The title is a lift off from the movie “In the Mood for Love”, which I’ll try to review in this post. Since you’re already bored of reading about Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Farah Khan, I’ll give my take on the much talked about “Om Shanti Om” and “Saawariya” at the very end of this post.
In the Mood for Love: This is the first Wong Kar-Wai movie that I’ve seen; so, I won’t be drawing conclusions about him just yet.
Plot: Two neighbors who realize that their spouses are cheating on them and purport never to do that. Yet, their secret meetings give the viewer another impression. Here’s the link to the trailer.
What did I like in the movie?
- Maggie Cheung: She’s so pretty and her lovely dresses in this movie accentuate her beautiful face and eyes.
Cinematography: Christopher Doyle Pin Bing Lee have raised this movie to another scale because of their state of the art camera moves. I simply loved the shots of the cramped alleys when Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow casually brush against each other.
Direction: One of the most amazing things about this movie are the “rehearsals” where the lead actors “act” like something really has happened. Of course, they’re only “practicing” to prepare themselves for the inevitable. Wong Kar Wai tricked me the first couple of times- both the lead actors take turns in flirting with each other; Mrs. Chan confronts Mr. Chan (only the back of his head is shown to give the impression that Mrs. Chan is speaking to her husband) regarding his mistress; and the final rehearsal where they prepare to part ways.
WKW has used these rehearsals as a tool to explore deeper emotions that are only tangentially visible on the surface. It depicts the people of Hong Kong in the ’60s, who were quite shy and conservative and very different from their Western counterparts. If this were a Hollywood movie, then there would have been loud emotions and lots of loud scenes, crying to seek your attention.
Most of the frames in this scene are silent, with lots of camera movement that capture the transition in the lives of the lead actors painlessly.
Music: The Waltz score that plays in the background is melancholic and one of the best movie scores of all times.
What I didn’t like?
My biggest complain is that the screen goes blank way too often. WKW has over-used this particular style. It gets quite annoying after some time.
The hypocrisy of the lead characters is something that didn’t appeal to me. They say that they never want to cheat on their partners and that all that they seek is companionship. Then why exactly do they have such secret rendezvous? Going for dinner is hardly a bad thing to do. Two adults don’t need to have sex to cheat on their partners.
The movie was way too slow. Yes, I agree that every scene was cinematic beauty, but even then, I found myself looking at the watch quite often. The scenes are a tad repetitive.
Rating: 8/10
****
Om Shanti Om: Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan’s new, over hyped venture.
Plot: Young junior artist, Om Prakash Makhija, idolizes hazaaron dilon ki mallika, Shanti. He doesn’t win her over in that birth, but vouches to get her next time. A rebirth, lots of dhishoom dishoom and ’70s bashing with some good songs thrown in. Here’s the trailer.
First off, I need to admit that I never wanted to watch this movie. In fact, I saw the trailer of this movie only two days before its release date. Anyway, it’s much better than the self proclaimed badshah of Bollywood Sanjay Leela Bansali’s Saawariya.
Likes?
Deepika Padukone: Aankhon mein tere, ajab si ajab si addayein hain 🙂 She looks smashing and I disagree with media reports that claim that she doesn’t live up to the “Dreamy Girl” image in the movie. She has all the ingredients to make it in this Bollywood industry- good height, figure, features, acting and amazing dancing capabilities. It was a treat watching her in the songs Ajab Si Ajab Si and Dhoom Tana.
Rishi Kapoor Opening Song: This was an interesting idea! I love this song and it was quite befitting. Though it would have been better if SRK hadn’t visualized himself as Rishi Kapoor 😐
References to the ’70s: The dressing of the lead actors SRK, Deepika and Sreyas Talpade was top notch. Even the dialogues weren’t bad.
…can’t think of anything else that I liked.
Dislikes?
The plotline: SRK has already worked in Karan Arjun that had a reincarnation theme. Then, why this movie? (Besides that fact that his best friend is the director and his wife, Gauri Khan, is the producer? Okay. That’s a very good reason). There is nothing new as far as the story goes…the treatment is a little different. That’s all. The second half of the movie was quite shoddily made. The parts that dealt with Arjun Rampal and Deepika’s ‘ghost’ should have been given better treatment. Well…this is a Bollywood movie. We shouldn’t expect too much.
That stupid crystal ball with SRK and Deepika in their evening clothes! Can’t get cheesier.
SRK: He looks too old. I hope he retires in the next couple of years. No, his six packs failed to impress me. It might be a very big achievement for him, of course. He looked boring in the song Dard-E-Disco. I see guys with better physique in my college every single day!
Kirron Kher: Can’t stand this woman. She over-acts. Yes, her character’s like that; still, she should have done a better job. I have never been a fan of her acting skills.
Direction: Totally sucks! Main Hoon Na wasn’t a masterpiece either. People who want to leave their brains behind will enjoy this kind of loose direction. Farah’s accomplishments in this movie include- cheap, sadistic jokes at the expense of Manoj Kumar; making SRK over-act for the umpteenth time and a poorly shot Filmfare Awards scene that ended with SRK remembering his drunker dialogue from his previous birth. How tasteless can someone get? The song Deewangi Deewangi that has 31 stars is all right. Nothing great.
Stupid Dialogues: 1. “Ramesh babu, aap kya jaane ek chutki sindoor ki keemat?…k suhaagan ke sar ka taj hota hai ek chutki sindoor..”
