The last 4 months of any year are a treat for movie lovers. The biggest and mostly the best movies come out during this time. The trend is attributed to a variety of things - more number of holidays due to festivals, good weather, proximity to award season and even superstition! Of course this year is no different with a slew of big budget dhamkedaar movies lined up for release. Here is a list of some of them and my take on the potential that each of them holds!
Saawariya – Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a clever man and a courageous one too. This movie has been creating an unusual amount of buzz since last year - some planted and the rest inevitable. It marks the debut of two blue blooded descendants of genuine acting talent - Sonam Kapoor (Anil Kapoor's daughter) and Ranbir Kapoor (Rishi Kapoor & Neetu Singh's son). The teaser ad is out, at least in movie halls and internet. And it is simply breathtaking! Trust SLB to make every frame look poetic and awe inspiring. Even in an almost 2 minute long trailer the faces of the lead pair have not been fully revealed. And that is just mean. Plain nasty. Very smart yeah but mean! But if you are as desperate as me to check out the two debutantes, get hold of this month’s Filmfare, which has the pair and their ‘Sir’ SLB on the cover. I must give a special mention for Sonam though – she looks so pretty. Now if only she is even half as talented as her father, the girl is here to stay. And rule. A bit of trivia – the movie also stars Rani Mukherji and Salman Khan is supporting roles. And it is based on this story. This is also the first time an international production house (Sony Pictures) is producing an Indian movie. No wonder the budgets are huge. Rs. 20 crores is being spent only on the publicity of this movie! According to me Saawariya, like all SLB movies is a high risk-high gain scenario. I am expecting a decent acting standard from Sonam and Ranbir (largely due to the director). I just hope that the movie is not too self-indulgent. Otherwise, we have winner at hand.
Aaja Nachle – As the trailer declares, Madhuri Dixit is back! And supposedly with an author backed role. Not that she really needs an author or a script writer or anybody else to back her! She is Madhuri Dixit fortheloveofGod!! Probably the last genuine female star we had! Crowds went to see movies just because she was in them, irrespective of the story, the director and in some cases even the actor! Oh, the grace, the smile, the aura. Aaja Nachle is a hit. You can check out the teaser trailer here. A friend of mine recently told me that during a movie he went to see, the trailer of Aaja Nachle was screened and as soon as Madhuri turned around her famous backside to reveal that gorgeous smile the crowd went mad!! No current actress really comes close to that which is such a pity. Well, the movie is about this aging actress who meets some young actors (Konkana Sen Sharma and Kunal Kapoor) and they ‘discuss’ things like love, life and acting! - whatever that means!
P.S. Why is it that actors, with a few notable exceptions, who are just brilliant on screen (Madhuri, Rani, Hrithik etc.) such bad interviewees?
Om Shanti Om – Hmmm…it breaks my heart to admit that the first look of this movie has been rather disappointing. SRK is actually looking sick (in the unwell sense of the word). Deepika Padukone looks so much better in TV and print ads! And it takes something to make her look ordinary!! And the music? What’s the deal, Farah? I know you are making a period film of sorts and the music needs to have a 70s feel to it but to do that you recruit Vishal-Shekhar?? For the uninitiated Vishal Shekhar (Salaam Namaste, Bluffmaster, Jhankar Beats, Dus, Musafir etc.) are specialists of new age catchy- peppy songs which are so 21st century. And they were in a rock band at one point of time – hell, Vishal even looks like a rocker!! Even Anu Malik, and it again breaks my heart to say this, would have done a better job! In one of the trailers SRK says something about the universe conspiring to help you get what you want. Isn’t that what that fool Paolo Coehlo said in that stupid Alchemist book?? But then this is exactly the kind of bull shit that our escapist mentality forces us to buy into. So maybe, it is not that stupid after all! Also, I just don’t get it. In real life Deepika is 21 and SRK is 41.75 years old. The story spans over 2 decades (1977 to 1997). SRK aging 20 years is oh well, almost ok…but are you seriously going to show Deepika age 20 years??? Or is that she has a double role…you know with the mother who dies and then her daughter grows up to look exactly like her. So basically, it’s a Lamhe meets Paolo Coehlo meets Hero Hiralal musical cum comedy cum drama cum action?! Boy, that’s a heady concoction!!
