Raanjhanaa Hui Main Teri... :D

A still from the movie.Photo Courtesy: Internet

Apart from everything else that south India has given me, I’ll always and always be grateful to it for bestowing me the opportunity to witness the magic of two magnificent magicians with whom you’ll fall in love with solely for their mesmerizing piece of art. Two time Academy Award winner , Madras maestro A.R. Rahman, has been, for quite long, ruling the list. And now Tamil superstar, Dhanush K.Raja a well-deserving talent, has joined the list.

Raajhanaa has three heroes: Kundan played by Dhanush, Rahman sir’s music and the divine Banaras. The story starts with a young Kundan  falling in love at first sight with Zoya, which grows through teenage and blossoms into adulthood. But mind you, this one's one sided. 

Kundan the son of a Hindu pundit is hardcore stubborn. So stubborn that he gets slapped 15 times just to know the girl’s name. So stubborn that he slits his wrist on being rejected. So stubborn that with his clever mind he can go to any extent to help Zoya not get married to a certain doctor who comes with a marriage proposal  So stubborn that he is ready to cross miles and miles to make Zoya meet her love Akram aka Jagjeet played by the talent powerhouse Abhay Deol. Now which young girl wouldn't want a lover like him? But ‘Zoya is child-like and unpredictable. She can be cold and at the same time, objective.’  And above all she loves Jagjeet, his college friend from JNU.

A still from the movie.Photo Courtesy: Internet

Time and again, with his great expertise as an actor,Dhanush keeps reminding you why he is a national award winner. Throughout the film, through various situations, it is evident that Kundan has a heart of gold and has the guts to fight for her lady love. He is ready to take the girl's dad's car for servicing or help her mom with buying grocery for the house, all efforts to win Zoya and her family.  But sadly, all his efforts bring him pain and this romantic tragedy meets a tragic ending.  The story starts in the homely lanes of Banaras , taking you through complex twists and turns which has a political angle, a religious angle, a mysterious angle and finally you are left with a teary ending.

Two people are most beaten in the film: one Kundan thanks to the 16 slaps he has had from the same girl. Dances in his own awkward yet funny style to celebrate every slap. And the other is Bindiya, another strong character and Kundan’s childhood friend, played beautifully by Swara Bhaskar( she was in Tanu weds Manu as well). For Kundan Madness=Unconditional love. And so is for Bindiya. The sole difference is that the former has it for Zoya while the later has it for Kundan.

Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Murari, kundan’s another childhood friend, along with Kundan, has taken the onus of making you laugh with their quirky one liners through out the most of first half. My mom kept nudging me for laughing loudly in the theater hall. Himanshu Sharma, take a bow there.“Bhaiya, gali mauhallo ka pyaar, doctor engineer utha ke le jaate hain” remarks Murari, to which Kundan replies, "Arrey launda yahan nahi jeeta toh kya jeetaa?”. This line was greeted with many claps and whistles. Abhay Deol has a small part in the story which he plays aptly.

 Easily Raanjhana shines with Dhanush’s performance and Rahman’s score. But Sonam deserves a mention too. It is easily her best performance till date. This is one role for which you can praise her for her acting prowess and not just for her fashion sense.

The film, very smartly, also takes a pot-shot at the sinister saints who take undue advantage of the religious value that Benaras is known for across the world.

Raanjhanaa is a celebration of the true love that rarely exists in today's age, the producer of the film producer Krishika Lulla said during a promotional event in Delhi. The first half portrays Kundan’s intense unconditional love. In the second half, the love story gets diluted to make way for gobbledygook political ideology . The director, Aanand L. Rai, surely knows his job well and should be appreciated for sucking an applauding performance from his talented actors.

Rahman's music score makes the whole experience enriching with his soulful songs like Tum Tak, Raanjhanaa, Tu mun shudi and the like. He has nailed it yet again.

Dhanush makes his Hindi cinema debut with a bang!With this movie, my love for Dhanush is born and the latest to join his long list of admirers is me! I loved him totally throughout ! :) A thorough entertainer, this one definitely deserves a watch. Go for it people! It will grip you and touch your heart’s core.

Quick Bytes on Raanjhanaa

• In late 2011, Shahid Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha were signed as the lead pair for this movie. Apparently, they dropped out of the project for unknown reasons. After which Dhanush and later Sonam Kapoor  were signed, instead.
• Its dubbed Tamil version titled "Ambikapathy", releases exactly a week after the Hindi release.
• Initially, Aditi Rao Hydari was supposed to play the role of Kundan's childhood friend but she opted out due to lack of dates, being replaced by Swara Bhaskar.

