Things I like!!!

So, wonderful people, I was thinking about what I would like to post and what came to mind was that I want to share with you some things I am liking at the moment. Here is a random sampling of some media that I am enjoying at the moment.

True Blood



(Here is the trailer for the first season of the show!)

Season 3 just started and I am loving every second. True Blood is based on a series of novels by Charlaine Harris but seriously PWNS the heck out of them. Allan Ball (Six Feet Under) took the basic premise of the novels - being a vampire has just been made legal, telepathic waitress hooks up with one, chaos ensues - and uses it as the foundation for a wonderfully Southern Gothic series that touches on a lot of the major trigger points of American culture at the moment - gays, God, and guns. (The fact that Alexander Skarsgard aka Team Eric is easy on the eyes doesn’t hurt any, either.)

Allison Iraheta



I discovered punky pop princess Allison Iraheta when she opened for Adam Lambert on the Glam Nation tour and I have been unable to put down her album since then. Produced in true American Idol-alum style by a butt-load of producers, Just Like You is a surprisingly coherent and extremely catchy pop-rock album. Allison has a phenomenal voice - powerful but firmly under her control - and a great sense of rhythmic timing. And if she was the one selecting the songs, she has great taste, too. With song lyrics about how “You Don’t Know Me” so you can’t judge her and other ones telling a texting obsessed lover to put down the God-damned phone, she puts out a much more spunky version of young womanhood than the infantile Taylor “Please Like Me” Swift.

OMG/Teach Me How to Dougie

My summer jams - I like hip-hop.



“OMG” by Usher is pure, club-busting hip-hop with classic lyrics like “Her booty like ‘Pow Pow Pow’/ Her boobies like “Wow O Wow” that just keep me coming back for more.



“Teach Me How to Dougie” by the Cali Swag Crew is the exact opposite of “OMG” - charmingly amateur in its catchiness but catchy nonetheless.

Vikram/Arshad Warsi





This one isn’t a surprise. These men are currently pressing all my buttons. Arshad is currently dancing up a storm on Zara Nach and twit-picing adorable pictures of himself on Twitter and after charming my socks off in Raavanan, I’ve been catching up with Vikram’s back catalog.

I don’t know what it is that unites the two of them in my mind except that they are both devilishly handsome with buckets of masculine charisma.

Katrina Kaif



(Check out the epic bitch-face from the crowd.)

I want to marry her and have her babies. Girlfriend is super-fine and I could watch in the crappiest roles all day long. Fortunately, she has chosen some un-crappy roles and I’ll get to see her working with two of the most talented (and coincidentally both female!) directors in Bollywood at the moment - Farah Khan and Zoya Akhtar.

Jersey Shore

(Watch the trailer!)

This one might get me some flack but I don’t care! I love the cast of Jersey Shore completely unironically. Basically, I am Snooki, snooking for love in all the wrong places. It bugs me that they have become a national joke because when it comes right down to it, who hasn’t gotten so drunk they bite some random person’s nipples or dance alone on the sidewalk? We are Jersey Shore! JWOWW, you should call me...

Plus, how cute is Vinny? Cute, right?! They had better not fire him for season 3.

And the stuff I’m looking forward to... Once Upon a Time in Mumbai! Twilight: Eclipse! Tees Maar Khan! Action Replayy! Jersey Shore SEASON 2!

I love things!!!

Wednesday Gossip!

Good morning, chickies! Are you ready for a lovely Bolly-filled day?

Let's hit the gossip!

The news we've all been waiting for... the old films are finally getting some restoration work!

* Is Bollywood outpricing itself out of hits? Check out the hits of the year so far.

The surprise hit of the year was Vivek Oberoi’s Prince, which ran houseful in the hinterland. Small budget films such as Ishqiya, Karthik Calling Karthik, Love Sex aur Dhokha, and Badmaash Company also kept the coffers rolling. “Due to the short duration of these films, with multiple shows in a day, exhibitors managed nominal returns, if not housefull shows,” says Deepak Taluja of Fun Cinemas. “With the success of films like Raajneeti and Housefull, the audience have proved that content remains the king,” says Adarsh.

