And the Oscar Goes to.......................

Here is the list of winners of 80th Academy Awards:
Best Picture: No Country For Old Men
Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis for There will be Blood
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose
Best Directiion: No Country for Old Men
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men
Best Supporting Actress:Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton
Best Music Score: Atonement
Best Foregin Language Film: Counterfeiters
Best Cinematography: There will be Blood
No country for Old Men got 3 out of six most coveted slots in oscar.Javier Bardem got the movie it's fourth oscar in supporting actor category.

Scene of the Day

Scene of the Day: Titanic

Jodha Akbar: SubhanAllah!

What an opulent drama! Jodha Akbar is total paisa vassol movie.I was a little apprehensive before going to watch the movie, as my husband has told me that it is three and a half hour long.But once Hritik Roshan came on screen,I was absolutely glued to the screen.Jodha Akbar belongs to Hritik. It's his movie all the way.The scene, where Aishwarya( Jodha) secretly watches him practice with his sword, had crooning,whistling and yelling from all the girls in the crowd( including myself).Hritik has already proved his acting credentials in earlier movies, but he is fabulous in the role of Akbar.
If we compare Shahrukh Khan's Asoka and JA(Jodha Akbar),Hritik is far ahead of SRK. In Asoka Shahrukh's mannerism and personality hindered him in essaying the role of a king.Where as Hritik Rohan's steady and calm attitude blended with the role of Emperor Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar.
Aishwarya Rai looks just as she should be,a beautiful princess.Her controlled and measured performance matches with Hritik's.
The scenes which I likes the most In Jodha Akbar: 1.Bare bodied Hritik flaunting his prowess with sword, Undoubtedly, Gets my vote.
2. The Kazi is saying, that the Hindu Princess should not be allowed to flout Islamic traditions,at exact moment,the music of Bhajan flows into Akbar's court.
3.When Ash is asked to taste the food herself by Ila before she’s about to serve the food to the Emperor and his associates. Once done, Hrithik demanding that he be served the meal from the same platter that Jodhaa had used.
4.The dual scene between Akbar and Jodha.Aishwarya sure learned fencing well.
5.The song Marhaba.It has the opulence and grace.

The minus point of Jodha Akbar: The moment, when Jodha pronounces her love for Akbar should have been more romantic.....something was missing.Director Ashutosh Gowarikar must have wanted this scene to excel.That's why the theme of sunlight reflecting in mirrior was taken, but it could have been more splendid.
This is one movie that I have liked after a long time(apart from TZP
Lets hope that the movie is not affected by the controversy surrounding it.

Cast of Jodha Akbar
Jodha:Aishwarya rai Bachhan
Akbar: Hritik Roshan
Raja Bharmal: Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Rani Padmawati: Suhasini mule
Sujamal: Sonu Sood
Mallika Hamida Banu: Poonam Sinha
Bakshi Banu Begum: Abeer Abrar
Bairam Khan: Yuri
Music : A.R.Rehman
Direction: Ashutosh Gowarikar
Cinematography:Kiran Deohans
Story / Writer: Haider Ali
Choreography: Raju Khan,Rekha Chinni Prakash,Ash Kumar

Jodha Akbar: SubhanAllah!

What an opulent drama! Jodha Akbar is total paisa vassol movie.I was a little apprehensive before going to watch the movie, as my husband has told me that it is three and a half hour long.But once Hritik Roshan came on screen,I was absolutely glued to the screen.Jodha Akbar belongs to Hritik. It's his movie all the way.The scene, where Aishwarya( Jodha) secretly watches him practice with his sword, had crooning,whistling and yelling from all the girls in the crowd( including myself).Hritik has already proved his acting credentials in earlier movies, but he is fabulous in the role of Akbar.
If we compare Shahrukh Khan's Asoka and JA(Jodha Akbar),Hritik is far ahead of SRK. In Asoka Shahrukh's mannerism and personality hindered him in essaying the role of a king.Where as Hritik Rohan's steady and calm attitude blended with the role of Emperor Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar.
Aishwarya Rai looks just as she should be,a beautiful princess.Her controlled and measured performance matches with Hritik's.
The scenes which I likes the most In Jodha Akbar: 1.Bare bodied Hritik flaunting his prowess with sword, Undoubtedly, Gets my vote.
2. The Kazi is saying, that the Hindu Princess should not be allowed to flout Islamic traditions,at exact moment,the music of Bhajan flows into Akbar's court.
3.When Ash is asked to taste the food herself by Ila before she’s about to serve the food to the Emperor and his associates. Once done, Hrithik demanding that he be served the meal from the same platter that Jodhaa had used.
4.The dual scene between Akbar and Jodha.Aishwarya sure learned fencing well.
5.The song Marhaba.It has the opulence and grace.

