Celebrity gossip

It took me a long time to accept that Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif are indeed seeing each other, especially after the onscreen chemistry Ranbir shared with his ex-girlfriend Deepika Padukone in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Yes, I have seen the pictures taken in Spain. What do they say about a picture being worth a thousand words?

:-(

Smileys are worth a few words.

I was a fan of the Deepika - Ranbir real life jodi and when they broke up after dating for a bit, I thought maybe they’d get back after a few years. They did get back, and not in the manner I imagined.

Given my loyalty towards her, I am tempted to ask myself if I know Deepika from a previous birth or something. I don’t believe in reincarnation, so that’s a false start. Maybe it has something to do with justice - Ranbir reportedly cheated on Deepika with Katrina.

I then got reminded of this scene from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

I don't see BPL taking place here, so perhaps it is time for me to concentrate on Chennai Express, which was originally scheduled to release on Federer’s birthday and has now been postponed by a day. By the looks of it, Rohit Shetty and Deepika have a winner.

Devdas (2002)

I had earlier written about the Devdas character in this post, and it is a nice feeling for me to derive strength from my own writing. I was watching a few scenes from this movie recently, and I realised that one of the reasons why Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi is so watchable is because she doesn’t take poor treatment from most people. However, she is willing to take poor treatment at the hands of the spineless Dev babu – a classic case of strong women tolerating abuse in intimate relationships.

Watch this scene.

Really. Tamasha ab khatam hua.

Talaash (2012)

When the promos of this movie first came out, I knew that I’d like to watch the movie. In order to avoid an anti-climax, I started telling myself that perhaps this movie wouldn’t be as good as the promos made it out to be. When I later saw why the movie is titled “Talaash: The Answer Lies Within”, I got to know that there was another movie by the same name – “Talaash: The Hunt Begins”.

The surprising bit – Kareena Kapoor has starred in both movies.

I watched the 2012 movie on the last day of November 2012 in the theatre and liked it. I watched it in bits and pieces when it was telecast on one of the TV channels in April this year, and liked it even more. Surprising, I know.

The inspiration from The Sixth Sense is hard to ignore (I had earlier mentioned this movie here), and if you are like me, you’d spend some time during the interval in order to figure out the twist and lo behold, it is clear. Kareena’s clothes told me that something was wrong. She was too well-dressed when compared to the average Hindi movie prostitute, and that set me thinking. I then waited to see how the twist would unravel itself on screen, and was quite happy with the treatment.

As the opening credits roll, this song plays. It sets the mood very well.



The movie starts with the death of the actor Armaan Kapoor (Vivan Bhatena) in a mysterious car accident. Aamir Khan’s character Surjan “Suri” Singh Shekhawat investigates the accident and speaks to the two junkies (?). He almost speaks to the dog who witnessed the accident as well.

Suri is married to Roshni (Rani Mukerji). They have lost their only child in an accident. This has left Suri feeling perennially guilty for not being able to protect his son, and he withdraws from his wife. He also becomes an insomniac. Suri then meets Rosie, the prostitute played by Kareena Kapoor. She aids him in his investigation. He also finds himself being able to share his thoughts with her, and he often seeks her. Rosie leads him to Temur, a lame pimp played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

The name Temur is a delightful reference to Timur Lang. Temur’s love story is told really well. He is love with an older prostitute, and their anguish is best depicted in the scene towards the end of the movie when she opens a bag in the train. She finds several bundles of currency notes – the pimp has bought her freedom. He loses his life in the process.

When Rosie mentions to Suri that nobody wanted to investigate into how a girl disappeared into thin air, it made me wonder. How exactly are death certificates issued in India?

Roshni is left upset dealing with her withdrawn husband and the loss of her child. He has refused to have another child, and she finds her offbeat methods of finding solace being torn apart by him. Finally, when they fight in front of his subordinate (played by Raj Kumar Yadav), she asks her husband as to whether she ever questions him on his nocturnal jaunts. She understands that he derives happiness from whatever he does, then why mustn’t she indulge in what gives her peace and happiness?

Peace. Happiness. Both are much abused words these days.

Suri and Roshni reunite at the end of the movie. Watch them when they live in their past. As for the handlebar moustache, the sight made me relive my past.

Fukrey (2013)

I am finding it amusing that I am recommending a movie based on two loafers. It has a well-written story, and a cast that looks the part. The movie has been shot in Delhi, and I could recognize many places shown in the movie. The dust-laden feel of the city has been captured well.

Two boys have flunked their XII Std. exams repeatedly and yet are keen on entering one of the best colleges in the city. Another boy wants to shift from his correspondence course and study at a proper college - it happens to be the same college. The fourth character has studied at this very college and spends time there making music.

I liked this song based on an old Punjabi folk song. It made me think of my long-forgotten desire of picking up Punjabi.

When the struggling musician needs money for his father's operation, his estranged girlfriend (who is a Professor in the same college) steps in to help him and rather effortlessly at that. This, when he has let her go because she asks him to get more serious about their relationship and he chooses music over her. There is a gem of a scene when he starts to fill out a form and the letters get smudged immediately.

There is a remark made by the lead character played by Pulkit Samrat - "I like mature girls. Pata hai, meri girlfriend mujhse badi hai." It made me smile, for I have heard it in real life as well.

As for the character played by Manjot Singh, there are some hilarious moments involving his Bullet. The policeman makes a remark on the sound of the Bullet, and I agree. Even a non-rider like me can recognise THAT sound anywhere.

The best performance in the movie is by Bholi Punjaban (Richa Chadha). Watch it for her.