Countdown: 5 Romantic Bollywood Songs

In celebration of Valentine's Day I've decided to do a quick countdown of my top 5 favorite romantic Bollywood songs. I'm not very well-versed in older movies, so some of those evergreen hits that most know and love are missing from this list. I also tried really hard to not create a list solely comprised of Shahrukh Khan songs. But what can I do if I personally equate Shahrukh with romance?

Without further adieu...

 5. "Ek Duje Ke Vaaste" from Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)

Who knew that one of my all time favorite romantic trac would be an opening credits song? Everything about this song screams cute. From the dialogue about love to the actual lyrics of the song, "Ek Duje Ke Vaaste" is just dreamy. And is it just me or does anyone else get goosebumps at the first bout of music when the "Dil To Pagal Hai" letters appear?

4. "Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyan" from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)

The coyness of this song is what's most appealing. In a word, this song is playful but undoubtedly romantic. The dynamic between Aishwarya Rai and Salman Khan is super fun to watch, as their chemistry is undeniable. The lyrics of the song are also beautiful and alluring.

3. "O Re Piya" from Aaja Nachle (2007)

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan completely and truly owns this song. To me, the picturization is a bit so-so, but the song itself is one of the best of recent times. It's soothing and not too fancy or fake sounding. It's a song where I feel I can actually hear the instruments--a nice break from the normal autotuned voices of today!

2. "Main Yahaan Hoon" from Veer Zaara (2004)

How can you not melt when watching this song? It's one of the most romantic songs from one of the most romantic movies. It's a song about a man who promises to always be there for the woman. Who wouldn't want that? It's the perfect Valentine's Day tune, no matter your relationship status. And it's one that I can listen to over and over again, no matter the day.

1. "Suraj Hua Maddham" from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)

 "Suraj Hua Maddham" encompasses it all. It's sweet, sexy, romantic, beautiful, and I can go on and on. I think the reason I love this song with all my heart is because of its subtleties. It's subtly sexy, romantic, etc. The lyrics are wonderful, picturization is perfect, and it features one of the top jodis of all time. A little over 10 years later, and this song still feels fresh and new. And this is definitely one of Shahrukh's top song-performances ever.

Bollywood and romance go hand in hand, and these five songs prove that point. And if you love Bollywood, chances are that you also love...love! So no matter what you're doing this Valentine's Day, take a moment to listen to a romantic Bollywood song.

What are some of your favorites? I'm sure I've missed some.

Movie Review: Ready

Starring: Salman Khan, Asin
Director: Anees Bazmee
Original Release Date: June 3, 2011

*No Spoilers*

The fact that it took me 3 attempts and a month and a half to finally finish Ready should probably tell you how this review is going to go. I began watching the movie knowing that it was probably going to be a one-man show by Salman Khan and knowing that Anees Bazmee films can be totally hilarious (No Entry, Singh is Kinng) or total duds (Thank You, Welcome) but I could still barely get through Ready.

Ready started off promising. It looked like a fun little light-hearted family comedy that was actually making me laugh. And "Character Dheela" is one of my favorite songs of the year (hey, Zarine Khan is kind of charming!). On top of that, Asin is always loveable. The fun ended there. And so did my ability to stay awake.

I really truly actually like mindless comedies. But there's a catch--they have to actually be funny. What started out as a cute family movie became unnecessarily complicated and tireless with pointless twists, turns, fights, and a needless amount of gunde (who actually looked more like jokers. Were those really dreads on that one guy?) The movie became tiresome way too quickly. Even the picturization of "Dhinka Chika" seemed to completely suck.

I really wouldn't be able to tell you what happened in the middle of Ready because I constantly found my attention wearing away as I daydreamed (probably about better movies) throughout a good portion of it. The film just dragged on and on and on and on...

Ready was strictly an ode to Salman Khan, and that also became old really really fast. Most movies with superstar actors tend to have some tributary elements, but this was so blatantly transparent that it was sickening. Just because you're a superstar doesn't mean you don't have to put in the effort of actually acting. Sorry, but Sallu's constant dialogue-baazi was thoroughly annoying. Those two-liner limericks made me want to shoot myself. I thought I was watching a movie--not reading couplets. Just sayin'.

On the whole, Ready just felt dated. This type of movie would probably fly in 1995, but there's a reason it went out of style. But maybe it's just me, considering that Ready was one of the highest grossing films ever. Yeah, I'm still scratching my head at that.

Ready was a waste of top-notch actors, a waste of good music, and a waste of life. The first half was watchable, and the beginning was actually good. Other than that, Ready was about two hours too long. The commercial success of the film was clearly just a result of Salman's superstar status. And the sad thing is, I don't think they were going for much more than that.

Final Verdict: 3/10

Forthcoming: Ek Tha Tiger

Recently it was big news that Salman Khan would apparently be acting in a Yash Raj Film for the first time in his career. Well, it's officially true! Ek Tha Tiger, directed by Kabir Khan and starring Salman and Katrina Kaif, is slated to start shooting in July. The film is currently being marketed as a "romantic thriller" and is scheduled for release in mid-2012.

