Katrina Kaif at Filmfare Awards
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Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif had attended a press meet to announce the 55th Idea Filmfare Awards 2009 in Mumbai. At the press meet , Katrina Kaif displayed her inert goodwill by rooting for other actresses like Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan to win the coveted award.
Sex and Sense
Politics is a game and everyone has one simple intention, to win. Prakash Jha’s ‘Rajneeti’ does not overlap the virtue of today’s politics albeit it transpires to be in its essence.
Prakash Jha has made a mark for making films on socio-political issues and Rajneeti is an extension to his earlier works – Damul, Mrityudand, Gangajal and Apharan – on the subject of social evil in the Hindi Heartland.
Is ‘Rajneeti’ belongs to the soil from where the scripts of Gangajal, Apharan and Mrityudand found a route to reach other parts of India? Fictionally it is but factually looking at the promos it seems to be a story woven around the biggest political clan of India but that seems to be wrapped under the canopy. It will come out only after the release of the film.
Before Rajneeti could see its release on 28 May 2010, a controversy or you can say a demand from the distributors has warmed up. They has asked Prakash Jha to leak a steamy scene from the film that was shot on Ranbir Kapoor and his American co-star Sarah Thompson – Jha missed and Italian – and those who have seen the rushes they believe it could leave Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori sequences in ‘Kites’ which is about to release in a weak.
However Jha isn’t buying the idea of bringing the audience to the theater on the promise of sex when the star cast of the film is enough powerful to bring the audience to the theater.
If Ranbir Kapoor is the meanest and the most manipulative character in ‘Rajneeti’, the film also boast actors like Ajay Devgan, Naseeruddin Shah, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai and Katrina Kaif.
Destroyed in your love, may my life … depart
Pretty nice words to begin the review with, wouldn’t you say? While they don’t begin the movie. they are from the movie. And they do sum up what the theme of this film is about.
Zooni, played by India’s sweetheart, Kajol, in her first starring role back on the silver screen after an absence of about five years, and Rehan played by Aamir Khan, are the star-crossed couple who light up the screen in this 2006 film, Fanaa.
Directed by Kunal Kohli, this is the story of the blind Kashmiri girl, Zooni, who ventures out into the world, on her own for the very first time without her parents. She’s a member of a dance company (yes, she’s blind and a dancer in this tale) and the troop travels down to New Delhi for a performance.
There in New Delhi she meets the troop’s tour guide Rehan. He an incorrigible flirt who spouts poetry and he never met a woman he didn’t like. Zooni’s friends warn her about Rehan, but this is the movies. So no amount of interference is going to keep them apart.
When they first meet, and Zooni extends her hand to shake with Rehan’s, but hers is more than a foot or so away from his hand, we get this exchange:
Rehan: Oh, you’re blind.
Zooni: Yes, you didn’t see that? Are you blind too?
Rehan: Thank God I’m not.
Zooni: That’s a nice thing to say to a blind person.
Rehan: If I was blind, I couldn’t have seen the most beautiful thing in the world, You.
Yeah, Rehan is a real charmer. He’s not the least bit sincere, except that Zooni has brought out his best.
So the first half of this 163 minute film is the love story of how Zooni and Rehan met and fell in love. The courtship in and around Delhi has some of the most beautiful cinematography you’ll ever see. I’m was in awe as I watched, asking myself how could shot after shot be so beautifully composed?
The second half of the film brings on a change. From a romance, and a romantic comedy, and a musical – we suddenly find ourselves involved in a thriller. There’s a terrorist – but the film goes to great lengths to say that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
There’a bomb. There’s a nation in peril.
There’s a chase sequence that is on a par with any thing you’ve seen in a Bond film. Think helicopters, think snowmobiles, think long range rifles and automatic weapons.
The IMDB lists this movie in four genres: Drama, Musical, Romance, and Thriller. And in truth it is all of these. It comes down to a decision. From the DVD box cover we have:
Choices: to choose between right or wrong is simple, but what defines one’s life is the decision between the greater of two goods, or the lesser of two of two evils.
As you can see from the images, the film is really beautiful. The story or maybe I should day stories, offers something for everyone.
