DAY 754 - Sala Khadoos – Sincere effort

Sudha Kongara likhi directed Sala Khadoos kahani hai ek boxing coach Adi Tomar yaane R.

Madhavan ki jo system ke khilaaf hai aur isiliye system bhi uske khilaaf hai. Adi jab gussa hota hai, tab aape se bahar ho jaata hai aur uske iss vyavhar ke kaaran, board of directors, usse Dilli se Chennai transfer kar dete hain.

Chennai ki National Boxing mein ginti na hone ke bawajood, Adi Tomar, apne laayak ek shishya dhoondh hi leta hai.

 Maddhi - yaane Ritika Singh jhopadpatti mein bassi ek machi bechne wali ladakoo ladki hai, jisse Adi, Women Light Weight Championship ke liye trainning deta hai…

Sports ke vishay par banayi gayin zyadatar filme – phir wo humare desh mein ho ya bahar- ek hi tarha ki kahani hoti hai, jisme pehle khiladi ki parkha hoti hai, phir trainning aur baad mein uski pariksha li jaati hai!

Sala Khaddos mein bhi kuch aisa hi hota hai…aur baaki filmon ki tarha isme bhi kuch pyaar, kuch pariwar aur kuch rishton ke dhaage judte hain…Kuch boxing association ke parde faash hote hain, kuch dil tootte hain aur kuch umeed bandhti hai…

Film ka plus:  Writer Director Sudha Kongara bina naach nakhre, bina taan jhaam ke sachi ghatnao ko sachai se pesh karte hai.

Film ka minus: film predictible hai, thodi disproportionate hai, kuch scenes bikhre se hai, iske bawajood film wasool hai nayi ladki Rikita Singh aur sab se badhkar, hero R Madhavan ke liye!

Sirf do ghante aur do bhasha (Hindi/Tamil) mein bani Salaa Khadoos ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hai 2.5 stars.

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DAY 753 - Shakespear’sThe Tempest

Helen O’Grady International is bringing Shakespeare’s play- The Tempest to life on stage through a spectacular show. With musical pantomime as the genre, the play is a visual delight featuring a story full of adventure, magic and supernatural characters.

It is the first time Shakespeare’s work has been attempted in style of pantomime and dance andgoing by the pictures it promises to be a spectacular show.

More images tomorrow…

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DAY 752 - Airlift is inspiring

Nikhil Advani produced aur Raja Menon directed Airlift Iran-Iraq ke saal 1990 ke jung ki, jiska shikaar hue uss waqt Kuwait mein basse, ek lakh se upar Hindustani.

Aise khaufnak samay, jab sipahee darindo ki tarha beech sadak goliyaan barsa rahe thhee, tab pardes mein Hindustan ki taqat bane ek shoorveer, Ranjeet Katial yaane Akshay Kumar.

Ranjeet ki taqat bane Dilli mein basse, ek aam sarkari afsar, aur ye afsar par vishwas kiya Hindustan ki puri Aviation Ministry ne...

 Aisa pehli baar hua ki Air India ke 488 flights ne sirf 59 days mein 1,70,000 Indians ko Kuwait se airlift kiya!

Film ka plus: film ka subject, film ka research, locations, cinematography, action, production design khas taur par crowd scenes.

Iske alawa film ke characters, unke aapsi rishte jaise pati patni ki bhumika mein Nimrat Kaur  aur Akshay Kumar sensitive aur realistic hai.

Embassy officer ke role mein Narendra Jetley, Major ki bhumika mein Inaamulhaq aur refugees ki bhumika mein ensemble performances lajawab hain.

Film ka minus: film slow hai, failli hui hai aur kuch rukhi bhi hai. Kahin music ki kummi mehsoos hoti hai, kahin samvaad ki aur kahin jasbaad ki...!

Magar ye mayyne nahi rakhta…Mayyne rakhta hai toh sirf film ka sandesh aur director Raja Menon ki neeyat...

Kuch filmein manoranjan karti hain…Kuch filmein jagrut karti hain…Airlift itihaas dohrati hai!

Airlift ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 3.5 stars.

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Documenting history - DAY 751

Jitish Kallat is at the forefront of India's contemporary art movement and documents historical correspondence - a brief letter written by Gandhi to Hitler in 1939 urging him to reconsider his violent means. 

