What the [trash talk]??

Bachna Ae Haseeno is a great movie Bollywood has ever produced in recent years! Ranbir Kapoor is hotter than ever! Everything about this movie is 1st rate.
Plzz don’t misguide the audience. OK?? BOLLYWOOD is the best movie industry in the whole world. Everything is nothing but shadow of it…

SearchIndia.com Responds:

Yes, Ranbir Kapoor is not a bad actor but this movie is definitely third rate.

You write: BOLLYWOOD is the best movie industry in the whole world

Wake up, kiddo.

….seems like this site should be renamed as ihatebollywood.com….not that i think that its ‘best’ in the world, in fact, no such industry is…but then,an industry that entertains 1 billion people worldwide cannot certainly be ignored…i also feel that this site has very limited source of bollywood news,and it is a pity that recent films like ‘GANDHI MY FATHER’,'OMKARA’(one of the best OTHELLO adaptation),’MAQBOOL’(second best after Kurosawa’s ‘THRONE OF BLOOD’),’CHAK DE INDIA’,'SWADES’,'LAKSHYA’,'MANORAMA SIX FEET UNDER’,'JODHA AKBAR’..and some other ‘pure bollywood’ stuff’ does not feature in its ‘memorable films list’….in fact the list is much bigger,only if people out there are willing…….but then i believe that this year has been a bad year (up till now) for bollywood,giving no productive elements except ‘JODHA AKBAR’ and ‘AAMIR’(inspired by ‘CAVITE’,but good in its own right) and that the industy can do much better than that….

SearchIndia.com Responds:

1. You write above: seems like this site should be renamed as ihatebollywood.com

Wash your mouth with Listerine. SearchIndia.com is the most objective source for reviews on Bollywood movies.

2. an industry that entertains 1 billion people worldwide cannot certainly be ignored

We agree with you…that’s why we pay it a great deal of attention.

3. We liked Manorama Six Feet Under and to some extent Swades too.

hello mallukuttan
Was not able to stop myself frm writing a reply for ur post… even though its late. wat do u think, indians r all crazy….. its too bad to think like that na…u knw india is not all abt NRIs who go abroad n juz forget watz their identity is…. if u take movies such people would say marlon brando wow,al pacino gr8,zeta jones beauty…. it goes like that for them kamal hassan is not at all an actor amithab bachchan is a waste aishwariya rai a shame to india…… and would always argue india the worst country seen compared to america. bollywood full of craps and hollywood overflowing with tremendous potential in all means… if u r a mallu then u may knw such people r called KACHIL KRISHNAPILLA.but there r other NRIs who go abroad workhard make a bit of money quickly so that they can come back and settle here in their fav mother land and for such, a bollywood movie or any of their reg lang movies r alwys a treat to eyes not bcoz they love the script or direction or perfomences juz bcoz they can see their own stars whom they love an indian touch in the movie thats all thats y OSO or SIK was a hit n not bcoz indians r crazy….. if u haven’t been to india for a long time then for sure u should… n knw wat is india it still have its major share of average people who enjoys comedies after their tiring work n no time there to search for logic in it….so its juz my view on ur post… may be ur view is right but juz said it…
Regards

SearchIndia.com Responds:

1. God, what nonsense is this dodo talking - If bollywood movie or any of their reg lang movies r alwys a treat to eyes as he/she/it writes, why do most Indian movies fail at the box office? Most Indians (unlike the above joker) are smart people and rightly give the majority of Indian movies the shaft.

2. OSO and SIK were not comedies but tragedies.

Hello. I just wanted to comment on what you said about Bachna Ae Haseeno and how it was a box office disaster. The verdict is not out yet. It’s probably not a flop, but maybe it is, who knows now? Opening weekend did very well due to the mass appeal, however it seems to go the Kismat Konnection route. It seems that it will do Average at the box office. For more information I just wanted you to see [deleted]. It’s very resourceful to your predictions. Once again, this is not to be rude, just a small clarification. However if you feel that to your judgement Bachna is a flop then so be it. That’s just your opinion. I just felt I should state mine.

