The New Wave is coming..BHEJA FRY and MANORAMA-SIX FEET UNDER
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Have been busy shifting houses, doing post production, hanuman and what not..have been avoiding the world in general..it took one brilliant movie to bring me out of my hibernation..then it was followed by another downright hilarious comedy of manners..and a third one that i have been hearing so much about but have not yet managed to see it..all of them by debutant filmmakers..all of them making you wish you were part of it..the first two i had the chance..the former i couldn’t because of lack of time and i bloody regret it..the second one i just underestimated it..so much for thinking “i know exactly what i am doing”..
MANORAMA-SIX FEET UNDER, india’s first truly original noir set in a small town rajasthan..it reminds me of TAVERNIER’S “COUP DE TORCHON“..it reminds me of jim thomson and the way he looked at america..is how NAVDEEP “NOPI” SINGH looks at his lakhot..from the way its written, sparse, moody, from the protaganist’s POV, a failed pulp novelist,now contributing to manohar kahaniyaan, wanting to be a detective played by always brilliant Abhay Deol..getting himself into a situation he can’t get out of..the entire noir thriller set in a sleepy town..where neighbours are more interested in the other ones life..where everyone wants a break from daily mundanity..where every one has all the time and everybody works for the government..extraordinary performances from Gul Panag, Sarika, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Vinay Pathak,Raima sen, Nowazuddin And Jogi..the control and the restraint from showing off and sensationalising elements, the attention to detail by this director makes you relook at what you have not been doing..it made me feel inadequate..however much i want to discuss this film i can’t because its still in post production and its not my film..but its so bloody brilliant that i am ready to put my ass on line..its one of the best i have seen..
BHEJA FRY-the entire audience in the theatre was rolling with laughter..i could not do this one..infact i didn’t do this one.. i grossly underestimated it..and i am so bloody happy that i was dead wrong..SAGAR BELLARY proves it that i am an ass..and i wonder how does the rajat kapoor gang always does it..making a film for sixty lakhs with so much talent and original songs and non stop fun..sunil doshi and rajat kapoor i guess are the only bonafide independent filmmakers we have in this country of so much that calls itself independent and is far from it..now the film, a comedy of manners.. an extra ordinary vinay pathak, who fancies himself as the true K L Saigal follow up.. a man who imagines his life is devoted to music , looking for that elusive break gets invited for a dinner by a music producer and all hell breaks loose.. based on a french comedy..this is a through the roof rollercoster..and the fun just becomes completely multiplied when Ranvir shorey enters the scene..this film and knowing what he has done in my film, i can say that Ranvir Shorey is the single most versatile actor we have and bloody brilliant and underrated.. all these familywalas who keep nominating there friends and sons and lovers and ignore this brilliant actor..i want to see how long can they ignore him.. like that dialogue from Goodfellas.. the guy will keep coming back and slam you with performances one after the other that you will have to be dead to ignore him .. uday chopra nominated for comedy for dhoomX, in his ten lives and all the money is not a split end of a hair on this man’s talent..this film is seriously ha ha and bloody celebration of low budget cinema.. it makes one feel that its not so bleak out there.. if you want to, you can, and how..
LOINS OF PUNJAB..by MANISH ACHARYA..have only been hearing about it .. all good things.. he made the film with his own money.. its about someone who sells Pork LOINS.. have yet to see it.. these are films that are finished and in various stages of post production and so many more that are not yet on floors.. many more that i don’t know about..but this is for Anish .. the new wave is definitely coming and there is hope.. we will bloody rock..and naysayers be damned
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
Anurag – I think our job should not just end with writing a post or reacting to it. i feel we should make it a habit to promote these films & make sure that anybody we know who is remotely interested in watching good cinema should watch it. i for one keep doing these sms campaigns after i watch a good film. i coax people to at least watch these kind of films. as they say word of mouth is the best publicity one can get.
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yes..i agree.. i really appeal to all of us who really have been seeking a change should go and patronise these films and not just wait for them to appear on DVD..starting with bheja fry
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Anurag,
Delicious post.
Absolutely agree on Rajat Kapoor. The only bona fide independent filmmaker who has struck gold with every film of his; and easily my favourite by miles in the India indie cinema scene. (As a matter of fact, I can’t think of any worthy other.)
Eagerly awaiting Sagar Ballary’s film. Ranvir Shorey has been so sublime (I just loved his act in Mixed Doubles) in all his outings last year, and Vinay Pathak has been fantastic too. And, then, there’s Rajat himself, as cool as a cucumber. This must be a zinger of a film!
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Hi anurag sir. Great post =d>
i am a newcomer on pfc.
This is my first post here. One lucky day read your interview in a newspaper and learnt about pfc. I am fascinated by all the posts which i’ve read since then. Its just great to know that there are some people in the industry who gives us good cinema.
