I thought my Tony Curtis phase had finally passed, but apparently not ;)
I watched The Boston Strangler (1968) on Saturday. It's based on the true story of a series of murders that took place in Boston in the 1960s. The film takes a lot of liberties with what happened, but as some of its best moments are at the times when it takes the biggest liberties I'm not particularly upset by that ;-P Curtis plays the title role of the murderer and he's quite extraordinary in it. Apparently, he had to lobby very hard to get the part as neither the director nor the studio thought he'd be any good in it (he was a blue eyed, handsome guy who did mostly conventional leads and a lot of comedy). Of course the studio and director were wrong ;) The part is one of Tony Curtis's most acclaimed performances. He doesn't come in until about an hour into the film, but once he's in he pretty much carries the film. Here's the only clip from the film that I found on-line:
Funnily enough I didn't have much trouble picturing him doing a murderer and rapist well, but what took me totally by surprise was what he does in the closing stages of the film. After the character gets caught, he's locked up in a mental institution and interrogated there. What he does in those scenes is amazing. I don't want to spoil the film for anyone, so I won't say exactly what the diagnosis is (the real Albert Desalvo was never diagnosed with anything of the sort by the way), but it's one of the most amazing portrayals of mental illness I've seen - on the one hand very intense, but on the other there's something very simple and straight about the way he does it. Usually when one thinks of acclaimed actors doing mentally ill characters they do it "big". Think people like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind or even Edward Norton in Primal Fear. I'm not saying Tony Curtis did it "small" exactly, but it definitely was "smaller" and "more human". I loved how you could practically understand all the thought processes and feelings that were happening in the character's head during the interrogations. The way it was edited and the dialogue helped a lot of course, but there was just a beautiful clarity and simplicity in what Tony Curtis was doing.
Since I found Tony Curtis in this movie so gushworthy I'm naturally very excited about the prospect of seeing more of his films ;-P I've apparently got around 120 feature films to choose from (in the old days it was quite normal to do around 3-4 films a year and he's been at it since 1949!), but as that's a little too much even for my current level of interest in him I thought I'd make a shorter list for myself ;-P So here's a list of the Tony Curtis titles that caught my eye (including those I've already seen):
Insignificance (1985)
This sounds like some sort of very bizarre and artsy film that will be very difficult to make any sense of ;) Basically Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Senator Joseph McCarthy and Joe DiMaggio meet together in a hotel room. Tony Curtis plays McCarthy.
The only video clip I've come across is here - it's a montage of 5 films by Nicolas Roeg. Unfortunately no Tony in the clip, but the clips of Albert Einstein and Marilyn Monroe covered in blood look kind of weird and interesting ;-P
Casanova & Co. (1977)
I still haven't made my mind up over whether I actually want to see this one lol Basically, almost all the reviews I've come across describe it as a soft porn movie ;) Now that in itself doesn't scare me off (on the contrary, the idea of Tony Curtis doing a soft porn film seems so funny to me that I automatically want to see it ;-P - especially that he's supposed to be Casanova AND Casanova's look-a-like in the film), but most people write that the film is terrible and also it's supposed to be dubbed over (badly) in German.
Unfortunately I've found no clips on-line of this weird piece of work ;) Had I found any perhaps I would have made up my mind by now ;-P
The Persuaders (1971-1972)
This is the TV series I've already mentioned. The idea of seeing 24 episodes of Tony Curtis flirting with Roger Moore while both of them are playing cool action heroes is too good to pass on ;) I linked to clips in my previous post, but I'll repeat the links ;-P (here's one and here's another one).
The Boston Strangler (1968)
I've basically said all that needs to be said above, haven't I? :)
The Great Race (1965)
This sounds like a comedy with a totally ridiculous sense of humour. The hero (Tony Curtis as the Great Leslie) is always dressed in white and the villain (Jack Lemmon as Professor Fate) is always in black. It features the biggest pie fight ever staged and many other totally ridiculous scenes (for example this one). In fact the only films that I've ever read about or seen which sound anywhere near as ridiculous are Bollywood ones ;)
Spartacus (1960)
This one I've seen. I guess the main interest factor is that it's a Stanley Kubrick film, though I don't think it's one of his best. What it was meant to be would have probably been much more interesting than what it actually is. Still, it's a classic.
I've already mentioned the film on my blog, but as I concentrated on its gay subtexts I didn't link to the trailer which is sadly not homoerotic in the slightest ;-P
Operation Petticoat (1959)
It's a comedy which also stars Cary Grant. It takes place on a submarine during World War II and basically everything keeps going wrong. For example because they don't have enough paint, they're forced to mix red and white and paint the submarine pink (apparently there really was one pink submarine during the war for those reasons!).
Here's a hilarious pig stealing scene from the film.
Some Like It Hot (1959)
I've seen this one ages ago. I really want to re-watch it and I know I used to have a VHS tape of it, but can't find it anywhere grrrrr...
It's a great comedy which has Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon dressed up as girls and Marilyn Monroe is great and really hilarious in this as well (incidentally, I think it's the only Marilyn Monroe film I've seen, I should change that!). Oh and the closing line is unforgettable ;)
The trailer is here.
The Defiant Ones (1958)
This one I've already mentioned and seen. It's a beautiful film :) Already posted this before, but here's the trailer.
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
This is supposed to be Tony Curtis' first serious dramatic part. He plays a young guy who is prepared to do some very morally repulsive things to achieve success and money in New York.
I love the look of the two clips I found (clip no.1 and clip no.2) - the atmosphere is thick with jazz, New York and degeneration ;)
Houdini (1953)
In this one Curtis plays Harry Houdini and I think this was his first major success. I'm actually convinced I saw this film on TV when I was very, very little.
Here's the clip I found (it gives me a strong deja vu feeling).
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Katyń nominated for the Academy Awards
I was very stunned when this happened around 2 weeks ago. Katyń had been shortlisted for the nomination, whilst 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days and Persepolis (both of which had had far more attention internationally) were not.
But now that the nominations for best foreign picture have been announced, it's quite obvious what the Academy is doing - politics and war seem to be the main themes they were looking for. Check out the nomination list:
Beaufort (Israel)
A war film which takes place in 2000 as the Israeli army is withdrawing from Lebanon.
The Counterfeiters (Austria)
It takes place in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, based on a true story.
Katyń (Poland)
An account of the events surrounding the 1940 massacre of captured Polish army officers.
Mongol (Kazakhstan)
It's the story of Genghis Khan. It doesn't sound political, but I'm wondering if there might be some themes like that in there. It's certainly a little weird that a famous Russian director had to go to Kazakhstan to get his movie financed. Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the fact that Genghis Khan also conquered a lot of Russia...
12 (Russia)
Twelve Russian jurors decide the fate of a young Chechen accused of murdering his adoptive Russian father.
In the company of 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days or Persepolis, I'd say Katyń wouldn't have any chance of winning whatsoever. But in this company I think it has a very large one. Nor am I alone in this feeling - apparently that's how the bookies have it as well.
There's also an interesting article in the Economist weighing Katyń's chances. The main argument they have against it is that it's done from a very Polish point of view and some things in the film might not be clear to foreigners. On the other hand they also write:
Astonishingly, some in Russia are now reviving the lie that the murderers at Katyn were not by the NKVD, but the Nazis. That was maintained during the communist era, but only by punishing savagely those who tried to tell the truth. Last year, as Mr Wajda's film opened in Poland, a commentary in a Russian government newspaper, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, dismissed the evidence of Soviet involvement in Katyn as “unreliable”. An Oscar would be a good answer to that.