SearchIndia.com Responds:

The U.S. Box office response to Bachna ae Haseeno is not encouraging. If the Indian box office response is similar, it does not augur well for Bachna ae Haseeno.

Hey, hi! I havent watched this film, and I dont think I will, what I jus wanted to understand is, ru this rude towards every film produced in this country, or has this film done anythn to u personally, and u wanted to take revenge? Again, there is no point in being rude to people who visit yr site. Dont u think u shud edit yr comments a bit? And well, I sure as hell wudnt want a crappy answer to my comment; I dont know about the others, but I for sure wudnt ever visit yr site again if that was the case!!! It was a real sorry review u wrote, sayin Abhishek, Hrithik, and others cant act. Worse still, u said Ranbir acted better!!! Tch tch tch!!!

SearchIndia.com Responds:

1. You write above: It was a real sorry review u wrote, sayin Abhishek, Hrithik, and others cant act. Worse still, u said Ranbir acted better!!! Tch tch tch!!!

OK, Little miss goodie two shoes, here we go. You blabber above that you have not watched Bachna Ae Haseeno yet you take offence when we write that Ranbir Kapoor is a better actor. Are you a complete imbecile. No, that’s not a question but an assertive sentence.

Abhishek Bachchan can’t act. Period. If he did not have his last name, he wouldn’t be a gofer (odd-job fellow) on a film set. Sarkar Raj, Jhoom Bore Bore Jhoom, Umrao Jaan….every single movie featuring this bozo is pathetic.

2. ru this rude towards every film produced in this country, or has this film done anythn to u personally, and u wanted to take revenge?

The word rude is not in our dictionary. The right word is objective. We objectively review the Bollywood films we watch. Is it our fault that most Bollywood films are unwatchable horror shows or outright theft.

3. I for sure wudnt ever visit yr site again if that was the case

Good riddance to bad rubbish. This blog is not a rest-house for schmucks or clueless dolts who have no clue what they are talking about. Au contraire, the SearchIndia.com blog is a wayside center to have entertaining and, at least, occasionally meaningful discussions on Bollywood, Kollywood, Books and other interesting stuff.

sorry, unrelated message.. but i need some recommendations for hindi songs.. even album recommendations are good enough.. Is Johnny Gaddar any good?

my kind of songs..
1) pappu can’t dance JTJN
2) Jame Raho from TZP
3) Bhool Bhulaiya from BB

although i love melodies, i need peppy numbers when driving.

SearchIndia.com Responds:
Song———-(Movie)
Dum maro dum (Hare Krishna Hare Ram…Old indeed is Gold)
Ishq de gali (No Entry)
Ye Ishq Hai (Jab we Met)
Dil dhakda hai (U Me Aur Hum)
Kismat Konnection title song (Kismat Konnection)
Sabse bada ruppiah (Bluffmaster)
Cheeni Kum title song (Cheeni Kum)
Dhoom 2
Lekar Hum…(Yaadon Ki Barat)
Maybe….Chanda Chamke (Fanaa)

You write: Is Johnny Gaddar any good?

Can’t remember. If pushed, we’d say nothing memorable.

Hey buddy, u most certainly dint disappoint me with yr reply! And well, u called me goody two shoes; know smthn interesting? i recently changed my yahoo name to goody two shoes! well, mister/miss searchindia.com, you might be the next big thing here, and i might be just a clueless dolt and a schmuck, but that doesnt change the fact that you are still wrong. bollywood is not as pathetic as you make it sound to be, and your pessimistic nature can be pitied. now, out with the truth - did u ever audition for a role in bollywood and gotten rejected? heh i thought maybe that would explain your deep rooted hatred. i like just a few hindi films myself, but it doesnt mean i go and verbally abuse the whole lot. Indian cinema is meant to entertain; some of us like it, some dont. that doesnt make the rest of us are schmucks, dolts, rubbish, and what not. i really hope (against hope) that uve got some friends. good luck to u, dude. dissect my comment all you want.

