Jungle Book!!

Hi Friends!!

Its been a real long time since I wrote... In most of the countries including India the first 3 months of the year are actually the last 3 months of the financial year and are pretty critical... Either you complete your targets or you get fired, screwed, whatever you call it... In my case, it was April when I woke up to complete the mission of "Achieving Targets"... I got screwed and warned for my performance and wasting my time in unproductive meetings in a million coffee shops...

Well before promising myself that I wouldn't do the same mistake again and start working very hard 'again'... I thought why not see the movie that would cheer me up for sure...

I had the video cassette of the animated version given to me by my aunt when I was a kid and let me tell you guys it just reminded me how wonderful the movie is... "Bear Necessities" my favourite...

What can I say about the characters; Mowli, Bagheera, Baloo, Kaa, King Louie and the Great Shere Khan... Baloo always the most interesting character in this story... Bill Murray did an amazing job...

It is a complete family treat... Don't miss!!

Katyar Kaljat Ghusli !!!

Extracted from a musical play written in 1967 by Purushottam Darvhekar, was made into a movie and directed by Subodh Bhave who also enacted the role of Sadashiv, the pupil of Pandit Bhanu Shankar Shatri (Shankar Mahadevan).  The movie had other main characters like Uma (Mrunmayee Deshpande) and Khansaheb Aftab Hussain Bareliwale (Sachin Pilgaonkar).

The Plot:

Shankar Shastri is a very renowned classical singer living in the princely state of Vishrampur during the British Raj.  There is no one in the state as good or equal to him.  In one of his musical sessions he comes across Khansaheb, befriends and invites him to Vishrampur.  On the festival of Dussehra, the Maharaja of the state announces a singing competition where the winner will be awarded the status of the Royal Singer, a Mansion and a Katyar (Dagger).  The Maharaja also proclaims that the winner would be pardoned if he committed one murder with that dagger for self defense.  Khansaheb is a nobody in Vishrampur, and he wants to make his presence felt.  He challenges Shankar Shastri.  The rest... is a musical fight between ego and devotion. 

GUYS... it was one hell of a movie.  I'm sure my maharashtrian friends have seen it.  It has passion, romance, suspense and all of this is communicated in the form of music (classical).  Two and a half hours and a whooping 16 songs... the best part is that you want to hear more and more.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have really done a superb job with the music and yes I have no words for Pt. Jeetendra Abhisheki.  The movie opens with Shankar singing "Sur Niragas Ho", a song in praise of Lord Ganesha...  and then, what can I say, 'thunders and lightnings'.

It was like one of those moments when I felt like thanking my brother, who actually has no interest in movies, who coaxed me to see this one.  Well my friends, if you are a music lover, you won't regret watching this one.

Cheers!! :)

After-effects of Dilwale

Merry Christmas guys!!!!

Its a real long time since I posted anything on this blog... so here I am guys... Have been a little lazy to type about the movies I saw or the fun I had while seeing them.  Have seen loads of them in the past few months.  Movies like 007 Spectre, In the Heart of the Sea, Tamasha, Burnt, The Walk, MI, you name it and I have seen it.

Now my friends please do not test me on the regional movies that you just saw or have an eye on... I have not seen that one.  If you send me the link, I just might :)

I want to share this one experience I had with this one movie; I thought it would be a great one... but turned out to be just average.  I don't know how many of you'll know this one movie 'Dilwale', but I'm sure all my Indian friends know about it.

What should I say about this movie... the stars are one of my favourite couples on screen; Shah Rukh Khan (Raj/Kaali) and Kajol (Meera)and yes to support them, Varun Dhawan (Veer) and Kriti Sanon (Ishita).  The roles, the acting, the comedy, the fun was all perfect... but ... the 'Plot was so Weak'.  It pulled the whole movie down.  I mean, what was Rohit Shetty thinking when he brought Kriti in Varun's life in the first 10 mins of the movie. Are women that easily seduced??  The scenes were very much predictable; there wasn't any suspense, except... when the truth of Meera was revealed in the gang car chase.  Rest of the movie was pretty much average.

