Showing posts with label Shah Rukh Khan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shah Rukh Khan. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

PERFECT INSECURITIES OF Mr. PERFECTIONIST AAMIR KHAN

For last 20 years plus,trio of three Khans ruling Bollywood box office.Shah Rukh,a middle class guy from Delhi,stormed the box office with one blockbuster after another and Salman Khan,son of famous script writer Salim Khan,churned money spinners at will in his illustrious career.But the third Khan,Aamir,tried his best to be different from the lot for last 15 years.He claimed many times that he is there with a mission charting his own path.Majority of fans following Aamir believed that he is perfectionist and way above others.
But is this a myth created by Aamir himself,PR agencies,media and his fans or there is some truth behind it,let's figure out.
First of all,have a look at start of his career.He started his career as main lead ('worked as child artist in 'Yaadon Ki Baraat' and 'Madhosh',in 'Holi' as supporting actor) with 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak' in 1988.Film was a surprise hit and it's success made Aamir Khan new heartthrob of the nation.But after that in next couple of years,he had 5-6 flops in a row('Raakh','Awwal Number','Love Love Love','Tum Mere Ho','Jawani Zindabad','Deewana Mujh Sa Nahin','Afsaana Pyaar Ka','Daulat Ki Jung','Issi Ka Naam Zindagi','Parmpara') with the exception of tow hits in 'Dil' and 'Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin'.But it was the success of 'Rangeela' and 'Raja Hindustani' which frustrated him deep inside.
Even after delivering such mega hits,Aamir failed to overshadow Salman and Shah Rukh as their movies like 'DDLJ','HAHAK','Baazigar' etc. found more universal appeal and SRK became the favorite of top banner Yash Raj (with whom Aamir worked in flop 'Parampara' and rejected their next two projects 'Darr' and 'DDLJ' but both were box office success with SRK) and unanimous King of overseas.This forced Aamir to take an alternative route which was to do few films at a time but that too didn' work commercially as he starred subsequently in minor hits like 'Ghulam' and 'Sarfarosh' but still gave miserable mediocre films '1947 Earth','Mann' and 'Mela'.On contrary,Shah Rukh continued to dominate box office.
So let's list down major contradictions in professional life of Aamir Khan-
- He can go and lobby for Oscar but didn' find awards in his country 'fair' enough as he was more than one on losing side.He can also praise any award given to him by any organization.It means-is he really a bad loser?
- Aamir belongs to the family of successful producer Naasir Hussain and Mansoor Khan but he started his own production house in 2001 exactly 2 years after Shah Rukh Khan,is he really different?
- Aamir appeared in few advertisements with brands like Pepsi in 90's but later announced that he is not into this 'showy' business as he is only an artist.But after Amitabh and SRK made mega bucks in endorsements,he jumped back in 2007 with umpteen brands.Is this not too fickle?
- Aamir said that he might never do Television but last month he announced Television show produced by his production house,exactly after 2 years SRK ventured in production of programmes for small screen.Is he really thinks out of the box?
- Aamir supposed to own the release dates of Christmas after his 3 back to back successes in 'Taare Zameen Par','Ghajini' and '3 Idiots'.He said that he might release his next  film 'Talaash'(which is currently under production) on Christmas 2011 but retracted after Christmas release announced for 'Don 2'.Aftewardshe stated that 'Talaash' will release in Jan-Feb 2012 but with humongous response for the trailer of Hrithik starrer 'Agneepath',he again backed out with further delay.Then announcement came that film will be released in June 2012 as Salman's 'Ek Tha Tiger' is postponed for Eid which was earlier scheduled for June.Then Aamir's next 'Dhoom 3' got postponed from 2012 Christmas to 2013 and now Salman's 'Dabangg 2' will release on Christmas 2012'.One wonders that Aamir is forced to do all this groupism with Salman as Salman is going through unbelievable high in his career and Aamir can not afford to spoil relationship with him or his crazy fans.Ironically this groupism is somewhat similar to what SRK was blamed for ages.
- Aamir launched his nephew Imran as actor and his wife Kiran as director furthering the nepotism in Bollywood( he never gave any newcomer a central role in any his production's big films unlike SRK's 'Always Kabhi Kabhi' and Salman's 'Chillar Party').Is this right?
- Aamir acted in 'Ghajini',third grade 'masala' remake of south indian blockbuster 'Ghajini' which was in itself was the poor remake of hollywood cult 'Memento',he took a great script from Amol Gupte(he wrote it after 5 years of research and wanted to direct it)and made 'TaareZameen Par' which made Amol so furious that he walked out of the film.Is this is called perfectionism?
- Now Aamir is doing a sequel too in 'Dhoom 3' and he said so many times that he will never do a remake or sequel when SRK's 'Don' released.Is this is not too typical of Mr. Perfectionist?
Aamir is a great actor and there is no two ways about it but his claims and counter claims show him in poor light.After all the struggle at box office, he found that elusive dominance with 'ghajini' and '3 Idiots' but Salman again took the limelight away with series of blockbusters.
Now it is up to audience to decide whether Aamir is the great actor or superstar or Salman is the real star at the moment as Shah Rukh was in 90's?But i know as a matter of fact that this debate is endless.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Review of 'Ra.One'- Breakthrough technology but with stale Bollywood melodrama,still a blockbuster


