I am sure after reading this passage a lot you guys would term me as a movie buff. This is the third weekend in a row where I have watched a movie. This time it was Deewane Hue Paagal (DHP) with the affable (rascal) Akshay Kumar. I also wanted to see the FAME Raghuleela at the shopping mall by the same name. This mall culture has surprised me to no limits. We’re constantly bridging the gap between the manufacturers & the consumers in that goods are now easily procured.
entertainment
A Taste of the East
I went to see Antarmahal at FAME Andheri on Sunday – a bengali language film starring Jackie Shroff, Soha Ali Khan, Abhishek Bachchan among others. The setting is of the old bengal in the 1800s when the zamindari system was still prevalent. The film is based on a short story written by Tarashankar Bandopadhyay called Protima. It deals with the oppression of women by the hands of the zamindars and the hindu priests of those times. The most enduring aspect of the movie is the excellent light and shade cinematography by Abhik Sen. That really moves you well before you have settled down in your seat.
Garam Masala and More
I have been a fan of Akshay ‘Akki’ Kumar and his partnership with Priyadarshan (Hera Pheri) had left an indelible mark with his comic timing. No doubts then that I decided to catch up with his latest offering Garam Masala which was running at Fame Malad. This also meant another golden opportunity to visit InOrbit Mall and the shopping gala ;-)
This time around I took my car and Aadesh both together. This combination is the most fruitful as far as user experience is concerned :D Then I also had to get a haircut from the Exquis Salon of L’Oreal. From the onset, it would look like the same but the barber (forgive me for using that name for him) actually used numerous scissors to get my hair into shape. After a meal at Pizza Hut we headed for the Fame.
The movie is about Makarand (nicknamed Mac and played wonderfully by Akkie) who wants to show his superiority to his “senior” Shyam (nicknamed Sam played by John Abraham) and to do it he goes around with 3 gorgeous air hostesses Sweety (Neetu Chandran), Priti (Daisy Bopanna) and Pooja (Nargis Bagheri) all at the same time while still being engaged to Anjali (Rimi Sen). The funny part of the story is when you realise that all the 3 stay at his posh villa and none of them ever get a whiff of each other anytime. The support cast is awesome too and let me bow to the greatest of all Paresh Rawal who plays a cook cum housekeeper called Mambo. His comedy has come to a level where he doesn’t need to resort to flimsy actions and jugglery – the kind of which we’re so used to in Bollywood. There are some very funny moments in the movie and would be a spoiler if I described them to you but I felt it got a bit stretched towards the end. Watch the movie to see Akkie in action albeit in a comic one and the lovely damsels too.
I also have taken the Fame Purple Privelege membership and they have promised a lot to me. Tickets, meeting with stars, etc. Only time will tell the difference between fact and fiction.
‘Flights’ of Fancy
Yesterday I had an opportunity to see capitalism at its best. Being in the commercial capital Mumbai, one would say that money & prosperity can be seen everywhere but not to me. I still miss HK pretty much and I am lucky to have gone there at the right time of my life. It pretty much changed the way I think about my lifestyle.
And my appointment with this mall changed the way I would think about Mumbai now. I am talking about InOrbit which is located on the Link Road between Malad & Goregaon. It’s got the very best in entertainment, books, cuisine, cosmetics, clothes & other accessories and a lot more. Talking about entertainment I couldn’t believe it when I found the FAME multiplex (probably 5 screen) theatre bang in the middle of the mall! The convenience of a shopping experience coupled with some entertainment and food.
Well now coming back to our main discussion which is the movie FlightPlan which I saw yesterday at FAME. It’s a wonderfully gripping drama of Kyle Pratt (played by Jodie Foster) who loses her 6 year old in an airplane and the drama unfolds to some wonderful surprises. Sean Bean (Agent 006 from Goldeneye) was another actor I could recognise, whose playing the aircraft captain. The interiors of the aircraft, to my knowledge must be a set and not the actual plane but it looks fantastic. You might want to see this movie this weekend.
DOOM – The Movie
This passion goes back to the time I first saw QUAKE III ARENA. I remember my Project Manager playing this game on his 17″ Monitor (used to feel quite big in those days) in the office. Subsequently I played the game to the fullest and it became my favourite weapon to vent any office frustration that I had carried home. It was my wish that they could make a movie on QUAKE III ARENA which had some lively characters and weapons.