Some of you must have thought it’s another baseless Salman Khan movie, and the rest of you must have thought ‘Bhai ki movie hai, it’s a must watch’ 😉 But the truth is, that Bajrangi Bhaijaan is more than meets the eye. In case you are still planning to miss it, here are 6 points which will surely change your mind !
The story line
Surprised? Yes, it has one, and make no mistake, it’s quite a different and a beautiful one. A journey of a lost mute girl from India to Pakistan, reminding a teenie-weenie bit of Gadar, with some emotional jerks and humorous moments, will make it a roller coaster ride for you !
Little Harshaali
The reason why we went to watch the movie, and were not let down. This little girl, Munni a.k.a Shahida with no dialogue in the movie, acts with her eyes and steals your heart with her innocent smile and perfect expressions.
Kashmir
Have you ever been to Kashmir? If not, your soul would call out to you and beg to visit and behold this heaven at least once in a lifetime, and if the answer is yes, you would want to go there once again and get soaked in the dreamlike snow peaked mountains and the beautiful valley.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
One of the most under-rated actors of Bollywood, once again proves his fine acting skills and superb comic timing even though he enters post interval !
Parallel World of India-Pakistan
Watching this movie will transport you to the parallel world which you still dream of. A world very vividly created by the director and the writers of this movie, where goodness, peace and purity resides in every human heart, be it Indian or Pakistani.
Salman Bhai
Last but not the least, to watch Salman Khan on the screen with minimum shirtless scenes, no unnecessary action scenes, no overacting, and using his eyes to express affection, anger, sympathy, love and every emotion that his character Bajrangi Bhaijaan is made of.
You are a true Rajasthani if you have heard these lines atleast once in your lifetime, probably from a distant cousin, in your college located in a different state or from an NRI relative 😉
1) I’m sure you eat Dal Bati Churma everyday!
You live in Mumbai, do you live on vada pao?
2) You must travel on camels there. How does that feel?
It’s surely a humpy ride, but it’s ok as we share the water that they store.
3) Is the entire state a desert or do you have some roads too?
No no, our life is basically a desert safari.
4) I know everyone is a Marwari in Rajasthan.
Yeah, the toh sab jaano cho 😀
5) You know, there’s no water supply in Rajasthan.
If that was true, Rajasthanis would have set a world record of staying alive without water by now !!
6) We know everyone wears Ghagra choli and turbans there.
Damn Bollywood !
7) You must belong to a royal family na?
Yes, you caught me 😀
8) You must live in a grand Haveli !
They surely have left us with a lot of their property, but we haven’t shifted there yet.
9) You are a Rajasthani, tumhaare yaha toh bohot jaldi shaadi kar dete hai.
Umm, if only you would take some time and step out of 1950s, you will know the answer to this better.Image credit: indiaopines.com
Father’s Day is here !! We all love our fathers in our own different ways, but there are some things which each one of us has heard from our father at some point in life, and still do 😉
Abhi bhi waqt hai, sudhar jao !!
No matter how much ever wrong you do- your father never gives up on you, and the only words he’s left with are ‘Abhi bhi waqt hai, sudhar jao’
Tumhari age mein main apne saare kaam khud karta tha
We are undoubtedly a lazy generation and our father leaves no chance to reiterate this fact 😉
Gaane to humare zamane me hote the, aajkal lyrics toh samajh hi nahi aate.
You can’t compare Rafi-Lata, R.D.Burman’s amazing songs and lyrics with Honey Singh, yeh bhi koi gaane hai !
Yeh phone pe kaunsi padhai hoti hai?
No matter your phone is just kept aside or you just picked it up to check your whatsapp – your father won’t be behind to comment – phone se kaunsi padhai hoti hai?
Don’t spend from your pocket, take money from me.
So that he knows how much you are actually spending 😉
Aage ka kya plan hai?
Though it’s never too late to do anything you wanted to do and accomplish in life but future ke kuch toh plans honge?
Agar samaan saath ke saath jagah pe rakh do, you’ll never need to clean up.
To keep on shouting in the house if you have misplaced something is very easy, but at the last moment papa se sunna hi padega – “agar samaan saath ke saath jagah pe rakh do, you can find it easily.”
Agar boards’ mein ache marks aaye, I promise to get you a bike/phone.