But now that the nominations for best foreign picture have been announced, it's quite obvious what the Academy is doing - politics and war seem to be the main themes they were looking for. Check out the nomination list:
Beaufort (Israel)
A war film which takes place in 2000 as the Israeli army is withdrawing from Lebanon.
The Counterfeiters (Austria)
It takes place in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, based on a true story.
Katyń (Poland)
An account of the events surrounding the 1940 massacre of captured Polish army officers.
Mongol (Kazakhstan)
It's the story of Genghis Khan. It doesn't sound political, but I'm wondering if there might be some themes like that in there. It's certainly a little weird that a famous Russian director had to go to Kazakhstan to get his movie financed. Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the fact that Genghis Khan also conquered a lot of Russia...
12 (Russia)
Twelve Russian jurors decide the fate of a young Chechen accused of murdering his adoptive Russian father.
In the company of 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days or Persepolis, I'd say Katyń wouldn't have any chance of winning whatsoever. But in this company I think it has a very large one. Nor am I alone in this feeling - apparently that's how the bookies have it as well.
There's also an interesting article in the Economist weighing Katyń's chances. The main argument they have against it is that it's done from a very Polish point of view and some things in the film might not be clear to foreigners. On the other hand they also write:
Astonishingly, some in Russia are now reviving the lie that the murderers at Katyn were not by the NKVD, but the Nazis. That was maintained during the communist era, but only by punishing savagely those who tried to tell the truth. Last year, as Mr Wajda's film opened in Poland, a commentary in a Russian government newspaper, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, dismissed the evidence of Soviet involvement in Katyn as “unreliable”. An Oscar would be a good answer to that.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Another Hollywood star is dead
This time the news is more high profile... Heath Ledger (who is probably best known as the star of Brokeback Mountain) died yesterday, aged 28.
The circumstances of his death are similar to that of Renfro's and the exact cause remains unknown (am I the only one finding the similarities spooky?).
Due to Ledger's involvement in Brokeback Mountain, The Westboro Baptist Church has announced they will picket his funeral.
The circumstances of his death are similar to that of Renfro's and the exact cause remains unknown (am I the only one finding the similarities spooky?).
Due to Ledger's involvement in Brokeback Mountain, The Westboro Baptist Church has announced they will picket his funeral.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Tony Curtis is very absorbing ;)
My Tony Curtis obsession has subsided a little bit, but as no bisexual 60s Hollywood star has taken his place yet, my internet searches still seem to be revolving around him ;-P
So firstly, here's a really nice interview with him in which he talks a lot about gender and sexuality in context of his film career.
I also found a great audio interview (part one and part two) - he's clearly a really good talker.
Thanks to Mr Curtis I have also discovered what I think are the two gayest action heroes ever lol In 1971 he starred alongside Roger Moore in a series called The Persuaders. I've looked around youtube for some clips and as far as I can make out the concept is that the two of them keep flirting with each other all the time ;) See for yourself - here and here. It's really cute ;)
Finally, I've been digging amongst my old video tapes, trying to find something with Tony Curtis and I've re-discovered The Defiant Ones. I'd totally forgotten the film (I'm not sure how I managed to do that as I remember really loving it when I first watched it and it's gotten the same reaction from me this time round too).
It's a film from 1958, but it's aged really well. It's the story of a black man (played beautifully by Sidney Poitier) and a white man on the run from the law. The catch is that they're chained to each other. It was the first Hollywood film that addressed racism so directly (and IMO in much less moralistic tones than what Hollywood does today). The film is much better than the trailer IMO ;-P but you can see the trailer here.
So firstly, here's a really nice interview with him in which he talks a lot about gender and sexuality in context of his film career.
I also found a great audio interview (part one and part two) - he's clearly a really good talker.
Thanks to Mr Curtis I have also discovered what I think are the two gayest action heroes ever lol In 1971 he starred alongside Roger Moore in a series called The Persuaders. I've looked around youtube for some clips and as far as I can make out the concept is that the two of them keep flirting with each other all the time ;) See for yourself - here and here. It's really cute ;)
Finally, I've been digging amongst my old video tapes, trying to find something with Tony Curtis and I've re-discovered The Defiant Ones. I'd totally forgotten the film (I'm not sure how I managed to do that as I remember really loving it when I first watched it and it's gotten the same reaction from me this time round too).
It's a film from 1958, but it's aged really well. It's the story of a black man (played beautifully by Sidney Poitier) and a white man on the run from the law. The catch is that they're chained to each other. It was the first Hollywood film that addressed racism so directly (and IMO in much less moralistic tones than what Hollywood does today). The film is much better than the trailer IMO ;-P but you can see the trailer here.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Brad Renfro dead
He died yesterday, aged 25. I'm a bit stunned...
If you're not sure who I'm talking about then see his imdb page.
If you're not sure who I'm talking about then see his imdb page.
Monday, January 14, 2008
My sudden Hollywood obsession and the quest to find a star that isn't gay ;)
Why is it that whenever one has a lot of schoolwork to do, one always has an irresistible urge to do something else? (or at least that's what happens to me ;-P) I've got something like 4 tests and 2 projects over the next week, but am I studying? Of course not ;-P What am I doing? I'm getting unhealthily obsessed with Hollywood stars from the 50s and 60s. And lets get this straight (pun unintended ;-P) - I've never been a particular fan of old Hollywood movies before! I have sometimes enjoyed older films, but a lot of the time I've watched them because I feel I ought to build on my film history awareness rather than because I really want to see an older film. So why have I suddenly become obsessed with this particular topic? Your guess is as good as mine ;-P
Well ok... I do sort of know how it started - it's because of this blog ;-P I found a very interesting article about Method Acting and I'm drafting a post on it (which of course, as always, is turning out to be extremely long). I started looking for Laurence Olivier quotes on The Method because I knew he had spoken against it and... er... that wasn't a good idea ;)
What followed was that I became totally obsessed with Laurence Olivier for 2-3 days (that has subsided somewhat, I have now turned to Tony Curtis instead and I'm wondering who will be next ;-P).
Worse still, I somehow came across this:
And well... it fascinated me... It had never occurred to me that Stanley Kubrick tried to broach the topic of homosexuality in Spartacus. The reference is so slight that if you're not looking for the subtext you might not notice it - and yet this was enough for the censors to cut it.
It was interesting also that two big stars - Laurence Olivier and Tony Curtis would have wanted to risk such subtext.
The Spartacus scene somehow led me on to other discoveries... In particular I started finding all sorts of rumours that Laurence Olivier might have been bisexual. As that sort of gossip has always amused me I followed it through. At first it seemed like gossip with little foundation, but what started making it much more fishy was the way Joan Plowright (Olivier's third wife) was being quoted and in particular that she had authorized a biography which claimed Olivier had had encounters with men. I finally came across this article which seemed to cover all the incidents that I found mentioned elsewhere. It is from the Daily Mail, so that's hardly a reliable source, but there was one bit in particular that caught my eye:
After Lord Olivier's death on July 11, 1989, aged 82, from neuromuscular disease and cancer, and his interment in Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey, his official biographer, Terry Coleman, asked Plowright if he had had homosexual affairs. She replied robustly: "If he did, so what?"
