I’m falling behind on my trailer viewing/writing about! But Raabta just came out today, and I find it mildly interesting, and to fluff up the post I thought I might as well talk about Mom and Hindi Medium too.
Raabta first! I’m watching it going “wait, this is just Magadheera, right?” And I was all set to be all groundbreaking and the first one to point this out. And then I hop over to wikipedia and bam! There it is, first thing on the page, “remake of Magadheera“. So I guess everyone else already knew that.
Maybe no one else has pointed out yet that it is also strongly Mirzya influenced. Well, Mirzya/Immortals of Meluha influenced (speaking of, should I read those books? Has anyone else? Are they fun?). With the whole gray tone and face painting and stuff in the flashbacks.
If it is Magadheera, I really hope they keep some of the details besides just the basic plot outline. For instance, I really loved that our hero fell in love at first sight and just went with it, no doubts or wasting time trying to understand it with logic. Oh, and also, Sushant looks really cute and hopefully this ticks his “successful romantic hero” box on his way to superstardom.
Hindi Medium I am a little more conflicted about. Well, really just one small plot point that they will probably handle well. I like Saba and Irrfan as a couple, the dialogue is funny, and the idea is good, a middle class couple trying to get their daughter admitted to a good school. And the bigger issues, of class and language, are fascinating.
The only thing that bothers me is when they try to be “poor” in order to get a need based admission. That’s just, for me, the most immoral thing one can do. Because you would then be stealing the seat from someone who truly needs it, taking away a future for an innocent child. Booooo!!!!! NO!!!!! Oh, plus, the little bit we see does include a bit where they seem to be inviting the audience as fellow wealthy middle-class people to laugh at the silly poor people in their fear and poverty.
My hope is that the “pretending to be poor” part of the plot is not about making fun of poor people and expecting us to sympathize with them, but about Saba and Irrfan working through their value systems and eventually coming to a peaceful resolution of their “English Medium” struggles for their daughter. The fact that Irrfan is already established as someone who is not fluent in English makes me think that the film is leaning in that way, that having English language skills may not be the only way of measuring value.
Oh, and then there’s the Mom teaser. Not much here, so I don’t have much to say about it. Really, just two things:
- I hope it is a thriller not a horror/supernatural movie, because I am sick of horror/supernatural movies, but I would love to see a film with Sridevi fighting a mortal enemy.
- WOOT!!!! AKSHAYE KHANNA!!!!!!!!
dontcallitbollywood 
Costliest Indian Movie based on Mahabharatha to start shooting on Sept 2018. Mohanlal to play Bheeman.
http://onlookersmedia.in/latestnews/mohanlals-randamoozham-aka-mahabharata-will-expensive-indian-movie/
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Some more information
http://www.indiatimes.com/entertainment/celebs/uae-billionaire-to-invest-rs-1000-cr-to-make-mahabharata-the-crew-includes-oscar-winners-275835.html
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I’m gonna try not to get excited, because there are always rumors of Mahabharata films going around, and they never pan out. But if this does work, SUPER COOL!
On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 8:59 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Mohanlal made the official announcement today on his facebook page.
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Okay, that sounds pretty real! Excellent!
On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 9:21 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I was dismissing this story without even getting past the headlines, but if Mohanlal officially announced it, I guess I have to take it seriously. But I have to ask — Mohanlal as Bheema, really? He’s a bit too old for the role, no? (as are all the various Bollywood actors I’ve seen mentioned, too). I’m not that familiar with current Malayalee actors, but I could sure see Prithviraj in it, as Arjuna, probably. I think one of the articles said it will be filmed in multiple languages, right? If that means taking actors from the different language industries, I could think of many more roles. Surya as Duryodhana, or Karna, maybe? Sadly, all these guys I think of as “young” are also pushing (or past) 40. I would also like to see Rana Daggubati in it definitely, as well as NTR jr., both for their dialogue delivery of classical lines.
It probably won’t happen, so I may as well get my fantasy list out there. 🙂
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One of the Mahabharatas that was rumored and never happened was supposed to be Aamir as Arjun (or Krishna? I can’t remember) and Rani as Draupadi. I don’t know about Aamir, but I would still love to see Rani as Draupadi. Especially if they do it in two parts, I think she could handle both the younger Draupadi at the beginning, and the older mother-of-grown-son Draupadi at the end.
On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 10:39 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Prithviraj already has Karnan based on Mahabharatha with focus on Karna coming out next year. So dont think he will be part of this movie also. There are rumours ghat Amithabh Bachchan will be part of it (May be Dhritarashra?)
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1000 crore budget film in malayalam?!!!!!! its really exciting.. but how will they make any profit…pulimurugans 160 crore is still a wonder..films crossing 30 crore mark are very rare in malayalam..seems they dont want any profit and ready to bear huge losses
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I think the only hope would be if they managed to pull in big names from other industries as well. Or else the visuals are so amazing that it is able to crossover beyond the audience, like Baahubali did.
