The Hunger Games:

 The Iron Lady

Should be interesting.

Wonder why the name sounds so unimaginative, though… or is it keeping with the site’s name: simple and to the point?

Via: Yahoo! Movies

A few questions to this statement by the Shiv Sena chief Jitendra Janawale:

The scene in question is totally against Maharashtra’s Hindu culture. No sooner the posters were put up all over the city, we got lots of complaints from people, esp. from the concerned parents of school children, stating that the said posters were in bad taste. We have anyways issued a strong warning to the filmmakers through the media. We want all the backless posters that have been put all over the city to be removed as soon as possible. Failing which, we shall protest against the film when it releases.” “How are such obscene posters being allowed by the authorities.everal women and children pass by the posters. What effect will it have on them.”

1. What is Maharashtra’s Hindu Culture?
2. Is abuse of minors part of “Maharashtra’s Hindu Culture”? If not, shouldn’t you concentrate more on solving this problem rather than carrying out such gimmicks for publicity?
3. How do you define nudity?
4. You say “we got lots of complaints from people, esp. from the concerned parents of school children”. Do you keep records of these for us to see?
5. Can you please do something constructive?

But now, with renewed vigour, I am back. And hopefully, I can keep writing regularly. Much is to be shared. And I shall do so slowly.

Let me start with a recent experience at the POCC Shivaji Nagar meeting on Saturday (August 8). It was for the first time perhaps in the last decade that I sat in a classroom and heard a lecture. Not that the lecture was formal, but it felt like a lecture. And I enjoyed it. Largely, because I could relate to a lot being said through personal experience. Which makes you wonder whether education could be this enjoyable in general if we drew upon experiences as well rather than just theory. And no, I don’t necessarily mean the lab experiences.

Over the past couple of months, a lot of movies have been watched thanks to BigFlix (long-term member, now, me!). And I shall share most of them in short reviews on this blog (click the Movies tab above) and the ones I really enjoyed in detail.

Hope to see you here more. Same to me!

Without questioning the authenticity of the situations (for example, if one assumes the group was together 10 years before the current time frame, that would be in 1998… when were there open air concerts at VT station in Mumbai?), one has to look at the story its telling. Which is one of friendship. But the suddenness of the break in friendship is jarring. As is the unquestionable nature of the reunion.

All fine, and I am willing to overlook all these minor issues, but what I don’t like for sure is the way the movie answers every question. In a movie like this, there are some thing best left unsaid.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

1. Why did Aditya’s (Farhan Akhtar) ex-girlfriend Tanya have to get married to the lead singer of the band ‘Chakravyuh’ especially after he had been beaten up and antagonised by Joe (Arjun Rampal)?

2. Was it necessary for Rob (Luke Kenny) to die? Very Anand-esque. Very contrived indeed.

3. Why are these guys of 30 years of age singing nursery rhymes and passing them off as Rock? (Sinbad the Sailor? Seriously?)

4. Joe and Rob are poor and more ‘into’ their music. KD (Purab Kohli) and Aditya are able to move away (albeit grudgingly) and get on with life. What is that supposed to mean?

These are some issues I have with the movie. On the whole, though, the movie is enjoyable. Farhan Akhtar can act, but he should be careful of characters he chooses. He doesn’t look particularly versatile. The standout actors from this are Arjun Rampal and Prachi Desai.

Rampal is simply outstanding and the climax song where he walks while playing the guitar is spellbinding. Desai, for a debutante film actress, can hold a screen and plays her part with great aplomb. I would like to see how she evolves as she matures (she’s just 19 right now!).

One issue the movie has overtly attempted to address is that rockers may look like badasses, but they need not necessarily talk the talk. Point in case is the Chakravyuh chap who goes on to become the head at Channel V when Magik come for their second chance. And he’s changed. One argument could be that he’s grown up. Which raises the point whether rockers per se are immature. Are they?

I just wish they hadn’t answered all questions raised through the script. Especially Q1 above.

Technorati Tags: rock on, farhan akhtar, arjun rampal, bollywood, movies, hindi movie, cinema

So the awkward “Thaamba, thaamba” notwithstanding from the Big B, I power on for a fifth viewing. And continue to enjoy it over and over.

Incidentally, I would much rather have been watching the India v Sri Lanka ODI over the long weekend. Funnily, though, it begins tomorrow. On a Monday. Well, perhaps the administrators got it wrong? Or is there a divine plan and meaning that us mere mortals can’t see? Anyhoo, all I wanted was the match.

