This is the story of how I got completely obsessed with Randeep Hooda.

Everybody's allowed to gain a new quirk over the New Year, right? Mine just happened to be an instant obsession with Randeep Hooda (all thanks to Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai) and shortly after, the perusal of his filmography. At first I was steadfast - I would only watch him in films that gained the man critical acclaim, because I wasn't some obsessive, no, just a curious film aficionado following the lead of an interesting new acquaintance. 

I couldn't even tell you why I went near-completist on the man's career. He's not the most incredible actor I've ever seen, yet he has this amazing presence and intensity that just completely hooked me in. He also acts pained well, which is very much my thing (see also: Vinod Khanna, and some others, but mostly just Vinod Khanna). Then there's the good looks and the gravelly voice, which don't precisely hurt him any. Am I alone on this ledge of fanaticism? It's perfectly possible. Is my interest inadvisable for others considering how many crap films I ended up watching just for him? You may judge for yourselves.. I think he became this indulgence for me, like a guilty pleasure that isn't all that guilty. I'll gladly watch him play all sorts of psychopaths (because let's face it, the dude has been kind of type-cast that way) until the end of time, and will do so in the future. 

So here's my haul so far.

Jism 2 (2012)

The whole "I'll only watch Randeep Hooda in good films" resolution didn't last very long, considering I watched this film like two days after. I've reviewed the film already, and safe to say it was not a very good one (it does earn the descriptor "hot", but only to precede the word "mess"). Still, either Mr Hooda was pretty good in it or I am already incredibly biased, and surely it couldn't be the latter?

Heroine (2012)

Oh dear, oh dear. This is without a doubt the worst film I've seen in the past 12 months, and it really does not deserve a full length review: it's more or less pointless, the plot meanders and gets its heroine Mahi (Kareena Kapoor, delivering a good performance from a horribly written inconsistent character) from one crisis to the next. The secondary cast is for the most part absolutely atrocious - the only stand-outs are the tolerable Arjun Rampal, Ranvir Shorey, the always-reliable Shahana Goswami (though her part in the film ends with the most despicable, pointless lesbian-not-lesbian plot thread) and of course, Randeep. Sadly his character seems written only to eventually highlight Mahi's tendency to make mistakes. Still, he gets to be cute, so I guess that was worth something.

Ru-Ba-Ru (2008)

Speaking of Shahana Goswami, she co-stars this romantic drama about a live-in couple who bicker over inconsequential things and then get a second chance to make things right, following an accident. The plot is a complete copy of a Hollywood film, which wouldn't really be a problem for me personally, if the result wasn't such a tedious, limp film. Set in Thailand, the film offers some nice visuals and pretty naturalistic dialogue, but somehow the two stars (who I consider both to be good actors) just can't liven up the material. I actually stopped watching about 2/3 of the way through, as the film was simply so dull it didn't seem worth it sitting through the predictable rest.

Jannat 2 (2012)

This film only shares some cast and crew members with the original 2008 film, so really the title is a marketing ploy to cash in on the success of the first film. Emraan Hashmi plays Sonu Dilli, a small time gun dealer, who gets hassled by alcoholic cop Raghuvanshi (Randeep Hooda) to become his undercover contact in the illegal arms trade. Meanwhile, Sonu's life gets more complicated as he falls in love with Jhanvi (Esha Gupta) and courts her, while keeping his criminal past and present a secret.

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. What really make it a worthwhile experience were the character carved out by Emraan and the hilarious reluctant partnership he has with ACP Raghuvanshi. I loathe to use the term 'bromance' but this really is it - instead of a will-they-won't-they couple, we get to watch the will-they-or-won't-they-trust-one-another chemistry between Emraan and Randeep, and it's just kind of awesome. Raghuvanshi, despite chugging down whiskey every chance he gets, is also a stone-cold badass, and probably gets the best lines of the entire film. Their partnership is so great in this, I want to rewatch just for that. Esha Gupta as the romantic interest is limited, but don't let that bother you.

After watching this film, I sought out the first Jannat, and while good (I may need to make a post dedicated to both of these films), it's clear how much Emraan Hashmi has improved as an actor. He's merely okay in 2008 - in 2012, he shines, and gives the character so much flavour with such confidence, it's plain fun to watch. The film is very violent, and got an A rating, but if you're keen on watching either of the leads in more things, definitely check it out it.

'D' (2005)

I'll openly admit that Ram Gopal Varma-produced or directed films are not my specialty, so I may be missing some serious context, seeing as how this film is a prequel to his classic film Company. 'D' tells the story of Deshu, a guy who works his way up the ranks of Mumbai underworld, until he practically runs it with business-like efficiency, until some people he's worked for decide they don't like how much power he has in the city. This rather standard plot could really be heightened by a good script with decently complex characters, or really supreme performances. Sadly, D has neither. The writing is bland, the characters mostly flat and while there are some good performances in the fray (I liked Randeep as the lead, as well as Chunky Pandey and Isha Koppikaar), for the most part the film just feels predictable and occasionally pretentious. There are so many scenes where dialogue is tuned out of and you just heard music while the actors mime carrying out the discussion. I kept thinking, "what the hell is this?" - perhaps it was something to do with censorship, but when nearly every dialogue scene had this trick used, it got really old very fast. Did the writer just forget to write half the damn script?

The inspiration is obvious but what could've been a really solid gangster flick ends up being pretty run-of-the-mill in my books. Randeep carries the film - sadly it's not much of a film to carry.

Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster (2011)

The king in a world where kingdom is a dying concept, Saheb (the ever-dependable Jimmy Shergill) cares more about his business dealings and mistress than whatever's the matter with his off-kilter wife (Mahie Gill). His enemies recruit Bablu (Randeep Hooda) to kill Saheb while working in his household as a driver, but instead the wife has the new employee round her little finger..

Having had this film recommended to be a couple of times, I knew it'd be good, but it still managed to surprise me. For such a seemingly simple film, there's a lot you can read into its portrayals of characters, their status in society, their motivations. Loyalty, power, prestige.. There are a lot of themes that get jumbled into the mix of interesting performances, so much so that I think I need to write a proper review of this film as soon as possible. 

It was just fantastic to see Mahie Gill in a major role once again, and while at first I found her a bit exaggerated, eventually I understood how the character was the one who was exaggerated - or who chose to be that way. The biwi manages to manipulate even the audience. As far as Randeep goes, Bablu isn't exactly a character he's never played before, but the journey he takes during the movie, and how the character morphs during it, is a really fascinating part of the movie. A special shout-out to Deepal Shaw, who plays another servant at the house, and was such a great, vibrant part of the film - I wish there had been more of her.

The film probably warrants a longer review, so I'll write one up eventually. Look forward to that!

12 awesome random filmi pictures.

Nadira!



Any picture with both Vidya and Rani is a winner in my books.


Sonam looking gorgeous as per usual.



This picture of Dharmendra is just ... A++++




Who doesn't love the apples in Maine Pyar Kiya?



..or the lair in Parvarish?


Or this swishy skirt of Rani's from Bunty aur Babli?



Oldie stars eating away!



Siddharth as a baby!


Vinod Khanna living the life!



Production still from Kagaaz Ke Phool.



Aradhana to cap this post off.

Happy 12/12/12, guys!

A Vikram for every occasion!

Vikram drunk.


Vikram caged.


Vikram about to poke your f¤%¤ng eyes out.


Vikram looking over his shoulder.


Vikram with two hands.

Vikram in pink.

Vikram angrily marrying a woman in defiance (as one every so often does).


Vikram angrily tying a scarf over his head.


Vikram entering your deepest soft-focus romantic fantasies.


The last thing a rowdy remembers before he woke up in the hospital.

Hera Pheri: a pause for superficial reflection.

Hera Pheri is a 1976 masala thrill with all your standard goodness elements: lost-and-found family members and enemies, epic friendship, fist fights, lavish sets and incredible wardrobe choices.

Oh, nice jeans, Vinod.

..oh, they just ...kind of .. ended. Um. I see.

I see that very well.

So, moving on with this review..

No, on second thought, let's put this whole "serious review" thing on pause for a moment. It's clear to me it's going to be one of those reviews.

Yes, I know, I'm sorry. These aren't the most educational reviews to read if you're not a fan, but it is my blog and thus I will allow myself to occasionally indulge.

So let's talk Vinod Khanna, and how I love whatever he's doing in this film, whether it's being good or being bad (he's too good at being bad, isn't he?) or being awkward because there's a girl near (adorable!) or being funny or everything he's wearing. Yes. Everything.

It seems to me that every 70's film with him I watch reminds me of why I love him so much. If there was a way to make the years 1975-1979 last ten years but just in the Hindi film industry, I'd arrange it in a heartbeat just to get more of this deliciousness. He's so good! And he looks so good while being so good (or bad!) and I am lacking in varied vocabulary right now! Let's move on!

