All friends visiting this blog are invited to read my expressions and thoughts on movies, music and life.
Music and Movies are like Ears and Eyes to me and if you also feel the same, then you are going to enjoy each moment spent on my works here. Your comments and suggestions on my articles are eagerly awaited.
Kabir Khan, who gave us a brilliantly directed movie, “Kabul Express” returns with his latest project, "New York", revolving around the global terrorism and its silent victims. The movie talks about the brutal torture faced by many innocent people in America after 9/11 and also touches the sensitive issue of racism in an intelligent manner.
However, it has a complete sequence taken from an OSCAR Award Winner movie, “CRASH” which came in 2005 and was widely appreciated for its insightful treatment of the subject.
The scene where Katrina’s car is stopped by the policemen and she is searched all over her body disgracefully by the officer, can also be seen in “Crash”. In the English flick, the sequence is more elaborately used to show the racist exploitation faced by the people having a different colour and the pain they have to bear due to that. “Crash” has not got a big star-cast as “New York” but it has a heart beating more gracefully as compared to the Mega Bollywood venture.
Tags :
New York & Crash, Inspired Movies, Inspired Cinema, Bollywood Plagiarism, Plagiarism in Hindi Cinema, Copied Movies, Movies Inspired From, Borrowed Concepts, Inspired Plots, Bollywood & Hollywood, Reviews by Bobby Sing, Bollywood Gets Inspired, Cinema Gets Inspired, Bollywood & World Cinema, Inspiration from World Cinema
Michael Jackson, a dominant figure known as the KING of Pop Music and Dance all over the globe, left us for his eternal musical journey on June 26, 2009. A Genius of his art, the man was (and is) worshipped as a true master by uncountable number of artists living in different parts of the world. A music magician, who still holds the record of Highest Selling Music Albums, sold in millions till date and still selling. An unbelievable performer, who started the trend of having “Ambulances” arranged at his Show venues, ready to help the over enthusiastic fans who used to faint, screaming and crying at the sight of their Pop Icon.
Overshadowed by the questionable controversies in his final years, MICHAEL was treated almost like a GOD by his lovers in the last century. The unmatchable, Greatest Musical Icon of this planet was forced to live an isolated life and suffered a lot due to the allegations made against him in the new millennium. May be it was the same pain of disrespect and agony which took away the maestro, in an early age of 50 and deprived us from having many more musical gems from the supremo.
In India and may be in other parts of the world too, Michael was more famous as an amazing dancer with incomparable talent, than a singer. His hit numbers were more recognized for their foot tapping beats and innovative dance steps and less for their lyrical content and singing. Especially, In India and its adjacent countries, he was more worshipped as a Godly Dancer and an incredible performer. The man was responsible for inducing the spirit of dance into numerous artists and performers in this part of the world. Prominent figures in India like, Mithun Chakroborty & Prabhu Deva are the best examples of his celebrity fans immensely inspired from Jackson’s dancing styles.
Michael was a name, known in even the remote rural areas of our country wherever there was a soul with a passion towards dance and music. Such was the impact and influence of his persona that you could hear his songs playing in the areas where not even the language (English) was properly spoken or understood. But they all just loved listening and dancing to his various chartbuster songs. He was a true inspirational source for all the aspirant artists in the entire world who wanted to move, dance and perform like him on stage. But sadly, this greatest inspiring figure of the world, witnessed an unexpected setback in his final years, which was like a heavy price he had to pay for his earned fame, name and glory.
For me, Michael was one of the greatest musical geniuses I have ever heard and seen in my life till date. A man who thought of composing and arranging his songs in a completely different style all together, in contrast with the usual music scene at that time. For me, he was just not only an amazing dancer, but was more like a musical soul who liked to think from his heart. A maestro, whose music was his only possible solace in his otherwise over famous life of a world renowned figure. A poet from heart, who could think of lyrics such as “Heal The World”, “The Earth Song” and many others, caring about the current state of our planet and the life-force living on it.
As I can remember, Michael was the name, who introduced me to English Music arena. His immortal musical gems like “Liberian Girl”, “Bad”, “Thriller” and “The Girl Is Mine”, were the first few English Songs I ever heard. His long vertical poster purchased from the “Archies Gallery” was one the first few, pasted in my room in my school days. In fact, his lovable songs made me search for the English Songs Lyrics books in the late eighties, since I wanted to understand each and every word he sings in his perfect numbers.
But now he is gone……., leaving us with the legacy of his eternal songs to cherish. The Greatest Icon of Pop Music and Dance ever lived on this planet has departed. But he is sure going to be remembered forever by every present and future artist of this world, irrespective of his location, origin or language.
