Song Of The Week: The Kathak Dance

Kathak Dance
Dil To Pagal Hai

This weeks SOTW doesn’t focus as much on the music (although it its essential), but more so on the dancing that goes with it and the woman who brings it to life. As most people know, Madhuri Dixit is a trained Kathak dancer and she excels at it. It is something she enjoys immensely, and I would not be surprised if she loved Kathak and dancing in general more than acting. There are few times in her career where we have been able to see her true talents in this classical form of Indian dancing, but we get lucky enough in this film to get quite the treat. Madhuri makes her ghungroos sing with her every move as SRK accompanies her on the drums. Kathak with drums, the way it’s meant to be. There are a few different ideas as to where Kathak originated. In the myths, Shiva created the dance and when he did, I’m sure he had a woman like Madhuri in his mind. She is never more feminine and graceful in her dancing than when she does the dancing form that she has been trained to do since she was at such a young, precious age. So enjoy this Song Of The Week. Enjoy something a little more out of the box from the other 90s Indian masala films and songs. Enjoy beauty, in the best form possible.

Song Of The Week: Dreamum Wakeupum

Dreamum Wakeupum
Aiyyaa

The first song released from the upcoming movie Aiyyaa is catchy to be sure. It's different than most item numbers and the dance moves are something quite unlike anything Bollywood has ever seen. Rani impresses in the song. She's always been a good dancer and it's nice to see her be put in movie where she gets the chance to dance - even if it's some odd musical number. The words are catchy, the beat catchier. Because this film is due out rather soon, I thought it would be good for the first SOTW!

Review: The Dirty Picture

The Dirty Picture

Stars: Vidya Balan, Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Tusshar

Directed by: Milan Luthria

Released: December 2, 2011

Entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. One of the main messages of this film is surely what it is. Some would say that this film was overhyped, that it was nothing groundbreaking and that Vidya Balan's performance was nothing special. Well, I would like to kindly disagree with them.

Reshma (Balan), a poor girl in India runs away from home the night before her wedding, forever damaging her relationship with her mother. She has big dreams to be in pictures and she falls into some luck. A dance director pulls her into a song with a whip and she uses it well. This is her big break into films and suddenly everyone wants to get a piece of Silk, as Reshma is now known. The actor Surya (Shah), which she has been in love with for years, gives her the time of day after some sexy convincing from Silk. Being in his movies only boosts her further into stardom. This, however, makes him a little upset since his thunder is being stolen away.

In the meantime, we run into Abraham (Hashmi) every once in a while who has a real chip on his shoulder and hates Silk. I feel like we never really got to understand why he hated her, though, and that bothered me. He hated her because she was vulgar? So what? That's no reason to hate someone. There seemed to be more there that was never really addressed or explained. As with many actresses, Silk hit her prime... and started to fall. She could no longer get roles as easily as she could before and this lead her to financial and emotional problems which led to her ultimate and final downfall.

There are things about this film that make me mad - but they're supposed to, I believe. For starters, The Dirty Picture does good at pointing out a serious flaw in people, which can easily be explained in this quote from Silk, "You make films about sex, you sell them, you watch them, you show them, you even present them with awards, but you're scared to aknowledge them." That's something I've noticed in my time of being a fan of Bollywood. It's alright for men to watch a woman dance around half naked but she is forever scarred and scorned for life. Then, those same men want to act as though they have done nothing wrong, like they are as pure and chaste as the day they were born. 

From the reviews I've read, it makes me laugh because so many people talk about how vulgar this film was. Did they not see the previews? The trailers? The title? It's The Dirty Picture, what do you expect? Of course this might be my American showing here, but nothing in this film shocked me that much. However I do understand that as far as Bollywood and Indian standards go, this was vulgar and dirty. Still, don't be surprised  by it and act like you had no idea what this film was going to be about.

