January 2007 Archives

Salaam-e-Ishq'
UK Rated: 12A
Runtime: 216min 30secs
Tagline:
Six Different Couples.
Twelve Different Lives.
Six Different Worlds.
One Common Problem.
Love.

Writer & Director: Nikhil Advani

Plot Outline
This tribute to 'love' (as its title suggests & is advertised) is the story of six independent couples and their issues around love, just as the Tag suggests:

The 6 pairs - ordered in priority of how strong I felt they reached out to me:
Asutosh and Tehzeeb (John Abraham - Vidya Balan), a hindu guy & a muslim girl, happily married until She comes across an accident that causes her memory-loss. They must rekindle and find their love for each other once more.

Raju and Stephanie (Govinda - Shannon Esrechowitz), a taxi driver in Mumbai awaits from his dream girl to arrive at the airport one day and request him to take her to the Taj Mahal, the day she arrives looking for her boyfriend, asking to be taken to the Taj (Hotel in New Delhi), she finds herself at the Taj Mahal in Agra and so this adventure begins.

Shiven and Gia (Akshaye Khanne - Ayesha Takia), a couple made for each other, preparing for their oncoming marriage, until he begins to get cold feet towards the commitment and starts planning how this can be cancelled.

Rahul and Kkamini (Salman Khan - Priyanka Chopra). Kkamini is glamorous & successful in Bollywood as an 'item girl', she gets special appearance songs, but no actual roles with any dialogue, she aspires for more in hope that a big name director (Karan Johar), one day would call her and offer her such a role. To become such a tragedy queen, she & her agent plot out a story whereby she has a partner who she loves dearly but is being exploited by the media, his name is Rahul. Much to their surprise, enters Rahul who seems to know this all and more than willing to help, for a price, or is he?

Vinay and Seema (Anil Kapoor - Juhi Chawla), married some 15 years ago they seem to have lost the spark in their marriage, as Vinay eyes a younger lady on the train on his return from his monotonous long days at work.

Ram Dayal and Phoolwati (Sohail Khan - Isha Koppikar), the catastrophic honeymon couple who never actually manage to get their honeymoon due to accidents and random mishaps at every attempt.

Review:
The way the stories crossover and shadow each other without stepping on each others limelight is the major strength of the film. At no pint did I feel that any one character is getting too much screen time, which to be fair I tend to notice in more conventional layout films, so they've definitely done something right here.

A question that's being brought up a lot -- Is it a remake of Love Actually? A remake no, a little inspired by? Maybe. "Does the inspiration work well?" should be the main question. To a large extent, yes, but that said it isn't fault-free. I'll talk of the individual stories briefly now:

The Sohail/Isha honeymoon couple are a simple comic relief that works for the small amount of time that you see them, I'm quite glad this was kept to a minimal else it easily could have irritated.

The Akshaye/Ayesha chapter was highly amusing and also easy to relate to, definitely one of the stronger stories. The Salman/Priyanka pair is the filmiest; it’s rather silly but has a certain charm about it. Adding to the lighter hearted moments, this one is to some degree the balance of emotions overall, it could be said this is the dream story we all hope for, the kind of romantic comedy that only ever happens in films, which weighs up against the tragedy that we're following by its side.

The John/Vidya pair is one of the tragic stories, the whole thing is rather depressing, from her memory loss to the multiple attempts at trying to help her get it back. The pain that John bears is one we share with him, there even comes a point where she can't take his pain any more. The other tragedy pair are Anil/Juhi, their boring marriage leaves Anil looking for a bit of excitement outside of this. This one I felt required more, I wasn't convinced by Anil’s extramarital affairs though of course it was a big deal even though he didn't commit adultery, because that for our viewers would be too much. (see KANK)

The Govinda/Shannon track was the best of the bunch in my opinion. A bit of the lost in translation humour & frustrations, this is a simple story of a taxi driver who's been so wrapped up in his own little dream that he believes to be a matter of fact of the future that this itself makes his actions noticeably different to what one without dreams would be. Shannon's got her own goal & agenda to her trip & their journey together & the way they Gel is believable and easy to digest.

The Subtle Touches:
I'll firstly mention that these touches that I speak of are extras for the people in the know, but otherwise do not hinder the ongoing narrative:

The name Ram Dayal (Sohail Khan's character) was references in Kal Ho Naa Ho as a possible name for Frankie by SRK as he tried to set up Sweetu with him. Even the name Sweetu turns up, possible pet names in the Advani residence? Ram-Jaane' (god-knows')

The tongue-in-cheek reference to Don was a nice touch as Salman Khan refers to Babu knows that I'm not Rahul, you know that I'm not Rahul, but they do not know that I'm not Rahul. There was also the little touch with SRK said this to Kareena who's character name was Kamini the same as Priyanka's name in this. The obvious link being Priyanka was also in Don. It became less subtle when he actually refers to himself as Don though with the theme music weaving into the background.

The use of the name Kamini, spelt Kkamini deliberately, references Karan Johar (Nikhil Advani's mentor & writer of Kal Ho Naa Ho) as he ensures all his films are titled beginning with the letter K .. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (98), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (01), Kal Ho Naa Ho (03), Kaal (05). He also hosts a television show called Koffee with Karan where he interviews the Bollywood celebrities, hence the reference to "Wake up & smell the koffee, Karan" used by Priyanka quite early on.

