DVD REVIEW: OM SHANTI OM 2007 (HINDI)

If there is one recent Bollywood movie you should have on your ‘must see list’, it has to be OM SHANTI OM. This movie was released around a year and a half ago in cinemas, but already has a cult following that equals that of the Blues Brothers. The acting is superb even from the then newcomer Deepika Padukone (daughter of badminton legend of the 1980s and 1990s, Prakash Padukone) and actor Arjun Rampal makes a great villain in the movie. Actors Kiron Kher and Shreyas Talpande shine in their supporting role and Farah Khan once again excels as the director and choreographer of this movie. But it is Bollywood heart throb Shahrukh Khan that steals the thunder and is downright titillating (apologies for the graphic description, but he is!) in his role of Om Prakash Makhija, a junior artist (in other words, a movie extra) who dies and is reincarnated as Om Kapoor, who becomes a Bollywood superstar.


Set initially in the 1970s, the movie depicts scenes of Bollywood’s golden heyday and mimics the heroes and heroines of that genre. For those of you that grew up watching Bollywood movies in the 1970s, it is a great journey through memory lane. Moreover, it has some really great songs too.

If you haven’t watched the movie, I don’t want to spoil it for you by telling you more.

I strongly recommend you watch OM SHANTI OM and enjoy a Bollywood cinematic journey from the 1970s into the present. And check out Shahrukh’s pecks whilst you are there!!!


OM SHANTI OM will be screening this Friday night at 9.00 pm on SBS Two. Don’t miss it!

NB: Check out the official OM SHANTI OM website HERE.

VG’s Rating: 5 stars for the music and movie!

MOVIE REVIEW: LOVE AAJ KAL 2009 (HINDI)

On Saturday 1 Aug 2009 , my girl friend AJ and I, with much anticipation (and equipped with plenty of sustenance), flocked to watch ‘LOVE AAJ KAL’ at the cinema. My verdict? Superb. I laughed, I cried, I ‘twisted’ and I ‘aahuned’. I am not going to spoil the show for you and tell you how the story pans out. Obviously, it’s about love – What I will say is that its about how 'love' is now and how it was back then, in the ‘good old days’. Has much changed since our youth, that of our parents and that of our children???? In my opinion,‘love’ will always be ‘love’, be it today, in the past or in the future. The difference is how we approach it and how much emphasis we place on feelings. Word of advice – make sure you have the hanky handy.

So, what do I give this movie? 4.5 Stars.....can’t wait for it to come out on DVD, that’s for sure.



By the way, I have listed the cast of the major roles below. Neetu Singh made a cameo appearance in the movie and she’s still looking good!

* Saif Ali Khan as Jai Vardhan Singh/ young Veer Singh

* Rishi Kapoor as ‘mature age’ Veer Singh

* Deepika Padukone as Meera Pundit

* Giselle Monteiro as Harleen Kaur

* Florence Brudenell-Bruce as Jo

* Rahul Khanna as Vikram

* Neetu Kapoor nee Singh as ‘mature age’ Harleen Kaur

LOVE AAJ KAL is currently playing, for a limited time, at the Greater Union Cinema, Manuka ACT. Check the website and local papers for screening times. Check out the video clip of my favourite song from the movie below and also my post on the movie's songs HERE.

MUSIC REVIEW: LOVE AAJ KAL 2009 (HINDI)

If there is one movie I can’t wait to see this year, it must be LOVE AAJ KAL (Love These Days)…..and this is just going on the songs that I have heard from this movie. I am so addicted to them – especially Aahun Aahun, Twist, Chor Bazari and Thoda Thoda Pyar (in that order). So, if you haven’t already yet, I strongly recommend you get the soundtrack and do the Twist, Saif Ali Khan style, LOL.

The songs in the soundtrack include:

Aahun Aahun (and Remix)
Twist (and Remix)
Chor Bazari (and Remix)
Thoda Thoda Pyaar
Dooriyan
Ajj Din Chadheya


You can check out the trailer of the movie and snippets of the songs at the LOVE AAJ KAL official site (click HERE). The movie stars Rishi Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and a new actress whose name I cannot seem to find. I will update this when I do find it out.

BTW, I found out that the movie is opening this Friday 31 July 2009, at Greater Union Manuka, ACT. Guess who is going to be there?????

VG’s rating: 5 Stars!!!

DVD REVIEW: BACHNA AE HASEENO 2008 (HINDI)

Bachna Ae Haseeno (Beware O Beautiful Ones) is a Bollywood movie staring Ranbir Kapoor (son of Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh), Minissha Lamba, Bipasha Basu and Deepika Padukone. The film was directed by Siddharth Anand whose previous films include Salaam Namaste (2005) and Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007).

