Heroine Movie Review – High Budget Boredom

Today I am sure of my strange equation with films made my Mr. Madhur Bhandarkar. I don’t think he likes me very much. I did not go to the cinemas to watch Chandni Bar or Page 3 and they turned out to be fabulous films. Post that I went to watch Traffic Signal hoping for another hard hitting film but I was so wrong. So next time logic got the better of me and I did not go to watch Fashion, which once again turned out to be an excellent film. Hope you guys are with me so far. In the morning I made up my mind (even though it was a last minute decision mostly coz I had nothing better to pass my time with) & went to watch Heroine, Madhur Bhandarkar’s take on a Bollywood superstar. As most of you would have understood, History repeated itself and bit me once again. Heroine is a painful watch with hardly anything new or even improved. ...  More

Gangs of Wasseypur Movie Review – Brilliance Redefined & Cult Allover

wassey

I had spent the past few weeks reading all the rave reviews GOW was getting from Cannes and Sydney. It was selected for the Directors Fortnight at Cannes and got a standing ovation at the Sydney Film Festival. It finally released in India today and the hype surrounding the film is so much that this should turn out to be the biggest commercial success of Anurag Kashyap's career. Let me just congratulate the makers of the film for some excellent promotions especially the team behind the PR of the film. They went all out and made sure that there was Wasseypur everywhere. It is commendable because some people didn't even know that the Shahid Priyanka starrer Teri Meri Kahani was also releasing on the same day. GOW out did Teri Meri Kahani without the presence of any stars whatsoever. Hats Off. ...  More

The Best of Films in 2011

Another year comes to an end with people asking  the same irritating question,  “What are your New Year plans?”. I have modified my reply over the years from “what is the big deal with a New Year???” to “I will  be doing what I love to do, watching  films that I have missed”. There is nothing more enjoyable than a planned home screening of an unseen film, dimmed lights, curtains drawn with pop corn and cola for company. Blissful.

I keep a close  watch of films that I miss but for those who don’t here is a list of my favorite films from 2011.  Now this does not mean I expect you to watch them on New  Year’s Eve. All I wish is  for all of you to watch at least some of these films in original print and enjoy them the way they are meant to be.

Special Mentions-Bollywood: This year I will stick to the regular top 10 in my list. However, I would like to mention some other films that left a mark. Sahib Biwi aur Gangster with Dhulia again in his element, Shaitan for some good hard hitting, disturbing cinema, Mujhse Fraandship Karoge for the performance of Saqib Saleem and for giving a fresh feel to the college romance, Tanu Weds Manu (On a reader’s reminder, slipped my mind) for realistic sets, authentic art direction and bang on characterization (especially Pappi), Don 2 for some slick film-making surpassing even Hollywood, and Singham for being such a damn good entertainer.

10. The Dirty Picture ...  More