Ring Series | Critique

This series is actually a remake of a Japanese movie series- 'Ringu' & 'Ringu-2', which are infact based on a series of novels by Koji Suzuki. Those who want to appreciate the original one must go for the Japanese make, but if you really respect the special effects, don’t miss this English version. Coz the major USP of this movie is its special effects.

The story deals with a video-tape which is cursed. The tape is full of eerie images, you won’t forget it easily! Anyone who watches this video receives a call (from devil knows where!) & then he is supposed to die in a week's time. The only way he can save himself is by showing that video to someone else before he dies. The protagonist is a single mother who is investigating this case. But the story takes pace when she watches that video! & then whole of the story & the involved suspense comes out. This is about the first part. In the second part the boy is supposed to have demonic possessions (by demon i mean that girl ghost) & mother solves everything to save her child.

The story is basically an urban legend and does not support much of logical reasoning, but it keeps you engrossed from the first scene itself! It has many spooky scenes, especially all those scenes that involve our little witch "SAMARA”! The performances are just average.

The first part is better than the second part. The second part is not so impressive & neither has many good horror moments. In fact the second part has a good account of loopholes and silly horror! It could have been a little shorter too! But don’t worry, it will give you enough chills! The script is a bit sloppy but you still don’t just leave the movie in between coz the feel of the movie keeps you looking more n more of it! Director Gore Verbinski does a good job. He very well knows how to scare people. The Ring-3 has been announced & will be shot in 3-D & is expected to release in 2011.So, if you like these two then we probably have a good scare coming around...soon!

Written By: Rishabh Shukla

The 11th Edition

List of Mint Fresh Arrivals at TheReelMag !!

1. Editor's Pen: Hamare Aap Ke Beach Mein

2. A R Rahman (Beginning Days)| Statesmen

3. What's Your Raashee? | (Detailed) Music Review

4. District 9 Movie Review | Critique (Must Watch)

5. Quick Gun Murugan Movie review

6. Last 7 Days to go before Sanjay Dutt's Arrest | Hammers High

7. Lisa Ray's got Cancer (Myeloma)

8. Banned Gay Movies

A.R. Rahman | Statesmen

In 1990's, who listened to Tamil music beyond the water of Kaveri? Hardly anyone. What did Indian teenagers dance to at discotheques? What else but Michael Jackson. But one man single handedly changed all that.


He solidly bridged the gap across the Vindhyas, between Tamil & Hindi with an universal language of all times,” MUSIC". Independence Day, year 1992, marked the demolition of all conventional rules in Indian film music when Hindi speaking denizens lapped up at Carnatic tunes of Roja. Year 1995, saw first time a Hindi movie, Rangeela running successfully in Tamil Nadu, the trick being that distributors did away with the actors altogether from the posters and replaced them with Rahman & catch line "The first original score of A.R. Rahman in Hindi". Rahman is the first composer to receive adulation that was reserved for the biggest of film stars.

"Muaqabla", "Mustafha", "Humma Humma" & "Chaiyaa Chaiyya" were the songs which turned Indian film music to "cool & hip". Indian youth danced to these tunes at every pub, club or disco. Crowd even danced in the theatres and forcing them to show the songs again. Nearly a dozen versions of the song "Muqabala" were churned out, earning the song and Rahman a place in the Limca Book of Records!! "Bombay" was the being biggest seller in the history of Indian films music, selling close to 15 million units in all languages till date. His popularity touched such heights that albums with music composed by someone else were falsely credited to Rahman & released in the market.

Rahman is not just a national idol but an internationally known figure quite before "Slumdog". His tracks have been used in several international fashion shows. He was invited to compose the theme music of the 1996 Cricket world Cup which he didn’t accept due to unspecified reasons. He was the first composer to be invited by Webber to work in a musical. In 1997, when International music giant, Sony Music, planned to enter Indian market, it signed one of the biggest financial deals of India of those times with Rahman, on a 3-album contract. Result the world saw was, "Vandematram", a tribute to the motherland, on 50th year of Independence. This was released simultaneously in 28 countries across the world.

But this world famous composer actually wanted to become a computer engineer, thank God he didn’t, else what would have happened of 4 National awards,13 Filmfare awards, 2 Academy awards, 1 Golden Globe,2 Oscars, & many more in future won by him.

Tech savvy Rahman avoids making music on tape, and prefers to carry his music on his portable computer with MAC platform. His studio Panchathan Record Inn is one of India's most well equipped & advanced recording studios, also giving platform to new talents regarding it to be his social responsibility. His western rhythms mixed with Indian classical and garnished with local folk is the 'raga' of Indian cinema, no doubtedly calling him, 'Isai Arasan' (emperor of music).

Written By: Neha Jain

Updates
Couples Retreat | Music Review
Blue | Music Review

Editor's Pen: Hamare Aapke Beach Mein

Hi,
When we talk about our stars, we love them without realizing the fact that they are more than daemons- they are real human being. Koffee with Karan helped us realize that they are real and now Farah has gone ahead a few kilometers probing lives and issues of stars and helping commoners with similar histories.
‘Tere Mere Beach Mein’ may not be the greatest show to hit Indian idiot box. Simi Garewal’s show was one of them. But what they did is unparallel in the history of Filmy Celebrity Talk shows. Adding social value they earned something known as respect. That is what we call relevance of stardom.
We see them and gossip about them but behind the layers of makeup and gloss there is a real person who can cry and smile both at the same time. Think about it…

Special note: Vinayak and Rishabh (new fellows) arrived in great style. Welcome to the family…

Finally… we just launched two contests- Imprint and Between Breaths. While former gives you an opportunity to showcase you and your articles; BB is an effort to bring best out of you. Find details on the portal (details of BB will be given after a while.). For now, love you all…
Love
Sujoy Ghosh

What's Your Raashee? | Music Review

Producer-Ronnie Screwvala and Sunita A. Gowarikar

Director-Ashutosh Gowarikar

Music composer-Sohail sen

Lyrics-Javed Akhtar

Label-Sony Music

Rating-3.5/5

Singers-Sohail Sen, Tarannum Malik, Shaan, Bhavya Pandit, Marianne D'cruz, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Pamela Jain, Udit Narayan, Madhushree, Aslesha Gowarikar, Harman Baweja, Alka Yagnik, Bela Shende, and Rajab Ali Bharti.

Surprisingly, for his latest flick, Ashutosh has dropped Rehman(or may be vice-versa ;] ) and instead chosen a budding composer- Sohail Sen(son of Sameer Sen. Let’s check it out the album--

The album has 12 tracks corresponding to each "raashee" and a concluding song, a mix of all. In total 13 songs!


1> The opening track of the album is 'Pal-2 jisko '. The song has a western classical touch with jazz as its base. Javed ji does a brilliant job. Sohail Sen introduces himself as a singer...an average track....

2> This is my favorite track in this album!-'Jao na'- Sohail Sen impresses a hell lot! Both as a singer and as the composer!! With guitar as its base, the song catches up with you the first time you listen it. An "anytime listen" song infact!

3> 'Aja lehrate' is a peppy dance number… well sung by Shaan & Bhavya Pandit (indian idol-4 fame). You may find sum disturbing vocals in between, but they are quite experimental & highlight the composer's confidence...overall an average track...

4> 'Bikhri bikhri' is a melodious slow number with music doing the magic in it. Sung beautifully by Sohail, this song is one of the strongest song of this album...

5> The next track - 'Manunga manunga'- is sung by the director himself! Yes, its Ashutosh Gowarikar this time! But its not just his singing that makes this song unbearable and blunt! The lyrics also play a major role! Rehman had managed him better in swades (remember pal-pal hai bhari?).Try to avoid this one!...

6>'Sau Janam' is a typical bollywood 'haunting melody'...Madhushree's voice is beautiful...has a good pace...

7> 'Aa le chal' is sung by Aslesha Gowarikar...she definitely has a strange, and strong voice! The song also has dialogues in between, from Harman Baweja. A different track though, but just an average...

8> 'Pyari-2' is another beautiful track carrying Alka ji's and Sohail's voices...& Yes! Sohail is yet again impressive! The sudden changes in the rhythm do the trick! Worth listening...

9> 'Suchhe' is a sweet fun track,sung beautifully by Bela Shende. The song did not click me in the beginning, but when I heard it a few times, I started liking it...Sohail strikes again!! A fine track...

