Thoughts on Ek Mein Aur Ekk Tu

Though largely incomplete, Ek Mein Aur Ekk Tu (EMAET) was definitely enjoyable for the most part. Having gone in with a ‘is this going to be a What Happens in Vegas rehash,’ I was pleasantly surprised. And more, when it instantly struck a chord, especially in its final moments. 

Borrowing its premise from multiple movies including Wake Up Sid, Udaan, 3 Idiots, Bommarillu and the likes, it sure would have been a bad decision if it retained its original title 'Short Term Shaadi'. The shaadi is the last thing in/from the movie that you'll probably remember. Not going into the wafer-thin premise, one can just say that the debutant director Shakun Batra follows his end message 'Live every moment, don't bother about the future' throughout the movie.

Kareena's Ri act closely follows her Geet character from Jab We Met and probably borderlines Konkana's Ayesha from Wake Up Sid. And no size-zero-ness (Thank god for that!) Imran’s Rahul Kapoor character is almost a replica of Madhavan's role in 3 Idiots. And what's with the obsession of every third movie's male lead character with the camera? It's not that photography is the only hobby for the metrosexual male.

Ratna Pathak Shah is in a completely different role from what she portrayed on Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na where she played Imran's mother too. Boman Irani (Imran's father) has been in very similar roles and I so wish the filmmakers gave this immensely talented actor more diverse roles.

Amit Trivedi's tracks are quite lively, even though they closely resemble the types of tracks that Shankar Ehsaan Loy or Vishal Shekar usually provide for Karan Johar's productions. Aahatein by Shilpa Rao and Karthik, who makes his debut in an Amit Trivedi's soundtrack, is my pick.

If only Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions could get over their obsession of filming in a city in the US. Didn’t their own Wake Up Sid work very well being set in Bombay, oops Mumbai?

Image courtesy: http://media1.santabanta.com/full4/bollywood%20movies/ek%20main%20aur%20ekk%20tu/ek-main-aur-ekk-tu-2v.jpg

Star Singers and Music Directors 2000 - 2009

While this decade 2000-09 was the time that I paid close attention to music, movies, and the trivia, there are many people that started off during this decade and have continued to excel in their respective fields. This list is not complete in any sense, and is just limited to Tamil and Hindi movie and music. I am just listing the names and a line about each of them, probably which catapulted them to a great position. I can probably write a blog about each of them. And no specific order as usual :)

Music

Shreya Ghoshal – For her Dola Re to Jaadu Hai to Barso Re to her numerous Kannada melodies, she indeed was the queen of Indian music this decade.

Sonu Nigam – Though he sure was popular in the last decade, his popularity grew exponentially this decade, specially the title track of Kal Ho Na Ho and many Kannada songs brought him to the forefront in Indian music.

Harris Jayaraj – Entralled everyone with Vaseegara in Minnale (Zara Zara in RHTDM), and continues to do so occasionally when he doesn’t get repetitive.

Pritam – While his music being sourced from Korean/Malaysian music is a known secret, this man has carved a niche for himself in Hindi cinema and is unstoppable.

Himesh Reshamiya – For a nasal guy who braved to act, he has surely come a long way, with some foot-tapping numbers amidst noise.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy – The inimitable trio who started off just before the last decade ended, have redefined popular music by making it classy; and Kal Ho Na Ho, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and many other albums are witnesses to that.

Vishal-Shekar – The duo behind quite a few wonderful numbers in the Hindi cinema including Tu Hai Aashiqui Hai and Om Shanti Om are not behind the trio either and excel in their own right.

Bombay Jayshree – The husky voice behind Vaseegara in Minnale (Zara Zara in RHTDM) was surely a welcome break from the sugary voiced female vocalists.
Yuvan Shankar Raja – Not exactly my favorite, but gave quite a few good numbers especially with the director Selvaraghavan.

Sadhana Sargam (in Tamil) – My favorite and will not be left of this list, got a big break in Snehidhane in Alaipayuthey with A.R.Rahman and went on to sing as many as 200 Tamil songs this decade apart from winning the National Aware and Filmfare Awards for the Best female Singer in Tamil. Quite an achievement for a non-Tamil singer.

