All that glitters is not gold and that aptly applies to Fashion.

While a ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘The Devil wears Prada’ has the element of fashion and eccentricity ooze from every corner, a film like ‘Gia’ had powerful characters. The idea behind mentioning these films is not to bring a sense of comparison, but to highlight elements that seem missing in ‘Fashion’. Having watched Bhandarkar’s other movies, in ‘Fashion’ I felt he has not covered new ground, and instead of giving new insights into the world of fashion, he ends up strengthening the stereotypes.

The showstopper garment as a norm is always the last garment to be showcased in any fashion show across the world but in ‘Fashion’ the garment is showcased in the start of the fashion show! The front row of any fashion show consists of buyers from abroad, influential fashion editors, moneyed customers and fashion institute students but in ‘Fashion’ we have gay designers, modeling agency owner with his wife, floozies etc., Coming to the fashion designers in the film, all the male designers are gay! In one of his interview Bhandarkar claimed that he does a lot of ‘research’ for his films but sadly, it is all very obnoxiously superficial. The film is full of ad agency / fashion magazine honchos calling the shots, wild lifestyles, backstage dramas, wardrobe malfunction, casting couch... ouch, ouch, ouch!

All’s not bad in ‘Fashion’, the production design, costumes, styling are truly up market and a feast for the eyes, music is well synchronized with the lilting 'Mar Jaava' and 'Jalwa' as highlights. There are two major sequences that are simply outstanding. One, Kangana's wardrobe malfunction and two, when Priyanka exposes Arbaaz to his wife Suchitra Pillai. Apart from these the only other good things while watching the film were the comments audience were hurling at the film out of sheer boredom. The running time of almost 2 hours 40 minutes makes one restless, especially the penultimate 45-odd minutes.

Kangana Ranaut shows that she is one person who can get into the skin of the character and raised the bar with a superb performance, just outstanding. The thing that struck me most was the way Kangna did her role, the crazy part would have been easy for her since she has done such roles earlier also but the modelling part was what surprised me as she did look like a real model. Mugda is just about ok. But the movie ‘Fashion’ belongs to Priyanka Chopra, she is in the screen 90 percent of the time, and she is unimpressive to say the least and doesn’t even look the supermodel she is supposed to be.

Faisle nahi unke natije galat hote hai

RGV is amongst the finest storytellers Bollywood has produced, no two opinions on that but I guess there has been an overkill of underworld films from RGV himself, everyone’s seen that and done with.

While going to Contract, if one expects some serious insight into the nexus between Mumbai underworld and the terror network then RGV’s underworld-meets-terrorism flick is a major disappointment! At the best the film is a vendetta tale and how much more can you experiment with a genre that's beaten to death? Its time RGV should stop making any more films on the underworld.

Satya or for that matter Company, came at a time when the underworld subject wasn’t much explored in bollywood and RGV’s realistic, hard-hitting and at times shocking treatment of the subject caught the attention of the audience, and since then we have seen lots of movies based on underworld and now almost there is no part of the underworld, which is not cinematized.

RGV’s earlier films on underworld were comprehensive when it came to story, character sketches and how things played out, but the riveting and realistic effect of RGV’s earlier underworld films is conspicuously missing and the prime problem with Contract is that it's too superficial!

RGV, who seemed to have got his rhythm back to some extent with Sarkar Raj, fails to go above mediocrity with Contract. I don’t understand why RGV still keeps treading on the beaten track and comes up with yet another forgettable film!

In his blog RGV has said that he just wants to make “thousands of films” - and I am sure films like Contract will definitely help him achieve that quickly.

Its time RGV takes a cue from one of the lines from Contract where the hero says, “Faisle nahi unke natije galat hote hai” (It’s not decisions, but their outcome that goes wrong).

P.S: With ‘Phoonk’ RGV returns to yet another of his favourite genre of filmmaking, lets hope he doesn’t fumble again.

My favourite Top 10 Bollywood films of 2007.

After my last post here, where I had written about the ‘Top 10 Asian Films – Action’ by Samuel L Jackson, a few of my friends told me to try and write my favourite Top 10 Films of Bollywood in 2007. As said earlier, though I am not into making my top 10 lists, here I am just trying to see if I can really do it…

Of late, Indian film industry is changing and every year its bringing new hope and new kind of movies. In terms of fresh ideas, unique concepts, and fascinating projects, I think 2007 was a year of creativity at its best in recent times.

Generally the Top 10 is picked based on box office collections, while that to me is a great barometer to judge the quality of the film, it is not necessarily the best one because some of the best films (content wise) bomb at the Bollywood boxoffice!

My favourite Top 10 Bollywood films of 2007 are here, in no particular order…

1. Black Friday
2. Taare Zameen Par
3. Chak De India
4. Jab We Met
5. Johnny Gaddar
6. Dharm
7. Bheja Fry
8. Manorama 6 Feet Under
9. Om Shanti Om
10. Life in a Metro

There were a few close contenders for the Top 10 list, films that I enjoyed but somewhere they missed a mark to be part of my list. The films include The Namesake, Guru, Blue Umbrella, Parzania, Strangers, 1971, Cheeni Kum, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., Gandhi My Father, Welcome & Hey Babby.

I have tried my best here, I Would love to hear your Top 10s and why you picked them.