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag – The director of this movie, Pradeep Sarkar had previously made Parineeta which was a decent movie. I am sure even this won’t be a bad one. Plus its a Yashraj banner movie, has good actors, good publicity – how bad can it be? But I am not sure if it’ll really be a success. First all, it’s a story with a female protagonist and such movies traditionally don’t do well in India. And then the story itself (of a nice small town girl taking the refuge of flesh trade to support her family) has been done to death. Remember Khilona (Sanjeev Kumar, Mumtaz), Chandani Bar (Tabu) etc? And this is the kind of subject that needs to be handled with a lot of care and subtlety to be really impactful. And the grand sets and opulence of LCMD suggest just the opposite. And then there is the music. Although only one song is on air right now, it so below the musical standards that Yashraj films is known for!! I am afraid this movie might turn out to be a big waste of a good pool of talent. Sigh!
Jab We Met – Kareena and Shahid make their 4th attempt at their on screen chemistry and success. Actually I quite sympathize with them. Just because they are an off-screen couple doesn’t mean that they have to sizzle on screen too! The pressure! But really, the whole chemistry thing is so over hyped. I think that the on screen chemistry thing is a big function of the success and failure of the movie itself. Hindsight actually makes everything look so much better. Anyhow, this particular movie at the first look seems interesting. And for a change, Shahid is looking older! Maybe it’s the specs. And the lean look. The 2 of then are looking good together. Actually I am not fond of either of them separately but I really like them as a couple and I sincerely hope that they have not broken up, as the ‘news’ channels are speculating. The first song of this movie is actually in English, which is a pleasant departure from the norm. Or maybe it’s just a marketer’s brainchild based on the research findings that show that this could be a big differentiator. With the target audience of course being the SEC A/B, 15-25 yrs, M/F urban youth. God, I love marketing. Everything is so clear cut on paper and so bloody ambiguous otherwise!! But again coming back to movie, my guess is that it would be a moderate hit and finally give some respite to the cute duo.
Bhool Bhulaiya – Oh, I just love the promo song!! It is so catchy. And so Akshay Kumar - with his trademark cool dude act! The casting is good, the entire feel of the movie is so different, good promotions. And I think after a long long time (after Hera Pheri to be precise) Priyadarshan finally seems to have made a potentially funny movie! And its very surprising considering that he churns out movies at the rate of 3 a month! I can barely update my blog at that rate. I am quite looking forward to this one though.
Jodha Akbar – Like Saawariya, this movie has already been in the news for a long time. Aur kyun na ho! The Dhoom 2 superhit (and controversial!) jodi of Hrithik and Ash. Ash’s first movie after marriage. Ashutosh Gowarikar’s next after the enthralling Lagaan and intense Swades. But it’s a period movie and frankly, I can imagine a SLB doing such a movie but Gowarikar’s expertise is understatedness and earthiness. Not that I want to undermine his talent by typecasting him. Am just saying that this should be interesting. But it’s too early to say anything as of now since we are yet to see the first look. Plus, Hrithik has not done a period film till now. Wonder how he looks. On a side note, did you know that Jodha Bai was not the name of Akbar's Rajput queen? It was, in fact, the name of Jahangir's (also known as Salim) Rajput wife and their son was Shah Jahan , of the Taj Mahal fame! Actually, the entire history was sort of twisted when Mughal-e-azam was released where Jodha Bai (played by the matronly Durga Khote) was shown as Salim’s (Dilip Kumar) mother. And popular notion has never been the same again.
So, which one are you most excited about?
