Straight

In the midst of central London, a successful Indian restaurant called ‘Gaylord’ is run by a Londoner of Indian origin called Pinu.

A simple soul at heart, Pinu has many complexes – a special one being that he is a virgin and has experienced no intimacy with a woman.

To top that, his biggest fear is to be laughed at by people… an ever-repeating phenomenon with him.

Pinu is quite an introvert and has no real friends…the closest he has ever gotten to a friendship is with his foster brother rajat, who is quite a contrast to his own personality –A casual air about him, he is the lead singer of a rock band.

Rajat is very fond of pinu, though is often a source of annoyance to him as he finds pinu really funny.

One day, a young Indian fellow called Kamlesh comes to his restaurant and asks for a job as a stand-up comedian. Quite thrown off, Pinu initially refuses but finally lets him join as a cook, who also does a stand-up act in the evenings.

On the same day, he hires a new cashier - Renu, a young art student from India, who has a passion for caricatures.

Life changes dramatically for Pinu as Gaylord begins to transform… Renu works on the look of the place, makes cheerful caricatures for customers while Kamlesh is a fabulous cook with a great talent for making people laugh in his acts and soon the restaurant is more happening and the business is much better.

But the greatest difference they bring to his life is friendship. There is a visible difference in Pinu’s personality now as he lets himself hang out a bit with them.

One fine day, Pinu is thrown in to a daze as he walks away from the restaurant …he has discovered a totally new fear – he might be Gay!!

Pinu seeks refuge in Rajat’s advice which is quite simply – screw a woman!

On a mission now, Pinu goes on a rampage seeking available women. However, it leads to him suffering another string of tragicomic situations, ending up feeling humiliated…and laughed at!

‘Straight!!’ is a funny tale about Pinu, who struggles with himself, his fears and his complexes, to ‘come out’ as straight and find himself a love story.

Siddharth - The Prisoner

Just released from prison, Siddharth Roy (Rajat Kapoor), a once famous writer, completes a new manuscript.

He re-engages with the outside world, hoping that the new book will restore his reputation and also reconcile him with his estranged wife, Maya.

Fate has other plans for Roy, when his briefcase gets exchanged at a cyber café with a similar briefcase containing a large sum of money. Roy looses the only copy of his new manuscript, while Mohan, the cyber café manager, comes under pressure from mob bosses to recover the lost money.

In the midst of growing despair about the lost manuscript, Roy is reconciled with his three year old son through a scheming housemaid.

Unable to find happiness in the money he has found Roy begins to desire the custody of his son. Meanwhile the pressure mounts on Mohan as he looses his job and is forced to go into hiding from the mob. He must find Roy and money at any cost.

Based on the ancient text of the Rig Veda, the film explores the theme of renunciation (of desire) as the true path to enlightenment and freedom.

Slumdog Millionaire

Yeah! When you’ve a British Filmmaker and Indian Artists are on the show, ‘a mind-boggling’ magic goes on. For sure, you wouldn’t need an illustration for this. Richard Attenborough’s ‘The Gandhi’ touched the feat of honor. Now, after 27 years, here the Indian dreams getting accomplished yet again. Thanks to Danny Boyle who has made us wonder how versatile filmmakers of our Country weren’t able to present such a mirror-image of Mumbai, its beauty and the other side. Precisely, it’s worthy calling the film as the ‘Good-Bad-and-The Ugly’ of Mumbai. Indeed, the British Filmmaker endows us with a tremendous piece of work. Well, this flick isn’t merely about ‘A Slumdog turning millionaire overnight’, but the heart-and-soul encounters faced by a lad on his way from ‘Rags to Riches’.

Ever heard about the line ‘Reality Bites’, you should have. A staggering film that offers you surprises and irresistible shocks that even Mumbaikers wouldn’t have noticed. If you’re looking out for any messages to be perceived - yeah, you’ve one. ‘Bitter experiences making you stumble down are the stimulants to successes’. Don’t assume this to be Danny’s statements; but it is for those audiences who expect a solid substance from it.