I have seen some trailors of bheja fry and looking forward to watch it. and you are right about ranvir shorey. he was simply superb in khosla ka ghosla. He’s got such great timing.
Looking forward for the day when sense will prevail and real cinema will take the centre stage…
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Anurag – one step the exhibitors should take to promote these films is to lower the ticket rates. as it is these films release in multiplexes & that too most of the time in only one or two shows.i strongly feel the bad box-office of our films is directly related to the pricing of the ticket.
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but has bheja fry released…it was to release this friday rite??
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hi anurag,just great post ^:)^^:)^^:)^
I think vinay pathak also one of the most underrated actor in this industry which run by mafias ( chopras,johars,bacchans and khans).
last night i watched Zee cine award and upen patel got most most promising newcomer over siddarth (RDB ),i was shocked and just felt nothing can change this bloody peoples and system.
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hi anurag,
good post indeed!…but i think it will take
some more time for people to understand the
difference between ‘camp’cinemas and
genuine ’small’ films….and if i am not wrong
it is going to happen very soon…we r actaully
fortunate that we did not belong to the prakash
mehra/manmohan desai generation(with due
respects to them..cause i too was a great fan of
their amitabh movies till movies
like ‘toofan’, ‘ ‘jaadugar’, ‘ganga jamuna
saraswati’etc. came along and at one point i
even stopped watching amitabh movies)….anyways
a fantastic post…keep writing.
raaj
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sir..gr8 post..i too have heard a lot bout Manorama…looks as if the new breed of filmmakers are gonna rule the world and we require this change, have had enough of this crape thats going on in cinemas from the start of the year
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But Anurag Bheja Fry is a rip off from a French movie :((
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Anurag sir,
The new wave has indeed started prominently last year as u rightly said once. Its so encouraging to see you cheering the new wave! Lets pray we are able to give more films. The audience is not stupid, multiplexe business is the key for our industry. I guess the new wave has already ran a cat amongst piegons. The stars must have started feeling insecure
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yes thats the bad thing about bheja fry. they got so many good actors together that m sure it will be much better than the original the dinner game. but why they had to copy,i dont get it!! hav seen the original n from teh promos it looks like they have even copied the look of vinay pathak,who plays the idiot in teh film.i hope they hav bought the rights atleast.
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All,
Sagar Ballary talks about his film here. Do read.
I can’t really comment on how “original” and interesting the film is, without watching it, but, like the producer Sunil Doshi, I am willing to put my money on the jockey! Or, rather, the gang to which the jockey belongs to.
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Sorry, I meant, I can
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yes it is indeed based on the dinner game the rights to which are taken by sunil doshi.. in fact sunil doshi has bought some twenty films from world over and is releasing it in india..they include, the beat that my heart skipped, l’enfant, lemming, march of the penguins- infact we did both an english and hindi version of march of the penguins which the original producers and director found better than the hollywood version hence that has become the official dvd release version in asia and other english speaking countries.. officialy mr. doshi is buying a lot of world cinema and is trying to bring it here.. they are all bonafide versions..
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My money was always on Abhay Deol to so something when others ridiculed and scoffed….and this guy inspite of the Deol tag is making it on his own…
Ranvir and Vinay Pathak will make any actor piss in their pants if they are to share the screen with them….they are awesome ever since their Channel V days….I find them a better package then any of the other offered
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That’s wonderful, Anurag. Thanks for this piece of information.
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Anurag,
Just a clarification. Do you mean to say Sunil Doshi has bought the rights of movies like L’Enfant — which was such a wonderful film! — to release those films in India? Or, is he planning remakes like in the case of Bheja Fry? I didn’t quite get that.
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he is planning to release them..
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dont know what the producers saw.i saw both the versions. morgan freeman sounds like voice of god.didnt like Ab that much. thought morgan was much much better. whatver films he has voiced they sound so good. or may be thats my biased opinion. because i dont like Ab at all.
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Thanks for the clarification, your mentioning those films along with Dinner Game made me wonder what this was all about. I mean, the selfish movie buff that I am, I wouldn’t like to see a chain — not even a small chain — of remakes of French films, even if they’re so truly inspired.
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Gr8 post…looking forward to these movies…
For me a copy/remake of a hollywood/any other movie is ok as long as its well made in indian context…saw movies like ek ruka hua faisla which is almost exact copy of 12 angry men but still both movies r brilliant…
n even hollywood is goin the remake way for e.g the departed…
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Ranvir Shorey is a very good actor, but I think Vinay Pathak is much better than him. He proved that in “Khosla ka ghosla.”
Vinay showcased his talent in “Kahani Poori Filmi Hai,” the show on Sony TV. But it is only now that filmmakers are utilising him properly. Better late than never, I guess.
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We have a wave of promising filmmakers who make their great 1st movie every year. I would believe the new wave is here to stay if these film makers go on to make their second films with the same passion & originality. What usually happens is they make their 1st film, get noticed & then get signed by a big banner & start making star studded films.
