The Bollywood Elephant

Bollywood Music Albums are way beyond just item songs. These include songs that one cherishes even after ages, are unapologetically original and those which help in the progression of the movie story forward.         Before Picking my favourite 15 albums from this decade, here are some honourable mentions: Ek Villian:  Ankit Tiwari, Mithoon. Dum Laga Ke Haisha:  Anu Malik. Delhi Belly : Ram Sampath.    My Favourite 15 Albums (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER): Goliyon ki Raasleela; Ram Leela:  Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Perhaps his best musical work to date!                                                              Manmarziyaan:  Amit Trivedi. With one of the best songs in forms of 'Chonch Ladiyaan', 'Daryaa', 'Sachi Mohabbat', this Amit Trivedi album is an underappreciated album.                                                              My Name is Khan:  Shankar Ehsaan Loy. Noor-e-Khuda, Sajda, Tere Naina!  Band Baaja Ba

Ayushmann has finally made his own brand of cinema where he depicts the real-life problems in a middle-class India. Since "Dream Girl" did NOT work for me a bit, I was skeptical about Bala and yes, Ayushmann went back to being the Ayushmann I adored in Bareilly ki Barfi, Andhadhun.                                   Whats' Good:   Acting:  Ayushmann, Bhumi, Yami rock the stage with support from an amazing cast. Social Commentary:  Some really good messaging laden with gallops of entertainment. Editing/Music/Dialogues:  Amar Kaushik does well in writing the dialogue and settings. The song Tequila and Khata Hui are memorable. Characterization:  Mainly, Bala works because of Latika, Bala, Pari and Mausiji who make the movie memorable.                                             What's Bad:   Missing Factor:  As the movie ended, everything was there but still not there kind of feeling was there. Story:  The story has been told and lacks a novelty that Ay

So, after a lot of speculation Rajkummar Rao-Mouni Roy starrer 'Made in China' released and perhaps you wouldn't find a better Diwali release since 2010 in Bollywood. The movie is directed by national award winner Mikhil Musale and co-stars Boman Irani, Paresh Rawal, Sumeet Vyas, Gajraj Rao.                                                  What's Good:  Acting:  A spectacular cast can never go wrong. RR gets the Gujarati character absolutely spot on. Though, Mouni Roy is very nominal in her role as a housewife. Boman Irani as Dr.Vardhan as sexologist easily deserves an award nomination! Story:  Excellent Story with a relevant message is brought to life by the director. Technical Aspects:  The screenplay, the DOP does a fantastic job in keeping the story intact.                                                What's Bad:  Incoherent:  The movie's coherency is certainly questionable: like it is there but still not there. That is what the movie f

With Tushar Hiranandani's 'Saand ki Aankh' trailer came out featuring Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Padnekar there has been a lot of debate as to why were these 2 casts for the role of 60-year-old ladies. For the uninitiated, 'Saand ki Aankh' is based on the true story of Tomar sisters who became sharpshooters at the age of 60. Hence, the debate revolves around the fact that why weren't age-appropriate actresses like Neena Gupta, Seema Pahwa, Ratna Pathak, Supriya Pathak etc not cast and rather these young blood were cast.                                               The kind of filth and the controversy surrounding and blaming the hard work of these actresses is being questioned, it can easily and simply be said that had it been any actor, any actor like Alia, Vidya, Shraddha shall never say NO to these stories and in fact shall will pay to play these roles as these roles are affirmative, inspiring and whatnot. So belittling them is absolutely wrong. In fa

To begin with, I really had a tough time to gather myself and write a review for this Farhan-Priyanka starrer. Director Shonali Bose presents this real-life story of Aisha Chaudhary with her personal touch ( she has gone through a similar thing with her son) making this movie so balanced, positive, beautiful and deals with the subject that 'death is the ultimate truth' so well that it is hard to encapsulate it in words!                                             What's Good:  Performances:  PC, Zaira, Rohit perform so exponentially well but it is Farhan who makes the maximum impact. The vulnerability, the emotions, the longing couldn't be played any better. The movie is pitch-perfect here. Music: Pritam's music is just like the cherry on the cake. Message:  What it takes about is something very relevant about life. Direction, Writing, Dialogues, Editing:  The excellent voice-overs by Aisha (played by Zaira), bose's sensitive handling of the subject, Juh

To begin with, it is not always about selecting the 'Best Film' at the Oscars. If India were to send the Best Movie to the Oscars, the Tamil movie, 'Super Deluxe' should have been a sure shot choice to send to the Oscars. But Oscars is not about sending the best of what India has, but the movie that can bring home an Oscar.                                       To begin with, this year at the Oscars, India shall have the advantage of its visibility among the 6000+ jury  members because of the movie's director Zoya Akhtar and costume designer Arjun Bhasin are among the members of the jury which also gives them a chance of networking and trying to juice in maximum votes from the jury for their film. Thus, increasing nomination chances (if not winning!)                                                History is proof that the Academy prefers movies based on the underdog stories set in rural India/slums backed by actors who bring to life the super-strong em

'The Great Indian Escape' is a movie directed by Taranjiet Singh Namdhari and stars Asheesh Kapur, Raj Singh Arora and Raghav Rishi in the lead roles. It is a true story based on the aftermath of the 1971 Indo-Pak war and an escape made by 3 Indian Air Force officers after they were held as Prisoners of War. it is a story of motivation, bravery, courage, valour and love for our motherland.                                                 What's Good:   Story:  Needless to say, the story is one of the strongest points of the TGIE. Performances: The performances by Asheesh Kapur and Raj Singh are absolutely amazing which are ably supported by the rest of the cast. Direction and Editing:  Director and Editor Taranjiet Nambi masterfully edits and directs the movie. Dialogues:  The dialogues are well-written and do not go to the 'hyper-nationalism' way. Art Direction and Set Design:  The art direction and set design are absolutely spot on. They seem to be in syn