Wahi puraani pyar ki kahani, no saga, but hatke!

Okay, so this is really hard to do. We’re miserable, ergo no new updates. But, of course we had to “review” this movie, we had been looking forward to a good old fashion Hindi pyar ki kahani for a while now, since Love Aaj Kal.

You’d think after we watched the movie, we’d feel better right? But, of course we don’t, because of all the things the movie could be based around, it had to be on the sets of a damn Hindi movie. So, the whole time all we did was wallow in our misery because we wanted Sonam and Imran’s jobs…or Simran and J’s jobs. And obviously befkoof Karan’s not calling us. Hint hint Karan!

Jasmine: Is using befkoof too mean?
Sona: I don’t think so.
Jasmine: You think they’ll understand our NRI humor?
Sona: I’m sure they will, don’t worry. If they don’t Imran will explain it to them…(Yeah that’s right we get all of Imran’s jokes on Twitter.)

So, anyway on to the movie review. We loved it. There was a scene with Imran and Sonam in the beginning in the theater, it was so brilliantly written that we wanted to keep rewinding it with our imaginary remote and keep watching it over and over again. Imran was especially good in that scene.

It was a really really good romantic comedy. Really good! We feel like watching it again right now, again. We should get into the technicalities now, even though we don’t really feel like it. But the things we do for love…so costumes first?

Manish outdid himself. He’s grown, you can tell…his pants are short now. Hahaha! No, but seriously. The clothing was very much in character, in his earlier movies there was always a ‘Filminess’ to them, which we obviously appreciate, but it was really nice to see this side of Manish. Really loved Sonam’s clothes, so yeh Manish! Oh, we hate your assistants ‘A and A’ (we’re not naming them), we wish they were S and J! Sona and Jasmine, if you’re slow on the uptake.

Jasmine: Don’t do that, don’t do that! Sona: Okay fine. “if you’re slow on the uptake.”

Music, next. We don’t have enough words to describe how beautiful the music was. The lyrics of ‘Bin Tere – Reprise’ are so good; they’re heart-wrenching. Kumaar wrote the song and Shekhar did such an amazing job singing it…wish we could ask Javed Saab to praise Shekhar for the way he sang this song, obviously we have no talent! (Karan: this doesn’t mean we won’t be talented ADs, Art Directors, Production designers, and costume assistants and than of course later with experience costume designers…just making sure you know this!) Sajda, written by Anvita Dutt Guptan is also beautiful, actually the whole album is really listenable (it’s a real word). Vishal and Shekhar continue to work their jaadu on the world of Filmi music.

Punit Malhota, you evil genius! Why do you torture us with this world? The movie was obviously really good, the story while ghisi piti had a twist to it and you created characters that were realistic and relate-able, but also so Filmi! (That is a very good thing, if you’re unsure.)Editing, by Akiv Ali, was excellent because you know we didn’t notice it. Cinematography, by Ayananka Bose (yeh a woman!!), was exceptional, especially for the title song.

Both, Sonam (we love you!) and Imran (we love you too!) are naturals for these kinds of roles. Really liked Sameer Soni, he played the combination of Karan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali perfectly. Did we get this right Punit? Or are we just spreading afwaaein? We think we’re right, of course. Tweet us and let us know for sure.

Dialogues were amazing, Imran definitely got the good end of those because of the way his character thought. We LAUUUVED all the movie references in the movie, obviously we had seen every one of them multiple times. And while the movie was of course really romantic and cute, it was also really….

funny
adjective
1 a funny movie | these guys are really funny amusing, humorous, witty, comic, comical, facetious, jocular, jokey; hilarious, hysterical, riotous, uproarious; entertaining, diverting, sparkling, scintillating; silly, farcical, slapstick; informal side-splitting, rib-tickling, laugh-a-minute, wacky, zany, off the wall, a scream, rich, priceless.

Mentionable Doohickeys
Ek: Scene in the theater. Kya dialogues the. “Tumhara naam Simran hai? Don’t tell me, tumhara boyfriend Raj hai?” [Or something like that, it was very jokey...hahahahah!] Imran was amazing in that scene, kya dialogue delivery thi. Wah Wah! Mashallah.

Do: Simran being an Art Director. We would kill for that job and we might really soon if Karan doesn’t call us.

Teen: Sonam’s hair! Stupid bitch with her perfect hair! (Don’t worry, you know we love her…yeh toh hum sirf apne bohat pyaare doston ko kehte hain.)

