Author: Nitish Kumar

I love to write and raising voice, sharing thought and heated debate is a kind of passion for me. Jobwise I am just another Computer professional handling Infra and designing solutions for a big Indian Media house but I love to write, sketch, photography and a lot more.

Bachna Ae Haseeno : When we come to know that she is the one

Yashraj Productions … many expectations … similar look and feel, which had keeping Yashraj’s on the top of chart in all those years. Are they back on track? That’s what was in my mind, when I went to watch this movie. As I watched it on Saturday, just after one day of its release, so was having no clue or pre-set mind before watching the same as I start with all the time. Friday was given in favour of “God Tussi Great Ho” in spite of knowing its limitations as I was not aware that “Bachna Ae Hasino” has been released. Interestingly both the movies were watched by me in PVR. I should confess that I have been away from Picture Halls from long time as I prefer to watch movies at my home, but this time, these were holidays and so….

Like others, I also been impressed with Yashraj Banners in the way, they realize the feeling of love in various ways. Hum Apke Hai Kaun, Dil To Pagal Hai (There is someone for you somewhere), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Love may happen twice), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Never let it go, if you get your the one) and Bachna Ae Hasino now… All the earlier ones been grand mile stones.. what about this one? Siddharth Anand has given Salaam Namaste and Ta Ra Rum Pum earlier, so sure this one has its share of expectations. Lets see, where is stands…

Title: Bachna Ae Hasino.

Directed and written by: Siddharth Anand.

Produced by: Aditya Chopra, Yash Chopra.

Production banner : Yash Raj Productions.

Music Directors: Vishal Shekhar.

 

Play Back:

1.
Khuda Jaane – KK & Shilpa Rao 2. Lucky Boy – Sunidhi Chauhan, Hard Kaur & Raja Hassan 3. Aahista Aahista – Lucky Ali & Shreya Ghoshal 4. Jogi Mahi – Sukhwinder Singh, Shekhar Ravjiani & Himani Kapoor 5. Small Town Girl – Shankar Mahadevan 6. Khuda Jaane Revisited – KK & Shilpa Rao, Remixed by: Abhijit Nalani 7. Bachna Ae Haseeno * – Kishore Kumar *, Sumit Kumar & Vishal Dadlani Cinematographer: Sunil Patel. Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Minissha Lamba, Deepika Padukone, Kunal Kapoor, Puneet Issar, Patel Junior (Gufi Pental’s son).

 

Every teenager knows about the word “Love”, to realize the things as he/ she heard about. We grew up and according to our maturity levels, we perceive the same in different manners. But sure Love is not always like we see in movies, what we read in books. Few questions always stays in front of us as to-be-answered. Sometime we pass through these questions, sometime we not.

1- What we wants from this feeling “Love”?

2- Could we wait till we get the final one and avoid the pressure of being the “Killer”?

3- Could we ever realize that which one is the final one?

4- What if we never get “The one”?

5- Is being hooked with someone for a while, whose company make you feel nice, wrong?

6- Are we ready to take it as a lifetime contract?

8- Is something like “Love at first sight” exists?

9- When we really get ready to commit from innermost from our heart?

10- Does everyone get, what they called “Love”?

 

“Bachna Ae Hasino” although doesn’t state it in precise words, but there is a hidden note for girls, to access the state of mind as well before falling for someone, before getting hurt. But nothing to discuss about that here as that’s to be accessed by viewer itself.

 

“Bachna Ae Hasino” follows the journey of Raj Sharma (Ranbir Kapoor) from the age of 17 to 30 years. The one meets three different girls at three different stages of his life. What he learns about love with these experiences is what “Bachna Ae Hasino” all about.

 

In 1996, A normal handsome dude in the age of 17, with his go lucky attitude, meets the first girl Mahi (Minissha Lamba), a small town girl from Panjab, in the backdrop of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Mahi has her share of fantasies and out to find her Raj,
while Raj is out with his friends to find foreign chiks like teen age boys. Some luck and some tricks from Raj play to make things go happen in way things happened between Simran and Raj (DDLG) and in this way, Raj succeed to make her fall for him. They share a kiss after Raj reads her a poem, in which he had written about his feelings for her. They have fun together and when Raj drops Mahi at the airport, Mahi opens the page on which Raj had written the poem, only to find it blank. Mahi breaks down in front of Raj, after she sees him talking to his friends about her in cheap ways. Raj leaves her crying and these 10 days leaves Mahi as heart broken forever.

