The Common Man Speaks

Review: Hola Venky

April 3, 2015 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Rating: * * * ½

By: Keyur Seta

The prerequisites of a good independent film are not limited to a low or shoestring budget and lack of known actors. It needs a powerful content that can entertain on its unknown without depending on anything else. Director Sandeep Mohan’s Hola Venky is one such independent film in real sense. It is a bold and entertaining take on cultural differences and dilemmas.

The film revolves around Vyenkatesh aka Venky (Roger Narayan), who is a typical south Indian techie living in the south Indian dominated area of Mumbai, Matunga east. He is a divorcee in his 30s who is all set to marry again with an emotionally cold Damini. Venky is forced to postpone his marriage as he is sent to the US for a leadership program. During a crazy night out with his friends, Venky lands in the weirdest trouble possible. The incident also brings the beautiful Inez (Sonia Balcazar) in his life.

hola-venky-posterHola Venky works largely because of its witty, quirky and sometimes adult humor, which is presented in a gently subtle manner. Such new-age aspects are also seen in the manner in which scenes are connected and the tale is taken forward. The length of just 88 minutes adds to the goodness. The climax too plays a big role in providing delight.

But the biggest test for the director was to present few important twists that are very bold in nature. The end result turns out to be so favorable since he manages to pass this hurdle in a mature manner. This was very vital because had the presentation deviated even a little bit, the proceedings would have appeared cheap or vulgar.

The film does have its share of minor negative points, which include a couple of situational flaws during the climax. At least one of the two could have been avoided.

People of India would be enlightened with Mexican Mariachi music after watching this film. The tracks are enjoyable and they go with the situations. Despite a tiny budget, some good editing is visible, especially during the meditation scenes. The camerawork too falls on the positive side.

Coming to the performances, Roger Narayan is a perfect find for the role of Venky. He impresses by being thoroughly realistic. Sonia Balcazar enters the scene late but leaves a solid impact by getting the nuances of her character right. The girl playing Damini and the actors playing Venky’s friends (including Mohan himself) are believable.

Overall: Hola Venky is a realistically entertaining saga that deserves to be seen by those always craving to watch something different.

 

Picture Source: The Hindu

Picture Source: The Hindu

(Hola Venky has released online today. The film can be seen on Vimeo by clicking HERE. The director has been organizing screenings of the film in India and abroad since a year through his Travelling Cinema initiative.)

Director: Sandeep Mohan

Producer: Sanjay Gulati

Writer: Sandeep Mohan

Cast: Roger Narayan, Sonia Balcazar

Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: hola venky movie, hola venky online, hola venky review, hola venky watch online

Films reflect your life and vice-versa (‘Start A New Life’ activity)

March 10, 2015 by Keyur Seta 5 Comments


By:
Keyur Seta

In my personal opinion, formula Hindi movies are similar to our real lives. It is just that films are dramatized for entertainment purpose. So if you take away the larger-than-life elements from our Hindi films, you will be able to relate with many of them. One such element is twists or turns in a story. Is there anyone who hasn’t experienced such Kahani Mein Twist? I don’t think so.

But there are times when you are required to make important decisions to bring out this twist in your life or to Start A New Life. Sometimes, this also means taking a bold decision that can risk something as precious as your career if it doesn’t turn out to be successful. Taking one such decision changed my life entirely for good.

Initially, I wasn’t entirely sure of my decision but I just went ahead with it, just like Jai and Veeru did in Sholay when they agreed to capture Gabbar alive, despite not knowing how they would go about it and whether they would succeed. Life sometimes throws Aar Ya Paar kind of a situation, where you have no other choice but to make a bold move.

Picture: Imgkid.com

Picture Source: Imgkid.com

There is a back story or a flashback that was responsible for my move. It started after I secured 64.20 % in my 10th standard. For average students like me, it was a moment to cherish. I thought from now onwards, my academic life would be smooth, just like Raj kept saying in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge during that Europe tour – “Ab koi problem nahin aa sakti”.Unfortunately, I too landed in a soup like Raj did in the movie.

Like a large majority of average students, I went into the Commerce stream. My decision was an outcome of a clichéd mentality in Mumbai, according to which scholars take Science, weak students go into Arts and the average ones opt for Commerce. If a student dares to go different, he is considered crazy. This is akin to 80s and 90s formula where a boy and a girl have to dance around trees after falling in love. If they don’t, it isn’t love. Simple.

