I dislike, buchchan is looking too old. Sanjay west his skill. Jeke is disappearing. Why parikshit is in this movie ?. Only Two three scene is very good. In short 2% is good and 98% worst.
RE:Most painful movie
by ROHIT MADAN on Feb 19, 2007 11:55 AM
PLS READ THIS. i totally agree with u...i can't understand why media is so much hiking this movie...this is an average movie...one who have seen omkara finds nothing in this...sanjay dutt's acting is remarkable...big b's acting is fantastic...this movie has wasted saif's role...vidya balan is just doing side role...there is nothing special in this movie...do not expect too much....u will not find anything new and special...if u want to watch this movie then watch this on ur DVD..don't go to theatre for this...i repeat there is nothing special in this movie...there are not so much secrets are in the movie...big b is father of saif and saif does not knows that...boman kills sharmila as he jealous of big b as sharmila slept with big b in her youngness...when saif comes to know this he kills boman (his so called father) through jakie shroff...in result...big b then kill jakie and his son (shergill)...then big b and saif lived together happily...this is a cheap story line of eklavya...film has so many loose ends and is incomplete in so many factors...vv chopra has to put something exciting...so that people watching movie in the theatre does not get bored...i liked only trailer of tara rum pum starring saif and rani...which showed during interval...thanks
What a waste .. of my money.. talent of actors.. and everyones time .. If this is what Mr Chopra can pen after five years of effort.. PLEASE.. Mr Chopra.. Stop writing .. No one had any role in this movie.. of course the movie had no pupose, so it figures... I hope we don;t have another Mr Ghai in the making..
RE:STUPID MOVIE.. DUMB CHARACTARIZATION.. CONFUSED STORYLINE .. MSPLACED PERIOD ..
by netizen citizen on Feb 19, 2007 11:23 AM
....If this is the waste of money than please make urself sure that you dont see any movie further in future.....or find any C grade masala movie in hall ;) ......Uhh.........I just cant understand why such people just exist. May be some people just live because we cant just shoot out them !!
RE:RE:STUPID MOVIE.. DUMB CHARACTARIZATION.. CONFUSED STORYLINE .. MSPLACED PERIOD ..
by netizen citizen on Feb 19, 2007 12:10 PM
..Sorry i dont want to hurt any one by my comments and i m sorry if any one felt it. But than its how much i liked this movie and i feel the trill of this movies still after one day.......!!
Raja sen i am not sure what sense u have put up 4 stars to get another movie ticket...i must say i watched it yesterday and half people in theatre left even before movie ended..it was so patetic...very very much over hyped by media....i mean hardly ther where 4 places where movies was shot i must say 4 secens in movie...all half baked charatcers not one had more then 4 scenes other then Big B(must say he was fantastic in his role) and can say saif who had quite a bit to do....but thats it...Story was so loose and boring..
I quite likeed the movie...it is hatke.. I thought the movie is more in theater mould..Good part is no glorification of one character like it happens in AB movies. He has quite nicely underplayed the role, and looks like he is not acting, he has become the charatcter. Other actors are superb and make their presence felt even in smaller roles..Some stunning scenes and cinematography and editing..the scenes with Camels, train with shades of mahal in background are superb.. and the scene where the entire screen is blacked out with AB talking with beritone voice in background is awesome... Overall the movie may not remain in mind for too long, but it is worth watch and good to see bollywood doing something different at least in bits n peices..we should appreciate..
RE:I liked the movie..
by Sandip lohot on Feb 19, 2007 01:57 PM
me too .i saw it yesterday in Dubai.AB is at his best .Full marks to VC Films for making good entertaining movie.Excellent Cinematography and well done editing.This goes to prove that quality of movie making in terms of production values has increased a lot in bollywood. AB's performance excels day by day. AB proves he is the real Big B of Bollywood .May God give him long life.
First the story! Out of context and difficult to connect to in today's world. The fabulous palace set reflects the lavish budgetary spend but the question that begs to be asked Vinodji and Amitji, how they could have a palace- many floored with not even a single maid/-man servant in tow throughout the long and winding film? Were they seriouly fixated about other more important things while they erred on this one while making a film, that too on royalty? Strange ain't it? Point two, the Prince from London is hooked so much to the village belle Vidya that he doesn't so much as seem to have any other business on this planet? Come on, you don't want us to believe that the London bred boy has no gals to think of,et al...? While Saif and Vidya get busy kite flying, a shot of the tendrils on the terrace shows a wall-ful of cheap 'make-believe' flowers and leaves that you buy on roadside.Difficult to overlook these flaws.
Well, save for the message on Dharma as a fertile mental concoction (that incidentally hits the nail bang on the head) the stoey is a far cry from reality. We deserve better films from Directors like Vinod Chopra, to say the least. M S Suresh
RE:Eklavya - Things they forgot !
by Amit Pathak on Feb 19, 2007 06:36 PM
Silly comments. All your logics are totally illogical. These kinds of Palaces are still there in Rajasthan with same kind of living. Man & Maid servents are not there coz now the people living in these palaces can not afford servents as they are no longer the ruling Kings. But they do have thier ancestral property and they are taking care of that. I m sure u dont know anything about rajasthan. Come out of yr place & take round of this country.
RE:RE:Eklavya - Things they forgot !
by Amit Pathak on Feb 19, 2007 06:38 PM
And mind it the story is very much related to todays world. if U live in cities that doesnt means that the entire world is living in cities & using computer & cell phones.