Although bribe is kinda illegal, this has been an age old tradition in India 😀
Life mein koi bhi problem hai? Subah jaldi utho.
Exam tension ? Jobless? Had a tiff with a friend? Just wake up early and all your problems will magically vanish 😀
Tumse toh baat karna hi bekaar hai.
Not listening to anything that your dad says is no less than hearing this!
And last but not the least ‘Paise pedh pe nahi ugtey’.
He doesn’t mind your going out for a party everyday but future ke liye kuch toh chodo. ‘Paise pedh pe nahi ugtey!’
And no matter what, we adore them and are simply clueless as to how we would live without them 🙂
If you are planning to watch Dil Dhadakne Do with the benchmark of Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara in your mind, you are probably being a bit unfair there. Because a masterpiece can’t be created again and again, but if you have an open mind, normal expectations and a soft corner for the star cast, you are going to enjoy this sailing experience!
Before anything else, the first thing which came as a surprise was when we read this on the screen: ‘Special Appearance – Farhan Akhtar’. We felt fooled because half the reason why the audience would be drawn towards the movie is this MARD.
The movie begins just like a fairy tale, where a narrative voice introduces us to a high-society family and its members, along with acquainting us with their dark/hypocritical side in a sarcastic undertone. The film essentially revolves around the Mehra family with Kamal (Anil Kapoor), a rich ‘self made’ businessman who can’t stop talking about his achievements, his wife Neelam (Shefali Shah), a typical Socialite with thousands of insecurities, their son Kabir (Ranveer Singh) whose passion lies in flying planes but he has been told since ‘bachpan’ that he has to handle his father’s business and their elder daughter Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra), a successful entrepreneur who is living in an unsatisfying marriage and despite having a better business acumen, she has no say in her family business as she is no more a ‘Mehra’.
On Kamal and Neelam’s 30th anniversary, they plan a cruise and there begins a trip which changes their lives forever.
Ranveer falls in love with fearless Farah (Anushka) while his parents want him to get married to Noorie (Ridhima Sud) to crack business deal with her father, and midst all this chaos and shrewd games, what you witness is a huge bunch of rich and pretentious families whose spurious whims will shock you as well as make you laugh your guts off. The journey takes a jolting turn when Ayesha tells her family that she needs a divorce and the next thing she knows, her ex beau Sunny (Farhan Akhtar) is on the cruise!
What follows is a series of hilarious scenes, dialogues, confrontations, confessions and of course, some foot tapping songs! What truly stands out in this movie is Ranveer Singh, who with his terrific comic timing, expressions and impeccable acting, pulls off the character of Kabir. His chemistry with Anushka Sharma (who is the one with special appearance) looks as fresh as Band Bajaa Baraat and makes you smile especially when break into a dance to the beats of ‘Pehli Baar’. Who follows him in performance is Priyanka Chopra who in her effortless style and strong character shines throughout the movie, and is exceptionally powerful in a few scenes like the one where she tells her husband Manav (Rahul Bose)that she tried really hard to love him. Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah also play their characters really well ensuring that they are not overshadowed by the young and beautiful cast.
The movie had some slow moments, some where the narration was getting on the nerves, and some where things looked too larger than life, but if entertainment, fashion, locations, and a few laughs are what you are looking for, this definitely is a must watch.
“I have explored everything from top shot five star hotels to the best dhaabas, and always end up eating at Niros, because this is where my heart lies”, says Bina Kak on the joyous occasion of 65thbirth anniversary of Niros today.
There are so many cafes and restaurants opening up almost every day in Jaipur giving an equal competition to all the oldies, but as they say ‘Old is gold’ ! Among all these new outlets appealing to the teenagers and college going crowd in Jaipur, stands a restaurant amidst the most enticing shopping and foodie area of pink city: Niros.
While walking around the streets of M.I. road after a round of shopping, you spot a small restaurant called Niros…NOT ! You never ‘spot’ Niros, you know Niros by heart, by mind and especially by tongue 😉 This restaurant that lies in the lane of many more eateries, ice cream places, and shopping outlets, but what’s absolutely interesting is that it stands out and shines just like an old wine that keeps getting better and dearer each day.