No other star in history of Bollywood had such a dominance on Diwali what Shah Rukh Khan can boast of.'Dil To  Pagal Hai,'DDLJ','Kuch Kuch Hota Hai','Mohabbatein','Kal Ho Na Ho','Om Shanti Om'etc. are example of his power to entertain family audience on auspicious occasion (his next with Yash Raj opposite Katrina and Anushka will be releasing next diwali!).But 'Ra.One' is special because of more than one reasons.First,it is costliest film ever made in Bollywood with Shah Rukh producing it.Second,in recent times Salman has given few hits in quick succession and Aamir has biggest hit in his kitty put extra pressure on Shah Rukh.Third,this is Shah Rukh's dream project and he promoted it with all he got.So the success of this flick is crucial to Shah Rukh as well as the number game of Bollywood.

As always,I am not going to take you through story and plot like all the critics(it does not make sense as either you must have watched it till now or you will be going to watch).Lets start with interesting sequences.Start with dream sequence is interesting and couple of guest appearances in it will make you smile.After that there is nothing much for next half an hour except SRK's typical showcase of family, humor and pretty average performance in the character of Shekhar,the south indian engineer.But film picks up with song 'Criminal'(I have not seen SRK dancing like this since 'Kaali Kaali Aankhein' in 'Baazigar' 18 years back!) and events happening simultaneously with his son in background.But sadly after this,director again test patience and takes time to introduce main.protagonist.Yes,after the death song (should had been edited) film picks up and remains high on adrenaline till the interval point when real action unfolds with entry of 'G.One' and his first combat with 'Ra.One'.
After interval point,Rajnikanth's special appearance in a fight sequence gathers claps and cheers in every theater.But after this action,film again slips in melodramatic mood where 'Ra.One' is getting friendly with Kareena,his son and irritating south indian neighbor Satish Shah (his comedy tests your nerve!).But after 'Dildaara' song things start moving swiftly as 'Ra.One' takes the form of Arjun Rampal.From this point film does not allow you to blink eyelid and runs at breathtaking speed.'Chammak Challo',followed by one hell of a twist involving Kareena,the train sequence with 'Raftaarein' song playing in background,building trembling at Mumbai station and then the very climax-all sequences are worthy of  repeat watch.
In nutshell,film entertains and hold the attention but slips more than one time in unnecessary tracks(which may work with small town and audience of 'masala' films).If you watch it as Superhero flick,it may disappoint you but it is actually a gaming movie,first of its kind and it succeeds from that prospective.
By far,'Raftaarein' song in train sequence is high point of the film.'Criminal' and 'Chammak Challo' will sure make audience dance in single screen (multiplex audience only sees the movies but single screen audience feels it!).Overall quality of VFX is best ever in Bollywood and sets new standards.Vishal -Shekhar delivers great music and Resul's sound design is topnotch.Dialogues are good specially Arjun Rampal's lines will make you clap.

