Fanaa is being taken to Brazilian cinemas to woo audiences on the 100th anniversary of Indian cinema.The Kajol-Aamir Khan starrer is the first film to open in 25 different mainstream cinema halls throughout the large Brazilian territory in hopes that the audience will become acquainted with Bollywood cinema and develop a taste for it. If the film does well in its first week, it will continue to run for a second week and possibly increase its screenings to 40 cinemas. The project of its release has been led by Dinesh Sinha and Andre Nascimento, who are at the head of Bollywood Filmes, the new and very first distributor of Indian films in Latin America. They are being supported by the Sao Paulo Center for Indian Culture, Yash Raj, Bollywood Brazil, Mistika and Social Media i9. The Brazilian trailer for the 6 year old film has been created to attract the Brazilian audience.
The decision was consciously taken to avoid the world cinema circuit for the release of the film and Bollywood Filmes director, Dinesh Sinha has expressed his company's aim to target a larger audience who is keen to watch commercial cinema. Bollywood Filmes is also setting its sights on the possibility of making the beauty and variety of Brazil an attractive location for shooting Indian films.
Fanaa has been shortened to suit the current taste of Brazilian moviegoers. Four of the songs have been left out in hopes that Brazilians will enjoy the remaining musical sequences and will ask for more in subsequent screenings of films that have been expected to release later through the same distributor.
The fever of Bollywood is therefore bound to hit Brazil and will be followed by a 2013 retrospective of Bollywood classics (organized by Ibirá Machado) shown throughout the country, which has a population of approximately 100 million potential moviegoers. Latin America represents a vast market for Bollywood, given the films' similarity to storylines used in typically Latin American TV series called telenovelas, which are watched daily by hundreds of millions of people throughout the continent. The huge success of one of these series, called "Caminhos da India" (The Paths of India) in 2009 has reassured investors and distributors that Brazilians are ready to fall in love with Indian films.
Here is wishing Fanaa a fantastic opening. If you are in Brazil and wish to visit the official Brazilian website for Fanaa, you may do so at http://fanaaofilme.com.br/ (Se você quer, pode visitar o site oficial do filme Fanaa aqui). You may also watch an interview about Fanaa with Aamir Khan and Kajol subtitled in Portuguese here (Vocè tambem pode ver uma intervista com os dois atores principais de Fanaa, Aamir Khan e Kajol, legendada em portugués, aqui).
Baazi was directed by Ashutosh Gowariker in the year 1995.
Star Cast:
The movie stars Aamir Khan, Mamta Kulkarni and Paresh Rawal in lead roles.
Movie Review:
The movie is a cool action thriller.It is spiced with Aamir Khan's impressive style and action.The movie has similarities with that of Sarfarosh.Hence those who liked Sarfarosh will certainly like this too.Mamta Kulkarni plays beautifully but at some scenes she is over reactive and silly.
The story is about a police officer who is devoted to his duty.But one fine day he finds a terrifying crime over one street.That makes him search for the terrorist.But unfortunately one day Police Commissioner's daughter is killed in a homicide and Amar ( Aamir Khan ) is regarded as the culprit.His officer post is snatched and is is sent to prison.From there he escapes and finds that he is made guilty for murder of his parents as well.What happens next?How he finds the real culprit? It is the story.
Awwal Number was directed by Dev Anand in the year 1990.
Star Cast:
The movie stars Dev Anand, Aamir Khan and Ekta Sohini in lead roles.
Movie Review:
The movie is about the jealous feelings and the terrorism which are the worst enemies of a man in today's world.It shows how bitterness can destroy many things and take away peace and prosperity.
The movie starts by showing Ranvir Singh alias Ronny who is made the captain of Indian Cricket Team.His brother is the chairman of Cricket Selection Committee.India loses two matches consecutively in a three series match with Australia which causes leads to wide desperation all over.This was mainly due to the bad leadership and arrogant attitude of Ronny. Hence, going against him the cricket committee changes the captain giving the post to Sunny who is a new comer.Ronny gets angry and swears that he will take the revenge with Sunny at any cost.The third series match is being planned at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.But terrorist declare that the will blast the stadium if the Indian Army doesn't fulfill their demands.What happens next?Are they able to save the 50,000 spectators?If yes how? It is the story.
