Favorite Songs of 2010!

Can you believe its already the end ?!?!? ... SO many memories, regrets, and SONGS!
I will eventually get to films but for now these are my top songs of this year.  I based this list solely on how many times it was played on my ipod, so enjoy!


10. Song:  Aila Re Aila
      Film:  Khatta Meetha
What's not to love about this song?!? Akshay looks adorable in his newspaper boy 'Man' outfit.  I must also add that over time I have become a hardcore Pritam Fangirl, so most of what he does never disappoints me... 



9. Song: Uff Teri Adaa
    Film: Karthik Calling Karthik
I remember when I first heard this song, I was hooked ....but then {dramatic music}I saw the pictuarization and was left very disappointed.  Thankfully i'm only judging the song and not the video.  Even though I was disappointed with the video I fell in LOVE with Deepika's hair-do so much that I even got myself a Deepika inspired cut, which I might get again!



8. Song: Kilimanjaro
    Film: Robot {Hindi}
This songs is awesome Period!



7. Song: I Hate Luv Stories
    Film: I Hate Luv Stories
Absolutely one of the catchiest songs of the year!



6. Song: Sheila Ki Jawani
    Film: Tees Maar Khan
Katrina = Bahut Sexy! 'nuff said.



5. Song: Ainvayi Ainvayi
    Film: Band Baaja Baarat
This song rocks my world, I have seen this promo more than 50 times ... I love it that much.  It may also have to do with the fact that I am in love with Anushka and her eyebrows! 



4. Song: Bombay Bombay Tararam Pam
    Film: Striker
I still have yet to see this movie, even with its questionable ending, as a Siddarth fan I must see it! Plus, it's an Amit Trivedi gem!



3. Song:Parda Parda Ha Parda
    Film: Once Upon A Time In Mumbai
This song did 70s sooo well, unlike {cough} Action Replayy {cough}



2. Song: Gal Mitthi Mitthi Bole
    Film: Aisha
What Amit Trivedi did this song?!? ... It was just meant to be ... even with my dear Abhay's horrible no dancing skills ...



1. Song: Munni Badnaam Hui Darling
    Film: Dabanng
Ummm ... duh! of course this is number 1. Malaika is an Item Girl Goddess!



Honorable Mentions:


Song: Walla Re Walla
Film: Tees Maar Khan
I can't help it if Salu all of a sudden makes me smile :D



Song: Thok Di Killi
Film: Raavan {Hindi}
I don't care what anyone says I loved Abhi in this film! And he even convinced me that he could maybe even dance in this song ... so i give him an A for effort.

Sallu Marathon ... My Mini Review of Maine Pyaar Kiya

I know, I know I have always expressed my dislike for SalMan Khan, he was the guy I loved to hate on...so it came as a shock when I finally watched Maine Pyaar Kiya and I was enamored with Salman.

I think it had to do with the fact that he was the romantic hero, which is something that nowadays I don't get from him.  In my heart that spot was reserved for Shahrukh, how close minded of me...I know.  But I was amazed at how much I really connected with his character, I loved every minute of this film.

Even the 'acting' by both of the lead actors...as one YouTube comment read, "And the best acting goes to the White Pidgeon!..." Which pretty much sums up how well acted this film was, but still even with these flaws I was in love with Salman's portrayal of Prem.

Another confession...I actually found Salman to be attractive...this is something I would NEVER EVER admit to...specially present day Sallu, but god! I would always question and think, try to understand why on earth do women find him attractive, oh well...I think for now I'll just stick to his older films.  It just seems to be a pretty comfortable spot for me, in order to truly appreciate him as a romantic hero.

Which further proves my obsession with Love Stories.  I just I'm just a sucker for that chocolate Bollywood romantic hero, there! I've said it!  Plus!!! Another bonus...the music was fantastic, My theme song in life is now officially, "Aaja Sham..."


Here's the one song that is just so wrong it's right!!!  You won't be disappointed!


Here's the Link for the film, I believe that it is a legal copy since the actual production company Rajshri released it.

... But I Luv Love Stories ... My Thoughts on I Hate Luv Stories

...It's films like this that remind me why I love Bollywood so much...