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The film will be pan India with release in all Indian languages. Actors from across all Indian industries will be there. It is just that only Mohanlal’s name have been officially announced.
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Here’s the latest update on who the director wishes to cast:
http://www.catchnews.com/regional-cinema/planning-to-cast-mammootty-mahesh-babu-hrithik-roshan-and-prithviraj-along-with-mohanlal-reveals-mahabharatham-director-va-shrikumar-58206.html
Mahesh Babu has never done a period/mythological movie so it would be interesting to see him in one. But then he has his next 3 movies already lined up so I don’t think he would have the time to do this.
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Well, he can “plan” to cast whoever he wants, doesn’t really mean it’s going to happen. I’m remembering that one of the big reasons Rana ended up in Baahubali was simply because he was willing to give up 4 years to making it. If this film is looking to rival the effects in Baahubali, that means they are going to have to dig around until they find a big name willing to give up that long to one project.
On Wed, Apr 19, 2017 at 8:01 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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That’s definitely true. But if they’re gonna spend so much money on this, then they’re gonna need stars to pull the crowds. Just Mohanlal isn’t gonna cut it. But then I can’t see any leading star willing to give up so much time for this project. I think the director has only made ads before this. That’s definitely risky.
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That’s the problem with the Mahabharata, you can’t stint on the stars. With Baahubali, they really only need Rana and Prabhas for the really elaborate set pieces that take forever to set up. Anoushka, Tamannah, Ramya, they all have just one or two big scenes, the rest is talkie bits with minimal CGI. But the Mahabharata, you need all 5 brothers in every single major battle scene. Plus Karna and what’s-his-name, the leader of the bad brothers. Heck, forget the CGI, just getting 7 major actors all available to stand on the same soundstage together for weeks of shooting is going to be almost impossible.
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I don’t think Raabta is an official remake of Magadheera. Someone else owns the rights and as far as I know, I don’t remember any news on it being a remake. I think their just making a movie with really similar themes and ideas.
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Okay, then I will take a little bit of credit for being able to see the parallels. But not that much, since they were so obvious someone has already edited the wikipedia entry to point them out.
On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 10:19 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Lol 🙂
By the way, have you seen the two songs from Half Girlfriend that came out. The first one, Baarish, was kind of weird. I haven’t read the book but I felt that they put the song in just to appease Shraddha. Have you realized that almost all of her movies have rain songs?
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I have not! The rain song thing, I mean. And shoot, I just missed her birthday, that would have been a great theme for her birthday post.
Oh, and I also haven’t seen the Half-Girlfriend songs. I’ll have to catch them when I get home tonight.
On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 10:25 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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She has Tum Hi Ho and a couple rain songs in Bhaagi. Then Bezubaan Phir Se has a water sequence as well. I think Galliyan has a rain sequence too. Now this rain song in Half Girlfriend 🙂
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Maybe she just looks really good with wet hair?
On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 12:39 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Look! Filmfare actually compiled a video with all of Shraddha’s rain songs 🙂
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Ha!
On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 7:36 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Wikipedia can be edited by anyone even by those who don’t have an account. The addition of contents need to be sourced using third party reliable sources. Some sickle minded fellows use the free editing unduly and make so many mindless edits, the one you said about is one of such gems. I know how troubling it is as a Wikipedian (registered user). Hell why misguide people who trust that site. Why mercilessly troll those who genuinely strive hard to maintain the standards to reach the expectations of people like you. These trolls sometimes become too personal and gosh!
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In this case, I am just disappointed that someone besides myself put together that Raabta looks like Magadheera. I kind of like it when I know I have a completely original thought.
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I love how before the twist the fact that the producers did Badlapur pops up as a warning that this trailer is about to go dark. Comparisons to Mirzya and Magadheera are already being made and you can definitely see why. I tried to read the Immortals trilogy and couldn’t get through the first half. Jim Sarbh looks pretty great in it and this could be the first Kriti Sanon performance I enjoy, so way more excited about this one than I thought I would be based on the two leads. I like the idea of starting with a very familiar romance and then subverting the viewers expectations. I bet the trailer will be better than the movie. I loved Magadheera, especially the epic Dheera Dheera song, but the modern half is full of cheese. Mirzya’s mythical past sequences were stunningly beautiful. So I’m fine with another film bringing the best of both of these together. This speaks to my point that there are always “twin” films out there like Mirzya and Raabta, where clearly the ideas have been percolating in the industry and all of a sudden two films get produced and come out close together that are essentially the same idea. And what about the use of the awesome “Raabta” from Agent Vinod. I wonder if it’s just because they didn’t have the music ready and Saif’s production company had the rights to it or if the new version of it will be in the film. Did Arijit Singh sing that one at the concert? Not sure if you mentioned it in your post?
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Looks like the song “Raabta” is a big part of the film and Deepika’s cameo is for that song. I don’t know if I like that they’re recycling this song like that. It’s perfectly used in Agent Vinod and it’s weird to repurpose it.
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I still haven’t seen Agent Vinod, I tried it once and the ending was just too weird and yet also boring for me to get through. Is it worth watching?
On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 10:42 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I liked Agent Vinod for its elements but not for the overall effect if that makes sense? There are some great scenes of Saif being all macho/spy that I enjoyed as a fan of spy thrillers and as a longtime fan of Saif Ali Khan. Also liked the music (the Raabta song and how it’s used has a weird Tarantino/John Wick element to it) and some of the dancing. The ending was not good at all. My Russian friend loved how they used the Boney M song in it because it (along with 80s and 90s Bollywood) was part of her childhood memories growing up there. Probably not worth watching
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Great, I will continue to not watch it! But maybe track down the Raabta music video.
On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 11:15 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes, Arijit did sing it! And I was watching the trailer thinking “This song sounds really really familiar. Is it just because it is a new song that Arijit sang at the concert?” So good to know I wasn’t losing my mind, and it was something I had heard before.
And yes about the Badlapur reminder! That was so clever. I bet you are right, and the trailer is more clever and imaginative than the film. It certainly sets a high bar for it.
On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 10:35 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Re Raabta, I only watched the trailer just now because you said it’s a remake of Magadheera. It looked more like a poor man’s version of MD, and I mean that literally. The production values of the “past” portion look utterly cheap and cheesy. I liked the trailer of Mirziya, though I didn’t see the movie, and I thought it looked way better than this.
The official remake rights of Magadheera are with Madhu Mantan, I believe.
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Yeah, the way they are using the grew filters and kind of stone age costumes and make-up looks more like they were too cheap to build real sets and costumes, than that they had a vision for it. Mirzya was much more striking in how they used that kind of look. Although the movie itself was way too over-wrought and poorly acted and written, it at least looked really really good.
On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 10:45 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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See, if you believe that Raabta is a remake of Magadheera looking at the Wikipedia entry, then please let me warn you something. Wikipedia offers free editing of its entries by anyone, even those without a registered account. Any Tom, Dick and Harry can edit it in good faith. But, an addition needs to be sourced using third party reliable sources where it should neither be a press-note kinda statement nor a rumour. So, someone got excited and wrote their views in the entry there. Until the film’s unit confirms it, we cannot hope for anything.
Comparing with Magadheera and Mirzya is not my cup of tea. But, even as a film independent from such comparisions, I honestly find Raabta’s trailer bad. Not because of what exists, but for failing to convey what it wants to in an effective way. I don’t have the right to condemn the makers for the filming locations; it is the director’s vision. But I must add that themes like these in Indian cinema needs warm colours and not these cold ones. Secondly, all the intimate sequences in the trailer work for me not as display of passionate romances but as pure voyeurs. The boys’ ‘handling’ of Kriti reminds me of the lust I saw in Kevin Bacon’s act with Rhona Mitra in The Hollow Man (2000). But Kriti is no victim; she’s far mean than the boys, almost devilish.
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Hollywood movies are becoming a product like a burger shop which produce millions of burger in same size and taste
Sad to say the art factor is decreasing
Fast and furious 8 it’s good movie untill they decided make it a product (it was good until f&f 6 before that f&f were different movies and not associated with production line even when some of them them were failure they were enjoyable)
Saw fantastic breast and rouge one yesterday (rouge one better than Force awaken may be because less gimikk and better story)
Movies waiting to see
Lion
Logan
Suicide squad
Check point(movie with Goldberg from wwe 😦 )
Hacksaw ridge
Assassin’s Ccreed
The founde
Resident evil the final chapter
The magnificent seven
Trolls
All downloaded and preparing for a marathon
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Hollywood movies are becoming a product like a burger shop which produce millions of burger in same size and taste
Sad to say the art factor is decreasing
Saw Fast and furious 8 yesterday it’s good movie untill they decided make it a product (it was good until f&f 6 before that f&f were different movies and not associated with production line even when some of them them were failure they were enjoyable)
Saw fantastic beast and rouge one yesterday (rouge one better than Force awaken may be because less gimikk and better story)
Movies waiting to see
Lion
Logan
Suicide squad
Check point(movie with Goldberg from wwe )
Hacksaw ridge
Assassin’s Ccreed
The founde
Resident evil the final chapter
The magnificent seven
Trolls
Ma’am shabana
Shivaay
The gazi attack
All downloaded and preparing for a marathon
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I’m jealous! I haven’t marathoned movies like that in ages. Of the Indian ones, in order of quality, I would list them as The Ghazi Attack, then Naam Shabana, then Shivaay. Shivaay had great action scenes, but otherwise was really really bad.
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Randam oozham
Any one seen any my aasudhevan nayar’s movie before
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._T._Vasudevan_Nair
Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989) my favorite one he took chanthu (a bad guy in Kerala folklore) and made him hero and the good guy you should watch his movies
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Aalkkoottathil Thaniye was one of the first Malayalam movies I saw. Just because it was available through my library. But it was also one of the first Malayalam movies that really made me think.
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