Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 358

Plight of Migrants

30 / 05/ 2014

Mukesh Bhatt produced aur Hansal Mehta directed Citylights Rajasthan ke chotte gaon ke chotte  vyapari, Deepak Singh ki kahani hain.

Deepak kapde ki dukan chalata hain, uske paas zyada paise nahi hain magar wo apne pariwar ke saath santoosht hain. 

Sanjog Deepak aur uske pariwar ko gaon se shehar aana laata hain aur dheere dheere unke uske saare sapne  todta hai.

Sean Ellis ki film Metro Manila par adharit Ritesh Shah adapted Citylights ek aur bade shehar ki roshni mein pallte jurm aur akelepan ki dastaan hain.

Aisi filmein humne post partition se ab tak bohat baar dekhi hain. Citylights ko anokha banati hai sabse pehle director Hansal Mehta ki neeyat aur sachai.

Jis tarha se ek chidiya tinka tinka chunke apna ghosla banati hai ussi tarha se Hansal Mehta apni kavita/ sangit aur kirdaron samit haule se aap ke dil mein jagah banate hain.

Film ka sabse bada plus film ki supporting cast.  Hero Rajkumar Rao toh effective hain magar nayi ladki Patralekha kamal karti hain!  

Film slow hain – depressing hain magar sachi hain, sensitive hain.

Agar aap entertainment ki talash mein hain, toh ye film aap ke liye nahi hain.

Agar aap zindagi se judna chahte ho toh Citylights aap ke liye hain!

Citylights ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 3 stars.

Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 357

Writer’s Bloc 4

29.05.2014

Playwriting has always faced extinction - the lucre of cinema and television tempting the young writer. In 2002, nurtured by Rage Productions and the British Council, UK’s international organization for cultural relations created as a unique playwrights’ program me, Writers’ Bloc which put the script at the focal point of the theatrical experience. The idea is novel and the process is at once simple and complex - playwrights from around the country are selected by a panel of theatre practitioners, the prestigious Royal Court Theatre, UK and then put through intensive training workshops. The scripts that emerge from these intense brainstorming sessions and workshops will then be staged at what a novel concept is called Writers’ Bloc Festival.

Conceptualized in 2004 the festival has blossomed in 2007 and 2012, producing 32 playwrights who've had their work staged both in India and abroad especially the UK. Young playwrights from across India writing stories of human conflict and struggle and love and hope and set in backdrops ranging from Kashmir and Orissa to metropolis like Mumbai and Bangalore, this is indeed a fruitful experiment in the new theatre language.

Bhawana Somaaya / Tweets - @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 356

Awakening with Bhramha Kumaris

28.05.2014

Dadi Janki who is the senior most Bhrama kumari says, repeat “Om Shanti” three times every day.  The first time, to confirm that ‘I am a soul’…The second time, to confirm that ‘I belong to God who is the Almighty Authority’ and the third time to question ‘what is our task at this time of our life? Understand the depth of each point.  The soul has the aspects of mind, patterns of personality, and intellect.  Go into the depth of that and draw others around you into this novel experience of soul consciousness.  The knowledge of the soul should be very clear in the intellect.

The world talks about God, and at this time we have the realization that we souls truly are the children of God and it is this awareness that brings us close to Him. We are not aware but we are living in auspicious times, we have to terminate violence, take care not to perform any wrong actions.  It is the time to seek power from God to elevate our actions.  Whatever we have done so far, good or bad, right or wrong, is over, it is the past. It is now time to look ahead so revise your knowledge of the three lessons given to you again and again. When you are thorough in your revision, strive for realization and gradually without you realizing it there will be transformation.

Bhawana Somaaya  / 

Tweets: @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 355

Equestrian skills

27.05.2014

Sonakshi Sinha better known as the 700 crores actor because every film she stars becomes a 100 crores recently surprised everybody on the sets with her horse riding skills. She was on the sets with hero Arjun Kapoor shooting for a mela scene, among the many props on the location was a horse and Sonakshi without talking to anybody just got on to the saddle and rode off. For a while everybody was concerned by what had occurred and the fight master got on to another horse to follow the heroine worried for her safety. He need not have worried because Sonakshi is a trained horse rider and has been riding since childhood, after she became an actor she did not find time to follow up on her passion and when she noticed that the unit was enjoying the lunch break used the opportunity for a little adventure.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawnasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 354

Alternate Content

26.05.2014

What is about the spiritual world that draws us so strongly to them and is that the reason PVR Cinemas have ventured into an alternate content with their forthcoming project The House on Dark Moon Avenue, an interactive play, the first of its kind in India.