The film follows the ‘love’ exploits of Raj Sharma (Ranbir Kapoor). It tells how he meets three girls at these different stages of his life and goes from one love affair to another, only to run into true love: Mahi (Minissha Lamba) - a small-town girl from Punjab he meets when holidaying in Europe, Radhika (Bipasha Basu) - a model from Mumbai and Gayatri (Deepika Padukone), his true love – an Indian Australian taxi driver and student he meets when working in Australia.




He ends up breaking Mahi’s and Radhika’s hearts, only to find that Gayatri, the one that he loves, does not believe in the marriage instituition…..just like he used to be! Rejection cuts him deep and as he stands, alone, watching the love of his life walk away, he remembers the hearts he broke - Mahi and Radhika. He decides to return to India to apologize and make amends.

Will Mahi and Radhika ever forgive Raj? Will Raj ever find happiness? Watch Bachna Ae Haseeno to find out.

The movie also has some great songs and ironically the title song, Bachna Ae Haseeno, was first ‘sung’ by Rishi Kapoor, Ranbir’s father, in the movie ‘Hum Kisise Kum Nahin’. The song was originally sung by the late Kishore Kumar and the original version has been maintained in this movie, with newer lyrics added and sung by Kishore’s son, Sumit Kumar - copying the concept made famous by Natalie Cole when she sang the duet, ‘Unforgettable’ with her deceased father, Nat King Cole.

My favourite songs in the movie are the first four songs, in that order:

Jogi Mahi
Small Town Girl
Bachna Ae Haseeno
Khuda Jaane
Aahista Aahista
Lucky Boy

VG’s Rating: 4 stars for both the Movie and Songs.

DVD REVIEW: BILLU BARBER 2009 (HINDI)

When I first heard of this movie, it conjured up visions of a ‘B’ grade movie – a low cost production with new actors wanting to break into the Bollywood market. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was actually a movie with two of my favourite actors, Shahrukh Khan and Irfan Khan, in the leads. I started appreciating Irfan Khan when I saw him in ‘The Warrior’. For me, for an actor to be able to reach his audience with not much dialogue in a movie is no mean feat and one that Irfan carried out to perfection in ‘The Warrior’. He was brilliant! I totally recommend you watch the movie if you can. Okay, I am transgressing here, I know…..we are talking about ‘Billu Barber’ today, not ‘The Warrior’.


Anyway, in this movie, the main character Billu (Irfan Khan) is a poor barber who lives with his beautiful wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta, Miss Universe 2000) and their two children, Gunja (Mitali Mayakar) and Ronak (Pratik Dalvi) in the village of Budbuda. Though struggling, Billu lives a simple and uneventful life until Bollywood superstar Sahir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) comes to the village for a film shoot.

Billu has mentioned to his family, years ago, that he knew Sahir from his youth but has never elaborated on the fact. However, his children start telling their friends about their father's friendship with the famous star which then spreads throughout the village, the story taking different forms with each relay. Virtually overnight, Billu who had previously been scorned by most of the villagers for his impoverished state, becomes the center of attention. People, who had previously spurned him, now call him a close friend so that he will introduce them to Sahir. They bring him gifts as bribery. Billu refuses and downplays the friendship, saying that it is impossible for him to introduce people in the village to Sahir. When Billu consistently fails to introduce the people of the village to Sahir, his situation changes once again. Not only is he spurned but is now accused of lying about his friendship and of conning the villagers. Everyone - including his wife and children, begin to doubt his character and integrity.

So, does Billu really know the great Sahir Khan and if so, how? But why doesn’t he approach Sahir? Or are the villagers and his family right….that he is lying about his friendship? Watch Billu Barber to find out.

Not only is this a great movie, it also boasts some great songs. My favourites are the first three songs.

Khudaya Khair
Love Mera Hit Hit
Marjaani
You Get Me Rockin
Ae Aa O
Jahoon Kahan
Billoo Bhayankar

Billu Barber Facts:

Despite its great reviews, Billu Barber was rated by ‘Box Office India’ a box office "flop" in its third week.

The movie was renamed to ‘Billu’ in India because of protest from the hairdressing industry. They claimed that the term ‘barber’ is derogatory to their profession….go figure!!!

The movie was directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Gauri Khan (Shahrukh Khan’s wife).




Actresses Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra make guest appearances in the item numbers (a term commonly used in Bollywood movies to describe a catchy, upbeat dance sequence in a movie that has no relevance to the plot of the film). The film was released on 13 February 2009.