Started by late Ved Prakash Pardal in 1949 and now run by his sons Rajnish and Vinay Pardal, Niros was the first place in Jaipur to serve Continental food, and good continental food ! Despite being popular and loved, Niros never rested on its laurels and kept on working towards excellence and soon became the only centrally air conditioned restaurant in the city in 1962 and the first one to bless Jaipurites with Chinese food on the menu in 1970. From a classic restaurant, Niros went on to become a landmark by which every other place, lane and shop was known to all the locals and tourist guides in Jaipur. We can say that before Google Maps came in, Niros was the definition of maps in Jaipur !!
Late Ved Prakash Pardal, Founder of Niros
With a garden ambiance complimented by potted plants and murals by the internationally acclaimed artist, Satish Gujral, Niros has a simple yet a very posh ambiance. “As Niros completes 65 glorious years today, I feel extremely nostalgic and miss my dad more than ever. I want to thank all those who love us and have made this possible and look forward to their visits and patronage hereafter” – Rajnish Pardal, owner of Niros.
Rajnish Pardal, Owner of Niros
When asked about what Niros means to the Jaipurites as it completes 65 years of success today, 60 year old Shekhar Verma , a retired professor of University of Rajasthan and a food connoisseur says ‘In early 70s, I used to go there every day for their special Keema Samosas which were available only from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. People used to queue up to have those amazing things which were available only at Niros’
Shekhar Verma, Retired professor, Universirty of Rajasthan
“The subtle interiors, cozy ambiance and soft contemporary English music have been the most appealing features of Niros and if I say I am in love with their Chicken A La Bomb Femme, it will be an under statement.” Shekhar Verma adds.
Indian politician, social activist and Bollywood actress Bina Kakis someone who loves to explore different places but somehow, Niros just does it for her. “Even though it’s quite irritating not being able to like any other place in Jaipur, what’s truly amazing and satisfying is the way they treat us. The music is extremely good and still not too overpowering. At the same time you will always find the who’s who comfortably sitting and enjoying their time. Some of their chefs are as old as the restaurant and that’s probably the secret behind their consistent recipes.”
Her top favourites are the Chicken bharta, fish, Niros special desserts especially Caramel custard, Kidneys on toast and French onion soup. “The best part is that you get to have the paan of your choice at the end of the meal.” Bina Kak adds.
Not just Bina Kak, even her daughter Amrita Kak, a popular singer who’s now married and resides in the Punjabi hub of Delhi, gets constant craving for the food of Niros to the extent that the delicious Chicken Tikka masala is packed and sent to her from Jaipur to Delhi.
The restaurant has received the opportunity to serve various renowned personalities like the Ex- Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah and his son, Omar Abdullah, Indian film actors & directors, cricketers like Kapil Dev, artists etc.
Farooq Abdullah, Ex Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir
Rajnish Pandal and Late Maharaja Bhawani Singh
English Supermodel Naomi Campbell
Rajnish Pardal with Prakash Padukone, Father of Deepika Padukone & Former Indian Badminton Champion
Indian film actors Dimple Khanna and Late Rajesh Khanna
Rajnish Pardal with Farooq Abdullah
Indian film actress Sharmila Tagore at Niros
Some locals who belong to Jaipur and have been staying outside for a few years also expressed their views on Niros. Nitin Hajela, now working in Bangalore, says “For me, Niros is one of the iconic restaurants of Jaipur. My memories here date back to my childhood days when it was always a matter of joy and privilege to dine here with family and relatives. It was here I had my first tryst with continental cuisine. Amongst Rajasthani cuisine, Laal maans is the most savoured dish though the entire menu which is worth trying. I never miss to visit this place in my trips to Jaipur”
Nitin Hajela, 41 , now working in Bangalore
Swati Thapar, 24 , working in Social media firm
After a nostalgic trip with the older generation, Jaipur Beat also asked the younger generation as to what role does Niros play in their present day life. Swati Thapar, 25, working for a Social media firm says “Whenever there is an occasion in the family or friends, the first place that comes to my mind is Niros. Apart from chicken and fish, I love to have the Spanish omelette and Cheese macaroni at Niros”
There are very few things which never change and if they do, you keep loving them more every day.
So all you Jaipurites, the weekend is knocking at your doors so how about quickly wrap up and celebrate by going out tonight to Niros and experience the joy of sharing good food and good times together !!
The trailers are more thrilling than the movie and hence the audience are drawn to the theaters.