Many small references to other songs were used: Hema Malini's Dream Girl, Do Dil Mil Rahe Hai (Two Hearts are Meeting Secretly) lyrics from SRK starrer Pardes, and another music piece from Yash Chopra's Mohabbatein (Love Stories), but they all had their place in what was being portrayed. The only one that stuck out like a soar thumb was perhaps the old woman dancing away to Dhoom on a camcorder. Just plain weird.

One small scene that I feel takes the viewers knowledge for granted is where Govinda picks up the family & asks them where they want to head to, the following mishap of the Policeman being asked is he has any kids by the dotcom Paaji, followed by the police officer asking if they were going to offer buying the kids some sweets infers the bribe that was paid to cover up the scene cause with nobody being arrested. Unfortunately common practice, but perhaps a little untoward and odd to the outside viewer, but this is just me nitpicking at a 15 second scene. :)

Spoilers Alert
A lot of small references and touches to the clichés of yester-year Bollywood flicks have been played with. When Govinda finds out that Shannon in fact has a boyfriend, the crackle of thunder, and the moment where you see him at the temple with all the bells ringing, nice touch.

The memory loss of Vidya, again very clichéd, the fact that they don't bring it back is why it works, near the climax where a wedding is being stopped for the love of another must come forth, the added humour as this is repeated is what allows these clichés to function without feeling like a loss. Its a shame they didn't do this with the Anil heading for the plane scene.
Performances:
Govinda is truly a fine artiste, I can not fault him if I tried, and his hibernation ending is good news for all. He takes to this role with a subtle performance; he's a master of comic timing but seems to have toned it down just right to reflect the taxi driver role. Spot On.

Akshaye Khanna comes quite close to perfection as the bachelor with cold feet, there are moments where he seems a little over-board as he cunningly escapes out of his plans that have fallen through, but the remaining portions stand out much further.

John Abraham seems to be taking large strides over the past year and is on form, Salman Khan too is pretty good, though considering his status in the industry, it surprises me some that he took on this role at all considering it not a huge part.

Anil Kapoor though fit for the part to the tee, seems to be least entertaining, its the writing though, not the acting & we all know it. Sohail Khan does his little bit-part well, though somebody pointed out he's quite like Mr. Bean & I'll have to agree, no real display of huge talent for either of them.

Priyanka Chopra looks stunning as always. I can see why rumours had started milling that she's become quite the Diva, as it’s that part in the film that she seems to be more than comfortable with. Again she goes a little over-board at time, but do you really care? or are you just staring at her? I know where I stand ;-)

Vidya Balan is very impressive as the memory-loss victim and it'll certainly work to her advantage that this early on in her career she has started taking on roles that aren't necessarily the most glamorous, that said she still looks very pretty even without the makeup.

Juhi Chawla is functional as Anil Kapoor's wife but has little to do, Ayesha Takia & Isha Koppikar are small enough parts to ignore but don't leave you complaining about it, so again functional.

Shannon Esrechowitz is a pleasant surprise, her little Hindi is good and easy to understand, and she also seems to have a good grasp of the on goings and what's been asked of her, which sometimes troubles me about small parts by westerners sometimes. It would be good to see more of her.

Placement:

Times Now TV Channel where the John-Vidya pair work and including the news clips on television.

All the Business types monotonously stop at a pedestrian crossing & pull up their copies of the Financial Times when we first see Anil Kapoor

IRA Jewellers (of parent company D. Navinchandra & Co.) is visible on the boxes of 2 necklaces which are gifted independently by John near the start and Salman later on to their partners.

Starbucks Coffee that Anil holds with logo clearly visible.

There are numerous Apple MacBooks floating about throughout.

The most obvious one was the Sony camcorder in the scene with Akshaye trying to get down a message to cancel the wedding to Ayesha.

Music:
The voice of Adnan Sami kicks off Dil Kya Kare as the credits open. Its certainly pleasant to hear, as we find ourselves following through the John-Vidya pair on to the rest of the cast that haven't been introduced to us yet, giving them a brief visual introduction.

Priyanka Chopra gets an entire song for her introduction a little later in, as the 'item girl' dancer at Akshaye Khanna's bachelor party and so she should, 'Saiyaan Re' the Qawwali song is very well choreographed, One of those instances where you do wish you were there at the party or even the shooting of it. Priyanka looks at her best & dances astonishingly. Droooool. No bias, really she does.

Babuji Dheere Chalna from the yester-years seems to fit into the cheesier part of the enterprise, as Anil Kapoor becomes smitten by the glamour of the much younger Anjana, yet still strangely doesn't feel out of place, apart from the over-use of the 'what's on your mind' intro.

The title song Salaam-e-Ishq is the peak of the film just before intermission. My second viewing of the film strongly is a tug by this song. I want to see it again. Not only is it the catchiest on the soundtrack but also the most colourful full of life song I’ve seen on-screen in a long while. It spans across most stories too, which is put together quite well better with the songs than it is the rest of the film it would seem. Nice subtle touches, just the way I like it. It covers celebrations on the Akshaye-Ayesha pair, independently the Salman-Priyanka pair organised by Anil Kapoor who too is present with his wife Juhi & the Bollywood dance group led by Anjana, the more heart tugging parts of the song being us to the hospital scene with John-Vidya and Govinda joins Shannon at a wedding celebration where they await the next morning before they depart to their next destination. We even see in a hospital elsewhere the Sohail-Isha pair resting side by side. The end of the song brings us the expected plot turn points for Akshaye in particular.