10> 'Salone kya' is just an average track, with a hint of arabic music...can be easily skipped…

11> 'Dhadkan-2' is another strong ballad, well supported by its music. Tarannum Malik sounds good. It's one of the better songs of the album. Should I mention it? Yes! Its Sohail again! And trust me, this guy is a talent hub! The track is just ok...

12> Now whose Rajab Ali Bharti?? don’t know? ...you better know now, coz his voice does a great job in -'Koi jane na'- another beautiful song, with a classical touch... it also has a biased view of mine! coz I am a capri myself!! ;)

13> What’s a better ending than this! Awesome!! Sohail Sen's voice does the magic again with-'Chehre jo dekhe hain'-which has a pinch of rest of the tracks of the album. The song is damn fresh and so are the lyrics. The best song in the album infact! (only after jao na! :] )


The tracks don’t strike at first, but when you listen them a few times, you start enjoy them. With such a mammoth collection (13 songs!!), it turns out to be one of the better albums of 2009. Ashutosh definitely does no mistake in selecting Sohail Sen as the composer, who is not just an excellent composer but a fine singer too! Definitely a promising stuff! The music is melodious and fresh. No remixes in this one. Overall...quite worth a take. You will definitely find your share of music! :)


Written by: Rishabh Shukla

Quick Gun Murugan Movie Review | Critique

When the desi Cowboy, complete with lipstick and blushed cheeks, with bright colored clothes, first appeared in trailers I was like “gotta see this!!”

QGM’s history- QGM appeared on channel V in 90's by the same name. Therefore it is a full feature film of a character that appeared in 5 minute slots for gags, a first for India if i am not wrong. The plot covers how Murugan battles the evil Rice Plate Reddy in his two births. In the first, to stop him from making all Idli restaurants to Non-Vegetarian and secondly, decades later to avenge his death, but by this time Reddy wants the world to love his Non-Veg McDosa (yup u read that right). Here, sample what characters in the film are called, Rice Plate Reddy as the Evil Guy, Gunpowder and Rowdy MBA as Reddy's Henchmen, Mango Dolly as Reddy's moll, Lola Kutty (I have seen her on [V] for sure) as QGM love interest.

Quite amusing don’t you think!! Alas QGM isn’t as entertaining as it seems on paper. There are scenes that are truly memorable and innovative, but it failed hit in entirety. Notice the detailing though done in the scenes, which actually very well done.

A special mention to Rowdy MBA the suave Henchman of Reddy, played by Raju Sundaram (incidently elder brother of Prabhu Dewa) is an Awesome character. If he seems familiar, then your right. Remember the guy in the video of song, “kya soorat hai” by “Bombay vikings”? Yup he’s the same guy )to me he seemed more interesting than QGM). The movie has many loving references to likes of Clint Eastwood, Terminator, Rajnikanth’s movies. Also watch out the scene involving IICC (Indian Institute of Coconut Climbing) an excellent fight scene with obvious reference to Bamboo jungle fight scene in “House of Flying Daggers” Also Rambha is perfectly as cliché plump(when I say plump I am being generous ;) ) South Indian heroine, who seduces our “innocent righteous hero” with her charms. Verdict- It is an interesting concept on paper but “could-have-been-better” at the end of it. It is like a supposedly great joke that ends without packing the punch.
  Rating- **1/2
 Written by- Ali Naqvi

District 9 Movie Review | Critique

After agonizing wait, District 9 has finally arrived here in India. When you look at the trailers, you get a feeling of D-9 being a superb and cerebral Sci-Fi movie.

Well here’s the deal- The Alien mother-ship stopped (these aliens called as “Prawns” by us Humans) some 20 years back in Johannesburg, South Africa and has since stayed ominously hovering over the city. Prawns have landed and live in ‘District-9’ under slum-like conditions. The main story is a man called Wilkus van de Merwe who is isn’t too bright and is sent to get the prawns to move to the outskirts of the city, as the Prawns are violent in nature. Wilkus undergoes an accident which changes him forever. The movie succeeds superbly succeeds in making us sympathize with the few leading Prawn characters. CG effects are top notch. Debutant director Neil Blomkamp brings such freshness and vision, that “District-9” is an instant memory. Special mention to the leading actor, Shartlo Copley, who does an excellent job portraying the lead character in all his hues.

