Well, this week has been an active Tabu week~ first, news that Rekha had backed out of Abhishek Kapoor’s Great Expectations adaptation, Fitoor, and having Tabu land on the gig. Then the hindi Drishyam team teased a shot of Tabu in cop get-up in prep for the release of the trailer (my gosh, the movie promotion machine these days). I think they also announced Manoj Bajpayee’s and Tabu’s upcoming film Missing [1], while putting in on the table that Tabu will be playing Katrina Kaif’s sister in Fitoor and not a crazy aunt. Ha, they look nothing alike. Reminds me of Chinese movie-casting.
Phew. I think I covered my basis.
Tabu is going to eat people alive on that set. I know Cuaron’s version is not very popular, but I love it.
I think… in contrast to last year, I might be liking Dum Laga Ke Haisha much better than movies like 2 States or Queen. It’s modern like those two dealing with issues, it’s got as strong acting (though Queen had the disadvantage of foreign acting, which always tends to be the weakest link anywhere in the world), but it’s much fresher in style with its honest 90s Bollywood throwback. And thank you gods that there was no bumping electro-dance disco song.
It’ll need to simmer, but it looks good for YRF at the moment.
Well~ that was a LONG process. Buth ere it is, after nearly four months of movie-watching and voting… the YAM Magazine team’s favorite movies of this decade so far~ Hope you find one you like, discover one… and that we included some of your favorites!
I have a really weird history with films– born in the late 80s, you’d think I would’ve grown watching loads of 90s kids stuff, but I actually grew up with a lot of Silly Symphonies (which were released in the 30s) and loads of Disney 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s stuff, plus a lot of more grown up 80s movies. Poltergeist, The Thing, The Fly and The Stuff were particularly scary stuff (and I’m pretty sure I was scared of yogurt or white stuff at some point).
I don’t ever remember buying any original VHS tape, except for the rare birthday gift of a Disney’s Sing-Along Songs chapter or that X-Men tape I have. My first DVDs buys were Coyote Ugly, She’s All That and Loser — you can’t blame me. I was a 15-year-old girl. The collection grew bigger, and possibly exploded during my years abroad. I’m nearing my 500th movie.
I just posted my 350th review, Jigarthanda [also in Español], which happens to be my 30th (sorta) Indian film review. So~ commemorating! Here’s a list of my first 30 Indian film reviews. You can actually see how my journey [1][2][3][4][5] has shaped up from DDLJ, KKHH and K3G YRF, SRK (and Kajol, though I posted her reviews later on) and Karan Johar-centric to Bhansali, Rani, Vidya, Madhuri, alternative Hindi cinema to regional stuff.
If you read this blog and/or have stumbled upon a post on the subject or -somehow- seen my comments on social media or… maybe a review or feature I’ve written, you’d know I’m not very fond of Sonam Kapoor [1]. Or I wasn’t. At the moment, I’m not sure anymore. A while ago, I saw her on Khoobsurat, which in normal circumstances I wouldn’t have picked, but it was Disney (!) so I couldn’t help myself.
It’s perfectly fine light entertainment, though I think this is the first time I’ve seen a Disney movie where our female protagonist gets (though admitedly quite endearingly funny) pissed drunk, who then later accepts a bottle of soda with ruffies to end up kidnapped (don’t worry, it’s still Disney so nothing happens), and finally ends up with a (hot) prince that was engaged to some other woman. Anyway~ since then, I found myself not hating Sonam as it seems like she’s TRYING. Like- you can sense a change of pace/vibe.
Dolly ki Doli doesn’t look awful.
And in this segment for Anupama Chopra’s The Meeting Ground, Rajkummar Rao (who is also in DkD) makes her palatable. It gets a bit awkward when they keep going on their talk on star children and their upper hand in the industry. Sonam tries to make a point, but Angelina Jolie didn’t make her starring debut in a studio picture with a brand director. Angelina’s credits went from a small role in one of her dad’s films, to straight-to-video releases and shorts until Without Evidence.
Gwyneth and all her Gwynethness is a bit more lucky, but not as lucky as star children in India. TV Movie debut directed by her dad, small role on a movie until she cameo’d on godfather Steven Spielberg’s Hook. It wasn’t until a few years later when she landed Se7en with Fincher and PTA’s Hard Eight.
Nobody goes to Eva Amurri or Rumer Willis and tells their parents Susan Sarandon, Demi Moore or Bruce Willis, “I want to launch your daughter with this banner.”
LOL, this seemingly harmless post turned into a rant. But honestly, no one would care if a star child would begin with small roles in movies, working their way up. Instead, they are given starring roles in medium-big budget films to launch them.
Like we always do, the YAM Magazine team got together to vote for their favorite movies in a good ole’ Facebook poll in our secret group. We are so different and live so far away from each other that our choices vary so much, making the list alive. Of course there are movies I wish were lower, and others that were higher… but, all in all, it’s a good varied list for everyone to discover a new title.