This Sunday, the Hindi Cinema Blog enjoyed an hour and a half in excellent company. The actor turned TV show-host, Aamir Khan and his guests, graced the household with Khan’s “most ambitious project to date”, television show Satyamev Jayate.
Expectation at Star Plus TV was at its highest as the first episode countdown began since last evening. A permanent announcement being made at the top left-hand corner of their broadcast let India know how many hours, minutes and seconds were left for the final take off.
Let us imagine… Do you recall Deejay (Rang de Basanti), the rebel who increasingly became aware of his country and wished he could become its voice and touch its people enough to create change from within? How about Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Taare Zameen Par), who wanted each child’s voice to be heard and nurtured? The picture would not be complete without the immensely popular and endearing Rancho (3 Idiots), the inspiring intelligent innocence who moves lives and whom we can all relate to because that is what we each aspire to become. Our imagination can see that all of these characters had a common denominator apart from their will to make the world, or at least India, a better place. That common denominator is Aamir Khan. Things seem to come full circle with Satyamev Jayate.
After many questions from the media and the audience related to what his show’s content would be, the result is an eclectic, pacy, touching and profoundly Indian talk show. A few elements of Satyamev Jayate may have been perceived in USA based talk shows, especially those catering to minorities (early 90s “Cristina” shows, for example) in terms of creating awareness regarding a certain issue or the emotional degree of the content being presented. Aamir Khan’s show however is innovative and deeply different in the sense that its topic, mindset, audience on the set, specialists and even its entertainment style (oh what wonderful music!) are Indian at the very core. Those readers who relate to India or are Indian will understand that this signifies that the show is unique in itself, given India’s inherent singularity.
It is obvious that the show has been the result of considerable work by its team, ranging from research, footage and choice of topic to the carefully written TV host monologue used to present the issue at hand. Moreover, it has been an excellent choice to open the show by targeting a vast audience with the topic of female foeticide, which will inevitably be close to each woman’s heart and to which the male part of the population can also relate to. The time slot selected for broadcasting the show we believe has also been a winning decision.
But how to present an issue to the audience in only one hour and a half? How can the show be useful to India? The first episode of Satyamev Jayate reflects that these questions were extensively pondered on beforehand and we are happy to be witnesses to that. The show attempts to draw in donations for the cause being presented through Junglee, thereby motivating the audience to act upon what they have been listening to and be useful. We hope other ways of collecting funds have been put in place in other episodes, helping those who do not have resources to donate to possibly win or generate money for the cause. As to the challenge of presenting an issue and its major implications in only one hour and a half, the show succeeds and achieves so through logic (presenting the dangerous consequences of female foeticide) but also through the heart… I have not seen another Indian cinema icon connecting emotionally and genuinely, even if briefly, with his fellow countrymen as much as Aamir Khan. Though guests are interviewed by him for only a very short time, their story is to the point and stirs feelings in he who listens. Satyamev Jayate is a show about feeling. It is a show with a heart.
Even though this first episode of Satyamev Jayate does not truly show what many expected as a window into India in the shape of a road trip through Bharat, with Khan encountering his fellow countrymen and women throughout the vast wonder of his nation, this blogger has not yet given up in seeing that dream sporadically unfold on screen in subsequent episodes. Aamir Khan may always be trusted to surprise one and all. The thirteen topics are as many opportunities to unravel delightful surprises.
A final mention goes to the fantastic theme song for the episode. Ram Sampath accompanied Swanand Kirkire in O Ri Chiraiya, one of his best television performances, both due to the beauty of the song and lyrics but also to the perpetual moving quality of his voice.
An hour and a half went by without blinking and now the week will have a new mantra until we reach next Sunday: “Hum sach se nazrein hatayen kyon”...
