Ð
Dec 27, 2008, 02:00 PM
The Year of A. R. Rehman
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide1.jpg
This year, the maestro was everywhere. And that's always a good thing.
Not just did Allah Rakha Rahman, now 42, give us a slew of eclectic soundtracks far more than his usual Hindi film quota -- Ghajini, Ada, Yuvvraaj, Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na and Jodhaa Akbar -- but the man also picked up a Golden Globe nod for his phenomenal score in Danny Boyle's Bombay-lovin' Slumdog Millionaire.
Ranbir-Deepika, and another tattoo
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide2.jpg
Saif-Kareena is so last year. Without even nickname speculation (Ranpika? Deebir?), this relationship between the star kids of a badminton player and a Bollywood romantic has taken centrestage.
Gushing tell-all interviews take up magazine spreads, and the attractive Ms Padukone has embellished the back of her neck with her man's letters: RK, a tattoo that may wel
l just be a banner.
Amitabh Bachchan starts blogging
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide3.jpg
Opinions were divided on the Big B's entry into the blogosphere. Some felt he was articulating basic thoughts goodnaturedly, others thought he was undoing the mystique by writing about absolutely everything, while still others smarted at the way Bachchan
took potshots at everyone who annoyed him.
Still, the fact remains that before he came along, 'blog' was an alien word to the
industry: and now everyone's got one.
Industry uses recession as an excuse
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide4.jpg
Think Bollywood's reeling from the ongoing global recession? Sure it is, but not by as
much as they'd like to have you believe. This is an industry running on undeclared
profits -- this currency's tinted pretty black -- yet producers are pretending to scurry for
cover just so they can chop down star prices. Stars demanding a crore and a half are
now negotiating for about 50 lakhs, and the sky continues to fall.
After the mad rates advertised by Akshay Kumar, everyone's prices had skyrocketed.
The resultant correction had to take place, but this recession excuse really helped
hasten its coming.
Katrina Kaif's birthday party
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide5.jpg
The ravishing Miss Kaif turned 24 on July 16, and all hell broke loose in the city of
Mumbai.
What else can you say about a birthday party where the two biggest men in the industry
almost come to blows? Depending on whatever report you read, Salman and Shah
Rukh Khan were ready to disregard any Karan-Arjun brotherhood of yore as they stood
around and insulted each other. Since the event, the two have been anything but
warm, and it's amusing to see two grown men acting like this.
And while their comments in the press have been decidedly catty, a third Khan joined
the melee earlier in the year by naming his dog after the star.
Dostana, the movie that pretended to like gay people
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide6.jpg
Karan Johar almost took mainstream Hindi cinema out of the closet, except he realised it was far too risky. Darn.
So while his heroes acted effeminate, they were always clearly homophobic men in
self-mocking vein. With every gay character in the film depicted as a flaming queen,
the joke was on them. And while nobody expected a Brokeback Mountain, or some
searing social commentary, it would have been nice to have just ONE gay character who
didn't behave like a freak.
This is a mainstream film marketed to everyone in the country, and it's as irresponsible
as making a film about terrorism and making every Islamic character a villain. Tsk.
Ram Gopal Varma at the Taj
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide7.jpg
Take me to the Taj, CM,' said a banner, 'I can make a better film.'
Ram Gopal Varma showed up alongside actor Ritesh Deshmukh as his dad Vilasrao
showed up at the remains of the Taj Mahal hotel, and the media was quick to vilify the
scowling director -- who, in effect, cost the CM his job.
There's a time and a place for everything, Ramu saar, and this terror-tourism routine
(where the CM actually asked 'what's the big deal?') was stretching it even further than
Aag.
The Ghajini cut
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide8.jpg
Head to theatres to watch Shah Rukh Khan's massively hyped Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, and all you'll see is Aamir Khan.
Khan has always come up with unique, inevitably trendsetting 'looks' for his characters,
and in a marketing masterstroke -- albeit of questionable aggression -- he entered into
deals with several nationwide theatre chains, making sure all their ushers and ticket-
sellers sported the Ghajini cut.
A buzzcut with a line running through it is all very well now, but hopefully Khan's
benevolent enough to hand out baseball caps gratis if his film turns out to be a dud.