SearchIndia.com Responds:

1. You write above: bollywood is not as pathetic as you make it sound to be,

Hey Miss Goodie Two Shoes,
That you are hopelessly wrong is proven by the colossal number of flops. Almost every Bollywood movie made these days is either a flop or has just a mediocre run. You don’t have to take our word, just take a dekko at the Box Office numbers. If they were entertaining, why would so many Bollywood movies fail.

That even God makes mistakes is amply proven by the idiocy in your comments.

2. You write: did u ever audition for a role in bollywood and gotten rejected?

No, but we think that if ever you play the character of Bhooth in a Bollywood movie or a Pisachi in a Tamil movie, you definitely won’t require any makeup.

3. You write: Indian cinema is meant to entertain

Very true. But entertain is exactly what India cinema does not do.

Just watch recent Hollywood and foreign movies like No Country for Old Men, Tell No One, Mongol and There will be Blood and you will be on your knees begging forgiveness for daring to say that Indian cinema entertains.

4. For someone who has yet to watch Bachna Ae Haseeno you really have a nerve being on this board. There should be a law to prevent creatures like you from going anywhere near a keyboard.

5. You write: i really hope (against hope) that uve got some friends

With nuts like you around, we don’t need friends to entertain us.

No, I meant Bardem..
Hope people, who haven’t watched, won’t mind the SPOILERs
Pace definitely slackens after Brolin gets killed, but after Bardem disappears (or walks away).. Tommy Lee Jones keeps talking for about 10 more minutes.. Many people loved that monologue too.. but I didn’t quite sympathize with his character.. we should probably look at him as a pitiful old man rather than a smart sheriff.. But I probably didn’t like the dramatic drop in pace..

SearchIndia.com Responds:

You write: Tommy Lee Jones keeps talking for about 10 more minutes..

Was it 10 min…seemed like just a few minutes to us at the breakfast table but we could be wrong. Tommy Lee Jones is a decent actor….any day better than Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas et al

Excellent review on bollywood movies, this type of opinion i was /we are -looking forward. i have watched Bachna Ae Haseeno- before reading your review. it was really a crap movie, here someone commented that it was excellent i feel really pity on him, the people who doesnt have any idea about movies are critisicing about the perfect reviews.

One request to supporters-come along with masses and watch Bachna Ae Haseeno and prove producers of the movie that all indian movie goers are fools

Lol, you do have a sense of humor, but by the way u keep writing “we”, i hope your colleagues dont provide u ideas. yeh, u r right in the sense that i dont belong here, was jus doin some search on google when i happened on yr site, and read this review. i was not really defending bachna.. but i felt tht u judged hrithik and co unfairly. anyways, never mind my comments, in accusing u to be rude, i was quite rude myself, which is something im usually not. i wudve laughed at yr replies if they werent directed at me (notwithstanding, i snickered when i read tht i’d make a good bhoot)

all the best, wudve liked knowin u under different circumstances, and hey, thanks, this was a great way to start an otherwise boring monday mrng!

PS: wud be interested in a review for phoonk, i wasted 100 bucks on the film this weekend.

SearchIndia.com Responds:

1. You write above: wud be interested in a review for phoonk, i wasted 100 bucks on the film this weekend.

Fortunately (for our sanity) or unfortunately, Phoonk has not released in the U.S. A rare instance of RGV showing some mercy on desis here after inflicting his horrow-shows Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag and Sarkar Raj.

Let’s see if our local Indian grocery store gets the Phoonk DVD.

2. You write: but by the way u keep writing “we”, i hope your colleagues dont provide u ideas

Have no fear. The We is the royal We.

Wheeeeee, thanks!!! So u do have something nice to say occasionally, after all! hehe! so why dont u recruit me as a blogger on yr site, i could freelance for yr site, u know. And before u snigger, im absolutely serious. I love writing, and i would love the opportunity. maybe u r a one man show, maybe u r not; whatever it is, just want u to know tht in case u ever need sm1 for helping out with the writing stuff, im here. no charges, ofcourse. writing is my passion, and ive just discovered it.