Accused of cheating and desperate to prove his innocence, an eighteen-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai reflects back on his tumultuous life while competing to win 20 million rupees on India’s ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ in Danny Boyle’s inspirational drama. Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) may not have a penny to his name, but that could all change in a matter of hours. He’s one question away from taking the top prize on India’s most popular television game show, but as with everything else in Jamal’s life, it isn’t going to be easy.

Arrested by police under suspicion of cheating, Jamal is interrogated by the authorities. The police simply can’t believe that a common (Slumdog) could possibly possess the knowledge to get this far into a brain game game, and in order to convince them of how he gained such knowledge, Jamal begins reflecting back on his childhood. As young boys, Jamal and his older brother, Salim, lived in squalor, and lost their mother in a mob attack on Muslims. Subsequently forced to rely on their own wits to survive, the desperate siblings fell back on petty crime, eventually befriending adorable yet feisty young Latika as they sought out food and shelter on the unforgiving streets of Mumbai.

Though life on the streets was never easy, Jamal’s experiences ultimately instilled in him the knowledge he needed to answer the tough questions posed to him on ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’. Though Jamal makes a convincing case for himself, one question still remains: why would a young man with no apparent desire for wealth or fame be so determined to win big on a national game show? Of course, it won’t be long until everyone finds out the answer to this burning question, because as Jamal sits down to find out whether he will be rich beyond his wildest dreams, 60 million viewers remain transfixed to their televisions eager to see if he’ll correctly answer the final question.

It’s merely not the expositions of Mumbai and Vikas Swaroop’s ‘Q&A’ that makes ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ an interesting film. Simon Beaufoy’s gripping screenplay of continuous switching over times of past-and-present, keeps you edge-seated for every single second of the 120 minutes. A groovy narration with joy, pain, union, separation, tragedy and love doesn’t get anyone’s attentions scattered.

Check out the list of star-casts, everybody on the title cards steals the show with their exceptional performance sans flawlessness. Dev Patel has an inborn talent that’s so evident on his gestures and actions on every frame. The glimpse on his reactions as Irrfan questions ‘Who’s there on 100 rupee Indian Note?’ his fantastic spell of reaction would never stop anyone from applauding. Watching this guy glimpsing on his past for the last question of ‘Three Musketeers’ and smiling cheerfully, would again make you hail him with praises. ‘An outstanding actor’ and that’s it.

Well, you don’t have Frieda Pinto appearing for more than 30mins (3 different girls on different ages of Latika’s characterization). But, gets her depicted attractive sans a lavish makeover… Madhur Mittal as Older Salim overwhelms with sparkling acting especially in the penultimate sequences. Wanna hear his Punch dialogues? ‘Eeee…easy’, ‘Aaraamse….’, ‘I’m at the centre of centre’.

Anil Kapoor deserves great appraisals for the bold attempt of picking a characterization of negative shades. Irrfan Khan with his casual efforts picks your attention. Saurabh Shukla does his characterization which is presented with finesse.

The technical aspects are enthralling. We have never seen Mumbai’s slums so deeply. The cinematographer doesn’t fail to capture even the minutest props with the best-innovative placements of camera angles. Bird’s eye view of Mumbai’s slums is over-the-top..

As icing on the cake, the Musical score by Rahman makes it big with the visual perception. To a certain extent, title song ‘O Saayo’ seems to be carrying the traces of opening scene in Fernando Meirelles’ ‘City of God’. Rahman’s earnest involvement in getting along with creative thoughts of the cinematographer and Danny Boyle has yielded the best results. Doubtlessly, ‘Jai Ho’ and ‘O…Saayo’ are electrifying making you feel to watch it over again for many times. Nithin Desai’s set decoration of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepathi’ and the marvelous Taj Mahal are a masterpiece.

On the whole, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has various reasons to capture everyone’s attention. Probably, the most top-charting show of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepathi’ should have earlier pulled everyone. Nevertheless, there’s something more close to your hearts than these factors of emotional vistas. A beautifully portrayed romance bounded with lots of hurdles in the union till last moment is sure to melt down your hearts

Billu Barber

Posted by: admin in Bollywood Reviews

Priyadarshan is synonymous with ha-ha-thons, but the talented storyteller has been equally proficient while handling intense dramas like SAZA-E-KALA PANI, GARDISH and VIRASAT. Like VIRASAT and MALAMAAL WEEKLY, Billu, the accomplished director’s new outing, is also set in a hamlet.

Although the story has been attempted in Malayalam (KADHA PARAYUMBOL) and Tamil (KUSELAN) earlier, the story actually takes its inspiration from the legendary friendship between Lord Krishna and Sudama. In this case, the story talks of the friendship between a superstar and an ordinary mortal who runs a salon.

Billu is a simple story about simple people, told in the most simplistic manner. There’s a generous dose of glamour as well, given the fact that the protagonist’s friend happens to be a superstar, but what actually works for the film is the simpleton’s story. He wages a daily battle to make ends meet.

Although the film is engaging, Priyadarshan reserves the best for the finale this time, when the superstar reminisces about his childhood friend and the deep bond that they shared. The end is remarkable and is sure to strike a chord with all sections of moviegoers.

Final word? Billu is amongst Priyadarshan’s finest works. And also Irrfan and SRK’s. This tale of friendship is sure to steal your heart!

Billu tells the story of a simple ordinary man, Bilas Rao Pardesi (Irrfan Khan), living in a small town with his wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta) and two kids. His life undergoes a drastic change as superstar Sahir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) visits the village for a film shoot. Everything changes. Things go from good to bad to worse to good again.

Ten minutes into the film and you get absorbed into Billu’s small world. The salon is in bad shape, the family is facing tough times, the neighbours and acquaintances are fair-weather friends… Billu’s life gets grim with each passing day.

The story takes an interesting turn when Billu’s life collides with the superstar’s. And the assorted characters — right from an aspiring poet/lyricist (Rajpal Yadav), to a stingy money lender (Om Puri), to the principal of the school (Rasika Joshi) — everyone wants favours from Billu. These characters only make Billu more interesting.

SRK’s track is equally fascinating and only spices up the proceedings. In fact, Priyadarshan has amalgamated the three songs (featuring SRK with Deepika, Priyanka and Kareena) in the narrative smartly. Not once do you feel that you’re watching two stories concurrently.

The best part of the enterprise is its climax. The superstar recalls his humble beginning and how his friend stood by him in times of crisis. The writing is brilliant and SRK only takes the scene to greater heights with his terrific portrayal.

Priyadarshan is adept at handling relationships and with Billu, he proves he can handle emotions with as much flourish as comedy.

To tell a simple, uncomplicated story, without the usual frills, is an arduous task indeed and Priyadarshan tackles the material with remarkable ease. The humour here is subtle, not loud, and a constant smile remains on your face all through.

Mushtaq Shiekh and Priyadarshan’s screenplay is foolproof. In fact, the writing never loses focus and the highs and the lows in Billu’s life are sensitively penned by the duo. Manisha Korde’s dialogues are simple, gelling with the mood of the film.

Pritam’s music is energetic. The songs, promoted aggressively prior to the release, only get an impetus thanks to the presence of the three actresses.

‘Mar Jaani’ and ‘Love Mera Hit Hit’ are, of course, the pick of the lot. V. Manikandan’s cinematography is top notch. The locales (Pollachi) are breath-taking.

In the recent years, Irrfan has emerged as a force to reckon with, his performances have appealed to all strata of moviegoers and his work in Billu will only cement his status as a remarkable actor. Shah Rukh Khan needs to be admired for two reasons.

The show belongs to Irrfan, although SRK could’ve forced himself in every scene.

Also, he has chosen to opt for a film that’s not one of those run-of-the-mill types. In terms of performance, SRK shows his true potential towards the finale.

Lara Dutta springs a pleasant surprise. She goes through her part with complete understanding. Om Puri is excellent.

Rasika Joshi is too good. Rajpal Yadav is really funny in the penultimate scene, when he recites a film song of an SRK film. Asrani and Manoj Joshi are passable.

On the whole, Billu is a sweet-n-simple film that lingers in your memory even after the show has concluded.

The final 20 minutes are the highpoint of the enterprise and that elevates the status of the film to great heights. The film has the potential to grow with a strong word of mouth. Recommended… Take your family for this one!

