the 'pyaar con job' TOI LIT FEST - Sujoy Ghosh, Nikhil Advani, Imtiaz Ali and Ayan Mukerji speak with Filmfare editor Jitesh Pillaai

The third edition of the Annual Times of India Literary Carnival coinciding with the 175 years celebrations of the TIMES of INDIA group, took place over the earlier this month at the Mehboob Studios in Mumbai. A Literary enthusiasts delight, the 3-day festival saw an enviable line-up of Indian and International authors, writers, artistes and panelists, conducting workshops and indulging the audiences with their enlivening conversations. With this year's edition focused on the theme of love, romance and violence, the event was designed with an eclectic mix of panel discussions, book launches; live performance by Amit Trivedi, story book readings, ensuring that there was something for everyone of every age group. 

With one of the central themes of the festival being love, how could Bollywood be too far behind? Day 1 witnessed a packed studio for a session on 'The Pyaar Con Job' where filmmakers Sujoy Ghosh, Nikhil Advani, Imtiaz Ali and Ayan Mukerji spoke with Filmfare editor Jitesh Pillaai on how love gets distorted on the big screen. With a quick round of introductions by Jitesh assuring not to make it an ‘academic’ session, Imtiaz mocked that since they were talking about con jobs, and the three filmmakers have been on the Filmfare award jury, they have some experience around it.

Bollywood – creating female stereotypes, one rom-com at a time

This feature originally appeared on Bollyspice.com. You can read the full post here.

I happened to watch Cocktail at an extremely crowded press plus crew plus family plus friends show. While you can read my official movie review, as I was thinking about the film some more I wanted to write about some of the other aspects that bothered me about Cocktail.  These  additional thoughts touch on some points I couldn’t include in a movie review and summarize howCocktail, which in my opinion could have been a good rom-com, was turned into a series of Bollywood’s formulaic clichés, so much so that the gloss and glycerine could give the Indian TV soaps a run for their money

I am tripping high on Veronica! Could do with another dose & bartender make that a double please!! #Cocktail @Deepikapadukone is HAWT & how!
— Pooja (@pooja1712) July 12, 2012

Alright then, moving on........


***Dont read further if you want to avoid spoilers***

The curious case of mindless cinema indulgence! Badrinath - Allu Arjun & Tamanaah

This isn't exactly a review, rather just some quick thoughts about the movie. 


The thought of this post has been playing on my mind for the past few days since I watched the movie on dvd. The thing about watching any movie day's after its release is that you're already subject to the hearsay on the film's verdict. After the film being declared a colossal failure & almost every review pulling its fangs on the movie, I had absolutely nil expectations. Now this, my years of movie appreciation wisdom has taught me it is sometimes a good thing; as then you have less fear of being let down, which was exactly the case with Badrinath. The movie is so bad that its actually good fun and here I can shamelessly admit enjoyed the total masala fun with the enthusiasm of a 2-year old in a candy store.

Quick thoughts - Vicky Donor - Ayushmann Khurrana, Yami Gautam

In early March I attended the first look launch of this film. Understandably no-one had heard much about the movie which had completed shooting and was set for release a month later. New leads, one-film old director and a new actor-turned-producer taking on a eye batting topic of sperms and fertility, everyone quickly concluded it to be a sure-shot recipe for BO disaster. Solo take away from that event was the immense pride John Abraham's eyes glittered with; on his maiden venture as producer. Collectively the team was confident about the positive fate of the movie. Nonetheless, the promo received appreciation from the media invitees while the organisers happily obliged to the 'once-more' request. It was the beginning of something special.

Denizen - Celeb endorsement win? with Monica Dogra aka Shaair

I was having an argument with a colleague who stated as a matter of fact , that no-one buys stuff just because their favorite stars endorse it. Point taken! And I know majority would nod their heads in agreement. Although studies would prove otherwise, that incase of the most popular (say top3-5), sales have shown an accelerated growth after a brand has roped in any of the top stars. Celebrity endorsements have always been a debatable topic. But this post has not much to do with this debate. Personally I couldn't care too much about buying the car SRK promoted or using Navratna because he advocates it'll keep everyone cool! (& then some other brands I just can't afford)

Coming back to the reason behind this post - I recently picked up the Denizen Jeans by Levi. I remembered falling in love with the ad (again the jingle! concept=HUH?), So it made me wonder, if the ad was what helped me make a purchase decision, did this mean it was a celeb endorsement win? Coz, that's the first objective of having a brand ambassador right? Make the brand relatable, have a recall value! Or was it just the ad that nudged me towards the jeans rack? So then it makes it the adverts win, correct?

Not sure, either way, I did end up contributing to the sale; that the company surveys unabashedly show-off when they've to justify the marketing spends on signing up a star. Guess, it was a brand win anyhow! Mission accomplished for them!

But I would definitely love to hear your thoughts - Do celebrity endorsements help you make purchasing decisions? Would you buy make-up coz Kareena says she uses it or would you change your shampoo cause you have faith in what Katrina sells? Post your comments below. 


p:s: while you muse on that, sing along - round & round on this ride, I got you in my thoughts.......

Indie indulgence - A love affair of "shorts"

Such a fabulous time for Indie scene in India. Short documentaries made on minimal to negligible budgets with a great heart and aspiration to educate, influence, inspire whilst entertaintaining minus the pop-gum culture of song-dance routine of commercial cinema. This rebellious form of cinema, restricted to film festivals, is regaining its faith, gearing to surge ahead. Creative bunch is flourishing, gen-z is waking up to this otherwise ignored cousin of cinema, theatre's are working customised avenues for release and films themselves are taking extra efforts to connect with the audiences.

I personally love short films/documentaries. Where else do you get such a beautiful concoction of sublime, poetry, intrigue blended together in perfection! Yes, we all love the glitz, power, build-up of the commercial Bollywood movie, but its orgasmic to engage in films that pushes boundaries, challenges to be exciting and unique.

My love affair with 'shorts' began couple years ago, when I was introduced to 'Unnoticed Love' by Amit Verma ..(p:s: if the actor seems familiar, he is director Punit Malhotra from KJO camp)!



And so it grew, the older I got, the addiction got worse. Last year , Sudhish Kamath's Good Night Good Morning completely swept me away (anyone stalking me for the past yr would have noticed my pimping the movie like none other). Earlier this week, another movie I've loads of faith 'Kshay' won an award at the IFFLA in LA.

This morning, I received a link to yet another very well put together film.
If you haven't explored this genre yet, now is a good time to start. Go ahead. Share your thoughts ! !

Ek Main aur Ekk Tu

Joining the increasing list of remakes Dharma productions present ‘Ekk Main Aur Ekk Tu’ the self-proclaimed copy of its Hollywood borrowing ‘What happens in Vegas’.

Helmed by first time director Shakun Batra, it won’t take a genius to deduce that for a film named EMAET, premise is as simple as – boy meets girl, they laugh, cry and exchange life sermons. Add to that the film belongs to the new-age contemporary love story genre so we know that the boy will be as glum and the girl will be as gregarious as it gets. As soon as the characters are introduced, you immediately conclude that the first half will be been-there-done-that situations where gloominess bonds with gregariousness, the second half will see fights, misunderstandings, families, compromises, outbursts leaving just enough reels to roll up into its perfectly carved climax.

Why being a freelance entertaiment writer sucks!

***This piece is a complete act of my insomniac mind and reading it with a pinch of humor will really help***

Only one way to write a blog piece like this, and make that a double, bartender, please. ~ P.J O'Rourke

There are generally 2 reactions when someone learns I'm a freelance entertainment writer.
A - the "Blank stare" like 'is-that-really-a-job?'
or B - the gushing like *Ooooh wowwww , that must be sooo exciting!!!*

which then is quickly followed by 1 of the zillion common remarks:

• have you met anyone famous?
• What newspaper do you write for?
• Are X and Y really seeing each other?
• have you starred in any movie?

2012 Calendar roundups! Dabboo Ratnani, VenketRam & CCL

That time of the year (tad bit delayed, my bad!!) when I do the annual roundups of celeb calendars
Even though I've had a reputation of hating most of it coz its too much cheese and less themes, have my fingers crossed again, hoping something clicks yaar! So we've got our usual lineups from last year -Dabboo Ratnani &VenketRam. No Southscope calendar out this year (for reasons know best to them. Ok! I might actually know why, but we'll leave the dirty details out shall we. sshh) But to substitute we do have a CCL (celebrity cricket league) calendar also shot by VenketRam

Without wasting too much time on the rules then , lets just jump right into it!

KONY 2012 - Watch + Spread the word.

