I thought all NG-ers would get a kick out of this; I took the picture when I visited Ajmer last February, and the location is a very short distance from the entrance to Ajmer Sharif, the shrine of the famous Sufi saint Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chishti (you ll recall Katrina Kaif recently caused a stir by allegedly appearing at the shrine dressed inappropriately; a few weeks ago Aishwariya Rai and her mother were also at the shrine).
After , click on the photo for a full-sized image.
HAPPY GILMORE, BILLY MADISON, BULLETPROOF, THE WEDDING SINGER, WATERBOY, BIG DADDY, LITTLE NICKY all saw Boxoffice success and though the movie weren t high on actual quality-they did what they were made to do, make the viewer laugh(HAPPY GILMORE and BILLY MADISON still make me laugh till today).
However in 2002 once saw a marked change in Adam Sandler when he starred in the drama PUNCH LOVE DRUNK where he gave a brilliant and humane performance, and yes there was comedy there, but it s the fact that he slipped into his character with utmost ease and delivered a fine and controlled performance rather than play the same persona over and over again in varied settings which is what he had been doing to date.
Since then he did have MR DEEDS, ANGER MANAGEMENT and 50 FIRST DATES but in all of those movies one could see a marked improvement in Adam Sandler-the actor as the movie didn t rely him to do JUST his usual comedy.
ANGER MANAGEMENT had drama as well as comedy, and 50 FIRST DATES was infact more of a romance than comedy. THE LONGEST YARD was the closest thing one got to see from the old Sandler-but even there it was the feel good sports movie factor that stuck out than anything else.
If you thought 2006 was a big year for Bollywood, wait till you see what is in store in 2007.
It looks much bigger than 2006 -in terms of budgets and multi-starrers and varied themes, unexplored before. One sees a mixed bag of films that include a cop s drama, biopic, romantic comedies, musicals, sports theme based films and a historical. Here is looking at the 20 most interesting looking films of 2007, release date wise.
Stars: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, R.Madhavan, Vidya Balan and Mithun Chakravorty.
What s it about: A small town young man s rags to riches story in Mumbai.
To watch out for: Mani Ratnam s direction. Abhishek Bachchan playing the title role of Gurunath Desai (based on late industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani). Abhi-Mani teaming up yet again after Yuva (2004) where Mani had brought out the best out of Abhishek.
Estimated Budget: Rs. 20 crores
Releasing January 12, 2007
Stars: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Akshaye Khanna, Govinda, Vidya Balan, Juhi Chawla, Priyanka Chopra and Ayesha Takia.
To watch out for: The chemistry between 6 onscreen couples.
Nikhil Advani s next after Kal Ho Na Ho.
Releasing January 25, 2007
*right on the dot!*
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.
Com
What words shall be used to describe a cinematic masterpiece like ‘Guru’. Mani Ratnam’s flawless direction and Abhishek Bachchan’s superlative performance simply leave you speechless by the end of the film.
Firstly, ‘Guru’ will silence all those detractors who say that Abhishek doesn’t have a talent for acting.
The actor not just surprises you, he shocks you with his extraordinary performance. Gosh, how come this hidden potential of Abhi never came forth before? Perhaps it is Ratnam who knows how to get the best, or even more than that, out of Abhi.
Secondly, Mani Ratnam, the master of his craft, arguably surpasses all his previous works in ‘Guru’. Apart from its technical soundness, ‘Guru’ tells a story that is deeply gripping and highly inspiring. It is the tale of a man who never gives up.
The protagonist of the film is a perennial fighter and an incurable optimist.
Beginning in 1951, ‘Guru’ is the story of a boy who goes to Turkey to work in a petroleum company after failing his school exams back home in a small Gujarat village. With sheer hard work Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) rises in ranks and gets promotion.
But Guru is a man of big vision. He quits his job in Turkey and comes back to Gujarat to start some business of his own.
(Superficial review here but I agree on the musical numbers.
I think that these were very integrated into the film )
Clearly inspired by the life of controversial Indian entrepreneur Dhirubhai Ambani, Tamil filmmaker Mani Ratnam s politically inflected Hindi melodrama examines three decades in the life of Gurukant Guru Desai (Abhishek Bachchan, son of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan), who rises from his modest rural origins to the top of the business world.
Idhar Village, Gujarat, 1951: Young Guru bitterly disappoints his father, headmaster of the local school, by failing his exams. But Guru is less interested in academics than business, and takes the opportunity to move to Istanbul, where an uncle teaches him the basics of trading.
Though Guru s knack for it lands him a promising job offer from a British petroleum company, he doesn t want to live in Turkey and work for Europeans. So he returns to Idhar, where he and his childhood best friend, Jignesh Patel, decide to go into business together: The only thing stopping them is money — though Jignesh s father used to be a moneylender, he s keeping all his spare funds as a dowry for his headstrong daughter, Sujatha (Aishwarya Rai). So Guru marries Sujatha, and the three of them move to Bombay, only to find that a web of trade associations and government quotas conspire to keep newcomers from establishing themselves.
(the piece also claims that the opening has been below expectations though these Bombay figures tell a different story! They further claim that the film is expected to be better in Bombay, South, overseas. From all indications all 3 are super at the moment.
By the way if these are the Bombay numbers the IBOS claim is quite right!)
In the Bombay circuit, Ramesh Sippy s Raksha Distributors released Guru with 125 prints with 57 UFOs, 27 DLPs and 26 E-City Digital prints. In Bombay, the opening collections were around 80 to 100 per cent.
Eros (Churchgate, Mumbai) which seats 1,024 persons collected Rs 1,31,428 against the capacity Rs 1,46, 567.40 (three shows) (89.67 per cent) (The second and third show registered full houses).
The 1,107 seating of Maratha Mandir (Grant Road, Mumbai) on the opening day collected Rs 82,376 against the capacity of Rs 1,01,757.30 (three shows) (80.95 Per cent).
(The night show however, registered full houses). Chitra cinema (Dadar, Mumbai) which seats 635 seats registered 100 per cent collections in its first four shows; viz Rs 86 ,426.95.
In Kamran (Kurla, Mumbai) which seats 550 seats and has a capacity of Rs 43, 975.40 (four shows), collected Rs 37,128 (84.43 per cent).
Anupam (Goregaon, Mumbai) which seats 927 persons collected Rs 30,433 (four shows) against the capacity of Rs 74,874.00 (40.65 per cent).
Rathnam in what must now be considered his trilogy of power comprised of Nayakan, Iruvar, and Guru creates a Central Man (in each instance) by way of whom the experience of India is refracted. Each film recounts an individual s history in linear fashion and at the same time essays a larger national history. The chronology of the former is fused with the thematic mappings of the latter and by an almost logical sequence a stage is reached in the respective film where the central protagonist becomes less a man and more a focal point for collective national desires.
In effect a Central Man . He is a symbol for his age, he is the exemplary Indian in terms of reflecting his nation s historical longings and contradictions, he is ultimately representational in the truest sense. Each film in the trilogy details a journey from individuality to iconicity , from everyman to overman, from virgin ambition to stained attainment.
There are always two passages in these films. The more literal one involves the hero getting to his desired goals, the second more profound one involves the realisation on the part of the protagonist that he is his nation. Rathnam in this trilogy would seem to be something of a Blake or a Joyce!
This is a preview of Rathnam Sets the Stage, Abhishek Walks with Giants
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