Desi Galaxy

Tashan is one of the most awaited films of 2008. Starring Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Anil Kapoor. This movie is directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya. Mr. Acharya, who wrote screenplay for the Dhoom and Dhoom 2, is debuting his career as a director with this movie. Produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films. We don’t know much about the story and plot of Tashan yet. But rumors are that Kareena will be seen wearing a bikini in this movie, Akshay will be playing the main character as Bachchan Panday, and Anil Kapoor is playing the negative role as Bhaiya ji. Music and songs of Tashan are composed by Vishal Shekhar.

Check out Music Review of Tashan

Trailers and Songs of Tashan

Chakde India, is a story to remind the nation of its national sport. Highly anticipated movie starring none other than the King of all Khans, Shahrukh.

Story of Chakde India

Kabir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) is newly appionted coach of India’s national women’s hockey team. A former captain of the Indian hockey team, now forgotten, it is Kabir Khan’s chance to get himself, his country and his team to the winning stand, once again. But this time all he gets is a bunch of girls who do not really believe in playing for the glory, victory and the country. He has a team that lacks the spirit. Shahrukh Khan’s job is to shake them to wake up the winning spirit. The girls however have their own interests. They are more into government job, salaries and flats. Shahrukh Khan motivates them to look beyond these ordinary things and to play the game for pride, glory and victory.

Review of Chak de India

Following the trend of Lagaan and Iqbal, Chak De India is a movie about sport. But unlike the previous two movies Chak De India is not based on Cricket. As the tag line of the movie says, it is a story to remind the nation of its national sport, hockey. Chak De India is different not only in the sense that it is based on a sport that is nearly forgotten in India but also in the sense that it shows women in the sport field. The girls hockey makes the movie a lot more interesting. The story is realistic and it shows just how the girl’s national hockey team feels and gives the audience a good understanding of why the real indian girl’s hockey team is not doing well. A good movie is the one that provokes a thought in the minds of the viewers. Chak De India brings some serious issues and gives the people a chance to think about these issues. For example it gives you a reason to think and understand the reasons behind India’s backwardness in the feild of sports, even when it is world’s second largest population. The movie also shows you the Indian attitude towards women who like to break the social barriers and enjoy sports. Chak de India does all that while keeping the audience entertained and thrilled.

Being the King of Indian entertainment industry Shahrukh Khan brings life to the role of Kabir Khan. Kabir Khan is a man who has lost, and knows exactly what it means when you losse a match and the chance to the victory stand, glory and pride. He is the newly appointed coach of the Indian women’s hockey team. A team that has lost matches and the passion for the game long ago. They are together for the reasons of their own and none of these reasons is pride or victory. Kabir Khan brings them to understanding themselves and reminding them that it is about winning. Shahrukh Khan has done really great in his role. The girls are all new comers and it was the first time they were ever appearing in a major bollywood film. But you can see it clearly that how the director has used their reluctance and shyness to beautifully showcase the bad bad girls. The movie has a very tight script that follows wonderful story. You know since the beginning that eventually Kabir would succeed to achieve the victory but how he does that is what keeps you interested throughout the movie. And ofcourse you would love the girls and would love to see them evolve from a bunch of outcasts into a winning team.

Story of Chak de India

Composed by Salim Merchant and Suleman Merchant, the music of Chak de India is just as sporty as the movie. Jaideep Sahni has done a wonderful job writing lyrics for the movie. Considering that writing these lyrics was not as simple as writing songs for an average hindi movie. The songs of Chak de India had to fit the emotions of a lossing hockey team that wants to break the lossing into winning. It had to be loud, bold, cheerful and glorious. I think that the merchant brothers and Jaideep Sahni has accomplished the goal. However, I don’t think that the songs would be memorable for years but they fit perfectly in the movie.

Ek Hockey Dongi Rakh Ke is my favorite of all the songs in the album. It shows the spirit of girls in the battlefield with a loud and bold tone. ‘Bad bad girls’ is yet another song symbolizing the bold bad girls. With a loud urban rhythym, bad bad girls is an average indie-pop kind of song with faster beats. Chak De India the title song of the movie is the main anthem of the hockey team. It has the inspirational, emotional tone that reminds the team that they are in the ground for something more precious than just a hockey match. Sukhwinder Singh with his loud cheerful voice was the perfect choice to perform the song.

You can listen the songs of Chak de India here and you can download chak de india ringtones here.

