3.5 Stars

Kurbaan, India’s most suspenseful and compelling drama of 2009, stars real-life lovebirds Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan as Avantika and Ehsaan, a pair of professors who fall in love in India. After Avantika gets a teaching job in America, where she has citizenship, the couple marry and buy a house in a New York suburb on a cul-de-sac with other Indian families.

Their new life isn’t as ideal as it first seems. Hindu Avantika (husband Ehsaan is a Muslim) doesn’t fit in with the conservative Muslims in the neighborhood. None of the women have jobs, and some are even forbidden from using the phone.

When one of the women tells Avantika that she’s afraid of her abusive husband, only to go missing the next day, Avantika searches for answers. In the missing woman’s basement, Avantika discovers a horrible secret: her neighbors are terrorists. Worse, Ehsaan is involved.

After her discovery, Avantika’s life becomes a daily fight for survival. She’s forced to question whether she can trust Ehsaan and whether he ever really loved her.

During its most intense moments, such as when Avantika realizes she is surrounded by terrorists (and may be married to one), Kurbaan is heart-poundingly suspenseful. Om Puri is menacing as Bhaijaan, the elder statesman among the terrorists. Because Kirron Kher usually plays doting mothers on screen, she’s especially chilling in her role as Bhaijan’s wife, Aapa, whose duty it is to keep the women in line.

Kurbaan is also brutal. Deaths are graphic, and there’s a surprising amount of gore for an Indian film. But the violence only serves to make the terrorists, well, terrifying.

It’s important that Kurbaan illustrates that the bad guys are really bad, because the movie explores the issue of why one becomes a terrorist. Instead of nebulous reasons like religious fanaticism or the vague desire to destroy freedom, Kurbaan’s characters chose their deadly path in response to personal loss. From that perspective, terrorism looks a lot like vigilantism, but on a massive scale.

But the core of Kurbaan is the relationship between Avantika and Ehsaan. Kapoor is spectacular as a woman whose life has been shattered by lies, but who still feels a need for the man who once made her so happy. And Khan is just as good, playing Ehsaan as a man torn between his love for his wife and his commitment to a cause.

If there’s a weak point in Kurbaan, it’s the subplot involving a reporter named Riyaaz (Vivek Oberoi). Seeking revenge upon the terrorists, he does that which only happens in the movies: he decides not to call the authorities so that he can bring the group down himself, from the inside.

It’s a common plot device, but it’s completely unrealistic. Plus, it works against Kurbaan’s beliefs about terrorism. Riyaaz opts for vigilante justice, so what makes him more heroic than the men he’s trying to stop? Further, he’s indirectly responsible for more bloodshed than if he’d done what any actual person would have done in his position: called the cops.

Tu t’ennuies, t’as rien à faire, tu as besoin de stimulation intellectuelle. Mieux que les mots fléchés  du télé poche , le Bollywood Crash Test.

12 Khan :

1. Attribue un prénom à chaque photo

2. Quel khan s’est fait arrêter en août dernier par l’immigration américaine ?

3. Quel khan a été le petit ami d’Aishwarya Rai ?

4. Quel khan est fou amoureux de Kareena Kapoor ?

5. Quel Khan est surnommé le Clint Eastwood de l’Est ?

6. Quel khan est l’oncle d’Imran ?

7. Quel Khan est le beau frère de Hrithik Roshan ?

8. Deux Khans sont immortalisés en cire chez madame Tussaud ? Lesquels ?

9. Quels khans apparaissent en guest star dans ‘Om Shanti Om’ ?

10. Quel Khan a été élu 7ème homme le plus beau du monde en 2004 par le magazine américain People ?

11. Quel khan est appelé ‘the yummy mummy’ ?

12. De quel khan la khanette est elle la belle soeur ?

13. Quel Khan a fait des infidélités à Bollywood pour jouer entre autres dans Darjeeling Limited ou Slumdog Millionnaire ?