The movie has tremendous potential. The story has meat but unfortunately, the YRF handling makes it a little tacky. Don’t get me wrong. The movie is entertaining and I would say totally paisa vasool unlike what some others have to say. I won’t delve into the story details or the technical handling of the movie or such. The others do a better job of it! For me, the movie allowed me to take five hours out on a Thursday night preceding a long weekend (more on why it was five later!).

What I truly enjoyed was Bipasha Basu, Ranbir Kapoor and Hiten Paintal in that order. Paintal plays the quintessential and necessary sidekick in such movies. The ‘other’ voice for our hero… the one who’s trying to keep a balance or completely bust the hero’s thinking (depending on how you look at it). But he did create a character that was lovable albeit a little misguided in the conventional sense.

As for Ranbir, having not seen Saawariya, I was not expecting much. “Chocolate Boy” is what I had cast him as. And I was right. He will excel in romantic love stories and is definitely the next Aamir Khan. Whether he can grow as much remains to be seen. But handling a movie on his own at such an early stage of his career, he can. And I don’t mind watching more of him in upcoming movies.

And then there’s Bipasha. The best of the three Haseenas. By far the most evolved of all actors and the one who truly knew what she was doing. Her role was also the one with the most depth and man, she looks hot! Sizzling hot. Piping hot. You get the picture! Watch it for her. In a theatre!

There are two more actresses fighting for screen space and presence with her and that’s all they are left doing. Fighting. Their novice nature shows through. Minissha Lamba shall forever be confined to side roles henceforth. She cannot carry anything through. Not even a crying scene. Not even the simple scenes where she doesn’t need to ham. But then, that’s her ability one has to say.

Deepika Padukone is the next Aishwarya Rai. No doubt. She is just as beautiful, tall, glam and devoid of emotion. She is the next ice queen. Any warmth visible in her character in OSO is now gone. She is cold. Heartless. Matter of fact. Not what one is looking for in a romantic comedy. And although some may argue that her character demanded this, she does it too convincingly.

Kunal Kapoor has a cameo in the movie. Well done, but over the top. Totally implausible as well. He is a good actor going waste. Seriously.

Coming back to why the movie ‘experience’ lasted five hours for me, it had to do with missing prints. We were at the City Pride (Kothrud) multiplex in Pune on Thursday night and the 10.30pm scheduled start finally happened at 11.40pm. “The rains and the traffic in the ghats delayed the prints coming from Mumbai,” we were told. But the same movie had shows at 8.30 in another theathre that happened on time. So, go figure!

As for a verdict (since these are a must in case of reviews), I recommend you see it. For Bipasha, Ranbir and Paintal. There are a lot of loose ends and missing pieces in the movie but it’s not too hard to overlook these. I rate it 3.5/5.

A special mention for the song “Khuda Jaane”… it is still stuck in my head. And I hope it stays that way for a while. It is awesome.

Technorati Tags: bachna ae haseeno, deepika padukone, ranbir kapoor, bipasha basu, minissha lamba, paintal, movies, city pride pune

1. Review “The Enchantress of Florence” by Salman Rushdie: He is one of my favourite writers despite his long-drawn and often contrived manner of writing. In many ways, the book doesn’t disappoint, but honestly, it can’t even hold a candle to “Midnight’s Children” and “Shalimar the Clown”.

2. Review “The Dark Knight” by Heath Ledger!: One of the best movies I have seen in a very long time. So good, that I saw it twice in three days! Heath Ledger shall be missed… and I also wish they don’t bring back the Joker again.

3. Review “Khatron Ke Khiladi” by Akshay Kumar: A well-done gameshow for once in India. The channel may have nothing more to write home about, but this show will help them establish. And then there’s “Bigg Boss” coming up!

4. Review “Indian in a Box”: A small little restaurant that has a ‘call centre’ based in Pune Mumbai for home delivery! The food is okay, but the service is pretty good.

5. The Indian monsoon: It’ back and with a bang… some photos to be shared here.

6. Why I’m bored with my iPhone: Blasphemous as it sounds, I have had my fill of the Jesus phone and am looking at more ‘keyed’ pastures now! Especially since I got my BlackBerry!

7. The upcoming vacation: And all the preparation I have to do before I can leave (the preparations have been underway for a month… especially at work!).

8. The Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony: And how it rocked… WOW!

9. Why I think Indian cricket is now boring: And what the alternate sports options for Indians are (I don’t recommend Shooting yet!)

10. Sania Mirza, her star tantrums and no seeming interest in playing anymore. Or so I believe.

I shall perhaps get down to doing the above when point number seven kicks in. Ah…

Technorati Tags: beijing, akshay kumar, olympics, heath ledger, food, monsoon, dark knight, salman rushdie, enchantress of florence, books, movies, sports, star, cricket, sania mirza