Friday 27 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 538

Dum Laga Ke Haisha sparkles...
Ab Tak Chappan 2 lets you down!
27/2/2015

Ponti Chaddha produced aur Ejaz Gulab directed Ab Tak Chappan 2, Ram Gopal Verma ki Ab Tak Chappan ka sequel hain.

Ab Tak Chappan encounter specialist Sadhu Agashe ki victimization ki kahani thi.

Ab Tak Chappan 2 Sadhu ki retired zindagi aur police force mein waapsi ki kahani hain.

Writer Nilesh Girker kahani mein naye kirdaar jodkar naye rang bhar ne ki koshish karte hain magar nakamyaab rehte hain.

Saal 2004 mein underworld encounter, naya vishay tha.

Saal 2015 mein humne aisi bohat saari filmein dekh li hain.

Achi neeyat aur nek sandesh ke bawajood film mein sab kuch pheeka lagta hain.

Na performance mein naveenta hain aur na hi presentation mein.

Ab Tak Chappan 2 ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 2.5 stars.

************************************************************************

Yah Raj Films produced aur Sharat Katariya likhi directed Dum Laga Ke Haisha Haridwar mein basse, do pariwar aur ek naye shaadi shuda jode ki kahani hain.

Purane zamana mein aisi filmein bohat banti thi, phir achanak bandh ho gayi.

Filmmkers kehte thhe ke audience badal gayi hain, iske bawajood 70 aur 80 ke dashak mein Hrishikesh Mukherjee aur Basu Chatterjee jaise directors ne iss disha mein prayog kayam rakhein.

Aaj ek lambe arse ke baad, aisi hi ek purani kahani wapas aayi hain.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha wo saare values dohraate hain jisse hum bhul gaye hain…
1. Sundarta sirf tan ki nahi – man ki hoti hain.
2. Pyaar sochne se nahi - saath rehne se badhta hain.
3. Sukh paise se nahi – swabhimaan se milta hain.
4. Samman sirf safalta se nahi- sachai aur saadgi se bhi pragat hota hain.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha ko sundar vichar aur team work ke liye Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 4 stars.

Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya

Thursday 26 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 537

Book your show
26/2/2015

CinePlay Festival ’15 Act 1 runs from February 27th - March 22nd, 2015. For further information on the schedule of the release, visit www.cineplay.com or follow the updates on www.facebook.com/letscineplay 



Day
Date
Time
Title
Friday
27th February, 2015
6:00PM
Between The Lines (78mins)
Saturday
28th February, 2015
9:15PM
The Job (82mins)
Sunday
1st March, 2015
5:45PM
Bombay Talkies (77mins)
Friday
6th March, 2015
(HOLI)
8:00PM
Dance Like A Man (105mins)
Saturday
7th March, 2015
9:15PM
AdheAdhure (100mins)
Sunday
8th March, 2015 (INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY)
5:45PM
Between The Lines (78mins)
Friday
13th March, 2015
8:00PM
AdheAdhure (100mins)
Saturday
14th March, 2015
9:15PM
Dance Like A Man (105mins)

Sunday
15th March, 2015
5:45PM
The Job (82mins)
Friday
20th March, 2015
8:00PM
Bombay Talkies (77mins)
Saturday
21st March, 2015
8:00PM
Hasmukh Saab Ki Wasihat  (76mins)
Sunday
22nd March, 2015
6:30PM
Some Times (82mins)



Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 536

Now theatre on screen
25/2/2015

Following through on the promise of presenting a new genre of cinema adapted from the best in Indian theatre to a larger audience, CinePlay has teamed up with the Matterden Center For Creation (CFC) to celebrate the anniversary of its first release. CinePlays will be regularly exhibited at the latter’s newly-renovated 480 seat theatre in Lower Parel.

Matterden CFC is India’s first international film center and aims to provide an opportunity for Indian audiences to experience alternative content unlike none other.

This association, the CinePlay Festival Act 1, will set the stage for the first theatrical release of CinePlays beginning on Friday 27th February 2015, with the critically acclaimed CinePlay Between the Lines. It features Nandita Das and her husband and founder of CinePlay, Subodh Maskara, and has had incredibly successful screenings both in India as well as internationally, recently enthralling audiences at Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in New York and Yale University.

