Episode 009 - No Shortcuts (audio file format: 192 Kbps mp3 - duration: 28:30 [mm:ss] - size: 39.2 MB)
Shownotes:
WARNING: This episode contains spoilers and a couple of bits of language that are NSFW/NSFK. No, I won't make a habit of it, but I think it was warranted, in this case.
And a couple of funny things happened in the ten days since I recorded this episode: first, I did manage to rent a copy of the Steve Martin/Eddie Murphy starrer "Bowfinger" -- and it is a good film. So good, in fact, that I'll be buying my own copy for our collection. As for what it inspired in either of today's films, well, not a lot -- oh, well, I can imagine Sreenivasan wondering how to finish up his own movie, and watching "Bowfinger", and thinking, "My climax! I've got my climax!" much as his character Udayan does, but beyond that? Not much.
Nor does "ShortKut: the Con is On" share much with "Bowfinger", either, beyond that tag line.
Now, the second thing: I flipped on the television last Sunday to find the film "Phir Hera Pheri" on OMNI2's Bollywood Freetime Cinema. The thing that struck me? It was directed by Neeraj Vora, who also directed "ShortKut".
And had I seen that film before going to the cinema to see ShortKut, I would have realized two things: Neeraj Vora makes noisy films full of caricatures, and I am probably not in the target market for a Neeraj Vora directed film.
Okay, so time for a little bit of "compare and contrast". Two videos. The first, "Penne en Penne" is from the Malayalam film "Udayananu Thaaram", and features Sreenivasan and Meena. The premise is that they're filming a picturisation from that fateful first film they're working on together, and captures a lot of what's going on in the film, from Rajappan's inability to dance, his awful costumes, and his sessions with his acting guru, all while poor Udayan is working hard, not realizing his film has already been stolen out from under him:
And the equivalent moment in "ShortKut", the song "Kyun Hota Hai Dil Deewana":
Attributions:
Adnan Sami Khan
"Lift Kara De" (mp3)
from "Kabhi To Nazar Milao/Bheegi Bheegi raton Mein"
(OSA)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
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More On This Album
Hadiqa "Dupatta" (mp3)
from "Roshni"
(OSA) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at eMusic Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This Album
"Tablas-Very Sharp" recorded by hammerklavier and uploaded to The Freesound Project
"Cartoony sound from stretched steel wire" recorded by bahgheera and uploaded to The Freesound Project
"Cartoon style whoosh sound" recorded by man and uploaded to The Freesound Project
"Cartoon headshake" recorded by Cartoonguy11 and uploaded to The Freesound Project
"Sad trombone sound" recorded by Benboncan and uploaded to The Freesound Project
Theme music and intro voiceover by John Meadows, host of the podcast "On The Log"
Somehow I hadn't even listened to ShotKut's music yet! I am going to do it RIGHT NOW.
Posted by: Beth | Tuesday, 28 July 2009 at 10:19
Ah, it may not surprise you to find that I think that the Mayalam version's music/picturisations are better. Much better.
I like to see if I can figure out if I'm going to like a film purely by how much I love the soundtrack. ShortKut's didn't last long on my Nano. That should have been my first clue.
The music for Kaminey and Love Aaj Kal took a little time to grow on me, but I absolutely love most of the songs on both soundtracks, and they've really got me looking forward to the film. I am *so* sucked in by the marketing.
Mind you, I liked the Kambakkht Ishq soundtrack, and that didn't work out as well as I'd hoped. :-)
Posted by: katherine | Tuesday, 28 July 2009 at 10:42