Be Barfi!

Watching this movie sometimes reminded me of 'Sadma' ( the 80's movie starring Kamal hassan & Sridevi), sometimes it reminded me of  'Taare Zameen pe' and sometimes the romance of 'Kal ho na ho'.. this movie brought out a very mix feeling and the feeling of being "Barfii"...

Set up in the exotic location of Darjeeling, it is a story about a young chap called 'Barfi' (or should I say 'Murphy' !) for whom being deaf and dumb is not an obstacle at all...he enjoys life and love equally. He falls in love with a beautiful damsel - Shruti (Ileana) the first time, but it does not go well because of societal pressure. But that doesn't deter him, he enjoys his life and accidentally falls in platonic love for another autist girl - Jhilmil (Priyanka chopra). The most important thing across this movie is that it has been able to capture not only the relationship of Barfi , Shruti and Jhilmil; but it also captures other relationships like Barfi's relationship with his father, Jhilmil's relationship with his grandfather and the owner of the orphanage, Jhilmil's relationship with her caretaker, Barfi's relationship with his friend and last but the most interesting Barfi's relationship with the Sub-inspector.  A whole gamut of emotions is on play....

Ranbir kapoor and Priyanak chopra have done a fantastic job; I will not be surprised if this performance wins them a filmfare award or some critic accolades. Overall, the first half of the movie is a bit slow compared to second half, screenplay could have been made a bit more interesting. Pritam has given some good and fresh music specially the song 'Ala barfi'.

Overall I felt that this movies has a story line which is a bit 'hatke' from the normal comedy, romance and climax stories; hence people have welcomed it. It's in the same league as 'Pan singh tomar', 'Vicky Donor' but not in the leagues of  'Taare Zameen par' or 'Swades'.

It's a solid family entertainer and is a must watch for the family!

My rating: 3.5 star

Sahara QShop Advertisement analysis

Sahara recently ventured into retail through Sahara QShop. One of its advertisements has been doing the rounds but was recently replaced by an abridged version of the same. It had most of the prominent Indian cricketers chipping in to pass on the message that using/consuming 'milawat' (adulterated) products in our daily life is leading us to an unhealthy life.

The advertisement drew lot of flak from people, media and most importantly BCCI!

At first instance I felt that Sahara has got it all wrong. The commercial was too rude in showing a Yuvraj singh digging up a grave, Sehwag replacing a child’s bed with a hospital bed and so on.

I felt that Sahara was treading a very dicey path and the obvious loopholes were:

• The advertisement does not fit in well with Sahara's image
•  It was a very high risk game of band building based on quality. Even if a single case of quality is detected/reported down the line it will bring down the whole foundation of the brand.

I spoke to few of my colleagues and strangely all of them had similar thoughts.

But looking back I feel that there's definitely a tactical strategy behind it and that is:

•       One, arriving in the already crowded retail scene with a bang  - ensuring its arrival is noticed and
•       Second, creating recall value on the consumers mind.

 Well if that's the case then 'Rediffusion Y&R', the creative agency behind the ad, has definitely succeeded in the initial stage of this race. Now let’s see how the brand takes itself forward!

Have a look at the video and do let me know what you think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azr11RR9x6o

Movies with a twist !

Last weekend, I was able to watch two movies with very unique storylines. Though one of them is not recent, but in case you have missed watching it, then put it on your list.
Kahani - 2012
Raat GAyi, Baat Gayi - 2009
Lets start with "Kahani" first.
The strongest part of this movie is its script and direction. Offcourse I would not take away any credits from the actors (specially Vidya Balan); I think it is hard to rank when you have so many good things happening in a movie. The movie is set in Kolkata and has been weaved around the traditions of this beautiful city. Wmost movies set around Mumbai / Delhi ( no offence meant) this comes as a fresh respite.
It is a story about a lady juggling her emotions, fighting with the odds and add to that a lots of twists and suspense. Vidya has done a tremendous job of pulling through with the lead character role. Some very good acting by the actors from the Kolkata film industry - Like agent Khan, Inspector and others. I cannot say much about the story line as that will muck up the thrill of watching it. In a nut shell after a long time there's a movie which everyone should go ahead and watch!
My rating :****

Raat Gayi Baat Gayi (2009)
Again sometimes you need to be in a position to appreciate a movie and hence this movie might not go well with many of us; but the "married folks" out there can surely relate their own lives to one of the characters in this movie!! (If not thats fine)
It is not a normal masala movie, but a matured story twined around the lives of three married couples and their struggle to know "what happened on the night of a party ?"
The script could have been made a bit stronger, it is intresting but sometimes looses its intensity.Vinay Pathak and Rajat kapoor are good. I felt the music was good as well with some very good lyrics. Overall good watch.
My Rating: ***

Who's would lead the Blue team?