It is in line with some of his earlier works such as Public Notice (2003), Public Notice 2 (2007), and Public Notice 3 (2010) where a historic speech becomes a device for contemplation.

His exhibition is part of the JNAF and the CSMVS' efforts to engage with practitioners of modern and contemporary art. 

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Pankaj Kapur’s Amma Bi - DAY 750

Pankaj Kapur, trained at the National School of Drama is revisiting his passion for theater with his home production aptly titled Theatron. Kapur reveals that the idea is to learn from the experience and blend it with the energy of the youth. 

Theatron’s debut production is called Dopehri is a novella written by Pankaj Kapur, rendered on stage, with lights and music. Set in the haveli of an old, lonely woman Amma Bi residing in Lucknow Kapur brings to life the characters and culture of old Lucknow. Watch it for the rich content and passion of an actor who has control over the medium.

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Chalk and Duster can change a lot - DAY 749

Parisar Asha conducted a revolutionary creative summit, on ‘The Art of Learning for a Sustainable Tomorrow’ in association with Rubix 108 Technologies & Edusports, for more than 300 school principals attended by Hon’ble School Education Minister, Maharashtra Shri Vinod Tawde, Deepti Naval and Juhi Chawla.

Chawla agreed to the invitation on condition that she can showcase the trailer of her new movie Chalk n Duster to the audience. The trailer was applauded by the audience and experts opined felt that the film is a revolutionary step in changing perspective of education in country.

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So many different festivals - DAY 748

Hungarian Information and Cultural Center recently celebrated Bandhani and Namda: tie-dye

festival with a perspective of how Hungaria views Indian beauty.

Curated by Mari Nagy and Istvan Vidak from Hungary the exhibition held at Art Gallery was inaugurated by the Senior Director of Crafts Museum, Mr. SK Jhan. The special thing about the event was the need to celebrate textiles and give it a global perspective. It was an aesthetic evening attended by those who care for the weaves and the weavers.

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Chalk and Duster is gutsy and emotional - DAY 747

Jayant Gilatar directed Chalk and Duster kahani hain school/ school teachers’ aur humare Education system ki.

Ek classroom ke bheetar, teacher ke paas apne student ki har samasya ka solution hota hain, magar class ke bahar, wohi teacher, anginat mushkilein aur paristhitiyon se jhunjhti hain…

Kantaben School ki shikshikaaein har roz, nayi chunautiyon ka saamna karti hain magar ek din unke dhairya ka baandh toot jaata hain…

Purani filmon mein ‘Teacher’ ke kirdaar hamesha aadarshwadi hote the, magar dheere dheere, pata nahi kyon, ‘Teacher’ humari filmon se adrishya ho gayein! 

Film ka plus: film ka refreshing subject, sangit aur actual locations ko capture karti hui Baba Azmi ki cinematography.

Film ka minus: bohat zyaada nahi, magar ekada scene lambe hain aur kuch refrences predictible aur cliched hain.

Chalk and Duster dekhni chahiye, writers Neetu-RanjeevVerma ke vyaktigat kahani, Divya Dutta ke negative performance, Shabana Azmi ki swabhimani Vidya Sawant aur Juhi Chawla ki niswarth Jyoti Thakur ke liye.

Film ka sabse bada hero, film ka sandesh aur film ki neeyat hai…Hum sab ne, na jaane kitni baar ‘Guru Bhrahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devon Maheshwara’ ka uccharan kiya hai, magar palan nahi kiya!

 Chalk and Duster wo saare guruon ko sharadhanjali hain, ek saaf suthri film jisse hum pariwar/ dost aur guru/ shishya ke saath garv se dekh sakhte hain.

Chalk and Duster ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 3.5 stars.

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Salman fever - DAY 746

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan recently had some special guests on set. Eight actors from Palestine, who are part of the first India-Palestine theatre collaboration and prepared a play with the Delhi-based group Jana Natya Manch are in India touring 10 cities. 

Director Kabir Khan is the one to introduce the group to his actor and Salman Khan was happy to make time for them and receive the keffiyeh scarf as a gift. It brought back memories of Ek Tha Tiger.

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Music speaks - DAY 745

India’s ‘Hijra’ community, as they’re referred to, comprises of transsexuals and transgenders. The community is commonly ignored by most, tolerated by some and misunderstood by all. However, in spite of all the prejudice they face in our society, they choose to smile and remain ‘Happy’.

