Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi: A Question of Answers
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There’s a lot that’s not making sense in the world around us. This Friday, YRF, keenly aware of the zeitgeist, slip in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (RNBDJ) on their unsuspecting victims. We, at PFC, have been inundated with questions from readers who have been wanting to understand the various psycho-emotional subtexts in the film. After much persuasion and veiled threats, we are glad to inform you that Professor Armando Trilokesh Minimovich Yadav (Prof A.T.M. Yadav) has consented to answer these queries. Prof A.T.M. Yadav needs no introduction so we will save everyone’s time and won’t introduce him. Prof A.T.M. Yadav watched RNBDJ with our resident movie expert Kartik Krishnan.
PFC: Some pseudo-intellectuals have found it hard to digest that Taani doesn’t discern the difference between the two SRKs in the film. What’s the psychological take on this phenomenon?
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: There’s a hoary tradition of such disguises in Hindi cinema. There have been entire climax sequences where a beard or two worn by the ‘heroes’ as disguise have successfully fooled the entire cast. For example, Amar Akbar Anthony. Or, the ‘mark yahan hai, Tejaa main hoon’ line of Paresh Rawal in Andaz Apna Apna. Clearly, Taani was weaned on such stellar examples of disguises. These had shaped her persona as a child. But I think there’s something deeper in this film that most audiences missed. The duality construct was actually a dream of Taani. It’s just amazing how Aditya Chopra has subtly answered all his critics who want him to make a ‘Mulholland Dr’ or some such esoteric stuff. Here he makes such a film and the pseudo-intellectuals on PFC don’t get it.
PFC: The whole film was Taani’s dream? Adi’s Mulholland Dr?? Pray, explain.
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: Not the whole film but the duality construct. Remember the first day at Suri’s home. Suri knocking on the door and Taani pretending to be asleep burying her head in the pillow. That’s the point Taani’s dream takes-off. The clues are out there screaming for your attention but Adi, the master manipulator, draws you in completely.
PFC: What clues?
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: So many of them. I am tickled pink that the true intellectual caliber of the PFC readers is being exposed here. Adi actually taunts you by showing some purely fantastic scenes – like the one where Taani decks up to serve pakodas to Suri’s office colleagues. That’s a fantasy scene. Then the whole character of Vinay Pathak. That’s purely a figment of Taani’s imagination (hat tip: A Beautiful Mind). Someone she had to invent to make Suri cool. Also, please note, quite conveniently, Suri is shown a loner in the film. No siblings, no other blood ties – basically, no in-laws; this is stuff of a woman’s dreams! That was Adi’s dead giveaway. Then, those dancers from Bombay who have come to Amritsar to choose the best jodi (I think I saw Shonal Nagrani there). Wasn’t there a surreal element to it all? Those identical body hugging black shorts and tees! Those perpetual dancing machines!
PFC: Wow! When you look at it that way even the Sumo wrestling sequence makes sense!!
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: Makes sense!! That’s the piece de resistance of the film. Sumo wrestler in Punjab as part of a Trade Fair!! And Suri beats him. When you see such non-sequitur in a Gondry or a von Trier film you stand up and applaud. Here, you question the need for such gimmicks.
PFC: Dreams aside, have you ever wondered why such a film can’t be made with the genders reversed?
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: The simple answer is it’s difficult for a woman to hoodwink her husband with a moustache or a beard. I mean that kind of facial hair would put most men on guard. The closest we came to something of this kind was Kajol’s character in Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai. But that again was a ‘dream’ film.
PFC: Kuchh Kuchh was a ‘dream’ film too??
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: Yes, it was the dream of SRK’s daughter. Don’t tell me you guys haven’t figured that one yet.
PFC: Darn, all these movies are making more sense now. Ok, what about the strong homo-erotic elements in the film?
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: I understand what you’re referring to. There are many such moments – Suri telling Taani, ‘maine aaj tak kisi ladies ko kiss nahin kiya hai’, Suri and Bobby dancing to Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi with Bobby doing a Parveen Babi act and of course, Raj kissing the Suri mannequin. But these are all manifestations of Taani’s desire to have the ‘other’ in her fantasy. She doesn’t want to have just two men competing for her affections; she also wants to have some competition for herself too. This is actually the crux of the film – the answer to the question what women want? Women want men to compete for their affections while secretly hoping for some of those men to be bisexual. Freud labored hard over this question, Mel Gibson acted in a film of the same name but Adi nailed it.
PFC: Why aren’t these subtexts being spoken about more by the YRF camp? I mean this is criminal. People should know.
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: Do you think the multiplex audiences will titter at the right moments (like when Raj keeps pulling at his innerwear) if these subtexts are out in open. No, they won’t. Unfortunately, YRF will have to compromise art again. It’s a pity. But as Farhan Akhtar put it in Rock On – “par compromise kaun nahin karta”. Yes, that includes Adi too.
PFC: Speaking about Raj pulling at his innerwear, what was that all about?
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: Have you ever watched Rafael Nadal on court? Before every serve, he clutches at his shorts and does exactly what Raj was doing. It’s the modern manifestation of masculinity. Nadal is the most physical of the current crop of tennis players. Raj’s action was suggestive of what Taani wanted – a Nadal in bed and a Federer outside it. The inspirations Adi has drawn from will take years and multiple viewings to decipher. But that was an obvious one.
PFC: You almost make Adi a great tragic figure.
