Rockstars are Truly Hardworking Foodies

Cappuccino Chocolatechip Muffins for the Rockstar team.

The hardwork on this movie is quite evident... From the acting (hicups for Nargis though), direction, costumes, dialogues, characterization, to the songs.... A.R.Rehman's music is fabulous.... and Imtiaz Ali has them flowing in the movie in absolute poetry. The movie's got a rating of 8.5 on IMDB.

Meeting Imtiaz Ali was such a special moment... He's quite a rock star himself... warm and endearing.... I still remember my promise of baking something savory for you :)

All of them seem like such foodies that it's an instant connect... :)
The team has been using facebook aggressively to make a connect with the audience.... The Diwali post was really sweet, with Ranbeer talking about the film's cinematographer Anil Mehta :)

Hello Rockstars. Today i want you guys to be introduced to my favorite person in the film industry. His name is Mr Anil Mehta. he's the cinematographer of our film. I had worked with him on Wake Up Sid too. He's truly complete man who i respect and adore and haven't met anybody with such positive and warm vibes. He's the reason i still have faith in film people in this fickle industry. he made me promise that i have to get married with in two years with a non filmy girl. We have had such wild wrap party nights together where me and him use to end up hugging each other for hours. I remember one wrap up party in Mcleod ganj, where anil sir went up to Imtiaz and hugged him. And in 5 mins the entire crew of Rockstar was part of one big hug which left Imtiaz weeping like a child. It was one of the most beautiful moments that i have been part of. Truly. Hope you all guys doing well.
Ps. I spent an hour with Mr Rahman yesterday at his Mumbai residence. Discussed Mumbai concert and spoke about spirituality and faith. What a superior being he is. Last night saw the first Mono copy of Rockstar. Fingers crossed guys. I was anxious,excited and nervous. Its the feeling i always wanna feel being part of movies. I love you all.Speak to you today..

JJ - abhi ghar jaayegi ya aur gandh machani hai???
Heer - Gandh toh bohot machani hai..lekin waqt kaha hai mere dost..(exaggerates) kahan hai waqt....RK

Behind the scene, Rockstars.... :)

MY ROCKSTARS

The scene being shot when we visited, was the one where Piyush Mishra is telling Ranbeer about a rockstar's image and brand.

Check out the pictures from the hall and match them to the ones above :)

(For all those who love the courts n lawyers..... Pl note that this is not an attempt at piracy, just putting a point across.... Also this post doesn't contain any spoilers.)

Ranbir Kapoor isn't exactly my favorite but this movie.... He's done quite well for himself after Wake up Sid. The scenes at Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, where he spends time with the Qawwals, plays with them, was really endearing. The song Kun Faaya Kun was fantastic. The initial awkward college kid... grows into an angry rockstar with an attitude... From a guy who sprinkles alcohol in a disco, to a man whose burning with passion.

Nargis for some strange reason kept reminding me of Katrina Kaif... Why is that so? I can't put a finger on it but there is something to it. There was also something weird about her lips in some scenes.... As a first attempt at bollywood.... would gather some pass muster.

The scene where she sneaks up behind men taking a leak on the wall is quite hilarious.. ;)

Jordan's advisor-turned-manager played by Kumud Mishra is a fantastic job. Aditi Rao Hydari is impressive as Sheena. The talented Piyush Mishra has this way of getting under your skin in this role..... :)

Shammi Kapoor is just adorable..... Love the scene where Ranbeer and he play music together in the studio... It has a divine feel with loads of honesty....

The Kashmir shoot..... was breathtaking... made me want to drive down there immediately and roll in the snow. The lip-sync song they did as a tribute to Shammi Kapoor from Kashmir ki Kali was adorable.

The Prague shoot was beautiful... Guess that city is inspiring.... Holiday plans are in place... first Kashmir and then Prague :)

bollywoodtrade.com writes "Hailed as Ranbir Kapoor’s finest performance to date and his biggest ever opener, ROCKSTAR has grossed Rs. 53 crore in India (Net collection: Rs. 37crore) and Rs. 11 crore overseas in its first three days. "

Rockstar rocks Twitter! via bollyspice.com

Amitabh Bachchan told his Twitter community, “Just back from ‘RockStar‘ and living in the brilliance of all – Imtiaz Ali, Ranbir, AR and Nargis”

Karan Johar assured, “Watched ROCKSTAR…and am a certified Ranbir Kapoor fan!! His performance is unbelievable!”

Bipasha Basu had been one of the first to tweet, “Ranbir Kapoor as Jordan,U have to fall in love with him! Imtiaz Ali is an outstanding filmmaker!”

