A. Singh | PassionforCinema

First, I am a dad of two daughters 9 and 2. That is 49% of my life. Second, I have a job, yes, the typical software type. That takes another 49% of my life. Rest everything I want to do has to fit into the remaining 2% of my life. I live in San Francisco Bay Area.

A. Singh's Blog

208
My Apprehensions about Paa
I have seen the promo many times and also visited the upcoming film’s website. I am as intrigued as anybody else by the look of the character Mr. Bachchan is playing and enthused by it. But I am also cynical about Bollywood and the ability of industry big wigs to screw up big projects. Time and again, I have seen nice concepts and plot ideas executed badly on screen...
by A. Singh at November 16th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
49
DVD Watch: Aagey Se Right: The Most Underrated Gem of the Year
I picked the DVD from the counter where so many more were lying around. I asked my usual questions to the store owner, “Is this the original copy?”, “Pukka”, “Copy to nahi hai”. This is not because I am a pukka usoolwalah and wouldn’t watch pirated DVDs, it’s just that I have been burned in the past when my experience was completely destroyed because of...
by A. Singh at November 11th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
14
Slice of Life, Honest Scenes from Hindi Cinema
I am bad with titles for my posts. Didn’t know what to call this one, a post about individual scenes in films, scenes that stayed with me long after the excitement over the film subsided, scenes that were never talked about either because the film was so good that it was full of higher impact scenes that were much copied or spoofed or the film was so bad that nobody...
by A. Singh at September 14th, 2009 at 02:09 pm
418
Tribute to Non-Actors
To me, everything about cinema is fascinating and most fascinating are the people who work in it. This is a post, about the people, more than the cinema. Specifically, this is a post about people we see on screen. It’s amazing to see and hear those people in normal life, and realize how they get transformed on screen. I used to be amazed to see how Sridevi used to come...
by A. Singh at August 26th, 2009 at 05:08 pm
22
Audience To Blame ! Really?
This post is in response to KK’s guest blog post and to some extent Anurag Kashyap’s earlier cry for help to everyone on PFC to go out and support a number of small films releasing around the same time. I completely understand the sincerity and passion for good cinema that these two posts represented. While, I admire both KK and AK and a fan of their work, I disagree...
by A. Singh at June 25th, 2009 at 02:06 pm
31
David Dhawan: The Bollywood Hit Machine
I still remember when I first discovered David Dhawan, it was for Bol Radha Bol. This was when Juhi Chawala was in top form and Rishi Kapoor was still playing leading man. BRB was an ordinary masala film with Rishi Kapoor in double role and Juhi Chawala doing comedy in a “Gaon ki chhori” role, the song “Tut u tuu, tu tu taara” became bigger hit than the film.....
by A. Singh at June 4th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
17
Oscars and Filmfare
This year, for the first time I was able to watch Oscars and Filmfare within a short span. Filmfare holds a special place in our household as my wife and I have been watching it on television regularly for last 10-12 years. Earlier, the award winners had a curiosity factor as Bollywood wasn’t as common on every TV channel as it is today. Later on, we still kept watching...
by A. Singh at April 29th, 2009 at 07:04 am
15
Folk Songs in Hindi Cinema
I love the song “Yeh Ishq Haye” from the movie Jab We Met. Every time I listen to it, I can’t help but notice the use of the first line of a Kumauni folk song in the music. The bols go like this- “Kaile Baje Muruli” and it’s used in the interlude of this hit song very effectively. The full mukhda of the Kumauni song goes something like this - Kaile Baje Muruli,...
by A. Singh at April 22nd, 2009 at 03:04 pm
57
Extraordinary Songs in Ordinary Albums
Indian music for most part (except classical, Gazals and Bhajans) is captive to our film industry. Success of a song or an album depends on many factors outside the control of the creator of the music. Sometimes, the film doesn’t do well and the music gets largely ignored because of it. Many times, even if the film does well, the picturization of the song on screen or...
by A. Singh at March 31st, 2009 at 12:03 pm
142
Music of Gulaal: Where were you Mr. Mishra?
You have no right to do this to us, Mr. Mishra? First, we were told you were a gifted actor from NSD and we even liked you in a brief role in Dil Se. Your natural style of acting, a kind of hatke face capable of expressing intense emotions reminded us of a young Naseerduddin Shah or Ompuri. We saw you settle down as an actor in Maqbool where you held your own against Pankaj...
by A. Singh at March 19th, 2009 at 04:03 pm
18
Making of A Super Star
Naseeruddin Shah once said about Amitabh Bachchan, “It’s his amazing ability to take a completely stupid scene and not just make it believable on screen but create magic out of it that makes him what he is”. Now, the comments may not be exactly what I quoted here, but they were something along these lines. This was a super actor paying tribute to the...
by A. Singh at March 13th, 2009 at 04:03 pm
60
Diary of Amir Khan
********Disclaimer ******** This is a fictionalized account of some tidbits from the torn pages of Amir Khan’s diary, found in the trash can outside his Bandra apartment. Any similarity with real diary is only coincidental. Some of the dates might have been mixed up as the pages were not in order. ************************ First page of the diary, Dear Diary, if I...
by A. Singh at February 5th, 2009 at 07:02 pm