Happy Birthday to My Blog !

Its celebration time ! OK Ok, the date has already passed. And the month will be passed in next one hour. But I can't let it go like that. Cause my Blog, My darling little blog has turned 5 YEAR OLD in March 2010 !! Yay!!

Its been a roller coaster ride. Totally. Blog has transformed me into a new person. I never knew such world exists online, where people of same interests can meet, write and discuss about favorite topics of mine. Movies and Music. Ahh... thats the thing I always want to do. And No, FB or Orkut are not those platforms where we can do that. After completing education, I hardly could find those moments where I can make discussions from a to zee of movies.

Then I found a platform called Blogger. As anyone would do, I instantly joined in and created my blog. Blogger is an easy format to use, especially for those who are not pursuing a web design career. Also, as I didn't have pc at home in the year 2005, it was little tough to keep it updated regularly. Also, I too wasn't much aware of surfing people's blog and discussing through comments. So my blog was just like 'I write, my friend read' kinda blog. In the beginning I started to write with two movies, Black and Aviator. Even today, I laugh at me how awful I was writing then. [even today, I think I am the same, bad Grammar, and so much blah blah :D] But still, one post from that year is still my favorite. Its a post about two movies - Parineeta & Paheli.

Year 2005 ended with just 16 posts !! Record was broken in next year. The best year of the last decade in terms of fabulous movies. The year 2006 ! During which, I could write THREE, yes, only 3 posts ! Due to some reasons, it was not at all possible for me to write blogs. Sigh.... what creepy days they were. Even after those 3 posts, I was idle for 11 months !! Until I saw Life..in a Metro and couldn't hold my urge to write down something about. But soon, I died again. Posting with extreme low frequency. Only 10 posts in Year 2007.

And on one fine day, in July 2008, I found this Fabulous post of theBollywoodFan, while searching for lyrics for a song from movie Ada. The movie never got released till date, but it lead me to a whole new world. By visiting theBollywoodFan's blog, I knew that things like comments, blog-roll and Blogging madness do exists. All of fellow bloggers already know how awesome writer theBollywoodFan is. And it was pleasant surprise to meet my idol blogger in the month of my blog's birthday !! By reading his blog, by seeing his dedication, I too decided to keep up with my writing and go on Blogging in full on mood. And Its only his blog, from where I found this fabulous network of Bollybloggers which exists outside of India. One thing is so mysterious and still I like about theBollywoodFan is he loves being hidden. Never he gives even a hint about himself in real life.

And on the other side, I met a blogger who never ever hides anything. Yes, our very own, 'Her' Royal Highness - Pitu Sultan !! **drumrolls*** . She shares everything that happens in her life. Be it her new recipe or even when her dogs tail wags. She is awesome at writing hilarious stuff. Pulling legs, hairs and even chaddis of our stars. And not only that. When she writes seriously, she pulls out tears from our eyes. Take recent post of her about Pinku-the dog she had, or even the post where she wrote how her Grand Parents met. Awesome to have you Sultan !! Salutes !

And by those Salutes, I come to a Blogger whose work I want to salute at. She does put so much of effort of putting awesome screen-caps, numerous of them, that I can never do. Yes, she's Nicki of ApunBindaas ! Very well known for her love of John, Bipasha and southie hotties including Allu Arjun. Surprisingly we have nearly common taste in the movies. She's one big fan of Southie movies too. Which got me so surprised, cause being an Indian, I thought there are hardly any fans who are non-Indian and still love our movies. Nicki broke all my beliefs and I was surprised that she 'grew' up with these movies ! And so kind she is doing giveaways of DVDs !

Growing up with Indian movies- Louella's blog is a next big example of growing up with our movies. She has completed more than 360 movies in less than 1.5 years! Another fan of southies, she is unstoppable when it come to writing blog posts. You must check out her AtoZ about Vasundhara Das - post.