Watch the full episode with English subtitles below:
Satyamev Jayate airs on StarPlus and DD1 at 11 am IST every Sunday in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada
Actor Aamir Khan visits Srinagar and rides a Shikara for TV show "Satyamev Jayate" (photo: Hindustan Times)
Last week, Aamir Khan attended a highly successful music launch. No, not for any of his upcoming films, but for his newest and ambitious project: "Satyamev Jayate", the actor's maiden TV show to be watched every Sunday at 11am IST, starting May 6th, on Star Plus. The actor commented about the show: "This is the first time in Indian history that a show will be showcased simultaneously on national television channel DD1. Besides, the show will be dubbed in four southern languages: Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. This show is being launched on a large scale".
Added 27 April: AVS Interview with Aamir Khan speaking about "Satyamev Jayate"
The actor has been posting promos for his TV debut on his Facebook fan page and has not disclosed the main structure of his show, which seems to be a thought-provoking way of connecting all of India and its people together through his travels. (Refer to our article posted 6 May for our thoughts on the show when it released)
Aamir Khan seemingly traveled to the states of Punjab, Kashmir, Rajasthan, Kerala, Delhi and several other North-Eastern states to gather experiences and material for the show. We wish him the very best and share with you the beautiful ad with Satyamev Jayate's musical theme to stir the viewers' curiosity. You may also find the lyrics to the song, penned by Prasoon Joshi, below this video. We look forward to listening to the 13 specific songs composed by Ram Sampath for each episode too.
Tere rang aisa chadh gaya Koi aur rang na chadh sake Tera naam seeney pe likha Har koi aake padh sakey
Hai junoon hai junoon hai Tere ishq ka ye junoon hai Rag rag mein ishq tera daudta Yeh bawra sa khoon hai Tune hi sikhaya sachai oo ka matlab Tere paas aake jaana maine zindagi ka maksad Satyamev, satyamev, satyamev jayate Sacha hai pyaar tera, satyamev jayate
Tere noor ke dastoor mein Na ho salwatein na shikan rahe Meri koshishein toh hai bas yaheen Rahein khushbooein gulshan rahe Teri zulf suljhaney chala Terey aur paas aaney chala Jahan koi sur na ho besura Woh geet main ganey chala
Tere rang aisa chadh gaya Tha nasha jo aur bhi badh gaya Teri barishon ka karam hai ye Main nikhar Gaya main sanwar gaya Jaisa bhi hoon apna mujhey Mujhey ye nahin hain bolna Kabil tere main ban sakoo Mujhey dwaar aisa kholna Sanson ki iss raftaar ko Dhadkan ke iss tyohaar ko Har jeet ko har haar ko Khud apney iss sansaar ko Badloonga main tere liye
Mujhey khud ko bhi hai tatolna Kahin hai kami to hai bolna Khahin dag hain toh chupayein kyon Hum sach se nazrein hatayein kyon khud ko badalna hai agar Badloonga main tere liye Sholon pe chalna hai agar Chal doonga main tere liye Mere khoon kee har boond main Sankalp ho tere pyaar ka Kato mujhey to too bahe Ho surkh rang har dharrrr ka.
'Delhi Belly' might not be doing the due rounds of Nepali cinemas but it sure has traveled to other exotic destinations! Paris and its quintessential commuting work routine had me a bit dizzy this week until - lo and behold - I discovered a silent film release that would force me to unwind... As I scroll through Internet cinema timings at the local French café I come upon the word "Delhi" on my screen... I wonder if a cinema is scheduling an art-house movie about India but immediately see the word "Belly" on the side. I squint. "Delhi" plus "Belly"?! A suburban cinema in Paris is showing a film I never imagined I could watch on the big screen! Abhinay Deo's 'Delhi Belly' has crashed Paris and has me scrambling to the nearest subway station! Cinema hall, here we come!
As I reach the cinema, nine huge posters announce Hollywood fare and my wallet's target is nowhere to be seen. I stand in queue and ask the cashier for a ticket to watch 'Delhi Belly'. The cashier begs my pardon and for a second I ask myself if I should have pinched myself when I saw the film announced on the Internet. I repeat the name of the film and the cashier looks through the list of films currently showing before actually realizing that a film called 'Delhi Belly' is scheduled. I pay my ticket and hurry to find all seats empty, but thankfully, a few minutes later a small audience starts trickling in. We are a handful of foreigners sitting with a merry group of NRIs, carrying packaged samosas and all. The place suddenly feels like home.