This was all about Teen Age love. A little show off, few little fantasies, curiosity to know what it is, what people call as love. We don’t feel about commitments, unable to posses that level of respect for emotions, commit blunders and later forget it as it was a play. Some of us come to be strong enough to get ahead of these early heartbreaks and for some, it leaves a mark for lifetime.

 

In 2002,
Raj, working as Game Analyst for Microsoft (what more one could be wishing for), is in Mumbai staying in a Live-In Relationship with his Girlfriend Radhika. The second girl, Radhika (Bipasha Basu), hot and glamorous having origin of Ranchi, is here for being a successful model. After having a good time without asking about any commitment, Raj gets transferred to Sydney to work there. He tries to leave Radhika behind and Radhika plans for their engagement sacrificing her own career. Raj never expected to see Radhika asking for marriage even at cost of her own career and get shocked. After his share of efforts (even went up to the extent of presenting himself as impotent), finally Raj took his teen-age attitude and fly to Sydney without even informing Radhika, leaving her waiting under rain on the stairs of Marriage Bureau. This one year live-in-relationship tears apart Radhika to be Shreya; the big successful name.

This was all about love, before getting that level of maturity, which gives you sense of responsibility and you fall for the person, not for beauty or glamour only. Otherwise, we just want to have it for fun and for showing off that we are Killers. We don’t wish to get these days ended, thinking that we have something much more better stored somewhere for us. We just enjoy having fun time and don’t wish to get asked about rights, morality and commitment. We look at the show off side, fun etc. but miss to see the depth of developing relations. Yes, we commit by words, but still run away from real commitments. Sometimes we breakup by words, sometimes by other means or sometimes just run away like Raj chosen this time without even thinking that what the person at other side felt.

 

In 2007, Raj finds another love mate as Gayatri (Deepika Padukone). One day, while romancing in a taxi cab with an Australian girl, whom he has a breakup with 10 seconds later, he meets Gayatri, the driver of the cab, who also works in a super-market as the cashier. She is intellectual, witty and cute enough to charm Raj. She doesn’t believes in institution of marriage or rules of commitment like Raj. He finds her irresistible and this time, after dating a while, he get settled over the fact that she is the one for him and like never before, this time, he decides to ask her for commitment of lifetime. But Gayatri refuses the same and call it an end of their relationship.

 

Heart broken Raj now come to feel the pain, he might have given to Mahi or Radhika and only thing, he decides to do, is to go for correcting his mistakes and here comes The Intermission.

Now, the second half starts and message of film ends here (as of my perspective) and bollywood starts. Was it going to be that easy to just go and say sorry and then get a smile back, saying that “Nothing to worry about that what happened in past, I am fine and forgiven you long back”?

 

Yes, it was not like that. He reaches to Mahi’s place. He meets her husband Joginder Ahaluwalia
(Kunal Kapoor) and two sons. He got shocked to know that how much deep impact, he has left over the innocent girl that she is not comfortable in her love life even after having two kids. He feels the love, Joginder has for Mahi, feels how much big loss, he has given to Joginder and also realize that what he has done is not so small to be forgiven.

 

From this point of time, the Hero emerged from Raj and even after getting threatened by Joginder, he decided to stay and make the things nicer for Mahi. It was so funny to hear from Kunal that “if you came near her again, then it will take another 12 years to get Mahi back to normal”. It was also touchy to hear, when Joginder says he don’t know the words with which Raj like boy impresses girls, but still loves her from inner most of the heart. Raj realizes that Joginder is the one, Mahi was always looking for. Luckily it takes only a few tricks and one meet with Mahi in a wedding and he makes it. I feel thrilled with the moment, when he walks away with the smile after achieving, what he wished for.

 

Now, it comes to Radhika, who is Shreya now; a very successful star of Glamour World. Shreya now seems to became much rude over whole world, but still gives a chance to Raj, by saying that she will hear, if he agrees to be her personal assistant for a while. Raj agrees and then it goes literally like the song “Small Town Girl” says, means he does everything from washing the floor, to dancing on the roads. Finally, Shreya breaks to say that you are total desperate to get forgiven na… She breaks to tell him, what she felt after being left behind like a cheap trash. Her most touchy words for me, when she says “I know, I was never that girl, one boy might be wishing to get on meeting with his mother.” She says, she will never forgive him, she can’t.

Raj realizes that what he has did to Radhika, was like something, no one could forgive and decided to leave from this point. But here, the forgiveness of girls came in and he finds Radhika at the Airport. She forgive him saying that probably, if he has not been like that then she was not that successful ever as she is now. She comes back to be Radhika again and Raj moves back to Sydney again.