Writing this, I am amazed how Ladies dominates the Blog world around. I can safely put the crown of President of this blog world to ever loving Sita-Ji of Bollywood Food Club ! Shes awesome, most soft spoken [though I have only 'read' her, still] person.

Another lady who write fantastic posts and has most interesting blog name - Shweta of Apni East India Company. Though she is not much active these day, I enjoyed her Abhay Deol fan-girl posts and much more. Also her biggest credit- the Chandelier post. Hoping to see you soon..

Inactive these days is other active blogger I am follower of. Nida of Bitten By Bollywood . Always her posts are insightful and interesting. Its always interesting how movies reflect our culture, and what do they feel after watching it.

Oh, and another American Lady blogger I am fond of. Ajnabi of Paisa Vasool-or Not! What a name of blog, easily one can mistake if this is a Indian's blog. But no, she's not. And that makes more fun reading her views on our movies. Die hard fan of Shahid Kapoor, her blog is always fun to read.

More fun is when you read funny bottom lines for screen-caps, at Bollyviewer's blog - Old Is Gold ! I admit here that I just can't discuss old films. Though I have watched many of them, I m only comfortable discussing newer ones. But her blog is a fantastic source of information if you are interested in old classics.

more ladies, more ladies - Yes still more to go. Shell from Shell's Bollyworld - a huge fan of SRK. A newbie to Bollywood and always eager to take suggestions for movie watching. She just has initiated a nice task of getting information of all bollybloggers-together. And created a nice little database of the same. And Kanan of Lyrics I like - who always brings some nice songs lyrics in her posts. Especially, the old ones which I love the most.

And who doesn't know Filmi-Girl ? the gossip girl who posts extremely regular. Always ''you know it first on her blog'' kinda feeling when u read her posts. And a librarian who falls for Shashi and Abhishek - Beth from Beth Loves Bollywood. For her huge posts and interesting discussions on her comments section.

Ok, boys, your turn is here again. What! Only Three??!!!
Yes, only three. Bhargav from Reviews Etc.by Bhargav Saikia, BollywoodDeewana - and Babu Moshay Sujoy from One Knight Stands. Bhargav is most sincere reviewer [inactive these days], Sujoy kicks butts of anyone who comes in his way. Hilarious posts are his trademark. Its great to have both of them on Blogroll. While BollywoodDeewana reviews movies from the decade which I don't know much of. its the late 70's and 80's. Similarity between all the three is- all of them are from London !

Phew..... why I did all these blah blah ?? Just to say a big THANKS to all you Bloggers around me. You make this world worth living !! Worth Blogging ! Thanks for being there always.


And oh, forgot to add - most of us are so much active on Twitter. So be there too and keep Rocking the world !

Kites : Music Review

And the music is out. After instantly lovable Zindgi Do Pal Ki and Dil Kyun Yeh Mera promos, I was excited for the full soundtrack. And Rajesh Roshan does not disappoint at all. Penned by Nasir Faraaz and Asif Ali Beg, songs of 'Kites' are something, that is different from the regular stuff. And that makes it instantly likable to me.

Smooth vocals of KK does it again. Zindgi Do Pal ki keeps you haunting after repeated listening. A standard Rajesh Roshan song with fusion of Sitar and Guitar strings. I didn't expect the song will be pacey as it is. Still I loved it.

Continuing vocal bliss, KK comes again with Dil Kyun yeh mera. A love ballad starting with soft strings later becomes heavy by electric guitar riff. Instantly reminds me of Anurag's earlier movie Life in a Metro. Where Pritam created same magic.

Next is a surprise. Tum Ho Wohi by Vishal Dadlani and Suraj Jagan !! Yes, two rock-stars of present Bollywood scene. So you can expect the sparks. The song is innovative in terms of composition with different instruments like percussion and triangle. The song is hard to develop instant liking but it must be treat to watch Hrithik in this. I hope he will dance with madness as he did in 'Dil laga-D2' the song having same feel.