The minus point of Jodha Akbar: The moment, when Jodha pronounces her love for Akbar should have been more romantic.....something was missing.Director Ashutosh Gowarikar must have wanted this scene to excel.That's why the theme of sunlight reflecting in mirrior was taken, but it could have been more splendid.
This is one movie that I have liked after a long time(apart from TZP

Cast of Jodha Akbar
Jodha:Aishwarya rai Bachhan
Akbar: Hritik Roshan
Raja Bharmal: Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Rani Padmawati: Suhasini mule
Sujamal: Sonu Sood
Mallika Hamida Banu: Poonam Sinha
Bakshi Banu Begum: Abeer Abrar
Bairam Khan: Yuri
Music : A.R.Rehman
Direction: Ashutosh Gowarikar
Cinematography:Kiran Deohans
Story / Writer: Haider Ali
Choreography: Raju Khan,Rekha Chinni Prakash,Ash Kumar

Jodha Akbar Controversy

Now a days it has become ritual for movies to be surrounded by controversies. Latest in the controversy bandwagon is Jodha Akbar. Thhis film has been shrouded in a cloud of mystery from the day of its announcement. But there has been no dirth of 'rumours' doing rounds. Like the one which said that hero Hrithik Rohan and heroin aishwariya rai can't stand each other. Then there was one relating to the drab music of the movie.Both these so called rumours have been proved false.
Now comes the latest controversy related with Jodha Akbar.The magnum opus of director Ashutosh Gowarikar has run in to hot waters in Rajasthan.Film exhibitors are hesitant to book the movie due to the Rajput community’s ongoing tirade against it in Rajasthan. The movie is based on the relationship of mughal Emperor Akbar and his rajput queen Jodha bai. Some rajput organisations claim that Jodha bai was Akbar's daughter-in-law, and not his wife.They have cited books to prove their point. In other words, Jodha Bai was the wife of Jehangir, aka Salim.The Rajput community of Rajasthan has threatened to not only boycott Jodha Akbar, but also stall its release in the state.
Right from Rang De Basanti to Mangal Pandey, controversies and bans seem to be affecting almost every movie today. Whether the producers/directors seek them to create publicity or the people create them to have their 15 minutes of fame, the result is an increased public interest in the movie. Jodha Akbar, the film that is being waited for since long, is no exception. It is currently facing its share of controversies too and is in the news for all the wrong reasons.But someone said'Every publicity is good publicity', right!

Is Catherine-zeta jones pregnant?

Buzz is that the Chicago star is going to have another baby. Her bump was visibly showing during a charity golf match; organized by her actor husband, Michael Douglas.They had also brought along their two children Dylan and Carys.The noticeable bump defies her claims made to the People magazine that she is done with producing offsprings.

Perfume stinks!

Husband got this DVD( perfume- the story of a murderer for me.The movie released in 2006. It is directed by the talented German filmmaker Tom Tykwerof Run Lola Run fame. It is adapted from the bestselling German novel Das Parfum by Patrick Suskind. It's an annoyingly wasteful film. The movie squanders many chances to bond with the viewers, and tossing away over 65 million dollars to achieve what's best described as perverse whimsy.
I got to read the book 7 years ago. The book was bad, but I kept reading it, in the hope that it would get better. It didn't. Like the movie, there was no real character development. I didn't care about the main character or any of his victims... I didn't even care about the little dog, and I love pets.
The plot:
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is abandoned after birth and grows up in penury.He has no scent but his own sense of smell is almost magical.He can identify things by their scent.His search of ultimate perfume turns nasty, when he realizes that women have special scents.He begins killing girls so as to extract perfume from their dead bodies.
It seems to me that Tykwer intended to make Perfume into an epic, focusing on one man's journey, with expansive cinematography, and legions of extras, but the story is unable to support the lavishness of the film making. And the plot follows no logic. When the murders begin, no one right away suspects the strange new guy who lives on the same farm as the first victim. Everybody else is immediately suspected. No one points a finger towards Grenouille's brazenly suspicious actions.
Dustin Hoffman as perfumer Giuseppe Baldini, and Alan Rickman as Antoine Richis the overprotective father are totally wasted in the movie. Their roles are thoroughly underwritten and pointless. British actor Ben Whishaw is handsome, but that's all.
The only strong point of the movie is its visual style. The camera of cinematographer Frank Griebe is creatively and accurately observant.. It perceives color and detail with compassion and enjoyment.
In the end all I want to add is that Grenouille is cast as a tragic figure, a victim of his circumstances and his unique gift, but we don't buy it. The character is never sympathetic enough for us to care about his predicament and too dense to be truly frightening and his victims are no more characterized than the busty blonds.

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Tare Zamin Par is a good movie

Finally I got to watch Tare Zamin Par ( TZP for short). It's a nice, but slow movie. sometime back, it would have been called art house film, but I think the film pundits will name it multiplex movie. The theme is problems in learning, here they have taken dyslexia. I like the way they have taken up this issue, without making it sound like a documentary. But some scenes look artificial or forcibly added. Like the one, where Ishaan is handed over the 1st prize for best painting. The over affection of Nikumbh for Ishaan is also not very convincing, though Amir has played this character in a balanced manner.
While watching the movie, I was reminded of my of my K.G. students, Ayush. He too had dyslexia. He couldn't run properly and had difficulty in participating in dance. At that stage I couldn't discover what his strengths were, but I avoided taking him in to dance or races because he felt embarrassed when he couldn't perform like others. The worst part was handling his father. He just didn't understand that his child had a problem which should be taken in to account while discussing his low grades. Later Ayush started participating in Drama and was showing signs of a future comedian. What happened to his histrionics, I don't know. As I had to leave that school under very stressful circumstances and I never looked back.

Now its Time for Some Movie Talk

I have been blogging for eight months now. Got the hang of things and now I have decided to start a movie blog. Movies are my passion and I like all genres ( if the story and acting are good). I will be writing reviews of movies, old and new. And sharing the juicy gossips on big names in showbiz.
So let the show begin.