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2007-09-12T01:24:00.001-07:00

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2007-08-23T02:39:00.000-07:00

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Aishwarya Rai

2007-08-23T02:22:00.000-07:00

Biography of Aishwarya Rai

2007-08-23T01:25:00.000-07:00

Aishwarya Rai

While the rest of the fickle filmi world was busy labelling her 'the ice maiden', Sanjay Leela Bhansali put all his faith in Miss Grey-Green eyes and cast her in the difficult part of Nandini for his dream project, 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' (1999). He explained his choice thus: "Aishwarya Rai had fire in her eyes when I met her for the first time. She desperately wanted to prove herself after being written off as a non-actress".

A careful viewing of the now famous film puts the director's view into perspective. For, it was only after the release of 'HDDCS' last year, that Aishwarya was first applauded and discussed purely for her acting abilities. The other reason for making news, of course, was her alleged relationship with co-star Salman Khan. The rumour mills are still churning out fresh data on the famous couple, but no one is ready to confirm marriage plans etc.

Besides, Aishwarya is too busy handling her newfound status as one of India's most sought-after heroines and this hardly seems the right time for matrimony. Particularly in view of the fact that the gutsy lady has had a long wait and a hard struggle for the pride of place she now enjoys. And contrary to popular belief, the going has never been easy for the angelic beauty whose first brush with fame happened over half a decade ago. Then, she was 'sexy Sanju' who left Aamir Khan speechless in a Pepsi ad. Soon after, she chucked her education and a prospective career in architecture after being crowned Miss India runner-up, and subsequently, Miss World. The revered title brought in its wake a steady stream of offers from directors like Yash Chopra and Rajiv Rai, who had been wooing her even before the world claimed her.

There are no theories on what changed her mind, but Aishwarya finally took the plunge close on the heels of Sushmita Sen, who had already received a warm welcome with 'Dastak (1996). Perhaps it was the lure of working with Mani Rathnam, or then the challenge of a double role. But woman who embodied every man's fantasy, finally deemed it fit to grace the silver screen with her presence in the Tamil film, 'Iruvar' (1996). Inspired by the life of film star-turned-politician M G Ramachandran, Rai's reel-life portrayal of the AIADMK chief Jayalalitha failed to translate into box-office glory.

Unfortunately, her Hindi debut, 'Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya' (1997) was equally disastrous. It was promptly written off by critics and audiences alike, and so was Aishwarya. But offers kept pouring in, even in the wake of 'Jeans' (1998), which did well in South Indian, but was a complete washout in its Hindi version. Such failures, coupled with Aishwarya's drastic errors in judgement did nothing for her. Refusing offers like Sooraj Barjatya's 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' (1999) (for lack of dates) and Rani Mukherjee's role in 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' (1998), seemed to be part of destiny's grand plan working against her.

Along came 'star maker', Subhash Ghai with the offer of 'Taal' (1999), which Ash jumped at. Apart from the usual hype surrounding all Ghai films, there was also the controversy over Mahima Choudhary's fallout with her godfather, facilitating Aishwarya's inclusion. But no one had reason to complain after the film was released, as the determined actress shut up her worst critics with another inspired performance. What's more she proved herself a dancer of utmost grace and poise. As Ghai himself put it before the release of 'Taal': "For years we have had no actress who can dance like Vyjayanthimala, Sridevi or Madhuri. Now… you will see the difference between Aishwarya and all the other actresses around. She is just superb."

Coming as they did, on the back of her nondescript record (barring the moderate success of Rishi Kapoor's 'Aa Ab Laut Chalein' (1999)), 'HDDCS' and 'Taal' perhaps marked the beginning of a statuesque ice-maiden's transformation into an entrancing screen goddess.
Now, with 'Josh' ready to hit screens next week, much is being expected of Ash (who plays Shah Rukh Khan's twin), as it holds enough potential to take her career to even greater heights.

Now, She is wife of Abhishek Bachhan ( Son of Amitab Bachhan )

2007-08-23T00:46:00.000-07:00

Blue Umbrella

By Taran Adarsh, August 10, 2007 - 02:00 IST (source by Indiafm)

Pure and unadulterated -- two words that do justice to Vishal Bhardwaj's cinematic adaptation of Ruskin Bond's novella THE BLUE UMBRELLA. That Vishal is an adept storyteller is known by now. In THE BLUE UMBRELLA, he goes back to his directorial debut. If MAKDEE was about a village girl and a witch, THE BLUE UMBRELLA is about an umbrella that becomes the object of envy in a hamlet in Himachal Pradesh.

Stories like the one narrated in THE BLUE UMBRELLA are a rarity today, since the focus is on a large canvas and larger than life stars. THE BLUE UMBRELLA is set in a hamlet and essentially revolves around an umbrella, a kid and a tea stall owner.

