Fetuccini Friday
Friday. It’s all cloudy here in Southern California. No Sun. The clock has moved back by an hour and I’m still having difficulty in adjusting to it. Specially the evenings when it gets dark by 4:30 instead of the usual 5:30pm.
So it’s movie time. Nah. Not Umrao Jaan please. To be honest, I could barely sit through Muzzafar Ali’s movie. That kind of story, treatment, flow and pace are not for me. I just can’t connect to it. While everyone is talking about how Muzzafar Ali’s take on UJ is a classic… could I know from somewhere if it was a hit? Did it make money? I’m not sure if it did…
But here we have JP Dutta making / remaking it again. It evoked no interest the day the movie was launched, it has evoked no interest today - when it was released and it will evoke no interest on the day its DVD is launched.
Can’t producers do a survey if a two line story idea and it’s title along with the star cast evokes any interest in the general public?
Such management tools desperately need to be adopted by Bollywood. For even if producers simply wanna know what stars will act in the movie - when a director goes to them with a script, it does not work - if the story is just not enticing enough.
But I’m sure the older film goer who was born in India and now lives outside apna desh, is bound to go and see UJ this weekend. Movies like UJ bring back those fond, sweet and loving memories of India.
I’m sure I will - if UJ was released 10 years from now. Story be damned. Those hookahs, those clothes, the Urdu, the mannerisms, the culture splashed on the screen would have me excitedly telling my - if there are any then - (bored) kids about how I’ve experienced all that is being seen on screen.
But not now. UJ is just not for me. In fact even if I didn’t like Dhoom as much, I’ll still be there for Dhoom 2, as I would for Casino Royale.
So what’s for lunch. Still milking my Friday half day excuse. Off to some South Indian for lunch today. Tirupati Bhima’s about a mile away. Not too keen on their “thali”. But yeah they do make good dosas and uttappas and serve really warm soft idlis.
A couple of invitations this weekend. Not sure if I wanna go anywhere. T!’s just found that “Volver” has released in LA. Now that is something which could get me out of the house. Moe - the pickup guru had his birthday yesterday. There are plans to go motor boating on Newport Beach. Ummm… not sure…
Too many half read books piling up… wanna go and finish atleast some of them. Disturbing trend. Buy books. Read a few pages. Throw them away. Is it me or are books too not being made as interesting as they once were. Or maybe I’m losing the pace and about to shift back into a “past” generation…
Ram Gopal Varma was splashed again on my face when I hit the internet this morning. Apparently now he is going to launch Telugu star Mahesh Babu (who’s married to Namrata Shirodkar) in Bollywood.
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Does RGV carry half a dozen journalists with him 24/7? In office, during meals, in the bathroom, to bed… I mean… now I’m really hating this guy for what he is doing to us… Remember the late Rajiv Gandhi in the mid eighties? He used to come on DD (the only channel in the whole India in those days) - every fucking day and speak for about 15 to 30 - 40 minutes. And he used to do this during news hour. It’s as if DD had no news.
The news would start like “Namaste. Aaj ke mukhya samachar. Shri Rajiv Gandhi ne xyz ke baare mein aaj junta se baat ki”
Cut. Over to Rajiv Gandhi… 40 minutes.
Cut. Back to news room “Toh yeh the aaj ke samachar. Shubh Ratri”
WHAT THE HELL!!!! And this happened on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Pure torture.
And so now we have RGV aping RG in the 21st century.
This is a pure invitation to disaster. Now if you are talented and are bragging that your next movie will change all this anti-RGV public reaction… you are mistaken. Not many will enter the theater to watch your next simply because we are fed up.
Was watching QSQT the other day on video. Where is the Mansoor Khan - the director of the movie, these days? Rumors are that he is settled in Australia… is it true? I simply liked his first to projects Qayamat se Qayamat Tak and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander. His next two - I would like to erase it from my memory.
What’s the reason he simply left the movie industry? Anyone know anything about this. Mansoor if you are reading this, we would love to hear from you…
Meanwhile it’s time to pack up and get my quota of Tomato Onion Chilli Uttappa and idlis and mango lassi… interesting combination!
Until we meet next - be good, stay safe and have a rocking weekend!
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November 3rd, 2006 at 3:10 pm
Hi
About Mansoor Khan. He lives in Coonoor.
http://www.acres-wild.com/index.html
November 3rd, 2006 at 3:12 pm
And this -
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/10/08/stories/2006100800120500.htm
November 3rd, 2006 at 11:11 pm
Oh yes, Umrao Jaan is a movie to avoid. It may be a classic, but it seems like pure torture to me. Not able to sit through such a slow movie, and I am sure that it will be indecently long as well.
RGV has slipped up somewhat for the last few movies, so the halo is off his head.
November 3rd, 2006 at 11:48 pm
rocking ramu went off his rocker and is now ridiculous ramu 8-}
November 4th, 2006 at 3:42 am
Mansoor Khan apparently lost interest in movies after Josh due to some problems during the shooting.He doesn’t want to make movies anymore:(
November 7th, 2006 at 10:59 am
Mansoor Khan was definitely a director with lots of potential. I think he did a good job with Akele Hum Akele Tum too. Not too fond of Josh. But yeah, the first two were excellent.
RGV has pretty much lost it. At least, thats what it seems. Or maybe he is a pure genius and it will be proved with his version of Sholay. Farhan trying Don itself was blasphemous and remaking Sholay is beyond that. RGV has been doing stuff without any head or toes or logic in the past couple of years. I think Company was his last really good movie. Sarkar had presence of the Bachchans to make it worth it.