Yash Raj Film’s youth films wing, Y-Films joins hands with Brooke Bond Red Label to give a voice Shameer Tandon comprises 6 transgender singers backed by 6 music videos. The album was unveiled by Sonu Nigam and introduced by Anushka Sharma.

to their indomitable spirit without trying to get preachy or patronizing, in a language and through a medium that our world understands and loves; the language of Music, with the launch of India’s and, possibly, the world’s first transgender band – the Brooke Bond Red Label 6-Pack band! Curated by composer

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Director Devgan - DAY 744

Ajay Devgn has left no stone unturned for his directorial project Shivaay.  The perfectionist, we hear called for more than 2000 custom-made stuff toys for a particular scene in the film. 

Not just that, he is personally supervising every detail on the sets and this includes little Abigail Eames’s room who debuts as his daughter in the film. What is admirable is that Ajay is always good natured on the sets and does not make a number of his avtaar as a director. 

It was his idea to shoot a couple of brands before he started his new venture because later he would not be able to make time for these commitments. The right way to go Devgan!

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Legends lives on - DAY 743

Bimal Roy passed away many decades ago and his children celebrate their father’s important dates in their own special ways. While daughter Rinki Bhattacharya who has the rights to his films holds a film festival of Bimal Roy Films every year, her younger brother, Joy Roy holds cultural events in memory of his baba. 

A few weeks ago Joy hosted an event to mark the 50^th death anniversary followed by a music recital.In the coming week Rinki Bhattacharya is hosting screenings of Roy films at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chowpatty.

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Who is Wazir - DAY 742

Vidhu Vinod Chopra produced aur Bejoy Nambiar directed Wazir terrorst-politician- police ke beech phasse aam aadmi ki kahani hai.

Aam aadmi, Pandit Omkarnath Dhaar, shatranj ke grandmaster, yaane Amitabh Bachchan, jo zindagi mein sab kuch kho jaane ke bawajood himmat nahi haare.

Aam aadmi, Daanish Ali, ATS officer, yaane Farhan Akhtar, jo zindagi mein sab kuch khone ke baad puri tarha se toot chuke hain.

Omkarnath aur Daanish ko samaantar paristhitiyaan paas laati hai aur atrangi dost banati hai.

Film ka plus: film ka refreshing look, film ki shot taking, film ka suspense, sangit aur perormances.

Ruhana Ali ki bhumika mein Aditi Rao Hyadri, minister ke role mein Manav Kaul aur cameo mein Neil Nitin Mukesh.

Farhan Akhtar 1973 ke angry young hero ko redefine karte hai. Unki khasiyat ye hai ki wo kum ko zyaada maante hai aur dukh ho ya khushi, har pal mein sache nazar aate hain!

Amitabh Bachchan ke Panditji baazi khelne ke saath saath; haste, gaate aur kavita sunte hain…40 saal ke baad bhi unki aankhon mein chamak aur abhinay mein naveenta hai...

Film ka minus: film ki raftaar- first half bohat tez hai aur second half bohat dheema. Director Bejoy Nambiar ki sabhi filmeinShaitan ho ya David dark hoti hain…

Wazir bhi… iske bawajood film dekhni chahiye, Amitabh Bachchan aur Farhan Akhtar ki atrangi jodi ke liye.

Wazir ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hainh 3 stars.

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Successive hits at box-office - DAY 741

07 January is a spectacular date in Hindi cinema. On this date two super hits released in the same year 1966 and both starred Asha Parekh -Teesri Manzil directed by Vijay Anand and produced by

Nasir Hussain and Love in Tokyo with hero Joy Mukherji.

Teesri Manzil was to originally star Dev Anand but due to some disagreement Nasir Hussain replaced him with Shammi Kapoor. Today, the film is unimaginable without Shammi Kapoor as Rocky playing the band. The dance number ‘Aaaja aaja…’ was a first in Indian choreography. 

 During the shooting, Shammi Kapoor lost his first wife Geeta Bali to tuberculosis and did not shoot for a month but the set remained at Mehmoob Studio undismantled waiting patiently for the superstar to return to work. He did, after a month and shooting resumed.          

                                                                             

Love in Tokyo was the first film to be shot entirely in Japan and Asha Parekh is the first heroine to dress in a kimono during a song sequence ‘Sayonara…’ After the film Sayonara became a part of daily parlance and after two back to back, superhits, Asha Parekh became the  favorite of all her distributors.

