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.

5 Favorite Holi Songs

Holi hai...

The festival is here again. Festival of colors, festival of joy and celebration. And its the 'most' featured fest in Bollywood. Numerous songs and sequences are there. Also a 'bahaana' for directors for some nice cleavage footage :P. .. not going further into detail, I give you here, 5 of my favorite Holi songs. No, I m not listing the 'legendary' [or say, overplayed] songs like Rang Barse and Holi ke din.. Cause you know how much I dislike the overplayed songs.

So here is my list, and Happy Holi to All.


Ey Gori [Delhi Heights]
Rustic charm of Kailash Kher and Sonu Kakkar in this folk song is absolutely likable. Composed by Rabbi Shergill, movie's soundtrack is an underrated one.



Aaj Na Chhodenge [Kati Patang]
A childhood favorite of mine. Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh - the best pair those days. And what a Song ! I can easily put it as the best Holi song of yesteryears. Yes, above Rang Barse and Holi ke din.




Ja re hat natkhat [Navrang]
What Choreography!! Only V.Shantaram can create such wonderful visuals. And only Sandhya can dance like that. Music by Great C Ramachandra, this song is a gem.




Dekho Aai Holi [Mangal Pandey]
When we come from past to present, none but only Rahman's name come up in such listings. A song partially sung by Aamir, featuring himself is obviously my favorite. Fantastic composition with all those drum [nagaara] beats!




Aa shyam rang rang doo [Water]
One of the best OST of Rahman. Water, had this superb track which went unnoticed. A truly delightful track and beautiful visuals. [no video on youtube though]. If you can get this movie, just WATCH IT yaar, fantastic movie too !!

Karthik Calling Karthik : Movie Review

Don't read, if you want to watch the movie.

Farhan has his own audience. He has his own style, and again he has his 'own' movie. Let me warn first, this is no a Bolly flick, if you are looking for. Karthik Calling Karthik is a really well made Psychological Thriller, which may find only a few takers. Also a rare genre in Bollywood. But Its a really nice effort to showcase how bad or good someone's life can go by his own mind.

From first few minutes only, we know who the caller Karthik is. But film takes a really interesting turn where it left us thinking who, when and how. And between those thrilling moments, Director Vijay Lalwani has brilliantly put touchy moments, to show pain of the protagonist. Sincere film making I would say. As the end approaches, we too, can feel what Karthik is going through. Without being loud, the film left us thinking about such persons.

Coming back to Farhan Akhtar, he is flawless in the movie. What is most enjoyable in his performance, is his witty one liners, and how he delivers them. Its always a treat to watch. On the other hand, Deepika too does not disappoint. In a role where she doesn't need to act much, only need to look good, she's always great. Shefali Chhaya in her special appearance, does nice job.

The treatment of the movie is absolutely fantastic. The urban feel, or say, Hollywood kinda look of movie works wonders. Such a small starcast and such a tight editing works wonders here. Just 2.15 hours, KCK is worth a watch if you are really 'into' such cinema.

And oh, last but not the least, how can you not catch SEL's fabulous score on big screen???

My Rating : 3.5 / 5