Moved yet again…….
Oh yea, A few of you must have got fed up of this exercise and I know its a bit irritating.
This blog has moved to a more permanent location and shall hopefully stay there. Please update your readers and bookmarks and point them to http://www.maxdavinci.com/blog.
WordPress is a fantastic platform and has helped my blog go places. With over 10,000 page views and 250+ comments the past months have been fantastic. Do follow this blog in its new home…
voh south ke phillum
How often have you heard this term? I for sure have heard it a zillion times, and to be frank am quite fed up of hearing the same. Those forwarded emails carrying youtube clips of gabtun or balayya and a wisecrack comment that relegates all of southern India’s films to the depths of neverland. A more researched post is still in the draft phase but in the meanwhile here is a small comparison.
Here is a song that features the best real life Bollywood couple in a so-called-seductive song. Abhi-Ash don’t have a bedroom song as yet and hence do not qualify. At one corner you have an award winning heroine whose last two roles have been that of a blind woman and one suffering from alzheimers(interesting?). Giving her company is a national award and more importantly a dandanakka award winning actor who incidentally is also the director of this film. This is all I could find on youtube and didn’t have the patience to rip and upload it myself, not to worry coz you’re not missing anything…
Now this is what kollywood has to offer. A mediocre actress for whom many may claim that the word mediocre is also a huge compliment, and her hubby a pretty decent actor with nothing great to boast about barring a few movies like this one. The divide in terms of acting between these two couples is without any doubt greater than the grand canyon yet the second video seems more convincing. Ladeej and juntalmen that is what is called chemistry, it not only exists in beakers and pippettes but also between couples.
A few of these south ke phillum may sure be cheap, crass and crude but the rest are far more stylish than anything bollywood has imagined. It takes a RDB or a TZP to beat the south but then both these movies had a heavy southie influence!(Maddy,Siddharth, A.R.Rahman, Shankar Mahadevan etc). If any of you wisecracks wanna tell me that this movie is stylish then I have some left-over ‘mushroomfry’ that has been lying in my fridge for a week, just for you!
For those who wanna poke fun at the thalaivar, here comes a man that defies all odds. Show me two of his films that have even remotely been similar and i’ll eat my mushrooms myself. Huge expectations from this one and I hope he wont disappoint.
The ‘Sarkar Raj‘ trailer is also a winner but then you can’t count it for it’s made by a southie. Those of you rooting for the ‘Jism-Jadoo hain nasha‘ song, it wasn’t a bedroom song and plus the music director was Telugu and the hero a mallu.
PS: Lifted from Bachchan saab’s blog, Here is what RGV messaged him on Tashan.
people are saying Tashan is as bad as Aag…! If Sholay has set the bench mark for the ultimate hit then the least i achieved with Aag, is that i made it a bench mark for the ultimate flop..
dandanakka eh danukanakka…….
The title of this post was a very funny song that gaya introduced me to, and ever since I’ve had to hold my stomach and LOL’ed so hard whenever I’ve hear this song. Non-Tamizh readers can at least relate to the weird lyrics and beats. Some Tamizh readers can identify the voice and that is none other than our so-called-multi-talented-multi-faceted roachstar chimbu! Now before the All-India-Roachstar-Fans-Association burn my effigies, I’ll get into the real reason behind this post. Some time ago I announced my existence and promised to post about my flop-a-thon experiences. Over the past few weeks I have realized the potential of bad cinema and the service it does to mankind. These movies tiltilate the masses with scantily clad heroines prancing around in their high heels, crass comedy, vulgar dialogs, bad actors with constipated expressions, amateur music directors, freestyle-aerobics-type-choreography, gaudy make up, oh I could go on. But then what goes noticed is the employment opportunities they create.
I’d even stick out my neck and claim that the railways comes a close second to this “Industry” in being the single largest employer. The railways may have more bihari-babus on their payroll but in terms of working hands the “Industry” is way ahead. Such selfless service to mankind inspite of repeated box-office failures is truly praise worthy and shall not go unnoticed. Ladeej and Juntalmen, It’s my honour to present the first ever ‘Dandanakka Awards’ for the year 2008, celebrating ineptitude in cinema. Below are the various categories and winners.