Vidya deserved every single accolade and praise that she got from this film. Her acting was nothing short of spectacular. She became Silk. Watching her in Parineeta, No One Killed Jessica and now The Dirty Picture proves just how dedicated and versatile she is. She is one of the hardest working actresses today and I hope she continues to produce these fantastic films. And extra points to her for the curvy body she was sporting in the film. Her hips, thighs and larger stomach were all adorable to me and it was nice to see that she wasn't afraid to go there as well. Emraan was wood throughout his performance but that might be because he didn't really have much of one. Shah was fantastic and made me cringe, but for all the right reasons. Tusshar was cute, I thought. It was my first film with him and liked him well enough. The music is of course great. Ooh La La will forever be one of my favorite songs and there's no changing that.

The only reason I took a point off from it being perfect was because the second half dragged so much. Other than that, it was perfect to me, honestly. I enjoyed it so much and it lived up to its hype, me thinks. I will watch it again someday, for sure. 

Rating: 9/10

Review: Aaja Nachle

Aaja Nachle
Stars: Madhuri Dixit, Konkona Sen Sharma, Jugal Hansraj, Akshaye Khanna, Kunal Kapoor
Directed by: Anil Mehta
Released: November 30, 2007

Namaste aur salaam. Meet Dia (Dixit)! She is a beautiful young choreographer that lives in New York with her young daughter Radha. She is rather successful in New York and enjoying her time but must leave on short notice when she receives news that her old guru from India is on his death bed and fading fast. So fast, in fact, that she doesn't even reach the country until after he has passed away. Being back in her old town bring back many memories, some are down right painful for Dia because they remind her of the relationship that she had and lost with Radha's father. He was an American and in deciding to run off and marry him, she disgraces herself and her family, which is something that is hard to get away from. Her guru's reason for calling her back was to convince her to save the theatre (Ajanta) that they practiced and performed in, a task that he convinces her to do through a video he recorded before his death.

Now with a mission, Dia does the first thing she can think of and talks to the man who wants to destroy Ajanta, Raja Uday Singh (Khanna). Singh is reluctant to agree to her because of the good business he is sure he will get from building a business in the theatre's place, but Dia convinces him to give her a chance. Dia most come up with an amazing performance in two months time, using only local dancers and present it at Ajanta. If the audience loves it, the theatre is saved, if not, the wrecking balls come out. Dia accepts of course!

And of course, nothing can be done without bumps along the way. In this case, the hardest part is finding the right people to play in Laila-Majnu, an old Indian classic, Romeo and Juliet before Romeo and Juliet. Eventually, however, she does stumble upon the right people and is able to get rehearsals going. This is where we meet Imran (Kapoor) and Anokhi (Sen Sharma). Imran is a rugged, tough guy and Anokhi is a tomboy like Anjali in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (with one hell of a runny nose problem). At first she is shot down but later convinces Dia that she can do the job. Once in, she finds herself falling in love with Imran. After a makeover, he finds himself doing the same. This ultimately helps the play of Laila-Majnu become more real.

This was a decent time pass, but nothing extraordinary in my opinion. Ishq hua, O Re Piya, the ever popular Aaja Nachle and the play itself were all winning numbers that I listen to on a regular basis (ESPECIALLY the play. It makes me feel feelings). The acting was, again, decent. I came for Madhuri and stayed for Konkona and Kunal. Their chemistry was fantastic and I wouldn't mind seeing them together again soon! This film was to be Madhuri's major come back and she ended up not being as successful with her comeback from motherhood as Kajol was with Fanaa, but I wish her the best of luck with this next one she has coming up with Dedh Ishqiya and Gulab Gang.

Rating: 6/10

Review: Rang De Basanti

Rang De Basanti
Stars: Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Soha Ali Khan, Waheeda Rehman, Siddharth Narayan, Kunal Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Alice Patten
Directed by: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Released: 2006

Koi desh perfect nahi hota. Use perfect banana padta hai.