I kind of love the implication that because Housefull was a hit, content is king. Content in this case meaning slapstick comedy, item numbers, and Akshay Kumar. I'm not hating, I'm just explaining. I happened to approve of all three of those things.

* I love that this article about Vidya Balan spotted out and about with Karan Johar never once suggests that the two are dating - because that would be ridiculous. The press's "we never link Karan with ladies but, no, he's not gay because that was illegal in India until just recently" thing never gets old.

* Yet another non-actress whose only talents appear to be being half-Brazilian and having a bikini bod will make her debut in I Hate Luv Storys.

* Ali Zafar talks Tere Bin Laden.

Q. You have come to India at a point when the relations between India and Pakistan are not at their cordial best.

I think both countries share a love-hate relationship. Art and culture is the only binding force. And I strongly believe love always wins. Also, I have been to Mumbai in the past for my albums and I love the warmth the city exudes. I feel very welcome here.

* Kangana Ranaut is improving her English accent.

"I am a girl from a small town in Himachal Pradesh. When I came to Mumbai I knew how to speak English but I didn't pronounce the words properly. I decided to change that. I learnt English by reading books. My way of learning a language is by learning grammar first, and then improving my vocabulary. I am a self-taught person. I decided to learn English and pronounce words properly because I found it difficult expressing myself sometimes to my directors."

What a sweetie! I think you sound just fine, darling, but cheers to you for wanting to improve your mind!

* Be careful what you say at Bollywood industry parties, an unnamed source passed on some gossip that Rhea Kapoor (Sonam's sister) made some unflattering comments about Ranbir Kapoor.

DAMN! What is with all the hating on Ranbir recently? The guy seems perfectly nice.

* Check out a review of the 3 Idiots book!

Close to 100 odd pages in the book are spent on these conversations which makes 3 Idiots: The Original Screenplay totally different from other Hindi film screenplays which have been brought on stands so far. Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Omi Vaidya and Boman Irani - each of them speak at length around how they came into the film and the experience of making the film. Also rest assured, there are none of those boring, clichéd and diplomatic 'Oh I loved working with XYZ' statements that time and again threaten to eat up some precious paper.

I hope this trend continues for other films!

Check out the long-awaited poster for We Are Family aka Karan Johar's Stepmom.

I don't know, you guys. I'm not feeling this one. Maybe I'll change my mind once I see the promos...

Golmaal: Fun Unlimited

I find myself returning to Golmaal: Fun Unlimited every once and a while when I need something light and easy to watch. While I like to say that Bollywood doesn’t do genres the way that Hollywood does - and that is true, or at least it used to be - Bollywood does do films with prevailing moods. Golmaal: Fun Unlimited is mostly comedy with an unexpected dash of pathos.



Did Rohit Shetty know that he was concocting a hit film? Released back in the Golden Year of 2006, which had hits coming right and left, Golmaal: Fun Unlimited was made in the Hera Pheri model - take a fading non-Khan Hero, pair him with a handsome but bombastic secondary hero, add an on the fringes ringer with excellent comic timing and you have yourself a comedy film.

Golmaal: Fun Unlimited took cocky Ajay Devg(a)n and paired him with the bombastic Arshad Warsi and then threw in the aggressively dumb Tusshar Kapoor and naive sop Sharman Joshi for a humor explosion. Paresh Rawal, Sushmita Mukherjee, and Rimi Sen were the icing on the cake. It could have almost been a disaster - Rohit Shetty floated a romantic angle, debated having Abhishek Bachchan make a special appearance, and worst of all, originally wanted Aftab Shivdasani for Arshad’s role.



The plot is sublimely ridiculous. Four men who are supposed to be school-mates, despite the fact that two are pushing 40 while two are clearly in their late-20s, get kicked out of student housing and end up living in an elderly couple’s house pretending to be their grandson. Yes, grandson - singular. The elderly couple is blind and the four work it so they all contribute to the illusion that they are one man. Meanwhile, all four fall in “love” with the couple’s sexy neighbor Rimi Sen. The film romps between them competing for Rimi, pulling hilarious physical comedy while pretending to be one person, and doing more physical comedy while they outwit the world’s dumbest gangster who is chasing after them for... well, does it really matter?