- Most forgettable debut of the year: This without an iota of doubt has to goto the multi-talented-self-proclaimed-genius Himmes bhai or ‘aech-aar’ as he is fondly called for portraying 258 constipated expressions in a single frame. Amongst the females, the award goes to ‘Bottomless Khan‘ for bringing white shirts into vogue. Don’t be surprised if your boyfriend buys you one of those and sets up a sprinkler system in the garden.
- Most painful lyrics of the year: This award had to goto the title song of the movie ‘Shakalaka boom’. Those who want to contest this award will have to explain the meaning of the phrase shaka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka laka, Shaka laka boom boom. It first appeared to be a cheap take on the Thalaivar’s laka laka laka from Chandramukhi, However I realised it was a product of Himessing.
- Cochlea damaging music of the year: Well the lejund of b-grade moosik was back with a bang this year after having sung some surprisingly good songs for V&S in Taxi 9211 and ARR in Guru. It’s a pleasure to announce this years award to the person who instated this category in the first place. Ladeej and Juntalmen it is none other than the great Bappida for making our ears bleed to his tunes for the movie ‘Gadha Mar Gaya‘.
- Unsupporting actors award: Jayaji makes a rather surprising entry into the world of horrible cinema, but for sewing rags every time she wants to cry(which was always!) and kicking her elder daughter out of the younger ones wedding, we give the award to her so-called stellar performance in ‘Lag gaya sar mein dard‘. The Deols have always been patrons of bad cinema and Bobby continues the legacy with his painful performances in ‘Shakalaka Boom’ and ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom‘. Sadly both movies were about dancing, a virtue that is alien to the men of the Deol household. If any of you wish to contest my choice then don’t forget there was ‘Kaun hain Jaisalmer‘, ‘Naqaab‘ and ‘Apne‘ as well.
- Forgetful comeback of the year: This is my favorite for it goes to an actor who himself forgot it was his comeback appearance. In a year of comebacks right from Govinda to Madhuri, also claimed to have seen Jugal Hansraj making a brief appearance in ‘Naaja Bachle‘. Somebody please tell him that he was in the movie.
- Unbearable actor of the year: It’s been a wonderful year for bad cinema with some good actors also making handsome contributions. For his role of a sleepy eyed writer called ‘Doc’ in ‘Kaash‘ and the most unbearable portrayal of ‘Heeru’ in ‘RGV ki Bhaag‘, the years most prestigeous award goes to national award recipient Ajay Devgan. Amongst the women Rani Mukherjee takes the cake for completing a hattrick of tawaif roles with ‘Lag gaya sar mein dard‘ and ‘Saava variya‘, ‘Uncle Gaandey‘ being the first.
- Most treacherous film of the year: This was the easiest and a unanimous choice, setting the trend for bad movies. It’s become a cult movie of sorts drawing parallels to movies like Gunda and Loha. Bhaiyon aur unke Beheno put your hands together for RGV and his Bhaag, as this year’s winner for the award of the most treacherous film of the year.
- Most Disgruntled Director of the year: After making a movie like ‘Black Friday‘ that earned its place amongst the best of the year, Anurag Kashyap doesn’t satisfy the connoisseurs of bad cinema by dishing out a movie like never before and never again. Probably 10 years from now, audiences may understand the movie after watching it 20-30 times but it went over my head after a dual encore. Without an iota of doubt the award for this year goes to Anurag Kashyap for ‘No Smoking‘.
- Out-of-sync Singer of the year: There are singers and then there is Himes Bhai. But then there is a man who is a level higher than everyone, he is none other than the pappi-chor Mika Singh. For parading poetry recitation and synchronized dialogs as singing, the award goes to Mika for ‘Aye Ganpat‘ from ‘Shootout at Lokhandwala‘.
- Unplayable screenplay of the year: For the most construed series of events unfolding in the name of cinema with cliched indo-brit sentiments and an underdog story that defies logic with potbellied men running across a football field, the award goes to the team of ‘Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal‘.
- Horrendous actor in a negative performance: This category had many promising nominees, but then the youth in me is biased towards the shockingly endowed and allergic to apparel, Mona/Sherlyn Chopra. Here I wish to clarify that it’s not for the reasons mentioned above but for her role as a psychotic, mentally ill and serial killing whore in the film ‘Red Swastika‘. You might be thinking “who is he trying to fool”, lekin sach keh raha hoon…. lol!