Rewind a couple of years earlier. Of all three films Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao's production house was preparing since 2008, 'Delhi Belly' has been the closest to my heart and the expectation to see it never waned even after a box-office smashing '3 Idiots' or a subtle 'Dhobi Ghat'. I had not seen 'Delhi Belly' but yet knew it would be my favorite film of all three. Now is the chance to see if my expectations were correct.
Sitting in that Paris cinema, the small audience gets the feeling we are members of some exclusive clique. A bunch of connoisseurs ready to savour a treat that is only meant for the duly initiated...
Ah yes. Pearls are served only to the wise and Abhinay Deo's impertinent direction is served by the heaps to us as we discover three bachelor friends who share an old and shabby flat in Delhi. Tashi (Imran Khan), is a journalist addicted to his job and engaged to Sonia (Shenaz Treasury). S#!t starts happening when he involuntarily gets involved with gutsy and free-spirited Meneka (Poorna Jagannathan), who is not afraid to let a guy know when she has set eye on him. Arup (Vir Das) embodies the virtue of patience working in publicity, collecting unsuccessful attempts to watch a disco movie at the cinema, dealing with a recent break up and only screaming things like "go to hell!", "oral pleasure" and "blow job" in his psychedelic dreams. Nitin (Kunaal Roy Kapur) is a photographer who is always on the lookout for better ways to make money, like say... blackmailing? When Nitin's tummy goes for a violent toss, all three friends accidentally get entangled in the business of mafia man Vijay Raaz and his henchmen. How can a bad case of the runs get one into such trouble? Writer Akshat Verma delivers a sturdy and rib-tickling script that explains just that!
Humour here goes from cheeky to racy to dirty and back time and time again. Despite a moment of confusion in the Western audience regarding the "orange juice" humour, the film remained a side-splitting naughty pleasure for all until the very end. And here I would like to say "Thank you AK Productions" for bringing adult urban Indian humour to the fore, not only in India where it will undoubtedly refresh the comedy panorama, but also in lands like France, where most of what is known about India is the usual clichés. This film takes them one by one and hilariously burns them to ashes.
Imran Khan bhaags throughout the film, proving to one and beyond once again that he can rock a screen in spite of sporting a terribly sore black eye, disheveled hair and being covered in layers of dust in his best non-romantic-hero role to date. He leads his pack with zing, while also letting his partners in crime shine in their rollicking and well-carved-out performances too. Plot, characters, and a minblowing soundtrack all snuggly click together despite their full-on wackiness.
As if all this fun was not enough, Anousha Dandekar joins none other than a disco clad producer Aamir Khan in a cameo number dancing his platform shoes off. Press has it that the cameo was recently shot, when Khan decided to take the film's item number into his own hands to pay brilliant tribute to India's disco days. The production house could not have chosen a more suitable item boy for the deal.
Fun doesn't always rhyme with family though, so don't expect to be watching this film with your mom or with your kids. 'Delhi Belly' is a wicked pleasure to be savoured with like-minded friends or by yourself. Just be careful with food and drinks (if you can stomach them while watching). You don't want to spill anything while you are rolling on the floor laughing.
A big thumbs up for the European release of the film. It would have been fantastic to have the film promoted a bit more by Aanna Films but we are not complaining. It is already a miracle to have a first day release of a quality Indian film in France. May word of mouth carry it to the status it genuinely deserves in India and abroad. I know I can seem biased and too fond of work coming out of a production house that had the guts to make a classic like 'Lagaan'. Trust me though, 'Delhi Belly' is a riot regardless of who's name is in it. It is the type of completely cult film that people will be quoting way down the line and will make friends joyfully laugh when it is being remembered in discussions. If you are an adult who doesn't mind raunchy cinema and a dose of potty humour, don't miss 'Delhi Belly'. 'Tis smack hitting GOLD. Disco GOLD. ♫ ...I "rate" you [like i LOVE you]...♫ Shake it babeh, yeah!
