Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 404

Bhairavi

31/07/2014

According to our constitution, woman is a legal citizen of the country and have equal rights as men but is this true in our society? A woman in Indian society is a recurrent victim of humiliation, torture and exploitation and only about 39 percent of all women in India actually attend primary schools. Rape in India is the fourth most common crime against women. To bring these issues into focus A V Motion Pictures has decided to make only films that will focus on societal injustice. Bhairavi based on true incidents of women in India who are physical and mentally harassed in the name of God is the first step in that direction. Written by Veerendra Singh on the rituals followed by the tantriks the film was launched with a classical song by veteran singer Asha Bhosle.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya  

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 403

Wonder Dog

30/07/2014

In the 80s there was a film called Teri Meharbaniyaan which was a super hit at the box-office. Now so many years later comes another Entertainment where Junior- the wonder dog will get a higher billing to hero Akshay Kumar in the credit titles of writer-directors Farhad-Sajid’ new film. Akshay Kumar has gone on record to say that while heroes have one body double Junior had six doubles on the sets to not cause any problems during the shootings. To give Junior higher billing than him was also Akshay’s idea and interestingly this will be the only film in his entire career where he takes a lower billing as a professional.

Entertainment marks the directorial debut of writers Farhad-Sajid who have given us blockbusters like Housefull-2, Golmaal-3, Singham and many more!

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 402

No country

29.7. 2014

Aparna Sen’s husband Kalyan Ray is an author and his new book No Country published by Simon & Schuster in the US last month is simultaneously being published in UK, Ireland, India and Australia by another publisher Bloomsbury on 29th July.

The French translation is being brought out by Grasset around Christmas this year and the Italian translation by Nord in March 2015. The Mumbai launch will be held at Land's End on 5th August where Shabana Azmi will be reading passages from the book and Aparna Sen’s old friends Javed Akhtar, Rahul Bose and  daughter KonkonaSen will be there to support Aparna and Kalyan.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 401

Workshop on Women

28.7. 2014

One of the most serious and shameful issues facing India today is sexual violence against women. Many feel this is a result of the women are portrayed in the media particularly in films and on TV. Women characters are sexually objectified, stereotyped in regressive ways, are portrayed purely to cater to the male point of view. Gender relations are depicted in an unequal way. In hardly any film or TV serial is the woman depicted as an individual, with her own independent point of view. Clearly these images and characterizations have a significant influence on the shaping of society's attitudes towards women.

While most of the times screenwriters and directors act under pressure from other decision-makers (producers, channels, so-called market forces, etc.), it is important to be aware of the impact of such work on the social psyche. As generators of content writers/ directors need to be sensitized to the perils and to raise awareness Film Writers association (FWA) organised a day workshop, in association with Laadli (an initiative of Population First).

Held at the FWA office in Andheri prominent the workshop was attended by prominent writers and directors. Dr. Sharada of Laadli and writer Anjum Rajabali discussed the portrayal of women in cinema followed by a presentation and discussion on television and women by  Rajesh Dubey and a presentation of women projection in lyrics by Danish Javed. Kamlesh Pandey, Hon. Gen. Secretary, concluded the workshop with his last word.

Bhawana Somaaya / Twitter - @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 400

Kick deserves a kick!

25/07/2014

Sajid Nadiadwala likhi aur directed Kick Devilal yaane Salman Khan ki kahani hai jo zindagi ke har pal mein ek kick yaane mazaa talaashta hai.

Isliye wo tez bike chalata hai, doston ko bhagakar shaadi karata hai, khupsurat ladki ke gale padta hai aur badmasho ko sabak seekhata hai.

Jail ke andar qaidiyon ke saath, jail ke bahar bachon ke saath aur pub mein ladkiyon ke saath, Devi sab ka man jeet leta hai.