Chaar: The clothes. The places, like all Dharma/Yash Raj movies were very beautiful.

Paanch: Liked the characters because they were very confused, like us. Very Imtiazy. Is this a new trend in Hindi films? It is…it’s a good trend, we don’t feel so bad about being bhoole-bhatke.

Che: The fact that we like the title song is a really big deal. We despise Hindi songs when they put English in them, it totally kills them, but this one wasn’t annoying. It was in fact really very good.

Saat: The kadak chai cheers. Sampooran awesomeness.

Overall, a really sweet, kweet (if you don’t get the reference you’re a dhabba) romantic comedy that’s actually funny!

Hamarein khayalon mein aksar yeh baatein hoti hain ki Tarun, Karan se kehta hai:
Tarun: Hey Karan did you read this review of IHLS?
Karan: Yeah! Wasn’t it hatke?
Tarun: They were so funny! I think we should hire them for the dialogues of Dostana 2.
Karan: Haan and than they should be on the permanent staff of Dharma or Karma.

P.S. While we know we’re hilarious and get our own jokes, sometimes other people don’t get them. Just so you know, there were no malicious intentions. We really loved the movie and we really really want to work with Karan, pretty please with strawberries on top! Call us Karan!

P.P.S Go watch the movie!

Oh and can someone please go steal Ekta’s shoes and spare us that horrible sight in the future, and while they’re at it…steal those pants and that shirt as well!

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*OMB – Oh my bhagwaan (OMG)
Please click on image for a larger version.
Image courtesy: Filmicafe & HHC

In honor of one of our favorite filmistani fairies (our fairy godmother that is…at least he should be), here are a few reasons on why we love, hate and obsess over Karan Johar.

We both love and hate him for making us feel like Kamini from Salaam-E-Ishq, making us wait for that one call from his, so our life can begin.

We hate how the Universe plays games with us when it come to Karan. We always get so close to meeting him and then it doesn’t happen! We almost got to work on MNIK and then Jasmine was at the Kites premiere (yeah we’ll explain this in the next post!) and didn’t even see him once. It’s incidences like this that make us believe that there is something special when it comes to Karan…we just need to be patient, or maybe the Universe just hates us!

We love that he does ‘Kofee with Karan’ and ‘Life Kara De.’ Just love those shows, especially KWK. Can’t wait for the next season, wish they would do it regularly instead just doing it whenever they feel like it. We need that in our lives, at least until we aren’t working on the sets of a movie as production designers, costume designers or assistant designers and of course giving every single Filmi celebrity a makeover, except maybe Sonam.

We love his ‘chirkutiness!’*

We love his vision of movies. The movies might be overly ‘Filmi’ (LOVE!), but damn if they aren’t the most beautiful things you’ve seen on the screen. The clothes, the places, the furniture…just go watch ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna.”

We love him for making a film like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. It might be cheesy, but if that’s not a modern day classic than we don’t know what is! It was the first DVD we ever bought and is one of the most quotable movies ever…legendary dialogues like “kuch kuch hota hai, tum nahin samjhoge,” “she’s your best friend yaa” or “tusi jaa rahe ho, tusi naa jao.”

We love his sense of humor and the sarcasm. At least one person in the industry who’ll understand us.

We love seeing him grow with his movies, that he tried something like ‘My Name is Khan’… even though it was still too corny.

But really most of all, we love him because that is one person that we want to work with. To be on the sets of a ‘Dharma Production,’ to be part of making a Karan Johar film, that is a dream come true…khuda sabr de!*

So, happy birthday Karan, because you are one of the reasons that we have dreams.
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*Chirkutiness: a mixture of dork, nerd, and cuteness…still doesn’t really explain it, but if you watch his interviews on ‘Koffee with Karan’ and ‘Life Kara De’ you should see it.

*Khuda Sabr De: God give us patience…reference to a dialogue from ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.’

Release Date: January 8, 2010
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Johny Lever, Fardeen Khan, Sushmita Sen, Tara Sharma
We’ve really missed Sushmita so this one is a must-watch for us. However, the promos of the film dont’ look too promising but it might just surprise all of us.

