Wednesday 29 February 2012

Happy 3rd Blogthday to me

Wow I can't believe its been 3 years since I started this blog, I haven't updated as much as I would have loved to in the last year, but I'm glad to still be in touch whenever it is that I do blog. I hope to post a bit more regularly, even if its with short brief posts.

Writing this blog has changed my life in so many ways than i can count, and I'd like to thank you all my readers, followers, visitors and admirers etc. who make it all worthwhile, here's to many more blogging years ahead!!

Now join me in singing one of my favourite bollywood numbers 'Main hoon khush rang henna, pyari khush rang henna'

Monday 27 February 2012

Chalte Chalte (1976)

Rounding off the segment of significant films maybe not so much for their content but their soundtrack is this cult classic movie with a much sought after pre-disco Bappi Lahiri soundtrack. I love Bappi Lahiri in whatever shape or form and I know many tend to prefer this pre-disco era of Bappi, but I love the man in all forms, both in his pre and post disco era.

Our story begins with Gita (Simi Garewal) who confronts a young man whom she calls Anil claiming to be his wife. However the young man who she claims to be Anil is adamant he's not her husband, and states he is Ravi Kapoor (Vishal Anand)


She persuades him to come home with her, where she claims she has pictures of both of them as a married couple. Ravi (or should I say Anil) reluctantly agrees to go home with her and true to fact, right there in her home is a picture of  Gita and a doppelganger of Anil


Despite all of her claims as well as proof of a picture taken of both of them, Anil still insists he's Ravi Kapoor


Gita later finds out her beloved Anil is also in a relationship with Asha (Nazneen)


Not one to take no for an answer, Gita breaks into Anil's house & continues pestering him, he eventually declares furiously that he's not Anil and never will be, Gita is shattered and embarks upon committing suicide


She's rescued on time but cops keep Anil in custody till they get a statement from Gita who's awaking from a coma, He's eventually bailed out by Asha his girlfreind and Gita is diagnosed as mentally ill


During treatment by psychoanalysis, she reveals how she had met a young man named Anil, fell in love, and then got married, only for him to be murdered on their wedding night



Did Anil really die? If not why is Ravi who looks exactly like Anil claiming he's not Anil? Are they Related?Will Gita recover from her mental illness? For this and many more reasons, feel free to dip into Chalte Chalte

To call this film camp or campy  would be paying it way too much of a compliment, this is a badly directed and badly written film with plot holes aplenty and a very incoherent story line, generally I don't seek after well rounded characters or good scripts when I'm selecting my movies as I love escapist fares, but this film just felt shoddy and lacked the finesse that might have made the plot holes and other mishaps forgiveable.

That said there are numerous things i enjoyed, like Simi Garewal's wacky and hammy act as Gita, her act as the deranged obsessive lover really puts Sharukh's act in Darr in the shade, her hammy acting actually helped me enjoy this film, plus she wore some interesting outfits which you can find over at my other fashion blog here


Nazneen the supporting actress was rather restrained in this amidst all the hammy performances, very little is known about her as I could barely find out anything about her from my research. She had some lovely clothes too which you can see here

And as for Vishal Anand who played the hero in this, I felt his resemblance to Dev Anand was uncanny and true enough when I did some research, I found out he is indeed Dev Anand's cousin, he even has some of his uncle's mannerisms (see images below) but alas he lacks the acting skills of Dev Anand.
Notice their identical hand gestures
His act as Anil/Ravi was extremely wooden  but one thing I'm grateful to him for, is for having one of the
 snazziest collection of shirts I've ever seen on a bollywood hero, see them over at my fashion blog here

Also quite impressive was the Art direction in some scenes like those I'e screen capped below, J'adore!!!!
I love the design on that door

And of course what really makes this film memorable is Bappi Lahiri's unforgettable score from the popular title track 'Chalte Chalte' which is mostly wrongly titled as Kabhi alvida na kehna to the fun 'pyar mein kabhi kabhi' to my two favourites the seductive 'Door door tum an rahe'


and the breezy 'Jana kahan hai'



Now head over to Veen's blog to get the music of this film

Paisa Vasool rating: 5/10

My Favourite Bollywood Songs of 2011

Yes, Its that time of the year again, where I round up the top 10 11 songs that kept me excited, warm and had me feeling a whole lot of different emotions in 2011. I barely blogged as much as I'd have liked to, but my music channels as well as the bollywood  blogosphere helped me keep in touch with all the latest tunes, now without further ado, here are my favourite songs of 2011

11. 'Shake it Saiyaan' from Rascals I love Sunidhi , I really do, and this bouncy R'n'B number despite coming from what i hear is an awful film, almost makes me want to watch it.


10. Dance like Punjabi from Love Express This lovely dancey number from this small scaled film always made me shake a bone, it reminds me of one of my favourite dance floor classics 'Rock this party' by Bob Sinclair (Can you hear the similarities?)