Totally "hatke" film. Somebody may like and somebody may not. But that hardly matters. Its really a good movie to watch. Brilliant Performance, Direction, Cinematography. The duration is only 110 minutes. People who fail to understand the theme or agst AB will criticise but nevertheless i will ask them to go and enjoy.
As a movie I think it falls far short of Parinda or 1942 a love story. Performance wise everybody is brilliant. All the magnitude that is buil there in the first half doesn't hold good at all and the film gives everything away in a poor second half
RE:Not an outstanding movie.
by abhay pawane on Feb 19, 2007 09:42 AM
hey souvanik, ur review seems to be very different from all the guys out here.. can u explain in detail where exactly the movie is lacking according to u..
RE:RE:Not an outstanding movie.
by souvanik sarkar on Feb 20, 2007 10:12 AM
hey abhay the problem of the movie is when you are gng out to have a cup of tea or a glass of Coke in the interval you are thinking inside yourself so many things about the movie. How it will end?? How will the "dharma" help to achieve what the director wants to? And now you come back an sit eager to see what next. And from there it takes a different turn and you can predict actually what will happen in the next 1 hr or so. ANd the end comes so abruptly that you will feel an air of unfinished tale
When will Bollywood ever learn to give Amitabh a script that can do justice to his enormous talent. I had expected Eklavya to give AB a meaty role - but there it ends up as another waste. AB has been singing and dancing 'Shava ... shava' and 'Dil churake le gayee' for ever. C'mon how difficult is it for Bollywood to come up with a Godfather kind of a movie that gives him the canvas to essay Marlon Brando kind of roles. Decades from now we will look back and rue the sheer waste that Bollywood put this great artiste's talents to. Most directors are still stuck up with a 'Zanjeer' complex and cannot break their minds off the 'young Amitabh' stereotype. Will they not tire of making AB dance 'shava shava' style till he is 80! Why must he always be so slickly gelled and attired as a model irrespective of the role's demands? Amitabh the star is the biggest enemy of Amitabh the actor. Which is why Hollywood is so professional - the role is the hero not the star. So if Tom Hanks essays the role of a hepless castaway then it is not a slickly attired Tom Hanks that we see on screen, we see the castaway. If the role requires a bumbling refugee stuck in an airport, then Tom Hanks - the star - makes way for the actor that looks, speaks, behaves and feels like a bumbling refugee. It is evident that bollywood directors are so much in awe of AB that their script, role and movie becomes subservient to AB. AB the star is killing AB the actor.
Malayalam movies so far have escaped this stanglehold. So Mohanlal looks like a wretched 80 year old homeless refugee shunting between Pakistan and Kerala in search of a homeland since the script demands it. The cancer of 'shava shava', 'dil chrake le gayee' and 'Oonchi hai building, lift teri band hai' super hits from Bollywood have so far not infected Malayalam movies - resulting in some cerebral and very believable renditions. No wonder then that Malayalam movies, actors and actresses have collected a disproportionately high number of National awards.
AB has been a great entertainer, but I feel Bollywood has let him down very badly in the last 15 years. While I long to see his true potential on screen again I am not very hopeful. In the meanwhile, I turn to Malayalam movies for wholesome thought provoking cinema with meaninful storylines, great music, believable acting and compelling direction.
Deep down I hope to see Amitabh's magic atleast once more.
RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Jigesha Shah on Feb 19, 2007 04:41 AM
Oh God what is it with you South Indians? Why do you think a whole lot of people out of South India, let alone India itself, don't know who the hell is this "Mohanlal" guy? Coz he doesn't have glamour! And South Indian movies aren't a hit! Coz nobody else understands them!!!! They aren't popular coz they can't be... Amitabh Bachchan is a great actor. So what if he has had some bad films and has to dance around at times? At least people flock to see his movies all across the world... not just in Chennai! Please get out of your South Indianness... and follow India... as a whole
RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Setu Madhavan on Feb 19, 2007 07:35 AM
Jigesha ji, Jaagiye! Krupa kar ke hamari tippani ko ek aur bar padne ki koshish karen.
Hindi mein is umeed se likh raha hoon ki shaayad aap ko hamari drushtikon samaj aa jay.
Pehla sawaal aapke liye. Kya hamne kahin Amitabh Bachchan ke kala ka nindan kiya hai? Amitabh ek mahaan kalakar hain. Yeh baat to sab jaante hai. Is baat ki do rai nahin.
Gour se padhiye - hum ne to sirf itna kaha ki Amitabh ek mahan abhineta hai. Magar afsos is baat ka hai ki Amitabh jaise abhineta bahut kam aate hain phir bhi Amitabh se 'Shava shava', 'dil chura ke le gayi' naach nachaya jaata hai. Is chitrikaran se kya nirdeshak ek mahan kalakaar ki garima badhaa rahen hai? Ya phir asaadharan hunar rakne wale Amitabh ko saadharan aur nirarthak chalachitr me shaamil kar hum darshakon ko unki sahi kala se vanchit kar rahen hai. Kya aap hamare rai se asehmat hai ki 'shava shava' ...'dil churake le gayi' na karakar Amitabh ko 'Godfather' jaise filmon me abhinay karaana chahiye?
Rahi baat 'who the hell is this "Mohanlal" guy' ki, hum samjaate hain. "The hell is this "Mohanlal" guy' ek Malayalam abhineta hain jihnone sarvshresht abhineta ka raashtriya (gaur karen Rashtriya, prantiya nahin) puraskar sarvadhik baar - 3 baar - jeeta hai. Haanji 3 baar. Sirf aur 2 abhineta hain jinhen sarvshresht abhineta ka purskar 3 baar mila. Mammooty, jo bhi ek Malayalam abhineta hain, bhi 3 baar sarvashreshta abhineta paddhavi se puruskrut hain.