CinePlay’s current catalogue features some of the most exalted theatre productions in India such as Mohan Rakesh’s Adhe Adhure and Mahesh Dattani’s Dance Like A Man, starring some of India’s leading theatre personalities including Lillete Dubey, Mohan Agashe, Vijay Crishna, Ira Dubey, and Suchitra Pillai.

“The coming together of Matterden and CinePlay is the beginning of a new chapter in this exciting journey of creating a new genre of entertainment,” said Subodh Maskara, CEO and founder of CinePlay. “The experiment to blend cinema and theatre has received an overwhelming response from the audiences both in India and abroad, and I believe that Matterden is the perfect partner to reach out to a discerning audience.”

Nandita Das, co-founder of CinePlay, added, “When I started writing Between the Lines, I had no idea that it would inspire Subodh to create this unique format of CinePlay. It has been a personal dream to have a theatre dedicated to quality cinema and Matterden sure promises that.”

Pranav Asher, founder of Matterden CFC, remarked, “Matterden CFC is a modern day cultural centre, with a focus on path breaking creatives and concepts. CinePlay has set an extremely high creative benchmark for alternative entertainment and it is definitely something we want the audiences to enjoy.”


Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya 

Tuesday 24 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 535

Aadayam Initiative
24/2/2015

Vickram Kapadia’s Masque will do a modern retelling of one of Shakespeare’s most riveting tales of romance and revenge, generosity and greed: The Merchant of Venice. Set to open on February 27 at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA, this new play will also see the debut of Aditya Birla Group’s Aadyam initiative.

Aadyam, an initiative by the Aditya Birla Group, is bringing 5 new plays from highly reputed theatre groups, to coveted venues in Mumbai and Delhi. Crafting a holistic experience for each play that extends beyond the stage, Aadyam will reword our understanding of the process of watching a play, and through this, take theatre to newer audiences. Committed to producing performances of quality, Aadyam is working towards becoming India’s gateway to artistic expression for meaningful experiences and capacity audiences. Aadyam is making its foray first with theatre and intends to extend its interests to other forms of the performing arts. 

 The Merchant of Venice is a universal tale showcasing human beings’ propensity for love and hatred, generosity and greed, forgiveness or the lack of it, a satire on society then and now. Director Vickram Kapadia who launched his banner Masque in 1987, first directed the challenging Luigi Pirandello play Six Characters in Search of an Author. This was followed by landmark productions like AR Gurney’s The Dining Room, David Henry Hwang’s Dance and the Railroad, Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Eduardo Elba’s Marathon among others. In 1998 and 2001, the company collaborated with two other theatre producers - Rage and Ohinniyan – to create the hugely successful “Going Solo” evenings -- a series of monologues.

Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya

Monday 23 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 534

Every dog has his day
23/2/2015

In cinema world when one is going through a good phase, everybody is talking about you and actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is aware of this. He is aware that at the moment he seems to be the hot favorite of all the writers and directors and some actors like Salman/ Shah Rukh Khan too. It is being said that director Sriram Raghavan had no written scene for the actor during the shooting of Badlapur and let Nawaz interpret every scene the way he wanted to. Consequently every day was a surprise for both, Nawaz and Sriram. Whether the technique worked for the film we will discover after watching Badlapur in the meantime Nawaz is completing Bajrangi Bhaijaan with ad is tight lipped about an international film to be directed by Garth Davis.


Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya

Friday 20 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 533

Badlapur: Varun sizzles, Nawaz sparkles
20/2/2015

Dinesh Vijan produced aur Sriram Raghavan directed Badlapur  kahani hain Raghav/ Varun Dhawan aur Misha/ Yami Gautam ki jo apni zindagi mein behad khush hain, jab achanak, ek haadsa sab kuch badal deta hain.

Film ke promotions mein bataya gaya hain ke film ka opening scene important hain, balke film ka attraction film ka beginning aur film ka end hain.

Iske alava film ke authentic locations aur saare kirdaar, jaise ek naye roop mein Divya Dutta aur Jhilmil ki bhumika mein shaant aur suljhi hui Huma Qureshi.

Film ka minus film ka overtly negative plot, violent narrative aur ek hi sur mein chalne wali kahanai.

