Review: London Dreams

Verdict: Good.

"K" Rating: 3/5
Watch: DVD

London Dream has an apt star cast with friendship, professional jealousy and insecurity forming the backdrop . London Dreams would be a winner had it not been for its music and weak ending.The outburst of Ajay, Salmaan's saintly behaviour at the end lack verisimilitude. The movie misses out on a perfect ending due to an unnecessary song sequence. Music of the film by Shankar Ehsaan Loy does not do justice to the beautiful shots of the performances.

Watch: For great performances by the Salmaan and Ajay- they have proved themselves yet again.Comic timing and pronunciations/new lingo of Salmaan's Character. Emotional intensity of the film and good cinematography make it a DVD watch.

Story: Remember Shakalaka Boom Boom? (*ing Bobby Deol/Upen Patel) maybe not. SBB like London Dreams is based on a old hollywood flick Amadeus. Its a story about 2 friends - the introvert, ambition driven Arjun and the fun-loving, carefree aimless Manjeet(Manu). They say ambition is self driven but talent is gods given. This drives a wedge between the two friends when Arjun brings Manu to London to join his Band but discovers Manu's muscial genius. Asin look good as a rocker girl and pairs with Salmaan beautifully.

("K" rating reflects my personal star rating from now on. I thank my brother for the suggestion)

Blue: Its all about Special Effects

If you saw the much hyped movie Blue irrespective whether you liked it or not, you could not deny the great special effects it had. There were scenes when the audience could be fooled into thinking they were watching a Hollywood flick.Movies like Luck, Blue and now Aladdin may not have a blockbuster tag on them, but they do prove that Indian cinematography and vfx has come of age. True, most of the special effects are still being done by Hollywood brains but on Indian shores with companies like Prime Focus, Eros and ofcourse Red Chillies vfx.

Let's have a look at how some scenes were created in Blue (Now we know where the most expensive film spent most of its budget)

(curtesy- BollywoodHungama.com)

Interesting Promos!

Due to the high influx of movies hitting the theaters every Friday in recent weeks, we are inundated with film promos. Here are two promos which caught my eye.

3 idiots - Starring Amir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sherman Joshi directed by Rajkumar Hirani and Produces by Vidhu Vinod Chopra this is the most awaited film of the year. Based on the book "5 point someone" by Chetan Bhagat it tells the story of 3 engineering students at a big name school. This is a definate watch! the promo was just released with London Dreams.

Rocket Singh - Salesman of the year: Starring Ranbir Kappor plaing a sadarji directed by none other then Shemit Amin (Chade Fame) and produced under Yash Raj Banner this movie is up for release on Dec 11. The initial promo's are unlike any other promos one has seen in recent times. Marketing people receive kudoos as they seem to be doing true justice to the tag line of "Salesman of the year". We have yet to see how the movie will be, but the promos are definitely "different" and appeal to the common man aka masses- hence we have hope from the movie aswell.

Chance Pe Dance- Stars none other then Shahid Kapoor opposite Genelia D'souza directed by ad-filmmaker Ken Gosh (Ishk Vishk) and is produced by Ronnie Screwvala. Looking at the promo it will be a must watch for the youth. The movie seems to have it all -Ken Gosh's trademark stunning visuals coupled with Shahid's dancing and Genelia's liveliness. After looking at the promo one realises why Farah Khan asked the south beauty to say the tongue twister "kaccha papad pucca papad" on her show Tere Mere Beach Mein. It is releasing in January of 2010 but promises to be worth the wait! The movie appears to focus majorly on dance and Shahid looks all shaped up for it!(Trailor brings mind images of movies like Save the Last Dance/ Step-up?).

Here are the trailers which are making the rounds in the theater and creating the buzz.

Lux Commercial: Aishwarya & Abhishek Bachchan

After 2 years, Aishwarya & Abhishek finally seem to be warming up to the idea of appearing together on screen post marriage. It began with the couple appearing on the Oprah Show less then a month ago and it continues on with the new Lux soap commercial.

