Looking back at Q1 and looking forward to the next 9 months of the Indian Film Industry

This year has had a good start for the Indian Film Industry in terms of the quality, range and response to the films that have released.

Clearly there have only been three films in the first three months that have made their mark on critics and audiences alike and that is the only criteria of being featured here. This has become like a selection for the IIM’s where critical acclaim and box office collections are given equal weightage. The three medal winners of Q1 are as follows (in case you have missed out on these then DVD or D2H are options)

1.Special 26

2.Kai Po Che

3.Jolly LLB

Looking ahead here are my recommendations for you to take out that credit card and use it on Book My Show for the remaining 9 months of calendar 2013.

 

April

1.Ek Thi Daayan

 

May

2.Yeh Jawaani Hai Diwani

 

June

3.Fukrey

4.Ghanchakkar

 

July

5.Bhag Milkha Bhag

 

Aug

6.Satyagraha

7.Madras Café

 

Sep

8.Bullet Raja

 

Oct

9.Besharam

 

Dec

10.Shaadi Ke Side Effects

11.Dhoom-3

Nautanki Saala,Bombay Talkies, Go Goa Gone and Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 are special mentions which I will definitely watch even if they do not form part of the list.

Kuch Waqt to Guzaariye Gujarat Mein

Kuch Waqt to Guzaariye Gujarat Mein

The recent advertisements on television and radio by O&M (Ogilvy and Mather) with the impeccable Amitabh Bachchan have been a great hit. I visited Gujarat this January and was enthralled by some of these places that M/S Bachchan and Pandey (Piyush Pandey of O&M) have promoted.

1.Gir Forest

Gir-home to the Asiatic lion is in close proximity to the erstwhile princely state of Junagarh. This was the primary entertainment zone of the Nawab of Junagarh who used to invite the royals of other states for a game of BIG CAT hunting, but all that changed when the nawab sahib found out that the population of the lions has fallen to around 20. What started then has translated into 450 lions in the present Gir forest (one of the greatest preservation stories around the world). The time I sat on the jeep to the time we entered the jungle was a great adrenalin rush, there was a moment when the guide stopped the vehicle near a water pond in anticipation that the lions will come to have a sip, but it was not to be. Finally our moment arrived when a wireless message came that there are 4 lionesses on route no.9. They were soaking the sun after devouring a Deer and were totally oblivious to the fact that our vehicle stopped just 100 meters away from them. It was one of the greatest sights of my entire existence on this earth, what added to the glory was the fact that as per the tour guide it took Mr.Bachchan three safaris to spot a lion while we hit the Jackpot on the first.

2.Somnath Temple

There are 12 Jyotirlings (shrine of Lord Shiva) in India and Somnath is considered to be the first. Somanth is not only a place of worship but a statement of the undying faith in the power of the almighty as the temple which has been destroyed 16 times by Invaders from West Asia has been rebuilt each time with even greater faith. The sight of the temple at edge of Arabian Sea is to seen to be believed. The Aarti is a reminder of the connection between man and the master; you forget yourself to find your own self.

3.Diu-Nothing out of this world but indeed a cool alternative to Goa, Diu is a union territory hence alcohol is available, you can relax and spend time on the lovely beaches, Diu has its own airport and that ads to the charm.

4.Rann Of Kutch-This is another spectacle which is worth a visit, the pristine white sands in the moonlit night of Kutch. I am not a big fan of desserts because of the symbolic reason and more a fan of water reservoirs, but this is something which is worth a visit if you land in Gujarat.

Gujarat has improved tremendously over the last few years with a massive budget, a great advertising campaign, strict law and order situation and great roads. The inflow of the tourists will increase  in the coming years and rightly so. Gujarat Tourism is going to give some very stiff competition to old heavyweights like Rajasthan, Kerala, Goa and Agra.

The question is who is behind this great success story

1.Is it the great governance of Modi
2.Is it the creativity of Ogilvy and Piyush Pandey
3.Is it the Bachchan effect

Whatever it is, it is working well and hence a salute to M/S Bachchan, Pandey and Modi.