14. De quels khan je n’avais jamais entendu parler avant de taper ‘khan actor bollywood’ dans mon moteur de recherches ?

Réponses :

1. 1-a, 2-h, 3-i, 4-b, 5-g, 6-c, 7-d, 8-l, 9-j, 10-f, 11-k, 12-e

2. Shahrukh (du coup il a eu le droit a une bouffe chez Swartzy qui était tout désolé au nom de l’Amérique)

3. Salman ( je suis d’accord avec toi, je ne sais pas à quoi Aishwarya pensait)

4. Saif Ali (j’me demande bien ce qu’il lui trouve)

5. Feroz

6. Aamir

7. Zayed (il est le frère de Susanne, la femme de Hrithik)

8. Salman et Shahrukh

9. Feroz, Saif, Shahrukh, Malaika, Zayed, Salman

10. Salman (ouais?)

11. Malaika

12. Salman

13. Irrfan

14. Rehan, Feroz, Iqbal, Fardeen

Tu n’as aucune bonne réponse, il n’y a aucune trace de bollywood spirit dans ton cortex, tes chaussures sont tristement ternes, tu n’as jamais sautillé les doigts pointés vers le ciel sur des tubes aussi mémorables qu’éphémères, tu n’aimes que les films hongrois.

Tu as entre 1 et 7 bonnes réponses, tu te dis, tiens si le test avait porté sur les Kapoor j’aurais eu tout bon, tu te demandes comment tu sais toutes ces choses là, et ce que tu fais là aussi. Tu ferais mieux de penser aux cadeaux de noël.

Tu as entre 7 et 13 bonnes réponses: Filmfare et Stardust trônent sur ta table de chevet, tu connais la plaque d’immatriculation de la voiture de Shah Rukh, tu sais même où est sa maison, tu peux nommer toutes les guest star d’Om Shanti Om, pas que les Khan, trop facile, tu as une capacité inouïe pour stocker dans ta mémoire des informations hautement intellectuelles et utiles pour la vie quotidienne, tu aimes le glitter, tes chaussures brillent.

Tu as 14 bonnes réponses : a ) tu n’as vraiment rien à faire aujourd’hui et tu as googelé tous les noms, b) tu travailles à la SNCF c) tu supportes 4h de dialogues inoubliables parsemés de danses endiablées et de course dans les montagnes suisses, d) tu refuses de croire les rumeurs concernant la sexualité d’un des apollons de la liste, e) tu voyages plusieurs fois par an à Bombay pour acheter des films en VO, f) tout à la fois, Caro je t’ai reconnue.

¿Cuál de estas novias de India del Sur piensa usted que luce  mejor en su día de  boda? ¿Aishwarya Rai o Shilpa Shetty?
Bollywood celebden

Almost Kurbaan

Rating: - * * *

Each and every department of a movie, no matter how perfect and up to the mark, can go unnoticed if the basic plot is infected with flaws. That’s exactly the problem with Rensil D’Silva’s directorial debut Kurbaan. One really wishes the plot was as flawless and watertight as the performances, of each and every artist, and the technical aspects.

The story goes around professor Avantika (Kareena Kapoor), who thought her life is a bed of roses when she married her lover Ehsaan Khan, also a professor, (Saif Ali Khan) until she discovered she is being used as a pawn in a huge terror conspiracy. There’s also Riyaaz (Vivek Oberoi), a war journalist with disguised intentions.

As stated earlier, the problem with Kurbaan lies in the plot itself. The whole idea and motive of Riyaaz is devoid of much logic (not going through the details in order to avoid being a spoiler).

Another scene, the most vital in the plot, is plain laughable. Just figure this out – Avantika gets to know that the plane, in which her friend (Dia Mirza) will be travelling, is going to get blown up. What does Avantika do when she couldn’t get through Dia’s mobile phone? She phones at Dia’s office landline just 15 minutes before takeoff and leaves a recorded message urging and pleading her not to take the flight. How the hell can she expect Dia to receive the message in her office just 15 minutes before the takeoff? She could have called the police, the FBI or the airport authorities but looks like she didn’t trust them.