Chinmayi – From Kannathil Muthamittal title track to Tere Bina and Mayya Mayya, and being a TV host, RJ and dubbing artiste, she’s made her presence felt well.

What's Your Raashee?

Disclaimer: The review follows the movie in terms of length :).

Braving the length of the movie and the not-so-good reviews it has been getting, I sat through 'What's Your Raashee?' (WYR?), with no expectations, though I knew Ashutosh Gowarikar (AG) would have something different to entertain with. For a person with an impeccable track record of three epic (long) movies, shooting (rather stretching) a romantic comedy should have definitely not been a hard task. After all Jodhaa Akbar, if set in modern times would classify as a romantic movie with hints of comedy thrown in between.

'What's Your Raashee?' will probably a film, that AG would definitely like to show to people that he is capable of not only period films, but also light ones. And he should definitely be proud of making Priyanka Chopra (PC) star in twelve different roles and extracting the best performance from her.

The storyline of the movie is quite simple. To obtain ancestral property, to help his brother settle his debts, Yogesh Patel (Hurman Baweja), based in Chicago, has to get married in 10 days. The wedding date is set, the wedding hall is ready, he just has to search for a bride. In trying something that is novel, he decides to meet just 12 girls, who are of twelve sun-signs and select one out of them. He meets the twelve and finds PC in everyone of them. How the proceedings go, how he interacts with each of them and makes a decision is what is told in a funny, at times over-the-top, and interesting manner.

Coming to PC, she is probably the heart and soul of the movie. Portraying varied characters, none like another, with respect to mannerisms or body language or the accent, is quite a hard task. Starting off with Anjali who attempts to show off a cool girl including the 'Mondates, Tuesdates' and 'No menson,' to the 15 year old Jhankana, she carries off all her characters with elegance. (details on all characters in the end). PC may be overlooked for awards, but she surely deserves praises for taking the challenge of acting in 12 different roles. (I personally feel, this movie and these characters were far better etched than Kamalhassan in 'Dasavatharam.')

At the intermission which comes after almost close to 2 hours, one thing that needs to be appreciated is that, not one character is shown as a perfect girl, and nor is someone shown totally bad to reject right away. It would have been a disaster if a few girls were eliminated at this point.

A three and half hour movie needed a tight script backed by dialogs which engage the viewer. At most times, the dialogs are quite hilarious though the screenplay tends to drag. But, AG can be excused from this, for providing good laughs all way through the movie. Also, the amount of the details provided to minutest things including the props on screen is really appreciable.

A.R.Rahman a regular in AG's films is sorely missed, and Sohail Sen is no ARR, but gives decent tunes which blend well through the mood of the movie. He sings a couple of songs, and AG regulars like Bela Shinde (Mann mohana in JA), Madhushree (Swades and JA) lend their voices to this movie.

Hurman as Yogesh is sober, and luckily doesn't have any heroics to display in this PC-dominated movie. I am sure AG would have to compromise, if he had any other actor play this role bending to the actor's stature. Yogesh's family members are quite funny, but do blackmail him emotionally most of the time, putting him in a tight spot. The families of the each of the twelve characters (wherever introduced) are mostly believable, show the typical Gujarati behavior. The regulars in AGs films are present in this movie as well. The cinematography is spectacular capturing a few locales in the songs very well.

What could have been better off in the movie was --- a tighter screenplay with less focus on songs for each rashee, and probably doing away with the detective sub-plot (which did invoke laughter at most times). One thing that's realistic, but something that I couldn't digest is – what happens to the rest of the suitors. In reality, I don't think any one goes back to check their status out, but here we've grown attached to each of the PC's characters and do want to know what has happened.