DHOOP KINARE (At the edge of the Sunshine)

DHOOP KINARE (At the edge of the Sunshine)

 

Raat yun dil mein teri  khoyi hui yaad aayi,

Jaise viraane mein chupke se bahaar aa jaye,
Jaise sahraon mein haule se chale baad-ae-naseem,

Jaise bimaar ko be-wajaah qaraar aa jaaye. 

Translation in English 

Last night your faded memory came to me
As in the wilderness spring comes quietly,
As, slowly, in the desert, moves the breeze,
As,  to   a  sick  man, without cause, comes peace

 

These lines in Urdu were written by FAIZ AHMED FAIZ , I heard it for the first time in a Pakistani drama DHOOP KINARE which was written by Haseena Moin, in case you have missed out on DHOOP KINARE just grab a cd or go to you tube and watch it, I have seen it at least 40 times and in fact sitting across all the corners of the giant living room(or Mardana) we had in the haveli of Chandni Chowk. The work of Faiz is immortal but hearing it in the backdrop of the performances of RAHAT KAZMI and MARINA KHAN was indeed magical.

 

Penned by HASEENA MOIN one of the gems is as follows- the father of the leading lady saw that she was visibly upset one day ,so he walked up to her and said  

 “ Jaane baba ye jo tumhara chehra hai naa, ye mere dil pe bana hai,

 is pe zara bhi shikan aaye to mere dil pe gubaar chha jata hai”

 

DHOOP KINARE was a part of growing up, for me it was as endearing as a trip to the nearby park or chatter with friends or eating at my favourite joint. The chemistry, the performances, the dialogues were all brilliant. So in case you have missed out on this work of art, do catch it, it is highly recommended.

RANG BARSE

RANG BARSE bheege chunar wali rang barse, are kaine mari pichkari tori bheegi angiya, O rangrasiya rangrasiya ho….

As Holi approaches us there is sense of joy and concern (for some people) on getting splashed in gulal and synthetic colours, listening to songs on the terrace and yes eating sweets and going berserk.

1.Colours- There are various types available in the market , depending on who you are, what is your state of mind and who is going to face your blitzkrieg. It will be herbal gulal for the elders , sari dying colour for the friend who only meets you twice a year, printing ink for the friend who applied grease on you last holi and so on and so forth.

2.Music- There are a barrage of songs out there dedicated to holi from Bachhan in Silsila to Dharmendra in Sholay and Anupam Kher in Darr, they have all contributed generously to the fun element of this festival. There is only one rule here, the 1km radius rule, if your music is not audible in a radius of 1 km from your terrace then you aint playin it baby.

3.Food- To do justice to the spirit and delicacies cooked on holi you need to have the PRASHAD first, translated as BHANG KI KULFI, after couple of bhang ki kulfis (the apparent difference is that they are green in colour compared to your regular yellow kulfi) you will not even realise that you have gulped 10-15 puris with loads of matar panir and your dil (heart) will definitely ask for more.

4.Friends-This is the most special ingredient of holi , as nobody can chase you, pull you down and rangofy you like your friends, these are the same set of people who have been doing this for years and will again do a good job of making you a colourful clown, they will ensure that you are a picture of envy and even your parents and relatives would not be able to recognise you after the drill.

Wishing all a very happy and colourful holi, may your colour stick on for days and weeks.

EXPLORING OPTIONS ON THE WEEKEND-DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

A friend recently told me that how people reacting differently to the same situations/options could be an interesting feed for my blog.

This makes me wonder what are those situations/options in the first place which brings out the black or white, dravid or dhoni, apples or oranges out of different people.

Exploring options on the weekend can be an interesting case study

1.       The Couch Potato/The Lazer Dazer- This person just loves to be on the sofa (sofa being the synonym for holiday) along with the usual culprits newspapers, magazines, chips and the Kingpin the REMOTE CONTROL. The music system, the wall mounted television set and the print media become your best friends. The dress code is Jockey boxers and Levis T shirts along with the trusted ally the Bata Chappals.