Filmmaker and actor Anurag Kashyap was overwhelmed: “Rockstar is not so much about rock as it is an individuals story…its another kind of coming of age film..just can’t get it out of my head. It is easily Imtiaz Ali’s best. This is how a love story should be told. Soul stirring. Still assimilating. It is unlike most films.. no cacophony of sounds..quiet.. no unnecessary background to propel it forward..Ranbir is just awesome. Such an unexpected film.. does not take any easy route.. does not become a clap trap or a crowd pleaser..It’s just so heartfelt.”

Verdict:

Amazing music. Could have been a bit shorter in the second half...Overall it's watchable....

3.5 out of 5

Fashion - The Movie Experience

Madhur Bhandarkar has always had a flair for subjects with dark shades that brings out the cruelty and shocking facts prevalent in our society, a subject least attempted by many a directors. After giving us Satta, Chandni Bar, Page 3, Corporate and Traffic Signal, Madhur Bhandarkar is back with yet another realistic film, Fashion.

The common point in all the above films are strong women protagonists; focus on one particular aspect of the society; good research and then creating entertaining stories that move the critics, the audiences and the box office together. His films never compromise on the Entertainment quotient despite being preachy sometimes. It’s a formula that has clicked so far for Madhur and Fashion promises that the successful run will continue.

Produced by Ronnie Screwvala of UTV Motion Pictures, the film stars Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Mugdha Ghodse and Arjan Bajwa.

Priyanka Chopra plays Meghna Mathur, a starry-eyed girl from Chandigarh who comes to Mumbai and struggles to get a break in the modeling industry and attains stardom.
Kangana Ranaut plays a supermodel. She is the one who walks with full confidence and attitude on the ramp. I totally loved it. Moreover, the wardrobe malfunction scene was brilliantly performed by her.
Debutant Arjan Bajwa plays a struggling model and also the love interest of Priyanka Chopra.

The newcomer in the movie, Mugdha Godse, who is playing a role of an unsuccessful model, is a nice surprise. She is confident and can give a run for money to any actress out there. Mugdha Godse plays an unsuccessful model who doesn't make it to the top. She does odd jobs and is a funky and carefree woman. With a great figure and face that registers a spectrum of emotions, she gives a compelling consistency to her goodhearted model's character. She sported awesome looks and I totally loved her attitude.

Fashion is all about realism and Madhur doesn’t shy away from anything. One thing I liked about the movie is the portrayal of gay designers. Conundrum of male models to sleep with gay designers in order to get a show and condition of a mother whose son is a gay fashion designer and doesn’t want to marry are brilliantly shown. Drugs and booze are added bonus to the movie.

I know many male fashion designers are gays, but seriously, in Fashion, every male designer is being depicted as gay, which I found to be a bit unfair.

Jitna kam sochogi utna zyada kamaogi…… (The less you think, the more you earn) is the one line killer dialogue which yells all about Fashion in full volume!

Fashion ain’t without flaws though. The one thing that could go against it at the box-office is the pace of the film, which is dreadfully slow. It’s so slow that it takes a good amount of sheen away from the movie. Especially when a tired me starts a 10:30 movie at 11pm due to inefficiencies at ‘Priya’ Movie hall.

Priyanka could have done better, Whether it’s telling her parents that she’s decided to go to Mumbai to pursue a career in modelling, her tantrums or her confrontations with Manav (Arjan Bajwa), Abhijit Sarin (Arbaaz Khan), Anisha (Kitu Gidwani), Shonali (Kangana Ranaut) in the rest room or dress designer Vinay Khosla,

Priyanka Chopra shows no life in her acting and utterly fails to bring any drama to the screen. While Priyanka Chopra is not upto expectation in Fashion, Kitu Gidwani (as the modeling agency owner Anisha), Arjan Bajwa (as the struggling male model Manav), Mughda Godse (as the model Janet) and Sameer Soni (as a gay dress designer Rahul Arora) throw in decent performances. Harsh Chaya's 'gay lisp' was the only annoying appendage (as vinay )

The movie had less than impressive costumes and makeup. Priyanka’s makeup was quite terrible.

I think there is more to fashion industry than this. He forgets to talk about anorexia and how what all weird things models do to keep themselves fit and what about the much hyped size zero?? Apart from the dark side, why can’t we ever see the positive side of any industry? Every character in a Bhandarkar movie is either black or white…but are there no grey characters in real life. I believe in his urge to expose the fashion industry, he forgets to bring out a true and unbiased picture.