Phir ek din kuch aisa hota hai ki Devi Devil ban jaata hai…

Credits mein 6 writers ke naam diye gaye hai jinme shamil hai director Sajid Nadiadwala aur bestselling author Chetan Bhagat – itne saare naamon ke bawajood film mein koi plot ya kahani nahi hai.

Bohat saare actors zaroor hai magar saare kirdaar naqli aur saare jasbaad joothe hai.

Kissi kirdaar ka kissi se na koi sacha rishta hai aur na sachi shikayat ya samasya.

Jacqueline Fernandes acha naachti hai. Randeep Hooda acha action karta hai. Saurabh Shukla acha bolta hai aur Nawazudin Siddiqui acha actor hai magar ye saari achaiyon ko milakar fiolm nahi banti!

Director Sajid Nadiadwala ko pata hona chahiye, ke exotic locations, designer costumes aur expert camera work se filmein nahi banti!!

Actor Salman Khan ko bhi maan lena chahiye, ke jaan leva stunts, naach gaana, music, romance aur masala dialogues se performances nahi bante!!!

Bohat ho gayi Dabngg/ Bodyguard ki bhaigiri, bohat mana li100/250 aur 300 karodo ki Jai Ho box-office par, bohat mana liya superstar ka jashan, ab kuch serious acting bhi ki jaye.

Film ke aakhri scene mein Salman Khan kehte hai, ‘Main dil mein aata hoon, samajh mein nahi’.

Samay aa gaya hai Salman Khan ke aap ki filmein bhi samajh mein aaye, warna aap ko dil se majbooran uttaar na hoga.

Kick ko dukh ke saath Big Entertainment Ratings milte hai 2 stars.

Bhawana Somaaya/ tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 399

No 7 year itch for WWI

24/07/2014

Whistling Woods International founded in the year 2008 celebrated their seventh Convocation in Mumbai for which Kamal Haasan flew down all the way from Chennai to deliver a lecture to the graduating students. He toured the campus and was amazed by the facilities that students enjoyed in our country.  Haasan addressed 300 students, and congratulated Subhash Ghai and his faculty for the excellent work.

Present at the occasion was Meghna Ghai Puri, the President who recently received an award from Skilltree Consortium, at the House of Commons in the UK for building a Global institute in India with International standards, thanked Kamal Hassan and prolific writer Javed Siddiqui for their presence and making the evening at WWI special.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 398

Finding Fanny

23/07/2014

Homi Adajania is back with another quirky comedy Finding Fanny! The film narrates the story of five odd balls played by Arjun Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Dimple Kapadia, Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapur; who set out on a road trip to find love.  

After Cyrus and Cocktail it is evident that Homi is attracted to dysfunctional families and characters. Adajania says, "Love makes normal people do nutty things and if they are already a little nutty they become unbearable. My producer, Dinesh Vijan, knew I would drive him insane but still decided to support me. I had worked with Deepika in Cocktail so it was easy to convince her. Arjun Kapoor was enthusiastic. I couldn’t have made this film without Naseer because his character is specially written for him. As for Dimple, if I make a film without her she will have my head on a platter but the biggest surprise and an actor I simply adore is Pankaj Kapur. He is a phenomenal actor and it was a fabulous experience directing him. Finding Fanny was shot and wrapped in 36 days, a shoot-experience that was almost as goof-ball and hilarious as the story itself."

A Fox Star Studios production Finding Fanny releases on September 12.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 397

Big Monsoon Magic II

22/07/2014

How the monsoon picture came about is a story by itself. We were in a creative meeting confused about how to promote the feature in the social media. We did not want to take any one film still to promote the feature and were looking for something more generic when I suggested shooting a picture in the rains. 

Fayaaz Shaikh was observing roza and wanting to leave early for iftaar but the picture had to be done soon.

I had a recording in a while and was writing my script when he said it had begun to drizzle and maybe we must go down. Umbrella in hand we rushed down and that is when it began pouring! Fayaaz shot me under the colorful umbrella as people passed by. We were about to turn and take the elevator when on an impulse I stepped into the rain to relish the moment and Fayaaz who had not packed his camera as yet clicked me in the rain.