Aap Mohanlal ke abhinay se parichit nahin hai. Yeh baat swabhavik hai - saaf jaahir bi hain. Magar isse Mohanlal ke abhinay ke chavi kuch ghat to nahin jaati na. Misaal ke liye, America me Amitabh (ya kisi anya bhartiya kalakar) se aam janta aparichit hain (hum se poochiye - hum US me rehaten hain, amriki nagrik hain). Lekin Amitabh ki kaabiliyat ghat to nahin jaati na sirf is liye ki America ki janta unhe nahin jaante.
Aaap Malayalam nahin jaante aur Malayalam chalacitra nahin dekhenge. Hum to Hindi, Malayalam, English aur kuch anya bhasha jaante hain. Ahindibhaashiya prant ke hone se shaayad humse Hindi be praveen aap honge - ye hum maante hain. Lekin hum Hindi bol sakte hain aur Malayalam, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannad bhasha me nipun hain. In bhasha ke chalchitr khoobi se dekhte bhi hain.
Malayalam chalachitr ke nirmata nirdeshak bahut shresht hain. Jis tarah ke chitra Bollywood ke nirdeshak aksar banaate hain - main adhiktar ko masala film maanta hoon. Amitabh Bollywood me prachalit masala chalachitra ki sanskruti ke kaaran apni sahi kala darshane ke avsar se vanchit rah jaayenge. Afsos hai ki hum darshak us kala ka anand lene se vanchit reh jaayenge.
Un darshakon me kuch chand aise hein - mere jaise - jo ki Malayalam jaante hain aur Mohanlal aur Mammooty jaise mahaan abhineta ke filmon ka anand le sakte hain.
And dear friend, if you finally got some of the above into your 'anti-south Indian' head, ask your self if you should read and understand something first, before pulling out your anti-south Indian banners.
Let me tell you once again very clearly - very rarely, if ever, does one come across sensible cinema in Bollywood. That is NOT a commentary on Amitabh who incidentally is my favorite actor as well. Another person may like Sanjeev Kumar - who I think is a much better actor than Amitabh too - but I just cannot forget the impact Amitabh's Zanjeer, Kaalia, Don and others had on me during my younger years.
It is very unfortunate that those flunkeys that go as directors in Bollywood pick wafer thin scripts, throw in a few 'Dil mera sona' in between, a few shots of Amsterdam and chic New Bombay railway stations in between, the usual "tera khoon pee jaaonga", the same repetitive love story /triangle, ruthless father / father in law - it is so predictable, it is laughable if it were not so painful. Atleast with Kayamat Se Kayamat tak, Bollywood pulled itself outof the 'Disco' mania of the 80s which was the worst era of Hindi phillums (every movie had 'Disco deewane' or 'Disco station Disco...Tu bhi aaya, main be aayi...Oh ho ho ho..Disco').
Can you not participate in an objective discussion instead of just blindly choking on 'North India ki izzat abru khatre mein' because I remarked (rightly in my opinion) that pathetic scripts of Bollywood are a disgrace to Amitabh's talents and legacy. Malayalam movies has thus far kept itself free of the virus of Masala films (Something Tamil / Telugu movies have lately been falling a victim to - Bollywood virus. Masala films to rake in money - Get a big selling actor, add one of two heroine who will dance - if not get a few item numbers / girls - actor inspite of his age or role will dance with actress or itme girl, throw in a comedian, mix all this up like a bhelpuri and feed it to the public. Jhakaaz! Paisa wasool.
RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by suyog pandit on Feb 19, 2007 11:24 AM
shabaas..setu madhavan,but don't forget craps are made in all languages..the most are in Hindi,Tamil and Telugu.Malyalam and Bengali cinema is much better in these terms.I too hate these polished,so-called family entertainers that are hit out by Johar-Chopra camp.
RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by afzal aziz on Feb 19, 2007 06:30 PM
Well said Setu Madhavan. Take a case of the Movie "DOR" for example.
Here the Hindi film audience has to accept the fact a copy (which is not even closer in quality to original) of a Malayalam movie is perhaps one of the best in Hindi. So think of the real movie which many times better than the copy.
Here is where the hypocrisy lies, we will be having Hindi film audience claiming(???) for national award by saying that this is the best but not even least bothered to look beyond the hindi heartland where the real creativity lies.
First of all North Indians has to look beyond hindi heartland and accept the fact it is else where in the country (particularly in South) where the best movies are made.
Tamil Industry also comes up with good movies occasionally but the directors always have to succumb to the pressure of including an item number, skin show, fight sequences without which the film may not be accepted. Kamal Hassan himself had said he feels like a total actor only while acting in a Malayalam Movie.
As for Hindi and Malayalam, there is no comparison.
I accept the fact that not all Malayalam are good, but to the extent to which any Malayalam deteriorates in quality is very limited compared films from elsewhere in the country.
RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Jigesha Shah on Feb 19, 2007 06:42 PM
I would also like to add that Amitabh Bachchan has also won at the national awards three times, so please check your records before publishing them!
