The Conversation-2: Devil’s Workshop

—–Original Message—–
From: R, Ravikiran
Sent: 29 September 2006 10:11
Subject: Kads as Sita
http://www.rediff.com/movies/2006/sep/28msg.htm

Damn, I can almost imagine Kads weeping through out .
Best Regards,
Ravikiran R
—–Original Message—–
From: Ganesh, Arun
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 10:15 AM
To: R, Ravikiran
Subject: RE: Kads as Sita

If Ajay is playing Ram, then SRK has to play Ravan
Imagine ten heads stammering simultaneously.Hey-y-y-y-y-y-y-y sita-a-a-a-a.

Regards
Arun

—–Original Message—–
From: R, Ravikiran (.)

Sent: 29 September 2006 10:48
To: Ganesh, Arun
Subject: RE: Kads as Sita

He he…..You seem to have digested SRK and his histronics and you see him everywhere !!

But if SRK is Ravana, his fans will start bashing Ramayana (and demanding a rewriting of Ramayana) saying Ravana should have been united with Sita at the end. And if it was KJ directing, he would have made sure that (for his love towards SRK), would have made it acceptable by public (even though conservatives said “tch tch” in whisper), and grossed money at box office too.

Wait, didn’t that already happen in KANK (Except that Rama did not bother to fight to get back his wife and let his headache(aka Maya) go where ever she wants).

Best Regards,

Ravikiran R

—–Original Message—–

From: R, Ravikiran (.)

Sent: 29 September 2006 10:58

To: Ganesh, Arun

Subject: RE: Kads as Sita

Btw, Ajay is perfectly suited for Rama. He lacks any self-intelligence (just like in omkara, too vulnerable to rumours), self respecting, moralistic (hardly has gone after others’ wife/gfs in movies, unlike SRK) but is capable of winning back his wife in just ways (like HDDCS). More analysis welcome

Best Regards,

Ravikiran R

—–Original Message—–From: Ganesh, Arun

Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 12:26 PM

To: R, Ravikiran (.)

Subject: RE: Kads as Sita

Yeah that’s right, but that reminds me that Saif should never get the role of Laxman!
For Hanuman’s role I recommend suniel shetty. His physique suits the role and moreover his face & expressions will be hidden behind the 10 inch makeup.
Viveik Oberoi is suited to play bali (gets bumped off in the 1st frame itself, hehe)

Regards
Arun
—–Original Message—–

From: R, Ravikiran (.)
Sent: 29 September 2006 12:47
To: Ganesh, Arun
Subject: RE: Kads as Sita Laughing my stomach out(new phrase btw)…ouch it aches….:))
Too much on Oberoi…can’t stop laughing.
Congrats on getting vivek’s spelling right. I never get.
Thanks for a good laugh )
Who will be that sister of ravana whose nose gets chopped off – Kareena Kapoor

Who will be that greedy mother of Bharat- Aruna Irani. Bharath – who makes it more difficult for Rama in forest after taking away his chappals–can be Arshad warsi.
Who will be Dashrath – Big B, of course.

Best Regards,
Ravikiran R

—–Original Message—–
From: Ganesh, Arun
Sent: 29 September 2006 12:54
To: ‘R, Ravikiran (.)’
Subject: RE: Kads as Sita

Hahaha Arshad Warsi as bharat, that’s some imagination!

He will run away with the best lines in the movie. Sample this:

“Bhai, bole to mummy ekdum solid-cheater nikli. Mereko aapka chappal milega kya, bole to as a momentum (memento)?”

Regards

Arun

To be continued …..

The Conversation

Excerpts from the discussion on “international issues” between two friends via email:

 Part-1—–Original Message—–From: Ganesh, Arun Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 11:27 AMTo: R, Ravikiran (.)

Subject: Thank god!

RDB for Oscars!

At least this time they didn’t screw up.Regards

Arun

—–Original Message—–
From: R, Ravikiran (.)
Sent: 26 September 2006 11:46
To: Ganesh, Arun
Subject: RE: Thank god!

 

Yeah

 

Best Regards,

Ravikiran R

End of Part-1

Part-2

RK, after a rather quick introspection

—–Original Message—–From: R, Ravikiran (.) Sent: 27 September 2006 08:37To: Ganesh, Arun

Subject: RE: Thank god!

What ?? They dint select the path breaking, out of the box thinking, motivating lovestory that was plutonic and had transcended logic,reasoning and a movie which broke all conventions to show it and that never seemed to end – KANK ?????? They didn’t select kank ?? Disappointment…..He he…but seriously…

Yeah..but u cant really select among rdb, lrm and perhaps omkara too… A very good year for bollywood….

Best Regards,

Ravikiran R

—–Original Message—–
From: Ganesh, Arun
Sent: 27 September 2006 09:23
To: ‘R, Ravikiran (.)’
Subject: RE: Thank god!

 

I thot Omkara wud prove to be a dark horse, but a movie which had its own desi audience struggling to understand the dialogues would fall into the deaf ears of the “distinguished” oscar panel.

 

RDB with the contemporary feel, national issues, patriotism & a firang heroine has something to hope for.

 

But then Lagaan also had patriotism & a firang heroine!

 

Regards

Arun

End of Part-2

To be continued …

Pyar Ke Side/Effects

A.V – ***

E.V – ****

How many times have you walked into a cinema to watch that “Oh! so awesome movie” and felt cheated? Yeah, to err is human but its not divine to support the directer to clear off the bad debts he has incurred while making the much hyped hatke movie.