***SPOILERS***

As Simran {IHLS} says, "...यह फ़िल्मी दुनिया, रोमांटिक कहानिया ..."  This is everything I have come to love, obsesses, and expect from Bollywood films.  Of course the occasional thriller, comedy, and drama grab my attention...but what I have gotten from these films is exactly that...the melodramatic love stories that have filled my world with fantasies and possibilities.  Obviously I never expect any Raj + Simran, a la DDLJ, type of romance to occur in my life, but the possibility of it is what makes these films so inviting, exciting, and just plain addicting.

Now onto I Hate Luv Storys, I really enjoyed this film, but let's be honest who doesn't love romantic comedies???  Especially when you have a fresh jodi like Imran and Sonam. IHLS is the story of a girl, Simran {Sonam Kapoor}, who is infatuated with love stories.  Simran whom is also living a real life fairy tale life with the perfect boyfriend, romance, and life.   

Unlike J {Imran Khan} who is of course the total opposite of her, who hates the type of love stories that are recycled for audiences over and over, and Gasp! he doesn't believe in love!  I know...how shocking!  Of course like in every love story opposites always have a way of attracting each other, and this story is no different.  

But I think that what made this film just a little different from other romantic films are the clear references they make to classic love stories that most of the audience has grown up with.  Yes, i've read some of the negative reviews that say that because most of the DDLJ types of refrences made in the film don't work is because they are so overused nowadays thanks to film camps like Yash Raj and of course Karan Johar's Dharma Productions.  

Maybe it's just me, but every time I get a reference to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai or any similar film I squeal like a school girl, just because I got it!  Plus!  I was so glad I had seen Sholay just days prior to watching this film...I  got all the Gabbar and Dhanno references!!!

{P.S. The only thing that really ticked me off during the film was the fact that songs had no subtitles!  Arg! I Live for English subs!!!}


My Top 3 Moments in the Film:

3.  The very beginning was already an indicator that I was gonna really enjoy this film.  The narrator was none other than the King of Romance himself, Shahrukh.  Not only that there was a sort of mini montage of different scenes from some of the most romantic films such as: DDLJ, Fanaa, etc.  Khan's voice help set the mood!

2.  When J follows Simran with the little fan.  There's this moment after meeting, J and Simran become friends and start hanging out and blah blah, but there's this super cute moment during the song, Jab Mila Tu, where J does all these typical filmi gags, and of course one of those is the wind blowing the girls hair.  Which is a super classic move!  

1.  As Raj said in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, "...you have seen enough Hindi films to know that a girl and a guy can never be friends.  After friendship comes love, pyaar, ishq, mohabbat."   So of course J eventually falls for Simran, follows the very same stereotypes of those romantic stories he loves to hate.  He has this daydream sequence in which he sings a song.  What makes this so funny is how he finally accepts that he in fact is in love and went through all these stereotypes in order to finally figure out that yes, he is in fact in love.

Abhi You Sexy Wild Man! .... My Thoughts On Raavan

So I'm back...once again...life has taken over and has made me abandon my blog, but never fear I'm back!

It is exactly 12:39 pm... I'm fresh out of the cinema hall...and Raavan fresh on my mind, so without delay here are my thoughts on the film.

I cannot stress enough he fact that i had been waiting for this film for quite some time...the anticipation leading up to it's release was just so exciting...I even forbid myself to listening to the OST just so i could have it sort of fresh in my mind for when I would see it on the big screen.  The director for this film Mani Ratnam is a favorite of mine and has yet to fail me.  One major thing you get of this film even if you don't enjoy the film are the absolutely stunning locations...the landscape is captured so beautifully.

This was the most beautifully made film I have seen in a long time...the landscapes were stunning.  And speaking of beauty....the soundtrack, AMAZING! That's as much as I can say without repeating what I have already said about it.

I have always enjoyed Abhishek in his 'serious' roles such as Guru, Yuva, KANK {which is one of my all time favorite Baby B films} and of course in his not so serious roles like Dostana. I have never been one to run to a theater for an Abhishek film, but when I saw the first promos for this films....I was in total awe!