9. Jalebi Bai from Double Dhamaal Asides from being a Malik Sherawat lover, how could I not just love a song that comes with a dance move that actually mimics making a Jalebi, 'hmmm, jalebi bai' it is indeed


8. 'Subha Hone Na De' from Desi Boyz  What shall we call this song, is it Bollywood Euro-pop or Bollywood trance, whatever it is i loved it and I couldn't stop myself from going 'tu mera hero oh oh oh, hero oh'


7. 'Mekhi Mekhi' from Game Game was one of those movies I caught on the big screen last year, not a masterpiece by any means but i quite enjoyed it and a major highlight from the film was this lovely number picturised in a slightly S&M style (what with all the scantily dressed dancers, leather and chains)


6. 'Bekaraan' from Saat Khoon Maaf One of my favourite thing to do on my days off is put on easy listening cds and just unwind, this song from Saat Khoon Maaf helps me do just that.


5. 'Senorita' from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara Its no surprise that a song from one of my favourite movies from last year would be in the top 5, I had a hard choice on what song to pick as it was between this and the breezy 'Khwabon ke Parindey' but alas  Senorita won me over for its blend of Spandi (Did I just coin that term?  In case you're wondering what Spandi is, its a belend of Spanish & Hindi)


4. 'Aadat se Majboor' from Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl Here's one song I couldn't help but sing along to, i loved it so much that after a certain point I could sing the chorus word for word without even looking up the lyrics on the internet. My favourite bit is when the lyrics go 'huzoor huzoor main hoon aadat se majboor'


3. 'Mallo Malli' from Mausam What's not to love here, from Shahid in a fitted suit to his awesome dance moves and Tochi Raina's slick vocals, J'adore!


2. 'Chammak Challo' from Ra.One Despite this movie being a dud of sorts, this one song made it all worthwhile. I love everything from Akon & Hamsika's vocals to the groovy dance moves, which i couldn't help but recreate on the dance floor of my local bollywood joint


1. 'Ooh la la tu hai meri fantasy' from The Dirty Picture Of course this song just had to be number one didn't it, as a lover of all things 80's bollywood plus Bappi Lahiri, I just couldn't help but be delighted by this song

Bollywood Babe of the Week

Just like the Bollywood Man Candy post, this is another feature I hope to update weekly, featuring the hottest bollywood babes, both past and present.

This weeks Bollywood babe is none other than the gorgeous Anuradha Patel who made sure her make up was intact even whilst living in abject poverty in Sadaa Suhaagan (1986) love you girl
Anuradha Patel In Sada Suhaagan



The second Bollywood babe of the week si none other tahn the fabulous Bindu in this amazing shot of her from the 1973 movie 'Abhimaan'. I love everything from the lighting to her makeup and how she's looking away from the camera.
Bindu in Abhimaan (1973)
The premier bollywood babe of the week is none other than 'Mandakini' in 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili'. I loved her in that film, and I especially loved her look in the 'Sun Sahiba sun' song which is where the image below is taken from
 Mandakini getting all Hot and Spicy in Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985)

Bollywood Man Candy of the Week

This is a brand new feature I hope to have updated every week. As the name implies, only the finest bollywood man candy will be displayed on here for your pleasure.


Say what you will about Uday Chopra's acting abilities or lack there of, and yes I know his ass can be annoying  but there's no denying that home boy can be hot when he wants to. My favourite Uday Chopra sexy moments comes from one of my my favourite bollywood romcoms 'Neal N' Nikki' (no judging). I shall post a review of that film up some other time but for now, enjoy the bollywood beefcake that is Uday as seen in Neal N' Nikki
Uday Chopra looking ripped in Neal N' Nikki (2005)





The second man candy to be featured on this list is none other than the 'oh so sexy' Kabir Bedi letting it all hang out in a pair of super fine speedos in that 80's bollywood classic 'Khoon bhari Maang'
The Hotness that is Mr Kabir Bedi in Khoon Bhari Maang (1988)





Kicking off the first man candy on here, is Ashmit Patel in a steamy underwear shoot for Men's Health India

Ashmit Patel takes it all off for Men's Health India

Image Courtesy of  Men's Health India

Bollywood Fashionista of the Week

Yet another new weekly feature, the best dressed bollywood actor/actress at any public event will be rewarded with the title of 'Fashionista of the week'.

Sonam Kapoor at various events last week (Click on image to enlarge)

Images courtesy of thedailyhoney.com
The first recipient of this title is none other than Sonam Kapoor who has been slaying the competition with some very interesting looks lately. Sonam, I salute your style and I am pleased to have you as the first honorary of the Bollywood Fashionista of the week




The second Recipient of Fashionista of the week is none other than Sonam Kapoor again, she blew me away with this gorgeous Masaba sari which she paired with some lovely accessories. I especially love those earrings which according to this post here by high heel confidential are by Jewellery designer Suhani Pittie, once again I find her style incredibly chic and well worth the fashionista of the week award
Sonam Kapoor at Andheri Wassup Fest Launch
Image courtesy of stylemeindia.com

Happy New Year to All

 It seems a bit odd wishing everyone a happy new year at this time of 2012, but better late than never plus its a yearly tradition for me to wish all my followers and readers a very happy 2012, as all your comments, visits and links to this blog are very much appreciated. Thank you all for sticking by me even though I don't blog like I used to, I hope I'll be able to have more posts for you this year. And below is that Happy new Year song from Aap ke Saath (which i really should write up at some point) again, its a yearly tradition on this blog now, to wish 'happy new year' to you dear readers and followers and then post it, its the only Bollywood Happy new Year song I know, feel free to share other Bollywood Happy new Year songs you know