The film worked. From the moment the Golmaal Gang rolled up on their four-seater motorcycle (yes, really) to the tag ending revealing who really gets the girl, giggles fly fast and furious. But what separates Golmaal: Fun Unlimited from lesser (if still entertaining) gang-of-boys comedy films is the dash of humanity that is Paresh Rawal and Sushmita Mukherjee.



Playing 30 or so years older than their actual ages, the two talented actors give a little dash of genuine emotion that gives a pang to the gags going on. Just check out the brilliant “Kyun Aage Peeche” for a taste of what I mean:



Paresh is narrating his love story to the boys, leading to a perfect film picturization that hits the nostalgic notes while also giving lots of giggles. It’s also a good example of the attention to detail that goes into a Rohit Shetty film. Watch the way the songs fades in and out of color and how Tusshar Kapoor never breaks character and mouths lyrics. A lesser director might forget to make him mute in the songs but not Rohit Shetty.



(Adorable Paresh Rawal and Sushmita Mukherjee hit all the right notes!)



(It always cracks me up that the Golmaal Gang go back in his flashback with him because they want to hurry him up so Rimi Sen can come over unsupervised...)



(And then when they come back out of the flashback, Arshad is just glaring...)

The jokes mostly revolve around Ajay Devgn foiling the gang and the gang laughing at him when they get him back. And then there are the filmi in-jokes with references to the gang's past roles. But my favorite jokes are the little off-hand remarks, like when mute Tusshar Kapoor is attempting to narrate a long story to Arshad without his interpreter Sharman Joshi around and Arshad patiently listens and then turns to Ajay off in the corner and says, "He's talking to you." It's not Nobel Prize-winning material but it is hilarious.



(Arshad and Sharman - in drag for absolutely no reason - think they finally have the best of Ajay...)



(Arshad plotting revenge yet again... I know you have masculine powers, sweetie!)

Hera Pheri made the mold but Golmaal: Fun Unlimited refined it for use in mass production. What followed have been a series of ridiculous gang-of-guys films that aim for sublimely ridiculous and usually end up settling for intermittently amusing, because either the scripts are not up to par and/or the mix of actors is not quite right. Your Dhamaal, Krazzy 4, Paying Guest, etc. would not have been made without it. Not to mention such lesser Rohit Shetty fare as Sunday and All the Best: Fun Begins.

I love this film for many reasons but most of all for how unpresumptuous it is. Clearly shot on a small budget, most of the action comes directly from the Golmaal Gang. There are a couple of fancy songs packed full of bikini babes but then is also one shot entirely on a raft-thingy off the beach in Goa that looks like it was done in an afternoon. There is a huge car chase scene but an equal amount of time is spent on how oddly attractive Sharman Joshi is dressed in drag. Golmaal: Fun Unlimited doesn't apologize for what it is and nor does it strive to be a big blockbusting hit - all part of the Golmaal charm.

Golmaal Returns took Golmaal: Fun Unlimited to the next level, switching up the cast in some interesting ways. A sequel in name only to the first, Golmaal Returns drops earnest Sharman Joshi (probably because he was giving interviews like this one) for the kinetic Shreyas Talepade and nixes mid-00s it girl Rimi Sen for late-00’s it girl Kareena Kapoor.

But I'll discuss that one another day - and I have my theories about the recasting - but for now sing it with me!

Golmaal, golmaal, everything's gonna be golmaal!

Tuesday Gossip!!

It's Tuesday! Tuesday!

Just one more day of waiting until Twilight: Eclipse! I am so ready to get out there and support TEAM JACOB!

Okay! Let's hit the gossip!

* Please have a fabulous interview with Kareena Kapoor! I love to hear this woman talk...

"Cinema has transformed almost completely from Raj Kapoor’s time, but that was real cinema. There was no ‘alternative cinema’ in those days, there were just great stories — well-written and beautifully told. Right now, if we tell a good story it’s classified as parallel cinema, and if it has some songs and fun in it, it becomes commercial. I miss the cinema of Raj Kapoor, Vijay Anand and Guru Dutt, but I don’t know if the audience does."

* Poor Bebo is also having a tough time seeing the promos for Milenge Milenge everywhere. I feel you, girl! I certainly wouldn't want to see big posters of me with an ex flashed around everywhere. It makes me wonder (now) if maybe there was another reason that Mausam was shooting out of the country just at this time...

