Totally Filmi

Totally Filmi Episode 012 - Do You Wanna Partner? Taaqatwar

Episode 012 - Do You Wanna Partner? Taaqatwar (audio file format: 192 Kbps mp3 - duration: 13:00 [mm:ss] - size: 17.8 MB)

Shownotes:

It's been twenty years since director David Dhawan and actor Govinda made their first film together -- and since then, they've come together a total of 17 times -- and their 18th film, Do Knot Disturb (also starring Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta and Sushmita Sen) will be released on October 2nd.

Regular blog readers/podcast listeners know that I have a massive crush on Govinda, but I also have a soft spot for David Dhawan's films.  So in preparation for the release of Do Knot Disturb, I've been revisiting the films they've made together over the last twenty years.  No in depth analysis here -- though I am planning on looking at the films in greater depth in the future -- but just some thoughts from a fan.

In this episode, I look at the first film, 1989's Taaqatwar (starring Govinda, of course, but also Sanjay Dutt, Neelam, Anita Raj, Shakti Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher, Tanuja, Anil Dhawan and Gulshan Grover, and with music by Anu Malik)

And one of my favorite Govinda/Neelam moments, "Chadgayi Chadgayi":

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Attributions:

"Tablas-Very Sharp" recorded by hammerklavier and uploaded to The Freesound Project

Theme music by John Meadows, host of the podcast "On The Log"

wanted: in which i reveal the importance of keeping an open mind and discuss how marketing is probably useless

So, over the course of the past few weeks, I've been musing aloud here on the blog about the two big films that released on September 18th:  Dil Bole Hadippa and Wanted.

And for the most part, having watched the publicity for both films, I felt certain that the film I would really want to see, that I would really enjoy, that I would find the better film, well, I was certain it would turn out to be Dil Bole Hadippa.

Yesterday, I finally got to see Wanted.  And I have to say, I take it ALL back.  Every single thing I typed about the film.  No, wait, not the bit where I wrote that "Jalwa" was a terrific track and the picturisation with Govinda and Prabhu Deva would be faboo, I meant that, and it was absolutely and completely true.

Oh, okay, I also didn't like the picturisation for "Love Me, Love Me", or at least the clip I saw.  And although I will say that it's my least favorite picturisation in the film, the full version comes off better than the edited promo clip.  I still find some of the choreography clunky, and I still don't like much of what they've dressed the gorgeous Ayesha Takia in, but overall, the entire clip was all right.

And sure, I poked a little gentle fun at the song "Ishq Vishq", but you know what?  It wasn't even in the film. 

But I have to say:  Wanted was absolutely terrific.  I didn't find the posters appealing, I didn't find the trailer appealing, and only the "Jalwa" promotional clip provoked any interest at all.  But a few people I know whose opinions I trust went to see the film and raved about it.

So I went -- or, rather, the Tech Guy and I went.

And we thoroughly enjoyed it.  Wanted is one ripper of a film.  It's well written, the story is terrific, the dialogues are funny and wonderful, the whole package is great.  Even the songs, most of which didn't excite me terribly when I listened to the soundtrack, the songs are great in the context of the film.  There are lots of them, I liked much of the choreography, and frankly?  I haven't had this much fun in the cinema in a good long while.

Even Salman Khan -- I've stated here before, I'm not a huge Salman fan for a variety of reasons, but he was, in all honestly, just brilliant in the film.

Of course, all of this has me thinking about how films are marketed and how we as an audience perceive the publicity and how we use it to make choices about what we'll see -- and about how sometimes we're wrong.  I had been fully convinced that Dil Bole Hadippa would charm me and delight me, and although bits of it did (and certainly, as I wrote previously, Rani Mukherjee did with her performance), it turned out that the film I initially had no desire to see would turn out to be the film that blew me away with it's brashness, boldness, and general chutzpah.

