All eyes on PAATHSHAALA!

Big Pictures’ forthcoming release PAATHSHAALA is evoking great response already! The trailer of the film which was showcased along with the recently released KARZZZZ is getting rave reviews from all the spheres. The latest figures also suggest that it is amongst the most popular promos and ranked among the top viewed and reviewed ones on all leading websites. Incidentally the trailer has also been viewed over 30000 times on one of the leading Bollywood news web portals.

An avid movie watcher and a music teacher with a leading school in the city, Shruti Agarwal is all gung ho about the movie promo, ”PAATHSHAALA seems like a promising movie and from the look of it I am sure it is going to be a wonderful film. I am looking forward to it as I am eager to watch all the brilliant child artists coming together in a film”.

A Trade Analyst, Taran Adarsh says, ”The most interesting thing that caught my attention from the first look of PAATHSHAALA is its uniqueness and of course the title itself. Looking at the trailer I can surely say that every kid will enjoy this film, I feel that the combination of Shahid and Nana will add their own charm. Ahmed & Shaira as producers will definitely come out with a film which will make a lot of impact; the year 2009 will start with a bang called PAATHSHAALA.”

The film stars Shahid Kapur and Nana Patekar in pivotal dynamic roles supported by Ayesha Takia, Sushant Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Swini Khare (of CHEENI KUM fame), Dwij Yadav (NANHE JAISELMER), Ali Haji (FANAA) and Avika Gor (BALIKA VADHU). The movie has been produced by Shaira Khan and directed by award winning director Milind Ukey.

PAATHSHAALA is stated for release in January 2009.

RAB NE BANA DI JODI audio this month end!

While we have already broken the news about the promos of Yash Raj’s RAB NE BANA DI JODI being included in the prints of their upcoming Diwali release, the animated ROADSIDE ROMEO, here is the audio release information.

As per sources from Yash Raj Music, following the promos of Aditya Chopra’s Shah Rukh Khan starrer, RNDBJ with ROADSIDE ROMEO on 24th October, the hugely awaited and anticipated audio album of the same will hit the stores within a couple of days, in and around Diwali. Sources are of the view that Diwali being a festive period will be a perfect time to launch the audio album and large scale preparations are on to see that the launch comes through perfectly.

While on RAB NE BANA DI JODI, the film will hit the decks on December 12th 2008 but for now its the superb musical scores by Salim–Sulaiman (who gave Yash Raj their last super–hit along with SRK, CHAKDE INDIA) are keenly awaited on Yash Raj’s very own label, YRF Music.

Hello Movie Review

One Night @ Call Centre by Chetan Bhagat is an interesting read with every character well defined by the author. It begins with the author meeting a co-passenger in his train compartment, builds up with the six main characters in the call centre and dwells well on Bakshi, the man in charge of Connexions, the Call Centre the six are working in. It then moves on to the all-important call from God and His conversation with them especially regarding Bakshi, which makes them sit up and take notice and turn things around in their favour.

It’s extremely difficult for someone who has read a book and then to see a movie made on it to relate to it. Every time, as a viewer, you will be trying to picture in your mind’s eye what you interpreted of the novel. In that respect, it’s not always going to be ‘up there’. However, where justice can be made, it has to. Like for instance, the character of Bakshi is half baked. This when you have a tight script in your hand is not acceptable. I mean, when you read the novel you want to wring Bakshi’s neck with your bare hands. That’s the same feeling that goes through Shyam and Vroom’s mind in the book. But Bakshi’s shortcoming, coupled with his ‘diplomatic’ bullying tactics, especially towards Shyam, who is never able to say no, is missing. The whole concept of showing Shyam as a ’soft man’ never able to stand up to his bad boss is lost.

Also, the way they are all placed at the Call Centre with their desks is debatable. And there are many instances when the scene just takes off. Like when Radhika says she misses her husband, Vroom dials her husband’s mobile number. Wherein, in the book, it’s brilliantly built up where Vroom asks Radhika if she wants to play “Radio Jockey”. In the book, Vroom explains what he means: “I call Anuj and pretend I am calling from a radio show. Then I tell him he has won a prize, a large bouquet of roses and a box of Swiss chocolates that he can send to anyone he loves, anywhere in India, with a loving message. So then, we all get to hear what romantic lines he says to you.” A chance of a good scene is washed out here. As a reader, you are kicked in the gut when Anuj says he wants to send the flowers to his girlfriend Payal!

Also, there could have been some more fire in the lovemaking scene between Priyanka and Shyam. It comes off rather tame. The passion is missing. Then there is this scene when their car is hanging precariously on rods at a construction site and the call from God comes. There is this whole conversation that dwells on Bakshi, which explains their actions when they come back. But not in the movie. A viewer who has not read the book will wonder why they are getting even with Bakshi. Finally, there is this trick in MS Word with which they spread panic among the Americans to increase their call volumes. They tell the Americans that there is a virus in the computer and they need to spread the word around and keep calling at the Call Centre. According to Vroom (in the book) all you have to do is open a word file and type =rand (200,99) and press enter. As soon as that is done, you have hundred pages of text, which reads like this… The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog…

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Thriller
Duration: 1 hr. 50 min.
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Common, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp,
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Producer: Marc E. Platt, Jim Lemley, Jason Netter, Iain Smith
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release Date: June 27, 2008
Writer: Chris Morgan, Derek Haas, Michael Brandt based on series of comic books by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones

Genre: Drama
Duration: 1 hr. 41 min.
Starring: Abigail Breslin, Chris O’Donnell, Joan Cusack, Julia Ormond, Stanley Tucci,
Director: Patricia Rozema
Producer: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Julia Roberts, Lisa Roberts Gillan, Marisa Yeres, Stephanie Langhoff
Distributor: Picturehouse Entertainment
Release Date: July 2, 2008
Writer: Ann Peacock

Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Duration: 1 hr. 32 min.
Starring: Charlize Theron, Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Eddie Marsan, Jae Head,
Director: Peter Berg
Producer: Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, Michael Mann, Will Smith
Distributor: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Release Date: July 2, 2008
Writer: Vince Gilligan, Vincent Ngo