The film begins with a problem: An Indian province is suffering from drought. It hasn’t rained in years, villagers are starving, and the British are thirsty for their Lagaan (taxes paid in agriculture products).  A young village girl, wants Bhuvan to marry her, but he hasn’t popped the question, so she wonders if she has to do all the work herself. In the meantime, Bhuvan gets in trouble with the British, when he angers an officer, named Andrew, in charge of the area. Andrew decides to make the villagers pay by forcing the Raja to up the lagaan for the year. Bhuvan, furious when he finds out the Lagaan would kill the villager if they were to actually go through with it, challenges the British, and tells them the tax is impossible to pay. Andrew takes that challenge, and decides to wager everything on a game of cricket, if the villagers lost they would have to pay three times the Lagaan for three years, if they won, the British would not require Lagaan for three years, and would leave their village post.

Bhuvan was up for the challenge, but the villagers knew nothing about cricket…until Elizabeth came along and broke down racial barriers, got a little to close to a native, and had her own story to tell.

Our rating: 4/10

I am giving this a low rating because the film was just so long and there were too many unnecessary scenes. Most of the film was about playing cricket, and it seemed like we were actually watching a two day cricket match at the end. I feel the plot wasn’t fleshed out enough, and the scenes were too tedious in parts.

Overall, the idea of the film was great, could have been edited a bit better, but definitely an okay film to play in the background.

Images thanks to youtube 1, 2

The film starts out on a college campus in Calfornia. Froggy (Uday) appears as a geeky, smart student who falls in love with the unattainable campus beaut, Priti (Priyanka Chopra). He realizes how strong his love is when he sees her fall off a bridge. His little heart skips a beat and he hopes she will pay attention to him after becoming her lifesaver. But things don’t turn out the way Froggy had hoped, Priti’s father soon pulls her out of college, never to be seen or heard from by Froggy again.

Fast forward five years later? Froggy is a Developer on a trip to Singapore in hopes to close a deal on what would be the biggest opportunity of his career: selling his software for big bucks. Trouble gets a brewin’ and someone slimy gets their hands on Froggy’s software!

OH NO!

Froggy tries to get it back, but is sidetracked when he sees the lovely Priti working with the man who stole from him!

Will they find love in the Asian Pacific?

Check out Pyaar Impossible
to find out!

Our Rating: 7.4/10

As a Bollywood film watcher, I must admit, I really enjoy Uday Chopra’s films. He’s only done a little more than a handful, but in all of them he somehow expresses a certain spark unlike (other Bollywood actors–he is down to earth, funny and likable.) This is one of the films definitely on my must watch list. It was credited as a flop when it came out, but thanks to that I got to see it just a few months later on Netflix Instant. It’s a great film, heartwarming, and has great songs. It’s one of those rare Hindi films suitable for the whole family while still being entertaining. Priyanka and Uday do a great job acting their characters. Priyanka’s roles kind of gave a tip back to some of her big mid 2000s roles, classic babe, with a tough attitude, but Uday did a great job kind of moving the audience away from focusing on just her and rather on the story.

Big props, give it a watch for sure!
Pyaar Impossible [Blu-ray]

Images: Youtube

My Name is Khan stars Shah Ruhk Khan, Kajol, and Jimmy Shergil. The film is set in India, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and the state of Georgia.
My Name Is Khan [Blu-Ray] Region Free (Bollywood Hindi Film DVD)

The film begins introducing Risvan (Shahrukh) as a character with a special disability. Risvan suffers from Aspergers Syndrome, while living with his mother and brother, he gets bullied, and learns an important lesson in the process.

Fast forward a few years, Risvan’s brother moves to the US, and eventually asks Risvan to come and stay with him in San Francisco, there he finds a special woman and falls in love, but she’s Hindu and has a child, while he’s a Muslim. Mix in a little racial prejudice  and you have My Name Is Khan, a unique and refreshing film.

Check out My Name is Khan to see what happens!

Our Rating 9.5/10

As an American, I felt a little offended that the characters playing Americans could be such shallow oafs, but regardless, the message in the story was quite strong and interesting. Usually I shy away from dramatic films, but this one is worth the watch, there’s romance, great musical scenes and more!

Give it a watch! Highly recommended.

Images: Youtube 1 2

Haule haule! Not quite, but the song always comes to mind when considering the festival of Holi: the Indian festival of colors, where it is customary to dress in white and get decorated with powdered pigments. Here in the US, there are various events spread out across the nation which celebrate the holiday–as well as various events around the world and in India as well.  The idea and notion of throwing colors hasn’t really been explained or expressed in mainstream America, but with initiatives like the Color Run in major US cities, people are starting to dive deeper into understanding where this cultural idea came from.

In terms of Bollywood, there are quite a number of films that show scenes of Holi, one scene that comes to mind is the voice of a raspy Aishwarya Rai Bachchan whispering, “Happy Holi.” in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Another, the smiling face of Shahruhk’s character in Rab Ne Bana De Jodi as he listlessly gets carried into a sea of melancholy when thinking of his wife–despite the colored fog that rise up in clouds around him.

Our Best Film Bets for Holi:

Want to check out a cheerful Dance number type film?

Aaja Nachle might be the film for you!

How About a Fun Punjabi Family Comedy?

Yamla Pagla Deewana hits the spot.

Characters that Speak Jibberish Get You Going?

Chup Chup Ke for fun, a fun crazy time.

Insane Telugu for an INSANE Holi?

Yep, Nuvvostanante Nenoddananta will get you going.

Heartwarming Tragic Drama? But has a color in the title?

Rang De Basanti  – रंग दे बसंती  you can paint it yellow, but rockers might like black better.

No Holiday Can’t be Complete without an actual holiday!

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge for a European vintage throwback, romantic flower party!

Want to get into the Colorful Spirit? Check out these Items for sale!

Images Credit: Exclusively.in, Flickr, Fab

The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Neha Sharma and Prachi Desai and is set in alternate timelines including: 1900s, 1960s, and modern day.

Beginnings: set in 1960′s

The film begins with Ruksar (Priyanka) and Govind (Shahid), aboard a train to Mumbai. Ruksar, a popular film star, had reserved a train compartment when Govind, a aspiring guitarist slash singer,  barges in and wins himself both the heart of a girl and a free ride. Once in Mumbai, trouble starts to heat up between Govind and his new roomate named Mahi (Desai). His flirtatious ways and accidental mishaps lead her on in quite a few different ways. Trouble heats up when Govind, Ruksar, and Mahi get thrown in the mix together.

Middle: 2010s

In the modern section of the film we are introduced to Krish, a modern day college boy who gets dumped on his birthday. by his girlfriend Meera (Sharma). Deha pressed, Krish hits up the town only to be put in jail by a sexy Radha (Priyanka), they hit it off, but trouble ensues later when Meera gets jealous.
Perhaps my favorite part of the film is the 1900s  section: Shahid plays a playboy poet named Javed, who easily slinks his way into girls’ hearts and beds. Things change for him when he finds love with Aradhana.

With a common mix up and some shocking conclusions, we have Teri-Meri Kahaani, a complex multistory about two people, spanning three lifetimes.

Our Rating: 6/10

I should first point out that, the songs on Teri Meri Kahaani, are great, and deserve to be checked out.
Teri Meri Kahani Hindi Audio CD (2012/Bollywood/Film/Movie/Cinema)

The film on the other hand, was, well, a bit confusing for me. I’m not shy at all to stories with reincarnation themes, and lost loves being found again in different lives (some great examples of this being Karan-Arjun, Om Shanti Om does this theme pretty well, and of course the classic Karz to name a few). But, I felt that, that whole theme, wasn’t exactly played out to its full potential. The layout of the film, felt like a black and white “talkie” film, or silent picture, from the way the scenes changed abruptly by a blackscreen, a white decorative border and a splotch of text denoting perhaps the name of the song that the film last played, say 10-15 minutes prior.

The romance portion of the film was very light, and frankly, a bit weak. I was expecting a revelation between the timelines that would strengthen the story, but things turned out differently. If you like Shahid and Priyanka together in films, then  suggest to check out Teri Meri Kahaani, if anything, give the music video a good spin.

Cheers!

Images from: Youtube 1, 2, 3

The film begins with Naren, a middle aged salary man who finds his marriage was the biggest mistake of his life, so while divorcing, he moves out to his deceased parents’ enormous house. After hearing that his divorce lawyer says not to stay alone while the divorce is underway, he decides to get a few roommates to crash with him. After interviewing a few, he chooses Milind (Omi Vaidya), a poetic dreamer who works for a Shaadi–online marriage company but has yet to find love himself, and Abhay or Abby(Emraan Hashmi), a playboy who uses women as ATM machines, and works as a personal trainer on the side.

The three mesh and have their differences, as well as their similarities. They all fall in love, for the wrong girl, or is it?

Check out Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji to see what happens.

Our Rating:  6/10

This film is more of a three-person pseudo romance film than your traditional Bollywood romance film. The characters were overall interesting, Devgan’s was quite funny as he played a grumpy salaryman who thinks he is too old to find love. Overall, the story was alright, the story was a bit drawn out, but overall it was interesting.

Watch Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji right now on Hulu

Images from +Youtube

So begins the review: 

Deewane Huye Paagal stars Shahid Kapoor, Rimi Sen, Akshay Kumar, Johnny Lever, Suniel Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, and Om Puri.

The story begins with young Karan, a college student working at the local canteen. When all of a sudden, the narrator interrupts that Karan, like most every other male at City Center College has the hots for sexy Tanya (Rimi Sen), a dancing and singing diva. One of his rivals is the son of a local Don, and is named Sunny.

Sunny’s Uncle is a mad scientist who has discovered the secret to youth, and developed a liquid that makes whoever drinks a drop, twenty years younger. Apparently this crazy uncle locks up the serum and records the combination on a robotic parrot. The uncle dies, as well as his secretary, so the code is lost to all, except to the holder of the parrot, which is now Tanya.

Tanya has no idea she owns the Parrot, but somehow the scientist left it in her car, in a little bag addressed to Karan. Karan, thinking that Tanya would come to his birthday party, discovers that Tanya has fled the country overnight and only finds a gift bag addressed to him instead of Tanya.

Three years later, Karan is still love-sick for Tanya and hires a man to find her whereabouts in Dubai. The detective that Karan hires (played by Akshay Kumar) falls in love with the beautiful Tanya–now known as the new and upcoming singer for T-zones, Natasha. The detective lies to Karan and tries to convince him to return to India, so he can pursue his love. Through thick and thin and with a bit of luck Karan discovers Tanya’s surrounded by a plethora of liars, and tries to make things right for her, while fending off plus five other suitors.

Our rating:  5.5/10

The film was a bit slapstick comedy meets melo-drama. It was mostly a romantic comedy of sorts, and was bundled up with a presentation expected of Bollywood films of the early 2000s.

The plot was a little rushed, and the narration, confusing. To be frank, I feel that their plot execution could have been re-worked and a little less confusing. The songs were few and sparse, with probably the best being the risque little dance by Kumar: “Chakle Chakle.”

Overall, it’s very light, and somewhat similar to a early 90′s Bollywood film mixed with Mujhse Shaadi Karogi film style.

Don’t expect an amazing film film here, but rest assured by knowing there is at least a somewhat coherent plot.

Images credit: screenshots from the actual film.

Barfi! stars Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Ilena D’Cruz.

It’s 1972, and a new girl’s in town. Shruti Ghosh (D’cruz) moves with her mother and father to Darjeeling to live. Shruti meets Barfi (otherwise known as Murphy Johnson played by Ranbir Kapoor) and gets taken in by his strange, silent demeanor. She later discovers he is mute, and lives life a little differently than the people she knows.

On their second meeting, Barfi proposes his love to Shruti, but only to discover she is already engaged to a Mr. Sengupta who she is set to marry in a few short months from then. Heartbroken, Barfi doesn’t give up, he befriends her still and they adventure out across Darjeeling.

Months pass and Shruti must decide whether or not to stay in Darjeeling or move to Calcutta with her fiance.

Our Rating: 8.6/10

If there is one thing to fall in love with in this film, it’s the music. Despite the complaints of copying from other films for the plot and stories, the film isn’t a copy, it’s just a different story. The soundtrack is reminiscent of those smooth melodies of Yann Tiersen in Amelie, but it’s not the same. If you were to compare the music on a scale, I would say Barfi’s soundtrack sounds more like the score from Aisha than from anywhere else. There is a distinctive

Indian sound in the music, but also we get a few classical instuments, and BAM! Insert the score for Barfi! something familiar, and different, overall very beautiful. Pritam did a good job producing the soundtrack and fitting it into the theme of the film.

The direction of the film, is a bit different from most Bollywood films, since Barfi has a speech impediment silence directs most of the film. But it isn’t a still silence, rather an illustrative, meaningful silence.