- Non-Existent story of the year: It has been a fantastic year for bad cinema with great names doing the needful, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali has condescended to give us a story that begun and ended without any change. It takes sheer talent and great dedication to write a story that spans three hours and yet leaves everything like it was, untouched. We need to encourage such manuscripts and they shall serve as inspiration to the millions of small time writers. Please join me in applauding SLB for his commendable contribution to bad cinema and giving us India’s first blue film.
- Intolerable actor in a comic role: There were plenty of hopefuls for this award, cheap and crude humor being the forte of bad cinema. Please don’t accuse me for being a bhakta of sleaze, but I am tempted to give the award to Rakhi Sawant for exposing the casting couch that exists in the industry. When someone fornicates with not one but four corpses under the pretext of struggling in ‘Gadha mar gaya‘, it sure is funny and worthy of praise.
- Lifetime under-achievement award: There have been many wannabes but then there is the lejund. For selectively picking bad roles and essaying them with utmost imperfection, this year’s award goes to Anupam Kher. What did he do this year? you may ask. Well for acting dead in a lifeless movie and being brave enough to fornicate with Rakhi Sawant, for playing the role of a cliched small town bollywood father and coughing so much that his germs spread onto the screen and infected the movie, ‘Gadha mar gaya’, and ‘Lag gaya chunari main bhang’
Well these were the Dandanakka awards for this year and I hope to do the same next year as well. Some of you may not approve of my choices, but are free to go ahead and voice your opinion. After having watched exactly 50 movies across Hindi, Tamizh, Telugu and enduring the most painful experience known to mankind, I broke the penance with this much needed and refreshing movie. With ‘Krazzy 4’ and ‘U me aur Hum’ releasing over the weekend, the dark side is tempting me again and I might set my eyes on the three figure mark!
Dont get rid of the Ridleys…….
Below is an e-mail I received from a friend and social activist asking me to do my part to save the Olive Ridley turtles. Ever since childhood when my friend had a pet tortoise, I have been fascinated by the Testudines. I am quite an avid nature enthusiast and this is my attempt to raise awareness and protect the already endangered species from extinction.
I’ve just written to Ratan Tata asking him to not to go ahead with building a port in Dhamra, Orissa, dangerously close to one of the world’s largest sea turtle nesting grounds for the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle. I think its a good idea for Mr. Tata to move the port to another location rather than endanger the turtles.
By living up to the Tatas’ environmental legacy, Ratan won’t just save the highly-endangered Olive Ridley Turtles, he will also end up making Tata a better company.
The only problem is that I can’t bring about that change alone. I need help from lots of people, especially you.
The story so far: The TATA’s are building a steel port with govt clearance and it was certified that the port site is not frequented by the turtles. They say that “the port is fully committed to the cause of the environment and are associating with the best wildlife conservation organization to safe guard the interests of wildlife and wildlife habitat”(ya right!). It is also believed that the TATA’s are only part of the infrastructure along with Larsen & Toubro. The port is actually being built by the Dharma Port Company and will be owned by the state Govt upon completion. Various environmental groups have raised their voices over the fact that the port is less than 5 km from the Bhitarkanika Sanctuary, India’s second largest mangrove forest, and less than 15 km from the turtle nesting beaches at Gahirmatha Sanctuary. It is also believed that the port site itself is also a breeding ground for horse-shoe crabs, as well as rare species of reptiles and amphibians.
Greenpeace activists have also taken up the cause and have been waging a war against the authorities for the last two years. According to them, “The enormous amount of dredging required for the port (about 60 million cubic meters) and the landfilling alone will permanently damage the habitats of some rare species of snakes, frogs and crabs”.
Ashish Fernandes has been campaigning against the port and was even jailed in 2006. He has served as the assistant editor of the Sanctuary magazine and wrote an open letter to Ratan Tata which can be found below.
Dear Mr.Tata,
The TATA name is today omnipresent in India, through a choice of affordable products and has today grown from a national giant into an international financial player. At the same time, you insist that the TATA group has a firm commitment to environmental justice and sustainable development. I am writing to ask you to demonstrate that the TATA Group does indeed have such a commitment and it does not put profits above environmental and social well being.