Now, mind you, I'm a little worried about next week -- when Do Knot Disturb releases. I have been so excited to see what David Dhawan and Govinda will do, I'm about ready to plotz.  I'm thinking, after my Wanted/Dil Bole Hadippa experience, that maybe I should spend the next week lowering my expectations just a little bit.

not that i'm keeping score or anything

But if I were?  I'd say that Wanted, which I'd found, well, wanting in its early trailers and song teasers, until the latest one for "Jalwa" was released (recap:  Govinda + Prabhu Deva = faboo), well Wanted?  Just might turn out to be the better of the two films released this weekend.

I can't believe I just typed that.  I can't believe I just typed that Salman Khan is more palatable than Rani Mukherjee and Shahid Kapoor put together.

Well, no, that's not really what I mean.

So let me clarify.  Keep in mind it's almost 1 a.m. and I've just got back from watching Dil Bole Hadippa, and I'm tired and need to pack and am a little stressed.

I was so looking forward to Dil Bole Hadippa. I hoped, from seeing the trailer, that it would be fun and frothy and colourful and give Rani a chance to shine, because she is so beautiful and so talented, and I adore her and would dearly, dearly love to see her in more movies.

So I’m trying to figure out how to say this.

The dance numbers were lovely, and colourful, and well-choreographed, and well-danced.

And there were some lovely, frothy, marshmallow-whip moments.

And the talents of Rani and Shahid Kapoor keep the film from being a real dud. Rani in particular is stunning in her male avatar, her body language is almost dead-spot-on. And there are flashes of chemistry between Rani and Shahid that would be nice to see in a better script.

But the YashRaj moral/thematic sledgehammer put rather a damper on the whole thing (I counted no fewer than six moral themes touched on), as well as some awfully awful dialogues and some emotional responses that were so over-the-top and out of proportion. Why I expect anything else from YashRaj these days is beyond me, but I thought they might just get this one right.

Happily, the theatre was packed (evidence, in my mind, that people were clearly in the mood to see Rani in a film again), and the crowd was *really* into the cricket match scenes -- even shouting out what they felt should be the umpire's final call at the end of the last match, which was fun.

"Not out!" came the cry from various corners of the theatre.

I wish I could say the same for the film.

uncle. so to speak.

Okay Wanted.  You've convinced me.  If I can find the time in the next very, very busy week, I will go and see the movie.  I will go and see the movie just because of this new video clip.  (Sorry, can't embed it here, Eros Entertainment has disabled embedding, and every other version of this clip out there is so fuzzy as to be unwatchable).

If you watch it, the moment that totally convinced me?  Is not, surprisingly, the 1:47 mark, when Govinda appears.  It is also, not, the 2:05 mark, when Prabhu Deva appears.  It is, in actual fact, the 2:17 mark.

Govinda AND Prabhu Deva* dancing on screen.  Now, how long will that last?  Seconds.  And that's all it took in terms of marketing to put my tush in a seat.

(Okay, so maybe it really says something totally pathetic about me.  I can live with that.)

*For those not in the know, Prabhu Deva directed the Tamil film Pokkiri, which was a remake of a Telugu film called Pokiri.  And Wanted is the Hindi remake of both of them, also directed and choreographed by Prabhu Deva. 

totally filmi goes to montreal

Next weekend, I'm taking Totally Filmi on the road -- to Montreal!  And specifically, to Podcamp Montreal.  I am so totally excited -- almost as pumped as for the release of Do Knot Disturb.

(Okay, maybe more pumped.  Yes, Montreal trumps Govinda.  Whodathunkit?)

I've got a special Podcamp Montreal edition of the podcast in the works, but the other bit of news is that I'm going to be doing a presentation at podcamp.  Alas, for filmi fans, I will not be speaking on anything remotely to do with Hindi cinema or Bollywood or Indian cinema of any description (unless someone wants to talk to me, and then I'll happily bend your ear).

Inspired by Alain de Botton's book The Architecture of Happiness, I'm going to be presenting a session entitled The Architecture of (Podcasting) Happiness.  I'll argue that, just as architecture influences our mood, just as the environments we create and live in reflect our personalities, so too does the content we create or build on the internet.  I'll be using podcasts -- the creation of audio content -- as my primary point of reference, but I do think that the idea extends to all of our creations, to everything we build out here on the interwebs.

