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 Nov 22, 2013 4:38:38 GMT
(with a special appearance by Kareena Kapoor).
Produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, this is a remake of A. R. Murgadoss's moody Tamil-language thriller/social drama Ramana (also remade in Telugu as Tagore, with Chiranjeevi), which involves a college professor who wages an almost terrorist-like war against corrupt people in high places (in between raising a herd of orphans and studiously ignoring the interest of a ditzy young female stalker) while the lowest policeman in the city's pecking order slowly figures out what's going on. Akshay takes the role of the protagonist, while Shraddha Kapoor plays the stalker with a crush. (In this version, she's a young and free-spirited lawyer; I think she was a social worker in the Tamil version and a journalist in the Telugu version.) Kareena says she's only appearing in a song; it's unclear whether this will be similar to her tiny cameo in Rowdy Rathore, or whether she's playing Akshay's wife (a character who only appears in a flashback sequence that could conceivably be reduced to a single song).
The director of Gabbar is Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi, aka Krish, best-known for Vedam. He's about the best possible fit they could have found for the source material, I think: a very visual, somewhat abstract and arty director who's passionate about social issues, interested in North India inspite of being from Andhra Pradesh, good at getting restrained performances from people you wouldn't think capable of it, surprisingly decent at filming action scenes when he tries, and good at fleshing out seemingly trivial female characters. Between his involvement and a role that could potentially bring out the best in Akshay, I personally am very, very curious about this film; my expectations are probably a shade too high, frankly.
There are conflicting accounts about the release date; last official word is that they starting shooting in early January 2014 for an August 15, 2014 release date, but there are also rumors that it may be released in fourth quarter 2014, perhaps around Diwali (possibly a decision inspired by Ram Leela's successful release two weeks after Diwali 2013; although part of the story does take place around Diwali).
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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 Nov 27, 2013 17:19:45 GMT
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/My-man-has-to-be-all-mine-or-never-mind-Shraddha/articleshow/26447492.cms?Recent interview with Shraddha, where she is asked about this movie, or more specifically about her decision to work with a leading man 19+ years her senior: "I've idolised Akshay for years. Moreover, I found the script of Gabbar so entertaining that there was no way I would have let the project go."
I'm kind of "Haha! Called it!" on her first reason for making the film, and raising my eyebrows over her talking about how "entertaining" the script is, given how angsty the South Indian versions are. But her character's the main comic relief in the South Indian versions, so maybe that's where she's coming from.
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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 Dec 10, 2013 22:28:18 GMT
Shraddha's out, due to delays in the Haider shoot throwing her schedule out of whack. (I like how the article qualifies this as "genuine date issues" as opposed to "just saying someone has date issues.") timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Shraddha-Kapoor-out-of-Gabbar/articleshow/27186228.cmsFrom what is said here about her trying to accomodate both movies, and the fangirly episode related in my post above, I think she really wanted in on this project, and she would I think have been a good fit for the ditzy not-girlfriend role. Other sources claim the producers are looking at Shruti Hassan, who was offered the role before, but ended up taking Welcome Back instead (which has had its release date pushed back to Christmas 2014, which would presumably give her more breathing room to take other work) and Jacqueline Fernandez (item girl in Housefull, Riteish's girlfriend in Aladin, John's girlfriend in Housefull 2, RL ex-girlfriend of Akshay's friend or alleged ex-friend Sajid Khan). My opinion: I liked Shruti for this role last time she was rumored for it, I'm not pleased with the Katrina Kaif like lip job she got for Welcome Back but I still like her. Jackie would I think be a bad fit; she's a pleasant screen personality but with very little comic or dramatic acting chops, who's only just getting to be a marginally competent dancer, after working several times with Farah Khan and once with Prabhudheva. Also comes off as a bit more grownup than this character seems to be. (Wouldn't mind her for the flashback wife, if they couldn't get someone better). We'll see.
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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 Dec 17, 2013 1:21:41 GMT
So, allegedly, Akshay's going to do long hair and a beard for this role (conveniently, the article also includes latest casting rumors on the female role, namely that it's likely Shruti): www.mumbaimirror.com/entertainment/bollywood/A-hair-raising-story/articleshow/27488248.cmsOn the one hand, I do like him with facial hair, as long as he leaves off the blasted sunglasses, and have seen the South Indian versions, I could see this sort of thing being appropriate to the character, BUT if they release the film anywhere near Happy New Year, they're going to be accused of copying SRK. It does however explain why the producers were so paranoid about sticking to their shooting schedule, that they would cut Shraddha loose. He's not gonna want to keep that look for his other projects, and the weirdo arthouse movie he's supposed to be doing for Priyadarshan in March would possibly require an equally radical but different "look."
