Tag Archives: Madhuri Dixit

‘NFDC Film Aaj Kal’ – A Marathon of NFDC Classics In Mumbai To Begin From July 15

NFDC India is coming up with its Cinema Outreach Initiative, Film Aaj Kal, a radio show as well as the Ground-Activation event – Film Aaj Kal Screenings and Conversations to build film communities and empower the viewer.

As part of the 360-degree initiative, NFDC collaborates with 92.7 Big FM for a weekly radio show named, ‘Film Aaj Kal’ on Cinema Education and Awareness program which has the filmmakers discussing about the classics, bringing these films back to the fore.Continue reading “‘NFDC Film Aaj Kal’ – A Marathon of NFDC Classics In Mumbai To Begin From July 15”

Feminism and Badrinath Ki Dulhania

Shashank Khaitan’s Badrinath Ki Dulhania hit the theaters past weekend and this post is full of spoilers about it, so please read it only if you have seen the film.

In the one week run which completes today, the film would have collected a little over a 70 Crores Nett at the Indian Box Office. Quite a feat, for a film that is made in around 30 Crores (excluding P&A), with two actors who are less than 10 films old and a director who is just one film old. To give some context to the success, the film is, in essence, a more worthy sequel of the 2014 hit Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, both being produced by Dharma Productions. However, Badri does not share much with Humpty except for Alia Bhatt, the focal point for the feminism debate surrounding the film.Continue reading “Feminism and Badrinath Ki Dulhania”

Badrinath Ki Dulhania Movie Review: From Mads to Alia

Nostalgia is a funny thing. It has this tendency to make one romanticize even the most loathsome aspects of a given period in time. Take the Bollywood of 90’s for example. When you think about most movies from that era, you associate it with a youthful brand of romance thanks to the emergence of the Khans, politically incorrect, yet amusing lyrics, and of course, stories that were high on drama, and even melodrama for the most. But when you end up taking a deeper look, what seemed adorable at that time now ends up making you cringe inwardly such as the glorification of stalking, the harassment of women etc. Shashank Khaitan’s directorial debut, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, was an interesting take on a modern day DDLJ, and the promos of Badrinath Ki Dulhania promised yet another de-construction of 90’s movie tropes. But does it end up being a pleasant watch like its predecessor?Continue reading “Badrinath Ki Dulhania Movie Review: From Mads to Alia”

Bollywood in 2014: The Women Have it

What does the quintessential Bollywood heroine do? Other than wear skimpy clothes, dance to crazy songs with cheap lyrics and play the damsel in distress perpetually waiting for her knight in shining armor you mean? Pretty much nothing. This fact has not changed for the last 100 years of Hindi cinema’s existence.

Barring the stray “Mother India” or a Kahaani, women have very little to do in our films. They play the docile wife, the obedient daughter, the chirpy lover or the evil scheming vamp- all characters cut out in 2D with very little resemblance to anyone living or dead.Continue reading “Bollywood in 2014: The Women Have it”

The 16th Mumbai Film Festival Concludes as ‘Court’, ‘Chauranga’ and ‘Killa’ bag Top Honors

Painting a whole new world of cinema, creativity and master classes, the 16th Mumbai Film Festival organized by Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) traversed from screens straight to the cine goer’s hearts over the last 8 days. A testimony to faith of cinema patrons, the festival saw exemplary success and drew to a close with assurance to return next year with more glitz and glamour.

The closing night sparkled in the presence of celebrities such as Madhuri Dixit, Vaani Kapoor, Esha Gupta,  Parineeti Chopraand Anushka Sharma joined by business world stalwarts including Ajay Bijli, Chairman PVR, Gayatri Yadav, CMO, Star India among others and the coveted members of the Jury.Continue reading “The 16th Mumbai Film Festival Concludes as ‘Court’, ‘Chauranga’ and ‘Killa’ bag Top Honors”

20 Years of Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!: A Trip Down Memory Lane

Note- This is a personal take on HAHK on the occasion of its 20th Anniversary today (5th August, 2014) and not a typical review of the film.