SearchIndia.com Responds:

We’ll give it some serious thought. Really.

WUT?? Asha is not in Tampa, Florida?? i was fantasizing that she’ll be bloggin in her bikini. Was Tampa named after her?

As for you SI, is Rekha.com really named after Gemini’s daughter?

I just found out there were no songs featured in the movie Johnny Gaddar, but the album has some songs and a few instrumentals.. they sound alright.. the album even had 2 tamil tracks and 2 telugu tracks.. probably Shankar Mahadevan’s idea..

SearchIndia.com Responds:

You write: As for you SI, is Rekha.com really named after Gemini’s daughter?

Now the old hag is going to come after us.

I found BachAH (much) more entertaining than Singh Is King, speaking relatively. But in many ways BachAH is full of cliches. The act of genuine repentance and seeking forgiveness, can evoke strong emotions in the protagonists and viewers alike, but unfortunately, none of that is brought out in BachAH. Instead, the confrontations fizzle out without making an impact.
Between Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba, I didnt have much of a problem in figuring out who is worser. It has to be Lamba, who speaks as though she has been chewing a mouthful, and literally makes a meal of whatever little dialogues that come her way.

Why is it that Yash Raj movies continues to fund this chap Sidharth Anand ? There are more honourable ways to burn money. An even greater mystery is, how Apoorva Lakhia (Shootout at Lokhandwala) yet gets to make movies, and that too with rather expensive stars (note that I have carefully avoided the use of the words ‘actors’ or ‘artists’) ?

I recently watched a movie called Corporate and found it to be a pleasant aberration from the usual Bollywood stuff.
Corporate was released in 2006, and directed by one Madhur Bhandarkar.
Now do not be discouraged by the fact that your favourite ladies Bipasha and Minissha are both a part of this movie. I assure you that the former is tolerable, while the latter does not get more than a few minutes to inflict damage.
But watch out for the ensemble cast.
I hope that you will watch this movie and review it.

SearchIndia.com Responds:

1. You write: Why is it that Yash Raj movies continues to fund this chap Sidharth Anand ? There are more honourable ways to burn money. An even greater mystery is, how Apoorva Lakhia (Shootout at Lokhandwala) yet gets to make movies,

There must be a real shortage of directors & actors in Bollywood if bozos like Sidharth Anand, RGV, Anees Bazmee and Apoorva Lakhia can get to make ‘movies’ and the likes of Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Ash, Minissha Lamba, Bipasha Basu can ‘act’ in them.

2. We may have Corporate in our collection. If not, we’ll get it from Netflix.

3. You write: It has to be Lamba, who speaks as though she has been chewing a mouthful, and literally makes a meal of whatever little dialogues that come her way.

Funny.

I’m not a great fan of Jim Carrey, but Bruce Almighty had me in splits. God Tussi Great Ho had me in tears. Although I like Amitabh’s acting a lot of the time, he is absolutely nothing in comparison to Morgan Freeman. Morgan Freeman’s brilliant. I absolutely loved his performance in The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby and of course as god in Bruce Almighty.

By the way going off the topic, did you see the bollywood performance of the So Think You Can Dance troupe? I know it’s a little late, the show’s finished in the U.S but it’s still going down here in Australia. I thought that the dancers performed it quite well. Certainly better that some of our own bollywood actors.

SearchIndia.com Responds:

God Tussi Great Ho was a disgrace that only a twisted perp like Salman Khan can deliver.

You write: By the way going off the topic, did you see the bollywood performance of the So Think You Can Dance troupe

Didn’t even know they were here. Thanks for reminding us to renew our subscription to the local Indian rags.

Hey, saw Bachna.. this weekend, just out of curiosity, if it was as bad as you said. All I can say is, you didn’t do justice to the film. The actors, director, lyricist, everyone associated with the film deserve a thrashing for wasting so many ppl’s hard earned money. The film was so idiotic, that we laughed our heads off. Shudve heeded yr advice and stayed at home. :-/

SearchIndia.com Responds:

Well, we’re not as bad as you first thought.