This is the first time the sizzling couple is appearing in a chimerical together. Ashwarya has long association with Lux along with other Bollywood beauties. Abhishek is the only second actor ever appearing in a Lux ad, the first was Shahrukh Khan who appeared in the soaps 75th Anniversary celebration Ad.

For the 34-second commercial Ash & Abhishek took home a whopping 25 crore it is belived. The golden couple was styled by Akki Narula and directed by Stephen Mead. Shankar Ehsaan Loy have given a very soothing music to the Ad. It provides the perfect background score to the playful tricks Ash is playing on husband Abhi. The body language of the actors and the overall feel of the commercial is very warm. Looks like everyone had a blast shooting it and it definitely conveys so! what can we say but "Ab Aishwarya Abhi ke bina nahi" dekhengi kahin.

On the making interview: Abhishek seems down to earth and casual, but note Ash's 2-3 buzz words which she keeps repeating - brand connect, relationship, communication, commercial.

SRK: "I'm neither Fair nor Handsome"

Modesty is King Khan's policy! Shahrukh was recently shooting for the new commercial for Emami's men's creme "Fair & Handsome" with the aspiring actress Shazahn Padamsee. Emami renewed their contract with SRK, as part of a strategy

to make it a 200-crore Rupees product in the next 2 years. After all Brand SRK is biggest in India and who better to endorse a product. (Here is a fab article on Brand SRK)

So what does he do for his good looks? black coffee, sleep 4 hrs, gym....

La affaire: Shilpa & Raj

Oct 24th, 2009 was a big day for the Shetty's as Shilpa(33) got engaged to her long time beau Raj Kundra (34) at his Juhu residence in Mumbai. Unfortunately sister Shamita could not attend as she is following big sisters foot steps and taking part in the Indian version of Big Brother - Big Boss. Let's hope Big Boss does what Big Brother did to Shilpa's career 2 years ago.

Shlipa transitioned from modelling to Bollywood in 1993 with SRK-Kajol starrer Bazigar. The song "Chura ke dil mera" from Mein Khiladi Tu Anari shot her to stardom and she became the face for some foot tapping item songs. After 40 films her career was at a all time low in 2007, but with her controversial win at the Big Brother reality show in London things changed and she turned hot property yet again - this time with on an international level.

Raj is a London based business man who met Shilpa for marketing her perfume S2 in London. Although Raj's ex-wife blames Shilpa for being a house breaker, the duo remains unhassled. Today together have a business worth millions - 15.4m dollar stake in IPL Team Rajasthan Royals, a 10 m dollar 33% stake in London's V8 Gourmet group, and a medispa "loosis" in Mumbai. This in addition to a 5 m dollar 7-bedroom house in London, yoga dvd, movies, brand endorsements - there seems to be no looking back for Shilpa. Shilpa & Raj bring together business acumen and glamour - a very profitable and winning combination. So the rest can just "shut-up and bounce"....

Review: All The Best

Verdict: Don't Bother

Star Rating: 1.5/5
Watch: Pass-able

All The Best desperately wants to be like Golmaal, Phir Hera Pheri, Garam Masala et al but even the big star cast can't save this film from falling flat on its face. Barring a few one liners here and there which have already been shown in the promos the film has no comedy to offer.

Wait for it to come on cable if you really want to watch it.

Review: Mein Aurr Mrs Khanna

Verdict: Good. simple story
Star Rating: 3/5
Watch: Dvd

This movie is definitely for the "Classes" therefore may not fare well at the box office. Mein Aurr Mrs Khanna is a simple, sweet movie minus the regular Bollywood masalas of elaborate dances or fights. A little more of emotional drama would have helped the audience to connect with the characters and story of the movie. Nonetheless its a light entertainer. Go to theater for the locales of Australia or if you are a Salmaan fan otherwise wait for the DVD.

Story: Raina Khanna's (Kareena) to Sameer(Salmaan) is going thru a rough patch. Sameer elects to try his luck in another country and decides to send Raina back to India. True to a 21st century woman Kareena decides to stay back in Melbourne and be self sufficient while giving her husband a chance at success. Enter Aakash (Sohil) in their lives, thus begins a journey of finding love amidst all the complications it brings.

Watch: Beautiful shots of Australia. Salman & Kareena! This is one of those casual movies, that one wants to watch to relax without having to watch action or silly comedy. Salmaan is a very polished role as apposed to Wanted!Kareena is looking good and has given a great performance. Sohil provides the lighter moments of the film. Don't miss the airplane scene and the ending of the film!

Kouture with Karan: SRK & Gauri Sizzle

Its not everyday when SRK & Gauri sizzle the ramp together for a designer. The 6-day long HDIL Indian Couture Week had a memorable grand finale with launch of fashion label Karan Johar in association with designer Varul Bahl. The entire film fraternity came out to encourage the producer-director Karan Johar add another feather to his cap as a designer. Seen on ramp were Imran Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Karan Johar and the Badshah of Bollywood Shahrukh Khan with wife Gauri as the show stopper! Kajol, Priety, Mallika Arora Khan,Mehr & Arjun Rampal, Saif with Kareena and Priyanka Chopra were present among others.

KJo has been designing/styling for SRK quite sometime now including movies from Billu Barber, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna et al. With Label Karan Johar he is extending his designs to his audience who already so love his movies.

Review: Blue

Verdict: OK, timepass adventure
Star Rating: 3/5
Watch: Dvd/Theater

"Blue" is the most awaited film of the year, and rightly so - its the first of its kind to ever hit Indian Cinema. The cinematography, scale, under water sequence coupled with breath taking locales and action/adventure will make you think its a Hollywood Flick(Fool's Gold/ The Deep). Now that said, the storyline itself isn't strong, Anthony D'Souza (director) seemed to have got side tracked from it. The ending is loose and seemed to be rather amusing. Only about 25% of the film is an under water sequence. Music is good "Fiqrana", "Chiggy Wiggy", "Aaj Dil Gustakh Hai" are already doing good on the charts. The title track at the beginning of the movie reminds one of the 007 movie tracks.

Story: Sanjay Dutt (Sethji) lost his father finding "Lady in Blue"- the treasure ship. He now works for Aarav (Akshay) in the Bahamas with his doting wife (Lara). Pan over to Bangkok

where Sam (Zayed) is a bike racer who has gangster (Rahul Dev) after him. Fate drags the brothers to the shark infested waters yet again, bringing them face to face with his fears and untold fortune.

Watch: Fantastic bike races on the Ducati's, Lara is looking her fabulous self. Katrina Kaif has an interesting guest appearance as a biker chick. Kylie Minogue's "Chigy Wiggy" song starts off good but then looses out. It could have been done better - considering the hype around it. Sanjay Dutt needs to get in shape or retire! But its definately a Blue wave this Diwali weekend at the box office.

Salmaan Khan: Being Human

Salmaan Khan promoted his NGO - "Being Human" at the HDIL Couture Fashion Week in Mumbai by a especial fashion show. Outfits of top designers such as Rocky S, Shane & Falguni Precock,Rahul Khanna, Rohit Gandhi, Ashish Soni and few others were chosen to be part of the show - all sporting the tag line "Bring Human".Seen on the ramp and show were biggies like Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Govinda,Sanjay Dutt, brothers Sohil & Arbaaz, Sushmita Sen, Katrina Kaif. Also spotted were Malika Arora Khan with sister Amrita Arora Ladhak, Shridevi with her husband Bony Kapoor and kids, Kajol.

Interestingly all the gowns featured in the show were Salmaan Khan paintings transferred onto fabric. However the black n while gown Katrina Kaif wore was a Falguni Preacock creation hand painted by Salmaan Khan himself!! (Painting of a Saint).Salmaan has never painted a dress for anyone before, Katrina must feel special.

A memorable evening with glittering stars, good music (from upcoming coming movies Blue/Mein Aur Mrs Khanna/ All the Best) supporting a good cause. After all its all about "Being Human".

The Being Human Foundation is an NGO supporting the cause of education and health care for the underprivileged children.

You can support the cause by buying:

* Being Human Gold/Silver coins by Gitanjali for Diwali

* Being Human Tshirts/clothes - from the fashion show.

* Being Human Watches

Let the festivites continue....

Carrying the Diwali celebrations forward to the end of the year are some promising movies. Which will ensure the year definitely ends with a bang! The desert is being served up by the entertainment industry and looks very delightful, delicious and delectable, so much so that you may have trouble choosing.To help you in the decision process - here are the release dates, promos and my personal recommendations (base on initial promos).

Oct 30th:**

Aladin This age old story is retold with loads of vfx and drama. Starring Big B, Ritesh Deshmukh. Desi version along the lines of Chronicals of Narnia/HP

Recommendation: Theater watch for the special effects, Kids will enjoy this. Genre: Comedy/ Drama

London Dreams: Salmaan Khan, Ajay Devgn, Asin

Recommendation: Theater Genre: Romance/Drama

Nov 6th:

Ajab Prem ki Jazab Kahani: Ranbir Kapoor & Katrina Kaif

Recommendation: Theater Genre: Romance/ Comedy

Jail: Madhur Bhandarkar's direction with Neil Nitin Mukesh & Mugda

Recommendation: DVD Genre: Drama / Serious Cinema

Nov 13th:

Dulha Mil Gaya: Much awaited with Fardeen Khan, SRK & Sushmita

Recommendation: Theater Genre: Romance

Tum Mile: Emraan Hashmi & Soha Ali

Recommendation: DVD Genre: Romance w/ backdrop of 26th July 2005, Mumbai

Nov 2oth:

Kurbaan: Karan Johar production with Saif Ali Khan & Kareena Kapoor

Recommendation: DVD / Theater Genre: Romance w/ backdrop of 9/11

Nov 27th:

De Dana Dan: Priyadarshan's comedy flick with Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif and Sunil Shetty

Recommendation: Theater Genre: Comedy

Dec 4th:

Radio: Himmesh Reshamya is back with Shenaaz Treasurewala, a new voice playing a radio jockey

Recommendation: Theater Genre: Romance/Drama

Paa : Big B, Abhishek Bachhan

Recommendation: Theater or DVD Genre: Drama- story about a man who ages fast

Dec 11th:

Rocket Singh: Shimit Amin's (Chak De fame) next starring Ranbir Kapoor

Recommendation: Theater or DVD Genre: Comedy / Drama

Dec 25th:

3 idiots: Aamir Khan's much awaited movie base on Chetan Bhagat's novel 5 point someone with Kareen Kapoor, R Madhavan and Sherman Joshi.

Recommendation: Theater Genre: Romance/Drama

** dates are those given to the theaters by producers and maybe subject to change

Let the Festivities Begin!

It's time to ring in the festive season at the Box office and get the cash registers at the ticket windows clinking. The year began with few good movies followed by lull created by the strike,but Wake Up Sid definitely woke up everyone! This Friday was low at at the box office with only Acid Factory releasing making it the calm before the entertainment storm on Diwali weekend.The Hindi Film Industry has a variety of firecrackers to offer to its audience in terms of the genres of movies releasing on Oct 16th . For the first time in the history will there be so much variety on one given weekend.

So lets have a look on whats in store:

Mein Aur Mrs Khanna - (Romance) with Salmaan Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sohil Khan in the lead with a debutant director Prem Soni this movie will be full on the emotional, drama, love and relationship quotient! Landing straight from Australia,The songs like"Don't say Alvida" are already a hit!

Target Audiance: Classes / Multiplex

Genre: Romance & Relationships

Blue has Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta,Zayed

Khan and Kylie Minogue's "item number". The most awaited treasure hunt of the year in the sinister shark infested waters is ready to surface on the screen. Watch out for AR Rehman tracks!Its the most expensive flick in India so far. This movie is inspired from the Hollywood flick The Deep.

Target Audiance: Multiplex w/ few single screens

Genre: Mystery / Thrille

All the Best stars Bipasha Basu Mogda Godse, Ajav Devgn[yep, that's howhis name is now spelt] Fardeen Khan and Sanjay Dutt. From the director of Golmaal this would be the out n out brainless comedy filled with mistaken identities and goof-ups.

Target Audiance: Masses

Genre: Comedy / Action

With advance booking already open in India and most AMC theathers playing it in USAThe question is...which movie will you watch?

Shahrukh Khan on Tere Mere Beach Mein

The much awaited season finale of the talk show Tere Mere Beach Mein of Farah Khan with Shahrukh Khan definitely lived up to the hype and surpassed all expectations. As we know Farah Khan's talk show invites Bollywood celebrities as per their theme or topic of the day. Shahrukh came for "Joru ka Gulam" theme.Interestingly his wife Gauri was physically not present on the show. However the fans got an aboriginal treat of getting to know the in-laws of the King of Bollywood. SRK has been in the industry for about 2 decades and yet one has never seen them make a public appearance.Farah Khan surpassed all other shows by bringing this side of the Badshah on national television.

Interesting fact being that the jacket SRK gave for auction on the Show never seemed to have appeared on the ebay india site.

Review: Wake Up Sid!

Verdict: Great! Simple, relate able

Star Rating: 4/5

Watch: Theater (Houseful for this one)

Wow - rarely does one come across such a simple sweet coming of age story in Bollywood. It treats an issue delicately without the traditional song n dance routine or melodrama. This is unlike any Karan Johar/ Dharma Production movie, so kodoos to debutant director Ayan Mukherji who at 21 has already proved himself with this movie.

Storyline: Wake Up Sid is the story of Siddharth (Sid-Ranbir Kapoor) - a laid back, "kiddish", worry-free, funloving guy who has just finished college and is in no hurry to transition into the real working world. Pan over to Aisha (Konkona Sen) who has ventured to Mumbai to be independent, Sid's doting parents who would love for him to get serious in life but their patience is getting put to the test, his friends who seem more focused yet are dealing with their own troubles.

Watch: Wake Up Sid's USP is that it strikes a cord with the audience instantly, its associative and realistic in its texture. Even if not with the situation of Sid but with Sid - how he reacts and acts.Ranbir has delivered a fine performance along with the usual best of Konkona Sen. Unlike Lakshaya or other movies the protagonist isn't jolted to change,instead the change is gradual just as for most of us in life. Sometimes all of need time to find ourselves. The songs are good, with "Wake Up Sid" Remix making you leave the theater humming.

Interesting fact:This weekend was a history repeat for Karan Johar (Wake Up Sid) and Vashu Bhagnani (Do Knot Disturb) with great collections at the box office on opening weekend. About 11 years ago, in 1998 Johar 's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Bhagnani's Bade Miyan Chote Miyan had the same success when they opened on the same weekend.

Review: Do Knot Disturb

Verdict: Average movie, Time-pass
Star Rating: 2.5/5
Watch: DVD

Let me start with a fact that when you go for a Govinda movie, you go for mindless, no logic, rib-tickling entertainment. Do Know Disturb brings together David Dhavan, Govinda and Sushmita Sen after a long time. Music is okay with the song "Bebo" doing extremely well at the charts, Storyline is a very cliche (Sajan Chale Sasural, Biwi No i, Gharwali Baharwali et al) and thus lacks freshness. There are a few silly instances which make you laugh, I think I expected more on that front.

Story line: Raj (Govinda) is married to the owner of his company Kiran (Sushmita) and is having an affair with item girl Dolly (Lara). To mislead Kiran, Raj plots a plan to prove to her that Dolly is the girlfriend of Govardhan(Ritesh Deshmukh). Throw in Sohil Khan as macho ex-bf of Dolly, Rajpal Yadav as the corrupt servant, Ranvir Shoren as the detective hired by Kiran and you have the ingredients for a comedy flick called Do Knot Disturb.

Watch:Lara, Ritesh, Sohil look in great shape - everyone else please hit the gym! Not sure why they had Sushmita put on weight for this movie -it doesn't suit her at all. Ritesh does an awesome job doing the spoof on AB from Coolie. Govinda's expressions are priceless although copying Salman's thin voice at times does not suit him. Don't miss the Salmaan bracelet (Blue Turquoise stone one) Govinda is sporting! (not sure if it is for good luck or to show how indebted he is to sallu)

(Multiplex collections will do good due to the spill over crowed from Wake-up Sid, which is what happened yesterday at the AMC)