Hum Aapke Hain Koun or HAHK as it is referred to popularly is an iconic movie in many ways. If I’m not mistaken the whole trend of referring to a movie’s title by its abbreviated form probably started with QSQT (Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak) before HAHK and DDLJ (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge) went on to make it look like it was something that the Indian movie audience was doing it for years together. By now it is already known to even small kids across the Country (yes even in those distant lands which probably do not even boast of a single cinema theatre even today) how Maine Pyar Kiya went on to revive the fortunes of Rajshri Productions, an age old production and distribution house which was almost on the verge of closing down due to dwindling fortunes.Continue reading “20 Years of Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!: A Trip Down Memory Lane”

The Avatars of the Stalker

There’s a thin line between being in love and being obsessed – earnestly confessing your feelings for someone and coercing someone to reciprocate to your feelings. Writers, filmmakers and other artists have been universally enamoured by the psyche of the “stalker” – the innocuous or fiendish guy or girl who pursues the person he or she is in love with. A love that borders on obsessive compulsive disorder.

Let us not confuse the stalker with the villain – the stalker doesn’t tease, pass malicious comments or try to molest / abuse / rape his beloved. On the contrary, the stalker goes all out just to convince the profundity of his or her love. In most cases, these characters are showered with sympathy – a feeling that would never arise in a real life scenario. Perhaps, just to neutralise the same, the stalkers are also meted out a tragic destiny, to highlight the dismal eventuality of such obsession or for creative justification.

The portrayal of the obsessed lover has varied, not necessarily commensurate with the change in the social milieu, but definitely in a way that could play to the gallery. In this post, I look at six films, which have glorified the stalker – the silent lover whose mania gradually overpowers the love, transgressing into the other’s person life, and eventually bringing both of them down. However, I have ignored any film (read the “Sleeping with the Enemy” remakes and the likes) in which the victim and her tormentor have a shared past.Continue reading “The Avatars of the Stalker”

The Day I Lived My Dream

Madhuri DixitI am standing in the audience rows of the set amongst the commotion and last minute preparations for the days shoot. The rain outside does nothing to cool the temperatures inside the studio where about a 100 people are running amok as the sound system gives way during the last dress rehearsal. And then the moment arrives.

Every single heart skips a beat as the set comes to a standstill, the speakers all of a sudden start playing “Badi Mushkil” from Lajja – all eyes turn towards the entrance of the set.

Flashing the trade mark smile, hair characteristically let loose, dressed in her gym clothes, she smiles that million dollar smile of hers. Madhuri Dixit Nene is in the house.Continue reading “The Day I Lived My Dream”

Station (2014) Movie Review: Thrills Deserted

Language : Hindi | Running Time : 95 Minutes | Director : Saad Khan

The most telling scene which depicts everything that depicts everything good and bad about Saad Khan‘s “Station”, reportedly Bangalore’s first Hindi film, is one pivotal moment in a waiting room of a railway station. There are three people, Fani Bhushan(Hardik Sha), Arihant a.k.a Ari(Sameer Kevin Roy) and Bhaktiyar(Siddhanth KS) arguing. Fani Bhushan leaves the scene to go to the restroom and like in well directed and produced school plays or theater plays, the scene “exits” and we are shown the exit through an overhead shot. The set looks to be very theatrical too and Fani Bhushan’s exit and the camera moving to the restroom are all take away’s from a good play. Station, a feature film, gives away cinematic impact and suffers a hangover pertinent to a production fit for stage. This scene starts a set of twists and turns and the scene that’s supposed to elevate the cinematic proceedings but rather than elevate, it diffuses what little cinematic impact it had till then and loses itself to become a theater experience being documented shoddily.Continue reading “Station (2014) Movie Review: Thrills Deserted”