Release Date: January 29, 2010
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Mohnish Behl, Neetu Chandra, Ritesh Deshmukh, Rajat Kapoor, Alok Nath, Gul Panag, Paresh Rawal, Simone Singh, Rajpal Yadav
It’s directed by RGV, so it can either suck or be awesome…we’re hoping it’s going to be awesome! Mr. B’s in it…Ritesh, who’s always good in every movie and it has huge list of brilliant supporting actors such as Paresh Rawal, Rajat Kapoor, Neetu Chandra, Gul Panag, Rajpal Yadav and many more.

Release Date: February 12, 2010
Director: Karan Johar
Cast: Kajol, Shahrukh Khan, Jimmy Shergill
Our blog started with a post about this movie and we’ve written about this film so many times…oh and don’t forget we almost got on the production team for MNIK’s San Francisco schedule! Even though we’re jinxed in every way possible when it comes to this movie, we’ll still watch it in the theater, now that the journey is about to come full circle. Uhh plus…Kajol and Shahrukh together again!

Release Date: February 2010
Director: Pooja Bhatt
Cast: Mona Laizza, Himesh Reshammiya, Amrita Singh
Really not a film we’d put in our “waiting” category because of a certain Mr. Reshammiya, but this one’s directed by Pooja Bhatt! We loved Pooja Bhatt’s “Paap” and have seen it too many times…it’s such a visual delight ;)

Release Date: May 28, 2010
Director: Prakash Jha
Cast: Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal, Naseruddin Shah
Just look at the cast and you’ll see why we’re dying to watch this movie…that’s hardcore people! Nana’s back! The story also sound so interesting plus can’t wait to hear more Hindi dialogues from Katrina…

Other movies that we are looking forward to in the upcoming year are ‘Delhi Belly’ because it’s an Aamir Khan production, he always makes an excellent ‘product.’ ‘Hook Ya Crook’ because John is in it, but it’s already been delayed and that has us worried…just look up ‘Aashayein’ and you’ll see why. ‘Karthik Calling Karthik’ because of Farhan. ‘Ayesha’ because Sonam and Abhay – that’s just cute! More reasons needed? Amazing clothes worn by Sonam and c’mon it’s Abhay Deol, he’s never done a bad film…okay lets not jinx that. ‘I Hate Love Stories’ because again we love Sonam and she’s opposite Imran Khan…plus the title is intriguing. ‘Anjana Anjani’ because really excited to see Ranbir and Priyanka together! ‘Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai’ is on this list only and only because of Lara, otherwise it looks like another piece of garbage. Okay our fellow Filmistanis…that’s enough for today! Tata!

Went to go watch this one with high expectations because of Dharma, Karan Johar, Saif and Kareena’s first appearance on the silver screen, and of course Rensil D’Silva because he wrote the screenplay for one my all-time favorite films – Rang De Basanti! I have to say I enjoyed the film while I was watching it, but there were too many things that were wrong with it for me to have that feeling last longer than the end of the film.

A film with a bad script has nothing else to save it from failure and throw in some horrible editing and it all goes downhill. Things that give me the courage to still talk about the movie and say the word “love” in the same sentence as Kurbaan would be Kareena! I loved Kareena in the film – she looked beautiful, acted really well, and I think she looks amazing when she cries…I’m looking forward to some crying from her in 3 Idiots as well…haha I know it’s a bit weird.

What really surprised me in this film was Akki Narula’s work as a costume stylist. I loved the two distinctive looks he gave Kareena in the film – the first one with long skirts, churidaars, mojaris, scarves and sweaters and the other look with nice luxurious coats and scarves…also kudos to the makeup artist (whose name I cannot find anywhere!) for making Kareena look so beautiful.

Overall, it completely failed as a film and I realized that even more after I watched New York for the second time! Kabir Khan actually handled the terrorism subject really well and made sense of the subject. So, what was the film trying to depict…that all Muslims are bound to be terrorists? Or some Muslims? Someone please tell me, I usually don’t have trouble understanding complicated stories but this one has my head spinning

Rocket Singh – Salesman of the year

WOW! Is that really Ranbir Kapoor??? The promotional song that had created such dhamaal amongst everyone and was playing in my head all day…everyone on Facebook was talking about it too…Pocket mein rocket hai, pocket mein. Yash Raj Films has been experimenting with different types of films, but this was probably the first time they took such an unusual approach for marketing a film…only one promotional song as a trailer for a film! And guess what? It worked…I went to go watch it and most people I know went to go watch it as well.

