odadune
Star of the item number
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Jun 7, 2015 14:26:20 GMT
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Post by emily on Jun 7, 2015 16:53:28 GMT
Well, I liked it quite a bit more than the two reviews above! It had its flaws, sure, but I was really looking forward to this one and it didn't let me down. The ending scene is beautiful. The narration in the background and the slow-mo scenes of the family reminded me a lot of the similarly stunning ending scene in ZNMD.
I'll have more thoughts later. Seeing it again either tomorrow or Tuesday.
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madhu
Dancing in the chorus
Posts: 10
Favorite actor: Hrithik Roshan, Sidharth Malhotra
Favorite actress: Rani Mukherjee, Deepika Padukone, Vidya Balan
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Happy New Year/Bang Bang
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Post by madhu on Jun 8, 2015 2:00:41 GMT
I saw DDD this afternoon with my sister, friend, and our moms. Friend and I unabashedly loved it. Sister has a low tolerance for Hindi movies, which means that her liking this is quite a victory, and our moms liked it but didn't love it. The run time is 2 hours and 50 minutes, but I didn't really feel the length because I was so thoroughly caught up in what was happening on screen. Zoya's got a lot of fantastic characters set against a drop dead gorgeous backdrop, and she draws you in almost immediately. Performances were uniformly excellent, cinematography was stunning, music was a blast. I've had Gallan Goodiyaan on repeat for 2 weeks now, and to finally get to see it on the big screen made me very, very happy. I got so caught up in the song that I forgot to pay attention and see if the whole thing was just one long shot or two shots the way it appears in the promo video. Anyone catch that? The dog and his voiceover were possibly one of my favorite things about the whole movie, and getting who they got to do the voiceover was a stroke of genius. {Click to view!} Aamir Khan, in case anyone missed the credits My only quibble is with the end. {Click to view!} I wish that we had had a mid/post credits scene that showed Kabir finding Farah and then Ayesha and Sunny reuniting with both of them knowing everything. But really, I loved everything about it. 9/10, would highly recommend, and I plan to own it. This deserves to be seen on blu-ray when I watch it at home.
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Post by corbie on Jun 8, 2015 4:00:16 GMT
We saw it today and we loved it. Going to buy it when it comes out and show it to a couple of people.
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Post by dancelover on Jun 8, 2015 18:15:21 GMT
Rachit Gupta's review for Filmfare online www.filmfare.com/reviews/movie-review-dil-dhadakne-do-9417.html "Relationships don't work on logic. They're better handled with all heart." "... not the most brilliant film of all time [but] extremely entertaining and funny movie." "... brother and sister are ... the protagonists. Not every day ... are they Hindi hero & heroine!" "... standout performance from Ranveer, heart and soul of DDD." "... more complex role handled by Priyanka ... testament to her talent. ... great graph ... nails it ..." "Rahul Bose plays his character with great effect." Note: Gupta shows Rahul's role as more important than Farhan's. What price Sixth Billing? "decent well-rounded story. ... perfect weekend getaway." D Upcoming Films thread, with lots of links to dance videos, at bollywhat.boards.net/thread/400
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Post by emily on Jun 9, 2015 23:38:37 GMT
Well, I didn't see this again either yesterday or today, but here are some added thoughts on it in bullet point form: - I agree with sentiments above that Ranveer Singh was the best of all the cast. He was absolutely brilliant, especially in the area of comic timing. "Heart and soul," indeed. His lines had me in tears - whether tears of laughter or tears of sadness depended on the part of the film. From day one he has proven himself to be one of Bollywood's most talented actors in his generation and he continues to grow - with some minor hiccups along the way - with each and every film.
- Early nomination for soundtrack of the year from me. It is absolutely full of life and the songs get even better when they're picturized. "Gallan Goodiyaan" on the big screen was pure adrenaline, "Pehli Baar" was sassy, sexy fun, and "Girls Like To Swing" is brassy fun. Hell, I'm even warming up to that title song...
- I've seen some comments degrade this film as a "Rich People Problems" movie. Ok, sure. This family has the cash to pay the way of a couple dozen people on a Mediterranean cruise; they're pretty loaded. But it's silly to think that they should be happy simply because they're rich. The Mehra family's sadness is so much more deep-seated than any amount of money could cure. Kamal, who made his own fortune, suffers from crippling anxiety regarding the future of his company; Neelam has self-esteem issues (the scene of her eating the brownie and crying over her husband flirting with other women hits hard); Ayesha is stuck in a marriage she hates and wishes for a closer connection to her family; Kabir wants to chase dreams but is under pressure at home, expected to become the great successor of his father's company. These are not "Rich People Problems," these are "Everybody Problems," and just because the Mehras are rich doesn't mean they don't have a leg to stand on as far as these problems go. This bullet point probably made no sense, but okay, yeah, this is what I got out of the film.
- Zoya's cinematography is the best in the biz. Every frame is full of life. Its beauty is unmatched. There is just something about her filmmaking; it showed in ZNMD and Luck By Chance, as well as the short she did for Bombay Talkies, and it shows here, too.
- Besides the ending scene (which was just...wow.) my favorite scene from the film was when Sunny (Farhan Akhtar) takes on Manav (Rahul Bose - this was my first Rahul film and I really enjoyed his performance) when Manav says something along the lines of "I allowed my wife to have a career." Underlying social justice commentary aside, the whole thing was incredibly and deliciously awkward and the actors involved did a great job portraying the tension in the room. When Sunny came back with, "Wait a minute - you allowed your wife to have a career?" the whole audience sucked in their breath simultaneously. I think one person even said, audibly, "Oh snap." Brilliant stuff.
- I loved Aamir Khan's narration (I'm not biased or anything...). I think it was a nice touch to have the canine member of the Mehra family make witty asides about the tales and trials of his human counterparts. Also, Bolly fangirl moment: there's a line in his narration where he looks at Farhan and says a line with the phrase "Dil chahta hai," and it's like "Hey! That's kinda neat." Don't know if that was intended, but I smiled regardless.
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Post by nehamathurfpj on Jun 12, 2015 8:32:32 GMT
Movie Review: Dil Dhadakne Do – No attachment to be had here!
An unedifying cross between a typical Karan Johar scenario set in an ‘Honeymoon Travels’ backdrop- only this time it’s not a bus but a cruise ship where all that relationship fracas between the members of a high-society family happens- with friends and onlookers butting in to add chaos to the confusion.
The scenario is typically Karan Johar, a prosperous high society family that runs a super business ‘AYKA,’ suddenly finds itself in the doldrums thanks to a sudden loss of fortunes coinciding with long standing frustrations erupting between the scion and his wife and sudden rebellion from the progeny. And it all happens onboard a super luxurious cruise ship bound for Turkey -an all expenses paid (8000 Euros)trip organized as part of a 30th wedding anniversary celebration for select friends and relatives. But the trip is not meant to be all celebratory fun and games. The 3 decade old coupling has been worn out by constant straying on the part of the husband, Mr Mehra(Anil Kapoor) while the wife (Shefali Shah) turns a blind eye out of necessity.
The daughter Ayesha(Priyanka Chopra), part of a fraternal twin set, has been married off into another noted industrialist family- to Manav Sanghvi(Rahul Bose),while neatly separating her from her one true love, Sunny(Farhan Akhtar), son of the loyal Manager. The other twin, Kabir( Ranveer) is a prime catch, not because of his questionable business acumen but because he belongs to the successful Mehra family. But then everyone assembled on board knows about the Mehras’ financial difficulties –even the prime target. Yet they play along.
The shipboard celebration becomes front for behind-the-scenes lobbying for some much need influx of money through an all-too-convenient liaison between Kabir(Ranveer) and the daughter of another top business family. The fake united front dissipates when Kabir meets Farah, a singer/performing artist and Sunny is brought back into the frame just when Ayesha has expressed a desire to get a divorce. Of course all hell breaks lose and a contrived happy ending is a foregone conclusion.
This is typical Bollywood fluff with nothing much distinguishing it from the run-of-the-mill other than some smart performances and sharp emotive moments. Unfortunately, neither can save this leaky ship from sinking. The holes in the plot come from implausible characters and their contrary motivations. Also the runtime at 2 hrs 50 mins is a little too long. Couple that with a voiceover by Pluto( Aamir Khan in the most challenging role of his career (sic)), that repeats ad verbatim, every sequence that takes place on screen, it becomes a tedium inducing bore. The script – a collaboration between Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar, to begin with, seemed promising even though there wasn’t any entertainment to be had in the first half. The boredom level was high but the interest was still there.
But once the post interval fracas gets underway, everything goes haywire including the plotting. In fact the narrative fails to capitalize on the beautiful locales of the Mediterranean or the luxurious living onboard the cruise ship. Both get perfunctory treatment while Zoya indulges herself at length on faulty reasoning and confounding logic while allowing the relationship fracas to hog most of the runtime. The typical Bollywood climax, contrived and undignified, is a killer. Arjun Bhasin’s styling and Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music are slick and upbeat but there’s nothing memorable about either. The strain is on credibility and affect. This is not fun in my book- not by any yardstick!
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odadune
Star of the item number
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Jun 13, 2015 3:58:29 GMT
MrB in the recently viewed movies thread: Dil Dhadakne Do. Really enjoyed it - great performances all round, great locations, and great music. It was great. Not a fan of the talking dog, but he was not actively annoying. And rather puzzled about how much some reviewers have disliked it - maybe it's just time for the Zoya backlash. I haven't seen that much active dislike for the film; Filmigeek comes down on the side of "I liked it, it had valid points, BUT..." which has been typical of the reviews I've read. My own feeling is that it's easier to make a somewhat naturalistic but still escapist and light-hearted movie about unmarried guys bonding than it is to take that same tone with marriage, divorce, and incidents of toxic parenting. The stakes are lower in the first case scenario.
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Post by MrB on Jun 13, 2015 15:02:33 GMT
MrB in the recently viewed movies thread: Dil Dhadakne Do. Really enjoyed it - great performances all round, great locations, and great music. It was great. Not a fan of the talking dog, but he was not actively annoying. And rather puzzled about how much some reviewers have disliked it - maybe it's just time for the Zoya backlash. I haven't seen that much active dislike for the film; Filmigeek comes down on the side of "I liked it, it had valid points, BUT..." which has been typical of the reviews I've read. My own feeling is that it's easier to make a somewhat naturalistic but still escapist and light-hearted movie about unmarried guys bonding than it is to take that same tone with marriage, divorce, and incidents of toxic parenting. The stakes are lower in the first case scenario. I was thinking of the Baradwaj Rangan review upthread, and the Hindustan Times and NDTV ones. There was also a very negative one on a film review blog I saw linked somewhere, but cannot now find.
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odadune
Star of the item number
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Jun 14, 2015 13:55:35 GMT
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Post by dancelover on Jun 19, 2015 17:03:52 GMT
After two weeks, 71 crore, headed for maybe 78, per Box Office India, who also say it was a hit in the 5 biggest cities, but not elsewhere.
D
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Post by moviemavengal on Jun 25, 2015 20:20:49 GMT
Margaret Redlich wrote a fantastic article discussing how perfect the casting was (for the most part) in DDD and knowledge of the actor's background enhances watching the film: Dil Dhadakne Review: A Triumph of Casting
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Post by dancelover on Jun 25, 2015 20:50:37 GMT
Ms. Redlich takes as her premise: the real life histories of the actors are an important part of their roles. I have read and heard many statements by actors on that subject. Every single one of them says and insists on the contrary: that the role has nothing - at all - to do with the actor's real life. Ms. Redlich also assumes that she knows the true history of each actor. That assumption might also be mistaken. Ms. Redlich seems to believe that it is best when actors are playing themselves (more or less). Actors revel in their ability to play many different roles, each different from their own lives. In particular, Redlich dislikes Priyanka's "acting choices" and finds that they "ring false." Redlich does not consider the role of the Director in controlling those "acting choices." Priyanka is known for having played twelve separate characters in the same movie, and making them all different. I disagree with Redlich about this. Nevertheless I mean to read her other essays. Howard "Dancelover" Wilkins Margaret Redlich wrote a fantastic article discussing how perfect the casting was (for the most part) in DDD and knowledge of the actor's background enhances watching the film: Dil Dhadakne Review: A Triumph of Casting
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Post by moviemavengal on Jun 26, 2015 16:46:59 GMT
danceloverYes, many actors want you to view their roles divorced from their personal history, and it's fine to watch movies that way. However, it can add another layer to the experience when you do know the background, and why that particular actor might be so perfect for a role. And the world of Bollywood seems to have even more of that than Hollywood. I'll give you a recent example from Hollywood. I watched Jon Favreau's Chef on Netflix last month and talked about it with friends. They had no idea who Jon Favreau is. The whole movie is about a star chef constrained working in a restaurant for an owner that doesn't want him to vary anything from a set in stone menu, who quits and ends up buying a beat up food truck and just making the kind of food he wants to make. Now, that's enjoyable. BUT, if you know that Jon Favreau started acting and directing with the indie film Swingers, and then later came to fame for making blockbusters like Iron Man (and now almost exclusively does huge superhero movies like that) and made Chef as a little passion project -- with all his star friends making fun cameos, that adds something to it. He's showing you that this is what is his passion, and he still has it, even if he mostly makes the big spectacle films now. And it's fun knowing that Robert Downey Jr. is doing this weird cameo in the film -- and WHY, because Jon Favreau resurrected Robert's career with Iron Man. In Chef, Robert Downey Jr turns that around and is giving Jon Favreau's character a second chance by selling him the cheap beat up food truck. So to be certain superficially you can enjoy Chef the film on it's own merit, but those friends really appreciated learning all of that background from me, because it added to their enjoyment of the film. I enjoyed DDD, but I enjoy it more knowing new to me things about Anil Kapoor and his career because I did not know that going in to the film and so on.
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bollygotback
Dancing in the chorus
Check out my bollywood podcast! https://soundcloud.com/bolly-got-back
Posts: 44
Favorite actor: Ranveer Singh, Amitabh Bachchan
Favorite actress: Priyanka, Deepika, Alia, Parineeti
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Tamasha & Bajirao Mastani
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Post by bollygotback on Jul 11, 2015 4:57:53 GMT
We did a review of it for our podcast here if anyone is interested, but I have to say I enjoyed it very much. This is signature Zoya Akhtar, and there are not many that can do an ensemble cast as well as her.
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