During the Victorian era those suspected of possessing psychic powers were feared and isolated from society. On the Dark Moon Avenue, just outside of London, is a haunted home apparently a secret meeting place of similar powerful spirits and even though the building has since been broken down and the avenue renamed to dissolve superstition, the mystery continues and the play reveals these secret experiments. 

This interactive Play, performed by Mind Reader Mohit Rao is a journey into the fascinating lives of the psychics and their experiences with varied experiments. Set in 1870, this psychological thriller will involve live participation from members of the audience. Hosted by PVR Cinemas, this Play combines all the frills of a movie experience, with all the thrills of a Live Show.

In short, it sounds different!

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya 

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 353

'Heropanti' disappoints 'Kochadaiyaan' shines!

23.5.2014

Sajid Nadiadwala produced aur Shabir Khan directed Heropanti  Haryana ke honour killings ki kahani hain.

Jaat biradri ke mukhiya Prakash Raj ki badi beti shaadi ke mandap se bhaag jaati hain.

Bhaagi hui ladki ki talash mein Prakash Raj aur uska pariwar sainkdo laashe bichane ko taiyaar ho jaate hain.

Kuch ke saath khoon kharaba karte hain, aur kuch ko ghar par bandi bana lete hain.

Iss tannav bharre vatavaran mein chupke se palti hain ek aur prem kahani…

Dimpy yaane Kirti Sanon aur Babloo yaane Tiger Shroff ki…!!

Film ka subject/treatment old fashioned hain aur second half unduly overstretched bhi.

Film ka music below average hain aur characterizations unrealistic -Aisa gaon  jahan ladkiyon ko bezuban mana jaata hain, film ki heroine buzurgo ke samne  kamar dikhati ghumti hain.

Film ka plus Anal Arasu ke stunts, film ka message aur debutant Tiger Shroff –jo pehli hi film mein action/ drama/ romance/ dance/ sab kuch karta hain!

Heropanti ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 2 stars.

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Eros International produced aur Soundarya Rajnikanth directed Kochadaiyaan bade maharaja aur bahdaur senapatiyon ki kahani hain.

Ek chotta bacha, raat ke andhere mein, toofani samandar mein kood jaata hain…

Kismet usse nayi manzil tak pohchati hain aur uska apna junoon, usse bada hokar, uss nagri ka senapati banata hain!

Aisi raja-mahrajaon ki kahaniyaan humne bachpan mein bohat padhi hain magar writer KS Ravikumar ki iss sadharan kahani ko asadharan banati hain film ki animation aur technical team!

Film ka sound, stunts, choreography, costumes aakarshak hain  khaas taurpe Ravi Menon ki cinematography aur AR Rahman ka music.

South stars Shobhana  aur Nasser ke alava ismein hain Rajkumari Vandana ki bhumika mein Deepika Padukone aur apna charishma dikhate hue ek nahi do Rajnikanth.

Jiss tarha se cinema pehle Silent aur Black & White thi aur aage chalkar Talkie aur Color bani, ussi tarha se animation filmein bhi, pehle 2D phir 3D aur Hollywood film Avataar ke baad nayi technology ka prayog kar rahi hain.

Ismein ghodde udte hain…Paanchi tairte hain… aur deepika morr ke saath naachti hain…

Kayi bhashao mein release ki gayi Kochadaiyaan Hindustan ki pehli Photo Realistic Performance Capture film hain…

Ye shayad pehli Rajnikanth ki film hain jahan wo kya bolte hain ya kya karte hain se zyada kaise karte hain, zyada maine rakhta hain!

Director Soundarya Rajnikant ko, Indian cinema ke 101 ve saal mein,  iss naye prayog ke liye 

Kochadaiyaan ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 3.5 stars.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya  

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 352

Celebrating cinema at Whistling Woods

22.05.2014

Whistling Woods International marked the start of the 100 years celebrations in 2012 holding a three-day event. In 2013 the festival focused on the future of Indian Cinema on a grand scale bringing together almost 3000 people to film screenings, free workshops, panel discussions and live musical performances.

From stalwart writers like Javed Akhtar, Salim Khan, Gulzar saab to ARRahman, Saroj Khan, Hema Malini, Amole Gupte, Shabana Azmi, Zoya Akhtar and many others paid tribute to Indian cinema and interacted with students and film enthusiasts. This year 2014 the festival kick started with a lamp lighting done by diva Rekha and Subhash Ghai followed by distribution of certificates to the students by the beautiful star.

Before leaving Rekha toured the campus and the exhibitions, she spoke encouragingly to the students and stopped to sign the portrait the students had put together of her films. The keynote address was followed by a music panel with Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu and director’s panel with Govind Nihalani and Shyam Benegal.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya