The Bollywood Elephant

Bollywood has definitely evolved over the years. But there is one thing, that has not changed are Item Songs. With all certainty, item songs are made for increasing the revenue of their films. There is nothing wrong about having item songs in films. But, there is a question that arises, "Why have item songs with females only?". I mean, pick up any movie, u always find that a female has an item song. Even if one goes into google and types,'Male item songs in Bollywood', the images only show females, who have previously done these item songs.   Returning to the question I had, "Why have females do an item song?". It is more of portraying women as an 'object' and this keeps on getting promoted by such item songs. I am not trying to say that women should not be allowed to do item songs, all I am trying to say is that such 'consistency', in item songs should not be there as these tend to promote a feeling that women are just needed to danc

"Kaabil", directed by  director, Sanjay Gupta, left me stunned. The reason why I was left stunned is that I really could not imagine what had happened in the 2 hours and 20 minutes I sat through the movie. A blind man, Rohan, is out to seek revenge from the goons who are behind the death of his wife, Supriya and that is our plot. It might look normal but it is actually an emotional revenge saga. And the word "emotional" makes a lot of difference to this Hrithik- Yami starrer movie.   Hrithik Roshan's portrayal of Rohan, is simply excellent. He lifts a one time watch movie to a Must watch level. His portrayal of a blind Rohan Bhatnagar, has been his second best portrayal to date(Best being in Guzaarish). Yami's short but lovable role of a blind girl Supriya is cute and melted my heart at places. But like Nawaz in Raees, Ronit Roy's portrayal of Madhavrao Shellar is par excellence. His on-screen presence ensured that my eyes were not off the screen

"Raees", directed by Rahul Dholakia, produced by Farhan and SRK himself is a typical masala ride of 2hrs and 40 minutes. A movie about a bootlegger, Raees(SRK) and his aids v/s an honest cop, Majumdar(Nawaz) is a "typical cat and mouse game". The movie opens on a pessimistic note and fails to show any growth until the interval. The "curse of the second half", luckily does not hit this movie, instead, it turns out to be a "boon" for the movie. The second half brings this derailed Raees, back on track. Raees does not allow the suspense open up until the end and also speaks about the dirty politics which are played by the government and yes, in the end, one feels bad for Raees(SRK). It defies logic at places like, Mahira is pregnant for more than a year and her baby bump is not visible even then and all of a sudden she gives birth to a baby boy. There are 2 features that stand out in the movie, one is our ever reliable Nawaz and the other Rahu

2017 has begun with a low note with Ok Jaanu, a movie that failed to register any substantial cash at the box office. the other big releases of January are Hrithik Roshan's "Kaabil" and SRK's "Raees". Both the movie belong to a different genre and looking at the current status of the box office, these movies shouldn't have ended up in a clash. But anyways!  Speaking about Kaabil, the movie is releasing on a screen count of 2200 should at least assure the producers of a double-digit opening. Hrithik has not been able to taste success at the box office, both critically and commercially and has lost some fan base. The way B-town has praised the movie seems that there is going to be some 'real' competition between the two biggies and the opening of both these movies should more or less tell the tale. The second trailer of Kaabil is hands down amazing. We get a glimpse of Ronit Roy and personally, being a fan of his work I am pretty sure it is g

                                                               Haraamkhor Review:  In a movie, where Nawazuddin Siddiqui is present, expectations are already at the sky-roof. This Nawazuddin starrer was no expectation. But since this movie is made on a shoestring budget, there was no promotion and people may be unaware about this movie. Nawazuddin Siddiqui was at his usual best as Shyam, the tutor cum teacher to all the kids in a small village in Bihar. He gets attracted to one of his students, Sandhya (Shweta Tripathi). He tries to woo her but all in vain. Unknown to him, a classmate of Sandhya, Kamal (Mohd Irfan) also plans to woo her with the help of his friend, Mintu (Mohd Samad). How does the journey of these 4 unfold his what forms the crux of the story. Haraamkhor takes you through the brutally honest beliefs that are still prevalent in rural India. The movie hits exactly where it hurts, to see the honest rural India. The beliefs are such that even the small ki

With the Filmfare nominations out yesterday night, the nominations, like the previous years have shocked, but this time they have shocked me to the core.  Since the nominations which are out, are based on 50% audience and 50% of the choices of the jury. Hence, the jury alone cannot be blamed for these nominations. I would list (category wise) some mentions which I think that should have made to the list; if not won an award.  Best Movies: Nominations- Dangal, Sultan, Neerja, Kapoor and Sons, Udta Punjab and Pink. As per me, keeping box office collections in mind, Sultan should have been substituted with M.S. Dhoni , which might not have been exactly "untold" but in all aspects was better than Sultan. Predicted Winner: Pink. Best Director: Nominations- Sultan, Neerja, Kapoor and Sons, Udta Punjab, ADHM. Sultan director  Ali Abbas Zafar shouldn't have been made to this list because there were instances where I thought that the direction includi

                                                          Super 7 of 2016. 2016 has been a revolutionary year for Bollywood. Some incredible movies like Udta Punjab and Pink exposed the raw truths of our society. 2016 also welcomed biopics like Neerja and Sarbjit. A few surprises in form of Waiting also came into the limelight... So, without a delay, here are my top 7! 7. Wazir and Parched (3.9 stars) (Mr.Bachchan's splendid performance, Story, Direction and Aditi Hydari's supporting preformance.)                                                   (  A celebration of Womanhood, Art, Subject and Suvreen Chawla's outstanding performance)                                         6. Udta Punjab (4.1 stars)                       (Terrific Performances, Taut Screenplay and Raw Presentation) 5.  Dear Zindagi ( 4.2 stars)