Parthiv Gohil revives Garabo - DAY 676

Today is the first day of Navratri and singer Parthiv Gohil who is known to juggle many roles like composer and conceptualizer has come up with a dream project close to his heart.

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been an admirer of his voice for years and used Gohil the alaap in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam the story of a guru/ Vikram Gokhale who asks for a volatile guru dakshina from his protégée Salman Khan.

Over the years Parthiv has proved his versatility and this includes his latest album a dream project Garabo, a hymn dedicated to Maa Shakti. For a long time Parthiv had been thinking of reviving the trend of Garbo and explaining the true significance of the festival which he has via his music video already a super hit on the YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5U_y-lvvas

Gohil reveals that when we decided on the video he was certain to keep it as authentic as possible. We researched how Garabo was sung and performed over the decades and made our set and costumes accordingly.  Many big names from the music industry are associated with the album.

Music arranged by Sumeet Mascarenhas and Aditya Dev and programmed by Akshay - Aakash Gohil has dedicated Garabo to his mother, as “She faced all the the adversities of life and made me an artiste, my tribute is to her and all the mothers”.

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Farewell Ancestors - DAY 675

India is a land of customs and rituals and every custom has a reason or a story behind it. Some have faith in these stories some don’t but it is important to understand why these rituals are performed – for instance the ancient ritual of shradh that invokes one’s ancestors.

 It is said that the soul after death reincarnates into another body and the cycle continues depending on the cycle of karma one performs in one’s present life.

Certain souls do not reincarnate because their cycle of karma obstructs them and they are unable to manifest into a human body and therefore remain suspended as energies that we often refer to as ghosts or settle in another space that old guards describe as pitralok.

These souls need the help of their children and grand children to free them from their cycles, in other words if the children do good deeds, charity and chant mantras they can liberate their troubled and suffering ancestors.

That is the purpose of performing shradh, a ritual to pay our respect to our ancestors because there is no way of finding out if our ancestors are happy or unhappy, reincarnated or in pitralok, seeking liberty or celebrating another life so we find solace in our scriptures and Vedas and do what children are supposed to do for our ancestors.

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Jazbaa: Emotions Unlimited - DAY 674

Sanjay Gupta produced/ directed Jazbaa  kahani hai  criminal lawyer Anuradha Verma ki jo apni kidnapped beti ko bachane ke liye ek criminal ka case ladti hai.

Iss hum paariwarik kahani keh sakte hai, samajik kahani keh sakte hai aur courtroom drama bhi keh sakte hai.

Film ka minus film ka pace. Bohat saare action aur bhag daud ke bawajood, kahani humein jakad kar nahi rakhti.

Kuch characterization mein kammi hai aur kuch scenes over the top hai, jaise Irfaan khan aur Aishwarya Rai ka beech sadak, rona aur cheekhna chilana!

Shabana Azmi complex role  mein convincing hai aur pehli baar action role mein dikhne wali Aishwarya Rai, nirali!

Film ka plus, Mumbai shehar ki gulliyaan/ flyover aur sealink, jo iske pehle, kabhi itne harre aur haseen nahi lage.

Film sahi galat ka prashna uthati hai, ye alag baat hai, ke sabhi characters sahi galat ka faisla nahi kar paate.

Writer Kamlesh Pandey ke dialogues Jazbaa ki shaan hai aur dono, criminal aur maa ke saath nyay karte hain.

Pandey neend ko ‘mashuka’ aur mohabbat ko ‘umeed’ ka darjja dete hai.

Jazbaa ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hai 2.5 stars.

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Smita Patil turns 60 - Day 673

Smita Patil exemplifies what it means to be at the right place,at the right time and with the right people. This book is not a conventional biography but traces her meteoric journey through those seminal years when parallel cinema reached its heights as many auteur redefined both the film narrative and emergence of the new Indian woman. 

The Introduction sets Smita in the context of the rise of this new cinema and the next   two chapters describe her staunchly progressive middle-class Maharashtrian roots in Pune and her subsequent move to Bombay. From newsreader on Doordarshn to working with the foremost directors of the day is the fascinating story told in chapter 3.

Smita’s extraordinary contribution to the making of landmark films is the heart of chapter 4, titled Her Dasavatars. 

Chapter 5 details another remarkable feature of her career: a non-egoistic, whole- hearted participation in ensemble films that featured the who’s who of parallel cinema.

The 80s are ambivalent, where she straddled both the best of new cinema and ventured into mainstream masala and this uneasy ride is critically examined in chapter 6. 

The next chapter attempts to capture the elusive contradictions of the complex woman behind the screen image. 

The final chapter mourns Smita’s tragic death and celebrates what she meant to a host of people, both those who knew her well and others who loved her from afar, mesmerized by her screen presence.  The insights and reminiscences of her family, friends, directors, co-stars and journalists are woven into the narrative.

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Aligarh opens17th Jio MAMI - Day 672

Eros International’s Aligarh directed by Hansal Mehta will be the opening film at the 17^th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival of India.

This pivotal film marks the first time that a Hindi film will open the festival since 1997, the inaugural year of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.

Set in a small town in Uttar Pradesh Aligarh based on true events, tells the story of Dr. S R Siras (Manoj Bajpai) , a professor at the Aligarh Muslim University who, when discovered to be homosexual, was fired from his position. 

The film depicts the unlikely friendship between Dr. Siras and a reporter (Rajkumar Rao) investigating his first big story, a relationship that will change them both forever.

Aligarh has been selected to screen at the 20^th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea and the 59^th BFI London Film Festival, this October. 

Director Hansal Mehta is proud that his film is opening the festival, says this honour is a befitting reward for a team that has worked tirelessly. 

Mehta says MAMI began a journey of awards for his film Shahid and hopes the magic continues.

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Unpacking the Studio - Day 671

It is time for the exhibition we have been waiting for. Unpacking the Studio celebrates the Jehangir Sabavala Bequest with a walkthrough of the show at the Jehangir Nicholson Gallery. 

The exhibition has a unique theme where the curator, Ranjit Hoskote will walk us with a story that journeys the life of Unpacking the Studio. 

The exhibition infact captures Sabavala's journey within the evolving history of the studio, the influences on his work, his experiments with art both pre and post colonial and dramatizes the relationship between the studio, the gallery, and the academy in Sabavala's career.

It is perhaps the first of its kind exhibition and is made possible because of the generous contributions from friends and artistes who have opened their hearts and archives and parted with precious paintings, sketchbooks, diaries, drawings.

The memorabilia includes rare pictures lovingly shot by Sabavala’s wife Shirin Sabavala.

A preview for the dear ones may be held closer to the public event which is scheduled for an October release over fragrant tea and conversations.

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Akshay Kumar promotes in style - DAY 670

Akshay Kumar was in Delhi to promote his upcoming film Singh Is Bliing.

At a fashion show woven around the theme of SIB Akshay thought it appropriate to request the rich and the famous to support him in raising funds for grieve stricken farmer families. 

In a record 15 minutes the actor collected large funds and when Chief Minister of Delhi Mr Arvind Kejriwal learnt about this, invited Akshay and team to his office. 

The producer of the film Grazing Goats was confident that the film would do amazing business but the collections have overwhelmed everybody.

Singh is Bling is Akshay Kumar’s highest opening so far and has collected 20.67 CR on Friday 14.50 CR on Sat and a total of 35.17 in  just two days.

 Now we know why Akshay feels like a king when he wears a turban, he proves that Singh is surely the King.

@bhawanasomaaya