The handling of the subject material is interesting, but the fact remains that the film has its limitations. It caters to a small section of moviegoers, the connoisseurs of cinema, thereby restricting its appeal to select multiplexes in select cities.

Write your own movie review of Blue Umbrella

The story unfurls with the discovery of a vibrant blue umbrella by Biniya [Shreya Sharma], an eleven-year-old girl from an idyllic mountain village in North India. She has never seen anything more striking and beautiful. Neither has Nandkishore Khatri [Pankaj Kapur].

Khatri runs a small tea stall in the village. He is a miser who has a fondness for pickles and swindling kids off their little possessions. Khatri is smitten by the beauty of the umbrella and goes to remarkable lengths to acquire it, but fails miserably.

However, Khatri is not the only one to covet the umbrella. The umbrella's arrival disturbs the tranquility and harmony of the village. Biniya's secret weapon gives her an enviable power over the small town, as the umbrella assumes mythical status.

One fine day, the umbrella goes missing…

As a storyteller, Vishal Bhardwaj has a knack of narrating a story well and also extracting wonderful performances from the cast. In THE BLUE UMBRELLA, the director succeeds in conveying a message [greed can ruin the best of relationships] forcefully towards the end, when the entire village boycotts Pankaj Kapur for robbing the umbrella. The second hour, in particular the concluding reels, are highly absorbing.

However, the film can do with some trimming in the second hour. Cinematography is inconsistent. Why is the lighting too dark at times, especially during indoor sequences? Otherwise, the outdoor work is remarkable.

Pankaj Kapur is in top form yet again, although, at times, his dialogues aren't audible. Shreya Sharma is a terrific discovery. She stands on her feet, despite being pitted with a towering performer like Kapur. The remaining cast is alright.

On the whole, THE BLUE UMBRELLA is a well-made film, but it's for a handful of viewers in a handful of cities. More for the Festival circuit.

2007-08-23T00:17:00.000-07:00

Chak de India

By Taran Adarsh, August 10, 2007 - 17:18 IST (source by IndiaFm )

The Yash Raj - SRK combo is back. No lush green fields here. No running around trees either. No chiffon sarees to make the ladies look their best. No melodrama, no parental opposition, no lovers defying their parents. CHAK DE INDIA, directed by Shmit Amin, charters a new territory.

Yash Raj is not really known to venture into unconventional lanes, barring a KABUL EXPRESS in the recent past. CHAK DE INDIA isn't unconventional as such, but it's definitely different and awe inspiring at times. Frankly speaking, CHAK DE INDIA doesn't boast of a path-breaking script, but execution of the subject material succeeds in making you find purpose and meaning and also arouses patriotic sentiments.

There's a flip side as well. Sports-based themes, barring a few, haven't really found many takers in India, especially with the aam junta. For various reasons. Sure, hockey is the national sport of India, but cricket gets more prominence in our dailies and also on news channels. The common man also keeps tabs on the Tendulkars and Dravids, when compared to those belonging to other sports. CHAK DE INDIA is about hockey, about women's hockey to be precise, but most of us haven't given more importance to this thrilling sport for no particular reason.

Write your own movie review of Chak De India

Also, from the business point of view, CHAK DE INDIA may be an engrossing fare, but not the ideal flick for an entertainment-seeking viewer. At best, it may attract attention initially thanks to the star power and the Numero Uno production house promoting it aggressively. But that's about it!

Kabir Khan [Shah Rukh Khan] knows what it's like to come back from the dead. The ex Indian Captain has now come back in the avatar of the Coach of the Indian Women's National Hockey team. A team that exists more on paper and less in reality.

The team is a bunch of girls with their own agenda. A bunch of girls who have forgotten what it is like to play for the love of the game. Of playing because you want glory for your country. Not because you want a pensioned job or a government flat. They have all forgotten the sharp thrill of just holding the hockey stick, keeping their eyes on the ball and playing for all they are worth. They have played every game but hockey to make sure they get selected every year in the Indian National team. But what does it really mean to play for the Indian National team? To play for India?

The girls have never known the thrilling energy of being Team India. Of giving their all to see their country's name on a trophy. But Kabir Khan, once a captain, now forgotten, does. He knows what it takes to get there. And what it means to return empty handed. This time, he wants to make sure that it's different. He knows there are no second chances. Despite his past, he believes that if only the girls played as one, anything would be possible.

Because Kabir Khan believes that it is not that we can't win. It's just that we have never believed we can.

CHAK DE INDIA is the story of a coach's fight of making his team, Team India by overcoming their diverse backgrounds, by learning to use everything that life hurls on them as a secret weapon.