My experience into commerce was like Jana Tha Japan Pohonch Gaye Cheen. I soon realized Commerce wasn’t my cup of tea. It wasn’t my cup, in fact! Subjects like Accounts and Economics gave me a feeling of nausea. I have nothing against this field. It is just that I am not made for such hisaab kitaab. I felt very much like Rahul of Chennai Express who wanted to go to Goa but landed up in Meenamma’s gangster village.

Still, I endured Commerce till 12th standard, like Veer Pratap Singh in Veer-Zaara. I somehow managed to pass that year. (No, this time I won’t mention my marks.) But then I thought of taking the bold decision of leaving Commerce and going into Arts (from 13th standard onwards). I had developed an interest in writing by the time I reached 12th. And after that, I was quite sure of pursuing it as a profession.

Initially, my parents weren’t convinced and got worried. But they slowly understood and realized my interest and allowed me through a change of heart or Hriday-Parivartan in our films. I did face criticisms for my decision with some people almost laughing at me. But as we know, Kuchh toh log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna.

The decision of moving into Arts turned out to be truly a life-changing one. Today, I wonder what my life would have been if I hadn’t switched. In fact, I shudder to even think about it! I also feel I wouldn’t have been writing this blog right now. Now, some of those who laughed at me are appreciating my move. Rancho and Farhan of 3 Idiots would be proud of me! Aal Izz Well!

But this wouldn’t have been possible if my parents hadn’t given a green signal. A big Thank You to them! The only difference is that they didn’t say, “Jaa, jee le apni zindagi”.

 

For more information, visit – https://housing.com/

Filed Under: Bollywood, Humour

Badlapur Review – Creatively gripping dark thriller

February 20, 2015 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment


Rating:
* * * *

By: Keyur Seta

In his first two films, Ek Hasina Thi and Johnny Gaddar, director Sriram Raghavan proved himself to be a specialist when it comes to narrating dark, edgy thrillers in Hindi cinema. Even in Agent Vinod, which wasn’t so impressive, he displayed his trademark style during a number of scenes.

Now, with his latest movie Badlapur – Don’t Miss The Beginning Raghavan has reinforced his image as Hindi cinema’s intelligent specialist for crafting such genre of thrillers. If you have a stomach for dark and, at times, disturbing thrillers, this revenge saga is for you.

Badlapur commences in the year 2000 in Pune, where Misha (Yami Gautam) and her son get killed after two bank robbers, Liak (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and his sidekick, get into her car to escape from the police. Raghav aka Raghu (Varun Dhawan), Misha’s husband, is shocked and devastated by the news. After 15 years of grief, Raghu finally gets a chance to take revenge.

Picture: Indianexpress.com

Picture: Indianexpress.com

The film isn’t the regular revenge dramas seen in Bollywood. In fact, more than the revenge, you tend to notice the unusually creative manner of presenting almost every scene, which gets you hooked on to the screen for the entire duration. Raghavan deserves all the applause for his writing and presentation skills, especially during the climax, which also triggers an overwhelming feeling. It forces you to ask a lot of questions.

Apart from the thrills and action, Badlapur will also be remembered for its super hilarious moments. It is amusing how in the midst of a serious situation, something dark humorous pops out from nowhere forcing you to laugh out loud. The joke on Maratha Mandir is one of the funniest things you will hear in a long time.

As Badlapur has a disturbing theme with violent visuals, it won’t go down well with the section of the masses looking for entertainment. This is applicable more to the young Varun Dhawan fans. This, however, shouldn’t be looked down as a flaw as that is exactly the intention of the makers. The negative factors are actually seen with the behavior of an important character and few questionable situations.

The good efforts of the technical department make sure the film turns out to be a sleek thriller. As expected from a respected veteran like Anil Mehta, the camerawork is top notch. Sachin-Jigar composed tracks go well with the theme. ‘Jee Karda’ is unarguably the best of the lot. Its use in the background goes well with the situations, especially the climax.

After this performance, Varun Dhawan will be known as a quality actor instead of just a chocolate boy hero. Playing such a character so early in your career is utterly difficult but he manages it. But Nawazuddin Siddiqui also manages to steal the show with an act that forces you to applaud. He is easily one of the finest actors from India!

Vinay Pathak too is excellent post-interval. In a cameo, Yami Gautam is decent. Huma Qureshi shines once again. Radhika Apte is impressive as Pathak’s wife. Divya Dutta provides a mature act. Kumud Mishra leaves behind a terrific impact, more so in the ending moments. Pratima Kazmi does what she knows best. Murli Sharma is likable.

Overall: Badlapur – Don’t Miss The Beginning is a must watch if you prefer dark thrillers. The good amount of hype and Varun’s fan following gives it a chance of earning well at the box office.