). So we lost Nishikant. Rajat kapoor, Nagesh, Manish Jha & You are the handful of people who come to mind who are keeping the spirit of independent cinema going. BTW what is Shashank Ghosh working on right now. I love that guy. He was one of the coolest guys i met in my 2 years in Bollywood.
Nishikant for example. His Dombivili was awesome. Then he remade it in Tamil. Now i hear he is remaking it in hindi with some big star. He is also planning to make a film with John Abraham(I know you love him
If most of these guys can make another movie just like their first film I would truly believe in the NEW WAVE. Those french guys kept going crazier with every film they made.
As far as Ranveer is concerned I have been talking about him for years now. I loved him as a VJ & knew he was a great actor from the start. It took people time to notice him because he is not our typical loud actor. And i’m so glad Vinay is finally getting his dues. I remember watch this countdown on [V] just for these guys.
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Mainak, let’s not be so premature to judge them. Each filmmaker has his/her own needs, attractions, agendas, whatever you may call them. Everyone has to earn a living, and the indie market is not that strong in India yet that people can earn a living working solely in that kind of cinema. The money, the fame etc of Bollywood is very attractive.
Nishikant waited 16 years (working in television) before he got the opportunity to make his feature. So when he gets the opportunity to re-make in Tamil with a big star like Madhavan, and also allowed to maintain its original, realistic flair, only a fool would turn that down. For the record, he sold the remake rights to Abbas-Mastan for Hindi, which they are supposedly directing themselves. Nishikant is now making his own film, due to start this month on the recent 7/11 Mumbai blasts. So yeah, the man had a great product that was able to help him make a little money through different forms and he took the opportunities. It doesn’t mean we have lost him. I think he is one of the most promising voices in Indian cinema today.
And to that list of promising indie filmmakers, I would also add Chandan Arora.
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Thanks Vijay. That was nice to read. I understand what you are saying. I’m not complaining that he made that version with Madhavan. Infact I would do that too. that way will have enough money to make another independent film. I love Nishikant. He was one of the best guys who came to IFFLA last year. And I’m glad he is working on the 7/11 blasts. Yeah Chandan Arora is awesome. He is not as written about like the more articulate & media savvy indie guys like Anurag & Rajat but that guy is really trying to make the films he believes in. His PATI PATNI AUR WOH was fntastic. Rajpal Yadav should have gotten award for that role.
Any other names people?
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Shivam Nair….Love this guy and now waiting for Abbas Tyrewala.
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I love Abbas Tyrewala’s writing. I think he has a lot of diversity. I’m eagerly awaiting for his directorial debut. Shivam Nair…I honestly found Ahista Ahista to be quite boring, though it was a lot better than most other films that year. I felt his characterization was quite bland. The premise was good, but he could have fleshed them out better.
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Nishikant truly is great. I just saw his Dombivli Fast and am bowled over. Ofcourse, am glad we have Anurag, Sudhir, Nagesh, Rajat, Chandan… I’d mention Homi Adajania too as Being Cyrus was an out of the box movie and did well too… I’d mention the Director of Khosla ka Ghosla too as I found that movie really brilliant..a small but extremely entertaining film… I forgot his first name.. Mr.Banerjee.
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Ahista Ahista i think…the only down point was the music….Himesh spoilt it. COuld have been trimmed…but..still loved it.
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shashanka ghosh is making the funniest movie i have ever read..based on the character he created when he was in channel V.. the fim is called “QUICKGUN MURUGAN”..
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and i am not indie anymore..my next films are all studio films
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Anurag,
Thanks for your more than generous take on my film; Manorama SFU. :”>
I think it’s a great time to be making films in India. The frontiers are wide open and there is so much unexplored ground.
Also, the number of filmmakers making quality cinema is finally reaching critical mass. This is absolutely essential to foster healthy competition amongst us. By way of example, when I saw your work-in-progress edit of ‘no smoking’, I was jealous enough to silently promise myself to make my next film better still.
That’s healthy competition. That’s how good films get made; From constantly raising the bar.
In an environment of limited ‘working’ talent (note the keyword ‘working’ since there’s a lot of untapped talent out there) it’s too easy to rest on your laurels and take it easy since you’re already amongst the ‘best’.
So let a million flags fly and a million arri’s roll!! Dawn is breaking on the horizon and our day is come!!
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Anurag sir – Has no investor thought of setting up a fund solely for indie movies? And wouldn’t that be great for indie film-makers? I know there’s a lot of risk involved. And hence a lot of money to be made even if one movie is a hit.
Reminds me of the time when Rajat Kapoor funded Raghu Romeo through his friends, etc.
Is it too freaked out a thought to wonder why educated and rich people don’t get together to form a fund to invest in indie movies?
