31.08.10 / Bollywood / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
Okay, WE ARE FAMILY is the official adaptation of Chris Columbus’ STEPMOM [1998] and lots of us have already watched this Julia Roberts – Susan Sarandon starrer. Even otherwise, the story of a woman, diagnosed with a terminal illness, entrusting her kids to the ‘other woman’ before she does the final salute, gives the feeling of deja vu. But WE ARE FAMILY is not a tear-jerker. Sure, it has dollops of emotions, but also integrates the light moments wonderfully in those 12 reels.
In the good old days, in the 1960s and 1970s specifically, well-made family films struck an instant chord with viewers across the spectrum. But with the changing times, the quantum of well-made socials made a rapid decline. WE ARE FAMILY belongs to the Rajshri gharaana and tells the story of a family facing two life-changing developments: The woman of the house is diagnosed with a terminal illness and two, there’s a stepmom on the scene. A difficult subject to handle, without doubt.
But debutant director Siddharth P. Malhotra surprises you constantly. Casting the best available talent for two pivotal parts and doing complete justice to their roles is tough. Very tough. But the ease with which he handles the tense moments between the women and also the emotional finale shows he has learnt his lessons well from his peers.
Final word? WE ARE FAMILY is for the family. It is well acted, deftly written, entertaining and broadly appealing drama. Watch it with someone you love!
Maya [Kajol] is the perfect mother. Her life revolves around her three children, Aleya [Aanchal Munjal], Ankush [Nominath Ginsberg] and Anjali [Diya Sonecha]. Despite being divorced from her husband Aman [Arjun Rampal], Maya has ensured that everything runs smoothly in her house, under her watch, and that they continue to remain a happy family unit.
When Aman introduces his girlfriend, Shreya [Kareena Kapoor], a career-oriented woman, the situation takes an unexpected turn. However, Maya is diagnosed with a terminal illness and circumstances bring the two women under the same roof. Can two mothers make a home?
With a plot like this, you expect WE ARE FAMILY to be an out-and-out serious outing. However, the film has its serious moments, but the director ensures that it doesn’t come across as a gloomy and serious fare. In fact, the generous dose of light moments in the narrative keeps the drama fluid. There’s an inherent sensitivity that the director brings in, which keeps you involved for most parts.
On the flip side, the film tends to stagnate in the middle of the second hour. One expects the story to move forward, but there’s not much movement here [thankfully, the film picks up wonderfully towards the penultimate reels]. Also, the music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is a complete letdown. You feel it all the more because Dharma is synonymous with excellent music. The only redeeming track in the enterprise is ‘Let’s Rock’, which is high on energy. S-E-L need to reinvent themselves by experimenting a little more.
Director Siddharth P. Malhotra handles the dramatic portions best. The tense moments between Kajol and Kareena, the confrontation between the two and also the cold stares that they exchange time and again have been captured very well. The gradual transformation in Kajol’s looks, from striking and energetic to pale and morose, is also well projected. The finale is the best part of the enterprise and can be best described in one word: Outstanding. However, like I pointed out earlier, the writing could’ve been tighter towards the second hour.
Mohanan’s cinematography is eye-catching and the locales of Australia only enhance the look of the film. Niranjan Iyengar’s dialogue are decent at places, but a few lines are amazingly real. The background score [Raju Singh] is first-rate.
WE ARE FAMILY gives the two popular actresses an opportunity to sink their teeth into strongly drawn, juicy, challenging and interesting female roles that move beyond the normal stereotypes. The scene stealer is, without doubt, Kajol. She expresses the gamut of emotions brilliantly and speaks a million words even when silent. This is yet another incredible performance from an actor par excellence. Kareena excels yet again and her sequences with the kids are a delight. In fact, casting Kareena as the stepmom is just right, since she’s the only actor who can stand up to Kajol in high-voltage scenes and that’s because Kareena is a powerful actor herself. Arjun continues to surprise. ROCK ON, HOUSE FULL, RAAJNEETI and now WE ARE FAMILY indicates the growth of this actor. He handles the emotional moments well too. The kids – all three of them – are superb. In fact, the casting of the kids [done by Shanoo Sharma] is an ace.