 

After reaching Sydney, our lucky dude, come to find that Gayatri loves him and has written many letters to him in this six months period. He meets her and find the cycle of love gets completed.

Movie ends here, but still leaves lots of questions for me …..

1- Was just saying sorry and making things little nicer is enough to pay out for the couple, who lost their 12 years, which were expected to be their sweetest part of life?

2- Was just doing everything desperately to be forgiven, was enough to pay out for the girl, who given up her every desire, her everything to someone and in return, who was left lonely in the world to hear and bear everything?

3- Was just saying sorry was enough to payout for leaving the girl missing you for a total of six months

Raj was lucky to get forgiven, moreover, it was just a movie, but could anyone else be lucky like this …. one can’t be. Thanks for making an effort to make boys realizing the seriousness of relationships.

 

Remarks:

Ranbir: Looks enough cute for the role and it seems like this role was meant for him only.

Minisha: Although I’ll be critical over her looks, but otherwise she looked cute like any teenager.

Bipasha: Hot as per requirements of the role. Given complete justification to the role.

Deepika: Perfect one. She looks innocent, cute and witty at the same time. I don’t think that it was easy for someone else to justify the role in this way.

Sure, I wont be calling this movie, something perfect like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai or Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Why? Probably, I wont be able to mention the same precisely, but still misses something, somewhere. But even then, I hope that this is sweet enough to find places in the heart of teens. Nice songs, nice locations and hot-n-cute pairs… what one could wish from a Bollywood Flick.

Arushi Murder Case: What’s going on …

Name: Arushi Talwar
Age: 14 Years
Education: 9th Standard
Father’s name: Rajesh Talwar
Location: Sector 25, Noida .
Murdered on: May 16th 2008

Fifteen-year-old Aarushi, a Class 9 student of Delhi Public School (Noida), was found dead with multiple stab injuries on her face, chest and neck when her father opened her bedroom door at their home here on Friday morning. This was the official news line and later whatever, we have seen, will be in our memories for long.

Either it was Police’s eagerness to discuss even the theories with media as pinpointed in article http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=134269 or it was media’s eagerness to find their share of breaking news as could be founded as a good read in articles like

http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=134631,
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080525011231AAmnxrI and
http://justforfriends.wordpress.com/2008/05/28/aarushi-murder-case-and-the-role-of-media/.

It was all about taking mine or others attentions towards this matter otherwise probably, I was also going along the same way as other people go means taking it as another SIP of COFFEE or another daily soap.

The first day, without any proper investigation started with the wordings that the servant named ‘Hemraj’ is the killer and he has ran away, until the a retired Army officer living nearby discovered on the basis of obvious signs lying in the house that the servant himself has been killed and his dead body is on terrace, which was locked at the moment. Interestingly, neither Police nor media nor the family itself was able to reach up to this point. But notice that it was a mere few hours gap and stories and theories were circulated in whole country and even outside the country that it was another incident of family person killed by some domestic help.

In next, after getting dead body of the servant himself, we got introduced by another fact\ theory that it was an honour killing, which was possibly due to one of any reason; either of extra-marital affairs between Rajesh Talwar and one of her colleague named Anita Durrani or any objectionable relations between Arushi and Hemraj. Till now, 24×7 News Channels were able to circulate lots of questions. Who did it? Who locked the door? Who was hiding what? This is a natural human reaction in such circumstances. If Hemraj did it, Vishnu did it, robbers did it the clinic staff did it and finally whether the family did it?

I feel terribly embraced about our share of involvement in this humiliation, when we were watching these all allegations of affairs between Hemraj and Arushi. Police went even to diagnose from the angle over the body of 14 years old girl, if some sexual intercourse happened that night or if Arushi was having sexual relations with anyone. Fortunately, all the reports went negative to prove her innocent. Today, I see fractions of her emails being sensationalized over news channels, with the highlighted keywords like “Love” and line like “It happens in today’s teenage life and one need to do things for making her image.” You all tell me once that is there any evidence yet to prove that she was anywhere on some wrong side rather than being a normal sociable school going kiddy? So called Love, affections, more than one boys… is not this happens in everyone’s life? Mind it, these are not even the relations, but something to keep her in race like going on in school going kids. Orkut, Facebook etc… is there any age boundary to feel the emotions? No, nothing like that … but sure today’s age, gives you the big words to write to speak without feeling the means behind them. So what? if ‘love’ or ‘relations’ like words are being used in emails? Are you trying to be living in ancient age by proving someone’s morality on the basis of that?

