Prakash Jha's Aarakshan

A excellent first look:

Dum Maro Dum song long promo - Deepika's item song

More on the Ranbir-Deepika-Sonam KWK kerfuffle!

Ranbir Kapoor and Imraan Khan appeared on Koffee With Karan and Ranbir acted like quite the player. He was quite open about how he uses camouflage to hide the names of his “female” callers on his cell phone – I believe the code word was “Battery Low”!

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey - reviews 2.5 stars so far

Taran Adarsh Bollywoodhungama 4/5  "It's a film of immense significance which evokes a colossal patriotic fervor."
Phelim O'Neill, Guardian, UK 4/5 "A little-known episiode in India's independence fight gets the Bollywood treatment – and it works a treat"
Khalid Mohamed, PFC 3.5/5 "here a freedom fighter’s life kicks down the front door and sits at the head of the table. If you don’t care to know more about him, it’s your loss entirely."
Nikhat Kazmi, TOI 3.5/5 "it is the director's narrative style and his attempt to re-tell history through a racy-pacy tenor that gives the film its movement and manages to drive the message home. "
Pankaj Sabnani, Glamsham 2.5/5 "Almost the entire second half has poignant moments that keep you hooked. The scene in which the four revolutionaries kill themselves is tear-jerker. "
Raja Sen, Rediff 2.5/5 "The Chittagong Uprising makes for a smashing narrative, and Gowariker plays it loyally enough. It isn't subtle and the direction is straight out of the Jingoism Manual, but because the story itself has such immense meat, it's hard to not get sucked in as you watch it unfold."
 Anupama Chopra, NDTV 2.5/5 "Ashutosh recreates this largely forgotten event with sincerity and sweat but unfortunately Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey comes off a high school history lesson: plodding, stilted and in long stretches, staggeringly boring. "
Aniruddha Guha, DNA 3/5 "Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey moves you, but sporadically"
Sukanya Venkatraghavan, Filmfare unrated "Trade fads be damned. And as long as there are stories like this waiting to be told, we hope people like Ashutosh Gowariker will tell them."
Shubhra Gupta, Indian Express 2.5/5 " in its execution, the gaps between the intention and the final product : the book’s gripping characters and its rousing patriotic tale never comes fully alive on screen."
Minty Tejpal, Mumbai Mirror unrated "Abhishek carries a knowing beatific look through the film, which gets painful, and Deepika looks gorgeous but disappears halfway through the film."
Komal Nahta, KoiMoi.com 0.5/5 "Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is an unmitigated disaster."
And on TV Rajeev Masand - 2.5/5 - he likened it to a school play...

Break ke Baad reviews 2.5 stars so far

LA Times Indian romcom has engaging performances. Too bad the script 
doesn't live up to them.

Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone star in the Indian romcom "Break Ke Baad."                  (Reliance Big Pictures)

Komal Nahta, RadioSargam 2/5 Break Ke Baad is for the youth in the cities; its  reasonable price is an asset. Nikhat Kazmi, TOI 3/5 Nothing dramatic, just fresh: Break Ke Baad is the other  flavour of romance. One that you don't find in run-of-the mill Mills and Boon.  Blessy Chettiar, DNA2/5 If you don’t fall in the 20-30 age bracket, the events  unfolding in front of your eyes on the screen might leave you asking: ‘what the  hell is happening here?’ Sarita Tanwar, Mid-Day2.5/5 When you attempt a romantic comedy, you need to  abide by two rules -- it needs to have the freshness quotient and a twist in the tale ....Watch it only if you are addicted to romcoms. Anupama Chopra, NDTV 2.75/5

.. shows promise and sparkle but eventually doesn't deliver the goods.

Rajeev Masand, IBN  2.5/5 As romantic comedies go "Break Ke Baad", starring
Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone, is arguably more engaging than recent films
of this genre - "Aisha", "Anjaana Anjaani" and "Jhootha Hi Sahi".

Sukanya Varma, Rediff 2.5/5 Call it tribute or inspiration, the prospect of zero 
individuality in a creative medium is hardly a deal breaker. And it's definitely not cool 
anymore.   