Director: Abhinay Deo Script: Akshat Verma Cast: Vir Das, Poorna Jagannathan, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Imran Khan, Vijay Raaz, Shenaz Treasury Produced by: Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Akshat Verma Music and lyrics: Ram Sampath and Amitabh Bhattacharya
Andaz Apna Apna was directed by Rajkumar Santoshi in the year 1994.
Star Cast:
Movie stars Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Raveena Tondon and Karishma Kapoor in lead roles.Other supporting star cast includes Paresh Rawal, Shakti Kapoor, Viju Khote, Shehzad Khan, Javed Khan, Juhi Chawla, Govinda, Suresh Bhagwat, Mehmood, Deven Verma, Jagdeep and Tiku Talsania.
Movie Review:
Movie Andaz Apna Apna is a romantic comedy film.It involves Salman Khan and Aamir Khan for the first time, together they managed to pull some wonderful comic sequences. The movie revolves around the life of Amar Manohar ( Aamir Khan ) and Prem Bhopali ( Salman Khan ), both are good for nothing. They wanted to become rich by marrying the daughters of a rich person. Their dreams took the face of reality when they came to know that Raveena ( Raveena Tandon ), the daughter of a rich man Ram Gopal Verma ( Paresh Rawal ) is arriving from abroad to marryIndian boy.
Raveena came with her secretary and friend Karisma ( Karisma Kapoor ). Both Amar and Prem tried to woo the girls and finally succeeded in getting close to them. Amar managed to impress Raveena while Karishma went with Prem, but soon Amar came to know that actually Karisma is the daughter of Ram Gopal Verma and she is the secretary. Now nothing can be done as they are in love. Soon the movie turned more chaotic with the arrival of Ram Gopal and his brother Teja who is a lookalike of him, a criminal. Teja kidnapped his brother and replaced himself at his place to take away the illusive diamonds but Amar Prem came for the rescue in their own style.
Overall, movie is awesome and entertaining. Chemistry among the khans was widely appreciated.Movie was above average at Box Office.
Music And Singers:
Music of the movie is given by Tushar Bhatia while the songs are sung by Mangal Singh, S.P.Balasubramaniam, Vicky Mehta, Abhijeet, Sadhana Sargam, Sapna Mukherjee and Asha Bhosle.
Akele Hum Akele Tum was directed by Mansoor Khan in the year 1995.
Star Cast:
Movie stars Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala in lead roles. Other star cast in supporting roles are Master Adil, Deven Verma, Tanvi Azmi, Rohini Hattangadi, Paresh Rawal, Anjan Srivastava, Rakesh Roshan, Shafi Inamdaar, Satish Shah, Harish Patel, Navneet Nishan, Neeraj Vora, Mushtaq Khan and Anant Mahadevan.
Movie review:
This hindi bollywood movie is family drama film with spice of love.It is a perfect romantic movie that revolves around the life of an emerging young singer Rohit Kumar ( Aamir Khan ), he wants to reach the top of the music industry. One day a beautiful girl Kiran ( Manisha Koirala ) came across Rohit, after hearing his songs she became a big fan of his. She approached him to get trained in his genre of singing and Rohit happily agreed to this. Both started rehearsing together they never realized that they had started liking each other. Soon both were in deep love with each other. They decided to tie the knot of marriage.But Kiran’s parents never approved this relation as they don’t want her to marry him. So Kiran despised her family and started living separately with Rohit, they got married and soon they got a baby. As Kiran gets more and more confined to the household activities, she started feeling that she is being suppressed by Rohit and hence she leaved him along with their child. Now the whole responsibility of raising their child comes on Rohit alone. soon Kiran became a star actress and on the top of success ladder now she feels lonely and abandoned. Rohit would not allow her back in his life.And thus the story eludes. Movie is nice and interesting. Even contribution by Aamir Khan made it more cheerful. Overall, the movie is worth watching.
Music And Singers:
Music of the movie is given by Anu Malik. Songs are sung well by Udit Narayan, Aamir Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Aditya Narayan, Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik.
Afsana Pyar Ka was directed by M.R. Shahjahan in the year 1991.