In the second half. when Salman proposes to Priyanka, the song 'Tenu Leke' that follows in the outside views of London is a pacy track, one you'll tap your feet to without even noticing. The use of London Landmarks, the choreography and the shots around the pretty bridge deserve a special mention.

The only sad song which is a situational one comes near the end, Ya Rabba and though it fits the mood, it seemed a little stretched & over-used. I think this should be shortened or even removed. The scenes had made us feel the emotions enough & the song doesn't add much.

Overall a very strong soundtrack, with strong visuals, strong choreography, the only weakness this time round is the integration to the plot, not saying they don't fit, just saying they weren't as integral to the narrative as I had perhaps hoped for.

Overall Impressions:
A pretty good first Bollywood film for the outsider. Ample humour, colour and emotional moments which stretch out to you. Everything expected from a Bollywood film and a bit more, I'm tempted to even say a bit too much more. Some trimming would certainly do the film wonders. This has apparently happened (IndiaFM has reported 20 minutes have been trimmed over the weekend, but I assume this only holds for Mumbai, though I'll check it out again next week & let you know).

I shall say 5 for the honeymoon couple can't be counted as a story really, merely some comic relief. So, apart from the length of the film & the fact that 2 of the 5 stories don't really connect the way they perhaps were intended, the rest is gold. So is the fact that we were promised 6 stories and given 3 okay by you? I'm going to say yes. Not, merely because these three are handled well, but because looking beyond just these, the way it all fits together is well written, it feels natural, it doesn't try to force it all which is what I had feared.

Everything you expect from a Bolly-Flick - Highly Recommended (7.5 out of 10)

Opportinity Cost is the name given to the cost of something in terms of an opportunity forgone and the benefits that could be received from that opportunity, or the most valuable forgone alternative. Eg; If a city decides to build a hospital on vacant land that it owns, the opportunity cost is some other thing that might have been done with the land instead. In building the hospital, the city has forgone the opportunity to build a kickass cinema on that land, or a car park, or the ability to sell the land, and so on.

Its a simple and valuable notion which I was taught in the first lesson of Economics some decade back. Back then I thought to myself, well whopeee-doo, its common bloody sense. Obviously if you buy a chocolate bar with the only 50p you have then you can't buy crisps (unless the chocolate was 40p & you bought Space Invaders which were 10p -- the Spicy Tomato flavour ones were better & usually ran out, so there were occasions where Pickled Onion had to suffice).

So, what's the big deal?, why even bother giving such an idea a name. Looking back I still don't see why it has a name, but I can appreciate that sometimes the most obvious is better stated than not stated, I guess having a name helps. Looking at some of these Self-Help courses that workplaces ocassionally send you on, they tell you all these things that you blatantly knew, they seem rather silly when seen this way, but they motivate you, they remind you the things that you're capable of, remind you that you have options beyond the come and go routine that you now drone in and out of each day & that feeling of knowing is worth it (for the time lost, because it wasn't spent at work which it would have been otherwise).

In honesty, I still find such courses pretty lame. It's much more of an impact when it comes in the form of entertainment, like books and films and sometimes the people around you. (The recent Guru is a good example). Anyway, focussing on the said and unsaid 'obvious', something else that comes forward to me as obvious is that whether they admit it or not, people have a knack for being self-centred, their initial look at issues, processes, situations, its simply contrived by their perspective holds on it. Those that look beyond and try and emulate situations which cover angles beyond this are rare. Those that try and cover every possible angle even more so.

Is this a bad thing? Not really. If everybody fell into this sector of incapability, we can agree that would be absolutely terrible, but if everybody went the other way, then too there would be havoc, as too much time would be wasted and too many smaller yet significant matters would not be attended to, so we find that some kind of natural balance holds here, which is handy (& helps one feel better about themselves when they find they actually do this).

I myself, find it necessary to pick & note the capable of the bunch and learn from them. For when they state the obvious, it isn't necessarily as obvious to you, and this 'learning' is what I consider progress of soul, personality, my inner self. So, pursuing this ongoing goal of bettering myself, Do I lose out as well as gain? Ofcourse I do. I lose time, I lose morals, I lose the respect of many others, I lose some people entirely (sometimes people I haven't got to know, some I've known a long while).

I look back at the things I have gained and lost over the last few years, in many cases, it doesn't bother me, in some cases it does, especially when the investment is a precious one like time or people, but that my friends is my opportunity cost. A way of life, a way that you can realise what it has cost you to gain what you have & re-iterate for the future what you consider a worthy opportunity cost.

Silent Salutes'

Rocky Balboa' - [Rocky VI]
UK Rated: 12A
Runtime: 102min 0secs
Tagline: It ain't over 'til it's over.
Writer & Director: Sylvester Stallone

Plot Outline
Rocky Balboa is a longtime retired boxer and remembered by most as one of the greatest boxing champions in the world. He now lives back in the skids of Philadelphia but manages a good life including running his restaurant Adrian's, helping an adult Little Marie and her son Steps, and saying hello at any opportunity to his estranged son Robert. After seeing a virtual fight of Rocky in his prime vs. heavyweight champion Mason "the Line" Dixon, Rocky's interest in fighting sparks again and he plans to fight in local clubs. Mason Dixon and his managers have a different agenda though, with a plan to pit Rocky vs. Mason in real life for a publicity act to regain Mason's lost respect from his fans. Finally agreeing to Mason Dixon's proposal, Rocky prepares to step in the ring for one last time.