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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 Jan 7, 2014 19:16:42 GMT
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Xas
Guest appearance
Posts: 185
Favorite actor: Kunal Kapoor, Ranbir, Prabhudheva
Favorite actress: Madhuri, Rani, Vidya, Huma Qureshi, Divya Dutta, Nutan, Asha Parekh, Helen, Mumtaz
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Post by Xas on Jan 8, 2014 19:50:44 GMT
Hirsuite!Akki (unfortunately, also avec sunglasses...sorry odadune!)
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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 Jan 9, 2014 23:29:46 GMT
Thanks, Xas! I waffled around a bit before deciding that I did like this look. (The character's not really supposed to be too sharp of a dresser in the South Indian versions, and heck, at least he's not parting his hair in the middle.) Shruti did start work alongside him, inspite of having her appendix out. Quite a trouper.
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Xas
Guest appearance
Posts: 185
Favorite actor: Kunal Kapoor, Ranbir, Prabhudheva
Favorite actress: Madhuri, Rani, Vidya, Huma Qureshi, Divya Dutta, Nutan, Asha Parekh, Helen, Mumtaz
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Post by Xas on Jan 10, 2014 4:47:17 GMT
I think this is the first time I've seen beardy Akki, so it threw me a bit. However, my first thought was actually: 'What strange pockets on that shirt...'
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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 Jan 24, 2014 16:19:19 GMT
I think this is the first time I've seen beardy Akki, so it threw me a bit. However, my first thought was actually: 'What strange pockets on that shirt...' Agreed on the bizarre shirt. Amusingly enough, his wife dragged him off on a short trip to Rajasthan, recently where they took it into their heads to give money to all the people of an impoverished village they came across. One little old lady refused to have anything to do with them because she thought Akshay was a dacoit. I cannot imagine why. In other news, Suman, the villain from Sivaji, apparently has a role in this.
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Xas
Guest appearance
Posts: 185
Favorite actor: Kunal Kapoor, Ranbir, Prabhudheva
Favorite actress: Madhuri, Rani, Vidya, Huma Qureshi, Divya Dutta, Nutan, Asha Parekh, Helen, Mumtaz
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Post by Xas on Jan 24, 2014 20:49:16 GMT
One little old lady refused to have anything to do with them because she thought Akshay was a dacoit. I cannot imagine why. Haha! BTW: I noticed your New Year's resolution has gone out the window a bit today, odadune. Or is 'one post per day' being averaged out over the space of a week?
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Post by coolalbatros on Mar 6, 2014 7:00:49 GMT
eagerly awiting for this film:)
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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 Apr 2, 2014 11:44:24 GMT
Just got announced for a January 23 (Republic Day weekend) 2015 release, which means that the Akki/Neeraj Pandey film is releasing later in the year. Some pics of Kareena's clothes for her item number (confirming that she is in fact doing an item number, and not the wife role). This seems to correspond to the diwali/deepavali seasonal songs from the flashback scenes in Ramana/Tagore. ETA: I sit corrected, apparently Kareena is doing the wife role, just the item number is part of it. (Warning, article has plot spoilers): www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-not-just-a-song-1975190She's a good fit for the role; can look very ethereal when styled just so, has good, comfortable chemistry with Akshay (this is not the first time they've played husband and wife), and we can all sigh with relief and save the cradle-robbing jokes for another day. (Although, fair warning, they do seem to have a song where Shruti's character fantasizes about the professor romancing her.)
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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 Jul 25, 2014 18:35:42 GMT
There had been a rumor back during the shoot in Pune that Chitrangda Singh was going to be doing an item number, and this has been recently confirmed. Although I had problems with the handling of her character in Desi Boyz, I liked her chemistry with Akshay and almost any excuse to see the two of them in the same frame puts me in a good mood.
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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 Mar 24, 2015 14:40:18 GMT
Trailer is out:
Well, they managed to make this one feel fresh and exciting for me, and I've seen every South Indian version of this there is. Akshay is very awesome, Suman Talwar is suitably creepy as the head villain, and I actually quite like Sunil Grover's take on the underdog policeman. It remains to be seen whether director Krish and Shruti Haasan managed to make anything interesting out of the heroine (and how they handled her introductory scene, which was kind of sexist in the original), but the almost kiss is funny.
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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 Mar 29, 2015 14:02:19 GMT
I don't know what the deal is...the official Viacom18 link is down, but the official twitter account for the movie keeps linking to it anyway. Eros Now has a good quality version, so I'm linking to that here:
ETA: Viacom18 link is working now.
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