Star Cast:
The movie stars Aamir Khan, Neelam and Deepak Tijori in lead roles.Other star cast includes Neeta Puri, Rakesh Bedi, Amita Nangia, Raju Shrestha, Mehmood Khan, Viju Khote, Saeed Jaffrey, Beena Banerjee, Kiran Kumar etc.
Movie Review:
The old hindi bollywood movie is a romantic drama which last all over the story.Movie "Afsana Pyar Ka" starts with a man named Mahendra Behl (Kiran Kumar) who lives a middle class lifestyle alongwith his family including his wife named Beena (Beena Banerjee) and a young son named Raj. Later he leaves his family to marry a rich girl who is dying from cancer in order to inherit all her property. Soon she dies and then Mahendra takes over all her property. Also he decides to bring back his family with him. But he is shocked when Beena refuses to go with him, though she lets him keep their infant son Raj. Later Mahendra tells Raj that his mother died when he was born. Several years later, Raj (Aamir Khan) has grown up to be a young and handsome youth and goes to college.There he meets an attractive young girl named Nikita (Neelam) and soon both fall in love with each other and want to marry. Whereas Nikita’s uncle was a good friend of Raj’s mother which Raj does not knows at all. Later his college gets a new principal named Mrs. Behl who is none other than his own mother. Also Beena does not knws that Raj is her son. Later Nikita’s uncle comes to know that Raj is the son of Mahendra and then he forbids Nikita from seeing Raj ever again. Later Raj does comes to know that Beena is his mother which brings a storm in his life.Thus that's the story. The movie is great and foes on a smooth pace. Movie gained popularity and won awards. Film was popular among teens.
Music And Singers:
Music of the movie is awesome and is composed by famous Bappi Lahiri. Songs are sung in beautiful voices of Asha Bhosle, Amit Kumar, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik etc.
Forget mainstream Bollywood, forget candy floss, forget boy-chases-girl-chases-boy around trees... As adorable as regular fare from our favorites at Film City may be, 'Rang de Basanti' takes each and every member of the audience on a totally different ride and upon each viewing I say:
YEH CINEMA HAI, baby!
Last week, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's groundbreaking film was screened before its cast and crew in honour of its 5th anniversary (26th January). Several fans of the film across the world also celebrated the occasion by parking the RDB dvd in their drives that week and I am happy to have joined them.. There is a saying that claims "there is no place like home" and that is exactly how I felt as I re-watched one of my all-time favorite films, not only from India, but from around the world. Yes. This is a film I bought several times in order to distribute copies to friends and of course purchased the special edition with a "gem disk" that features Mehra's ultimate commentary. I could never get enough of it!
For those readers who are Hindi cinema newbies and therefore not familiar with what all this justified fuss is about, a brief synopsis follows the trailer below (purple text).
Sue (Alice Patten), a young film maker from London sets to shoot a film about India's freedom fighters based on her grandfather's diary (a British jailor in India during the pre-independence struggle). She hence flies to Delhi and finds whom she believes are the 6 perfect actors for her film. After hesitatingly accepting to participate in it, all 6 youngsters embark on an awakening journey that will shift their view of their country and will make them act upon it together in order to change a corrupt status quo.
I would personally have wanted to be a tiny mouse under Mehra's chair perking my ears up by listening while he narrated his script to one and the other before he finalised his cast. How he produced such a fantastic ensemble of actors remains astonishing to me: impressive Soha Ali Khan, Southern Indian stars R. Madhavan and Siddharth, extremely talented Atul Kulkarni and Sharman Joshi, superstar Aamir Khan, a very dedicated Kunal Kapoor, a highly convincing Alice Patten and mature secondary actors such as Om Puri, Lekh Tandon, Kirron and Anupam Kher as well as yesteryear belle Waheeda Rehman. Six of these actors were given substantious roles that cannot be substracted from the plot, making each and every one of them essential for the story to take place.
Casting was not the only merit. 'Rang de Basanti' masterfully merges two stories that end up generating an intricate climax that is heavy with purpose. The film compares India under the British rule to contemporary India, governed by corrupt politicians, while also placing a finger upon what the youth of India can do to make today's situation progress. I wonder if anyone before Rakeysh Mehra had pulled off a film in India with such a statement and without reeking of overdone or preachy nationalism.