Tarquin Olivier, Larry's elder son, 'was hell-bent on censoring' the homosexual revelations in Coleman's book and attempted to pressure Plowright into withdrawing her permission. She refused, privately remarking that "a man who had been to Eton and in the Guards might be expected to be a little more broad-minded".
The article led me on further... For one it mentioned an encounter between Olivier and Marlon Brando. I'm not sure I believe that one, but apparently there are other sources which suggest Brando may have been bisexual.
The article also mentioned an incident in which John Gielgud was caught in a public toilet trying to pick up a guy (he was arrested for it).
Finding it amusing that so many stars of the era seemed to be gay or bisexual I thought I'd try to look for somebody who was straight ;) So I searched for stuff on Charles Laughton - like Olivier and Gielgud he was also a very acclaimed British theatrical actor who'd done a bit of Hollywood. I thought it likely that he wasn't much of a sexual experimentator - I knew he had been married to just one woman his whole life (unlike most of the stars of that time). Well, I was wrong *grin* Laughton's wife, Elsa Lanchaster, had outed her husband as gay in her autobiography and apparently that was the reason for them never having children.
Feeling rather gigglish by this point I went to my dad (who had after all watched Hollywood in those times) and told him about my discoveries. He had also heard about Laughton and Gielgud, though Olivier and Brando surprised him. Having shown him the Spartacus scene, I joked I should check whether Tony Curtis was straight. My dad said he was pretty sure Curtis was straight (and I rather thought so too), but I ended up checking it up anyway just for a laugh. At first it seemed I had finally found somebody who *was* straight though probably promiscuous (6 wives! and his present one is 42 years younger than him!), but lo and behold, I found an interview with him in a gay magazine ;) Here's what he says in it:
Speaking of men and men … well, first, how old were you when you got to Hollywood?
I was 22. That was 1948.
And as beautiful as you were … I mean, you are still good-looking…
Thank you.
But as beautiful as you were, I’m assuming that you…
I had more action than Mount Vesuvius.
So, both men and women put the make on you.
Men, women, children. Animals!
I can’t wait for the headlines–"TONY CURTIS INTO BESTIALITY."
[Laughs] I loved it, too. I loved the affection of everybody around me. I participated where I wanted to, and I didn’t where I didn’t. It wasn’t like I said, "Well, I won’t do this or I won’t do that." I just had a chance to have great wonderful friends of all ethnic backgrounds, all sexual genders, and that’s the joy of being an American, that’s the joy of being alive, where all of your friends can be who-ever they want to be.
I'm not sure how serious he was about the children and animals ;) He clearly has a rather crass sense of humour, but especially in context of what he says after that he seemed fairly serious about the men ;) So yet again my quest to find a straight star had failed ;)
Am I the only person who ends up doing such moronic things rather than study? ;)
Well ok... I do sort of know how it started - it's because of this blog ;-P I found a very interesting article about Method Acting and I'm drafting a post on it (which of course, as always, is turning out to be extremely long). I started looking for Laurence Olivier quotes on The Method because I knew he had spoken against it and... er... that wasn't a good idea ;)
What followed was that I became totally obsessed with Laurence Olivier for 2-3 days (that has subsided somewhat, I have now turned to Tony Curtis instead and I'm wondering who will be next ;-P).
Worse still, I somehow came across this:
And well... it fascinated me... It had never occurred to me that Stanley Kubrick tried to broach the topic of homosexuality in Spartacus. The reference is so slight that if you're not looking for the subtext you might not notice it - and yet this was enough for the censors to cut it.
It was interesting also that two big stars - Laurence Olivier and Tony Curtis would have wanted to risk such subtext.
The Spartacus scene somehow led me on to other discoveries... In particular I started finding all sorts of rumours that Laurence Olivier might have been bisexual. As that sort of gossip has always amused me I followed it through. At first it seemed like gossip with little foundation, but what started making it much more fishy was the way Joan Plowright (Olivier's third wife) was being quoted and in particular that she had authorized a biography which claimed Olivier had had encounters with men. I finally came across this article which seemed to cover all the incidents that I found mentioned elsewhere. It is from the Daily Mail, so that's hardly a reliable source, but there was one bit in particular that caught my eye:
After Lord Olivier's death on July 11, 1989, aged 82, from neuromuscular disease and cancer, and his interment in Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey, his official biographer, Terry Coleman, asked Plowright if he had had homosexual affairs. She replied robustly: "If he did, so what?"
Tarquin Olivier, Larry's elder son, 'was hell-bent on censoring' the homosexual revelations in Coleman's book and attempted to pressure Plowright into withdrawing her permission. She refused, privately remarking that "a man who had been to Eton and in the Guards might be expected to be a little more broad-minded".
The article led me on further... For one it mentioned an encounter between Olivier and Marlon Brando. I'm not sure I believe that one, but apparently there are other sources which suggest Brando may have been bisexual.
The article also mentioned an incident in which John Gielgud was caught in a public toilet trying to pick up a guy (he was arrested for it).
Finding it amusing that so many stars of the era seemed to be gay or bisexual I thought I'd try to look for somebody who was straight ;) So I searched for stuff on Charles Laughton - like Olivier and Gielgud he was also a very acclaimed British theatrical actor who'd done a bit of Hollywood. I thought it likely that he wasn't much of a sexual experimentator - I knew he had been married to just one woman his whole life (unlike most of the stars of that time). Well, I was wrong *grin* Laughton's wife, Elsa Lanchaster, had outed her husband as gay in her autobiography and apparently that was the reason for them never having children.
Feeling rather gigglish by this point I went to my dad (who had after all watched Hollywood in those times) and told him about my discoveries. He had also heard about Laughton and Gielgud, though Olivier and Brando surprised him. Having shown him the Spartacus scene, I joked I should check whether Tony Curtis was straight. My dad said he was pretty sure Curtis was straight (and I rather thought so too), but I ended up checking it up anyway just for a laugh. At first it seemed I had finally found somebody who *was* straight though probably promiscuous (6 wives! and his present one is 42 years younger than him!), but lo and behold, I found an interview with him in a gay magazine ;) Here's what he says in it:
Speaking of men and men … well, first, how old were you when you got to Hollywood?
I was 22. That was 1948.
And as beautiful as you were … I mean, you are still good-looking…
Thank you.
But as beautiful as you were, I’m assuming that you…
I had more action than Mount Vesuvius.
So, both men and women put the make on you.
Men, women, children. Animals!
I can’t wait for the headlines–"TONY CURTIS INTO BESTIALITY."
[Laughs] I loved it, too. I loved the affection of everybody around me. I participated where I wanted to, and I didn’t where I didn’t. It wasn’t like I said, "Well, I won’t do this or I won’t do that." I just had a chance to have great wonderful friends of all ethnic backgrounds, all sexual genders, and that’s the joy of being an American, that’s the joy of being alive, where all of your friends can be who-ever they want to be.
I'm not sure how serious he was about the children and animals ;) He clearly has a rather crass sense of humour, but especially in context of what he says after that he seemed fairly serious about the men ;) So yet again my quest to find a straight star had failed ;)
Am I the only person who ends up doing such moronic things rather than study? ;)
Friday, January 11, 2008
2007 MEETS 2008 | PART 3: Bollywood 2007
So much for dividing things into parts so as to avoid writing long posts ;-P
I've compiled my lists mainly on the basis of this article. Another interesting article to look at is this one in which they asked a few Indian directors what they thought were the best films of the year.
The release dates given are the Indian ones. The only film amongst these that was released in Poland is The Namesake (and it's one of very few films listed in this post that I've seen).
MOST SUCCESSFUL STARS OF 2007
The two biggest hits of 2007 (Om Shanti Om and Chak De! India) were both delivered by Shah Rukh Khan. Om Shanti Om has now broken all records and become the highest grossing Indian film ever (Shahrukh was also the producer of the film). Chak De! India on the other hand is the first time Shahrukh has been commercially successful in a subdued and restrained role.
However, it is Akshay Kumar who delivered the most hit films this year (Namastey London, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiya and Welcome). While it's difficult to determine how much Bollywood stars earn for a film, the Indian media likes to publish who was the highest tax payer in Bollywood in a given year and in 2007 it was Akshay Kumar. It's reported that he had to pay the equivalent of about $6.5mln in taxes and the gossip is that his asking price for a film is now over $5mln, perhaps the highest in Bollywood. Surprisingly enough, Akshay is still not seen as a threat to Shahrukh's dominance in Bollywood.
THE BIGGEST BOX OFFICE SPINNERS OF 2007
So this is the list of the biggest commercial successes of 2007. I tried to keep it shorter than this, but as you see it didn't work out ;-P
Guru
Release Date: 12 January 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQRZHHY2oJM
Director: Mani Ratnam
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Vidya Balan, Mallika Sherawat, Madhavan, Mithun Chakraborty
The story of a villager who rises to become one of the leading businessmen in the country. Not only was it a huge commercial success, but received great reviews from Indian critics (even the more artsy ones).
Namastey London
Release Date: 23 March 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYjLLmuEiqA
Director: Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif
A guy from Punjab marries a girl from London and for some reason the film's promotion featured a very bizarre song where the guy is dressed as Father Christmas...
Chak De! India
Release Date: 10 August 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvSpW2ZaYxU
Director: Shimit Amin
Cast: Shahrukh Khan
One of the strangest hits of the year... The story of a female field hockey team coached by a guy who has been discriminated against because he's Muslim. There are no song and dance numbers in the film (though some were recorded for promotional purposes).
Chak De! India was the only 2007 film made under the Yash Chopra banner (the biggest production house in Bollywood) that was a hit. The other (more formulaic) films they released underperformed in the box office.
Heyy Babyy
Release Date: 24 August 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AF-IQAMmnI
Director: Sajid Khan
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Fardeen Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Boman Irani, Anupam Kher, Amrita Arora, Malaika Arora
A couple of guys have to take care of a baby.
Bhool Bhulaiya
Release Date: 12 October 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPRK-ZGDhnk
Director: Priyadarshan
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Shiney Ahuja, Amisha Patel
Er... well there's definitely a ghost in the story...
Jab We Met
Release Date: 26 October 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSlkJfCozwA
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Cast: Shahid Kapur, Kareena Kapoor
Its success was a surprise. It seems to be one of those films that gets a large audience thanks to word of mouth. Basically, it's a romance, but it's said to put the DDLJ formula totally upside down.
Om Shanti Om
Release Date: 9 November 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_ostdGo6vc
Director: Farah Khan
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Arjun Rampal, Kiron Kher, Deepika Padukone
This is a totally unapologetic masala movie, which involves reincarnation and makes fun of 70s and contemporary Bollywood.
Taare Zameen Par
Release Date: 21 December 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQwtyc82AX8
Director: Aamir Khan
Cast: Aamir Khan
About a little boy, who is very unhappy at school and then one day a new art teacher comes along... It's getting great reviews and is said to look at children in a very interesting way. Apparently, there is only one song and dance number in the film.
Welcome
Release Date: 21 December 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gz2orY0IK8
Director: Anees Bazmee
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Mallika Sherawat, Anil Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Malaika Arora
Romance in the mafia with lots of comedy.
2007 INDIE FILMS OF NOTE
One of the oddest things I've discovered about the way the film industry works in India is that to watch an art house film you have to go to a multiplex ;) The big, single hall cinemas tend to go for the most commercial stuff.
So this is a list of the films released in 2007 that ran in Indian multiplexes. There were loads of films like this, these are just the ones that caught my attention (and this is therefore probably the most subjective list in this post). Four out of the seven films on my list faced problems in India because of controversial subject matters.
Parzania
Release Date: 26 January 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epy4hqEI4Ng
Director: Rahul Dholakia
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah
Based on a true story of a Parsi boy, who went missing during the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat. The threats made by Hindu extremists in Gujarat resulted in theatre owners refusing to screen the film. When a man filed a complaint against this he was kidnapped.
Black Friday
Release Date: 9 February 2007
Trailer: http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/trailer/7410.html
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Kay Kay Menon
The film deals with the 1993 Bombay blasts. Its release was delayed by over 2 years because the Indian court ruled that it could not be released before the verdict on the Bombay blasts case was passed.
Water
Release Date: 9 March 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RewNn2r2P3g
Director: Deepa Mehta
Cast: John Abraham, Lisa Ray
The film was actually made with Canadian money, so it's not even close to being Bollywood, but I'm including it on this list anyway ;-P
It's the story of a little girl, who is married off to a much older man (child marriages still happen in India). When she's 8 her husband dies and she has to go through all the customs of being a widow. Deepa Mehta intended to make this film in 2000. They started shooting in India, but Hindu extremists destroyed the sets and production was halted. She finally shot the film 4 years later in Sri Lanka.
The Namesake
Indian Release Date: 23 March 2007
Polish Release Date: 19 October 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sOaA-4Y8tI
Director: Mira Nair
Cast: Irfan Khan, Tabu, Kal Penn
This definitely should not be classified as Bollywood as it's really a US produced film, but it was an important film for Indian audiences this year, so... Basically, it's a serious exploration of emigration and national identity.
Gandhi My Father
Release Date: 3 August 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3yZDHwRRb4
Director: Feroze Khan
Cast: Akshaye Khanna
This is a film that shows Gandhi as a grey figure rather than the white figure he is usually portrayed as. It is based on a play which explores Gandhi's troubled relationship with his eldest son, Harilal. Many of Harilal's decisions (like his marriage and dream of becoming a barrister) were opposed by his father. Harilal was eventually disowned and died an alcoholic.
Naturally, the release of the film in India faced protests.
The Blue Umbrella
Release Date: 10 August 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ-w495xNIU
Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
Cast: Pankaj Kapur, Shriya
It's set in a small village. A little girl gets a beautiful blue umbrella and this creates all sorts of discord.
No Smoking
Release Date: 26 October 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53D_Qs1C6k4
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: John Abraham
It's a little bit as if Anurag Kashyap decided he wanted to mix the Bollywood formula with a David Lynch style film and at the same time play around with the controversial ban of smoking in Indian films (Indian films can now show actors smoking only if the film very obviously states that smoking is wrong). It's the story of a character called K, who is trying to stop smoking and seeks help from people who turn out to be completely insane.
OTHER BIG RELEASES OF 2007
So this is a list of big films that flopped or didn't do as well as anticipated (at least not well enough to put them alongside the biggest hits of 2007).
I decided to have a list like this because many of the films on it sound just as interesting to me as the films I've already listed :) Also 2007 was a year of surprises in terms of what did and didn't do well. A lot of very hyped films performed worse than expected.
Salaam-e-Ishq
Release Date: 25 January 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQYOIalqP-I
Director: Nikhil Advani
Cast: John Abraham, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Akshaye Khanna, Vidya Balan, Govinda, Isha Koppikar, Ayesha Takia
From what I understand it's lots of love stories with a really huge cast of stars and the director of Kal Ho Naa Ho. Nobody really knows why it flopped, but it did...