Watched the film and liked it! It was definitely an unsual film for our industry, it wasn’t a love story with backdrop of action but it was a story about a salesman…simple. I said it in my last review and I’ll say it again, Ranbir has arrived and is here to stay. He molds himself into different characters and makes them so believable, he really did look like a sardarji you would know…I would know…anyone would know. His mannerisms, his bhangrafied dance moves, everything was a pleasure to watch.

Overall, a simple and inspirational story with some funny moments! However, toward the end the film was a bit dragged and it could’ve be cut short, otherwise no complaints I guess… but Shimit’s Chak De India was far superior.

De Dana Dan

Jail

It was a usual Madhur Bhandarkar flick…it was real, full of emotions, and depicted the struggles of an everyday person. Neil Nitin and Mugdha Godse both did really well in the movie. No complaints from the film in any way.

Blue

Visually amazing but a weak script! I watched this one for Lara, she looked amazing in the movie and of course acted really well. Underwater scenes, scuba diving, swimming with sharks, beautiful yachts…that’s all the movie delivered…oh and why was Zayed Khan in the movie? Why is he still getting films despite the fact that he’s never acted in any of them!

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

Really, not as bad as I heard it was. Loved Ranbir, I mean he’s just too freakin’ good in every movie and well Katrina was okay …she tried! (She’s beautiful though) There were some really funny bits in the movie and there were scenes that reminded me of Andaz Apna Apna and even one scene from Sholay! The climax fighting scene was so remincent of the climax in Andaz Apna Apna, oh and Robert was in this movie as well. However, it was nowhere close to AAA. Andaz Apna Apna is a classic and I feel like Rajkumar Santhoshi tried to use a similar type of humor in this film but it just didn’t work…let’s face it people, classics cannot be recreated.

Main Aur Mrs. Khanna (SPOILER!!!)

I actually had some expectations from this movie because I liked the last time I saw Kareena and Salman together in “Kyun Ki.” I was also hoping to give Sohail Khan Productions the benefit of the doubt because of Lucky — that movie was adorable! But, all those expectations went down the drain. Itni ghatiya movie thi!

I was rolling my eyes at half of the scenes in the movie. The characters were so superficial that I couldn’t relate to any of them and thus was not invested in the outcome of their life…so obviously the acting was sub-par. And even though I just said that I wasn’t invested in them, I couldn’t believe that Mrs. Khanna stayed with Samir, but than not like Akash was good enough. She should’ve left both of them! But Mrs. Khanna didn’t really make sense to me either…so whatever.

The dialogues were horrible. The movie had three good things…Mrs. Khanna’s living room was beautiful, Priety guest-starred as Haseena Jagmagia and that reminded me of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, and they played the song “Bade achche lagtein hai” from Balika Badhu.

All The Best

Well, my mom thought the movie was funny…retarded, but funny. I didn’t really have any expectations from the movie considering it was another ensemble cast doing another “comedy” picturized so brightly that it hurt my eyes. And that’s what it turned out to be…well from the fifteen minutes I was able to watch it, than I feel asleep and don’t know what happened. P.S. I miss the old Ajay Devgan.

*Edit: Sona’s reaction to the movie.
From the first day when we saw the teaser of Wake Up Sid we were excited about the movie because it looked like a really fun film. So, it gives us great pleasure to say that the film was an enjoyable cinematic experience.

The characters looked their age, they didn’t dress in bright colored spandex t-shirts that had designer names on them, and no cheesy dialogues like – but she’s your best friend yaar. Don’t get us wrong, we love Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and still watch it on DVD. Nevertheless, we’re glad that films have come a long way and have become much more natural and close to reality in every aspect.

Wake up Sid is a film about Sid (Ranbir Kapoor), a college student who splurges his father’s money and has no goals or plans for the future. Okay to cut it short, it’s pretty much like the character from the film Lakshaya. It’s also about Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma) who leaves her house and comes to Mumbai to follow her dreams. Wake up Sid is not a new story, it’s one that has been told before but what sets this film apart from others is its complex and relatable characters.

The heart of the story were it’s dialogues, characters, locations, and the simplicity with which the film was made or the subtlety with which the characters transformed during different parts of the film.

Ranbir has given his best performance as of yet and really emerged as a mature actor. Anyone who has ever been doubtful about Ranbir’s acting skills will now have no choice but to stay quiet. He played the fun and mischievous college student as convincingly as a boy who had turns into a responsible working man.

