First look: SRK's new film Always Kabhi Kabhi

The first look of Shah Rukh Khan's  next production is out.

Always Kabhi Kabhi stars fresh faces like Ali Fazal (last seen in 3 Idiots as Jay Lobo, who commits suicide, thanks to all the pressure), Brazilian beauty Giselle Monteiro  (of Love Aaj Kal  fame) and debutantes Zoa Morani (Cineyug honcho Karim Morani's daughter) and Satyajeet Dubey in central characters.

The film has been directed by Roshan Abbas.

The supporting cast is a curious mix of actors who are known to be quite adept at tickling the funny bone -- Satish Shah, Lillete Dubey, Vijay Raaz  and Manoj Joshi.

The film is inspired from Abbas' 1999 play Graffitti and is a coming-of-age story of four college friends.

Rumour has it that SRK  will perform an item number in the film.

It is scheduled to release on June 17.

Urumi- Review

Santosh Sivan’s Urumi is a miniature masterpiece of moods, emotions, anxieties ruled by a thirst for revenge. The film unfolds like a ballad and is a sweet and simple fairy tale. The 170 minutes film works to a large extent to its perfect casting, fantastic performances, soothing score and technical brilliance.Santosh has made it like how a period drama should be made without too much talk about freedom struggle, no bombastic dialogues or playing to the gallery for heroism. His vision and concept gives this epic the feel of a Brave Heart or Gladiator. It provides us a new insight into the hearts and minds of ancient heroes and shot in locations that reflect the period as everything looks fresh, green and clean and one can feel even the mist. Another major plus is that there are hardly any CG special effects that one would associate with a period war film. Shankar Ramakrishnan’s script is simple and straightforward and keeps the narrative absorbing and inspiring. The film starts in the present day with a modern don’t care youth Krishna Das (Prithviraj) and his friend (Prabhu Deva) having a jolly good time. A big corporate offers Krishna Das a bomb for his ancestral property in Kerala. On his arrival in Kerala to sign the papers, he learns the truth about his land and ancestors, which is told in a flashback. A brave warrior (Arya), wants to kill Vasco da Gama, the Viceroy of Portuguese Empire in India. But he is brutally killed by the invaders and his son Chirakkal Kelu Naynar (Prithviraj) is out to take revenge with a golden Urumi, that he makes with the ornaments of dead women and children who were burnt alive in a ship that was going to Mecca. It was set on fire and sunk under the instructions from Vasco Da Gama. The film is spread between the second and third visit of Gama to India and chronicles a varied version of how Gama could have met a bloody death in 1524 AD. Kelu is supported by his childhood Muslim buddy Vavvali (Prabhu Deva). In the journey he meets warrior princess Ayesha (Genelia), who has her own axe to grind against the foreign invaders. Will they be able to kill Vasco Da Gama ? The major highlight of the film is the performances of its lead actors. Prithviraj as Kelu Naynar is dashing. You cannot take your eyes of him, it’s a difficult role and he has come out with flying colours especially in the climax scene. Prabhu Deva is there in as many frames as Prithviraj, and is a real treat to watch. He does comedy and romance with ease and the chat song with Nithya is a scream. However it goes without saying that this is Genelia’s show. She has shed her bubbly image for an out of the world controlled performance and her Kalaripayattu action scenes are thrilling. Nithya Menen looks pretty and is a scene stealer, while Jagathy is outstanding. Amol Gupte, Alex, Robin and others are lifelike. There is also walk in cameo appearances by Arya, Vidya Balan and Tabu. Music of Deepak Dev enriches the film with Aaro nee aaro, Chimmi Chimmiand the theme music is haunting. A pat for Shankar Ramakrishnan for his intricately crafted script, super editing by Sreekar Prasad without any gimmicks and eye catching beautiful camera work by Sivan and his assistant Anjuli Shukla. Santosh Sivan has come out with a story of valour with an admirable degree of craftsmanship and clarity. The producers Santosh, Prithviraj and Shaji Natesan can be proud of this epic. Urumi is a fairy tale fantasy film that has a heart and technical artistry. Go for it. Verdict- Very Good

Brilliant Team effort by India but one man stood above all! Bring It On!

A Tribute to Sachin Tendulkar

Nitya menon exclusive stills in ISHQ

Sucker Punch Review

Sucker Punch  
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malon, Jamie Chung, Vanessa Hudgens Carla Gugino and Oscar Isaac
Release Date: 2011-03-25 08:00:00
Quick Take: Purists, stay away
                         
Let me begin by saying some nice things about the film’s soundtrack, which is as much a character in the film as its five feisty babes. The film’s main protagonist Emily Browning belts out Sweet dreams are made of these (original by Eurythmics). Her throaty voice adds well, a sucker punch to the proceedings. Another song that knocks you out is the psychedelic Search and destroy, sung by Skunk Anansie. Carla Gugino and Oscar Isaac too exercise their vocal cords by crooning Love is the drug. The song appears in the end credits. The most haunting of all is the I want it all / We will rock you mash-up performed by Queen with Armageddon aka Geddy.
                                           
The point of this sucking up to the film’s music is that parts of it remind you of rock music videos. Director Zack Snyder’s visual manipulation, his jugglery of colours, zany camera angles and out of this world SFX imagery will appeal to the post MTV generation. Snyder’s film is a goulash of genres. Steampunk, Space SF, Lesbian fantasy, Manga, Sword and Sorcery, Western brothel, bodice rippers… you name it, you got it. Its Middle Earth meeting Gotham City set in some future Jupiter moon.
                      
