Tag Archives: SRK

25 Years of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ): What Makes the Film So Special Even Today

There are films of all kinds that we are exposed to, very few of them go on to become commercially successful and maintain their iconic status despite the passage of time. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge or DDLJ as it is more popularly known as, is one of the rare films to have that distinction. There has been enough and more that has been written about the film, with people praising the film for various aspects, while even attracting some criticism for its cheesiness, overtly sentimental nature and emphasis on a more old school romantic style and family values. So, let me not try and analyze the film per se, as that would simply not make sense, nor will it add any new insight into the film otherwise. So, what does this write-up intend to do? Simple, it is about why the film deserves all the love and appreciation that has been coming its way, and how I have evolved with the film over the course of these 25 years.Continue reading “25 Years of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ): What Makes the Film So Special Even Today”

DDLJ: Cutting across 3 decades. My Personal Ode & Journey with the Film

20th October 1995 was the first time DDLJ released in cinemas. I was 7 when I first watched the film at G7 Cinemas, Bandra with my parents. Little did I know that I would end up getting lost in the magical world that I was experiencing on screen. Tears rolled down my cheeks when I saw Amrish Puri slap SRK right before the climax sequence and I held my mother’s arms as each slap echoed in the pin drop silence inside the cinema packed with thousand people. I felt ecstatic when Kajol ran towards the stretched arm of SRK extending from the door of a running train in the end. I was mesmerized by the story that I narrated the entire film to my friends in school. When the songs came on the television, I would stop everything and listen attentively. Couple of months later, we revisited the theatre to watch DDLJ again. It was the same scenario as the first – a packed house with the same emotions. As a kid, I knew this film would stay with me forever. Continue reading “DDLJ: Cutting across 3 decades. My Personal Ode & Journey with the Film”

Kaamyaab (2020) Movie Review: When the lights go off!

Oh, those faces!

Those familiar faces we have seen numerous times as we revisit the movie classics and hits from yesteryear. Faces that are very much part of the movies that we grew up with. Many of them without whom those iconic scenes are never complete. And yet unfortunately,  many of them remain faces with their names still unknown to many.Continue reading “Kaamyaab (2020) Movie Review: When the lights go off!”

Ittefaq (2017) Movie Review: He Said, She Said!

It is funny how the making of the original Ittefaq back in 1969 came about due to an unfortunate coincidence, an injury to the leading lady of Aadmi Aur Insaan, Saira Banu, leading to her leaving for London to recuperate for 2 months. Owing to this unforeseen delay, Yash Chopra figured he had to make a movie within 2 months, and after coming across a Gujarati drama, Dhoomas, adapted from a famous English play, Signpost To Murder, decided to adapt it to the big screen with a then-upcoming Rajesh Khanna and the reigning matinee queen, Nanda. Almost 50 years later, BR Studios comes out with yet another songless crime-thriller, but the question remains, is the title the only similarity to the original?Continue reading “Ittefaq (2017) Movie Review: He Said, She Said!”

Jab Harry Met Sejal Movie Review: Tab Head Met Wall!

There’s a moment, bang in the middle of Jab Harry Met Sejal, when one of the titular characters remarks snidely “This is silly, we need to get out of here”, and you end up thinking to yourself, what if the same had been said by Aditya to Geet (Jab We Met) or Tara to Ved (Tamasha), the seeming voices of reason asking a dreamer to change course, to not fly too close to the sun, to stop sprinting and take a breath. When the promos of JHMS first showed up, it seemed like yet another Imtiaz Ali tale of two strangers in a strange land, but when the two strangers happen to be Shahrukh Khan and Anushka Sharma, can the magic of Jab We Met, the soulfulness of Highway and the pathos of Tamasha be captured again on celluloid?Continue reading “Jab Harry Met Sejal Movie Review: Tab Head Met Wall!”

On receiving threat calls, calling Paresh Rawal a 3.00 am friend and more: Director Rahul Dholakia Gets Candid!

The first episode of Talk Shop is out where director Rahul Dholakia, spills the beans about his journey from running a dance competition in USA to making the blockbuster film Raees, his encounter with terrorists while researching for film, his story of how he ended up working with some of the stars since his first film and much more – packed in a 30 minute episode. Continue reading “On receiving threat calls, calling Paresh Rawal a 3.00 am friend and more: Director Rahul Dholakia Gets Candid!”

Raees vs Kaabil: Clash of the Titans?

Jan 25th was slated to be the battle of the stars- Shahrukh and Hrithik battling it out with Raees and Kaabil respectively. The swords were all out with both the parties battling it out with their PR machinery. Some even called it as a mentor-pupil battle. And it mattered for both the stars as their previous movies were almost a washout (Fan and Mohenjo Daro).Continue reading “Raees vs Kaabil: Clash of the Titans?”

Raees Movie Review: Once Upon A Late Latif

It’s all Ram Gopal Varma’s fault. Till he showed up with Satya, Company etc, we were so used to the trope of the gangster being a modern day Robin Hood, a leader of the community, a do-gooder on the wrong path etc, that when we were exposed to what gangsters really are, ordinary men and women with a gun, who let their ego come in the way of reason, flawed human beings who may be larger than life for a few fleeting moments, but end up the victim of either the system, or their own hubris.Continue reading “Raees Movie Review: Once Upon A Late Latif”

Dear Zindagi Movie Review: Talking Heads

There is always a certain amount of anticipation that comes with watching an acclaimed director’s follow up to an acclaimed debut feature. When the promos for Gauri Shinde’s debut, English Vinglish first showed up highlighting the return of Sridevi to the big screen, one did approach the film with trepidation as most comeback efforts in Bollywood have displayed a tendency to either be dead on arrival, or crash and burn, Madhuri Dixit’s Aaja Nachle and the Big B’s Mrityudaata coming to mind.Continue reading “Dear Zindagi Movie Review: Talking Heads”