Now picture this – You walk into a cinema, expecting a comme ci comme ca kind of a movie especially since the leading lady of the movie is more popular for her off-screen antics than on-screen histronics, the leading man who is more content doing parallel cinema and a bunch of VJs posing as actors. Recipe for a complete disaster, right?

Ah! serendipity.

Pyar Ke Side/ Effects (PKSE) may have ventured into a familiar territory that was explored earlier by Nagesh Kukunoor in Hyderabad Blues -1 & 2 but it still smells oven fresh. Cynics may want to write it off as a wannabe Hollywood movie or the one trying to wander in the lanes of Meet the Parents, but its infectious charm is undeniable. Its like an old story narrated in a refreshingly funny way, ofcourse with the occasional cliches, keeping the contemporary world in mind. 

Sid (Bose), a DJ, sees trouble when his girlfriend Trisha (Sherawat) talks marriage. He sleepwalks through the idea. His best buddies are Nanu (Ranveer, hilarious!) and his hapless bro-in-law who incidentally share the same ideology. Sid tries hard to change himself, goes to meet her parents but ends up blowing things apart. An attempt to break and then mend the relationship takes him through this hilarious journey.

Sid’s role was tailor made for Rahul Bose, his facial expressions are flawless. His one-on- one with the audience about the side effects of love are picturised with loads of humour. Mallika Sherawat proves that she can emote the way she smooches. Ranveer carries his small screen charisma on to the big screen, the guy is turning out to be an ace comedian. VJ Sophie as Baby Girl Vol.3 compensates her acting skills with tons of oomph. Dialogues are extremely witty, screenplay is tight in the the first half but tends to slack a bit later. Music by Pritam is foot-tapping as well as melodious (hope its not stolen stuff again!) especially the title track and the beautiful sad song to which Sid cries his heart out . The direction is pretty neat and keeps you interested towards a major part of the movie.

Being a Mumbaiite, maybe its the ‘Delhi bashing’ that I enjoyed the most in the movie . But on a serious note this movie is worth every paisa of your ticket; the recipe to a perfect date movie. Give the hard-boiled critic within you some respite and you wont complain of any side effects.

-Arun

Lage Raho Munnabhai

What a surprise packet. I hadn’t caught any promotional clips nor had observed the poster carefully and man, I was overwhelmed. Anyone who saw, kept saying, go watch yourself. I will concur that.

Hope you watched. When I had lost all hope on a sequel, after the debacle of the year Phir Hera Pheri, this resurrects the hope. In fact, this is as original as the first part.

Munna bhai is madly in love with a Radio Jockey and just like the first part, to impress her, he lies that he knows about Gandhiji and he follows Gandhi’s principles – which gets a new phrase from this movie – Gandhigiri. “How” he follows the principles and “how” he succeeds is what the movie tells us. There is a message and there is loads of laughter.

Random thoughts and minor spoilers ahead.

Of course at one point of time, I doubted how the story can win. There is no way by sending roses you can change one’s heart. Thats where the sub plot enters and I was convinced that, it works.

I expected in the beginning, Munna’s role, in realizing everybody’s dreams of those in Second innings house.

Jokes were not sms jokes, as is the usually case these days and they were very original, unheard of before.. But, it will take no time before Munna Bhai jokes going around in sms.

Full marks to most underrated performer of the decade – Arshad Warsi – what an impeccable comic timing this guy has. Everytime he said, “hey uthna, sorry bolneka hai”, I cracked up in laughter. His dialogue in jail explaining that he never went to jail after doing many crimes but went when he said sorry once , is my another favorite scene. And his facial expressions while searching for Bapu is great.

Vidya Balan chips in with cute looks and reasonable performance. Sanju babu is at his best. His listening to Bapu’s story of theft is my fav scene. And of course, “chemical locha” scene. See how he cries when he apologizes to circuit. Such innocent looks adds great value to the character. “Put me back in jail” near the wedding scene is a touchy one. Similarly, his shout about the corrupt bureaucracy. His all earlier work might be forgotten, but Munna will remain in every one’s hearts for ever. If Vaastav had given him second birth, Munna bhai has made him immortal. Munna and circuit together will go down as iconic characters from Hindi cinema on the lines of Gabbar Singh.

Bapu’s acting was touching.

Two things could have been kept from the first part – Lucky Singh should have been laughing/grinning whenever he gets angry. That used to crack me up in 1st part with Dean’s character. Second, there should have been a “jadu ki jappi” somewhere

After laughing for nearly 3 hours continuously, things look so good. Hopes on Bollywood resurrected. Am looking forward for sequels, remakes and what ever. Don, Ghayal – bring them on…

My Super ex-girlfriend

AV – *
EV – *

This is the story of a girl with superpowers and she is called G-girl for a change. She is  bespectacled & lousy when she is working in an art museum, otherwise a glamourous supergirl who flies around dousing huge fires and bashing up baddies – basically
saving the land of uncle Sam. So much for originality!

Yawn!

She falls for this loser kinda guy and freaks him out with her totally wierd behaviour. The guy dumps her, she seeks revenge.

Yaaaawn!

Why Uma, Why? Why on earth did you act in this movie? Okay, maybe it was supposed to spoof those superhero movies but then it had to have some substance in it.
It had to be funny. Those bed-breaking makeout scenes were not. Dialogues? Negative. Any other aspect worth mentioning? Nay! Its like been there, seen it all.

Save money, save your sanity and just stay away ‘cos off the records, there is nothing known to mankind as a ’super ex-girfriend’!

-Arun