Posts Tagged ‘mom’
By Taran Adarsh, January 1, 2010 – 12:30 IST
What do you do when you, accidentally, bang into someone on the road? Flee from the spot? Call for help? Dial the cops? Rush the victim to the hospital?
Pick up a newspaper and chances are you might glance upon a hit-and-run case only too often. ACCIDENT ON HILL ROAD, a remake of STUCK [Mena Suvari, Stephen Rea], raises a few questions in its own way. Perhaps, the intentions were right, but what eventually unfolds on screen isn’t.
The problem with ACCIDENT ON HILL ROAD is that it loses focus after a point and that takes away the seriousness from the issue.
| BY BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM |
Sonam [Celina Jaitly] is a nurse who accidentally steers her car into the harmless Prakash [Farooque Shaikh], sending him flying through the windshield. Not wanting to jeopardize her future, Sonam, along with her drug-peddling boyfriend Sid [Abhimanyu Singh], chooses not to get him medical help, leaving him clinging to life in her garage.
But soon her psyche begins to unravel as the captor and captive are pitted against each other in a battle for survival.
ACCIDENT ON HILL ROAD had the potential to be a thought-provoking film that pricks your conscience, but what comes across is a half-baked attempt that runs out of steam soon after the intermission. In fact, the film begins quite well and a few moments as well as the twists and turns in the first half do keep you on the edge.
But the writing [screenplay adapted by Mahesh Nair and Siddharth Parmar] is shoddy in the second part and does not yield the desired outcome. The sequences prior to the climax are a complete downer, while the climax is the worst part of the film. The drama fails to become the nail-biting one that it ought to be.
Also, the assorted people that flit in and out of the story [the kid and his mom, the cabbie and the nosey neighbour with a dog] are half-baked characters as well. Pray, why were they included in the first place?
Mahesh Nair’s direction is a shade better than the poor and sketchy script. Also, he is unable to involve the audience in the drama. Ravi Walia’s cinematography is ordinary. The film has just one song [music: Raju Singh] – ‘Nasha Nasha’ – which is quite erotic.
Farooque Shaikh doesn’t get any scope, frankly. One definitely expected more, since the veteran returns to the big screen after a hiatus. Abhimanyu Singh enacts his part well. But it is Celina Jaitly who pitches in a commendable act and catches you by complete surprise.
On the whole, ACCIDENT ON HILL ROAD will fail to make any headway.
Movie Review: PAA by FENIL SETA
Posted on: December 14, 2009
Bollywood is coming out with creative, out of the box films and the year 2009 is a witness to it. Paa is one such film that can also be safely termed as ‘most unique film of 2009’. Of course, the USP is undoubtedly Amitabh Bachchan’s wonderful portrayal as a 12/13 year old kid. But that alone isn’t the only thing that makes the flick special. The execution by R Balki is marvelous and the film would have surely fallen like a pack of cards if the treatment wasn’t appropriate. Paa, thus, works well and is definitely a must watch!
The story of the movie: Auro (Amitabh Bachchan) is a 12 year old suffering from a rare genetic disease, progeria which results in accelerated ageing. So although he’s just 12, his body age is 5 times more. But Auro is witty, mischievous and intelligent and just like any other school going student of his age. He lives with his mother, Vidya (Vidya Balan), a gynecologist and Vidya’s mom (Arundhati Nag). All three are living happily but one day their world turns upside down when Auro comes to face to face with his own father, MP Amol Atre (Abhishek Bachchan). But both Auro and Amol are unaware of each other’s ‘connection’.
Paa is simply made and the film grips you from the first scene itself. Auro and Amol’s entry in the narrative is highly impressive. The innovative projects made by the students and Amol’s beautiful speech in the school instantly put a smile on your face. Also note how very less time is reserved for the flashback portions and the focus of the story is entirely on the star of the film-Auro and his paa!
However, the film deviates from the main plot in the first half in the slum redevelopment track. But trust me, it was damn interesting and you’ll silently wish if the politicians of our country were such visionaries and witty.
However, the second half won’t give any reason to complain. Auro’s reaction after finding out the truth and the time he spends with his paa in Delhi is supremely rocking! The pre-climax, when one of the main characters finds out the truth could have been more impactful. But the final 10 minutes which is beautifully directed and leaves the strongest mark, compensates for it.
