Remember the hit song Jai Ho?

Do you still remember the hit song Jai Ho from the movie Slumdog Millionaire? The song has a very catchy tune, and the lyrics is very poetic. (I just knew the english translation yesterday). The movie Slumdog Millionaire also is something worth watching!

Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan.[2] It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. Set and filmed in India, the film tells the story of a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Kaun Banega Crorepati in the Hindi version) and exceeds people’s expectations, thereby arousing the suspicions of the game show host and of law enforcement officials.

from Wikipedia.

And here’s the song..

Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho

Victory to thee, Victory to thee, Victory to thee, Victory to thee

Aaja Aaja Jind Shamiyane Ke Tale

Come come below the decorated tent of life

Aaja Jariwale Nile Aasman Ke Tale

Come below blue sky decorated with ‘jari’ threads

Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho

Victory to thee, Victory to thee, Victory to thee, Victory to thee

Jai Ho.., Jai Ho.., Jai Ho.., Jai Ho..

Victory to thee.., Victory to thee.., Victory to thee.., Victory to thee..

Ratti Ratti Sachi Maine Jaan Gavayi Hai

Slowly Slowly Really I lost my life

Nach Nach Koylo Pe Raat Bitayi Hai

Spent my nights dancing on coal

Akhiyon Ki Neend Maine Phoonko Se Uda Di

I blew the sleep in my eyes with air from my mouth

Neele Tare Se Maine Ungli Jalayi Hai

I burned my finger with blue star

Aaja Aaja Jind Shamiyane Ke Tale

Come come below the decorated tent of life

Aaja Jariwale Nile Aasman Ke Tale

Come below blue sky decorated with ‘jari’ threads

Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho

Victory to thee, Victory to thee, Victory to thee, Victory to thee

Jai Ho.., Jai Ho.., Jai Ho.., Jai Ho..

Victory to thee.., Victory to thee.., Victory to thee.., Victory to thee..

Chakh Le, Ha Chakh Le, Ye Raat Shahad Hai.. Chakh Le

Taste it, yes taste it, this night is honey, taste it

Rakh Le, Ha Dil Hai, Dil Aakhri Had Hai.. Rakh Le

Keep it, yes this is heart, heart is last limit.. Keep it

Kala Kala Kajal Tera Koi Kala Jadoo Hai Na

(your) Black Black eyeliner – is it your black magic?

Kala Kala Kajal Tera Koi Kala Jadoo Hai Na

(your) Black Black eyeliner – is it your black magic?

Aaja Aaja Jind Shamiyane Ke Tale

Come come below the decorated tent of life

Aaja Jariwale Nile Aasman Ke Tale, Jai Ho, Jai Ho

Come below blue sky decorated with ‘jari’ threads

Jai Ho.., Jai Ho.., Jai Ho.., Jai Ho..

Victory to thee.., Victory to thee.., Victory to thee.., Victory to thee..

Kab Se, Ha Kab Se Tu Lab Pe Ruki Hai.. Kab De

Since when, yes since when, you have stopped at my lips.. since when

Kab De, Ha Kab De Ab Aankh Jhuki Hai.. Kab De

Since when, yes since when, (your) eyes are closed.. since when

Aisi Aisi Roshan Aankhe Roshan Dono Bhi Hai Hai Kya

Like this, Like this, lightening eyes, making both lightened, yes, yes, what?

Aaja Aaja Jind Shamiyane Ke Tale

Come come below the decorated tent of life

Aaja Jariwale Nile Aasman Ke Tale, Jai Ho, Jai Ho

Come below blue sky decorated with ‘jari’ threads

Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho

Victory to thee, Victory to thee, Victory to thee, Victory to thee

Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho

Victory to thee, Victory to thee, Victory to thee, Victory to thee

[Via http://erikbriones.wordpress.com]

BOLLYWOOD'S TOP TEN STARS, 47th HOTTEST STARS IN HOLLYWOOD

Namaste India! [Smita Patal forever!!!]

Bollywood is the film industry Hollywood bows to, making more films than us each year.

Coming in at number 47 on the Top 100 Stars in Hollywood List this year as voted by you are these outstanding superstars of film and entertainment from India.

All extremely talented triple threats (like Beyonce is for America), which is normal in Bollywood cinema. Bollywood stars of Horiwood.Com this year in Hollywood are:

1. Katrina Kaif

2. Aishwarya Rai

3. Salman Khan

4. Hrithik Roshan

5. Kareena Kapoor

6. Shahid Kapur

7. Deepika Padukone

8. Shahrukh Khan

9. Mallika Sherawat

10. Genelia D’Souza

In the words of Alanis Morisette… “thank you India” for great entertainers and entertainment from Bollywood each year…. reminding us to Love in your film themes, to sing and dance while falling in love, and that love can conquer all prejudice and judgement.

Thanks also Mumbai… for loving Horiwood.Com each day. I see you crazy-cool Punjabi MC’s on here! Rock on.

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA 12.25.09~

[Via http://horiwood.com]

Angelina Jolie Hottest Gallery

[Via http://prasven.wordpress.com]

Veer

Artists: Salman Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jackie Shroff, Sohail Khan

Track Listing: Click to Listen Live or Right-Click to Save as MP3.

1. Kanha – Thumri

2. Meherbaniyan

3. Salaam Aaya

4. Surili Akhiyon Wale

5. Surili Akhiyon Wale (Duet)

6. Taali

7. Taali (Solo)

[Via http://v2thaj.wordpress.com]

REVIEW: Shoot On Sight

After a spate of films like Aamir, Mumbai Meri Jaan and A Wednesday, comes Shoot ‘On’ Sight…. This Jag Mundhra film dwells on the blasts of 2005 and the killing of Jean Charles De Menezes in the London tube. However, Mundhra tries to establish a connect by making his innocent victim an Asian Muslim Baqir Hassan (Avtar Kaul).

A slow but gripping film, Shoot On Sight focuses on the turbulent life of Commander Tariq Ali (the charismatic Naseeruddin Shah), a Muslim police officer at Scotland Yard. Ali is born in Pakistan, married to an English woman (Greta Scacchi), with two kids.

Anyway, the film sees Commander Tariq Ali heading the investigation team after a suspected terrorist, Baqir, gets killed by a police officer on the tube platform.

Of course, the more Ali investigates, the clearer it becomes that Baqir was shot without valid reason, and soon the racial and communal discrimination that led to Baqir’s death seeps into Ali’s life. Meanwhile, Zaheer, Ali’s nephew (Mikaal Zulfiqar from Pakistan) comes to live with Ali and his family. The plot becomes more complicated when photos of Tariq meeting a childhood friend from Lahore, who happens to be an extremist Imam (Om Puri), end up in the newspaper.

PERFORMANCES:

The story unfolds in a less didactic manner but soon changes gear. The Imam’s preaching on jihad and what is right or wrong sound too clichéd. Om Puri as the Imam has done a good job but his character is no different from the fundamentalist Imams in Mahesh Bhatt’s Dhoka or the Pakistani film Khuda Ke Liye. In spite of his stature, Naseer’s role had nothing new to offer, but the actor definitely looks sharp and perfectly suits the role of an investigating officer.

Two more characters that deserve a mention are Laila Rouass as Ali’s assistant and Gulshan Grover as Ali’s friend. Both have given convincing performances in their own ways.

The MOTIVE

By trying to convey that law-abiding Muslims don’t want to be identified with Islamic terrorists and violent radicals, the film manages to touch a chord to a large extent.

The FLAWS:

A few questions are left unanswered in the film. Points like how could Naseeruddin, who was out of commission, get a gun and how did he shoot Zaheer without orders from his seniors leave one bewildered for a while. Tariq becomes a hero overnight after the climax… even gets a promotion, while he ought to have been in the lockup. Or do we have to take it as cinematic liberties?

The plot has too many coincidences. Occasionally, some interesting, timely messages about racial profiling come up, but none of these issues are explored meaningfully or sensitively. The film has too many poorly written dramatic scenes that drag on.

Shoot on Sight somehow has the feel of a small screen drama, which could run over two three episodes a la CID or Special Squad. Viewed on the silver screen, it looks a bit too shoddy and unimpressive.

VERDICT: Shoot On Sight would have done well in India, had it released before Dhoka, Aamir or A Wednesday.

Rating: 2.5/ 5

[Via http://reelstories.wordpress.com]

Cinema, cinema

I love watching movies. Always have, for as long as I remember. I can watch any movie and enjoy it except for the ghost movies and some stupid superhero flicks.

When I was growing up in the late eighties and early nineties, Bollywood was probably going through its worst phase. The super heroes of Hindi cinema were getting older and to hold on to their careers they were starring in senseless potboilers peppered with mind-numbing action and stupid songs with pathetic dance sequences.