Let us have Ranbir for coffee - the Deepika Padukone & Sonam Kapoor episode of KWK

KWK had been plodding along this season, starting with a mind-numbingly dull episode and barely warming up a bit with the Ranbir Kapoor Imran Khan episode. And then came the two women, little less than three years old in the industry, but ready to speak their minds about a lot of issues! Suddenly KWK got jolted out of the doldrums and into the realm of funny and interesting. I think the show was not at all what the host had envisioned and he was often caught off guard with some of the candid answers.
They say hell hath no fury greater than that of a woman scorned. And here were two women who showed their claws when it came to many issues.

Khele Hum Jee Jaan Sey - updated with new Bande Mataram promo

Break ke Baad updated with new theatrical promo

Deepika interview update: Ranbir not a cheater

Break Ke Baad updated with music review & stills

Adhoore and Ajab lehar are trademark Vishal Shekhar; if the former is catchy and beautifully uptempo, the latter’s orchestration makes all the difference! Prasoon Joshi makes his impact wonderfully in Dhoop ke makaan, while Shekhar and Sunidhi are in scintillating form with their vocals. Monica ‘Shaa’ir’ Dogra competes proficiently with Vishal’s already impeccable singing in the ebullient and rock’ish Dooriyan. Main jiyoonga is the only track that sounds arduous, but the composing duo cleverly iron out the edges in its consummate English version, Don’t worry about me! It’s a delightful feeling to see Vishal Shekhar deliver great music so consistently!

http://itwofs.com/milliblog/2010/10/13/break-ke-baad-music-review-hindi-vishal-shekhar/

I jiust heard the Break ke baad album - and it is actually quite nice, mellow and soothing.  I could not figure out how such contemplative songs will fit into a romcom with Imraan!  Hoepfully the movie does justice to the songs.  Have yet to listen to Guzaarish, though from the promos the music is lacking the Bhansali touch...  His films in the past had some fine music.

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey new poster

Emotional Atyachar review *ing Ranbir Kapoor

Frequently Asked Questions:

First up, what is Emotional Atyachar?  It's not just a song from an Anurag Kashyap film anymore.  It is one of the staples of trashy guilty pleasure television made famous by channels like Bindass and MTV.  For similarly satisfying American trash, refer to The Jersey Shore, one notch above the now defunct Jerry Springer Show.  Think about it this way: if Mad Men is gourmet, Emotional Atyachar is buying a 25 cent bag of Cheetos from a gas station while wearing flip flops.

The premise of the show? A person comes on the show to do a "loyalty test" on their partner.  The show sends their own crew members to flirt with the suspected person and then record it all on hidden cameras. The footage is then shown to the world and a showdown usually occurs at the end. This could be comprised of sobbing, fighting, hitting, spitting, and traditional beat-downs.  This is what we call the "pay-off"- the reason that the audience watches the show. Who doesn't want to see people getting their asses kicked.  I'm in.

Why Ranbir Kapoor you ask? Emotional Atyachar is so popular and famous now that all celebrities make their rounds of it, watch the cheating action, dole out some advice (and secretly enjoy the beat-downs like the rest of India) and promote their films.

Deepika tested Ranbir's loyalty?!  All of us wish this to be true but alas that was not to be. A truly golden opportunity missed. Please send all future suggestions to Deepika Padukone's PR agents. They are slacking.  I don't think the daily interviews dumping on Ranbir are quite doing the trick. They need to try for something more effective and entertaining.  Deepika owes us big time after Housefull as it is. We might begin to forgive her if she pulls off this coup.

Now on to the show.

After the requisite song snippets from Anjaana Anjaani (really? A cheating show to promote a love story? Marketing FAIL), Ranbir appears looking to be a wearing a thick toupee with long sideburns.  He immediately suggests making a film based on this tv show (Picture Amitabh Bachchan doing his trademark "Hain"?) because people need to be made aware these things happen in real life.  Who would know better than Ranbir.  Smirk.

Where are they now?

Sorry for the ominous title. It's usually reserved for finding celebs who've disappeared for the last 20-30 years. It's equally apt, however, for what's happening to some of the biggest female stars of recent times.

