Movie Review - Dhobi Ghat *Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra, Aamir Khan

Without preaching too much about how Dhobi Ghat isn’t your regular popcorn cinema but rather arthouse/documentary/world cinema (papers/news/ have told and retold this line a gazillion times by now), let me just get straight to the point. 

Which is - Dhobi Ghat or ‘Mumbai Diaries’ (the English title) as I prefer to call it, is not an ode to the city but rather a compelling compilation of the lives of the city-dwellers while the city itself sits by the edge, encompassing all those who want to soak in its curses as well as blessings.

Movie Review - Little Fockers "What the FOCK?" *Robert DeNiro , Ben Stiller

When I saw the first part ‘Meet the Parents’, I sort of liked it. The movie had enjoyable good moments, De Niro’s act was worth complimenting and even though the sequel ‘Meet the Fockers’ was upsetting in comparison, absolutely nothing could have prepared for what was about to come next. With the third installment in the trilogy of the Focker series, ‘Little Fockers’ packs up impassive gags, time-wasted subplots on a story loosely tied around Jack’s patriarchal guidelines for Greg on education, finances and a home.

Movie Review - Tangled (Animated) voices - Mandy Moore, Zachary levi, Donna Murphy

I’ve always been a Disney’s child. Right from watching re-runs of Pinochio from our prized cassette collection or parents taking us from the suburbs to South Bombay to catch shows of Aladdin’s adventures, a dose of Disney was always the best entertainment. Cartoon/Animated flicks are one of my favorite genres, cause like the great Walt Disney say, “Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive”

After a semi-satisfactory attempt at co-producing a South Indian feature ‘Anaganaga O Dheerudu’ which released last week, (read review here), Disney is back to the world it knows best. Tangled is the fresh-retelling of Rapunzel’s tale, with a contemporary twist.

Restaurant Review - Open Affair (Bandra)

Sitting compactly on the booming strip of restaurants in Carter road’s very own khau-galli, Open Affair is hard to miss with its huge glass windows, behind which assemble a line of chefs dipping scrumptious skewers into the tandoor. The multi-cuisine menu boasting of Italian, Indian and continental is a smart attempt to fit right in & to possibly compete with the neighboring eateries right from Kareems (which is very popular for its Kebabs) or Crepe Station which is famous for its crepes, omlettes etc. 'ek theer do shikhar' kind of a funda i guess! :p

Movie Review - Turning 30 ! ! * Gul Panag , Purab Kohli

Take a walk in any metro of the country and you will come across gazillions of single, career-minded independent women who despite being on the wrong side of 29, inching slowly towards the dreaded 3-0, seem to be taking life in their stride, unabashed by the sneers of the nosy aunt in the neighborhood.

Whoever said ‘30 is the new 20’, definitely knew what she was talking about, because in the 21^st era, life of a single-30-year old isn’t a big taboo. Offcourse there are social & emotional pressures but camouflaged by self aspirations, supportive friends & family, a couple of years can be easily bargained for.

Starring Gul Panag, Purab Kohli, ‘Turning 30’ is Naina’s journey as she grapples through life in the face of her 30^th birthday. Does Director Alankrita succumb to glossy filmy affair or does she manage to deliver coming-of-age cinema?

Movie Review - "Anaganaga O Dheerudu" (Telugu) *Siddharth, Shruti Haasan, Lakshmi Manchu

Disclaimer – This post comes from an author whose knowledge of the language isn’t expert. Although I could understand most of what was going on-screen, I did find it a little difficult to catch up with some of the dialogues. So, my review is purely based on my approval and liking of the concept & narration, performances and other production values.

For someone who grew up watching Beauty & the beast, Lion King, Snow White among other animated Disney flicks, Disney’s new venture ‘ANAGANAGA O DHEERUDU’, offering a chance to reconnect with childhood fantasies of the handsome prince and the ‘happily ever after’ ending was more than welcome. That it was being done in Telugu as a commercial fantasy film was the cherry on top. So, let's indulge in the four magic words: Once upon a time or in this case ‘once upon a Warrior’

Twitter Film Awards - Celebrating Bollywood, Twitter Ishtyle!

The New Year is upon us which marks the dawn of cinema awards frenzy in Bollyland. In between all the expected ones & very few unexpected ones, it’s about the films but hardly ever fair! Power awards are given so that the AC in the hall is running, choreographed latkas, matkas & definitely lots of jhatkas, seeti-taali in full sync, and if ever king’s & their men don’t fit in any category, simple solution - new category is created so that Khan & Kapoor take home a mandatory award or two! While we, the mango people muse over how & when did the beautiful black lady lose her morals!

Happy Birthday A R Rahman - List of my favourite ARR songs!

In honor of India’s own Oscar Award winner Allah Rakha Rahman!

The music maestro celebrates his 44th Birthday today! Happy Birthday, A.R.Rahman!

On the day, A R Rahman received the Golden Globe Award; I decided that, I would post my favourite Rahman songs. He won, but I failed to complete my post. Then I told myself if he went on to win the Oscars, I would definitely blog about it. I still failed. Today finally on his birthday, I am adamant to finish the list.

How do u start pulling up a few favourites from the discography that is as versatile as Rahman's? He's got it all covered - from techno, carnatic, blues, bollywood, broadway & when I sat down to scribble the immediate recall tracks, I had over 30+ in less than a minute.