Despite the fact that it has got an 'A Certificate' from the censor board, the movie hall 'Priya' had so many kids watching it. The 'A Certificate' didn't seem to deter the parents from bringing the kids to the theatre. The only unreal aspect about Madhur Bhandarkar movies are the disclaimer tag before the opening credits ;-)

To sum up, immense amount of hard work has gone into making Fashion and it clearly shows in the final product.

Watch it!

Last laugh...... there's a scene in the movie which talks about women being 'eye-candy' in parties.... The men were the 'eye-candy' in this movie...... ;-)

Tashan - The ‘pharmoola’

This piece does exactly what “Tashan” is… great stars, great styling, great songs and great visuals work as long as the script is great, the script is bits n piece from here n there with snippets of (some sort of) originality…..

A blood red Mercedes convertible racily advances through Ladakh's dusty terrain, the car radio nervously shuffles between AC/DC's Highway to Hell and Mukesh's rendition of Kabhi Kabhie.

A crazy fusion of everything desi and phoren -- style, soul and lingo. Welcome to debutant director Vijay Krishna Acharya's land of the English-challenged fashionably quirky, where Tashan is your passport to every conceivable absurdity and You-got-to-be-kidding brand of illogical twists step on your toes at every opportunity.

Then again, both the soundtrack and its promos, never really made any bones to hide that. Like, who expects meaningful cinema from a movie which parades its leading actors in outrageous blonde wigs, flashy attires; and on top of it, makes them do a power-packed jig, in the middle of nowhere, along with hundred other colourful extras?

And so Tashan is *exactly* what it looks like -- a silly spectacle which goes all out to entertain. Right from its sleek black & white graphic novel-inspired opening credits to fire-breathing gun-pipes charged at the villain or cycle-rickshaw chases in the dingy lanes of Kanpur, everything is ostensibly over-the-top.

Any other actor in Anil Kapoor's place would have hammed like mad in a role that spells g-a-u-d-y. Kapoor, however, conveys the English-obsessed temperament of his character with such utter seriousness, you really don't want to argue. Also, the man plays evil with equal relish.

First Impression is Last Impression, Anil Kapoor rocks…

Tashan is a good piece of entertainment. It does not boast of sensibility but its entertainment spelt with a big "E" and Anil Kapoor steals the thunder. Tashan works because of Anil Kapoor. He shows why he is such a great actor. I do not think anyone could do justice to the role of Bhayyaji other than Anil Kapoor.

Leave your brains out and watch Tashan, its a total entertainment and I could see that in the movie hall. Everytime "Bhayyaji-Anil Kapoor" came on the scene, the people were glued to the screen and sitting upstraight. Anil Kapoor makes Tashan watchable. He just shows the difference between Men and boys. Akshay and Saif just dont match him in his histronics.

Akshay Kumar, is of course, a complete thespian by now, and he lifts every scene that he’s in. His Ravan entry is phenomenal in comic scale, and kudos to the writers for his character. It’s Pande’s (and Bhaiyyaji’s to a certain extent ) mythological references in the movie that remind us of the constant parallels that 70s action movies were trying to emulate. Good guy versus bad guy, guru and shishya, damsel in distress. His take on the dehati is the perfect foil to Saif’s ‘cool dude’ Indian trying to be American, and gives some of the most thought-provoking nuggets about the value and pre-conceptions attached to English in India, and the prejudices that might invoke.

Tashan is a spoof… or is it?

That’s the question most of us kept asking after we walked out of the cinema hall. It is quite evident that the film was drawing upon a lot of Hindi movies.

There are some really funny moments too – like the part, which is very evidently a take-off on Don. The ACP tells Saif that he’s the only one in the police department who knows Saif is on their side… and gets killed in the very next frame.

But somehow, unlike Om Shanti Om, Tashan fails to strike the chord and instead goes off on a tangent. For instance, the film follows the ‘pharmoola’ of a con girl taking a guy for a ride and falling for him and then by introducing the childhood sweetheart track, falls for the very thing its spoofing.

Then again Javed Jaferi and Feroz Khan would toss and turn even in their grave at the way Tashan has used them.

India's multiplex's didn't release Tashan today, the proverbial Friday. And how bizarre - us NRI-log have now watched a major Indian release way before our desi counterparts.

Read Tashan ki tashan at Studio of Thoughts where you can find the The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly about the film….. it’s quite well done.

Ebrahim (Saif's son) makes his debut in Tashan, the kid is really cute and has lots of panache.

Here you can read the movie review by Taran Adarsh on indiafm.com