November 15, 2009

Promos, Trailers and Friends


Paa starring Jr. B, Daddy B, Vidya Balan and Paresh Rawal, directed by R Balakrishnan (think 'Cheeni Kum') produced by Sunil Manchanda, music by Illayraja and lyrics by Swanand Kirkire.

Yeah, I'm wondering where the flaw in that cast & crew is too (granted I'm not a Big B fan, but the man can act).

Abhishek Bachchan plays the father of Auro (Amitabh Bachchan) who suffers from Progeria aka Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome (my BFF Wikipedia tells me it's "...an extremely rare, severe, genetic condition wherein symptoms resembling aspects of aging are manifested at an early age..."). I'm not going to go into more detail. Here's a trailer for the film:


I know, right? I can't believe that's Amitabh either! I seriously seriously commend Christian Kifle and Dominic (of LOTR fame) for their make up job. The scene at the end where Jr. B is carrying Daddy B is quickly becoming iconic. I also like the scene where Vidya Balan (whose character in the film is her namesake) and Amitabh are jumping in the puddles. She's so ideal for these 'rustic' films ie: Parineeta and Guru. Also, before everyone is quick to jump and say that this is inspired by Benjamin Button or Jack the director himself said " Let me tell you that Paa is neither. First, Jack is a bad movie and you don’t ever want to make a bad film. Secondly, if I really want to spend so much money on a bad movie, I’d rather buy its DVD. As for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , the only similarity is in the look of the characters and that too only in the shape of their heads." he also goes on to say that there are "ten other films" on Progeria and his focuses on the relationship between a father and a son.

The movie is slated to release December 4 and the music release for November 15 (today). A big music release was planned for Children's Day (November 14) but music maestro Illayraja couldn't be torn away from his work. Man, I love that man. What kind of genius do you have to be in order to be A. R. Rehman's mentor? Seriously. So now the music is going to release without any hullabaloo. Anyway, I'll leave you with this song promo, Mudi Mudi:


Fun fact for the post: It's been reported that Amitabh won't be attending any of the promo events, but his voice will be present in the form of 'Auro', his character. I find it kind of creepy? Maybe it'll set the mood up and make Auro more believable.

Old is Gold... Fo' Sho.

I'm an absolute lover of old school films. I'm a lover of old things in general, so to see history brought to 'life' on the big screen just warms my heart. To see the fashion, the dialogue (just re-spelled this word a good eight times and now it sounds so weird. Say it over and over 'dialogue' Ah!)just the way of life. It's also a joy to see how close they were or weren't to Western cinema/culture. According to me, beginning in the late '70s, all of the'80s (barring all the wonderful parallel films that released during this era) and the early '90s were all reallly off (that doesn't stop me from loving them).

Anyway, I got to thinking after watching the 'Zoobi Doobi' promo about how many films now have a song and dance number parodying old classic scenes/songs. Here's a list of them, which is your favorite??

Dil Chahta Hai's Woh Ladki Hai Kahan:


Om Shanti Om's Dhoom Tana:


Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi's Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte:


Though the full video isn't available here's the Zoobi Doobi (3 Idiots) teaser from my previous post:


As I posted these I found myself loving all of them, but I think 'Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte' is my favorite because each era is a direct tribute to an actress and the choreography just floored me (holla, I love Vaibhavi Merchant).

Here's a fun fact for the day. Did you realize that the chorus of 'Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte' alludes to all three Khans? Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke (Aamir's film) Phir Milenge (Salman's film) Chalte Chalte (SRK's film). Well done, Jaideep Sahni (lyricist), well done.

On that note... hum hai rahi pyar ke, phir milenge chalte chalte. Cheers.