Billu Barber - Movie Review

Rating: ***1/2 Priyadarshan is synonymous with ha-ha-thons, but the talented storyteller has been equally proficient while handling intense dramas like SAZA-E-KALA PANI, GARDISH and VIRASAT. Like VIRASAT and MALAMAAL WEEKLY, Billu, the accomplished director's new outing, is also set in a hamlet. Although the story has been attempted in Malayalam (KADHA PARAYUMBOL) and Tamil (KUSELAN) earlier, the story actually takes its inspiration from the legendary friendship between Lord Krishna and Sudama. In this case, the story talks of the friendship between a superstar and an ordinary mortal who runs a salon. Billu is a simple story about simple people, told in the most simplistic manner. There's a generous dose of glamour as well, given the fact that the protagonist's friend happens to be a superstar, but what actually works for the film is the simpleton's story. He wages a daily battle to make ends meet. Although the film is engaging, Priyadarshan reserves the best for the finale this time, when the superstar reminisces about his childhood friend and the deep bond that they shared. The end is remarkable and is sure to strike a chord with all sections of moviegoers. Final word? Billu is amongst Priyadarshan's finest works. And also Irrfan and SRK's. This tale of friendship is sure to steal your heart! Billu tells the story of a simple ordinary man, Bilas Rao Pardesi (Irrfan Khan), living in a small town with his wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta) and two kids. His life undergoes a drastic change as superstar Sahir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) visits the village for a film shoot. Everything changes. Things go from good to bad to worse to good again. Ten minutes into the film and you get absorbed into Billu's small world. The salon is in bad shape, the family is facing tough times, the neighbours and acquaintances are fair-weather friends... Billu's life gets grim with each passing day. The story takes an interesting turn when Billu's life collides with the superstar's. And the assorted characters -- right from an aspiring poet/lyricist (Rajpal Yadav), to a stingy money lender (Om Puri), to the principal of the school (Rasika Joshi) -- everyone wants favours from Billu. These characters only make Billu more interesting. SRK's track is equally fascinating and only spices up the proceedings. In fact, Priyadarshan has amalgamated the three songs (featuring SRK with Deepika, Priyanka and Kareena) in the narrative smartly. Not once do you feel that you're watching two stories concurrently. The best part of the enterprise is its climax. The superstar recalls his humble beginning and how his friend stood by him in times of crisis. The writing is brilliant and SRK only takes the scene to greater heights with his terrific portrayal. Priyadarshan is adept at handling relationships and with Billu, he proves he can handle emotions with as much flourish as comedy. To tell a simple, uncomplicated story, without the usual frills, is an arduous task indeed and Priyadarshan tackles the material with remarkable ease. The humour here is subtle, not loud, and a constant smile remains on your face all through. Mushtaq Shiekh and Priyadarshan's screenplay is foolproof. In fact, the writing never loses focus and the highs and the lows in Billu's life are sensitively penned by the duo. Manisha Korde's dialogues are simple, gelling with the mood of the film. Pritam's music is energetic. The songs, promoted aggressively prior to the release, only get an impetus thanks to the presence of the three actresses. 'Mar Jaani' and 'Love Mera Hit Hit' are, of course, the pick of the lot. V. Manikandan's cinematography is top notch. The locales (Pollachi) are breath-taking. In the recent years, Irrfan has emerged as a force to reckon with, his performances have appealed to all strata of moviegoers and his work in Billu will only cement his status as a remarkable actor. Shah Rukh Khan needs to be admired for two reasons. The show belongs to Irrfan, although SRK could've forced himself in every scene. Also, he has chosen to opt for a film that's not one of those run-of-the-mill types. In terms of performance, SRK shows his true potential towards the finale. Lara Dutta springs a pleasant surprise. She goes through her part with complete understanding. Om Puri is excellent. Rasika Joshi is too good. Rajpal Yadav is really funny in the penultimate scene, when he recites a film song of an SRK film. Asrani and Manoj Joshi are passable. On the whole, Billu is a sweet-n-simple film that lingers in your memory even after the show has concluded. The final 20 minutes are the highpoint of the enterprise and that elevates the status of the film to great heights. The film has the potential to grow with a strong word of mouth. Recommended... Take your family for this one!

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Let's Kiss: Kareena and Saif finally lock lips

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are sharing a happy moment on screen. They are kissing onscreen for the first time for their untitled film directed by Renzil D'Silva for Dharma Productions. A source has confirmed the intimate scene, "Last week, Saif and Bebo shot for their kiss in a Chembur studio. The kiss is part of a song. The actress who has done kissing scenes on screen before was quite comfortable with the idea of lip-locking with her beau. She even was seen calmly discussing the angle and the intensity with the director." An insider adds, "At one point it was discussed if the scene was necessary and it looked like the couple had their doubts about the screen smooch. Rensil looked unhappy and had a word with Saif. The director convinced him to do the scene. Saif in turn made Bebo understand that it was necessary and she agreed." It took just about five takes to get the kiss right.