But I loved them. Growing up in a small town called Mughal Sarai near Varanasi, that was all you got those days. Cable television had yet to arrive so the two standalone cinema halls in the town were the only places of entertainment.

But even that was an occasional event. For, a 12-year-old kid wouldn’t be allowed to go for a movie alone or even with friends, you had to go with someone older than you. For me and my brother our uncle, who was twice my age, used to be our only hope.

Provided, he was in the mood to tag us along for a movie. And that happened only perhaps once in two or three months. So we had no option but to for the Sunday evening movies on Doordarshan even though they played old flicks from the sixties and seventies.

The most exciting parts of course were the action sequences that unfortunately came only in the last 20 mins when the hero would beat the villain to pulp and police would come only to say “you’re under arrest” to the villain who was by then half dead.

Slowly word started spreading that there was something called cable TV and if you got connection you could see as many movies as you like. I was told that there were channels that showed only movies throughout the day. And you even had English movie channels that showed movies of Hollywood stars you had only heard or read about.

Wow! That sounded so cool. Names like Stallone, Bruce Lee and Schwarzenegger (Arnold’s name I had heard for the first time from a friend who was bragging about having seen a movie called Terminator in Calcutta. But he couldn’t catch the  last name and called him ‘Swizenberger’ ) were filtering in through the grapevine. We couldn’t wait to get the cable connection.

But my parents obviously did not share our excitement. “Cable TV? Your board exams are only six months away,” my mother said, effectively putting an end to the conversation. However, there was a silver lining when after days of pleading she said, “Let your exams get over and if you score well, then we’ll see.”

That was enough motivation to take to studies with a religious zeal. Months passed, exams came and went, I did well despite many odds (a story for another time).

Then came the day we got our cable connection. A dream was fulfilled. Now I could see as many movies as I liked. But alas the Hollywood action flicks I used to dream about were not being shown. I checked the listings in the newspapers everyday and both Hindi & English channels were churning out duds (by my standards because they were not action flicks).

Finally after a few weeks I caught my first Bruce Lee film — “Enter the Dragon”. And my idea of an action film changed forever. Now all the punches of an ageing Dharmendra or Mithun Chakraborty couldn’t hold my attention. I had seen Lee in action.

Then one after the other came Rambo, Terminator, 36 Chambers of Shaolin the list was endless. Some I caught on TV some and on video cassettes (by then the only video shop in town was beginning to stock Hollywood flicks).

Years passed and I graduated to watching serious cinema both in Indian languages and world movies, but even now I feel as excited watching the reruns of those fantastic action flicks that blew me away from watching the tame stuff dished out by Bollywood.

[Via http://deysaid.wordpress.com]

Officer's Mess

I was watching one of my favourite movies today ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’.  I think I first saw the film in Bhopal at the EME center officer’s mess there.  Most of my early exposure to Western cinema was in the army or at the Gymkhana clubs at the open air theaters.  The officer’s mess had a huge collection of all the army and war films.  All the ‘Navarone’ films. Dirty Dozens and Nazis and the Japanese and anything with planes.  Of course there were all the real Westerns where I got introduced to all the Clint Eastwood films and guns and the American outback.

I remember seeing ‘Top Gun’ in Udhampur at the EME workshop there.  A fresh NDA brat suggested it to me.  I never saw the air show the same again.  That was the time I saw ‘Air America’ and some obscure war films that I have not been able to find again.  There was even a healthy collection of patriotic Bollywood films from Manoj Kumar Classics to some modern day films.

When the sergent tells Mayo ‘Get into your fatigues Mayo, by the end of this weekend I will have your DOR’ I cannot wait to watch the following scene.

Today I make films myself and it’s amazing how one goes from watching films to making them.  My alternate realities.

I am looking for a producer who ‘gets’ my vision and I get closer everyday.  It’s been a rather interesting few weeks trying to explain my vision to people here in Hyderabad.  Sometimes I feel they undrstand everything and just don’t want to take a chance and sometimes I feel they have no clue what the hell I am talking about.

When you are a clearing for a film, you want to fill it so badly and yet, you have to hold the space to get it done the right way.  It takes so much patience and positivity to do that.  That is where I spend so much energy.  To keep myself as a clearing.

Luv,

Aparna

[Via http://aparnamalladi.wordpress.com]