On the heels of Aishwarya Rai announcing that she is on the verge of signing films with Shyam Benegal and Raj Kumar Santoshi, one wonders what's happening to the actresses who once used to go toe to toe with Aishwarya. (or beat her, for that matter)

At nearly 40, Aishwarya is going from strength to strength. Most of her movies may flop but then so do the current hotties' films like Kareena Kapoor. Hits and flops have never been a big deal for actresses. Career prospects are determined by the level of films you get and which big directors and male actors are connected to them. With the likes of Mani Rathnam, Ashutosh Gowariker, Sanjay Leela Bhansali all working with her in recent times, she is on a career high.

Lafangey Parindey reviews

Khalid Mohammed, PFC: 1 star ("as original as a half a dozen xerox copies")
Noyon Jyoti Parasara, AOL Bollywood: 3 stars ("sweet love story")
Indiaglitz: 3 stars ("go if you don't have anything more important")
Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV: 3 stars ("soars just high enough")
Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama: 3 stars ("decent watch")
Sonia Chopra, Sify: 3 stars ("immersing, sensitive story")
Angel Rani, Deccan Herald: "average"
Deccan Chronicle: 3 stars ("warm, decent, wholesome")
Sukanya Venkatraghavan, Filmfare Magazine: 3 stars ("sweet love story")
Rajeev Masand, CNN IBN: 2 stars ("pointless, boring film")
Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India: 3 stars ("pleasant viewing")
Komal Nahta, Koimoi: 1.5 stars ("fails to touch the heart. Loser")
Shubhra Gupta, Indian Express: 2 stars ("strictly passable")
Sanjukta Sharma, Livemint: "long, boring, poorly-performed romance"
Renuka Vyavahare, Indiatimes: 3 stars ("YRF finally gets it right")
Vinod Mirani, Indian Television: "routine script, lackluster direction"
Mayank Shekhar, Hindustan Times: 1.5 stars ("scatter-brained mishmash")
Yashika Kapoor, Total Filmy: 2 stars ("yawnful")
Pankaj Sabnani, Glamsham: 2.5 stars ("feeble script")
Aniruddha Guha, DNA: 3 stars ("paisa vasool")
Kaveree Bamzai, India Today: 1.5 stars ("straight to the dvd pile")
Naresh Kumar Deoshi, Apun Ka Choice: 2 stars ("lulling the audience to sleep")
K.K. Rai, Stardust Magazine: "below average flick"
Sukanya Verma, Rediff: 2 stars ("superficial")
Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Reuters Blog: "worst cast ever"
Blessy Chettiar, DNA: 3 stars ("showcases Mumbai's spirt")
SpiceZee: 2 stars ("all style, no substance")
Mihir Fadnavis, India.com: 0.5 stars ("bracingly inept and uninteresting")

Avg. rating - 2.3 stars

Lafangey Parindey Box Office

Lafangey Parindey weekend has come in a bit higher than early estimates at 10.50 crore nett. The daily all India breakdowns were as follows.

Friday - 3.15 crore nett

Saturday - 3.50 crore nett

Sunday - 3.85 crore nett

TOTAL - 10.50 crore nett

Source

Lafangey Parindey updated with "Nain Parindey" promo

Lafangey Parindey promo!

Looks very interesting, and it is great that we will get to see Piyush Mishra acting!

Lafangey Parindey promo!

Looks very interesting, and it is great that we will get to see Piyush Mishra acting!

Lafangey Parindey Intro look from Yashraj Films

Yash Raj Films is happy to announce one of the most anticipated releases of this year – “LAFANGEY PARINDEY”. The film will be released worldwide on 20th August 2010.

Directed by Pradeep Sarkar and Produced by Aditya Chopra, the film stars Neil Nitin Mukesh and Deepika Padukone as the lead pair.

Both the actors have extremely challenging roles to play in this love story set in the gritty streets of Mumbai.

Lafangey Parindey Intro look from Yashraj Films

Yash Raj Films is happy to announce one of the most anticipated releases of this year – “LAFANGEY PARINDEY”. The film will be released worldwide on 20th August 2010.

Directed by Pradeep Sarkar and Produced by Aditya Chopra, the film stars Neil Nitin Mukesh and Deepika Padukone as the lead pair.

Both the actors have extremely challenging roles to play in this love story set in the gritty streets of Mumbai.