BHOOTER BHOBISHYOT: Spooky Wit Unleashed!

Today's film review may be coming a bit late but when the Hindi Cinema Blog comes across witty and fun cinema, we tend to say "better late than never"!

Bhooter Bhobishyot is a witty tale that gives us food for thought as it tells us the story of ancient Calcutta mansions which are being increasingly demolished to make way for the construction of modern shopping malls. The catch is that ghosts that inhabited and happily haunted the capital's heritage properties are finding themselves homeless without the civil society or the government doing anything about it! Ayan (Parambrata Chatterjee, who, for Bollywood buffs unfamiliar with Tollywood, is the pitch-perfect actor who starred opposite Vidya Balan in Kahaani) is an aspiring feature film maker. He listens to the story of a motley crew of ghosts from all social backgrounds, times, creeds, tastes and even nationalities in the search for the perfect plot to make a super hit movie. 

A huge applause goes to Anik Dutta for the dialogues as well as to all actors, holding a special mention for Sabyasachi Chakraborty, who appears as a masterful storyteller. Despite the fact that I am not a Bengali speaker and cannot claim to have understood all of the various hilarious satiric references throughout the film, I was still completely charmed by the story, simple and efficient direction and most of the dialogue. Wit reaches far heights thanks to incisively funny lines and references: A yesteryear film star character named Kadalibala (which may be translated as "Bananabala") discusses flirting techniques with a low-waist-jean-clad teen in the hopes of finding a young "bhoot" boyfriend. Episodes of India's history merrily mix together while a ringtone using "Satyajit Ray's voice" chirps in the background. Modern ghosts hang out at the most happening social media network: Spookbook... and the list continues at a happy pace, only to be occasionally slowed down by musical interludes which I would have personally done without, except for the final item number.

The real question is, will this spooky crowd succeed in putting their joint effort towards saving their crumbling home, Chowdhuribari mansion? The answer is possibly in a quote belonging to cultivated gangster "Promod" (get it?) Podhan: “United we stand... Divided we misunderstand!”

Watch the Bhooter Bhobishyot trailer

Read more about Bhooter Bhobishyot on Wikipedia

Directed by: Anik Dutta

Produced by: Joy Ganguly

Dialogue and screenplay: Anik Dutta

Cast: Swastika Mukherjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Paran Bandyopadhyay,

Samadarshi Dutta, Pablo Patranabis, Mumtaz Sorcar, Paran Banerjee, Biswajit Chakraborty, Mir Afsar Ali, Kharaj Mukherjee, Sumit Samaddar, George Baker, Monami Ghosh

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EK THA TIGER - Romancing Masala

Once upon a time there was Tiger... A Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer... a full-blown masala entertainer... what could rake in more box office success?

Ek Tha Tiger has been the press' favorite phenomenon this week due to its record breaking success figures and most media is likely to praise and recommend it.The film is a Yash Chopra production with Salman Khan as its main man and therefore makes the movie an entire Salman Khan centered affair, with a fresh-as-a-flower looking Katrina Kaif as his befitting love interest.

So let's concentrate on the man! Errrr... on Tiger. The spy agent aliased Tiger makes his first full appearance in the film through a curtain of raining ashes and cigarette butts filmed in slow motion (the background score playing in the background funnily reminded me of Farhan Akhtar's “Don” theme). Tiger (Salman Khan) is a secret agent on a mission to follow a defense expert to Dublin, in order to stop him from volunteering top secret information to Pakistan. Secret agent on a mission, he falls for Zoya (Katrina Kaif), the caretaker of the scientist's home in Ireland and sparks a friendship with her.

The film shows Tiger and Zoya running, jumping, kicking and almost flying in Dublin, of course, but in other exotic locations such as Havana (how did Bollywood even get there? Thumbs up!), Istanbul or some initial scenes in Iraq.

Be warned, though the film sports splendid images and stunts, do keep in mind that Ek Tha Tiger is somehow Bollywood masala's reply to Bond movies. As such, absurdity lurks just around the corner of each important scene, much alike the excitement and over-the-top stunts featured in a Bond film, adding a couple of generous helpings more, for due Indian super-spy hero effect.

Another small concern of mine is the pairing of 40 plus year old actors with 20 plus heroines. It is getting to the point in which I am finding this annoying, as if these actors refused appearing mature. So I am waiting for the movie who will feature a 40 plus man wooing a 40 year old woman. There are tons out there who are as good looking ladies as India's most bankable heroes. Anyway, I believe I have digressed.