I (like many others) hadn't heard about KONY until it started trending over Twitter. Many people I knew where posting / retweeting the link of the video that had gone viral over the network in a few hours leading to the Kony 2012 website crash subsequently after it began gaining widespread popularity.

The film created by by Invisible Children, Inc. is to promote the charity's 'Stop Kony' movement to make indicted Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony internationally known in order to arrest him.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s ‘Saving Face’ wins maiden Oscar for Pakistan!

This post originally appeared on Bollyspice.com

A very proud nation Pakistan woke up to a jubilant Monday morning as news flashed of film-maker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s triumph on becoming the first Pakistani to win an Oscar at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center, Hollywood, California. Her film ‘Saving Face’, based on the appalling incidents of acid attacks on women in Pakistan, brought home the first Oscar for Pakistan by winning in the Best Documentary (Short Subject) category.

"Why I Loved Good Night Good Morning" - Directed by Sudhish Kamath

This post initially appeared at Bollyspice.com, but when the portal went thru changes, the link broke. While the admins work on fixing it up, I have (on demands from a few :) re-posted it here.

Thankfully for us, the past few years have seen “Indie” films (popularly nicknamed in India as parallel cinema, i.e. do not boast of the typical masala bolly-fare) going mainstream. While Indian audiences are still miles away from giving our independent filmmakers the same adulation as our commercial ‘big-production-house’ backed directors, it is heartening to see that what was earlier restrictive to select art audiences and festivals screenings is getting a healthier reception among regular cinegoers. 

Making rounds of several national plus International film festivals, Sudhish Kamath’s (co-written with Shilpa Rathnam) Good Night | Good Morning is an independent film about an all-night phone call between two strangers. Sudhish, an expert movie critic; fabulous host on a chat show (Hands up), goes behind the camera for the second time, with this 80 odd-minutes film. 

Wedding Bells: PrithviRaj ties the knot with Supriya Menon.

Its OFFICIAL! Malyalam Superstar Prithviraj Sukumaran is hitched and the lucky lady is BBC journalist Surpiya Menon. While speculations began around a month back about the supposed nuptials, fans were taken aback when the news broke early morning on 25th April, that the couple had already tied the knot. The wedding was held in Thenkurissi Kandaath Heritage Villa in Palakkad which happens to be the bride’s hometown. It was a low-key private affair attended by less than 50 of the couple’s close family members and friends.

 

The couple met some (?!) years ago, when Supriya was researching South Indian Cinema. A grand reception has been planned at Le Meridien on May 1st for friends and acquaintances from the fraternity. 

They make a super cute couple, dontcha think?? Best Wishes to the couple.

Movie Review: TeenMaar (Telugu) *Pawan Kalyan, Trisha, Kriti Kharbanda

Apart from my usual language disclaimer, may I add a second note here, that I have as much as possible refrained from comparing TeenMaar to its original Love Aaj Kal. However is some references are delved upon, request the reader to accept it without being judgmental.

When I first heard about ‘Love Aaj Kal’ remake in Telugu, I was clearly intrigued. Though the original was a box-office hit, it received some flak because not many people warmed up to the concept of ‘practical romance’ wherein breaking up, patching, moving on etc was as casual as any other hobby. Also with 2 narratives of different timelines running parallel, intertwined with each other, was a tough job to keep the viewer constantly attentive and engaged. So my first thought was - is the comparatively reserved South-Indian audience ready for this kind of cinema. Will Director Jayanth and Trivikram be able to do a satisfactory job at getting the local audience to accept this modern day ‘practical’ love-story? I think they do. And they do a good job at it.

Movie Review - "Dum Maaro Dum" - 'Goa'ing HIGH ! !

An A-lister, A southern hottie (whom women are lusting after), a critically acclaimed supporting actor (who's become camera's darling), Hot-Bod in mini skirts, item song, sex, scandal and sea. All the ingredients perfectly picked to make a successful commercial MASALA flick. Can't possibly go wrong or CAN IT?

Dum Maaro Dum traces the lives of its three male leads, from three different strata, against the edgier side of the tourist hub otherwise portrayed famously for sunbathing and cocktail-sipping. DJ Joki (Rana Daggubati) hanging to the pasts of a failed relationship with girlfriend Zoe (Bipasha Basu), who bait the drug laden trap for greed of dollars and a high flying career. Joki doesn’t want history repeated and is determined to prove the innocence of Lori (Prateik) the scapegoat, caught in the rough of a failed drug-trade. Bad-cop turned-good ACP Vishnu Kamath (Abhishek) is on a mission to clean up ‘Drugs Ka Disneyland’ Goa. On suspicion is businessman-cum-philanthropist Lorsa Bisquita aka “Biscuit” (Aditya Pancholi) who is known to have Goa-vaasi’s in his pocket. Not enough as there’s a Godfather of drug traders (Micheal Barbossa) lurking in the shadows. The mystery – Who is Micheal Barbossa? The goal - Pin the drug-king!