It is needless to say that Konkona was brilliant as always. The depth in her character was displayed beautifully in the scene when Sid tells her he’s going back home. Anupam Kher and Supriya Pathak both performed exceptionally well.

The music of the film is by Shankar Ehsaan and Loy, which was average but two songs really stand out. First favorite songs – “Iktara,” it’s a little reminiscent of “Sapno se bhare naina” from Luck By Chance in terms of the lyrics. Second favorite song – “Kya karoon,” it’s a fun song and can be called the theme song of the film. Both songs have beautiful lyrics that are penned by Javed Akhtar.

The cinematography was very well done by Anil Mehta but the editing lagged in some parts. Niranjan Iyengar’s dialogues were natural and captured the essence of the characters.

Ayan Mukerji’s directorial debutant cannot be overlooked by anyone, he’s made a simple film that is full of moments that everyone can relate to. He has presented this story in a way that it is entertaining for the youth as well as their parents.

Bits that we really loved –
* The Mumbai Beat office – it is a place anyone would want to work at. Loved the look of the office and the relaxed atmosphere.
* Loved how Sid and Aisha kept on talking about the Mumbai rain!
* Sid’s photography – socks, old lady posing, feet…much more!
* Sid putting together a jam and bread cake for Aisha’s birthday…way too cute.
* Note on the egg.
* Birds on wires that were painted on the wall in Aisha’s apartment.

Favorite Scenes –
* When Sid comes to meet his mom, wearing a white shirt. PS: Jasmine says – my mom was crying buckets during this scene!
* When Sid goes back home and Aisha reacts.
* When Aisha yells at Sid and he cleans up the room and even starts cooking.
* When Sid sings “Pehla Nasha” and Laxmi plays the drums.
* When Laxmi tells Sid how she thinks she looks like an elephant – the chemistry between the two of them was so cute.

* Sona’s reaction to the movie: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I feel like hugging Ayan!! Big huge smile on my face planted for the whole day!

Overall, it was an entertaining movie that everyone can relate to and either reminisce about their past, reflect on their present or ruminate about their future.
Moral of the story – once you find what you love, everything falls into place!

We love that Karan took some pictures on the sets of “My name is Khan,” he’s currently shooting for the last schedule of the film.

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Picture Courtesy: Karan Johar

It might seem redundant to ‘re-tweet,’ but we have a feeling there are still people out there who don’t want to sign up for Twitter, but wouldn’t mind some of the little tidbits of information that the Filmistanis are tweeting. But, do give us some feedback and let us know how you feel about this category…here are some of the dilchusp tweets.

Karan Johar: On my way to the Filmfare office….have a chat session with the Filmfare team…
Sona and Jasmine: Wait did he mean the Filmistan team?

Sonam Kapoor: Overslept… On way to work now… In the car listening to old RD Burman.. And really want to eat a good Japanese meal.
Sona and Jasmine: We’re so alike, even we’re listening to R.D. Burman – Mera Kuch Samaan, but don’t know about Japanese food. Maybe Italian?

Priyanka Chopra: Doing promotion for Kaminey. Interviews etc.. Fun.. So excited about Kaminey.. First look of Whats Your Raashee, releasing Thursday.. Yay!!
Sona and Jasmine: Interview with Filmistan Connection? Okay and can we say that we just can’t get over how awesome the film title is…Kaminey! Something we would title one of our films!

Preity Zinta: U knw wht’s d worst part abt being n actress? It’s the pressure to luk gorgeous all d time nd 2 behve perfctly. Bt I’m not perfect, nobody is.
Sona and Jasmine: Is this the real Preity Zinta? That tweet does sound like her, but some of her other ones…ummm not sure!

Vishal Dadlani: Is ‘awake’ just a state of mind? My eyes are open, but I don’t think I wanna be awake yet! Slept three hours ago!
Sona and Jasmine: We heart Vishal! But we’re missing Shekhar, hopefully he’s feeling better. And yes ‘awake’ is just a state of mind…and so is ‘sleep.’

Dino Morea: Morning tweeps, am off to shoot, yes am doing a special appearance in Pyar Impossible, lots of fun. Acid factory is releasing Oct 3rd.
Sona and Jasmine: Good Morning to you Dino! Love how at least one person says “Good Morning” to us everyday…aaj kal kahan kehte hain log! Haha.