I am disappointed with the way TATA Steel has conducted itself on the Dhamra port issue in Orissa. There has for some time been clear proof of the irreversible effects that this huge port will have on the highly-endangered endangered Olive Ridley turtles. What is even more distressing to me is that you had clearly promised to abandon the port if evidence of turtle presence was ever unearthed, yet this promise is now not being kept. Not just that, despite the simple fact that ports can be shifted while turtle nesting grounds can not, TATA Steel continues to build the Dhamra port.
I have been a follower of the TATA story and role you are looking to play in shaping modern India. Surely a decision to protect the Dhamra area and shift your port to an alternative environmentally-benign site will be more in keeping with the image that the TATAs project, and the legacy left by men such as JRD TATA, than the current position you have adopted?
I earnestly urge you to look at alternative locations for the Dhamra port. Such a decision will raise the TATA standing in my eyes and, I am sure, in the eyes of millions of Indians, not to mention an increasing global audience.
The online petition can be found here.
Allo Allo dis is Nighthawk…….
Ze flashing knobs!….
Okay! now that I have paid tribute to a childhood memory, and announced my existence let us get on with the business shall we? A grueling work schedule and a string of dud movies in the evenings let me on an expedition into uncharted waters. I unraveled the world of horrible cinema, a world that is often forgotten and is relegated to the depths of the industry by the runaway blockbuster hits. After having to bear the misfortune of witnessing seven in a row, I decided to push harder and put myself through an endurance test. The month long flop-a-thon was severely painful and there have been times when I have cried myself to sleep, for I was too drained to cook and nobody delivers pizza here after twelve. Bruised and battered but I’ve survived and my perseverance has paid of, for now I am up to any challenge. Finding movies was not at all difficult, given the fact that out of the 150-or-so movies only 10-15 are hits and make it to the nominees list in award ceremonies. I am grateful to the numerous movie forums and their uploaders and not to forget Youtube, Google videos, Dailymotion and other hosting services for making such gems accessible. Finding all the material for my research online, helped me save on DVD rentals from blockbuster and desi distributors. Having watched 25 of the worst films of the year has fueled me to better myself and push the limits to doing a golden jubilee of flops.
The month long hiatus made me realize how many people check this space for updates. Has been such a nice feeling and writing again has never felt any better. Thank you all for those comments, scraps, and offline messages, without which I would have never realized how many people subscribe to my blog. I promise that i shall be back to regular blogging averaging two posts a week(hopefully).
Watch this space for my next post as I publish the findings of my flop-a-thon….
Gaana of the week…….
Jaan-E-Mann was a very different film and told in a very novel fashion. The use of colour and visuals is very impressive though the plot seemed cliched. The movie suffered more than it should have for being pitted against SRK‘s ‘Don‘ for a Diwali/Eid release. Anu Malik however did a good job with the music dept and the movie is remembered for Akshay Kumar‘s comic timing. This song in particular stands out for me and is shot in very interesting angles, the waltzing shadow dancers give it that extra punch. Sonu Nigam I feel has given Anu Malik his best songs and ‘Ajnabi Shehar’ one also lines up among those forgotten and neglected melodies. Priety Zinta looks as fresh as a daisy and Salman Khan gives us one of his rare and restrained performances. Watch the film at least once if you haven’t, for this guy Shirish Kunder has a future…..
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Ad of the week…….
Complan has been part of every growing kid”s diet. The ‘I’m a Complan boy’ was one of the most famous ad campaigns to which later the ‘I’m a Complan girl’ was added. Krish Srikanth was also roped in as a brand ambassador and they ran a similar campaign on the lines of Kapil Dev‘s ‘Boost’. This ad features Shahid Kapoor and Ayesha Takia, and like they say it’s better to catch them young….
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In lamhon ke daaman mein…….
It’s not everyday that you come across a movie of epic proportions, but then most of them are plagued by the burden of heavy expectations. Ashutosh Gowariker’s latest offering ‘Jodha Akbar‘ sadly falls into the same league. The promos, music and the big names ensured that the movie had a monstrous opening on the weekend but not many people left the cinema halls with the same feeling that they had while entering. There has been controversy surrounding the name of Akbar’s wife and everyone seems to have heard a different version of the story, what matters is that he married a Hindu woman and lets call her ‘Jodha’ for that is how it was in ‘Mughal-e-Azam‘. You’ve got to cut the guy some slack, how on earth do you expect to market a film called ‘Harkha Akbar’ or ‘Akbar Mariam‘ after spending close to INR 40 Cr! Now that we have grown over the name and watched the trailer of Abbas-Mastan’s ‘bhai-vs-bhai-ladki-ke-liye’ thriller Race three times in a row, the movie opens with the director explaining the reason behind naming the film in a 200 word essay.
