more »Although 3 Idiots ( ALL IS WELL ) - Although 3 Idiots team has all the reasons to celebrate as the movie has become such a great hit, author Chetan Bhagat does not seem to be the part of celebration. The famous author of the book five point someone on which this movie is based seems to be hurt by the fact that his name was neither in opening credit when the film starts nor in the closing credit roll. His name comes very late which seems to be a problem to Mr. Bhagat. He says “The key plot points, the characters, incidents, messages, story – it’s an adaptation. He added, there are some changes which any adaptation has and it’s ironic that no story credit is given to me. And it’s strange that you do it to a book which is so popular because people are going to find out and people have found out and they have flooded my twitter page about it”. Perturb by these allegations producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra even accused Chetan of being publicity hungry as the film has now become blockbuster hit. According to him everything was stipulated in the deal and if Chetan had some problems with it, he should have raised objections then, he was not compelled by anyone to sign on the agreement.
Bhagat says, “Some of the makers have accused me of being fame hungry. I think they don’t realize how popular I am. As a writer, I don’t think anyone had as much fame as I have. I write columns on many news papers and I have readers in the numbers close to 20 million. I don’t need any kind of stunts to gain publicity.”
Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan says, “I met Chetan when I was shooting here, and I told him I have not read your book. He said don’t bother, the script is different. This he told me some eight months back and if he is saying something else then that reflects on him. Not on Raju or Vidhu Vinod Chopra.”. On this Bhagat says that Aamir might have misunderstood what he said and he didn’t mean anything like Aamir is saying now. Whatever is the underlying truth but Chopra seemed so much distressed that he even shouted on a journalist upon being cross-questioned on this matter which gives a notion that there might be something fishy. Bound by contract, Chetan Bhagat may not be able to take any legal action against team 3 Idiots but he will surely be reading the agreements more carefully from now on.Sanjay Leela Bhansali Finds Hrithik In Amitabh Bachchan’s League
We all know that Hrithik Roshan used to stammer in his childhood. But now the actor is said to have erased the problem with regular speech practice and determination. So much that he impressed Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who is usually not liberal in his appreciation.
During the shoot of Bhansali’s Guzaarish, Hrithik had to do an intense scene where he had to give out a five-and-a-half minute-long monologue. The filmmaker had planned to break down the scene into three parts to make it easy for the actor. Surprisingly, Hrithik continued with his long dialogue before the director could say cut. Bhansali was immensely amazed with the actor and applauded him for his performance. Not knowing what to say, Bhansali said to Hrithik, “You are in Bachchan’s league.” The green-eyed actor who was already feeling elated, felt on top of the world after hearing such prestigious compliment from this fine filmmaker.
Abhay Deol –the thinker’s actor - Abhay Deol is Bollywood’s answer to intelligent cinema and he has wowed audiences abroad with his performance and now we can’t stop raving about his intellect.Abhay Deol spoke at the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference on “The power of Stories” and had the audience completely engaged when he spoke about stories in India that are yet to be told.Adds a source at TED, “Abhay Deol showed the audience a trailer of one of his films where he plays a thief who everyone can’t help, but find charming. Abhay revealed that the real thief on whom his character was based on is still in jail. Deol also went on to say he couldn’t understand why Bollywood doesn’t pursue more real stories such as this one.”
Abhay’s role in Dev D, which still has everyone talking, was based on the retelling of the classic Indian story of Devdas without pushing everything under the carpet.
Adds the source “Abhay also went on to explain that he wants to see a change in Bollywood to suit the changing mindset of the audience.” Says Abhay; “You can be entertaining and socially conscious at the same time.” A new wave is happening today and the unconventional Abhay Deol speaks for the thinking movie watcher.Ghajini inspired by Memento
I’m going to start by saying if you haven’t seen Memento, see it now! One of the most amazing movies of all time, I must say Aamir is very clever when it comes to selecting the kind of movies He wants to associate with.I haven’t really looked much into Ghajini, except the trailers airing on television every now and then, I only recently found out it is inspired by Memento. The one thing that does seem a little off is the fact that Aamir has changed the ending; not a great thing. Memento’s ending is exceptionally original; also it is what sums up the movie and gives it edge. I suppose the concept has been stolen; but the story might be totally different. Who knows. Have to wait and find out.The soundtrack will be released on the 23rd of this month as far as I know. Watch out for it.