Talking about Hrithik, and the next track is for him, by him. Yes, Kites in the sky is sung by Hrithik... and Suzzane !! No No, not SUzzane Khan, but our very own Suzzane D'mello. Suzzane's lovely voice starts the track, soon Hrithik takes her over in this Opera styled song. With some help of machine Tweaks, Yes, he sounds really nice. And minimalistic composition, having just strings, makes it fabulous. Its Suzanne who wins accolades with Latino rendition.

Tailor made for the dancing star - Fire is a perfect dance floor track. Starting with light beats, the song peaks up interstingly in 2nd minute reaching its height. Sung by Rajesh Roshan, Vishal Dadlani, Anirudh Bhola and Anushka Manchanda, Fire surely makes you stand up and move your feet.

All in all, for this Romantic Thriller, the soundtrack is oh so perfect. Just can't wait for Kites, can't wait for Hrithik !!

and oh, by the way, look below. I told you there must be 'fire' in the song 'Fire'.

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Kites Songs : Roshans are here again...

Finally, one of the biggest release of this year is here. When three Roshans get together, they assure a great movie. OK, this time Rakesh is not as director, but as a producer he must be looking after how Anurag Basu is making this. Two songs are out already, and just can't wait for the movie after watching them.

Starting with Guitar strings, Zindgi Do Pal ki sounds awesome with vocals of K.K. Music release is on 29th March. When 40 Channels will be showing 'only' Kites stuff for 4 hours !! Now that's what I call promotion !

See @officialKites - the official twitter page of Kites for more news on the movie.

Lyrics of Zindgi Do Pal ki goes like this -

zindgi, do pal ki,
intezaar kab tak hum karenge bhala.
tumhe pyar kab tak naa karenge bhala.
Dil Mein Tumhare Chhupa li hai maine toh apni yeh jaan,
ab tum hi iss ko sambhaalo, humein apnaa hosh kahaan,
Bekhudi, do pal ki, zindgi, do pal ki...

Here is the video.


Second promo is also out. Dil Kyun Ye Mera's composition is gorgeous. And the Electric guitar does its thing perfectly. Love the song by KK.

Lyrics of Dil Kyun Ye Mera goes like this -
dil kyun yeh mera shor kare
idhar nahin, udhar nahin,
Teri Aur chale...

Here is the video of the same.


Here is the full track list of Kites

01 - Zindagi Do Pal - KK
02 - Dil Kyun Yeh Mera - KK
03 - Tum Bhi Ho Wahi - Vishal Dadlani & Suraj Jagan
04 - Kites In The Sky - Hrithik Roshan & Suzanne DMello
05 - Fire - Rajesh Roshan, Vishal Dadlani & Anushka Manchanda
06 - Zindagi Do Pal Ki (Remix) - KK
07 - Dil Kyun Yeh Mera (Remix) - KK
08 - Tum Bhi Ho Wahi (Remix) - Vishal Dadlani & Suraj Jagan
09 - Fire (English Version) - Rajesh Roshan, Vishal Dadlani & Anushka Manchanda

Impressive lineup of singers there, isn't it??

Shaapit : Movie Review

• Ghost lady standing on road - check.
• An ancient Taavij - Check
• A haunted palace - Check
• Possessed heroine - Check
• Heroine with candle - Check
• Hold each others hand on round table to recall 'Aatmaa'- check
• Silly makeup of 'Aatmaa' - check
• Daak Banglaa with Watchman - check
• BAD acting by the lead actors.

and finally...one I absolutely loved

• A song by Bhatakti Aatmaa - check check check.

There was a time when Indian movie industry was categorized like the Veda system. If people wanted to get entertained-there were hardcore masala movies. If they wanted to smile-comedy movies. If they wanted to see some serious acts-art house movie. And when they wanted to get frightened - there were always good old Ramsay movies. No doubt how silly the movies were, it surely had managed to scare Indian audience a big time. Enter the Hollywood movies and satellite revolution, we got more choosy and aware about our movies, and it became easy to throw off bad products.