This suit! And look at that face! So bad!

And for comparison, see how normal Amitabh's clothes are here. I can only presume this is what happened:

INTERIOR: COSTUME DEPARTMENT FOR HERA PHERI (1976)

HEAD COSTUME DESIGNER

We have all these patterned suits!

(heavy sigh)

And nobody to wear them!

COSTUME ASSISTANT

But we've got Vinod Khanna in this film! That man can wear anything and make it work.

HEAD COSTUME DESIGNER

Anything?

COSTUME ASSISTANT

Yes, anything.

HEAD COSTUME DESIGNER

But how far can we take his tall, dashing good looks?

COSTUME ASSISTANT

Let this be a challenge to us!

In summary: everything he wears is great, just fantastic.

Everything he doesn't wear is fine by me as well. I'm open-minded.

So very open-minded.


(A more level-headed review of Hera Pheri coming to this blog at some later point in the future. Well, possibly...)

Is not-kissing (or kissing) a thing anymore?

Most things are just reactions, and reactions to reactions. A person who hasn't seen Indian films at all might be puzzled as to why there isn't the ubiquitous kiss you find in American films whenever there is even just a thread of romance in there somewhere. Another person who has seen and likes Indian films might defend the "no kissing" trend by talking about the benefits of not-kissing; the flirtation through looks, gestures and dialogue. In fact, a filmi fan might even get overly defensive about this sort of thing: "why should there be kissing? it's called acting!"

I recognise this sort of defensiveness in myself when I was really getting into Indian films and everywhere I turned, it seemed, I found something new to love and gush about. Then there was the flipside of not-kissing: the gratuitous almost B-film style full-tongued make-out sessions that were rather a turn-off. Due to actors like Emraan Hashmi gaining reputation not as good actors but as "serial kissers", it's no wonder some people will actually claim a preference to non-kissing. Perhaps not quite coincidentally, some of the most popular actors, like Shahrukh Khan, still refuse to kiss on-screen.



But times change, and it's not 2005 anymore. While some people shed tears over the fact that it seemed that the "no-kissing" trend was petering out to give way for more on-screen macking, perhaps it wasn't so much a surge of the kissing trend as it was just moving to a period where neither option was the prevailing one. At times there would be kissing, at times there wouldn't be.

So I wonder - is not-kissing a thing anymore? Is it still a distinct trend, a phenomenon that's mostly observed?

In my own personal experience, I've noticed a definite shift from paying attention to nonchalance. I no longer notice that a film has kissing, or has fake-kissing, or hasn't got any kissing at all. A romantic pair bumping foreheads instead of lips can have the same emotional impact of a happy ending, but if there is kissing, I'm not usually taking notes as to whether this kissing is awkward, gross or perfectly executed. It no longer feels like a necessary or an unnecessary feature in mainstream Indian films. It's just another choice made by the director or by the actors in a way to convey a romantic relationship on-screen.


But of course, I may be alone in this. There may be some people who feel like not-kissing should remain a feature integral to romantic Indian films, that it gives them a unique emotional flare, where subtext is there, but lip-on-lip action just isn't, and doesn't have to be. Perhaps to some, there is still a relevant debate to be had about this subject.

What do you think?

I recently rewatched The Dirty Picture, and noticed that for such a raunchy, honestly sexual film with brazenly sexual characters, nearly all the kisses seemed to be the kind where actors just turn away from the camera. I'm sure that says something on this subject, but I'm not quite sure what..

Your Indian cinema is not my Indian cinema - constructing knowledge.

Even as a fan, I find fans fascinating. And more than just generally fascinating, I think the process of becoming a fan is really intriguing, specifically the process of how one builds a knowledge about their object of fandom.

I remember one of the first times I met up with Stimpy, back when I had seen barely any films, and she threw around all these oldie star names I had no context for. I think she said something like, "It just seems like every Shammi film I watch nowadays ends with him and Pran chasing each other in a comic fashion." and I was just like, "Who's Shammi? Who's Pran?" but even as she answered, I couldn't really contextualize the two properly, having only seen maybe three pre-1980's films.

I think what happens when you're a non-Indian fan of Indian cinema, is that you suddenly come upon something that you've either sort of known about (it's been in your periphery) or haven't had any clue about, and little by little you build a knowledge of it. But your knowledge is based on what you watch, when you watch it and how you watch it - whether you focus on oldies, newer films, fluffy films, tearjerkers, plain masala, socially conscious, more arthouse films, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada.. And when I was a newbie, I became accutely aware of all my blind spots, all the blanks I had to somehow fill out to get a picture in my head of what other people were talking about.