The above two loopholes turn you off from a rather well made thriller with some terrific edge-of-the-seat moments. Another flipside is the duration of 2 hours 40 minutes. One could afford to miss the initial 20 odd minutes where the hero goes head over heels when he sees his heroine and flirts with her in a typical 90’s fashion. In some more places, the editor should have used his scissors.

Despite the problems, D’Silva does leave a mark. Shooting such a film can be a hell of a task especially when it’s your first one. Therefore, D’Silva should get full credit for it. But the strongest factors come in the form of Hemant Chaturvedi’s cinematography, Salim-Sulaiman’s revolutionary background score, Parvez Khan’s action and Anurag Kashyap and Niranjan Iyenagar’s dialogues.

Salim-Sulaiman’s duo, as music directors, does produce some tuneful melodies but sadly the songs end up being interrupters and the most memorable title track appears at the end credits.

Both Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor enact their parts with flawlessness. Their emotional acts in the climax stay etched in your memory. However, it’s Vivek Oberoi who comes as a total surprise. He has played his part so well that it won’t be an overstatement to assert that the actor is back to his Company, Saathiya and Dum days. In a film which relies mostly on performances, the supporting cast needs to deliver top notch performances and Om Puri, Kiron Kher and the rest of the filling cast do exactly that.

The information and statistics provided in the script and the issues taken to light need special mention. Not many would have known that the US, in their efforts to curb terrorism, ended up taking many more than 15,000 lives in Iraq and Afghanistan which is five times more than the death toll in the 9/11 attacks (3,000).

All in all, Kurbaan is for those who like to enjoy some spine chilling moments without troubling their brains. Despite the big starcast, the film has had just an average opening which will make its going tough at the box-office.

1.) Paa Movie Trailers

1.) Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene Movie Stills

2.) Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra get married

3.) Bollywood and South actress at Anirudh Dhoot of Videocon bash

4.) Isha Koppikar sangeet with Timmy Narang

5.) Raj Kundra Baaraat for Shilpa Shetty in Khandala

6.) Rani Mukherjee shines at Indian Telly Awards 2009

7.) Shahrukh Katrina Deepika at Cosmopolitan Awards 2009

8.) Shilpa poses after wedding

1.) Himesh carries forward Radio look in music reality show

2.) Ranbir and RGV meet, but not for Sarkar 3

3.) Akshay Kumar foregoes fees for TV show

With Kurbaan success, once again Karan Johar has proved that, he is the movie maker with golden hand.  This year he received two super hits Wake Up Sid and Kurbaan. Last year also he has bagged the block buster hit Dostana.

This things raising hopes in Shahrukh Khan fans. Because Shahrukh Khan and Karan Johar are working together for the movie  My Name Is Khan. In recent past there is no movie form Shahrukh Khan which can has the caliber to set new records at Box Office.

Now all the hopes are on My Name Is Khan only. Karan Johar has spent huge amount on this movie. Kajol is playing the female lead after long gap.

Shahid Kapoor starred Jab We Met became huge hit in Bollywood. Its remake version in South India also became Block Buster. Now South Indian movie makers are ready to remake other super hits of Shahid Kapoor.

Many producers are fighting for Kaminey remake rights. Vishal Bharadwaj has directed this action thriller. Priyanka Chopra was the female lead. Amole Gupte who has narrated the script for Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par has played the negative role.

Lets wait and see how this movie does business in Tollywood and Kollywood.

Deepika Padukone is one of the busy bee in Bollywood. After Om Shanti Om release she became one of the top heroine in Bollywood. Recently this girl went to USA on her well wishers marriage occasion. Before flying to USA she has spoken with reporters. She said that, this is the quality time which she got to spent her self.

