TWO DIVERSE FILMS THIS WEEKEND!

8 Fridays left before the year 2009 comes to an end. Out of these 8, 7 Fridays are marked with the release of some very big and significant films. Tomorrow, Fri Nov 6, will see the release of two extremely diverse films-Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (APKGK) and Jail. While the former is an adorable romantic comedy, the latter is an intense realistic film.

Without doubt, APKGK has an edge over Jail. The Ranbir-Katrina starrer will surely open huge thanks to its lead pair, songs, wonderful promotion and its director (Rajkumar Santoshi) who is back to comic genre after Andaz Apna Apna. Also I feel even the title of the film is damn impressive. What makes it unique is that it’s a long one! Nowadays, we hardly have film titles consisting of 5 words. We mostly find one or two word titles. The very few recent long titled films which I can recollect is Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam, Money Hai To Honey Hai, Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na etc. Coming back to the film, it also seems like a clean entertainer and thus, a perfect family film as well. However, again, the big names associated with the film and wonderful promos don’t guarantee that the film would rock (recently, there have been many such films). So, I am gonna watch this film but like everytime, withless expectations!

Jail, on the other hand, have more chances of being impressive than APKGK. Director Madhur Bhandarkar has always projected realism wonderfully and Jail also looks like another winner from his side. The true picture inside prisons that the film is going to place before the audience is a major reason for watching this film. Neil Mukesh, like everytime, has gone into the skin of his character and is expected to deliver a smashing performance. The film should grow big time with a positive word-of-mouth.

In the end, it will be the content and the audience verdict that will matter. So which film are you planning to watch? Do let me know!
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PAA’S FIRST CUT IS OUT!

The first cut of themost unique film of the year, Paa, is out! The USP of the film as we all know by now is Amitabh Bachchan portraying a 12 year old child suffering from Progeria with Abhishek Bachchan and Vidya Balan as its parents. The film is directed by Cheeni Kum director R Balki. On the eve of the promo release, I was mightily excited with so many questions running in my mind! Will Amitabh Bachchan look convincing as the child? How has he altered his voice, posture, mannerisms etc in order to suit his character? Will Abhishek Bachchan look convincing as Amitabh’s dad? And what about Vidya Balan? Will she be sidelined in this film or does she have an important role as Big B’s mom? So many questions but not all got a satisfying reply. The first teaser exposes Big B’s looks but doesn’t project his dialogue-delivery. But I am sure it’ll manage to create hype with each passing day!

Ideally, the promotional campaign of the film should have kick-started last month on Oct 11 i.e. on Amitabh Bachchan’s birthday. It would have been the best day for the launch. But instead, the makers just gave afull page ad of the film in newspapers with no pic of its lead actors and just a write-up ‘Amitabh turns 13 today’! Now, the film is just a month away (it’s releasing onDec 4) and the maker may not get much time to publicize now.

So here’s the promo of Paa, uploaded below! CHECK OUT AND DO LET ME KNOW YOUR VIEWS! DO NOT MISS IT!

(THIS IS MY 100TH DP!!)

LONDON DREAMS OR ALADIN?

The following twoFridays are going to see the release of four big films two in each week. WhileAjab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Jail are releasing on Nov 6, London Dreams and Aladin are hitting the screens tomorrow, i.e. Oct 30.

London Dreams (LD) was originally to be directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi and he had planned the impossible-casting Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan together! Santoshi even managed to do a joint narration with Aamir and SRK. Both seemed genuinely interested while the narration was going on. But later, due to some unknown reason, both of them stopped responding to Santoshi’s calls and the project was put on the backburner. At that time, the film was titled Rashque (jealousy).

LD is now Vipul Shah’s venture and in place of SRK, he has casted Ajay Devgn and Aamir Khan is replaced by Salman Khan. Although the current version has created curiosity amongst moviegoers, I really really wished the film was made with the original cast. Just imagine, SRK and Aamir Khan together would have rocked completely. Even if the film was bad, just seeing them together would have been a paisa vasool experience!

LD has impressed overall everyone ever since its first promo was out. The song and the musical theme of the film have made it a must watch for everyone. Also, director Vipul Shah’s track record has been fantastic. All his past films (Aankhen, Waqt, Namastey London, Singh Is Kinng) were big time hits. Asin, who is very choosy when it comes to signing films, is also a part of this bid budget project. The film is expected to get a good opening and become a hit.