Director: Sriram Raghavan

Producers: Maddock Films and Eros International

Writers: Sriram Raghavan and Arijit Biswas

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Huma Qureshi, Vinay Pathak, Divya Dutta, Radhika Apte, Pratima Kazmi, Kumud Mishra

Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: badlapur box office, badlapur climax, badlapur movie review, badlapur review, badlapur suspense

Qissa Movie Review – Unconventionality shakes you up

February 18, 2015 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment


Rating:
* * *

By: Keyur Seta

Unconventional storyline and narrative aren’t the only prerequisites for a good art-house or off-beat film. It is much more important for the experience to haunt you long after it’s over through its interesting and, sometimes, disturbing questions. Anup Singh’s Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost manages to do that, which makes it an interesting watch for the niche audience it targets.

The tale commences in 1947 in Pakistan, where Umber Singh (Irrfan Khan) and his wife (Tisca Chopra) are forced to migrate to India after they lose everything in the partition that followed India’s independence. Singh establishes his business in Punjab, India from scratch. But he feels his life is far from satisfactory since he doesn’t have a son.

After giving birth to three daughters, when his wife is pregnant again, Singh reaches new levels of desperation for a male child. But he is bestowed with a girl child yet again. However, due to his obsession for a son, Singh is unable to accept that his newborn child is a female. What will be its consequences after the girl (Tillotama Shome) grows up?

Picture: nltimes.nl

Picture: nltimes.nl

From the initial portions, Qissa (Punjabi film with English subtitles) appears as yet another of those numerous films based on the partition of India and Pakistan. But thankfully, we soon realize that its basic storyline is creative, intriguing, thrilling and, above all, completely out-of-the-box. The later twists in the plot also bring an element of thrill.

Moreover, this highly unusual subject is treated in the simplest of manners, which makes the film rich and intelligent in content. The makers have presented a new aspect of patriarchy through the issue of gender identity crisis without anyone speaking about it and just by using the visual medium; an idea that has been tried a lot these days, especially in regional cinema.

But Qissa has its shares of downfalls. The psyche of Umber Singh and the result of his adamancy over his wife should have been explained more because it is something of extreme proportions. The basic tale also has few errors. The proceedings lose grip in the second half with the narrative becoming too self-indulgent. This point ensures the film will be more acceptable only to the film festival audience. Nevertheless, it does shake you up with its questions and an open ending.

The overall packaging meets international standards, thanks to the work carried out by the technical department. Sebastian Edschmid, the DoP who has worked with a host of international films, has artistically captured the village locales. Music composers Beatrice Thiriet and Manish J Tipu and aided the subject with their compositions. The editing too is rich.

It is compulsory for films of this genre to have quality performances and that is exactly the case with Qissa. Irrfan Khan performs a complex patriarchy-obsessed husband and father with subtle ease. Only an artist of his caliber could have brought alive this character with such realism.

But it is Tillotama Shome who had the most difficult task lined up. Without revealing much about the tale, she is brilliant while playing a character facing gender identity crisis. Rasika Duggal too doesn’t lag behind by providing a high class act in another complicated character. Tisca Chopra too displays her helplessness effectively as Umber Singh’s wife.

Overall: Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost has enough potential to appeal to its target audience.

Director: Anup Singh

Producers: National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Heimatfilm, Augustus Film and Cine-Sud Promotion

Writers: Anup Singh and Madhuja Mukherjee

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Tillotama Shome, Rasika Duggal, Tisca Chopra

Music: Beatrice Thiriet and Manish J Tipu

Genre: Period Drama

Release Date: February 20, 2015 (India)

Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: qissa actors cast, qissa movie review, qissa movie story, qissa release date india, qissa review

Review: Baby

January 23, 2015 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Rating: * * * *

By: Keyur Seta

When was the last time Bollywood produced a well-crafted edge-of-the-seat action thriller? It is extremely difficult to answer this question. But director Neeraj Pandey has answered it with Baby and how! He has come up with a hardcore mainstream action flick but at the same time steered away from the usual clichés seen in our films. The last point also forces me to say that Bollywood has finally come up with an action flick of international standards.

Baby revolves around Ajay (Akshay Kumar), who is a top covert intelligence officer of India. He is part of a secret team called Baby, which is formed after the 26/11 attacks. He works under Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief Feroze Khan (Danny Denzongpa), with whom he has a great rapport. Ajay gets another feather in his cap when he foils a deadly terrorist attack on Delhi.

But soon, Bilal Khan (Kay Kay Menon), a terrorist arrested in Mumbai, manages to escape with the help of his group members. He joins his team to help them carry out something very big in India. The mastermind behind all such terror activities is the very dangerous and sinister Maulana Mohammad Rehman (Rashid Naz).