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: Yes, I do and I have strong reasons for it. It’s difficult to make a film where you pack in so many messages yet wrap it all up in such a commercial package that just about no one gets what you were trying to say. What’s our purpose in life, after all? That someone in this world stands witness to our life’s story, of our deepest thoughts. That someone gets it when we name two of our characters ‘Tiny’ and ‘Dolly’ and they end up in a vat of colored water. That someone understands what we mean when we have a picture of an armyman hanging on the wall at Suri’s house. Just one person who appreciates that Raj woos Taani by having the city of Amritsar write I Love You in lights when you know Suri works for Punjab Power which might be supplying the electricity to all those homes!! Ah, the irony of it all. Did you get that? Do you understand now what kind of tormented genius Adi is?
PFC: One final question. People have complained about the excessive usage of the word ‘Rab’.
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: It’s a metaphysical conceit. A psychological deceit. There’s Rab as in God which is obvious. There’s rub referring to the dream of Taani and that all she needs to do is to rub her eyes and wake up from her dream.
PFC: Yet, so many rubs?? There’s a deluge of Rab and it boggles our minds.
Prof. A.T.M. Yadav: Yes, it does boggle the mind. Adi didn’t start the film with that in mind. But it turned out that way. There in lies the Rab.
Tags: psycho babble, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
awe-fuckin’-some !!! take a bow !!
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Tod diya man!!! Amazing amazing amazing- and I loved the film, too!
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Waise seriously speaking, I genuinely believe a lot you have said professor ji. While it may not have been a ‘dream’ per se, i do believe that the whole duality was a cinematic and psychological construct, and it worked for me.
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Now this is something brilliant I say- way to go
is anybody from YRF reading this?
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hahaha send a copy of this to adi chopra
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Don’t believe them Shah. your film is a super duper hit.. you are the best, there is no one like you. men don’t understand what effect you have on women. what happens when you shrink your eyes, and wobble your lips and stutter and stammer and flounder and fail, you are an epitome of romanticism. rab ne bana di is going to rock no matter what!!!
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Hmm suchita, and what do you have to say about the women, who hate SRK’s mannerisms to the core, and they are a sizeable number, lagta hai woh patthar dil waale hai, LOL.
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Subrat, you are my Tyler Durden. My Hero.
The name of the girl being repeated again and again evoked a very strange response….Taani….Thani…..
YFR almost naming her after our best PFC critic?? Is it getting back at us with it? Do you see anything in there ATM.Yadav?
The girl who has lost it for love – Taani
The man who has lost it for cinema – Thani
Rediscovering Love thru SS – Taani
Rediscovering Cinema thru KS (Kama Sutra or Kamal Swarup)- Thani
Another RNBDJ Trivia – You know the real meaning of the song “Haule Haule”
Well it’s actually an in-film advt. for this famous book my John Haule.
Love Cure: Therapy, Erotic & Sexual (New)
by Haule, John R.
It’s available for 18$ (Do search for it….it’s there)
Haule Haule se duva lagti hai naaaaaa
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By the way why should men be affected when SRK wobbles his lips or stutters and stammers, or twitches, i would rather be swept off by Deepika Padukone or Rakhi Sawant, LOL.
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From India Fm
“RAB NE BANA DI JODI was expected to start with a bang, fetching one of the biggest starts of the year, but the film opened to a thoroughly mixed response. The film was good at plexes of Mumbai, Delhi, parts of U.P., Jaipur, Indore, Ahmedabad [in the range of 70%], but was best in parts of South India. However, the opening was 25% – 30% – 40% outside these centres and at places, even lower at single screens.
The reports are extremely mixed as well, what with the elder crowd patronising the film, but the young crowd as well as the masses hardly being gung-ho. The response on Saturday and Sunday is being watched keenly. Also, will it sustain from Monday onwards, is one question everyone’s asking.
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muze apna chela banalo professor…
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dont listen to them shahrukh i love you, dont listen to ratnakar, he is jealous of you so are all the other men.
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and the film didnt get a great opening because the city just witnessed a blast in case everyone is forgetting..
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what’s with NY times?????
http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/12/13/movies/13jodi.html?ref=arts
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Ah, Prof Yadav, I get it now. Anything that doesn’t make sense in Hindi Cinema should be blamed on dreams. It finally makes sense now!
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Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is likely to be the last nail in the coffin of Raj/Rahul. It would be an ignominous departure, which is unfortunate for two reasons. Firstly because the whole Raj/Rahul persona was, for a while, beloved of an entire generation. And secondly because the film does try to offer a self-referencing perspective on the 90s phenomenon. Sadly, it is unable to rise above the all-too-familiar Yash Raj trappings and plot devices.
The biggest failing comes in the form of its utterly unconvincing premise.
To top it, pretty much nothing in the film seems to work, even for die-hard Yash Raj devotees.
Chopra’s treatment is highly inconsistent. His influences appear to be as diverse as Suraj Barjatya (elaborate sets of smalltown India and bright photography), Mani Rathnam (celebrating hero’s ordinariness), Farah Khan (star cameos in a song) and hell, even Anees Bazmi (That ‘open your eyes to see your beloved’ sequence was last seen in ‘Pyar To Hona Hi Tha’). It may not have been conscious, but it does take away from the film.
Most importantly, this is a film that sets out to undo the make-believe world of satin-and-roses love stories (in a rather pompous manner, actually) but ends up doing exactly the opposite, with its unbelievable storyline, broad-brushed events and absurd coincidences. Chopra tries to do a Mani Rathnam here but can’t let go of his own school of film-making. The result is queer, to say the least. We get to see such improbabilities as a bispectacled SRK getting better of a Sumo wrestler, the nubile leading lady doing motorbike stunts a la ‘Dhoom’ in a crowded Amritsar by-lane and the two jointly winning the climax dance competition with a performance that would beat an 80s Mithun movie in banality.
It is futile to analyse further. The length seems inordinate. The songs do not register. Even SRK’s endearing and well-detailed portrayal of a middle-class commoner can’t save the disaster.
Au revoir, Rahul/Raj. At least my generation will always miss you..!
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Great writing Subrat.Aditya should take a break now.We now accept that DDLJ was a fluke.Period.And sad for hindi cinema lovers.He should continue producing movies though.Once in a while we can ge Chak De.Even New York is looking good.Meanwhile we have to be contended with all the trash from Yash Raj camp.And Shahrukh is making a mockery of himself and I seriously dont know why.Ranvir Shorey would have done wonders in this role.Instead Shahrukh is still stuck in Dil to pagal hai era!!!Mr.Khan,its 10 years since KKHH and DTPH.Audience tastes have undergone a sea change at least in the metro cities.Does’nt matter if the film is a hit.Even Singh is King was a blockbuster,remember!!!
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Lastly I feel really sad for Mr.Yash Chopra,the man who gave us Waqt,Ittefaq,Daag,Deewar,Kala Pathar,Kabhie Kabhie,Trishul…..I have the highest regards for him.Sad to see his production house is reduced to a mockery.
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Wow! so the daggers are drawn for SRK & YRF again now.While its a known fact that most of their recent movies have been certainly off colour, its completely rubbish to hear something like “DDLJ was a fluke from Aditya”.I know its certainly unfair for comaparisons here, but just cannot resist myself.When a lot of people ( even on PFC including me) are willing to still look at a Rann hopefully from Ramu after probably the biggest fiasco in Bollywood called Aag- why are we in such a hurry to write off YRF?I personally dont consider RNBDJ to be as bad a film the way its being made out to be.Yes it certainly could have been a lot better coming from Aditya- period.And whats with the SRK bashing?His Surinder Sahni performance is a gem & if people feel he is in the DTPH/KKHH mode even now- then I repeat are movies like OSO,CDI,Don,Paheli,Swades,Veer Zara ( all his recent movies) alike???
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Well have not seen RNBDJ for now, but had the misfortune of seeing Mohabattein and that was terrible, wasted 3.5 hrs of my precious sleep. Sethu as far as YRF, is concerned, they are taking the audience for granted. Dont tell me Hum Tum or Fanna or Dhoom were great movies, hits they might have been.
This decade the only Yashraj movie which i really liked was CDI and to some extent, Kabul Express. Rest of them were just so so to utter rubbish.
The problem is that when crap like Fanaa and Dhoom 2 became hits, Adi felt he could get away with anything. None is writing YRF off, but considering the movies that once upon a time from this banner, watching the fall in standards is painful.
If YRF is getting the stick, well they asked for it. You cant keep on taking audiences for granted and then complain, when people hit back.
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Regards SRK, the movies may not be alike, but for me SRK, is the same in all, except Swades and CDI.
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@18
“his production house is reduced to a mockery”
The above is wishful thinking on your part. I wouldn’t call the response they got to RNBDJ “a mockery” and if it is, wouldn’t all the would be producers/directors on this forum want to be “reduced to a mockery”!
I have enjoyed all their films and many others besides.
I suggest you leave YRF’s and SRK alone for a while and turn your attention to people like Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Katrina kaif, Vipul Shah, Priyardarshan, Subash Ghai, Baweja clan etc – now they are really worth talking about. Their movies are so brilliant and creative they touch your “soul” and “intellect”!
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@ Sasha
I guess ur expertly mixing up apples and oranges here. No one here has compared YRF to the list of movie makers u mentioned. No one has renmotely even suggested that Subash Ghai or Priyan or Vipul Shah, are better or worse than YRF.
So cut the crap and stick to the context if u dont mind.
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This is a post on a YRF movie, so people are going to comment on Yash Raj movies. Good, Bad or Ugly, the comments are going to be about YRF. And oh BTW, Subash Ghai got an equal amount of bashing, for Yuvvraaj here as did Kjo for Dostana.
So PFC does not have any selective targets please.
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If it was possible for critics to make a difference, Irfan Khan would have been a super-star and Konkana the reigning queen of cinema.
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@ Ratnakar
I’ve myself admitted that most of the recent YRF movies are off colour – so I’m agreeing to what you said.I personally felt most upset to see a movie like Fanaa raking in all the money.So its not like I’m a YRF sympathiser.As for SRK- to each his or her own.If you felt the SRK in OSO is the same as the SRK in lets say a Don or a Paheli, well I’m surprised my friend ( not talking about CDI or Swades here).
Well you say YRF is getting the stick becaus their standards have fallen- I’m fine with that.But then the same logic should apply for a lot more people.Why is it that most of the time the stick is given to SRK or YRF?And yes you may not be writing off YRF but what about comments 17 & 18?
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@ Anindya@ 17
“We now accept that DDLJ was a fluke.Period.And sad for hindi cinema lovers”.
Wow! can you tell me who are all part of this “we”? are you the one representing bollywood here?
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Sethu this is a post about a Yashraj movie starring SRK, so the discussion here is going to be about Yashraj and SRK.
We had blasted Subash Ghai in the same manner on Yuvvraaj, and if SRK-Yash Raj are getting the stick here, it is because the article is about them, not about Vipul Shah or Priyadarshan or Subash Ghai, its as simple as that.
And i dont know whats wrong in 17,18.
Anindya was compared RNBDJ to past YRF movies, he was not comparing RNBDJ to Sholay or Pyaasa here.
He was comparing RNBDJ to DDLJ and other previous Yash Chopra movies, and felt that the standards were down.
Thats his opinion respect it for GOd’s sake.
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“can you tell me who are all part of this “we”? are you the one representing bollywood here?”
Sorry Sethu, sounds arrogant, sounds very very arrogant there. There are many people out there who feel the same way as Anindya did, it cud be he was referring to people who feel the same.