Eklavya
Release Date: 16 February 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFEc48n5oRE
Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan, Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani
It's about a majestic fort in contemporary India. The royal family living in it are modern people, but the guard lives as if nothing has changed.
The only thing that was praised in this film was Amitabh Bachchan's performance as the guard. Otherwise the film was panned by both critics and audiences.
This is India's official Academy Award candidate albeit a very controversial one. Personally, I don't understand why they didn't go with Chak De! India - the Academy have already honoured its script, so surely that's a fairly straightforward indication of their tastes?
Nishabd
Release Date: 2 March 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_6VccYqC4g
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Jiah Khan
This is a love story between an 18 year old and a 60 year old.
Some say Indian audiences aren't mature enough to deal with such topics and some say it just wasn't a good enough film to pull in the crowds.
Tara Rum Pum
Release Date: 27 April 200
Trailer: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9081324916291040803
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherji
A guy becomes the best formula one racer in the world - he has a loving family, lots of money and success. Then one day he has a serious accident and things go downhill from there.
It's the first Indian film to use animation for part of a song & dance sequence.
The poor performance of the film has been blamed on mainstream Indian audiences not being able to deal with the scenes in the New York slums. Whether that's true or not, its flop was unexpected. It had very big stars and was produced under the Yash Chopra banner (the leading production house in Bollywood).
Cheeni Kum
Release Date: 25 May 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqBjoZD58Ls
Director: R. Balki
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu
This is a romance between a 34 year old and 64 year old with lots of cooking in the background.
It did better than expected, but not well enough to make the hits list.
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Release Date: 15 June 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VqEom35TFQ
Director: Shaad Ali
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Bobby Deol, Lara Dutta
A guy and a girl fall in love, but they're both engaged to other people.
Yet another film made under the Yash Chopra banner that didn't do as well as expected.
RGV Ki Aag
Release Date: 31 August 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z32UIP2LsX0
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Abhishek Bachchan, Urmila Matondkar, Mohanlal
This film is on this list not to try to encourage anybody to watch it (the trailer speaks for itself, right?), but because it's made history. It's the biggest flop ever in Indian cinema. It ran for only a week (and to empty cinemas)!
Even more ironically, it's a remake of Sholay (1975) - one of the biggest hits ever (it ran in Indian cinemas for 5 years!).
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag
Release Date: 12 October 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLddw_8hHIg
Director: Pradeep Sarkar
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukherji, Jaya Bachchan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anupam Kher, Hema Malini
A girl from a small village ends up earning money by prostitution.
Another film made under the Yash Chopra banner that flopped despite big expectations for it. Some try to explain it away with the topic matter (who wants to see a nice, family girl get into the flesh trade?).
Saawariya
Release Date: 9 November 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLt4C8dZr5U
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Salman Khan, Rani Mukherji, Zohra Segal
It's the first Hollywood-Bollywood co-production ever and although Sony Entertainment say they're happy because they did earn money on it, it performed much worse than expected (the expectations were very high and the press have called it the year's biggest flop barring RGV Ki Aag).
Pretty much everybody who's seen it says it's one of the most aesthetic films ever made, but that it has almost no plot and has an agonisingly slow pace (and for a Bollywood film it's actually quite short - just 142min.).
Aaja Nachle
Release Date: 30 November 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBGG9e0NCeA
Director: Anil Mehta
Cast: Madhuri Dixit, Irfan Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Konkona Sen Sharma
A New York dance instructor goes back to her home village in India to save the local theatre from being demolished.
Yet another 2007 Yash Chopra production that didn't do well.
It's Madhuri Dixit's comeback film. From what's been said Madhuri is great in it, but the story sucks. Some of the press have suggested that Bollywood just doesn't know how to write a story with a 40 year old female lead.
One thing the promos of the film have sold me on is Madhuri's dancing. I never really understood why she's considered the best ever dancer in Bollywood. But of course with the exception of Devdas I've only seen her in the films she made in the 90s with rather boring choreography and cinematography. In Devdas she did seem more impressive to me, but she was wearing costumes that weighed over 10kg, so one could hardly expect her to show her skills to the fullest extent. Fortunately, modern choreo and cinematography has finally opened my eyes ;) Check this out.
THE BIGGEST TABLOID EVENTS
Bollywood would not be Bollywood without the tabloids ;) Naturally there was lots of amusing (and usually totally stupid and untrue) gossip in 2007, but there were two events that seemed to get written about for weeks.
By far the biggest one was the wedding of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. The press naturally managed to find a huge amount of angles on this, but one of the most amusing ones was that the Bachchan family made Aishwarya marry a tree for astrological reasons before she could marry Abhishek. This caused outrage amongst Indian feminists totally unnecessarily as Amitabh Bachchan later rubbished the reports.
The other much talked about event was the split up of Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor. Most people were expecting them to tie the knot soon (they'd been going steady for 3 years or something like that). The timing of it was also very strange as it came right before the release of Jab We Met (with everyone expecting it to effect the film negatively, but on the contrary - the film has done much better than expected). Soon after the split up Saif Ali Khan confirmed that he is now dating Kareena.
I've compiled my lists mainly on the basis of this article. Another interesting article to look at is this one in which they asked a few Indian directors what they thought were the best films of the year.
The release dates given are the Indian ones. The only film amongst these that was released in Poland is The Namesake (and it's one of very few films listed in this post that I've seen).
MOST SUCCESSFUL STARS OF 2007
The two biggest hits of 2007 (Om Shanti Om and Chak De! India) were both delivered by Shah Rukh Khan. Om Shanti Om has now broken all records and become the highest grossing Indian film ever (Shahrukh was also the producer of the film). Chak De! India on the other hand is the first time Shahrukh has been commercially successful in a subdued and restrained role.
However, it is Akshay Kumar who delivered the most hit films this year (Namastey London, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiya and Welcome). While it's difficult to determine how much Bollywood stars earn for a film, the Indian media likes to publish who was the highest tax payer in Bollywood in a given year and in 2007 it was Akshay Kumar. It's reported that he had to pay the equivalent of about $6.5mln in taxes and the gossip is that his asking price for a film is now over $5mln, perhaps the highest in Bollywood. Surprisingly enough, Akshay is still not seen as a threat to Shahrukh's dominance in Bollywood.
THE BIGGEST BOX OFFICE SPINNERS OF 2007
So this is the list of the biggest commercial successes of 2007. I tried to keep it shorter than this, but as you see it didn't work out ;-P
Guru
Release Date: 12 January 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQRZHHY2oJM
Director: Mani Ratnam
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Vidya Balan, Mallika Sherawat, Madhavan, Mithun Chakraborty
The story of a villager who rises to become one of the leading businessmen in the country. Not only was it a huge commercial success, but received great reviews from Indian critics (even the more artsy ones).
Namastey London
Release Date: 23 March 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYjLLmuEiqA
Director: Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif
A guy from Punjab marries a girl from London and for some reason the film's promotion featured a very bizarre song where the guy is dressed as Father Christmas...
Chak De! India
Release Date: 10 August 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvSpW2ZaYxU
Director: Shimit Amin
Cast: Shahrukh Khan
One of the strangest hits of the year... The story of a female field hockey team coached by a guy who has been discriminated against because he's Muslim. There are no song and dance numbers in the film (though some were recorded for promotional purposes).