I mean 10 people putting in Rs10lakhs each means Rs1crore. Not much, but good for a starter. If one indie film costs Rs20cr (is that too much or less?), then that’s 5 movies – or 5 brand new directors – that can be funded. Even if one works, wouldn’t that be win-win for the investors as well as for cinema?
I know this idea will be scoffed at and probably too simplistic by far, but I just thought of saying it loud in this cinema-crazy community.
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It does not matter if its an indie or big budget film.A film is a film after all as long as its not a formula film. It would make the wave even more stronger!!
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Anurag, Guys – isnt this the height of hypocricy?
We have been hearing for quite sometime now about the new wave of cinema in India – some really brialliant film makers like Anurag, Homi Adjania, farhan akhtar and others are making really good Indian films. I have no problems with that. I personally think its great. But…
Why is it that we know that Bheja Fry is ripped off from a foreign film and are still going ga ga over it? When a sanjay gupta makes a Zinda copied from Old boy we rip him a new one! However, when a bheja fry is made we cant stop raving and ranting calling it a masterpiece? what crap! just because the filmmaker isnt a mainstream person and has made it within 60 lacs we are OK with the fact that his films is copy?
Is’nt this pure reverse discrimination? A knock off is a knock off – period! Why do we keep running down mainstream actors and filmmakers and then justify the same mistakes when made by someone from our own stable? Indie cinema should be what Black friday, ahista ahista, dil chahta hai, being cyrus, mixed doubles and raghu romeo are all about – original, entertaining and honest.
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i was reading an interesting (latest) interview of Rajat Kapoor, in which he mentioned his latest film ‘Mithiya’ – have you seen that movie as well? Now that movie sounds interesting. In addition, Shaurab Shukla doing a film after a long time.
on a lighter note… Ranveer Shorey is a part of YR family now, so next year he might get a look in… :-\”
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sophocles its the officially bought rights..that makes some difference..plus the director mentions it straight out acknowledging the original..its how it should be done and we don’t do it..
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Hi anurag,
Bhai ab toh yeh sari filmein dekhni hi padegi… But one feels good to know that there is still some hope left for people like me…
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Hi Anurag,
Bheja fry promotion isnt looking too good,looks like some b grade comedy and the title also sounds cheap.I dont know why these film makers cant plan really appealing promo mix.Many good movies fail at this stage itself.Anyway,its your recommendation so its a must watch.
CC
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hey Anurag please get SHASHANK to write blogs here. he is an amazing dude & we would love to know whats cooking in that brain he carries around.
We can name his blogs -
LAUNDIYA KE PALLU MEIN GAU KI BU AAVE.
Can’t wait to see the Murugan Film.
Does he still watch TV on the mirror?
And congratulations on moving up to the Studio system. We need a insider there.
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:((
Hello Anurag,
I was dying to talk to you. As you can see I am crying.
Let me tell something before the explanation of absence of my mirth.
I am an admirer of true cinema (That’s in the name, yaar!). I am an ardent hater of super-commercial mainstream Bollywood movies (like YRF’s DHOOM2,
KRRISSH-crass types, which masses love to love and i love to hate). I believe, nobody in this industry in unbiased, making CINEMA just for the sake of cinema. Each one is ruuning after the big bucks.
Then I knew that there is a person named ANURAG KASHYAP who has both courage and strength to swim against the tide. Since I saw SATYA, I became your fan (pls. don’t react that “who the f**k told you to be my fan”). Your take on Bachchan (who is widely considered the MOST BESTEST actor in the world :-?:-?) made me think that this man has courage. Your assessment of BLACK (one of the most overrated films ever, considered a classic by some ill-minded SKJ, you know him!). Your comments on the industry-mafia YRF and these shitty awards were awe-inspiring. Then you made BF, about which the more said the less. Gradually, I was convinced that you are the one of the most talented and most courageous person in the present INDIAN film industry.
BUT BUT BUT, as you always say, “Life’s not fair. Get used to it”. I thought life’s fairly fair when I came to know about you but no, I should have got used to it. I was wrong, and I am sobbing to say – you too are biased and money is more to you than PassionForCinema. You are just another quintessence of other people in Bollywood.
Reason? Well, shakalaka boom boom. I AM DYING TO KNOW – WHAT MADE YOU SIGN THIS? WHY? WHY? WHY? Was it necessary to break all our faith on you by being a part of the writing team? The reasons for the gunpoint:
1) it’s a film by SUNEEL DARSHAN, whose past few films include BARSAAT, DOSTI, MERE JEEVAN SAATHI. Wasn’t this an ample reason to hurl your door
against his face? You have always castrated YRFs and DHARMAs in your posts. But SD? Isn’t that a representation of a biased mind? Even bull craps like KANK, VEER-ZAARA, DHOOM, Bunty Babli, K3G appear to be masterpiece classics compared to any SD film (not to mention SBB) Well I haven’t seen it and don’t want to. Were you at the gunpoint of SD while signing on the dotted lines?
