Can Madhuri's magic be captured?

My short answer: yes! But before you take out death threats against me, read on!

At this year's Filmfare awards, Madhuri Dixit received a special award honoring her 25 years of contribution to the Hindi film industry. For this reason, Priyanka Chopra took on the daunting task of performing to a medley of Madhuri's most famous songs as a tribute to her. How did she fare?

I think PC did a superb job! She looked great, the choreography was on point, the song choices were fitting, and the costumes were perfect. What I like about this performance is that Priyanka is clearly not trying to surpass Madhuri, nor is she even trying to be her. We all (including PC) know that that's impossible. While still remaining tributory to Madhuri's legacy, Priyanka manages to still put her own flair into the performance--she plays Madhuri without losing herself in the process.

A big example of this is the costuming of the medley. Most of the outfits are clearly inspired by their corresponding songs, but still have that Priyanka-flair to them. In other words, they're a bit sexier and bit more modern. The outfits are styled for Priyanka's body and Priyanka's filmy style, but still have that Madhuri element in them.

I also liked the remixed version of "Choli Ke Peeche" that was used. It kind of represents the idea that Bollywood is reaching a modern era, but still holds onto and appreciates its roots--and one of those roots is Madhuri Dixit, who helped create the identity of Hindi cinema. Remixes of classic songs are generally frowned upon, but I think it was fitting in this context.

If you watch the video until the end, you'll see that Priyanka brings Madhuri up on the stage to perform a few of the iconic "Dola re Dola" steps. Then Priyanka humbly says about her performance, "Choti si koshish thi" (It was a small try) and says some kind words about Madhuri and her work before she calls up Aishwarya on stage to present the award.

So did Priyanka capture Madhuri's magic? Yes--in her own way! No one can ever match up to Madhuri, but this performance was clearly not intended to do so. Priyanka was the perfect choice to perform this tribute. She's doubtlessly a great dancer and her facial expressions were a "10 on 10" in my book.

As for someone who couldn't capture the magic? Check this out (I'm warning you in advance--a barf bag may be needed):

Well, that was embarrassing to even watch...

P.S. This was another post in honor of the "Magic of Madhuri" week started by Gaja Gamini! Check out The Bollywood-ish Blog for more information!

The Magic of Madhuri- Dhak Dhak Karne Laga!

In honor of Madhuri Dixit's birthday on Sunday, it's the Magic of Madhuri Week started by the lovely Gaja Gamini over at the Bollywood-ish Blog (be sure to check it out!). So many of us Bolly bloggers are getting together to honor her with some posts this week. My first contribution? My absolute, most favorite song of Madhuri's--"Dhak Dhak" from the film Beta (1992).

You'd think that my favorite Madz song would be one of her glorious dance numbers, but I feel like this sensuous number takes the cake. First of all, the song itself is just plain catchy--you can't help but hum it over and over again after hearing it. They lyrics are also really sweet, and song is overall well-sung (Anuradha Paudwal won the Filmfare Best Playback Singer award for this). Anil Kapoor is even a bit desirable in the song. But despite all of this, Madhuri completely steals the show mostly through her flawless facial expressions:

It doesn't hurt that Madhuri is able to rock that otherwise dreadful orange sari. Her body looks amazingly voluptuous- not stick skinny! She proves that you don't have to show a vulgar amount of skin to be sexy. She conveys almost all her sexiness through those perfect facial expressions.

I also really love this song because it's a prime example of how Bollywood tends to handle sex and sexuality--especially up until the late '90s. Bollywood recognizes the social taboo of depicting sex (a lot of this also has to do with censor boards) and has therefore found ways to convey the idea of sex and desire without having to be so explicit. This is why we see so many wet sari sequences, blurred screens on nuptial night scenes, or sensual dance sequences like this one. I mean, who needs onscreen kissing when we have this?!

Whether it be for the mesmerizing music, the fantasy-like setting, the sensuality, or simply Madhuri's charm, "Dhak Dhak" remains an iconic song in Indian cinema--and one that I will forever love!

What ever happened to...Preity Zinta?

Preity Zinta is still a household name in the Bollywood world, but I think the fact that we haven't seen her in a leading role since 2007 makes her fair game for this series. As I was doing my research, I was a bit surprised to see that Preity has appeared in less than 35 Bollywood films (including guest appearances and cameos), which seems to be a relatively low number considering her celebrity status. Kareena Kapoor, by comparison, has appeared in over 40 titles, and is still going strong. This attests to the impact Preity has had, even through such few films. She has made a name for herself as one of the boldest, most versatile mainstream Bollywood actresses through her impressive and often daring performances.

PZ debuted in small role alongside SRK in Dil Se (1998). She had only about 20 minutes of screen time but still managed to make her mark with the somewhat shocking scene when she asks Shahrukh, "Are you a virgin?" The boldness of her characters didn't stop there. As I mentioned before, Preity is (was?) one of the few mainstream actresses to successfully break barriers in some groundbreaking roles.