On the whole, WE ARE FAMILY is a perfect family film with a good mix of emotions and humour. Plus, a brilliant climax, which will ensure that the film grows with a strong word of mouth. The last film which came close to being a family outing was PAA. Before that, the only quintessential family film was BAGHBAN. WE ARE FAMILY is the kind of film that should work instantly with ladies and when ladies watch such films, they bring their spouses and children along. Recommended!
31.08.10 / Bollywood / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
It’s a known fact that Kareena Kapoor is easily ruling from the top as far as the demand for a commercially viable glamorous actress with very good acting skills is concerned. Satisfying all the key words here – ‘commercial’, ‘glamour’ and ‘acting’ – Kareena has seen it all pretty up, close and personal during last decade that she has spent in the industry.
However, to be honest, I was a tad surprised when I started working on this piece. What seemed like a straight forward ‘let’s talk about her hit films’ write up seemed to be having many other elements waiting to be covered. That’s because the fact which was explored all over again (as I went year by year) was that for every successful film of hers, she also has had her fair share of disappointments. Yes, practically every year. In fact there have been times when the number of misses in a year have surpassed the number of hits. Still, what one ends up remembering are her successful outings more than anyone else!
In this three part feature, here is looking at some of the many highlights in her career that have made Kareena what she is today. As she says in her own words – ‘I would not have been what I am if not for my flops’. Well Kareena, the fact also remains that you would certainly not have been what you are if not for the number of commercially successful films that you have given as well!
A rock solid beginning? Not quite.
The world is aware that Kareena Kapoor was the first choice for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. A debut alongside Hrithik Roshan sounded like a good decision to begin with and Kareena was pretty much on board as well. However, in quick time she realised that the focus of the film was entirely shifting towards Hrithik and she risked being sidelined. Not to indulge into any faux pas at the very beginning of her career, she decided to opt out. This decision of hers made headlines all around and many did cry foul. Also, her friends and advisors did suggest her to stay on but being a strong headed girl with right dose of self respect and ego, Kareena decided to move on and instead stepped into Refugee.
A lot was expected from Kareena’a debut outing now. JP Dutta as a producer and director, Abhishek Bachchan – another debutant – as a co-star, popular music, grandeur, a different setting (Indo-Pak affairs), hype, promotion, buzz – just about everything went in the film’s favour. Yes, it paid off as well, at least from the initial box office opening standpoint. Audiences went in hordes to check out what the film was all about. The result was what had happened in case of Saawariya a few years later. Just like the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film which saw Ranbir Kapoor making a huge mark despite the overall product not quite finding much appreciation, actors in Refugee too had met with a similar fate then. The biggest gainer from Refugee was Kareena Kapoor for whom everything – and literally everything – worked in her favour.
She was acclaimed for her acting skills, a rarity when it comes to debutant actors, and hailed by one and all that she was the future of the first decade in the 21st century. She gained a phenomenal following for herself and that is commendable because in those times there were no multiplexes, social networking sites or other media forums that keep stars of today alive and kicking 24X7 in front of consumers. Kareena impressed most despite a role that didn’t allow her to get into a glam outing and it was widely declared that Kareena Kapoor was there to stay. Refugee didn’t work for the audience but Kareena did. Of course the blockbuster success as evidenced in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai eluded her but she found a strong bearing for herself in the industry where talent kept her going for 10 years in a row. As for her pairing with Hrithik, then well it did happen a few times and came with its own share of hits and misses.
The H factor – Not quite a cent percent success rate
With Hrithik being a phenomenon after Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai and Kareena making her mark strong and clear with Refugee, it seemed that this ‘jodi’ could after all deliver a few hits together. The disappointment of not being able to come together in their debut outing was soon forgotten and investors were ready to pump in crores to make films happen with the two starring in them. The biggest of the filmmakers in the industry were keen to get their share of pie with Hrithik and Kareena being the flavour of the season. Some of the early birds to join in were Karan Johar (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham), Subhash Ghai (Yaadein), Sooraj Barjatya (Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon) and Aditya Chopra (Mujhse Dosti Karogi). These were and are truly the people who are the best in the business and it was more than just apparent that Kareena was on a roll.