I was surprised by Abhishek's portrayal of Beera, I loved every minute of it.  I know there were two versions of the film, and I saw both trailers side by side to decide which one I should see first, there was something in Abhi's take on the character of Beera that really stood out for me, which was what me choose his version over that of Vikram.  I still plan on watching the Tamil version but while watching Vikram in the Hindi version I really saw nothing that made him stand out, so I have yet to understand what other fellow bloggers see in him that I don't...but once I see the Tamil version I'll have my own take on it.

Aishwarya's role in the film was nice but not really something to brag about.  This film also made Govinda much more tolerable, which is saying something.  One more thing that stood out, this has mostly to do with direction/look of the film.  There was a lot of slow motion shots, it's not like it was just in certain scenes but also in the song pictuarizations; I really felt that it should have been toned down.

Overall, I think that it was a very satisfying film.  I have to say that I did enjoy the music much more than the film itself, which so happened to be one of the main things that lured me into seeing the film.

Guilty Pleasures of the Month...

I have have been off for a while, at first it was because of finals but then I just got lazy...sorry ya'll.  But now I'm back and hopefully I can keep up with weekly posts.  Right now I have about 5 reviews that I have written, but I have just gotten so lazy with typing them...it may be due to the fact that my summer job requires me to be in front of the computer all day, and so when I get home I really don't get the urge to type anything.


Anyways, I had been pondering with this topic for quite some time...but I was finally inspired to go for it after reading Shell's fabulous post of her most guiltiest pleasures.  I hope I can post on different topics but around the same theme, we'll see how far I can go with this.  This months topic is guiltiest song pictuarizations, and believe me there are a lot that I have but I shall name my top 5.  Here goes:


#5 Shamma Shamma - Mere Baap Phele Aap


I would say that ANY song  from this film is a guilty pleasure, and yes I have purchased this OST from itunes...you know, i would actually consider the actual film a guilty pleasure.  All in all it's a bad film but I had fun watching it.



#4 Aayega Maza Ab Barsaat Ka - Andaaz


I always get embarrassed watching this song in public...it's soft core porn at it's filmi finest.  I Love the song, but the picturization is soo wrong, but yet soo right!



#3 Bhangra Pale - Taalash: The Hunt Begins


Nahin!!! Another Akshay "Golden Man" song...anyways Bebo's outfit is not the business, and that high pitched singer's voice ...wow! ...the first time I was exposed to the high pitched voice of Hindi Cinema I was taken aback, but I eventually got used to it, but when I heard this song...it took high pitch to a whole 'notha level!



#2 My Name Is Ali - Dhoom 2


Uday {Eewday} Chopra is one of the guiltiest pleasures in Bollywood.  But it's not essentially his dancing that's wrong but also the fact that I have no idea what the song is really saying... I mean please, can someone actually translate the meaning of "Excuse me too please!"



#1 Genie Rap - Aladin


Does this really need an explanation??? 

IIFA 2010 Nominations...How Exciting!

Here are the nominations for this year's IIFA Awards, which will be hosted in the beautiful city of Colombo in Sri Lanka: 
I can't wait for 2011 when IIFA is hosted in Canada...I'm will be outside stalking Akshay!!! I can't wait!


(In BOLD are my picks to win)


Best Film 
Vidu Vinod Chopra - 3 Idiots 
Boney Kapoor - Wanted
Anurag Kashyap & Ronnie Screwvala - Dev D
Vishal Bharadwaj & Ronnie Screwvala - Kaminey
Sunil Manchanda & AB Corp - Paa

{This Category is already a given}




Best Direction
Rajkumar Hirani - 3 Idiots 
Anurag Kashyap - Dev D
Ayan Mukerji - Wake Up Sid
Vishal Bharadwaj - Kaminey
Imtiaz Ali - Love Aaj Kal
R.Balki - Paa 



Performance in a Leading Role (Male) 
Aamir Khan - 3 Idiots
Amitabh Bachchan - Paa 
Saif Ali Khan - Love Aaj Kal
Salman Khan - Wanted
Shahid Kapoor - Kaminey
Ranbir Kapoor -Wake Up Sid 


