Saturday, June 14, 2008
Moview Review: Sarkar Raaj
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Director : Ram Gopal Varma
Music : Bapi-Tutul
Lyrics : Prashant Pandey, Sandeep Nath
Starring : Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Govind Namdeo, Tanisha Mukherjee
First things first: A huge round of applause to Ram Gopal Varma. The director has redeemed himself after the failures of NISHABDH and AAG. This here is vintage Ramu at his best, no doubt about it. Just goes to show that one should stick to what one is best at. And no one uncovers the underbelly of crime and politics as succinctly as RGV.
SARKAR RAJ is a thriller to the core. It may have the background of power politics but when it's time to reveal his cards, Ramu pulls out his 'Aces', one after another to dish out a gripping fare. The final 'Ace' he delivers at Sarkar's house is mind numbing! To reveal more would be a crime. Just goes to show that it's not only the ones bred in the city who are power hungry, but also those in far off villages! Hence, he does full justice to the tagline: 'Power cannot be given. It has to be taken'. And on this line rests the plot of SARKAR RAJ, a sequel to SARKAR! Yes, it also takes a fresh look at the tradition versus modernity debate.
Anita Rajan (Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan) is the CEO of Sheppard Power Plant. This international company wants to set up a power plant in rural Maharashtra. Only the Nagres can help. A meeting is facilitated by Govind Namdeo (Hassan Qazi) an aspiring politician. Sarkar (Amitabh Bachchan) sees no sense in this project and dismisses it outright. But Shankar Nagre (Abhishek Bachchan) thinks otherwise. He feels that this power plant will be a huge benefit for the villagers in the interiors of Maharashtra. After convincing his father, Sarkar, he mobilizes support from the villagers and goes about the business with Anita. But things are not as easy as they seem. Shankar meets with obstacles, one after another and as the plot unfolds, you realise how the characters are used as a pawn for a completely different game!
The background score by Debashish Mishra is commendable. Even when there are no dialogues being spoken, Mishra creates the mood, which speaks a thousand words with his music, as the cameraman, Amit Roy, takes astute angles. The sepia tone throughout the film maintains the mood of this exciting fare. To my mind, there is no standout performance.
Sarkar is the shrewd old, wily politician that he is. Experience is a great teacher but he allows his son, Shankar, to make his own decisions. Abhiskek Bachchan, slips into the role, permanently brooding. Has it to do something with the murder of his brother Vishnu in SARKAR? Maybe. The scene where Vishnu is remembered is intelligently woven to connect the two films. Rajesh Shringapure (Sanjay Somji) impresses in his fiery approach, mobilizing support against the Power Plant.
But for me, the real 'Ace' is Dilip Prabhawalkar (Rao Saab). He fits the part and performs to the 'T'.
There are a few jarring moments which don't really move with the scenes. Like for instance, why is Sarkar or Shankar not able to 'smell' the enemy in their camp when he is sitting right there with them one moment, and the next moment he is hatching a plot with Qazi. Haven't they enough 'informers'? Or why is a politician not seeing monetary benefits in a project as huge as this? Also, Govind Namdeo's make-up looks like that of a stage artist; it does not go with the flow.
These are small glitches that you overlook as you look at the larger picture on screen and are easily forgiving to the director who finishes off the proceedings with finesse. The dialogues, the one-liners, are awesome. To my mind, RGV is the real star of the film.
TO GO OR NOT: A must watch. SARKAR RAJ, is an understated approach of the powerful machinations of those wanting to grab a piece of the pie.
Ratings : 4/5
Salman, Katrina: From reel to real
We heard a lot of hearts breaking when Bollywood heartthrob Salman Khan openly announced his relationship with Katrina Kaif. The two have been going steady for a long time now, and are no longer afraid to declare their love for each other. From what we found out, wedding bells might ring soon. Watch the glow on Kats’ face and gauge her love for Salman yourself.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Bollywood focus: Dino Morea
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Born on the 9th of December 1975 in Bangalore, to an Indian mother and an Italian father, Dino Morea is the second of three siblings. Like almost every other child, he also wanted to be either a super hero or a racing car driver.
Born on the 9th of December 1975 in Bangalore, to an Indian mother and an Italian father, Dino Morea is the second of three siblings. Like almost every other child, he also wanted to be either a super hero or a racing car driver. Acting was something he’d never considered then.
For 11 years he lived in Italy after which he returned to Mumbai and studied in St. Josephs College in Bangalore. Meanwhile, he also started modeling. It was after winning the Galdrags Man hunt Contest that things started looking bright for Dino.
Getting the chiseled body was not exactly a child’s play as he used to regularly work out and even play basketball every once in a while. Dino has modeled for famous brands like Armani, Hugo Boss, Rohit Bal and Ravi Bajaj, but he quips, he is most comfortable in his boxer shorts.
As a debut film, Pyaar Main Kabhi Kabhi, didn’t exactly do much for his career. However, his performance in Rajiv Menon’s Kandukondain Kandukondain and Mahesh Bhatt’s Raaz was much appreciated and gave him the right break into Bollywood.
Dino looks up to people like Lee Iacocca and Dhirubhai Ambani, people who have made it on their own in spite of all the odds. Dino plans to some day be a part of Hollywood but as of now, it’s hail Bollywood.
The actor used to date the dusky dame Bipasha Basu for a while before dating Indian designer Nandita Mahtani. At the moment, he is pretty much single.
Geeta Basra in a very very hot kiss with Emraan Hashmi (must watch)::>
Geeta Basra kissed very hard by Emraan Hashmi from the movie The Train
Hot kiss Karishma Kapoor and Aamir Khan
Karishma Kapoor being kissed hard by Aamir Khan from the movie Raja Hindustani
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