Although the film is titled Paa, the film doesn’t only focus on the father-son relationship. It wonderfully showcases the child’s relations with his mom, grandmom and also with his classmates, the latter being the cutest! Also, the film isn’t made to only evoke sympathy on progeric patients. Throughout the film, Auro is being treated as any other normal child by everyone around him and this also works a lot in the favour of the film.
There is not a drop of doubt about Amitabh Bachchan’s performance. He was marvelous and outstanding-even this doesn’t justify his well performed job! One forgets that one is actually watching Amitabh Bachchan on screen. The way he speaks like an adolescent and also behaves like one is just amazing and leaves you in awe and shock. And the look given to him is actually quite cute! However, the performance wouldn’t have worked solely with great work by make-up artistes. It was Amitabh’s great work that makes the character believable and lovable. Kudos to Big B-keep shining, keep rocking!
The characterization of Big B as Auro is so strong that you even forget all the past performances of other actors. Abhishek Bachchan simply rocks as the young cool politician and builds up a strong position to himself throughout the film. After Guru and Dostana, this is yet another memorable performance of Abhishek. Watch out for him in another rocking performance in his next, Raavana!
Vidya Balan is a relevation. She gives a brilliant performance, of the same level that she delivered in Parineeta. Watch her in Paa and you’ll forget all about her disastrous period that she faced 2 years back. She is expected to please everyone in her next Ishqiya too!
Arundhati Nag was perfect. Paresh Rawal was fine in his miniscule role. Pratik, who plays Auro’s buddy Vishnu, was excellent and provides laughter in some scenes. Taruni Sachdev, the girl who terrified Auro throughout the film was amazing! Also, Kiran Shah, who played the 5 year old Auro did a great job in his one scene. Kudos to Vidya for lifting this 53 kg old on his shoulder in one of the scenes!
Ilaiyaraja’s music was soulful and melodious. Songs are there in the film but doesn’t hamper the pace of the film-the story moves during the film too. Mudi Mudi is the best song of the lot. Mere Paa, sung by Big B deserved to get a better focus in the film. Background score was cute and mischievous, just like Auro!
P C Sreeram’s cinematography was top notch. Christien Tinsley and Domini Till, the makeup artistes, deserve the highest praise for transforming a 66 year old actor into a 12 year old child! Hats off!
Finally, R Balki deserves the highest praise for coming up with such a wonderful film and making complete use of the opportunity provided to him. As a director he was perfect and it was nice to see the quick editing done in certain scenes so that the film doesn’t drag at any moment. But as a writer, he could have done a better job, especially in the flashback portions of Abhishek and Vidya. But he impresses most as the dialogue writer. Dialogues and wittiest one-liners are the best part of the enterprise! Also, the toilet jokes which are a complete put-off at times are hugely funny in the film!
There were reports that Paa is a copy of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and a section of moviegoers even believed this. By now, the truth is out Paa is miles away from the Hollywood flick. But it’s really sad to see our media and some moviegoers are always waiting for an opportunity to thrash Bollywood and its films. Our industry churns pathetic films at times but it also comes up with sweet films like Paa. Let’s not always act and think so negatively about Bollywood. And now there are reports that Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai’s next, Action Replay, is Benjamin Button’s rip off without even knowing a single line of the plot of the film. Alas, some people don’t want to grow up ever!
Some of the best scenes of the film:
1. Amol at the school, looking at the projects and delivering a speech
2. Auro orders pickle from grandmom
3. Amol’s slum redevelopment track
4. Amol and Auro’s video chat
5. Auro all set to go to Delhi (you really feel sad for the poor kid here)
6. The intermission point
7. Vidya’s Hichki-ous justification
8. Amol and Auro’s trip to Delhi
9. The last 30 minutes
On the whole, Paa is a beautiful film, written wonderfully and performed outstandingly! Undoubtedly, it’s a must watch! Go for it, if you haven’t seen it yet!
My rating-**** out of 5!
This review first appeared on MouthShut.com: http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Paa-181639-1.html
Auro’s first interview!
Posted on: December 1, 2009
Hi Auro, how are you today?
I’m a little tired because many people are coming to talk to me. Sometimes I get tired when so many people talk to me. Do you get tired when people talk to you? I am happy that you came to talk to me.
How is your Paa?
