WINTER MEMORIES...

Ah! Santa Claus is here again !! And its such a tough time to get out of your blankets and go out in the morning! To hell with morning walks and weight issues!The advent of winter brings back memories of bygone years..Winters are always associated with short trips, outings with family..sort of picnics along with the short term winter breaks..the razzmatazz chaos during christmas, the madness of new year eve, distributing (and collecting!) new year cards from friends and families alike,camp fire, maagh bihu festival, the effervescent aromas of 'pithas',curd, jaggery, and payesh !! and my granny....from the past few years, since her demise,i had been missing her terribly during this particular time of the year...those long hours of sitting together on the verandah, watching countless mythological movies, listening to her stories...miss her terribly !! 

Chocolate Boy turns into a ROCKSTAR !!

I had been asked by a reporter after coming out of the multiplex about my reactions on the film..I was'nt sure what to say, coz all i could think of was Jordon aka Ranbir Kapoor.He infuses life and soul into the character,from his charming 'boy-next-door' image in the opening reels to his arrogance towards the climax, he's the only reason that keeps u hooked up to your seats.Its a tailor made role for him.His body language,the way he lip syncs to Chauhan's voice and the rusticity he gives to the character is to watch out for.The problem with the film is its half backed screenplay that seemed monotonous and stretched towards the end with not ample scope being given to the gradual outcome of a rockstar in his true psychedelic form akin to Jim Morrison.

Also why do our filmmakers cast these anorexic, straight faceted, brawny, half hindustani, half firangi models in their films? This newbie Nargis Fakhri is such a pain to watch ! She's lifeless and literally 'plastic' in her expressions, moreover since the film boasts of ample romantic scenes between the lead players, Imtiaz should ve been more cautious in selecting a much finer actress! Lack of Indian girls Imtiaz? Your Heer is nowhere near to Geet or Meera!

I personally liked the abrupt climax of the film, which of course, would cater only towards a niche audience,the multiplex crowd per say.Another scoring point of the film is Rahman. He injects some soulful tracks which was expected from a Rock themed flick and yes,the film has some terrific moments,thanks to the star called Ranbir Kapoor! 

My Chocolate boy is no longer chocolaty, he has turned into a ROCKSTAR !! 

Ebong......Ritu da and Nabo di !!

Its one of those rare occasions,that comes once in a while when you get to witness two of your most beloved 'iconic' personalities on stage,together..hand in hand..This happened recently at the Washington Bangla Radio awards.I remember the last time i got to catch up with the two of them together in Etv Bangla's chat show EBONG RITUPARNO, a show hosted by the film maker himself..Here's a poetess and a novelist (pardon me,i must refer to her as a legend !) whom i have loved since ages.I remember going through her short children stories during my school days (summer vacation days to be precise!), and later, her collection of stories which were published in the annual Nabakallol subscriptions.
Much later, maybe 3,4 yrs back i read her first novel 'Sita theke Shuru' and was completely bowled over by her writing that combined high intellect along with incredible wit and humour ! Since then my passion towards her writings grew day by day..Nati Nabanita, Monsieur Hulor holiday, travelogues like Karuna Tomar kon path diye, Truck bahone Mcmohan, novels like Nattorombho, Swabhumi etc..and the columns that i always keep myself updated with, from her exclusive,evergreen Bhalo bashar baaranda.

Now coming to the other one,he's undoubtedly my most cherished film maker of all time. The countless times i have seen all his films, i could well write a thesis on his celluloid work ! ( Oh! exaggerated heights of my over confidence!) I have been extremely biased towards his films,have watched them repeatedly on my dvd player,rewinding scenes after scenes,the dialogues almost engraved within my grey matter!sometimes even overlooking the flaws in flicks like Khela, Shob Charitro kalponik and The last lear. Ghosh is not just a great story teller, for me,he's a painter who has sketched out some impeccable women protagonists over these years that i have fallen in love with..Be it Bonolata, Boro bou (of Antarmahal), Titli, Kaberi, Rohini, Vandana, Shikha, Padmini Chowdhury, Ranga pishima or my most favourite Sarojini Gupta !

The rhythm,the moves,the grace,the smile &....the face that spells magic!!

Her countdown to the numero uno position started with Ek do teen (Tezaab)...literally! with the youngsters swooning over her moves in Humko aajkal hai intezaar (Sailaab) looking endearing in her fisher women's costumes in her full maharastrian mulgi avatar..Giving a new meaning to the term 'seduction' with her 'heaving' number in Dhak dhak karne laga (Beta), she hit the moral police hard with her raunchy number Choli ke peeche kya hai ( Khal Nayak),but much to the censor board's dismay,the number instantly became a sensation and a crowd puller as well...bringing back the family audience flocking to the theaters with her mesmerising charm with Didi tera devar deewana (Hum Apke Hain Koun)..There's no one like her who could express brilliantly with her eyes and her face, Channe ke khet mein (Anjaam) was a testimony to that..she followed it up with her spunky 'eye rolling' gestures in Akhiyaan Milaaon (Raja) and proving once again that she's equally comfortable gyrating in ethnic as well as contemporary ensembles with the chartbuster Mera piya ghar aaya (Yaarana)..One of her most dynamic display of her dancing skills would undoubtedly be the most under rated number of her career Saanson ki maala pe (Koyla), because the very same year,she set the screen on fire with her moves in Dil to pagal hai..With both Amitabh Bacchan and Govinda drooling over her in Makhna (Bade Miya Chote Miyaan), she proved her dancing prowess yet again by matching steps with Prabhu Deva in the scintillating number Kay Sera Sera (Pukar) and Badi Mushkil (Lajja) and last but not the least,she transformed into a legend with her classic Chandramukhi act in Devdas.....and as they say, the legend continues...