Poonam Joshi, writing for the BBC said: The hugely accomplished Kajol is no less mesmerising and the two share an unexpected chemistry, resulting in moments that are at once, tender and intensely chilling. Further bolstered by a strong supporting cast, it is the contrived script that is the film’s downfall.
John Anderson for the Los Angeles Times wrote: Kajol, however, is a wonderful actress (director Kunal Kohli can’t seem to take the camera off her). Khan, though not looking his best, has moments of genuine truth, as well as charm. And the intent of the movie is, as always, entertainment pure and simple.
The New York Times reviewer Nathan Lee opened his review with: The epic Bollywood extravaganza “Fanaa” goes so far over the top that it reinvents itself halfway and launches on a brand new trajectory of the absurd.
So you can see that this highly anticipated films garnered a variety of reviews that ran the gamut between good and bad. What you might called ‘mixed’. As for me, I didn’t see this film back in 2006. I bought the DVD and watched this film within the last week. I’m calling it a first class entertainment, and I’m saying I’m very glad to have seen this film.
“ Just finished watching the superb My Name Is Khan and here are the tweets that I made while watching MNIK. My twitter page could be found here. Share your experience with me. “
It went wrong that we got Shivsena seeming against with it, but MNIK requires support in much broader sense. Its not about Shivsena, its not about Hindu-Muslim or Hindustan-Pakistan, its about humanity and about the lesson that the name doesn’t make a man terrorist.
39 minutes ago from web
about 3 hours ago from web
I will come back with a full review over the same movie soon.
Nitish Kumar
http://nitishkumar.wordpress.com Can secular Karan Johar and his friends make a film on Pune bombing, Mumbai terror attack? Why secular Karan Johar has no heart for the victims of Islamic terrorism?
They were all foreigners… they were crying in shock and pain: Eyewitness
TNN, 14 February 2010
Local residents, shocked by the loud blast at German Bakery, say tin sheets and furniture parts were lying about 50 metres away and that there was blood and body parts strewn around, indicating that the explosion was caused by a sophisticated device. An injured Sivasa, a foreign national, said the Bakery had been completely destroyed. ‘‘I was inside German Bakery and it was crammed with people. Suddenly I heard a loud blast and saw many people lying on the floor. Though I have suffered minor injuries, I can’t speak much as I am in deep shock.’’
Narendra Darode, a local resident, had gone to a temple near German Bakery for the 7 pm aarti. ‘‘Just as we were about to start at about 7 pm, we heard a loud blast. I came out of the temple and looked towards Bakery and saw massive flames and smoke coming out … There were several body parts scattered around.’’
He said after informing the police, he along with his friend carried three bodies — mostly of foreigners — in rickshaws to nearby hospitals. Rajesh Dhage, owner of a footwear shop, said: ‘‘I rushed out to see what happened and saw many bodies lying on the road.’ He said people were running around in panic, women were crying and people were coming out of Bakery with injuries on hands and feet. ‘‘They were all foreign nationals, who were crying in shock and pain. I went ahead and helped them. By that time, the police had cordoned off the Bakery area by putting up barricades.’’ Santosh Bhosale, another shopkeeper near the bakery, said the blast was very loud. ‘‘When I heard the blast, I thought it was an earthquake,” he said.
My Name Is Khan is handshake between India and the West
Meenakshi Shedde / DNASunday, February 14, 2010
Berlin: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Karan Johar got a hysterical red-carpet welcome and a rousing reception for the screening of My Name Is Khan at the Berlinale Palast at the Berlin International FilmFestival on Friday night.
Hundreds of German fans jammed the avenues leading to the Palast in -6ºC and snow to catch a glimpse of the stars.
The film is a love story, with Shah Rukh Khan presenting the Muslim point of view after 9/11, and is being distributed by Hollywood giant 20th Century Fox worldwide.
Bollywood already has a loyal core fan base in Germany and Europe. Moreover, Germany has a significant population of Muslims, including immigrants from Turkey, Iran, and other Islamic nations, so there is a high level of interest in the film.
“My Name Is Khan is an important handshake between the Indian film industry and the Western world,” said Uli Gaulke, German film-maker and a fan of Hindi films, whose feature-length documentary Leinwandfieber (Comrades In Dreams) was shot in Satara, India, and nominated for the grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
“It is the first film that tries to force a discussion on the very important topic of terrorism post-9/11, and the Muslim point of view on it, in the US and the rest of the world,” said Gaulke. “And to carry this discussion through the very famous Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan is very good and an important move.”