Picture Source: moviecrow.com

Picture Source: moviecrow.com

Baby is one of the rarest Hindi films of today’s era which doesn’t allow you to take your eyes off the screen. This is its biggest victory for which the writers deserve high applause for a watertight screenplay and witty dialogues. The unpredictability in the narrative, especially towards the ending moments, also plays a role in making this film way different from the normal action flicks. The climax deserves special mention for the nail-biting experience it provides.

Another reason why Baby stands out is that it keeps all the typical Bollywood clichés and stereotypes away, not only in terms of the narrative but also in terms of character traits. Plus, it doesn’t make a hue and cry about it. For example, the fight scene featuring Taapsee Pannu isn’t presented in a way to show that girls can also rough up men. Everything happens as if it is normal. However, the same isn’t the case with the character of Ajay’s wife.

Other minor drawbacks include the usual action flick errors, especially during few moments in the climax. But such hiccups are understandable for such genre of films and they don’t spoil the fun in any way.

Sudeep Chatterjee’s camerawork is also a major factor in the film rising to such levels. He continues from where he left in Dhoom 3. Apart from a short romantic track, there are no songs. The makers should be lauded for not compromising on this. Specific background tunes create the desired effect. But few sounds shouldn’t have been so loud. The editor too has packaged the product perfectly. Thankfully, the action sequences are believable and not at all over-the-top like we have seen in numerous south remakes.

Lastly, Baby wouldn’t have been what it is without Akshay Kumar’s brilliant act. The Khiladi is in prime form in a role only he could have essayed. This is something he hasn’t played in the last few years despite doing quite a few action flicks. Danny Denzongpa and Kay Kay Menon play their respective characters well.

Rashid Naz highly succeeds in creating terror despite his role not being lengthy. It shows that you don’t need villainous antics if you have perfect expressions and body language. In fact, it is difficult to believe him to be a fictional character. Anupam Kher and Taapse Pannu excel in special roles. Rana Daggubati, Mikaal Zulfikar and others provide good support.

Overall: Baby is a new-age, powerful action flick that impresses you throughout. After A Wednesday and Special 26, Neeraj Pandey reinforces his image as a quality filmmaker. The hype and the final product will make Baby a profitable venture at the box office.

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar and Shital Bhatia

Writer: Neeraj Pandey

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Danny Denzongpa, Kay Kay Menon, Rashid Naz, Anupam Kher, Rana Daggubati, Taapsee Pannu

Genre: Thriller

Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: baby 2015, baby review

‘I’ Movie Review (Hindi)

January 16, 2015 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Rating: * *

By: Keyur Seta

Director S Shankar’s latest movie ‘I’ took three years in the making. This is visible from its final product as it is extremely challenging for coming up something like this. So the long period of making is justifiable. But what isn’t justifiable is the faulty storyline and shoddy narration, which make sure that the humongous efforts and Vikram’s brilliant act don’t hold much value.

‘I’ tells the story of a simpleton Lingesan aka Lee (Vikram), a body builder, who is crazy for the model Diya (Amy Jackson). He not only gets to act with her in ad films but also gets her love. However, he pays a price for it when he becomes a scary-looking hunchbacked man. How did Lee transform into something like this? Will he ever return to his normal self?

‘I’ has Shankar’s trademark stamp all over it; right from the action sequences to the creative manner of linking scenes. But what takes the cake hands down is Vikram more than outstanding performance! The actor has set a benchmark of dedication in a role that is physically and mentally draining. Hats off! The film also shines in the areas of VFX, prosthetics and camerawork.

Unfortunately, as stated before, these plusses don’t ensure a satisfying experience due to a number of major issues the film faces. They can be listed as below:-

– The basic storyline has two dimensions. The first is professional rivalry, which is fine. But the second is as unintentionally hilarious as a love triangle between a male, female and transgender!

– The first half is an action masala entertainer, very much on par with south Indian film standards. However in the second half, the film becomes a disturbing and depressing saga about the terrible skin ailment of Lee.

Picture Source: Wikipedia

Picture Source: Wikipedia

– Advertisement film actors are portrayed as famous film stars. Seriously, how can those promoting products like soap, shampoo and sanitary napkins enjoy the same stardom a commercial film actor enjoys?

– The ‘number one’ ad film star ruins the future of a fellow female star after she refuses to sleep with him. To regain her lost stardom, she takes the help of a man who is not only novice but also someone who has nothing to do with the acting or ad world. She even begs in front of him to help her out!