My Paa he is a very important man. He is what they call, something po…yes politician. Yes, I remembered he is an MP. He is very nice to me. He took me to see Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. I went for a walk in the park with him. And, when I got tired he carried me on his back.
Do you like your Paa more or your mother?
I like both of them. Mom is a gynaecologist. She makes babies. She doesn’t give me khichdi to eat. I love khichdi. I want to put mirchi (chillies) in the khichdi. And she doesn’t allow it. Because I will fall ill. She gives me chocolates and milk shake. I love chocolate flavour.
Do you have girls in your school?
Ya, but I do not like them. Because one girl, she is always looking at me. I run away from her. I have a gang of six boys. They always tease me about this girl.
What is her name?
I don’t want to tell.
How is Uncle Balki who made this film Paa with you?
He used to get annoyed with me. If I didn’t do things properly he would tell me to do it again. It is tough to do the same thing again and again. I don’t know why Uncle Balki did like that. But I like him.
Are you holding a special screening for your schoolmates?
I want all the children to come and see my film Paa. It is going to release on December 4. You please come and see it also.
A few days back, Vivek Oberoi was woken up at 6 in the morning with an SMS. It was a text message from his Kurbaan co-star Saif Ali Khan, praising Vivek Oberoi him for his work in the film.
“I’ve craved for this kind of appreciation,” admits Vivek candidly, “I wanted people to see me for my work and not have a coloured perspective because of whatever’s transpired in the past.”
The actor’s gone through his share of trouble, both personally and professionally. “One thing I’ve learnt is that it’s easier to deal with failure than to deal with success. If you don’t know what to do with success, then you lose the plot. Success had gone to my head. I was surrounded by people who kept pushing me in the wrong direction and I kept going there, and when it finally hit me, I was like, how did this happen?
 |
| Vivek Oberoi |
Those four-five years were just a blur, then to understand and recover from that took time,” he says, wisened from the experience.
But yes, there were times when he was completely down in the dumps too. “There was a time when I felt that everything I did was going to backfire. It was difficult to keep my sense of reason or humour at a time like that. One day, I was really upset and my mom asked me what’s wrong. I said I just feel completely lost — there was so much professional and personal upheaval. Then she pulled out a copy of one of my first interviews during Company and said ‘start here’. I read that and realised this is what I was,” he recounts.
The journey to recover started with Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara and life seems to have taken a turn for the better since then. His performance in Kurbaan has been appreciated and the actor’s looking forward to Prince — It’s Showtime, where he plays a slick, stylish thief and his mentor Ram Gopal Varma’s Rakta Charitra.
Vivek realises he has been given a second lease in his career. “I think in my seven years, something I have realised pretty late is the value of opportunity. What stands between me and a lot of talented actors is a platform that Mr Varma gave me, and the second time around, I got it with Kurbaan. Then I’ve got Kumar Taurani backing me with a big film and it’s a dream to be working with my mentor Ramu again,” he says.
The smile on his face says it all when he adds, “I’ve realised the whole idea of carrying grudges, negativity, anger, hatred and enmity just bogs you down. I’m at peace now. When I started out, it was more of a high, right now, I’m humbled.” So Vivek’s finally grown up? He’s quick to answer, “I’ve a better understanding of who I am now.” That’s more than what most would say.
SUBHASH K JHA Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; October 20, 2009)
The couple from the trendsetting Bobby were subsequently seen in Sagar and more recently in Pyar Mein Twist.
After the failure of the pricey Akshay comedy Chandni Chowk To China, Nikhil is ready to shoot Patiala House which casts Rishi and Dimple as man and wife. Akshay will play their ideologically-opposed son. Says the director, “People may see the casting as gimmicky. But, after Chandni Chowk… I felt I had to be true to myself. In that film I was trying a language that wasn’t mine. In Patiala House ,I return to my native tongue.”
Though Akshay plays a second-generation Sikh in London, he won’t be wearing a turban in this film. His father, played by Rishi, will be in a turban once again after Love Aaj Kal. The film will also star the spirited Anushka Sharma in her first film outside the Yashraj banner. Apparently Akshay, who loved Anushka’s performance in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, personally requested her to step into Patiala House. Nikhil sees Akshay and Anushka sharing a great chemistry on screen. “They’re both so warm and so Punjabi in their demeanour,” he says. Mere Paas Maa Hai!
