Okka 'Big headache' Magadu*

I think I am very decent and considerate naming this post Okka 'Big headache' Magadu because its deserves more ...more bad words..... read on......

Usually not being much of Telugu movie buff and a big No, No person to Balakrishna movies somehow I had to go to this movie of his, "Okka Magadu" at my in-laws day before yesterday. I always wondered why this guy is joked around in emails and SMS's and after seeing his movie for the first time in a theatre answered all my questions.

Man..there is not one saving grace for this movie and it is meant to sink(I guess already sank). Lack of story/screenplay, Meaning less songs, scantly clad heroines, skimpy make up, no comedy, unrealistic fights and sloppy direction best describes the movie. Also it can be described as a worst attempt to remake Bharateeyudu(Movie by Shankar starring Kamal Hassan) which was 100 times better in all aspects and to my wonder technically (Art, Makeup, Graphics and locales) too, though it has been made 10 years earlier.

Its the bad direction which screwed up the movie and the director should understand that its not scantly clad heroines with double meaning dialogues/scenes that people want; Grow up "Mr.Director". Also the hero should not be left unblamed, I don't know how can a hero with 25 years industry experience accept such stupid and meaning less roles.

Totally this movie left me with severe headache that subsided only after watching a complete season of friends!!

*This ones just for those who follow Telugu movies.

First Day, First Show!!

Being a not so movie buff form the beginning, me watching a movie on first day is very very rare. Forget first day, watching it on first week or most if the times as it is, even in first month is uncommon and that too in a Theater hmm...! . I do see lot of movies on DVD, 'cause I can skip of all the songs and silly fights. Believe me, sometime last month I have seen 3 Telugu movies in 40 minutes. That's the way I watch Hindi and Telugu movies.

For a person like me who likes to enjoy the movie peacefully, watching a Telugu movie on a First day amidst those loud cheers/whistles and papers flying all around(Some times the papers thrown block most of the screen) is not my peg of Vodka!

But..but...but... My better half being a Ardent die hard fan of Mahesh Babu, I started seeing Mahesh Babu's movies on first day with her. One relieving thing is that my uncle gets the tickets for me when ever need so, I escape the hardships of getting the tickets on first day.

And yesterday was yet another such day as Mahesh babu's Athidi was released. I pushed my uncle to get tickets in Imax as it will be very much quieter than a regular theater. But, I got tickets in Sudarshan 35 MM and I got cooked in the theater amidst the first day freakyness and pandemonium.

In the Movie, Violence was too much, Comedy wise OK, Songs OK, Photography/Songs picturisation/Action sequences were good- over all an OK type movie. I felt it was dragged a bit towards the end

This was my feeling, on contrary my better half's feeling - Super..Super and Again Super!!

"Sholay" remake!...mastered or massacred?

I think the current trend in Bollywood these days is remake. The concept is pretty simple, take a super hit from the past and re shoot it with the present day technology and perspective. But making a remake is not as simple as the concept. The first thing everyone will do is to compare it with the original and weigh its pros and cons. Any little point not justified will be seen through a magnifying glass.

So, the challenge in making a remake is to match to the standards of the original film in all aspects and at the same time deliver something new to the viewers. When I first heard that DON is being remade, I was exited to see how will it be. When I saw the film it was pretty well managed, in the sense the plot was similar at the same time different, it was shot with the SRK's style/image and not to mention using the latest technology and gadgets.

But when I heard that Sholay is being remade...I was out of words and in fact I was a bit scared. I always thought that Sholay is one master piece which has everything a viewer wants and there was no stone left unturned in it.

I am not sure how RGV's Sholay will be, but I hope that if not Mastered, at least it should not be massacred.

Here is a look at the old and new stars in the 1975-Bollywood blockbuster Sholay and Ram Gopal Varma's adaption of the classic*.


While Amjad Khan played big baddie Gabbar Singh in the old version, none other than Amitabh Bachchan plays the new-age villain in the new Sholay.

In place of Amitach Bachchan is newcomer Prashant Raj who plays the small-time crook, good-at-heart Jai.

Ajay Devgan takes on the role of Dharmendra, essaying the character of the flirtatous Veeru.

Sushmita Sen as Durga, slips into the character of the quiet widow Radha that Jaya Bachchan immortalised.

RGV's new take on Sholay turns the gaon ki gori Basanti, played by Hema Malini, into a Mumbaiya tapori called Ghungroo played by Nisha Kothari. Playing Sanjeev Kumar's role as the hardened Thakur, the cop-turned-man-on-a-mission out to get Gabbar, is southern star Mohanlal.