Overall Impressions:
A totally unmissable knockout film. Yea .. that was too tempting to not be said. No joking though, I'll say firstly that I am no huge Rocky fan, but this film is almost flawless which is a rarity. Its subtle references to all its previous films adds a lot to it. What stands out the most is that this is all Stallone. If you take the boxing out of the equation, we have Sylvester who began his career as a writer with Rocky, the sequels up to this point are good but not awesome. The first film had something much deeper. Now that stuff stuck in the basement, that's him too. I can see that he didn't think the ending of Rocky V was the end, there was more to be said about this character & here is where it scores high.

As a sidenote I recommend watching the special features & interviews on the first Rocky film (its over 30 years old, blimey), its almost as interesting as the film itself. Sylvester had to battle the producers to let him play the character. They liked the script but they didn't want him. His persistence & pay cut certainly payed off though.

I will admit after Rocky V when I heard about this I was more than apprehensive. Rocky had his day, just let it go I was thinking to myself, as were many others I'm sure, but he's earnt my respect by being realistic & modest with the character. It's not an old guy who can still fight like a fighter. It's an old guy who needs to fight again to feel he still has a soul. It's the first time in a very long while that I was actually clenching my fists & rooting for the character all the way, and this is largely due to the perfect buildup to the climax. The film is not about the 10 round fight, it's about how he gets there and why, thrown in are the emotional ties & the life of an old man who once was someone & now is merely an old man. After the fight, I felt it ended a little abruptly, but the way it parallels the climax of the original film lets this by as its the most perfect end to the anthology.

If these films simply haven't appealed to you ever, I strongly suggest you get your hands on the first one, perhaps you can skip II III IV and V & then watch Rocky Balboa. That said, even standing alone. Two thumbs up.

You won't find me over-using this word, but it's: "Incredible". (8 out of 10)

Last King of Scotand, The
UK Rated: 15
Runtime: 122min 53secs
Tagline: Charming. Magnetic. Murderous.
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Writer: Jeremy Brock

Plot Outline
Based on the part-fiction novel by Giles Foden about the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his (fictional) personal physician during the 1970s.

The film follows Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) as he ventures into the wild after getting a qualification of a Doctor for some experience & adventure. Through his unconventional methods and his Scottish charm he manages to unintentionally befriend Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) the current president of Uganda, but as Idi's struggle for his country webs our hero in, we realise all is not what it seemed and Idi's power is more of an open dictatorship driven by the mind of a nutcase child.

Overall Impressions:
A total power performance as Idi Amin by Forest Whitaker. It's so believable it's actually scary. He steals the show all the way. James McAvoy is overshadowed but does a good job. It was good to see Gillian Anderson in a small bitpart.

Overall, moving, funny at times, sickly at times. A definite eye-opener of what had been reality for so many people not so long ago. Though we see most of what occurs from an individual perspective, we are well informed of the country's instability and fears. As somewhat expected the climax is a little 'filmy', but forgivable, as this is the fictional part. It would be interesting to hear from someone how close to the novel this adaptation was.

An eye-opener about the yester-years not so far back. (7 out of 10)

Guru'
UK Rated: 12A
Runtime: 162min 6secs
Tagline: Villager. Visionary. Winner.
Director: Mani Ratnam

Plot Outline
Not quite what the exact translation of the title suggests, or is it?

Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) strives for great success, against the more conservative wishes of his father and many that he meets. His zeal to improve himself and his country means he is metaphorically not adverse to kicking down doors that do not open for him.

After becoming the emperor of the Polyester industry and thus the leader of the fabric share market, Guru Bhai asks his loyal share holders, 'Banaana chaahte ho Hindustan ki sabse badi company?' (translation: "Do you want to create India's largest company?"). An encore follows.

Manik Das Gupta (Mithun Chakraborty) a newspaper publishing owner, was the one man whom Guru considered as his father. Even though they respect each other personally, their ideologies begin to clash as the company expands and flourishes.

Next stop is a petroleum chemicals factory, by this point Guru has mastered the art of using hook & crook to make the influential ministers and politicians support him all the way. The newspaper publisher Manik Das Gupta and his firebrand journalist Shyam (R. Madhavan) invite him & declare an open war letting him know what they plan on doing. Hereon they expose many irregularities in the functioning style of Guru Bhai. It would seem however there is no stopping this man who hears no declinations & loves to be on the bright side of success. So as the war between Guru and the media continues as they desperately try to strip away the success that is dear to him, at this point he finds solace in his wife Sujatha (Aishwarya Rai) who is the pillar of support that always stands by him in the biggest of crisis. Apart from her there are only a few select loyal men who belonged to him for reasons more than mere business.

Though his focus remains strong, the breaking relationship between him 7 his father-figure, plus the evil persona exposure does hurt his public image. As it blows out of proportion and his share prices begin to drop, a trial upon his ways comes to surface, many of his shareholders sell bringing him down further. The closure of the case brings us to the climax. The end comes as a question to all his shareholders once more ... "Do you want to create India's largest company?"

Review:
The above synopsis is merely a synopsis, the depths of the relationships between Guru and the rest of the characters is one of the stronger points not covered by this. The way we see this Guru-bhai progress from a stubborn child who failed his exams and decides to go abroad for work opportunities, to when he succeeds abroad & decides that his talent is a waste abroad & he should take it back to his old town. We see the character grow in front of our eyes. the admiration of others around him & where the loyalties of his key few began is all covered.

When he finds a friend in Manikdas in his time of struggle, we see the father-son love in the way they interact. A lot of the dialogue around here is clear straight away as important. When Manikdas tells him that he has a way of speaking with much honesty and that he should never lose this - we sense already what is coming ahead, though we don't want it to. The way Guru's empire comes about is an inspiration to anyone who wants to achieve something in life.

Right up to the point of intermission, whereby the open war between the trading tycoon Guru & his father-figure publisher is brought to surface, I was thinking to myself. Awesome - 9 out of 10, Unfortunately, the latter half loses lustre a little. A lack of tied up loose ends lets it down some & then there is the climax which is inspiring yet far from realistic & the message of the film becomes somewhat unclear.

Multiple Spoiler Alert: Mani Ratnam's previous ventures have had strong and clear messages in the past, it's a good thing when you can take it away and think about it after the show, but when dealing with the basic ethics of what is right and what is not, perhaps he should be clearer about his message. Let's go back to the earlier examples:

Bombay
It was about the hindu-Muslim issues during the riots of the early years of the last decade, these riots are bad & we should embrace all the cultures within our country for we all are the people of it. - Message Clear

Dil Se (From The Heart)
It was about extremists and how they too have a humane side, they're beliefs in the system have been diminished and it is the root of this that needs attention, the media can help by listening to what they have to say before they feel forced to take actions that even they would rather not take. Last scene: the explosion that brings together Amarkant Verma of All-India Radio (Shahrukh Khan) & Meghna the extremist on her suicide mission (Manisha Koirala) makes the message clear. Unfortunately many die having these strong extremist beliefs that merely needed to be heard earlier on and many die trying to stop the attacks they make for the attention. Listen & try to fix it.

Yuva (The Youth)
In a twisted world of corruption, bribery & a fight for power, many lose faith, many lose hope, but the correct way to fix it is to join politics and fight from the core. The last scene: The youngsters manage to get into the parliament and the end is merely the beginning, but this message is clear.

Guru - The last scene reflects the first scene, "my father would always say I won't succeed, but I showed him, I made the biggest corporation known to this country & I'll make more of it, because I am you, you being the people of this country & together we can do it all". Now the message here is not a bad one by any measure, but it has much room for misinterpretation, especially after what we have seen him do. He won the courts over by telling them that due to the inappropriate bribery, taxes et al, he had to work around them all, though he was doing it for his fellow people (the shareholders), he still did break laws (Tax Evasion, Production without Permits, etc).

So its easy to misinterpret this as, do what you have to do above & below the law but get where you want to be. Inspiring but not necessarily correct from a moral stand point. There is also the possible take of don't listen to your father, he may not know best aspect, though I totally agree personally, its not our culture. Our culture is to respect our parents even higher than the respect we give to God. That said I emphasise this is room for misinterpretation & not the message given. ... End Spoiler

Performances:
Abhishek Bachchan takes to this role like a fish to water. It would be no overstatement to say it rates as one of his best performances to date. His character shows the drive and power all the way to the very last scene. It certainly helps that his character is well penned and shows a huge scope of change & maturity over time. This film belongs to him hands down.

Though forgivable with the subject of the film in mind, it's a shame though that most of the cast are overshadowed hugely by the presence of such a strong character as the centre. The role of his wife by Aishwarya Rai and an even smaller part of Vidya Balan reflect this. Neither are bad at all, but they have little screen time & their characters don't have much scope to develop a rapport with the viewer due to this.

That being said Mithun and R. Madhavan as the media who believe in printing the truth as opposed to selling out to the rich or the influential. They make an impact. You relate with them & respect them through & through, just as Guru does. In this Abhishek driven film the fact that they with their limited scope really do shine is entirely based on their performances I'm glad to say.

Music:
There is no denying the music of A. R. rehman has historically been an asset to the films of Mani Ratnam, that said in the last couple of instances (Guru inclusive), the sountrack hasn't been chart breaking songs that you listen to in your car on loop for a couple of weeks like say we did back when Dil Se and Bombay released in the 90's. The more recent soundtracks are not bad, in fact I'd go towards suggesting that they are more like a background score than an actual soundtrack even though they are songs. You can let most of them pass as the theme of the film.

A foolish error that I felt the UK distributors should rectify for all future films is that the songs have no subtitles. This enrages me. To a total outsider who my come along & give a Bollywood flick a go, the one thing that stands out to them as different is that our films have songs. Now I've had many a discussion with people explaining that the songs in most cases add to the mood & feel of a film. The film is incomplete without them. The lyrics of each song are just as important, as is their placing.

How are people supposed to accept this if we take away the subtitles temporarily. I do wonder what the idiots are thinking. They've subtitled the whole film to cater for a larger audience, why o why do such a half-hearted job of it. It's like pointing a finger at the songs saying, yeah they do stick out don't they, because its the only part we won't let you understand. I don't need the subtitles for myself yet this just really REALLY gets on my nerves.

Choreography wise I'm hesitant to say it's nothing special, I mean its good to see Aishwarya doing a bit of Classical Kathak dance, its rather refreshing that we still have an actress that can dance in such a way, but that aside - no big item number that stands out a mile. Some of the scenery is nice In Barso Re Megha (The rain has arrived) but the final cut of it just came off a little amateur. Perhaps this can be blamed on bad editing, perhaps.

Overall Impressions:
The message given of keeping head-strong and not allowing others to tell you what you can & can't do is still crystal clear and comes off extremely strong, so even with the above nitpicking at possible misinterpretations possible, the impact of the film wins me over.

If you're looking for inspiration towards success - Very Highly Recommended (7.5 out of 10)

Since the demise of the Achilles for wearing heels & Castor Troy for ending up with John Travolta's chin (& probably much earlier), there has always been a particular focus on individuals who's fall echoes and makes waves historically upon the world. This day marks such a day at my workplace. She's not dead, feed her a Mars bar & you'll be sure of that, but she's leaving the world of RoyalBlue to go train as a Leet Ninja Actuary. It's beyond me what these Actuaries actually do but I understand it's similar to making a living out of counting cards (which is kool) for important investing types & it pays well.

In my 2 years here SPEadie is probably the second person to leave that will actually impact me on a personal level. Don't get me wrong a lot of people have left & a lot more begun, but this is different. This is one of the few people that kept me level-headed through rougher times, even though she was the cause of some of them. Ending it brief - She shall be fondly remembered & missed much.

After numerous receipts of this comic from the Demon Chief who has the whole memento complex to a scarily accurate measure considering he's not fictional, I've decided to share it with you:

I can see why it reminds him of me, I passed it around at work & got a response of "That is actually the epitome of you!"

Smokin' Aces
UK Rated: 18
Runtime: 108min 35secs
Tagline: May the best hitman win.
Writer & Director: Joe Carnahan

Plot Outline
In these interlocking tales of high stakes and low lifes, Mob boss Primo Sparazza has taken out a hefty contract on Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) --a sleazy magician who has agreed to turn state's evidence against the Vegas mob. The FBI, sensing a chance to use this small-time con to bring down big-target Sparazza, places Aces into protective custody under the supervision of two agents (Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta) dispatched to Aces' Lake Tahoe hideout.

However when word of the price on Aces' head spreads into the community of ex-cons and cons-to-be, it entices bounty hunters, thugs-for-hire, smokin' hot vixens and double-crossing mobsters to join in the hunt to hit the jackpot and rub out Aces.

Overall Impressions:
I've had an eye out for this one for a while now. (Thanks to my 'Buddy' Richard over at Filmstalker for directing me to the script -- here) & having read the script has only added to my enjoyment of this film.Okay before going on and focussing on what stood out to me as a little odd, it has to be said - the plusses outweigh the negatives by a long way. The performances all-round are superb, the slightly unconventional angles on multiple shots throughout add a certain freshness to it, (this is a tough one in my opinion & the approach can easily backfire if not done right).

The only factor that stops me giving this a higher rating is I was a 'little' diappointed with the ending - the script ended more abrupt which I liked, but from what I understand, there are multiple alternate endings to be seen once this reaches the DVD scene, so without adding any spoilers I'll merely say the little room for improvement that I feel it has, seems to be 'on the cards' anyway.

Very Slick. Very Comic. Very Trigger-Happy .. Delicious' (7 out of 10)

My visit to the pictures is still pending, I find also that my lack of presence on XBL for a while has been noted. It was Rolo-San who pointed out that I had seemed to have found a life out of the xbox that I realised this. Again the art of conversation working its wonders, educational, cheaper than drugs & a load cheaper than a gym membership (which I have & don't use anywhere as much as I should). So we've established that this whole talking thing seems to have been my most recent focus & some of you are wondering why & what the hell I'm going on about. Truth be told there's no real education to be had here.

I'll go on anyway: I've noticed within many social circles, the massive amount of 'subtext' communication. If you have seen that British comedy Coupling you may know exactly what I speak of, if not:

A small example: One person says to another as he stares at his pudding in the cafeteria with a blatant puddle of drool showing his desire for it: "You going to finish that?" much before the other guy has finished whatever it is he's eating first. Excuses such as politeness, just checking, etc are pointless here in my opinion. The guy should just say it. "Can I have your pudding?", some intermediate between the two perhaps "Hmm, I really fancy that pudding you've got there, would you mind sharing or giving it to me?"

I'd have more respect for the 15 year old chav that simply demanded it or threatened him compared to the "You going to finish that?" person. Many mayn't agree but this is me & as I said this is a small example. This whole 'hinting' thing in general, the more I notice it within social atmospheres around me, on my travels, in the office, it begins getting on my nerves more & more so over the past few months.

So as any wise person would I turn this around on myself, only to find (though far less than others) I do it myself too, thus I get on my own nerves. Now building on the small example I'll let you imagine for yourself how this 'subtext' can be applied to much bigger things than pudding, such as the politics at work or even on a global scale. "We're hoping to better the relationship of these countries & promote world peace by the signing of this treaty" instead of "Hey there, will you promise not to be firing missiles at our country if I give you my autograph? Seriously dude, PROMISE... no Krogs??". You get the picture ..

But yea, those of you that know me well enough figure I couldn't care less about pudding, global politics, or much else that doesn't directly involve me. So this lastly brings me to what's been happening & how this weight loss came about (if you ahven't gathered already).

Well, having realised this small room for improvement in my installed character build version, I've been investigating previous & pending conversations and my own use of subtext over the past year or so, reiterating them so that I know my actual message got across. In some of these instances, I realise its simply been a matter of progression, the timing has now been right, the junctions between roads have been found, etc, etc, Some of these cases have however been a long time pending. Looking back there are still conversations I would like to reiterate but the subjects/situations/opportunities are now beyond reach.

End resolution. As always the answer lies in a Shah Rukh Khan film, this time you merely need to look at the title ... Kal Ho Naa Ho (Tomorrow May Be, May Not be). Though his dialogue in the theatrical trailer that was not in the film itself is also worth a mention.

