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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

There's just something about Allu Arjun

What happened to my Bollywood hottie, John Abraham?



There's no doubt that I find John Abraham hot -- he's so sizzling hot, I can cook scrambled eggs on his chisled, six-pack abs. Honestly, I didn't find him that attractive back in the days, I started to notice him more mainly because of Bipasha Basu (if you know nothing about my girl crush, Bips, then read this or this or even this). Then I read and saw his interviews and fell in love with him more. Besides his physical physique hotness, he is laid-back, cool, fun, sweet, all that.

What's up with Allu Arjun then?



When I ventured out to South Indian films several years ago, I fell for a guy name Allu Arjun. It was all because of him that I'm more in love with Tollywood aka Telugu films.



Besides Arjun's good looks, it was his boyish charm and character in his films that got me. Oh yeah, not to mention the guy can dance! Forget Hrithik Roshan and/or Shahid Kapur. He is the *best* dancer in India. I can watch him dance all day. Trying to learn his dance moves is a good workout!!! Check him at the South Scope Style Awards, Maaro Maaro - Bunny, Thakadimi Thom - Aarya, Gola Gola - Desamuduru, just to name a few.



Sometimes when I think about it. What really is it that makes me go ga-ga for Arjun? I feel like a school girl crushing sooo hard. Both JA & AA are smoking hot, but within the past year, my dil goes to Allu Arjun.



I rather stare and watch Arjun's films, good or bad.
On Youtube, I search for anything Allu Arjun.



Instead of Mumbai, I rather go to Hyderabad.
Forget trying to learn Hindi, I want to learn Telugu!



Funny thing is JA is closer to me in age. Instead, I'm crushing on a younger guy this hard. And I'm a married woman! My kids know my crush on Arjun, hahaha.



Allu Arjun, what have you done to me?

Monday, October 19, 2009

Mini-reviews

Haven't been blogging as much as I used to but have been watching movies when I get a chance. Just a bunch of mini-reviews. Hopefully I'll get screen cap happy again.

Some are films I've watched since I
injured myself, hahaha, that I haven't blogged about but did tweet.

All listed in alpha order separated by language

Bollywood/Hindi


Kaminey
Shahid. Shahid. Shahid. You deserve an award for your performance! No kidding. From beginning to end, I was hooked. Shahid's acting was excellent, the way he used his facial expressions and body language to let the audience distinguish between the twins was great. Priyanka was really good too. I was glad to see her in a non-glamorous role again. Love how the film flowed with backstories of how the inseparable twins ended up not being close anymore and have to be re-united again after many years.


Love Aaj Kal
A cute, modern love story. That's it. Saif is waaay too old to be playing opposite Deepika. I have a problem with 40-plus actors doing that, especially in a romantic comedy. Maybe I'll give them a pass in action or drama films but in a romantic comedy? I don't think so. Saif looks great and probably didn't think much because his real-life girlfriend, Kareena Kapoor, is 10+ years younger than him anyways. But it's not all Saif's fault that I didn't like the film as much as I should have. Even though it was only 2-hours long, I felt it dragged a lot. Usually I'm not a fan of Deepika, she's gorgeous, has a great smile, but is lacking in the acting department. I actually liked her in the film. It could be because she had a fiesty vibe to her character. It was soooo great to see Rahul Khanna, I like him a lot and wanted to see more of him. Storyline of a modern couple who separate but realize that they are meant to be had potential but I just felt something was missing to say I loved it. I like it, but it wasn't "great."


Luck By Chance
Wow! Farhan does it again. Not only is he is good-looking, he is so talented - produce, direct, act! He brings the best out from everyone. I was very happy to see him paired with Konkona, who is one of my favorite working actresses. Another plus is Amit Paul's song, "Pyaar Ka Dastan." Definitely one of my fave films of 2009 so far. It didn't need all the special guest appearances even though it was good to see them :) The film touches on taking chances or is it just purely luck? Or could it be you have to play your cards right to get what you want? I really like how it makes you think about life, what you make of it.


New York
John Abraham! I missed him so much. He's still as hot as before. I was happy to see Neil in the film since I like him a lot. Not a fan of Katrina but do think she is not a bad actress as everyone says she is. She is tolerable and cute. I miss John in roles like this. He has a shady character and think he's best when he plays one. Everything in the film was good up until the ending. It really ruined it for me. It was stretched too long and made it too sappy. The beginning focused on three college friends and terrorists around the 9/11 Twin Towers attack. It was a fast-paced film beginning but slowed down in the middle. Still a watchable film but really disappointed.


Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
Again, no more 40-plus actors romancing 20s actresses, please! The storyline was nothing new. Young girl marries a guy twice her age due to her dying father's wish. Suri (SRK #1) was boring. Raj (SRK #2) was annoying. Tani (Anushka Sharma) was young and energetic and didn't need a log as a husband. Film references are cute but I felt it was overdone. Didn't like the Dhoom reference because Tani was a total idiot. I did watch the film with very, very low expectations. Some parts are cute, but overall, a bore, just like Suri.

Kollywood/Tamil


Anniyan
So I had to see who this Vikram dude was. I mean I've been reading about what a great actor he is and how good looking he is. Okay, don't kill me people but I don't find him attractive :( Maybe it's just this film. I will have to watch more cause the man can act. Sada is really pretty and I like her. The film turned out to be a psycological thriller, which I love! People getting killed by a guy name Anniyan. But Anniyan just don't go on a killing rampage, the people he does kill aren't saints either. The fight scenes were too over-the-top though. Other than that, I like it.


Enakku 20 Unakku 18
Cute!!! Trisha is best at comedic roles. She is soooo cute and does an amazing job. Tarun is likeable. Simple movie about two people who meet once but have this strong bond, depart, and later want to find each other. I adore Shirya Saran but she did nothing for the film. She wasn't there as a love triangle or anything. All she did was hang with the guys, her character could have been a guy!


Perazhagan
Both Surya & Jyothika in a double role. No kidding. It was enough for me to have both of them together in a film together. Besides playing a hot stud, Surya also plays a hunch-backed, not-so-good-looking guy with a heart of gold. While Jyothika does play a rich, beautiful girl, she also plays a blind girl. The movie is quite complicated with *out* me giving a huge explanation of spoilers and doing a full review. Let's just say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is a funny film with some serious moments.


Unnale Unnale
The first Tamil film (actually Southie) that I've seen taken place mostly outside of India and being really modern. Filming mostly in Austrailia. I loved it though. The whole cast was great - Vinay Rai, Sada, & Tanisha Mukherjee. Yes, it's a bit of a love triangle but with a twist.


Virumbugiren
Sneha is the main reason why I watched this film. She is just soooo adorable and never disappoints. The beginning starts off good and had me hooked but fell apart towards the end. I hate it when the women, especially daughters, sacrafice so much for the family but is damn just cause she is a female. What hurts me more is that her father who is suppose to protect her goes by what the society has to say instead of sticking up for his daughter. Yes, it's because she is in love with Prashanth's character. They live in a small village and Prashanth is a fire fighter. Only for Sneha fans, she never disappoints.

Tollywood/Telugu


Aata
Siddharth!!!! I've been wanting to see this film for so long. Needed my Sid fix. I needed to have my expectations lowered a bit cause I was slightly disappointed. It was a bit too long to me. But it was a fun movie though. I think Ileana was so adorable and found a new like for her. Sid & Ileana look really cute together. Aata means game. Therefore, the film is about a game, a game that is played on the villian (Munna) by the one and only, Sid. Munna is villian but also son of a politician who is in love with Ileana and wants to marry her. Her family is scared of Munna's family. Sid and Ileana love each other. Sid manipulates Munna and plays games with him, only to have the game turn around and be in his favor.


Arundhati
Woman power! That still is enough for me to want to watch the film. No kidding. I had no idea who Anuksha Shetty was but now I know. I love watching women who stands up for themselves and fights! Especially with a weapon. The film is good. The ending is a bit long though but definitely worth a watch. It's a thriller with a lot of supernatural elements. Sonu Sood plays the villian. With *out* giving away any spoilers or doing a long review (have to do a long review soon!!!), it's a film about grudges over generations.


Chatrapati
I've been wanting to see a Prabhas film to see who this guy is. He's tall, good-looking, but just don't do it for me. Maybe this wasn't a good film for me to start off for hotness, huh? Yes, I'm shallow. Heard a lot of good things about it. Shriya Saran was in the film and added humor. She and Prabhas were so adorable together. Storyline is nothing new. Prabhas is adopted and the mother who adopted him loves him more than her own son, Shafi, which makes him very jealous. Shafi's character is just plain annoying. Of course, Prabhas is just a saint. Maybe I wasn't in the mood to watch? I will have to re-watch and make caps. The songs are great.