Been reading your posts too. Did we tell you we’ve read over a hundred M&Bs. Here are some of the authors whose names we can remember quickly - Sara Seale, Anne Mather (her book Leopard in the Snow was made into a movie too), Carole Mortimer, Sara Weale (yes, there was a Sara Weale too in addition to the Sara Seale), Mary Wibberly, Jennifer Logan et al. What a waste of precious time. Ah, the follies of youth.

Reply to this ridiculous post: (Please italicize this or whatsoever moderator)

hello mallukuttan
Was not able to stop myself frm writing a reply for ur post… even though its late. wat do u think, indians r all crazy….. its too bad to think like that na…u knw india is not all abt NRIs who go abroad n juz forget watz their identity is…. if u take movies such people would say marlon brando wow,al pacino gr8,zeta jones beauty…. it goes like that for them kamal hassan is not at all an actor amithab bachchan is a waste aishwariya rai a shame to india…… and would always argue india the worst country seen compared to america. bollywood full of craps and hollywood overflowing with tremendous potential in all means… if u r a mallu then u may knw such people r called KACHIL KRISHNAPILLA.but there r other NRIs who go abroad workhard make a bit of money quickly so that they can come back and settle here in their fav mother land and for such, a bollywood movie or any of their reg lang movies r alwys a treat to eyes not bcoz they love the script or direction or perfomences juz bcoz they can see their own stars whom they love an indian touch in the movie thats all thats y OSO or SIK was a hit n not bcoz indians r crazy….. if u haven’t been to india for a long time then for sure u should… n knw wat is india it still have its major share of average people who enjoys comedies after their tiring work n no time there to search for logic in it….so its juz my view on ur post… may be ur view is right but juz said it…

MY RESPONSE:

Oh yeah, I am a mallu. See, Kamal, AB, and all may be a waste for them and who cares. Their style and our style is diff. and i realize that.

See movies like TZP is a hit, and doesn’t it deserve that. But for a bufoon show like Singh is king crores are spoilt. Wow. Why they spend that? Because they know there are many Kachil krishnapillai’s around. Bah.

And forget about great movies, why not atleast a watchable one? every movie has stolen tracks of the ultimate khandan fu**er pritam and jokers like akki, the movie is hit. Did anyone expect singh is king to be a disaster - no they know - what indian’s need is a good trailer featuring a leading star. What a shame.

If u are a mallu, u must not say this. Didn’t u enjoy manichitrathzhu. Didn’t you enjoy Kadha parayumbol. Are they art movies. Forget it, what about Taare zameen par. Was that not enjoyable.

And if comedy, we expect basic standards, atleast make us smile. The awful priyadarsan hindi remake Garam masala aka utter crap was even enjoyable than horror shows like Singh is kinng.

Regards

Ghandhiji, yeah they did do the bollywood routine in the Australian version first. But you have to admit, it wasn’t exactly bollywood dancing. Apart from the fact that it was actually crap, they were doing all these random pirouettes and high kicks that you’d expect from contemporary. So I guess that’s why I don’t consider the Aus version of SYTYCD, bollywood. The U.S version was awesome. And you’re right, much more authentic to watch.

btw, ive read carole mortimer, liked her books; as for the others, im yet to get my hands on them was pleasantly suprised to know tht a good old mnb was made into a movie(ive always thought mnbs make for good movie romances) do u write the book reviews as well, or is there sm1 else? another question - can u suggest any good books? yr fav authors? do u like ebooks? do u like harry potter? well, answer as many as u can

SearchIndia.com Responds:

1. Favorite authors keep changing…now we’re in the Gabriel Garcia Marquez mood again. We loved Love in the time of Cholera, Chronicle of a Death Foretold & General in his Labyrinth.

Also love essays (Macaulay is foremost, of course), Jhumpa Lahiri (both her short stories & the novel Namesake), Charles Dickens (David Copperfield, Great Expectation, Oliver Twist), Alexandre Duma (Count of Monte Cristo), William Shirer (Rise & Fall of Third Reich), History (the Will & Ariel Durant series), Biographies (David McCullough, Carl Sandburg), Chesterfield’s Letters to his Son, Court of the Red Tsar (book on Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore), Shakespeare (Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello)….too many to name.

2. You write: do u like ebooks

Not really. We have the complete Shakespeare on our iPhone but don’t enjoy it as much as the second-hand copy of our hardbound volumes we purchased on a street corner in L.A. some centuries ago.

Not only haven’t I read M&Bs.. I haven’t even read many of the greatest authors.. ashamed of myself.

All I have read is
3 or 4 of Wodehouse.. I did like them, but was too lazy to continue.
Three or four Alistair McClain’s
Cain and Abel.. or was it Kane and Abel?
A few Robin Cook books
“Bourne Identity” and “Day of the Jackal”
I did complete the whole Sherlock Holmes collection.
My father bought me the Shakespeare collection.. but the language was too overwhelming for me.. I was 12 or so at that time.. never tried to revisit.. never going to. I’m content with movies, tv and internet.

My 7 year old seems to be a voracious reader.. She is reading Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House for now.. will try to encourage her to continue reading.. and stay away from M&Bs.

SearchIndia.com Responds:

You write above: All I have read is 3 or 4 of Wodehouse….Three or four Alistair McClain’s

Our introduction to Alistair MacLean came via the movie Where Eagles Dare. We then read all his books. In Aradhana, during the famous song scene Mere Sapon ki rani , Sharmila Tagore is reading an Alistair MacLean book When Eight Bells Toll in the train as Rajesh Khanna is singing in the jeep that runs parallel to the train. Aradhana was a legend like Bobby and DDLJ.

Thanks for the link.. I have listened to song several times.. but haven’t watched the movie or the song.

hey asha, try p. susheela
http://tamilvibration.dk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=640&Itemid=27

I can understand why you like ashalatha.. were you named after them? (and was tampa named after you?) but susheela is also terrific.

I think desiRamp.com has some popular old songs.. but not sure if you ar looking for some obscure songs.

Dear Searchindia and all other bloggies

Refering to the latest “offering” from the YRF camp, namely BAH (actually should be “BLAH”), it is really hard to believe that this stalwart studio had brought us gems such as Veer Zara, Fanaa, Hum tum, KANK, etc.

Notwithstanding, no other Bollywood studio has brought a well meaning, well deserved, original movie this year, leaving us die-hard movie fans with a bitter taste in our mouths, and sincerely wondering how can Bollywood be regarded as a reputable film industry when this year no hindi movie received commercial and critical acclaim.

Jodha Akbar, despite the hoopla, was a poor offering from an acclaimed Oscar nominted director, it was more the hype rather than content that caused people to go and see the movie.

When movies such as Singh is King, Welcome, Partner, Apne, Namaste London, etc. are hailed as box office success, then one must really question the standards by which Bollywood movies are judged. These movies are utter rubbish with absolutely no thought to content. These movies are only “successful” at the bo because some girl makes great eye candy and the hero is some over the top, melodramatic buffoon in costume.

Even The Last Lear was more like the last bore, because AB, Preity, Arjun, etc are not cut out to do English cinema. Once again, despite the hype and critical acclaim (from arty moviegoers)the movie failed to inspire.

Have the days of good Indian cinema gone completely?

Forthcoming movies, guaranteed, are just rip offs from Hollywood movies namely, Robot definite ripoff from Beowulf (going by the storyline); My name is Khan ripped from the pages of I am Sam, Blue a carbon copy of Into the Blue.

Are Indian filmakers stuck in some box or timewarp that they cannot come up with an original idea.

Do we blame the general population out there when they think that Indians are “mindless” sheep, blindly following each other? Their movies certainly add weight to this assumption if movies such as “Dhoom2, Singh is King, Hey Baby, Welcome, etc.” are considered box office hits. What does this say about the mentality of the Indian moviegoer?

I do agree that Hollywood has had its fair share of stinkers (past & present), but they have also produced a fair amount of well deserved hits, which has only served as more rip-off material for indian filmakers. Their sad attempt at sci-fi & futuristic fantasy is abyssmal…everything imbalanced and over the top (Love Story 2050; Drona, etc (seen the stills..hardly inspiring).

Yet it is these actors that are hailed as “stars”…Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwariya Rai, Bipasa Basu, Ranbir Kapoor,etc. Is India so short on talent that these “actors” (i use the term loosely) are offered as the best that Bollywood has to offer. No wonder most of these stars can never make it big in hollywood becuase it would take a lot more than a last name, great body and pair of green eyes to make it to the A-list.

I am no snob, but believe me these “stars” will not even make it pass the first audition never mind a screen test.

The only reason why Ash is so sought after is becuase she has notoriety…had she not been beautiful she would never have survived on her “talent” alone.

A film critic recently noted that India has no place for a Michelle Pfeifer or Meryl Streep, namely talent is wasted. How true when actors such as Rani, Tabu, konkana, etc are regarded as fading stars becuase they are truly talented but cannot find decent material to showcase these talents. They are no longer brand ambassedors for products because their movies do not perform well at the box office.

Would Tabu fare well if she had donned the Katrina or Kareena style of acting. Or if Rani had done a Bipasha style role in Race of BAH..i doubt it.These actresses are talented artists who thankfully had not succumbed to accepting these mediocre roles. The Katrinas, Kareenas and Ash’s will always be in demand, for Bollywood is stuck in a rut of running around trees, shedding their clothes and glycerine tears, and gyrating their hips.

Is it any wonder that even their award shows are limited to “Bollywood blockbusters”, that IAFFA (supposedly the indian version of the Oscars) only consider “bo blockbusters” being worthy of awards, that Kareena Kapoor could walk away with a Best Actress award for Jab we Met, Ash & Hrithik walks away for the Most Glamorous Couple, Priyanka Chopra wins an award for her contribution to cinema (what contribution is really beyond me), yet the true gems of Indian cinema is overlooked and thus remains hidden. What hope is there that these stars will ever come close to the talent of people such as Madhubala, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, etc.

Watching these old movies are so pleasurable and mesmerising that u are left wondering where did Bollywood go wrong….

SearchIndia.com Responds:

1. You write above: how can Bollywood be regarded as a reputable film industry when this year no Hindi movie received commercial and critical acclaim

Actually, it’s not that surprising because critical acclaim has very rarely accompanied Bollywood movies over several decades.

In its essence, Bollywood is two things - the triumph of quantity over quality and large-scale theft.

2. You write: Jodha Akbar, despite the hoopla, was a poor offering from an acclaimed Oscar nominted director, it was more the hype rather than content that caused people to go and see the movie.

Hype and its lesser cousin mindless hero-worship have been the twin banes of Indian cinema.

Again, this is not new but (as you suggest) the Hype Quotient lately has assumed alarming proportions because of the 1. Film web sites 2. Growth of TV channels 3. Populace needs constant titillation in this age.

Hype is not restricted to just Bollywood (Hindi) movies in India. On the eve of Tamil movie Sivaji’s release in June 2007, the Hype Meter went completely beserk.

Another weird thing with Bollywood & even Tamil movies is the obsession to film in foreign locales (Switzerland, London, U.S., Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Tokyo and now Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Namibia, South Africa and even Uzbekistan). We look at this phoren-obsession as a trick to mask the absence of a gripping story and bamboozle the vast numbers of Indian movie-goers for whom phoren is only a distant dream. This trend of filming in foreign locations started in the 1960s and has intensified lately.

3. You write: When movies such as Singh is King, Welcome, Partner, Apne, Namaste London, etc. is hailed as box office sucess, then one must really question the standards by which bollywood movies are judged. These movies are utter rubbish with absolutely no thought to content. These movies are only “successful” at the bo because some girl makes great eye candy and the hero is some over the top, melodramatic buffoon in costume.