Watch Ek Tha Tiger for the thrills and chills of action scenes that can be outworldly but entertaining. I sure could have done with a bit more brain stimulation and certainly more content and logic in the script and storyline, especially in a spy movie. I would say “could have done better” but I am certain that Salman “bhai” fans will certainly enjoy their favorite hero, particularly in the second part of the film, where his trademark style and attitude are more recognizable.

Find Ek Tha Tiger on Facebook

Buy the Ek Tha Tiger Soundtrack

EK THA TIGER 

Directed by: Kabir Khan

Screenplay: Kabir Khan, Neelesh Misra

Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif

Produced by: Aditya Chopra

Soundtrack: Sohail Sen

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An Unmissable KAHAANI! - Film Review

Shah Rukh Khan once said about his co-star Madhuri Dixit: "Madhuri is the most solid man I've met in the industry. Yeah, you heard right. She's truly like a man. She's the most solid thinker, solid emotionally, solid believer (...) She's the complete Indian film heroine."

The above quote today inevitably brings to the mind current "hero-ine" Vidya Balan. In a male centered film industry, her sound script sense and her talent currently make her one of Bollywood's most regarded professionals, up there with the sharpness of the market-savviest male stars or the talent of the best actors in the industry. She has turned the audience's focus to women characters with a solid hand, making men and women alike love her for it. After Ishqiya, No One Killed Jessica and The Dirty Picture, it is today Kahaani's turn to blow the spectator away with Balan's ability to subtly perform within a team, focusing on her characters as individuals more than as female roles, while intelligently allowing her co-stars to shine along with her too.

Kahaani is the story of Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan), a 7-month pregnant woman who arrives in Kolkata from London to look for her missing husband but is confronted with clues that her husband in reality does not exist. It is natural to feel for a Vidya who struggles to know who is telling the truth while the story effectively morphs into a suspense-thriller, with the audience hanging on to every moment hoping to unravel the mystery and wishing that the main character will manage to keep her and her unborn baby safe.

Mrs. Bagchi's kahaani is however not solely about herself. This queen is surrounded by a tight circle of  highly accomplished actors and interesting characters. Let us take a closer look at the performers that make this Bengali story alive:

First and foremost, we should mention marvelously cast Parambrata Chattopadhyay, who embodies police inspector Rana and scours the town along with Mrs. Bagchi, becoming her faithful aid and unrequited admirer. He is a fabulous match to Balan's talent and his character has heroic undertones that are masterfully performed.

No less merit goes to Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who fantastically plays the consummate Intelligence Bureau officer, scorching the screen with his natural presence and giving his character oodles of attitude, layering it all to perfection. Saswata Chatterjee gives a chilling impersonation of an insurance agent who also earns his life by murdering on contract. Indraneil Sengupta, Dhritiman Chatterjee and the two child artistes also richly add to the performance quotient.

Last but not least, this is the only recent film in my opinion that convincingly incorporates a city as if it were a full-fledged character. Kahaani would not be what it is without Kolkata and the intriguing way it is filmed, at times colourful and vivacious, at others in all its dingy glory. The city silently permeates the screen with its presence and makes the audience fear and hope, alike an excellent actor giving life to a vibrant but mysterious character. Kolkata comes alive and we say cheers and kudos to Satyajit Pande, in cinematography for accomplishing such an impressive feat.

Yes, we all wonder why an inspector takes it to heart to help Mrs. Bagchi, how clues appear so suddenly or how the surprising climax came to be, but unlike a vast amount of films, the script takes center stage in this one! Sujoy Ghosh, Advaita Kala, Nikhil Vyas and Suresh Nair have done a superlative job in terms of writing, successfully navigating between a moving situation and a compelling thriller and giving audiences a film that is proudly Indian (observe Kahaani's deep symbolism in its continuous referrals to Durga Puja throughout its narrative) but universally capable of being well received. Sujoy Ghosh's direction is of sterling quality and suitably enhanced by Namrata Rao's nimble editing. The movie succeeds in keeping us at the edge of our seats.

Consequently, Kahaani is the type of film that we would wish to share with cinema enthusiasts in India and beyond. It has the ingredients to engage audiences from any culture. Sujoy Ghosh's film can cross borders and does away with Bollywood clichés, pushing storytelling forward. A definite thumbs up. Do not miss it at a cinema near you!

Visit the Kahaani Official Website
Read the Kahaani Music Review
Purchase the Kahaani soundtrack
Follow Kahaani on Facebook

KAHAANI

Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Producers: Kushal Gada and Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Indraneil Sengupta, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Darshan Jariwala, Saswata Chatterjee
Screenplay: Sujoy Ghosh, Advaita Kala, Nikhil Vyas and Suresh Nair
Editing: Namrata Rao
Cinematograhy: Satyajit Pande
Music: Vishal-Shekhar

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KAHAANI Music Review: Kolkata, You Sexy!