Dostana impresses - Let’s just take a stint on the fact that this movie is definitely a hit. After coming out of the cinema, I was pretty sure of that. It is the kind of movie that tends to garner in more and more people (and money) through good word of mouth because it is an incredible sellout, in a good way.Over the years we have come to expect nothing but good family entertainment (full of laughs but with a little drama) movies from Karan (except Kaal and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna) and this is another add to the bundle. This movie will definitely be given a thumbs up in terms of it’s marketability, but I just hope it is never seen “seriously” or as “ground breaking cinema” because it isn’t that, and that’s okay.
The movie is about two guys, Sam and Kunal, who pretend to be a gay couple to get into the apartment that has a “no man” policy, but when the tenant, Neha, turns out to be an extremely good looking woman, they are both stuck hating fate. What goes on doesn’t make a whole lot of sense; and even though there are some loopholes in the movie in terms of character development, the whole package from start to finish is very very funny; and that is what overshadows it’s shortcomings and weak storyline.
Karan Johar just took out Shahrukh and Saif and Kanteben from Kal Ho Naa Ho and extended it to a whole movie, and it works really well here. I would have to give props to the Director for such a risky subject. The fact that almost everyone in the cinema seemed to hoot and shout every time something funny happened made this a comfortable watch. To highlight gay themes in a comedy/family environment is obviously new to Bollywood, and to have done that and succeed is a major plus.
So let’s get down to business. The story was decent, to be critical though, I would say the things that seem to not work for me was almost the second half of the movie. You just didn’t know where it was headed. It starts of very promising, and don’t get me wrong, it does deliver fairly in it’s second half, story wise, it was a little unsure of it’s boundaries, and the whole “Devil Wears Prada” stolen sequences were hard to go by unnoticed. My other complain was character development. Abhishek was a riot; John was also quite funny; and Priyanka delivered some very great lines, but the one thing that seemed hard to understand was why these two guys, who were around and about girls all the time, suddenly seemed to just get stuck once they saw Neha? Where were Sam’s patients then? Or Kunal’s models? That too were instances where I feel the Director was sleeping. Also, what was up with all the skin? You never saw John with full clothes, and after a while, it got a little tedious. Shilpa Shetty bombed, in a bad way.
The soundtrack was very nice; the cinematography was decent. Kirron Kher; Booman Irani and all the rest of the cast was simply amazing. Bobby didn’t really work though, and Abhishek, in my honest opinion, was the star of the show. He was funny, He was daring, He took a risk, and it paid off. Kudos to Him.
But despite it’s bad sides, entertainment wise, I would give this an A+ simply because of it’s originality. Some of the jokes were amazing and some of the parts made me laugh real hard. I bet Karan Johar is trying to warm up audiences for something serious next time. Who knows. But either way, I would say go watch it for entertainment value. That’s all you get out of this movie, and that’s all some people want, anyway.
Why Aishwarya didn’t opt for Dostana; and why I think she needs to get over herself. - I heard a story last night where Aishwarya was interviewed by a journalist on why she never did Dostana. Apparently she was offered Priyanka’s role first; to which she replied Dostana was more about Abhishek and John and decided to not do it because the character ends up with someone else at the end of the movie and not Abhishek; and that would send out a wrong signal to the public.Okay, this a movie, she needs a well sought out reality check. No-one really cares who she ends up with because it’s a role, not her life. I hate it when these celebrities think movies revolve around their personal lives. They ham and talk about how much they intend for the two to be separate; yet when it really comes down to it, they can’t live without publicity. So cut the crap Aishwarya.
Moreover, I heard from someone she wasn’t ever offered the role. Karan had her in the pipeline but never signed her on; and it was his decision at the end to cast Priyanka. Maybe He thought she would be too wooden? Who knows. Gone are the days when I thought she was a good actress. All of these good actors turn into sellout celebrities along the road; and it shows on their faces. Let’s take Priety for instance, I thought she was very good in Dil Chahta Hai, but since Kal Ho Naa Ho, She looks so plastic and fake it beams on her face. When will we have another Madhuri? or Sridevi? Less drama, more art.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
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