2010 - A Bollywood Odyssey

This post is certainly one for the history books. Why, you ask? Well, for one, its the first one for the new decade, but more importntly, it is a guest post. Yes, my blog DOES have readers (avid ones!) and one of the many followers has graciously contributed his time and talent in penning a post for my humble blog. The author of this post is my friend and former manager, Umesh Kelkar. Umesh lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife and son.


Keeping in tone with the previous post, this post lists the top 10 Bollywood movies of 2010. In fact it was at Umesh's insistence, that the previous post was penned by yours truly. Since I did not have the opportunity to watch many Bollywood flicks, Umesh, the film aficionado that he is, was kind enough to give his two cents on the subject.


So here it is, the guest post (with minimal editing by yours truly) -

Though I rate the quality of films that came out in 2010 as simply average, I do see an increasing trend in experimentation with format and presentation of the movies released.


Here is my pick of the top 10 movies for 2010 in order in which they were released -


1]Ishiqiya
This flick made its mark for use of rustic locations and rough language. It is essentially the story of two crooks (Naseerudin Shah and Arshad Warsi) and how they are ultimately lured into a trap by a woman (Vidya Balan). The fillum, by a new director at the helm under the guidance of Vishal Bharadwaj, made for some good viewing. Vidya Balan continued her form from Paa and the other players in small roles were also good . Naseer needs a special movie to make him act, so this was it. Good music.


2]My Name is Khan
I had grown bored of the watching US bashing movies and movies showcasing US tyranny on Muslims. So MNIK was a fresh take on the Issue and kudos to Karan for doing it. So instead of the Hate route taken by moviee like Kurbaan and New York, MNIK showed us how to win over US with love. As Usual, an excellent act by SRK. Good music by Shankar Eshsaan and Loy


3]Love Sex aur Dokha
Now this is what I call something different. Dipankar comes out with another winner back to back after last year's Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. Great presentation, shot totally with a hand-held video camera. It tells 3 stories on each component of the title - Love, Sex and Dokha and the stories are connected beautifully at the end.


4]Badmash Company
This was certainly an intelligent movie . Taking the pre 1992 era (The notorious Trade barriers) as a backdrop a story is woved out and told. Attempt is made to include the Usual masala that a Hindi movie needs. But overall a good movie.


5]Once upon a time in Mumbai
Good old Milind Luthria comes on the fore front after many years and he delivers a winner. The story is the same, Haji Mastan and Dawood but it is given a different treatment. Good music by Preetam. The retro era is well captured. Ajay does a smashing Don act and Emraan supports well. This movie is going to take the award for the best Dialogue. Consider this gem "Maine apne jeene ka tarika badla hai, Tevar nahi".


6]Peepli Live
This one has been sent to Oscars and I think it deserves it. It is a Satircal take on commercialisation of our media. Excellent performances by many new and seasoned actors. This movie is in fact the most profitable movie for 2010 since the production budget was very low.


7]Dabangg
Now this is what is called a blockbuster. 200 croes and counting. Phew! Salmaan is back in form. Some one said that in India there are only two true superstars. Definition of a super star is "no matter what is happening outside in their personal life, no matter how poor the script is a superstar carries the movie on his own and makes it a hit." right now there are only two such superstar. One is Rajnikanth and the second is Salmaan. If you don't believe then go and
watch Dabangg and watch how salmaan single handely and some times even rudely carries out the Dabaang act.


8]Robot
This made my list on the sheer strenght of its special effects. Its a Shankar movie and I like his movies. This movie can stand in front of any Hollywood Special effects movies. Good one Shankar


9]Do doni Char
Another gem from another new director. Its a story of middle class family trying to a buy a car. excellent performances by everyone lead by Rishi Kapoor . Rishi might bag a nomination for this.


10]Band Baaja Baarat
Yash Raj should be given a phd on love and relatiosnhip . Following their Shaadi act in the Teleserial Rishta.com, YR comes up with a sweet romatic tale of two college pass-outs and their trials and tribulations in setting up a wedding planner business. Good Music.


The genre completely missing from my list is comedy. This genre has degraded in Bollywood in last few years as our comedy movies have turned into silly tom and jerry cartoons where tom and jerry are replaced by Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan. So be it the Housefull, Golmaal 3 or the below the belt Tees Maar Khan, they make you laugh in bits and pieces, but so do Tom and Jerry cartoons!


Some films which did not make the list but still I found them to be ok are -


Rajneeti
Udaan 
Rann
City of Gold
Guzarish
Anajana Anjani


I could not catch the below but heard they were good


Phas Gaye Re Obama
Khelenge Hum Ji Jaan Se



So there you have it. The top Bollywood picks from 2010 as seen by Umesh Kelkar.


Thanks for the post Umesh!

My Flick Picks from 2010

The year has almost come to an end and what a year it has been for movie going audiences! I certainly had a ball watching the wide array of movies that the big (and small) studios threw in our direction. But not every one of them measured up to my expectations. Some were great in bits and pieces, others were sore disappointments, while some shined like gems.

So here's the low-down on the movies that "I" feel were outstanding in the respective divisions -

Best Action Flick - The A Team

The re-imagined cult action series from the 80’s makes its debut on the big screen with a bang. With Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper, the new A-Team does a whole lotta justice to their small screen avatars. The sheer madness and insanity involved in the action sequences make this my favorite action flick of the year. And yes, "I love it when a plan comes together."

Best Visual Effects Flick - Tron Legacy


The long awaited sequel to the cult classic “TRON”, may not have the same appeal as its predecessor, but the flick scores pretty high in the visual effects and imagery department.
The updated Game Grid and its inhabitants make for some uber cool looking neo-mancers. The highlight as in the first film, is of course the light-cycle races and the Disc Battles. The flick also has some truly orgasmic background score by the techno duo Daft Punk.

Best Drama Flick - The Social Network


I have to admit, I was skeptical about the success of this one. Making a biographical flick of someone who is merely 24 didn’t really sound that interesting. Especially if that person happens to be a Geek. But David Fancier did a fantastic job narrating the story behind the youngest billionaire in the world. The background score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross elevates the brilliance of the movie exponentially.

Best Animated Flick - How To Train Your Dragon


Although I caught this gem on the small screen, the visuals of the animation were still awesome. Not to mention the characters and the overall Story were an absolute treat! The other contenders (Toy Story 3, Despicable Me and Shrek Forever After) for this category were also great, but this one stands apart for its great one-liners and numerous heartfelt moments.

Best Comedy Flick - Date Night


Featuring two of the best TV comedians, this flick may have failed to generate box office buzz, but was my favorite comedy flick of the year, beating even Due Date and Get Him To The Greek.
Both Tina Fey and Steve Carrel have had substantial background in comedy and have successful TV shows of their own. So to watch them together was to hard to pass up. The comic chemistry between Carrel and Fey is simply amazing. I would pay to watch them in another movie any time!

Best flick of the year - Inception

Original and briliant intellectual plot – Bhwaaarrm! Fantastic direction and cinematography - Bhwaaarrm! Top-notch  performances by the stellar cast - Bhwaaarrm! Stupendously Haunting background score Bhwaaarrm! Bhwaaarrm! Bhwaaarrm!

Without a doubt, this has to be the best movie of the year. The intricate plot, the plot within a plot, the back stories, the concept, it all just made this flick an absolute treat to watch. Nolan draws on his experience of working on big-budget flicks (The Prestige, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) and weaves it ever-so skillfully with his master story telling ability (Memento, Insomnia) and brings to audiences a movie that is destined to be one of the best movies of this decade (maybe even this century).


Special Mentions
Although not covered in the categories above, there were a few other movies that do deserve a mention of their own.

Iron Man 2  
The sequel to John Favreau's rendition of Marvel's Superhero gives RDJ plenty of room to ooze his charm and wit. Not to mention a sultry Scarlett Johansson and the evil maniacal Mickey Rourke.

Due Date
Another RDJ starrer, this one was essentially a Road Trip gone wrong thanks to the shenanigans of Zach Galifianakis. Although not as hilarious as some comedies, it did tickle the funny bone now and then.

Alice In Wonderland
Tim Burton's interpretation of Lewis Carroll's classic has his signature style all over the flick, which is a GOOD thing. Add to that Johnny Depp as the mad-hatter and you have a quirky and twisted movie that makes for interesting viewing

Despicable Me
Another Steve Carrel starrer, this animated flick is rib-tickling as hell. And with a plot that would work only in the animated world, the laughs just keep on coming.

The Karate Kid
Another reboot, this one a far-cry from the original, brings my beloved Chinese action hero, Jackie Chan to the role of the mentor with the new kid on the block, Jaden Smith as the protagonist. With some awesome Kung-Fu sequences and great comic timing between the two leads, this one is definitely  worth a watch.


So there you have it, the Best of the Best from 2010 as I saw it. Feel free to leave your comment and your personal recommendations for the categories.

Same Same, But Different.

The blog has a different web-address now. The new link to all those wonderful posts of mine that you love oh-so much is http://stochastic-musings.blogspot.com

Those of you who are curious as to why the sudden change in the address. Well, let's just say the old URL (http://abhijeetgandhi.blogspot) was a tad narcissistic. And well, humility is my middle name (well actually it isn't, but you get the drift)

For the uninitiated (more like, for the D-Uh folks), here are the definitions to the words in the new URL-

So as you can see, the new URL is more in tune with the nature and content of the blog. It's all about the randomness. That and the title does make the blog sound way more pretentious!

For those who are reading this blog for the VERY first time, this post probably has zero value. Except to say that it is simply a way to add ONE more post to my list of random ones!