You get to watch the only experiment done by Mohit Suri in the movie ‘The chocolaty Siddharth Malhotra playing an angry bird’.
Our obsession with the concept of terrorist turned lover and a psycho killer.
Shraddha Kapoor’s pretty wardrobe and zaroorat se zyada happy & dreamy character as she’s dying of …oops ! The film did not care to mention the disease as she’s anyway going to be murdered later.
The jokes told by the kuchi koo couple that are as old and obvious as the plot of revenge.
Ritesh Deshmukh’s debut in a negative shade where you won’t get a chance to pity or laugh at him.
The audience feels equally and at times more intelligent than the movie by predicting the next scene and even the climax.
An annoying wife played by Aamna Sharif who you can’t wait to get murdered.
A couple of good songs which get over before interval and you lose even the last hope you were holding on to for the rest of the movie.
Prachi Desai’s forgettable item number ‘Awari’ where you can easily go out and grab some popcorn.
While the trailers made us feel that Holiday will be a war movie, the reality is quite different.
With every frame coming straight from the Tamil movie Thuppakki, Holiday does come with a holiday feel where neither the film makers nor the audience takes it seriously. Starring our favorite Khiladi; Akshay Kumar (Virat Bakshi, the never off-duty soldier), the movie comes with mindless action, melodious music and an almost intelligent plot with some loopholes howsoever.
Akshay Kumar is an Indian army soldier who has come to Mumbai for a holiday and to meet the prospective girls for marriage, but ends up stalking the girl he rejected in the first place; Sahiba (Sonakshi Sinha) and finding a new mission to save the maximum city from the terror of sleeper cells headed by the newbie Farhad Daruwala.
While he could have worked with the police taking in confidence his bestie Mukund (Sumeet Raghavan: Sahil from Sarabhai vs Sarabhai), he decides to do it all by himself with some help from Rocky (the sniffer dog) because obviously, the movie is about Indian army and not IPS. As this one-man movie proceeds with flashes of humour, action and intelligence, there are times when you feel what’s going on? How can this guy purposely send his own sister to a gang of terrorists? But there comes a justification in the form of a theory called ‘patriotism’ which could have been achieved anyway. Except a few places where it seems dragged(scenes with Govinda as Akshay’s senior in army) the movie goes on quite smoothly without any significant twists and turns and before you feel any thrill or chill, it ends.
Before we forget, amidst all this you get to see glimpses of Sonakshi Sinha who is a boxing champion (justifying her size and muscles). Just like her previous movies, she has got absolutely no connection with the plot of the movie. She occasionally hangs out and flirts with Akki, sings songs and dances in weird and incomprehensible outfits and doesn’t let go of her favourite monochrome dress even in the movie. Somehow, she still manages to look pretty at times.
Akshay Kumar once again charms with his athletic body and macho moves proving that he’s surely the best looking actor in the 40+ league of Bollywood today. The direction by A. R. Murugadoss stays crisp with all the actors having done justice to their roles except the new guy Farhad who fails to impress and sometimes looks even more clueless than Sonakshi. Music by Pritam especially ‘Tu hi toh hai’ and Shaayraana are pleasing to the ears while the rest are forgettable.
However, the best part about Holiday is that you can actually send your brain and logic on a holiday, sit back with popcorn and enjoy 3 hours of action, comedy, romance and drama that will bring some relief this summer.
If drama, bromance, pouty lips and most of all apply-no-brains entertainment is what you are up for, Gunday is for you! If substance and twists to a 1970’s tale that’s been told enough number of times in the 70’s itself is what you are expecting, you are in for some extremely predictable, sometimes non-sensical, and a loud background score for 160 minutes of your time.
Having warned you of that, we think Gunday is not so bad after all (we belong to the 1st category). When was the last time we saw people hooting, whistling and speaking the patent dialogues before the actors, in a very modern theatre with a decent audience? If you weren’t a part of the 70’s generation, then you haven’t witnessed it (we certainly haven’t), and taken in a good spirit, it is fun: D Gunday makes you do that.
Priyanka’s lip job and Arjun baba & Ranveer baba’s metro-sexual love is the highlight we must say. So utterly funny is the movie (it is not their idea though) that a good actor like Irrfan Khan is a waste-of-talent here.