The film has all the right elements mixed -- satirical comedy, seriousness and dollops of emotions. In fact, the first half is quite captivating and the expectations from the latter half are equally high. The post-interval portions don't disappoint, but the pace slackens and the goings-on take a long time to reach the finale. In fact, the narrative gathers steam only towards the climax, which is well handled.

Shimit Amin's choice of the subject as also the execution deserves to be lauded. But, as mentioned at the outset, it's not a film that would find universal patronage. People giving it a Thumbs Up would be limited to those who are into qualitative cinema.

Cinematography is first-rate. Music is strictly okay. Dialogues are interesting. A few lines are indeed amazing. Editing could've been tighter.

SRK is the soul of CHAK DE INDIA. What you see on screen would be half of what it is without this matchless actor. He makes you feel what you are supposed to feel. A performance that's sure to go down as one of his finest works so far. The girls are excellent and a few of them register a strong impact, especially Vidya Malvade.

On the whole, CHAK DE INDIA is a well-made product, but its fate at the ticket window wouldn't be as glorious as its intentions. With a slow start at places and not too exciting promotion [the promos], the film will face an uphill task in days to come.

2007-08-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

MariGold An Adventure in India

We often criticize Bollywood for churning out movies that make no sense. But after you've watched MARIGOLD, you'd agree that Hollywood churns out bigger turkeys.MARIGOLD, directed by American director Willard Carroll, is as off-putting as a week-old omelette. In fact, MARIGOLD has nothing to keep your eyeballs glued to the screen. An apology of a story, a powerless screenplay, shoddy visual effects, poor music and nightmarish direction, that's the ideal description of MARIGOLD. No redeeming aspects? Nothing, except for a pretty looking Ali Larter. Seriously, what were the makers thinking when they okayed this amateurish piece of writing? Look at the kind of cinema being churned out in India today. Good, bad, whatever, it's better than MARIGOLD.

Write your own movie review of Marigold: An Adventure in India

In a nutshell, MARIGOLD is a classic case of 'Bad Cinema'. This one deserves to be watched by every director for understanding what not to make. One big yawn!

MARIGOLD is about a young American woman who travels to India and finds that her life is transformed in the most unexpected ways by her experiences and adventures there.

American actress Marigold [Ali Larter] arrives in India with no luggage and a bad attitude. Stranded in Goa when financing for her low-budget Hollywood movie falls apart, Marigold finds herself cast in a small role in a Bollywood musical. Eager to prove herself, she enlists the aid of Prem [Salman Khan], the film's choreographer. Marigold is most definitely not a natural dancer, but she experiences renewed confidence and growing love for Prem.

In rapid succession, Marigold discovers that Prem will be marrying a beautiful India girl Janvi [Nandana Sen]. Unable to deal with this development, Marigold angrily departs from Prem's family estate. But she is urged back by Janvi who confesses that Prem doesn't love her and never will.

Another complication arises in the form of Marigold's boyfriend, Barry [Ian Bohen], who arrives in India unexpectedly and finds Marigold very much in love with Prem.

MARIGOLD disappoints on Level 1 itself. The storyline brings back memories of the forgettable stuff that dominated Hindi cinema in the 1970s. Thanks to a poor plotline, what unravels in the next 2 hours is as spiceless as boiled food. There's not a single moment in the film that makes you jump with joy or pine for the lovers.

The writing is so inane and amateurish that you actually pinch yourself, Is this for real? Are you actually watching a film or watching a bad dream? That's applicable for Willard Carroll's direction as well. Without doubt, 'The Razzie' for 2007 should be awarded to Mr. Carroll. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is of fast-forward quality. Anil Mehta's cinematography is alright, although the D.O.P. isn't in form here. The production design/sets are tacky.

Salman Khan is terrible and so is his dialogue delivery. What were you saying in the movie, Mr. Khan? Were you chewing beetle nut? His lines are hardly audible. Also, he tries hard to ape the American accent, but falls flat. Ali Larter is as fresh as Marigold, the flower, not the movie. Her performance is quite interesting.

Vikas Bhalla is pure teakwood. So is Roopak Saluja -- absolutely wooden. Suchitra Pillai does well. Nandana Sen is unintentionally funny. Rakesh Bedi makes you laugh, for the right reasons. Vijayendra Ghatge and Kiran Juneja seemed to have walked out of the sets of DHARAM-VEER. And what was Gulshan Grover doing in this film? Ian Bohen adds to the list of non-actors.

On the whole, MARIGOLD is a terrible film with gloomy prospects. A sure-shot disaster!

2007-08-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

Bhuda mar Gaya

By Taran Adarsh, August 17, 2007 - 11:45 IST ( source India Fm )

A word of caution: BUDDHA MAR GAYA is piping hot stuff! You haven't watched something like this before. Be prepared for a bagful of adult jokes that's sure to leave you gaping in shock. At the cost of repeating oneself, let's also add that you need to lock your brains at home when you enter the cineplex to watch BUDDHA MAR GAYA.Rahul Rawail goes all out this time. His new endeavor touches almost every topic under the sun -- from extra-marital affairs to gay relationships to incest to 'corpse selling'... Most importantly, it mirrors a sad reality: Money is the be-all and end-all.BUDDHA MAR GAYA is aimed at the masses, those who swear by nonsensical entertainers. It's not for the faint-hearted. You ought to have a strong stomach to absorb a film like BUDDHA MAR GAYA since it shocks you at regular intervals. It's not for those with an appetite for meaningful cinema or for critics, who run down masala/mass appealing films since it's fashionable to do so.

Write your own movie review of Buddha Mar GayaBe forewarned, if you're ready for shocks, BUDDHA MAR GAYA is just for you!Laxmikant Kabadiya aka LK [Anupam Kher] is one of India's richest industrialists, a self-made man. His conglomerate is on the verge of a 5000 crore IPO that should make them one of the largest companies in the country. LK's family comprising of his spinster twin sister [Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal], his two sons Ranjeet [Bobby Parvez] and Sameer [Mukesh Tiwari], their wives Shruti [Mannat Kaur] and Anju [Mona Ambegaonkar], respectively, Ranjeet's daughters Sanjana [Heenaa Biswas] and Namrata [Madhvi Singh] and Sameer's son Pawan [Jay Soni] can't stop salivating at the thought of all that money. Unfortunately for all of them, fate displays a wicked sense of humor. On the night before the IPO opens, LK dies while copulating with a starlet [Raakhi Sawant], who's aspiring to become the heroine of a film that LK plans to produce. The family is distraught and horrified. Not because a loved one has died, but because now no one will buy their shares. So, on the advice of their family guru Vidyut Baba [Om Puri], the family decides to hide the death of LK for a period of two days till the shares are all sold out.Hiding the death of a man as famous as LK is a Herculean task. To make matters worse, every time they're ready to announce LK's death, fate intervenes, forcing them to keep his death hidden for another couple of days. Which results in them having to announce the death of a fictitious friend or relative of LK's. And stage fake funerals. Which, of course, means generating dead bodies and worse, getting the dead LK to make appearances at these funerals.Complicating matters further are an inquisitive and greedy servant [Paresh Rawal], the Minister's fixer [Murli Sharma], a procurer of dead bodies [Ranveer Shorey], the paparazzi and for good measure a couple of cops. And of course internal jealousies, greed, rivalries within the family only add spice to the goings on. The tagline of BUDDHA MAR GAYA is, 'You will die laughing', and the film remains faithful to this statement at most times. Of course, you don't break into laughter in every scene, but the fact is that you cannot control your laughter on several occasions. Sure, you may find the brand of humor juvenile and a few jokes obscene, especially the Raakhi Sawant track, but the masses will simply love these portions. In fact, BUDDHA MAR GAYA is hot, steamy and spicy with tremendous shock-value.Director Rahul Rawail steps into a new territory with BUDDHA MAR GAYA and as a storyteller, narrates an interesting plot successfully. Agreed, a film like BUDDHA MAR GAYA is not everybody's idea of entertainment, but Rawail knows his fundas right. He uses everything on the shelf to make a black comedy. Yet, it must be mentioned that the writing could've been tighter. The screenplay isn't too convincing at times, like the Murli Sharma track or the Manoj Joshi episode in the climax. The writing goes awry on these occasions.Rawail's idea of using popular tracks in the background, like 'Beedi' [OMKARA], 'Cheeni Kum' [CHEENI KUM] and 'Chak De Phatte' [KHOSLA KA GHOSLA] add to the enjoyment. Dialogues [Anand Sivakumaran] are dipped in sarcasm at times and are saucy at places. However, a film like BUDDHA MAR GAYA signifies that the censors have become quite lenient these days, which is a welcome sign. BUDDHA MAR GAYA doesn't demand histrionics as such, but the ones who stand out are Om Puri [terrific], Mukesh Tiwari [able], Mona Ambegaonkar [competent], Bobby Parvez [nice], Jay Soni [confident] and Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal [fantastic].Anupam Kher, the narrator and also the corpse, is very good. Paresh Rawal deserved better lines and situations. Rakhi Sawant is in top form. Ranveer Shorey is okay. Murli Sharma is efficient. Prem Chopra is perfect.On the whole, BUDDHA MAR GAYA has terrific title-value, abundant shock-value and strong entertainment-value as factors going in its favor. At the box-office, this one's for the masses completely!