It also has subtle comments on how humans sometimes get to inhuman ways just to leverage some more benefit. It also looks at issues such as racism and refugee. All in all it is an experience that can not be missed for the novelties in it. D-9 has it’s flaws in terms of unanswered questions in the Script. It could have gone so may places but treads the safe path of an action-alien flick. Overall film experience more than makes up for al the flaws. A more decent discussion of the movie can’t be done without spoiling too much of the plot. Comment when you’re done watching the movie and we’ll have a discussion there.

 Verdict- GO WATCH IT QUICK. It is a GREAT movie no doubt, a sci-fi to be remembered for decades. But still it losses some of its promise that is evident in the first act. It is more Independence Day than say, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Rating: **** (4 stars).
 Written by- Ali Naqvi.

7 days to go before Sanjay’s arrest | Hammers High

April 12, 1993

Baljeet Parmar, Crime Repoter gets a huge tip-off from Police department: Sanjay Dutt may be accused in bomb blast case.

April 13

Baljeet calls up Dutt family, but learns Dutt Sr. is off to Hamburg in Germany, Sanjay is in Mauritius. Baljeet tries to contact in Germany, but too late. Dutt Sr. has left for London. Baljeet leaves a hint at Dutt’s place, waits. No response till night…

April 14

Early Morning: Sanjay calls up Baljeet, asks. “what are the odds?”. “Surrender the weapons before they get to you, and you’ll get bail in Arms Act”, said Baljeet “else u get implicated in TADA too, and that means NO bail.”

Worried Sanjay calls up Commissioner Samra that night.

April 15

Baljeet files the story in the paper: “Sanjay has an AK-56”. All hell breaks loose . Media frenzy ensues.

April 19, Date of arrest

Sanjay arrives from Mauritius; is arrested at Sahar International Airport. He is taken to a small investigation room, then taken to his cell.

The day after
Sanjay’s eyes are swollen from previous night, as sleeping on floor without a pillow.



August 06, 1993
Khalnayak releases, film is a huge success but it strengthens his negative image as people often confuse characters with actors.



Oct 18, 1995
Sanjay is released on bail after 15 months in jail.

Written by Ali Naqvi.

Banned Movies For Gay Content |Under Lens

We live in a homophobic world where at numerous places homosexuality is no better than sin. But, it is a reality that deserves honor and honest portrayal on screen. In this series, we will find some movies banned for homosexual content.

“But I’m A Cheerleader” was a movie about confused identities, social issues and homosexuality, smartly drifted under the cover of comedy. Romania, Malaysia and few other countries banned the movie. Similarly, “491”, a movie about crime and criminal psychology was banned in native country Sweden, Norway and Malaysia for objectionable h-scenes.

But these two movies were not legends of land- “Fire” and “Brokeback Mountain” are. Fire was an Indian movie made by Deepa Mehta. The movie grabbed instant attraction of Hindu fundamentalists due to two reasons. First it portrayed homosexuality and secondly, the names of the lesbian duo were named after two legendary women of Hindu mythology revered as goddesses. Protest followed by vandalism lead to ban in certain parts of country.

Brokeback Mountain gained cult status as a romantic saga. Based on a novelette, the movie was about two gay friends living normal lives. It was banned in conservative countries like Burma, China, Iran and Malaysia. It achieved great success and went on to become one of the most loved romantic movies. Heath Ledger immortalized himself in the role.

Another brilliant movie banned and appreciated was “Boys Don’t Cry”. It was a story about a girl living like a boy and falling for a girl. Revelation and acceptance were two pinnacles of the story and Hillary Swank received more adulation for this movie than any other movie. Something well deserved.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Lisa Ray’s got Cancer (Myeloma) | Eyes Read It

