Random Trailers I like - Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!

A good trailer should be like a mini skirt, they say, reveal just enough and keep everyone interested. Does the trailer for 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!' do that? You bet, it does. It clearly has traces of the Guy Ritchie's take on Sherlock Holmes and the recreated Victorian era.

Before we proceed, here is a list of things that we already know about the characters from the version that Basu Chaterjee directed for Doordarshan:

• Byomkesh Bakshi (note that this spelling does not have a 'Y' at the end. Neither does it have the exclamation. The former is for typographical balance, but the latter cannot be justified.) - A detective and introduces himself as Satyanveshi.
• Ajit - BB's assistant, sidekick and friend
• Satyabati - BB's wife with whom he bounces off his thoughts
• Puntiram - BB's servant

Lets take a look at what it reveals and try to connect some dots about the much closely guarded movie story line.

Item songs

Wiki even has a definition of an item number! Is it a phrase in the Oxford dictionary yet? I would not be surprised by the answer to that one.

Heck some talented dudes out there have even compiled a list of Item Numbers in Indian cinema. On WikiPedia! No, really! It is a quite an exhaustive one. Detailed even. The criteria might be a bit vague there. But this argument is not what the blog is about. So what is it about, you might ask. Bataataa hu, bataataa hu, bhai.

The blog is about 3 item numbers that are not featured, yet, in the above Wiki list. They are on my repeat-view worthy list of Item numbers.

Fake tha Tiger

Ek tha Tiger

Loved the following 2 takes on the movie :)



*ing: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Girish Karnad

Director: Kabir Khan
Music: Sohail Sen, Sajid-Wajid

The film is the story of a RAW agent (Salman) who falls in love with a girl (Katrina) during one of his missions and then decides to quit espionage to be with her. The RAW agency considers it a risk to their agency's functions and the rest of the film is how they escape the agencies attempts to capture them.

A Gent We Know

Agent Vinod

*ing: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor

Vinod is a super spy on a mission to find out what '242' means to an international group of terrorists. This involves guns, chases, globe trot and lots of action.

Director: Sriram Raghavan
Music: Pritam

Pros:
- The pace of the film in the first half is twice that in the second half.
- An eye-for-detail is exhibited in every scene (e.g. the seekh with half-eaten kababs in the opening sequence in the middle of an Afghan desert.)
- The background score brilliantly translates the on-screen actions to sound (e.g. the background music stops as soon as Kareena turns off the faucet and fills her glass)
- The action is super fast and does not rely on super-slow-mo to create an impact
- Retro, stylish and slick
- New foreign locales
- Hardly any logical loose ends

Cons:
- The narration slows in the second half and becomes predictable in bits
- 'Muft ka' song was easily avoidable

Things I remember:
- 'Raabta' filmed in a single continuous shot (earlier done by Farah Khan in 'Main hoon Na'). All songs except 'Muft ka' are in the background and yet complete.
- The viewer is taken through a quick touristy tour of Delhi - Red Fort, India Gate, Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh and Ring roads.
- If 'BBuddah hoga tera baap' was done by Sriram Raghavan, it would have made an even better Agent Vinod (of Agent Vijay)

You would like this if:
- you liked 'Johhny Gaddar'

Trivia:
- It has become a norm for Sriram Raghavan to pay homage to bollywood of 70/80s. He does it by using 2 Nasir Husain songs this time.
- More homage to the 70s is offered generously:

1. "Kaun hai?"
   "Mahendar Sandhu." << Name of the hero who played the original Agent Vinod in the 70s
2. "Yeh jheel si neeli aankhen, koi raaz hai inmain gehra" << Lyrics of the hit song from Kashmir ki Kali debuting Saif's mom, Sharmila Tagore.
3. "Naam kya hai?"
   "Vinod. Vinod Khanna. Rishi Kapoor, Akbar. Amitabh, Anthony. My name is Anthony Gonsalves."
4. Persis Khambatta (model of the 80s and starred in Star Trek) and Freddie Mercury (of Queen) - both with Parsi roots - are used as a character named 'Freddie Khambatta'
5. Boney M's Rasputin

- 242 is the BEST bus number that ferries to the offices of some popular TV production houses.

Hagneepath 2012

Agneepath (2012)

*ing: Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra

The movie is about Vijay (Hrithik) who, as a child, witnesses the murder of his father in his native town - Mandwa. Kancha bhau (Sanjay Dutt), a heroin businessman, is the schemer and the main stakeholder for the murder. Vijay and his mother abandon Mandwa and settle in Mumbai. He grows up being part of the Mumbai underworld (?). His aim is to become as powerful as Kancha in order to avenge his father's murder.

Director: Karan Malhotra

Music: Ajay-Atul (the beauty of the marathi version of Chikni Chameli was the rustic male voice which is sorely missed)

KBC for the filmy keedas

While watching an Amitabh movie on Sony Set Max channel, my mom reminded me that I have watched this movie a million times already. She was, of course, exaggerating. The actual number might be in 2-digits, though. So, when there is an ad break, she rushes to switch to her daily soap on some other channel. This is where I need to be quick and agile in putting my hand between the remote and the sensor on the TV. 

"Mom, this is the most interesting part."

"What? The ads?!"

"No, maa, the Extra Shots."

And then a nugget of trivia related to the movie unfolds on the screen. 

How else would I have known that Alisha Chinoy debuted as a playback singer in Tarzan at the insistence of B Subhash who heard her sing in Dalip Tahil's play named Evita?

Or that the role played by Zeenat Aman in Yaadon Ki Baaraat was first offered to Asha Parekh, who turned it down because she was scheduled for dance shows in a world tour.

Or that Amitabh Bachan had the switch to the lights in his hands for the "Saaraa Zamana" song in Yaarana.

All of this came back to me because today I am looking forward to the first episode of the quiz show based on all such trivia... Extra Shots Challenge.

[This post was inspired by Dipta Kirti's awesome blog promoting the show with 18 filmy questions.]

Deewana banaa de.

Gaudy-Bard

Bodyguard

Starring:
Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Raj Babbar, Asrani, Aditya Pancholi, Mahesh Manjrekar

Lovely Singh (Salman) is a professional bodyguard assigned with the job of protecting Divya (Kareena). She is a MBA student under threat of being killed by the villains. However, her college life seems to be disturbed because of the bodyguard that trails her all the way to her classroom. In an attempt to keep him busy elsewhere, she keeps calling him (as Chhaya) from an undisclosed private mobile number and serenades him to fall in love with Chhaya.  He is not aware that Divya and Chhaya are actually the same girl till the very end of the movie. He performs his duty of protecting her from the villains.

Pros:
- Salman and Kareena put in decent performances
- A typical bollywood pot boiler masala film - action hai, masti hai, dance hai, music hai, drama hai, suspense hai

Cons:
- The comic track featuring Sunami Singh is too loud and most times unbearable

Music:
Himesh (yes, he is back!) and Pritam

You will like this if (and only if):
- You are a Salman fan
- You do not mind a mindless time pass popcorn movie

Trivia:
- Check the spellings of the names in the titles and the poster above (numerology seems to have caught with everyone)
- Salman's real life bodyguard - Shera - appears dancing in the entry song; along with Katrina Kaif
- Himesh ended his if-I-give-music-I-act-too condition for Salman Khan
- Eventually, there is a going to be an article which lists the different ways that Salman has unbottoned his shirt. In this movie, his shirt tears open by a blast of water from a broken pipe.