* Imran Khan was bitten by a crazed fan. No word on whether he tastes like chicken. Let's hope he's had his tetanus booster shot!

* Sonam Kapoor insists that she doesn't know Deepika, so there can be no question of not liking her. Why do I get the feeling that Imran and Sonam are the type to bond over their shared hatred of Deepika and Ranbir? I'm not saying that they did, just that if somebody told me that they did, I would believe it.

For example, Imran Khan bitches about Ranbir:

"There is space for everyone in the industry. It is not fair to compare one actor's success with another. You cannot compare me with Ranbir," said Imran.

The actor is often weighed against Ranbir, who belongs to the famous Kapoor family in Bollywood.

You just KNOW that he thinks that Ranbir should sometimes be compared with HIM.

* Salman Khan insisted on the shift to Sri Lanka for his Ready remake, ignoring - or not caring - that Asin is still making films in Tamil and this could cause problems for her.

* I don't know why but this Katrina Kaif-Salim Khan bonding moment warms my heart. Salim seems like a very genuine guy. If he's okay with Helen, then he's okay with me.

In the Vyjayanthimala book, she talks about how Helen was always such a class act and used to sit by herself and read in between takes... a woman after my own heart.

* Ekta Kapoor can breath a sign of relief the Bollywood Music Review Master Joginder Tuteja loved the Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai album.

Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai throws a surprise, a mighty pleasant one at that. There is no average song in the album as all range from good to very good. Also, there are definite chartbusters like "Pee Loon Hoto Ki Sargam", "I Am In Love" and "Baburao" (if the movie runs, there won't be any stopping this one).

* After a long delay John Abraham's Aashayein is going to be released. Directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, the film is about a gambling addict.

* Aishwarya is sad about the response to Raavan - I guess the fact that she was praised in Raavanan doesn't make a difference.

* Sanjay Dutt is a total male chauvinist but that shouldn't surprise anyone. He doesn't want his daughter to pursue acting because Dutt women don't act.

* The new Prabhas film has started shooting!!

Video time!!



When I saw this, I literally yelled "DAMN!" at my computer when Arshad does his little hand-stand move. DAMN, boy, that is some hot stuff!



And I'm loving the I Hate Luv Storys title track... I'm looking forward to this one!

"Aila Re Aila" from Khatta Meetha!! Classic Akki!

Monday Morning Bollywood Gossip!!!

Good morning, lovelies! I'm running on not too much sleep today but my Adam Lambert in Charm City adventure was worth it! I hope he got to meet John Waters or at least stop by Divine's grave.

And I've decided that my new life's goal is to get Adam to do an item song in a Bollywood film! Dostana 2, the ball is in your court...!

Let's hit it!

* Yet another Raavan v. Raavanan match-up! Guess who won? (Spoiler alert - his name rhymes with Bikram.)

That hasn't stopped Raj Kumar Santoshi from allegedly signing the entire Bachchan family for an upcoming film.

* Folk artists think Bollywood music is too dominant.

"I think it is a problem of homogenisation. Other genres do not have the power and reach that Hindi film music has. Bollywood has used folk music but sadly it has not promoted the genre," he says. Bhattacharjee, however, was quick to add that Bollywood music has a positive side as "it has promoted Indianness".

We get this kind of story in the US all the time - folk music is niche, pop music is popular. That's just the way it is. Folk music is still valuable culturally and would probably benefit from some sort of government funding or protection but it will never compete with Pritam in the popular arena.

* Another couple of flops have arrived - Mr Singh Mrs Khanna and Krantiveer.

Bollywood is getting desperate enough to try focus group screenings.

* Maybe it's naive of me but I hope Red Alert: The War Within does well. The filmmakers hope so, too, and have decided to have a dubbed version released in Telugu.

"The film describes a woman's journey from being a rape victim to the warrior of a cause she believes in," Mahadevan says. Sameera's character is based on real- life cases of young girls in the Naxalite- affected areas who have suffered police atrocities.

See? It sounds right up my alley!

* It's a terrorism-film bonanza with Lamhaa on the way out, too! It's based in reality!