2) I know that you are a dialogue writer in this film. But the screenplay (i got essence from all the reviews) didn’t bother Anurag Kashyap, the bf, satya man – is really hard to digest. It still makes me amazed (actually floored) how you agreed to pen the dialogues. Is your grudge against only for the people who make big-budget extravaganzas with stars? If the film’s budget is low, you can actually compromise? Can we expect a same from FOOL n FINAL?
3) Now comes the vital point. u can write off the previous points saying “let the director and screen-writer do their job, that’s not my problem, i get paid and that’s all for me if do my job sincerely.” How could you write such ************ (well, I don
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Dear Sir.
I like reading thes. It’s so lovely to hear all helping others. I have super respect for all. It’s hard world. To make. From what yu said. I like Vinay pathak too. He is so wonderful. Ranveeer is also what you call an actot. I liked khosla ka gholsa too. ahisat ahista was very ahista. didn’t like anything. KK is excellent actor too. abhay diol is ok., i think he’s a little girly. To see kulbhushan after so long will be intresting. thank you for kepeing on writnig.
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There is a screening of LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS.. in new york on 13th april..check the link in comment no.44..somebody go see it and write about it
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Yaar Anurag, tum ne Mr. Charles Foster Kane aka Antonio Ricci ka dil aise dukha diya? Uska haal dekh ke mereko khud aankh mein aansoo aa rela hai.
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Any Idea on where do we have screening for Loins… and Manoram… in CA.
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For me the new wave started films like “Iqbal”, “Raghu Romeo” and “Socha Na Tha”. There was a promise that with growth of multiplex these small films actually had a chance…
Last year when the big budget films like the God-awful “Naksha” were flopping (who the fu(k would want to rip off a shitty Seah-William Scott film in the first place??) great, GREAT films like “Khosla Ka Ghosla”, “Dor” and “Ahista Ahista” (though I still fee the ending could have been better handled) garnering much deserve mainstream praise and attention… Thank God “KKG” was a hit…
I whole-heartedly agree with Rony D’Costa that we should be promoting these films amongst anyone we know… I became a royal pain in the ass for my friends who’ve ever watched a hindi film and didn’t watch “KKG” or “Ahista Ahista” or films of the like.
I was eager to see Honeymoon Travels and even Delhii Heights (alright, so I’m overly optimistic to the point of delusion) because I think we need to patronize these low-to-medium budget films.
These films make it based on strong storytelling, not fancy gimmickry.
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Charles Foster Kane- All the lines you are mentioning and more are not written by Anurag Kashyap. They were rewritten by Our screenplay writer Mr. Rajesh Pandey
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YES…! The new WAVE is definitely coming and its for SURE…. YOU guys are going to ROCK.
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The only way independent films can make its presence felt is by means of some great marketing. Marketing need not be the domain of only the likes of Yashraj and Dharma. I guess Anurag has recently taken an initiative in gathering all indie filmmakers which will have a platform to showcase their talent. Sorry to say but that is not enough. You will need some really great marketing.
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One more thing here. Vinay PAthak and RAnvir Sheroy. I guess if you can list these two actors in the Bombay Stock Exchange i would be interested in buying a 100 % stake. One thing is very clear. these two guys should book airline tickets to the US. The Oscar trophy is dying to be in your hands.
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Anurag,
Are you too falling prey to equating hindi movies with Indian movies ? Never get to read anything about good movies in other languages (south anyway scores above most of the tripe in B’wood both in terms of style and content.
Go and see a tamil movie called Mozhi. Great stuff.
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Hi All,
Check this interesting piece
of information about
Anurag Kashyap
& Bhela fry. This is in the words of Sagar Ballary..
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Hi Anurag,
I just read what you thought about Bheja Fry. Quite flattering.
First of all, I want to thank you for not writing Bheja Fry. If you would have written it, I would have never got an opportunity to write the dialogues and there is nothing better than this film to show one’s skill with humour.
I was scared throughout that you would do a draft after I’ve finished writing. But great that you didn’t. It has made my life (at least for a couple of days to come).
Thanks for ‘Aayega Aayega…’
I am feeling a little sad that everybody is getting reviews but I’m not. But never mind, phone calls are enough.
Hope to see you at Landmark or some film festival.
Thanks once again.
Sharat Katariya
(they spelt my name wrong in the credits.)
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sharat….hey just one question on Bheja Fry…if you could give us an inside info…why was ranveer asked to do what he did….why why why why why…????why??? what was that he was doing????? why???? sorry…I love this actor..I love him..but what the hell was he doing here….WHY
My only grudge with involving Bheja Fry with the NEW WAVE is that it’s not an original….
A great team effort…I agree..making films
within 60 lacs…superb….but not a remake as a wave to the next level…..anyways hope to see
more films from this team….original ones….
And sharat katariya the audience was laughing all the way…it definitely cliked….Vinay Pathak and the things he said…
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but Anurag in a rediff.com interview Rajat said that the director had written the script and they loved it and went ahead…there was no mention of the Dinner Game????
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Anurag
I agree with u that movies such as “Bheja Fry” should definitely be encouraged but the problem is that when it comes to the awards part all the YashRaj movies have the upper hand simply bcos of the fact that awards such as “Filmfare” conduct their functions at the YashRaj studios which itself lays the foundation for a biased & favourable treatement towards these big banner films the biggest example being the Filmfare awards in 1998 where Shahrukh khan won the best actor award for “Dil to pagal hai” although Aamir khan deserved it for “Rangeela”. paisa chadaya tha shayad yash chopra ne filmfare ko!!!!!
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Nidheesh:
if i may recall correctly Rangeela was pited against DDLJ in 1995. DTPH was 1997 film.
Rangeela and DDLJ were quite close competition!
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Moreover, Aamir got filmfare in 1996 for his mediocre film and average performance Raja Hindustani!
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Right RK Raja Hindustani was a total SHIT but the very fact that the God of hamming Mr. Shahrukh khan won the award for his hopeless performances in Kuchh kuchh Hota hai and Dil to Pagal hai speaks volumes of the pathetic state of awards in India
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Awards?? What awards?? I think they should be called “Rewards”… rewards for working with the biggest companies, the ones with the most clout… Zee Cine Rewards… Filmfare Rewards… and the ridiculous amounts of so-called “Award Shows” world wide which basically offer meaningless trophies for whoever is paid to be there… what a joke…
The closest thing to real awards in Indian cinema is the Aphsara Awards… and I say this not based on previous winners but more so the advertised process… the wide ranging personalities on adjudicating the nominees and winners shows some promise… I think if they make a serious attempt at presenting awards based on merit and not popularity then over time they will become India’s most prestigious award.
Or am I just fooling myself?
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On the conversation regarding “independant cinema” I think Manjeet Singh’s comment sums it up the best:
“It does not matter if its an indie or big budget film. A film is a film after all as long as its not a formula film. It would make the wave even more stronger!!”
Right on. Don’t tell me films like “Ek Hasina Thi” or “Being Cyrus” didn’t become much bigger projects simply because they had Saif “Hum Tum” Khan in the lead? Or “Kabul Express” and “No Smoking” because of the presence of John Abraham…
Man, lets not bullshit ourselves.
Today if you were making an “independant” film a big time commercial producer somehow learned of your script and was interested in investing $$$ into your project, offering you bigger stars, better music, better cinematrophy, etc etc you wouldn’t jump at the opportunity. I don’t care who you are, you would.
That’s why Nagesh Kukunoor has signed John Abraham for his next film.
For everyone that hates Shah Rukh Khan… if he liked your script and offered to produce it, wanting to play the lead, would you say “No dude, you ham too much. I need someone more natural, like a Pravin Dabas.” Right.
You know what you’d do? You’d tell everyone you know that you loved SRK’s restrained performance in “Swades” and that’s the SRK working in your film.
If we want to bitch about hypocracy and double-standards I think we need to start with ourselves.
Big-up to you Anurag Kashyap for maintaining your honesty…
“…i am not indie anymore..my next films are all studio films”
Personally, as long as you continue to make good films that’s all that matters…
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Check out the audience reaction on rediff to bheja fry..enormous.. they are asking for raja sen’s extradition
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Public saala haath dho ke padhela uske peeche. Editor usko bolega, we want and value your opinion. Raja Sen ko film acha nahi laga tho woh aur kya likhega. I haven’t seen the film yet, but his bad luck, he might have just happened to watch it on a bad day.
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post the link please of rediff.
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http://ia.rediff.com/movies/2007/apr/13bheja.htm
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Its a fact that a film made by a demi god director is praised allover by the media, given 4 star ratings inspite of been average, but when it comes to lesser known directors n films without star cast they r butchered and most of the films not even reviewed. The only exception amay be the socially relevant films, which is not the only genre representing the true cinema. If a bigger director would have directed this film it would have been worse but the critic ratings would have been better. It is a sad state we r in.
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public raja sen ko ‘guru’ (that too a wonderful objective review ) ke review ke baad bhi nikaalne ke liye bola tha.
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heard on cnn ibn from rajeev masand, that bheja fry is remake of some hollywood movie. not only the situations are taken from that film but also the characterization & near about all scenes are taken from it. just like ek ruka hua faisla, as posted on your site.
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can anyone comment on reviews like “it is an rename of a french movie ‘The Dinner Game’”? I haven’t watched both of them.
