When I started receiving advance news of the upcoming film Ek Deewana Tha, I had several thoughts.

First, “Prateik is one of the leads?  Excellent!  That’s something to look forward to in February.”  Then,  “Amy Jackson is playing opposite Prateik?  So Madrasapattinam wasn’t just a one-off, after all.  Very interesting!”  And finally, “A love story between a Tamil Maharashtrian Hindu boy and a Malayallee Christian girl?  Wait, wasn’t that the story line of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa??”

So, here we are, just a little over two weeks away from the Presidents’ Day weekend release of Ek Deewana Tha, the Hindi remake by Gautham Menon of his original Tamil film, and, as much as I’m finding it increasingly difficult to get excited about fluffy love stories centered around  twentysomethings, this is one film that I am very much looking forward to with anticipation.

(Doesn’t anyone else in India fall in love and have struggles?  Surely it doesn’t all end once you cross the horizon of The Big Three Oh??)  That was rhetorical…… of course there are both love and interesting stories awaiting you when you turn 31, and 32 and beyond, but – sadly – the mainstream Indian film industries seem to be fixated on people in their late teens and 20s to the point of worrisome fetishization.

After Prateik’s quietly remarkable debut in Jaane Tu…. Ya Jaane Na, and his stellar break-out performance in Dhobi Ghat, and even his sweet presence in the generally underwhelming Dum Maaro Dum, I have great hopes for what he will continue to do in his career.  Hearing that he will take on the role that Silambarasan played (but who I didn’t quite buy as the lovelorn boy who seemed to spend way too much time hanging off the gate of Trisha’s family home ) in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa is delightful news, as I can definitely picture Prateik in the role, assuming he’ll tap into that vulnerability that was so present in Dhobi Ghat and DMD.  He should do well here.

It was also a pleasant surprise to see Amy Jackson’s name attached to this film.  She had been discovered as a young beauty queen and model in England and cast in A.L. Vijay’s 2010 historical Tamil film Madrasapattinam, which I loved (more that’s a story for another time).  And yet, I had always assumed that Ms. Jackson’s sojourn in Tamil filmdom was just one step in her career path, and after that, she’d go back to the UK and on to whatever was coming next.  But apparently not!

I am curious how director Gautham Menon will handle the language issue for his heroine in this film, given how, in Madrasapattinam, she spoke mostly English and only a smattering of heavily accented Tamil (and that’s not a criticism – as someone who has repeatedly felt the exquisite pain of trying to accurately pronounce any Tamil word containing that magic consonant “ –zha-“ I give her full marks for doing what she did).  According to Wikipedia, it seems to be a combination of dubbing and also Hindi lessons will be used to address the fact that she’s not a native Hindi speaker, nor is she a Malayallee.

I’ll be interested to see how Amy Jackson has grown and matured as an actress over the past two years in this, her second film, especially as she seems to plan to continue in this line.  In Madrasapattinam, given that she played a young girl coming to India – albeit in 1947 – for the first time (as in her real life), any hesitation or awkwardness could be attributed to the newness of it all (new country, new language, new culture, new career).

If you haven’t seen Menon’s original, it wouldn’t hurt to catch it, and I say that even with my misgivings about Simbu’s strength in the lead role.  The locations in Kerala are gorgeous and the unusual title song  sung by Karthik is wonderfully dreamy, and to my ears, sounds like something Caetano Veloso could have composed and sung.  The soundtrack is by A.R. Rahman, and he’s also doing the Hindi version.

So, in spite of this growing aversion to candy floss romances, I will be keeping my hopes up for Ek Deewana Tha to be something more substantive, and I’ll be looking forward to the cast and the new locales and the music.  Sixteen days to go…

Malayalam writer and director Siddique’s Bodyguard, a remake of his remake (the Tamil Kaavalan) of his own original film (the Malayalam Bodyguard) is now out in Hindi, starring Salman Khan as the security person to whom the title refers, and Kareena Kapoor as Divya, the object of his protections.