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Junglee symbolised liberation - DAY 740

Color had newly invaded our films and initially it was believed that photogenic faces like Waheeda Rehman who were very simple actors may become redundant in color movies. They were wrong. While there was a greater demand for the glamarous Saira Banu and Vyajantimala, Waheeda Rehman and Nanda never went out of fashion either.
                                                                                                                               

S Mukherjee launched Saira Banu with Shammi Kapoor in Junglee and when he had to picturize the title song it was Kapoor’s idea that he would glide down the snow mountain screaming ‘Yahoo’ and it worked.

We have often debated if cinema reflects society or the other way round but watching Junglee I always feel that it is not just Shammi Kapoor but the entire nation that is in a celebratory mood post independence!

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Three different strokes - DAY 739

On this day in the year 1951 Raj Kapoor released Aawara produced by his own banner called RK Films. He had tasted failure in his earlier film Aag and Kapoor was determined to never to repeat the

fatal mistake. He craved for artistic excellence but not at the risk of commercial success.

 Raj Kapoor directed the film and also played the hero. Nargis was his leading lady and father Prithviraj Kapoor starred as his screen father Judge Raghunath.  Younger brother Shashi Kapoor played his childhood.

On the same day more than a decade later in 1968 released the

unforgettable Padosan which was a coming together of three geniuses – music composer RD Burman, singer Kishore Kumar and complete entertainer Mehmood. Sunil Dutt and Saira Banu played the romantic lead however the film is remembered for the team work (technicians/ artistes Om Prakash, Kishore Kumar or Keshto Mukherjee).

In the year 1979 on this day also released Do Ladke Dono Kadke.

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Rebel Star - DAY 738

Shammi Kapoor’s Tumsa Nahi Dekha rleased in the year in 1957 on this day and there is an interesting back story to it. When Shammi Kapoor was struggling in films he was unconsciously trying to fit into the mould of his father Prithviraj Kapoor and

older brother Raj Kapoor. 

It was his first wife Geeta Bali who advised Shammi to break free from both of them and define a different image for himself.  Geeta Bali encouraged Shammi to be himself on the screen and thus was born a rebel star.

Tumsa Nahi Dekha was the beginning of his acrobatic romance and new confidence.

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Turning Point - DAY 737

Today, in the year 1969 released Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Satyakaam…It is said that when Mukherjee was casting Satyakaam he was most worried about finding a suitable child star to play Ashok Kumar’s grand child in the film. Hrishida had worked with Baby Sarika and Master Sachin in Majhli Didi and decided to cast Sarika in the role of a boy.

Sarika had a crucial scene with Sharmila Tagore and Ashok Kumar in the film and on the day of the shoot everyone was tense if the little one will live up to the scene. She did, and with such conviction that she received a standing applause from the unit.

Interestingly Sarika did two films with all her co-stars. Majhli Didi, Satyakaam with Dharmendra. Satyakaam, Aashirwaad with Ashok Kumar and Satyakaam, Griha Pravesh with Sharmila Tagore…

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Different Decades - DAY 736

This is an important date for Waheeda Rehman because two films she is praised for released on this date in different decades.

In Guru Dutt’s classic Kagaz Ke Phool shot on cinemascope she was the actor involved with her creator. It is said that when Guru Dutt came out of the first screening of his film, he knew that the film will not work at the box-office and got into a depression soon after. 

 1970 Darpan starred Waheeda Rehman as a single mother. Sunil Dutt falls wants to marry her and give his name to her child but there is a mystery that has to be resolved first.

In 1975 Rafoo Chakkar released and the highlight of the film was Paintal and Rishi Kapoor dressed as drags to be in close proximity with their beloveds. The song in the train ‘Bombay se Baroda tak’ was a superhit.

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New Year wishes - DAY 735

Today is birthday of following people: Sonali Bendr, Asrani and NanaPatekar. Wishing all them a great day and a great year…

Today in the year 1955 BimalRoy released Devdaas starring Dilip Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Vyajantimala.

In the year1958 released Gongoly Bros superhit Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi…In the year 1966 released Sadhana Sunil Dutt starrer Mera Saaya… and in the year 1972 released Gulzar’s Koshish.

Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol’s Dilwale was to release on 01January 2016 originally but later Shahah Rukh changed his date and came earlier.

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