2. “Picture abhi baaki hain mere dost”
3. “Saari duniya usko tumse milaane ki koshish karti hain”
…and other cheesy dialogues.
Rating: 5.5/10
******
Saawariya: Boy sees a lonely girl on a bridge and falls in love with her. Can anyone go wrong with such a story line? Now you know. In SLB’s words:
“It’s the most difficult film I’ve made so far.
Sure! It must have been difficult to get Omung Kumar to contruct blue, loud, explicit sets that obstruct natural light in every possible way. No trees…birds or normal people like you and me. Only prostitutes and a dreamer, Ranbir Kapoor. People who liked this movie seriously need to stop watching illogical Bollywood movies. That’s all that I can say.
Plotline: Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s short story. You know it anyway. I don’t feel like typing it here.
Likes?
Ranbir Kapoor: He looks really cute and has acted very well.
Dislikes?
1. Direction: SLB is the most over-rated director of all times. He’s worse than David Dhawan, in my opinion. There was nothing good about his direction. I am completely blank.
2. Sets: I felt claustrophobic looking at those blue sets. Yes, it’s a dream like state. Everything is possible in a dream. SLB surpasses MF Hussain in this madness.
3. Songs: Why exactly do people break into a song every five minutes? The first 20 mins has three songs…I was literally counting.
4. Characters: Very ill conceived. Why does Sonam Kapoor need to wait on that bridge? Didn’t Salman Khan know where she stays? Zora Sehgal was boring too. So was Rani.
5. Sonam Kapoor’s laughter: She laughs like a mad woman whenever she gets a chance to do so.
6. Too long…I fast forwarded the entire movie and took two days to complete it. That’s something!
7. Music: Most of the songs are forgettable, except for the towel dropping song. Was it necessary for Ranbir Kapoor to go nude there? It didn’t add anything to the overall scene.
8. References to Raj Kapoor didn’t work for me. Sorry!
Rating: 1/10 (Only because Ranbir was good; else I would have given it a 0).
********
Time and Again 
you can b a good bollywood critic…btw nice reviews of the movies…i always enjoy ur post and read ur every post.hehehe
“Maggie Cheung: She’s so pretty and her lovely dresses in this movie accentuate her beautiful face and eyes.” ??
I think all the guys in the world would be scratching their heads 😛
@karuna agarwal:
Thank you 🙂 Come back again!
@Swen, There’s no harm in admiring her. Boys can admire male actors. Can’t women admire female actors?
@Ruhi
No , you got it all wrong .What I was referring to was the that the dresses accentuate her beautiful face and eyes. That’s the last thing guys would like to see accentuated using a dress.. 🙂
@Swen:
OoooOhhH! Gotcha 😉 That’s one dirty mind working over time.
yaar, you changed theme too! 😦
I agree with your review of OSO. I was very disappointed, pathetic plot. And I liked Deepika Padukone a lot. She gave a very poised performance.
I watched Dhol yesterday, it was typical Priyadarshan plot with the same old things but the jokes were good. OSO and Saawariya aren’t on my movies list though, I hate “star-studded” affairs and it shows why. 😀
Ashish was right, whenever a new theme is launched, it’s everywhere!
And yay, you liked Deepika Padukone too! I think she’s got amazing screen presence. She isn’t the most beautiful woman on the earth but damn she’s got style, grace and carries herself very well. It would have been very easy to be lost in SRK’s shadow but this girl managed to stand out big time. And so to say, I didn’t mind the crystal ball scene, I thought it was cute. I even imagined myself in that situation! But anyhow, as they say, love does crazy things to you. SRK’s six pack didn’t impress me either as it was way overhyped. And he doesn’t need six packs when he’s got superb promotional skills. You just have to give it to the guy. Nobody would have watched OSO if it wasn’t for the way they publicized it. And I thought the Manoj Kumar scene was hilarious lol. But you know what I liked most in the film? When SRK would talk to Deepika’s poster and say, “Tum bore to nahi ho rahi na?” OMG I almost wanted to cry at that scene. OK, I need to do something about myself, I’m becoming too girly.
I’m not gonna go watch Saawariya. Will wait for them to show it on television. I heard how it was disappointing. I even made a joke about it. It goes like “Sanjay Leela has made the most uninteresting blue film ever!”. You get it right? If you don’t, think perverted and you’ll be there! 😛
I agree with you 100% on In the Mood for Love. I found it a little bit slow, too.
Great blog! I love the Bollywood reviews, as it’s something I’ve been hoping to get a bit more into. Your blog gives me a nice starting point, my friend. I’ve added you to my blogroll as well.
Cheers,
Jordan
hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Nice enthusiastic review Ruhi!
About OSO I must say it was more for the film fraternity than for the normal audience. A stupid movie. Or rather what I overheard someone in the audience say ‘ a nonsense movie!’ The only reason it was successful is because the audience had nothing else to watch.
@Ish, true, I hoping there are not many more intellectuals like ruhi and me who would go for this theme. 😦
And given a chance you are ready to dance..for Deepika Padukone..whats this fixation with names starting with D. 😛 See how much have you written about her…
And yes me..too not gonna watch Saanwariya at all. 🙂
as a religious viewer and admirer of mr WKW’s work, i was a bit taken aback by your statements in the ‘what i didnt like’ section. everything ‘not likeable’ there are the signature WKW flourishes. he mourns every shot. he lengthens it, giving characters room to breathe and grow. not many directors do that. and as for the hypocrisy of the characters- they are flawed humans just like us. and i felt it was wonderful that WKW showed it without biasing anything. sure he is a romantic, but if i may be bold enough to state, i think he is perhaps a ‘romantic pessimist’.
p.s. to each his/her views.
Finally someone else loves the movie IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE.
That movie is one of my favorite movies of all time!
I love the classic Canton flavors shot in BaengGok.
One thing that caught me in that movie was her dress… did you notice that she changed her outfit like 17 times in each shoot? Those amazing traditional, tight, high necked Chinese dresses, all elaborate and intricate.
I loved the story too, the photography was just WOW.
Thanks for reviewing this, love your blog!
@Poonam Sharma:
I love this new theme. 🙂 It’s wide and has lots of space for writing. The way the html links are underlined is quite new too.
Totally agree with you regarding OSO. The only good thing about it was Deepika Padukone. She will be a hit very soon. Her dresses, her emotions…nobody can tell that this was her first movie.
@Ashish, Yes, most of these star studded affairs are actually disappointing. Small films like Chandni Bar, Salaam Bombay, Jhankar Beats are much more enjoyable. The thing with big movies is that stars feel that whatever they are doing is good and that people will watch the movie anyway!
@ish, I like this new theme. you will see it on my blog for a very long time now. 😉
I agree SRK did have his moments in the film. He was not bad as in very bad. It doesn’t help that I had watched Swades the day before and he was just brilliant in that movie. So, I couldn’t appreciate him in this movie. I know why you liked that crystal ball wala scene. Probably imagining yourself with D 😉 Hota hai hota hai. The manoj kumar scene was actually quite funny, but a little unbelievable…heh. As long as you don’t think, you’ll be fine 😀 Good decision on Saawariya. like I said, i would have given it a zero if it were not for Ranbir’s cuteness.
@Canadian Cinephile, Thank you for stopping by. I don’t come across blogs like yours that focus on only movie reviews. So, it was treat reading your stuff. Actually, this must have been my first bollywood review. I don’t watch much bollywood stuff. I do watch a lot of Hollywood and international movies.
In the mood for love was really good; I enjoyed it tremendously…I just wish the pace were a little faster. The director was trying to showcase every small whim of the actors…I agree. But it got a little too much because many of his scenes (the ones with Mrs. Chan in the office) and all those scenes with the landlady were the same again and again- asking abt lunch like 15 times!
@Nita, The audience had nothing to watch plus SRK is a master promoter. He left no stones unturned to market his movie. Of course, his wife was the producer; so he wanted everyone to see it. People in India basically love anything that has some nice songs, emotional scenes, dhishoom dhishoom and a reincarnation theme always always helps!
@Poonam & Ish: Oh yeah!!! Good that you caught his fixation with D 😉 Ish, what is it with you, huh???
@bap- My section on what I liked was much much longer. I’m not drawing any conclusions about the director based on this movie. I want to watch 2046 and some other stuff before I decide on WKW. As a standalone product, the movie was very well made, like I said. Else I wouldn’t have given it an 8/10. I did like the transition between scenes- like you said, he mourns every shot. It was cinematic brilliance. But I wish that some of the general stuff were not that repetitive. For eg- Maggie cheung’s scenes with the landlady regarding supper and lunches; Maggie’s talks with her boss regarding lunch….Why does he have such a fixation with supper and lunch?? I love the cinematography of this movie. I liked some scenes where the screen goes blank gradually. But he over-did the blankness between the scenes, IMO- esp. the ones where the screen doesn’t go blank gradually. Kieslowski uses it in the correct amount.
@Dakota, Thank you for stopping by 🙂 I totally loved Maggie’s dressing. The fact that is was so unrevealing was what made her look so seductive. I saw the number of dresses that she changed in those transition, slow motion camera movements…it was a treat to watch. I would definitely like to watch more of WKW stuff.
I think OSO has to be seen in a different perspective. If I had watched OSO ten years back, I would have trashed it the same way as most of you have done here. But, over the years I have started believing in this theory that when it comes to filmmaking, honesty of the filmmaker is of paramount importance. It is this honesty which eventually connects with audience. OSO was made with a very straighforward concept. Entertain people with a movie which has lot of fun, country’s biggest star, ultra gorgeous heroine, decent music, nostalgic 70″s and some reasonable plot and script which is not that stupid. It delivered exactly that.. and no wonder it succeeded in entertaining people and becoming one of the biggest hits of all time..it’s nothing but this unadulterated honesty and clarity on the part of it’s producer and director which eventually connected with the audiences everywhere..
The film had no ambitions of becoming a classic or having a great script and lifetime performances..
If one makes a Superman or a Spiderman, the motivations are again very honest and clear..nobody expects them to have a very logical or cerebral scripts or very oscar winning performances..the point is to entertain in it’s own way..and that’s what they do..
Yes, for many, that’s not the idea of an entertainment..many of us can only be entertained by cerebral woody allen’s movies and Casablanca’s..but then those people are not the target audience for movies such as OSO..
I also dont agree with you that SRK’s ABS are not that big a deal..First of all to get those abs at the age of 42 is itself an achievement..not many people can do so even at the age of 30.. I can say that because Iam a gym person myself and I can guarantee that it will need atleast 3 months of crazy work out and absolute diet control to get something like that..I watched the movie with a French friend of mine who himself has a very good body..and even he was impressed with SRK’s abs in the second half…So, no matter how his abs or muscles look compared to others studs such as Salman, Hristhik or John, just the fact that he attempted doing this and succeeded merits appreciation..
The stupid dialogues which you are talking about were actually spoofs on loudness of 70’s movies ..I think the Filmfare award function was really hilarious and only SRK could have that sense of humor to laugh at himself ( movie titles like main phir bhi hoon, phir bhi dil hai NRI etc were actually spoofs at SRK himself who like the character in the movie is a reigning superstar and does these Karan johar/NRI movies)..Akshay Kumar gave a performace of a lifetime in that brief but extremely funny awards scene..
In the end, I enjoyed watching OSO because I was given what I was promised..so I had my laughs and my Deepika..what else one needs in life
As for Saanwariya, Iam not surpised what people say about Bhansali now..it was long due..it’s funny that some of the critics, while reviewing Saanwariya, have used exactly the same adjectives which I always used for him..for ex.. Self indulgent, overrated..taking himself very seriously, abstract, pessimistic and so on..
Reviews and my friends’ descriptions of saanwariya were so bad that I did not even dare to watch the movie
@Poonam and Ruhi: Well it’s not my fault that chicks with names starting from D happen to be hot! 😛 And anyway, half of the guys in the country must be drooling about Deepika so that doesn’t even count a lot, or does it?
Actually, now hat I’m thinking about it, it’s not only D that they have in common. Both have “Deep” and the name changes after that. The funny things that God does to me these days!
@lallopallo:
[some reasonable plot and script which is not that stupid]
That’s the precise problem. Bollywood needs to grow up.
I don’t think you can compare Bollywood movies and Super hero movies. Don’t forget that they did try to make their own version of superman stuff like Krrish and it was being pitted against Spiderman!! I can never forget that episode.
[many of us can only be entertained by cerebral woody allen’s movies and Casablanca’s..but then those people are not the target audience for movies such as OSO..]
So, why don’t you give me the name of one Bollywood movie that targets the Woody Allen/Casablanca audience in India?
[I can guarantee that it will need atleast 3 months of crazy work out and absolute diet control to get something like that..]
That’s not a high price to pay for someone like SRK who’s paid crores of rupees for each movie and ad campaign. He’s in this business to look good. Flaunting newly acquired 6 pack abs doesn’t merit special mention here.
Maybe I’m being biased here. I absolutely dislike 99.99% of Bollywood drivel which are passed off as “cinema” in India. Funnily, this was my first Bolly movie review on this blog.
@Ish, Umm…Deepti? Is that her name?? 😉
@Ruhi
Ah ..guilty as charged .. in my defense : I’m a guy 😛
Ah! Nice reviews.. I felt I must watch “In the Mood for Love”…
and abt Kirron Kher You said–
//Can’t stand this woman. She over-acts. Yes, her character’s like that; still, she should have done a better job. I have never been a fan of her acting skills.//
That’s Perefectly well said.. I guess she does same in real life too.. I felt same when I watched her overreacting comment’s on Times Now channel for Actor Sanjay Dutt.
No, it’s not Deepti. It’s slightly longer than that. Go on, guess guess! 😛
havn’t seen a review like this one before … 😛
but it was great..
i would agree with you on every point u wrote about SRK… 🙂
and whats that ??
OMG !! some comments are mini posts here…
hope u notice this precise one amidst all those 🙂
@Bharath:
Yes, you esp. should watch this movie. It has the word “Love” in its title, after all. 🙂
@Ish, Deepshikha? Now don’t tell me that I’m wrong again!
@Arvind, Thank you 🙂 People (incl. me) tend to write long comments when they get too excited. Hehe.
Deepshikha, haha you’re wrong again. It’s much more simpler than Deepshikha 😛
@ish:
All right!! DeepXXX?? I don’t know anymore deep- names, I think.
Ok, here I go:
“That’s the precise problem. Bollywood needs to grow up.”
Yes, sure it needs to grow up..and I do believe that it is growing to an extent..
But, remember that the kind of Films made in a country are reflection of perceived sensibilities of it’s audience by filmmakers..in the end, it’s all determined by the market forces ..whether it’s a consumer product or a movie.. So, Bollywood is what we want it to be..
And, entertaining the viewer should be of prime importance for a filmmaker even if he/she is making a thinking movie trying to say something ..if it doesnt entertain any segment of audience in it’s own way, it shouldnt have been made..
None other than Satyajit Ray once said that “my prime concern while making a movie is to entertain the audience while trying to say what I want to say..”
In the 70’s and early 80’s there was this parallel cinema movement in India which attempted to ” grow up “..It failed and died a natural death because it , in many ways, suffered from the same ills of commercial cinema which it attempted to fix..well, will talk abt that some other day..
“i don’t think you can compare Bollywood movies and Super hero movies. Don’t forget that they did try to make their own version of superman stuff like Krrish and it was being pitted against Spiderman!! I can never forget that episode. ”
Iam not comparing Krish with Spiderman..Ofcourse, the latter is much superior to former in terms of technology used, special effects and eevrything else..
What I meant was that even in Hollywood when they make Spiderman kind of movies there target audience is very clear and emphasis is on pure entertainment through flights of fantasy…similarly, Farah Khan makes OSO to showcase SRK at it’s commerical best..she knows there are millions who just wanna see SRK with those famous expressions ( His expressions which are found silly by many are loved by many more..he knows that..FK knows that..)..When SRK wants to show his good acting , he does that also ( Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, DDLJ, DIL SE, Swades,Chak de)..but in OSO , he need not do so..