Posted on: August 23, 2009
TIMES NEWS NETWORK (BOMBAY TIMES; August 23, 2009)
So, what really got the choreographer-director interested in a chat show of this kind? “I didn’t want just another celeb show. I mean Simi (Grewal) and Karan (Johar) have done it all and done it brilliantly, so how was this one to be any different,” asks Farah. So her main aim was to involve normal, middle-class people in her show. “That’s because in a case of inverted/reverse snobbery, in an industry that endorses glamour and over-rated materialism, I do claim to have middle-class values. I have come up the hard way and buying a purse costing more than a lakh is something my system doesn’t absorb. So if you see me with a designer bag, it has been gifted to me, more often than not by Karan! I personally do the grocery shopping in the local supermarket and, yes, I repeat my clothes,” laughs Farah. Watch Sallu with his mom open up to vivacious host Farah Khan at 9 pm tonight on Star Plus.
SAWALS FOR SALLU!
• Despite the macho image of somebody who lives on his own terms, deep inside you are still a mamma’s boy, aren’t you?
• You’re forward-thinking but dislike women wearing revealing clothes. Is that because you want to keep your mother happy?
• Is it true that you don’t sign cheques and your parents handle your finances?
• When was the last time you got a beating from your parents?
It was important to walk away from that relationship-Vidya Balan
Posted by: fenilseta on: November 14, 2009
• What is the difference between Vidya of Kismet Connection and Vidya of Paa and Ishqiya?
I know what you want to hear (laughs). To begin with, I have lost a lot of weight. I am feeling healthier and happier. Paa will see me in the Indian look. I am very excited about Paa and Ishqiya both. The change started by losing…yes, I had gained a bit of weight.
• At the wrong places?
(Laughs) Let me say it. It’s been a long journey. Full marks to my dietician Pooja Makhija and trainer Vilayat Hussain. I don’t even go to a gym. I train at home. I do a bit of cardio, weights and calisthenics. And I eat a lot more intelligently now.
• After losing weight, why are you not seen in Western outfits?
I didn’t lose weight to wear suggestive outfits. I lost weight to feel better about myself. I enjoy wearing Indian clothes.
• Don’t you therefore stand to lose roles? You have kissed in Ishqiya, you did a lovemaking scene in Heyy Baby, so why say no to ‘suggestive’ attire?
I will wear what is required. But you know, suggestive outfits tantamount to skin show and take away the meat from the character. I want the meat, not the bone.
• Have you always avoided daring outfits? Even in your teens, college etc?
Yes. My friends wore what collegians mostly wear. But I didn’t join them. I stood alone, but I was happy. I do wear skirts, but not very short ones. And I don’t wear shorts, not even at home.
• Back to your weight loss. Did the caustic comments about your weight finally get to you?
I won’t say that I was immune to them. But you see, I was going through a lot of confusion in my head on a lot of fronts. I started taking a few things for granted. I became complacent. And I lost interest. Till Kismet Connection, everything was going well for me and then suddenly…
• That was when your friendship with Shahid Kapoor went haywire?
I don’t see the connection.
• Connection with a ‘K’, eh! Okay, what triggered off the need to lose weight?
Well, my mom sat me down and told me that I needed to feel good about myself. I think that I was trying to be someone else. I was desperately trying to fit into a certain mould (pauses)
• Go on…
(Looks up at the ceiling) It was not about my weight and clothes. Those caustic comments were coming because I looked unhappy. I was exuding a certain amount of unhappiness.
• Why were you unhappy?
You know what…
• What?
If someone who matters to you talks you down, it can break you. That someone whose approval mattered to me started to constantly find faults with me. It started reflecting on me. At that point of time, it was important to walk away from that relationship. I don’t want to take his name.
• Hmmm… I get it. Shahid doesn’t want to work with you now.
(Interrupts) Did I say that that I want to work with him? (pauses)
If someone doesn’t want to work with me, so be it. It’s his loss completely. There are other fish in the sea.
• Your friendship with fashion designer Shabina Khan has gone sour. Once upon a time, she was your best friend.
One tends to spend a lot of time with people one works with. My best friends have been people I have grown up with.
• She isn’t too fond of you now.
I don’t bother about how people feel about me. What matters to me is how I feel about them.
• How do you feel about Shabina?
Just like I feel about any other professional acquaintance.
• Parting shot?
Even today, I am standing alone, but I am happy again. That’s all that is important to me (runs her hand through her hair and smiles)