The Hindi movie viewer is spoilt for choice this weekend, and another Bollywood offering this last weekend of April, is Shor in the City. Mumbai the city, with its contradictions and complexities has been the leitmotif for a number of recent Bollywood films, such as Dhobi Ghat (which incidentally is Mumbai Diaries in the original English version) and Once Upon a Time in … [Read more...]
Chalo Dilli – The Road Movie Revisited
Even on the face of it, Chalo Dilli has a lot going for it – this weekend’s much awaited Bollywood release was much in the news for several reasons – tennis ace Mahesh Bhupati company Big Daddy Productions is the co-producer of the film and his brand new wife Lara Dutta is the female lead who forms a rather incongruous pair with funny man Vinay Pathak. And just for extra fun, … [Read more...]
Why 68 year old Amitabh Bachchan is India’s biggest brand
You can argue that it is Shah Rukh Khan (or even Sachin Tendulkar) who is India’s biggest brand, and in a way you would be right. However if you want to talk of a colossus who has straddled the scene of Hindi films, for the longest time, and held an entire nation in his thrall, it would have to be Amitabh Bachchan. At age 68 he is today, as popular as he ever was at the zenith … [Read more...]
The Inexplicable Allure of Himesh Reshammiya
There are those who argue that Himesh Reshammiya can sing. It is my humble suggestion that he cannot. He can compose a hummable ditty that will linger in the memory for precisely one and a half week; and he can carry a tune, but to say that he can sing, is a something of an over statement. Then there are those who say he can act. I disagree. He can only pout. From time to … [Read more...]
The Top Ten Best Rain Songs from Bollywood
Hindi films have a song for every occasion, season, emotion, situation; you name it! And when north India was recently surprised (and delighted) by some unseasonal April showers in the past few days, that gave us a break from the pitiless pale blue sky and the torpor that seemed to have settled on the earth itself, I turned to my folder of rain songs on my iPod which add to the … [Read more...]