It was a chance remark by a Kashmiri student describing Kashmir as a "beautiful prison" that set filmmaker Rahul Dholakia thinking, and led to the making of his Lamhaa.

And we all know that the Censor Board loves reality.

When contacted Rahul said, “I have been asked to refrain from using the names of some government agencies; others have been cut out. Lamhaa releases on the July 16 and I hardly have any time to incorporate the changes."

* Another one I'm rooting for is Patiala House! Nikhil Advani explains that he chose Anushka Sharma because her face isn't that well known.

The source adds further, "If Nikhil had cast any well known face opposite Akshay Kumar, the audiences reaction would be different. Here they are clearly going to go in the cinemas watching an Akshay Kumar film but he wants them to come out of the theaters watching the character Akki plays."

* Action Replayy for a Diwali release!! I cannot WAIT!

Also, Akshay enjoys pranking people - even Rajpal Yadav!

* Well, well now... it's not just Imran v. Ranbir but Sonam v. Deepika.

Imran speaks up about the rumors of his feud.

"“The fact is, if you want your name on the front page, you can just make up a juicy story about Ranbir and me,” he says. “Nothing of the sort happened at the screening. Also, Ranbir and I are upfront about each other’s movies. I always call him and tell him what I liked or didn’t like in his movie, and he does the same.”

* Unless I Hate Luv Storys is really dire, I think we expect it will do pretty well - Dharma Productions seems to be the only recession-proof studio these days.

You can read Bollyspice.com's Stacy's interview with Punit Malhotra!

What about Sonam Kapoor? Why did you decide she would be perfect as Simran?

Sonam was basically Manish's suggestion - the costume designer who is also my uncle. When I met her and started narrating the script to her, I realized how much she was the character. She was just So the character. It just fell in place really, really well. She has played the character to the tee. She is just so good.

Imran also discusses the film.

Was there any particular thing Jay, your character in the movie, does that you would never ever do?

Well, he lies shamelessly to get women. He lies about his name and his job. He even pretends to be blind to get sympathy!

* Ajay Devgn salvages a lost film for release - Anees Bazmee's Naam.

* Watch out, ladies! Vivek Oberoi was spotted macking on Shazahn Prabhakar at a party and Shazahn's mummy had to step in and whisk her away.



Red Alert!! I'm rooting for you!

Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, and the Glam Nation Tour 2010

For those of you who don’t keep up with American popular culture, let me preface this with a little explanation of who Adam Lambert is. He came to America’s attention during season 8 American Idol, where he won our hearts with his flamboyant performances and killer vocal chops. America actually doesn’t produce that many rock stars any more – we prefer our musicians to stand around and at least pretend to be able to play an instrument. Adam Lambert is more interested in thrusting his pelvis in your face than in badly strumming a guitar or pretending to write his own songs and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

In the year since he came in second place on American Idol, Adam has expanded on his public persona and released his first album. I’m going to be honest and say that his album is a mixed bag. It plays like there was a different producer for every song, which is pretty much the case, and wanders from dance-pop to ballad to power-pop without much flow. I was kind of worried that the stage show would have the same MPD feel but those fears proved to be unfounded – the Glam Nation Tour is a seamless presentation of Adam’s best songs unified by his firm sense of style and showmanship, and not a little help from his music director Monte Pittman.

But I’ll get to that in a bit.



(Adam and Allison - Allison's Official Site.)

There are two opening acts on the Glam Nation Tour. Up first was American Idol season 8 fourth place finisher Allison Iraheta. I saw Allison last year during the Idol tour and while I enjoyed her set it didn’t leave a lasting impression. Well, she has grown a lot in the last year. Backed by a fantastic band (including Valerie Franco on drums, David Immerman on guitar, an awesome woman on bass whose name I couldn’t figure out, and a cute blond guy on keys that my sister and I kept joking was exactly Adam’s type), Allison performed an upbeat and high-energy set of incredibly catchy pop-rock. (You can check out her debut single here. It’s produced by Max Martin, naturally!)