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sorry in the previous message it is remake NOT rename :d
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I just read some of the abuses Raja Sen is getting for his review. I felt sorry for him initially. But as I kept reading I realised that this guy is selling his soul to be a filmmakers. After all he praised EKLAVYA. I havnt seen that movie & have no right to comment. But I cannot believe that movie can be better than the worse skit by Ranveer & Vinay.
Raja Sen is following the footsteps of our very own Suparn Vermaji. Too bad he is licking upto the wrong guys again. Vidhu Vinod Chopra will chew him up & flush him. He should stay honest to his passion & do the right thing.
But I lost my respect for Raja when i read how great he thinks THE DEPARTED is.
Look what happened to Suparn. MIRCHI!!!!!!!!!!!
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rediff comments are the worst. Never care for it. I still like Raja Sen for his reviews. One can tell when he really is not writing his “real” review. the first of it came when he reviewed Krrish.
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You mean he said good things about that movie KRRRRISH? ISHHHHHHH!
Raja Babu’s buddhi broshto hoye geche!
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Yaaro khata maaf, but what exactly is the uproar about regarding Raja Sen’s review? I just re-read it, and didn’t find it overtly subjective or biased. It doesn’t praise the film nor does it completely trash it. Nor can one say its poorly written or lacking reference points.
I think he’s done what a good reviewer is expected to do: watch the film with a critical eye and provide his analysis of its pro’s and cons.
The audiences doesn’t necessarily have to agree with his analysis. If you have a different take on the film then post your views on the forum provided.
Personally speaking I find I agree with Raja Sen’s viewpoints maybe 50% of the time. Which is ok, because he’s as entitled to an opinion as I am.
Attacking the reviewer or discrediting his opinion is juvenile.
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I disagree with Raja Sen’s opinions on most films. But in his defense, I must say it’s not possible to objectively review a film. Making a good film is not a science. Whether you like a film or not depends on what mood you are in while watching it, what you are looking for from a movie, and plainly what kind of movies you like. I have responded negatively to many good films because I happened to see them in a wrong state of mind. A second viewing on a better day made me appreciate the same movie. And at the same time, I’m not fond of romantic films, so if you give me a great romantic movie to watch, I may not necessarily like it.
So if people feel that Raja Sen likes all the wrong films hates all the right ones, then they need to stop taking his recommendation into consideration and read reviews elsewhere for opinions that are compatible with their sensibilities. If Raja Sen likes big movies and big filmmakers, that’s his opinion, and as long as the rediff editor feels that his reviews bring hits to his website, Mr. Sen will continue writing there. What all these people commenting and rallying against him don’t realize is that they are only strengthening his position at rediff by awarding his page with more hits than ever before – a dream for all those placing their ads on there.
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BHEJA FRY beats Sunny Paji!
Welcome to a new era!
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2007/apr/16box.htm
I don’t care how good or bad the movie is. I can’t contain my happiness. I wonder what Sunny paji must be thinking?
this is a great day for indian cinema!
NEW WAVE or no WAVE!
cheers to Vinay!
He is officially bigger than SUNNY DEOL!:d/:d/:d/
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= Mainak, Reading your comment made me think this: Can Vinay Pathak become the Will Ferrell of India?
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He is better than Will Ferrell!
But isnt that great to hear OZ?
Vinay beats Sunny fuckin Deol!
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hey vasan,
about the first question, Ranveer brought this idea of performance for Asif Merchant. You know when you’re part of a creation, sometimes if you know the actor well and you find him funny, the extension of his personality becomes the character and one starts to think that it would be funny and it doesn’t work or it works for some and doesn’t for other.
But the fact is, it’s director’s prerogative to clip the performer and make him go overboard. And it becomes even trickier when you’re writing something bizarre and completely wacko.
On your second question, neither is Sagar claiming nor the actors that its the next step forward to the new wave. It’s the people who liked the film and who are in favour of truely independent cinema.
I agree it’s a remake but honestly speaking I’d not seen the Dinner game and i deliberately stayed away from watching the film as I wanted to bring my ideas and wanted to be free from the baggage of something that has worked in terms of humour.
I thoroughly enjoyed writing and meeting Sagar and Rajat for script reading was great because they would laugh and laugh during my bad narration of the dialogues. That was the encouragement.
I’m making a film now titled – Rangeen in color. Trust me its original and is what I believe in as comedy.
Thanks for writing in.
sharat
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“I
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BHEJA FRY isn’t your routine commercial film. It’s more of an experiment that stresses on humor. But the collections showed a slight increase on Friday night, were much better on Saturday [50% +], while Sunday was better than Saturday at most screens. Mumbai and Delhi multiplexes performed the best, but what’s surprising is that even at a centre like Indore, where multiplexes films don’t have a large market, the film has shown an upward trend in collections.