Since LD will be the first choice for majority, the 2nd release tomorrow, Aladin, may suffer. Frankly speaking, Aladin seems more impressive than LD to me as somehow I have never been interested in films about music bands (I wasn’t even excited for ‘Rock On!!’ before it released). Coming back to Aladin, it has the finest special effects ever seen in any Bollywood movie so far. The film’s star cast is amazing and it may turn out to be a fantasy joyride. On the flipside, the film isn’t well promoted. Also, there are chances that the film may highly disappoint. In the past, there have been countless big budget films which were pathetic and Aladin may also turn out to be the same. Also, the co-producers of the film are Eros who had come up with a similar kind of film last year which became the disaster of the season. That film was DRONA! What if Aladin is also on the same lines? So I’ll prefer to wait for the response and then decide whether or not to go for it!

Which film will be your first choice? Do let me know!
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BLUE’s SEQUEL IN THE OFFING?

There is no certainty yet as to whether Blue has managed to recover its 80-90 crs (or maybe more) cost and yet, its producers are planning its sequel! According to the reports, Katrina will have a longer role in the sequel. Director Anthony D’Souza has announced that John Abraham will be a part of the sequel without even consulting him, thus, pissing off John! Anthony also says that this time the adventures will take place in the sky too!

I was just wondering-what will they name the sequel to Blue? How about ‘BLUE TWO-TH’?!!

DDLJ ENTERS ITS 15 YEAR; STILL RUNNING SUCCESSFULLY IN MUMBAI!

One of the best Bollywood films of all time, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) has been running since its release in 1995 at the Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai! Very surprisingly, the solo 11:30 am show of DDLJ still gets viewers and during weekends, it is easily 70-100% full! It was released on October 20, 1995 and this Tuesday, it entered into its 15th year!

However, a lot of doubts have been raised as to how such an old film still manages to get audience. Some say that Yash Raj Films, the producers of DDLJ, are forcefully running the movie at Maratha Mandir to create a record. But none of this is true and I can vouch for that as I myself have gone to see DDLJ couple of time there. Some of the reasons for DDLJ’s successful running:

1. OUTSTANDING ENTERTAINER: DDLJ is a sweet well-made feel good film that has its heart at the right place. It was a cult film at that time as it managed to place something interesting before the audience and at the same time, didn’t trudge a different path. And SRK’s mind-blowing performance created frenzy among the females. You can find many (males too) who have seen the film more than 30/40/50/100 times and are ready to watch it again! Thus, it’s a film which almost any moviegoer can watch it anytime!

2. SHAH RUKH KHAN’S CRAZE: Shah Rukh Khan has one of the biggest fans following. So many fans from other cities/countries that are on a visit to Mumbai make it a point to watch DDLJ at Maratha Mandir!

TICKET PRICING: The rates of DDLJ’s show are damn cheap. Balcony tickets cost Rs 22, Dress Circle tickets are priced at Rs 20 while stall tickets are available for Rs 18. With such low rates, it becomes damn affordable for anyone, even for the poorer sections living nearby, to watch DDLJ many times!

4. LOCATION OF MARATHA MANDIR: The theatre is situated opposite Mumbai Central Railway Station, the southernmost terminus in Mumbai on Western Railway. Many travelers who reach the station in the morning but have a late afternoon train to catch decide to watch the film in order to pass their time! Even though Apsara, Novelty, Minerva theatres aren’t very far from the station, travelers still prefer watching DDLJ. Also, the hawkers, vendors and other poor people working/dwelling near Maratha Mandir go for it as for them it’s the ultimate entertainment. Other single screens nearby have closed and they can’t afford multiplex tickets. So they prefer watching DDLJ due to cheap ticket rates and also because the film never bores!

5. CURIOSITY: I know many who stay far away in the suburbs of Mumbai but have gone to watch DDLJ out of curiosity and amusement that the film is still running!

Some 6-7 years back, even I found it difficult to believe that the film managed to get audience in each show. But then, DDLJ is a magical film. Also, when I had gone to see DDLJ in its 500th week, I was surprised to see that people who were there in the show (it was housefull) were so engrossingly watching the film. They knew the film perfectly as they had seen it many times and they could have cracked jokes andpassed stupid comments in emotional scenes, as masses generally do. But they didn’t and were shanti se seeing it! DDLJ, indeed, is much more than magical, I guess! Whatever it is, it rocks and I hope it keeps running forever!
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ACCEPT THAT YOU GUYS MADE A BAD FILM!