Every single movie you list in the above sentence is in our view plain garbage and in some cases like Partner constitute plain theft of Hollywood movies.

But, and this is a very big but, the movies seem like they had a good run at the box office.

So, the questions are:
a). Whether a small section of the audience (in which category we include ourselves and presumably some readers of this blog as well) matter at all.
b). If numbers are the ultimate yardstick, who’s to say that the majority (who contribute to box office hits like Welcome, Partner, Namaste London) does not know more than a small whining minority.

4. You write: Are indian filmakers stuck in some box or timewarp that they cannot come up with an original idea.

Indian movie-makers are for the most risk averse and prefer to stick to the tried-tested-and-worked formula. We think this is becase of two reasons: 1. Lack of enough capital 2. Culture of the land. For instance, there are no great venture capital companies in India (like the U.S. VC firms Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Battery Ventures, Benchmark etc) despite a gazillion software companies in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune & Noida. Indian software companies are like our Bollywood movies….they do the same repetitive work with the only difference being size. Where are the innovative (read product) Indian software companies.

In A Short History of the Movies, Gerald Mast and Brude Kawin write about Bollywood that, “The pressure on the studios to provide film after entertaining film for a huge, uneducated audience has led to a consistent mediocrity, a devotion to formula and convention, and a fear of experimentation.”

5. You write: where did Bollywood go wrong

In the view of Bollywood producers, your question would be considered an elitist thought and a laughable notion because the crappy movies they make do bring in big money.

6. You write: What hope is their that these stars will ever come close to the talent of people such as Madhubala, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, etc

You left out Sanjeev Kumar & even Rajesh Khanna in a few movies…they were decent actors.

Hope is not completely lost by the greater-than-anticipated-success of films such as Johnny Gaddar, Manorama Six Feet Under (a lift of Chinatown) and Cheeni Kum.

LOL…

BTW, just wanted to tell you, I’ve updated my blog… maybe you could take a look? Could use some comments, and, I felt the 1920 review I wrote was a poor one; I was half asleep when I wrote it. So how are things otherwise? All the best then, cya!

SearchIndia.com Responds:

Actually, we’ve been dropping by on your The Laughter Therapist blog on & off. We have it bookmarked.

As we said earlier, you write reasonably well.

With movie reviews, the thing is not to give too much of the story away (as you did in 1920). Of course, we don’t follow our advice sometimes.

This is the only review by you, where I’m tempted to disagree. I’ve seen the movie, and although I agree it has a bad story, I think Bipasha and Minissha were good in their respective roles, Deepika, of course had nothing to do in the movie, {dunno why she took it? maybe cos it had beau Ranbir?} anyway, I also think Ranbir was not suited to play the role of a casanova, with his “I’m a mama’s boy” kinda looks, for me he’s the material cut out for saas bahu saga’s, ready to obey, to agree, you know, the mellow types, besides, I think it’s important for movies to give the right message without preaching it, what the protagonist ended up with in BAH is so not fair, I mean, the damage he did to the two girls was permanent, at least in Bipasha’s case, she didn’t even get a consolation prize {like Minishha got Kunal, lol} what I mean to say is that Raj doesn’t pay for his sins, all he gets is a black eye {the punch from Kunal} he comes back home after saying unrealistic sorries and finds hoards of letters from Gayatri, that was all too stupid!

One more thing, Deepika was not bad in OSO yar, I mean come on, I didn’t quite digest the story, but that doesn’t mean the actors weren’t good

And Sawariya, Sanjay Leela Bhansali should be taken to the Agra Mental Hospital for making that movie, kahan se start hui kahan khatam, samjh hee nai aaya!

SearchIndia.com Responds:

You write above: I think Bipasha and Minissha were good in their respective roles

Both of them are alien to the notion of acting.

Even on the Box office front, BAH did not do well…came in worse than that crappy piece of shit Bhoothnath.