It is true, the lady who made us cry in Water, and who made us sweat in Kasoor is suffering from Multiple Myeloma Division, a rare form of cancer. Well she has been very brave and come out in the open with her condition though advised otherwise by some as it may “affect her Career.” She was diagnosed on June 23rd, and is undergoing treatment since July 2nd. One more thing if u go through her blog posts about the same at http://lisaraniray.wordpress.com/category/the-yellow-diaries/ (there 6 posts there as of 14 September) you will sure notice that she is very calm about it all. We are surprised to see her having an intact sense of humor at this dire time of crises. Way to go Lisa… She is currently raising awareness about the condition which is incurable till now and needs research. She writes that she had a feeling of something wrong when“The signals: I was always exhausted, pale, drained, and completely depleted of red blood cells. The lack of oxygen made me a serial yawner and spacier than a displaced Czarina. Little did I know, but my hemoglobin had fallen to levels where even a dedicated Blood sucker would turn their thoughts to revival. In between work and travel in India this year, I got a routine blood test and the results sent me to the hospital for a blood transfusion.” She describes the condition as “For me, it was a relief to hear what was wrong. The plasma cells in my bone marrow were rampaging, multiplying, squeezing out the red blood cells and it was time to begin doing something about it.” Lets hope our effort here spreads some more about her condition and thus helps her recover. Truly wishing Lisa a speedy recovery from TheReelMag team. God bless her. PS- She has an excellent humorous writing style, read her blog at http://lisaraniray.wordpress.com/ Written by- Ali Naqvi.

Between Breaths | Your Camera Your Perspective

In constraints and limitations, the brilliance of an artist achieves new heights. TheReelMag brings to you an opportunity to showcase your work and claim the acclaim you always claimed... If you firmly believe that there is a little bit of cinematic genius in you and you deserve to be one of the biggies; welcome to the game.


Rule 01: Follow the portal. Widget is available on the right side of the page. Once you are a follower, mail us following details: Team Name(as per your choice), name of team members; to the.reel.admin@gmail.com with "Short Movie Entry" as subject. Note: all the members of the team should follow us. This will help us to track you. However, only team leader/director will have to mail us the details of all the members.


Rule 02: Once you have received confirmation from administrator, mail us the story out line and then the video. The size of video should be less than 10 Mb and not more than 10 minutes of screen time. Note: each video must contain written declaration that it is "for TheReelMag Showcase" in the beginning and the names of team members should be there in the end.


WHAT WILL YOU GET: Well, the panel of TheReelMag will be the reviewers of the portal and people from the theater and cinema. We will showcase your work on our youtube channel and promote the videos on different forums and platforms. Moreover, the top short movies would be exclusively reviewed in the portal and the respective teams would be showcased on Golden Podium. So, you and your work will be exposed to ever growing reader base of TheReelMag.


POINTS OF ADVANTAGE: Points will be awarded on following basis:


01: Content and Story
02: Performances
03: Work on script
04: Popularity on youtube
So, content will be the winner!!! Gear up fast... its showtime.


For Queries Contact: Ali Naqvi (COORDINATOR) at +91 8971877464 (Call Between 6PM-12PM IST)
or mail: the.reel.admin@gmail.com with "QUERY" as subject.

more  akshay's story to acclaim

The 10 Edition

Index

1. Editor's Pen: New Look TheReelMag.com

2. Yash Chopra | Statesmen

3. Music Review: Wake Up Sid

4. Movie Review: Sikandar

5. Movie Review: Casablanca

6. Music Review: Jogger's Park

7. Why did Sanjay Dutt buy arms? | Hammers High

8. Controversial Potrayal of Jesus | Banned Movies-02

9. Roadies fame Ranvijay has gone crazy

Editor's Pen: New Look TheReelMag

Wake Up… Wake Up… Wake Up…

Welcome everybody…

Ten is an interesting figure. It marks completion and a new beginning; both at the same time. This is our tenth edition. We finally completed our search of identity and see, with our own domain, it’s a new beginning.

Cinema in this part of the world and elsewhere is pretty interesting in terms of color, content and presentation. Just think, here, black, white and colored share same compassion with equal respect. No difference even between the contrasts.

In this edition we are changing a lot, in color, content and presentation. Just like cinema. Enjoy the new found- TheReelMag. Comment because we want to know what exactly you desire.

Love

Sujoy Ghosh

Statesmen: Yash Raj Chopra

Some people are born great and some achieve the distinction but there is a rare class that belongs to both. They are born great and they achieve new heights of greatness to assert the fact. Yash Chopra is a fellow of the league. The man behind the biggest banner of India and some timeless classics, Yash Raj is a person of ethics, values and traditions.

Yashraj saw many successes and few failures. Silsila achieved cult status. Deewar is often rated above Sholay. Dag, Kabhie Kabhie and Veer Zaara established new definitions to love and trust. Dharamputra and Lamhe failed on screen but sizzled on silver discs. Darr, Parampara and Joshila gave new color to story telling and… who can forget Dil To Pagal Hai.