It'll be highly philosophical, airy-fairy stuff, with just a soupçon of practicality.  Kind of like me.  So, come to my session, engage in the discussion, share your ideas, and let's talk about what we're building out here for ourselves on the internet autobahn.

do knot disturb: mere naal promo

Ah, finally, a new promo for Do Knot Disturb!  At last we get a little more of a taste of the song "Mere Naal".  I think I stand by what I said about it in the last episode of my podcast:

But the bottom line?  I'm still really looking forward to the film.

how did this happen?

And when I type "this", I mean "this":

 

That is a stack of DVDs (and CD) which have found their way to my desk in the last couple of weeks.  At the very bottom is the start of a collection of Malayalam films (though I need, ASAP, to find a good source for Sreenivasan's films, I have a kind of a project planned with them).  Then there are a bunch of French films.  Then a whole whack of films in the David Dhawan/Govinda filmography, and some more French films, and then right at the top?

Four films I need to rewatch in the next week. 

Fortunately?  The CD I've already dealt with.  One down.  A lot to go. 

Wish me luck.

(Oh, yeah, and did I mention I also have to get a presentation finished for Podcamp Montreal?  I do.  Guess I'll be burning the candle at both ends these next few weeks...)

Totally Filmi Episode 011 - Do Knot Disturb (Music Edition)

Episode 011 - Do Knot Disturb (Music Edition) (audio file format: 192 Kbps mp3 - duration: 52:05 [mm:ss] - size: 71.6 MB)

Shownotes:

So, I listen to the Do Knot Disturb soundtrack.  And I think, "Hey, maybe I should do a quick episode, play a game of "what if?", and speculate on the connections between the songs and the film.

A week later?  The episode is almost an hour long, and features a discussion with a good friend and someone more expert than me in the ways of music.  I say "discussion", because if there's one thing I'm not, it's an interviewer, so John Meadows and I rambled over a lot of ground (well, I rambled, and John illuminated me) before the lightbulb finally went off for me.  I'm grateful for his knowledge.  Mostly I'm grateful for his patience.

However, I can state, unequivocally, that after setting the soundtrack aside for a bit, and coming back to it with fresh ears and fewer expectations -- I actually *really* love the song "Mere Naal" now.  Seriously. I know I said that I thought "Bebo" was my favourite, but nope, "Mere Naal" has displaced it.

If this actually whets your interest in buying the CD, it's available from both Nehaflix and Induna.

The soundtrack is also available on iTunes, where you can purchase the whole thing, or individual tracks.

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Attributions:

Malkit Singh
"Mere Naal Mere Naal Nach Kurriyie" (mp3)
from "Put Sardaran De"
(OSA)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at eMusic
Buy at Puretracks
Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album

"Tablas-Very Sharp" recorded by hammerklavier and uploaded to The Freesound Project

Theme music by John Meadows, host of the podcast "On The Log"

show me your jalwa

Okay, so remember this post?  The one where I invited you to make up your own mind about the two videos (one from Dil Bole Hadippa, the other from Wanted)?  The one in which I suggested that you might be surprised about my opinion of the "Jalwa" video,  based on everything else I'd previously said about the films and their music?

Let's review:

So, here's the thing.  "Jalwa" surprised me.  Totally.  Most of the songs on the Wanted soundtrack I could leave, but "Jalwa"?  I really like.  So much so, that it's actually going to stay on my iPod.

"So, how about the video?" I hear you asking.  "What do you think of the video?"

I like it.  Okay, this is only a short snip out of the whole thing, but I like it.  I mean, what's not to like?  It's colourful, they dance on top of tanker trucks, Salman's clothes are, well, totally Salman, but not awful, you know?  He's not a great dancer, but he's doing pretty well in this.  Oh, well, okay, his hair is a question mark (what else is new, it's been constantly changing over the last year, it's almost a surprise if there isn't something unusual going on with his hair), and I'm not fond of that move where he jerks his shirt (but I'll blame that on the choreographer).

However, this one clip in and of itself, no matter how much I like it and the song,  would not be enough to sway me to go see the whole film.