Allison owned the stage. Dressed in a black dress, black, patterned stockings, black legwarmers, and a pair of glittery wedges, she was magnetic! Allison also owned her songs. She had clearly worked hard since the album came out to rid her songs of any trace of a sterile studio taint. And that is no small accomplishment. Just think of Xtina’s latest outing, no matter how nicely Xtina sings, there is always the whiff of manufactured pop around her. Lots of pretty girls can sing but only a handful have what it takes to become a real star and I think Allison might just make it.

Almost anything would have disappointing after Allison’s performance but Orianthi was a real let down. She is an amazing guitarist but seriously lacking in both charisma and in musical taste. Orianthi played a technically good set of very mundane rock music. My sister and I ended up dividing our attention between the drunk woman arguing with a bouncer to our left (she was eventually kicked out) and Orianthi’s back-up guitarist Brian Chiusano attempting to flirt with the 17-year old girl standing to our right. (And to be fair, she was pretty smoking for a 17-year old).



(Picture from Adam's Official Site).

And then it was time for the main event – and it was well worth the wait! Adam, his band, and his dancers made their appearance to “For Your Entertainment” and then launched right into the set which included both cuts from For Your Entertainment and classics from American Idol. Adam very obviously loves performing live. He strutted through “Strut,” sexed up his dancers in “Fever,” and crooned like an angel for “Whataya Want from Me.” He mostly kept his emotions in line with the songs he was singing but every now and then I would catch this giant grin on his face that made my heart melt. How can you not get swept up with somebody so enthusiastic and earnest?

Like I mentioned before, the disjointed feel of the album was nowhere to be found. I think we can thank Monte Pittman for helping to create a unified musical feel for the show - very rock but a rich 70s style rock and not the achingly dull, drab rock of the 90s and 00s (you know the kind I mean - where it sounds like they cut out all the high frequencies.) "Strut" popped on stage, the flabby "Surefire Winners" was booted into life, and "Sleepwalker" was given a real epic quality missing from the tinny studio version. The Gaga-produced "Fever" (one of my favorite tracks on the album) was also given a different, more organic feel. I'm really optimistic about Adam's second album and I hope he does more of this organic 70s rock style (a la "Music Again") instead of the dancey pop that was emphasized for the singles on his first album.

Except for Orianthi, the whole evening was blissfully free of irony and pretension. Adam Lambert is a performer and he is going to give you a show, whether you like it or not. You just know that if he hadn’t been on Idol, he would doing the exact same thing on a smaller budget and to smaller crowds. With every pelvis thrust, every flash of his blue-green eyes, every sky-high note, Adam puts himself out there for the crowd – for our entertainment.

And just one more note, Adam Lambert is gay. Which means, it made me so happy to see how diverse the crowd was. There were older people, younger people, black people, white people, disabled people, middle-class people, and lower class people. And nobody had a problem with the fact that he was overtly sexual. (And also seemed to have a crush on his bass player but that is another story.) America is very skittish about any kind of sexuality other than the vanilla missionary-style hetero variety, and I’m glad we can get over it enough to embrace the very gay, very sexual, very amazing Adam Lambert.

Sunday Gossip!

Good mornings, lovelies!

I'm moving a little slow this morning after a fun-filled Bollywood dance night!

But here we go...

* Steven Baker interviews Nikhil Advani!

How was working with Akshay Kumar for a second time?

When making Chandni Chowk to China with Akshay we decided that we wanted to do another film together. I think somehow in my heart of hearts, I wanted to go back to what I knew best. I was uncomfortable making CC2C, so I told him now let me make my kind of film, and he said ok. We were talking about father and son relationships and second chances, so I went away for a couple of months to write. He was gung ho when I went back to him. Akshay and I always want to work together and I don't think I would like to make a film without him because I think the kind of support he gives to a filmmaker makes you really enjoy the filmmaking process. He says don't bother about me as the star, I'll come to the set when you want, you concentrate on making your film. That kind of luxury very few stars give to a filmmaker, so I don't have to concentrate on whether his car has come, his hotel, is he happy or not with the scene etc. So I would love to keep making films with Akshay Kumar.

* Suriya's Ratha Sarithiram just had the overseas rights sold for RS 4.5 crores!

* Mithun Chakraborty turned down Red Altert: The War Within because of the Naxalite dialogues.

* Katrina Kaif will be wearing Manish Malhotra for the first time in Dostana 2.