Again, SRK Abs were hyped more by the media than the star himself..nobody is saying that it was the greatest thing done by him..just the fact that somebody who- for almost two decades- was never known for his body suddenly attempted to do so for a movie song and succeeded in that merited some mention..It’s the media and people who made a big deal about it..
“So, why don’t you give me the name of one Bollywood movie that targets the Woody Allen/Casablanca audience in India? ”
I can give you many many movies made in India which were of high standards and were enjoyed by classes and thinking people ..
Just in 2006, we had Omkara, Lage raho munnabhai , Rang de basanti and Khosla ka Ghosla which had high standards in terms of script, characterization, cinematic treatment and entertainment quotient..I think this year Chak De was a very intelligent movie.. And, all these movies were made in popular format
You have to watch movies of Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Basu chatterjee, Basu bhatta charya , Hrishikest mukherjee, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal, Gulzar and many others who gave us thinking movies..
Ray’s Pather Panchali is considered one of the greatest movies made anywhere and continues to enthrall millions of people worldwide…
Yes, Hollywood is still far ahead ..but, that doesnt mean good movies are not made in India..
By saying that 99.99% of Bollywood movies are trash is going too far I think.. Yes, I do think that you are being biased here 🙂 ..or may be you havent watched many good Indian movies yet
@lallopallo:
Wow..that’s a LONG comment. 🙂
Yes, I agree that perhaps the movie fraternity dishes out what the audience wants to see. The majority of the Indian audience, unfortunately, is quite immature.
//similarly, Farah Khan makes OSO to showcase SRK at it’s commerical best..she knows there are millions who just wanna see SRK with those famous expressions
This is one point I don’t agree upon with you. If there would have been something ‘unique’ about the storyline, then this argument would have made sense, IMO. But there was nothing spectacular about OSO’s story- same reincarnation, but with a bit of ’70s masala thrown in.
Yes, he acted very well in lots of other movies- DDLJ, Dil se, swades. Chak De was actually quite enjoyable, I agree. That movie made some sense. I saw it when I was in India.
It’s not that I didn’t like this movie at all- I gave it a 5.5/10. It had its positive and negative points, both. Of course, what might look bad to me might not look bad to you.
//Just in 2006, we had Omkara, Lage raho munnabhai , Rang de basanti and Khosla ka Ghosla
Umm..never been a fan of munnabhai. I saw the first part. saw the trailer of the second one…not my style of humour.
Saw RDB too- Wanna-be-cool people. Didn’t appeal to me. Besides, i’m bored of movies focusing on Bhagat Singh with firangs speaking in Hindi and stuff like that.
Heard of the name Khosla ka Ghosla, but didn’t feel the need to watch it.
But there is no way you can compare even one of these with Woody Allen or Casablanca. They might be good enough for Indian audiences, but on a global level, I’m sorry to say, they’re not.
//You have to watch movies of Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Basu chatterjee, Basu bhatta charya , Hrishikest mukherjee, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal, Gulzar and many others who gave us thinking movies..
I have seen movies by Hrishikesh Mukherjee (quite funny, yes), Shyam Benegal (I love Zubeidaa), Gulzar (seen some of his movies too). Have also seen Satyajit Ray (Pather Panchali was very good and even Shatranj ke Khiladi).
I find some of these old movies to be of much better quality…most of the movies that are being made in my generation are bogus, I guess.
//but, that doesnt mean good movies are not made in India..
Yes, 1-2 movies every year that are good.
//Yes, I do think that you are being biased here 🙂 ..or may be you havent watched many good Indian movies yet
I am being biased because I used to watch a lot of Hindi stuff until 3-4 years back. Then I completely stopped because I realized that I’m just wasting my time which can be better utilized watching movies by many other great directors who have been recognized globally. 🙂
Anyway, thank you for your enthusiastic comment. Heh. You made a very good case for sure. And do come back to throw tomatoes at me, if you want. 😉
Yeah, you got it right this time! 😛
@ish, this is like a historic moment happening on this blog! 😮 First time that you’ve revealed Lady Love’s name in Cyber Space. This piece of news shall go to the very top of my sidebar. Thank you for the honour 😛 Can’t believe you actually revealed THE name on my blog!!!
I have been checking this conversation…I was not sure if Ish would agree to share. 🙂 But you put his secret in the sidebar! 🙂
And I was on your side against the debate with lallopallo on OSO and Bollywood. 🙂
Ofcourse Iam back dear with a longer comment..:P
“The majority of the Indian audience, unfortunately, is quite immature.”
Again, you are generalizing the whole Indian audience..it’s not the audience which is immature but the vicious circle of making bad movies in the start ( Now I dont want to get into like what were the reasons of loud melodrama which was there in indian movies right from the beginning..post independence reactions to cinema or whatever?) and then audiences getting addicted to that..eventually leading to not developing a culture of great cinema..
I already talked about parallel cinema movement..see, the point is Indian elite is not that much interested in cinema the same way as people in west are- especially in western Europe..where Cinema is a part of celeberated art forms and impacts socio-political viewpoints of people..
But, having said that, even then when good movie comes along in India , it’s generally appreciated to a large extent..
“If there would have been something ‘unique’ about the storyline, then this argument would have made sense, IMO. But there was nothing spectacular about OSO’s story- same reincarnation, but with a bit of ’70s masala thrown in. ”
Now, common .. what great uniqueness could be there in a reincarnation story..you tell me if you have some really unique idea..to be fair to the filmmaker, they had some good twists and turns and some novelty in the story sprinkled with some real funny spoofs..