With such major biggies in her kitty, Kareena’s market value shot up in a major way. She was easily the most sought out actor around and despite the fact that Amisha Patel had actually blockbusters like Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai and Gadar – Ek Prem Katha behind her, the actor who was gaining most of the mileage was Kareena. However, there was a fair dose of shocker in store for the pretty girl who didn’t quite have a fairy tale journey for her.
First of her debacles with Hrithik turned out to be Yaadein which stays on to be one of the biggest disappointments ever from Subhash Ghai. The film was poorly made, the characterisation bad, the setting more like a show reel of a dozen odd commercials and the narrative confused. What started off as a story about a widower (Jackie Shroff) bringing up his three daughters was (unnecessarily) converted into a love story just in order to reap the star value of Hrithik and Kareena. The film was panned by one and all
and it seemed that a big success was going to elude her for long.
Thankfully, Karan Johar didn’t fall into this trap and kept the length of the roles of his actors depending upon the clout that they carried. This is the reason why Shah Rukh and Kajol held most significance in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham due to which the limited screen time of Kareena and Hrithik was loved rather than being criticised for standing out like a sore thumb. Her ‘Poo’ act redefined a new image for Kareena and a multi-crore boxoffice super success meant that she was certainly not going away anywhere.
However, the very next year came Mujhse Dosti Karogi and just like Yaadein, it too was panned by one and all. Yes, the film was a success in overseas market but in India, the film was given thumbs down. Yet again, Kareena-Hrithik ‘jodi’ didn’t quite ignite the right sparks and all hopes rested on Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon. This was the film where Kareena was in a central role, had a title of the film designed around her character and had a spunky and spirited character written for her. She made the best of the platform provided to her and even though Hrithik was criticised for his over acting and Abhishek for his under acting, Kareena managed to sail smooth. Yes, the film did fizzle out after a rock solid happening but not before getting the tag of success next to it.
The picture was clear on the wall though. Kareena – Hrithik ‘jodi’ wasn’t quite the best that Bollywood had to offer. The two actors in individuality were doing quite well for themselves but to pair up again, they had to find something worthwhile. They decided to move on to other on-screen partners and the initial euphoria of Bollywood having found out a follow up to Shah Rukh Khan – Kajol pairing died down in due course as well. It has been 7 years since the two came together on screen and audience continues to wait on!
In Part II of the feature, we would be going through Kareena’s early years in the industry which were not quite her best and how a new phase kick started in her career post films like Chameli and Yuva.
31.08.10 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
WASHINGTON – Home prices rose in June for the third straight month amid a burst of home-buying due to tax incentives that have since expired.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index posted a 1 percent increase in June from May and was up 4.2 percent from a year ago. Home prices nationally were up 4.8 percent in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, largely due to government tax credits of up to $8,000 that caused sales to surge.
Seventeen cities showed price gains on a monthly basis. Prices in Seattle and Portland, Ore. were flat from a month ago, while prices in Las Vegas fell.
Nationally, prices have risen 6 percent from their April 2009 bottom. But they remain 28 percent below their July 2006 peak.
| WordPress Auto Translator
31.08.10 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
RAMALLAH, West Bank – The Palestinian president said Tuesday he will seek active U.S. mediation in negotiations with Israel that are resuming in Washington this week.
President Barack Obama is hosting Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House to kick off the first direct talks in nearly two years. Obama has said he hopes to see a peace agreement within a year.
Abbas told reporters accompanying him to Washington that the deadline is reasonable because many of the issues have already been discussed in previous rounds.
“If there is goodwill, then it is more than enough,” he said. “Everything is clear.”
However, Netanyahu has not agreed to pick up where negotiations left off in December 2008 between his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, and Abbas.
Abbas said he hoped for an active U.S. role in the talks. He said that when the two sides reach a deadlock, the Obama administration should “present proposals to bridge the gap between the two positions.”
Abbas and Netanyahu remain far apart on key issues.
Abbas wants to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War. He has agreed to minor border adjustments that would enable Israel to keep some of its largest West Bank settlements, while compensating the Palestinians in a land swap.
Netanyahu has endorsed the idea of a Palestinian state in principle, but that Israel will not give up east Jerusalem, the Palestinians’ intended capital.