Or, it wouldn't have.  Then I read my Google newsfeed today, which turned up this article from the Times of India.  Yes, you read that headline right:

"Govinda, Anil, shake a leg with Salman"

Dude.  You bet it's going to be the highlight of the film.  For me, anyway.

And yes.  Now I am *seriously* thinking of going to see Wanted.  When I will find the *time*, is anybody's guess, but I am so not going to miss Govinda dancing to "Jalwa".

do knot promote

So, according to this article,  director David Dhawan is annoyed with producer Vashu Bhagnani for not doing enough promotion for their forthcoming film, Do Knot Disturb.

And while I normally don't bother too much with what the press has to say, I'd say that even if Dhawan didn't "blast" Bhagnani as the headline suggests, there's a bit of a grain of truth in there.

Because *I've* been wondering what's going on with all the promotion.  Or lack thereof.  And it makes me uneasy, because if there's one thing I've seen, it's when the makers of a film realize they've got a dud on their hands and just walk away from it.  You're lucky if you get the soundtrack, but there's often no or little promotion at all.

The film's release date seems to have moved again, too, and that with little fanfare.  It was originally supposed to open October 2nd, and then was moved to September 25th (and all the posters that are out have that date on them now), and then last week, I was looking for a list of releases on the Bollywood Hungama website and noticed they'd moved Do Knot Disturb back to October 2nd.

Now, I remember reading something (oh, that press again), that director Ashutosh Gowariker was unhappy -- that when schedules were rearranged after the end of the strike, he was promised a solo release for his film What's Your Rashee?, so I assume that was what prompted the move of Do Knot Disturb back to the October 2nd date.

Okay, to be fair -- I know that David Dhawan and Govinda have been on television in India doing some promotion, and that they did have a proper release for the music last week.

But, it took me a while to find the film's official website.  I tried "doknotdisturb.com", but that was a parked domain.  I searched every which way I could, it was NOT turning up in Google, which, to throw out a social media buzzword, is not an example of good Search Engine Optimization. 

I *knew* though, that I'd seen a website for the film on the bottom of the posters for it, last time I was in the theatre (a couple of weeks ago).  So, I went searching for images of the film's posters on line, and that's when I found out what the URL for the film's website actually was. 

If someone out there tells me there's a better way to find it, they can let me know, and I'll promptly go hand my Masters of Library Science degree back in.

But as for the site:  it's not a bad site  I like the landing page, and the rest is all right, too.  There were two things about it, though, that irritated me:  first, there are spelling mistakes on it  (the waiter is promised a sum of money, not a "some of money", as written on the site, for example); and, second, there's a little whirly thing made up of those hotel door signs they use in all the promotion (very clever), but it moves too quickly for you to actually select where you want to go next on the site.

However, I do have to ask:  where are you on Twitter and Facebook? 

Answer:  you're not there, or if you are, you're not getting that word out.  Because if you had a Twitter feed for the film, I'd be following you (like I have been for Dil Bole Hadippa, for example).  If you had a Facebook page for the film, I'd be a fan (like I am for most of the films that have come out recently).  Both are great ways to reach out to fans, to share lots of stuff about the films, and in doing that, to create buzz for the film.

I know that two of the film's stars are on Twitter:  both Lara Dutta and Riteish Deshmukh have accounts, and I follow them both.  Neither has said much about the film -- if I recall correctly, Lara mentioned the music release for the film last week on Twitter.  Otherwise, both are tweeting mostly about the film they're currently filming -- Housefull -- which, of course, is natural, because Twitter *is* all about what we're doing right here, right now.  But Riteish is also tweeting a lot about his upcoming film Aladin.  Again, natural -- it's going to be a big release, there's a lot of buzz...but it's not his next release.

That just happens to be Do Knot Disturb.  And once again, I get this feeling that for the film's stars, Do Knot Disturb has slipped through the cracks.

Am I wrong?  I would love to be proved wrong.  I am looking forward to this film very much.  I am a fan of David Dhawan and Govinda.  I would like this film to be at least as equally successful for them as Partner was a couple of years back.

But if you're not reaching me -- already a fan, already pumped for the film, and pretty internet/social media savvy -- then that doesn't bode well, I think.