The movie is a remake of the 2007 Malayalam (a south Indian dialect) film, ‘Kadha Parayumbol’. It is also an adaptation of the Sudama and Krishna story as mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana (Hindu text).

VG’s Rating: 4 stars for both the Movie and Songs.

MOVIE REVIEW: KAMBAKKHT ISHQ 2009 (HINDI)

Kambakkht Ishq (Damn Love) is a Bollywood film directed by Sabbir Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film, a remake of the 2002 Tamil film Pammal K. Sambandam, features Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles along with actors Aftab Shivdasani and Amrita Arora in supporting roles. Hollywood actors Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards, Brandon Routh and Holly Valance appear in cameo roles, playing themselves. The film was released on July 3, 2009.



Kambakkht Ishq explores the relationship between two very different individuals. Viraj Shergill (Akshay Kumar) is a swashbuckling stuntman in Hollywood who believes that women are only good for two things: "making love" & "making love". Simrita Rai (Kareena Kapoor), a surgeon and firebrand who is more than able to stare down the most arrogant male with her caustic wit and sardonic tongue. She firmly believes that there is no such thing as love.

So what happens when these two people, who hate each other, keep meeting at most inopportune circumstances???? You’ll have to watch Kambakkht Ishq to find out.

In my opinion, the songs from the movie are passable….listed below in accordance to my preference.

Lakh Lakh
Om Mangalam
Bebo
Kambakkht Ishq
Kyun
Welcome To Hollywood

PS: Kambakkht Ishq is current playing, for a limited time, at Greater Union, Manuka ACT. There are two shows daily, at 2.30pm and 8.30pm. Check Greater Union website and Canberra Times for updated times.

VG’s Rating: 3.5 stars for the Movie and Songs.

DVD REVIEW: BARSAAT 1949 (HINDI CLASSICS)

BARSAAT (Rain, Rainy Season or Monsoon) is a 1949 classic black and white Bollywood blockbuster film directed by Raj Kapoor. The film stars the famous duo of the time, Raj Kapoor and Nargis and also starred actor Prem Nath. Barsaat saw the debut of actress Nimmi, whom Raj Kapoor discovered whilst Nimmi was an onlooker/guest during a movie shooting.




The success of Barsaat ensured that the studio (RK Films) Raj Kapoor established in 1948 with the movie Aag (whilst he was only 24), continued to be a success and a going concern.

The movie BARSAAT revolves around two love stories - Pran (Raj Kapoor) and Reshma (Nargis) and Gopal (Prem Nath) and Neela (Nimmi). Two friends with opposite personalities, the rich but sensitive Pran and the womanizing Gopal both get involved with two local girls while holidaying in Kashmir. Whilst Pran and Reshma's love is true and reciprocated, Gopal is a cad, who disregards the faithful Neela (Nimmi) and tricks her to wait faithfully for his return with the next BARSAAT (rainy season). Many trials and tribulations are faced by the lovers. Will the lovers come out unscathed by the BARSAAT? Watch BARSAAT to find out.

Not only was the movie a super hit on its release, so was its music; and still is to this day! The film was the debut for duo music directors, Shankar Jaikishan and established their careers. The famous playback singer Lata Mangeshkar sang for both Nargis and Nimmi in Barsaat and further entrenched her popularity in Bollywood music.

The famous songs from this movie include:

Hawa Mein Udata Jaye
Barsaat Mein Humse Mile Tum Sajan
Ab Mera Kaun Sahara
Bicchde Hue Pardesi
Chhod Gaye Baala
Jiya Beqarar hai
Mujse Kisse She Pyaar Ho Gaaya
Mera Aankhon Mein Bas Gayaa

I give this movie a 4 Star rating (only because there were unjustified long sequences in the film....in my opinion of course.....you may beg to differ) and the music 5 Stars.

DVD REVIEW: SHARMILEE 1971 (HINDI CLASSICS)

SHARMILEE (shy) is a 1971 Hindi movie directed by Samir Ganguly and stars the very handsome Shashi Kapoor and superb actress Rakhee Gulzar. The film is not only popular for its great story line but also for its very melodious music by S. D. Burman. Rakhee plays a double role in this film (twin sisters), and her portrayal of a modern sister and one very shy and demure sister, helped make her one of the decades top leading lady actress in Bollywood. Unlike Shashi Kapoor, Rakhee still does some acting roles.

Check out these really great songs from the movie HERE and HERE.

DVD REVIEW: THE GRUDGE I and II [JU-ON I & II] (JAPANESE)

Sorry, it's been quite some time since I posted any DVD reviews on my blog....doesn't mean that I haven't been watching movies.....more the case of laziness taking over.

Anyway, whilst it is still fresh in my head, I thought that I'd write about The Grudge I and II (the Japanese version) which I watched last weekend. FYI, when The Grudge opened at "The Melbourne International Film Festival", it was a complete sellout.

The Grudge is the story of the evil dead, left in a house, that is latching itself on to the living. It is the vengence, the grudge from beyond, that no one can stop and no is safe.

Warning - this movie is not for the faint hearted. My eldest daugher slept with the radio on (only because I wouldn't allow her to take the dog to bed with her) cos she was convinced that she heard 'grudging' noises in the night.

After watching these movies, I once again reiterate - the Orientals reign supreme when it comes to horror!!! If you are a lover of horror movies, I totally recommend you watch the movie.

Note: You can buy the Grudge dvds at JB HiFi.

DVD REVIEW: GHAJINI (HINDI)

See Aamir Khan in one of his best performances ever. GHAJINI currently holds the record for the highest grossing blockbuster in the history of Indian cinema. It is out on DVD now and you can purchase original copies online from Bollywood Quarter or if you are living in Canberra, from Bharat International (17 Oatley Court) in Belconnen. BTW, the songs are great too (4 stars).

Trivia: Did you know that "Yaadon Ki Baraat" (1973) was Aamir Khan's first movie? He plays the role of young Ratan - the young child that needed to go 'wee wee' during the family song at the the start of the show. It wasn't until 1988 in the hit movie "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak" (with Juhi Chawla) that he become a household name in India.

BOOK REVIEW: ANITA AND ME BY MEERA SYAL

ANITA AND ME is Meera Syal's debut novel, and was first published in 1996. It is a semi-autobiographical novel which won the Betty Trask Award. The story revolves around Meena an Indian Punjabi girl with a funny hair-cut (the "me" of the title) and her relationship with the white Anita as they grow up in the fictional Midlands village of Tollington in the 1970s. The book was also made into a film and Meera Syal wrote and co-produced the movie as well as acting in it (she played the role of Auntie Shaila). (Source: WIKIPEDIA)

Syal has been very successful in the UK and her works have included her second novel, ‘Life isn’t all ha ha hee hee’ (I have read this too), which was made into a miniseries and starred Syal as well. She can also be accredited to the hit TV shows, ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ and ‘The Kumar’s at No 42’. Her first screenplay, ‘Bhaji by the beach’ was directed by the acclaimed Gurinder Chadha (who made ‘Bend it like Beckham’ and ‘Bride and Prejudice’).

ANITA AND ME captures the trials of Meena (the ‘me’ in the title), a precocious girl growing up in a working class suburb in England. Meena’s parents have emigrated from Punjab and like most new immigrants, are quite insular in their way of life. They get along just fine with the English neighbourhood but are rarely invited or invite the neighbours to their house. Meena on the other hand is caught with a foot in both worlds. She adores the local brat Anita and thought that all her Christmases had come true when she was accepted into Anita’s gang. Anita soon realises that her ‘troubles’ are trivial compared to those of her friends and the sacrifices her parents made in order to have a better life in England. The undercurrents of racism are done just so. They are not glaring and they seem entirely plausible.

My complaints about the book are Syal’s constant need to be witty and the never ending British colloquialism. I actually found that quite exasperating. Also, the stereotyping of the family nucleus – Meena’s family is portrayed as a close knit family whilst the opposite is the case for her Caucasian friend Anita. I guess those undercurrents were probably essential to the plot.

As a whole, I did enjoy the book.

DVD REVIEW: GAAU JI [DUMPLINGS] (CHINESE)

Based on a novella from Lillian Lee (Farewell, My Concubine), this 2004 Hong Kong film directed by Fruit Chan (what a name) stars the box office queen Miriam Yeung and Hollywood actress Bai Ling. The movie dabbles with the supernatural and delivers a haunting and even realistic glimpse of human horrors. The movie was expanded from a short segment, Three... Extremes.


A former tv soap actress decides to eat a Mainland woman's special dumplings in her quest to obtain eternal youth. Trashy Mainland immigrant Mei is a former singer-turned-doctor-turned-abortionist-turned-cook whose dumplings is said to provide eternal beauty. What is truly revolting, is the contents of the dumplings. Watch the movie to see what DUMPLINGS is all about....

Be warned, this movie is not for the faint hearted!!!

MOVIE REVIEW: RAB NE BANA DI JODI (HINDI)

RAB NE BANA DI JODI is a journey into a relationship filled with laughter, tears, joy, pain, music, dance and a lot of love. A journey that makes us believe that there is an extraordinary love story in every ordinary "jodi" (relationship).