RE:RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Setu Madhavan on Feb 19, 2007 10:17 PM
Amitabh won 2 National Award for BEST ACTOR - for Agneepath (1991) and Black (2005). The award he got for Saat Hindustani (1970) was not for best Actor but for Best Newcomer (But that is okay we will be kind to you and consider your research about 'Madame Tussaud's' wax replica as another National award for Amitabh :) If you go with a candle looking for things to cheer yourself up - you will find it. This Madame Tussaud's wax replica is a joke - of no significance at all. Do you know that Saddam Hussein also has a wax replica at Madame Tussauds? Even the porn star Jenna Jameson has one too, even Jerry Springer - remember that sleazy talk show host here in the US that bring white trailer trash crack addicts from dysfunctional families to yell kick and disrobe on TV - yes that same Jerry Springer has been honored by a wax replica at Madame Tussaud's? Do you think Americans ever get excited about any of their stars / leaders getting a wax replica in Madame Tussaud's? Never, it barely makes a blip in the US. But leave it to us Indians to be so proud that Gori Chamadi folks have included one of our own in this collection. These Brits are smart they will put anything up to earn a buck. They know that there are Indian like you who consider Amitabh 'GOD' as you mentioned in one of your posts, and they quickly added a wax statue so some Indians will line up to take darshan of their devta while the Brit stands at the door collecting your money before running all the way to the bank.)
If you include total National awards won, Mohanlal has 4 National awards (including Jury's special award that he won in 1989 for Kireedam). Mammooty won 3 National Awards for Best actor (1989 Mathilukal, 1993 Vidheyan and 1998 Dr. Ambedkar).
Talking of awards, Kamal Hassan has won more acting awards (171) than any other actor in the world - past or present - including a President's award that he won as a child actor at age 4! He has won 4 National awards (3 for best actor, and 1 for best child actor).
Let me reiterate - Amitabh is my favorite star. All I said is that the decadent Bollywood potboilers with wafer thin script (full of 'shava shava', 'oonchi hai building, lift teri band hai', 'dil churake le gayi') and predictable aerobic exercise dance sequences - do grave injustice to Amitabh by denying him a canvas to paint his skills on. Dont pull out facts to prove something I, and millions of others already know - that Amitabh is a great actor that comes once in a great while. Unfortunately Bollywood today does not know to make use of that precious talent.
Ask yourself, which of his movies over the last 20 years have done justice to his talents. Ironically KBC the TV show offered him a platform to showcase his peerless class, screen presence, riveting baritone voice and the uncanny knack to engage and captivate audiences across all ages and demography - something most his Bollywood films miserably failed to offer him for most of last 20 years with their obnoxious scripts for this great Actor.
(On a sidenote, I challenged my wife - she is an American - that Amitabh Bachchan the host for the Indian version of 'Who wants to be a Millionaire' does a much better job than Regis Philbin did in the Original American version. Her response was on the lines of "Amit, who? What is that?" But after she and I watched one of the KBC episodes with Amitabh, she was truly impressed and readily concurred that Amitabh outperformed Regis Philbin.
If this great performer is allowed to be himself he is a class apart. But force him to do 'shava shava' roles till he is 80, then for all his talent - shava shava / Dil churake le gayee - is all the viewers will get to watch and remember Amitabh by. How tragic!
RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Jigesha Shah on Feb 20, 2007 01:10 AM
Alright I'll say this. I'm highly astonished that your wife doesn't know who Amitabh Bachchan. I have come across so many non-Indians, all over the world, who recognize Indians just by him. I never meant to abuse your wife by what I said. Was just saying that when you marry someone who is not Indian, it is wishful that she gets to know about the Indian culture as well.
As for Kamal Hassan he's a great actor. And he's made himself well known because he has also done some HIndi movies which are acclaimed all over such as Sagar, Sadma, Ek Duuje Ke Liye, etc. Amitabh Bachchan is not the only good actor that India has ever produced.
As for the Madame Tussauds, it didn't take a lot to research on that. I mean, it's worldwide news for a long time now. I'm surprised if you had to google it, really... It is still one of the most proclaimed museums in the world and is why it attracts so many tourists across the world. The British are obviously doing it to gain some cash from getting Indians to come there to see it, no doubt. Not only Indians from India, but from Indians all over the world as well as other nationalities. But I'm sure they would earn zilch if there was a statue of Mohanlal put up there.
I really don't appreciate any comments by anybody about me. The only reason I mentioned about my bringing up was because Mr. Sethu so proudly said that he is in America and has an American wife. Either way, this should not have gone to a personal level, so I apologize if I said anything rude about your wife.
I would suggest to take a look at other non-Indians and see if they know who Amitabh Bachchan is, don't just rely on the word of one person-that is your wife. While you're at it, also ask people in India, ALL OVER INDIA, if they know who Mohanlal is.
If you want to compete, compete on the international level.
RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Setu Madhavan on Feb 20, 2007 01:43 AM
Jigesha,
It is regrettable that you chose to go personal about my wife in your previous response, and I quote you...
"Oh God... I feel so sorry for you that you have had to marry such a pathetic wife who doesn't know anything about the Indian culture. And you call yourself in Indian? It's really sad! I don't know what makes you think you are so great... is it because you went to USA to run a petrol station, and got a wife who married you so that you could get a greencard?
Get off your whole Mohanlal crap because forget your dumb American wife... a lot of dumb Indian wives residing IN INDIA don't know who the hell Mohanlal is. "
Why can we not discuss with civility? The bigotry and intolerance you show is the reason for discord - religious / regional - in India. If you are proud of North Indian movies and culture, I am sorry to say that your language, attitude, and comments besmirches your culture. We may disagree on our views on Ekalavya (which incidentally is already being declared a potential flop) or Bollywood movies themselves, but can we not agree to courteous civil discourse? If you were the only North Indian I were interacting with, I could go with a very negative imagery of people north of the Vindhyas. Fortunately, I have interacted with folks from the Northern states, even lived there extensively - and I do think very highly of them.