Writer Sridhar Raghavan badle ki bhavna mein kuch iss tarha se kho jaate hain ki baaki rishtey ko bikul bhul jaate hain.

Rahav 15 saal agyaat vaas mein bitata hain aur kissi ko nahi milta ,magar Raghav ka pariwar/dost/ professional contacts usse kabhi kyon contact nahi karte?

Mana ki sadma logon ko badal deta hain, magar aise extreme reactions bagair medical history illogical hain!

Aur ek baat, agar jail mein basse accused ke welfare liye NGO hain toh victim ke liye psychiatric treatment kyon nahi hain?

Duvidha ye hain ki aisi film ke 10 reel tak maar peet/khoon kharaba  dikhane ke bad aapko aakhri reel mein gyaan de toh kya isse hum positive film kahenge?

Faisla aap ko karna hain.

Sawal  ye hain ki kya Badlapur dekhni chahiye, bilkul dekhni chahiye, Varun Dhawan ke angry man performance liye aur Nawazudin Siddiqui ke master craft ke liye.

Jab Nawaz screen par hain aap uske alava kuch nahi dekh sakte ho!

Badlapur ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 2.5 stars.
Bhawana Somaaya / @bhawanasomaaya

Thursday 19 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 532

Pre release jitters
19/2/2015

My heart goes out to Varun Dhawan. The boy has not had a break ever since he has found stardom. He has been shooting round the clock and trapped in all the necessities of stardom like performances at award shows and not to forget the aggressive promotions of every film. The exercise is taking its toll and what is worse is that every time his film is close to a release he has a family crisis.The last time his Tu Mera Hero was due for release, Varun Dhawan lost his maternal grandmother and this time, a few days before the release of Badlapur Varun has lost his two uncles, one who resided in Delhi and the second filmmaker Kunal Kohli’s father in Mumbai.

This is a big blow for the actor who has for the last many touring cities for the promotion of Badlapur and this included the Golden Palace in Amritsar. When Varun’s first film Student of the Year was releasing Varun’s mother Laali Dhawan went to Shirdi to seek Baba’s blessings for her child, this time Varun is doing the temple rounds himself.


Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 531

An actor’s no is often yes.
18/2/2015

I have always wondered how an actor chooses his roles. A while ago Reitiesh Deshmukh said he will not work in any more comedies and now he has agreed to the third sequel of Masti. What made him change his mind, was it money or something else? Grand Masti in 2013 earned 100 crores and yet it wasn’t easy for producer Ashok Thakeria and director Indra Kumar to convince their actors for the franchise. They have somehow convinced Reitesh and also managed Vivek Oberoi and Aftab Shivdasani on the panel for Masti 3. Let’s hope the third round of the franchise is not as vulgar as the second one and Reitesh will not regret his decision for this time he is answerable to not just his wife but also to his new born.


Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya

Tuesday 17 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 530

Mistakes make a star.
17/2/2015

Show business is a slippery place where the mistake of one makes the destiny of another. All of us know that Zanjeer was rejected by all the top actors till Salim Javed and Prakash Mehra decided to gamble with a new boy called Amitabh Bachchan and the rest is history.

Recently John Abraham has replaced Akshay Kumar in a couple of films because Akshay clearly cannot do all the roles offered to him starting with Welcome Back, Hera Pheri 3 and now Aankhen 2 and who knows John Abraham will revive his career with a film turned down by Akshay Kumar who may look upon his action later as a mistake. Anything can happen in show business however even as I write this, I think of what filmmaker Rakesh Ompraksah Mehra once said :“When a role is ready several names come up, some approached, some ruled out but finally the character belongs to the actor who plays the role”.


Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya  

Monday 16 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 529

Costumes make a character
16/2/2015

Bimal Roy Memorial & Film Society is holding a designed illustrated talk by eminent anthropologist Clare Wilkinson on the politics of costume in Bimal Roy's films. It is said that one of the most compelling cinematic themes of Bimal Roy films has been the relationship of tradition and modernity in a new state and the play of costumes to both naturalistic and symbolic effect has been director Bimal Roy’s forte.

