New Delhi, Wed, 08 Feb 2012 NI Wire

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012) Movie Review

Movie Title: Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

Star Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Imran Khan, Boman Irani, Randhir Kapoor, Ram Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah

Language: Hindi

Release Date: February 10, 2012

Director: Shakun Batra

Producer: Karan Johar, Ronnie Screwwala

Music Director: Amit Trivedi

Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is a romantic comedy written and directed by debutant Shakun Batra. Produced by Karan Johar under his banner Dharma Productions, the leading starcast includes Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor, Ram Kapoor, Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak Shah.

Unlike the traditional bollywood love stories director Shakun Batra has tried to make a love story with a different treatment this time. Generally, a typical bollywood love story follows fixed sequence of meeting of boy and girl, becoming friends, falling in love and then getting married beating all odds with a happy ending. But this time Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu has come up with a difference sequence where the boy and girl meet, marry and then become friends. So, what happens after that? Do they fall in love to live a happy life? So, wait for the release of the movie on February 10, 2012 to end your curiosity.

The film was earlier named as; ?Short term Shaadi? has already generated much curiosity among the audience before its release. The movie revolves around Rahul Kapoor (Imran Khan), 26, an architect by profession in Vegas. He loses his job due to some reason and is afraid to tell it to his parents and decides to remain silent on this topic until he finds another job. But instead of a job, he meets a fearless and quick-witted hairstylist Riana Braganza (Kareena Kapoor) and on Christmas Eve. The twist in the movie begins from there. Both of them becomes binge in the party and when they wake up next morning, they find that they are married to each other.

After that they decide to appeal in court for annulment of marriage. Now it takes another 10 days for the next appointment of annulment and in those 10 days a kind of friendship is developed between them with lots of laughing together, arguing and fighting. But it is still in ambiguity that whether the friendship turns into love or not.

The film justifies the popular saying: ?What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?.  Kareena Kapoor has claimed her role to be the best till date. With Amitabh Bhattacharya's lyrics and the music of national award winner Amit Trivedi, the music of the film is already popular these days. Likely to be a great entertainment from dharma productions, the movies is the much awaited release of 2011 and is expected to make the best of the Valentine?s Day fever.

Film: Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu
Director: Shakun Batra
Cast: Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor
Rating: ***1/2

Bollywood thrives on love stories, so you think of a dozen 'louve' stories and romcoms that've been churned out over the years and wonder how different could this be. But surprisingly it is and refreshingly so.

A 'just-lost-his-job' architect Rahul Kapoor (Imran) believes in living by the rulebook set by his champagne-clinking, right up on the social rung, but super-dominating parents (Ratna and Boman); while out-of-work hairstylist, Rianna Braganza's book has only one rule — no rules please. They couldn't have been more different, but a chance meeting between them leads to more than just a fun drunk night out.

The two end-up getting married in true-blue Vegas style, only to realise the very next morning that they want to annul it. Though not bound legally, the two do become friends and on Rianna's insistence, Rahul agrees to take a trip to Mumbai and stays with her rather extrovert family, without telling his own parents of his arrival or the truth about his marriage and job. But that's until he accidentally bumps into his mum.

The story follows a predictable path mostly, but not all the way and that's where the film scores. For a first-timer, the director (Shakun Batra) has done a fine job of not going over-the-top with any character or stretching any scene. But the film is more for the multiplex audience and may not strike a chord with the masses. As for the actors, the casting couldn't have been more perfect and that goes for the supporting actors too — Ram Kapoor, Nikhil Kapoor and the lot.

We have seen Kareena generate the same kind of sunshine charm and exuberance before (It's Geet reincarnate of Jab We Met. Only the action is in Vegas here, not Bhatinda) but here too, she hits bull's eye with amazing ease and this will also be one of the performances people won't forget for long.

The real surprise though is Imran, who fits the role to the tee. Though he does falter in a few scenes post interval, it looks like the director was sharp to catch it in time so you don't linger on those few slips at all, as he's a scene-stealer in most others, especially in the scenes with Soniya Mehra. Boman and Ratna excel too. Music is another plus, it comes at the right time and is not overbearing. Bosco's Auntyji is very catchy in steps and spirit, as is the title track.

Overall, it's a fun date flick that goes well with the spirit of Valentine. Don't look for anything, but a few good laughs and several cute moments and you won't be disappointed!

Q. How would you compare the Agneepath of 1990 and of 2012 in terms of footfalls as that is best comparison between two different time scales?A. In terms of footfalls there is not much difference as the first one had around 1.25 crore and the new one will have 1.5 crore but it has to be looked in the context of what was happening in the period of releases. We have had a dwindling audience in terms of theatres goers since the mid 80's when video got going and it is has continued till date due to piracy gaining steam and cinema becoming unaffordable to a lot of the potential audience. In 1990, Agneepath had around 1.25 crore footfalls but a big blockbuster like Maine Pyaar Kiya released around the same time had 4 crore footfalls while Agneepath (2012) has 1.50 crore footfalls and big blockbuster like Three Idiots today has 2.5 crore footfalls.M Bedi

Q. Is Agneepath the biggest opener ever as biggest first day but holiday or third best as its four day weekend was less than Bodyguard and Ra.One five day weekends but then it will take five years for films that only have three days to beat these records? how is best opening judged?
A. The best way is to take first three days and on that basis Agneepath is fourth best opener ever after Ra.One, Bodyguard and Don 2 in India.

Harshwardan

http://www.boxofficeindia.com/youdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=4010&nCat=

The original King of Indie Abel Ferrara made a stop at Emir Kusturica's Küstendorf Film and Music Festival this January to screen his latest film 4:44 Last Day on Earth. The Loisaida-set film paints a picture of addiction at the end of the world, starring Willem Dafoe and Shanyn Leigh. Ferrara has always felt a connection to Kusturica, and felt very welcome at Küstendorf, the Serbian director's wooden village high in the mountains of Mokra Gora. "We just kinda have a connection, other than I look like him," Ferrera told me, minutes before entering a workshop to discuss the film with students who had descended upon the festival from all around the world to learn from the week's line-up of cinema greats. Also at the fest were Kim Ki-Duk (Korea), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey), Marjane Satrapi (France), the Dardenne Brothers (Belgium), Andreas Dresen (Germany) and Frederikke Aspock (Denmark).

These days, Ferrara is generous in sharing his wealth of knowledge on the industry. Just keep him away from the bear sanctuary, a new habitat Kusturica is building for abused circus bears at the Mokra Gora nature park, among his many projects in the region. "If you've got that kind of energy it's great. But I wouldn't be dancing with no bear, I'll tell you that much," said Ferrara, referring to a photo he had seen earlier that day of Kusturica getting intimate with a brown bear. "There's a picture of him with fucking sugar in his mouth kissing it, I don't know. I've had nightmares about bears my whole life. If that bear was around I'd be on a helicopter out of here."

Fortunately for Ferrara, the brown bears of Mokra Gora were hibernating during his visit. So I sat down with him to discuss some of the top lessons he's learned over the years from his vast and diverse lifework. So stop fucking around and take note.

1. New game, new rules.

"Being independent now is like being the loneliest man in the world.

I think independent was a reference to a film structure that was outside of Hollywood. I guess you could be independent in Los Angeles, but at a certain time, a certain period in the '90s it was all about a setup where you could raise money. If they were making movies for $10-15 million, you could make movies for $500K-$3 million. There were directors and banks and distributors and the whole world you knew that existed back in the day, that I think are no longer in existence."

2. Don't be dependent on anyone.

"I make movies now by independently financing the films, by raising money basically outside the system. That's the first way to go. And second of all, I mean, I joke about it, but being independent is still a small but kind of loyal group of people, mostly European."

3. Stay away from the factory.

"You don't have to be a genius to figure out what the deal is in Hollywood. Hollywood is a factory town. It always was a factory town. And you know the idea of a director who makes the kind of films I wanted to make, they just don't make them.

"You're not going to make pasta fragole in fucking Dublin, you know what I mean. You're not going to make Mexican food in Istanbul. It doesn't work that way. In Hollywood they make a certain kind of film a certain kind of way and the director is the last person or the last thing they want."

4. All you need is a vision.

"It's a matter of going into a project just knowing you're going to make a movie and just having a vision of a film. And then letting all the marbles make everything just kind of be where they end up."

5. Just pick up the camera and go.

"You know I think we just basically just picked up the camera and started shooting. It's funny, I'm working with some of the same guys I initially picked a camera up with. But we were like 16.

"You know we had a problem because when we were at the point when we could actually learn, and in certain situations we were around some really great people to teach us, we had the attitude that we had nothing to learn. It was a problem back then. But now I know how much there is to learn. But I would say we just learned by doing it. Filmmaking is something that is so idiosyncratic, and it's so personal the only one who is going to teach you is yourself. The only way you're going to learn is by doing it."

6. Shoot From Your Heart.

"I mean, all my work is personal. You try to make a film that speaks, and the further inside you go, the more you're speaking to other people.

"This film, it's straight up about sobriety. I'm not going to negate the work all of us did when we weren't sober. It's about the films and about the characters that we're dealing with. I mean that's what Kenny [Kelsch, D.P.] was saying: 'Hey, at least if we come back as cockroaches, we're going to come back as sober cockroaches.'"