Verdict: It was repetitive and long, but refreshing and entertaining! :)

Roles of the suitors for Yogesh all played by PC:

Anjali (Aries) pretends to be this cool girl with English and many other things, only to flop at the end. You begin to sympathize with the character, and probably think if this is going to be the end of it.
The character Hansa (Cancer), the silent girl who comes out with the past truth is easily the girl, one would emphathise on (including Yogesh).
Kajal (Gemini), the chirpy college girl is entirely the opposite, with her spontaneous romance.
Sanjana (Aquarius) with whom he goes on a drive even after rejecting her (forced by her), is initially a weak character, which does evolve over time.
Rajni (Libra) is a no-non-sense ultra-practical girl who wants a marriage partner who will dance to her tunes. This was a little impractical with an agreement before marriage. However the song is quite imaginatively shot.
Chandrika (Pisces) believes in re-incarnation and thinks they were together in the past. A song that shows Yogesh like a South Indian hero, shot at exotic locales comes up. The only thing you remember about this girls is her dad that says 'Humari koi shaakha nahi hai'.
Mallika (Leo) is a good dancer, whom Yogesh falls for, just to be rejected for his show-off as an NRI with a delicate stomach.
Nandini (Scorpio) is a aspiring model (sober at home) who wants to use Yogesh as a ticket for an entry into Chicago fashion industry.
Bhavna(Sagittarius) is an astrologer who predicts something really ridiculous for Yogesh and seduces him, only to facilitate his departure from her house really early.
Pooja (Virgo), the doctor was the most realistic character and surely a contender if not for her 'Swades'hi dream. Kudos to PC for downplaying the character very well.
Vishaka (Taurus), the girl who tries to test Yogesh, if he is after her money, fails terribly in her attempt by acting crazily. I wonder why one would do such a thing. The song that comes in this segment is quite foot-tapping.
Jhankana (Capricorn) is an underaged girl forced into marriage, and is portrayed so very well by PC (supposedly a 27 yr old). The way she finally thanks Yogesh, saying she wants to study further is a bit emotional, but ends well.

Recent memorable movies

Some movies that I watched recently and thought were memorable for some reason...

Fashion - A typical Madhur-Bhandarkar movie focussed on the Showbiz, had powerful performances from Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut. And not to forget, some good music as well. A confident Piggy Chops surely walked away with lot of trophies for this one :)

Dasvidaniya - What I expected to be a tear-jerker was a total surprise. With its amazing cinematography and good performances by the lead and the supporting cast (mainly Vinay Pathak and the female actor who played his mother), it was good weekend watch. Another form of bucket list and well made to suit Indian audience unfortunately found very few takers in the box office. Who appreciates off-beat movies anyways?

My Brother Nikhil - A very sensitive film with a protagonist who is HIV positive, and how his sister and friend stand by him and fight till the very end. I simply admire Sanjay Suri, Purab Kohli and of course Juhi Chawla for enacting the roles with such maturity. Hats off to director Onir for giving this masterpiece to Indian Cinema. My eyes were totally moist during the movie and after that too!

Varanam Aayiram - Not a favorite of everyone, the movie indeed was colorful and packed with emotions and at times things went overboard. But the genuineness of the director trying to portray a father-son relationship in that way needs to be appreciated. Whether it was completely realistic or not, is yet another topic. The music made the movie memorable too :)

Abhiyum Naanum - A counterpart of Varanam Aayiram -a father-daughter story told from the father's view. An interesting aspect was every daughter could relate to the movie and so did every father. With a near-perfect performance by Prakash Raj and ably accompanied by Aishwarya, though this movie could not recreate the magic of Mozhi (director Radha Mohan), the director needs to praised for providing clean entertainment. Trisha could have enacted the role a lot better.

Delhi 6 - I like and dislike the movie. Initially, I didn't realize what the movie was about, but later realized there were layers underneath and there was another interpretation of the movie within. I like it for making me think and I hate it for the same reason. A.R. Rahman had good music on this one, and there were used efficiently in the movie.

Mumbai Meri Jaan - An excellent portrayal of the aftermath of the Mumbai blasts and its effect on the lives of 5 individuals. A different and effective attempt, and good performances by Paresh Rawal, Kay Kay Menon, Irfaan Khan and Madhavan.

Changeling - A pretty slow movie and you know the theme of the movie from it's trailers itself. Angelina Jolie did great in the movie with her subtle emotions and with the 1920's style of dressing and mannerisms. It indeed was a depressing at times, but am sure it was a well-crafted and well-made movie. And Angelina sure deserved an Oscar nomination for this one.

I also felt Tehzeeb and Subramaniyapuram were different in their own right. But (with due respect to the directors) I didn't feel they impacted me too much :)