The writers successfully gift us a story about:
* college friendships,
* a brief close-up on the strength of India's freedom fighters,
* a critique on fundamentalism,
* a view of the consequences of taking justice into one's own hands,
* sound advice inviting the youth to become involved in their country and to transform it from the inside out.
Other directors / screenplay writers would have gone haywire with so many meaningful things to say in solely one film but this is not so with Mehra and his team, who succeeded not only in getting these messages across but also in keeping the audience engaged until the end of the film, with a climax one could have rarely predicted.
The climax was indeed a surprise and for many audience members remained a mystery or a drawback. In its defence, I would say that the writers gave us two possible endings in one film, which I personally find to be a very intelligent approach. It somehow reminds me of those books some of us read during our childhood called "Choose your Own Adventure", where depending on the reader's choice of action upon ending a chapter, he/she advances to page X or to page Y. I remember sometimes "cheating" out of curiosity and reading both pages X and Y! Well, this is more or less what happens with the ending of 'Rang de Basanti'. One gets a glimpse of two possibilities, both of them actually make up the climax in its totality, and the director leaves the audience to sift through it all and to choose which was the best option.
The stellar performances, fresh aesthetics and original script with tight dialogues give us a taste of college and help us penetrate the coming of age of Indian youth in a subtle but bold and humanistic manner. My brain was reeling after I watched RDB for the first couple of times and I would venture to say that the film could apply to the youth of many a country in this planet, which makes for a grand international appeal. Last but not least, a stupendous soundtrack by AR Rahman peppers the film's situations and blends into the images with natural and tasteful ease.
All of this makes 'Rang de Basanti' sound like a very deep and serious film. It is certainly deep, but its master stroke is to also be highly entertaining.
In the end, after having us experience lighthearted fun and making us follow the film's characters through thick and thin, Mehra seems to say to critical souls "Stop whining... think... now takeaction!". And we, besotted with the film, are bound to keep listening.
RANG DE BASANTI (Colour me Saffron) Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Screenplay, story, dialogues: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Renzil D'Silva, Kamlesh Pandey, Prasoon Joshi Cast: Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Alice Patten, Soha Ali Khan, Madhavan, Waheeda Rehman, Anupam Kher, Kirron Kher, Om Puri, Lekh Tandon Production: Adam Bohling, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Guruprasad M., Shyam P.S., David Reid, Ronnie Screwvala Music: AR Rahman
As cyberspace gets piled up with "Best 10, 20, 75 or 100 Bollywood films of the decade" lists, the Hindi Cinema Blog has opted for a more personal approach by establishing our list of the TOP 10 FILM MAKERS of Hindi cinema in the last decade. From 2000 to 2010 some of the highest achieving film makers indeed delighted us and we wish to remember them as a new decade opens, hoping that they will continue to make us laugh, cry, jump in our seats and nurture our Hindi film addiction.
Vishal Bhardwaj
Even if this list has been established in no particular order of achievement, Vishal Bhardwaj is still featured at the top for making audiences meet a different type of Indian cinema through his involvement in internationally acclaimed films such as 'Omkara' and 'Ishqiya' (producer) or a widely applauded film by Indian audiences: 'Kaminey'. Vishal also has high reaching musical talent and is known to be an appreciated actor. He seems like an art and cinema powerhouse and we therefore thought he deserved first mention.
Rajkumar Hirani
The man behind the deep and cheerfully humourous 'Munna Bhai MBBS' and 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai' seemingly has a permanent genial muse following him around wherever he goes - some even wonder if Raj Kapoor has not been whispering him film secrets in the ear! He struck gold with a memorable '3 Idiots' in 2009 and audiences are keen to know what values will be skillfully and lightly put across in his next Munna bhai adventure.