For the timing of its release, its ruling-the-current-silver-screen but yet largely unexploited for their talent actors, a desirable Priyanka Chopra, and some foot-tapping music the movie will do decently well, despite the hopelessness of its content!
In the end, we want to sign off saying, ‘Beta agar jigar ki jagah jigar hai, aur jigar mein dum hai, toh ek baar toh dekh hi aa yeh picture’!!
This is supposed to be one of the biggest release of the year. Coming from Karan Johar’s Dharma production starring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone and directed by Ayan Mukherji (Wake up Sid fame), it can’t get bigger than this.
The movie was released in all the leading multiplexes of Jaipur and we were told that the weekend shows are almost sold out on the online booking for this movie. Team Jaipur Beat decided to watch this movie on the very first day before the opinions about the movies start to flow around. In fact no online review was read by us till we watched this movie. Jaipur Beat forms its own opinion you see 🙂
The movie starts with a very advertisement campaign style sequence showing how professional Fed Ex are in delivering the couriers, probably a marriage card. The flashback of 8 years tells us that Bunny (Ranbir), Avi
(Aditya Roy Kapoor) and Aditi (Kalki Koechlin) are close friends. They decide to take a adventurous trekking holiday at Manali. Naina (Deepika) is a studious kind of a girl who wears specs, who has never taken holiday in her life, never kissed some one, didn’t have an affair, never touched alcohol and so on…. So Naina joins them on this life changing holiday and care free boy Bunny, who loves speed, wants to keep moving meets this girl on a holiday. They spend time together, get to know each other and yes, fall in love with each other. No, I am not telling you the story of DDLJ again, but this is 2013 and we are still living with DDLJ hangover. The guy had intention to leave abroad to pursue his life and career and he actually does that leaving every one behind.
We are shown beautiful Europe and US in between where Bunny is busy doing travel shows. 8 years later, its back to beautiful lake city of Udaipur where the royal wedding of Aditi is taking place and every one meets every one once again. Naina and Bunny meet again, the old flames are ignited and apart from the Rajshri inspired song and dance sequences , their love seems to blossom. The royal wedding setup at Oberoi’s Udai Vilas looks so similar to the end scene of Band Baja Baraat that was shot at Jodhpur. The song and dance sequence remind us of Rajshri’s Hum Saath Saath Hai. Bunny again decides to leave for Paris leaving crying Naina and ever drinking and sulking Avi behind.
Will he come back or will continue to pursue his dreams ? I will leave this for you to know as it will spoil fun of watching the movie for you.
Overall a movie that promised so much, had potential to deliver so much, overall fails to deliver it all. Ayan Mukherji’s debut film Wake up Sid was so much full of emotions and character. Unfortunately the same is not seen in Yeh Jawaani. The characters are weak. Why Bunny (Ranbir) continued to move ahead in life and suddenly decides to drop it all and come back to be an emotional son and lover, was too sudden a transformation. What was the problem in Avi’s life that he continued to crib and drink like a tanker was never actually shown. Naina’s character never actually depicted that she was madly in love with Bunny. In fact the expressions between the lovers were so weak that even when Bunny was proposing to Naina, it looked like a meek and forced act.
The acting is good in parts and quite average in between. Some how we expected more from Ranbir after Rockstar and Barfi and I feel he disappointed us. Deepika looked ravishing and as beautiful as we expect her to be. She played a role of a subdued lover, and if its intentional then its alright, else I would say she failed to replicate the pain of a lover, as she’s supposed to be in the movie. To me the highlight of the movie was Kalki Koechlin, as fearless Aditi she plays the role with aplomb. And she looks so natural even during emotional scenes. Adtiya Roy Kapoor looks really good till he is not required to speak. As an ever drinking guy, he did a good job overall. Special mention to Farookh Sheikh, in a small role as Bunny’s father, he showed what a wonderful actor he is. In fact the scene between father and son reminds us so much of Wake up Sid, even the background music was similar. Madhuri as Mohini for the ghaghra song looked beautiful and of course dance brilliantly.
Watch Yeh Jawaani for its beautiful cinematography, for its wonderful locale of Manali, Europe and of course Udaipur. Watch it for some melodious music such as Kabira, Subhanallah and of course Balam Pichkari. Watch it for handsome Ranbir and mesmerizing Deepika. Expecting too much of a story, emotions and soul from it, would be expecting too much…..