In all Bimal Roy films the costumes adorned by the various characters not just the lead pair has a significance and contribution to not just the story but reflected conventions of contemporary India. This was apparent in Devdas, Sujata and Bandini. Suchitra Sen or Nutan draped in simple cotton saris reflected the anxieties and tensions associated with the theme of the story. Over the decades so many films have been made on village life but none of the heroines have resembled Vayajantimala’s Madhumati in either costume/ghagra choli or hairdo.

A lecture on the subject will be held on 19th February, 5.30 pm at Lecture Room 3, St Paul's Communication, 24th Road, Bandra​.


Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya

Friday 13 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana SOmaaya - Day 528

'Roy' is complex and intriguing.
13/2/2015

T series produced aur Vikramjit Singh likhi directed Roy ek aur kahani hain mayanagri aur vastavikta ki.

Ek aur kahani cinema banane wale nirdeshak aur uski kalpana ki.

Ek kalaakar apne zehan se, ek kirdaar ki rachna karta hain aur dheere dheere, usiki rachna, uski zindagi ka hissa ban jaata hain.

Sawal ye hain ki kya kalaakar wo rachta hain, jo wo apni zindagi mein chahta hain? Ya phir, uski rachna uss se apni manmaani karwati hain?

Film ka nayak Kabir, yane Arjun Rampal, ek nirdeshak hain. Arjun ki film ka nayak Roy, yaane Ranbir Kapoor ek chor, hain.

Arjun ki prerna Aisha/ Jacqueline Fernandes hain aur Ranbir ki prerna Tia bhi Jaqueline Fernandes hain.

Film bahtareen likhi aur stylishly shoot ki gayi hain. Film ke refreshing locations, realistic art direction aur khoobsurat cinematography film ke plus hain.

Director details ko ahmiyat dete hain, apne har kirdaar ki choti se choti baat ka kahayal rakhte hain jiski wajah se saare performances unique aur interesting hain.

AD ki bhumika mein Shernaz Patel ki sanjidgi, director ki bhumika mein Arjun ke jasbaadi uttar chadhaav aur chor ki bhumika mein, Ranbir ki soch aur khamoshiyaan, aap ke dil mein utar aaatie hain!

Jacqueline Fernandes ke dono kirdaar Aisha aur Tia Hindi cinema ke double roles ko nayi disha dete hain.

Roy lambi hain, dheemi hain, confusing hain, complex bhi hain kyon ki film vishay ke hisab se banti hain.

Kuch filmein hum popcorn khaate, baat cheet karte dekhte hain...Roy unn filmo mein se nahi hain…!
Ismein har ehsaas, haule se izhaar kiya gaya hain…Roy sammaa bandhti hain…Thehraav maangti hain…!!

Isse aise logo ke saath dekhiye, jo cinema ko aap jitna hi pasand karte hain, kahani mein aap jitni hi dilchaspi rakhte hain.

Debut director Vikramjit Singh ko dilchasp aur anokhi Roy ke liye Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 3.5

Thursday 12 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 527

Wedding season
12/2/2015

February is the wedding season and every evening is either a sangit or a mehandi, ashaadi or a reception. In the olden days there was one simple ceremony followed by a modest reception.

Today, the bride and the groom have bachelor and cocktail parties before and after the wedding. Most of them go for destination weddings and the party continues inside the swimming pool.

The wedding wardrobe not just of the bride and the groom but connected friends and close relatives is a cause of major stress because it means organizing so many outfits, accessories, jewellery, handbags and foot wear.

During all these special occasions nobody is concentrating on the ceremony or the bride. Instead, all of us are focused on themselves - what they are wearing and how they are looking.

The sangit is the night of enchantment because it is a platform to showcase your good look/ costume and talent.
And all wedding at home begin with a kalash so happy celebrations to all.


Bhawana somaaya / @bhawanasomaaya

Wednesday 11 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 526

Memories of another film
11/2/2015

In the olden days hero Rishi Kapoor and Jeetendra did so many films together that they were all the time spending time together on outdoors. 

It has been so many but the happy memories still linger. Similarly, Arjun Ramphal and Ranbir Kapoor spent so much time together during the shooting of Roy in Langkawi that they longed to pack up and go off for sailing. It seems a local sailor was kept on hold on the sets and as soon as the director announced ‘pack up’ the two actors hopped on the boat and went into deep sea for fishing.