I wonder if you are any different from this bus conductor I encountered in Tamil Nadu years ago when I a Keralite, travelled with my close friend - a delhiite. When the conductor asked my friend where he wanted the ticket to, he answered in Hindi, "Yaar hum...", and all hell broke loose. Breaking into chaste English this huge burly conductor thundered, "You North Indian Ba....d! Speak in English if you dont know Tamil!!". I was dumbstruck and so embarassed that day. I spoke to the conductor in Tamil and took control over the situation. I also apologized to my friend. I had heard of Tamil linguistic pride, but that was the first (and fortunately last) time I encountered it so starkly. To cut a long story short a few hours down the line the conductor became very friendly with us and offered to get us soft drinks at a stop - I suspect he felt slightly embarassed as well. Everywhere else we travelled in Tamil Nadu folks were nice, infact as friendly as they were in Kerala, but that incident still rankles me. I have still not figured out the 3:2:1 rule that conductor explained to me in Tamil Nadu - all boards / signs should be Boldy written in Tamil at the top 3 times larger than the Hindi translation at the bottom. An English translation twice the size of the Hindi word should be in between Tamil and Hindi. "First Tamil, Second English, No Hindi" he explained to me with great pride. Apparently in Tamil Nadu they have a Tamil Minister whose job is to ensure this rule is strictly followed at all public places. I really dont know if they really follow this there, but I asked him why write in Hindi at all if they dont like the language. He scoffed and said that it is done to show that "we respect Tamil several times more than Hindi and even English is more important than Hindi". How sad? Even to this day when I speak with my friend, that incident in TN springs up like an invisible thorn in my mind though we have never ever discuss it since - as if it never happened.
That was a bus conductor from small town India - Koopmandook (A frog in the well with restricted horizon). You are an educated person doing her Master's degree in the UK, previously educated in the US. Dont you think folks like you blessed with superior education should set a better standard of tolerance than the lesser educated folks in India?
RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Jigesha Shah on Feb 19, 2007 06:25 PM
Achha hua yeh jaan kar ki aap un South Indians jaise nahi hai jinhe hindi aati nahi hai aur unse nafrat karte hai... Must be a rare accommodity. Mai bhi US mein pali badi hu, aur abhi UK mein masters kar rahi hu. Meri Hindi aapke jaisi earth-shattering toh nahi hai, kyunki mai kisiki madat nahi le rahi hu, naahi koi hindi-malaylam/english dictionary ka upyog kar rahi hu.
Mujhe Mohanlal se koi shikaayat nahi hai. Aur ab mujhe uski koi malaylam film dekhni padegi, dekhne ke liye ki usme aisi kya khaas baat hai. Unko maine Bollywood film Company mein dekha tha. Kuchh khaas impact hua nahi. Woh achha actor honge, lekin iss duniya mein rehne ke liye, film industry mein rehne ke liye, kuchh glamour ki zaroorat bhi hoti hai. Isiliye shaayad Amitabh Bachchan ka putla Madame Tussaud's mein hai aur Mohanlal ka nahi.
Aur aapko kisne keh diya ke Amitabh Bachchan US mein popular nahi hai? Aapke records please check ki jiye... Mohanlal ke 1/100000 bhi fans nahi honge jitna Amitabh Bachchan ke hai. Mohanlal ko toh koi India mein bhi nahi jaante, videsh ki baat toh chhodo.
Regional films theek hai, aap enjoy ki jiye. Lekin unko koi aur films ke saath compare mat ki jiye. Mujhe Tom Hanks bahut pasand hai, lekin mai usse Amitabh Bachchan se kabhi compare nahi karungi. Dono apni jagah achha hai. Aapko bhi Mohanlal ya kisi aur ko unse compare nahi karna chahiye.
RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Jigesha Shah on Feb 20, 2007 01:57 AM
Trust me when I say this... I am not racial or discriminating in any way. I've been to a part of South India and found it very nice. The thing that I dislike about the place is exactly what you mentioned: the conductor person. South Indians always have a feeling that they are apart from the rest of India. I am not of North India... I don't consider Pune/Gujarat to be in the north or south. It's just India. When people ask me where I am from, I say India. What I dislike about many South Indians is that they say "I am from South India." I believe in peace in the entire country, and no biasedness.
I hope you get that. As for Eklavya, I am undecided about what I feel about the movie. I still think Amitabh Bachchan is a star of his own right, and will continue thinking so.
RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Rupak Dey on Feb 19, 2007 05:46 AM
i m not a south indian, but i hate to admit tht words like "south indianness" bring a lot of regional feelings.isn't the mohanlal fan an indian too? BTW, i m also ignorant abt mohanlal's credentials.i m not discussing who's d better actor but the conception tht south indians r of different planet.if the guys fron south love thr hero, let thm love him.if u say "follow india", thn u shud also see sum movies of regional languages first [applys same for me] n thn judge how good/bad thy r... i believe appreciatin regional movies doesn't make anybody anti-india..
RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Jigesha Shah on Feb 19, 2007 06:03 AM
I am not personally against South Indian films. But the thing that I hate is how they consider their films superior... and act as if their actors are Gods. I mean, we know that Bollywood is the second greatest film industry in the world! The South Indian thing isn't even known across India!!!! If they love him, that's fine. But there is more to the world than those films! First of all they should learn how to learn the national language and get along with rest of India then think of comparing their stuff with Bollywood...!
RE:RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Setu Madhavan on Feb 20, 2007 12:47 AM
Jigesha,
May be you need to learn that India does NOT have any National Language. Sorry to rain on your parade, but India only has official languages - and all of them are equal. It is a Myth that most North Indians carry in their head - this thing about Hindi being some sort of National Language whatever that means - but I am only pleased to enlighten you with plain fact. The Tamilians rioted and did not allow Nehru to declare Hindi as the National Language, and they will see to it that such a day never comes. With the growing economic clout of the South Hindi becoming a National Language will remain a dream. You may not like to hear it but that is the sad fact - a great Nation like India does not dare declare a National Language as they fear the wrath of the South Indian states. What disgrace!
If you ask me Sanskrit should be made the national language - it is so much more culturally rich than Hindi and most Indian languages trace their roots to Sanskrit.
Unrelated to the main discussion but thought I must burst this myth about Hindi in your head.
RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Jigesha Shah on Feb 20, 2007 01:22 AM
Hmmmm... I see you have done your research on Wikipedia. You know there is something that my professors used to say. Don't do your research based on Wikipedia and Google, shows facts only for amateurs. But since we are speaking on an amateur level, I think you missed a few points there. It is said that Hindi is the language that is most popular, and is used by the Central Government. If the UN ever considers taking on an Indian language in their party, it will be Hindi, and definitely not Malaylam!
RE:RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Rupak Dey on Feb 19, 2007 06:57 AM
these r ur personal views n i hav no other option but to respect it. one correction, bollywood is the BIGGEST movie industry if u take the number of films it churns out every year. as far as greatest is concerned, i m not so sure whr bollywood stands !! if thy think tht thr stars/movies r the greatest, wat's wrong with it? yes, thy shud make an attempt to understand hindi as a language, but it is our obligation too tht we make an effort to understand thm n thr culture. thy r entitled to hav thr personal choices. speaking of choices, my fav actor is john travolta/tom hanks. now i won't appreciate if sumbody wants to argue why i rate thm above all other bollywood actors. i m entitled to make my own choices. if you speak abt "rest of india", thn thr r films from gujrat/maharashtra in west [i guess u r from tht place], thr r films from bengal, punjab etc., infact thr r films frm places like Orissa or even assam. who cares abt these movies apart from the local poplation ? i guess thy too form "rest of india". it's wrong to preconceive bollywood movies as "movies of india". i hav absolutely no idea abt any regional movies n very little abt bollywood movies. but, i m pretty sure tht thr is much more in indian movie thn bollywood alone.
appreciate if i receive constructive comments or replies on it ...
RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Amitabh's talents wasted yet again!
by Jigesha Shah on Feb 19, 2007 06:31 PM
Hi Rupak. Well, I consider Bollywood movies as the "movies of India" because that's what they are. Those are the movies that India is known for... whether it be in US, UK, Australia or even Pakistan, people relate India with Bollywood and Amitabh Bachchan, not with South Indian/Gujarati/Bengali movies and Mohanlal. It's unfair to compare any types of movies. You cannot compare Amitabh Bachchan to Tom Hanks or Marlon Brando. So you shouldn't compare him to Mohanlal or anybody else either. Each are in a league of their own.
RE:This movie is heading to Oscars
by Setu Madhavan on Feb 19, 2007 03:52 AM
When will Bollywood ever learn to give Amitabh a script that can do justice to his enormous talent. I had expected Eklavya to give AB a meaty role - but there it ends up as another waste. AB has been singing and dancing 'Shava ... shava' and 'Dil churake le gayee' for ever. C'mon how difficult is it for Bollywood to come up with a Godfather kind of a movie that gives him the canvas to essay Marlon Brando kind of roles. Decades from now we will look back and rue the sheer waste that Bollywood put this great artiste's talents to. Most directors are still stuck up with a 'Zanjeer' complex and cannot break their minds off the 'young Amitabh' stereotype. Will they not tire of making AB dance 'shava shava' style till he is 80! Why must he always be so slickly gelled and attired as a model irrespective of the role's demands? Amitabh the star is the biggest enemy of Amitabh the actor. Which is why Hollywood is so professional - the role is the hero not the star. So if Tom Hanks essays the role of a hepless castaway then it is not a slickly attired Tom Hanks that we see on screen, we see the castaway. If the role requires a bumbling refugee stuck in an airport, then Tom Hanks - the star - makes way for the actor that looks, speaks, behaves and feels like a bumbling refugee. It is evident that bollywood directors are so much in awe of AB that their script, role and movie becomes subservient to AB. AB the star is killing AB the actor.
Malayalam movies so far have escaped this stanglehold. So Mohanlal looks like a wretched 80 year old homeless refugee shunting between Pakistan and Kerala in search of a homeland since the script demands it. The cancer of 'shava shava', 'dil chrake le gayee' and 'Oonchi hai building, lift teri band hai' super hits from Bollywood have so far not infected Malayalam movies - resulting in some cerebral and very believable renditions. No wonder then that Malayalam movies, actors and actresses have collected a disproportionately high number of National awards.
AB has been a great entertainer, but I feel Bollywood has let him down very badly in the last 15 years. While I long to see his true potential on screen again I am not very hopeful. In the meanwhile, I turn to Malayalam movies for wholesome thought provoking cinema with meaninful storylines, great music, believable acting and compelling direction.
Deep down I hope to see Amitabh's magic atleast once more.