More on Chak De India:
Offical Website
Chak de India - Wallpapers

The music of Ta Ra Rum Pum is melodious and is definitely not going to disappoint audiences who expect great music with every Yash Raj film. Vishal-Shekhar has composed a fun filled pack of six tracks. However I had this feeling that they haven’t come out of Salam Namaste and the tunes have some similar themes.

The title song, Ta Ra Rum Pum is a happy number. It is on air to promote movie and shows animated characters dancing with the main cast of the movie. Saif Ali Khan opens the song by telling that it is a story of four people Ta Ra Ma and Pa. Ta and Ra are the children and Ma and Pa are the parents. The song is just as sweet and cute as you might expect from a feel good film like this one. Shaan and Mahalakshmi Iyer has performed their vocal magics wonderfully and to add more fun to it Sneha Suresh and Shravan Suresh sing for the two kids in the movie.

Hey Shona is a romantic song with the voices of Shaan and Sunidhi Chohan. The song is light, melodious and has a very romantic tune to it.

It is a movie produced by Yash Raj and there had to be some bhangra filled, family centered, party dance number in its music. So we have ‘Nachle Ve‘. It is a below average number but I expect that the director Siddharth and choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant would put their best efforts on the song to make it look great on screen.

Ab to Forever reminds me of ‘My dil goes mmm” from Salam Namaste. K.K., Shreya Ghoshal, Vishal Dadlani has sung the song. A nice romantic song with the energetic voice of K.K.

I would like to rate the music higher but I feel that these songs are actually tailored for the movie and rating them without watching the movie is not possible. We will have to wait for the movie and check out how the songs fit in the story and how they are presented on screen. Since this is a Yash Raj production I think the picturization of songs will not disappoint the viewers and listeners.

You can listen and download songs of Ta Ra Rum Pum from Yash Raj Music’s website.

With the recent disappointment surrounding around the performance of Indian Cricket Team in the world cup and a disastrous failure of Cricket based movie Hat trick, bollywood has had enough of cricket. Perhaps the masters of the Hindi film industry already knew that people want to see something else, something more thrilling than cricket and more glamorous than tennis. And they decided to come up with Indian women’s Hockey team playing in the world cup.

Shahrukh Khan is working for Yash Raj again in Chak De India. Shahrukh plays the role of a Hockey Coach for a girls team in the movie. From what I have read about the story of the movie, it feels like it is the bollywood version of Bend it like Beckham. Directed by Shimit Amin and produced by Aditya Chopra, the music of the film is composed by Salim-Sulaiman (Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Mechant).

Expected to be released in August this year, Shahrukh Khan has already started promoting the movie. Recently he has talked to media about his role in the movie. Shahrukh told that he has played Hockey in college days and he feels that Hockey is neglected in India.

I feel hockey as a sport has been monstrously neglected in our country. I used to play the game during college. In fact, I was quite a good hockey player. So the role was a lot like going back to my past.

Vidya Malvade a tv host and model turned actoress is playing the role of a Sikh girl in the movie. She has worked with Shahrukh Khan in a Santro ad, but working with him in a movie was like a dream come true for her, she said:

it was an amazing experience. We worked together briefly for the Santro ad. Now after having spent a couple of months with him, i realise why he is a superstar. The level of detail character, camera angles, makeup to which he goes during a shot is unbelievable. You have to work with him and others to feel the difference.

Tags: Hockey, Aditya Chopra, Bollywood

[This post is part of Babe of the Month Series. Desi Galaxy's Babe of the month for March 2007 is Aishwarya Rai.]

We have seen Madhuri Dixit, Sri Devi and several other bollywood actresses disappearing from the screen after getting married. But Aishwarya Rai has no plans to quit industry after getting married to Abhishek Bachchan. She is already busy in shooting of movies that are going to release after the wedding. She is playing the role of Jodha in the upcoming movie ‘Jodha Akbar‘ which is already most talked about movie in the industry at this moment. She also has some projects that would start after her getting married to Abhishek Bachchan.

A close source to Aishwarya told IANS, “She goes into all these assignments as soon as she completes ‘Jodha-Akbar’. There’s absolutely no reason to think she’d quit working after marriage. Everyone in the two families is very supportive of Aishwarya’s career. And that includes Jaya Bachchan.”

In the past we have seen Bollywood film-makers trying to earn some cash by presenting the real life couples in the movies. Like the classic Yash Chopra movie ‘Silsila‘. At that time there were rumors in media about the affair between Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha. Amitabh Bachchan married Jaya Bhaduri before the filming of this movie but director earned some cold hard cash by making a movie on a real life love triangle.