Abbas, meanwhile, warned that the talks could be derailed if Netanyahu fails to extend a 10-month curb on settlement extension that expires Sept. 26. “If they refuse to extend the halt of settlement activities, then it will be difficult for us to continue the negotiations,” Abbas said.
Netanyahu has not committed to such an extension, but he is under pressure from hawkish coalition partners to resume construction.
| WordPress Auto Translator
31.08.10 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
The Pakistan cricketers under scrutiny for claims of spot-fixing are unlikely to play again on the current tour of England, BBC Sport understands.
Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Kamran Akmal have all been questioned by police, although Akmal is no longer part of that investigation.
The Pakistan Cricket Board will continue its own enquiry on Wednesday.
And the International Cricket Council (ICC) is also preparing a report, with the results expected within days.
The ICC has already said the tour will continue but it is understood that Pakistan officials will agree that the three players who remain under investigation by the police should not play in the forthcoming games, although they will not be suspended while the investigation is ongoing.
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis, speaking from Somerset, where they are due to play on Thursday, said: “I am trying to get the team up again and make sure we deliver the best we can in the next few games and try and do the best we can – that’s all I can do.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
“It is no doubt a big challenge and I’ll try to make the most of it and I’ll try and make sure everybody is nicely focused for the games.”
Test captain Butt, fast bowlers Amir and Asif and wicketkeeper Akmal were questioned by police at the team’s hotel in London on Sunday following a report that some Pakistan players had been bribed to fix incidents during the fourth Test against England at Lord’s.
The allegations centred on three no-balls from Amir and Asif which the News of the World newspaper said had been bowled on purpose at pre-determined times to facilitate betting coups after a “middle man” accepted £150,000 in cash from an undercover reporter.
Murphy added that the ICC was concerned about banning the players based on a newspaper expose and an incomplete investigation from Scotland Yard, and therefore wanted to receive the findings from the anti-corruption unit urgently.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
Pakistan’s team manager Yawar Saeed: “No allegations are true til they are proved”
The anti-corruption unit’s representatives are now in the UK, while the Pakistani government is sending members of its equivalent organisation to work with Scotland Yard. An ICC news conference has been pencilled in for Thursday.
Murphy told BBC Radio 5 live: “A conference call between Pakistan high commissioner [Wajid Shamsul Hasan] and chairman of the cricket board [Ijaz Butt], who are in London, and sports minister [Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani] in Islamabad will take place on Tuesday.
“And given the importance of cricket in Pakistan, the prime minister [Yusuf Raza Gilani] may also be directly involved in the discussions.
“Although the players will still be deemed to be innocent until proven guilty, it’s almost certain they will be taken out of the firing line and the formula of words citing mental pressure and a lack of necessary focus, will necessitate their withdrawal from the Twenty20 matches and the one-day series.”
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat told BBC Radio 5 live that the intention is to conclude the investigation before the start of the first of two Twenty20 internationals against England, in Cardiff on Sunday.
Lorgat added: “The reputation of the game has been tarnished and it is something we must make right. There is no question that people’s confidence will have been swayed.
“We’re busy with the Metropolitan Police and hope, before the weekend arrives, we can get to some sort of a conclusion.
“We are working hard, but it’s important to remember that an individual is innocent until proven guilty.
“I’m in touch with the investigators. It’s likely I might have to come across to London. But this is a live issue which moves with the hour, every hour.
“At the moment, it is appropriate that the game continues. We shouldn’t let everyone suffer because of a couple of individuals that might have got caught up in corrupt practices.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
Pakistan tour should be scrapped – Vaughan
“The vast majority of players are not guilty of any such behaviour. They play the sport in the right spirit, and there are many fans who want to watch the game.
“We shouldn’t let a couple of individuals, a few players, bring the entire game to a standstill.”
The man identified as the alleged go-between, cricket agent Mazhar Majeed, 35, has been released on police bail after being arrested on Saturday on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.
Mazhar also owns Croydon Athletic Football Club, who have
released a statement
saying they are “devastated and appalled to hear of the alleged match-fixing of international cricket matches by its owner Mazhar Majeed”.
After their game against Somerset, which starts on Thursday, Pakistan are due to play two Twenty20 internationals and five one-day internationals against England in September.
|
| WordPress Auto Translator