Remember Gabbar Singh saying "Arre o Sambha!" Mac Mohan takes on the role of the main villain's side-kick Sambha as Sushant Singh in the new Sholay.

Jajdeep made Soorma Bhopali a household name in the old Sholay. Now, meet Rajpal Yadav playing Soorma in RGV's adaption of the classic.

*According to the information I got

Sholay - My choice for best all time Hindi movie

Sholay is one movie which I can watch anytime, anywhere and any number of times(Taking into consideration that I am not that movie buff). I am sure everyone who are reading this has seen this epic movie. If there are anyone who haven't seen it, please rush to a DVD store, buy or rent one and watch it. Believe me, you will regret for watching all the piece of craps coming these days and not seeing Sholay till now.

Do you know that Sholay is taken for example in Management/ Personality Develompent seminars? Also, Sholay is screened in many universities and colleges by the management as it is a perfect blend of action(Gabbar), love(Dharam pa & Hemamalini), sentiment( Jaya Badhuri & others), Comedy(Amithab Bachan, Dharam pa and Asrani), the best and the one I like the most - Friendship( Amithab Bachan, Dharam pa), culture(villate of Ramgadh), values(A.K Hangal and Sachin).

Also, Sholay stands apart from many films at those times and even now. Take it for Cinematography, Dilouges(Tera kya hoga kalia and many many more), Background score, performances, Music(Yeh Dosti, Mehbooba Mehbooba), Choreography( Helen in Mehbooba Mehbooba).

Sholay(Hindi) translates to as "Flames" in English. Read on for some interesting Trivia on this film:

• Sanjeev Kumar wanted to play Gabbar Singh, but the producers insisted that he play the police officer.
• Dharmendra was interested in playing Gabbar Singh, but changed his mind when Ramesh Sippy told him Basanti was to be played by Hema Malini.
• The director's original choice for Jaidev too was different. Shatrughan Sinha was almost signed, when Dharmendra convinced the producers that Amitabh would be the right choice.
• The producers wanted Danny Denzongpa to play the bandit chief, but he was committed to Feroz Khan's "Dharmatma". Amjad Khan was a second choice.
• The scene in which Thakur's family is killed was cut by the censor board; the murder of a small child was deemed too horrific to show.
• The film showcased two real life romances. Amitabh married Jaya Bhaduri, who played the widowed daughter-in-law, in 1973, during the filming. Dharmendra married Hema Malini in 1980, five years after the release of the film.
• Amjad Khan prepared to play a bandit chief by reading a book titled Abhishapth Chambal, which told of the exploits of Chambal dacoits. The book was written by Taroon Bhaduri, who happened to be the father of Jaya Bhaduri.
• The screenwriters, Salim-Javed, named Veeru and Jai after a couple of Salim's college friends.
• According to some sources Sholay has always been the number one grossing film of all time, in the Indian film industry.
• From September 1 through September 5, 2006, the Walter Reade Theater of New York City's Lincoln Center, held screenings of "Sholay." The film is said to be one of the favorite's of the Theater's program director, Richard Peña.
• There is a water tank in the village ( Veeru climbs on the water tank) but no electricity( Thakur's daughter in law lights all candles in the evening).
• MacMohan is most remembered for his role as the dacoit Sambha, though the character had only one dialogue in the edited version of the whole film! The Unedited version saw him had one more dialogue with his collegues while playing cards and just before kidnapping Sachin.

Sholay has two endings?

The film has two known endings. The original ending (shown in the Eros-released DVD) has Thakur Baldev Singh killing Gabbar Singh, trampling him with spike-soled shoes.The Censor Board of India, The C.B.F.C. (Central Board of Film Certification), however, found the ending unacceptable as they thought that Police officers or even ex-police officers, should not be shown to commit murder. A new ending was filmed, in which the police arrest Gabbar Singh in the nick of time. Several other minor changes were made as well.

