July 5, 2008 • 1:59 pm 1
For the non punjabis, this phrase means ‘i know you’. Coming from Steve Carell’s mouth, it doesnt quite sound like punjabi though.
In a blink-your-ears-and-miss-it moment from the super fun movie Get Smart, this is precisely what he says to the Indian Giant in the WWE, popularly known as ‘The Great Khali‘.
Filed under: Movies , get smart, hollywood, indian link, punjabi, steve carell, the great khali
June 14, 2008 • 11:27 pm 7
So me and the missus went to watch Sarkar Raj. The Verdict: Disappointing.
I was mightily impressed with Sarkar, and was looking forward to Sarkar II. But this movie seemed more like an advertisement for the great Bachchan family, and their loyalty to the state of Maharashtra.
More about that later…
About the movie. Big Daddy Bachchan is still going strong; a kingmaker who blesses the government as well as anything of importance that happens in the state. Small Bachhan (Chhote Sarkar, anyone?) meanwhile has grown up and is taking the ‘business’ forward.
Who is Sarkar? Is he a gangster? Seems too socially inclined to be that. He is the Hero, and portrayed as a people’s hero. But whats the place for such characters in a democracy? A person who is so poweful that he is bigger than the government?
Anyway, the Bacchan bahu rani Aishwarya (NRI industrialist) wants to setup a power plant in the state that would displace just some 40,000 people. Sarkar doesn’t like this social injustice, but Chhote Sarkar feels this is good for the long term benefit of the state. And this is the movie’s entire premise.
“It will solve all our power problems”
“For long term gains we would have to overlook short term losses”
(Image courtesy: moviewallah.com)
Here the electrical engineer in me winced at some numbers. The project cost is Rs 200,000 crore, which translates into 50 billion dollars. All this money for just 5000 MW. As far as i know this money might get you some 10 times that much electricity. Plus there is mention of Rs 20,000 crore profit in the first year! Power plants have long gestation periods and take a long time to make money. Little technicalities…
This movie is a family drama…the Bachchan family drama. Hum saath saath hain they sang…
Filed under: Bollywood, India, Movies , Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan, Review, Sarkar, Sarkar Raj
October 14, 2007 • 9:14 pm 10
We always think about Mahatma Gandhi as the freedom fighter, fighting for India’s independence, leading millions of people in protest against the British, liberating the country in his own unique way. What about Gandhi the person, a husband and father of four children?
The movie Gandhi My Father takes a close look at one of Mahatma Gandhi’s life’s biggest personal regrets. A rare movie that talks about his family and the problems in his own personal life. That he was able to rise above them in achieving what he did is just an illustration of his being the great man that he was.
It isn’t easy being great. It is harder being a father when you have greater things to achieve. This movie is about Gandhi and his relationship with his eldest son, Harilal Gandhi.
Filed under: History, India, Movies , Akshaye Khanna, Gandhi My Father, Hiralal Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi
October 9, 2007 • 10:17 pm 10
A few days back i saw a screening of this movie called Outsourced at the South Asian International Film Festival SAIFF. This movie is about an American guy whose company outsources his work to a call center in India, and sends him to train the person who was going to be his replacement manage that call center! Interesting enough for a dekko.
So our man, the hero - Josh Hamilton, very reluctantly travels to India because his stock options are all locked and quitting the job would mean he loses it all. Very valid reason. Smart man.
He lands at the Mumbai Bombay airport only to be surrounded by about 1000 taxi drivers (Ok. I added a zero to that to add some spice. Btw hero likes spicy food, and the boss made that a point for him to come to India). He finally picks a guy who turns out be be, well, an Autorikshaw driver! Funny scene that one.
What does Mr white guy eat first thing in India? A gola (some sort of ice cream. Only with ice and no cream). Obviously his stomach doesn’t quite like it. Then he is taken to auntyji’s guest house. Aunty looked like the ba of tulsi fame. A typical indian woman who doesn’t like the fact that hero is not married despite being so old (a little over 30), or that he doesn’t live with his parents, or that he eats with his left hand (Please. i am not going to describe the reason for that. Go watch the movie if you must know)
Filed under: India, Movies , Outsourced Movie Review, South Asian International Film Festival
September 16, 2007 • 7:30 pm 13
Chak De! India is one of the best movies to have come out of the Bollywood factories in recent years. The beauty of the movie lies in the fact that besides being a thoroughly enjoyable movie, it effortlessly raises so many relevant issues.
The issue of national pride. What a classic moment when Shahrukh tells the team that they are from India, not Haryana or Jharkhand or Railways. “Play for your country first, then for your team, and if anything’s left after that then maybe for yourself”.
How many of us actually care about India ? Everybody seems to want to take her for a ride. Make a fast buck…country be damned.
Filed under: India, Movies , Bollywood, Chake De India, Shahrukh Khan
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