* Is Vidya/Ranbir the new pairing?!

* Manisha Koirala is playing a politician in her next film!

* Bollywood seems set to lose quite a bit of money this quarter.

Amod estimates that between Kites and Raavan alone the industry will reportedly lose Rs.100 crore. “Honestly, what are we doing here? Are we peddling dreams or selling nightmares,’’ asks trade guru Taran Adarsh.

And here is yet another interesting take on Raavan!

I bring this up because, after watching Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, I get the impression that people are trying much too hard to manufacture an intense, brooding persona for Abhishek Bachchan. This is a pity, for Bachchan’s best work so far has been in light roles in films like Bluffmaster, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Dostana. His range in these extends from tongue-in-cheek wryness to unabashed goofiness; this can be seen even in his performances in the Motorola commercials. He could do with a few more well-written roles that let him hone this talent (and, of course, mainstream Hindi cinema in general could do with better-written, better-performed comedy films).

And check out the write-up of Vikram's fan meet!

Many people in the audience were a bit upset with the way the film had ended. Almost all of them were angry about the climax and offered alternatives. To these suggestions, Vikram replied with a lot of enthusiasm. He said that there had been a lot of suggestions about the climax. The one that had affected him most was a mail that he received from one of his fans. The fan had suggested an alternative ending where Veera jumps off a waterfall, taking Ragini along, plunging into the waters as Dev and his co-officers looked on helplessly. At that time a range of explosives is set off killing the entire force, leaving only a badly injured Dev who watches from the precipice as Veera and Ragini swim to safety and walk away into the dense covers of the forest; forever.

Priyamani speaks about Raavanan, too!

"He has done a wonderful job. Vikram is an actor par excellence and has overshadowed everyone. When we were rehearsing our combination scenes, he would react in a particular way but when he goes in front of the camera, it would be a different interpretation. He has lived up to the character of Veeraiyya."

Filmi Girl's Guide to Summer Movies... South! (Part 1)

Well, I'm sure you've all realized that I've started watching more and more South Indian films. And with my local theater stepping up it's screenings of South Indian films, I figured it might be time to start keeping track of interesting looking upcoming films from down South!

(You can also read my take on this summer's Hindi films.)

Okay, so I can't find anyplace that gives an accurate list of release dates but here are some for the near future!

TAMIL FILMS

Already released:

Raavanan - You can read my review(s) here.

Singam - Suriya's latest film has him playing a cop and there is some smuggling and typical masala goodness. It is supposed to be a COMPLETE ENTERTAINER!



Madharaspattinam (July 2nd - maybe!)

An epic period film featuring a cross-cultural romance but it's not Veer! This 1940s-set film stars Arya and former Miss Teen World Amy Jackson as a couple of star-crossed lovers. I'm sure there will be plenty of speechifying about freedom and lots of lovely vintage 1940s clothes! And it has to be better than Veer, so period-film fans, get ready!



Naan Mahaan Alla (July 23rd - but who knows!)

Like I could resist something billed as an "family action entertainer"!! Karthi plays a middle-class Chennai man who is drawn into the seedy underworld and Kajal Aggarwal is a spirited but innocent girl who works for a mobile phone company and I'm assuming much dishoom and revenging will follow.



Endhiran (September 3rd - or at least it is for now)

At long last (if they don't push it back futher) comes Endhiran! Rajini plays a double role of a scientist and a robot (or something) and the robot falls in love with Aishwarya Rai (who wouldn't?!) It looks super-fantastic!

I have some preview pictures from Endhiran up in this post!



(Have a picture of Hansika since I couldn't find any good ones of the shooting...)

Ich (Still shooting!)

Prabhu Deva's film stars Jayam Ravi and Hansika Motwani and all I know about it is that they are filming in Paris right now but these things combined are enough to get me excited!



Uthama Puthiran (Also still shooting!)

Another remake of Ready but this one doesn't star Salman Khan -it has Dhanush and Genelia D'Souza instead.




Kaavalkaaran (Sometime in the future!)

Vijay and Asin reunite for a remake of the super hit Malayam film Bodyguard. Asin is going to be playing a college student and Vijay is her bodyguard. There will be plenty of mistaken identities, romance, and dishooming!