How cruel it is? Everyone playing with words, theories without caring that what it might be causing to others lives, who are being affected? If there was nothing between Anita Durrani and Rajesh Talwar, then who is responsible to spoil their lives forever? If there was nothing like objectionable relations between Arushi and Hemraj and Hemraj was treating her only as his own child, then guessing such irresponsible things after their lives, was not a crime? Who will pay for that? A father, if really innocent, then what’s going on with him? If later, somehow he will be relieved from the allegations, then was his life ever going to be like always? I am saying this as I know it’s very likely, because as a matter of fact, I could say that there is no solid evidence to prove the matter in courts or in high court.

I go by the wording as in the article

http://justforfriends.wordpress.com/2008/05/28/aarushi-murder-case-and-the-role-of-media

After the death, everyone avoids using bad words about even worse people and she was someone, who was praised by everyone in her circle as a cute, lively and sweet girl. Then guessing about her character on the baseless and always coming out as wrong theories was right in what sense? I think media should have been more responsible with the use of words and available information. “Each theory that comes to mind is their breaking news”.

I also agree with the question raised with the article

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080525011231AAmnxrI

  1. Media is supposed to protect the people, and help the victim. If parents are the victims in this case, how the media has helped them?
  2. If the father is a decent man & really did not had the affair as the mother claimed then don’t you think Police and Media hurt them very badly?
  3. If the child has been killed for any other reason (nothing to with the child / revenge on parents), then don’t you think we even spoke badly about the child?
  4. “Any death is a moment of sorrow, but a death by murder and that too of a small child, is the most ghastly thing for anybody to face. I don’t know if the parents will ever be able to get through this” Are we giving right kind of condolence to them?
  5. If the servant would have treated the child as his own daughter & the killer had other intensions, don’t you think we suspected a divine relationship?
  6. Do you think media was responsible enough in this case?
  7. How the speculation of hurting the sentiments of victims has helped the case?
  8. Your comments on the media’s role? Are they solving something or making it more complicated?

Rewriting again in addition …

As was expected, after just few hours, I got to see another turn in the story, when finally IndiaTV people weren’t able to hold their share of breaking news and one more name came out with literally word by word details of SMSs and one more name “Sangharsh” or “Sankalp”. Is there anyone to stop them to ruin others lives? Although I should admit that at least this time, they are trying to place to some sympathetic views towards the family itself, but don’t you think that these details with SMSs, Emails, Names and Phone Numbers, will be misused? One thing was very clear from the evidences that killer was someone very professional and nearer to the victim. Then is there any profit of dragging someone’s life into this?

Now, Police is trying to find that who has deleted the social networking profiles… is this leads to something? I don’t think so… in what way, things are being circulated, sure people around Arushi have the reason to get scared, even if without proper reasoning. As much I guess, passwords get shared between girlfriend\boyfriends as most probable case and in second, between siblings and in last case, if someone is computer expert, then with the help of some simple software’s, one could retrieve passwords, especially if the logins are being made from home computer as that is one place, people get more lazy about the security, feeling that their personal thing.

I liked the article
http://asianwindow.wordpress.com/2008/05/30/aarushi-murder-a-new-day-a-new-theory/

I am back again …

Really lots of days, when I was last online. Didn’t felt like writing, or was busy enough or not getting anything that special to write on… whatever the reasons might be .. but it was sure that my blog was missing me …. So expect me to come back soon. 🙂

Taare Zameen Par; Could you get the means …..

Some people were even more sure than me that I’ll come up with my take over this and here I am, proving them very right. Sure it was like master piece that I started typing these words just after watching the first 20 mins of movie. I think its going to be kind of encyclopedia for kid’s world in Hindi Cinema. I really could guess that what it takes to create a concept into a movie and the perfectionist is no where lesser than the punch, he was with in RDB.

The very first question was that how could such a movie carry people’s interests without any lead actress or so called filmy formulas? Here the credits of the perfectionist Amir Khan came into play and he was really an enigma, who taken this project and matured it at a level that now touching the wont be ever easy. A simple concept, a boy who was careless about reading/writing and hearing his parents, gets boarding in punishment and magical teacher does the magic to get him back in rights ways. Was all this much simple? Do you think that you understand it? Think again.