Well, this blah-blah doesn't mean that Vikram Bhatt's Shaapit-the Cursed is a bad product. Never. But at many places, it reminded me of Ramsays and still it was quite an enjoyable watch. No matter how bad the lead actors-Aditya Narayan and Shweta Agarwal are. The movie succeeds to scare everyone with all the unexpected and sometimes expected chills and thrills. Vikram has roped in many theories including Thiben language, Inca culture and ...hold your breath...Time Traveling !! Yes, you've read it right. Besides this mess all around, you get perfect Horror situations on screen. For example a scene in old Library or the scene on road where heroine is traveling alone or the scenes in cinema hall, it makes us jump off the seats.

Rahul Dev is the only one who manages to give a fine act. But he to loses his control in the muddled screenplay. Still, the past stories and connections with present, are interesting. Also it involves museums, jails and palaces which made it more interesting for me. The climax is mind blowing and it manages to scare the hell out of you. Vikram Bhatt has made great use of the palace and jails around it. Given some nice songs, "better makeup of the ghost" [i must be kidding right?!!!] and commendable acts, this movie could have done wonders. But still, it is a watchable fare if you are a fan of Bollywood horror movies.

Yes, no doubt there are hardly any genuine, perfect in all aspects, horror movies in Bollywood. But take it, if we are masters of masala movies, then we are masters of these kind of immature horror movies. Shaapit manages to scare us throughout the movie- and making it a paisa vasool time pass. Go and watch it if you are a fan of spooky stuff.

My rating : 3 / 5

Favorite Scenes : Mostly all spooky scenes.

Jaane Kahaan Se Aayi Hai : Music Review

I am not a big fan of Sajid-Wajid's music. But recently they have done good job in Wanted and Veer. Also in past, they have given fabulous albums with Sonu Nigam. So for the lovestory 'Jaane Kahaan se Aayi Hai', I was looking forward to them .

Keh Do Zara is a nice composition. Rashid Ali make efforts to sing the Angrezi words, but that doesn't work perfectly. If the song did not have English lyrics, it would have been perfect. But overall its a nice 'feel the love' song.

Sonu Nigam and Soumya Raoh come together for a typical Sajid-wajid dance number. Nacha Main tere naal is just passable. The title song Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai reminds me of Meherbaaniya from Veer, having same old school beats. Shaan is fine and song sounds fun.

Highlight of the soundtrack is Koi Rok Bhi Lo a surprise love ballad by Sajid-Wajid. Smooth vocals of Sonu and Sunidhi Chauhan makes the track sound lovely. I wish Sameer could have written something unusual from his normal stuff. But still, the track is Gorgeous.

As I always look forward to Riteish's movies , [:-P] I surely will be watching this, because Jacqueline looks Lovely !! See..

Reasons why 'Love Sex aur Dhokha' Rocks..

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Yes, Dibakar Banerjee's LSD rocks and how !! After outstanding two movies, Khosla ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky Lucky Oye! he has done it again. The movies is almost flawless. After all, nobody's perfect.. Here are the reasons why I loved it -

1. Absolutely real characters. Always seen in Dibakar's movies. Here too, he has got fabulous cast that one can hardly identify that they are 'acting'. Everything is real and works wonders. Especially I loved the first couple in which girl was so real.

2. Real situations. Nothing filmy. Everything, every feeling, every relations are believable. There is a scene in which the girl who is in love, meets her friend, both are so excited for each other. The giggles, the excitement of the two friends, Awesome!

3. The Editing, Screenplay & visuals. That hold you to the edge of seat. Well, not a thriller but there are scenes which shakes you. And the sleek editing complements the brilliant screenplay. Kudos to Namrata Rao the Editor and Kanu Behl/Dibakar for screenplay. How brilliantly all three stories weaved with each other is interesting. And also interesting is movie's look. The 'hand held camera effect'. Perfect !!

4. Cliches avoided. While the storyline is not 'that' unique. Director has avoided almost all cliches which I feared this movie could have.