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I just wanna say one thing, if you love RNBDJ, fine no issues, watch it as many times. But please understand that THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO DONT SHARE YOUR VIEWS OF THE MOVIE, RESPECT THEIR OPINION AND MOVE ON. AFTER ALL THIS IS A MOVIE AT THE END OF THE DAY.
I feel stupid that i have to reiterate something like this.
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@27
You need to accept other peoples opinions too! No matter how you dress it up, most of the contributors on this Forum have it in for YRF and SRK. The fact that you occasionally save a bit of criticism for others can not hide this fact.
YRF have moved with the times. They make movies that a lot of people want to watch without the crass and nonsense that accompanies say a Singh Is Kinng.
Even if their films are not blockbusters they still make more money than the films you propogate.
But no it’s not all about commercialism and profiteering but pride and an up-turned nose does not put food on the table.
I am a minority on this board but you are a minority in the Country – the box-office vouches for that!
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@ Sasha
Could you please account for the fact that if people love YRF movies so much, why have most of their movies, in 2007 and 2008, failed, and that too very badly.
This is forum for Cinema, to discuss movies, not a forum for discussing commercially succesful movies only. This is not a Movie Trade forum, hope u get it clear now.
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@ Ratnakar
If I’ve sounded arrogant, I apologise to one & all.But I certainly dont agree with you that there’s nothing wrong with 17 & 18.I feel there’s a lot of arrogance out there & thats why I reacted like that.I know the comparison is with YRF’s own movies- but saying that DDLJ was a fluke is not something that I’ll accept.If Anindya didnt like the movie- thats fine.But his outburst suggests something more than just a simple case of not liking a movie.
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“I am a minority on this board but you are a minority in the Country – the box-office vouches for that! ”
Honestly my dear, i care a damn. I have other things to worry about, then losing sleepless nights over how many people like or hate the movie which i love watching.
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@ Ratnakar
Lets not get too worked up over this sirji.I agree with you that people may like or dislike a movie.I’ve myself not gone ga ga over the movie.There are alreaday a lot of people who’ve written they didnt like it & I did not react @ all.it was only when I felt people are stretching it a bit more than just a dislike to the movie that I reacted.
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@ Naah Sethu its ok, i was referring to some other folks out here , who were going into a kind of crusade mode. Yaar i dont have any personal vendetta against SRK or YRF. And some of my closest friends are hard core SRK fans, i quite often keep ribbing them about it.
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Yaar Sethu,its fine, Kabhie Kabhie hota hai. all part of the game.
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Oye teri Syaapa khada ho gaya yaar!
I think YRF as a banner are trying out few things but not completely. Earlier they use to make romance, that’s all (90s especially) when only YC and AC made movies. After that they gave it to external directors and only made romance till Dhoom. Then they tried different stuff like Dhoom 2 (well!), Kabul Express,CDI, Aaja Nachle,LCMD (regressive in some way but not really a love story). They might not be radically different as Company or Wednesday or Omkara but they tried and only CDI succeeded. They are trying and they know if they have to survive, they will have to cater to the fragmented audience. Cos rarely one movie will fit all expectations. In that context,
Rab ne is a departure from Swiss Alps, Karva Chauth, parjaayeeji and taaya ji et al.
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I still have faith in them and trust me when they start getting right they will be at the forefront of break through cinema.
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Also, YRF banner symbolizes family entertainment you just can’t chuck that off. Very similar to RGV making a Kuch Kuch hota hain one fine day.
YRF will take time to diverse and they are trying.
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@ Vishesh
Kya karen control nahin hota yaar
Anyways I agree with your take on YRF.Its getting a bit too heavy- so time to take a break & go watch another movie.How come no one is talking about “The Day the Earth Stood Still” on PFC?Hasnt anyone seen it?
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Sethu have seen that flick, downright stupid to the core. Hollywood seems to be running out of ideas, and not worth discussing it also.
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Another thing that I feel at times and I hope I am wrong in my thinking is there is some sort of resentment against SRK generally on the net.
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People will talk about (lack of) talent or his selling his soul to commercial cinema or his (losing?) box office power to some ABC or worst his personal issues. Thankfully PFC does not discusses the last one. And rarely the penultimate one.
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Now I know the counter argument is that we are free to express our opinion and if we don’t like the acting skills then we believe in calling spade a spade. And I respect that stand and believe in it too.
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But I don’t see that happening across the board for everyone. I guess this is also an achievement for SRK that he is the favorite punching bag.
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Now I am sorry if I generalized. I know there are few who are discerning and balanced in their views and its always treat to read their opinions and POV.
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@ Vishesh-40
Well comming to the anti SRK kind, there are two groups.
One set of people absolutely detest SRK, not now, but even long time back. They just hate him no longer what.
The second, and this i feel is more critical, is that group of people who used to be big time fans of SRK in the 90’s, but of late dont like him. You can put me in the second group.
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During the 90’s and even until 2003, i was a hard core SRK fan. I just loved him in KHKN, Yes Boss, DDLJ, Baazigar, Darr, but post Kal Ho Na Ho, never really liked any movie of his, except Swades and Chalte Chalte.
I guess maybe the nature of his roles.
See if you take his earlier flicks, most of them were an ordinary guy, who caught in some thing.
Basically people could identify with him. You sympathized with him in Baazigar, and even in Darr, he was more popular than the hero.
When people saw Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Naa, they emphathized with Sunil, because i am sure there must be many having the same kind of stories in their life.
I cud identify with Raju, when he was job hunting, and also with Rahul’s ambitions and dreams in Yes Boss. Basically most of us saw something of us in him.
People generally love the underdog, the guy who makes it to the top from bottom. Dhoni is admired because he came from a place which is not a cricketing superpower in any sense.
Also SRK was never the conventional good looker, he had pretty ordinary looks, which he managed to overcome. So in a sense, it was like SRK is apna aadmi yaar. Basically most of SRK’s characters in the 90’s were the Aam aadmi middle class kind.
But later on as his roles started to be restricted to only one segment of society kind, a rich , handsome, Mills & Boon kind of hero, that was the time, he started to loose out among guys at least.
See in the 90’s SRK, worked a lot, because there was something to root for. We wanted him to achieve his dreams in Yes Boss, we wanted Anna to understand his love in KHKN, we wanted him to beat up Sharad Kapoor to pulp in Josh.
But i mean after Kal Ho Na Ho, that really was missing. I mean in most of the movies he was rich, perfect, could do no wrong, and always got the girl,so what was there to root for. I think this identification was what was missing.
Thats why CDI, stuck a major chord, here there was a cause to root for, his redemption, and his making the hockey team win. And it was like watching the SRK of the 90’s back again, an underdog we could empathize with.
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Have not yet seen RNBDJ, but from what i hear, people seem to love SRK’s aam aadmi act as Surinder more than the Raj persona.
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Also comments 41, 42 are strictly my own personal opinion, and i am not claiming to speak for every one.
And the We i am using here is very generic, i am not referring to We, the People of India here. Hope that is clear.
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I’ll just say one thing. We should watch a movie before we comment on it. I’ve watched this movie. I’m glad I watched it. I liked it. It’s obviously No David Linch movie or no “A Beautiful Mind”. It’s what it is, an Aditya Chopra movie. Regressive in places, middle class in mentality but I think it succeeds in connecting to the intellectual middle class. But for the media bashing, it can be a huge hit. The movie could have been a lot less regressive. But it’s the best Aditya Chopra movie I’ve seen. He had started out trying to make a sensible film. It might not have been sensible one all through what with the entire Rab overdose. But all in all it entertained, it made people cry, people left the theater happy. It might be the perfect emotional pornography as Dibakar Puts it. But it’s a mathematically crafted middle class movie made to make the middle class happy. I’m not a borgua to despise the 98% of the entire movie watching populace. And Yes loved SRK. You can allege me to be an SRK fan, but trust me I’m not the only one.
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And yes, it looked a little contrived in places and it’s definitely indian middle class in its core value but it entertained and was a way more sensible movie than the Sing is king and the other Akki and etc movies.
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As far as movies of YRF is concerned I agree with Ratnakar.I am also among one who thrashed Yuuvraaj and I absolutely hate Subhash Ghai as a director,but as a producer I have respect for him because he has given us films like Iqbal,Jogger’s park.What have YRF done for promotion of good cinema?Inspite of having made huge money with blockbusters like DDLJ,Dhoom etc,they are hungry for more.
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@31 well failure in 2007 and 2008 is not restricted to YRF. Many films bit the dust. Worthy and unworthy ones. You just choose to focus MAINLY on YRF.
By the way lots of things are clear to me and one of them is this – you my dear SIR are in denial about your true intent in the case of YRF. You may be more lucid and contructive about other matters but in this case you are bodering on the insane and letting your “hatred” of them get in the way of a healthy discussion.
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Chakraborthy,
Why are you commenting on Akki:( This is not India TV or Aaj Tak. We are not here to decide who is the next King of bollywood. You loved RNBDJ. Great.Stick with your comments on RNBDJ.
@Rathnakar
I totally agree with you. Really dont know what happened to SRK.
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@48
Your last sentence is the “real” problem people have issues with YRF.
How can one respect the views of people who are motivated by “jealousy”!
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Sasha you are truly funny! I thought Sharath was funny but you beat him!
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Subbu Ji,
Jiyo jiyo ….. hilarious as ever ….. what a way to jump start saturday …… ROTFL
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Can I make a tiny point here?
Not that I wish to make this into a SRK post, but is it ‘actually’ SRK per se that people are fed up with, or is it the constant emphasis on YRF and SRK that annoys people?
Personally, I find it extremely irritating when a certain celeb or film is in ur face.
The media never take the spotlight of SRK, so even if a film of his is coming after a year, I don’t miss him.
And I like to miss performers. It gives u sumat to look forward too.
I’m fed up of the media more than SRK.
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Sasha, it is totally pointless arguing with u. Ur behaving just like a Kid out here.
but let me put my point out here once for all.
THIS IS A POST ABOUT A MOVIE MADE UNDER YASHRAJ BANNER, AND I OR FOR THAT MATTER ANY ONE WILL DISCUSS ABOUT YRF MOVIES, GOOD, BAD OR UGLY. YEAH PUT UP A POST ON 2008 BOLLYWOOD MOVIES, AND I WILL SCREW EVERY ROTTEN MOVIE YRF OR NOT.
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Thanks Ratnakar for reminding me why SRK used to be my favourite hero. I’d completely forgotten all the underdog roles he used to do and I, as a teenager, could identify with. I think I watched Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa 8 times in the year of its release.
I still admire the guy a lot, but I’m just not as excited about his films as I used to be (except Chak De & Swades). Kya ho gaya mere hero ka!
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Ratnakar bhai, Sasha is having fun.. Please dont retierate to her comments. Sasha wants a healthy discussion. LOL. She is trying to provoke eveybody and i think she is having great fun.
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Yaa dilip, its totally pointless to even argue with her.
For the record, some of my closest friends are hard core SRK/YRF movie fans. And we often indulge in friendly ribbing, and that should be the case.
And Sasha finally before i leave, i dont have any personal vendetta against Yash Chopra or YRF movies.