 

In recent days, the only full recent soundtrack running on my computer is Vishal-Shekhar's powerful and quirky Kahaani, with which I have been very pleasantly surprised, feeling that the duo have just delivered one of their best soundtracks to date, expanding their scope of musical expression and delighting us with a titillating new sound.

Bengali, English and Hindi greet the listener with Aami Shotti Bolchi, in which cold-jazz transforms into metal rock and back, hitting a home run with Usha Uthup's and Shekhar Ravjiani's oodles and bundles of attitude. People hailing from Kolkata have a new and ferociously catchy urban song to impress with!  The track has been paired to a promotional video that is currently making my cinematic "mouth" water.

Hard rock only calms down for a few seconds before joining a Bengali musical background and the great qawaali singer and Mekaal Hasan Band lead vocalist, Javed Bashir, in a fierce 'alaap' that conveys the tone of the story's turmoil. Piya Tu Kaahe Rootha Re boasts highly effective lyrics written by Sandeep Shrivastava and we also cannot congratulate the duo of musical directors enough for their excellent choice of vocalist in this particular song.

Several of my preferred Vishal and Shekhar hits are romantic ballads. Their soft melodies are usually extremely well crafted and Kahaani, the film's title song, follows in such a tradition, taking the best of Vishal-Shekhar's melodic romantic style and gifting it to the extremely well-cast voices of KK in its male version and Shreya Ghoshal in its female and acoustic counterpart. Shreya's voice here is just the way I fancy it the most. I believe minimalistic musical arrangements truly showcase her talent and the song's chorus deftly pulls the listener into Vidya's (the film's lead) disarray and sensibility with its combination of melancholy inducing chords.

Vidya Balan attends the audio launch of Kahaani

Sukhwinder Singh mixes powerful and mellow vocals in Tore Bina, which starts as a fresh folk song and ultimately slides towards gentle pop. The track is easy to listen to and has vast potential but tends to run in too many style and instrumental directions, which is saddening given its sound melodic base and Singh's compelling vocals. It would have possibly been more effective to keep the arrangements simpler in order to bring out Singh's rendition of the song's lyrics. This said, the track still manages to please.

Vishal Dadlani and Shekhan Ravjiani

The Vishal-Shekhar duo keep a pleasant surprise up their sleeve as their closing track, Ekla Cholo Re, featuring an English chorus sung by Clinton Cerejo, welcoming the sincere and moving voice of Amitabh Bachchan and the words of one of my all-time favorite writers, Bengali legend: Rabindranath Tagore. I would have personally preferred a traditional Bengali background melody but I imagine that the uplifting pop feel has been chosen aiming to be in line with the picturization of Tagore's ode (translation in English here - thank you Dunkdaft and Wikipedia).

Cracking the shell of the stereotype they had been cornered into, Vishal and Shekhar showcase their inventiveness and versatility outside of commercial cinema in this album, which we predict will survive well after the film has received its reviews and accolades. A set of six songs could have limited itself to appear pure and sober. However, the experimental verve the musical pair is displaying has resulted in an exhilarating new sound. Thumbs up!

Our favorite picks: Aami Shotti Bolchi, Piya tu Kaahe Rootha Re and both versions of the Kahaani title song.

Purchase the Kahaani soundtrack
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Watch Vidya Balan and Vishal-Shekhar at the Kahaani music launch

KAHAANI
Singers: Usha Uthup, Javed Bashir, Sukhwinder Singh, Clinton Cerejo, Amitabh Bachchan, Krishnakumar Kunnath (KK), Shreya Ghoshal, Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani
Music Directors: Vishal-Shekhar
Music Label: T-Series
Movie Release Date: March 9, 2012

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EK MAIN AUR EKK TU: When Kareena met Imran (and vice versa)

It had been talked about long and plenty. Ever since Imran Khan had graced the screen in JTYJN, he had expressed his wish of starring alongside Kareena Kapoor in the future while Kareena remained nonetheless religiously faithful to the sure career-building value of the older Khan heroes whether it be Salman, Shah Rukh, Aamir or her beau, Saif Ali Khan.

 

When she finally and fortunately agreed to sharing screen space with a male lead of her age once again (her last great performance with a co-star her age having won her many Jab We Met accolades), Imran Khan was thankfully the natural choice. And we the audience have absolutely no regrets.