7. Get your shit together. No excuses.

"A message to my younger self? Wise up, bro. I mean like wise the fuck up. I was drinking 50 beers a day; it's a joke. The simplest thing that I learned was that I didn't have to drink. And if somebody told me that when I was 17… you can, but you don't have to… I thought I had to. I had to do all that stuff. We had to be like the baddest motherfuckers in the room. And we had to be negative. We had to be every dumb fucking thing that we were. And it certainly didn't help, working in L.A. and being there and all those values that are laid on you, you know, having a bigger car. Just a car we used to rent, I mean if we made $500, we spent $400 on the car we rented. It was like that kind of idiocy.

"So the film, we never could have made that film sober. Not that we couldn't have made it, but none of that would have been important to us. So for us now it's like a great light that's opened to us."

 8. The Internet is your best friend.

"Use the Internet. The Internet is a gift from God. As much as the piracy and the robbery is going on, you've been given a tool you can use.

"And as much as I don't like the digital — it's tearing my heart out not shooting on a negative — you have a way to connect to the whole world. You're on the other side of the world now from Los Angeles, and you're connected here like that. It is there for us to use that and show our stuff, and connect, and connect, and connect, and make the kind of films that connect.

"Put your film out there — YouTube, anywhere. Find a way and keep working."

9. Avoid the spotlight.

"Stay off the red carpet. But if you're on, get your clothes together. Cause you're gonna be seen."

10. There is only one language in cinema.

"Hitchcock said this to Truffaut back in the day. You know, when they scream in that shower they're screaming in Tokyo the same way they're screaming in Paris. It isn't the language that's making them scream. It's not the words, man. It's the pure cinema that is effective. And when you're speaking with the images, and you're putting those images together, they way they're supposed to be put together, then you're speaking the language. It doesn't matter if you're in Serbia, or in a fucking igloo with Eskimos. You're speaking that one universal language, and that's the language of the cinema. And that's holy."

"These are stunts that any macho hero would think twice before daring. Katrina is really pushing the envelope as far as the female machismo is concerned. She is doing free-falls with Salman by her side. We hear Kareena in Agent Vinod and Kangna Ranaut in Krrish 2 would also be attempting the hi-jinks…," said the unit member.

When asked about her daredevil act, Katrina said: "Yeah, it's scary but great fun. I've only done very feminine delicate roles so far. This is a new challenge for me. I guess that's what I'm looking for at this stage of my career."

Read more on:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Bollywood/Katrina-to-do-daredevil-stunts-for-Ek-Tha-Tiger/Article1-805104.aspx

Aamir Khan in 'Talli', 2.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

Hirani is reportedly finishing a project called PK which stars Aamir Khan in the lead. The film revolves around an intoxicated social crusader. The character has to be sloshed throughout the film and Aamir who doesn't consume alcohol in real life is getting a hang of slurring and stumbling that is needed to play a drunken hero.

Now, the latest is that both Hirani and Aamir are not happy with the title and are eager to change it. According to reports, the film will now be titled Talli. Both Hirani and Aamir thought that the earlier title PK was too ambiguous and wasn't able to convey what the film was about. A source said, "Talli is the tipsy title that Aamir and Raju feel would put the hero's drunken condition before the audience immediately."

The problem with changing the title is that the rights of the title Talli lies with filmmaker Ken Ghosh and Hirani is concerned whether Ghosh will be willing to part with the title.

The spokesperson of the film said, "Talli is with Ken Ghosh. It all depends on whether he wants to part with the title,"

When contacted Ken Ghosh he said, "Raj Kumar Hirani just has to ask for it." Both Raj Kumar Hirani and Aamir Khan remained unavailable for comment.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Aamir-Khan-in-Talli/articleshow/11789402.cms

Akshat Verma, who shot to fame writing the script of Aamir Khan Productions' adult comedy Delhi Belly (2011), that starred Imran Khan, Kunal Roy Kapur and Vir Das in the lead, will now pen a script for Yash Raj Films (YRF).

A close associate of Verma reveals that the production house has
asked Verma to write a thriller. "If Aditya Chopra likes the script, they will turn it into a film," says the source.

Verma, a film student at UCLA (University of California Los Angeles), was not available to divulge details. But Rafiq Gangjee, vice-president marketing of YRF confirms, "Akshat is writing a script for us. There are no further details at this moment."

Meanwhile, Verma, the man behind the lyrics of hit song Bhaag DK Bose, is also set to wield the megaphone for the first time. It was reported that UTV Motion Pictures has roped him for a comic thriller, which Verma says won't be a sequel to Delhi Belly.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Bollywood/Delhi-Belly-writer-pens-for-YRF/Article1-808494.aspx