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Dev D - Movie Review

Starring Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill, Kalki Koechlin Directed by Anurag Kashyap Rating: *** ½ Fiery unforgettably unstoppable in her self-worth…Paro, now transposed to Punjab (gawd, yeh ladki kahan-kahan jayegi?!) knows her Devdas just back from England wants some quality sex. As determined as ever, she cycles to the nearest surgarcane fields with a bulky bedroll tied to the carrier, spreads it,and herself, out for her foreign-returned lover-boy… That image of the super-determined Paro cycling to sex in the fields, compounded with that brilliantly shot sequence where she explodes her bitterness frustration and anger by pressing down on a handpump as thought it were a….never mind!...qualify as two of the most astutely achieved images of literature- on- cinema in recent Bollywood memory. Anurag Kashyap at last sheds his obstinate inaccessibility as a filmmaker. More a homage to Sanjay Leela Bhansali than litterateur Saratchandra Chatterjee's Devdas, Kashyap's Dev D is that deep liberating lascivious luscious provocative tantalizing and tragic view of tragic hedonism, ruinous selfindulgence and vain miscommunication that Saratchandra barely thought about but couldn't articulate. Kashyap's Devdas is a raunchy renegade, a bastard of the first order who thinks of only selfgratification. And his task is made easier by the two women who come into his life in this splendidly tragi-comic subversion of a timeless novel that said, defeatism is heroic. But only when compounded by the ability to confront your weaknesses headlong. As Dev D, Abhay Patel, that big-little hero of the outré cinema, is crass and wounded, vain and vicious, stupid and sensitive. The contradictions pulsate and nourish the narrative making it a ripe and riveting drama of disorientation and dissociation where the protagonist's failings are defined more by physical appetites (sexual and otherwise) than metaphysical longings. In telling a timeless story of selfseeking arrogance Anurag Kashyap manages to build a spiral of contemporary themes. The Chandramukhi sections where the innocent school girl gets trapped into a quagmire of campus sleaze and finally ends up as a sex worker is hertwrenching in its portrait of the contemporary moral crisis that threatens to tear our civilized society limb by limb. Kashyap pays some delectable tributes to Sanjay Bhansali's Devdas, not only in the outstanding sets and art decoration (Sukanta Panigrahi) and the super-smouldering-and-evocative cinematography (Rajeev Ravi) but also in the way kitsch is converted into a cool neo-classic currency. The dialogues (Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane) have a constantly quirky and cutting edge. Check out the long boudoir piece where Chanda wonders aloud to Dev why people are so coy about calling a a sex worker a randi. The words and visuals are not for the squeamish. Indeed the film's most glorious accomplishment is that it succeeds in simultaneously being sluttish and sublime. The principal characters seem to be scoffing and saluting Saratchandra's novel while forging a totally unexplored territory for the three tormented misfits whose malfunctional destiny makes them bitter and angry but never repulsive to the spectator. Anurag Kashyap shoots the drama of the damned on locations that echo the protagonist's inner state. The open-aired Punjabi prelude progresses painlessly into a pained and claustrophobic psychedelic stroble-lit nightmare that includes three male pub performers who pop up willy-nilly to sing on Dev's plunge into a hellish self-pity. Kafka would recognize and Saratchandra would probably reject the world that Kashyap's Devdas enters. Would Saratchandra Chatterjee, Bimal Roy or Sanjay Leela Bhansali smile at Anurag Kashyap's backhanded warm and revisionist look at the life love and heartbreaks of Hindi literature's ultimate loser? Abhay Deol plays Devdas with a wry cynicism suggesting both disgust and longing for a social system that rejects him as much he rejects it. Kashyap's two prized finds are his 'Paro' Mahie Gill and 'Chanda' Kalki Koechlin. Mahie plays Paro with a blend of pride and resignation, fire and pathos, bringing to the part a rare and undefinable solidity. How does she compare with Suchitra Sen or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Paro? Who's comparing?!! Kalki as the schoolgirl-turned-whore plays her character stripped of all selfpity. Not that she enjoys being what she is. But this Chandramukhi isn't apologetic about the place that life has put her in. Anurag Kashyap's Dev D is a harsh but sensitive take on an age-old material, done with a sense of spiraling pit-in-the-stomach vertiginous momentum that's not quite lost even as the protagonist loses his way in a maze of selfindulgence. Watch the film to see with what tongue-in-cheek temerity form is wedded to content without the director wavering in his determination to take cinema into regions that have nothing to do with convention. And everything to do with invention.