– ‘I’ portrays people from the transgender in the most pathetic manner. It is scary to see that even in 2015 we are portraying them as a means for cheap humor. The film also shows insensitivity towards people hit by seriously terrible skin ailments.

– A lot of action sequences are just too over-indulgent. The biggest example is the bicycle fight scene atop roofs. The same is the case with the many one-liners, which are straight out of those silly south Indian dubbed films we see on Hindi movie channels.

– There is an unintentionally hilarious character of a doctor. He treats a host of diseases like common ailments, hair fall, skin diseases, dental issues, inspecting reactions of some dangerous and almost unknown viruses, etc. When need arises, he also supplies his plumber to his patients (this is not an exaggeration).

– Talking about unintentional hilarity, it is aplenty in the behavioral traits of the characters and the things they say.

– There is an overdose of songs and they aren’t impressive either. To be frank, it is the bad Hindi lyrics that are more at fault. But their length adds to the already high length of 188 minutes! A song where Vikram appears as an animal-like creature deserves special mention for being annoying!

Coming to other performances, Amy Jackson and Upen Patel are decent. Ramkumar Ganesan is more funny than villainous. Suresh Gopi, who plays the doctor, also suffers due to the writing.  The rest of the actors aren’t much to talk about. They are also hampered by the script.

Overall, ‘I’ is disappointing due to its writing despite some technical brilliance.

Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: I movie review, I movie shankar review, I movie Vikram

Vivekananda gave me another birth: Kangana Ranaut

January 12, 2015 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

Actress Kangana Ranaut has spoken about herself during her innumerable interviews. However, very few of us know that she considers Swami Vivekananda as her biggest inspiration and motivation. She spoke about this little known aspect about her life during the 153rd Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda at Ramakrishna Mission, Mumbai.

Kangana Ranaut. Picture Source: Sonam Budha @sonambudha1

Kangana Ranaut. Picture Source: Sonam Budha @sonambudha1

“There was a time in my life when I couldn’t face tough situations. I was a lot confused about a lot of things. One day, my Yoga Guru gave me few books on the teachings of Swami Vivekananda. That changed everything. His book on Karma Yoga provided me with a lot of inspiration. Only I can understand how his teachings gave me another birth. I am Vivekananda’s product,” said Kangana with a broad smile.

She added, “I always wanted to connect with R K Mission. I am happy that I finally got a chance to be here and speak.”

As always, the address by Swami Sarvalokananda, secretary of RKM Mumbai, contained messages for the youth. “When Swamiji went to the west, he used to proudly say that he is from India. But today’s youth show a lot of hesitation to reveal that.” While speaking on leadership, he said, “We need servant leadership.”

Arunagiri Mudaaliar, Chairman and Chief Mentor of E Cube India, pointed out how Vivekananda’s teachings also help management students. “His most important teaching which the management students adhere to is – Before managing external environment, manage yourself internally.”

Dr R Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor at BARC and Dr Srikumar Banerjee, from the Atomic Energy Commission, Mumbai also spoke about the relevance of Vivekananda’s message in today’s times.

A large number of school and college students were invited for the event since Vivekananda’s birthday is also celebrated as National Youth Day in India. This time, his birth tithi coincided with his birthday.

Filed Under: Bollywood, Events, Mumbai, National, Socio/Political, Spiritual Tagged With: kangana ranaut ramakrishna mission, kangana ranaut vivekananda, ramakrishna mission mumbai, vivekananda anniversary celebrations

PK Movie Review

December 19, 2014 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments


Rating:
* * * * ½

By: Keyur Seta

It is very difficult to commence the review of a film like PK. However, I have no problems with it at all because this writer’s block is an outcome of the greatness of the film. This is exactly how the Rajkumar Hirani film can be described – one of the greatest movies ever by a master filmmaker!

PK tells the story of Jagat Jananai (Anushka Sharma) aka Jaggu, who is studying in Belgium. Her chance encounter with Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput) blossoms into love but all doesn’t go well for them. Sometime later, she meets a weird man, who calls himself PK (Aamir Khan). Just like his appearance and talks, PK has a weird mission. What is it? And who exactly is PK?

Although the subjects of Hirani’s previous three films were entirely different from one another, they had a common link in the content, which was a work of excellence. The same is repeated here too in a novel concept. The entire film is a pleasurable mixture of delightful, thought-provoking, emotional and hilarious situations. And like his previous films, here too Hirani and co-writer Abhijat Joshi have put forth their message in a brilliantly creative and entertaining manner.