Though an August 2011 release, it actually feels like a film from a decade ago and there are many elements that will feel comforting and familiar to many, as well as a sharp contrast to quite a few Hindi movies from the past three to five years or so. [Read more...]

On July 26th, Disney made cinematic history when they simultaneously released two Hindi films (Do Dooni Char, Zokkomon) and one Telugu film (Anaganaga O Dheerudu / Once Upon a Warrior) on DVD, digital download and video-on-demand in the US.

I opted for the Siddharth swashbuckler directed by Prakash Kovelamudi that had its theatrical release in January of this year – Anaganaga O Dheerudu /Once Upon a Warrior – and did a completely spontaneous watchalong with my Midwest chum Beth (she of Beth Loves Bollywood and a considerable Siddharth enthusiast).  With one hour time difference between us, we both logged on and - after I ran into some initial glitches at the Disney press (free) screening site and gave up, opting to fork over the $4 to Amazon to see it - we were off. [Read more...]

Last night New Yorkers had a chance to see That Girl in Yellow Boots when it had its worldwide premiere at the Asia Society, more than a week before it releases across the US and India.

The film was the opener at last year’s SAIFF and created much excitement there.

(By the way, there was an audible gasp that went up in the audience when, just before the lights dimmed, it was mentioned that there would be an exhibit opening in September of paintings and drawings by Rabindranath Tagore.)

Here are a few photos from the red carpet last night and the Q&A afterward, to be followed very shortly by an interview with writer/director Kalki & writer/director Anurag:  [Read more...]

Two weeks from today Walt Disney Studios will take a historic step forward with the release of three Indian films in North America.

On July 26th, Disney is simultaneously releasing Do Dooni Char, Zokkomon and Once Upon a Warrior on DVD, video-on-demand, and digital download.  They will also be featured on iTunes that day.  The three films will be in their original languages (Hindi for Do Dooni Char and Zokkomon, Telugu for Once Upon a Warrior) and will have English subtitles.

Here are Disney’s descriptions of the films:

DO DOONI CHAAR

DO DOONI CHAAR is a heart-warming comedy about the dreams and challenges of a middle-class family who take a chaotic journey to fulfill their dream of owning a car and discover the true meaning of family along the way.  The film was written and directed by Habib Faisal (co-writer of “Salaam Namaste”) and features Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Aditi Vasudev, Archit Krishna, Akhilendra Mishra, Natasha Rastogi, Supriya Shukla, Mohit Chaddha and Avtar Sahni. It won India’s prestigious National Award for Best Hindi Film of the Year as well as the Best Actor Award from the 2011 New York Indian Film Festival for Rishi Kapoor.

ONCE UPON A WARRIOR

As the first ever Disney Telugu fantasy adventure, ONCE UPON A WARRIOR is about a swashbuckling warrior on an epic quest to save a mystical young girl from a wicked Queen in the ultimate battle between good and evil.  In the tradition of “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Prince of Persia,” the film features an all-star cast including Siddharth, Shruti Haasan and Lakshmi Manchu. The background score is from Salim-Sulaiman and the Music Directors are Koti, Mickey J. Mayer,  Salim-Sulaiman and M.M. Keeravani.  The film is produced by Prasad Devinini, Prakash Kovelamudi and Written & Directed by Prakash Kovelamudi.  K. Raghavendra Rao who has over 100 Telugu films among his credits, is also a producer.

ZOKKOMON

Zokkomon is a thrilling Hindi action adventure film about an ordinary boy who overcomes extraordinary challenges to become a magical hero.  The film had its World Premiere at the Indian Film Festival in Los Angeles and a limited theatrical release.  Featuring well-known Indian stars Darsheel Safary and Anupam Kher (“Bend it Like Beckham”) the film features music by India’s most popular trio, Shankar Ehsaan Loy.