Blue and All The Best have done a great job at the BO but the 3rd Diwali release, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna (MAMK) have failed miserably. The film could neither impress the critics nor the audiences. Director Prem Soni gave two reasons for film’s debacle-first, the producers made a mistake for going easy on the film’s publicity and second, there was a general resentment against the film and attempt was made to sabotage it! Producer Sohail Khan, on the other hand, blames the co-producer of the film,UTV, for releasing the film during Diwali with Blue and All The Best. According to him, MAMK wasn’t perfect Diwali stuff and that people want to watch comic films in the festive time (Ironically, Prem Soni a month ago was heard saying that Diwali is the perfect time for MAMK!). He wanted the film to release next year during Valentine’s Day.

(CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION)

PICK YOUR CHOICE THIS DIWALI!

Diwali is round the corner and three very big films are set to release in the Diwali weekend. These films are Blue, All The Best and Main Aurr Mrs Khanna. Over the last two years, it has been seen that the Diwali week attracts the highest number of audiences which result into mind boggling collections. Last year’s Diwali release, Golmaal Returns surprised one and all after it collected 38.69 crores(Source: Boxofficeindia.com) in its opening Diwali week! This year too, historic collections are expected to happen by these three films. My take on these films:

BLUE: Undoubtedly, Blue leads in the Diwali race. The film has aroused the highest curiosity among moviegoers and is expected to have an earth-shattering opening. But in order to sustain in theatres, it should be a well-made film. Also, what goes against the film is its verrrrryyyy high budget. The figure is not known-some say its 90 crs, others peg it at 100 crs and Times of India 2 days mentioned it as 120 crs. Whatever maybe the cost, it is definitely huge and in order to recover the amount, the film needs to be good so that it can attract as many audiences as possible. Here’s wishing the film and its team good luck!

ALL THE BEST: This is an important film as it marks Ajay Devgn’s debut as a producer with his banner ‘Ajay Devgn Ffilms’. Also this is the first film where Ajay’s surname will be spelt as ‘Devgn’ instead of Devgan. So he’s the latest to join in the bandwagon of actors screwing their names for numerological reasons! I wonder how can people think that removing or adding an alphabet in their names will result in their film becoming a hit?! If Ram Gopal Verma had made some alterations in his name, then would Aag been a blockbuster?! Make good films, publicise them well and release it at a right time-that’s the simple and magical formula! Coming back to the film, All The Best (ATB) promos are impressive and people are equally excited for it as for Blue. It remains to be seen as to which films registers higher collections, although chances are that Blue will lead.

MAIN AURR MRS KHANNA: This is a film which may get neglected due to ATB and Blue. The film’s opening day collections may be bad but it pick up by word-of-mouth. But for that, the film has to be well-made. Salman-Kareena pairing is excellent (Coincidentally, the last time they had paired together was for Kyon Ki, which had also released in Diwali in 2005!). Preity Zinta’s item number ‘Happening’ is loved by some while others have dubbed it as ‘Poor man’s Kajra Re’! The film is produced by Sohail Khan and Ronnie Screwvala (UTV). But due to some dispute between the two, Screwvala’s name is not seen in the film’s ads in newspapers and TV. I sincerely hope that Main Aurr Mrs Khanna (MAMK) works at the BO if genuine efforts are put in.

Both Blue and ATB are made on a lavish budget and some experts are of the view that these films should have got a solo release. This is applicable especially for Blue. With such a high cost, the film should not have had any competition as ATB and MAMK may eat into its collections. But on the flipside, Blue may profit a lot from the overseas territories. Shemaroo, the overseas distributors of Blue, have planned to release this film in territories where no Hindi film has ever released before. This is a right move, considering that Blue has global appeal. Also, there is no big film releasing next Fri (Oct 23). So all three films has two weeks to rake in as much moolah as possible! Good luck to all the three films! May all films succeed big time at the BO!

And do let me know which film you are most interested in!

BOLLYWOOD IS SO VULNERABLE!