And Michael will be always there with us, performing at the tender stage of our hearts with the same zest and zeal……..forever.
MY FAREWELL to the Master
May His Soul Rest In Peace.......
Tags :
My Tribute to Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, Thriller, Bad, Heal the World, Liberian Girl, Dangerous, Blask & White, Heart Attack, Allegations, The Greatest Pop Icon of the World, My Farewell to the Master.
More than the Yash Raj banner, it was Kabir Khan for whom, I was eager to see “New York”. Impressed by his unique style of direction in “Kabul Express”, I had my own expectations from the star studded movie based on the impact of terrorism and its innocent targets in America. But the movie is nowhere close to the director’s first attempt and has nothing new or exceptional to offer in terms of content and storyline.
To begin with, “New York” is not a fun filled, youthful movie as suggested by the catchy & colourful promos on air. Instead it’s a dark & intense thriller, dealing with a serious issue of global terrorism and its silent victims. The appealing romantic element associated with the three glamorous faces in the movie lasts for only a few minutes in the first half and then the story moves on to its original plot. So, the relief element with all the college scenes and love angle is only there initially and it all becomes pretty rough and grim later on.
The script department is the main culprit with nothing new to offer to the viewers. It’s the same story of three friends, Neil, Katrina & John, who had a good time in college, but had to part with each other, after their studies. Later, it is found that John, who had married Katrina, is now the leader of an underground terrorist group, which he had formed to fight for his dignity. John’s step towards terrorism was a result of his severe torture by the FBI, who detained him on the grounds of suspicion, just after the 9/11 incident. Taking a clue from their college days, Neil is spotted by an FBI officer, Irfan Khan, and sent to live with John & Katrina as an undercover agent in order to know their future targets.
Now how many times we have already seen the similar subject of an infiltrator being sent in a terrorist gang to know about their game plans. The moment you come to know the main subject of the movie, half your interest is gone. And you further lose more, with all those lengthy unwanted sequences where everyone is giving justifications for their choices made in life. In addition to this, there are many unanswered question left for the viewers to guess, such as what was Neil doing after his College, why was he driving a cab after having completed his studies, how did John become the leader of his high profile gang and many more. The characterization lacks the required depth and that’s the reason why the viewer is not able to feel the pain felt by John and Neil on the screen. The climax has its own loose ends too, where the bombs are being planted on a FBI Headquarters building openly without any security intervention. The dialogues given to John, Neil and Katrina towards the end are also quite underwritten and unimpressive, leading to a somehow weird and uninteresting climax.
At the performing level, the three key actors, John, Neil & Katrina have excelled themselves in “New York”. Especially Katrina, has taken many leaps ahead with her acting skills and expressions. Irfan Khan, is superb as usual and he seems to be enjoying every character he plays in his movies. Cinematography is competent as it captures both the big streets and the lousy backyards impressively. In the music region, there are only few songs incorporated on the screen, whereas you will find more in the original soundtrack of the movie. But no particular song stands out as a winner this time, from Preetam. On the other hand, background score by Julius Peckam, having a rock feel, does grab your attention in a few thrilling scenes.
The director, Kabir Khan, who showed great capabilities in his first venture, “Kabul Express”, stumbles this time with an ineffective script written on an old story plot. The good old Kabir is only visible in some particular sequences in the movie, like the one where John goes on to search for the brown bread and then kidnapped in a van. Otherwise, Kabir is not able to meet his own set standards of excellence in “New York”.
Moreover, I couldn’t understand the need of lifting an entire sequence from the 2006 Oscar winner movie “Crash” and using it in his most prestigious project having great expectations. The scene where Katrina is searched all over her body by a male cop, is straight away taken from the movie “Crash”, where the same sequence was used to show racism being practiced by the cops with the black.
In few words, “New York” is like an old wine presented in a glossy Yash Raj bottle. It is just an Ok movie with nothing new or exceptional from a brilliant director, Kabir Khan. Would love to see him, back in form again with his next.
Ratings : 2 / 5
Tags :
New York Movie Review, New York Film Review, New York Movie Review By Bobby Sing, New York Film Review By Bobby Sing, Movie Review New York, NY Movie Review By Bobby Sing, NY Film Review By Bobby Sing, New York Review, New Bollywood Movies Released, New Hindi Movies Released, New Hindi Movie Reviews, New Bollywood Movies Reviews, John Abrahm, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Katrina Kaif, Kabir Khan, Kabul Express, Yash Raj Movies, 2009 Bollwyood Releases
Movie lovers all over the world are desperate to see a good entertaining movie after the long non-happening break in Hindi Cinema. And even a marginally good movie could possibly become a profit earner for its producers at this particular point of time. But “Paying Guest” doesn’t even score the minimum points to qualify at that level. It is a completely out of tune project with an all predictable storyline and repetitive gags.