She played an unwed mother in two movies: Kya Kehna (2000) and Salaam-Namaste (2005). She tackled the issue of surrogate childbirth by playing a prostitute in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001) and played a vampish schizophrenic in Armaan (2003). Preity managed to break the stereotype of the doe-eyed Bollywood heroine with her frequent portrayals of modern, independent women. She played an ambitious TV journalist in Lakshya (2004) and a prosperous fashion magazine editor in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006). Preity did have her share of gushy romantic leads though, and she excelled at those as well, in movies like Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) and Veer-Zaara (2004).

Clearly, PZ is a true chameleon in terms of her acting repertoire. Her last leading role was in the 2007 flick Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (which I thought was a complete dud), but she did have a role in the critically acclaimed Heroes (2008). The last time we really caught a glimpse of PZ in action was in her item song "Happenin" in Main Aur Mrs. Khanna (2009).

Where is Preity Zinta nowadays? Ironically, despite the number of times she's played a mother on screen, she is currently unmarried (she broke up with long time beau Ness Wadia in 2009) and doesn't have kids. Like some other Bollywood stars, she owns an IPL cricket team Kings XI Punjab. She recently also hosted the TV show "Guinness World Records- Ab India Todega" on Colors TV.

As for Bollywood, there's a bit of good news! PZ has reportedly signed on a forthcoming film Jai Ramji alongside Irrfan Khan and Arjun Rampal where she is supposed to play a con-woman. It is unclear how large her role will be or if this really does mark a comeback film, but I sure hope so! Preity is such a groundbreaking and talented artist, that I'm honestly dying to see her make a return to the silver screen.

Wanna know more about PZ's personal life? Follow her here on Twitter!

Click here for others in the "What ever happened to...?" series!

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/

Ranbir on the cover of GQ!

I never understood Ranbir Kapoor's physical appeal...until I saw this cover. I always thought he was just a normal cutie but not some complete hottie, but he is sizzling on this cover! I'm not sure if it's his smoldering expression or the impressive styling (...or maybe it's just airbrushing).  This cover just gives me a new, hotter perspective on RK.

To my knowledge, the last time RK was on the cover of GQ was about 2 years ago in March 2009:

 What a difference! He looks rather goofy on this cover, and the cheap looking style of the cover itself doesn't help. But I'm really impressed with the current cover, and Ranbir is slowly moving up my personal Bollywood hero ranks.

A glimpse of "Shalu Ke Thumkey"!

Mallika Sherawat recently made headlines for challenging Munni and Sheila in her new item song in the movie Bin Bulaye Baraati. Well, here's a glimpse of this "hot" number in a short 20 second clip.

I'll try really hard to keep an open mind once the full song comes out but, Mallika...giiiirl, stop trying so hard. "Razia" failed to create shock waves, what makes you think you'll succeed as Shalu by blatantly challenging the two biggest item girls of recent times? Also, way to completely Murder (yes, pun intended) the signature Sheila move at 17 seconds.

This song will probably be a success, but I really am getting a bit tired of all the Munni-Sheila references and competition. It's becoming overkill. Nonetheless, this song will probably bring some much needed publicity to Bin Bulaye Baraati which stars the struggling Aftab Shivdasani. The movie releases on July 8, 2011.

IIFA 2011 Technical Award Winners

Despite everything that goes on behind the scenes to make a film, that hard work rarely gets due recognition. With that in mind, I'd like to shed light on the technical award winners of IIFA 2011, which were announced last week.

Cinematographer- Guzaarish (Sudeep Chaterjee)

Editing- Band Baaja Baaraat (Namrata Rao)

Art Director- Robot (Sabu Cyril)

Choreography- Dabangg (Farah Khan for "Munni Badnaam")

Action- Dabangg (S. Vijayan)

Sound Recording- Love, Sex, Aur Dhoka (Pritam Das)

Song Recording- Band Baaja Baaraat (Vijay Dayal for "Ainvayi Ainvayi")

Sound Re-Recording- Dabangg (Leslie Fernandes)

Special Effects- Robot

Background Score- My Name is Khan (Shankar Ehsaan Loy)

Costume Designing- Band Baaja Baaraat (Niharika Khan)

Makeup- Robot (Banu for Rajnikant)

I'm SO elated that Farah won best choreography for Munni Badnaam (take that, Sheila!). It's completely and totally well deserved. I'm also really pleased that SEL won best background score for My Name is Khan. People can say what they want about the movie (I will say amazing things) but the background score was completely mesmerizing. 

Big LOL at Dabangg getting best action. That's all I'll say about that. Another LOL for Robot winning best special effects. I never bothered to watch the movie, but from what I've seen in (viral) YouTube clips..well...I'll just stick to LOL. 

As for the rest of the categories, I don't know enough about those technical aspects to actually judge. But overall, I'm glad that an underdog movie like Band Baaja Baaraat is gaining the recognition it deserves as it leads the pack with 3 wins. 

Source: http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/IIFA-announces-2011-Technical-award-winners/5141841320