And, I have repeatedly said that great story was not supposed to be the USP of this movie..it’s a whole package..I already discussed that extensively in earlier posts..
I was just reading today that Shekhar Kapoor – who made those world class and thinking movies such as bandit queen and elizabeth- thoroughly enjoyed OSO..just for the entertainment value and good laughs..
” Umm..never been a fan of munnabhai. I saw the first part. saw the trailer of the second one…not my style of humour. ”
Now, you see that’s the problem..First of all you didnt even see Lage raho..and formed an opinion about it on the basis of first one..second, you completely miss the point if you see lage raho as a comedy film..it is a first rate cerebral comedy ..period..
FYI, the rights of Munnabhai are bought by major Hollywood studio
” Saw RDB too- Wanna-be-cool people. Didn’t appeal to me. Besides, i’m bored of movies focusing on Bhagat Singh with firangs speaking in Hindi and stuff like that. ”
What? you thought RDB was abt ” wanna be cool people “.?.Oh dear..not this one..you are missing the point here..
RDB was one of the best movies to have come out in the last 5 years in Bollywood. It scored brilliantly in terms of narration, cinematography, non-linear story telling, overall impact, art direction, background score..
I had my issues with the ending..it was imperfect in that sense..but RDB raised the bar for filmmakers.. Bhagat singh’s connection was there as a part of story not complete focus..it was much more than that..and what’s the problem in phirang speaking hindi if the character and the story justifies it so well..
Incidentally Woody Allen also made some crappy movies..ya, I agree may be I cannot compare best of woody allen’s with RDB or Lage Raho..but I can certainly compare his best with one of our best
Zubeida was one of the weakest movies of Shyam Benegal..have you heard names of his movies such as Ankur, Nishant, Kalyug and Trikaal?
Khosla ka Ghosla brought out the middle class sensibilities of urban India in such an interesting fashion that it wrote a new chapter in the way stories are told in movies…
But, alas you didnt see it..
“They might be good enough for Indian audiences, but on a global level, I’m sorry to say, they’re not.”
What’s global level? Can anybody define what’s a true global movie? Every good movie is , in it’s heart, very true to it’s roots..because real honesty and eventually universality comes from being first true to that particular mileu from where filmmaker or his characters belong.. Can you very exactly relate to woddy allen’s characters and situations which are primarily based in New York and talk language of that subgroup of people..may be many of those characters and situations dont exist at all..infact I know couple of New Yorkers who told me that they dont really relate with his movies..
Or can you really relate to characters in Motorcycle diaries without really knowing and understanding South American culture which is so full of complexity..?
So, anything which is true to itself is a global movie and therefore it somehow makes that connection with even those people who dont come from that mileu..and I certainly beleive that Khosla ka ghosla or a chake de has that honesty…And, Omkara is of very high international standards…
“Yes, 1-2 movies every year that are good.”
First of all you yourself admit that you havent watched most of the movies I mentioned..secondaly, there are many regional movies who are of internation standards- Do people like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Jahnu Barua ring any bell ?..which Iam sure you never watched
So, out of 10-15 hindi movies you watched , if you found 1-2 good that’s not 0.01% na which you originally mentioned..because according to that, you find 1 out of 1000 indian movies decent and rest all trash….
I watch lot of Hollywood movies and I love many of them..but let me tell you that this year I didnt like more than 3-4 movies from Hollywood..and I watched most of the talked ones.. I agree that percentage of better movies there is much more than indian movies ..but I just cannot buy your argument that 99.99% of Indian movies are trash
“Then I completely stopped because I realized that I’m just wasting my time which can be better utilized watching movies by many other great directors who have been recognized globally. ”
Yes, sure if you were watching David Dhawan or mushy Karan johar movies and you want to utilize that time watching good international movies, then Iam with you..for sure..But, if you have already made your mind that no matter what comes out of India can never match a casablanca and just because a particular italian filmmaker made classics you will watch his obscure movie rather than watching a well appreciated Indian movie, then I will have reservations…:)
Just before I end, I want to mention movies such as Johnny Gaddar, Metro, Dharam, Mahatma versus Gandhi which came out this year and were quite decent..so that makes number of good movies this year more than your 1-2..and I havent watched all the so called good hindi movies this year..so there may be few more..
I guess I have said enough here..if you still dont get my point, then there is no point in discussing further..we should then just say..Iam Ok ..You are ok..:)
Hope my comments didnt bother you..I think we all want to do honest discussion and that’s why we are here..right?
So, no offences dear..
Yay. I knew there had to be some sort of Deep or Diva in the name coz all D names have that. SheWhoMustNotBeNamed has been unmasked! 😛
@Poonam Sharma:
Haha! I thought that I would let him be the star on my blog too, at least for a couple of days 😛
Thank you 🙂 Please join the debate!!
@Ashish, We can expect a nice post from him now 😉 Let’s pesture him.
Holy shit, delete that thing from the sidebar and all the comments mentioning her name, please. I’m serious.
Done: Sorry, I didn’t know that you didn’t want it to get publicized. But I don’t think anyone other than Poonam, Ashish and I read it. 😮
@lallopallo:
Baap re…it will take me a long time to answer all your questions, but I’ll try. 🙂
//it’s not the audience which is immature but the vicious circle of making bad movies in the start …. and then audiences getting addicted to that..eventually leading to not developing a culture of great cinema..