 

2.       The Shopping Mall Maniac/The Multiplex Maverick-This person thinks it is absolutely criminal to sit at home on weekends and here the Credit Card is the synonym for a holiday. Shopping bags, food court vouchers and popcorn in the multiplex is Nirvana. The dress code becomes a little more formal with the Levis Strauss & Co taking centerstage with their showpiece denim jeans popping up like a uniform across these malls and multiplexes.

 

3.       The Social Butterfly /The Party Hopper- You got to love the spirit here, meeting your friends, relatives , acquaintances is the order of the weekend, be it a barbeque on the terrace on a balmy Saturday evening, or a brunch with your cousins at the local eatery on asunday morning, it can also be a pooja at home (Kurta Pajama is the order of the day) followed by hot puri bedmi what else. The Kurta Pajama makes way for the John Travoltaesque deep purple shirt for an outing with friends in the evening.

 

4.       Desh oops Ghar Ka Sipahi- This person thinks that Kishore Biyani must have been related to him in some other life as most of his/her time is spent in Big Bazaar. This person can clearly tell you the difference between all forms of lentils available in the hypermarket. Dettol, lizol and harpic doesn’t only clean the home but also cleans the soul can be vouched by this person.

NATIONAL FILM AWARDS 2013

THE NATIONAL FILM AWARDS have been announced and it warms the cockles of your heart to see that some of the performances that you have enjoyed and talked about throughout the year have been felicitated at the national level.

Best Actor -Irfan Khan- The man is a legend who has only grown in stature since his HAASIL days (tum chale jao nahi to maar denge) has been rewarded for the depiction of another legend PAAN SINGH TOMAR. The story was based on real life story of PAAN SINGH a national athlete who became a dacoit. Jungle me to baghi hote hain , dacait to parliament me hote hai.

Best Supporting Actor -Annu Kapoor- He has been an artist of the highest order for over two decades, his performance as Dr.Chaddha was a breath of fresh air which elevated the role of the supporting actor to a level seen in classics like Pran in Zanjeer, Kishore Kumar in Padosan, Anil Kapoor in Taal and Arjun Rampal in Rock on.

Best Supporting Actress-Dolly Ahluwalia- Many people believe it was Juhi Trivedi (the scripwriter) who won these accolades for Dolly for writing such a brilliant character that tugged at people’s hearts. The mother, who was running a beauty parlor, was concerned about her son’s unemployment and wanted to accommodate all her mother in law’s wishes. The scene when she climbs up the terrace with her knees aching and with a cup of tea for her mother in law was surreal.

Best Screenplay- Sujoy Ghosh- presented a Kolkata which was as enchanting as Vidya Balan in KAHAANI and even though it may sound clichéd but Kolkata was actually like a character in Kahaani, telling its own story. For people who have never been to cal (I am one of them) it was a beautiful journey through the by lanes of cal for the search of a man who did not exist (or actually for a man who existed but would not appear)

NARENDRABHAI is back at the INDIA TODAY CONCLAVE

NARENDRABHAI is back –in Delhi that is, to attend the INDIA TODAY CONCLAVE. He attended, he retorted, roared and not to miss he conquered.

The moderator was the owner of the India Today group Aroon Purie (hope I have spelt this correctly, as this definitely is not my father’s name, he likes to keep it simple Arun Puri) assisted by the young and restless Rahul Kanwal ,the Managing Editor of Headlines Today-yes that is true.

They questioned and modi answered, they probed and modi thundered- the audience (who were mostly the high heeled and influential sorts) applauded. The audience both at the TAJ and those at home listened to the pied piper with rapt attention ( I can at least vouch for my living room).

The more I listen to the man, the more convinced I become about certain decisions that I as a voter will be asked to make 12 months down the line.

There were statements which could shake up (in a mind boggling positive way) the global investment community in New York and London. On being asked on his views on disinvestment, he replied that I think it is not the business of the government to do business (translated as socialism is dead and long live capitalism).

Questions ranged from the prime ministerial candidature to relations with Pakistan, to the unavoidable 2002 riots, to the more populist growth and development plank.

You can love him or hate him but can’t ignore him is an old saying about great characters, Modi is definitely one of them my friends (or as he would say Mitro –my dear friends).