Amitabh at this stage is doing some really good films, experimental ones, and he really excels in these roles. He was excellent in Sarkar and Baghban which showcased a different range of emotions. He really deserves accolades for the films he has done recently. But super-stardom…….is it deserved?

Now at this moment, yes definitely, but previously in the 70’s and 80’s, I’m not so sure. A lot of his films were multi-starrer ventures that had a big supporting ensemble. The role of the angry young man is what made him stand out, not his acting abilities/capabilities. I much preferred Shashi Kapoor in the movies they did together. What a dashing personality Shashi had. But at that time, the angry young man persona was well liked by the audience, because it was different to have shades of grey in a character that was not a villain but a pseudo hero.

So whether by chance or talent, it is arguable, Amitabh Bachchan became a Bollywood superstar. As I said, I quite enjoy his movies from the past few years and Amitabh has truly excelled in his roles. But I really don’t understand what was so special about his acting back then. Some of the 90’s movies are outright silly. But hey…What I consider silly may be awesome in someone else’s opinion. As for now…good job Mr. Bachchan! Keep the awesome work!

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The only good part of the film was watching Deepika Padukone in two different avatars, but that’s about it.

The film is about Akshay’s character who has a total lack of confidence. The first part was extremely boring. I couldn’t figure out if I am supposed to be interested or going to sleep. The character’s silliness and lack of confidence was stretched out unnecessarily to the point of being really annoying. The second part, after the intermission, was actually better than the first half with Akshay’s character finally getting off his butt and doing something. So for those of you who walked out before the intermission, you actually missed the bearable part of the film! (I know that is pretty pathetic).

Basically the script was lacking and the film was stretched on beyond what was necessary. Half of the first part of the movie could have easily been chopped. I can’t even bother getting into names of characters and so forth because it is almost pointless!

The music was disappointing as well, not living up to Akshay and Deepika standards of previous films. That said, I don’t think we can blame the actors for this failure. The script really sucked, and they really should have cut out a lot of scenes that were simply a waste of time.

Verdict: Don’t even bother watching on DVD.

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The story is about Chand, played by Preity Zinta, who immigrates to Canada to marry Rocky in an arranged marriage. Although Rocky’s parents are the ones who selected Chand, Rocky’s mother is worried that she is losing control over her son, and uses guilt and provocation to retain perceived control over her son.

Chand is thrust into a world of violence and hardship. She escapes into her own imagination to deal with the suffering and pain. She is surrounded by people, including her own family, that only care about their own benefit. At her inlaws home, everyone is part of the cycle of violence, control, and guilt which makes everyone think that this is just a normal part of life.

Heaven on Earth is a beautiful, yet painful story that is a reflection of what is happening in the immigrant desi community in the GTA.  It is definitely worth watching, but be prepared to be disturbed by what you see.  Deepa Mehta hits the nail on the head and paints a very accurate and true picture with Heaven on Earth. It is truly a magnificent film, and is a real eye opener for every one of us.

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I always break into laughing fits when I see this, so I hope you’ll enjoy it just as much as I do. Behold…the Cobra Dance!

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We have established in earlier posts that the white/black dichotomy traces its roots back to colonialism and the justification of the supposed ’superiority’ of white over black. Now we know that this is NOT true, but it is interesting to note that previous colonies, such as India and Pakistan (because I am focusing on the South Asian context) have adopted these ideologies.

It is a generally accepted that if a girl is fair skinned, she will get better marriage proposals as her skin colour will be the dominant reason for the proposal. Yes, it still happens. You might argue that things have changed, but at the core these issues still exist.

Dark skin is looked upon as ‘vampy’, and this idea is propagated in Bollywood and Lollywood films. The fair girl is portrayed as ’sweet and innocent’, thus automatically creating a link between skin colour and perceived characteristics. The dark skinned woman is portrayed as promiscuous, forward, bold, and independent. The fair skinned woman is portrayed as demure, homely, sweet, and dependant.

Take the example of Bipasha Basu, a successful Bollywood actress. Bipasha is dark skinned and is a very beautiful woman. Unfortunately, her most successful ventures have been those where she has portrayed the stereotypical dark skinned, highly sexualized woman.

Whenever Bipasha plays a ‘positive’ role, they always try to make her look fairer with brighter lights and makeup. What is the need to do that? She is beautiful as she is. Why do we look upon dark skin with such negativity?

On the other hand, you have a relatively popular actresses Amrita Rao who’s last hit movie “Vivah” had her portraying a shy, sweet, fair, and innocent woman. Those traits that were propagated made her character so endearing that a famous Indian painter decided she would be his next muse.

Why are we, in the South Asian culture, hanging on to these ideas and actually magnifying them? Are desi people so into Western ideologies that they would adopt such a racialized ideology? Or do we like aping western culture and it really doesn’t have any meaning attached to it…is it just a movie? If it’s more than that, then why are we adhering to the white/black dichotomy, and assigning specific traits according to skin colour?

I’m just scratching the surface with this post. More to follow.

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Films can have a lot of frightening or inappropriate scenes for young viewing eyes. Movies have a rating for a reason! Common sense might go a long way as well…use it.