RAB NE BANA DI JODI (A Match Made in Heaven) is a romantic comedy directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by Yash Raj Films. Shahrukh Khan stars in the film as mild-mannered Punjap Power office worker Surinder "Suri" Sahni whose love for beautiful, vivacious Tania "Taani Partner" Gupta (Anushka Sharma) transforms him into his alter ego, the loud and fun loving "Raj".

Conflict occurs when Taani falls for Suri’s alter ego, Raj. Does Suri tell Taani that both Suri and Raj are the one person….or does Taani have to choose between Suri and Raj? Which will it be? Watch RAB NE BANA DI JODI to find out.

In my opinion, the songs aren't that great and I give it 3.5 stars and the movie 4 stars.


Check out the trailer below from Yash Raj Films.

BOOK REVIEW: MY LIFE AS EMPEROR BY SU TONG

Set in Imperial China, it depicts the life of a fictional emperor, based on true life accounts of Chinese Emperors throughout the ages.

An extraordinary and chilling dramatisation of the dark side of nation building. It is an exploration of the complexities and failings of human nature

Written by Su Tong, the acclaimed author of "Raise the Red Lantern"and "Rice".

BOOK REVIEW: FAMILY MATTERS BY ROHINTON MISTRY

I love reading but it can be a very expensive hobby as the price of books here in Australia isn’t cheap. Most books retail around $29.95 to $39.95, depending on the author and the size of the book. Not that I want to deprive the authors (more likely it is the publishers that get a bigger slice of the pie, or in this case, the book) from making a buck but the economist in me says that if you lower the price of a good, you would get more demand and in turn, actually increase your profits. Oh well, at least the high cost of first hand books has given birth to another business and hence contributed to the economy – that of second hand books.

This is where I come in. Half of the books that I purchase are second hand; but even then, I stick to the ‘VG’ standard. They have to be in pristine condition even before I consider a purchase. Creased edges, a no-no. Dog ears – definitely not! (in my opinion, people who make dog ears in books should be sent to book school – Book Care 101: What not to do to books and how to care for them. In other words, R-E-S-P-E-C-T books!).

The Author - Rohinton Mistry

Which brings me to my next book: FAMILY MATTERS by Rohinton Mistry. After reading Rohinton’s A FINE BALANCE, I was hooked. I have been looking for FAMILY MATTERS ever since and everywhere. I keep checking the book stores to see if the price has gone down but to no avail. Image my joy when I was up in Queensland (yes, I looked for books there too) and found this book. Unfortunately, it did not make the VG standard at all – not even by 50 per cent. But at this stage, I had almost given up hope of finding it and coupled by the seller’s comment of how good the book is, I relented and purchase it…..and I have not regretted the decision.

The story is about Nariman Vakeel, a Parsi and the elderly widowed patriarch of an extended family, who suffers from Parkinson's disease. He lives with his stepdaughter, Coomy and stepson, Jal, in a large flat in Mumbai (Bombay) in the 1990s. Coomy and Jal's half-sister (Nariman's biological daughter), Roxana - lives with her husband Yezad, and their two young sons, in a tiny two room flat, purchased by Nariman as Roxana's dowry.

Nariman marries Coomy and Jal’s mother for the sake of his family. He was in love with a Christian girl but the relationship was opposed by Nariman’s family and the Parsi community. They would rather Nariman marry a widow with two children rather than someone from outside the race. Coomy dislikes her step father, as she blames him for the death of her mother. As the story unfolds, the true nature of Nariman’s wife death becomes evident.

When Nariman breaks his ankle during his daily walk (which constantly receives Coomy’s chides), he is bed ridden and needs help for everything. Coomy resents this and hatches a plan to make her sister Roxanna take care of their father in her tiny flat. Jal is against the plan but is too afraid of Coomy to protest. What Coomy does to make her plan succeed is quite appalling – it shows the amount of hate Coomy has for her father.

So Nariman is ‘shipped’ to Roxanna house, much to Yezad’s chagrin. The family can barely make ends meet, much less having another mouth to feed and Nariman’s medical expenses to boot. However, living with his father-in-law in cramped quarters for several months, Yezad grows from a moody and uninvolved husband to a sweet and caring husband, father and son-in-law. Family values and elders are revered and ghosts are laid to rest in the Vakel family. But for how long? To find out what actually happens in this book, I implore you to read FAMILY MATTERS.

PS: Dilemma - I now need to find a good copy of FAMILY MATTERS, to take its pride in my ever bludgeoning bookcase! I can never win….. !