Two path breaking movies by Yashraj were Silsila and Lamhe. Silsila was a complicated movie with a touch of reality and Lamhe failed on celluloid but meant a lot to the maverick.
Silsila had Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri and Rekha. Jaya and Amit were real life pair while the hottest news of the era was affair between reel life pair Amitabh and Rekha. In the classic, Amitabh was paired with Rekha who under unfortunate circumstances married Jaya. Yashraj poured all his efforts to bring the trio and with a brilliant script and excellent music, colored the screen.

Lamhe was an interesting movie. Anil Kapoor was in love with Sridevi who maries someone else and Sri’s daughter (again Sri) meets him after her parents death. She fells in love with him. Without a moustache (rare) Anil was brilliant and was greatly complemented by Sridevi in double role. Movie was atleast two decades ahead of time. Verdict Flop!!

But success or failure cannot define greatness. From Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor to Anil Kapoor and Shahrukh Khan… from Rekha, Rakhi to Priety Zinta to Rani Mukherjee… every star felt the aura. Yash Chopra is to Bollywood what no body can be to Hollywood.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Music Review: Wake Up Sid

Music Directors: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Lyricist: Javed Akhtar
Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Kavita Seth, Amitabh Bhattacharya,Clinton Cerejo and Uday Benegal
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, the trio have once again produced melodious and hit soundtracks living every bit to the expectations of their fans.
The trio known for their melodious and super hit soundtracks in films like "DCH","Kal Ho Na Ho" and "Taare Zameen Par", have done it again for Karan Johar's film "Wake up Sid", starring Ranbir Kapoor and Konkana Sen Sharma. There are six songs, five original soundtracks and one is a remix.
The title track "Wake Up Sid" sung by Shankar Mahadevan is a sweet and entertaining song with strong musical backing. The song certainly has a idiosyncratic SEL zing to it.
It also has a "Club Mix" version which does not have any drastic changes in flow or the rhythm. This version is little more upbeat than the original one. The song,"Aaj kal zindagi" is a soft, soothing and inspirational song crooned by Shankar Mahadevan himself. The song reminds of "Kaisi hai Ye Rut" ),begins slowly and picks up momentum gradually. The song belongs to the genre which will definitely be liked by peple who like their music to be soft.
"Kya Karoon" is an average feel good kind of song voiced by Clinton Cerejo. Cerejo's unconventional voice goes along well with the song.
"Iktara" is by far the best one among the lot. Fantastic song sung by Kavitha Seth and Amitabh Bhattacharya, with good lyrics and superb and soulful composition by Amit Trivedi (yeah right, the Dev-D one).You are bound to love this song.
Finally there is "Life is crazy", another foot-tapping number crooned by Shankar Mahadevan and Uday Benegal.
Verdict: One of the better sound-tracks for this year.Watch out for "Iktara".
For The Reel; Written By: Vinayak Pandey (Vins)

Critique: Sikandar

Kashmir brings out a lot of emotion…

Parzan Dastur and Ayesha Kapoor are the future of Indian Cinema. Capable and passionate. Parzania fame Parzan and Black’s trump card Ayesha are the protagonist of this movie. The movie from rushes promised a lot with a good cast and crew lead by Sanjay Suri and R. Madhvan. However, unlike Chalo America by the same director, this movie fails to bring out the core to the fore. In Chalo America, Piyush Jha was naïve as a director, yet smart. Somewhere the brilliance faded… hoping its just temporary.

Parzan is the highlight of the movie. A wannabe footballer (Read Kaka), he has dreams that are overshadowed by the darkness of terrorism. The point is valid. Terrorism not only kills few people, it kills dreams and aspirations of thousands. The tragedy of dreams is more painful than the mortality. Ayesha was not used properly as an actress. She is far better than what she did in this movie. As director, this is the biggest failure of Jha. Also, Sanjay Suri as an extremist was not given due space on screen. Same happened with the army man Madhvan. Both were literally wasted. Yes, Congress Leader Arjun Singh’s grandson Arunoday Singh got an apt role. He has caliber.