Well the actors and actresses have done a very good job, especially SRK and Kajol... Seeing them together is definitely a treat.  They and the songs were the saving grace.

Lemme know guys, what you think about this movie or any other movie.

Have a great Christmas :)

Cheers!!

Inside Out!!

It is a 3D animated comedy-drama directed by Pete Docter and produced by Pixar Animation Studios.  It features a young girl Riley Anderson (Kaitlyn Dias) and her five emotions - Joy (Amy Poehler), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Fear (Bill Hader) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith)- who guide her through the various stages of her life.  The whole movie runs in the mind of Riley as every emotion plays its part, when its turn comes, with a keyboard in front of it.

Riley is from Minnesota and when she was born the five different emotions took birth with her in her brain- Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness.  All the five live in the conscious mind, which is also the Headquarters.  They play a big role in creating memories for Riley, be it good, bad or ugly.  In the process of creating memories the most important memories get collected and become 'core memories'.  They help Riley to create five different 'islands'; the family island, friendship island, so on and so forth.  The most important part is played by Joy, as she tries her best and creates the Happy core memories; the golden balls.

When Riley turns eleven her father gets a new job in San Francisco and the family relocates.  In the process Joy becomes very concerned as Sadness becomes more prevalent.  Every act that Joy did to keep Riley happy, Sadness just undid it by doing just the opposite.  Sadness even went to the extent of making Riley cry in front of her classmates, which was to become one of Riley's sad core memory (the blue ball).  Joy tries to stop the blue ball from entering the core memory storage case but accidentally knocks off all the other Golden Balls from the storage case and shuts down all the islands.  Just as she tries to put them all back in order, she, Sadness and all the core memory balls get sucked through the memory tube, to the long-term storage of Riley.

Now its the journey back to the headquarters for Joy, Sadness and the Core Memory Balls, as without them... Riley will be doomed...  

The movie has been designed, created and animated so well that you get glued to the seat till the credits end.  It starts with a wonderful song with a story line of a volcano falling in love with another one.  Firstly, the concept that emotions also talk like humans is absolutely thrilling and secondly its animated... Icing on the cake.

Don't Miss It...

Cheers!!

Top 10 Hollywood Romantic Movies of the '90s!!

This list gives you the top 10 Hollywood Romantic Movies of the '90s.  They are some of the finest and I am sure all of you have seen it...

10. Sabrina (1995)

It is a remake of 1954 film with Julia Ormond, Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear featured as Sabrina, Linus and David Larrabee.  It is an entertaining story of a girl, Sabrina, who is the daughter of the chauffeur of the Larrabee family.  

She falls in love with David, especially his style and charm; but is not noticed, till she remodels herself as a smart and beautiful Paris-return dame.  This is where Linus comes into the picture and it becomes a perfect triangle. 

Classic movies remade have always done quite well.  Ormond and Ford have done a great job of being Hepburn and Bogart of 1995.

9. A Walk in the Clouds (1995)

An American soldier, Paul Sutton, returns from war with dreams of settling down with his wife, but sees her in a tangent world.  He gets disturbed when he realizes that most of his letters, sent to her, were not even opened.  He still wants his marriage to succeed and leaves for Sacramento to sell chocolates as wanted by his wife.  

On the way he meets a beautiful, but needy Mexican-American woman, Victoria Aragon.  Her family is traditional and owns a vineyard in Napa Valley.  She worries, as she is pregnant without a husband.  

Its about how a soldier helps a stranger and fights again, but this time for the Love he's always yearned for.  Keanu Reeves plays the soldier and the Italian Aitana Sánchez-Gijón is the Mexican-American dame.

8. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

 Jonah Baldwin (Ross Malinger), an 8 year old boy misses his mother  as she died 18 months ago.  But he feels more for his father, Sam  (Tom Hanks), who has still not got over his wife's death.  Hence, on  Christmas Eve, Jonah calls a radio station and forces his father to  speak.  He is identified as "Sleepless in Seattle".  He, eventually,  opens up, and speaks about how his wife was, how he felt for her,  and how much he loved her.  

 It so happens that in Baltimore, Annie  Reed (Meg Ryan), is listening  to the same programme and it brings tears to her eyes.  Though she  is engaged to Walter (Bill Pullman), she desires to meet Sam and is one of the thousands who write letters to him.  

