever seen! Nine bands! Two headlining acts! The chance to get 8 hours of thrash/hard rock drilled into metal heads! What a mouth-watering prospect! Which genuine rock enthusiast would miss such a historic event? One of the top four metal acts in the world, Megadeth was playing in India. Yes, MEGADETH!! It was the last leg of their United Abominations Tour Of Duty. March 14, 2008. Palace Grounds, Bangalore. After a month of eager anticipation since booking the tickets, the day had finally arrived! We all HAD to be there to witness it. And we did!
We (my friend Harshal and I) reached the venue well ahead of time, at 1 pm. As we arrived at the venue and were waiting for the gates to open, we could hear some sound checks going on inside. There were already some people loitering around, most of them wearing black tees. I could see lots of Maiden’s, some Slipknot’s, Children Of Bodom’s, Nirvana’s around along with the usual Megadeth ones. We also saw a girl and a guy walking in, with the girl wearing a Megadeth tee, and the guy wearing a… hold your breath… 50 Cents!! Yo mama, he was right in da club!!! I also saw a guy wearing a Master Of Puppets tee. I wonder what became of him. Soon, Sujoy arrived with his gang just in time for the gates to open, and we headed inside. There were two stages on the venue. A smaller stage that was meant for the Indian bands, and a bigger one up front, obviously for Megadeth and Machine Head .
Here’s a run-up of all the bands in the order of their appearances:
1. Casino Blues: The band from Guwahati formed by Joshua, the lead singer of the Independence Rock winner band-Faith. They might’ve rued the fact that their’s was the first act of the day. With the scorching sun was beating down everybody’s necks, most of the people preferred taking shelter in the shady corners of the ground to avoid being burnt. The band had some catchy numbers. But they didn’t catch enough attention. Enough said.
Verdict: Mediocre.
Sujoy’s Verdict: Joshua has got strong vocals, but it got sunburnt.
2. Prestorika:
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