Chirutha
Ram Charan Teja's debut film. Who cares? Well, he's my Tollywood hubby's (Allu Arjun) cousin and very famous Chiranjeevi's son. Film started off strong but quickly lost interest. It's a case of boy meets girl and what happened to the film? Newcomer Neha Sharma is gorgeous and hot! Both Cherry & Neha are fabulous dancers bringing on the sexiness. The love story does nothing for the film, which got me hooked from the beginning. If the love story was taken out, then the film would've been much better. It starts off with the young Cherry seeing his father murdered in front of his eyes and his mother being injured. In order to save her life, he agrees to go to jail for a crime. Songs are great to watch. Film had so much potential but lost it when love story surfaced with the guy falling for a snooty, rich girl.


Devdas
Don't get it confused with the famous film, Devdas, in Hindi. This film has nothing to do with that. It's just the name of the hero. No, he doesn't sap all day long not able to be with the one he loves. This Devdas is just the opposite. He's ruthless, cool, modern, and hip. But he is unselfish. Film is both Ram & Ileana's debut film. Ileana is the NRI who comes to India to learn music but ends up falling for a guy who her father disapproves. Story is nothing new. It was refreshing to see another college setting. Admittedly, film was a bit long though. Some parts were entertaining while others could have been avoided.


Jalsa
Any film that has Kamalinee Mukherjee is entertaining. It is no different for this film. She only has a guest appearance but it doesn't matter, her other guest appearances in films are good. Definitely my fave film of Ileana, she is just so endearing. I'm so used to seeing guys chased after her in films but it's different in this one. She chases Pawan. Once she learns more about his past, she is unsure she wants to be with him. Her father (Prakash Raj) knows about her lover's past and tells her. Another plus in the film, hearing Mahesh Babu's voice! He is the narrator!


Mogudu Pellam O Dongodu
One of the shortest Indian films ever - only 1.5 hours! But it was one of the boringest too! Having the hotties Raja & Shriya Saran did no justice to a boring film. Film just focus on three people. Yes, three! The groom, the bride, and a thief (Brahmanandam). Raja & Shriya marry but she wants to wait until an auspicious time to "be together." While waiting, staring, waiting, and more waiting, Raja gets irritated and annoyed. They just have flashbacks of when they met, blah, blah, blah. Songs in the flashbacks are good. So where does this leave the thief? Just hiding. Just a boring film. Just get a song dvd because that's the best part of the film.


Mr Medhavi
Mr Medhavi means Mr Genius. It's about a guy (Raja) who plans his life in order to gain what he wants in life. Whether it's his fame, job, or the girl who he wants, he calculates every step, even if it's seems deceiving. He has always loved Sweta (Genelia). They grew up together but were separated and re-united again when they were older. She is in love with another guy (Sonu Sood). Mr Medhavi didn't plan for another guy to be in the picture and must remove him. Film is cute and I like how it narrates it with Raja letting the viewers see us through his eyes. Genelia looks really pretty and love her hairstyle! I may have to get it soon!


Parugu
Been waiting for this film to hit dvd for the longest. Yes, the long-awaited film finally hit dvd. I am one of the first ones who pre-orders. I didn't have high expectations because I did't want to be disappointed. Yes, I do plan to do full review later. I have to. It has my Tollywood hubby! Honestly, the storyline does nothing for me. It's the director's vision and Allu Arjun who brings the sexiness, making the film worthwhile. Film is about a powerful man (Prakash Raj) who doesn't believe in love marriages and forces his older daughter (Poonam Bajwa) to marry another guy. Instead she elopes with her lover. Father becomes furious and finds all of the lover's friends. One of them being the hottie Krishna (Allu Arjun). He keeps them as prisoners until they confess where his daughter is. In the meantime, hottie must find who this mystery girl (Sheela) is who he has fallen head-over-heels with. Doesn't sound that interesting, right? It really isn't. But trust me, Allu Arjun makes it worth while. Must make screen caps very soon! I *did* like it but mainly because of my hottie.


Radha Gopalam
Film started off toooo slow for me. I didn't want to finish it. Almost didn't. However, it started to get interesting later. Beginning was a bit boring but it picks up a bit. It's about a happy married couple (Srikanth & Sneha) and how it turns sour because of the husband's ego. Being a "man," he takes a blow to the face when his wife becomes more successful than him in the same career. Just didn't hold that much interest but had great potential.


Sainikudu
Mahesh Babu!!! He's always like a super hero fighting for justice. That's what I love about him. With the crooked government, the Sainikudu (solider) Siddharth (Mahesh Babu) just wants justice brought to people. In order to get his message across to one of the potential candidate Pappu Yadav (Irrfan Khan) running for elections, he makes a bold statement by capturing Pappu's wife-to-be (Trisha). She is blinded by her fiance and thinks he is one of the best men she ever met. Trisha, again, is the best at comedy. There isn't much romantic chemistry with her and Mahesh but they are cute together on screen. Overall, the film is okay and is no Athadu.