In keeping with the nostalgic feature and the Retro Radio Station we agreed to transform the color picture into Black & White. Within moments the picture was viral and the feedback overwhelming. 

Bhawana Somaaya / Tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 396

Big Monsoon Magic

21/07/2014

The rainbow has seven colors

The naayika has eight avtaars.

Life has nine rassas.

Have you ever pondered over the many hues and moods of the monsoon?

The rain brings solace, at times hurdles. It makes us anxious and at times reflective.

Interestingly Hindi cinema projects varied moods and moments of the rains sometimes through scenes but mostly through immortal songs.

92.7 BIG FM presents Big Monsoon Magic a collection of Barsaat ke Bhaav every evening between 7-9pm Monday to Friday.

Starting with Barsaat ka Jashhan/ Celebration of Rain then Barsaat mein Tadap/ Longing in the Rain we have accomplished Barsaat mein Pyaar ka Ikraar/ Admission of love, Barsaat mein Pyaar ka Izhaar/ Expression of love, Barsaat mein Romance/ Immersed in love and Barsaat mein Khilwaad/ Mischief in monsoon.

Bhawana Somaaya / Tweets: @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 395

Make your list and avoid the Pizza!

18/07/2014

Kunal Borkar produced aur Ajay Bhuyan directed Amit Sahni ki List hero Vir Das ki life partner  ke qualities ki list hai.

Bohat dhoodhne ke bawajood, Amit ko apne list wali perfect ladki nahi milti, magar koi aur ladki milti hai jiske saath wo behad khush hai.

Phir achanak, wo perfect ladki Amit ke samne aa jati hai aur Amit confused ho jaata hai.

Film ka plus, film ka contemporary mizaaj, refreshing writing aur actor Vir Das.

Chotte budget ke bawajood, director sadharan locations ko imaginatively pesh karte hai.

Film ka minus, film ka pace, first person narrative jo repetitive ho jaata hai aur predictable climax.

Amit Sahni ki List under 27 generation ke liye hai - thodi confusing hai, bilkul humare new generation ki tarha.

Amit Sahni ki List ko Big Entertainment Rating milte hai 2.5 stars.

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Siddharth Roy Kapoor- Bejoy Nambiar produced aur Akshay Akkineni directed Pizza ek delivery boy ki kahani hai.

Kunal aur unke saathi har roz, apni bike lekar, naye addresses par garam pizza deliver karte hai.

Ek shaam, Kunal delivery par jaata hai aur puri raat ghar wapas nahi laut ta.

Film ka first half darawna hai aur second half complicatedly mysterious...

Aam taurpe order kiya hua pizza aadhe ghante mein deliver ho jaata hai.

Ye Pizza ka message dedh ghante ke baad bhi deliver nahi hota.

Meri mane toh iss 3D Pizza ko na dekhe, beshaque bhookh lagi hai toh doosre pizza order kar le.

Pizza ko hero Akshay Oberoi aur bahtareen actor Rajesh Sharma ke liye Big Entertainment Ratings milte hai 1.5 stars.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 394

When I met the Dev...

17/07/2014

I have been obsessed with the serial Devo ka Dev Mahadev from inception and remained loyal to the show till Zee Tv launched Zindagi and Zaarun Kashaf of Zindagi Gulzar Hai made me switch loyalties.

I met Mahadev/Mohit Raina, at a friend's birthday party  and found him an exceedingly well behaved boy. In this picture we found ourselves at an award show where both of us were getting thoroughly bored. 

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets@bhawanasomaaya 

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 393

Krishna, Draupadi and Me!

16/07/2014

I met Siddharth of Swastik  when he was making many serials simultaneously. Then I learnt about Mahabharat and became curious about how he was going to present the epic differently. The actor who plays Krishna is special and he knows this. When the producer was clicking this picture for my blog actor who plays Draupadi told me we met many years ago when we co-anchored a show called director's Cut.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets@bhawanasomaaya 

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 392

I first met Aamir.....

15/07/2014

I first met Aamir Khan after the release of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 198 and it has been a long association of artistic communication with the actor over the decades spanning his many memorable films and my milestones as a writer, author and editor.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets@bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 391

Matterden: Center for Films & Creation

14/07/2014

Gone are the days when movie watching will be a conventional experience. Experts reveal that film buffs like watching films but also exploring new ideas and Matterden CFC is one such idea that will engage people through a collaborative film viewing, incubating and filmmaking platform, secret screenings, workshops and discussions limited  not just to exhibition of films but a lot more and the best city to launch the experiment is Mumbai.

Like the Lincoln Film Center in New York, our own Prithvi Theatre has worked as a great place for theatre enthusiasts followed by Blue Frog. Matterden CFC is another bold step in that direction starting on 11 July 2014 starting with the screening of a classic every week. To begin with, one classic national or international will be screened every week starting with Kurosawa’s Rashomon, considered one of the most important works in cinema, followed by De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves all for a token ticket price of just Rs100.

Conceived by the well known Enlighten Society membership for same can be availed at a minimum of Rs 5000 at Matterden CFC, 

The Deepak: 

Lower Parel, 

Mumbai Email: matterden@gmail.com

Twitter: @Matter_den 

Phone: +91 22 40150621

Tune into Monday ka Mantra box-office collection of new releases every morning 9.15 on breakfast link with me on @927BigFm.

Bhawana Somaaya /Tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 390

Once Upon a Time in Bollywood

13/7/2014

Today’s guest for Once upon a Time in Bollywood is director of neo realistic cinema Bimal Roy. Born on 12th July, 1909 and died on 8th January, 1965, the filmmaker is remembered and revered for his path breaking films like Do Bigha Zameen and Sujata

Tune into Film Review over week end and Once Upon a Time in Bollywood every Sunday 10-12 on @927BigFm.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 389

Big Monsoon Magic

12/07/2014

The rainbow has 7 colors, the naayika has 8 avtaars and life has 9 rassas, have you wondered over the innumerable moods and many hues of the monsoon. 

Tune into @92.7 BigFM for the many shades of rain in Big Monsoon Magic, every day 5pm.

Tweets - @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 388

'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya' is nice but not special.

11.07.2014

Dharma produced aur Shashank Khaitan directed Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya ek aur Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge ki copy hai balki credits mein DDLJ ko tribute bhi diya gaya hai.

Simran-Raj ki 20 saal purani prem kahani ko tabdiliyon ke saath dohraate hai Ambala ki Kaavya aur Delhi ka munda Humpty.

Kaavya yaane Alia Bhatt galti se nahi, apni marzi se beer peeti aur marzi se pyaar karti hai.

Ussi  tarha se, Humpty Sharma yaane Varun Dhawan, apne hone wale saur ke saath, kabootaron ko daana nahi dalta balke unke saath sutta lagata hai.

Film ka first half Kaavya ka designer lehenga aur Humpty aur uske doston ki shararaton mein nikal jaata hai.

Film ke second half mein na kahaani hai aur na surprises! Humpty Jab We Met ke hero ki tarha heroine ki shaadi mein shamil hota hai aur Maine Pyaar Kiya ke hero ki tarha hone wale sasur se challenge leta hai.  

Film ka plus film ka music aur Varun-Aliya ki presence aur performance. Yakeenan iss jodi ki chemistry aur energy kamaal ki hai!

Film ka minus film ka unimaginative aur poorly edited climax. Aisa mehsoos hota hai jaise director ne kuch mashoor filmo ko food processor mein daalkar, thoda sa tadka lagakar hume parrossa hai.

Jis prakar se humare filmmakers’ aaj kal sirf feel good cinema bana rahe hai kuch sawaal aise modd par poochna zaroori hai…

Kya aaj ke audience ko sach much pyaar ke alava aur koi fikarr, zimmedari, parwah, soch ya dilchaspi nahi hai?

1950 aur 60 ke dashak mein bhi Dilip Kumar mohabbat karte thhe magar saath hi unki filmein samaaj aur desh ki samasyaein bhi pesh karti thi?

1970 ke dashak mein writers Salim-Javed ne hero Amitabh Bachchan se kitne social muddein uthaayein aur pareshaniyon ka hall bhi diya.

Prem kahani sab pasand karte hai magar writers/ directors ko bhi koshish karni chahiye ki kahani original ho.

Varun Aliya jaise new gen actors ko ye sochna hoga ki prem ke alava bhi jeevan hai warna puri jawani sirf love stories mein guzar jaayegi.

Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya acchi hain magar khaas nahi. Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 3 stars.

Tune into Friday ka Faisla reviews and star ratings every morning 9.15 on breakfast link with me on @927BigFm.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 387

Akshay – Abhishek Round 2

10.07.2014

After months of speculation on who would be directing Housefull-3 Its Entertainment producer Sajid Nadiadwala has roped in writer-director duo Sajid-Farhad. Nadiadwal felt that after penning dialogues for films like Golmaal, Housefull-2, Ready, Bol Bachchan, Chennai Express, Sajid-Farhad are ready to don the director’s cap. Its Entertainment will star Akshay Kumar with the beautiful Tamannaah in the lead. The film is all set to roll by this year end and there is one big surprise in the casting. While Akshay Kumar remains constant it will be Abhishek Bachchan instead of Ritesh Deshmukh. The duo will be teaming up after a gap of 12 years. Their last film together Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya released in 2002.

Clearly Sajid Farhad are excited because the coming year is promising. Besides making their directorial debut they are looking forward to Singham Returns which appears at the moment the most highly awaited film of 2014. In Singham thay had us roaring with 'Aata maajhi satakli…' let’s wait and watch what they have in store for the sequel.

Tune into Thursday ka Tanav elaborating pressures of filmdom every morning 9.15 on breakfast link with me on @927BigFm.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 386

Music in the genes!

9/7/2014

When they were children Alka and her brother were trained by their parents in music. While Alka became a professional singer her brother became a high profile executive in a corporate office.Now almost two decades later, the second generation is all set to make a mark in music career. While Alka’s daughter is still young and not sure of what she wants to do, her niece Garima has set her heart in following into her aunt’s footsteps. It was a usual recording session at music composer Bappi Lahiri's studio that Garima enthralled the small audience with her debut number ‘Mumbai can dance sala..’ Garima is super excited about her debut and shares that she has been training classical singing from her mother since she was four years old. 

While her aunt started with a ‘Mere angne mein …’ with Amitabh Bachchan in Laawaris the niece will debut on a smaller scale with a bar dancer song but that is not an issue with Garima or her parents. They feel she had to make a beginning and if she is good she will be noticed.

Tune into Wednesday ka Vivaad debate on an issue every morning 9.15 on breakfast link with me on @927BigFm.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 385

Scenes from a Marriage

8/7/2014

The Gujarati theatre is famous for their popular plays but also their experimental plays. Haji Ek Varta strings five distinct stories penned by renowned authors and exploring marital relationships. Some laced with light-hearted banter, some reflective and poignant and some reliving the innocence of friendship before the world became polluted and divided by narrow domestic walls of communal riots and other discriminations.

The five stories traveling the tapestry of marriage are written by Jyotinder Dave, Bakul Tripathi, Saroj Pathak and Moti Prakash. Conceived and directed by Abhinay Banker it is an Aarambh Arts Academy Presentation.

Scenes from a marriage are always interesting and when performed up close all the more. Haji Ek Varta premiered at NCPA Experimental, Mumbai.

Tune into Tuesday ka Tadka trivia on show business every morning 9.15 on breakfast link with me on @92.7BigFm.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya