Let's begin with the title, rumoured originally to be called 'Khan' to fit in with the previous set of Karan Johar films that all started with the letter 'K'. From Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna he has maintained this for over a decade. So, when the title was announced as 'My Name is Khan', it was fair to say that something had changed. Karan was leaving superstitions behind him and focussing efforts on making something that spoke for itself.

Synopsis
Rizvan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) is a Muslim man from India who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, he moves to San Francisco and lives with his brother and sister-in-law. He falls in love with a Hindu girl Mandira (Kajol) and despite protests from his family marries her, starting a small business together. They are happy until the events of September 11, 2001 when attitudes towards Muslims undergo a sea-change. As unfortunate events unfold, Mandira has an outburst of guilt, sorrow & desperation where she decides to split with Rizvan. Unable to understand her reasoning, Rizvan, confused & very upset that the love of his life has left him, embarks on this inspiring journey across America to win her back. The film begins with him already on this journey, feeding us the history behind it through narration and flashback sequences, so when I say he is on a mission to regain his love, we get to learn of how this love came about, how this journey began, beginning from the beginning with his own childhood.

It is fair to say Khan is a common enough surname in the Islamic community as a Smith or Jones in the Western world. So when our protagonist sets on his mission to meet the President of the United States to pass the message "My Name is Khan, and I am not a terrorist", there's no need to spell it out, it symbolises a bold message. From the released trailers and footage it would be rather easy to draw the conclusion that it's a story of an average Joe, labeled a terrorist because of his name, out to prove his innocence, but in truth it's not. It's about an unconventional hero overcoming obstacles to regain the love of his life.

Some thoughts:
Firstly, I'd like to say my heart goes out to all the people of Mumbai who are having problems getting to see this stress-free in theatres. If I was out there I would still be going to see it bindaas. I stand by SRK, he has no reason to apologise for anything & should not be bullied this way by the 'supposed' government.

Kaminey (Scoundrels)'

Love Aaj Kal'

Our easily misled people often without even collecting the facts, spot similarities between films & jump to the conclusion that this is a simple case of plagiarism. They can't be blamed entirely, as there are many such cases of almost scene by scene rips out there.

SInce watching Love Aaj Kal last night, this morning before writing it up I decided to watch Zui hao de shi guang (Three Times). This is the Taiwanese film that people connected to Love Aaj Kal as a possible re-make, inspiration, rip, whatever you want to call it. This way I could confirm / deny the given accusation.

Having seen both now, I'll share my thoughts: Three Times contains 3 stories set in three times 1966, 1911 and 2005 respectively. The two actors who play the main characters who fall in love in each story are kept consistent in all three segments, beyond this the stories themselves are pretty independent in their content, though certain themes, communications in particular are kept in focus.

Love Aaj Kal contains 2 stories set in 2 eras (1965 - the year of birth of King Khan I might add) and (2009), but it connects them both quite methodically. It's an old man (Rishi Kapoor) advising a young man (Saif Ali Khan) by telling his story with the flashbacks of the old man also played by (Saif Ali Khan) the same actor as the young man. Similarities end there really. Comparing the films is almost like saying all films of a genre are the same. If inspired by it at all I could only say the concepts have some common ground.

Around this concept there's one large factor in common, but again it's so general that I can't really pin it as theft & that is how communication between couples seems to have receded even though we are actually more 'free' to communicate in the current age. I think this is the poignant message that both films try to convey.

Brief thoughts on Three Times:
Segment (1966) - A Time for Love - This one held most charm, a simple story, executed to perfection. A man who has to fulfil his civic duty and enrol with the military. He meets a girl at a pool hall and decides to stay in touch through letters and beyond.
Segment (1911) - A Time for Freedom - Done like a film of the silent era, with music & inter-title captions. I can see what they were trying to do, but it just didn't connect with me. It's the relationship of a courtesan singer seeking an escape and a regular client at the brothel.
Segment (2005) - A Time for Youth - This didn't work for me either. A girl struggling with epilepsy tries to find love as she is conflicted between her girlfriend and a photographer that she's having an affair with.

Frankly, though it works well in showing contrasts in times, overall Three Times just didn't click with me beyond the 1st segment, which I thought was a sweet little story. I think the film has it's audience, but those like myself checking it out with Love Aaj Kal being the film that led them here will probably be disappointed. It's a whole different flavour of film.

Okay, over to the main event that brought you here ... #LoveAajKal

"Really? What evidence do you have?" you might ask. HERE is your answer.

On January 29th this account @shahrukh_khan became quite a trending topic on twitter. I know many bundles of people joined just out of curiosity. Had the King of Bollywood joing the micro-blogging forum?

On January 31st when supposedly reputable news provider DNA confirmed this with the following tweet, many rejoiced.

In a few days, things had calmed down. The odd tweet here & there were still emerging from teh account, but the imposter had slipped up. Any avid fan of the King Khan would know he would not be making banana bread. He's stated in interviews in the past that he hates cooking. The big fans understood & stepped back. I thought this would pretty much be the end of it.

Alas, this was not the case. It breaks my heart to 'still' see so many people genuinely believe this account is SRK himself. I am subscribed to the RSS feed showing the replies that this imposter gets. With a few of them I have responded, telling them, but now with concrete evidence, I just had to blog this for everyone to share. Many many thanks to Shak Siyya from Club Asia for asking on behalf of the Twitterville community & for allowing me to share this snippet with you of his interview with SRK confirming that he is NOT on twitter.

Right Click & 'Save As' to Download if you wish.

If you want to hear my rambles on twitter, feel free to follow; i am @jun6lee

So, the fairy-tale story teller is back upto his tricks, directing again after an 8 year, 2 month hiatus. Let's go over the history here first for those that aren't in the know.

Diwali of 1995 came his directional debut: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. A story that expanded its audience-base by encompassing the NRI (Non-Residential Indian) within its central character base. At the time, this wasn't unheard of, but it wasn't a common occurence. It's only fair to say it was widely appreciated & accepted as the new hip approach to films. Many numerous films have followed from here. Yet, nobody had expected the epic success the film would become. If you ask me, I'll admit that though it is an amazing film to watch, the success attached to it got out of control. Way out of control. It wasn't 'that' great. The closest example I can think of in recent times is The Dark Knight. There's no denying it was pretty damned good, but should it be labelled one of the best films of all time within minutes of its release?

Now when you've made a debut that is one of the longest running films of all time in the country (India), with cinema halls dedicated to showing it 'many years' later, the people's expectations are going to weigh pretty heavily. So, what happened? 5 years later, as the DVD for DDLJ had finally released, In Diwali of 2000, he brought us Mohabbatein. To a large extent he played it safe here. As well as making a pretty good feel-good film, he had another card up his sleeve that guaranteed the success & ofcourse the moolah.

Amitabh Bachchan (or Big B as he's fondly referred to) has been the icon that labelled Bollywood since the 70's with nobody matching that level of star value, except, perhaps in the last decade or so, Shah Rukh Khan. So what's to happen if the arguably 2 most popular & publicised faces of the Bollywood film industry, were to be sharing space on-screen for the first time? Damned straight, that Diwali there were fireworks & it raked in the money just as anticipated.

Another 8 years pass. Diwali 2008 -- Nope. For some reason the film isn't ready for a Diwali release, maybe he's thinking he hasn't got a good enough film for a Diwali release, or maybe I'm reading into it too much & they simply don't want to clash with other films being released by the same distributor (Dostana & Roadside Romeo were out around Diwali). Hmm ..

So, in front of Dostana, I see this trailer for Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, having only seen the 2 posters up to this point. The story here appeared to be as simple as: Middle-class geek has makeover to impress the girl in the backdrop of Punjab.

I took this away & had a real think about it, will the film really just be that? I mean sure, that can work, but what about the expectations attached to this. Then it hit me, this film in some ways is all about notching the expectation mark lower. I read somewhere the next day that the entire feature is shot in India, and it only took 4 months to shoot, & like an epiphany it all now makes sense.

To a degree having seen it now, I was right, but where I was wrong came as a surprise. I almost underestimated its content. So having banged on about everything but the film, I'll now get to it.

Took this snap from my phone at the cinema on Wednesday. Though an official poster has released for moustache wielding SRK, the other still seems to be hidden away. It was one of those that changes depending on where you stood. Better quality posters will unveil soon I'm sure, but here's a glimpse:

Released for the birthday of SRK, I guess this is the Official poster, since the below one was a teaser:

& the official Teaser poster:

Kidnap'

Plot Outline:
When Dr. Mallika (Vidya Malvade) asks her daughter Sonia (Minissha Lamba) what she wants for her 18th birthday, Sonia tells her she wants her Dad. Mallika divorced Vikrant Raina (Sanjay Dutt) when Sonia was just 10. The bitter custody battle was settled in Mallika's favor and Sonia has not met her father for eight long years. Rebellious Sonia is hell-bent on meeting her dad, but Mallika does not want her to have anything to do with him. After a spat between mother and daughter, Sonia walks off in a huff and doesn't return.

Mallika panics when she gets a call from a stranger that he has kidnapped Sonia. The kidnapper, Kabir (Imran Khan), has only one demand - that he will negotiate with nobody but Sonia's father - Vikrant Raina. Reluctantly Mallika brings Vikrant back into their lives to save Sonia. Vikrant Raina, one of the richest Indians in the world, with a net worth of 51.7 billion dollars obliges without a second thought, after all his daughters' life is at stake, but he chokes at the thought of taking orders from a criminal.

Kabir holds the trump card though. His intentions & his plan are what form the crux of the story.

This film is a large production, you'll probably see posters for it if you keep your eyes open. This thought it was a great film to watch was a bit of a mistake on my part, as I would certainly have had a chance to see it again in a few weeks time, plus, the alternative "The Man from London" I hear is fantastic, but isn't getting the deserved attention (ie; Limited showings worldwide & hence no 'wide' release).

I've Loved You So Long'
Il y a longtemps que je t'aime

Plot Outline:
In this gentle yet suspenseful drama, two sisters attempt to
reconstruct their relationship after a long separation, as haunting family secrets slowly emerge.

Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) has been abroad for fifteen years for mysterious reasons and is outcast by her family. On her return, only her sister Léa (Elsa Zylberstein) is willing to take her in, but Juliette's presence disturbs the household, as Léa's husband is deeply suspicious of her sudden reappearance in their lives.

This is the story of her gradually finding acceptance within a family now alien to her & in the process finding her own capacity to heal from the past that haunts her.

Singh is Kinng'

Plot Outline:
Lakhan Singh (Sonu Sood) is the "king" of the Australian underworld, accompanied by numerous associates. Far away in a small village in Punjab where Lucky was born there is someone more notorious than him - Happy Singh (Akshay Kumar).

The village is fed up of his magnanimity which has resulted in a number of disastrous situations. Out of desperation they decide to send him on a long trip to bring the gangster Lucky back to Punjab, under the false pretence of a dying sick parent who wants to see his son again.

Happy takes this mission quite seriously and embarks on his journey accompanied by his friend Rangeela (Om Puri). Things don't go as smoothly as planned ofcourse, for he takes his fumbling wth him. He is fortunate to find warmth and affection in a elderly lady (Kirron Kher) who helps him meet Lucky.