I was waiting for the Asia cup announcement...so Virat has been made the Vice-Captain. Now let me do some analysis (I agree too much of it can cause paralysis)
Present day scenario: Present captain Dhoni is almost 31 years...so he has roughly more 3-4 years of shelf life; after the next world cup i.e. 2015.
Gautam gambhir
Age: 30 years – Shelf life of another 4-5 years (not much)
ODI exp: 131 Matches
ODI Avg: 41
Test Exp: 48 matches
Test Avg: 45
Virat Kohli
Age: 23 years - Shelf Life of another 10-12 years
ODI exp: matches 82
ODI Avg: Average 42
Test Exp: 8 matches (Needs more experience)
Test Avg: 33

Considering the above two stats and the recent announcements:
Ø Gambhir from his temperament would surely be the next test captain, which would eventually be handed over to Virat and would take another 3- 4 years time. Yes, I expect Dhoni to relinquish his test captaincy soon.
Ø Gambhir might become the ODI captain for a short period of time (say 1-2 year), but Virat would eventually take over and would remain the captain for the longer duration. Intentions are very clear from the BCCI.
Ø Ashwin – Not leadership material at all.

Past Present Continous - Revolution 2020

Chetan Bhagat has again nailed a everyday ordinary story in a simple yet extraordinary way. No doubt the right to the story has been bought out by UTV and very soon we might see a bollywood movie...
Ok, now with the novel Revolution 2020; yes I would have to agree that this novel would find a close link with people born after 1980 till date; because most of it revolves round the experiences of that generation.
The story starts in the religious town of 'Kashi' (Varanasi) and revolves round the indvidual struggle of two freinds Raghav and Gopal; and what links them - their love for the girl Aarti.
It is however a very different script from the usual love triangle stories. The primary character is Gopal, who struggles out of the typical Indian story where any one who hasn't got into an engineeringg or Medical college after there school, is treated as dumb and unsuccessful. It also stiches a beauiful love story between Gopal, Aarti and Raghav. Though I strongly believe that Chetan could have done a bit less with the 'sex' side of things; this story needed some seriousness. (please note: I do not have any angst against sex, but just that part of the novel felt as if it was forced into the main scheme of things.) Raghav as a character was strong enought to have been given a bit more to play. His side of the story, regarding the corruption in our society, was equally important; I felt he played the second fiddle through out.
End of the day, I believe Chetan Bhagat through his novels, brings out the negative aspects of our society very smartly. Though at the same point of time he also portrays the strength that the young generation has and what as Indians we can achieve. I believe this is what makes his writing so acceptable amongst the young genration, because most of us feel so much can be done but everyone waits for that single chance....which Gopal and Raghav get in this novel called Revolution 2020!

My Rating: *** & 1/2

Is Ra-One the Number 1?

This is the most expensive sci-fi movie in the Indian film Industry till date, but would it be equalli heavy in the content?
From a technical point of view I believe this movies is a major milestone in Bollywood regarding the Sci-fi special effects and animation; But the movie lacks the solid base of story line, acting and screenpaly.
Subbu ( Sharukh Khan) works in a company which makes simulated video games and somehow ( How? well you need to see the movie to understand the concept) one of his negative creations comes to life!!

This is where the whole twist is ....I cannot go any further but Yes, as Ra-One is a pun on the Hindu Mythological demon - 'Ravaan'. Similarly, this movie has a character which fights 'Ra-one'and his name is 'G-One' a pun intended for 'Jeevan' meaning Life...
The movie does have its own Sci-fi effects and would appeal to the kids...sometime I felt watching modern Shaktiman! (The old serial in Doordarshan). The songs are good and specially the song 'Chamak Challo' sung by Akon is very catchy.
I would not commet on the acting, because this movie script doesnot require one...well the screen play and storyline could have been more interesting, none the less a good try...and I am sure Kids would enjoy it....

My Rating:**&1/2

Everyone falls in Love....and then wants to get married!!

Seeing Movies about Marriage (the grand Indian way) makes me feel why not get married again ! ...Hold on before you jump to any conclusion .. I just mean why not celebrate marriage ( with the same lady I am married to) every 10 years or 5 years ... it's such a great colourful celebration.
Now, let me come back to the point of this movie which I saw yesterday - "Meri Brother ki Dulhan".
The movie starts with Luv (Ali Zafar) having a break off and then asking his younger brother Kush (Imran) to search for an apt girl for his own marriage. The story revolves around this plot offcourse with a twist where Kush falls in for the same girl - 'D'(Katrina) which he had choosen for his brother...offcourse it has other drama revolving around this plot and would keep you entertained for most of the part...
Music does not impress, but for few songs choreography does and that's what makes the songs a bit more interesting...The actors did do a good job except for Ali Zafar, who could have done better given the role he got.
The script is not so enticing but the presentation has been good.Imran has matured as an actor, though he still has that 'Good boy' aura all over him and Katrina with her british accent fits in well with the character.
I would say it's worth watching with the family for a saturday night....

My rating: *** stars