The plot revolves around Emily Browning’s character being locked up in a ’50s kind of mental institution (when frontal lobotomy was the favourite cure of brain doctors). How she uses her hyperactive imagination to mastermind an escape plan forms the crux of the story. Snyder hasn’t made a film in the real sense of the word. His film doesn’t follow a linear path from point A to point C to tell a coherent story.  Instead, he’s gone on some final fantasy, taking on cues from films like Shutter Island, Inception, Lord Of The Rings and even Black Swan and turned and twisted them around to create a fever-filled landscape reminiscent of Alice In Wonderland. He’s like Tim Burton on dope, smoking some serious shit and daring you to make sense of it all. You come back from the film with your brain feeling battered like a boxer who’s gone 12 rounds with Sugar Ray Leonard. You’ve been sucker punched but still want to go back for more. Our advice is to watch the film in an IMAX theatre. It will add more power to your viewing pleasure.

Pawan Kalyan's Teenmaar Second Heroine Kirti Karbanda

Pawan Kalyan’s Teenmaar Audio Review ... Rating: 4/5

Probably, only the hype surrounding a Chiranjeevi’s movie is more than that of Pawan Kalyan’s movies. It is no different for Pawan Kalyan’s upcoming Teenmaar, the audio of which was released last evening. Mani Sharma had created a musical benchmark for Pawan’s movies with Khushi. It will be interesting to see (err listen) to what he does this time!


1. Aale Baale
Singers: Hemachandra, Shravana Bhargavi
Lyrics: Bhaskarabhatla

Just like the main story of the movie, the beat for the song Aale Baale is inspired from Love Aaj Kal’s highly popular Chor Bazaari. But the similarities end just there, as Mani Sharma adds a unique flavor to the song. The variations start right from the start and continue through out this foot tapping number. Particularly enthralling is the way Mani uses different number of guitars, and mixes them with the typical Teenmaar and Ektara. The main tune is touch slower, compared to the entire pace of the song, but that means lyricist Bhaskarabhatla has a chance to showcase his Telugu prowess. Hemachandra and Shravana Bhargavi deserve praise too.



2. Vayyarala
Lyrics: Rahaman
Singers: Karunya
Vayyarala reminds us of the great O.P. Nayyar’s great hits from Neerajanam and many other Hindi songs straight away. Obviously, this could well be the song that depicts the lifestyle of an age gone by in the film, captured nicely in the words of Rahaman. After quite sometime, one of our Telugu music directors utilizes the amazingly soothing voice of Karunya! It seems as if Mani Sharma was waiting for a chance to emulate O.P.Nayyar as the song almost sounds like it was done long time ago!



3.Chiguru Boniya
Lyrics: Viswa
Singers: Viswa
Singer, writer Viswa has carved a niche for himself with special songs. He does it again with Chiguru Boniya. Even though interlaced with heavy electronic feel, the song doesn’t fall into any specific genre, as Mani seems to recreate Michael Jackson kind of feel here, without sounding too retro for today’s youth! Mani completely dominates the song and the singer, creating a new, and powerful sound altogether!



4. Sri Ganga
Lyrics: Ramajogayya Sastri
Singers: Hemachandra, Sri Vardhini


Quite in contrast with the previous song, Sri Ganga sounds completely traditional. Ramajogayya excels and so do the singers. Mani is on a song here, as he beautifully and emphatically mixes a traditional composition with uber cool sound as the song goes jagamele shiva shankara. This is one of those songs that can be repeated again and again, and what can be called a real Chartbuster!



5.Barbi Bommaki
Lyrics: Bhaskarabhatla
Singers: Benny Dayal, Shravana Bhargavi


Yet another time in the album Mani Sharma falls back on the ‘old gold’. This remix of Oho Bastee Dorasani is very Punjabi in style, and is a very thrilling dance number! The song has this quality of pleasing both the autorickshaw drivers and pubgoers too! Inspite of heavy English lyrics, and terrific instrumentation, singer Benny Dayal manages to top all of them – remarkable stuff!



6.Gelupu Thalapule
Lyrics: Rahaman
Singers: Sri Ramachandra


While the first five songs of the album focussed on getting you to tap your feet, Gelupu Thalapule is a slow and tragic song. The tone of the song doesn’t make Mani Sharma hesitate to stop his mixing spree, even as he uses Sarangi and guitars. Lyricist Rahaman makes use of the opportunity to come up with very good lines, and Ramachandra’s voice accentuates their meaning.



For any of us who questioned Mani’s form of late, be silenced now. The audio of Teenmaar is inspiring, amazingly unique and probably Mani’s best work so far! He unleases his power of mixing the old and the new, the Southern and Northern Indian styles with the western, and wins almost at every step! Also noticable is how the entire recording sounds very rich and distinct from any recent Telugu album. For Pawan Kalyan’s fans, the album will build very high expectations from the movie. With this audio, all director Jayanth Paranji has to do is to stick to the spirit of Love Aaj Kal! Hopefully he did!

Pawan Kalyan's Teenmaar Wallpapers

Pawan Kalyan Trisha,s Teenmaar new stills.Teenmaar audio will be out on 21st march.Trisha is going to perform on stage for teenmaar song at the audio release function.