A lot of movies have been shot in Kashmir and have stories based on the Kashmir issue. Hritik Roshan Mission Kashmir was shot in Kashmir. Movies like LOC too had portions shot in different locations of Kashmir. Songs are often shot in Shikara’s too give it the Kashmiri feel. Hope the makers in this area just decide to not get stopped by the terrorism and make more movies in Kashmir so that the world can see the natural beauty of this place.
Yester years star Waheeda Rehmann visited Kashmir after 26 years and this is what she had to say ” Kashmir used to be the favorite shooting spot for all Indian filmmakers in 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and we’ve always loved to be here. I’m a little disheartened to see the condition of the Dal Lake, whose waters used to be crystal clear. Encroachments all along Dal, too many people and lack of hygiene among the people have spoiled my mood. The silver lining, however, is that normalcy is returning to Kashmir, which could be a harbinger of a new era for the people of the valley”.

Kashmir has given Bollywood stars like Kiran Kumar, Anupam Kher, Sanjay Suri, Jeevan and a new star Rahul Bhatt. Onkar Aima is another famous personality from Kashmir. Child artist turned hero Kunal Khemu too is a Kashmiri gift to Bollywood.

The hype is certainly there, but the question remains, will “Kites” which is a dramatic departure from the usual Roshan FilmKraft Bollywood masala film, live up to audience’s expectations? Adding to expectations is the fact that this is Hrithik’s first appearance on the silver screen in two years.

For Hrithik and Rakesh Roshan, “Kites” is an interesting gamble as it’s a film that features a Mexican lead actress, is filmed with a lot of English and Spanish dialogue, is a FilmKraft production that has a director known for thinking outside the masala box (Anurag Basu), has a unique English version called, “Kites – The Remix” (directed by “Rush Hour” director Brett Ratner who cut the film down to ninety minutes and added a more westernized soundtrack), and is set/filmed entirely in/around Las Vegas and the Santa Fe area.

So on that Sunday evening, the lights dimmed, and the film’s first reel started playing…as the audience went into a cinematic trance….

“Holds the twine in his hands What has destiny planned Will the heart understand Kites in the sky Soaring together lovers forever Forever is a lie..”

The lyrics, “Lovers forever…. forever is a lie”, is a very telling statement about a film like “Kites” that is part romantic film, part chase/revenge film, and part mystery film. Director Anurag Basu’s screenplay (also co-written by Robin Bhatt, Akarsh Khanna, and Rakesh Roshan) is fairly straightforward and avoids the typical Bollywood masala situations. You won’t find clichéd storytelling (though the overall plot of the film is one that has been seen before in various Hollywood and Bollywood films in terms of lovers on the run), the screenplay’s strength is in how the characters J (Hrithik Roshan) and Linda/Natasha (Barbara Mori) are brought together in a clever and interesting way. From there it provides sufficient twists ‘n’ turns on the journey of these two lovers who come from totally different places. J is the scam artist who always misses the get rich quick boat due to bad luck, and Natasha is desperately trying to make some easy money in order to support her poor family back in Mexico. How these two meet, and are torn apart forms the crux of the film. The ending, which I won’t give away here, is one that is inevitable and a break from the Bollywood norm.

The dialogues deserve special mention, as it is always kept natural and does not at any point seem overly dramatic. The balancing between Hindi, English and Spanish could have been a disaster, but is handled well. It’s a credit to the screenplay that the love between Hrithik and Barbara is set up in a few very pivotal scenes that rely on actions other than dialogues to convey emotions of a burgeoning love (simmering glances, shadows against the wall). Humor comes out in the exchanges between the two star crossed lovers and it never seems forced.

Cinematography by Ayananka Bose is beautifully creative. The depravity of Las Vegas and scenic wonder of Santa Fe is captured perfectly by his lens. Of particular beauty are the scenes that take place in the rain, which holds a symbolic theme throughout the film and appears at critical points during the movie.

The stunts in the film are high caliber and also are choreographed realistically. You won’t find any super kung fu kicks or mind bogglingly gravity defying stunts. Rather, you’ll find that the action blends in organically with the story, and emphasizes the inherent threat of death for J (Hrithik) and Natasha (Barbara).

“The schedule is over! I am broken n bruised, and resting today surrounded by family. There is nothing like love and cuddles to heal the body and soul,” says the actor. Roshan has been reported to have been rehearsing aloud on his balcony pracitising hard to ensure that he gives out his best for the film which is slated to be one where he could easily bag multiple awards.

Guzarish is the second film after Koi Mil Gaya where he plays a medically unfit character.

He is not only celebrated for his outstanding acting talent but also known for gravity defying dance moves.
Hrithik is a class performer, who knows how to push boundaries every time he takes up new acting assignments. News has it that in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s much awaited flick ‘Guzaarish’, the hunk of an actor will be playing a paraplegic, who performs lyrical jazz dance for the first time in any Bollywood film.

Talking to a news daily, a close source said, “It’s the first time lyrical jazz as a dance form will be seen in a Hindi film.”

Recently, Hrithik too spoke about his amazing dance experience on social networking site Twitter by saying, “Did lyrical jazz dance 4 Guzaarish. Best dance experience ever! Thanks to Ashley Lobo and his team! His dancing is like an out of body experience!”

Lyrical jazz is an exotic dance form where dancer uses expressions, thereby inducing deep desires, emotions and feelings in an exquisite manner.

Abhishek Bachchan’s wife Aishwarya Rai has already acted in Hollywood movies like ‘Pink Panther’ and now hubby dear seems to be taking inspiration from her to go for an international audience through Hollywood flicks. However, Abhishek Bachchan, who is son of legendary Amitabh Bachchan, made it clear that he was not interested in doing bit roles in Hollywood flicks and instead would continue to dance around trees in bollywood flicks.

Abhi went a step further and predicted that the day was not far when Hollywood biggies would be doing roles (Arnold Schwarzenegger has already done in ‘Kambakkht Ishq’ starring Kareena and Akshay Kumar) and dancing in them along with forty other dancers.

However, on a serious note Abhishek Bachchan felt that in this age of globalization the boundary walls were crumbling very fast between the cinemas of different countries. For example, even bollywood flicks like ‘Paa’ employed ace make up artists from Hollyood for the character of ‘Auro’ played by Amitabh Bachchan.

The exchange of technical expertise, especially for special effects from Hollywood and other parts of the world, has already begun and the process is likely to gain further momentum in coming days. All this ultimately will blur the lines drawn between cinemas of different countries and the artists would have freedom to work and experiment anywhere.

Movies in India are basically made with a lot of spices. In India a movie has to have song, dance, romance, thrill, suspense, comedy, action, family drama etc. People in India work for ten hours a day and that too during the main part of the day and so many of them return to a home with no entertainment. The only available entertainment is movies. Whether a business tycoon or a cycle rickshaw driver all want to watch movies. So when a movie is made the makers have to keep in mind both the masses and the classes.

Indian cinema has improved drastically and now the audience is very mature too. They still want song and dance but not the running around tree sequences. So now there is a new market for item songs. This is where a nice fast track is made only for a great dancer to dance and increase the sales. Some of the top songs have been Babuji zara dhere chalo, khallas etc.

Movies were made particularly for the masses and the multiplex crowd. But now the viewers want to see good movies with great stories. Earlier the hero carried the entire movie on his shoulders but now the load is evenly spread. A movie will do well even if you don’t have a great star cast but have a great story and your actors do a job. A good example for this would be Khosla Ka Ghosla. There is nobody you can call the hero of the film but it’s realistic and humorous.

In three hours the audience wants to laugh, cry and be excited and so it’s a tough task for the directors but then hats off to all Indian directors as they come up with something spicy enough to fulfill the needs of all types of viewers.

Each movie has the main story and a lot of other small stories that build around it. At times in stories there may not be any scope for comedy. A lot of directors use other characters and bring in another funny plot. This comedy has no link with the movies. In the past people accepted this kind of comedy too but nowadays the audience accepts comedy only when it’s a part of the main story.

People who want to watch emotions are very particular about the quality of the emotions too. If you can’t cry or deliver the dialogues properly the audience rejects the star immediately. The stars have to be convincing enough. This is where the director’s ability is tested. The comedy has to be timed properly and the tears have to be realistically shed.

Movies in India have been made with a lot of respect for family values and traditions. Every movie which shows any function has to do it in the right way. If there is a wedding song in a movie it not only becomes a hit. It becomes a part of every Indian wedding. Movies like Hum Saath Saath Hain and Hum Apke Hain Kaun have been very very big hits because each and every scene of the movie is actually what happens in joint families and in weddings.

A movie when made in India has to be made in such a way that both a 5 year kid and an 85 year old grand father both have to enjoy it. It has to have a great story, touching performances, lovely music, breath taking locations, great dance steps and of course a really bad villain whom the hero has to bash up even if he is on the death bed.

This is true bollywood ishtyle where anything can happen. The hero can beat up any number of guys. The heroine can cry without glycerin. The villain is always ugly to look at. The police will never reach on time to save people. It’s only up to the hero to do all the running around, saving and bashing up. The heroines will always be wearing great makeup even if its in the middle of the night. Mother in laws can’t be good and the daughter in law will only worry about everybody else’s happiness and not hers. This is apna bollywood with all these errors but still it is the biggest film industry in the world. Nearly thrice the number of movies is made each year than the number of days in a year. If you are a movie buff then there is no place like bollywood because there is nothing that you can’t find here.

Producer: Shawn Levy, Ira Shuman, Robert Simonds
Director: Harald Zwart
Starring: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Steve Martin, Jean Reno, Alfred Molina, Andy Garcia, Emily Mortimer, Yuki Matsuzaki, John Cleese, Lily Tomlin, Jeremy Irons
Music: Christophe Beck.