In a strange turn of events Lucky is saved from a life threatening attack by Happy risking his own life. Inspite of this, Lucky is paralyzed and Happy becomes the new 'King'. The series of chaos, shocks and misunderstandings result in the crux of the plot.

Mere Baap, Pehle Aap'
(My Father, After You)

Plot Outline:
Janaradhan Wishvanbhar Rane (Paresh Rawal) is a widower who has spent his life bringing up his son. He has done everything to ensure the upbringing has gone in the best possible manner. Now that the son is all grown up, Gaurav (Akshaye Khanna) takes up the responsibility of his father. They both manage the household chores and their business to the best of their abilities.

Though he is the young son, he treats his father as though he were the elder in the family. With the vigilance of a disciplined parent. He shouts, threatens, fights - even locks up his father occasionally so that his friend Madhav (Om Puri) does not spoil him.

He does this with good reason. Madhav is a divorcee, desperate to re-marry, On the sly, Madhav and Janaradhan are always sneaking off in search of a bride for Madhav, but they forever land up in trouble, and every time this happens Gaurav has to bail them out and face the embarrassment, until he one day comes to realise that maybe his father needs a bride too.

Sarkar Raj'
Ruling of the Government

Plot Outline:
When Anita Rajan (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), the CEO of an international power plant company, brings a proposal to set up a power plant in rural Maharashtra, she is told that she has to get the permission & blessing of the Nagre family, as this is their area of ruling.

When she brings the proposal before the Nagres, insightful Shankar (Abhishek Bachchan) is quick to realize the benefits the power plant can bring to the people. After convincing Sarkar (Amitabh Bachchan) who is initially against it, Shankar undertakes a journey along with Anita to the villages of Maharashtra to mobilize support from the masses.

However, things are not what they seem to be and Shankar's dream project gradually becomes a political minefield. It is in this backdrop that evil forces mightier than ever, mushroom and gang up to bring down the regime of Sarkar and obliterate Shankar's name from the political horizon.

Woodstock Villa

Plot Outline:
After a successful businessman's stunning wife disappears, hostile & taunting ransom demands follow. As the true nature of stakes for the captor and his captives unfold, the tables turn. A simplistic kidnapping soon transforms to a web of murder, mystery, deceit and suspense.

Overall Impressions:
Why such a small & vague outline? Well, because the content just isn't all that complicated past this. This 94 minute film has songs in it, pointless pace-hindering songs majorly (only the one with Sanjay Dutt seemed plot relevant), but I suppose they were seen as necessary due to this being the debut vehicle of Sikander "and Neha Uberoi".

Since Neha has little scope to do much in the story, filling a glamour quotient through song after song would have to do for her I suppose. So removing her (by which I mean the songs) the true duration is close to 70 minutes.

Closer to 60 if you count all that shaky cam and over-done Tony Scott style seizure shots. Hey.. Let me clarify, I'm all for style, just like Man on Fire was style, but then you get Domino which was basically a seizure captured on film, thats what part of this felt like.

Breaking this down further, the first two thirds of this is highly engaging. You do find yourself wondering about the intention of each character & how these twist & turn situations can ultimately be resolved. Unfortunately, the end they decided upon is a bit of an anti-climax. It sort of works for the story but it breaks the pace of turns in events that we've got used to by this point.

What I can say works positively is that they make the character of Sikander pretty believable, likeable and as some master-mind bad-ass. There is no better way to kick start your acting career really is there? :) This said, he does a perfect job carrying it off. He isn't conventionally handsome, overly built or anything that makes the traditional hero, but this friendly neighbourhood look will be fruitful to his career I'm sure.

A great debut, for Sikander anyway, I can't even remember who what the girl looked like in this. Past the refreshing debut, not so much going for it. Let down by its mediocre resolution. Seemed lazy and so not quite enough to make it worth a watch.

Jannat (Heaven)

Plot Outline:

The story revolves around a man who is caught in a quagmire of crime and consumerism as he struggles to find heaven on earth.

Arjun (Emraan Hashmi) is a reckless young man with an obsession for making money at card games. A chance meeting with a girl in a mall, Zoya (Sonal Chauhan) gives him the reasons he was looking for to move out of his ordinary life. He steps up from playing a small-time card games to becoming a bookie.

Stuck in a triangle of sorts between the woman he loves and his addiction to make a quick buck, Arjun moves on from being a bookie to a runner for the mafia. He steps into the world of Cricket match fixing, ensuring a match looks interesting, but the end result is to their advantage.

Arjun basically switches on the limelight to the bigger, faster, better & more, until his dizzying rise attracts the attention of the police. Arjun has now to choose between the love of his life, and this new found success and power.

As Arjun struggles to choose between the two, the Don offers the forbidden apple of limitless wealth in exchange for his soul, drawing him into his core entourage of money spinners.

Bhoothnath भूतनाथ

Plot Outline:
It's believed that children have the strongest connection to god. They have the ability to perceive goodness in everything and everyone. This is a story about a seven-year-old naughty yet innocent boy, who unknowingly turns a foe into a friend. This is a story about Banku and his friend, Bhoothnath (Amitabh Bachchan).

This is a story that will show adults to see the world through the eyes of a child... an angel, a creation of god. It's then that one will realize what a beautiful world they live in after all.

It begins as Banku and his family move in to their new house -- the Nath Villa, unaware of the fact that the house is inhabited by a ghost. It is learnt that the ghost is not too happy with having co-habiting with strangers, but what the ghost isn't quite prepared for is an unlikely friendship he happens to form with the kid. As a friend, Banku must now learn why his ghostly friend is stuck and help him to attain salvation.