Its a very good fairy-tale, so whether they meet or not is anybody's guess.  The craziest part in this movie is when Annie and Sam stare at each other in Seattle, but Annie assumes that Sam has a girlfriend and hence there is no conversation between them.  Well, its a beautiful and interesting romantic fairy-tale.

7. Pretty Woman (1990)

Pretty Woman is where Julia Roberts is featured as Vivian, a hooker and Richard Gere in Edward, a multi-billionaire who sees everything from the business angle.  One evening while driving on the streets of Hollywood, he stops in front of Vivian and asks her help for directions.  She drives him all the way to the hotel and stays with him for the night.  

He offers her a job of being an escort, but treats her like a princess and she in turn teaches him a few lessons of life.  And yes, no doubt they fall in love.  Roberts did a fantastic job and no doubt it paid off and is an absolute entertainer.

6. Bed of Roses (1996)

 Lewis Farrell (Christian Slater) is a down to earth man who enjoys  life in its simplest form.  He finds happiness by just seeing others  smile.  Hence he prefers to be a florist and deliver flowers.  On  the contrary Lisa Walker (Mary Stuart Masterson) is a go-getter  investment banker with a tragic past.

 They meet, fall in love and have relationship complications.  The  complications are more to do with their past and hence  acceptance  of the fact that 'someone could really love you'  becomes an issue.

 The movie is fairly emotional and sentimental but has a lovely end to it.

5. Before Sunrise (1995)

In the movie Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is on his way to Vienna in a train, from where he would take a flight to his homeland the US.  In the same train he happens to meet a woman Celina (Julie Delpy), who is going to Paris.  They sit across in the lounge and have some snacks.  This is when they share some good conversation and where he convinces her to get off at Vienna, as he wanted to have company.

The movie is a Trilogy; Before Sunset and Before Midnight were released in the years 2004 ans 2013 respectively.  The whole movie is filled with tiny instances that are in general sliced off in most of the movies.  But that is what makes it so special.  The conversations are so natural and effortless that you could actually place yourself in the shoes of one of the actors and have a chat with the other.  It is filled with romantic dialogues and memorable scenes.  If you are a sucker for romantic movies, you've definitely seen this.

4. Ghost (1990)

Ghost is a story where Sam (Patrick Swayze) gets killed by a mugger and he gets stuck between Heaven and Earth as a Ghost; a person with an unfinished job.  He tries meeting and communicating to his girlfriend Molly (Demi Moore), but in vain.  He meets Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) who could hear him and with her help, he tries to find his killer.

This movie states that love is all you need in your life.  Whether you are dead or alive, you will reach your destination if you have Love by your side.

3. French Kiss (1995)

 Kate (Meg Ryan) plays a woman whose fiancé, Charlie (Timothy  Hutton) has left her for a french damsel.  She decides to get him  back and is helped by Luc Teyssier (Kevin Kline), who teaches her  the tricks of the trade.  Luc is a french thief and had robbed a  necklace, which when sold could get his life back on track.

 Ryan's job in this movie was sensational and Kline with his french  accent, made us feel that he was one of the natives.

2. Titanic (1997)

 To show a tragedy with a romantic angle is quite a task and Titanic  has been one of the best to succeed.  No other than Kate Winslet  and Leonardo DiCaprio could have done the roles of Rose and Jack  respectively.  

 Rose is engaged to be married to Cal Hockley (Billy Zane) without  her consent.  She tries to commit suicide when Jack saves her and  the love story begins.  Cal is the typical unforgivable villain who,  even when the ship is drowning, goes in search of the two lovers to  shoot them.

 This is one movie that has romance written all over it. 

1. Notting Hill (1999)

 William Thacker (Hugh Grant) is the owner of a travel  bookstore in Notting Hill, London.  This is where Anna Scott  (Julia Roberts), a well known American film star comes to  purchase a book. Their meeting is followed by an  accident.  William offers to help her in changing her clothes as he  stayed just a few yards away, "in a non-prostitute sense".  She agrees and while leaving the house, she kisses him and  that's where the story begins.  