Film Released on: 30 June 2009

The film is the sequel to the 2006 film of the same name starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau. This time around, the inspector must team up with detectives from other countries to rout the daring cat burglar, The Tornado, who has returned after a decade of inactivity. Aishwarya plays a criminology expert from India named Sonia.

The classic Blake Edwards Pink Panther 2 films starring Peter Sellers as the clumsy Inspector Jacques Clouseau cast a long shadow over the current modern remakes starring Steve Martin as the iconic lead character. Any comparison would find the new film lacking in the sophistication of the original movies. So, it’s with a jaded view that I began viewing the new “Pink Panther 2” and I will be honest, my main reason for seeing this was to see how Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan would do in a full blown Hollywood film, but I’ll talk more about that later.
To be honest, the best part of the ”Pink Panther 2” is the animated Pink Panther short that is shown while the beginning titles scroll by. The wit, humor and physical comedy harkens back to the original Pink Panther concept. Unfortunately, once the actual live action film begins, we are treated to a series of slapstick moments that seem to have been strung together on a wafer (or half a wafer) thin plot. Director Harald Zwart presents everything in a very straightforward manner that almost leaves the viewer with an extreme feeling of watching a generic movie in a generic world that fits every stereotypical mold you could ever imagine. In other words, there is none of the panache that Blake Edwards breathed into the classic films that this remake is based on. ]]> http://www.bestindianfilms.com/blog/new-filmpink-panther-2/feed/ 0 http://www.bestindianfilms.com/blog/new-film-review-runway/ http://www.bestindianfilms.com/blog/new-film-review-runway/#comments Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:57:43 +0000 vcode http://bestindianfilms.com/blog/?p=194 Amarjeet Shukla, the lead protagonist in the bollywood film, becomes a contract killer to save the life of his lady love Deepal Shaw, who is dying due to drug usage. He comes in touch with people like Sharat Saxena who plays underworld English speaking kingpin who wears dark shades, is surrounded by those 80s style left over blue-n-white drums and announces – ‘I am not interested in your love story; I want brave people’.

When a filmmaker doesn’t have any story to tell, he tries to perk up the narrative by using jump cuts, freeze frames and other technical wizardry – last year it was seen in “Woodstock Villa”, this year it’s in “Runway”.Amarjeet’s friend, who introduces him to the Don also warns him – ‘He is a man of commitment, so be careful.’

It’s just that the ‘man of commitment’ himself is nowhere to be seen in the entire second half as his henchman pairs up with Amarjeet to do rest of the killing. Worse, one doesn’t quite understand who is killing whom and what’s the purpose behind that?

So Amarjeet presses the trigger for the first time and just when he gets hold on a fake passport to fly back into India, courtesy Tulip, he decides to skip his flight and return to the mean streets.

By the way, Tulip plays a girl in a dance bar who ‘cannot be afforded’, as stated by one of her junior colleagues. She sings ‘bhojpuri’ songs, speaks English, lives in Mauritius, fears a Pakistani don and falls in love with an Indian. A true ambassador of globalisation.

Talking about Mauritius, one needs to give a rap on the knuckles of the person who created that fancy software that plays on Amarjeet’s laptop. Mauritius is spelt as ‘Muritus’ along with at least a couple of more English errors that is embarrassingly displayed on the big screen. Moreover, the film’s tagline ‘Love Among Gun Shots’ isn’t syntactically correct either! But then who would have cared about such minor things when there are bigger and far more glaring loopholes in the indian films…

New York that has John Abraham, Neil and Katrina kaif in lead role begins in the United States in 2008 with the arrest by the FBI of Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh), a young Muslim man originally from Delhi, after guns were found in the trunk of a taxi cab he had been driving.

New York-Bollywood film

New York features John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh, and is set against the backdrop of the 9/11 terror attacks on the New York city.Neil is then taken into custody and interrogated by FBI Agent Roshan (Irrfan Khan), also a Muslim man originally from South Asia who has been living in the United States for twenty years.

After a period of time, Omar discovers that he is wanted by the FBI in order to spy on a former college friend, Samir or Sam (John Abraham), whom he hasn’t seen in seven years and who the FBI believes is a terrorist. In the process, he discovers that Sam has married Maya (Katrina Kaif), another college friend, and that they have a young son, Danyal (Aidan Wagner).

Roshan orders Omar to tell him everything he knows about Sam. The film then flashes back to September 1999 when Omar begins New York State University as an international student on scholarship. He is befriended by Maya who is his student counselor.

The average occupancy in multiplexes for the weekend stood at around 80-85 per cent, the highest since January, according to trade experts who track films’ collections. This was mainly on account of the release of New York and Terminator Salvation.
This is significant for both Bollywood and the 250-plus multiplexes, as they saw the monthly box office collections plummet to around Rs 10-15 crore, especially for April and May, when film producers and exhibitors were on a strike, which saw almost no new Hindi film release.