PK-movieBut the biggest overwhelming factor here is the manner in which the film gives complete thumbs down to the so-called Godmen and, more so, to those who constantly divide us on the basis of religion for their own shoddy benefit. In fact, it gives a fantastic slap to the political class and so-called religious organizations spreading venom these days. It is a huge co-incidence that it has released exactly at a time when there are continuous efforts being made to divide us.

Like Hirani’s previous efforts, this one too has glaring errors. The biggest one is the base of the most important plot twist. But, again, like his previous film, it hardly bothers you for the experience it provides in return. The subject makes you recall Umesh Shukla’s Oh My God, but the main story is nowhere similar to it.

When I have already labeled the film as one of the greatest ever, it is needless to say that it scores high in the technical department too. Murlidharan Raja has done a fine work as the cinematographer. The special effects, background score and editing deserve praise too. The music also falls in the impressive category. Songs like ‘Chaar Kadam’, ‘Bhagwan Hai Kahan Re Tu’, ‘Love Is A Waste Of Time’ and ‘Tharki Chokro’ stay with you long after the film.

Like all brilliant films, the performances in PK too are highly praiseworthy. Aamir Khan keeps getting better with every film. He continues it with PK too and how! Only an actor with such high caliber of talent and dedication can pull off a character as novel, difficult and complicated as this one. His Bhojpuri talks are simply a delight!

Anushka Sharma too joins in with a mature performance. Saurabh Shukla is outstanding as a fake Godman. Sushant Singh Rajput has a cameo but he leaves behind a mark. Sanjay Dutt and Boman Irani, in extended cameos, are lovable. Parikshit Sahni provides decent support.

Overall: PK is not only Hirani’s best effort, it is a masterpiece. It provides a spiritual experience worth indulging into more than once. With such content and massive excitement, it is sure to break box office records with its enormous collections.

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Producers: Vinod Chopra Productions, Rajkumar Hirani Films and UTV Motion Pictures

Writers: Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi

Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Saurabh Shukla, Sushant Singh Rajput, Sanjay Dutt

Music: Shantanu Moitra and Ajay-Atul

Genre: Drama

Filed Under: Bollywood, Socio/Political, Spiritual Tagged With: pk climax, pk movie review, pk review, pk story

Swades: 10 Years of Simplicity (Memorable Scenes Included)

December 17, 2014 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta with valuable inputs from Padmanabh Subramanian

swades-srkWhenever a list of most memorable films from a particular country or film industry is made, it is obvious that it will only contain names of box office successes. However, there are quite a few films, at least in Hindi cinema, which have become cult classics over the years despite the fact that they didn’t succeed at the ticket window when they released.

Films like Jane Bhi Do Yaaro and Andaz Apna Apna are classic examples of such films. But they slowly started gaining huge appreciation in the following years after they were screened on television and cable channels, so much so that now they are labeled as ‘classics’. Over the last decade or so, yet another Hindi film has achieved this status in spite of its box office fate.

Ashutosh Gowariker’s Shah Rukh Khan starrer, Swades found a lot of takers when it released in December 2004, especially the lovers of meaningful cinema, despite its strictly average box office performance. Like the aforementioned two films, its appreciators kept on increasing over the last decade at a rapid pace and the film gained a respectful status of Gowariker and Shah Rukh’s one of the best works.

Today, Swades completes exactly 10 years of its release. The film is known for striking an emotional chord with the viewer without or hardly saying much. It is this simple visual narration that is largely responsible for the film gaining such applause.

So let’s have a look at the film’s most memorable scenes, which say a lot without saying much:

– The first one that comes to our mind is the one where Mohan Bhargav buys a glass of water from a child vendor. In fact, this can even go down as one of the most memorable scenes from Bollywood. By just showing the character purchase and consume the water, the writer and director have portrayed Mohan’s massive change of heart, or hriday parivartan, since, before this scene, he strictly drank only packaged water. Of course, SRK’s brilliant expressions also say it all.

– The climax sees Mohan returning to Charanpur, India forever after quitting his lucrative job at NASA. But such major story development is shown without any rona dhona and by just a sweet Kushti scene. In spite of this, it succeeds in moving you.

– The village of Charanpur strictly followed caste system, wherein the members of the ‘upper caste’ stay away from the ones of a ‘lower caste’. In the song ‘Yeh Tara Woh Tara’, the protagonist gives an overwhelming message against this division by making the kids, sitting at the area reserved for ‘lower castes’, pass over and sit in the area reserved for ‘upper castes’. Once again, a strong message without dramebazi.

 

– The film also speaks about Indian culture. This was seen the most in the pre-climax as Geeta (Gayatri Joshi) gives a teary farewell to Mohan. But as per the intelligent narration in the rest of the film, there is no gyan giving on Bharatiya Sanskriti. Geeta makes her point about the same by just presenting a box to Mohan with few items that would enable him recall India.

