Some numbers never get old

bin tere koi aas bhi na rahi
itne tarse ki pyaas bhi na rahi

U, Me aur Hum - review

Personally my expectations were quite low from Ajay Devgan as a storyteller or a moviemaker given the earlier fiascos such as Raju Chacha. The only reason I went was a bunch of good reviews. The very first scene reminded me of 'The Notebook' and I just hoped that he has not attempted a remake of that. The central theme is maintaining a relationship, to describe which the script uses Alzheimer's as an instrument. In The Notebook, the whole movie was rather a lovestory, only the end revealing the memory loss of one partner and suffering of another. UMH takes the other course and focuses on the sufferings and challenges instead. This was a relief, for I did not want to see a distorted version of The Notebook.

Despite the ordinary first half, UMH has a very strong second half and a crisp ending, that gives you enough and yet, not too much, of the relationships pill. Ajay Devgan clearly chose wisely to not get deep into the traumatic depiction, which I doubt he would have been able to pull off gracefully. There are enough stirring moments and the story connects to the audience with poignant performances from the couple. I just felt camera lingered too much on the faces and close shots for most part of the story. Kajol does what she does best - act and look good.

A more than decent watch and more so if you have a life partner.
Totally recommended.

Drishtikon

Taare Zameen Par

Is movie ke liye jitna kaha jaaye kam hai. Jo makaam Aamir Khan ne haasil kiya hai ek director ke taur pe, unhone bahut se anubhavi directors ko peechche chhod diya hai. I am totally bowled out with the message, performances and sensibility of TZP. It is a winner all the way.

Some comments (can't help it right ;) )-
1. Such a cool way to present titles!
2. Aamir Khan did not make this movie 'his' movie; he let the lead character develop on its own and provided a fantastic support when needed. (Yes, I am refering to the mega star SRK who, leaving few exceptions, overshadows his movies with his style...probably same for Amitabh Bachchan too)
3. Child's expressions were awesome (again I think this goes more to Aamir's credit, he actually does same magic that Shekhar Kapoor did in Masoom)
4. That Calvin & Hobbes stunt when the child gives his maths test was a bit unoriginal but who cares!
5. The hindi teacher's character was friggin' fantastic!
6. Aamir Khan is a GENIUS
7. Music could have been better

Excerpts from one of Aamir's recent interviews-
"My choice of films is governed by my heart and instinct. I'm not governed by what the market demands. I loved the script of Taare Zameen Par and that's why I agreed to be a part of it. It's very simple. When I'm reading a script, I react to it as a member of the audience. If it excites me, I want to do it, irrespective of the budget."
"I'm not trying to be different. There is no such pressure on me. I pick scripts based on what I like and the ones that I pick will be different because I follow my taste. Rang De Basanti and Lagaan were rejected by everyone, but I did them because I liked them."
"I'm very much a part and product of this industry. It's just that whatever I do in my life, small or big, I like to do it on my terms. I like doing things that I believe in. I can see that I'm an oddball and I don't fit the requirements of what is recognised as a star today."

some 'random' stuff

The biggest stunner-
Gonzalez stuns Federer in opener
Is the invincible Federer showing more and more fallibility? Whatever....he still retains his 'hard to crack' form in the grand slams!

Saawariya getting awful reviews. Okay, so Bhansali didn't live up to the expectations but dude, that doesn't mean you come so hard on him. And that definitely doesn't mean you give all the kudos to Om Shanti Om. I am very much able to cognize the type of art that Bhansali was trying to create but unfortunately it didn't work out the way he would have wanted it to. Saawariya is more a case of an astray execution than a miscreation. Some sequences just fell out at the wrong places, some songs just made the story longer than it ought to be and some jokes were just badly timed. But the scenes and artwork howsoever blasphemed are still something that only likes of Bhansali can pull off. So chill out people, the maestro has slipped off too high an expectation; if you see Saawariya in a subtle and serene mood, it appeals. Now about OSO, no I do not have a problem with it. It succeeds in making you laugh and wonder at the 'intelligence' and 'shrewdness' of Farah Khan more than an adroit direction. She has cleverly put all the pieces that appeal to the crowd from the past of Bollywood in a SRK studded screen drama. Editing could still have been much better and Mrs Khan, we could have expected a bit more of originality from you. Main Hoon Na was still cute and charming in its own original way but in OSO, every sequence is so so so not original, even the climax! You could very well guess it if you had seen Madhumati. In spite of all this, you got to see OSO for reminiscing our good old weird Bollywood.

Aaargh the dollar!
The sign of John Galt's secret land, the pride of capitalist and the ruler of most of the economies: the DOLLAR has been sliding down and down. Every slight remark and news have been creating ripples in the US economy. Unfortunately, the situation is looking totally out of control. Recession is looking inevitable day by day; the stocks are capsizing for no apparent reason. Dollar is on an all time low against many world currencies. Time will only tell the after-effects of this but as of now, investors need to take every decision very carefully. The big banks are collapsing, the liquidity in the markets is receding and every firm is trying to cover its a**. And implicitly, all the Indians like me who are earning in States are losing the value of their earnings in a significant way. The day might not be too far when the savings are no better than what the NRIs would get in India. Already a slight increase in brain drain reversal can be seen these days.

Bollywood time!

Long time, no interesting events in Indian film industry arena. But a whiff of fresh excitement swept as I saw Jab We Met. Director Imtiaz Ali does the magic second time and shows that easy story telling is his forte and not a fluke. I loved the movie as I loved his first venture Socha Na Tha. Everything seems to be in just the correct proportion. You can love it more, you can love it less but you can not dislike it. Special kudos to the music, the more you hear the songs, more you get addicted.

Two big movies opening on diwali weekend and when I say big, I mean bigger than big - huge, colossal, behemothic! Even sitting in US, we are eagerly awaiting Bhansali's seemingly beatific Saawariya and Farah Khan's loud Om Shanti Om. Expectations are high on both but I am really looking forward to Bhansali's love story of the debutant actors with some delightful songs.