(Quotes derived from article published in The Times of India on Oct 3; Picture Source: Hindustan Times. Sorry for mentioning this so late)

A very ugly incident arose on Friday when Wake Up Sid (WUS) released across the country. The film, directed by debutant Ayan Mukerji and produced byKaran Johar, has several characters calling Mumbai by its old name, Bombay. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Raj Thackeray’s party, was furious with this and its members tried stopping the screening ofWUS at two theatres in South Mumbai and at a couple of places in Pune. Johar, fearing that the matter may go out of hand, immediately went to Thackeray’s Shivaji Park residence and apologized to him. He assured that he had no intention of hurting anyone’s sentiments and that he would add a disclaimer in the film in 2 days.

The incident created a furore and Raj Thackeray’s rivals perceived it differently, of course, with vested interests and Johar was made a scapegoat by all of them.

I discussed this issue with more than 50 people (many of them Maharashtrians) and not a single person felt that there is any harm in calling Mumbai as Bombay. Go to South Mumbai and many residing there still refer to the city asBombay. In fact, South Mumbai is often called SoBo (Bo is the short form of Bombay). Then there are so many organizations and companies whose name consist of ‘Bombay’. Bombay Stock Exchange, Bombay Blues (a famous chain of restaurants), Bombay Times, Bombay Parsi Punchayat, Bombay Catholic Sabha, Bombay Dyeing etc are the classic examples. The sunset point in Mahabaleshwar is called Bombay Point since decades. Jet Airways uses the code ‘BOM’ to refer to Mumbai. The funniest part of this whole incident-Raj Thackeray’s son Amit Thackeray studied in a reputed school called BOMBAY SCOTTISH! Ha ha ha!

It was equally shocking to know the quotes given by Raj Thackeray’s rivals. Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan called the whole incident a publicity stunt. That is, all this drama was created so that WUS gets more audience. A stupid comment, in my opinion, asJohars has and will never resort to such tactics to market their films. Also, there was no need for Johar to do any kind of publicity stunt as WUS had already aroused lots of curiosity amongst youngsters. The film already witnessed massive advance bookings, even before the audiences learnt of this controversy. Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut was of the view, “If he (Johar) really feels sorry about it, he should apologise to Maharashtra and the millions of Marathi manoos staying here”. Arre, who cares if Mumbai is called Bombay? People here are more interested in having a better infrastructure, traffic-free roads, organized transport system and sense of security. No one’s sentiments are going to hurt if anyone uses the word Bombay. BJP leader Kirti Somaiya claimed, “Nobody has the right to refer to it by the old name when it has already been renamed Mumbai”. Again, a senseless statement as there’s no law that makes calling a city by its old name illegal. One can fearlessly refer to Mumbai as Bombay, Kolkata as Calcutta, Bengalooru as Bangalore, Vadodra as Baroda, Thiruvananthapuram as Trivandrum, Chennai as Madras and also New York as New Amsterdam!

Raj Thackeray questions, “Why can’t people accept Mumbai if they can accept Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram?” But he should be told that people in these Southern cities don’t have to apologize to any tom, dick and harry if they use the old name of the city. And Thackeray has always been comparing with the Southern States. Last year he justified his signboard campaign (threatening shop owners to change their signboards into Marathi) by stating, “In Kerela and other South Indian states, all the signboards are written in their language, so why not the same in Maharashtra?” Maybe then Raj should make a comparison on all fronts. Kerela has high levels of literacy-why doesn’t he strive to attain the same in Maharashtra too? At least that’ll help the state. Changing the signboards to Marathi and revolting when someone uses the word Bombay is not going to help Mumbai progress even an inch.

(CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION)

WAKE UP SID OR DO KNOT DISTURB THIS WEEKEND?

I had stated in my talk no 22 as to how youth-oriented films have a great chance of succeeding at the BO since the young constitute almost 60-70% of the moviegoing audience. Thus, there are loads of expectations from Wake Up Sid (WUS), that is all set to release tomorrow. It seems Ranbir Kapoor had made an unintentional norm to release his films onpublic holidays! WUS releases on Gandhi Jayanti while Ranbir’s previous films, Saawariya (2007) and Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008) were released on the day of Diwali and Independece Day respectively!

A lot of ‘firsts’ are associated with WUS, produced by Karan Johar. It is the first time that a KJo produced film is shot entirely in Mumbai. All the rest of KJo films were shot abroad (except Kaal but it wasn’t filmed in the city). This is the first film ofKaran Johar that would be distributed by UTV Motion Pictures and not by Yash Raj Films (had stated this point in talk no 51). The music isn’t larger than life and the film is made on a low budget, unlike other Johar’s grand films!

The promos of this film are rocking and indicate perfectly as to what the film is all about. The plus point of WUS is its plot which is very relevant and the character of Sid is extremelyrelatable. In short, half of the battle is won! That’s because characters where almost everyone can identify with manages to strike a chord with the audiences. Taare Zameen Par, for instance, worked big time as it wonderfully executed the separation anxiety faced by achild when separated from hisparents for a brief period of time. Everyone must have faced such a situation at least once during their childhood and hence, the film was loved a lot. Similarly, WUS also has high chances of impressing the audience.

The Ranbir Kapoor-Konkona Sen Sharma pairing, though unconventional, manages to rock! In fact, both are top performers and look wonderful together. I am dying to see them as a pair as I appreciate both of them a lot! Couple of months back, somebody on a social networking website had wrongly stated that WUS is a love story of a younger handsome hunk and an older not-so-beautiful woman. Unfortunately, the rumour spread far and wide and director Ayan Mukherjee had to give his word about the rumour. He also made a clapworthy dialogue, “Who says Konkona is not beautiful?” I agree with him completely. Konkona looks stunning and has given wonderful performances, for which she has also won many awards and accolades. Mark my words-Konkona will pitch in an excellent performance in WUS!

With such a strong buzz about the film, it is definitely going to take a good opening in the metros. However, it may not find many takers in the small centres. Let’s hope WUS works, provided it’s a well-made film!

Do Knot Disturb (DKD), on the other hand, may see a better opening than WUS. The Govinda-David Dhawan combo has worked well in the past and there are tremendous expectations from DKD. Which film are you interested in? Do let me know!
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WHY ISNT SANJAY GUPTA PROMOTING ACID FACTORY?

Marketing and publicizing a film is very important, especially in the current scenario, where so many films are releasing week after week. But still, some filmmakers don’t care and ultimately, their movie flops due to no hype. I fear that something similar can happen with Acid Factory, produced by Sanjay Gupta and directed by Suparn Verma. There has been very little promotion of the film and I can hardly see its promos on TV. With just 8 days to go for the film (its releasing next Friday,October 9), Gupta and his team should be aggressively promoting their film.

Most of the promos are just released on the net, which is not a good thing to do as majority of people have a better access to television then to the internet. The new theatrical trailer of the film is fabulous and it really looks like an excellent stylish thriller. I have uploaded the promo below-do not miss it! And let’s hope better sense prevails and that we can see and hear more of Acid Factory in the coming days!

HARISHCHANDRACHI FACTORY IS INDIA’S OFFICIAL ENTRY TO OSCARS!

September-end period is crucial as it’s the time when the film to be sent to the Oscars is announced. 2 years back, a controversy had erupted when Eklavya was sent to the Oscars. Last year’s choice was unanimous-Taare Zameen Par. However, this year, it was difficult to predict which film will ultimately be selected as none of the flicks (at least the Hindi ones) were ‘typical Oscar material’. But The Film Federation of India nominated an unknown upcoming Marathi flick, Harishchandrachi Factory (Harishchandra’s Factory) as India’s official entry to the Oscars.

Although none of the mediapersons and audience has seen Harishchandrachi Factory (HF), the decision has impressed almost everyone. It is a period flick which throws light on Dadasaheb Phalke’s experience while making the first feature film of India, Raja Harishchandra, in 1913! With such an excellent plot, there are high chances that the film will indeed impress everyone when it releases in theatres.

The director of the film,Paresh Mokashi, is obviously happy to see that his genuine efforts have bore fruit. He had wrote the script of the film way back in2005 but failed to find a financer till 2008. Then, he sold his flat so as to raise money for the film. Kudos to such passionate people who are willing to go to any lengths to fulfill their dream!

HF even managed to beat Bollywood biggies like New York, Kaminey, Dev D, Delhi-6, ‘What’s Your Raashee?’ and the Marathi biggie Mi Shivaji Raje Bhosale Boltoy to become India’s Oscar entry. Anyways, some of these Bollywood films were well made but didn’t deserved to be in Oscars. Even if any of these films was nominated, it would have failed to reach the final 5. Let’s hope HF succeeds at the Oscars!

P.S.: UTV is in talks for acquiring the rights of the film.

(Info derived from articles of Times of India and Mumbai Mirror)
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‘WHAT’S YOUR RAASHEE?’ KA KYA HOGA?

There has been considerable hype surrounding the 3rd biggie of the season, ‘What’s Your Raashee?’ (WYR). Directed by Jodhaa Akbar and Lagaan director Ashutosh Gowariker and starring Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja, WYR is based on the novel Kimball Ravenswood by Shri Madhu Rye(why hasn’t anyone reviewed the book on MS?). The novelty of the film is Priyanka essaying 12 different characters. Although the film can and should take a good opening, what can go against it is its length. The film’s duration is around 3hrs 30mins which is too long for a romantic comedy. Also, single screens are going to exhibit only 3 shows in a day which may take a toll in its BO collections. Let’s hope the film succeeds in engrossing the audiences completely in its entire 200+ mins duration!

Starters and Veg and Non Veg Biryani were ordered. And how can I forget-‘drinks’ were also there! After finishing our lunch,Vijay finally managed to give his performance just outside Moti Ram! This roadside concert rocked and Vijay with his talent impressed everyone!

Finally, it was time to leave. We all gave a parting speech (mine was received with diverse views!), hugged, shook hands and promised that we’ll meet again! We also realized that we just had a time of our lives!

As in all MS Meets, here too, time just flew! Also it was a treat meeting the MSians, esp the ones whom I hadn’t meet before. Vijay looked so cool and charming in his sunglasses and was really a gentleman. Ajit and Akhilesh attended an MS meet for the first time and I am sure they are not going to miss any Pune/Lonavala meet in the future! Arun Da was jovial and a very large-hearted person. He uploaded aDP on our meet when we were having lunch, i.e. even before the meet got over! I don’t think anyone has done this ever before in any meet! Hats off, Arun Da!Surraz felt damn happy to be a part of our meet. On the way to Lonavala, we gave him all the necessary info as to how to be a star writer! Barnali took the maximum pics as per my knowledge and her conversation with Sajit was damn interesting. Navlika, who works at Barnali’s office, was a very sweet lady with a cute smile! We got to knew each other while having lunch. She was fasting and had not even touched food for the whole day and yet, managed to trek!Hats off!

I had already met the rest of the MSians but it was a pleasure to interact with them again. As usual, Harry charmed all of us and we had a great time travelling to and back from Lonavala in his company. Swamyji didn’t speak much but made his presence felt. He had a severe cold and I hope he’s fine now. Mr Ketan looked fabulous after losing weight and also cracked some of the best jokes! Sajit Bhai kept the meet lively, even when Harry had gone missing! It was nice to meet Karan again and he came and trekked even though he had fractured his leg. This shows his determination for MS Meets. Kudos! Praveen was completely in form, maybe, due to the presence of two females, prompting Sajit to blurt Quick Gun Murugun’s trademark dialogue, “Leave the ladies, I say!”

On the whole, it was a meet to remember! Thanks to everyone for making it memorable and entertaining. God bless everyone and hoping to meet all you guys soon!

(SOME PICS UPLOADED IN ALBUM…DO CHECK!)

It was the mother of all MS Meets! 14 people were a part of it and none of them were non-MSians! The meet took place in a city (Lonavala) where none of these 14 resided. And the fun we had…it’s difficult to explain! I am not going to forget this meet ever!

8 people were there from Mumbai and the rest were from Pune. Mr Ketan was to pick up Praveen, Barnali and her friend Navlika. Me, Mr Dev aka Swamyji and Surraz were to reach Belapur Station at 9:30am from where he was going to pick us up. I had planned to wake up at around 7 am but the excitement was so much that I was up at 5:50 am itself! Knowing the irregularities of the local trains on the Harbour Line, I started early but unexpectedly, reached Belapur at9:10, ahead of time! When Harry reached the station with his Aveo,Swamyji and Surraz had not arrived yet. Surraz reached a bit late due to some reason and then came Swamyji and with it, we began our ride.

By that time, Mr Ketan had already reached the toll plaza on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. They waited till we arrived and Harry jokingly advised them to dance till we come! Finally, we met the other party at the Food plaza on the expressway and we began our journey towards Lonavala.

We reached the Bushy Dam parking lot at 11:15 am. The Pune guys-Sajit, Karan, Vijay, Akhilesh andAjit had already reached. We exchanged pleasantries and began our trek to some waterfall located on the other end of theBushy Dam. The fun was about to begin.