The Undisputed Diva !!

Ok...so i had been her craziest fan since years,claiming myself to be her biggest fan..have seldom thought to write something on her..her work..her films,but...so here from now, some of my upcoming current posts will be dedicated to her..only her..about her...her films..her bestest roles..and obviously...her dance !! Ek do teen...here i go...!

DIWALI AND THE BOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTERS !!

Diwali 1995 witnessed the movie that went on to set humongous records at the box office (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) starring every movie goers favourite couple Shahrukh - Kajol in combo with a perfectly blended punjabi family, lush locales of Zurich,superhit music and the essence of mera desh meri mitti.What also worked in bonus for the film was its release perfectly in time with the previous year's blockbuster attraction Hum Apke Hain Koun, which set a new standard and platform for family oriented wedding dramas

If 1996 had been the year for Karisma Kapoor to show her histrionics along with a surprise image change over in Raja Hindustani,teaming up with the perfectionist Aamir Khan for the first time (richie rich lolo falling for our hindustani cab driver Aamir), the year 1997 brought to the silver screen a new craze for youth oriented candyfloss romance in the form of Dil To Pagal Hai combined with chart topping music from the melody queen Lata Mangeshkar and the 3 reigning superstars of that time Madhuri Dixit, Shahrukh Khan and Karisma Kapoor. The film also gave a new dimension to art direction and costume design.  Bollywood witnessed a more urbane, picturesque, stylized interiors after a long time ( thanks to Sharmistha Roy) and a more soft,layered,vibrant,candyfloss look of its leading stars ( courtesy Manish Malhotra and Mickey Contractor) not to mention brilliant still shots from the ace photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha.

The year 1998 saw the emergence of a new breed film maker in the form of Karan Johar redefining the theory of bubble gum college romance in the form of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai starring the ever graceful, ever charming Srk - Kajol teaming up with a fresh,delightful Rani Mukherji, feel good factor along with tear jerker,what more could we ask for!! I remember that diwali it had rained heavily almost in all parts of India but that didnt dampen the spirits of our cine goers, even me rushing for an early morning show under an umbrella,fighting my way out amidst a huge crowd outside the theater,searching for a local to get last moment tickets in 'black' !

When family oriented movies were in vogue, how can our master craftsman Sooraj Barjatya be left behind!, he came up with his multi starrer Hum Saath Saath Hain during diwali 1999 ( i remember,the then media labelled the film as the neutron bomb of that diwali!).. The film apart from its lead players, had an ensemble cast comprising of bhaiyya, bhabhis, mama, mamis..add to that a modern day version of the Ramayana and Voila! u ve got ur entire family lined up outside the theaters with kids and elderly couples in tow!

2000 also witnessed the clashing of the giants Shahrukh Khan,Amitabh Bacchan starrer Mohabbataein and Hrithik Roshan's Mission Kashmir diverting its audience towards their favourite stars nevertheless making producers and distributors of both the films immensely satisfied..but now i wonder, what made me like this 3 hrs 45 mins of a boring saga ( Mohabbataien) that i went 4 times to watch this nonsense at the theater!!

The next few years also witnessed some major flicks doing well at the box office during diwali ( Veer Zara 2004, Don 2006, Om Shanti Om 2007, Fashion 2008) but somehow for me none of this later year films could recreate the same magic for me the way some of those that had created and which i had left way back in the 90's....maybe a craze dies down after a certain period of time, a craze u remain besotted with untill a period of time, untill a period of ur life span!!

KALI, DIWALI, MOVIES and...BOOOMMM !!

Razzmatazz streetlights, freshly (and brightly) done home decors, flashlights,diyas, crowded sweetmeat stalls,cracker's stalls along the roadside,the intoxicating ( but unhealthy? who cares!) smell of burned crackers in the air,glittering crackers,the unstoppable sound of the pathakas (time for grannys to put on their ear plugs everytime it goes BOOOMM!)...has always been synonymous with Diwali..

Also for bengalis its a time to participate in the late night celebration of the bengali's official deity,Kali (read Jai kali kalkatte waali!)..Kali,the 4 armed iconographic goddess standing on a prone or inert Shiva is celebrated amongst the bengalis with as much enthusiasm as goddess Durga. Also the very next day being bhai phota / bhai duuj (wot is it if u may ask..for the sisters its a time to put black,white,red,yellow tikas on their brother's forehead and earn gifts...simple *wink*) !!

Now add to that a perfect Bollywood Blockbuster and u can't ask for a better 2 day's fun!
My school days hd always been associated with diwali along with a bollywood flick..Of course, i never got to watch those movies during the course of diwali ( parent's rule!), but nevertheless, the excitement of a diwali release coming up, big banner hoardings flashing across the highways and main roads,queues across the cinema halls (stampede scenario at times, viz. Dil to pagal hai, Kuch Kuch hota hai) all escalated my adrenaline rush!
Times might have changed in the recent times with films like Don and Golmal doing exceedingly well at the box office, but previously diwali always used to be the release factor for big budget family entertainers from the house of Chopras and the Johars!

to be continued.....