After Love Aaj Kal her movies not released. She has her next release Karthik Calling Karthik in 2010 February only. In 2010 summer Housefull is going to hit the theaters. In this movie she is going to share screen with Akshay Kumar and Lara Dutta. Deepika has some other commitments also which are going to release in 2010.

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Dev D

Back again, blogging after almost after 2 months! You know these end semester exams – they suck the life out of you.
So, I am gonna write about none other than my favorite theme – ‘cinema n music’.
This time around, I must say that I am heavily impressed by the work of Amit Trivedi – the musician behind the Bollywood flick ‘Dev D’ –a modern retake on the classic Bengali novel- ‘Devdas’. This movie begs to differ from the dragging attire of the previous 7 movie versions ,been made and remade by different filmmakers, depicting their interpretations of the original classic by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.The last one had Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit in the lead roles and was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
But Anurag Kashyap, the director of Dev D, stands out with a complete makeover that is very bold in nature and is highly contemporary. I happened to watch this movie only recently and I must admit that I was jolted by the brilliance of this man. The same old theme, comes wrapped up in a new fabric, and it’s the frank attitude of its storyline that surprised me the most. Combined with the brilliant performances by Abhay Deol,Mahi Gill and Kalki Koechlin in lead roles, this movie is in my favorite list now.
You can read the plot of the movie from Wikipedia. Here’s the link : Dev D
Sorry, as always, I got deviated from the main thing -> the music of Dev D. Man, oh man! I must confess that the music album of Dev D simply rocks, comprising of 18 tracks – all different from each other as black is to white. The album has tracks belonging to different genres – hard rock,blue,Punjabi bhangra, folk, rap, band-baja, world music & almost everything else under the Sun, all amalgamated together by an outstanding musician in Amit Trivedi . I’ve not heard this name until recently, when Rohith told me that a track from the recent movie ‘Wake up Sid’ – the song is ‘Iktara’ – is done by Amit Trivedi. The song was really nice, but after listening to the tracks of Dev D, I really got a taste of what this guy is really capable of.
Personally, my favorites are  – ‘Nayan tarase’ , ‘Pardesi’ , ’Saali Khushi’ , ‘Aankh micholi’ and the crazy smash hit ‘Emosanal atyachaar’ that has become a cult in itself. I am simply addicted to them and the reason is nothing else but the immense creativity & freshness that you can sense even if you are not that much into music. I don’t know whether everyone would be equally impressed as I am, but I am already a fan of Amit Trivedi and am looking forward to more of his work. You can listen to the tracks for free from www.in.com – here’s the link : Dev D songs

Aish

During the press conference when Aishwarya was asked by the media, how she felt about Katrina’s Barbies hitting the market in first week of December, Aishwarya instantly answered that she was the original choice for Barbie.

Aishwarya told, “I was asked by that brand (Barbie), not just now but, I think, since Miss World, then at the turn of millennium, then when my movies were raging success after Canes and this year was the fourth time actually that I was requested by Barbie to walk the ramp on a particular day.”

She adds, “But I was a committed professional working with Vipul Shah and he needed my date on that day so I was unable to accept that offer to walk the ramp that particular day for them.”

Aishwarya Rai discovered that she did not regret not becoming a Barbie girl and wished Katrina Kaif good luck for her Barbies.

फिल्म “पा” में बिग बी यानी अमिताभ बच्चन की मां की भूमिका निभाने वाली बॉलीवुड अभिनेत्री विद्या बालन ने कहा कि अब वह सभी को गर्व से कह सकेंगी कि बिग बी उनके पहले बच्चे हैं।
बालन ने कहा, इस भूमिका को निभाने के बाद मैं गर्व से अपने बच्चों को कह सकूंगी कि बिग बी मेरे पहले बच्चे हैं। मैंने सपने में भी नहीं सोचा था कि मैं कभी बॉलीवुड के इस महान कलाकार की मां की भूमिका निभाऊंगी। उन्होंने कहा, बच्चनजी के साथ काम करने का बहुत ही बढिया अनुभव रहा। मेरे लिए यह एक विशेष फिल्म हैं। फिल्म “पा” में बालन और अभिषेक बच्चन की जोडी हैं। पिता-पुत्र के भावनात्मक संबंधों पर यह फिल्म आधारित हैं।

“How Soon Is Now” – The Smiths

Sooooo, I finally got around to watching (500) Days of Summer.  It was… good.