Many decades later when the memories of their film Roy has faded the memories of time spent together will spread fragrance in Arjun and Ranbir relationship exactly the way it happened with Ranbir’s father Rishi Kapoor and co-star Jeetendra.


Bhawana Somaaya / @bhawanasomaaya 

Tuesday 10 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 525

Now film awards in Dubai
10/2/2015

As if we don’t have an overdose of film awards and events that now there will be AIBA (Arab Indo Bollywood Award) award event in Dubai. This event is unlike other award events in the sense that nominations will be divided in three categories:Main Awards, Technical Awards and Special Awards. The winners of first two categories will be chosen by public voting while the jury members will select the winners of Special Awards. 

To promote Indian films in Gulf countries, AIBA will host premieres of new Hindi releases every month starting with Roy on 12 Feb. The motive behind the awards and the premier is to bring Bollywood closer to the Gulf countries and they are pulling out all the stops to make the event a mega success. UAE's premiere event management and entertainment agency Benchmark Media and India's Global entertainment Agency have joined hands to ensure AIBA is a grand event.


Bhawana Somaaya /@bhawanasomaaya

Monday 9 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 524

Don’t worry, be happy
9/2/2015

It is amazing how Dadi Janaki always mails me the most relevant message at the most appropriate time. I was going through a bad patch with a colleague and have been heavy hearted about it for some time unsure of how to resolve the conflict when I open my mail and discover Dadi’s message for me in Inbox. Dadi says when you look at anyone always smile. Don’t get bogged down by their patterns of behaviour, don’t get bogged down by their baggage and don’t worry about the future because it is not in your control.

The only way to be at peace is to let go, not just things that happened many years ago but also what happened in the morning. If you want to be at peace break your ties with the past, stand alone, strong and fearless, stand as an inspiration to self and to others. Keep courage for tomorrow. When you show courage, God comes to your aid so have faith that he knows and will be by your side.


Bhawana Somaaya @bhawanasomaaya  

Friday 6 February 2015

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 523

'Shamitabh' – is teamwork
6/2/2015

R Balki directed Shamitabh kahani hain do kalakaaron ki.

Ek, jisse hum parde ke upar dekhte hain, yaane Dhanush. Doosra, jisse hum sunte hain, yaane Amitabh Bachchan.

Film ka plus, anokhi kahani, Illaiyaraja ka soulful music, novel casting, detailed characterizations, aaj ke daur ki bhasha, aapsi rishte aur saare performances.

Ye director Balki ki khasiyat hain ki wo har baar kuch naya sochte hain.

Saal 2007 ki Cheeni Kum - aakarshan ke baare mein thi.

Saal 2009 ki Paa - jasbaadon ke baare mein thi.

Aur ab saal 2015 ki Shamitabh – team spirit ke baare mein hain, ke saath chalne se hi aage badhaa jaata hain.

Jahan Cheeni Kum aur Paa humare dil ko choo gayi thi Shamitabh - humare dimaag se tehalte hue dil ki raah dhoondhti hain.

Iske kai kaaran hain: film ka cinema centric subject aur vishay se judi samasyaein aur situations.

Subject Speaking Disability ke baare mein hain, isliye narrative zyaada technical or informative hain.

Film lambi hain, thodi disjointed hain, kahin par repetitive hain aur kahin kahin niras bhi…Asal mein film ke plus hi film ke minus hain jaise subject anokha hain – isliye unsettling hain aur rishte unnatural hain – isliye uncomfortable hain!

Shamitabh mayanagri par filmayi gayi ab tak ki saari filmon se bilkul nirali hain aur isse dekhni chahiye film ke teen ekko ke liye: Naya chehra Akshara Haasan, jo aaapke hosh udaa dengi. Dhanush, jo aap ko apne rang mein rang dega aur 40 saal ke career ke baad bhi aap ko chaunka dene waale Amitabh Bachchan!

Film ke ek scene mein, Whiskey aur Paani mein ke mahatva par charcha hoti hain jab ki nasha dono ki maatra se nahi mishran se hota hain.

Kuch ussi tarha se teeno actors mein kiska mahatva zyaada hain ka ulekh karna, film ke sandesh ke khilaaf hoga.

 Shamitabh ko nirbhay prayaas aur bahtareen sandesh ke liye Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 3.5 stars.


Bhawana Somaaya /@bhawanasomaaya