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‘Happy New Year’ ~ What a Farah Khan Farce of a Movie !

‘Happy New Year’ ~ What a Farah Khan Farce of a Movie !

As with all Shah Rukh Khan Starrers there is great pre movie hype and publicity that raises great expectations

Saw it  one late night a few days ago and was thankful wasted less at Regal than one of those ‘loot’ multiplexes…though the seats are not that comfortable and offer only a slight automatic recline that those who wish to sit straight up detest and the whole row shakes when one laughs out loud or rumbles too much in their seat….so on the other hand actually maybe I could have reclined well in those voluptuous multiplex seats and slept through the movie !

Are we ,as a nation, so desensitized to be thrown one senseless top star movie after another and actually enjoy them as entertainment for the masses !

Shah Rukh Khan ,may be energetic ,but looks old…..Saving Grace is Abhishek Bachhan & Deepika Padukone…and to some extent Dubai Dolphins and the ‘Atlantis’ though I sense Indians are fast moving on and less awed by such grandeur

And I was horrified to see young parents with their five,six or seven year old kids actually jumping in their seats in front on some slapstick comedy or crude dialogue !…though I concede there are one or two howling moments with Abhishek,not when he’s vomiting though !…..and should kids innocence be killed at this tender age  when exposed to vulgar ,especially gay,innuendos and lusty song and dance !

And the Movie is breaking Collection Records !…crossing even Dhoom 3 and raking in Rs 108 crs in the first three days !…Brands like Nokia and others have paid @ Rs 30 crs !…that’s big money…. to be featured in the movie in a scene or even in the dialogue

So Gauri & Shah Rukh Khan & Red Chillies will be laughing their way to the Bank once more….who cares for Sense when Millions can be made from Nonsense ! 

God Save India !

Or am I a Prude ! ?

Nah!

Saw Salman Khans KICK on Idd Night and then needed to be Kick Started !

Saw Salman Khan’s KICK on Idd Night ….Mindboggling….actually the Mind Boggled !….and needed to be Kick Started !

Inox Multiplex at Nariman Point ,Mumbai was relatively empty….they need to reduce their Ticket rates….but if you think the Multiplex attracts only the Elite…think again….the row behind was occupied by one  who was discussing his Police Cases & FIRs in Hindi Slang with another similar who he bumped into in the Interval…not even in whispers

…….quite understand Salman Khan in the movie when he asserts “mujko samajh ne ki koshish ne kar…Dil mein aata hoon, samajh mein nahin”…as he moves from Devi Lal Singh to becoming Devil all for a noble cause of orphaned children !

….Wife Nergis was wondering where was Nargis Fakhri in the movie !…had to tell her she was the item girl in the item song….she was then wondering where was Jacqueline Fernandez !?…told her she was ‘Dr Psycho’ and the other item girl in the other item song…scintillating solo though !

….so what’s with this Female casting ! ? Bollywood attracts…Jacqueline Fernandez is a Sri Lankan while Nargis Fakhri is an American of Pakistani descent (Father’s a Pakistani & Mother’s a Czech ) though has never been to Pakistan

…. interval was longer than the first half as Multiplex Chain needs to make some Revenues through endless Ads and F & B Sales……though wife & I enjoyed their Rs 99 ‘Simply Baked Potatoes’…comes in six variations…had to have coke …first time in a year !….because they sell only 4XL Mineral Water Bottles and I did not have a strolley with me !

…the  4 & 5 Star Ratings for ‘Kick’ from some Film Critics in leading Media deserve a ‘Kick’….. but then the ‘Bhai’ does take care of them ! even if he shrugs “Who Cares !”

So what was good about ‘Kick’!?….well for one,Salman’s line above…and for another,Jacqueline Fernandez’ scintillating sexy solo in an item song…and I quite liked the cameo villan’s role enacted by Nawazuddin Siddiqui….very good actor

….and it’s broken collection records grossing Rs 93 crs in it’s first weekend !…definition of a ‘Super Hit’ coming along when it grosses over Rs 200 crs soon !

….that my friends is the state of India’s mindset !….all necessities….Onions & Tomatoes & Salman Khan Movies !….we crib on inflating prices of the former but pay Multiplex Money and say ‘paisa vasool’ to watch the latter get a ‘Kick’ &  appeal to our heart while destroying our mind unless we haven’t any or have left it at home ! read more

Kangana Ranaut as Queen is Good…real Good

Kangana Ranaut

Saw ‘Queen’ last evening at Inox Nariman Point…enjoyed the Movie

…the Multiplex wore a deserted look on a late Friday evening…A Family Movie outing here for a few hours is worth a Full Petrol Tank which lasts a Week at least !…and don’t be lured by the ‘Refuel’  guys always thrusting all Veg Menus onto you….if you do,just stop at ordering what you really want and don’t be lured by the extra that they will ask you,like which sauce etc…they are extra and cost extra…..and always ask for the Bill and check it and the change ….or else you’re encouraging them to pocket the Monies…and do ask them,if they have not already, to give you the nice imported handy blue packets of ‘Tempo’ ~the hygenic hand tissues…they’re free !

However,this is not about ‘Tempo’ and the Expensive Food & Drinks at the Inox Screens…This is a quick review of ‘Queen’

Kangana Ranaut has excelled in the Lead Role as ‘Rani Mehra’  aka ‘Queen’...moving seamlessly from being Rani from Rajouri to introducing herself as  ‘Myself Queen”  in Europe

It’s a Bold Movie...wonder how it’s screened with a UA rather than A Certification…..or am I out of cue with this Generation…!? shows the darker,sleazy,spicy side of  the Lives that Young Women lead to fend for themselves and their Family…drink,being paid for sex,drugs,smoking and partying at night clubs are all a routine part of their lives….but no judgments or moral sermons in the movie …and that’s the best part

From a Planned Existence to a Liberated One…… Rani Mehra is jilted by Vijay Dhingra ~ a  stereotype possessive ,status conscious,arrogant and selfish Delhi  ‘Mom & Dad’s Boy’ played convincingly by Rajkummar Rao, just before their wedding…..he’s an Engineer in London and  follows her to Paris and Amsterdam after she sends him a mobile pic from Paris of her in a stunning dress….he wants her back….that’s a test of her liberated self….she even hugs him not once but twice in the end for jilting her and which opened out a whole new liberated world for her……she decides to go off for the planned  ‘Honeymoon’ on her own to Paris and Amsterdam…she has always dreamed of Foreign Lands….here she transforms into ‘Queen’ discovering the Existence and Life that Everyday People Live and Let Live and have Fun too….Strangers become  Friends who she accepts and they accept her in return for who they all really are….No Judgements….she discovers her liberated self and that Life is to be lived …influenced by, and I liked the wanton and liberated character that Lisa Haydon plays as, ‘Vijaylakshmi’…lives Life on her Terms…and is basically a good Human Being…The Character of Olexander too leaves a mark read more

Nirbhaya….go see this Play & Raise Your Hand to Break the Silence on Women Atrocities !…we Men are not all the Same !


Nirbhaya

Respect the Female Gender and Protect it too and Raise Your Hand to support the Movement against Female Atrocities

Go see ‘Nirbhaya’ it’s at NCPA ,Mumbai till March 20,2014 before moving to New Delhi & Bangalore

It was a choice between catching  India’s well known Woman Tabla Player Anuradha Pal celebrating Life with her ReCharge Percussion Band at the Club’s Main Lawns or supporting and saluting ‘Nirbhaya’  who had Lost Her Life and Other Women who were reclaiming theirs….I’m glad I went to NCPA with my 18 year old daughter and her friend…will ReCharge with Anuradha Pal and her Band  some other time !

….caught ‘Nirbhaya’s first show yesterday  and it received a standing ovation…90 min with no intermission…intense in parts…minimum props and lighting to keep the focus on the seven actors boldly and starkly enacting real life gruesome stories of female atrocities across the spectrum…some quite dramatically portrayed…to the credit of the director,the pace is deliberately slow to seep in the performances of the clearly committed ensemble of Sapna Bhavnani,Priyanka Bose,Poorna Jagannathan,Sneha Jawale,Rukhsar Kabir,Japjit Kaur and Ankur Vikal

It was quite moving as five of the seven actors actually were portraying what they went through as a dowry wife set alight or a molested childhood….that needs to be saluted for the courage to come forward and break their silence….the director Yael Farber says sexual violence is an epidemic…and the extent and statistics lend this support…one can only imagine but one will never really know what Nirbhaya really went through on that horrific night of December 16,2012 in the Delhi Bus before breathing her last on December 29,2012

……it’s the sad upbringing and nurturing of mindsets set generations ago that make many Men see Women as Family Members with No Voice and Independence or as Objects that are there to be violated

Go See ‘Nirbhaya’ and Break Your Silence Too and Raise Your Hand in Support & Salute !