But having grown up watching classics like Deewar, Trishul, Kabhie Kabhie, Mashaal, Lamhe, Kala Patthar movies with great stories and memorable characters, it pains me to see most of YRF movies resemble Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous TV shows.
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@55 and 57
yeah you’re right. Am having a ball trying to imagine “Rat’s” face. Can’t stop laughing at the image.
It’s just that it all gets so stuffy and serious – I mean these “personal” views and analysis of movies. Try to remember that movies are meant to be fun as well as thought-provoking.
Any ways I have had some fun. Don’t mind me. I know nothing of films and movie-making. All I know is what I like. That’s what counts – isn’t it?
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ROTFL!!!
Subrat, if I could nominate a blog post for the posting of the year award on PFC…this would be it!!!
I want part deux of this psycoanalytical deconstruction…
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@ I am coming back from RNBDJ show,it looked stale and outdated.
Heard someone saying above, its the finest movie of AC… oops difficult to digest.
and yes, i still believe in YRF and dude… DDLJ couldn’t be a fluke…
But … i still love SRK… even in RNBDJ.
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@Sasha,
No, that does’nt count. This IS a place for ““personal” views and analysis of movies”, you like it or not. We enjoy that.This place is called Passion For Cinema, if you have missed it. Its really not for people who proudly claims “I know nothing of films” and comments mindless staff. There are plenty of place in the cyberspace to do that and this is not one of them.
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@61
Fine, keep it to yourselves then! That’s why this forum will never evolve. Live in your smug world.
By the way, you don’t have to be a professor of film-making to have an opinion on the subject. Since films are for an audience, I think their views should count.
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@ Ratnakar,@ 43 post,
I totally agree with you the characters that SRK played especially in the whole 90s. I identified with Raj,Rahul, Raju in general.
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I think in 90s, we were young and ambitious and aspiring and we kind of identified with his roles while in 2000s we are reaching towards mid-life and our ambition and aspirations are different. SRK has gone on a different territory to some extent and I think he still has lot of middle-age aspiration roles to perform.
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I think he is aging gracefully though once in a while he does a full fledged rom-com or masala like OSO. But apart from that, he is trying to do different roles. My name is Khan he has Asperger’s syndrome. It will be interesting to see how he enacts that. He has Don 2 after that, I am expecting that now he is free from AB’s hangover, he has full freedom to make Don his own.
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My only wish is that he starts working with noir and new age directors like Dibakar, S Raghavan, Navdeep, Raju Hirani et al. Its a different thing whether these folks want to work with him :-)
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Again, I like the way you put your point across. Unlike few ppl who are hysterical about him or against him.
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I think Suri rocks. I can afford a sequel only for Suri. I hope this character is brought back some how. One of the most genuinely nice characters. He is some how the real “Raj” from Raj Kapoor’s zamana.
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Well well well I took a break, went out & saw a wonderful telugu movie called “Vinayakudu” & now when I’m back I see that mahaul abhi bhi garam hai
@ Vishesh-
SRK was to do 3 Idiots with Rajkumar Hirani & Robot with Shankar- but that didnt work out.There were even rumours that Anubhav Sinha might direct SRK’s dream super hero project.So I’m sure we’ll soon see the new crop of directors working with SRK.and yes for the moment lets relish Surinder Sahni- “hum hain rahi pyar ke,phir milenge, chalte chalte ”
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Sethu,
Nahi yaar, I think its all cool now:-)
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I am not quite sure about Anubhav Sinha’s capabilities. I hope he surprises me. I think the movie is tentatively titled Ra.one. Just for the name, I am impressed.
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For Suri ji, yup, he is my new favourite character.
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Btw, anyone tell me what does “Kiddaan” mean, it was mentioned in some comment in the other post for RNBDJ?
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@ Vishesh
Yeah its tentatively titled Ra.one ( quite interesting).I liked Anubhav Sinha’s Tum Bin, Dus was so- so but Cash was ugh!!!
And yes I am quite hopeful for My Name is Khan
also.Oh!how can I forget Billo Barber?The climax of the movie is gonna really make a lot of people emotional & appreciate SRK I’m sure of it
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“Sigappu Rojakal” fame “En inniya thamizl makale” Bharathiraja is back with “Bomallatam”. It has my fav Nana Patekar in the lead role. Its getting good reviews and it has good word of mouth. Going for it on sunday.
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Hey Visheesh, we punjabi’s use ‘kiddaan’ alot.
Means ‘how u doing’ etc
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‘Vinayakudu’? Matlab?
Mahaul garam? Nahin yaar.
Garmi toh tu apne saath hi legeya tha ;-)
Btw Vishesh, I loved the other line in the film, Syaapa!
Another Punjabi word which is so common…
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SRK is destroying bollywood
the NON ACTOR for NRI’s
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Arre kya Movie Fan, hum bhi NRI hain.
Lekin hum Sridevi aur Aamir ke deewaane hain ;-)
Aur haan, Rajpal Yadav ke bhi :-)
Aap toh Shah ke Rukh ko mitti mein milaane par tule ho!
Hey Raam!
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Well well….I have got quite a few responses to my comments.The “we” that I am talking about are some people(mind you still a minority) who does not like Singh is King(unlike the majority, otherwise the film would not have been blockbuster).And whoever is talking about “Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Katrina kaif, Vipul Shah, Priyardarshan, Subash Ghai, Baweja clan”??!!!!Od all these people other than Akshay,Subhash and Priyan others are “NOT EVEN WORTHY” of a discussion on PFC.Whoever wants to “discuss” them should watch tv(they are on all channels).In addition you will also get to see Celina Jaitley,Amrita Arora,Isha Koppikar,Sohail Khan as a bonus!!!And do some serious discussion about them also….