Sye
What I liked most about this film is it has a youthful feel. I love how the film started off with two rivalry deparments in school - art & engineer, always battling out to see who is better. They usually battle it out with a rugby match. Then later both come together to better their school and team against villians who want to break and tear down their school. Nithin is a pleasure to watch and want to see more of him. Genelia is great as always, definitely one of my favorites. Worth a watch.

Okay, hope I didn't bore anyone!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Dil Bole Hadippa - Shahid is hot, oh yeah, Rani's film all the way!



Finally! I know. I know.

On Sunday, I tweeted that I saw Dil Bole Hadippa in the theater and would blog about it.

It was really a last minute decision. Earlier that day, my friend and I headed to the Festival of Lights event. Afterwards, we went out to The Palace to eat some yummy Indian food. My friend's favorite Bollywood hottie is Shahid Kapur. Since the theater is next to the restaurant, I suggested for us to watch Dil Bole Hadippa. And that's what we did.

When we arrived at the theater, the movie wouldn't start until one more hour. We waited anyways. To kill time, we just chatted and looked at all the posters of the upcoming films. Fifteen minutes before the film started, we were allowed to go sit and wait.

Since Dil Bole Hadippa released several weeks ago on September 18th, we knew there wouldn't be a big crowd. And we were right. However, there were more people in the theater than I thought, probably around 30 people.

Some critics bashed Dil Bole Hadippa for copying Hollywood's movie, She's The Man. First of all, I absolutely loooooved She's The Man. It has Channing Tatum, one of my Hollywood hotties.

But I didn't want to just rely on what people said. I mean come on, I've watched "remakes" before and enjoyed the Bollywood verion more - ahem, Awarapan basically took the plot of the Korean movie, A Bittersweet Life, but I loved Awarapan more.



Dil Bole Hadippa means "heart says hurray," something like that, from what I got from the subtitles. Veera (Rani Mukherjee) lives and breathe cricket, worships Sachin Tendulkar, and is best player in her village. But she's a girl!! Only guys are permitted to play. What must she do? She ends up dressing up like a guy, Veer, in order to play on Rohan's (Shahid Kapur) team.



It is Rani's film all the way!!!!! Welcome back. Not saying she ever left but in the past few years, Rani's choices in films did not due justice to her. She slimmed down and toned her body and is looking even better than ever. I always thought Rani was a good actress but she has just confirmed why she is one of the best.



In a way, Rani had a double role to me because she had to pretend to be another person. Veer and Veera, how funny is that. I thought that was funny since they weren't twins. I guess some parents would name their kids with similar names.

You know, Rani is gorgeous but dressed up like a man, she is not attractive. My friend asked me who that guy was on the poster, I laughed and told her that was Rani dressed up. How funny is that?



My biggest problem with Veera playing cricket in she wore so much jewelry. I know she had to be beautified and show that she's a gorgeous girl. I'm okay with her outfit (okay, not really) and makeup, but too much jewelry!! Lots of bangles, big hoop earrings? Come on. I'm a volleyball player, I want to look cute sometimes. However, my outfits would still be athletic-looking but I would not wear any jewelry. As much as she loved the sport, she didn't have the look. That was just my nitpik. To me, she did have too much eyeliner but I had to let that sly because I know a few girl who plays volleyball and would always have lots of makeup.





Shahid is cute guy. He always looked so young. Funny to say that since the recent actors that I've been crushing on are young - Allu Arjun, Kunal Khemu, Ram, Sherwanand... I never thought about Shahid as hot until this film. Oh. My. Freaking. Goodness. Besides John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan, Shahid pulls off the long-haired look very well. I'm not exactly crushing on Shahid yet, but he is looking HOT!!



Acting-wise, any other actor could have played is role. Okay, maybe not any actor. Playing Rohan just didn't add on to Shahid's resume. But it did add on to the hotness factor. Shahid showed off his muscular body a few times and flirted with the camera a few times. He had more chemistry with the camera than with Rani, hahaha.



I'm not saying that Shahid and Rani were not a good jodi. I think they worked well, better than I would have though, but I think he loved smiling and winking at the camera more :)



Really liked the older woman, younger man approach. Even though it was not emphasize, but I was happy to see this. Since Bips has played the older woman in Bachna Ae Haseeno and Aa Dekha Zara, even most recently with Konkona with Wake Up Sid, I was happy to see that Bollywood is opening up to letting the actresses take that angle. Much better than seeing 40-years-old men romancing 18-years-old.

