Happy B'Day, Ron!

Ranbir Kapoor celebrates his birthday today.....

Ranbir is not just Bollywood's young turk, he is also one of the very best.

From doing experimental films to establishing a niche for himself, he has had success, getting his turf well assessed and staying focused with his priorities, not that he can skip being tabloid fodder altogether for liaisons of the heart.

And the sweet success of Barfi! is making him bask in glory, for sure.


Pics courtesy: Lenovo, Pepsi and Google Images.

'Barfi!' - a heart-stealer!

BARFI! is the latest cinematic offering from Anurag Basu.
As a filmmaker, Anurag has already proven his worth with some entertaining and thoroughly engaging feature films, and even with some interesting work on television. But this one sets him apart in many ways. He has hardly compromised with his creative vision, despite the film having an A-list star-cast and a big studio-backing. 

The film tells an endearing story. Two of the protagonists - including the eponymous one - are differently-abled (challenged, according to the so-called politically incorrect) and yet the film has happened to strike just the right chords, it has hit the right notes at the box-office too. The film has been called a mini-masterpiece by some, while some have lauded it as the most broad-based emotionally overwhelming film made in recent times. 

Anurag Basu has told the tale with some amount of freshness and with a lot of passion and optimism. Ranbir Kapoor in the title role (Murphy, which in the flawed utterance becomes Barfi!), as a deaf-mute guy, oozes cherubic warmth and divine energy, and Priyanka Chopra, as the autistic girl, Jhilmil, has her own moments of brilliance. There is also the other important character, Shruti (played by Illeana D'Cruz, making her Hindi film debut), that stands out in a refreshingly muted way; ironically it is she who threads the narrative with a voice-over that breezes all over with back-and-forth forays (flashbacks and 'super' flashbacks!). 
The viewers would love the ride. I loved it, honestly. I chuckled, smiled, laughed, sobbed and relished the magical moments that played out on the big screen. I cheered for Barfi, I delighted in his exploits, I surrendered to the simplistic charm and innocence in the synthetic recreation of the Seventies.

I would excuse Basu the digressions and the indulgences (which has a distinctive flavor of the Tamil/Telugu films) and also the show-offish excesses. They are but minor flaws. What I took home was the abundance of love and tenderness and sensitive portrayals, and some meaty moments packed in minuscule segments. The film celebrates life, love, and hope.
In one of the promotionals for the film, the cast members put it brilliantly, that a viewer would take from this life-affirming film the kind of flavor that essentially defines him/her and the kind of flavor that he/she would like to permeate in his/her life. 
Barfi, the character, is a heart-stealer, and so is the film.

'Rockstar' is coming to rock us!

ROCKSTAR is going to be Ranbir Kapoor's next release.

It's releasing on the 11th of November.

The music from the soundtrack is a rage already.

The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Aditi Rao Hyadri and many others.

Directed by Imtiaz Ali, it's the most awaited film of the year.

And Ranbir seems to be banking on it in a big way.

The film boasts of brilliant visuals & A.R.Rahman's fusion score.

The story is supposed to be an emotional-cum-musical journey.

Since August, the promos have been making us expectant in a big way.

I sincerely hope that the film becomes a rewarding experience for all.

Major portions have been shot in Kashmir, at various scenic locations.

The city of Delhi features in a big way too.

The sequence at Nizamuddin Dargah is supposedly an awe-inspiring one.

Many of the costumes worn in the film have been designed by Aki Narula.

The attention to details is likely to contribute majorly to the narrative.

Ranbir too has spared no efforts to become the character.

Nargis Fakhri plays the role of a Kashmiri Pandit girl.

Ranbir himself has admitted that the presence of Nargis in the film is very special.

Mohit Chauhan has lent his voice to several songs of the film.

The soulful lyrics have been penned by Irshad Kamil.

People would want to watch it for all kinds of reasons.

A personal reason for me: Late Shammi Kapoor's final screen appearance.

Can't wait to catch this scene Ron has with the legend.

I wish all the best to the cast & crew of the film. Can't wait to watch it now!

Happy B'day, Ron!

It's Ranbir Kapoor's birthday today.

He's one of the hottest celebs in tinsel town.

Here's wishing him all the best in life.

Ron's sure to miles and miles ahead and shine brighter still.

Ron's next release is ROCKSTAR: coming soon!

We've woken up..... !!!!

Bollywood has really woken up.... to new-age cinema! And this time, none other than the much celebrated king of mush, Karan Johar, has backed this very refreshing film called "Wake Up Sid" by first-time director Ayan Mukherjee. Kudos!