Every once in a while, a film will come around that completely makes you stare at the screen with awe during the entire film. Rang De Basanti is one of those films. This is a film that shows the truth and does not sugar coat anything. It shows real characters all with different personalities. All with different positive and negative traits that all end up balancing each other out. You fall in love with these characters in the two hours, forty-six minutes they are on screen and they don't leave your mind or your heart anytime soon after the credits roll.

Sue McKinley (Patten) a cute, sweet little blonde from the UK with a video camera, lots of time on her hands and a big interest in the men mentioned in her grandfather's diary decides to go to India to shoot a film about the revolutionaries Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Ram Prasad Bismil. Sue holds auditions with her friend Sonia (Soha Ali Khan) and has no luck finding the perfect actors to play her beloved freedom fighters. Later the same day, Sonia introduces Sue to her friends DJ (Aamir Khan), Karan (Narayan), Sukhi (Joshi) and Aslam (Kapoor), four friends who are all very different but have a strong relationship that would put brotherhood to shame.

It's not long before Sue sees in them the famed freedom fighters and proposes and idea to them... Why don't they star in her film? None of them are really all that excited about it, but in his quest to make Sue happy, DJ gets his friends to agree to it. Because of their lack of passion, it takes a while for the film to take off. It also doesn't help that Sue has also hired Laxman (Kulkarni), a man who has always had his difficulties with the group, to also star in the film as Ramprasad Bismil. But still wanting to make Sue happy and complete the film, the group gets more into it and starts to realize the importance of the men they are portraying.

During the filming of Sue's film, Sonia gets engaged to Ajay (Madhavan), an air force pilot who believes that there is nothing more honorable and special that fighting for your country. When his MiG mysteriously crashes and the government closes the investigation as quickly as it begins, the group is enraged and decide to follow the example of the men from their past and take matters into their own hands.

Many films have been made on these men, especially Bhagat Singh, but I believe there is something that sets Rang De Basanti apart from all the others... and that is simply the fact that Rang De Basanti connects the past with the present. Many times it can be hard to relate with the past, but the creators of this film carefully weave the stories from the past with events in the future and help today's youth see why it is important to learn about the actions of the past and, as the title says, the color of sacrifice.

I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever as far as the acting goes. But I must give Aamir Khan a huge honorable mention. His performance in this film has cemented his spot in my list of favorite actors. I don't see his spot being challenged again anytime soon. Also, Siddharth Narayan needs to do more Hindi films! He's terribly cute and very impressive with his acting. Joshi was amazing with his comedic timing and did a great job turning on the serious acting when it was time (I was also shocked to find out that he was the same young man from Lajja!). But perhaps the one that surprised me most of all (other than Aamir, of course) was Kunal Kapoor. I've heard of him, seen him around and never gave much thought to him. But once he was on screen he was there and not to be lost, which is hard to do when you're with Aamir Khan, but he held his own. And my, how nice it was seeing Waheeda Rehman on here! I went insane seeing such a legend!

The music was also a sheer and utter win, but that's something I've come to expect when watching a film done with music done by A.R. Rahman. Rang De Basanti and Paathshaala are personal favorites.

The story left me in tears, sorrowful and wishing that things had ended differently but also realizing that they couldn't possibly have or it would not have been as effective. Rang De Basanti is now on my favorite films list, and is definitely a film that cannot be missed by fans of Indian cinema.

Rating: 10/10

Kassy On Celebs - Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif



Why India? Why? Why?! WHY?! Of all the new actresses out there for you to fall completely in love with, why Katrina Kaif? It has made me lose faith in so many people and their ability to choose good actors and actresses. How could anyone possibly fall for someone who is in Hindi movies - and doesn't even speak it correctly? How could anyone possibly fall for someone who isn't even all that attractive? And even more so, and perhaps most importantly - How could anyone fall for someone with as little acting ability as Katrina Kaif has?