The plot can be easily guessed from its title and on air promos, which revolves around men posing like girls to get a shelter as Paying Guests. We have already witnessed the same narrative in many movies in the past and the only thing which could have saved the movie was its treatment and performances. Sadly, the movie doesn’t have anything to hold your interest in those departments too. From the start itself, you already know what is going to happen next and you simply give up all your hopes of watching a quality comedy from there on. All the four key characters lose their jobs, have no place to live and then find a home where only married couples are allowed as Paying Guests. It all sounds like a book already read till the last page. So there is no surprise element as far as the story is concerned.
In the performance department, though we have a talented ensemble of actors known for their comic timings, still no one in particular is as impressive as their earlier movies. Out of all only, Shreyas Talpade and Johny Lever (as the Sikh Landlord) manage to provide a few moments to enjoy for the viewers. Javed Jaffery looks like holding back intentionally, with Ashish Chowdhary & Vatsal Seth just playing their parts as assigned. Chunky Pandey and Inder Kumar are simply wasted in their non sensible roles. In the female lead, only Delnaz is able to give a good performance as Johny Lever’s wife trying to speak English words in her own style. Rest all including Neha Dhupia, Celina Jaitley, Riya Sen and Sayali Bhagat are only there to add more glamour on the screen. In fact, Sheryas & Javed in their woman avatars are more entertaining than all the other girls put together. But even their worth praising acts go un-noticed since there is nothing new in their under-written routine like sequences and all heard before, one liner jokes. Well known veteran comedy actors like Asrani, Paintel and Viju Khote are also there to give a real comedy feel to the movie.
Sajid Wajid’s music once again fails to deliver anything exceptional after their last week project, with only one song “Jack & Jill”, sounding good to the ears. Location wise, the movie has a novelty in store, exploring Bangkok and Pattaya with a fresh perspective. But without any real entertainment happening on the screen, you are just not interested in seeing only the good visuals.
It looks like the director, Paritosh Painter, only had an idea of men posing as women in mind for his movie. And then he got a whole script written around this plot and just started the shoot. He seems to be highly inspired from Ritesh Deshmukh’s widely appreciated lady act in “Apna Sapna Money Money”. A scene from this movie can also be spotted running on a TV in the background, when the boys come to Johny Lever’s house for the first time. Paritosh also tries to create the same magic of “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron” towards the climax where all the characters jump into an ongoing stage show, in different getups, speaking their own dialogues. But here also the magic of the original remains untouched.
Summing up, “Paying Guest” is like a badly cooked and completely tasteless dish served to the hungry movie lovers at a time when they seriously need a good one.
Ratings : 1.5 / 5
Tags :
Paying Guest Movie Review by Bobby Sing, Paying Guest Film Review by Bobby Sing, Paying Guest Review by Bobby Sing, Paying Guest Review, PG Movie Review, Paying guest, New Bollywood Movies Reviews, New Hindi Films Reviews, New Hindi Films Released, New Bollwyood Movies Released, Shreyas Talpade, Javed Jaffery, Riya Sen, Neha Dhupia, Asrani, Paintel, New Bollywood Comedy Movie, Hindi Comedy Movies, Inspired Cinema, Bollywood Movies Released in 2009
For me,
But now he is gone……., 
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Now how many times we have already seen the similar subject of an infiltrator being sent in a terrorist gang to know about their game plans. The moment you come to know the main subject of the movie, half your interest is gone. And you further lose more, with all those lengthy unwanted sequences where everyone is giving justifications for their choices made in life. In addition to this, there are many unanswered question left for the viewers to guess, such as what was Neil doing after his College, why was he driving a cab after having completed his studies, how did John become the leader of his high profile gang and many more. The characterization lacks the required depth and that’s the reason why the viewer is not able to feel the pain felt by John and Neil on the screen. The climax has its own loose ends too, where the bombs are being planted on a FBI Headquarters building openly without any security intervention. The dialogues given to John, Neil and Katrina towards the end are also quite underwritten and unimpressive, leading to a somehow weird and uninteresting climax.
Movie lovers all over the world are desperate to see a good entertaining movie after the long non-happening break in Hindi Cinema. And even a marginally good movie could possibly become a profit earner for its producers at this particular point of time. But “Paying Guest” doesn’t even score the minimum points to qualify at that level. It is a completely out of tune project with an all predictable storyline and repetitive gags.