Ms. Elaine Eyus (Miscellaneous)

The other day I finally got around to listening to Rajneeti songs. I totally wasn't anticipating the soundtrack or anything because based off the promos I thought, "enh... will it even have a soundtrack?" I, unfaithfully (to Bollywood), didn't bother to check the music director(s) or anything. Lucky for me, I caught a song promo on B4U and I'm glad I did. The music is surprisingly good so you should definitely check it out. But that's not why I'm posting. It's something I saw in the video that caused this post. Barkha Bisht has/had an item number in the film! Barkha = a television actress, a fabulous dancer and a killer body. I call her "The Shilpa Shetty of Tellywood" in my head.

Is it becoming a trend to feature television actresses/models in item songs? Remember Gauhar Khan's featured in Once Upon a Time in Mumbai? I don't mind at all. If you haven't figured out by now, I'm on a crusade to bring back quality female dancing in Bollywood (a pent up rant I've been saving to post) and I've always said TV actresses are better than film actresses. Shama Sikandar also has a dance number in the upcoming comedy, Kushti.

Here's Barkha's item from Rajneeti (sorry for the poor quality this was the best I could find):



The only complaint I have about all of this is the song doesn't match the OVERDONE club scene. It does, but it doesn't. There was so much potential to run with this and do a ghagra-wearing tumka dance, but of course... we must feature a club scene. It probably doesn't even work into the story line, but we still should do it because that's what India loves. Ugh, SO OVER IT! Okay, in their defense, I'm sure a ghagra-wearing tumka dance didn't work into the story either... but still! Anyhow, I hear this entire song was cut from the film. Someone clarify?

Shama Sikander's item number for Kushti:



They got everything right except for that horrifically annoying voice. I know it's supposed to be a rustic-folk feel, but they failed and it kills the entire song. What a shame. Isn't it sooooo refreshing to see a dancer who can complete her moves?! Ah. I'm glad she's sticking to item numbers though and not dipping into the acting pool anymore 'cause that was a train wreck.

I've been a fan of Shama and Barkha's dancing, an extreme fan of Gauhar's dancing but I'm an absolute die-hard fan when it comes to Mouni Roy's moves. Glad 3/4 have been featured. Now someone give Mouni a beautiful mujra number for us to marvel over!

Promos, Trailers and Friends

Thanks to my hiatus I have plenty of trailers to show you. Yaaaay.

First off we finally get a glimpse of Prakash Jha's, much talked about, RAJNEETI. Eeks.

Watch the trailer, then we shall discuss:



I said "eeks" earlier because it's going to be hella interesting to see Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif in this type of film. I won't be surprised if Rampalshines, he's an underrated actor. As for the latter two, I hope it displays a new dimension in their actings skills. More than Ranbir though, it's Katrina I'm anxious to see. I'm curious to see how she handles the role.

Neeext we've got a song promo of KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK featuring the song Uff Teri Ada (psssst, the music has released, but I have yet to check it out. Let me know if you have). Oh boo, embedding's been disabled so here's the link, enjoy! The song is nothing special, maybe a little catchy. I like the picturisation of it though. It seems like it develops their relationship and characters well.

Lastly, here are a bunch of song promos for VEER. Oh boo embedding has been disabled AGAIN. Is it because people like me post it on blogs?? Doesn't that help their promotion though? Odd. I'll just have to, graciously, provide the links I suppose.

Meherbaniyan Promo
Surili Akhiyon Wale Promo
Taali Promo: This was picturised almost exactly how I had envisioned it. Creepy. Also, isn't Neena Gupta a little too old to be playing (what she was once best at) 'nautanki'esque roles? (Sidenote: If you can't remember who Neena Gupta is, think the other chick from Choli Ke Peeche.)

I get the same creeped out feeling from all the Veer promos as I did while watching Lucky- no time for love. The sets and costume are all well done and I appreciate it. It's just personal taste, I don't like it.

Forthcoming Films

There's quite a few films lined up so I'll try to stick with those that are worth mentioning.

First, we have Rajneeti expected to release sometime in 2010. The film has quite a list of talented actors. We have Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Ranbir Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Manoj Bajpai and Katrina Kaif. Whilst reading that list did that record halting noise (you know, the one that indicates a negative surprise) play in your head too when you came across Katrina's name? Get this, she plays Sonia Gandhi. Director, Prakash Jha is a talented man who only casts best of the best so maybe he sees potential or maybe he just likes the idea that he can actually cast a half-Indian half-Caucasian actress. I have faith. I want to like Katrina, which don't get me wrong, I don't hate the girl but she is definitely overrated. Maybe this will be her breakout role. Let's cross our fingers. Also, it's nice to see Ranbir (who plays an NRI) branching out and not sticking to one genre or one camp. I guess that's what happens when you're part of the Kapoor lineage (I think they're my favorite Bollywood family). Oh, fun fact for the post: Ranbir, Bebo and Lolo are the first generation in the Kapoor Khandaan to have all been successful. Woohoo, glad that happened in my lifetime.

Next up we have Delhi Belly. Produced by Amir Khan, directed by Abhinay Deol and starring Imran Khan, Kunaal Roy Kapoor, Vir Das, Poorna Jagannathan, Shenaz Treasurywala, Kim Bodnia, Vijay Raaz, Ravi Khaanwilkar, Monica Dogre. I'm going to shamelessly admit the only people I've heard of are Imran Khan (obvs), Vir Das and Shenaz Treasurywala. I'll research these other folks soon and get back to you. I don't know much about the movie except that the phrase "Delhi Belly" means you have an upset stomach... usually us NRI/foreigners get it. Gross. No idea if the film touches upon that metaphorically or what. It's also supposed to be a sex-comedy. We also know that Imran had to sport a jungli-disheveled look for the film. Have a looksies (be sure to look at his promotional shirt):
Lastly, Ranbir Kapoor and Chitrangada Singh were to have originally been casted. She opted out due to little acting scope but we're not sure about Ranbir. Maybe it was a 'dates issue', isn't it always?

There's Karthik Calling Karthik (which I'm pretty excited about) starring Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone, Ram Kapoor and Shefali Chaya. What a lovely cast, I absolutely adore all four of them. It's directed by Vijay Lalwani and produced by Farhan A. and Ritesh Sidhwani and the music was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The film is about a man who recieves a call from himself. It's supposed to be a psychological-thriller sprinkled with some humor and a bit of romance on the side. It's slated to release February 26th and since it's so far, much information isn't out. All I know is that Deepika plays an unconventional role and I'm excited to see that.

There are more upcoming films that should be mentioned but I'll save it for another post.