{Some please explain to me, WHY is Abhay Deol not nominated in this category!!!}




Performance in a Leading Role (Female)
Kareena Kapoor - 3 Idiots
Priyanka Chopra - Kaminey
Deepika Padukone - Love Aaj Kal
Vidya Balan - Paa
Mahie Gill - Dev D 



Performance in Supporting Role (Male)
Sharman Joshi - 3 Idiots
Irrfan - New York
R. Madhavan - 3 Idiots
Abhimanyu Singh - Gulal
Abhishek Bachchan - Paa
Rishi Kapoor - Love Aaj Kal 


Performance in Supporting Role (Female) 
Kalki Koechlin - Dev D
Arundhati Naag - Paa
Divya Dutta - Delhi 6
Supriya Pathak - Wake Up Sid
Kirron Kher - Kurban 


Performance in a Comic Role
Omi Vaidya - 3 Idiots 
Ajay Devgn - All The Best
Johny Lever - De Dana Dan
Govinda - Life Partner
Sanjay Dutt - All The Best 


Performance in a Negative Role
Boman Irani - 3 Idiots 
Amol Gupte - Kaminey
Prakash Raj - Wanted
Kay Kay Menon - Gulal
Arya Babbar - Jail



Music Direction 
Shantanu Moitra - 3 Idiots
A.R.Rehman - Delhi 6
Pritam - Love Aaj Kal
Amit Trivedi - Dev D 
Vishal Bharadwaj - Kaminey



Best Story
Abhijat Joshi,Raj Kumar Hirani & Vidu Vinod Chopra - 3 Idiots 
Ayan Mukherji - Wake Up Sid
Anurag Kashyap & Vikramaditya Motwane - Dev D 
Imtiaz Ali - Love Aaj Kal
R.Balki - Paa 
{I really want Dev D to win, but I think the whole night is gonna belong to 3 Idiots}




Best Lyrics
Swanand Kirkire - 3 Idiots
Prasoon Joshi - Delhi 6
Irshad Kamil - Love Aaj Kal
Gulzar - Kaminey
Amitabh Bhattacharya - Dev D 



Playback Singer (Male) 
Shaan - Behti Hawa Sa Tha Who (3 Idiots)
Mohit Chauhan - Masakali (Delhi 6)
Sonu Nigam - All Izz Well (3 Idiots)
Atif Aslam - Tu Jaane Na (Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani)
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - Aaj Din Chadiya (Love Aaj Kal) 
Sukhvinder Singh & Vishal Dadlani - Dan Te Nan (Kaminey)



Playback Singer (Female) 
Shreya Ghoshal - Zoobi Doobi ( 3 Idiots)
Kavita Seth - Ek Tara (Wake Up Sid)
Rekha Bharadwaj - Sasural Genda Phool (Delhi 6)
Sunidhi Chauhan - Chor Baazari (Love Aaj Kal)
Shilpa Rao - Moodi Moodi (Paa)
Tulsi Kumar - Hafiz Khuda (8X10 Tasveer)

Confessions Of An Abhay Deol Enthusiast ...

So like I promised...here's my review of Road, Movie and while i'm at it a review of Dev D. too!

I'm not really sure what I love about Abhay Deol, he just has this way about him that I really enjoy watching on screen whether it's his films or his interviews.  After reading a fantastic review of Dev D. I knew I had to see it for myself.  Being a fan of Shahrukh's 2002 version of the Devdas story I was a bit apprehensive as to how a modern version of the story would play out.  Based on the promos there would be a lot sex, drugs, and Rock & Roll.  So I was, but then I wasn't interested in watching when it was out in theaters.

\

Dev D.

So, after reading some blog posts on the film I knew I had to see it, it was the best decision I ever made.  From that opening scene I was completely engulfed in this new world of Dev D., not that his world is different from my world but going into the film I was waiting to compare it to the 2002 version, but I was wrong to even assume that.  This is so far from that version, that there can't really be a comparison.