Chak De! India was the only 2007 film made under the Yash Chopra banner (the biggest production house in Bollywood) that was a hit. The other (more formulaic) films they released underperformed in the box office.
Heyy Babyy
Release Date: 24 August 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AF-IQAMmnI
Director: Sajid Khan
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Fardeen Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Boman Irani, Anupam Kher, Amrita Arora, Malaika Arora
A couple of guys have to take care of a baby.
Bhool Bhulaiya
Release Date: 12 October 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPRK-ZGDhnk
Director: Priyadarshan
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Shiney Ahuja, Amisha Patel
Er... well there's definitely a ghost in the story...
Jab We Met
Release Date: 26 October 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSlkJfCozwA
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Cast: Shahid Kapur, Kareena Kapoor
Its success was a surprise. It seems to be one of those films that gets a large audience thanks to word of mouth. Basically, it's a romance, but it's said to put the DDLJ formula totally upside down.
Om Shanti Om
Release Date: 9 November 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_ostdGo6vc
Director: Farah Khan
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Arjun Rampal, Kiron Kher, Deepika Padukone
This is a totally unapologetic masala movie, which involves reincarnation and makes fun of 70s and contemporary Bollywood.
Taare Zameen Par
Release Date: 21 December 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQwtyc82AX8
Director: Aamir Khan
Cast: Aamir Khan
About a little boy, who is very unhappy at school and then one day a new art teacher comes along... It's getting great reviews and is said to look at children in a very interesting way. Apparently, there is only one song and dance number in the film.
Welcome
Release Date: 21 December 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gz2orY0IK8
Director: Anees Bazmee
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Mallika Sherawat, Anil Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Malaika Arora
Romance in the mafia with lots of comedy.
2007 INDIE FILMS OF NOTE
One of the oddest things I've discovered about the way the film industry works in India is that to watch an art house film you have to go to a multiplex ;) The big, single hall cinemas tend to go for the most commercial stuff.
So this is a list of the films released in 2007 that ran in Indian multiplexes. There were loads of films like this, these are just the ones that caught my attention (and this is therefore probably the most subjective list in this post). Four out of the seven films on my list faced problems in India because of controversial subject matters.
Parzania
Release Date: 26 January 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epy4hqEI4Ng
Director: Rahul Dholakia
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah
Based on a true story of a Parsi boy, who went missing during the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat. The threats made by Hindu extremists in Gujarat resulted in theatre owners refusing to screen the film. When a man filed a complaint against this he was kidnapped.
Black Friday
Release Date: 9 February 2007
Trailer: http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/trailer/7410.html
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Kay Kay Menon
The film deals with the 1993 Bombay blasts. Its release was delayed by over 2 years because the Indian court ruled that it could not be released before the verdict on the Bombay blasts case was passed.
Water
Release Date: 9 March 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RewNn2r2P3g
Director: Deepa Mehta
Cast: John Abraham, Lisa Ray
The film was actually made with Canadian money, so it's not even close to being Bollywood, but I'm including it on this list anyway ;-P
It's the story of a little girl, who is married off to a much older man (child marriages still happen in India). When she's 8 her husband dies and she has to go through all the customs of being a widow. Deepa Mehta intended to make this film in 2000. They started shooting in India, but Hindu extremists destroyed the sets and production was halted. She finally shot the film 4 years later in Sri Lanka.
The Namesake
Indian Release Date: 23 March 2007
Polish Release Date: 19 October 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sOaA-4Y8tI
Director: Mira Nair
Cast: Irfan Khan, Tabu, Kal Penn
This definitely should not be classified as Bollywood as it's really a US produced film, but it was an important film for Indian audiences this year, so... Basically, it's a serious exploration of emigration and national identity.
Gandhi My Father
Release Date: 3 August 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3yZDHwRRb4
Director: Feroze Khan
Cast: Akshaye Khanna
This is a film that shows Gandhi as a grey figure rather than the white figure he is usually portrayed as. It is based on a play which explores Gandhi's troubled relationship with his eldest son, Harilal. Many of Harilal's decisions (like his marriage and dream of becoming a barrister) were opposed by his father. Harilal was eventually disowned and died an alcoholic.
Naturally, the release of the film in India faced protests.
The Blue Umbrella
Release Date: 10 August 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ-w495xNIU
Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
Cast: Pankaj Kapur, Shriya
It's set in a small village. A little girl gets a beautiful blue umbrella and this creates all sorts of discord.
No Smoking
Release Date: 26 October 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53D_Qs1C6k4
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: John Abraham
It's a little bit as if Anurag Kashyap decided he wanted to mix the Bollywood formula with a David Lynch style film and at the same time play around with the controversial ban of smoking in Indian films (Indian films can now show actors smoking only if the film very obviously states that smoking is wrong). It's the story of a character called K, who is trying to stop smoking and seeks help from people who turn out to be completely insane.
OTHER BIG RELEASES OF 2007
So this is a list of big films that flopped or didn't do as well as anticipated (at least not well enough to put them alongside the biggest hits of 2007).
I decided to have a list like this because many of the films on it sound just as interesting to me as the films I've already listed :) Also 2007 was a year of surprises in terms of what did and didn't do well. A lot of very hyped films performed worse than expected.
Salaam-e-Ishq
Release Date: 25 January 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQYOIalqP-I
Director: Nikhil Advani
Cast: John Abraham, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Akshaye Khanna, Vidya Balan, Govinda, Isha Koppikar, Ayesha Takia
From what I understand it's lots of love stories with a really huge cast of stars and the director of Kal Ho Naa Ho. Nobody really knows why it flopped, but it did...
Eklavya
Release Date: 16 February 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFEc48n5oRE
Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan, Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani
It's about a majestic fort in contemporary India. The royal family living in it are modern people, but the guard lives as if nothing has changed.
The only thing that was praised in this film was Amitabh Bachchan's performance as the guard. Otherwise the film was panned by both critics and audiences.
This is India's official Academy Award candidate albeit a very controversial one. Personally, I don't understand why they didn't go with Chak De! India - the Academy have already honoured its script, so surely that's a fairly straightforward indication of their tastes?
Nishabd
Release Date: 2 March 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_6VccYqC4g
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Jiah Khan
This is a love story between an 18 year old and a 60 year old.
Some say Indian audiences aren't mature enough to deal with such topics and some say it just wasn't a good enough film to pull in the crowds.
Tara Rum Pum
Release Date: 27 April 200
Trailer: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9081324916291040803
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherji
A guy becomes the best formula one racer in the world - he has a loving family, lots of money and success. Then one day he has a serious accident and things go downhill from there.
It's the first Indian film to use animation for part of a song & dance sequence.
The poor performance of the film has been blamed on mainstream Indian audiences not being able to deal with the scenes in the New York slums. Whether that's true or not, its flop was unexpected. It had very big stars and was produced under the Yash Chopra banner (the leading production house in Bollywood).
Cheeni Kum
Release Date: 25 May 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqBjoZD58Ls
Director: R. Balki
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu
This is a romance between a 34 year old and 64 year old with lots of cooking in the background.
It did better than expected, but not well enough to make the hits list.
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Release Date: 15 June 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VqEom35TFQ
Director: Shaad Ali
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Bobby Deol, Lara Dutta
A guy and a girl fall in love, but they're both engaged to other people.
Yet another film made under the Yash Chopra banner that didn't do as well as expected.