5. Satire and Humor. Both are already mastered by Dibakar. In this, he assures the same from the opening credits itself. Remember how Oye Lucky... had its title credits on a Truck? This movie has gone far away with hilarious titles. Throughout the movie, there isn't dull moment where one can feel bored.

6. Fresh Talents. Never seen before faces makes the movie a genuine experience. Anshuman Jha, Shruti, Rajkumar Yadav, Neha Chauhan, Arya, Herry and Amit Sial, all are fantastic.

7. Chart busters. Yes, and the music. By Sneha Khanwalkar, is played in background throughout the movie. Never have I heard Kailash Kher in such songs. Applause for Sneha !!

Only concern for me is the language of LSD. Which is explicit at some places. But again, this is not a YRF movie where you can expect mushy things. DB has already warned you abt it, SO take his advice, decide and enjoy the ride.

Me & theBollywoodFan : Jab We Met.....

Zameen Hil gai...Aasman ruk gaya.....Jab We met.....in Ahmedabad ki Galiyon mein........nah, nothing that kinda happend. Bas, the temperature was high - 41°C !!

And finally, We met ! Besides a few bloggers, all of my readers will find this crazy, but yes, I was so eager to meet theBollywoodFan -my idol blogger. He is in India right now, and spared some days for Ahmedabad too. So glad he spared some time to meet me.

No other place can be better besides my favorite Crossword. The largest chain of Music+Books store in India. Because movies and music are in the air and all around us, naa. He came a little late coz he was having sore throat and li'l illness [yes, ladies, usne kucch khayaa nahi :P , sirf I had coffee]. And the blah blah started in the cafe of bookstore. First thing he shooted that we guys are strong critics. Give me any desi movie, and I would gladly see that. Hahaha, point noted. But kya kare, bollywood is around us 24 hours, so we can't help; but to crib about whatever we get our hands upon.

We talked and talked, everything under the sun. I gave regards which came to me from the U.S. of A. Surprisingly we did not discussed much about Aamir. Would you believe that? Not about Aamir !!! Though we had chat about how started watching bolly from Lagaan and more movies. How much he loves 'Bombay'. How he liked Gandhi Ashram at Ahmedabad. How he enjoyed last week in his motherland-Bombay that is. How he got disappointed the Bombay is being shaped up now. And the atmosphere. The communities battling with each other.

TBF was there and no mention for Juhi ji?? impossible. Hilariously, he showed me a snap which he took while going in taxi, he stopped the taxi and took the snap of a grocery store, where the Kurkure poster was displayed. Oh, and he 'did' like My Name Is Khan, upto that storm part. Flattered by SRK, he told if Aamir would not be in acting, SRK is next he can look forward to, NOW. ;)

I wished I could tell him how his blog helped me a lot to rejuvenate my own. I wished I could tell him how superb writer he is, how his language is so strong and the command on words. But when we talked, I forgot everything. Even the coffee shop fellow was in dizzy what we both are upto- discussing BLUE's shooting, Kambakht Ishq's shooting and all. He must be thinking that this fellow is some movie director. HAHA. So we did give him a chance, and gave him camera tBF had got [i din't bring it with me, cause I know, how tBF loves Anonymity] . Coffee man clicked a pic and then we went in bookstore for some shopping. And in another store, for some IPL [Cricket] teeshirts.. :) the two hour long meet came to end with that. sigh! can we meet again?

Blogger-Ladies in US, kill him when he come there, cause he did not let me get something for all you, and still - gave me a nice gift !!

Oh, yaad aaya - baaton baaton mein he told that its been Two years since he's blogging. Damn, then I realized my blog has turned 5 year old - Need to do a Celebration Blog Post - Soon.

Oh, and finally, Now I know that 'theBollywoodFan' is 'not' Aamir Khan... :D :D :D

Oh, and stealing from his blog, here is pic of us :P

Housefull : Music Review

When Shankar-Ehsan-Loy composes soundtrack for a comedy flick, results has not been so exciting. Take Ek aur Ek Gyaraah or most recent ShortKut for example. So with that fear I started listening this album.