Tashan (Style)

Plot Outline:
Call center executive Jimmy (Saif Ali Khan) works part time as an English tutor. In reality, this is simply a ploy to get himself short-term bimbo girlfriends. When getting bored of this routine, he encounters Pooja (Kareena Kapoor), a girl that he falls for instantly.

When she shows up to his class inquiring whether he gives private tuition, he think he's hit the jackpot. He inattentively ends up agreeing without questioning the matter, only to find she isn't the student, and that he's just agreed to tutor Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor), a dubious businessman with an uncanny passion, but a slim chance of learning, the English language.

In his broken, half-Hindi / half-English he explains that he has some businessmen coming in from abroad in 3 months and wants to polish up his English to impress them. Though a hopeless task, Jimmy agrees in hope he'll get a chance to spend some time around Pooja. As time progresses, he learns, that his situation isn't all that it seems.

When events take their turn, they find an unlikely ally in a desi wannabe gangster Bachchan Pande (Akshay Kumar) on a journey that forms the crux of the film.

U Me aur Hum (U Me and Us)

Plot Outline:
The first time Ajay saw Pia, she served him drinks. She affected him more than the alcohol, and he found true love. He was a leading psychiatrist, but she messed up his mind.

The first time Pia saw Ajay, he had had too much to drink. She watched him make a fool of himself, and was relieved when he passed out. She was a woman who followed her heart, but despite his claims of true love, she had made up her mind about him.

Thus began the story of Ajay and Pia.

After this disastrous first meeting, Ajay tries everything to woo her, by hook, crook and even her little private notebook. Noting how she loves everything that he fears, he figures she's no easy catch, but finally, by sheer perseverance, he dances his way into her heart.

With no doubt in their minds about the way they feel for each other, they soon rush into marital bliss, but no marriage can be complete bliss, this couple is no different. How Ajay and Pia face these hurdles, in the face of unpredictable crises forms the crux of the story.

Krazzy 4'

Plot Outline:

It's a mad, mad, mad world out there
Someone's nutty about money ...
Someone's deranged by power...
Someone's cracked with stress...
Someone's unhinged by overwork...
Someone's insanely in love....
It's a mad, mad, mad world out there
And everybody's worried they're going bananas.... except the Krazzy 4
They know they're already Krazzy!

1. Raja's (Arshad Warsi) anger knows no bounds, he'll hit out at the slightest provocation or even without. Intermittent explosive disorder is what the doctors call it. 2. Dr. Mukherjee (Irrfan Khan) is your perfect doc - clean and orderly, not a pin out of place. (Obsessive compulsive personality disorder). 3. Schizophrenic Gangadhar (Rajpal Yadav) lives in the past...his mates are Nehru and Gandhi, Tilak and Patel! He's so busy fighting for the country's freedom, he's lost his sanity. Last but not least, 4. Dabboo (Suresh Menon), everybody's pet. He hasn't spoken for years, he's frightened all the time, he's autistic.

Dr Sonali (Juhi Chawla) treats them all. She has faith that all it needs is a little time and lots of patience to make them normal...to make them part of the mad, mad, mad world out there... but are the Krazzy 4 ready for the world and is the world ready for them?

One, Two, Three'

Plot Outline:
Diamonds worth ten crores are stolen from a dangerous Don. The diamonds accidentally fall in the hands of young love birds - Chandu (Upen Patel) and Chandni (Tanisha Mukherjee), who quickly hide them in a car. The Don and his idiotic henchmen are desperately hunting for the diamonds while hot headed police office Mayavati Chautala (Neetu Chandra) is on the prowl looking for offenders of any kind. Enter Laxmi Narayan ♯1 (Tusshar Kapoor). He's from a mafia family and his mother prays that with a few murders under his belt, he will be settled for life. After screwing up badly in his early attempts, he's got a final chance to redeem himself as a murderer. He comes to hotel Blue Diamond because he's taken a supari (contract killing) to bump off the Don.

Enter Laxmi Narayan ♯2 (Suniel Shetty). He's an MBA from Darjeeling and lives his professional life by sucking up to his boss, taking everything he is told as hard facts. He is sent to the Hotel Blue Diamond to collect a new car for his boss from Laila (Sameera Reddy). Then we have Laxmi Narayan ♯3 (Paresh Rawal), a hawker who has made so much money selling underwear on the footpath that he has set up a lingerie factory for his son. His son has sent him to the Hotel Blue Diamond to collect some lingerie samples from upcoming designer Jiya (Esha Deol).

Three Laxmi Narayans at the hotel waiting for messages at the hotel reception desk. The scene is set, let the mayhem begin ...

Orfanato, El' (Orphanage, The)

Plot Outline:
The Orphanage centers on a Laura (Belén Rueda) who purchases her beloved childhood orphanage with dreams of restoring and reopening the long abandoned facility as a place for disabled children.

Upon moving into the cavernous and hauntingly beautiful home, Laura, with her physician husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo), discover that the new environment awakens their adopted son (Roger Príncep) Simóns' imagination as he becomes acquainted with six imaginary friends.

However, Simón has always had imaginary friends, both Laura and Carlos play along with his stories, assuming this will be fixed automatically once other children arrive in his life, but the ongoing fantasy games he plays with these invisible friends quickly turn into something more disturbing, when Simón one day disappears.

Upon seeing her family increasingly threatened by the strange occurrences in the house, Laura looks to a group of parapsychologists & the police for help in unraveling the mystery that has taken over the place. Eventually, the desperate mother reluctantly agrees to explore the orphanage for supernatural clues to her son's disappearance.

Race'

Plot Outline:
Two brothers torn apart by love in this tale of intrigue, greed and revenge. Ranvir (Saif Ali Khan) and Rajiv (Akshaye Khanna) are half brothers who own a farm in South Africa. Breeding horses on their huge estate, these brothers are the most successful bookies in the horse racing circuit. Ranvir, the elder of the two, is a very shrewd and aggressive businessman while Rajiv on the other hand, is an alcoholic with little interest in the business.

Sophia (Katrina Kaif) is Ranvir's personal secretary and secretly in love with him. Ranvir is smitten however with glamorous model Shaina (Bipasha Basu) who he is good friends with. When he comes to learn that his younger brother wants her too, he swallows his feelings and lets him pursue her in hope that she can reform his alcoholism & so through a twist of fate, Shaina marries Rajiv.

The marriage faces instability due to Rajiv's ongoing alcoholism as he begins to suspect his brother and his wife of being involved in an illicit affair. A murder is committed. -- Intermission.

Flamboyant police detective, R.D. (Anil Kapoor) and his assistant, Mini (Sameera Reddy) are called upon to investigate the murder. As the investigation gathers momentum, a contract killing is issued, double crossings become the order of the day and betrayals are executed at the blink of an eye - such is the story of Race

Black & White'

Plot Outline:
Rajan Mathur (Anil Kapoor) is a Professor in Urdu literature in Dr. Zakir Hussain's College. He resides in Chandni Chowk with his activist wife, Roma Mathur (Shefali Shah). When the Professor Mathur comes across a young boy Numair Qazi (Anurag Sinha) seeking employment, he is introduced as a victim of the numerous communal riots in Gujarat. In actual fact, he is a suicide bomber commissioned by a Muslim fundamentalist group in Afghanistan to detonate a bomb near the Red Fort on 15th August (National Independence Day).

During this fifteen day roller coaster journey, Numair manages to take shelter in the Professor's house and wins the trust and fondness of the couple. While helping Numair to get employment, as well as an entry pass for 15th August celebrations at Red Fort, Professor Mathur introduces him to the warm and loving people of Chandni Chowk who co-exist with fun, music, love and colorful events and festivals irrespective of their religion.

Numair is astonished with some of the characters he meets here, but he must keep his mind focused on the mission as he struggles to carry out his orders from his superiors. Amidst all the tension, he is caught in an emotional dilemma whether to go ahead with his mission. Despite his deep-rooted fundamentalist beliefs, he begins to see this as one of the most colorful and loving areas he has been. There is hope. Not everything is as clear and 'black & white' as he had thought.

The 'Best Film' nominations I agreed with pretty much as far as commercial flicks went. I would perhaps have replaced "Jab We Met" with something like "Namastey London", or perhaps, "Gandhi - My Father". I'd personally say "No Smoking" should have been up there too, but I sort of don't expect miracles like this quite yet. It'll be a film looked back at as a trend setter in time (I hope).

The Critics award going to Chak De is no real surprise at all, it nicely captured the Indian patriotic spirits, stood it's identity as 'different' while maintaining a level of commercial success behind it too. Best film then going to Taare Zameen Par isn't a bad thing, it was a break from the generic-fare film too, and so I still see this as progress for the industry, though I'm not sure these are entirely their reasons. I suppose they didn't want to give both best film awards to SRK-flicks. ;)

Aamir Khan walking away with Best Director after his first directional venture is inspiring. (His first production had got the Oscar Nomination in 2001, this is his second). I haven't seen the awards show yet but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he wasn't present to receive it. As you can tell just from my ranting, like any other award ceremony, not everything is approved by all. There is politics, there is favoritism -- we wouldn't really expect any less would we?

Generally I've always feel let down by the Best Actor Category -- i always felt to me they got it mixed up in their heads with Best Film. Going by this theory, I was just telling a friend that I was worried that SRK will get it for Om Shanti Om rather than Chak De and this would disappoint me. For once I'm chuffed that it went to who I thought most deserved it and for the right film.

Yea' I know, you all think I'm totally biased in saying this because it's Shah Rukh Khan but had I been blogging back in '98 you'd have known I wanted Ajay Devgan to win for Zakhm rather than SRK for Dil Se. (I didn't think Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which SRK did win it for, deserved it at all). I am fair & firm when it comes to these things. After all, if I'm going to go out there & fix the industry I have to be. The critics award went to the child artiste for Taare Zameen Par. Fair play about time a young one got an award -- but whether he maintains skill in acting or if he's a one-trick horse is yet to be seen.

The best actress nominations were spot on, but I definitely think Vidya Balan should have got it just for those scenes where she was possessed in Bhool Bhullaiya. The other roles were pretty so so. At second place I would have said Rani deserved it for Laaga Chunari Mein Daag where she cried so so well ;). Kareena winning it isn't a total disaster, she did do a good job, but I guess it goes to show that the name 'Kapoor' still has weight 50 years on.

Best Music was my most disappointing category. There were numerous soundtracks that outranked the nominations here. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have been robbed here. This came as a huge surprise to me when I saw the nominations. I mean, they had 6 solid soundtracks this year. Three of these making my top 5 most played soundtracks of the year (according to iTunes) and were definitely huge sellers world-wide. Salaam-e-Ishq, Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom and Taare Zameen Par. (The other 2 in my 5 being Om Shanti Om and Naqaab. Only one of them got nominated and didn't win. 'nuff said.)

Even with the playback singer nominations, these soundtracks were nowhere to be seen (with the exception of Om Shanti Om). At least with best Lyrics one of these awesome soundtracks finally got some credit.

Overall, the results were pretty predictable as usual. Flavours of the month/year *sighs* ... one year they might fix it, handing awards to the people that actually most deserve it, when world peace is achieved & there is no hunger or pain in the world. The day I get to be the King of the World ... Well, I'll stop at these main ones, there we have it - feel free to discuss :-)

So the prestigious Filmfare Awards (the Bollywood equivalent of the Oscars) have chosen:

I've bolded the ones I think most deserve it from the choices given.. I think there are definitely deserving entries missing here that I'll discuss further in a separate entry, sooner rather than later.

BEST FILM
Chak De! India --- Critics' Award Winner
Guru
Jab We Met
Om Shanti Om
Taare Zameen Par --- WINNER

BEST DIRECTOR
Aamir Khan (Taare Zameen Par) --- WINNER
Anurag Basu (Life... In A Metro)
Farah Khan (Om Shanti Om)
Imtiaz Ali (Jab We Met)
Mani Ratnam (Guru)
Shimit Amin (Chak De! India)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (MALE)
Abhishek Bachchan (Guru)
Akshay Kumar (Namastey London)
Darsheel Safary (Taare Zameen Par)--- Critics' Award Winner
Shahrukh Khan (Chak De! India) --- WINNER
Shahrukh Khan (Om Shanti Om)
Shahid Kapoor (Jab We Met)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (FEMALE)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Guru)
Deepika Padukone (Om Shanti Om)
Kareena Kapoor (Jab We Met) --- WINNER
Madhuri Dixit (Aaja Nachle)
Rani Mukerji (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag)
Tabu (Cheeni Kum) --- Critics' Award Winner
Vidya Balan (Bhool Bhulaiyaa)

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE)
Aamir Khan (Taare Zameen Par)
Anil Kapoor (Welcome)
Irrfan Khan (Life in a... Metro) --- WINNER
Mithun Chakraborty (Guru)
Shreyas Talpade (Om Shanti Om)

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (FEMALE)
Konkona Sen Sharma (Life in a... Metro) --- WINNER
Konkona Sen Sharma (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag)
Rani Mukerji (Saawariya)
Shilpa Shukla (Chak De! India)
Tisca Chopra (Taare Zameen Par)

BEST MUSIC
A R Rahman (Guru) --- WINNER
Monty Sharma (Saawariya)
Pritam (Jab We Met)
Pritam (Life in a... Metro)
Vishal-Shekhar (Om Shanti Om)

BEST LYRICS
Gulzar...Tere Bina (Guru)
Javed Akhtar...Main Agar Kahoon (Om Shanti Om)
Prasoon Joshi...Maa (Taare Zameen Par) --- WINNER
Sameer...Jab Se Tere Naina (Saawariya)
Vishal Dadlani...Aankhon Mein Teri (Om Shanti Om)

BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (MALE)
A R Rahman ...Tere Bina (Guru)
K K...Aankhon Mein Teri (Om Shanti Om)
Shaan...Jab Se Tere Naina (Saawariya) --- WINNER
Sonu Nigam...Main Agar Kahoon (Om Shanti Om)
Sukhwinder Singh...Chak De (Chak De! India)

BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (FEMALE)
Alisha Chinai...It's Rocking (Kya Love Story Hai)
Shreya Ghoshal ...Barso Re (Guru) --- WINNER
Shreya Ghoshal ...Yeh Ishq Hai (Jab We Met)
Sunidhi Chauhan ...Sajanaji Vari Vari (Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd.)
Sunidhi Chauhan ...Aaja Nachle (Aaja Nachle)

Jodhaa Akbar'

Plot Outline:
Based on historical events of India, Jodhaa Akbar is a sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal (Muslim) emperor (Hrithik Roshan) -- Akbar and a Hindu Rajput princess -- Jodhaa (Aishwarya Rai). Political success knew no bounds for Emperor Akbar. After having secured the Hindu Kush, he furthered his realm by conquest until his empire extended from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal, and from the Himalayas to the Godavari River.

Through a shrewd blend of tolerance, generosity, and force, Akbar won the allegiance of many. His challenge were the Rajputs, the most belligerent Hindus, so as a gesture of good-will to the people he accepts a proposal from the Rajput King to marry his daughter. Little did Akbar know that when he married the fiery Rajput princess Jodhaa, in order to further strengthen his relations with the Rajputs, he would in turn be embarking upon a new journey entirely as an emperor.

The daughter of King Bharmal of Amer, Jodhaa resented being reduced to a mere political pawn in this marriage of alliance, and Akbars biggest challenge now did not merely lie in winning battles, but in winning the love of Jodhaa of his own wife. A love hidden deep below resentment and extreme prejudice. Jodhaa-Akbar is no merely their untold love story, but also the story of how she made him a better Emperor.

Time once again for the Filmfare Awards, the equivalent of Hollywood's Oscars which each year parades a Who's Who of top Bollywood films and their legendary stars along with new and aspiring actors, actresses, and film directors.

I've bolded the ones I think most deserve it from the choices given.. I think there are definitely deserving entries missing here that I'll discuss further when the results are out on the night of February 24, 2008.

BEST FILM
Chak De! India
Guru
Jab We Met
Om Shanti Om
Taare Zameen Par

BEST DIRECTOR
Aamir Khan (Taare Zameen Par)
Anurag Basu (Life... In A Metro)
Farah Khan (Om Shanti Om)
Imtiaz Ali (Jab We Met)
Mani Ratnam (Guru)
Shimit Amin (Chak De! India)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (MALE)
Abhishek Bachchan (Guru)
Akshay Kumar (Namastey London)
Darsheel Safary (Taare Zameen Par)
Shahrukh Khan (Chak De! India)
Shahrukh Khan (Om Shanti Om)
Shahid Kapoor (Jab We Met)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (FEMALE)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Guru)
Deepika Padukone (Om Shanti Om)
Kareena Kapoor (Jab We Met)
Madhuri Dixit (Aaja Nachle)
Rani Mukerji (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag)
Vidya Balan (Bhool Bhulaiyaa)

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE)
Aamir Khan (Taare Zameen Par)
Anil Kapoor (Welcome)
Irrfan Khan (Life in a... Metro)
Mithun Chakraborty (Guru)
Shreyas Talpade (Om Shanti Om)

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (FEMALE)
Konkona Sen Sharma (Life in a... Metro)
Konkona Sen Sharma (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag)
Rani Mukerji (Saawariya)
Shilpa Shukla (Chak De! India)
Tisca Chopra (Taare Zameen Par)

BEST MUSIC
A R Rahman (Guru)
Monty Sharma (Saawariya)
Pritam (Jab We Met)
Pritam (Life in a... Metro)
Vishal-Shekhar (Om Shanti Om)

BEST LYRICS
Gulzar...Tere Bina (Guru)
Javed Akhtar...Main Agar Kahoon (Om Shanti Om)
Prasoon Joshi...Maa (Taare Zameen Par)
Sameer...Jab Se Tere Naina (Saawariya)
Vishal Dadlani...Aankhon Mein Teri (Om Shanti Om)

BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (MALE)
A R Rahman ...Tere Bina (Guru)
K K...Aankhon Mein Teri (Om Shanti Om)
Shaan...Jab Se Tere Naina (Saawariya)
Sonu Nigam...Main Agar Kahoon (Om Shanti Om)
Sukhwinder Singh...Chak De (Chak De! India)

BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (FEMALE)
Alisha Chinai...It's Rocking (Kya Love Story Hai)
Shreya Ghoshal ...Barso Re (Guru)
Shreya Ghoshal ...Yeh Ishq Hai (Jab We Met)
Sunidhi Chauhan ...Sajanaji Vari Vari (Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd.)
Sunidhi Chauhan ...Aaja Nachle (Aaja Nachle)

Leben der Anderen, Das
(Lives of Others, The)

Plot Outline:
It follows the successful dramatist Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and his longtime companion Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), a popular actress, who are big intellectual stars in the socialist state, who secretly don't think 101% loyal to the party line. One day, the Minister becomes interested in Christa, so the secret service are instructed to observe and sound out the couple.

Captain Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) is the wiretapping expert with the Stasi (East German Secret Police) assigned for this task. During the mission he becomes disillusioned with his career and life in general as he listens in on the couple. He starts to challenge his beliefs through his overheard conversations.

Dreyman is a supporter of the regime, but dislikes the way dissidents are treated. He publicly stands up for his friends if he feels that they have been unfairly treated. One friend, Jerska, is a director who has lost his reason to live due to being blacklisted. At Dreyman's 40th birthday party, Jerska gives Dreyman a gift of sheet music entitled "Sonata for A Good Man". Shortly afterward, Jerska commits suicide; this finally spurs Dreyman into speaking out against the regime.

Wiesler over-hearing this all finds himself admiring the courage, relating to them, even becoming loyal to them to an extent. He sees they aren't doing any morally wrong, so he lets the small breaking of rules pass.

Sunday'

Plot Outline:
A murder is committed. Sehar (Ayesha Takia) wakes Monday morning with unexplained scratch marks on her neck, Supari (Contract) killers out to kill her, A taxi driver who turns pale and yells 'bhoot, bhoot' (ghost, ghost) every time he sees her & this is just the beginning. Seher is at first amused, then mystified and then terrified when she realises she has a connection with all these totally unconnected incidents. but she can't remember a thing,

Sehar's world turns topsy-turvy when she gets a clue about the missing Sunday of her life, which points to a possible violent attack on her.

A.C.P Rajveer (Ajay Devgan) takes up the case to sort out the complicated and jumbled up threads of Sehar's life. In the process of solving Sehar's case it comes to light that on Sunday, a whole bunch of different people interacted with her and amongst them, one is likely to be the accused to now a double-homicide.

The list is a long stream of unknowns, so we begin with Sehar's close friend Ritu (Anjana Sukhani) who was last seen with her on the Saturday night, leading us to a number of random people including Ballu (Arshad Warsi) the taxi driver, his regular passenger & struggling actor friend Kumar (Irrfan Khan) amongst numerous others.

As each of the people are questioned, we patch together the missing Sunday to reveal the culprit behind the murder.

Halla Bol'

Plot Outline:
Ashfaque (Ajay Devgan) is a small town boy aspiring to be a film star in the Hindi film industry. He joins a street theatre group run by a reformed dacoit Sidhu (Pankaj Kapur) who uses street theatre as a medium to bring about an awakening in the masses. Ashfaque struggles to give a creative vent to the actor in him in order to realize his dreams. Ashfaque's determined struggle pays off and he gets a break in films. With this he gets a new screen name - Sameer Khan.

With the passage of time, the roles start becoming better and he moves up the success ladder in a very short time becoming a superstar - one who can enact any role with finesse, get under the skin of any and every character with ease and walk away with audience applause. Sadly, amidst all adulation and applause, he slowly loses his own identity. Corruption takes over his entire system, alienating him from all loved ones.

A shocking incident at a party changes everything, rocking Sameer Khan's lifestyle. He gets caught between his human self on one side and his corrupted superstar image on the other. Whether the conflict within him gives way to good sense and whether he is able to discard his corrupted image and emerge as a true life hero, becomes an integral part of this true life cinema.

Lust, Caution'

Plot Outline:
Shanghai, 1942. The World War II Japanese occupation of this Chinese city continues in force. Mrs. Mak, a woman of sophistication and means, walks into a café, places a call, and then sits and waits. She remembers how her story began several years earlier, in 1938 China. She is not really Mrs. Mak, it is merely an alias. With WWII underway, she has been left behind by her father, who has escaped to England. As a student at university, she meets fellow student Kuang Yu Min.