I was moved with the work of Deepa Bhatia as she has taken care of almost all sensitive sides of a silent thinking mind. I started writing this review after first 20 mins and like his mother, I was in tears, when she turns the pages of his drawing book after putting him in boarding and see his picture moving away from his parents. Minute by minute, I was feeling the silent emotions and moreover was much impressed by the way of rendering the same. I was in pain and really moved, when Ishan takes rounds of sport field on arrival of his parents in boarding school.

Second half started with entry of Amir as temporary teacher in boarding school and I was conscious that if after the light entry of himself in dressing of joker, the same is going to loose momentum? But ….. but think you are trying to write your opinions over this movie….. I could bet you will get a full stop …. A complete full stop, when Amir says, he will be lost. I just felt the same, I just felt and my hands trembled that if I could do justice with my writing over this movie. I really was able to feel the emotions of Ram Shankar Nikumb (Amir Khan) that could he do justice with the boy and could stop him from getting lost?

Amir heads of to you and your crew that you never let it down as after starting it in sensitive ways, it grows like more and more touching. As Amir says “Patri se hat kar bahut kam log soch pate hain” and this movie just does it precisely. Don’t know, we should give the credits to whom, but this was a movie for a message not for just entertainment and now I know why Amir was so confident about this movie. You will feel the reason of his confidence, when will see Ishan’s father leaving the boarding school without metting Ishan with tears in his eyes.

Title: Taare Zameen Par; Stars came to earth …
Directed & Produced by: Amir Khan
Creative Director & writer: Amol Gupte
Production banner : Amir Khan Productions
Music Directors: Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mandonca, Shailendra Barve
Concept, Research and Editing: Deepa Bhatia
Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi
Playback: Shankar Mahaevan, Bugs Bhargava,Vivinenne Pocha, Raman Mahadevan, Shaan, Aamir Khan, Vishal Dadlani, Adnan Sami, Auriel Cordo, Ananya Wadkar, Shankar Sachdev, Raaj Gopal Iyer, Ravi Khanwilkar,Loy Mendonca.
Cinematographer: Setu
Coreographer: Shyamak Dawar
Cost: Darsheel Safary, , Amir Khan, Tisca Chopra, Vipin Sharma.

You will miss your childhood, your children, yourself and something as you have never seen, neither going to see very soon. Watch it and recommend it to others as well, otherwise you will be regretting of what you missed. Not putting my recommendation in words and want to keep it in ways Ishan puts it. You will feel goose pimples at many moments during this movie. Ishan … Inu … was not lost as Nikumb was there.

Amir!!! you were right, this movie will come to change the perception of everyone to look over their childern.

Strangers; Best thriller produced in recent months …

An extremely interesting entertainment, which made me write again, although was in way to write over other movies as well, which came in between but ‘Strangers’ came to be winner at the end. A must watch.

We might have heard about such a concept in few short stories and it is obviously possible that the similar story might already been realized into movie earlier but the same fact doesn’t make its credit any lesser. But putting the name for the reference “Strangers in the train by Alfred Hitchcock”

Extremely interesting dialogues, highly intellectual ways and things, which make your mind scratched, are the USP of this movie. I loved the way dialogues were here, something like I seen in Cheeni Kum, but this time, it was full fledged. Lovely…. Engaging… What more I could praise. One of the best thriller produced by bollywood in last few months.

Title: Strangers
Directed by: Aanand L Rai.
Written by: Gaurav Sharma and Himanshu Sharma
Production banner : Sahara one Motion Pictures
Produced by: Uday Tiwari
Music Directors: Vinay Tiwari
Editing: Sanjay Sankla
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Playback: Lata Mangeshkar, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal
Cinematographer: Manoj Gupta
Cost: Kay Kay Menon, Jimmy Sheirgill, Nandana Sen, Sonali Kulkarni, Kittu Gidwani.

Jimmy; in one of the best roles of his life yet, Kay Kay Menon; as we may expect from him, Sonali Kulkarni; according to her caliber and class and Nandana Sen; brilliant just like Jimmy.

The story started with two strangers males meeting in a train and then interesting conversations between them, which was initiated by Rahul (Jimmy); a writer …. I could relate myself with him so well and so it was already interesting for me and the plots and dialogues made it extremely interesting to me.

Sanjeev and Jimmy have their stories to share, their life story, what was common? What was to be common in them?

Rahul’s Story: A writer, which come to meet a beautiful girl in an unusual ways and his engaging ways connected her close to him in a short period and they got married. But as the nature, soon the same things which attracted them, come to be the problems. After coming into love, he lost his writing skills and I liked when he described in words that how he lost and why writers write. Worth hearing 😉 He started suspecting her wife along with his irritation over himself and like other writers are his silence along with the girl side silence as well come to make the things more worse. All was because of no communication between them.