Aamir Khan
The Hindi film industry has never been the same since this ace started challenging it continuously. After acting in several stupendous films in previous decades ('Qayamat se Qayamant tak', 'Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin', 'Sarfarosh', 'JJWS'...), Aamir Khan wooed Indian audiences towards what they were never supposed to have liked in the first place: by producing 'Lagaan', aka a film about Indian villagers playing cricket or directing 'Taare Zameen Par', a film about childhood education with no romance or item numbers! Having won this bet hands down, he proceeded to bring back Mansoor Khan (hurrah!) in order to help cook up the fresh and sweet 'Jaane Tu ya Jaane Na' and then turned into a masala hero with a Tamil style 'Ghajini'. The man who navigates the Hindi film world's pulse with bravado has continued venturing into surprising projects such as producing 'Peepli Live' and 'Dhobi Ghat'.
Yash Chopra
Though sections of the audience have started feeling a bit blasé about certain Yash Raj banner films, we believe the sole 'Veer-Zaara' tale is capable of zooming them up to this top ten list. After having seen filmgoers in various countries watch 'Veer-Zaara' and come out of the cinema with tears in their eyes, exclaiming "what a film!", we believe this film is one of the surest ways to convert an indie or world movie lover to the vast world of classic Hindi cinema. Huge thumbs up!
Anurag Kashyap
Another film maker who keeps pushing the envelope both in the way he directs and in relation to the subjects or narrative style he chooses is Anurag Kashyap. He stirred audiences with 'Dev D' and 'That Girl in Yellow Boots' and wrote the story behind acclaimed 2010 film 'Udaan'. Kashyap sometimes seems like the "enfant terrible" of the Hindi film industry for "showing it as it is" through his storytelling style. International audiences have come to acknowledge his attempts at incorporating groundbreaking realism to Indian cinema.
Karan Johar
Starry eyed Karan Johar and his company, Dharma Productions, were behind some of the decade's greatest hits or most entertaining film proposals. From the Shah Rukh Khan classic, 'Kal Ho Naa Ho', penned by him and directed by Nikhil Advani, to a most recent 'Wake Up Sid' and 'Kurbaan', Karan Johar has a Midas touch for emotionally grand stories. Though we were in a bit of two minds about 'My Name is Khan' and 'We are Family' we are expecting that Johar will be serving more efficient heart tugging stories soon.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
One either loves or hates his style. Nevertheless, he is undisputably one of India's most iconic film makers. The man pulls off films that carry rich imagery and enchanting decors in any type of story. Harshly criticized by several of his peers, Bhansali is still the man who wowed Cannes audiences with Madhuri's and Aishwarya's beauty in 'Devdas', thereby introducing many foreign audiences to Indian cinema.
His latest 'Guzaarish' is also to be watched as much for an interesting plot than for admiring Goa's colonial architecture. Is it a Bhansali film? Sit down, relax and enjoy the visual ride.
Ronnie Screwvala
Even though he may not be considered a film maker per se, the main man of UTV productions handles a company whose instinct has been changing the panorama of Hindi cinema consistently during the last decade by serving audiences several valuable off-the-beaten-path or niche films: 'Aamir', 'A Wednesday', 'Peepli Live', 'Road, Movie', 'Life in a Metro' or the more popular 'Rang de Basanti'... speaking of which...
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Mehra is in our personal top ten list mainly for 'Rang de Basanti' and for the animated fresco he offered audiences with 'Delhi 6' which, even if it did not garner box office success, is still a film with an interesting statement and beautiful visuals worth viewing if you want to see Delhi through a gifted man's eyes. Mehra is involved in environmental movements and yours truly would love a film on that subject by him if one could throw wishes to the air and watch them come true.
:-)
Rakesh Roshan
Roshan has enchanted audiences during this past decade, including anyone from children to seniors, with the 'Koi Mil Gaya' and 'Krrish' saga. The magic of this fantasy tale suited to young and old provided a rollicking good time and is nestled in the hearts of many.
Runners up to this list were Farhan Akhtar for a very fresh 'Dil Chahta Hai' and his stylish remake of 'Don', as well as Ram Gopal Varma for his dark 'Sarkar'. And last but not least, a personal favorite, Kamal Hassan, should be mentioned for contributing a very valuable story to the Hindi film landscape by impressively filming, scripting and acting in 'Hey Ram'.
Do not hesitate to agree or disagree with this list and to give us your very own list of top 10 film makers of the decade in our comments section below.
