Browsing: Cinema

Cinema
1 ‘Hiding Divya’ Stirs Up a Taboo Topic

‘Hiding Divya’ is a provocative Indie film which takes on hard issues – and delivers. Mental illness is a taboo word in the Indian-American community – it’s about loss of face, ‘bad blood’ and failure – and is often kept under wraps. Filmmakers Rehana Mirza & Rohi Mirza Pandya get the dialogue going…
Above: Pooja Kumar and Madhur Jaffrey in ‘Hiding Divya’
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Cinema
0 King Khan Meets Bollywood fans at Madame Tussauds

For once, the gregarious Shah Rukh Khan didn’t have a word to say. He stood as still as a statue – oh, what am I saying – this Shah Rukh Khan was a statue – a wax one at that! The famous tourist attraction Madame Tussauds in Times Square has now immortalized superstar King Khan in wax, and throngs of fans came to see him holding court in the Bollywood Zone.

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Cinema
0 Tere Bin Laden – Osama Tales

Who would have thought Osama Bin Ladin could make you smile? The face that gives one nightmares becomes central to ‘Tere Bin Laden’, a good-natured, cheeky comedy which is almost a fable about America’s war on terror.

What would the real Osama say if he saw ‘Tere Bin Laden’? Says director Abhishek Sharma, “I think even he would be amused to see the way we have used Bin Laden tapes to show the madness in the post 9/11 world.”

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Cinema
0 Raavan – A visual feast but where’s the meat?

It’s been chosen as a critic’s pick by The New York Times, and has received pretty glowing reviews in the west. Technically, I would agree, it’s a marvel but it didn’t get my heart – and with a film by Mani Ratnam, you expect things to happen to your heart.

The much anticipated ‘Raavan’ starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Vikram, the superstar from the south, and directed by the great director Mani Ratnam, who is idolized by the film industry as ‘Mani Sir’, should have been a terrific movie. Should have. Could have. But in the end, wasn’t.

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Cinema
0 ‘Raavan’ – Abhishek, Aishwarya and More

Ravan, the villain in the Ramayana through the ages and in myriads of Ramlilas across the world, has now been co-opted by Bollywood. Soon ‘Raavan’ will be blazing in lights across the diaspora and the big blockbuster which bears his name is being directed by none less than the iconic Mani Ratnam with super stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. The music is by everyone’s favorite A R Rahman, lyrics by Gulzar and cinematography by another major name – Santosh Sivan. Now what could make for a better debut for Ravan?
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Cinema
0 ‘Kites’ – Hrithik Roshan’s Bollywood-Hollywood Gambit

‘Kites’ Review
‘Kites’ is the face of the new global Indian film industry – fast-paced, fast-moving and completely at home on the world stage. From beginning to end, it has the look and feel of a big international film, and moves flawlessly and boldly, from glittering Vegas casinos to raw desert terrain to fabulous mansions. But where is the soul?

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Cinema
1 Dancing with Shahid Kapoor

All aspiring dancers probably fantasize about one day starring in a Bollywood movie, in a big musical number dancing with their favorite movie idol. Well, for Sapna Rohra and Shivani Thakkar, both from Los Angeles, this became a reality when they won Verizon’s Bollypop contest. The grand prize? Round trip tickets to India and a chance to dance with Shahid Kapoor in the Bollywood movie, ‘Chance Pe Dance.’ What’s it like to move from the audience to the big screen?

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Cinema
1 A Happy Ending for My Name is Khan

For all those who’ve been following the real life drama of the release of ‘My Name is Khan’ it will be a relief to know that there’s a happy ending to this blockbuster. After more cliffhangers than the Himalayas, the film finally got to open in theaters across Mumbai and was seen by thousands of people. ‘My Name is Khan’ is an intriguing example of how sometimes reel and real life intersect in this major metropolis.

A movie about racial profiling made by a Muslim man, albeit a Bollywood superhero, itself became a vehicle for racial profiling by the Shiv Sena which sent its army of believers out to threaten and ransack. Well, the people of Mumbai came through, overwhelmingly showing that no one group has the monopoly to speak for the millions in this big, cosmopolitan city.

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Cinema
0 Shah Rukh Khan's Right to Speak

What’s the buzz right now? Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and their much anticipated movie ‘My Name is Khan’ is what everyone’s talking about.

Well, the buzz is about the film – but also about what could almost become a drama in its own right – the Shiv Sena’s clumsy attempt to muzzle free speech. By now everyone knows about the Sena’s threat to sabotage ‘My Name is Khan’ in order to punish Shah Rukh Khan for his comment about wanting to include Pakistani players in the IPL. The Sena has threatened distributors and theater owners in Mumbai for having the temerity to show the movie, and by association, movie-goers who would dare to watch the film.

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Cinema
0 On the Trail of Shah Rukh and Kajol

Get your shoes on, grab your bags – we are going to meet Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol at a press conference at the plush offices of News Corp, the parent company of Fox Searchlight which is distributing the much anticipated Karan Johar blockbuster ‘My Name is Khan’.It’s a cold day in Manhattan, so let’s walk a little faster to get out of the chilly temperature. In the lobby it’s a long, long line of press folks, photographers and TV anchors all waiting to be summoned for the darshan. WATCH THE VIDEO!

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