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Hi Sharat,
I hope you read this. Its really fantastic to hear an insiders account on the making of Bheja fry. I want to know who is the brain behind some magical sequences in Bheja fry, like the particular way in which vinay pathak takes out a polythene bag, loosens the string and takes out his photo album or the way he looks at rajat, every time he opens the lock of his briefcase. Simply magical !
CC
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really anuRaG Sir nOthing elSe tO say..i wud juSt like tO add that .. . .. ….
Three cheerS for VINAY and RANVIR….
They have AwesOmely rOckeD….!!!!!!!
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Hay….you are right Anurag, the new wave is definitely marching along slowly and steadily…Heard of a no-budget film shot on hdv called ” Beach Bomber Briefs”? A friend of mine saw it yesterday during its post production and say that this film is worth every penny that didn’t go into it:)…It is made by a guy from Mumbai…Sandeep Mohan…
Hope you keep posting more stuff here..Off late you seem to have quietened down….
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Hey [newcomer here...luv this site]
if people here are gonna re-make franch movies then how ’bout a remake of oscar[claude maginer] if they dont overdo the hamming…keep it in the same sprit of bheja fry…then it could be aweseome….not like the fiasco which the hollywood version of the movie was
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hey,
I saw bheja fry few days felt it was quite overated ..firstly it actually seems like the great indian comedy show (please excuse for the little knowledge i have about the show) being made into a film..extremly gimmicky..pretentious..sometimes really good acting but at certain scenes the acting is really bad and overly done..and by chance the next day i saw mixed couples..i liked it but again content wise it just leaves me with nothing..completely nothing..i don’t know why?
ciao
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I think Mixed Doubles was a pretty good film. The writing blended very well with the acting!
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I just saw an amazing film called “John & Jane” at the Berlin Film Festival last year – and it is releasing in cinemas in the US next month. It’s a kind of quasi-doc with a sci-fi angle set in Mumbai call centers. Really trippy film.. Anyone knows much about this ? I googled it and it was also at the Toronto Film Fest. Seems like it is well known outside India… Any info would be nice, thanx..:-?
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“john and jane” is made by aushim ahluwalia.. it is an awesome film is what everyone says.. have been dying to see it.. no clue how to get to it.. or why is it not releasing
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anurag thanks for sharing news about “QUICKGUN MURUGAN”, specially because one of our most talented telugu actor rajendra prasad was approached for the film and he was flattered for that…look out for that, he will b truely wonderful in the role…
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Hi Anurag!
Check out this link re. “John and Jane” – http://blogs.indiewire.com/anthony/archives/007634.html
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Theres another one
http://www.slantmagazine.com/Film/film_review.asp?ID=2163
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Wow. J&J is among the top ten best undistributed films! – picked up by HBO now so it may see the light of the day on telly
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Wow- all that reading(above) felt real good!
There is absolute freshness and sincerity in the entire page above- starting from the blogg to the comments.
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Mr Kashyap,
Since you have mentioned the word ‘new wave’ in your blog, i am reminded of a set of films which were thought to be part of the ‘Indian New Wave’ of 1968 upto the late 80s. One finds that the pillars of this new wave. Films such as MAYA DARPAN and USKI ROTI are completely ignored. People often ignore them on virtue of their ‘pretentiousness’. In the process the search for a truly Indian film aesthetic is completely lost. The film which according to some defines this ‘new wave’ OM DAR B DAR is completely forgotten. Most people of my generation havent even heard of this film.With the general indifference shown by NFDC it is important for students of the cinema to resurrect these films to the position that they deserve.
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AGree with everything you said on Ranvir, to my mind the future of Bollywood as far as acting goes is…
Ranvir
Irrfan
Kay Kay
Abhishek
A.Shah
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Where in the credits of Bheja Fry have the makers acknowledged that its a remake?? on the contrary, I found a handlful of names in the screenplay credits??
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they haven’t .. because they didn’t take the rights.. they bought it after the release.. after the media reported it.. sorry
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good to watch.
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Hi all,
Sad to note that the entire discussion about the ‘new wave’ centres around the ‘Hindi films’ again, identified as the ‘Indian fim’ There are manynew filmmakers creating inventive stuff in Malayalam and Tamil like Shyamaprasad, Roshan Andrews, Lal Jose, Blessy etc. Unfortunately the ‘Bombay centric’ attitude seems to have spread over to the new wave also?
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MANORAMA-SIX FEET UNDER, india
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its great to have people frm the industry sharin their views on something that fascinates me the most:contemporary cinema.. comin frm the likes of anurag kashyap…..its a real treat…having seen Dev.D,i am completely awed by this man..the layers of alterntae sexuality as explored by him remains unprecedented in indian cinema..even the leit-motif of the “trio” is intriguingly poetic and lyrical..the adhesive that binds this masterpiece together is its music-Amit Trivedi deserves nothing less thn a script as powerfull and fluid as this one…looking forward to ‘gulaal’…
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