It saddens me that many actresses after marriage take a long hiatus from films. Many also stop playing the lead heroine and play the sister, aunt, or even mother! I remember Rakhee playing Amitabh's mother but she was seen romancing him in another film! Just not right.

Would like to see Bollywood have more films focus on females. I blogged about it when I did my wish film on 27 Dresses. One step at a time, I know.





Loved the Veer and Rohan's comical scenes, especially the cricket training parts.



The supporting cast for Dil Bole Hadippa was good too. Everyone but Sherlyn Chopra. She was just there mainly for skin show. The girl is not even pretty and looks like a waterdowned Priyanka Chopra (I don't think they are related though) She is too skinny and tries too hard. I'm not impress with her at all. Well, I know her role, Sonia, didn't have much scope though. Chasing Rohan around with little clothing flaunting her chicken legs.



Rakhi was a delight to see. She's a good dancer and has a nice figure. I'm not a fan of hers or anything but I do think she takes a lot of flak for her plastic surgery. Her character brought a bit of humor with dancing in similar clothing and songs to "Kajra Re" - Bunty Aur Bunti & "Crazy Kiya Re" - Dhoom 2.



Oh yeah! Poonam Dhillon!!!! I was so excited to see her! When I saw her name on the credit, I couldn't wait to see her. She's still as beautiful as ever. I wish I was able to find a movie still of her but wasn't able to. Her role was short but sweet. She played, Yamini, the mother of Rohan.



Let's not forget the two friendemies
India's cricket manager - Vicky (Anupam Kher) & Pakistan's cricket manager - Lucky (Dilip Tahil)

Vicky is Rohan's father and lives in India. He is separated from his wife, Yamini, and son Rohan. They live in England. His dream is to finally win a cricket match. Ironically, Rohan is one of the best cricket players in England. Vicky tricks Rohan to fly to India and be the captain of his cricket team.

What I liked about the India-Pakistan rivalry is it's just for fun, in a competitor way. There is no bashing on culture. When playing in a sport, there is always competition and a bit of cockiness from the team that always wins.



I absolutely love the film references. It seems like now in almost every Yaj Raj Production, there is some kind of reference, from Maine Pyar Kiya to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to Hum Aapke Hain Kaun to Veer Zara to Dhoom 2 to Jab We Met. Forget the million guest star appearances.

Overall, a good-fell film. It's not "mind blowing" but definitely worth a watch. Rani fans, you will not be disappointed! Shahid fans, extra yummy eye candy. Non Shahid fans, you will be impress with how hot he looks.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

No Dil Bole Hadippa review yet but

First of all, I just want to say that I haven't gotten back to all the comments yet. It sucks because I used to be able to keep up with all the blogs that I'm following but I can not access them at work. Strangely enough, I'm able to publish my posts but not able to view them.

But I will answer them! Promise! No school tonight.

On Sunday, I tweeted that I went to watch Dil Bole Hadippa. Yes, I did. I liked it. But I haven't blogged about it. I will try to do so later on. It's going to be hard without caps but I've blogged about theater experiences before :)
October 8, 2009 - review on Dil Bole Hadippa

In the meantime, I need help, actually suggestions on these Desi products.

While I was uploading photos, I totally forgot I had these pictures on my digi camera since they were taken back in late August.

I usually carry my digi camera with me in my purse. When I was out grocery shopping at the local International market near my home, I walked over to the Indian grocery aisle.

What caught my eye was the Thums Up! I knew about it because of Salman Khan and Bipasha Basu endorsing it before.

I remember reading a book (I honestly don't remember which one, I want to say it was a book by Sonia Singh - I read all her books so far), there was a character mentioning that Thums Up tasted like a bitter Coke. Personally, I don't like Coke or Pepsi, I mostly drink water, and on some occasions, orange or grapefrui juice, and sometimes Mountain Dew.

Maybe I should buy the mango juice next time?

I was excited to see a frozen food section. I bought some samosas and masala dosa, tasty but not as yummy as the fresh ones at the restaurants.

Then I started clicked pics of products I saw on that aisle. Not sure if any of you can see it but if you used any of these products, let me know how they turned out.





LUX - I've heard cause a lot of celebs endorse it, but is it any good? The hair dye, thought about it but I'm thinking of getting my hair dyed with henna in a salon though.

More LUX

More hairdye?

Hair products?

And more...



Sorry if you got bored with this post. Will try to make it exciting next time :)