RE:RE:This movie is heading to Oscars
by Ira Shukla on Feb 19, 2007 05:13 AM
Very good film, not very long story, no stupid songs. Hope other producers will think to change Hindi films similar/better way. We feel proud when we watch Bollywood moview.
BTW, who is mohanlal??? Can you suggest some good remake. Because I don't know Malayalam. By Jeetu, Philadelphia
RE:RE:RE:This movie is heading to Oscars
by Jigesha Shah on Feb 19, 2007 06:08 AM
See there we have it again... people who don't know who Mohanlal is! And how can anyone think of comparing an unknown person to a star... a God like Amitabh Bachchan?
RE:RE:RE:RE:This movie is heading to Oscars
by denver on Feb 20, 2007 12:50 AM
Jigesha !! You should be in the next Big Brother. Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd can learn more from you.
RE:RE:RE:RE:This movie is heading to Oscars
by Setu Madhavan on Feb 19, 2007 07:41 AM
Jigesha ji, Jaagiye! Krupa kar ke hamari tippani ko ek aur bar padne ki koshish karen.
Hindi mein is umeed se likh raha hoon ki shaayad aap ko hamari drushtikon samaj aa jay.
Pehla sawaal aapke liye. Kya hamne kahin Amitabh Bachchan ke kala ka nindan kiya hai? Amitabh ek mahaan kalakar hain. Yeh baat to sab jaante hai. Is baat ki do rai nahin.
Gour se padhiye - hum ne to sirf itna kaha ki Amitabh ek mahan abhineta hai. Magar afsos is baat ka hai ki Amitabh jaise abhineta bahut kam aate hain phir bhi Amitabh se 'Shava shava', 'dil chura ke le gayi' naach nachaya jaata hai. Is chitrikaran se kya nirdeshak ek mahan kalakaar ki garima badhaa rahen hai? Ya phir asaadharan hunar rakne wale Amitabh ko saadharan aur nirarthak chalachitr me shaamil kar hum darshakon ko unki sahi kala se vanchit kar rahen hai. Kya aap hamare rai se asehmat hai ki 'shava shava' ...'dil churake le gayi' na karakar Amitabh ko 'Godfather' jaise filmon me abhinay karaana chahiye?
Rahi baat 'who the hell is this "Mohanlal" guy' ki, hum samjaate hain. "The hell is this "Mohanlal" guy' ek Malayalam abhineta hain jihnone sarvshresht abhineta ka raashtriya (gaur karen Rashtriya, prantiya nahin) puraskar sarvadhik baar - 3 baar - jeeta hai. Haanji 3 baar. Sirf aur 2 abhineta hain jinhen sarvshresht abhineta ka purskar 3 baar mila. Mammooty, jo bhi ek Malayalam abhineta hain, bhi 3 baar sarvashreshta abhineta paddhavi se puruskrut hain.
Aap Mohanlal ke abhinay se parichit nahin hai. Yeh baat swabhavik hai - saaf jaahir bi hain. Magar isse Mohanlal ke abhinay ke chavi kuch ghat to nahin jaati na. Misaal ke liye, America me Amitabh (ya kisi anya bhartiya kalakar) se aam janta aparichit hain (hum se poochiye - hum US me rehaten hain, amriki nagrik hain). Lekin Amitabh ki kaabiliyat ghat to nahin jaati na sirf is liye ki America ki janta unhe nahin jaante.
Aaap Malayalam nahin jaante aur Malayalam chalacitra nahin dekhenge. Hum to Hindi, Malayalam, English aur kuch anya bhasha jaante hain. Ahindibhaashiya prant ke hone se shaayad humse Hindi be praveen aap honge - ye hum maante hain. Lekin hum Hindi bol sakte hain aur Malayalam, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannad bhasha me nipun hain. In bhasha ke chalchitr khoobi se dekhte bhi hain.
Malayalam chalachitr ke nirmata nirdeshak bahut shresht hain. Jis tarah ke chitra Bollywood ke nirdeshak aksar banaate hain - main adhiktar ko masala film maanta hoon. Amitabh Bollywood me prachalit masala chalachitra ki sanskruti ke kaaran apni sahi kala darshane ke avsar se vanchit rah jaayenge. Afsos hai ki hum darshak us kala ka anand lene se vanchit reh jaayenge.
Un darshakon me kuch chand aise hein - mere jaise - jo ki Malayalam jaante hain aur Mohanlal aur Mammooty jaise mahaan abhineta ke filmon ka anand le sakte hain.
And dear friend, if you finally got some of the above into your 'anti-south Indian' head, ask your self if you should read and understand something first, before pulling out your anti-south Indian banners.
Let me tell you once again very clearly - very rarely, if ever, does one come across sensible cinema in Bollywood. That is NOT a commentary on Amitabh who incidentally is my favorite actor as well. Another person may like Sanjeev Kumar - who I think is a much better actor than Amitabh too - but I just cannot forget the impact Amitabh's Zanjeer, Kaalia, Don and others had on me during my younger years.
It is very unfortunate that those flunkeys that go as directors in Bollywood pick wafer thin scripts, throw in a few 'Dil mera sona' in between, a few shots of Amsterdam and chic New Bombay railway stations in between, the usual "tera khoon pee jaaonga", the same repetitive love story /triangle, ruthless father / father in law - it is so predictable, it is laughable if it were not so painful. Atleast with Kayamat Se Kayamat tak, Bollywood pulled itself outof the 'Disco' mania of the 80s which was the worst era of Hindi phillums (every movie had 'Disco deewane' or 'Disco station Disco...Tu bhi aaya, main be aayi...Oh ho ho ho..Disco').
