k V Anand apologises...

K V Anand has apologised through Twitter for not inviting lyricists on stage during the audio launch of his Ko in Chennai Anand tweeted: "Biggest blunder of Ko audio release was we forgot to invite lyricist on stage , but invited costume designer, art director and others. Unpardonable! Prime heroes  of any audio release function are music director and lyricists."

The Best Movies of 2010...

The Social Network (2010)

A chronicle of the founding of Facebook, the social-networking Web site. (120 mins.) 

Director: David Fincher

Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara

  Toy Story 3 (2010)

The toys are mistakenly delivered to a day-care center instead of the attic right before Andy leaves for college, and it's up to Woody to convince the other toys that they weren't abandoned and to return home. (103 mins.) 

Director: Lee Unkrich

Stars: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty

  Inception (2010)

In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job to date: Inception. (148 mins.) 

Director: Christopher Nolan

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe

  True Grit (2010)

A tough U.S. Marshal helps a stubborn young woman track down her father's murderer. (110 mins.) 

Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Stars: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld, Josh Brolin

The Town (2010)

As he plans his next job, a longtime thief tries to balance his feelings for a bank manager connected to one of his earlier heists, as well as the FBI agent looking to bring him and his crew down. (125 mins.)  

Director: Ben Affleck

Stars: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner

  The Tillman Story (2010 Documentary)

Pat Tillman never thought of himself as a hero. His choice to leave a multimillion-dollar football contract... (94 mins.) 

Director: Amir Bar-Lev

Stars: Pat Tillman, Richard Tillman

  Black Swan (2010)

A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile the Black Swan, daughter of an evil magician. (108 mins.) 

 

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder

127 Hours (2010)

 

A mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive. (94 mins.) 

Director: Danny Boyle

Stars: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, Sean Bott

 
 



How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed. (98 mins.) 

Director: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders

Stars: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Craig Ferguson

The Kids Are All Right (2010)

Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their birth father into their family life. (106 mins.) 

Director: Lisa Cholodenko

Stars: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska

Most Awaiting Movies of 2011...

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Jack Sparrow and Barbossa embark on a quest to find the elusive fountain of youth, only to discover that Blackbeard and his daughter are after it too.

Director: Rob Marshall

Stars: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, Geoffrey Rush

 

 

 

 Transformers: Dark of the Moon

 

The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and learn its secrets, which could turn the tide in the Transformers' final battle.  

Director: Michael Bay

Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel

 

Drive Angry 3D

 

A vengeful father escapes from hell and chases after the men who killed his wife and kidnapped his daughter.

Director: Patrick Lussier

Stars: Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner, Billy Burke

 

 

 

  X-Men: First Class

 

Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time...

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon

 

 

 

Cowboys & Aliens

 

A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys are all that stand in their way.

 

Director: Jon Favreau

Stars: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell

 

 

 

  Captain America: The First Avenger

 

After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America's ideals.  

Director: Joe Johnston

Stars: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci

 

  Real Steel

 

A boxing drama set in the near-future where 2,000-pound robots that look like humans do battle.

Director: Shawn Levy

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis

 

 

 

DHOBI GHAT MOVIE REVIEW

Starring: Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra, Mumbai
Direction: Kiran Rao
Music: Gustavo Santaolalla
Production: Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao

How many times have we heard people say "The first half was good but after interval it is boring" or vice versa. Debutant director Kiran Rao deserves a pat on the back for doing away with the break between 'halves' of a movie. Dhobi Ghat is a slick film which runs for just a little over 90 minutes sans commercial breaks in between. So there goes the first credit to the director.

The plot of Dhobi Ghat is quite simple if you look at it superficially. As was announced and advertised, it is indeed about pages of Mumbai diaries. It is about five characters: Arun (Aamir Khan), an artist and a loner, Munna (Prateik Babbar), a dhobi and a wannabe film artist, Shai (Monica Dogra), an investment banker whose passion is photography, Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra), a newlywed and a newcomer to the city of Mumbai which happens to be the fifth character of the movie. Though the plot is simple, Dhobi Ghat is a complex web of pain and the emotions twined between people and relationships.