DEV D

Here comes a dissimilar version to yesteryear classics of ‘Devdas’ that were so solemnly delivered the words of Sarath Chandra into picture. Well, in an era of cyber mania and lots of changes happening over, one cannot assure about the same classic hitting on top-of-charts. Yeah! Anurag Kashyap brimmed with such a motif strike a different note based on same lines. Of course, when you’ve Devdas turning into stylish DEV D, there’s whole lot of innovative factors blended with some of real life incidents. Moreover, he has spelled a fantabulous piece by limning the characterizations more potently. Dev, Paro and Chanda; they’ve uniqueness of their own rigidity and that scores good points for Anurag. Alas! Like in much of the recent films, where a perfect script is fumbled with flimsy screenplay DEV D doesn’t happen to be an elision. In fact, its stops the film half way from striking Gold and auteur could’ve perhaps worked the better way (Is it an impact of Anurag’s adamant statement in recent interview ‘I Do What I want to do’?).

The film has been crafted with lots and lots of stylish factors and MMS has a great role over here. Perhaps, you can ennoble DEV D as ‘Urbanized Version of Classical Devdas). Dev D is a modern-day interpretation of the classic novel “Devdas” by Sarat Chandra. Dev, Paro and Chanda of Dev D reflect the sensibilities, conflicts, aggression, and independence. Free thought, exuberance and recklessness of the youth of today. A generation that is jammed between eastern roots and western sensibilities. Dev D is set in the rustic and colorful Punjab and also explores the dingy, morbid, dark underbelly of Delhi. From sprawling mustard fields to a riot of neon….

Fine! Getting on with storyline, there’s nothing much dissimilar from previous versions. Dev (Abhay Deol) and Paro are devilishly in love with each other. Don’t expect to the same classical poignant touch of divine love. Here’s something more loaded with more lecherousness. Eventually, things are topsy-turvy when Paro is urged to marry another person. Now Dev has all his trust on ‘Alcohol’ (Aye! You’ll find lots of promo for Vodka of particular brand) and drugs. When these have nothing to do with him, Dev happens to meet Chanda (Kalki Koechlin), a student who was affected by MMS issue turning into sex-worker.

When you’ve three characterizations of complicated natures, it’s gonna be a much more interesting show when they’re interwoven. Finally, the show is all about the pursuit of real love getting accomplished.

Anurag Kashyap seems to have made this version for international audiences. It’s more illustrious on every vista of narration, adult contents and sleek technical factors. Maybe, DEV sitting at London and glimpsing on pics mailed by Paro in Punjab may go gaga with western audiences as well cosmopolitan cities of India. But a billion dollar question is that would a young lad or missy feel comfortable watching it along with their parents (again Anurag’s statement ‘I Do want I want to do’ is prevalent seems to be prevalent here). Chanda’s characterization of real life incident is a bold attempt. Here and there, we’ve lots of traces inherited from flicks made by avant-garde auteurs.

With things completely gratifying the audiences’ interest over there in first half, the latter part is a bit annoying. Sluggish screenplay with more predictable quotients lets you yawn frequently. On the pars, there are bits and pieces of absurd factors that naturally get diminished if audiences’ aren’t so keen on picking them.

On the performance, Abhay Deol steals the show with a colossal piece of work. His smart looks and matured performances has it all peaking him to score great. Well, couple of actresses has delivered their best doing justice to their role. Anurag could’ve focused a bit more on Koechlin as she has got a solid characterization, but goes middling with her performance.

A prodigious work trenchantly showcased by entire technical crew. Looks like Anurag is vividly influenced by Greg Harrison’s ‘November’ and Pedro Almodover, the world’s best filmmakers using stylish colors on the screen. Doubtlessly, they have been few amongst small group of avant-garde filmmakers who have narration and technical aspects scoring best equally. Kashyap tries making different attempts on technical panoramas of musical score and editing. Possibly, he could’ve made it stunning in screenplay too…

On the whole, DEV D is a good film made with best experimentations by Anurag Kashyap. And even you can watch the film for a try out and come up with commendable applause for entire team though latter half is loaded with tenuous attributes.