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide1-bollywood-milestones-2008.htm
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide1.jpg
This year, the maestro was everywhere. And that's always a good thing.
Not just did Allah Rakha Rahman, now 42, give us a slew of eclectic soundtracks far more than his usual Hindi film quota -- Ghajini, Ada, Yuvvraaj, Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na and Jodhaa Akbar -- but the man also picked up a Golden Globe nod for his phenomenal score in Danny Boyle's Bombay-lovin' Slumdog Millionaire.
Ranbir-Deepika, and another tattoo
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide2.jpg
Saif-Kareena is so last year. Without even nickname speculation (Ranpika? Deebir?), this relationship between the star kids of a badminton player and a Bollywood romantic has taken centrestage.
Gushing tell-all interviews take up magazine spreads, and the attractive Ms Padukone has embellished the back of her neck with her man's letters: RK, a tattoo that may wel
l just be a banner.
Amitabh Bachchan starts blogging
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide3.jpg
Opinions were divided on the Big B's entry into the blogosphere. Some felt he was articulating basic thoughts goodnaturedly, others thought he was undoing the mystique by writing about absolutely everything, while still others smarted at the way Bachchan
took potshots at everyone who annoyed him.
Still, the fact remains that before he came along, 'blog' was an alien word to the
industry: and now everyone's got one.
Industry uses recession as an excuse
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide4.jpg
Think Bollywood's reeling from the ongoing global recession? Sure it is, but not by as
much as they'd like to have you believe. This is an industry running on undeclared
profits -- this currency's tinted pretty black -- yet producers are pretending to scurry for
cover just so they can chop down star prices. Stars demanding a crore and a half are
now negotiating for about 50 lakhs, and the sky continues to fall.
After the mad rates advertised by Akshay Kumar, everyone's prices had skyrocketed.
The resultant correction had to take place, but this recession excuse really helped
hasten its coming.
Katrina Kaif's birthday party
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide5.jpg
The ravishing Miss Kaif turned 24 on July 16, and all hell broke loose in the city of
Mumbai.
What else can you say about a birthday party where the two biggest men in the industry
almost come to blows? Depending on whatever report you read, Salman and Shah
Rukh Khan were ready to disregard any Karan-Arjun brotherhood of yore as they stood
around and insulted each other. Since the event, the two have been anything but
warm, and it's amusing to see two grown men acting like this.
And while their comments in the press have been decidedly catty, a third Khan joined
the melee earlier in the year by naming his dog after the star.
Dostana, the movie that pretended to like gay people
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide6.jpg
Karan Johar almost took mainstream Hindi cinema out of the closet, except he realised it was far too risky. Darn.
So while his heroes acted effeminate, they were always clearly homophobic men in
self-mocking vein. With every gay character in the film depicted as a flaming queen,
the joke was on them. And while nobody expected a Brokeback Mountain, or some
searing social commentary, it would have been nice to have just ONE gay character who
didn't behave like a freak.
This is a mainstream film marketed to everyone in the country, and it's as irresponsible
as making a film about terrorism and making every Islamic character a villain. Tsk.
Ram Gopal Varma at the Taj
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide7.jpg
Take me to the Taj, CM,' said a banner, 'I can make a better film.'
Ram Gopal Varma showed up alongside actor Ritesh Deshmukh as his dad Vilasrao
showed up at the remains of the Taj Mahal hotel, and the media was quick to vilify the
scowling director -- who, in effect, cost the CM his job.
There's a time and a place for everything, Ramu saar, and this terror-tourism routine
(where the CM actually asked 'what's the big deal?') was stretching it even further than
Aag.
The Ghajini cut
http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide8.jpg
Head to theatres to watch Shah Rukh Khan's massively hyped Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, and all you'll see is Aamir Khan.
Khan has always come up with unique, inevitably trendsetting 'looks' for his characters,
and in a marketing masterstroke -- albeit of questionable aggression -- he entered into
deals with several nationwide theatre chains, making sure all their ushers and ticket-
sellers sported the Ghajini cut.
A buzzcut with a line running through it is all very well now, but hopefully Khan's
benevolent enough to hand out baseball caps gratis if his film turns out to be a dud.
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/23slide1-bollywood-milestones-2008.htm