• 

  A poster of the film. Photo Courtesy: Internet

P.S. Even after working for so long on this review piece, it feels as though i couldn't do justice to the film, a masterpiece I have come across after so long. It is to be felt, not simply be watched. Simply for that reason, go, give it a watch and tell me what you think of it! :)

Any suggestions for future posts? Feel free to send in your suggestions and requests here or on my e-mail id: aanchal.srivastava20@gmail.com . Hope to hear from you soon :) 

Why isn’t Yeh Jawaani not so Deewani !!!

Photo Courtesy: Internet

“Main udna chahta hun Naina, daudna chahta hun, girna bhi chahta hun bas... rukna nahi chahta.” Is his motto of life. Bunny played by the supremely talented Ranbir Kapoor's story it is. And he is the champion all the way!Deepika Padukone plays the nerdy Naina Talwar who self confesses to be a simple,boring girl and  yet looks stylish in her glasses. In her designer lengas , she doesn't shies away from unnecessarily  putting her mid-riff on display. 

Aditya Roy Kapoor as Avinash aka Avi is at the loser’s side. The story doesn't offer him much scope to grow in character. A waste of talent indeed! In a recent television interview he confessed to resolving to not take up any more characters in the future who are drunkards (Reason: common thing between his character in YJHD and Ashiqui 2? Uncontrolled drinking habit). Wise! 

Kalki Koechlin as Aditi is enjoyable , bindaas, tomboyish, an in your face kinda but sweet and an ideal friend at the same time.She proved out to be the perfect choice for the role and plays it to the hilt.Primary characters Kabir Thapar aka Bunny, Naina Talwar, Avi (Avinash), Aditi remain flat throughout the story i.e. same from starting till the end.Evelyn Sharma as Lara in a glam doll role is irritating throughout the film but adds that silly, dumbness to the story serving herself to the audience to be laughed upon.The friendship quotient displayed by the four friends easily scores higher than the romantic quotient shared by Bunny and Naina or Aditi's secret liking for Avi. 

Deepika’s dialogue delivery has improved a lot from her Om Shanti Om days. No drama’s, no nonsense rone dhone wale scenes makes it tolerable. Has a quick predictable ending, though cute in the way it is brought.One liners are hilarious, keeps you laughing now and then. First half dedicated to the friendship and the second half goes entirely to the love story to develop. with no longing for the other(Surprise! Surprise! Deepika doesn't cage herself in her room and pour out buckets of aansoon after Ranbir leaves to chase his dreams. Different, I'd say!)

Farooq Sheikh is as usual mind blowing in the small role as Bunny’s father. Well, I would like to bring your attention to an interesting observation here. Have you seen Wake Up Sid? Yes? Cool. Remember Sid’s equation with his parents? Found similarities with Bunny-father equation in YJHD?That's because both the film’s director, Ayan Mukherji shared a similar relationship with his father Deb Mukherji in real life which has transpired on screen through his films.

 Focuses more on characterization than story. Not tampering with it and not complicating it unnecessarily. Garnished with scenic locations, it is a simple story with a simple plot,cast, and idea (well, I guess that's how his stories have been so far, read: Wake Up Sid)In the other half of the film, the scene where Ranbir is sitting a midst a quiet on-going party one can catch a glimpse of him (read: Ayan Mukherji) as a mute spectator on screen to fill up the frame (Just a smart observation, thought of sharing it with you :P).Comes as a surprise package is Kunal Roy Kapoor. Kunal does justice to the small yet cute, innocent and lovable character of the engineer, Taran. His entry scene in a swimming pool marks a brief screen space sharing between the brothers: Kunal and Aditya Roy Kapoor.The chase sequence in Manali is hilarious. Poorna Jagannathan(of Delly Belly fame) comes for a while.Unnecessary waste of talent in the form of Rana Duggubhatti who appears for a 10-second role.

Music
A highly misplaced song : Ghagra. The director’s effort with tampering with the storyline and situations to make space for the song is evident and poor. He himself confessed on a certain bollywood channel of doing so. Sadly hasn't come out well. As for the dance? Well, Madhuri is Madhuri. Need I say more? :) The Ghagra song has been smartly used by the makers for promotional purposes and making the film on the whole as appealing. You tell me, if you are a not a Ranbir-Deepika fan, wouldn't you still go to catch the movie for that one Madhuri song to get mesmerized by her infectious smile and to-die-for dance moves? One can easily find himself/herself amidst an attention seeking song after every regular interval of 20-25 minutes during the course of the movie. Madhuri’s Ghagra comes when you are just 10 minutes into the film. One or two songs are irrelevant to the situation like Dilliwali Girlfriend. But all said and done, all its songs are a hit. Another master piece by Pritam this time again.As I write this piece, this movie has already garnered 157 crores at the box-office in the domestic market. I personally feel, it got more than it deserved. But then, the audience is the king in this kingdom ;)

Final verdict
A feel good film. The film puts a smile on your face and a new zest for life. Just a one time watch. And why I say that ? Because I have suffered! Both financially and emotionally( this movie has proved heavy on my pocket simply because I watched it twice. Second time in the quest of feeling the same refreshing feel  but nothing like that happened.) So, if you haven't yet watched it (which I think would be rare), go with your entire family for a good 150 minutes of fine entertainment.

Quick Bytes  on Ayan Mukherji

• He is the son of Bengali film actor Deb Mukherjee. 

• His grandfather Sashadhar Mukherjee, was film producer, who established Filmalaya Studios in Mumbai, and produced films like Dil Deke Dekho (1959), Love in Simla (1960), Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) and Leader (1964). The studio is still run by his extended family.

• He is also the nephew of Joy Mukherjee and the first cousin of Kajol andTanisha Mukherjee and second cousin of Rani Mukherjee and part of the larger Mukherjee-Samarth family. 

•  Mukherjee started his career as an assistant to Ashutosh Gowariker, who is his brother -in- law, on the 2004 film, Swades

P.S. Any suggestions for future posts? Feel free to send in your suggestions and requests here or on my e-mail id: aanchal.srivastava20@gmail.com . Hope to hear from you soon :) 

*Casuale* - Bahut Kuch Hota Hai ;)

Like any other bored Tuesday morning (well every other day of my vacation is turning out like that so no blaming Tuesday :P) I switched on the television because I didn't have anything better to do and not so surprisingly I found myself watching Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for the nth time. I'm not a die hard Karan Johar fan but a fan of K2H2 simply because of its lead actors- Shah Rukh and Kajol. I feel, they make for the best onscreen jodi in the entertainment industry. I can feel Anjali every time I watch it, maybe for the fact that I m so much like her, or it's largely because its Kajol who plays it (she is at her best in K2H2, I feel).
After seeing it innumerable times, I just can't fail to notice the costume designer for the movie, Manish Malhotra's penchant for fluorescent colors. Be it green, yellow or orange, you can spot these colors in possibly every single scene of the movie, either worn by the main actors or the supporting ones. And of course too much of it in the second half of the movie largely because of the kids at the Shimla summer camp. Not to forget that scene which comes before the interval wherein Kajol is spotting fluorescent pink and orange colored western clothes with matching lipstick, the reason her peers laugh at her. Blah!! I always hated fluorescent colors. A huge fashion disaster for me!

Kajol is spotting fluorescent pink and orange colored western clothes with matching lipstick. Photo Courtesy: Internet

Talking of clothes, Kajol looks so feminine and beautiful in those lovely single-colored sarees and matching lacy blouses she adorns in the other half. OMG! Such a beauty!

Kajol looks so feminine and beautiful. Photo Courtesy: Internet

Remember, the child actor who played Anjali ? Well, the girl has grown big now! Her face has lost that child-like innocence now, for which she was most loved in the film. Her name is Sana Saeed. You can spot her in Karan Johar's latest, student of the year' as Tanya Israni, with which she debuted as the parallel female lead (personally, for me, it was hard to make out that she is the same girl) What a disaster, I say!

Sana Saeed. Photo Courtesy: Internet

On a lighter note, here's my childhood picture! Don't I resemble Kajol? The way she was before the leap in the story?(Please say yes. I love her! )

Me,me,me! ^_^

Hope you enjoyed this small, silly, light post as the first piece of 'Casuale'. CHEERS! ENJOY! and HAPPY READING! 

P.S. All opinions expressed in this post are my personal.

Any suggestions for future posts? Feel free to send in your suggestions and requests here or on my e-mail id: aanchal.srivastava20@gmail.com . Hope to hear from you soon :)

Parde Ke Peeche is back!!

It's my summer vacations going on and I'm bored. Enough reasons to bring this poor, lost-into-oblivion blog back on its wheels, something I started with a deep-rooted passion for Hindi cinema. The passion still exists. But not my inclination towards writing. I guess I never had it in the first place. Too lazy u see! :P 
But more than anything, pouring my thoughts out on this blog brings me a certain kind of satisfaction. For this simple reason coupled with my quest to bring something different every time to the few readers of this young blog, I hereby introduce a new section, 'Casuale' to make Parde Ke Peeche a more interesting read. 'Casuale' is Italian for random. Being true to its name, this section will portray my random thoughts (can be senseless many a times, please don't mind :P ) from time to time on random things presently going on in the Indian film industry. Plus, from hereon, posts on this blog will be shorter in length and low on information when compared to precious posts. CHEERS! ENJOY! and HAPPY READING! 
P.S. Don't fail to notice the blog's new,revamped look. Had it in mind for the longest time but then thinking and executing are two different things. :P
Any suggestions for future posts? Feel free to send in your suggestions and requests here or on my e-mail id: aanchal.srivastava20@gmail.com . Hope to hear from you soon :)