From the Facebook page: 21 Fools

From the Facebook page: 21 Fools

– In this particular scene, Melaram wants to point it out to Mohan that there is no point going away from our near and dear ones in our country and serving some other country. But all he says is, “Apni chaukhat ka diya and giving light to neighbor’s house.” It says all!

– Kaveri Amma hands over Mohan the task of recovering money from Haridas, who stays far away from Charanpur. Mohan is deeply hurt to see the abject poverty Haridas is facing. However, he hardly expresses this and lets his expressions speak. Even while he is returning, he keeps the same expression throughout the journey.

Filed Under: Bollywood, Events, National, Socio/Political Tagged With: swades 10 years, swades best scenes, swades movie best scene, swades scenes

DDLJ 1000 Weeks: When Maratha Mandir became Wankhede

December 15, 2014 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

By: Keyur Seta

Moviegoers going wild with excitement inside a cinema hall (especially a single screen) is a regular feature in India. Over the years, Rajnikanth and Salman Khan movies have become known for this. However, the excitement during a show of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge during its 1000th week inside Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir was something never experienced in any movie ever before.

In fact, I have seen this kind of response from the crowd (consisting people of all age groups) only in a cricket stadium and that too only when Sachin Tendulkar enters and, later, scores a century. In short, one has to experience it to believe it.

ddlj-1000-weeks

Here is a tour of the experience:

Ticket Queue: As seen in the second picture, there was literally chaos to get a ticket for this film; a film that is 19-year-old. I can’t remember when was the last time I witnessed such desperation for a newly-released film. Black marketers were selling Rs 20 ticket for Rs 100 but the fans had no problems with it.

ddlj-tickets

Unthinkable Response: I was naturally expecting regular cheers and whistles during the film. But what actually happened during the screening gave a pleasant shock to me and my brother. The cheering commenced even before the Censor Certificate was shown and continued till the rest of the film. In fact, there was a loud reception not only during Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol’s entry scene but also during each and every important dialogue by all actors and also during their important acts. And mind you, majority of the crowd wasn’t tapori.

Watch it for yourself in this video if it is difficult to believe. Shot and edited by Fenil Seta.

 

Non-Stop Clicks: We all must have seen pictures being clicked inside a cinema hall during a movie, but not as much as it happened during this screening. There was continuous clicking from all sides throughout the duration, as if it was a press conference.

The Finale: The ending moments made us feel as if Team India won the World Cup. It is difficult to put it any other way. Just watch the last part of the video and you will realize. As soon as Thakur Baldev Singh (Amrish Puri) left Simran’s (Kajol) hand, the audience erupted in the same manner when Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit the winning six during the final of 2011 World Cup.

Given the scenes and the kind of box office response DDLJ is still getting, it is needless to say that the film will continue running for few more years for sure. Also needless to say, this is definitely not my last viewing of it at Maratha Mandir.

Filed Under: Bollywood, Cricket, Events, Pictures Tagged With: ddlj 1000 weeks, ddlj 1000 weeks celebration reaction

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • …
  • 37
  • Next Page »

Like Us on Facebook

Pages

  • About Me

Categories

  • Bollywood
  • Cricket
  • Documentaries
  • Environment
  • Events
  • Food
  • Forgotten Moments
  • Gujarati Cinema
  • Health
  • Hollywood
  • Humour
  • International Cinema
  • Literature
  • Marathi movies
  • Miscellaneous
  • Mumbai
  • Music
  • National
  • Personal experience
  • Pictures
  • Plays
  • Poem/ Shayaris
  • Regional cinema
  • Rumour Alert
  • Short Films
  • Socio/Political
  • Spiritual
  • Travel
  • TV
  • Uncategorized
  • Web Series
  • Young Achievers