Things that I liked:

1.  LOS ANGELES-  born and raised, baby   It was so nice to see good ol’ LA portrayed with so much genuine love;  they didn’t  pretend that it was New York, like all other Hollywood movies do, but really almost personified the city.  However, neither of the two main characters were Angelenos- something that was a bit disappointing, especially since Zooey Deschanel (who, by the way, was named Zooey Glass Deschanel after Zooey Glass from J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey which I just finished reading for my Intro to Lit class – thanks Leo from said class - which is AWESOME, I adore Salinger) is a LA native.

2.  THE MUSIC- See, I knew I should have kept up with Wolfmother after “Woman” because AMAZING !  I love the music in this movie so much (THE SMITHS-see title…we’ll get back to this later).  I am in no way a music conisiueur, but the Indie stuff is where my heart lies.  Also, how beautiful is Carla Bruni’s song “Quelqu’un M’a Dit”?

I shall show you:

To illustrate my earlier point, I had no idea Carla Bruni was a singer.  All I knew was the was some sort of  Princess Diana incarnation/First Lady of France/completely gorgeous.  But nay, she has one of the most gorgeous voices I’ve ever heard.  I’m not going to even try to describe the kinds of emotions that the soundtrack of this movie (which I am listening to as we speak) evoke in me.  If they could be so easily put into words, there wouldn’t be a need for the song in the first place.

3.  The humor:  It was wry, off-beat, and a little dark.  The most hilarious lines were placed in the most inappropriate scenes.  It’s called incongruity kids.  It’s like the plot played the straight man.

4.  Zooey Deschanel’s clothes, and apartment, and…:   Basically everything she owned.  I want.  DID YOU KNOW THAT SHE’S MARRIED TO BEN GIBBARD?  You probably did.  It’s ridiculously appropriate.  But I’m still jealous.  I heart her though, the almost-vegan/Katy Perry twin.  AND WHAT’S THIS ABOUT KATY PERRY DATING RUSSEL BRAND??  MY RUSSEL?!  Nooooooooooooo…

5.  Acting, writing, direction, editing etc. etc. blah blah blah..

6.  Autumn: Well, would you look at that, my favorite season

Things I Didn’t Like So Much:

1.  Tom:  This was by far my biggest problem with the movie, and probably the reason I didn’t moon over it like everyone else has done.  It’s not  because of Jason Gordon-Levitt; he did a fantastic job.  He was probably Tom’s redeeming factor, actually.  No matter how much I tried, I found it impossible to sympathize with Tom.  I mean, it was sad and all…really sad *cough*but I found myself siding more with his younger sister and that one girl he went out with as a blind date.  Summer told him that she wasn’t interested in being in a relationship, told him that what they had wasn’t serious- and he agreed.  He then continued to construct his own imaginary romance and then mourned over it by breaking plates on the kitchen counter and completely blaming Summer- despite the fact that she spelled everything out for him in the beginning.  Summer may have been many not-so-nice-things,  but she was honest.  Right to the very end.  And I liked that about her.  Tom was just a little too…Devdas for me.     Excuse the Bollywood reference, but really…all women want men to pine after them but…just how realistic is that? I love The Smiths, but…TITLE?  A bit melodramatic, maybe?

     In short, he was such a girl.  Geez.

Yeah, that was basically it.  I liked that it didn’t end with the typical “illogical happily ever after” because that is my ABSOLUTE LEASTFAVORITETHING ABOUT ROMANCES.  There was no romance between Summer and Tom.  There was Summer and then Tom’s fantasy, and that is where the romance lay.   And THAT is what love at first sight is.  I don’t believe in it.  LOVE, sure.  I don’t think that he falls in love with Autumn in the end; it is just the beginning of Autumn after all.  Enchantè

Besides, I’m listening to Vagabond right now and that’s all you really need to fall in love with the movie.