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Kareena refuses to talk about katrina

Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor is not vying for the crown of Bollywood queen despite her hit performances and high profile brand endorsements because she feels that kings and queens only exist in a pack of playing cards. "I think kings and queens are in cards, not in Bollywood, " Kareena told reporters at an event here Saturday. On being asked her opinion about Katrina Kaif as an actress, Kareena bluntly said: "I don't talk about other actresses in press conferences." Kareena was present in the capital to promote a new initiative by hair removal cream brand Anne French. She is looking forward to the release of a number of films in her kitty including Rajkumar Hirani's "Three Idiots" and Sajid Nadiadwala's "Kambakkht Ishq". In "Three Idiots", she stars opposite Aamir Khan. In "Kambakkht Ishq", she will be sharing screen space with Akshay Kumar for the seventh time. About working with the two actors, Kareena said: "I pick up the best from whoever I work with. When you are working with someone, you kind of get tuned to the way that actor is working. I would like to pick up all the best qualities from both these people." The actress also spoke about her experience of working with Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone and Brandon Routh in "Kambakkht Ishq" and said it was "an honour".

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Ayesha Farhan to tie the knot by February end

The latest buzz doing the round of Bollywood is Ayesha Takia and her restaurateur boyfriend Farhan Azmi will finally get married by February end. The couple was supposed to tie the knot last year on Christmas Eve but they postponed following the terror attacks in Mumbai on 26/11. Apparently Ayesha who broke down completely after the Taj attack decided to delay her marriage. Apart from that Farhan’s father Samajwadi Party leader, Abu Azmi was in a hospital recuperating after an operation. According to a close friend of Ayesha, wedding will take place in Mumbai. However the actress is frantically running around shopping for her trousseau. Being a professional Ayesha will complete Revathy's film which is woman oriented film after marriage.

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I would like to work with Kareena again

Shahid Kapur says he doesn't mind working with ex-girlfriend Kareena Kapoor if a filmmaker wanted him to.

“I would like to work with her again. I feel that as an actor if my producer wants me to romance with a cow or a buffalo also, I'll do it because that's my job,” Shahid said on Zee News' celebrity chat show “Kahiye Janab”.

Shahid and Kareena teamed up for three films. While "Fida" and "Chup Chup Ke" bombed at the box office, "Jab We Met" was a blockbuster. Sadly, their relationship soured while shooting for this romantic comedy.

Now Shahid is linked with India's tennis star Sania Mirza.

Asked about Sania, he said: “She is a very good friend of mine, but I don't want to discuss my personal life.”

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Unwanted visitors at Preity Zinta’s birthday party

Apart from Bollywood bigwigs, including Shahrukh Khan, Farah Khan, Chunky Pandey and others at her birthday bash at her flat in Quantum Park building in Bandra on Saturday, Preity Zinta also had some unwanted visitors in the party.

It was the Mumbai police patrol team who had to after slum-dwellers in the neighbourhood complained of loud music early Sunday morning. The police ordered them to turn down the volume of the loudspeakers and said that the actress will be penalised as per the provisions for flouting noise pollution rules.

A local resident, Irfan Shaikh, said that very loud music was played in the party which started late Saturday and continued till the early hours Sunday.

“Whenever there is music or programmes in the slum areas, these people in big buildings complain against us and we have to shell out large fines. We also get disturbed and so we complained to the police,” he told media persons here Sunday morning.

Well, this was an irresponsible act from Zinta who has always shown her social responsibility and did so yet again on her birthday when she adopted orphaned girls from Mother Miracle School in Hrishikesh. As their guardian, Preity will take care of finances for their basic needs like food, clothing and education.

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Bachchan family on the pink carpet

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s much awaited Hollywood movie, ‘Pink Panther 2’ premiered in the US on Tuesday and the Bachchan family was in full attendance to support their ‘Bahu’ as looking gorgeous in black, she walked the PINK carpet with husband Abhishek. Abhishek complemented his better half in a black suit and sporting a new lok for Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavan’. The couple in black surely made the heads turn.

Pink Panther 2 has Ash playing detective Sonia alongside Alfred Molina, while Steve Martin plays a bumbling French police detective Jacques Clouseau. French actor Jean Reno plays Ponton, Steve Martin’s partner in the movie. Actor, writer and producer Harald Zwart has directed Pink Panther 2.

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