Now you are contradicting yourself. You just said in the previous comment that the movie makers are not to be blamed and they make depending upon the market demand!
//Now, common .. what great uniqueness could be there in a reincarnation story..you tell me if you have some really unique idea..to be fair to the filmmaker, they had some good twists and turns and some novelty in the story sprinkled with some real funny spoofs..
Exactly my point! There is nothing unique about it at all. This is what I’ve been trying to make you understand ALL this time!! 😛
//I was just reading today that Shekhar Kapoor – … thoroughly enjoyed OSO..just for the entertainment value and good laughs..
I liked some of his movies..Masoom, Bandit Queen. Didn’t like the Elizabeth series at all. Anyway, it’s his personal choice. Just b’coz he liked some movie doesn’t mean that everyone should like it. He liked all his movies because he is the film maker, but we as audiences don’t like all his movies, do we? 🙂
//FYI, the rights of Munnabhai are bought by major Hollywood studio
Yes, I know lots of people in India liked it. It’s a personal choice, like I said. I don’t like such kind of cinema.
//Zubeida was one of the weakest movies of Shyam Benegal..have you heard names of his movies such as Ankur, Nishant, Kalyug and Trikaal?
Yes, I have seen Ankur. Quite good. Not others. There are other directors I need to catch up with. None of the Indian directors actually figure in my movie list, except for maybe Mira Nair and Satyajit Ray. It’s just a personal choice, I guess.
//. Can you very exactly relate to woddy allen’s characters and situations which are primarily based in New York and talk language of that subgroup of people.
What do you mean? It was plain, simple, American English. I don’t know how much you’ve stayed in the East Coast…but it’s nothing that a common person like me can’t relate to. Not everyone can appreciate Woody Allen. Also, not everyone can appreciate other directors like Kurosawa, Kieslowski or Kubrick. Have you seen movies by these 3 directors?
//Or can you really relate to characters in Motorcycle diaries without really knowing and understanding South American culture which is so full of complexity..?
Yes, I can. I loved that movie in fact. To appreciate such movies, you need to do some preliminary reading on the political scenario and have some prior knowledge.
//First of all you yourself admit that you havent watched most of the movies I mentioned..
Lallo, I don’t like watching Hindi movies. Period. This was the first Hindi movie review on my blog. Actually it was a mistake on my part to write about 2 hindi movies with the one movie “In the Mood for Love” which I actually liked. The latter got overshadowed because of the two hindi movies!!! Big big mistake.
I’m sure you haven’t watched all the international movies that I’ve seen. I don’t see how you can watch all these Hindi movies and yet find time to watch other stuff.
//because according to that, you find 1 out of 1000 indian movies decent and rest all trash….
Well that’s true and that’s what many of my other movie buddies think too. I guess our tastes vary…as simple as that. Nobody is right, nobody is wrong.
//Yes, sure if you were watching David Dhawan or mushy Karan johar movies and you want to utilize that time watching good international movies, then Iam with you..for sure.
Hey did I tell you that I watch these movies? In fact, like I said earlier, I hardly watch hindi stuff unless it’s supposedly good. I hate Dhawan/Johar. Please don’t draw your own conclusions.
//..But, if you have already made your mind that no matter what comes out of India can never match a casablanca and just because a particular italian filmmaker made classics you will watch his obscure movie rather than watching a well appreciated Indian movie, then I will have reservations…:)
It’s not like I’ve made my mind or anything; whatever I’ve watched has really disappointed me. That’s all. When I watch a movie, irrespective of its language or origin, I try to evaluate how it matches up in contrast to movies from all around the world. Most of the Indian movies fail in this regard, else they would have definitely been recognized in International Film Festivals.
//I want to mention movies such as Johnny Gaddar, Metro, Dharam, Mahatma versus Gandhi which came out this year and were quite decent..
I saw Metro and didn’t like it. Haven’t seen anything else…saw Gandhi my Father when I was in India and was sadly disappointed by the abysmal performances and the trite story line. Ben Kingsley’s Gandhi is a very good movie, instead. Watch it in case you haven’t.
//.but let me tell you that this year I didnt like more than 3-4 movies from Hollywood..and I watched most of the talked ones..
Yeah, I agree. I never said that I like Hollywood movies per se. In fact, I never like those ‘most talked about movies’. Disliked Crash, Departed, Little Miss Sunshine…and many others. If you see my cinema list, I have as many international movies in other languages as compared to the hollywood list. in fact, in the last 2-3 years, hollywood hasn’t produced anything great. I watch a lot of non-english stuff.
//Hope my comments didnt bother you..I think we all want to do honest discussion and that’s why we are here..right?
So, no offences dear..
No, it didn’t bother me at all. 🙂 As long as two people don’t start abusing each other and asking each other to shut up, it’s fine with me. This comments section is to encourage free conversation. Actually, thanks for trying to explain your view point to me so well. It gave me a chance to be clear on my stance too.
Thanks so much Ruhi. Actually I don’t have any problem with you guys knowing it but it’s just that I don’t want our blogs to come out in searches anywhere if she kind of searches for her name. I’m sorry for all the bother.
DeepXXX Lol, sounds like some kind of porn movie 😛
New post will come by the way, it’ll most probably be a review of Lemonade’s blog.
DeepXXX? ROFL. Bwahahahahaha. Yo ish, am I allowed to make jokes on that or am I still censored to use it? There’s always “SheWhoMustNotBeNamed” to fall back on… watch yourself, she might be a slytherin! 😛
LOL, I’ll go check if she’s a Slytherin today. I’m not Gryffindor myself, they’re meant to be brave aren’t they? I’m probably Ravenclaw or something. Maybe Slytherin even.
And yeah, you can make jokes on DeepXXX. 😛
Well i watched OSO.. no big deal with this movie..infact i compltely agree wid you as far as direction story and SRK is concerned..really not impressed wid his darde disco..
the choreography is worst..
I really thought about how Sharukh sells..i knw why..bcos he uses formulas which were already successfull..Trishul/Karz ka story dhaapa, (chori) masala add kiya..now such movie is bound to sell..Public also has such a bad taste for such movies which has no surprises for the audience.
Samw was the scene with JAB WE MET…even that was a hit..
So in short the formaula now a days is..use the same story but make it look refreshing..public will certainly like it..thats wat happening in bollywood..and india..
@Ish, Yeah I understand! So, I removed it immediately.
But…we can of course crack jokes on DeepXXX. Gosh! I don’t know what I was thinking when I inserted that ‘XXX’. Haha. I think she’s a Slytherin b’coz she kind of haughty, you say? 😉
I think you’re Ravenclaw too b’coz you’re really witty.. 😉
@nitin, yes definitely… I’m tired of talkng about this stupid movie actually.
Well, Iam not contradicting myself.. Yes, I said that current filmmakers make what they perceive as -which may not be the same as reality- sensibilities of their target audiences..In my last comment, I touched upon a bit on why audiences were perceived like that since the early years of Indian cinema…Probably it has to do lot with Cinema in India evolving from baser art forms of India such as Nauatanki..
So, there forms a vicious circle..
Look, my original argument was that OSO is a straightforward ( and hence honest) entertainer..it’s you who were talking about uniqueness..I never talked about uniqueness..I said, in many different ways, that it’s a complete package which appealed people!!! SRK, Deepika, lots of fun, music,some story and that’s it..Neither did they want to make a unique story nor anybody expected that…
When I talked about language of that sub group in New York, I meant that in symbolic sense not in literal sense..language here means culture and sensibilties of New Yorkers in 70″s not English language..
Do you really understand that culture and sensibilites completely? I mean were you born in east coast and grew up there? I have been living in east coast for almost 5 years now and I dont think I can claim so..
I have certainly watched Kurosawa’s movies and he is amazing..I think you are talking about Stanley Kubrick here.. yes, I watched his “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” and ” Paths of Glory” ..I really enjoyed the former one..especially sense of humor of the director..it was very close to how I sometimes see some people trying to be serious and failing in that..and that generates real humor..
“I’m sure you haven’t watched all the international movies that I’ve seen. I don’t see how you can watch all these Hindi movies and yet find time to watch other stuff.”
Mam, you are making gross gross assumptions here..what do you know what I have watched and how much time I had/have to watch movies? ..well, forget abt what I have watched..i dont even want to reply to a statement like that..But, still let me just give you a small bit..I started watching international movies in the film festivals long back..which was Iam sure before you watched any of those international movies..how come? well, because I have lived more than you..Now, dont tell me that you started watching international classics when you were 9 years old (My assumption here is based on what you wrote in one of the posts that you are not over 25..so, I am certainly 6 years older than you..)
“Hey did I tell you that I watch these movies? In fact, like I said earlier, I hardly watch hindi stuff unless it’s supposedly good. I hate Dhawan/Johar. Please don’t draw your own conclusions.”
Again, miss, I didnt draw any conclusions..please read what I wrote..I started my sentence with “if”..So basically I said that if you watched those kind of movies then so and so….
I didnt conclude that you watch david dhawan/KJ movies….
Regarding Indian movies not getting recognized in Indian festivals, again ,I dont want to bring statistics here..quite a few of Indian movies have been recognized in various prestiguous film festivals across the world..and here Iam not even talking abt movies of Satyajit Ray, Bimal Roy or Ritwik Ghatak ( who were all regular at Cannes)..but filmmakers of this generation like adoor gopalakrishnan and barua..who are more famous in west than in India..Also, Dharam- a Hindi movie- garnered lot of applause in festivals this year..
“Well that’s true and that’s what many of my other movie buddies think too. I guess our tastes vary…as simple as that. Nobody is right, nobody is wrong.”
Ofcourse, I respect your taste and your opinion on movies..I have no right to say that your taste is good or bad…But, Iam also intrigued that you seem to have such eclectic taste that you find only 1 out of 1000 hindi/indian movies good, but still bothered to watch OSO ..Iam sure you knew beforehand, like everybody else, that it will be a typical Bollywood movie.. And you also bothered to watch Saanwariya I guess ..:P
Well, in the end, I must admit that in a discussion vis a vis Indian movies, this is the first time I am on the other side of the fence..I mean trying to look from Indian perspective rather than glorify English/International movies-and trash Indian movies- which I have done most of the times.. Since it’s quite fashionable to criticize Bollywood by us ” cool” Indians , I guess I wanted to look at it from different angle this time rather than play safe and talk the familiar stuff..So, thanks for you too that your post and comments encouraged me also to try to articulate some of my thoughts…
Iam sure I have written here more than what I wrote in probably half of my own blog posts put together..lol..I guess I should make a post of our discussion on my blog now..
@lallo, Umm…I think making that post on this discussion would be a good idea. 🙂 I don’t know what else to add…this is a never ending battle. Heh.
Took me some time to read this engaging duel of viewpoints, but it was worth it! 🙂