I've tried again and again to try to understand why so many people have gone pagal over Katrina, but I still can't figure it out. For whatever reason, unbeknown to me, she sells and she sells well. If there is any credit that this girl could get from me whatsoever, it is that she works hard and tries even though she continuously falls flat on her face in her roles. She's okay at playing herself, but if she has to go outside the box, she doesn't work. A true actress should be versatile, and Katrina is not. When in Bollywood, I personally believe that an actress should be able to dance reasonably well, but Katrina can't seem to do that either.

Katrina Kaif wouldn't bother me as much if it weren't for the fact that everyone and their brother is constantly raving about her and - what's worse - comparing her to actresses that actually KNOW what they're doing and can act any role you throw at them well.

As my friend Ally has said, in the future, modern actresses like Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone will be remembered as good actresses. Katrina will be remembered as a pretty face, a cute personality... but not much more.

Star Rating: 3/10

Madhuri Dixit's Best Dances

For a very long time, I hated Madhuri Dixit with a burning seething passion. However, even when I did not like her at all, I could still always acknowledge that she was in fact an amazing and accomplished dancer. Now that she is in my top 5 favorite Bollywood actresses, I see it even more. Therefore, I've decided to put together a list of what I believe to be Madhuri's 10 best dances. Here we go:

10. Jungle Mein Sher - Prem Granth

Let's take a look at the first steps of the dance - this girl is jumping/hopping and it looks as if she's flying through the air briefly. The grace and expressions of this number is what gets it a spot on the list.

9. Mera Piya Ghar Aaya - Yaarana

The awesome hip movements in this dance are legend. Madhuri performs it live and you hear the crowd go louder. Why? Because it is perfectly executed with style and grace. Every single step is in time with the music and works perfectly. Hats off both to Mads and the choreographer.

8. Aaja Nachle - Aaja Nachle

When the queen of dance returns - you know she'll bring a great dance along with her. Aaja Nachle is that dance. I don't know whether it is the jingle of her bangles, the twirl of her skirt, her feet or her gorgeous back, but this is to me one of her most sensual songs.

7. Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai - Khalnayak

Where Aaja Nachle is sensual mainly in Madhuri's moves, Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai is sensual also in the lyrics as we become curious to find out what's under Madhuri's choli (blouse) only to find out it is her dil (heart)! Gotta love her sweet navel and graceful feet.

6. Dola Re Dola - Devdas

This is a very popular and famous song because it has two of Bollywood's biggest stars in it. Aishwarya is beautiful and knows the steps, but looks terribly awkward next to Madhuri.

5. Kathak Number - Dil To Pagal Hai

For many reasons, I almost like this more than Madhuri's other famous Kathak number Kaahe Chhed Mohe. It is a perfect display of Kathak dancing at its best. Since she was 3, Madhuri took dancing classes and studied Kathak carefully, which makes it very special whenever you get to see this dancing queen show off her special skills.

4. Dhak Dhak Karne Laga - Beta

What a VULGAR dance! Heaving her bossom like that! Just kidding. There's nothing vulgar about this dance when Madhuri does it. I feel that she's always been good at being sexy but also at keeping the sex appeal to a minimum so she doesn't look bad.

3. Kaahe Chhed Mohe - Devdas

The first song of Madhuri's I fell in love with. Chandramukhi is definitely her best character and this song shows her allure and charm like no other. Brownie points to Mads for being pregnant and dancing in a heavy dress and dupatta while singing about Lord Krishna and Radha!

2. Ek Do Teen - Tezaab

Let me just say that if it were not for my undying love for the classical dances of India, this song and dance would be my number one, especially since it has my favorite expressions. It's no wonder that this dance sequence shot Madhuri straight to stardom. Who knew watching a young Indian girl count to thirteen would be so enjoyable?

1. Maar Daala - Devdas

While Kaahe Chhed Mohe showed Chandramukhi's charm, this showed her spunk and firey spirit as she promptly tells Kali Babu to GTFO with a nod of her head. And of course it also helps that you can see the pain and love in her eyes as she sings the amazing lyrics to this song while looking at Devdas. Outstanding!