Sanjeev’s Story: A businessman, who was in a nice life, with a nice wife, but things changed when she lost her mental stability due to death of her son in an accident and finally it started making him distracted to her till an extent that he come to think about killing her. But was this only reason?

The train journey ends with proposal of Sanjeev to Rahul to kill his wife and he will kill his and in this way, both of them will be out of their troubles and in this way, it comes out to be a journey of lifetime. But what was still left in the story… yes there was a big twist in story…. Watch it for the same…. You will like it… its something like we seen in “Chocolate”, but this time story was not fake in any side, but still the suspense and psychological thrill.

Lots to write about this movie and analyzing the relations, but .. leaving that part, because of some reasons. Cinematography and dialogues are the area, which could brought awards for this movie and if Jimmy may manage to get any award then it would be a new changing cinematic face. Background score and each thing about this movie was world class and intellectual enough. Probably, it’s the effect of corporate in Bollywood now, it has to be change its face for better and worthy movies. Again a movie for the class and has the perfect standard. Better watch it than reading this review only.


Mumbai Salsa: Dil Chahta Hai GenNext …

Mumbai Salsa, while watching, the first thing that came into my mind was …. the Indian Cinema really moved ahead and specially last few weeks going so so special for the same. Jhonny Gaddar, Dil Dosti Etc., Bhool Bhulaiya, Laga Chunri Mein Daag, No Smoking, Jab We Met, Speed …. Really lots of good movies and a few which I personally rate as best out of rest are Dil Dosti Etc., No Smoking and Mumbai Salsa, quite of different taste … that’s why I am up to writing review over the third one (hoping that even this time, will keep it short).

The first comment of mine, which may come to define the movie is its being Dil Chahta Hai GenNext. But now, it was more precise, detailing and with lots more space to female side as well. For the people, knowing about US Series “Friends” (Of course, the target audience knows), its really like Indian Version of something similar. It was really all about a class. Must see… Its really surprising that Metro Centric movies are so frequent in now days.

Why “Mumbai Salsa”? Movie starts with talking about schools which might have seen lots of stories of success and failures; of marriage halls, who might have seen lots of couple wedding under them; of courts, where some of marriages come to an end; and then Lounge/ Pub/ Disco/ Night Club/ Bar. It starts with a question that where this place stands for someone’s life? What role this place plays in now days Metro lives? Is it really loosening morals in lives or just GenNext, which knows how to live and how to succeed in everything? Lots of things and you will feel questions and answers from inside you, if you have been somewhere near it. I should say that Mumbai Salsa.. is not everyone’s idea of entertainment. Its really really about a class.

Director, Screenplay, Dialogues, Story: Manoj Tyagi (scripted Page 3, Satta, Apaharan etc.)
Cost: Indraneil, Dilip Tadeshwar, Vir Das, Neelam, Rheyy, Linda Arsenio, Manjiri, Amruta Kanvilkar.
Lyrics: Sameer, Adnan Sami.
Music Director: Adnan Sami

This is a movie about well settled youth, well earning, highly intellectual, well educated and living lives on their own. In terms, a movie targeting Multiplexes and Metro lives as per now days happening trends. This is a movie about eight persons; Subbu, Pamela, Maya, Rajeev, Karan, Xenobia, Shahji and Neha. Each one representing distinct way of thinking, distinct way of looking at things and distinct way of defining things, you could come up with the side of anyone of them and so they look so real, so touchy and so much of between us.

Subbu: He works for a big advertising company and definitely must be good enough at work as he came to be youngest vice president of the company. He really represents that side of boys, who hails  from middle class cities and came to be part of Metro Life style, got succeed, earning well, even got adjusted in Metro’s life style to some extent, but still their moral, traditions make them out of sync from many things. For these boys, things like seeing someone is fine, but things kind of one night stand is a totally absurd idea. They could, themselves might not be very precise over their sides/ views, but ready to raise voice even if in not that confident manner (infact orthodox manner). You see his loosing side, when in argument with Pamela over Lingerie Campaign, we see him loosing words… we see him loosing, when he come to show anger uselessly over Pamela without any reason. Was he angry over short cloths or over-enthusiasm.

