The Big Fat Indian Wedding

Source: bollywoodhungama.com

Koffee with Karan is amongst my favourite celebrity talk shows, and being the “fan girl” I am, one can see me smiling from the beginning to the end of the show. Episode 16 of Season 3 saw Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh (of the Band Baaja  Baaraat fame) grace the famous “couch,” and gave me the idea for my next movie review. Its been almost 3 months since the release of Band Baaja Baaraat, but its still fresh in our minds because of its numerous wins at all the popular Bollywood awards.

The Yash Raj banner has become famous for giving debutant directors and actors a chance to make movies with decent budgets. Although many of these attempts have turned out to be duds at the box office (read Tashan, Dil Bole Hadippa, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Lafangey Parindey), the worldwide success of Band Baaja  Baaraat (BBB) has erased all those bitter memories.

Ever thine. Ever mine. Ever ours.

Source: fanpop.com

Sex and the City – the movie – isn’t even one of my favourite chick flicks, but to everyone’s surprise, I have seen it more than once as it is an afternoon favourite with the English Movie channels here, especially when they have nothing else to air. I don’t mind watching it (much to my husband’s horror) for various girly reasons (read loyalty to the SATC TV series, clothes, shoes and the little bits of wit). Although I watched the movie without taxing my brain or my heart, yet a particular line, “Ever thine. Ever mine. Ever ours.” from a particular scene (where Carrie read out a love letter by Beethoven from a book called Love Letters of Great Men) somehow got stuck in my head. This line was then later quoted again in the movie by Big when he finally married Carrie. The movie in itself isn’t a romantic’s dream, but there’s something so “foreverly” in this line that it prompted me to find out more about these letters and the book.

Romance is in the Air!

Source: dealnay.com

A chance encounter with a nice Frenchman at the Mumbai airport provided the foundation for this post. While walking through a bookstore, this gentleman requested me to help him choose a typical Bollywood family entertainer. I was more than happy to oblige him, but found it extremely difficult to restrict my selection to only 1 movie. However, after much deliberation, I decided to give him a compilation of the 12 best Bollywood movies (by Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd.), which are the most appropriate examples for the Hindi movie song-and-dance routine.

From YouTube to Hollywood

I had received an e-mail sometime back that sent me this YouTube link. I thought that this video entitled Ataque de Panico! (Panic Attack), was a trailer for a soon-to-be released  movie. However, when I dug a little deeper, I found out that it was a five-minute short film by an Uruguayan filmmaker, Fede Alvarez.
This video, which was posted on YouTube in November 2009, is a stylized documentary about giant robots attacking and destroying Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. I was, to say the least, surprised when I read that Alvarez had made the film for less than $1000.

Rajini Saar...Superstar!

Created by The Clinomanaic

Rajinikanth enjoys the status of a matinee idol in India and is literally worshipped by millions in the country and outside. "Thalaivar" (leader), as he is fondly called by his fans, was recently seen again on the silver screen in his sci-fi blockbuster ENDHIRAN (Tamil) and ROBOT (Hindi). Around the time these 2 movies hit the theatres, a number of Rajinikanth jokes became popular among people, especially the younger generation, via email and SMS. 

India's Michael Jackson

Check out this video of a Prabhu Deva song. Mike Sutton has edited it to include incorrect yet hilarious English subtitles that sound similar to the original Tamil lyrics.  

Happy Birthday Eddie!

Source: musicstack.com

It is weirdly coincidental that the day I decide to write a post on Eddie Izzard (one of my favourite stand-up comedians), it happens to be his birthday. Thus, let me begin by wishing him a fantabulous birthday!

I particularly love his take on the Death Star of the Star Wars series, and often playfully use the "Do you know who I am?" line on my husband. 

To know more, watch Eddie Izzard's Death Star Canteen (a part of his performance from his stand-up tour called Circle), and like me, you might also get hooked on to his style of comedy!

Adversity...the greatest teacher

Source: brusimm.com

In Bangalore there’s usually a dearth of English movies released in the theatres. However, some of the watch-worthy movies, which get nominated or win in the popular categories at the Golden Globes and the Oscars, are promptly released here in the following weeks.

Among such releases was Danny Boyle’s latest film 127 HOURS, which my husband and I saw yesterday with a few friends.

Danny Boyle is a hero of sorts to us Indians ever since he brought the Oscars closer to home with his highly acclaimed and successful film ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’ He has cultivated his own cinematic style, which is evident yet again in this movie where he has transformed one man’s gut-wrenching tale of survival into a thrilling, life-affirming story that captures the power of the human spirit.