Everything about this movie lies between good and average by Bollywood standards. Scenic beauty was captured nicely but lacked sharpness. It could have been a better movie but somehow failed to deliver due to a weak script. Both the writer and director aspects of Jha missed the bulls eye. But there was a silver lining too. Jha convinced that Kashmir can be seen from the eyes of innocent children too, who had suffered the most since ’47. Bravo Jha.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Critique: Casablanca

“But it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world…”

Casablanca… a movie that is worldwide revered as a classic and brilliance only next to Citizen Kane. Some people believe that it has been overhyped and few others like me, firmly believe that at times love can be overhyped but Casablanca… it will always be an understatement. Three Oscars- Best Director, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, and five more nominations. Casablanca is a class.

With World War 2 as a background it tells the story of Rick Blaine played by Humphrey Bogart who owns a café in the town of Casablanca. One day he happens to meet his ex-lover Ilsa Lund played by Ingrid Bergman and her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) who is a Czech Resistance Leader. Rick fell in love with Ilsa some time back in Paris. Both came close as Ilsa thought that Laszlo was killed by Nazis in mass killings. But when she found that he was alive, she dumped Rick. Now, in Casablanca, Rick has an opportunity to rescue Laszlo from Nazis. He strikes a deal with Ilsa and does the appropriate.

Directed by Michael Curtiz, this movie was a slow starter and gained cult status over age. Just like Citizen Kane. In black and white, the movie has two brilliant scenes- first: Laszlo singing anthem in the café and second: the climax scene of interaction between Ilsa and Rick.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Music Review: Jogger’ Park

How truly said, "Ishq hota nahi sabhi ke liye", for all those who have had a heartbreak and also who haven't.

Yes… that was from Jogger’s Park.

The splashes of waves with which the song starts and just then Adnan Sami stretches few notes, you can feel something moving within you. The familiar variations in his voice add to deep feelings evoked by lyricist. A tear rolls down my eyes whenever sitting by the window, I listen to these lines "jab andhera badhta hai, jalta hai dil roshni ke liye".

Next in line is our dear Usha Utthap, in quite a new style singing "Kabhi paal Liya", written by Subhash Ghai himself. Song is well sung and composed, no doubt, but the listener all through waits for it to gain speed and at the end you are disappointed. But then the Ghazal king Jagjit Singh Saab, my favorite enters and takes you to the world of romance!! Smooth flowing ghazal 'Badi Naazuk Hai' catches your attention immediately and you get a reason to smile for your choice of ‘Joggers Park'. But yes I agree it’s not one of his bests.

The album also has a Hinglish number as its title track, "Joggers Park" in voice of Usha Utthap again. Its a peppy delightful song after few heavy ones. Lyrics by Neisha & Subhash Ghai help you to picturise the Joggers Park and life relationships and moments at this hangout 'Park'. The rhythm is such that you are bound to sing along. Another filmy song in this 'hatke' album is "Habba Habba Hui" in voice of Asha ji. The lyrics by Sameer have Arabian touch but it fails to draw you to dance floor.

The album ends with an instrumental as the theme song. Seems director had planned to keep alternating between melodious and tasteless tracks. The album overall is a good collection to maintain with few songs to add to your favorite playlist.

For The Reel; Written By: Neha Jain

Why did Sanjay Dutt buy arms? | Hammers High

We all know Sanjay Dutt possessed Arms, but do we know WHY. Why would he want to buy rifles? Was it for the sake of it?

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December end 1992, riots in Mumbai.

Sunil Dutt, a Gandhian, set off to help riot victims. The Dutt residence soon became a point where relief material was collected.

During that period Dutt family received anonymous threats on the phone. The threats ranged from killing male members of the family to, molestation and rape of the two daughters of Dutt family.

Things took an ugly turn when Sunil Dutt was attacked Jogeshwari and Behrampur. Threats continued, and finally Sanjay Dutt logged a complaint with the Police. Dutt Sr. plea wasn’t attended to by the police. Disillusioned, Sanjay was worried about his family.

Later that day he told an army officer, who guarded the Dutt residence that night. Next day on Sanjay was worried again.

Sanjay’s told his friends Hanif Kadawala and Samir Hingora about the same. Both suggested Sanjay to get automatic weapon to safe guard the family. After initial hesitation Sanjay agreed, and in and week of January his friends arrived with the rifles accompanied by a man named Salem.