So here-on try I shall to use less of Captain Subtext and more 'to the point' honest talk, blunt & rude comments will probably not be filtered, so actually you probably won't notice any difference at all. I had a flaw. I fixed it, but even after admitting this there is no catharsis (for you), my punishment continues to elude me you and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself; no new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing.

Catching this at the Wandsworth Cineworld -- timing TBA
Considering that anyone & everyone that has any vague association to me & lives in the Southern side of England has been informed I think we should have a good crowd :) If you're interested do let me know. If not, catch it at your local .. it shows promise.

As you may have gathered I haven't been to the pictures in just over a week. In the interim a vast weight loss has come about me.

No no not in a physical sense, I'm not making a statement about how I've managed to lose 34lb using drugs, surgery or worse... Exercise! (That comes later - perhaps), actually I'm just sharing a state of mind. I've had an interesting week & during this, managed I have to unwind some of my many little stresses & let a huge weight off my chest without even realising it existed. It feels good. I give most credit to the art of conversation. Tis all I'm saying at this point.

What?? I can't raise a bit of mystery & then throw you at a dead end? "That's just wrong" you say? Whatever, just watch me! If those damned American TV shows can do it, so can I ... you can wait til after the break, there may be a resolution, there may not.

I finally got round to ordering the cimax scene 'DON' shades .. well 1 of the 3 designs i liked in the film anyway.

So 2 more shades, faux leather jacket, silver briefcases, silver cars, samurai swords, Compaq laptop that allows you to write to UMD's, those Tag Heure watches (which I unfortunately didn't get as gifts over xmas), some funky shirts with matching rumaal (hankerchiefs) to use instead of ties & many numerous explosives to make exploding briefcases & some for the cases of the shades & I'll be well on my way.

I See You'
UK Rated: PG
Runtime: 122min 25secs (14 reels)
Tagline: You find love in the strangest places.
Director: Vivek Agarwal

Plot Outline
Raj Jaiswal (Arjun Rampal) is the star attraction on the TV show British Raj. It's a fact he knows and exploits to his advantage with the opposite sex. Not surprisingly, he knows the art of harmless flirting and serious seduction and it would seem he spares no one, not even the new recruit on the show! but that was until the evening he bumped into Shivani (Vipasha) in his own home.

There she was like a dream. Or was it really a dream? It's a question Raj can't seem to answer himself. After all, she breezes in and out of his home and office whether he likes it or not! Unfortunately, Raj is the only one who seems to be able to see her or talk to her. A fact confirmed by the quizzical expressions on the faces of his colleagues and best friend Akshay (Chunky Pandey). Over the next few days, as the world watches in amusement, Raj Jaiswal raves, rants and romances with a woman who is quite simply "for his eyes only".

Review:
Okay, firstly above is the official line from the makers the real deal is that this flick is a highly inspired, Indian take, unofficial remake, whatever you'd like to call it of Hollywood Reese Witherspoon starrer Just Like Heaven. Fortunately this fits into those categories of a good concept that our Indian films haven't been exposed to in the past. The original (& this one) are sweet little films that explore the idea of a woman in a coma, who is half-dead so to speak. As her spirit has wandered for over 6 months she manages to now find just the one person (now living in what was once her home) who can perceive and communicate with her. The events that follow form the crux of the plot.

Some Hollywood flicks just come off to me as Bollywood films in the making & this does fit the bill. It references other Bollywood ghost films like Bees Saal Baad on numerous occasions and this adds appeal to the average Bollywood audiences. The subtle parts in the narrative like when Shivani shows Raj the way she sees things and how later we see his change from flamboyant playboy to a more mature gentleman, that has taken these visions on board are handled with finesse.

Performances:
I think the film totally belongs to the principal pair. Arjun emotes well when required to and handles the comic situations where people think he is going nuts with flourish & ease. I wouldn't go out to say this is his best performance of all time, but that is merely due to the role not really requiring it. He underplays his persona very well.

The newcomer playing Shivani (the spirit/woman in coma) Vipasha handles her role with much ease too, She doesn't appear the generic glamour that you may expect from a newcomer's first vehicle, but she does hold a certain charm in her simplistic presence and she totally allows the audience to feel the pain that comes with being in her character's state. One performer to keep your eye open for.

Chunkey Pandey is functional. We're beginning to see more of him over the past year or so, hopefully he'll get larger roles in the future if he truly wants to make a comeback. At this stage he is relegated to playing second fiddle it would appear. Sonali Kulkarni playing his wife too is functional, both these roles however have limited scope. Boman Irani irritates as he appears to be funny and fails terribly

The character of Detective John Smith is worth a special mention. (Possibly Michael Maloney from the listed star cast, though I'll have to double check). His Hindi punch lines enacting film titles & the most common used dialogues from 1970's classics such as "Kanoon Ke Haath Bahut Lambe Hai" (The reach of the law is vast) uttered by many a cop in those days raise a smile each & every time he speaks. It also fits the character in that he had supposedly learn all his Hindi by watching films - smart writing here.

Music:
Only 4 tracks in this 2 hour venture, the opening credits with the introduction of our main lead and his boyish charms is Subah Subah, this is a catchy little tune with a riff you're likely to have running in your head in a few days time & wonder why its still there. Picturised on Arjun principally its a catchy song with visuals of London that are a treat to see, I mean I live here & its seems I'm missing out :)

This song includes 2 small cameo's firstly of Shah Rukh Khan strumming that catchy riff on his guitar, later followed by Hrithik busting out a singular dance move & roaming away casually, being humble enough not to show off his excessive dance talents this time round. The special appearances are pleasant but may have total outsiders wonder why the focus has been driven away from Raj & thrown off a little by the irrelevance of it all. None the less, it build the mood & character of Raj just as required.