Eventually the blank gets filled out. You learn who you like, who you choose to focus on.. You learn that not knowing who's Dino Morea is actually no great crime on your part. Not knowing who Salman Khan is, however, would be a different story. And the way the utter blankness gets filled out, but never completed (because nobody can know everything about Indian cinema -- there aren't enough years to live on this planet to do so), that's really interesting. And one of the things I kind of struggle with is how to write "newbie-friendly", so that I don't take for granted that everybody knows who so-and-so is, and so my posts can be more easily contextualized even if you haven't seen over 150 or so films.

Of course, Indian (or NRI) fans of Indian cinema are possibly even more fascinating. For them, it's not necessarily a blank slate they fill out slowly - it's different variables of ground knowledge, knowledge of language and culture (but not some other languages, some other parts of the culture), it's watching films when you're a kid you now can barely remember (or remember extremely well), it's having a mother who loves Rajesh Khanna films because that's what she grew up on, it's quoting Sholay because other kids are quoting Sholay, not because you've seen the film yourself.. It's taking your family to the movies. There's so much there, so many individual "how I became a fan" stories, and if I had my way, everybody would be recounting these stories because they are so cool. A lot of them may seem self-evident to the people recounting them (like watching films off TV) but those of us who haven't lived through them will find them interesting.

This isn't to say we are all operating on completely different playing fields, as obviously we are watching the same movies, even enjoying the same movies, and agreeing on things left and right, whether we're newbies, seasoned fans, Finnish, Indian, British NRI or Nigerian. But I think we all have our own ways of contextualizing things, giving them a place in our knowledge sphere if you will. (Does that sound pretentious enough?)

There's always going to be a million and one Indian films you could watch. But your choices are yours, as are your views. What we can give to each other is knowledge of what we've yet to look into, recommendations, and stories. And I think we should tell more stories of how we watch films, instead of just talking about the films, to give context to our own film experiences. But coincidentally, I may actually be the only one..

Saat din, Abhay ke saath - my week with Abhay.

I'm typically late to the party. Not too late, I always catch the tail-end of it. But I always find myself starting the "getting ready" routine only when I know most people are on their way to the location or already there. So that's when it comes to real life parties, but in other things, too. The cool things are typically in my periphery for a long time before I'm all, "wait, that thing everybody's talking about? I just caught on and they're right, it's awesome!". Of course, there are the exceptions, but let's ignore those, for the sake of a neat metaphor, shall we?

So Abhay Deol was one of those hip things I saw other people get into and sort of gush about and I was just like, "Oh, some guy Shweta is really into? I could investigate this but I have dishes to do."

I know, I suck.

But then I caught on enough to watch Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd (discussed here) and thought, yeah, okay, I kind of see it now. But you know, that movie had so many people, I didn't feel like I'd fully looked into this whole thing (I could call it a phenomenon but it's not like Abhay fangirlism is sweeping the nation? or is it? it should!).

That is, until, this week I watched four Abhay Deol movies. Studies? Life? Who cares! If my teachers ask, I'll tell them, I am a Dharmendra nepotist. If his nephew is doing movies, then dammit I am going to watch those movies. If my teachers ask, "Who is Dharmendra?", I'll tell them, "Tera baap!" ["Your dad!", only it sounds cooler in Hindi, naturally].

Dev.D (2009) I must preface with the following disclaimer; I haven't seen the previous Hindi film adaptations of the story but I know the story of Devdas itself. Anurag Kashyap's take has been praised for taking the old story to a brand new level, and indeed the film is awesome to watch. It flows smoothly, the visuals are great, the music is integrated seamlessly and all acting is top-notch; Abhay plays the lead role with just the right panache in the beginning and later, wrecklessness that spirals more and more out of control. Mahi Gill as Paro is a total find, and even though I didn't love Kalki Koechlin as Chanda, I thought she did a good job. The women are not helpless, and totally unapologetic about their sexuality; this was a great, rare feat in Hindi films.

I guess the only real flaw, if you can call it that, is the fact that the ending didn't make me a fan of the film. I never had a problem with the story of Devdas, my disinterest towards the other filmed adaptations came mainly from the fact I didn't like the director (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) or wasn't too interested in the main star (with the case of Dilip Kumar's Devdas). So I wasn't dying to see the story spun into something radically different. Some were, and those people loved this movie, and I can see why they would. But personally? It was like, not love, between me and the film.