Maybe I’m just pathetically unromantic.  “She’s a DUDE!”  Ha ha ha.  Not.

In other news, I’m totally into Glee!  I downloaded most of the soundtrack and heart.   It’s not a revelation, but it’s fun and light and adorable.  And energetic.  There’s also an interesting satirical tone to the show which equals love for me.   So LOVE, Glee, LOVE!  It makes me happy

I downloaded all of Florance and The Machine’s album.  Awesome stuff.  I’ve also just discovered Cibelle, but her stuff is almost impossible to find.  :(  I’m tired ahora, I’ll post something gorgeous later.

TA!

Chathurika

ऑस्कर अवार्ड विजेता और संगीत की दुनिया के बेताज बादशाह ए.आर.रहमान ने शनिवार को ख्वाजा गरीब नवाज की पवित्र दरगाह में हाजिरी दी। लेकिन इस बार रहमान अकेले नहीं थे, उनके साथ मौजूद थे फिल्म निर्माता शेखर कपूर। पवित्र दरगाह के दर्शन करने के बाद रहमान ने एक सफाई अभियान की भी शुरूआत की।
दरअसल, पिछली बार जब रहमान अजमेर शरीफ आए थे तो उन्होंने संकल्प लिया था कि वो इस धार्मिक स्थल के आस-पास फैली गंदगी को लेकर एक सफाई अभियान चलाएंगे। इस बार रहमान ने फिल्म मेकर शेखर कपूर के साथ मिलकर ये अभियान शुरू कर दिया। उन्होंने इस अभियान की शुरूआत अन्नासागर झील से की। रहमान की इस पहल ने प्रेरणा का काम किया उन लोगों के लिए, जो इस समस्या से परेशान तो थे लेकिन कभी पहल नहीं कर पाये थे।

खबर है कि फिल्म मेकर जावेद खान बॉलीवुड की सुपर हाई प्रोफोइल लव स्टोरीज में से एक सलमान खान-ऎश्वर्या राय की लव स्टोरी पर फिल्म बना रहे हैं। फिल्म का टाइटल हैं “अजब है इश्क”। जावेद खान फिल्म प्रड्यूस करने के साथ-साथ लीड सलमान का रोल भी करेंगे। आखिर दर्शक इस फिल्म को क्यों देखना चाहेंगे। इस पर जावेद कहते हैं, अगर किसी लव स्टोरी में गहराई और इमोशन हैं, तो वह जरूर दर्शकों को अपनी ओर आकर्षित करेगी।
वैसे “अजब है इश्क” एक ट्राइऎंग्युलर लव स्टोरी होगी, जो सलमान और ऎश्वर्या की रीयल लाइफ स्टोरी से शुरू होगी, लेकिन इसका एंड देखने लायक होगा। अब भले ही रीयल लाइफ में सलमान और ऎश्वर्या की राहें जुदा हो गई हों, लेकिन अपनी फिल्म के लिए जावेद एक अलग आइडिया लेकर आए हैं।
जावेद बताते है कि मैं अपनी फिल्म से यह मेसेज देना चाहता हूं कि अगर आप किसी को प्यार करते हैं, तो आपको सिर्फ उससे ही शादी करनी चाहिए। अपने से प्यार करने वाले किसी इंसान को यूं ही छोड देना आपकी जिदंगी की शांति भंग कर सकता हैं। फिल्म की एक और खास बात यह है कि पिछले दिनों इसका ट्रैक रिकॉर्ड करने वाले सिंगर मोहम्मद सलामत हैं, जिन्होंने इससे पहले सलमान-ऎश्वर्या की फिल्म “हम दिल दे चुके सनम” का टाइटल सॉन्ग रिकॉर्ड किया था।