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@28,Sethumadhavan I’am sorry if I hurt your sentiments on DDLJ.You know that is my favourite film too.That is why whenever I hear that Adi is directing a film I could’nt help but compare it with DDLJ.But getting Mohabbatein and now RNBDJ from the same maker(I would’nt mind if he is producing Dhoom series…at least NOT DIRECTING them)makes me sad.I dont hate YRF.I grew up watching their films.There was a time in the 80’s when their movies did’nt work…Even Lamhe did’nt work at the bo.But we all love Lamhe.But things are sooo different this time.Maybe I have too much expectations from them…..
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Ratnakar,Subrat
sorry for going off topic.i am just giving a reply to dilipr@69
@dilipr
Thanks for telling me about ‘Bommalattom’I watched it and it is an excellant thriller.If anyone interested in thriller/mystery genre should not miss it.Since my Tamil is not that good I couldn’t get some of dialogues in entirety.Nana has given an excellant performance.Hope that this will be dubbed in HIndi so that i can listen to Nana in his own voice
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“Chopra’s treatment is highly inconsistent. His influences appear to be as diverse as Suraj Barjatya (elaborate sets of smalltown India and bright photography), Mani Rathnam (celebrating hero’s ordinariness), Farah Khan (star cameos in a song) and hell, even Anees Bazmi (That ‘open your eyes to see your beloved’ sequence was last seen in ‘Pyar To Hona Hi Tha’). It may not have been conscious, but it does take away from the film.”
Sooraj Barjatya? Anees Bazmee? MANI RATNAM! What on earth was that? This is what happens when you try to cynically overanalyze an Aditya Chopra. For me, it was always an Aditya Chopra film, and that includes everything in the film.
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Sorry Guys I don’t get why so much SRK bashing for RNBDJ. He’s one of the guys who can rise above the story, though in theoritical sense we don’t need that, and same is the case with RNBDJ. He distinctly create two personalities and remain very honest to both of them, till the end. Taking above conversation forward, to me Suriji, is one more underdog who gets the girl. I thought the case was sort of split personalities, which was showed very unrealistically, and SRK delivers it with finesse. Body language, expressions, language both are different and SRK gets into it. I really liked his performance in RNBDJ even Raj one, which I thought was different in terms of body language (very energetic in clumsy way) and accent.
I think we (all fans who got disillusioned) get frustrated with SRK because he doesn’t give a damn about script but only cares about entertainment and too some level acting (he’s always very honest about it and I really respect that). I think as audience, things and tastes have changed but he didn’t changed. We die to see him in movie like Aamir but he doesn’t give us that and we crib about it.
Where RNBDJ didn’t worked for me was dialouges, Anushka in emotional scenes and importantly certain very unrealistic situations. I think we’re over “Ek aurat ko sirf pyar chahiye”, “Ek boond pyaar nahi kiya and tumne to baarish kar di”. Where it works is characterization, some laughs and SRK. I wondered why nobody talked about the end credits, may be people left before that, it was damn creative, interesting and simple. Some how I thought it was best part of the movie, not for obvious reasons
PS: On last count ‘Rab’ has been used 118 times in the movie. Any idea how many times ‘Ji’ has been used.
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A lot of you guys smack of idol worship. I know SRK has become a little larger than life of late and he and his cohorts could make life difficult for detractors especially if they live in Mumbai. But we need to have the courage of our convictions. This is a crappy movie period.
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Tapan,
I don’t know in which post did I mention but I loved loved the Japanese Honeymoon thing. It alone is worth the ticket price, IMO. I hope all the theaters show the end credits instead of abruptly shutting it off.
What a way to leave the hall! It made my day. Seriously.
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@ 80,
Suzy, please care to explain how “he and his cohorts could make life difficult for detractors”, is he the new Raj Thackeray of Bollywood?
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You said it very rightly that “we need to have the courage of our convictions”.Absolutely and that’s what makes me say that I like this movie. Another Period. (just for the OTT effect)
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@ Tapan
Like Vishesh even I’ve mentioned I really liked the end credits- one of the big positives about the movie.
@ Suzy
Aapko picture nahin lagi, great- talk about that.But equating SRK with some power hungry fanatic is just too much.
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Anindya@ 75-
are its ok chill.Quoting from DDLJ itself-
” bade bade deshon mein,aisi choti choti baatein
hoti hi rehti hain”
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@ Vishesh
Absolutely true. Before that I was bored to death (despite sincere dance performance by Suriji) because of all those bullshit dialogues, such as ‘rab mujhse naraaz to nahi hoga na kyoki mein tumhe unse jyaada manta hoon’ or some sort of similar dialogue, but it had put smile on my face and made me leave theatre in very good mood. Man those end credits were simple, romantic, beautiful, cheeky, humourous, sincere and soulful. Hope some more people put effort in starting and end credits instead of just putting item song, though I don’t complain it if girl is hot
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@ Steve
Vinayakudu means Vinayak mentioned just with respect/effect.As far as I know in telugu people use “udu” at the end of the name for effect/respect.Like its usually not ram or krishna it would be ramudu & krishnudu.As far this movie is concerned ( will write about it in detail later) its a about a cute little romance between a fat guy & a good looking girl.So the title “vinayakudu” is like a reference to Vinayak/Ganesh keeping the fat hero in mind!!!
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BTW though Kajol was just there for a few seconds in that “tribute” song- I thought she looked lovely.Looking forward to My Name is Khan all the more!!!
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@ Sethumadhavan
Sorry yaar I might have missed it. Let’s say we all liked it. Cheers!