10 mins later, we were shocked to see Harry was nowhere in sight! Sajit searched high and low and some of us posted SMS reviews informing the MSians about the mysterious disappearance. Finally, we found him and realized that his shoes, as Sajit put ‘got ruptured’ and had gone to buy a new pair of footwear! And by that time, we had reached the waterfall too.

Sajit, Barnali, Navlika, Surraz, Praveen and Harry couldn’t control their excitement and went to enjoy in the water. The rest of us were busy taking pics and some of the pics clicked were damn embarrassing! Meanwhile, Vijay went to fetch Arun Da and after some time, the veteran and one of the most prominent members of MS also joined!

While the guys were enjoying getting drenched, Harry had a conversation withAjit and Akhilesh and impressed both of them. It was around 3:00 pm that we decided to head back, feeling damn hungry. We all stopped at Moti Ram’s restaurant. The superb English used on the numerous notice boards gave us unexpected entertainment! Vijay, who is a wonderfulsinger and guitarist, was to enthrall us with his performance in the restaurant. Unfortunately, the owner of Moti Ram sternly told us not to have any performance in his premises. Discussions of writing a review on this place started!

(CONTINUED IN PART-2!)

WHAT’S YOUR CHOICE-WANTED OR ‘DIL BOLE HADIPPA!’?

After a very disastrous dry period, here comes the biggest season of biggies ever! From tomorrow till the last week of December 2009, we are going to get at least one biggie every Friday and some Fridays are going to be clogged with 3-4 big films. The season will start with two fresh and interesting films, Wanted and ‘Dil Bole Hadippa!’ (DBH).

Let’s talk about DBH first. This Rani Mukherjee starrer somehow reminds me of Rani’s Laaga Chunari Mein Daag which was similarly released during Ramzan Id in 2007 just like DBH. What’s more, both the movies are of Yash Raj Films! DBH is a very important film for Rani who off late has given a spate of flops. DBH is the best chance to prove that she’s still the best. If this film flopped, she may have to bid goodbye to films forever. Coincidentally, Rani was at a similar juncture during the release of Saathiya. She had given a lot of flops in a row and she had pinned all her hopes on Saathiya. In fact she was determined that if Saathiya doesn’t work, she’ll quit acting. Fortunately, Saathiya clicked big time with the audiences and Rani was appreciated by everyone for her performance. Fast forward to present-the situation is just the same!

What really impressed me about DBH is its marketing strategy. When the shooting of the film began, no one got a hint about Shahid’s presence in the film. The stills of the film that were released more than a year back featured only Rani. But it was during Diwali last year that pictures of ShahidKapoor and Rani were released which revealed that Shahid also stars in the film! This was a shock for many-after all, who would have imagined Shahid and Rani as a Jodi? But the news of this unusual pairing really made many curious about this film. People who were earlier denouncing this film as ‘yet another flop of YRF’ began to view this film differently in Shahid’s presence.

If the film turns out well and gets good reports, there’s no stopping it. The promos have impressed many and the songs have also become a rage. The film is bound to take a good opening, even though it has a strong competition (Wanted). However, there is a possibility that the film may turn out to be damp squib if Director Anurag Singh failed to handle Rani’s double act well. But the fact that the film is so crucial for Rani and that Shahid is also a part of the film gives an indication that the film may turn out to be good! Let’s hope so!

And regarding Wanted, I am somehow more excited about it than DBH! A remake of a Tamil superhit Pokkiri (which starred Asin), Wanted seems like a dhamakedaar entertainer. I happened to read some portions of Pokkiri’s story on Wikipedia and it gave me a strong gut feeling that Wanted may really turn out to be a great film. Salman’s popularity will once again soar if the film works, considering that Salman is the solo actor in the film. However, what can go against the film is its ‘A’certificate. I was shocked big time when I learnt about this. What was also shocking is that producer Boney Kapoor accepted the adult certification, knowing that it may prevent Wanted from becoming a blockbuster. Again, let’s hope for the best!

Two mast films are releasing tomorrow. Do let me know which film interests you more!
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LAMHAA PROMO ROCKS!

Finally, the promo of my most awaited film of 2009, Lamhaa is out! Directed by National Award winner Rahul Dholakia (of Parzania fame) and starring Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu and Kunal Kapoor, Lamhaa promises to show the real Kashmir which is never been told in any film till date. The film is also shot in places where no film has even been shot such as Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid. The promo of the film lives upto my expectations and it seems it may turn out be a very impactful film. Check out the promo below…don’t miss!