Inspiration:

• Critics and movie-goers agree that the film was not totally original.
  It drew heavily upon the conventions of Western films, especially Sergio Leone's spaghetti Westerns.
• The massacre of a family near the middle of the film is similar to a scene from Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West as well as a scene from John Ford's The Searchers.
• Sholay's extensive use of slow-motion in shoot-outs was influenced by the westerns of Sam Peckinpah, films such as The Wild Bunch (1969) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
• The first film to show a village hiring mercenaries to protect itself from bandits was the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Hollywood remade Seven Samurai as The Magnificent Seven in 1960, fifteen years before Sholay.
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) featured two appealing outlaws, just like Jai and Veeru.
• Critics also cite the Indian films Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971) and Khote Sikkay (1973) as possible inspirations.
• Gabbar Singh was modeled on a real-life dacoit of the same name who menaced the villages around Gwalior in the 1950s. He terrorized the local police. Any policeman captured by the real Gabbar Singh had his ears and nose cut off, and was then released as an object lesson to other policemen.
• The music for the song "Mehbooba" was inspired by a Western tune, "Say You Love Me" by Demis Roussos, a singer-songwriter of Greek origin.
• There is a scene in Sergio Leone's For A Few Dollars More (1965) in which an outlaw leader, El Indio, loads a gun and threatens to kill another man. This is said to have inspired the Sholay scene in which Gabbar Singh threatens to kill three of his cowardly followers.
• The protagonist of the western One-Eyed Jacks (1960) played by Marlon Brando has a double-sided coin which he uses to his advantage much like the Jaidev character in Sholay.

Credits

Cast:
Dharmendra as Veeru
Amitabh Bachchan as Jaidev
Hema Malini as Basanti
Sanjeev Kumar as Thakur Baldev Singh
Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh
Jaya Bhaduri as Radha
Iftekhar as Radha's father
Jagdeep as Soorma Bhopali
Asrani as the comic jailor Viju
Khote as Kalia Mac Mohan as Sambha
A.K. Hangal as the blind imam
Sachin as Ahmed, the imam's son
Leela Mishra as mausi
Basanti's aunt Satyen Kappu as Ramlaal (Thakur's servant)
Helen as a Gypsy dancer
Jalal Agha as a Gypsy singer

Crew:
The film was produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It was written by scriptwriters Salim-Javed. R. D. Burman contributed the music. Anand Bakshi was the lyricist. It was the first Hindi (and possibly Indian) movie to have a stereophonic soundtrack.

I repeat again, for all those who did not watch Sholay, do see it right away and do not wait for RGV's Sholay. We do not know if this master piece will be massacred or mastered.

Dubai Seenu in Hyderabad

Starring: Ravi Teja,Nayanatara
Director: Seenu Vytla
Music: Devi Sri Prasad

Dubai Seenu is the latest movie that hit the theaters last week. If not for Ravi Teja, no other hero could have pulled this plot off. Hero Ravi Teja’s dialogue delivery and casual acting style are the two things which keep the audiences tied throughout the film.

As we can expect from the title, this is a story of a group of friends who dream to go to Dubai and earn big. Their dreams are shattered when a guy ?(venu Madhav) cheats the gang and leaves them clueless in Mumbai. Patnaik (Krishna Bhagavan) comes to their rescue and inspires the guys to set up business. So, why Patnaik gives them money and what he makes these guys do is a track that audience can enjoy.

Mean while Madhu (Nayana Tara) is a RJ in Radio Mirchi, a FM Radio Station. Why Madhu comes to Mumbai? Why Seenu helps Madhu? And what's the relation between the heroine, hero and the bad man is a story that goes through few serious twists.

One thing that is steady and entertaining in the movie is the comedy tracks which come one after another. Some scenes will remind us of Anandam and Venkey, but the director tried his very best to show them differently. Dharmavarapu Subramanyam's role as Radio Station head and MS Narayana as Film Star "Salman Raju" were good.

When it comes to the songs, they were not much appealing. But one or two are worth an ear. One thing that the director tried different in this movie is to include the characters of the story in few of the songs. Small stint by Sunil in the title song is awesome.

Sushant Singh as bad Guy did an exceptional work. After the interval couple of twists will twist you but the comedy track jumping back now and then will relieve us from the stress of the twists. Not to mention we get to see some other actors from the industry in some roles, I mean in between the twists. It's better you see them on screen itself.

Casual dialogues, much more ease of delivery of dialogues by Ravi Teja and comedy tracks right from the start till the end are major plus for the movie.

Overall I can say I feel this is an above average movie and if you want to have some fun and laugh heartily, give it a shot.

Spider Man 3: Seven minute preview

I have always been a Spidey fan and I have been waiting from past 1 year or so for the third instalment of Spider Man. As per the talk it will kick ass all the previous movie collections and set a new record.

So for all the Spider Man fans who are waiting for the Spider Man 3 release on May 4 2007, here is a Seven minute preview of Spider Man 3: