Yesterday was Day of News, today is Day of Trailers. Ajay’s new movie, first teaser for Akshay’s next or, as I think of it, Reema Kagti’s next. And a song from Welcome to New York. And Veerey Ki Wedding, just to round things out.
Full disclosure: I really like this trailer. It legitimately made me exclaim “Awesome!!!!” at one line. But I also think, beyond my personal preference, it is a legitimately good film.
First, a new concept of hero and villain! The only other movie I can remember that made tax raids into a plot point was Special 26, and there it was a scam. The idea of making the tax man a hero and really exploring the dynamics of a raid is a rich and original narrative area.
Second, I actually like the message! Turning the focus of the film on tax evasion and the hidden rot it brings to society, that is great! Not creating new hatreds or stirring up emotions, but giving us a fun clever look at a new-to-film area of life, with an intelligent reminder of why taxes matter and why these raids aren’t just funny.
Third, excellent Ajay film!!!!! Way better than, for instance, Shivaay with the crazy macho heroics. Ajay can bring a sort of quiet intelligence to even his action hero parts, playing a tax man seems just about right for him.
Fourth, directing! Not surprised this is the No One Killed Jessica director, the story is similar (corruption and how it effects every day lives), but also the directing is similarly exciting. It’s not just people talking through a door, it’s the camera looking through the peephole in both directions, that’s cool,
Fifth, the dialogue! “the only time I left empty-handed was at my wedding.” !!!!!!!! LOVE IT!!!! That was the moment that made me go “AWESOME!”
Oh and 6th, most importantly, it kind of reminds me of The Untouchables and anything that reminds me of The Untouchables will win my heart.
Well this is super interesting! A high quality historical picture, none of that “oh just show up in any old dress you have” look to the extras of Veer. But more importantly, a film that sincerely attempts to grapple with the conflicting moments of the past.
Just based on the quick little flashes, it looks like it is going to deal with the Berlin Olympics, in all their chilling glory (must be hard to resist for a director anyway, doing a little Triumph of the Will version just for the powerful imagery of it). But also the confusion of representing a nation that you don’t feel is yours while keeping your true identity hidden. That Indian flag inside the jacket at the international stadium is an immediately powerful and memorable image.
And it is, possibly, one of those times when Akshay will actually bother to act. He doesn’t over act terribly any more, but there is a big difference between his performance in Airlift and Rustom. Or Patiala House and Tees Maar Khan. This looks like a complex difficult role, one where he will be the sole character taking us through decades of history, aging from a troubled young man to a restrained determined mature man. I’m excited!
And then there is the Welcome to New York song! Which gives me a good vibe for this movie in terms of acting and directing, what I was most worried about. Sonakshi’s last film, Noor, was definitely a reach in terms of her acting range. But this one, that sudden surprised smile when Diljit points to her in the bar, the suddenly serious expression, it gives me hope!
And the nice way we go from Sonakshi at the fountain to Diljit watching her, it gives me hope for the director Chakri Toleti, who previously has only done southern stuff. Also, has a film degree from the University of Central Florida. Huh! Not the best university, actually not a very good one at all, but a legitimate university, accredited and stuff, meaning he got more film training than, for instance, Ranbir Kapoor at his little 6 month unaccredited New York school. Might explain why this feels a little more professionally put together, in terms of things like camera movements and things. Not exciting, but not terrible.
Finally, Veerey Di Wedding! Which mostly I am pumped about because it is a small silly rom-com with a wedding backdrop. A distinctly Indian/Hindi genre, and a nice break after all these big “ooooooooooo Western-style!” kind of movies.
And a distinctly low budget Indian kind of group behind it. Director is Ashu Trikha, who hasn’t really done much, ad films and TV and stuff. But has been hanging around as various assistant director type positions since 1999, love it! And the writer is Dilip Shukla who has a huge filmography, including dialogues for Andaz Apna Apna. So he’s fine by me! Pulkit Samrat is apparently the star of the Fukrey movies? Which were of course the little hidden hits of the past few years. And Kriti Kharbanda, the heroine, just played the heroine in a similar movie Shaadi Main Zaroor Aana last year, plus a bunch of Telugu movies.
I love all of this! Songs and directors and writers and actors who are just putting this together and having fun with it and looking to make a little money, not to change the film industry or win box office records.
dontcallitbollywood 
Akshay finally looks like he’s having fun. Since he’s athletic, he should make more sports films.
Also, getting Chak De India vibes, though that wasn’t as melodramatic.
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I’m most excited about Akshay as an aging athlete. Which is really what he is, not as fast and strong as when he was younger, but with so much more experience than anyone younger than him. It looks like the film will cover 12 years, 1936 to 1948, and I am way more interested in the latter part of that era than the beginning part.
I’m hoping that this trailer is selling the most melodramatic parts of the film, and the full length trailer and the film itself will turn out to be a bit more balanced with a sense of humor about itself. I love Chak De, not just as an SRK fan but as a movie fan, and part of what was so remarkable about it was how calm it was. Which made the few moments of actual emotion hit that much harder.
On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 11:09 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m also getting Chak De India Vibes. He, of course, looks far too old for the role, but the acting does look good. I have great faith in Reema Kagti after Talaash and her association with Zoya. And once again a female director doing “unexpected” material.
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I am hoping that Akshay is playing in the 35-45 range in this role. Maybe a brief flashback to the earlier games, and then full focus on 1948 when his character is the coach rather than a player.
On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 7:17 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Pulkit Samrat singlehandedly ruined Dolly ki doli for me.There was Sonam having the time of her life,Rajkummar Rao giving a realistic performance (complete with accent) in a madcap masala movie and then they had to bring in Pulkit and his Salman Khan impersonation.I wouldn’t watch anything with him as a solo hero.
I think Gold is supposed to be Mouni Roy’s (the Naagin) first film in Bollywood.But I couldn’t spot her in the trailer.I have high hopes for Reema after Talaash.I can’t help comparing it to Chak de and Bhaag Milkha bhaag where the hero’s patriotism was much more subtle but powerful all the same.
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I still haven’t seen Dolly Ki Doli, is it worth if even with Pulkit?
I think it is supposed to be Mouni Roy’s first film too, but I am not surprised she wasn’t in this teaser. It feels like this teaser is very mood focused, doesn’t it? We need to grasp the frustration of being an athlete playing for the enemy, and everything else will come later. Presumably Mouni Roy is some kind of personal life character, since there wouldn’t have been female hockey players on the team. So, I assume our hero’s sister or daughter or wife who gives him strength? Although, if it turns out that part of the plot of the film is Mouni Roy dressing as a boy and secretly joining the hockey team, I wouldn’t complain! But that’s probably not the case.
On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 2:18 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Dolly Ki Doli is definitely worth watching. Pulkit is very forgettable, but there are some really great costumes, songs, and a perfect special appearance. I haven’t figured out if I like Pulkit yet…I liked him in Fukrey but haven’t seen the sequel.
Veerey Ki Wedding does have a silly name considering it will be confused with Veere Di Wedding. But it does look like some simple fun and extra points for Jimmy Shergil!
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Oh right, I forgot to mention Jimmy Shergill! definitely extra points for him.
On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 7:22 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I started watching Veerey ki Wedding trailer, and was like: Wait, who is this guy and where is Kareena, Sonam and Swara? And why it looks like bad telugu movie and not well-done expensive film I was expecting. And now I know – it’s Veerey KI wedding and not Veerey DI wedding 😉 One letter and such huge difference.
Gold – I don’t like sports, sports movies and I’m not Indian, but like I this trailer, and it made me feel “patriotic” in some way, so I guess it will be a big hit in India. And it has Amit Sadh. So Go Gold!
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Amit Sadh!!!! If he becomes the next big thing (knock on wood, cross fingers), I will be so pleased to be one of those people saying “oh yes, I knew it back when I saw him in Sultan”.
And generally I am thrilled to see him getting work, because he always brings something special to a film.
On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 4:04 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Amit Sadh was the 3rd guy in Kai Po Che, the one who wasn’t SSR or RRao. Better late than never 🙂
PS. Manav Kaul of T Sulu with V Balan was in KPC too.
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I feel like I should watch Kai Po Che, but then I also know it will make me so angry at the world right now that I really shouldn’t for my own mental health. Which is an odd kind of tribute to the honesty/power of the film I guess?
But yes, thanks for the reminder! That cast really is amazing. Wouldn’t it be neat if they turned into the next power triumvirate? And then ten years from now, when every big blockbuster stars either Amit or Rajkummar or Sushant, we could look back and watch it as a strange sort of cultural artifact of when they were just starting out?
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This reminds me of whenever I talk about Malayalam films I tell people to watch Bangalore Days first and watch out for the three guys in it.
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Yes! Although, I am ashamed to admit, I didn’t really notice Nivin on my first watch. I’m chalking that up to him so fully disappearing into the role of being an every man, that I didn’t realize he was anything more than an every man.
On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 10:25 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Really? I thought that Dulqer played an underdog hero, Fahaad had this interesting backstory and both actors were great (Well Fahaad may be more than Dulqer). But Nivin had this unusual every man role, but made it so much more with his superb facial acting. He was the stand out among the three male leads.
I’m digressing, but what can I say about Nazriya? She took a wonderfully written role and made it even better. She never missed a single note in her expressions.
Her nod to Dulqer when he asks if she’s sure about meeting Nithya’s parents is pitch perfect. So is her face when she’s mortgaging her jewellery or when she opens a fridge full of juice bottles.
Also, one of the buildings Nazriya is staring at over the lake towards the end of this song is my office 🙂
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To be fair, Bangalore Days was like my second Malayalam film EVER. So I was kind of struggling with processing everything. Coming back to it later, Nivin was definitely the most complicated character and the hardest role to play. Well, maybe tied with Fahad. Dulquer had all the cool extras around his character to make him interesting, but Nivin had to take something internal and unnoticed and make it interesting.
On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 12:01 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I was surprised that I liked the Raid trailer so much. Definitely the kind of movie that plays to Ajay’s strengths and he looks pretty hot in it! This trend of social issues films is working out well for some of these aging actors.
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I love that it is taking on a boring social issue. Not even with the surprise factor of Padman, just a straight up dollars and sense kind of problem, very bureacratic and dull.
On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 7:25 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I love that Raid trailer doesn’t have any fight sequences. The only downside to the trailer is that it seemed Ajay’s one man show. But they do tease of some interesting supporting cast. I’ll be watching out for it.
Like others said, Gold gives off too many Chak De (which is close to perfection for me) vibes and I’m not into Akshay either. But if Reema Kagti is directing, I guess it would be more interesting than it seems.
The first trailer of Welcome to New York was so wacky and fun! This song is just okay for me. I’m interested for Diljit but Sonakshi pulls down the movie. So right now it’s 50-50. I need more wackiness for me to be on board.
I couldn’t sit through Veere Ki Wedding trailer at all. First I was disappointed that it wasn’t Veere Di Wedding. (Why can’t these people come up with original names?) It just seems silly (not in a good Welcome to New York way) I’m just not the target audience for this movie.
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If this is the No One Killed Jessica director, I have hopes for a really interesting supporting cast, they did such a good job in that drawing out every character no matter how small.
Reema Kagti did have surprise superhero’s in her very first movie, so I think we can count on her having a few tricks up her sleeve in this one! At least, I hope so. We are just getting the teaser, and it is clearly covering a massive period of history, meaning she can pick and choose where to focus. Also, Akshay is someone who is willing to let the film shine while he hides if the script and directing is good enough, so I have hopes that the teaser focused on him to sell the film, but the actual film will be a lot more balanced.
It really is ridiculous that Veere Ki Wedding has that name. Veere Di Wedding has been in production, and named, for sooooooooooooooo long! They had plenty of time to pick something else, heck they probably didn’t even start filming until long after the original film was announced.
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Maybe people from VKiW realized how bad their movie is and thought that the only way to save it is by deceiving the crowd.
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Glad I’m not the only one who was waiting for Kareena throughout the Veerey ki Wedding trailer! That’s the one I’m least excited about. I’ll probably enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Happy Baag Jayegi, which is to say I’ll watch it on a Tuesday when I have nothing better to do, and it will take me an evening or so to get through, but it will be fairly diverting and I won’t want to throw anything at the TV. The others I’m pumped for. I probably wouldn’t watch Welcome to NY, but it’s got Sonakshi and Diljit, so I’m excited. And Raid and Gold both look like a ton of fun.
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It feels like we haven’t had that kind of decent budget/goo script/not intended to be a blockbuster film in a long while! I’m also super pumped for Raid and Gold.
On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 6:09 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Lol I just waited n waited for Kareena and Sonam and swara throughout veeray ki wedding trailer. My thoughts were like… eh Pulkit Samrat.. He’s in VDW? Oh? Maybe this is a new strategy to attract male viewers? Or rather they are trying to not alienate men by having too many wonderful woman. No? But why would they use pulkit for that. That’s just counterintuitive. So umm it’s about their love story and the women come in to help them out? That doesn’t make sense. Jimmy Shergill. Atleast he’s always fun to watch. Wait the trailer is ending, where are the girls??? And finallly it occurs to me veeray di wedding and veeray ki wedding are two separate movies. Facepalm.
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You know Sonam has been saying all along that it is ridiculous how little funding she was able to get for Veere Di Wedding, just because female actors aren’t seen as as much of a draw as male. And she’s right, here we all are watching this trailer only because we are waiting for the actresses to show up!
On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 11:18 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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