Luck By Chance

Flicks based on tinsel town aren’t new to the world of cinema. Be it Krzysztof Kieslowski’s ‘Camera Buff’ or Federico Fellini’s ‘8 ½’; these avant-garde films dealt with intrinsic something more than filmmaking. Precisely, it was far away from shooting spots of clapboards and ‘Camera Rolling –Action-Cut’. To start off with, ‘Luck By Chance’ is worthy to be called as the best of its kind. Earlier, the same producers brimmed with an extraordinary flick ‘Rock On’ and again, here’s one more tremendous piece of work accommodating itself across the ‘Changing phase of Bollywood’.

Hats off to Zoya Akhtar for a splendid debut! Unlike debutants, there is nothing to be called as ‘amateurish’ about her work on any quotient.

Ye Kaise Ho Saktha Hai?

When you’ve a legend Javed and a fantastic filmmaker accompanying her on the button, with a gripping storyline and perfect casting (including guest appearances of superstars) is what makes ‘Luck By Chance’ fantastic. The fantasy sellers and the devoted audience, the insane love for Cinema mixed with the eccentric notion of divinity and archaic beliefs; these are the contradictions that keep this world spinning.

The stark reality of living in India juxtaposed with the fantastical world depicted on screen suddenly begins to make sense…

Sona (Konkona Sen Sharma) arrives in Bombay with her dreams of becoming a film star. Wide eyed but ambitious, she does whatever it takes, to make it. She lives on her own in a rented apartment - a luxury for most in this bustling city, and spends her time with a motley crew of loyal friends whose lives are also entwined with Bollywood, each one in search of a bigger dream.

Vikram (Farhan Akhtar) has just moved to the city leaving the comforts of his parents’ Delhi home. He is a mover, he is used to getting what he wants and is smart enough to know when to demand it and when to manipulate it. He is young and handsome, and full of promise. Sona begins to enjoy Vikram’s attention and affections; they develop a romantic relationship.

Rolly (Rishi Kapoor) is a successful but superstitious producer who only works with the biggest stars. He is making a potential blockbuster launching the nubile Nikki Khurana (Isha Sharwani), the 18-year-old daughter of 70’s superstar, Neena (Dimple Kapadia). The hero of the film, Zaffar Khan (Hrithik Roshan), is Rolly’s favorite superstar. He was launched by Rolly and went on to become a huge draw at the box office.

The wheels of fate indeed continue to spin favorably for Vikram, as elsewhere in the industry, havoc spreads on the sets of producer Rommy Rolly’s new film. Vikram is called in for an audition and uses this opportunity to the fullest.

The film is about a slice of Bollywood life, in which “Kismet” plays a huge role. Here, notions of superstition, fate and destiny underline every life, as grand desires and opportunity converge to form strange patterns.

In such an unpredictable climate is success and failure that others define for you… or is it something you decide for yourself?

As mentioned earlier, casting happens to be the most promising attribute for the film. Farhan Akhtar is marvelous with his casual air. The actor never seems to have exposed his strained take of performance in any scene. He’s cool carrying off everything with his penchant for perfection. Not far away is Konkona Sen Sharma. The actress with her top-notching show emotes stupendously well in various situations.

She doesn’t complicate herself while getting emotional outbursts. It’s merely with her facial expressions and simple gestures that she emotes so well. Precisely, watch out for her final conversation with Farhan Akhtar on shooting spot, it is too good. A 5-star credit to Rishi Kapoor for an excellent performance throughout the show. Watch out for the reflections of disappointment on his face with a lowered voice, when Hrithik Roshan walks out of his project. And again, a glimpse on his actions while Hrithik congratulates him over the phone; he eclipses everything in the frame. His intonations of appraisals for Farhan like ‘Volcanoes of Talents’ doubtlessly gets us to laugh.

Dimple Kampadia’s flare-up lines with her daughter are worthy of applause. Juhi Chawla in her minimal role is brilliant.

Getting on with superstars making their cameo, this isn’t something of a lavish show. Apart from very few, everyone has a vital role to perform. Need an illustration? It goes off with Karan Johar’s talk with Hrithik Roshan at Kareena’s party. Above all, Shah Rukh’s portion in the penultimate sequence is worth a mention with a strong substance.