This film was the one that made me fall in love with Abhay, those familiar with the Devdas story will be pleasantly surprised  at this take on a classic love story.  I loved how much the music played such an integral part in the film.  Now, I know that in Bollywood films music are an integral part of a film but this was very different, this is one of the best soundtracks i have come across in a long time.  I was so glad the music director Amit Trivedi won the Filmfare award for Best Background Score and the R.D. Burman award.

One last important detail I must mention is the new talent introduced in the film, i'm talking about Kalki Koechlin and Mahi Gill, but the girl who really stands out is Kalki.  WoW!!! I can't wait to see what else she becomes involved in.  This girl deserved all the praise she got for her performance it was stunning!

 Intermission

END OF INTERMISSION

Road Movie

I was so happy I actually got a chance to watch this film at this years' Indian Film Festival in Hollywood.  The theater was sold out, which was good for the makers of Road, Movie.  I was really surprised, but then again this film has been selected to play in various film festival around the world, the most recent being the Berlinale Film Festival.

Already being an Abhay fan girl I already kinda knew I would enjoy the film.  But it truly was a good film, i miss those kinds of films in which a character decides to leave everything behind and just go...with no real destination, it's just a fascinating concept.  Maybe it's just one of my secret fantasies to just leave my house or where I live, and leave my job, the people i know, and just everything. Whoa!

Overall, the film was very entertaining, Abhay has a knack for playing jerks.  The premise of the film is that of Vishnu {Abhay Deol} who grows restless with each passing day and his lack of purpose in life while working for his fathers failing hair oil business.  He then gets a chance to drive a truck, which he later discovers to be a touring cinema truck, to an antique museum.  

He then encounters an orphan, a mechanic, and a wandering young woman who help him in his journey, a journey of self discovery you could call it, in which he if able to get to his destination and eventually start a new life.

I absolutely loved the music for this film, some of the songs that truly stand out is the enchanting kaisi tanhai and fun revamped tel malish beautifully performed  by Sylvia Gordon.

Indian Film Festival Day 2!

So, in case you follow me on Twitter of on my Facebook, you are already aware of my adventures in this years Indian Film Festival (IFFLA).  I'm getting a chance to volunteer this year in many different areas of the festival...which adds even more excitement to my life!  Plus I got to see Omi Vaidya {From 3 Idiots!} but I got too nervous to approach him...oh, well...he'll probably come back for the 3 Idiots screening on Friday night!

The festival has been hosted every year at the fabulous Arclight theater, located in the heart of fabulous Hollywood, CA.  For any of you unlucky people whom have never been inside and experience the magic of this theater, let me tell you there's none like it.

Most of the Hindi films I have watched have been in the local theater which are the most beautiful theaters and sound and picture quality are just good.  So, to see them in this theater was just AMAZING!  I'm starting to sound like an ad...oh Gosh!  Now onto the films!  I actually didn't think I would get a chance to watch any films based on my volunteer hours...so when I was told I could...I was just ecstatic to say the least.

The first film I really wanted to see was Harishchandrachi Factory.  This was the first ever Marathi film I ever saw, and it was fantastic to say the least.  I have never laughed so much in my life, this was a great film to start off my festival experience with.

The story of H. Factory is that of Dadasahed Phalke, also known as the Father of Indian Cinema, and his struggles of creating the first ever Indian film, the epic story of Raja Harishchandra.  The movie follows him and his family as they struggle to pursue this dream and all the craziness that follows from trying to find and shoot in exotic locations to casting the main 'female' lead of the film.

I would say that the only fault in this film is that everything happened too quickly in that there was no real struggle in getting the money for the film, the actors, etc., there was always way in which the main character just got everything very easily.  This really keeps the film from actually being realistic, but overall an absolutely  fantastic film.

 Next movie I saw was Road Movie, with my newest obsession Abhay Deol *swoon*, unfortunately I missed the first 15 minutes so I need to find an online link and watch to truly feel like I have watched the whole thing, soo I will post up my thoughts once I get to that.

In case there are any of you Los Angelenos {?} that are not aware of the festival, hurry up! There's still time to buy tickets, but I will warn that most of the Bollywood films are getting sold out very quickly!!! As of right now there are still tickets available for tonight's Bollywood film, Kaminey.  So enjoy!