Whenever I go to see a Bollywood film at the local desi cinema, it astounds me at the number of young children are at films that are inappropriate for impressionable eyes. On top of that, if the kids are not glued watching the screen, parents seem to think it is okay to give their kids a free reign of the theatre so that they can disturb other people. Kids are tearing down the aisles running back and forth, and creating an additional soundtrack to the movie.

It is not okay to bring kids to the theatre if the movie is not appropriate. If the movie is appropriate then parents should be prepared take care of their children and not let them create havoc in the theatre. But thinking rationally, do parents out there really think it is reasonable to take kids to a 3 hour Bollywood movie?

Here are a few points desi parents should keep in mind:

1. Make sure the movie is suitable for young eyes. If not, hire a baby sitter and go and watch the film yourselves. You cannot take your children to movies that have violence and explicit scenes;
2. If the movie is appropriate then check the length of the film to make sure your kids will be able to sit through it comfortably; and
3. Respect that other people are in the theater to enjoy the movie.

At the end of the day, it is your kids that will suffer if you take them to an inappropriate movie. Young kids are impressionable and if you deliberately expose them to films that are not for their age group, then that is being very irresponsible.

Think about it.

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The film was made in 1982 and stars Rishi Kapoor, Poonam Dhillon, and Tina Munim as the lead actors. Vikram (Rishi Kapoor), a rich but down to earth kind of guy falls in love with Sunita (Poonam), a poor orphaned lady with a beautiful voice. They are happily in love and plan to get married. Vikram’s mother is dead set against the union for reasons of social status and misplaced pride.

Vikram goes against his mother’s wishes and is about to marry Sunita when a horrific tragedy strikes. They are in a car accident which leaves Vikram with minor injuries, but Sunita’s face is completely disfigured. Vikram’s mother lies and tells him that Sunita is dead. Sunita is sent to another city and undergoes multiple plastic surgeries. The operations are successful, but her face and identity are changed forever. Here enters the new Sunita played by Tina Munim.

That’s part of the story up until the intermission. The rest is for you to see if you want to. I’ve seen this movie many times, and am still not tired of it. It’s a great choice for one of those nights that you want to explore a classic option.

Enjoy the song! If you decide to watch the movie, I am positive you will like it

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The film marks the debut of Aamir Khan’s nephew Imraan Khan. (Also spelt as ‘Imran’).

The story revolves around two best friends, Jai Singh Rathore a.k.a Rats (Imraan Khan), a Rajput who does not believe in violence, and Aditi Mahant a.k.a Meow (Genelia D’Souza), a fun and feisty girl. They are always bickering, but they can’t live without each other. Everyone, including their parents, think that they are perfect together, but they believe they are just best friends and it could never be more than that!

When Jai meets another girl, and starts dating her, things get tricky. But when Aditi starts seeing someone, things get even more complicated. What happens? Well that is for you to see!

The movie is excellent and has some wonderful scenes in it. The songs are neat and were enjoyable to watch. Look out for Imraan Khan…this guy is definitely going places. He acts and emotes well, and has a great screen presence.

I give this movie two thumbs up! Check it out.

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That said, it will probably go on to be a huge hit due to the enormous amount of publicity, and the hit pair of Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif.The story is about a simpleton Happy Singh, played by Akshay Kumar, who is from a small village in Punjab. The villagers want to get rid of him, so they send him to bring back Lakhan Singh, who is an underworld don in Australia. Happy Singh gets lost and ends up in Egypt, where he meets Sonia, played by Katrina Kaif.

When he finally gets to Australia……oh boy! I won’t spoil it for you. The visuals are beautiful in the songs, so that is one reason to go and see it in the theatre. Another reason is if you are a die hard Akshay fan, and are in the mood for some crazy and mindless laughs. It might be the right dose of fun to make you laugh your head off saying, “what the heck was that!?”. Otherwise, wait for Singh is Kinng on DVD, because you really have to enjoy this brand of humour to like this film.

The movie is releasing today and is playing all over Toronto at desi and local cinemas.

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Sanjay Dutt plays Shravan, a spoiled brat who has a thing for Varsha, played by Manisha. He goes after her, gets her, them dumps her. How typical. She changes her name to Payal, goes off to another country and this dude Karan, played by Ajay Devgan, is a hopeless romantic who has been waiting for his dream mehbooba. Karan finally wins Payal’s love and all is wonderful. Not. Turns out that bad guy Shravan is Karan’s brother, and then the same old and recycled story starts, with the desi love triangle and pathetic scenes of sacrifice and weird twists and turns.

The beginning and end of the film are really annoying to watch, but middle is kind of interesting. If you decide to watch this movie, keep your remote control handy so you can forward through the cheesy stuff and finish the movie in an hour and a half as opposed to the usual three.

The only decent thing is the cinematography which shows some really beautiful locales. Manisha and Sanjay are interesting to watch, but Ajay was rather annoying in a few scenes.

The only reason to watch this movie, is if you liked films like Saajan and Arzoo, that were from the 90s with similar themes. Both of these movies had Madhuri Dixit in them. Saajan was a hit back in the day, but watching that movie now makes a person wonder…what the heck were they doing?!

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