Woh Lamhe - a Review

Woh Lamhe is the latest offering from the Bhatt Camp. Now, Bhatt Movies have some very specific traits.. all of them are quite medium to low budgeted, feature upcoming actors, boasts of impressive/ popular music and is always promoted innovatively. The last aspect is soo interesting, it can be a separate blog post altogether.
In this post, I shall only talk about Woh Lamhe, the movie and more specifically its music.

The movie, which I saw a couple of weeks back at PVR Punjagutta, Hyderabad is all in all average. It isnt as bad as a lot of other recent releases. And it isnt really that good. Mahesh Bhatt claimed this a true story based on his and Parveen Babi's love story that ... in the mid-80s. I wasnt in touch with the latest in those days, being a toddler, so cant comment how much of it seems true. It doesnt seem to be too much an accurate account, nonetheless that is least of a moviegoers concern. The story is pretty interesting as presented in the movie. But the direction, I would say is lacking. It starts off pretty well but then the second half fails to keep up. Contrary to what you would expect from the subject, the story fails to bring the viewer really up and close to the two central protagonists. So, even as the movie rounds up, you dont really relate as well to either of the characters as you should.

Acting on the other hand is quite decent. Shiny Ahuja is pretty strong here. He is definitely one of the big finds in the last year or so. Not only is he bashfully handsome, he is a genuine actor, who can underplay his part and yet sparkle on the screen. And he has been consistent on that front in all his releases so far : Hawaaron Khwaishen Aisi, (Kal, I havnt seen much, so cant comment), Gangster and here. He has range and it shows.

Kangna Ranaut is breathtakingly beautiful... She stands no competition as far as good looks go. She is just sooo conventionally beautiful, that you dont need to adjust your paradigms to accept her as a leading lady. If you have been watching the likes of Antara Mali, Nisha Kothari and ilk, you would know what I am talking about. ;-)
I dont think she is a great actor. But who cares? Well, on a serious note, she is quite adequate here, playing a Schizophrenia infected actor. The role demands loud drama and she can manage that. In Gangster, which was a little more sombre role for here, you could see her shortcomings in the acting department. But then she more than makes up for that on the looks front... Lemme stop ravishing on Kangna, else I'll be in trouble at home...

I hadnt been exposed to the music of Woh Lamhe before I saw the film, thanks to lack of hype and lack of TV viewing on my part. I thought the music was kinda nice when watching the movie. Offcourse, more attention was on the visuals than the audio then.. (please re-read the previous para to get the context...:) ) Later on, when I heard its soundtrack, I thought it was even better. I have to give it to the old man (read Mahesh Bhatt) to deliver decent quality of music with ever film. He has got the knack!!

The music is done (mostly) by Pritam, who is known to be good with innovative arrangements. He composes 3 original tracks and arranges 2 here. The best of the lot is with no doubts "So Jaon Maine..". Actually it is composed by Roop Kumar Rathod, while Pritam probably only doing the arrangement. It comes as two versions, Kunal Ganjawala and Shreya Ghoshal singing the two solos. And I can claim unabashedly, that is is Kunal's best effort with the microphone. The song is absolutely a dream. Its an amazing piece of composition, that when infused with the velvety voice of Kunal Ganjawala, creates a dreamy and melancholic effect on the listener. This song is actually what epitomises "Woh Lamhe" the movie, with its apt lyrics (by Shakeel Aazmi):

"So Jaon maine.. tum agar.. mere khwabon mein aao...mere khwabon mein aao..
Kho jaon maine.. tum agar.. meri yaadon mein aao...meri yaadon mein aao..
jaagi nazar mein..
soyi nazar mein...
har pal sanam tum... jhilmilao..."

Without going overboard, let me repeat, this song is a dream, the kinds you want to sleep listening to..

The other really nice number is "Chal Chale.." sung by the fresh-voiced James, the Bangladeshi Pop sensation. He sung the immensely likeable "Bheegi Bheegi" in the movie Gangster, incidentally for Pritam. This song is a nice cheerful number with a lot of turns and variations, well rendered by James. The song has been written by Sayeed Quadri.

The next memorable number is "Bin tere kya hai jeena", allegedly another *adapatation*. This is in the voice of Jawad Ahmad, a Pakistani singer. Nice composition and is mostly in the low range. Jawad doesnt seem to have a vast range, but manages this song well enough to keep it likeable. The overall impact is soft and soothing.

Another Pakistani singer, Glenn sings the ghazal "Tu jo nahin". This isnt really a great piece of music. Comes out too flat to really appeal, but in keeping with the mood of the album which is Slow, Soft and Soothing, this one blends in well enough.

The last song in the album, discounting the remixes, is "Kya mujhe pyar hai", sung by the immensely talented KK. This one belongs to the formulaic league, the ones you watch on music channels and find on the lists. Peppy, energetic and fast, its got a zing about it, thanks mainly to KK's kinetics. Its an average number, you wouldnt mind listening in a nice compilation of an album. Also, allegedly this one is a rip-off of an Indonesian hit "Tak Bisakah".

Overall, the music of Woh Lamhe is no masterpiece, but is a good contemporary album to listen. Its a nice album that mostly keep 1 mood, without trying out too many things, a rarity these days.

Hyderabadi 'Traffic' Blues

This is the land of the finest Biryani, the Haleem and extraordinarily bad traffic. I come from Delhi, the place I though boasted of the worst traffic anywhere, until I landed here in Hyderabad, which took the cake and the icing. The normally mild mannered and soft spoken Hyderabadis turn into Road Warriors and Night Riders when on the wheel. You are not safe when facing them all by yourself on the slim curvy roads of Hyderabad. They inspire all the latest PSP and XBOX City racing games. They really define the term manoeuvre.
Some of the very specific pecularities of Hyderabadi driving are :

1. When on the road, gaps between vehicles are measured in 'mm' not meters or even inches. You can never really get too close.. it kinda helps in bonding.. :)

2. Small is big. The smaller you are, the more dangerous. Its really a city of nano-technology. The Autos rule the roost. They fear no one.. not even the killer buses that people and even cars dread of in Delhi. Autos will overtake buses from left on the thinnest of roads and ride on.. The scooters and bikes will criss cross through the traffic splitting the few inch gaps between cars.

3. Honk, the Hyderabadis will, need be or not. So you honk, if there is someone ahead of you or behind you. Or if you want to stop (which is rare) or if you want to take a turn. And you will also honk if you like the weather today or if its just too hot. Honk is soo very multi-purpose.

4. Red lights. You speed off if you see a red light. Just speed off with no regrets. But if you see a Green light, then slow down.. take a good look if what riders/ drivers on the other 3 segments of the crossing are doing before you honk away and then ride off. But red lights are safe to make a quick getaway.

5. Parking is an art. And Hyderabadis are eclectic when it comes to this art. They will innovate when it comes to parking. Its soo frigging boring to park under a parking sign, or in a public parking. So you become creative, and park in the second lane of a busy road.. or you park right on a crossing. And its not just SUVs or cars I talk about, the bike riders are as innovative. They will park right across the entrance of a Cafe to ensure all visitors rub through your bikes to make an entry.

6. Roundabouts. What roundabouts.. Roundabouts and its protocol (to drive clockwise until you get to your segment) is for losers. Its what the Brits infected us with. But not the oozing with pride Hyderabadis. So they will drive where they want to drive. If its a lane they want to take on the ride, they shall drive anti-clockwise to it.. Hell, its even fun to stop on the curve..

7. Mobile, the Hyderabadis are in a true sense of the word. Infact, doubly so. Not only are they riding/ driving, they are constantly talking on their mobiles. Be it the cars/ trucks/ Autos/ Bikes, one hand is always occupied to chat away. Actually, I suspect they are constantly in touch with the *base-station*/ ATC transmitting their coordinates and getting the next set of instructions. That probably explains the reason they manage to evade not only accidents/ collisions but also the polite roadside 'mamu' read Cop. High-tech, aint it?

So the next time you are visiting Hyderabad, and intend to drive/ ride, get an acclimatisation mastering the Monster Truck Madness. It isnt half as good to help you, but then you have a reference point!!


P.S.: Wish I had some pics to give you a first hand insight.. but then saving my life on the roads was a higher priority... :)

Cricket season again..

Well, you may like it or not.. but the Cricket season is back.. and its BIG as ever..
Champions Trophy' 06 began the day before, though for now the Minnows (SHOCK: WI and SL are in the contenders as well!!!) are battling it out for 2 seats in the main league.


But Set MAX, who are airing it in India promise to make it more than just cricket. They are the ones who fused cricket with babes.. when they got the aweful Ruby Bhatia and then less aweful Mandira Bedi to eat away airtime. They now want to expand the scope of the 'extras' until you wont notice it was cricket in the first place that you switched onto. Well, guess it serves well, when the cricket, atleast the Indian effort is not going to bring in any joy. Atleast you have noodle straps and pouting babes to make up for it... or can they?


Indian team, unsurprisingly is back to where they belong. Erratic and Unpredictable. Just before they play the Second biggest tourney (as per ICC folks) in cricket, they arent sure of a lot of things. I think I could have collated a nice compiled list of 11 points of Indian team's concerns, but then who really cares and maybe I might have struggled to fit them all in 11.

So, not going that route.. and continuing with the present form of brain-dump.. let me write about the biggest of our concerns. .. and its not Greg Chappell.

Over the last couple of seasons, a lot of youngsters have got a chance to play in the 11. And interestingly and luckily for India a lot of them converted their chances to be among contenders for a 'permanent' seat (yup, we have permanent seats in Indian CT.. ask Sachin). So we have Sehwag (ok, he has been there for more than a couple of seasons), Dhoni, Raina all fulltime on the payrolls. But unluckily, all these players are in essence slashers or some species close to that. All, love the flat turfs of subcontinent, smashing the opposition until they bleed, and as soon as the ball smells of swing, they are only wielding an array of edges. They are all exciting prospects and good finds for India, no doubts about that. But when successive seasons throw players of the same variety.. then as you might expect, we will see-saw through amazing and aweful performaces, which has exactly been the case.

So, now apart from DeWall Dravid and Manager Sachin, we have a team of slashers : Sehwag, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Raina.. with ironically Irfan Pathan sent as a pinch-hitter above our slashers for some strange reasons. So when we have played on placid and true wickets, all these boys fire and rip up the bowling.. They spare no one.. And, when playing on wickets that dont let you slog in peace.. they again spare no one.. Sehwag will be out playing his natural game, bowled of a swinging yorker, Yuvi would be spun-off, Dhoni caught of a mistimed pull and Raina, still new would explore a new way.

After a record breaking run against Lanka and South Africa, where they unbelievably won batting second, they have found ways to lose matches in WI in astonishing manners.
So, though they are back to staid and placid wickets at home, their confidence is in doldrums. Worst of all, Pathan is lacking in confidence, who in my opinion is the best Indian Cricketer. Unless, he gets back to his swinging ways, we are going to remain in trouble.

Interestingly, Dinesh Mongia is back. He who made us cry in the last world cup. Though, I feel its the right thing to have happened. He had an amazing record in the Counties last 2 years. Nt only did he score with the bat, he was outstanding with his bowling. If that didnt warrant a recall, nothing will. But, his first knock after being back put him back where he was. He 'seemed' to have top scored with a 50 odd, eventually running out of partners. But the truth is he still doesnt understand that Cricket isnt just about throwing a ball and hitting it around. There is this match situtation to contend with too. He just stood there as an idiot, giving tailenders the strike when all India needed was 20 odd of like 50 balls. As ever, the match score sheet lied at the end of the match. Not that the selectors will ever know.

So, now lets wait and watch, what Chappell and Sons have in store for us in the coming days. Will Pathan get back to his lethal ways? Will Sehwag slaughter away like a madhouse? Will Dhoni make bowlers repent on their career choice? Or will India invent newer ways to lose matches from unlosable situations?

Play on..

For a change today, I want to talk about the Hindi music scene.. Music has increasingly taking a back seat for me, in the last couple of years. Earlier I was always hands on with the latest releases and had an opinion on all the latest music.. But with limited time spent at home and not much FM connectivity in these parts of the world, its hard to keep track of things. But then the best of the lot still trickles through.

Last year or so hasnt really been big for music. The trends keep changing all the time, but the current one is really baffling.

For one, rarely an album has music from just one composer.. So you have Anu Malik, Pritam and company sharing space on the same album cover. Now, thats not what an album is about. It isnt supposed to be a hash of Punjabi Pop, Sufiana and Rock. Take one or max two genre and give us ranges within it.. But then with the way our movies are structured it isnt that mis-aligned. :)

Then 4 of 6 'original' (pun intended) tracks HAVE to have a remixed or DJ or Dance version of them. The topping is when the most tragic songs are rehashed as trance tracks.. ;-) DJ Akbar Sami and his ilk are having a field day.

And then comes in Himesh Reshammiya. Well, first things first. I think he is a talented composer. He has a genuine sense of melody. I appreciate some of his work. I actually liked his "Aashiq Banaya aapne" and the first set of his sufiana pepped stuff. For one it provided variety to the innumerable Punjabi pop tracks, that I inately dislike. Then Sufi music has an appeal that is hard to capture in text. His efforts were commendable and his voice was a diversion from the 'perfect' sterile voices of the likes of Sonu Nigam and Co. So far so good.. but then he overdid it to an extent that he was doing 3 albums a month, composing 6 tracks an album (+ 6 remixes from Akbar Sami) and singing all of them. Now he was never a singer to pull it off. His initial success pulled him through the last six months and 20 hits.. watever. But thats now a trend we would want to go on. Himesh himself needs to get over it and compose something new.

But then there has been the emergence of some good too.
We have seen a lot of different voices breaking in.. point in case Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan (Mitwa/fuzon), James (Bheegi Bheegi/Gangster), Zubeen Garg (Ya Ali/Gangster), Kailash Kher and Atif Aslam. Now, all these guys dont have those crystal clear voices of Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, KK and Shaan. Thats what sets them apart. Its great to hear to a lot of niche songs in these different voice, where their natural elements add to the feel of the songs. Take for example "Allah ke bande" by Kailash Kher. You can not have a Udit Narayan rendering it with the same feel. Or "Ya Ali" by Zubeen Garg. Zubeen isnt in the same league as Sonu Nigam, but Ya Ali sounds better with Zubeen than what it would with Sonu rendering it(IMO).

And then there is Atif Aslam. Atif is the best of the lot.. atleast the new ones. He is naturally gifted with a very high pitched voice, that doesnt really shiver even at the highest notes. Just listen to his 'Aadat' or 'Bheegi Raatein'. Even his latest 'Tere Bin' from 'Bas ek Pal', not his best, sounds soo peaceful.

Another great 'find' IMO has been Shantanu Moitra, of Parineeta fame. He isnt as visible as an Anu Malik or not even as much selling as Himesh, but he is really talented. His music has an inate sense of softness and 'thehraav' which is rare to find. Rahman's is the only other music that has the same feel. apart from his more appreciated Parineeta, do listen to his score in "Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi", an amazing score of ghazals to the tune of Mirza Ghalib and Swanand Kirkire (Contemporary!!). And then Parineeta, which I personally thought was a hopeless movie, had a gem for each and every of its songs. The lesser known "Soonga mann ka aangan" is the crown jewel.

Well, we can only hope that we have more of the positives and a lot less of these so called trends coming up later this year. But do give Shantanu Moitra and Atif Aslam a go.. well, that actually gives me the thought of a Shantanu Moitra composed song sung by Atif. That would certainly qualify for a treat. You never know...

Self Tagging..

So, I certainly aint a regular blogger.. not the kinds to be tagged around by the more prominent and regular ones who 'tag' each other and who in turn tag others in chain...

But then I came across this questionaire tagged onto one of the bloggers, and I am tempted to fill it in myself.. Been ages having really 'written' anything here... Yeah thats like my upper limit of writing stuff nowadays...

So here goes my Self Tag...
No cross-questioning plz..


I am thinking about...
my forthcoming job.

I said...
Sweet stuff to Tani..

I want to...
..go on a week long trek to some real remote place..

I wish...
.....

I hear…
a lot of Atif Aslam songs off late.. I am kinda glued onto his style and his amazing voice..

... I wonder...
about nothing these days.. nothing is beyond amazement anymore..things can get as bewildering as you can imagine..

I regret...
not getting onto real estate a LOT earlier..

I am...
wicked..

I dance...
so you dont need to feel embarassed of your own moves.. ;-)

I sing...
not as bad as people think.. and not as good as I think..

I cry...
at the thought of driving in this maniac traffic of Hyderabad..

I am not always...
in a good mood..


I make with my hands...
tea at the most.. God, answering Qs like these makes you realize that how godammed useless your hands are getting offlate..

I write...
stupid tag entries and nothing more than that...

I confuse...
myself in a LOT of things..

I need...
motivation.. concentration... focus...


So there I am..
Hope to write in more often.. a lot more coherent stuff than this...

Independence Day pics !!!

Vande Matram..
Smilies...

an India Today Cover style pic..

Giggling Girl

Group Snap

Square Format

Whipping up a storm

Rest time.. on the bean-bag

Dressed as Krishanji

Clinging to Momma Dear

Smiley time again

Smiley on the Mami now..

Giggly again.... :)

Taani With Dad

Kaanha..

Bored of the Kaanha act..

Daddy dear providing some humour

Huh.. tired..

Tani is a big Girl...

Tani is a big girl now. She is 5 months+. She came visiting us today and did everything she possibly can.. She slept, smiled, played, ate, drank, CRIIIIEEED, bbrrrrrrrr-ed...
(Click each pic for larger image)

Happy Family..

In Mommy's lap

Looking over Daddy's shoulder..

Admiring nature..

Bbbrrrrrrrrrr.....

Reaching out..

Thats her fave pose in her bed/ pram..

Getting Wild 'On... :)

Twinkle Twinkle..

At her playful best..

Making a point..

Mommy energised.. ,-)

Striking a pose...

Her ponies are sooo cute..

and here is her goofy smile...

Doesnt Tani look big with her two ponies? She looks like ready to be sent-off to school with a huge bag of books and copies... :D