(NOTE- In those days, underworld had known connection with Bollywood. So )

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12^th MARCH 1993, 13 bomb blast rock Mumbai, taking 250 lives.

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APRIL 1993, Baljeet Parmar, a reporter gets whiff of police activity in bomb blast case. Baljeet gets tip that an MP’s son is involved, maybe Sanjay.

To confirm, later that night, baljeet tried a bluff and called an IPS officer at Mahim and said: "Suna hai aapne kisi MP ke bete ko uthaya hai (I have heard that you have picked up an MP's son)".

The answer slipped out. "No, we have not, as he is shooting abroad," he replied. Now, it had to be Sanjay Dutt. TO BE CONTINUED…

For 'The Reel'; Written by 'Ali Naqvi'

Controversial Potrayal of Jesus | Under Lens: Banned Movies-02

No such thing excites passion, as religion does. Some movies have crossed the line hurting sentiments. Christianity being the biggest faith, has had its share of banned movies. Some of the notable of these are: Last Temptation of Christ, 1988


The movie faced ire because it showed Jesus himself being in doubt himself, of being the son of God, of being a messiah. It also raised controversy as it showed Judas as the most trusted disciple of Jesus, whom betrays Jesus on his own instructions.

As Jesus is being crucified, he has a vision of an angel who tells him that he is not Son of God, and God is pleased with him, and wants him to lead an ordinary life. Further scenes show him as making love to Mary Magdalene, who bears his children. As Jesus comes to end of his life as an old man, Judas calls him a betrayer. Thereafter, Jesus crawls to God and asks him to let Him go back to the cross to die for Salvation of humanity. Thus the angel that gave him such visions is Satan himself, and Jesus finally overcomes his Last Temptations.

What was most controversial is that Jesus is shown to be swayed by lure of Satan, in betraying his mission, if even momentarily.

Note – The film was nominated in Best Director Oscar Award for Director Martin Scorsese and was banned in multiple countries.


Passion of Christ, 2004
Passion in Biblical terms means events relating to Arrest, Trial, Torture, and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was in controversy because it showed excessive torture of Christ.
Robert Ebert, the most revered critic of all time said ” The movie is 126 minutes long, and I would guess that at least 100 of those minutes, maybe more, are concerned specifically and graphically with the details of the torture and death of Jesus. This is the most violent film I have ever seen.”.

Another critic Rick Groen said, “(Passion of Christ is )So obsessively and so graphically bloody-minded that it comes perilously close to the pornography of violence.”

It was also regarded as Anti-Semitic by some as it showed Jew characters in negative light. Some believe it showed that Jews killed Jesus.

The latest in the series is Da Vinci Code that alleged that church has hidden the fact that Jesus Christ had a baby girl with Mary Magdalene. Incidentally, The Novel- Da Vinci Code had mention of “The Last Temptation of Christ” to support its claim.

For 'The Reel'; Written by 'Ali Naqvi'

Ranvijay’s head goes for a “Toss” |Eyes Read it

Ranvijay seems to have lost it. Don’t believe me? Umm, then maybe you haven’t yet seen promos of ‘toss’. They are gross to say the least. In the promo he is seen gyrating to Punjabi number “Aish Aish”, delivering corny lines.

For one the film seems to have Production values comparable to worst kinds of Punjabi music videos that we come across. Well he could have borrowed some help from his Roadies production team. Hope he doesn’t get spanking from his Oh-so-intelligent friend Raghuram.

Mean while Farah Khan’s “Tere mere beech mein” has premiered, the show has its moments but lacks the punch. You can often feel how Farah Khan steps onto sensitive issues of Celebrity guests to make them cry. Just to grab eyeballs, That’s insensitive we say!!

Salman has shown interest in buying IPL team, we hear. After seeing his showing in ‘Dus Ka Dum’, we are eager what becomes of his team .

Guzarish, Hrithik-Aishwarya Starrer is supposed to be inspired from “Prestige” we hear. If so who plays the second magician?? Acha haan don’t you agree that Hrithik resembles Hugh Jackman, If we view their backs that is??

Bollywood has come out with the video ‘Make it Large - A tribute to Michael Jackson’ it features singers like Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal, KK, Shaan and Vishal-Shekhar. Prabhu Dewa also features dancing in MJ’s style. Well done guys!

See ya in the next edition people ;)