Socha Na Tha (2004) was the first film by the now well-known Imtiaz Ali, and also Abhay's debut as I understand it. It's a fresh little love story, about Viren (Abhay) and Aditi (Ayesha Takia being adorable), who get matched for matrimony by their parents but decline the offer. As they meet, however, they discover they find it very easy to talk to one another and as the relationship between their families grows sour, they themselves become friends and naturally, then some more. The film is a little dated in terms of the overblown family affairs messiness, but the love story itself is very cute and well-written, with sharp dialogue. Ayesha Takia is just fantastic in this, and perfect counterpoint to Abhay's slightly clueless Viren.

The subtitles began lagging on the last third, which diminished a lot of my enjoyment of the film, but there's one particular scene where the couple has some incredible bickering that left me feeling great about the movie. Imtiaz Ali sure has a handle on dialogue; just like in JWM, the conversations between the two leads seemed natural, yet witty, funny and perfectly adorable.

Manorama Six Feet Under (2007) is a thriller directed by Navdeep Singh, telling the story of Satyaveer (Abhay) who abandoned his dreams of being a novelist after his first novel, Manorama, sold very few copies. He lives a dull existence in a desert town called Lakhot with his wife Nimi (Gul Panag), until a woman named Manorama comes to his door, and hires him as a private detective like the main character in his novel. This involves Satyaveer with a web of lies, cover-ups and murder.

I wouldn't call this film badly scripted in general, but sadly something just made the whole thing drag and feel dull like tumbleweeds somewhere in the middle. It starts off nicely, and picks up pace considerably once the pieces of the puzzle begin to form, but the middle part almost made me turn the movie off. Thankfully I stuck with it, and once again loved Raima Sen, who plays Manorama's flatmate Sheetal and Vinay Pathak, the policewallah who is also Satyaveer's brother-in-law. Gul Panag who shone in Dor is very effective here, and there's a brilliant chemistry between her and Abhay in this; it feels very ordinary but at the same time has those signs that despite the mundaness of the relationship, these two people do love each other deeply. Abhay is great, too. You can tell the character is filling a hole in his existence, by getting involved with something he knows he probably shouldn't, and even when he encounters setbacks, he's not likely to give up.

I liked it, especially for the acting, and the film noir likeliness, but the story really could've been tighter.

My favourite out of the Abhay Deol films I've seen thus far, though? Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008) without a doubt. A black comedy about Lucky, a thief extraordinaire, whose greatest talent is his wit and his acting, the way he smoothly talks people out of their possessions, and gets away with it with the greatest of ease. It's just an incredibly well written, fun ride, that constantly had me chuckling. The cast of characters also includes Paresh Rawal in three roles (and Paresh Rawal, being the comic genius that he is, fantastically gives each character their own flair, so much so I almost forget he is playing all of them), Manu Rishi as Lucky's hapless sidekick (and apparently also the film's dialogue writer!) and Neetu Chandra as Sonal, Lucky's girlfriend. The acting was all around great, but naturally the film belongs to Abhay's comfortable demeanor, though I can't not mention Manjot Singh, who plays young Lucky with the vibrant humor that the older version of the character definitely downplays.

This film was really so ace that I am using the word 'ace' and finding it difficult to actually name something I didn't totally love. It's not too lengthy so the pace felt comfortable and it's jam-packed with moments I feel I need to rewatch to appreciate properly, some big ones (like when a cop wants to know who is Sunny) and some smaller ones (like the little conversation between Sonal and Lucky's older brother's wife, probably the only one between two women, but so thick with things unsaid it caught my attention). And like a cherry on top, there's a reference to Vinod Khanna. Film, you had my heart, right there and then.

It's a definite favourite for me. I love it when Hindi cinema does black comedy, especially when it's this damn good.

And now? Now I just eagerly await Aisha (however they choose to spell that title), with Abhay and Sonam Kapoor who look adorable in this first look. Apparently the film is a loose adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, which is not my favourite Austen because I find Emma quite an annoying character throughout most of the story, but I really like Sonam and she's no eyesore, and Austen adaptations are always fun so .. yay!

And to those who are still late to the Abhay party? Consider this post your e-vite. A lot of us are already here and having a blast. The bar is serving Dimple cocktails but they are running out of Malibu so come on, hurry, hurry, hurry!

I'll be waiting for you. Come say hi when you get here!