Everyone knows Yash Raj Films is famous for those classic Hindi romantic-dramas, and sweet love comedies, but stepping into the picture with a bit of espionage, and international terrorism? “Sounds a little bit like Faana”, you might be thinking, but will it be as tragic and heartbreaking? Can Salman Khan do that?

Those things were running through my head as I sat in my nice comfortable seat at the newly closed Block-E AMC theater in Minneapolis. This was to be the last Bollywood film I would see there I really didn’t want to be disappointed when the film began with a terribly confusing plot introduction about two different intelligence agencies: RAW and ISI, the first being from India, the second Pakistan.

Salman Khan stars as Tiger/Avinash Singh Rathode, Katrina Kaif stars as Zoya, with Ranvir Shorey as Gopi.

Insert Tiger, a spy for RAW. He’s crazy strong, and smart, he can outwit a gang of spy and slip away undetected, but after being on the job for seven years straight, his boss insists he take a break, but Tiger says no, and he wants a new assignment.

RAW ships Tiger off to Ireland where he must monitor an Indian professor who is rumored to have given Pakistani secret services information about weapon building. Tiger is impatient, and tries his best to get the professor to open up to him, but things don’t work out so well  so he breaks into the professor’s house and comes across his Indian housekeeper, Zoya. He is enchanted by her dancing, but she kicks him out of the house immediately. Somehow through determination and deception, Tiger befriends her, and tries to use her to get closer to the professor, but ends up falling for her instead of the other way around.

What will happen when a Indian spy falls in love on a mission? Watch Ek Tha Tiger to find out!

Ek Tha Tiger (2012) (Hindi Movie / Bollywood Film / Indian Cinema DVD)

Our Rating: 7.5/10 

When the movie began, I thought oh no, not another straightforward fighting film with Salman bragging about how much manliness he has (the fighting scenes in Bodyguard were getting to be ridiculous the whole film was wasted spending more time on his fight scenes than the plot). It seemed like that at first, but then as things progressed we see more of the romance factor Yash Raj Films are famous for. The twist was a bit predictable, but not extremely, and the ending was really tense and emotional.

I think the filmography on this was really great, especially in the Cuba scene, everything was so color coordinated and vibrant, and just extremely visual. I think that Yash Raj Films tried really hard not to give us a half baked film, and they succeeded. The ending was stronger than the beginning, and much more exciting.

Overall the film was a good new watch, and a must for Salman Khan fans. 

Images from Youtube 

Amitabh Bachchan ‏@SrBachchan

T 827 – Prayers for those affected at Sikh Temple shooting .. Indian Embassy official rushing to site ..

 

First I was confused, and I wondered where the shooting had occured. First is struck me that it had to have been in a small country somewhere that had some riff’s with the Sikh community in the area. I hadn’t seen any other tweets in my feed about this so I went and saw SrBachchan’s other tweets and found out something very shocking.

Amitabh Bachchan ‏@SrBachchan

T 827 -What is happening in US ..? another shooting of innocents..!! And inside a temple, a Gurdwara .. !! Pained and shocked beyond words

After a quick google search I found out that the shooting had occurred in Wisconsin, just south of Milwaukee. Which is not too far from me. I’ve been to nearby Chicago and explored little India and other neighborhoods quite intimately and got a feel for the nearby community, its a interesting place really, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs (and others) live all in close proximity on West Devon street, and somehow made for themselves, despite their religious difference, a place of peace and community. But now, what is happening? Apparently a white shooter was on the scene and apprehended (and perhaps with other shooters still on the scene), but the shooter somehow got into the Sikh temple and spread gunfire.

This isn’t normal, it isn’t good.

After seeing My Name is Khan, one could expect this to happen right after the 9-11 attack (since the film led on to believe there was a lot of strife between people of  Middle-Eastern/West Asian decent and others.

But, people should be smarter now, they should know that Sikhs have a history of their own, and of course being in Wisconsin just wanted to live their lives peacefully (right?).

What happened today at the Sikh temple is terrible, and with the looming affect of the recent movie theater shooting in the states, people are starting to wonder if places are safe anymore.

The whole thing is just too sketchy, why would anyone go and spread hate to a place of worship?

I wish only the best for the families affected and those at the temple right now, and pray that any wrong doing can be put  to its rightful place.

Abc’s report

Mashable’s Article

NYT’s