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 47 other subscribers

Archives

  • June 2025 (5)
  • May 2025 (4)
  • April 2025 (7)
  • March 2025 (5)
  • February 2025 (1)
  • January 2025 (4)
  • December 2024 (2)
  • November 2024 (3)
  • October 2024 (2)
  • September 2024 (4)
  • August 2024 (2)
  • July 2024 (3)
  • June 2024 (4)
  • May 2024 (1)
  • April 2024 (2)
  • March 2024 (2)
  • February 2024 (4)
  • January 2024 (4)
  • December 2023 (2)
  • November 2023 (3)
  • October 2023 (3)
  • September 2023 (4)
  • August 2023 (3)
  • July 2023 (2)
  • June 2023 (2)
  • May 2023 (4)
  • April 2023 (4)
  • March 2023 (2)
  • February 2023 (1)
  • January 2023 (3)
  • December 2022 (2)
  • November 2022 (6)
  • October 2022 (7)
  • September 2022 (2)
  • August 2022 (2)
  • July 2022 (2)
  • June 2022 (4)
  • May 2022 (4)
  • April 2022 (4)
  • March 2022 (4)
  • February 2022 (3)
  • January 2022 (3)
  • December 2021 (3)
  • November 2021 (2)
  • October 2021 (3)
  • September 2021 (4)
  • August 2021 (3)
  • July 2021 (5)
  • June 2021 (2)
  • May 2021 (5)
  • April 2021 (3)
  • March 2021 (4)
  • February 2021 (4)
  • January 2021 (4)
  • December 2020 (6)
  • November 2020 (4)
  • October 2020 (6)
  • September 2020 (4)
  • August 2020 (6)
  • July 2020 (3)
  • June 2020 (2)
  • May 2020 (3)
  • April 2020 (4)
  • March 2020 (3)
  • February 2020 (3)
  • January 2020 (2)
  • December 2019 (3)
  • November 2019 (4)
  • October 2019 (3)
  • September 2019 (2)
  • August 2019 (4)
  • July 2019 (6)
  • June 2019 (6)
  • May 2019 (4)
  • April 2019 (1)
  • March 2019 (2)
  • February 2019 (5)
  • January 2019 (5)
  • December 2018 (6)
  • November 2018 (4)
  • October 2018 (4)
  • September 2018 (3)
  • August 2018 (3)
  • July 2018 (2)
  • June 2018 (4)
  • May 2018 (2)
  • April 2018 (2)
  • March 2018 (2)
  • February 2018 (3)
  • January 2018 (3)
  • December 2017 (3)
  • November 2017 (3)
  • October 2017 (3)
  • September 2017 (3)
  • August 2017 (1)
  • July 2017 (4)
  • June 2017 (2)
  • May 2017 (3)
  • April 2017 (2)
  • March 2017 (3)
  • February 2017 (3)
  • January 2017 (4)
  • December 2016 (4)
  • November 2016 (3)
  • October 2016 (4)
  • September 2016 (2)
  • August 2016 (5)
  • July 2016 (4)
  • June 2016 (2)
  • May 2016 (4)
  • April 2016 (4)
  • March 2016 (4)
  • February 2016 (4)
  • January 2016 (5)
  • December 2015 (6)
  • November 2015 (4)
  • October 2015 (4)
  • September 2015 (8)
  • August 2015 (6)
  • July 2015 (5)
  • June 2015 (5)
  • May 2015 (10)
  • April 2015 (7)
  • March 2015 (4)
  • February 2015 (9)
  • January 2015 (11)
  • December 2014 (9)
  • November 2014 (10)
  • October 2014 (11)
  • September 2014 (9)
  • August 2014 (7)
  • July 2014 (7)
  • June 2014 (2)
  • May 2014 (4)
  • April 2014 (5)
  • March 2014 (1)
  • February 2014 (2)
  • January 2014 (4)
  • December 2013 (6)
  • November 2013 (8)
  • October 2013 (4)
  • September 2013 (2)
  • August 2013 (5)
  • July 2013 (2)
  • June 2013 (2)
  • May 2013 (7)
  • April 2013 (8)
  • March 2013 (11)
  • February 2013 (10)
  • January 2013 (14)
  • December 2012 (11)
  • November 2012 (6)
  • October 2012 (12)
  • September 2012 (15)
  • August 2012 (18)
  • July 2012 (14)
  • June 2012 (15)
  • May 2012 (7)
  • April 2012 (12)
  • March 2012 (15)
  • February 2012 (12)
  • January 2012 (17)
  • December 2011 (13)
  • November 2011 (12)
  • October 2011 (7)
  • September 2011 (4)
  • August 2011 (14)
  • July 2011 (6)
  • June 2011 (5)
  • May 2011 (5)
  • April 2011 (11)
  • March 2011 (4)
  • February 2011 (3)
  • January 2011 (6)
  • December 2010 (3)
  • November 2010 (2)
  • October 2010 (2)
  • September 2010 (1)
  • August 2010 (2)
  • July 2010 (3)
  • June 2010 (3)
  • May 2010 (1)
  • April 2010 (1)
  • March 2010 (3)
  • February 2010 (4)
  • January 2010 (3)
  • December 2009 (3)
  • November 2009 (4)
  • October 2009 (2)
  • September 2009 (2)
  • August 2009 (6)
  • July 2009 (3)

Copyright © 2025 · eleven40 Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in