 It has humour, love, and William was really very confused  as to what to do and what not to; it suited the character.  According to me it should take the 1st place as it is quite Surreal... but nice ;) 

Cheers!!

The Sabrinas We Have Seen!!

The Original Sabrina was released in the year 1954 in which The Fairest Lady of All, Audrey Hepburn was casted as Sabrina Fairchild.  With her were Humphrey Bogart and William Holden as Linus Larrabee and David Larrabee respectively.  It was produced and directed by Billy Wilder.  The movie was based on a 1953 play, 'Sabrina Fair' by Samuel A. Taylor.

The Plot:

Sabrina is the daughter of Thomas Fairchild (John Williams), the chauffeur of Larrabee family.  She had an eye for David Larrabee's way of life, his style, his charm; some would call it love and some, an infatuation.  David was nothing but a playboy, a no commitment man, who never notices her.  This leaves Sabrina in utter disappointment and she goes to Paris to attend a culinary school.

She returns as a changed and sophisticated woman and initially even David fails to recognize her.  But Linus, his elder workaholic brother, greets her the minute he sees her.  Linus worries for David as David's marriage with Elizabeth Tyson (Martha Hyer) will land the family a huge business deal, and if now he falls for the new Sabrina... it might change everything.  Linus succeeds in distracting Sabrina from David but falls in love with her in the process.  He never accepts the fact till it strikes him that Sabrina was leaving for Paris for good.  David marries Elizabeth and Linus rushes to the ship that was to leave for Paris... Sabrina and Linus meet and leave for Paris together.

One of the beautiful scenes is when Sabrina sings La Vie en Rose, a French song by Edith Piaf.

This movie was remade by Sydney Pollack in the year 1995 with Julia Ormond as Sabrina, Harrison Ford as Linus and Greg Kinnear as David.  The story was just the same except the ships were replaced with chartered planes.

In Bollywood in India, another copy was made by Naresh Malhotra and Yash Chopra, in the year 1994, which was named Yeh Dillagi.  The story was just the same with Kajol, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan playing the roles of Sabrina, Linus and David respectively.  The only difference in this one was, David gives away his love (Sabrina) to Linus, and meets another girl when the movie ends.

Whichever Sabrina it may be, the story will always remind me of Audrey Hepburn... She is, was and always be an amazing actress...

Cheers!!

Tomorrowland !!

Tomorrowland is a Science Fiction directed by Brad Bird and co-written and produced by Bird, Demon Lindelof and Jeffery Chernov.

The movie stars George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy and many more.

The Plot:

In the beginning, the flashback of a young Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson) is shown, who goes to a New York World's Fair. He meets David Nix (Hugh Laurie), who discourages him as his jetpack invention was not really in a working condition.  But the discouraged boy had attracted the attention of a young girl named Athena (Raffey Cassidy), who gives him a pin with the letter "T" embossed on it and asks Frank to follow her.  Frank sneaks into one of the rides of the fair; his pin gets scanned and he gets transported to a place called the Tomorrowland.

Years later, a girl Casey Newton (Britt Robertson), tries to sabotage the the machines that are dismantling the launch pad of a NASA launch site.  While returning home, Athena sneaks in and drops another pin in Casey's valet.  The next night, Casey gets arrested at the NASA launch site.  At the police station, after being released, Casey finds the pin with all of her other belongings.

When she comes in contact with the pin, she gets transported to a very different land, the 'Tomorrowland'.  The pin had a timer running backwards; the second the timer hit 'zero', she was transported back to where she belonged.

This is when Athena is discovered to be a robot and George Clooney (older Frank) appears and the story really becomes very interesting.  The movie is a Sci-Fi, and has a very good story-line to it.  If you appreciate sci-fi movies then its quite a treat... its a mouth full...

The gadgets, futuristic trains, futuristic swimming pools and at a point a girl in the Tomorrowland speaks of travelling only 20 light-years away from her parents... must be going on a vacation I guess, with her friends :D  My favourite part was when the Eiffel Tower cracks in two halves and the rocket takes off from right in-between. 

Let me know what you feel about it...

Cheers!!