Kuang has started a drama society to shore up patriotism. As the theater troupe's new leading lady, Wong realizes that she has found her calling, able to move and inspire audiences. He convenes a core group of students to carry out a radical and ambitious plan to assassinate a top Japanese collaborator, Mr. Yee. She happily volunteers. Each student has a part to play; She will become Mrs. Mak, who will gain Yees' trust by befriending his wife and then draw the man into an affair. Wong transforms herself utterly inside and out, and the scenario proceeds as scripted until an unexpectedly fatal twist spurs her to flee.

Shanghai, 1941. With no end in sight for the occupation, Wong having emigrated from Hong Kong goes through the motions of her existence. Much to her surprise, Kuang re-enters her life. Now part of the organized resistance, he enlists her to again become Mrs. Mak in a revival of the plot to kill Yee, who as head of the collaborationist secret service has become even more a key part of the puppet government.

As she reprises her earlier role, and is drawn ever closer to her dangerous prey, she finds her very identity being pushed to the limit...

Taare Zameen Par - तारे जमीन पर

Plot Outline:
Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colours, fish, dogs and kites are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks and neatness. And Ishaan just cannot seem to get anything right in class. When he gets into far more trouble than his parents can handle, he is packed off to a boarding school to 'be disciplined'. Things are no different at his new school, and Ishaan has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family. One day a new art teacher bursts onto the scene, Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan), who infects the students with joy and optimism. He breaks all the rules of 'how things are done' by asking them to think, dream and imagine, and all the children respond with enthusiasm, all except Ishaan. Nikumbh soon realizes that Ishaan is very unhappy, and he sets out to discover why. With time, patience and care, he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself.

Review:
So with the year coming to an end with all the major Bollywood films come and gone, one comes somewhat out of the blue. An Aamir Khan film tends to be a big deal in the Bollywood world, and with good reason -- looking at his track record for the past few years, he does only one or two films a year (if that), but they happen to stick out for being different. A film that is unconventional for the stereotypes people have of Bollywood yet entertains. He's one of the biggest stars out there, but one you can bank on for quality. After the Oscar Nominated film Lagaan -- One upon a Time in India back in 2001, this is his second production, this time he's decided to turn director too. So here we have it: Taare Zameen Par (Stars upon the Earth).

The story is as you'd expect off-beat (no romance, no glamour), yet pretty simple. It's the story of a troubled 8 year old boy Ishaan, who has trouble no end with his academics. Failing test after test, he finds himself constantly dealing with disappointment, even though he tries his best persistently. Misunderstood as naughty, lazy and disobedient, his parents are eventually pressured by his school into sending him away to a boarding school where he can learn by being disciplined accordingly.

Let it be said at the very outset, this film may be an Aamir Khan film, but the focus primarily is the journey of Ishaan. In fact, it would be no overstatement to say the child artiste (Darsheel Safary) is the real hero of the film. He does a spectacular job, totally natural. Kids in films have a knack for being irritating, thankfully he doesn't fill that criteria either. As you'd expect our little hero begins to close up internally, showing no improvement academically, as he's ripped apart from his family, the kid truly begins losing all purpose and hope. It's at this (intermission) point that Aamir Khan makes his entry as the temporary art teacher at the school.

The pacing of the film is almost perfect. Considering so little happens in the first half objectively, it comes as a surprise looking back, but at no point was I bored. The music too is appropriately fitting and doesn't hinder the pace of the narrative, which is something I feared with a story like this. The title song in the latter half is the one people will take away (also from the theatrical trailer) as the most memorable, but the remainder are a perfect fit too for the given situations, to the extent that listening to them again will take you straight back into the film in your own mind.

Back to the film, the entire first half was totally superb, right from the introduction of Ishaan, we get to identify with the kid. He's a dreamer. Gathering tadpoles in his water bottle, and showing us in time that he's holding up the school bus. As we follow his adventures and troubles, you can see the entire world in the eyes of this child, and this is definitely where the film excels. The latter half leaves a lot to be expected as the teacher that will change his life finally hits the screen.

Does it deliver? Well up to a point. One of the things I though let it down was that the teacher now became the main focus. He does a great job, but we kinda start missing the kid. The reveal that the child has dyslexia and the explanation of it's symptoms, followed by the long list of historic icons that too suffered from it but came through successful is impressive (and educational). The dialogue from the teacher throughout was sharp and witty, in particular the banter between him and Ishaans' parents are impressive and straight out of life. The way he tries to get the father to read chinese was funny, yet packed an impact, making his point very clear.

By the pre-climax point, the pace was coming to a halt & the climax left something more to be desired. Once the teacher start helping the child, the flick started falling into a very formulaic pattern. Each scene that would follow could be predicted and the very very end lacked the punch you would expect from a film trying to send the viewer a message. That said, the 'message' does get across.

The message you take away in the end is just as it says, every child is unique. I recall they used to advertise that a "dog isn't for xmas, it is for life" so that children who received pets over the festive period would understand the responsibility involved. Possibly a strange comparison to make, but I think the message here is quite similar, but it's to the parents and teachers out there. Every child has it's speciality, it's strengths and weaknesses. It takes time and effort to help the children home into them. Simply feeding them, sending them to school and disciplining them if they don't do well, simply isn't enough.

So, the big question surrounding this venture: When Aamir Khan competes with himself as an actor and a director, which one emerges a winner? Well, though he does a competent job as an actor here, the director has to be given more credit. As a first-time director, it is fantastic how he manages to really capture scenes through the eyes of a child, especially in the first half. The camera takes its time examining the wonderful simplicity of things that we as adults would let pass as normal. The day when Ishaan decides to bunk off school is one of the many instances of this.