This time these film makers might try to cast Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan together in a movie. But since Aishwarya Rai has already denied working with Salman Khan, we can assume that they would sign up either Hrithik Roshan or John Abraham to play the role of Salman Khan in a movie which will be slightly based on Aishwarya’s real life love affair. Bachchan’s are one of the most powerful families in the industry and it seems like they are a little conservative as well. But I feel that they are basically professional actors and if such a film is offered to Aishwarya and Abhishek without Salman Khan being a part of the package they won’t hesitate to work in it. Audiences are surely going to love such a movie.

Rani Mukherjee is celeberating her 29th birthday today. On this occassion, I came across two articles (one on now running, the other on Zee news)about the actress. Both question how this so ordinary girl has become the queen of Bollywood. The articles tell you that she is talented. But let me tell you a little more, she is not only talented on screen, she is also very talented in public relations. She has very close friendships with Karan Johar, Aamir Khan, Sanjay leela Bhansali, Shahrukh Khan, Yash Chopra and his sons. She is even dating Aditya Chopra these days. I just love her, she is chrasmatic and she knows how to act. Anyone who thinks that her husky voice is annoying is wrong, actually her voice is very sexy.

What I like most about her is that she is sincere to her work. She doesn’t do over exposing like some other actresses. I don’t remember she kissed any one on screen other than Kamal Hasan for Hey Ram. I don’t know if she avoids kissing scenes or what but its strange specially when every actress including Aishwarya Rai is ready to do such scenes to grab audience attention. She has a taste for fashion and she has Manish Malhotra, the popular designer on her list of close friends. Manish’s creations make her appear as an ordinary girl who is living her fantasies. She is just like Babli. Happy Birthday Babli.

I love this movie. I can watch and enjoy it anytime. Like many other bollywood movies, it is a love story but this one is so beautifully filmed that you totally forget the fact that you have seen movies with similar stories. You forget that it takes many elements from other movies, like it has a song ‘Its the time to disco’ that looks and sounds a lot like ‘Koi Kehay’ from ‘Dil Chahta Hai‘. A person bringing happiness to a shattered family (like in Bawarchi and countless other movies). A love triangle (A universal romantic movie formula). You forget all this and you just sit down and relax to enjoy the magic this movie creates.Nikhil Advani stepped in as a director for the first time with the release of Kal Ho Na Ho in 2003. Previously Nikhil assisted Karan Johar in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. The producer Karan Johar who also wrote the screenplay for this movie is to be equally credited for this movie. The Karan Johar style is very obvious in the movies in various scenes. Repeatition of theme song during the sad moments in the story and adding guest appearances by Rani Mukherji and Kajol is typically Karan Johar.

StoryThis is the story of Naina (Priety Zinta), an Indian girl who lives with her family in New York City. The story is narrated by Naina. Naina’s life is troubled. Her father committed suicide when she was young. This incident left a huge impact on her life. She is doing MBA in an evening college and works at her mother’s resturant in the morning. Naina’s mother Jennifer (Jaya Bhaduri) is a christian and her paternal grand mother Lajjo Kapur (Sushma Seth) who also lives with them in the same house is a devoted Hindu. The relationship between Jeniffer and Lajjo is that of a typical Indian Saas Baho. They can not stop arguing, the grand mother lives in a culturally isolated world and Jennifer wants her children to grow up naturally in the culture they are living in. The culture of the Indian families living in United States not that of Indian families dreaming India while living in United States. Naina has a younger brother who is unable to walk due to disability and a younger sister. Naina’s younger sister is not from Jeniffer, she was the result of her father’s discreet relationship with a white woman who left Naina’s father and abandoned the baby. Jeniffer took up the responsibility to take care of this little girl as her own daughter.

It was not just the cold war at home. Naina who is very close to her mother knows very well that their restaurant business is not doing so well and they are unable to return the money they loaned from the bank. The only little happiness Naina had in her life was her best friend Rohit (Saif Ali Khan).

Then one day a guy comes from India to live next door. Aman, (Shahrukh Khan) is a happy go lucky sort of guy. He is charming and handsome and every one loves him. Initially Aman’s friendly nature and his never ending attempts to bring happiness to other’s lives frustrates Naina. Later, Naina realizes that Aman has all the things missing in her own life, Aman knew the formula to happiness and she falls in love with Aman. However, Aman has some different plans to bring life back into Naina’s troubled life. He tries to set her up with Rohit.