Starting with the first promo song, Oh Girl You're Mine - a new voice Tarun Sagar along with Alyssa & Loy. Yes, Alyssa who sang fantastic Uff Teri Ada-KCK. The leisurely paced song holds nothing special that it can be called a SEL product. Being in same league, Papa Jag Jayega holds same beats. Neeraj Sridhar [Akki movie, you know] alongwith Ritu Pathak & Alyssa sings this song. Which is fun because of its lyrics.

A shocker comes up next in form of remixed re-created 'Apni toh Jaise taise' the legendary Bachchan song. Aapka kya hoga [dhanno] will surely be riot on screen. Mika Singh, with Sunidhi and [hold it].. Sajid Khan features in the song.

Then comes my favorite track. Shabbir Kumar [yes, the Shabbir Kumar] croons I don't know what to do with Sunidhi is fun fun fun track. Can't wait what's there up on screen. Concluding the album, Vivenne Pocha & Amitabh Bhattacharya comes with Loser. A smooth jazzy feel describing 'loserness' of the lead character. A passable track.

See, here too SEL did not give some mind blowing tracks like he used to create for Excel Entertainment :) . But for a comedy flick, that need not be necessary. Lets see how it fares on screen.

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Paathshala : Music Review

While Aye Khuda caught my attention since first promo, full version lives that expectation. Salim Merchant croons this lovely 'Guitar-ed' song addressed to the almighty. Very less known musician Hanif Sheikh surprised me. Khushnuma is a peppy rap kinda track by Vishal Dadlani. A song for early morning walk in pleasent atmosphere.

The music video song, Bekarar caught my eye last night, Where Shahid was looking awesome. My favorite Lucky Ali sings this strings-filled song of longing. Just loved the sound. Next up is Tulsi Kumar alongwith composer Hanif Shaikh himself with backing vocals of Akansha Lamba. Mujhe Teri has some interesting notes and smooth vocals, a fresh listen.

Concluding the album [besides remixes ofcourse], Kailash Kher is there with Teri Marzi which sounds kinda typical Kailash product. An average one I think.

Surprised I am how the songs sound fresh. Most of them I can go repeat listening. Hanif Shaikh, both as a composer and lyricist, is definitely to watch out for.

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Well Done Abba : Music Review

After successful portrayal of north Indian village in Welcome to Sajjanpur, Shyam Benegal is back with another of his satire work - Well Done Abba. Starring Minisha Lamba and Boman Irani. Continuing tradition of Music as story demands, WDA has 5 songs, most of them having situational feel, composed by Shantanu Moitra.

Meri Banno Hoshiyar is purely a north Indian wedding song. Sung by Ila Arun and Daniel B George, the track is fun to listen. But doesn't have repeat value.

Sandesa Sandesa sounds like a sequel to the love ballad of Welcome to Sajjanpur. Shreya tries to be as sweet as she can but the rhyming thing 'Sandesa' and 'Andesa' didn't work much. Male voice - Rupankar sounds nice. But the repeated pronunciation of Sandesa killed sweet melody of this mushy song.

Hum Toh Apni Bawdi Lenge is a sarcastic song about ministers and ofcourse, corruption. Ashok Mishra does it again after 'Aadmi Aazad Hai'. This must be absolutely fun on screen. As it sounds so too. Alongwith Swanand Kirkire, Surprisingly, Mohit Chauhan sounds so different which is commendable.

Rahiman Ishq Ka Dhaga Re starts just like 'Aaoge jab tum-JabWeMet'. And voice of Raja Hasan guarantees that this is going to be awesome. It is. To my Knowledge, for the first time Shantanu Moitra has composed sufi tracks, this one is predictable but truly fantastic.

Pani Ko Taraste is perhaps a song for climax of the movie. A qawwali by Raja Hasan. Like any other Benegal's movies, this carries forward the social messege. And this time its about water. How rain and water are important to us.