Halo Halo in the second half is very well picturised. The sets look stunning and colourful, the choreography of Shiamak Davar in this number is also is also worth a mention. In the narrative this was a much needed celebratory song, as the on goings around it were getting a little on the heavy side otherwise. As for the sound of the song itself, its a close tie between this one & the above that I'd struggle to pick the better.

The other 2 tracks are passable, the one before Intermission (Kehna Hai Jo) could easily be snipped without much notice. I guess it was trying to establish a connection between the principal pair that we already felt anyway. The last song (Sach Hui) is only noticed in the background and fits its requirement of 'background' perfectly. More background music would have been nice.

Product Placements
A Sony camcorder in the initial scene showing British Raj being filmed. Once the credits roll & in a few other scenes there are London busses advertising the television program British Raj on the right on Arjun in the picture we can see a Zee TV logo. In the London scenes we see a Nando's and a LloydsTSB branch a couple of times. I also noted one of the buildings was around the Bank tube station. The very same place I spotted in Bhagam Bhag last week.

In Raj's flat we see his Pioneer 50" Plasma Television. A good choice. The exact same TV that I own I might add, though I was unimpressed that his setup had the attachment speakers both together & near the curtains behind the television as opposed to on the far left & right of the room or attached to the TV. Ah well. On this sweeet television at one point we see behind him that showing is the Oscar winning film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - the "Raindrops, falling on my head" song to be specific. Raj also owned a silver Apple powerbook (probably 15" - mine is a 12" portable). BBC World was the channel on which we see an interview with Inspector John Smith in the pre-climax.

Overall Impressions:
Some minor blemishes on the technical side (mostly post-production), such as some of the dubbing which was noticeable at times & some moments of silence which felt they lacked a background score but nothing unforgivable. Its a well directed film which Arjun should be proud of as it also marks the opening of his own production. I'm sure the technical glitches will be noticed in-house and fixed in future productions. They currently made it feel a little more like an Art/Independent film as opposed to commercial Bollywood which may narrow down the audience it should appeal to.

This film from what I've heard hasn't had the initial burst of good collections at the box office. The reason for this is primarily is the awful timing of release in the year it has had. With the 'festive period .. grrr' & everything being shut & all it certainly doesn't help. Had it been 2 weeks earlier or later & I think it would have been met with a more justice. Limited prints and the lack of profuse publicity also seems to add to its lack of initial collections. That said, I think with a little word-of-mouth the fate of the film is sure to flourish once in the Television rights & DVD market.

'Feel Good' film that you could happily take a date to see. Highly Recommended (7.0 out of 10)

Perfume - The Story of a Murderer'
UK Rated: 15
Runtime: 147min 27secs
Tagline: He lived to find beauty. He killed to possess it.
Director: Tom Tykwer

Plot Outline
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Wishaw), born in the stench of a fish market in eighteenth century Paris, he develops a superior olfactory sense, collecting in his memory all the scents that he experiences. With the help of an Italian perfume maker Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman) he learns to use his talents to create the world's finest perfumes. His life's best work however, takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve the fresh & unique scents of the living.

Product Placements
Again (after Night at the Museum), none noted. Though admittedly it'd be quite hard to throw in a bottle of Pepsi in a film set in the 1700's now wouldn't it?

Overall Impressions:
Almost Brilliant. I'll begin with the plusses, the casting of Ben Wishaw was spot on, he had a strange resemblence of non-emotive, focussed on his agenda to Christian Bale I found. Though the trailer came off a little corny, with the girl not noticing him sniffing around but this was explained in that he had no odour about him, he was a a nobody. His quest to set out & show the world that this wasn't the case made him somebody you empathised with. His obession with capturing the essence of a scent and preserving it, again totally plausible and adds much depth to the drive of the character. As his victims begin piling up, we are not too perturbed by the lost life but more interested with how his experiments and progress is achieved.

The negative: without spoilers, the last 20 minutes or so, were a little slow & the climax was a little bit of a let down for me. I probably would have altered this to be a little more realistic. That said it is based on a novel & how much scope for such tweaking is allowed - ram-jaane (god-knows), but it is a novel concept, capturing enough to keep you glued to the end. Its interesting to see how a killer may be so driven by other goals in which life holds a much smaller value.

Not one that would appeal to all, but an interesting watch none-the-less. (6.5 out of 10)

Christmas & New Year Happy Yaaay & all that malarky over with. I'm fricking glad. Yesterday I failed to get any bread, found the cafe' shut a half hour early & that the film I wanted to see wasn't showing when they said it would be .. all this festivity is to blame. I admit it I'm a grinch & proud of it. This birthday of Jesus being celebrated would even annoy him if he was around. He's be wanting a night out with the lads & find everything shut! .. especially the cinemas!!! Boxing day I pop in to see Night at the Museum & it's absolutely packed. Shows everyone else is bored as hell as well.

On the plus side at least you get to spend some time with family, realise its been so long since you'd seen everybody together & then within hours you also realise why. Another great one is huge outburst of text messages. You text every sod that you haven't bothered contacting for a long long period of time to then be bombarded with similar texts back. Soon follows an inbox full of text messages from numbers you don't know and a bunch of texts asking 'Yes, who is it?' ;) though that might just be me!

As I said I am thankful that its all over .. Normality again. (Strange coming from me I know)