The very first scene opens with a war sequence as I tried to stifle my laughter looking at the extras and the choreographed formations. I agree it’s very difficult while filming with so many extras they seemed like running into each other, looking confused and playing dandiya . There was a roar in the hall when HR says ‘Hamle ke liye tayyar’, only to be dampened by his non-involvement in the ensuing battle with cannons blowing into the camera and elephants crushing the heads of foot soldiers!
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Gaana of the week…….
‘Dil Hi Dil Main‘ was another of A.M.Rathnam‘s futile attempts to ride on the back of A.R.Rahman‘s music. Made Initially as ‘Kadhalar Dinam‘ in Tamil and later dubbed in Telugu as ‘Premikula Roju’, the movie starred a Barbie-looking Sonali Bendre and a the late Kunal Singh sporting a girlie hairdo. Nothings worth writing bout the film as I haven’t been able to sit through it despite trying thrice. However once can’t take away anything from ARR for another memorable soundtrack, which might not figure amongst his best but is definitely worth listening. The lyrics by ‘Mehboob’ are pretty bland but the voice of ‘Abhijeet‘, the locales, a ravishing Sonali add to the timeless music of ARR.
If you were amongst the unlucky ones to have watched this film, then you would also be able to relate to a dandiya song sung by the one-and-only ‘Udit Narayan‘. I prefer this song as opposed to the dandiya number that was featured in the promos of this film. Sadly the poor guy never made it big in bollywood, but this song will be etched in the memory or ARR fans for a long time, I hope you’ll be humming this song for the rest of the day…
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Ad of the week…….
No Indian kitchen is complete without the ‘Sumeet mixer & grinder‘, often known as the ‘mixie’. Designed specifically for the asian market this food processor ruled the 90’s. Though there were other entrants in the segment such as Singer, Butterfly and a few others, but none came close to beat the ‘sumeet mixie’ in value for money and durability. I’m pretty sure every household has one of these, but what about the new homes? Does the good ol’ mixie still win over modern day food processors?
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To grade or not to grade…….
P.H.D Comics is the only comic strip I subscribe to and accept that I am not cool enough to read popular ones like Dilbert, Calvin & Hobbes etc simply because I can’t relate to them. I was never a fan of comic strips though I still remember the joy in snatching the Economic Times from my dad, just for the toons page. The Sunday Times was special for it had the Wizard of Id, Hagar the Horrible, Garfield, Dennis the Menace and a couple of others. I’ve loved my comics though be it Tintin, Asterix, and the girly Archie to the desi Tinkle. Even now I can recollect the episodes of He-Man, Force-Five and G.I.Joe on the tube. Cartoon Network was the best thing to happen and brought Johnny Quest, Scooby Doo, Swat Kats, The Mask, My all-time-favorite Dexter, and a host of toons to our lives. Now this warrants another post before I drift away.
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Ad of the week…….
Humara Bajaj was the middle class anthem in the early nineties, and this jingle was on everybody’s lips. Always featured before the 9PM news on DD and brings back fond memories…
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Vaazhthugal – A crash course in tamizh…….
Saw the so-called blockbusters of the tamizh pongal bonanza back to back this weekend and I’m glad to have survived the ordeal. Tamizh cinema has often succumbed to hero worship and the new releases of the season plunge to an all new low. I hope this and the previous two posts, serve as an early warning to unsuspecting junta.
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Kaalai – The bull disappeared from the BSE, and so did this one…….
Pardon me Simbu fans, for your idol has always reminded me of a cockroach! It was very amusing to imagine an insect belonging to phylum Arthropoda as a bull. Just like the previous post, even here I fail to understand how the title was related to the story, except for the million times the word ‘Kaalai‘ was uttered as part of the BGM. Deliberate eh? But then you have to hand it out to the director for the very unique characterization. How often do you come across a movie where three unrelated people share the same name? And when almost everybody in the movie is after a ‘Jeeva’ your brain cells are put to work as you decipher who is after whom. But then once you’ve got this sorted out you once again can’t stop thinking of that thing that runs around your kitchen sink and bathroom pipes.
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Dappan koothu....... 