Watching the film last night at a nearby multiplex made me many in the audience wake up too.... waking up to the possibilities of films reaching out to the viewers by means of fresh takes on age-old rom-coms. The film adds a lot of zing to the pre-existent romantic conventions which have been worn out with over-use in factory-like Bollywood, that by and large churns out meaningless spin-offs of stale romances and poor man's version of Hollywood make-believe. It's true that there have been many a fresh attempt of late, by the new-age makers, who've infused their own modern sensibilities and have even managed to make a significant difference through their creative outpourings, but the standard Bollywood studio products have shown their indifference by catering to the mass market. Market economics have dictated the perpetuation of staleness, the stifling of growth. But this time the story is different.....

Karan Johar's earlier home-production was "Dostana" which I had covered in one of my write-ups, and it did have some novelty, but again not quite..... it was much of the same.... only toying with the risque, and generating stereotypical fun. "Wake Up Sid" is indeed different, sorry for sounding cliched, it is a coming-of-age story that has tremendous appeal; it's vibrant, zany, frothy, bubbly, spirited and - to sum up simply - fun, sheer fun!

The very young director of the film, Ayan Mukherjee (seen in the last pic with the hero, Ranbir Kapoor) has shown great maturity in handling the subject. Ayan had earlier assisted director Ashutosh Gowariker in "Swades", and he had also assisted Karan Johar in "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna". In some ways, with "Wake Up Sid", he has even gone ahead of Farhan Akhtar who had shot to fame with his own coming-of-age semi-classic "Dil Chahta Hai"!

The film's ensemble cast is like a dream come true, each member of the cast is just perfect in terms of characterization. Ranbir Kapoor plays the protagonist Siddharth Mehra (Sid), Kpnkona Sen Sharma plays Aisha Bannerjee, the unconventional heroine, Anupam Kher plays Sid's father, and Supriya Pathak plays his mom. Also in the cast are Rahul Khanna, Namit Das, Shikha Talsania & Kainaz Motivala.

The story of this movie is about Sidharth Mehra, a rich, lazy, unmotivated slacker from Mumbai whose life undergoes a series of changes after college. Sid is a happy-go-lucky guy; he lives a breezy, carefree life. He is yet to wake up to the realities and complications of life. The most important elements in his life are his friends, his camera, his car, and his X-box 360. Sid might be the proverbial lazybones, but he is a warm, lovable soul.
Aisha Bannerjee, on the other hand is an aspiring writer from Kolkata, her path crosses with Sid's on her first day in Mumbai. Ambitious, well-read, and driven, Aisha has come to the city to realize her dreams as a writer. Despite their contrasting personalities, Sid becomes Aisha's first friend in the city.

A series of circumstances and events compel Sid to take stock of his life and take a hard look at himself. A wake up call is sounded in his conscience as he is compelled to deal with the emergent situation in his life, and that simultaneously involves his work, his dreams and also his heart.

The music of the film is just brilliant, it is classy, natural, and very much in sync with the screenlay. The talented team of composers Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy and lyricist Javed Akhtar, and also the guest composer Amit Trivedi, deserve genuine applause.

A reprise of personal thanks to Karan Johar, whom I had always had high regard for (especially for his articulate, intelligent & affable persona) but whose larger-than-life romances had always baffled me (and sometimes even irked me), for daring to deviate, for daring to take a risk; believe me Karan, it has paid off! And here's looking at you, Ayan.... for your future endeavors... surprise us with films that we can relate to, and which can make us reassert our confidence in the 'fresh' filmmakers brigade. Here's wishing you all the BEST!
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[pics: courtesy - Dharma Productions]

Ranbir Kapoor - the new kid on the block

Ranbir Kapoor is surely the hottest male star of Hindi Cinema right now! His debut film 'Saawariya' (2007) might not exactly have worked wonders, neither setting the cash registers ringing nor attracting critical acclaim, yet Ranbir has managed to be the cynosure of all eyes. The pics on this very blog celebrates the stylish dude's appeal; no one can deny that this photogenic every which way................ the camera seems to love him. Having flaunted his histrionics in serious cinema (student film that is now doing the rounds on the Internet) even before he stepped into Bollywood, and showcasing his body beautiful in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Saawariya' (in his famous or infamous towel dropping act), Ranbir is sought after by the directors and the producers who want him to be in their films, what else! The young lad has really impressed me with his personality that oozes warmth and maturity at the same time. I wish him all the luck to become numero uno in Bollywood!