Can you not participate in an objective discussion instead of just blindly choking on 'North India ki izzat abru khatre mein' because I remarked (rightly in my opinion) that pathetic scripts of Bollywood are a disgrace to Amitabh's talents and legacy. Malayalam movies has thus far kept itself free of the virus of Masala films (Something Tamil / Telugu movies have lately been falling a victim to - Bollywood virus. Masala films to rake in money - Get a big selling actor, add one of two heroine who will dance - if not get a few item numbers / girls - actor inspite of his age or role will dance with actress or itme girl, throw in a comedian, mix all this up like a bhelpuri and feed it to the public. Jhakaaz! Paisa wasool.
RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:This movie is heading to Oscars
by Jigesha Shah on Feb 20, 2007 01:26 AM
Alright I'll say this. I'm highly astonished that your wife doesn't know who Amitabh Bachchan. I have come across so many non-Indians, all over the world, who recognize Indians just by him. I never meant to abuse your wife by what I said. Was just saying that when you marry someone who is not Indian, it is wishful that she gets to know about the Indian culture as well.
As for Kamal Hassan he's a great actor. And he's made himself well known because he has also done some HIndi movies which are acclaimed all over such as Sagar, Sadma, Ek Duuje Ke Liye, etc. Amitabh Bachchan is not the only good actor that India has ever produced.
As for the Madame Tussauds, it didn't take a lot to research on that. I mean, it's worldwide news for a long time now. I'm surprised if you had to google it, really... It is still one of the most proclaimed museums in the world and is why it attracts so many tourists across the world. The British are obviously doing it to gain some cash from getting Indians to come there to see it, no doubt. Not only Indians from India, but from Indians all over the world as well as other nationalities. But I'm sure they would earn zilch if there was a statue of Mohanlal put up there.
I really don't appreciate any comments by anybody about me. The only reason I mentioned about my bringing up was because Mr. Sethu so proudly said that he is in America and has an American wife. Either way, this should not have gone to a personal level, so I apologize if I said anything rude about your wife.
I would suggest to take a look at other non-Indians and see if they know who Amitabh Bachchan is, don't just rely on the word of one person-that is your wife. While you're at it, also ask people in India, ALL OVER INDIA, if they know who Mohanlal is.
If you want to compete, compete on the international level.
RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:This movie is heading to Oscars
by on Feb 19, 2007 08:06 AM
logical arguement mr.setu..... i completely agree with u.. i ve to see the flick before i comment on it...
RE:RE:RE:This movie is heading to Oscars
by Setu Madhavan on Feb 19, 2007 08:14 AM
Jeetu,
My advice - dont watch Hindi remakes of Malayalam movie, or remakes of any movie. Though Priyadarshan does a disservice to Malayalam movies by attempting remakes in Hindi. It is simply not the same. you will experience something like what my friend experienced when he went to his village in UP to get married - they showed him a different girl - gori chitti - when he met her before marriage only to realize during his Suhag raat that he actually married another girl. Ever heard of "Haati ke daant khaane ke aur dikhane ke aur"?
So my sincere advice to you - watch Mohanlal's movies that have English subtitles. You will not enjoy it as much as a Malayali like me would, but it will be exponentially better than the Bollywood version.
Mohanlal is a versatile actor from Malayalam film industry that has essayed a bevvy of roles with elan. He along with fellow Malayalam actor have each won 3 National best actor awards. Only 3 actors have won as many. The third if I am not mistaken is Mithunda (yes Mithun Chakraborty - I suspect some of these include awards for his acting in Bengali films)
Mohanlal is expected to win a fourth National award for another of his great performances again.
Incidentally Amitabh waxed eloquent on Mohanlal's acting talent. One thing that Amitabh mentioned about Mohanlal - I did not observe specifically till I read Amitabh's remarks - is very true. " Mohanlal's ability to emote and relate to the audience intensely without screaming, or overracting is truly amazing". I read this statement from Amitabh, reflected on Mohanlal's movies, and ended up as impressed about Mohanlal as I did about Amitabh. It would take a fine connoisseur like Amitabh to discover and articulate this rare ability in Mohanlal.
RE:RE:RE:RE:This movie is heading to Oscars
by on Feb 19, 2007 09:36 AM
kamal hasan won n number of national award... mohanlal 3 national award are nothing... google can help u..
RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:This movie is heading to Oscars
by dheerendra pathak on Feb 20, 2007 02:04 AM
well, mohanlal, kamal hasan, mithun and all other who have got national awards are very good actors. no doubt!!!!. but the point is how unbiased these awards are? they are influenced by regionalism, politics and everyother disease. amitabh has won three and even he doesn't believe in national awards. If gandhi could not get nabel for peace then what authencity these national wards have??? nothing!!
RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:This movie is heading to Oscars
by Setu Madhavan on Feb 19, 2007 10:40 PM
Agree with you. Missed out on Kamal Hassan. How could I? My mistake.
Kamal Hassan has won more acting awards (171) than any other actor in the world - past or present - including a President's award that he won as a child actor at age 4! He has won 4 National awards (3 for best actor, and 1 for best child actor).
If you include total National awards won, Mohanlal has 4 National awards (including Jury's special award that he won in 1989 for Kireedam). Mammooty won 3 National Awards for Best actor (1989 Mathilukal, 1993 Vidheyan and 1998 Dr. Ambedkar).
Mithunda is the other actor that has won 3 National awards. Amitabh has 2 national awards for best actor and 1 for best new comer (Saat Hindustani).