….we men are not all the same !

Enjoyed the Entertaining Show of the Mentalist Lior Suchard last evening at NCPA

Enjoyed the Entertaining Show of the Mentalist Lior Suchard last evening at Tata Theatre  NCPA….reached early for the 4.30 pm extra show and eagerly awaited the beginning with childlike anticipation…was with an even more excited wife and daughter and her friend

He’s a Funny Guy with a great sense of humour and timing…..90 minutes of non stop high octane action…..projected as a mentalist and a supernatural entertainer his act is a combination of tricks ( knew one of them ) and sleight of hand and some mentalist stuff

Good Presentation and Interaction with the audience and it was a  good evening spend post which we had the famous cold coffee at NCPA remembering my Dad who loved Cold Coffee and whose birthday too it was yesterday and he would have been 84 if alive

It was Houseful with Front Row Tickets at Rs 7500 and the last Row at Rs 1000….if you got to go,then go for the Cheaper Tickets !…not worth the first few front Rows Cost !…or better still get invited on their guest list by the organisers…one  show today at 8 pm at St Andrews,Bandra

This is the third time Lior Suchard has come to India and we seem to never get enough of him

Cheers and have a great Sunday

Dhoom 3 ~ “Tere Aisee kee Taisee!” ~ there never will be a Dhoom 4!

Dhoom 3 ~ “Teri Aisee kee Taisee!” ~ I doubt if there will be a Dhoom 4 ! unless of course ,as my son quipped,Abhishek Bachhan and Uday Chopra need some Money and Aditya Chopra obliges ! ~ Mean thing to say as both are really ok,though not in the Movie !

What a waste of a Christmas Morning ! ~ got up early ,had breakfast too caught the 9.30 am early morning show of the much hyped ‘Dhoom 3’  at PVR Phonenix,Mumbai as it’s the Cheapest in the early morning shows at Rs 250 for Prime Seats and Rs 150 for the Star Seats…..last Row lovely Prime seats ….thought it would be good value for money…both the seats and the movie !…..but wish I had got the Rs 150 ones ! …Wife enjoyed it ! while  both the grown up children who amazingly too came along  with us on an early Bank Christmas Holiday! were with me on this !…we came out into the welcome sunshine at 1 pm

I went to sleep in the first half itself ! and had to be woken up laughingly by my Son just a little before the Intermission !

The Best Part of the Movie was the Cheese Popcorn ~ Son had a whole Bucket while Daughter had the normal size….as I’m on Diet Restrictions and Cheese and Popcorn both are currently on the Hit List I was only grudgingly given a few kernels ! ~ Children really take care of me !

Katrina Kaif is just puff and arm candy….no real role and she is there only for the songs but in my view hardly sizzles in them like Aishwarya Rai did in Dhoom 2…and Aishwarya had a role too !

Aamir essays his role well as the Villain…boldly signing “Teri Aisee kee Taisee!”  at the crime scene whenever he robs the Bank to take revenge for the Bank pulling the plug on his Father’s Circus for defaulting on a Loan  ….the Camera is all on him…. but I preferred John Abraham in Dhoom 1 and Hritik Roshan in Dhoom 2

There is a story of course set in Chicago but it’s hardly gripping…..the locale should have been at Home in India ~ it may not have been a Real Hit ~ forget the record collections in the first week ~ but the audience would have enjoyed it better

The Editing is slack and the Scenes jump without seemingly any seamlessness….the daytime climax suddenly is in the middle of a High & Huge Dam after the Villains escape the Police dragnet the night before with Abhishek as the Mumbai Police’s ‘Dixshit’  telling his sidekick ‘Ali (Uday Chopra) ” Raat Choron kee hogi lekin Subha hum Poilicewalon kee hogi !” or something to this effect~ Yucks ! Who wrote the Script !  ~ how did the Police catch up with the Villains the next day ! read more

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