"Best of Tamil Cinema" book launched in Chennai

For those who harbor affection and fondness, as well as claim their two loves to be Tamil Cinema and Reading, are in for a TREAT as Galatta Cinema recently launched "THE BEST OF TAMIL CINEMA", capturing 80 years of the finest in Tamil Cinema. (Event pics)

Authored by G. Dhananjayan, (Chief of UTV Motion Pictures, South), the book has 2 volumes of 700 pages encompassing details of over 200 films for the past 80 years, including details of the hits as well as the various state & national awards won.

YRF's new banner 'Y FILMS' unveils its animation video!

Originally posted at Bollyspice

Just recently we told you about Yash Raj Films special initiative to cater to its younger audiences with the launch of "Y-Films" supported by an adage that goes, "A New Studio with Films of the Youth, by the Youth, for the Youth". The posters released at the launch were a simple logo embodying revolution.

Now we bring to you the extremely cool animated film unveiled earlier today to kickoff the banner's new logo and brand Y FILMS.

Designed and conceptualized by Nupur Bhargava of Invisible Rabbit, the 30-sec promo shows the journey of the conventional urban youth as he races past life juggling education, society and passion.

Dance your way into Guiness Records with Terrence Lewis!

At the recently held Indian Film Festival 2011 in Melbourne, Munni aka Malaika Arora Khan made over 1200 people dance to her tune for around 3 minutes, thus bestowing the famed 'Munni Badnaam' with yet another honour of The Guiness World of Records. What began as a random jiggy-wiggy by a handful spectators during the movie screening as part of the opening night of the festival, caught the fancy of the Guiness reps and led to 1200 people dancing to choreographed beats of Shiamak's trainers. 

Taking it a step forward, Mumbai-based choreographer Terence Lewis (aka ex-judge Dance India Dance) has accepted the challenge to perform a similar feat in Mumbai this weekend. Everyone is allowed to be part of this BIGGEST Bollywood dance class by joining in on Saturday, 19th March 2011. And though you dont have to be a Munni or a Sheila to be part of it, you definitely need to be able to swing those hips, as the participants would be expected to complete the 1-hr training to avoid being disqualified.

I can't guarantee any glitterati making their presence at this one, but you can surely expect ONE helluva experience! And if you're a little shy or have two left feet, feel free to join in & cheer out loud for the participants!

More details:

To register free log onto www.terencelewis.com
Dress Code: Indian Traditional
Time: 2 pm
Venue: St. Theresa School Ground, Bandra -Mumbai

Karan Johar & Varun Bahl's exclusive spring/summer 2011 at Taj Khazana Hyderabad! with showstopper: Ram Charan Tej

Taj Khazana, the signature boutique store of Taj hotels, launched an exclusive Men’s formal and leisure collection designed by the multi-faceted Bollywood film director and producer, Karan Johar and acclaimed designer Varun Bahl on Friday, Feb 11th at the sprawling Alfresco lawns of Taj Krishna in Hyderabad. Taj Khazana, the in-house luxury lifestyle store present across Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is known for luxurious hand woven silks, exclusive pashminas and distinguished arts and artefacts. Having enamored fashionistas across metros, Mumbai and Delhi, the 'Karan Johar + Varun Bahl' label made its way to make a fine debut at the royal state of Hyderabad.

Mumbai gears up for its annual FICCI Frames - 23rd-25th March 2011

Originally posted at Bollyspice.com

For those attached to the Media and Entertainment sector, FRAMES organized by the industry organization FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), is a terrific platform and opportunity to interact and network with the big names of the industry.

Held annually in Mumbai, FRAMES is a three day global convention covering the entire gamut of Media and Entertainment like Films, Broadcast (TV & Radio), Digital Entertainment, Animation, Gaming, Visual Effects, etc. with nearly 2000 Indian and 800 foreign delegates participants. Comprising seminars, panel discussions, an awards night and entertainment evenings, the event is attended by around 2,500 delegates each year.