The plot of movie is very simple and could be explained by the words used by Rohit in the movie “Rohit loves Naina, Naina loves Aman, and Aman… Aman has gone mad”.Cast:

• Jaya Bhaduri as Jennifer Kapur
• Shahrukh Khan as Aman Mathur
• Saif Ali Khan as Rohit Patel
• Preity Zinta as Naina Catherine Kapur
• Sushma Seth as Lajjo Kapur
• Reema Lagoo as Aman’s Mother
• Lillete Dubey as Jaswinder “Jazz” Kapoor
• Delnaaz Paul as Jasprit “Sweetu” Kapoor
• Shoma Anand as Lajjo Kapur’s Sister
• Kamini Khanna as Lajjo Kapur’s Sister
• Ketki Dave as Rohit’s Mother
• Sulabha Arya as Kanta Bhen
• Athit Naik as Shiv Kapur
• Jhanak Shukla as Gia Kapur
• Simone Singh as Camilla

Music of Kal Ho Na Ho

Music of Kal Ho Na Ho is composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The music is just as melodious and romantic as the movie itself. The title song of the movie ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ sung by Sonu Nigham sets the basic background theme of the movie. The song has two versions, one in the normal tone and the other is the sad version. I just totally love this song, the lyrics beautifully explain the concept and moral of the story in the movie. Video of the song is even better, shot on different locations in Central Park New York City and Toronto.The film was first going to be shot in Toronto but later Karan Johar moved it to New York. However some parts of the song “Kuch To Hua Hai” in the movie are shot in Toronto.

‘Kuch to hova hai’ is a romantic duet sung by Alka Yagnik and Shaan.

The song ‘Pretty Woman’ is a tribute to Roy Orbison who composed the song for Julia Roberts starrer ‘Pretty Woman’. Kal Ho Na Ho’s pretty woman has Bhangra music and it is a simply fantastic dance number.

‘Mahi Ve’ is a typical bollywood wedding song. Wedding songs in movies are a hall mark of Yash Chopra school of thought. You would see such songs in all movies that are made in Yash Chopra style. The entire cast of the movie would dance and celebrate the occassion in the song. Kal Ho Na Ho ’s Mahi ve is not different from other songs of this genre.

Comments

This was Nikhil Advani’s first movie as a director and it is hard to believe that this is his first attempt to entertain bollywood audience. Nikhil had a very strong support from the producer Karan Johar who also wrote the screenplay for the movie. Karan’s work, suggestions and his style is quite obvious in the movie. Kal Ho Na Ho is a typical bollywood family drama set in Manhattan New York. It shows the lives of Indians living in the United States and their problems in a light comic way. Before the release of the movie every one was expecting it to be a copy of 70’s classic Anand. There is a little similarity between the stories of two movies. However it is not a copy of Anand, it is an entirely different and original story.

Shahrukh Khan, Jaya Bahaduri, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan’s excellent performances create a magical impact on the audience. Dialogues are so refined, yet so simple and powerful. Manish Malhotra designed the costumes for the movies and it was not an easy job for Manish. This was not just a bollywood movie. This movie has a different location and it tells the story of people in cultural chaos. Manish had to come up with costumes that are trendy, casual and depict the culture of Indians based in NYC.

I was really very excited about Fanaa. It has Aamir Khan and Kajol, directed by Kunal Kohli and produced by Aditya Chopra. What else a bollywood lover can ask for? The movie turns out to be a below average flick. The story line was old and left me thinking that why Kunal Kohli, Aamir Khan, Aditya Chopra were so excited about this story? It is not like that no body has ever told this story in bollywood before. There are several movies about terrorists trying to break India into peices and then falling in love with a charming Indian guy or girl. So there was nothing new in this story.

Script, well to be honest it sounded like the dialogues were written for the soul purpose of using the word fanaa and explaining the sufi term. They had to do it because story itself was very unrealistic and director was not talented enough to deliever the massage by narrating a story, he needed couplets. dialogues were fictional and it felt like we are reading some novel or something word by word. Film is a different media and things that sound great on paper do not always look great on the screen.

Set and costumes were awfully boring. Rishi Kapoor’s character looked a lot like his role in Hum Tum. Tabu’s dialogue delivery was terrible. The movie is a must watch for Aamir and Kajol fans but I don’t think that anyone would like to see it twice, it is that boring.

Related:
Fanaa - Movie Preview
Fanaa - Music Review

Tags: bollywood, aamir khan, kajol