Where he is? What he might be thinking? Why he is like this? You think him as not that important side of the movie, but in fact, he is the one, who connect with most of the audience. People, who don’t have enough words to counter arguments coming from modern lifestyle to completely deny them. They might being called as ancient and outdated, but want to keep on protesting as don’t want to loose their morals in flow of Metro lifestyle. He gets angry over Pamela uselessly, even when he loves her from inside, because his idea of girl is just something different. Someone cute, beautiful, confident and high on morals and traditions. He gets impressed from Pamela, but her supporting his other colleagues over now days youth’s ‘American Take’ irritates him all the times.

Do you know, this part of society will come to argue over these kind of movies.

Pamela: Typical sensitive US girl, who feels emotionally attached with Indian Traditions and so with Subbu, but at the same time find herself much confused with his ways, when get to see everyone else going on typical practical ways, but Subbu just out of rest. Probably that being out of rest invites her more. Subbu come to be like a challenge to her. About him, she always knows that she could make him fall for her, but still missing that hit.

Rajeev: Someone a bit better adjusted in Metro-Corporate-Indian-Youth Culture than Subbu, means never orthodox like him and always ready to change and accommodate according to need and society but from the heart, innocent like kids and cares about everyone and everything. This starts with her girlfriend Pooja dumping her over her career’s demands-n-‘practical approach of life’ and then in an unconventional way, finds himself into an One Night Sit with a stranger girl (Maya), whose name was not known to him. Earning 30 lacs per anum!!!!! Just think … Mumbai Salsa’s story is not everyone’s cake, but still connects with Metro-Corporate-Indian-Youth. Her traditional man come out once to say “Husband is the bread winner of family”, but still he is responsible and loving enough. For Pooja, he gets permanent Tatoo of her name on his hands and for the other means Maya, he leaves his jobs, current one of 30lacs and next one of 60 lacs. Someone, like whom, one would like to be and so in a way, he is part of the lead pair in this movie. His late ‘What’ syle… come to be trade mark of him and also makes his persona described.

Maya: The girl to take part of lead pair. The story in a way revolves around Maya-Rajeev pair, which starts in an unconventional way with a Night Sit (?) between them. Yeah not a night stand, but night sit, how come it is? You have to see. You see the word pseudo-intellectual used twice for Maya in the same movie, once by Sanjay, who dumped her and then by Subbu. Was that right? or its just being herself proud of her achievements against will of her family and Men’s world. After being dumped by her boyfriend Sanjay, when she was so much humiliated then in that state of mind, she came to meet a simple guy and the story starts from here. She represents a normal, sensitive, optimistic, dominating and career oriented girl, who want to live with own terms, with high morality and without any compromise in any place, not even in relations. Is she right? Does being herself always more important than the relationship? She has already got so many breakups. The story starts from this point and gets a high, when for feeling herself the winner, she touched ‘even more heights’ than the night sit. The story ends at a point, where she come to realize that its not the winning, which is always important, but its being happy in life is.

Karan: A normal handsome flirt, for whom, the love life doesn’t get a full stop after the marriage. He know that he could get girls even after being married, if girls don’t know about the same and so he goes like that. He is presenting Metro-Corporate-Indian-Youth Culture in a perfect and decent way. You might not agree with the same but its like that and I have seen its happening all around us. He used to have perfect ideas to make a girl fall for him, learns Salsa to get Xenobia impressed and soon he got chances to enter into Xenobia’s mind. It was once his game and usual ways and then come to be his deep emotional attachment and guilt feelings. We see him, when he says that when we again will over some add campaign like this lingerie one, then will look back that what were those days last time.. so I wanted to live the life at its fullest. We see him from inside, when he says like some confident that “forget about all that man, let’s go somewhere and get drunk” and then suddenly broke down in tears saying that he has screwed his life himself. He says that his only mistake was to love two girls at a time. Was he justified? You might have not seen someone like him in your life, but you still know that there are Karans around us.

Xenobia: Xenobia, probably the least covered in this movie from the eight lead characters. Like others, an intelligent girl, who is single and a flirt (Karan) makes his chances so easily for the conversation at least. She has a brother, who asks for money only, otherwise no relation at all and kept herself busy with sometimes Neha’s ultra-unconventional life and sometimes with Salsa classes. She came in arms of Karan, when he shows his sensitiveness by coming in between her brother and then taking her worries away by the only thing she loves from the heart, the dance ‘Salsa’. She gets a nervous breakdown, when come to know about the fact that Karan is married. At the end, she comes to decide to live her life alone with her Mumbai Salsa.