RGV Ki Aag
Release Date: 31 August 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z32UIP2LsX0
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Abhishek Bachchan, Urmila Matondkar, Mohanlal
This film is on this list not to try to encourage anybody to watch it (the trailer speaks for itself, right?), but because it's made history. It's the biggest flop ever in Indian cinema. It ran for only a week (and to empty cinemas)!
Even more ironically, it's a remake of Sholay (1975) - one of the biggest hits ever (it ran in Indian cinemas for 5 years!).
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag
Release Date: 12 October 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLddw_8hHIg
Director: Pradeep Sarkar
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukherji, Jaya Bachchan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anupam Kher, Hema Malini
A girl from a small village ends up earning money by prostitution.
Another film made under the Yash Chopra banner that flopped despite big expectations for it. Some try to explain it away with the topic matter (who wants to see a nice, family girl get into the flesh trade?).
Saawariya
Release Date: 9 November 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLt4C8dZr5U
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Salman Khan, Rani Mukherji, Zohra Segal
It's the first Hollywood-Bollywood co-production ever and although Sony Entertainment say they're happy because they did earn money on it, it performed much worse than expected (the expectations were very high and the press have called it the year's biggest flop barring RGV Ki Aag).
Pretty much everybody who's seen it says it's one of the most aesthetic films ever made, but that it has almost no plot and has an agonisingly slow pace (and for a Bollywood film it's actually quite short - just 142min.).
Aaja Nachle
Release Date: 30 November 2007
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBGG9e0NCeA
Director: Anil Mehta
Cast: Madhuri Dixit, Irfan Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Konkona Sen Sharma
A New York dance instructor goes back to her home village in India to save the local theatre from being demolished.
Yet another 2007 Yash Chopra production that didn't do well.
It's Madhuri Dixit's comeback film. From what's been said Madhuri is great in it, but the story sucks. Some of the press have suggested that Bollywood just doesn't know how to write a story with a 40 year old female lead.
One thing the promos of the film have sold me on is Madhuri's dancing. I never really understood why she's considered the best ever dancer in Bollywood. But of course with the exception of Devdas I've only seen her in the films she made in the 90s with rather boring choreography and cinematography. In Devdas she did seem more impressive to me, but she was wearing costumes that weighed over 10kg, so one could hardly expect her to show her skills to the fullest extent. Fortunately, modern choreo and cinematography has finally opened my eyes ;) Check this out.
THE BIGGEST TABLOID EVENTS
Bollywood would not be Bollywood without the tabloids ;) Naturally there was lots of amusing (and usually totally stupid and untrue) gossip in 2007, but there were two events that seemed to get written about for weeks.
By far the biggest one was the wedding of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. The press naturally managed to find a huge amount of angles on this, but one of the most amusing ones was that the Bachchan family made Aishwarya marry a tree for astrological reasons before she could marry Abhishek. This caused outrage amongst Indian feminists totally unnecessarily as Amitabh Bachchan later rubbished the reports.
The other much talked about event was the split up of Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor. Most people were expecting them to tie the knot soon (they'd been going steady for 3 years or something like that). The timing of it was also very strange as it came right before the release of Jab We Met (with everyone expecting it to effect the film negatively, but on the contrary - the film has done much better than expected). Soon after the split up Saif Ali Khan confirmed that he is now dating Kareena.
Monday, January 07, 2008
J. K. Rowling interviewed by PotterCast
PotterCast is the leading Harry Potter podcast. They got to interview J. K. Rowling in December and it's a really terrific interview :) It's very much an interview done by fans and for fans, so it has a completely different feel then what you normally see (a lot funnier and the questions are a lot more detailed).
If you're a Harry Potter fan yourself and you've read book 7 then I urge you to check it out! :)
If you're a Harry Potter fan yourself and you've read book 7 then I urge you to check it out! :)
Friday, January 04, 2008
2007 MEETS 2008 | PART 2: 2008 in Polish cinemas
This is a list of films that I'm excited about, ordered by the Polish release date (the dates may of course still change). You can treat it as an open invitation to see any of these films in the cinema with me ;)
18th January, 2008 Lust, Caution
Why I'm excited?
It's Ang Lee's first film after Brokeback Mountain, so I guess I would have always been curious about it (like a lot of the cinema going world I think). But the controversy surrounding it has made it even more of a must see for me. It received an NC-17 certificate in the US which is very rare - especially for such a mainstream director. And Ang Lee isn't known for sexually explicit films.
The Chinese angle is also very interesting for me - it's a China-USA co-production and I guess somehow just the idea that a Chinese production company would be doing a film that is that explicit has an interest factor in it for me (even if the film was cut significantly for Chinese audiences).
Surprisingly enough there is also a Bollywood angle to the film since Anupam Kher has a small part in it (his face will probably be familiar to you if you've watched a few Indian films).
Finally, this is the film that won the main prize at the Venice film festival in September and of all the big film festivals and award ceremonies Venice is probably the one I trust the most.
Previous mentions on my blog
15th February, 2008 The Kite Runner
Why I'm excited?
Well, I'm not expecting it to be the best of films (even though AFAIK the reviews in the US have been good), but somehow I'm just getting a kick out of Hollywood making a film that is so heavily based in Afghanistan, but at the same time doesn't seem to be particularly political (I may be wrong about this, but that's my impression thus far).
The story itself sounds rather interesting (I'm just hoping it won't be told as sentimentally as it's treated on the trailer). It's about two boys who are good friends. The turning point is when one of the boys gets abused and raped and the other just lets it happen. And then the rest of the film is largely about the guilt of allowing that. Apparently, a lot of people wanted the director to take out the rape scene (leaving in just the violence). But he said it was necessary because you had to feel how terrible the deed was for the attempts at redemption to follow naturally. I guess that comment got me even more curious.
Previous mentions on my blog
None
22nd February, 2008 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Why I'm excited?
Do I even have to explain this one? lol
Previous mentions on my blog
? March, 2008 Dhoom 2
Why I'm excited?
Bollywood + Hrithik Roshan + Abhishek Bachchan + a trailer like that = fun ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
13th June, 2008 The Happening
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
For a reaaaaally dumb reason - it's the first time that an Indian producer (UTV) is co-producing what is essentially a Hollywood film.
That said, it's directed by M. Night Shyamalan, so there's hope that in ecological thriller terms it won't be so bad ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
? September or October, 2008 Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Why I'm excited?
Because more Bollywood in Polish cinemas is always a good thing and when it involves Abhishek Bachchan then it's even better ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
None
28th November, 2008 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
Because I'm amongst the Harry Potter fans who think the films are getting better and better ;) Plus there's a few scenes in this one that I soooo want to see on screen *dreamy eyes*
Previous mentions on my blog
None
Some time during 2008? I'm not there
So far there's no release date for Poland, but the film sounds big enough to have gotten a distributor, so I expect we will be seeing it at some point during 2008 (the world premiere was in September 2007).
Why I'm excited?
Because Cate Blanchett, Ben Whishaw, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and a little boy I don't know called Marcus Carl Franklin are all playing the same person and according to the buzz the film actually works lol All of these are terrific actors, so it should be quite something.
Previous mentions on my blog
None
late in 2008? Om Shanti Om
2008 is probably wishful thinking on my part as no Polish distributor has bought the rights as of yet, but hey - a year after its initial release is not exactly soon ;-P I'm pretty sure *somebody* will pick up the rights as Om Shanti Om is on its way to become the highest grosser in Indian cinema history.
Why I'm excited?
Shahrukh Khan is quite enough for me to be excited about any film ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
Late in 2008? Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
This is Sacha Baron Cohen's next and I like him, so I guess a project with a title like that has to get some curiosity from me ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
None
18th January, 2008 Lust, Caution
Why I'm excited?
It's Ang Lee's first film after Brokeback Mountain, so I guess I would have always been curious about it (like a lot of the cinema going world I think). But the controversy surrounding it has made it even more of a must see for me. It received an NC-17 certificate in the US which is very rare - especially for such a mainstream director. And Ang Lee isn't known for sexually explicit films.
The Chinese angle is also very interesting for me - it's a China-USA co-production and I guess somehow just the idea that a Chinese production company would be doing a film that is that explicit has an interest factor in it for me (even if the film was cut significantly for Chinese audiences).
Surprisingly enough there is also a Bollywood angle to the film since Anupam Kher has a small part in it (his face will probably be familiar to you if you've watched a few Indian films).
Finally, this is the film that won the main prize at the Venice film festival in September and of all the big film festivals and award ceremonies Venice is probably the one I trust the most.
Previous mentions on my blog
15th February, 2008 The Kite Runner
Why I'm excited?
Well, I'm not expecting it to be the best of films (even though AFAIK the reviews in the US have been good), but somehow I'm just getting a kick out of Hollywood making a film that is so heavily based in Afghanistan, but at the same time doesn't seem to be particularly political (I may be wrong about this, but that's my impression thus far).
The story itself sounds rather interesting (I'm just hoping it won't be told as sentimentally as it's treated on the trailer). It's about two boys who are good friends. The turning point is when one of the boys gets abused and raped and the other just lets it happen. And then the rest of the film is largely about the guilt of allowing that. Apparently, a lot of people wanted the director to take out the rape scene (leaving in just the violence). But he said it was necessary because you had to feel how terrible the deed was for the attempts at redemption to follow naturally. I guess that comment got me even more curious.
Previous mentions on my blog
None
22nd February, 2008 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Why I'm excited?
Do I even have to explain this one? lol
Previous mentions on my blog
- Initial promotion for Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd"
- Sweeney Todd trailer - yay!
- Can Johnny Depp sing?
- Second Sweeney Todd trailer
- Sweeney Todd promotion in full throb
? March, 2008 Dhoom 2
Why I'm excited?
Bollywood + Hrithik Roshan + Abhishek Bachchan + a trailer like that = fun ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
13th June, 2008 The Happening
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
For a reaaaaally dumb reason - it's the first time that an Indian producer (UTV) is co-producing what is essentially a Hollywood film.
That said, it's directed by M. Night Shyamalan, so there's hope that in ecological thriller terms it won't be so bad ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
? September or October, 2008 Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Why I'm excited?
Because more Bollywood in Polish cinemas is always a good thing and when it involves Abhishek Bachchan then it's even better ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
None
28th November, 2008 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
Because I'm amongst the Harry Potter fans who think the films are getting better and better ;) Plus there's a few scenes in this one that I soooo want to see on screen *dreamy eyes*
Previous mentions on my blog
None
Some time during 2008? I'm not there
So far there's no release date for Poland, but the film sounds big enough to have gotten a distributor, so I expect we will be seeing it at some point during 2008 (the world premiere was in September 2007).
Why I'm excited?
Because Cate Blanchett, Ben Whishaw, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and a little boy I don't know called Marcus Carl Franklin are all playing the same person and according to the buzz the film actually works lol All of these are terrific actors, so it should be quite something.
Previous mentions on my blog
None
late in 2008? Om Shanti Om
2008 is probably wishful thinking on my part as no Polish distributor has bought the rights as of yet, but hey - a year after its initial release is not exactly soon ;-P I'm pretty sure *somebody* will pick up the rights as Om Shanti Om is on its way to become the highest grosser in Indian cinema history.
Why I'm excited?
Shahrukh Khan is quite enough for me to be excited about any film ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
- "Om Shanti Om" - Shahrukh's next release
- Tom Cruise film loses out to two Bollywood films i...
- Another Shahrukh interview (OSO promotion)
Late in 2008? Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
This is Sacha Baron Cohen's next and I like him, so I guess a project with a title like that has to get some curiosity from me ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
None
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Ever wondered how Shahrukh Khan started his career?
Answer: By playing a very small part in a TV film called In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones. He had only a few lines in the film and they were dubbed over by somebody else in post-production. Even more amusingly, his character in the film is gay *grin*
If you wish to see this strange turn of events with your own eyes then see below ;)
If you wish to see this strange turn of events with your own eyes then see below ;)
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
2007 MEETS 2008 | PART 1: New Year Resolutions 2008
It's a risk posting these on-line because everyone will know if I don't keep them, but that may be a good thing ;) Anyway, here goes...
So that's 5 resolutions in all - do you think I have any chance of keeping them? ;) What are yours?
- To post here regularly ;)
- To write a good business plan
- To make some proper attempts at writing a screenplay
- To lose weight and get a bit fitter
- To tend to my friendships and social life
As odd as it may sound considering how rarely I post on here, I really like to write. It feels good to get whatever I'm thinking about out on "paper". I should do more of it.
I think I'm going to try to post fairly regularly on Friday evenings, so keep checking up on my progress with this resolution ;) Also, I'm going to experiment and try to do series of posts on a topic rather than one really huge post about something. Hopefully this way they'll be a little bit shorter and therefore a bit easier to write (which should maybe result in me posting a bit more often ;-P).
Btw, I've finally made use of some new blogger features. I hope the new layout works better for everyone :)
I've got an idea for a business, which I'm really excited about. It needs to be planned out fully and written down. Otherwise I can't properly assess my chances or get the financial backing from institutions that I'm going to need to make this work.
It would be best for me if this gets done over the next 6 months or so, so feel welcome to check up on if I'm keeping this resolution ;)
I've got around 4 ideas for different screenplays (and no, that's not counting the one that was offered up to me during yesterday's New Year's Eve party lol), but I've only started working on one and very pathetically at that.
I guess this one doesn't require much explanation ;-P
The getting fitter part I'm probably not going to address until about February, but I really hope to finally try to do this properly!
I think my friendships aren't in the worst of states, but I still sometimes feel I'm not giving enough attention to them - so if you're my friend and you feel I'm not giving you enough attention, please prod me with a sharp stick or something ;)
My social life, however, is in a very sad state and I want to try and revive it somewhat (I will never be a very social person, perhaps, but even so...). Attending a New Year's Eve party is a good start to this resolution I think ;) (I am not even going to admit how long I haven't been to one ;-P)
So that's 5 resolutions in all - do you think I have any chance of keeping them? ;) What are yours?
2007 meets 2008 in my Pensieve
Most sites and blogs are putting up various summaries of the year gone by, new year resolutions etc. It's my first full calendar year of running this blog, so I thought I may as well make my own attempt...
Of course as I started writing it, my short New Year's post became a long New Year's post which has now become a draft for a series of posts ;)
So 2007 will meet 2008 in 4 parts on this blog:
Of course as I started writing it, my short New Year's post became a long New Year's post which has now become a draft for a series of posts ;)
So 2007 will meet 2008 in 4 parts on this blog:
- New Year resolutions 2008
- 2008 in Polish cinemas (my own subjective and bollywoodized version of it of course ;) )
- Bollywood in 2007
- Events and issues that grabbed my attention in 2007
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