Gaulke, who was at the Berlinale premiere of My Name Is Khan, was earlier also happy to be swept up by the infectious energy of Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om and danced joyously in the Kino International Theatre in Berlin where the film premiered at the Berlin film festival in 2008.
“The decision of Hollywood’s 20th Century Fox to back My Name Is Khan is connected to many larger issues,” Gaulke continued. “It clearlywants to open up the discussion on the Muslim point of view post-9/11.
“But it is also connected to the new leadership of a black president in America, and the connection Hollywood wants to make with India as a growing socio-economic power, whose images of Bollywood influence the Western world.”
Commenting on the German response at the premiere, he said, “Germanyis a very multi-cultural society that includes Muslims, so there is an audience for this film in our big cities, and it is an opportunity to open the discussion here in Germany.
“Initially, the audience may have been disappointed that there was no dancing in a Bollywood film, but the film more than makes up with its intense drama. It is the first time I am seeing a Bollywood film with dramatic storytelling that is nearer our own Western cinematic tradition. It is wonderful how the story develops, linking the Hindu-Muslim problem in India to the larger issue of Muslims after 9/11.”
The film opens in German theatres in May. Said Karan Johar in an exclusive interview before the Berlin premiere, “I’m very excited to be at the Berlin film festival in the official selection. Germans love Shah Rukh Khan as well as our commercial films, and he ‘is’ the film.”
Explaining the intention behind the film, Johar said, “I wanted to give humanity a voice and religion a platform. Every religion has
beautiful things to say. Shah Rukh has talked to me so much about this, and there are books that say amazing things. I thought, why not put it into a narrative with an emotional heart? So Rizvan Khan actually lives the teachings of religions.”
Did the film expect to do good business worldwide, but especially in Islamic nations? Johar said, “The story is connected with Islam, but thanks to Fox, it is a wide-spectrum release. It had a world premiere in Dubai, and will screen in the Middle East, including Egypt, where we have ordered 30 more prints than usual. In the UK, it had the highest opening ever, taking in £1,23,000 in just one day, even more than 3 Idiots, which took £1,21,000 in two days.”
Said Shah Rukh Khan, “Yesterday, a German told me My Name Is Khan is naïve. But that is the most beautiful part of the film. When we are children, we are innocent. We are taught inherent goodness by our parents, about loving your fellow beings. As we grow older, we become more complex and complicated. My character’s simplicity is untouched by these complications, and that takes him to a higher plane.”
Jutta Hausler, 50, a German housewife and mother, was on a higher plane just being in the vicinity of her favourite film star. She had come all the way from Hanover for the Berlin premiere along with her son Sven, 32, an engineer in the German Navy.
Hausler was completely unashamed to stand on the pavement in the snow, along with the other giggling teenage fans of Shah Rukh Khan outside his hotel in Berlin, and squealed with excitement when she caught a glimpse of Shah Rukh Khan in the lobby through the glass revolving doors.
“I love Shah Rukh Khan,” she said. “He is a natural actor, true to himself and others, and honest. I have seen all his movies, including Don, Swades, and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.
“I love Bollywood films because they are bigger, they are about love and families — and life as it is,” she said. Prost to that!
Meenakshi Shedde is India consultant to the Berlin film festival and curator to film festivals worldwide.
Kasab’s partner terrorist - Ismail Khan alias Abu Ismail
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) pair had long been identified as Ismail Khan alias Abu Ismail from Dera Ismail Khan district in the North-West Frontier Province and Mohammad Ajmal Amir ‘Kasab’ (Iman) alias Abu Mujahid, his training name. Ismail was killed in the Girgaum Chowpatty encounter and Ajmal was nabbed. Link
What happened at CST
Arrested terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Mohammad Aamir Qasab alias Abu Mujahid and deceased terrorist accused Ismail Khan arrived at CST railway station in a motor taxi. En route this journey, terrorist accused Mohammad Ajmal Mohammad Aamir Qasab was seated on the rear seat of the taxi cab. Whilst his `buddy’ Abu Ismail engaged the taxi driver in conversation, accused Mohd.
Ajmal Amir Qasab planted the RDX laden IED, which he had ferried himself, beneath the driver’s seat. Then the two terrorist accused alighted from the taxi at CST railway station. The terrorist accused Mohd. Ajmal Qasab, then entered the lavatory near CST railway station. Meanwhile, the terrorist accused Ismail Khan, alias Abu Ismail planted the IED, which he was carrying with him, in the CST station premises. These two terrorists accused ruthlessly and indiscriminately fired from the AK-47 assault rifles and lobbed deadly hand-grenades on the hapless and unsuspecting passengers waiting at the main hall resulting in the massacre of innocent ladies, children and senior citizens.
Continuing the blood bath, these two terrorists attacked police officers, constables and home guards who made a valiant attempt to nip their diabolic agenda. Being hounded by the valiant police officer and personnel led by PI Shashank Shinde, these two terrorists were pushed out of railway station premises on the foot over bridge/pedestrian staircase adjoining platform no. 1.
Mohammad Sidique Khan- London Bombing Terrorist
On the morning of 07/07/2005 Mohammad Sidique Khan, with his
three friends, drove a car from Leeds to Luton, 30km north of
London, and took the train from Luton to King’s Cross station in
London. Mohammad Sidique Khan detonated his explosives on 09:17
near Edgware Road station.
Pakistan’s Nuclear Terrorist – A Q Khan
Our Motto is constant jihad? (Interview with Nawabzadaa Nabiullah Khan)
Introduction: In February 1999 the “Jamhooria Islamia”, a monthly
Baluchi magazine published from Panj-gar, published an interview
with Nawabzadaa Nabiullah Khan, a confidant of and adviser to the
leader of one of the prominent Pakistani Islamic militant
outfits, Jamaat-e-Islami, which was conducted by Jalil Amir. The
following constitutes excerpts from that conversation (which
relates to Bharat) which reveals the fundamentalist ideology &
designs of the organisation and its leader.
Parviz Khan: Promising footballer to terrorist
Parviz Khan, the ringleader of the Muslim beheading plot, was
once a promising footballer
i am the Director of Humanities and Education for RubyistLabs llc.
the Indian Visa office has been outsourced to Texas.
i heard a story on NPR this morning as i was driving back from dropping Dreamr’s daughter off at home before school. it was about the new Bollywood release, coming out world-wide this weekend, My Name is Khan, about a Muslim with Asperger’s Syndrome. the news story highlights how big the star, Shah Rukh Khan, is in India, the challenges of being a Muslim actor in a predominantly Hindu country, and the aesthetic differences between Hollywood and Bollywood.
i came home all excited to share what i heard with Dreamr and his response was completely the opposite of what i was expecting. in the Indian press today the story is totally different.
according to the Hindustan Times, Khan made a statement about how Pakistani cricket players should have been picked for the Indian Premier League. this outraged the Shiv Seva, a sort of right-wing, anti-Muslim supremacist political party/group, which has now threatened violence if the film is released in Mumbai tomorrow. so this is really a politically-charged film release, which could also have a big impact on expected revenue for the film’s production company, Dharma Productions, not to mention the cinemas.
there was nothing of the sort like that in the NPR story. in that story, Khan says there are aspects of “Islam that need to be addressed now.” the subtitle of the film is “and I am not a Terrorist”, pointing to the irony of Khan’s two-hour detainment in the U.S. for questioning shortly after he finished filming his latest release. but he states how secular India is, and suggests that Muslims don’t have those same issues (of being seen as terrorists) in India. that is the political aspect discussed on NPR.
the differences are understandable. American audiences don’t know very much about Bollywood, and don’t care very much if there will be rioting in the streets tomorrow night if the film is shown. but instead of a story that spends more time on the appeal of the Bollywood formula than anything else, at least mentioning the political complexities wouldn’t make me feel silly when i come home all excited to share this story, and Dreamr’s reply was how Khan had pissed off a bunch of non-Muslim cricket fans. huh?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123589668
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Mumbai-halls-not-to-screen-My-Name-Is-Khan-stop-advance-bookings/H1-Article1-507767.aspx