Performance wise,Shah Rukh is average in the role of Shekhar but steals the show as 'G.One'.He controls his mannerism and speech plus his energy with intensity create fire on screen.Kareena looks ravishing and in 'Chammak Challo' she is irresistible.But surprise packages are Arjun Rampal as 'Ra.One' and boy Armaan playing Shah Rukh's son Prateek.This is Arjun's best performance till date and will win him many awards for sure.Armaan has quite a substantial role and he delivers a 10/10 show.Satish Shah should retire as he makes you tear your hair,Dilip Tahil and Shahana Goswami are good in small roles and all three guest appearances of Rajnikanth,Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra invoke laughs.

But the real winner is THE PRODUCER Shah Rukh who is ready to go to any limit to make 'Ra.One' a memorable experience with its world class technical standards and marketed it like never seen in Bollywood.Director Anubhav Sinha is the real culprit who fails to keep it real tight and allows narration slip  every now and then.
Overall 'Ra.One' deserves a watch because it offers something new in Bollywood,a real breakthrough film and pushes the limits beyond  mask wearing comical low on technology superhero(remember 'tacky 'Krrish'!).And it will post big numbers at box office as it entertains well through most of its parts especially a sheer treat for children and youth.
Go watch it with open mind and you will bound to have blast this diwali with 'Ra.One'.

Rating                         3.5/5

Box Office Verdict     90 cr plus in first weekend and 110 cr in first week itself.175 cr -190 cr should be domestic lifetime nett.


Did you know?- The guy who shots 'Ra.One' with a bullet in his nose is Mushtaq Sheikh,who assisted in writing of film.The waiter standing on side in 'Dildaara' song when Kareena swallows ring,is director Anubhav Sinha.


Thursday, July 28, 2011

BEST OF KHANS'

For almost 20 years plus, trio of Khans have ruled the Hindi film industry.Shah Rukh is the King of overseas and urban audience, Aamir caters to 'desi' intelligent audience and Salman is 'aam admi's' superstar. Due to the baggage of stardom, these three great actors are often forced to shed their extraordinary acting skills that they displayed during initial years. Following are my choices of high points of their careers :

AAMIR KHAN
RAAKH
Genre                  Action/Drama
Release Date       1989
Director               Aditya Bhattacharya
Duration              153 minutes
Cast                    Aamir Khan,Pankaj Kapur,Supriya Pathak
Pluses                  Even a great actor Pankaj Kapur is overshadowed by sheer honest performance of Aamir,it was a bold and out of the box film in those days and so was Aamir's display,an intense Aamir with raw but powerful acting skills 
Verdict                 5/5 (watch it if you think Aamir Khan is doing great work these days and you will realize its really not about proving 'some' point)
Trivia                   It was released after the super success of QSQT and so audience rejected 'chocolate boy' in this tough role,it also marked the debut of celebrated cameraman Santosh Sivan and editor A. Sreekar Prasad plus director Aditya Bhattacharya becam first director to win national award on debut,Aamir failed to perform such an intense portrayal of action hero afterwards in his career repeatedly in 'Baazi','Aatank Hi Aatank' and recently in 'Ghajini',a loud poor remake of 'Momento'.

SHAH RUKH KHAN
SWADES
Genre                  Social/Drama
Release Date       17th December,2004
Director               Ashutosh Gowariker
Duration              194 minutes
Cast                    Shah Rukh Khan,Gayatri Joshi,Kishori Balal
Pluses                  Many will argue that 'Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa' or few will say 'Chak De India' but undoubtedly 'Swades' is his best work till date because he sheds all stardom,'masala' and antics to play 'Mohan Bhargava',one of the best moments and subtle performance of Indian cinema-when SRK's character buys water at station,still goosebumps!
Verdict                5/5 (watch it if you think Shah Rukh Khan is all about 'DDLJ','K2H2' or 'K3G')
Trivia                   It was not a great commercial success but his impeccable performance was praised by one and all,the critical success of this movie gave Shah Rukh belief to attempt brave cinema like 'Chak De India' in future,he is typecast by audience and makers in the role of 'King of Romance' but whenever he comes into his own he displays flashes of his brilliance in flicks like 'Darr','MNIK' or 'Devdas'.



SALMAN KHAN
MAINE PYAR KIYA
Genre                  Romance/Drama
Release Date       29th December,1989
Director               Sooraj R. Barjatya
Duration              193 minutes
Cast                    Salman Khan,Bhagyashree,Alok Nath,Reema Lagoo,Mohnish Behl
Pluses                  Salman was good in 'Love','Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam','Tere Naam' and 'Phir Milenge' but nothing can beat the original 'Prem' of 'Maine Pyaar Kiya',his innocent but handsome looks were killing and swept girls off their feet back then and new star was born overnight,he displayed his toned body even then(not distastefully as he does now days),it was his 'Friend' cap which became ultimate fashion symbol for youngsters and his deep eyed conveyed the romance just like that
Verdict                4.5/5 (watch it to believe that Salman used to look innocent once and used to emote with aplomb)
Trivia                  It was a huge commercial hit and Salman arrived big time but he delivered plenty flops barring few in following five years until Rajshri Productions' next 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' released in 1994 to revive his superstar status,he started drifting towards comedy in later years and now he is only into 'masala' action flicks,can you believe that he had not starred in a single solo romantic hit since his last successful romantic outing 'Tere Naam' 8 years back in 2003?

Sunday, June 19, 2011

WEEKLY MOVIE GUIDE (what to watch and what to miss in Cinema)


BHEJA FRY 2
Genre                  Comedy
Release Date       17th June
Director               Sagar Bellary
Duration              120 minutes
Cast                    Vinay Pathak,Minishaa Lamba,Kay Kay Menon,Suresh Menon,Amole Gupte
Pluses                  Vinay delivers a fantastic performance,Kay Kay is good 
Minuses               doesn't live up to the expectation, repetitive jokes,patchy direction
Verdict                2.5/5 (watch it if you are big Vinay Pathak fan)

ALWAYS KABHI KABHI
Genre                  Romance/Drama
Release Date       17th June
Director               Roshan Abbas
Duration              127 minutes
Cast                    Ali Fazal,Zoa Morani,Satyajit Dubey,Giselle Monteiro
Pluses                  Zoa Morani and Ali excels,SRK's guest appearance enlighten the proceeding in the end
Minuses               bad writing,amateur direction,music sucks
Verdict                2/5 (watch it if you love those typical High school films )

BHINDI BAZAAR INC.
Genre                  Thriller
Release Date       17th June
Director               Ankush Bhatt
Duration              117 minutes
Cast                    Prashant Narayan,Pawan Mehrotra,Kay Kay Menon,Deepti Naval,Shilpa Shukla,Gautam
Pluses                  Prashant,Pawan and Kay Kay are good as always,impressive dialogues
Minuses               writing is overdone especially at the end,item song is bore
Verdict                2.5/5 (watch it if you are not fed up with dark gangster films which keep trying too hard)

BIN BULAYE BARAATI
Genre                  Comedy
Release Date       17th June
Director               Chandrakant Singh
Duration              133 minutes
Cast                    Aftab Shivdasani,Priyanka Kothari,Rajpal Yadav,Johny Lever,Gulshan Grover
Pluses                  hardcore masala entertainment
Minuses               bad direction,worse editing,poor story
Verdict                2/5 (watch it if you love those masala comedies from 70's)

CYCLE KICK
Genre                  Drama/Sports
Release Date       17th June
Director               Shashi Silgudia
Duration              86 minutes
Cast                    Tom Alter,Girija Oak,Ishita Sharma,Gurmeet Chaudhary,Dwiz Yadav
Pluses                  inspiring performances from the cast,tight direction
Minuses               script is too similar to 'Iqbal',love track is total waste
Verdict                3/5 (watch it if you love honest and offbeat cinema)

GREEN LANTERN
Genre                  Adventure/Action
Release Date       17th June
Director               Martin Campbell
Duration              114 minutes
Cast                    Ryan Reynolds,Blake Lively,Peter Sarsgaard
Pluses                  few exciting VFX here and there
Minuses               too simplistic writing,age old stunts,boring climax
Verdict                1/5 (watch it if your video game player  is not working at home)