Shahji: Like he says, he is an open book and nothing to hide. He don’t think in terms of morality. Like to enjoy the life at its fullest and he define it in terms of having girls in bed and he gets a match like Neha. Thanks God, he has some friends like Karan, Subbu and Rajeev, which kept the good person alive in him, which finally spoke, when asks Neha that why she is spreading permanence around, when even in her life nothing is permanent. We have lots like Shahji, but does all of them gets their happy endings? They could, if they still have a pure heart from somewhere inside and a better luck to have good stories around them.

Neha: The most unconventional character for conventional Indians. Maya calls her Nymphomaniac and in reply she calls herself as Hyper-Sexual. Love to get in bed with any passer-by and with Shahji, his conversation started in a way, “Are you good in bed?”. That’s our Neha. Unfortunately, even I was not able to find the true Neha before Shahji and when Shahji finds her in that way and proposes her for marriage this time, then we come to see just another Neha and their part story ends here with their happy marriage.

The movie ends with the note that why people come here (Mumbai Salsa)?
For forgetting their worries, to de-stress or to escape everyday problems, problems of life, but when these problems gets solved, then … then Mumbai Salsa still continues as there will be always some Subbu, Pamela, Maya, Rajeev, Karan, Xenobia, Shahji or Neha, who will kept on coming here to make new stories and Mumbai Salsa will continue to say … “Come on people ….. let’s do the Mumbai Salsa”

So, the Mumbai Salsa ends here with three couples living happily like ever after and rest two get left to stay alone. I know that almost everyone like me and my working professional friends would be able to relate themselves with at least one character of this movie. Go and watch… don’t wait for reviews… don’t make assumptions … its one of the best.

No Smoking: Smoking kills; You don’t believe, watch it …

Before watching the same movie, I was enough interested in the same as heard about the connection between one short story of Darna Mana Hai and this one. For me, the same was interesting enough and if this was going to take same concept in the extended way, then it was sure going to be great. A few people mentioned me that the concept was just so high over their heads and the same was to prompt me more and more for the same. But I should say that this movie wasn’t to disappoint me and come to blow me of with it. I rated it something like the almighty Matrix Series. I feel proud that now Indian movies are having enough courage to do something different and intense. Don’t start watching the movie, if you don’t wish to be hooked for next three hours. I bet you will be. 😉

Title: No smoking ‘Smoking kills … you don’t believe it, watch it’ 
Written & Directed by: Anurag Kashyap.
Story: Raja Choudhary & Anurag Kashyap.
Cost: John Abraham, Ayesha Takia, Paresh Rawal, Ranvir Shorey & Gajraj.
Production Design: Wasiq Khan.
Shot by: Rajeev Ravi (Brilliant imagination).
Music: Vishal Bhardwaj.
Lyrics: Gulzar (Didn’t liked, although effect was well).
Edited by: Aarti Bajaj.
Sound Design: Kunal Sharma

As the movie grew up, it was going just so well built, intense and superb that I was just so thrilled. I was really really missing something to watch like this after Matrix series. Signs, nightmares, guesses, fantastic cinematography and totally weird; this was No smoking. The story moves with the mind of the viewer, it tickles you all around to think that what in next? One side, your mind passes through the nightmares and on the other side, like the central character ‘K’, you keep on thinking that how’s it possible, its impossible, it just can’t be. You feel puzzled like the character itself and really think before touching the cigarette. I could bet that no one is going to be able to touch cigarette after just coming out of cinema hall. Do you think that any conventional movie could lasts with such an effect? No way … Hat’s off. Mr. Anurag Kashyap, you really went ahead of time.

Coming over the plot, as the name suggests it was something related to a smoker, moreover a Head strong, die hard Chain Smoker, who finds orgasmic pleasure from smoking in bathroom, in kitchen, at every place, at every chance. Could you give your smoking habbit more importance over your Brother’s asthma problem, your relationship with your wife and could be ready to even force others to take it, when they might be fighting hard to not to do it? No, you can’t, but this movie was needing something like that on the other side as he was to get not a matching side, but a ….

Some scared characters, who have quit smoking by some Prayogshala’s program, try to make him convinced for taking up the same program. Interestingly, the eagerness of those friends were making it look like some kind of networking and it was …. Was it Mr. K’s curiuosity or really will to join the program? Whatever… he steps ahead, when his wife leaves him and the game begins here.

What could you expect from Sri Sri Baba Bangali Sealdah Wale to make him quit smoking? What could be the ways …. Don’t think… just watch it. No question, no logic…. Just tell me back that what was the impression and how was the silence… just after watching the same.