It is quite evident that Kiran Rao did not want to play safe just because it was her first movie. The proceedings are not linear as she hasn't felt the necessity to delve on a strong plot. But what has been chosen as the story evolves by itself. It requires guts and the support to direct a movie of this genre and Kiran would have found Aamir's support invaluable. We are unsure about what will transpire and the unusual characters in the movie make it more interesting.

Kiran Rao must be applauded for her infusing life into a character which actually isn't a regular movie character. The way she has shown Yasmin through her video diary that leaves a strong impact on us is incredible. She also shines in places where Mumbai is shown in its true chromaticity: The scene where the maid offers tea to Munna, the subtle thought about a Bihari in Mumbai and Aamir's comment about Mumbai in the art exhibition.

Dhobi Ghat is not without minuses. The English conversations between Arun and Shai, which are dubbed in Hindi, are totally out of sync. We only wish a little more effort had been put in to shoot these parts in Hindi as well. We could also feel Kiran's strict adherence to arthouse cinema. The whole movie being shot with a handheld camera gives us a feeling of watching a home video overall.
 

Good for the film, it is not about Aamir Khan. The actor he may be, he is the right choice for Arun's character. The emotion he portrays when the video diary comes to an end is a testimony to his skills. Prateik Babbar is the perfect dhobi boy and must thank the director for this opportunity. He is simply superb as the aspiring actor, jealous one-sided lover and the disappointed Mumbaiite in the end. Kudos! Monica Dogra has done a casual yet brilliant portrayal of Shai. But the one who leaves an impression on our minds is Kriti Malhotra. As a newlywed, her exuberance in using the handy cam, her loneliness can be felt by us. And this is because of her acting skills. And the ever colorful, spirited, unadulterated, vibrant city of Mumbai does not disappoint too.

Technically, the film excels in quality. Mumbai has been shown in many movies before in all possible colors. Not like this one! The crowded streets, the mosque, Mumbai rains, the athar shop and even the people are entirely new to us. Cinematographer Tushar Kanti Ray... take a bow! So must Oscar winner Gustavo Santaolalla be appreciated. Right from the title till the end, he shows us why he is an Academy award winner. The re-recording is apt and is in sync with the tone of the movie. The still (B/W) photography of Jyotika Jain is also worth mentioning.

Dhobi Ghat is not the usual run of the mill cinema and may not have the 'E' factor, but is realistic and true to its conscience. With her debut venture, Kiran Rao has put forward the question to us again: Are we ready for parallel cinema yet?

Don't miss this when it comes out in theaters!  

 

TOP 25 UPCOMING MOVIES OF 2011

"MUPOZHUDUM UN KARPANAIGAL " First look images

Two major production houses sign up Vijay

After a series of flops for the past two years, Vijay has redeemed himself with Kaavalan. The movie is doing very good business and Vijay is getting praises for his role.
If sources are to be believed, Vijay’s market value has gone up once again and several big banners have lined up for Vijay’s next. The big budget hit maker Kalaipuli. S. Thanu is said to have signed up Vijay to do a movie for his production house.
And Vijay’s pet producer R.B. Choudhary of Super Good films has also signed him up. Currently, Vijay is shooting for Aascar Ravichandran’s Velayutham directed by ‘Jeyam’ Raja with Genelia and Hansika as his pairs. We are hoping Vijay is back to being a hit machine with good movies.

Expecting Rajini at Madame Tussauds

Hrithik Roshan is the fifth Bollywood star to have his wax statue at the famous London museum Madame Tussauds. The statue was unveiled on the 20^th of January and Hrithik dedicated the honor to his family.
His wife Sussane, two sons, father Rakesh Roshan, mother Pinky and grandfather J Om Prakash were present along with him when the statue was unveiled. Hrithik who is famous for his Greek God looks and acting prowess is next only to stalwarts Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan to have a wax statue at this famous museum.
Kollywood fans are eagerly waiting for the wax replica of Superstar Rajinikanth and Behindwoods.com has been vigorously promoting this request of the fans.