We all know my feelings about Kat. And I'm frankly getting a bit tired of Salman's one-dimensional acting. But I'm a sucker for YRF films, so I'm actually looking forward to this. In my opinion, the YRF banner just has a style of its own, and one that rarely seems to fail. So I'm optimistic that maybe they'll be able to work some magic with this rather mundane Sallu-Kat pairing. I was a fan of Kabir Khan's New York so I'm excited to see what he can do next. If all else fails, though, at least Pritam is doing the music meaning we should have some fantastic tunes to look forward to!

And, I swear, I'll try to keep an open mind to Katrina in this one. But only for you, YRF, only for you...

P.S. Ek Tha Tiger? Really? Couldn't think of a better name than that...?

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/salmankatrina-team-up-for-yrfs-ek-tha-tiger/785913/

"Ready" Banks on "Dabangg"

A lot of the time, Bollywood film marketing strategies seem to be fairly transparent as they tend to simply ride on star power. But after reading this article I realized how unsettling it is when a producer or director actually admits it.

Ready is an upcoming entertainer starring Salman Khan and Asin. I already mentioned before that it seemed that Sallu's character was going to be similar to his character in Dabangg which could possibly lead him to a comfort zone from which he may rarely emerge. Clearly, the producers of Ready are aware of how marketable the success of Dabangg is, and are using it to their advantage as explicitly mentioned by co-producer Bhushan Kumar in the aforementioned article.

Really. REALLY? It's already clear that you're just banking on the success of Dabangg to market Ready, but to actually admit is almost...shameless. Apparently Kumar said: “We have no intention of taking Ready into a different direction. Dabangg used only Salman for it's marketing. He was everywhere. For Ready too we are following a similar formula.” UGH. Well, that explains the lack of Asin in the first look promos. 

No, but seriously. A lot of Bollywood films really do market the star power of the film in order to draw audiences in. But there's something to say about subtlety. While it is pretty bold of Kumar to admit the tactics used for Ready, they've made it so apparent in the entire publicity blitz surrounding the film that Kumar's words just seem kind of arrogant. Almost like, "Yeah. We're manipulating audiences. Because we can." 

I knew from the start that Ready was probably going to be similar to Dabangg. At least we all know for sure now. 


Source: http://www.apunkachoice.com/content/article/sid100005174-salman_khans_ready_rides_on_dabangg_magic/

What ever happened to...Sneha Ullal?

Nope, that's not Aishwarya Rai! She may have only appeared in one (okay, two) Bollywood movies, but Sneha Ullal still left an impression on my mind--not for any exceptional acting skills, but mostly for the ultra hype surrounding her "debut."

Sneha was touted as Salman Khan's "discovery" back in 2005 when she appeared alongside him in Lucky: No Time for Love. She was a big deal for two main reasons. First, was her uncanny resemblance to Aish (sorry, but no one can doubt that). Second, was the fact that she was only 17 at the time of the film's release! So, basically, she was the leading lady to a man over twice her age. Awkward.

Lucky was just a weird movie. No other real way to describe it. The next year, Sneha appeared in Aryan with Sohail Khan, which was a box office disaster. And that was basically the end of Sneha's Bollywood career (although apparently she was in some movie called Click in 2010?). After her Bollywood fail, Sneha went on to work in Telegu movies with limited success.

Sneha wasn't some amazing actress, but she was only 17 at the time. I feel like she never got the chance to reach her full potential. Her main pitfall? I'm pretty sure it was her resemblance to Aish. If you look like a megastar, you're bound to be compared to them--and fail. Remember Harman Baweja? Or Zarine Khan (though it's too early to determine her Bollywood fate.)? I feel bad for Sneha. She seemed cute, sweet, and definitely beautiful. But naturally, the Aish lovers would turn into Sneha haters and Sneha became a prime example of how appearing with an A-list actor doesn't determine future success.

The last time Sneha made (Bollywood) headlines was last year with rumors of her being a contestant on Bigg Boss 4--which clearly didn't happen. I have a feeling that Sneha Ullal will remain a name of the past, unless the poor girl manages to make her mark down South. She's currently only 23, after all!

Are you "Ready" for the first trailer?

The Desi twitterverse literally went ablaze when this official trailer for Salman Khan and Asin's Ready was released. The film is directed by Anees Bazmee (of No Entry, Singh is Kinng, etc.) and is being marketed as a comedy.

My first thought when I watched this promo: why do I feel like I'm watching a trailer for a late 90s movie? We've got dancing in the streets, (possibly) over-the-top comic relief provided by Paresh Rawal, the bashful heroine, and unrealistic actions scenes with a man with...dreads? Are those dreads? And let's not forget Salman's "dhamakedar" dialogues. This is all speculation from an under 2 minute trailer, of course.

I feel like, nowadays, the 90s-esque masala entertainers only truly work when they take a somewhat satirical form (think Om Shanti Om or Dabangg). Since Salman was in Dabangg and it was such a huge hit, I'm afraid he's going to stick to the same type of character or film in order to continue his success, especially after his failures with movies like Main Aur Mrs. Khanna and London Dreams. 

On the other hand, both Salman and Asin look great in the trailer! Sallu really looks young and fresh, especially for his age. Asin looks undeniably beautiful, and I'm excited to finally see more of her after Ghajini (let's not count London Dreams). I'm also looking forward to the music. Masala entertainers almost always have great music on their side, and judging from the promo, we should be getting a good batch of songs.

Ready will be ready for release on June 3, 2011 (haha, the "ready" puns really don't get old, do they?).