Ek Main aur Ekk Tu presents Imran in one of his best commercial film performances to date. Rahul Kapoor (Imran’s character) is uptight and contrived. He is a handsome bird who has grown up in a golden cage but has forgotten how to fly. Kareena plays Riana Braganza, a bubbly and extroverted hairstylist who seems to be Rahul’s complete opposite. Although this is not the first time Kareena takes up this type of role, a fundamental difference lies in the way her character is matchingly paired with a highly convincing (and important) male lead and that their love story in the end is not what one would expect.

When circumstances lead Riana and Rahul to meet on a fun Christmas Eve night in Vegas, they wake up next morning to discover that they have gotten married. Both are appalled by the news and decide to get an annulment. They are given an appointment in court ten days after the marriage and, during that period, Rahul and Riana discover each other. They laugh, fight, patch up and unexpected feelings start to tie them together. Meanwhile, the hero's journey of individual self discovery equally starts to blossom in the sidelines...

As an audience, I did not want to watch yet another typical KJo romance served to me in a more youthful platter... and I am thoroughly glad Johar guessed the audience’s silent plea. Consequently, filmgoers beware! What seems to be a signature Dharma Productions romantic comedy, complete with exotic locales (Las Vegas!), “boy meets girl and they hate each other but end up in love” plot, etc. is bound to surprise more than one viewer. Newcomer Shakun Batra’s Ek Main aur Ekk Tu is indeed largely about Rahul/Imran as much as Ayan Mukherji’s Wake Up Sid! was about Sid/Ranbir and this is what takes the film and its actors to a totally different level and what makes this romcom so delightful and memorable. Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu has much more to offer behind its facade. Imran Khan's character intermittently reminded me a bit of Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) in Hollywood's "The Graduate" (1967) being filmed in a more  commercial Bollywood style comedy, of course. My sincere thumbs up to the actor.

Imran completely steals the show and the chemistry works smoothly with a prettier than springtime heroine giving him a perfect response. Vegas is filmed savvily, enhancing its fun-loving side. The soundtrack is catchy and has Shefali Alvares in it (yes, I had been waiting for her voice in a Bollywood soundtrack for a long time). Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak Shah both give excellent performances as Rahul’s competitive and socialite parents. It would be a pity to say more, as this film is best discovered at the cinema. Brief, sweet, cute and yet stirring and thought provoking, Ek Main aur Ekk Tu is a film not to be missed.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Trivia:

* The original title given to the film was 'Short Term Shaadi' but this was later decided against.

* Ratna Pathak Shah was originally offered the role of Kareena’s (Riana’s) mother in the film. She however preferred acting as Imran's mother, given that she had also played his mother in Imran’s first film: Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na.

* Avantika Malik, Imran Khan's wife, makes a special appearance in Ek Main aur Ekk Tu.

Visit the Ek Main aur Ekk Tu official website

Purchase the Ek Main aur Ekk Tu soundtrack

EK MAIN AUR EKK TU

Directed by: Shakun Batra

Produced by: Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar, Ronnie Screwvala

Screenplay: Ayesha Devitre, Shakun Batra

Cast:

Imran Khan

Kareena Kapoor

Boman Irani

Ram Kapoor

Ratna Pathak Shah

Music: Amit Trivedi

Cinematography: David Mac Donald

Editing: Asif Ali Shaikh

Distributed by: UTV Motion Pictures, Dharma Productions

Release date: 10 February 2012

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ALI ZAFAR SINGS FOR LPNY

No sooner had we written about the various talents of Purab Kohli and Neil Nitin Mukesh and the interest of other Bollywood personalities entering the world of music, we discovered that the golden voice of talented Ali Zafar (who starred in the acclaimed film Tere Bin Laden and later starred opposite Imran Khan and Katrina Kaif in Mere Brother ki Dulhan reviewed here) had just finished composing and recording the album of his upcoming promising film venture London Paris New York (alias LPNY) in which he and actress Aditi Rao Hydari (Rockstar) personally sing. The rights for the album have been purchased by Sony Music and we are enjoying listening to the very youthful and fresh sound of all seven tracks as we write. 

Apart from Zafar and Rao, other great voices are included in the soundtrack, such as those of:  Sanam Marvi, from Pakistan, Sunidhi Chauhan and Haldika Kiani.

When interviewed recently before he finished working on the album, Ali Zafar had expressed that he wanted to make a soundtrack that would "use as many live instruments as possible to give the songs an organic feel", while at the same time keeping in mind the atmosphere of each of the tree cities featured in the film.

Watch the official trailer of the film to get acquainted with the music.

Visit the LPNY Official Website

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