Top 10 Asian Films - Action

It's always nice when someone you respect shares your opinion. So I was pleased to read Samuel L Jackson's list of his Top 10 Classic Asian Films. Jackson, of course, knows a thing or two about action flicks for sure. In fact, he co-starred with Geena Davis, in one of my favorite Hollywood action film - The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Here's Samuel L Jackson's complete list:

1. Oldboy (South Korea, 2003)
2. Audition (Japan, 1999)
3. City on Fire (Hong Kong, 1987)
4. Infernal Affairs 1, 2, & 3 (Hong Kong, 2002, 2003, 2003)
5. Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (Thailand, 2003)
6. Azumi (Japan, 2003)
7. Family (Japan, 2007)
8. Duelist (South Korea, 2005)
9. Hard Boiled (Hong Kong, 1992)
10. Hero (China, 2002)

Apart from Family (the only film on his list that I haven't seen) I have to say that Samuel Jackson has come up with quite a respectable top 10, or perhaps that should be top 12 if you count Infernal Affairs as three films.

I'm not that into making top ten lists myself, but if I did, I'd include many of Jackson's picks, though most certainly not Duelist, which I liked but not as much. Plus, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon would have to be at the top of my list.

Sex and Bollywood.

Bollywood has never had a background in realism. It consisted of escapist musicals with common storylines of ‘good vs evil’ and ‘boy meets girl’. The films were generally family orientated and the plot was kept simple so that even the rural audience would find it easy to relate to. Of late, there has been a dramatic shift in the style of filmaking due to the globalisation of films. The Indian film industry, which churns out around 800 films per year, has some cause for concern because the transplantation of western ideas has led to extreme vulgarity with high sexual innuendo and unnecessary violence in films today.

Therefore it can be speculated that there is a westernised audience that is catered for but what about the traditionalists with opposing values. India’s rural population cannot possibly understand the values and issues expressed in a Hollywood style. The opposition to the change in film style also comes from the religious groups and separatist groups who feel that Bollywood films do not promote traditional values.

I don't think the Indian film market is ready for explicit sex scenes just as yet. A sizable sector is made up of family audiences, many of whom are uncomfortable watching sexual intimacy on screen. We can neither ignore this sector, nor pressurise them into dropping their inhibitions. Extended families and friends go for movies together and eat, drink and have a good time. If explicit sex scenes are shown to them, most end up squirming in their seats.

In today's scenario, if a film has explicit sex scenes, the buzz will most probably attract audiences who will see it for all the wrong reasons. Explicit sex scenes can only work for very small budget films, targeted at a niche audience. The Indian cultural ethos and its people are not as flexible as the west and therefore films deemed too westernised will always be rejected, regardless of the extent of the globalisation of cultures.

Indian culture has an inherent shyness, where intimate sexual contact between a man and a woman is considered private and personal. And our society hasn't yet opened up to the extent where sexual issues are discussed in the drawing room. Only after that happens, will our cinema be able to show explicit sex on screen!

Off late, it seems the pendulum had swung too far in the other direction, as now the skin shows and brazen sex comedies are giving way to mass entertainers that are much more of a true reflection of today's society. The films being made today are a mix of modern truths and a dash of old fashioned values and escapism. After all, that's what a film is supposed to be about - escapism.

It'll take at least another 10 years before India is ready for explicit sex scenes on screen. Personally, I'm okay with the idea. But there are at least two generations ahead who aren't. Once these generations pass out and today's youth become the heads of families, the films will change.

But, certainly, not yet.

Dasavataram - A big let down!

There was a lot of expectation on Dasavataram for very good reasons; the hype and every thing about it. Dasavataram, in which Kamal Hasan plays 10 roles, has nothing to do with Vishnu's Dasavataram or generations. Kamal plays 10 different roles in the film and most of them are enacted well and distinctive. In a way this is a definition of what an actor Kamal Hasan is!

The movie starts out centuries ago when Vaishnavites are overruled by Shaivaites. One of the areas in which both Nataraja (Lord Siva form) and Ranganatha Swamy (Lord Vishnu form) are receiving poojas regularly. The king of Shiva Clan wants to throw the Ranganatha idol into the sea and he is opposed and fought by Kamal Hasan who is a member of Vishnu clan. This part is filmed brilliantly, if you miss this part in the film, you’ve missed the best part.

Narration then moves to 2004. This is the stage where Kamal Hasan appears in 9 other different roles as – President of United states, Govind (main lead in the film, a scientist), old woman, Tall muslim guy, famous pop singer Avatar Singh, RAW investigating officer Nadar, Punya Koti (a Christian who fights against sand dwelling near the seas and rivers), Yugi (A Japanese Martial arts guy) and Bob Flecher (A CIA trained agent). The make-up is excellent for some characters and for some others it looks as though someone is wearing a mask!

As expected Kamal Hasan does justice to most of his roles. But, he doesnt have to prove what an amazing actor he is to anybody at this stage of his career. Mallika Sherawat is hardly there in the movie and Asin is just about there. The much hyped cgi - special effects work is quiet disappointing, no where near international standards. Not just acting, but Kamal has also provided the story, dialogues and screenplay for this film. The movie fails because of the script; actually there is no script in the first place! The first half of the film is good and raises a lot of expectations. Curiosity on how all these characters will be linked in the narration take the front seat by the interval. After the interval, the film revolves mostly on the chases paving way to the climax. But the curiosity factor is disappointed and one would feel like the soul is missing.

Saying that, if you go in with an open mind and don’t expect a lot, you may just like it for Kamal Hasan. For me it was a big let down…