@Suzy
Chill yaar, I don’t think there is much idol worship but just a little bit of biasness. Earlier he has shown us such a good time that we are overlooking some things but I don’t think that will last long.
Guys I think it is not appropriate to make remakrs like ‘making life difficult for detractors’. Yeah we are here to discuss movies and people related to it but I think things strictly should be in relation to movies.
PS: Regarding end credits, did somebody liked music in the end credits of movie called “The fountain’ (though it has been used in movie also), it is very beautiful. I hope to write someday about the movie.
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@Sethumadhavan
She (kajol) will always be my lady. It’s always pleasure to see her on screen. I just wanted to make one point here, I think all the girls in tribute song were miscast except Kajol (might be biasness). Bips as 70s girl, man she is so dusky and tall that she can never look like as 70s girl. Horrendous casting was Lara dutta as Helen and Priety Zinta as Mumtaz. Lara is far from Helen and Priety looks too urbane to be Mumtaz.
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the intent of RNBDJ is so strong that u r bound to overlook its technical flaws coz the makers hv overlooked them,& inspite of it they hv gone ahead & told a story which seems that they believed was ought to be told & in the manner(format)it is to be told.Its no DDLJ but there wudnt b any DDLJ,ever.And acc to me the makers were nt even attempting it.MOHABBATEIN was a bad film.It didnt touch me.But RNBDJ is good cinema by a good team.And yes SRK is an actor & a powerhouse one at that.His understanding of collective human emotional psyche is immense(esp. the ‘healthier’ human emotions like love,patience,sacrifice,faith).Also there was some rawness in SRK’s performance,innocence that had been missing in the middle of his career & we hv seen emergence of a new SRK after Swades & its a delight.Go watch RNBDJ.All the talk abt ‘regressive’ end is bullshit acc to me..irrespective of all the reviews go & watch it coz of SRK..go & watch fr the team who gave us DDLJ & I assure u will not come back dissapointed.
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@ Tapan
I dont think they thought so much in terms of equating the heroine with the era etc.Else it would have turned out better.
My younger brother called tonite from Pune.He has always been a SRK & YRF critic.And I was actually expecting to hear something bad from him.But he pleasantly surprised me saying SRK was amazing in it & overall the movie in isolation is good.But yes considering it was an Aditya Chopra-SRK combo it could have been a lot better!!!
If most of the people think similarly I’m sure that the movie will not be ridiculed so much as some people have been doing out here!!!
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@ Dilipr & Sharath
Thanks for mentioning Bommalattam.I’m going to watch it soon.If what I’m hearing is true then its good to finally get a good movie from Bharatiraja.His recent movies like Kangalal kaidhu sei were not all that good.
Sharath the movie is a bilingual- tamil & hindi and has been dubbed in telugu also.While the tamil & telugu versions have released, the hindi version should be hopefully out soon.
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Wow, maybe I’m commenting on this post a little late in the day but it needs to be said (even if it already been said dozens of times…)
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Subrat, sirji, aap genius aadmi ho! This ia not just fucking hilarious, but absolutely brilliant! It was the first things I read after coming home from watching the film (got in around 1:30am), and I laughed so hard ke biwi se galiyaan padi (she was trying to sleep… oh well…) and that only added to my enjoyment!
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Awesome stuff!
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A superb piece of writing by Subrat! Way to go. This is the first time in long time I have been truely impressed by a post on PFC. It’s too good. By the way, can we do away with little girls like Sasha and Suparna b or some such? This forum is not for them. They can join Shahrukh Fan Club or post their comments on his website. They can get excited and pant by twitch of Shahrukh’s fat lips and by the turn of his whatever. In my opinion, Shahrukh is one of the ugliest filmstars we have. Every feature of his face – nose, lips, eybrows, ears is plain ugly. His mop of hair covered his face till now. Check him out in his new haircut and you will know what I mean.
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@94 Manjushaa,
By that same logic, you can join SRK Hate Club and vent about his looks, no?
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I find it amusing when I am not the change that I want in others :-)
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It wud be fine, if we cud stick to the stars acting capabilites, rather than whether their looks excite you or repulse. Else this wud be another Rediff message Board.
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Hey!hey!hey! if we were to discuss the looks of an actor then I’d say we are completely in a wrong forum out here.Lets stick to what we should be doing- discussing movies & everything relevant around it it.
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“By the way, can we do away with little girls like Sasha and Suparna b or some such?”
Sweetheart, can you do us a favour and grow up?
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THIS FROM cricinfo.com :
65.6 Flintoff to Yuvraj Singh, no run, and again, covers off stump and leaves well enough alone
65.5 Flintoff to Yuvraj Singh, no run, and again, hits a length, shoulders arms, Flintoff once more starts to ask him about the Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi review but Yuvraj smartly ignores him and walks away to square leg .
What Yuvraj should tell Flintoff? Go for it ?
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The talk of looks was started by somebody else. I just reacted. “Let’s talk about the film!” That exactly is my point. Why are people exhibiting there love for a certain actor in a very childish manner and then expecting others not to comment on that? I have never seen Sasha doing anything except defending Shahrukh and his films and professing her love for him. If this ok with you, Pl continue….
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Rab ne paka di thodi!
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yesterday I went to watch Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi at Parsipanni theatre in New Jersey. Interval time I get bored so I come out early to smoke ciggie. Then TV channel people sticking mike in my face and ask me “Sir what you think of the movie please tell us no ?”
Since I am having ciggie in my hands, so I am saying to them
Rab ne bana di jodi
Maine piya hai beedi.
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sorry to be crass.. but one of my friends just gave a brilliant title to the film.. “rab ne bana di tatti”
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@ SG- you call that brilliant????????
I have no words to say but ask you – how can you even feel like writing this over here?
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