Musical score by Shankar-Ehasan-Loy is of mediocre quality as only a couple of songs ‘Bhaaware’ and ‘Sapno Se’ do well on the screen. The same scenario persists with the background score as well but it is well established on few parts. Cinematography by Carlos Catalan offers an enriched visual quality with distorted tones. He has well-designed cuts with his innovative angles adhering to emotional touch.

This is more evident during Konkona’s talk with her agent (First, both the characters focused clearly, towards the end, the camera pans depicting them in silhouette). Javed Akhtar’s dialogues are gripping, especially with Konkona portion during climax.

Zoya Akhtar comes up with a good screenplay that’s quite lively in the first half. But it turns to be slightly flimsy in latter part till the last few minutes. Nevertheless, an appealing climax diminishes those flaws.

On the whole, ‘Luck By Chance’ is sure to be loved by film buffs, multiplex audiences or those related with tinsel town. With no biggies slated to release for next couple of weeks, the producers can ‘Rock On’ filling their sacs with profits.

With EIGHT Oscars, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ sweeps Academy awards !!

India has been revelling in Oscar night glory, with the success of Slumdog Millionaire, its composer AR Rahman and the documentary Smile Pinki.

Rahman won two Oscars, best original score and best original song - Jai Ho - with fellow Indian Gulzar.

Resul Pookutty bagged another award for sound mixing of the rags-to-riches Mumbai movie, which also won best picture and best director.

Smile Pinki, about an Indian cleft-lip girl, won best short documentary.

The success of Slumdog sparked massive celebrations back in the Mumbai slum where two of the film’s child actors still live.

Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail were both in Hollywood for the ceremony.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said of the winners: “They have done India proud.”

‘Power of hope’

India’s biggest winner of the night was Rahman, 43.

INDIA’S OSCAR WINNERS 2009: AR Rahman - best original score 2009: AR Rahman and Gulzar - best original song 2009: Resul Pookutty - sound mixing 1992: Satyajit Ray - lifetime achievement 1983: Bhanu Athaiya - costume design (Gandhi)

He said as he accepted the award: “I just want to thank again the whole crew of Slumdog Millionaire, especially [director] Danny Boyle, for giving me such a great opportunity.”

The composer said he hailed “all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives”.

He went on: “All my life I’ve had a choice of hate and love. I chose love and I’m here. God bless.”

TV pictures showed Rahman’s family cutting a cake in his home city of Madras (Chennai) in southern India and celebrating the composer’s win.

A local band played a tribute to the composer singing Jai Ho.

It’s a proud moment for India that the film has been awarded an Oscar Rafique, Father of Rubina Ali Mumbai slum hails Millionaire stars AR Rahman: Global tunesmith In pictures: Joy in India

Resul Pookutty won for sound mixing of Slumdog with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke.

Pookutty said: “I’m the first Indian technician to be nominated for an Oscar and winning one… And it’s an absolute glory for me myself personally and for my country.”

Pookutty, a graduate from the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India, has been in the industry for more than 10 years and has worked on several big films.

A spokesperson for Indian President Pratibha Patil, said she was “specially thrilled with the remarkable feat achieved by AR Rahman, Gulzar, Resul Pookutty and making India proud”.

Bollywood actor-director Aamir Khan said he was also “thrilled” by India’s successes at the Oscars. “It is great to see Indian talent [in cinema] being recognised internationally. We are no less than anybody else,” Khan told TV channels.

Smile Pinki, a 39-minute documentary by American director Megan Mylan on an eight-year-old Indian girl born with a cleft lip, had been one of the four short documentaries nominated for the Academy Awards.

There were celebrations in the north Indian village in Mirzapur district where Pinki lives, the BBC’s Geeta Pandey says.

The girl’s uncle said several hundred people took part in a procession, chanting “Bharat mata ki jai” (Long Live Mother India).

One of the other films nominated in the short documentary category was also India-based. The Final Inch by American director Irene Taylor Brodsky follows polio workers across India as they vaccinate children in an effort to eradicate the virus.

India now has five Oscar winners.

Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya won for her work in Gandhi in 1983 and director Satyajit Ray won a lifetime achievement award in 1992.