POLL RESULT: SRK'S Leading Ladies

I was going to finally do my Bollywood-related-stuff-from-my-trip-to-India post next... but erm... it's not quite ready. (If you'd like to check out non-Bollywood photos from my trip, there are loads on my other blog, check them out here, here and here.) In the meantime, it's time to talk about my latest poll.

Thank you SO MUCH to all you for voting in the SRK-leading-lady poll. I loved the results because they were a little surprising in a good way – the margins were slimmer than I thought they’d be, and our winner didn’t cart off quite as many votes as I’d anticipated. Thanks again for voting.

This is the results post… this has been such a fun poll to watch, and a new one will be going up as soon as I hatch a suitable idea… I hope to come up with something radically different (and female-oriented) for the next one.

The question again was which of 11 listed female actors you consider to share the best onscreen chemistry with Mr. Shahrukh Khan…

KAJOL: No surprises here. The unibrowed-one captured 54 of your votes, to win this poll. SRK and Kajol have actually only done a handful of films together, but almost all of them have been super-hits (some have even attained iconic status), with the pair leaving an indelible mark on the minds and hearts of audiences worldwide. From ‘Baazigar’ to ‘Karan Arjun’ to ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ (DDLJ), to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH)’, to ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ (K3G), this couple has always struck just the right note.

I think what makes the SRK/Kajol work is that they look great together (two unconventionally attractive and interesting-looking people), they are both good at expressing the emotions of their characters, and they have a great vibe between them – so that whether its humour or trauma or passion or drama; they just bounce off each other and make their jodi both believable and lovable. I have loved all the SRK/Kajol pairings that I’ve seen, and I have a very soft spot for the picturisation of ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’ from K3G, a film which (ironically) is not one of my favourite SRK/Kajol films (for me, DDLJ and KKHH are much better films) – I simply love SRK and Kajol in that song.

RANI MUKERJI: Again, this actress has made just a few movies with Shahrukh Khan, but apparently those few movies have made such an impact that Rani has received a very decent score of 32 votes in this poll, second only to her cousin Kajol. I think Rani is a very different kind of actress from Kajol; where Kajol is more instinctive and gives freer rein to the emotions of her characters, Rani is more thoughtful and controlled. But I think SRK is equally adept at creating a vibrant and interesting dynamic between himself and each of the very talented and lovely Mukerji cousins.

In her first pairing with King Khan, Rani played Tina, the third character in the KKHH love triangle. Since then, she’s had memorable performances opposite him in ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ (KANK), ‘Paheli’ and ‘Chalte Chalte’ (as you can see from my screencaps, I love the picturisation of ‘Tauba Tumhare’ to bits). And I should also mention ‘Veer Zaara’ – I think Rani and SRK did a great job together even though they weren’t THE couple of the film.

JUHI CHAWLA: I have to say I love SRK and Juhi together. In fact, if I were to vote alone in this poll, Juhi and Kajol would tie for first place, and Rani would be second. Kyun ki I absolutely love Shahrukh Khan with Juhi. I think they are just excellent together. What I like best about this jodi is the sheer fun and joy that they exude together in most of their films together (with the exception of ‘Darr’, of course, in which SRK’s character basically hunted ‘K-k-kiran’ down – I actually liked them both in ‘Darr’ as well).

Juhi and SRK are so cute together, adorable really; and they always just seem to be laughing and having a blast, making me (the viewer) want to jump right in and join them. Their real-life friendship really shines through. SRK/Juhi have shared the spotlight in films like the oh-so-fun ‘Yes Boss’ (‘Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaon’ is one of my favourite Hindi movie songs ever, and I just think SRK and Juhi are tres cute and charming in the film), ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’, ‘Duplicate’, ‘One 2 Ka 4’, ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hindustani’ and ‘Ram Jaane’. The cute Juhi garnered 28 of the votes cast in this poll, to come in third… very close to Rani.

MADHURI DIXIT: The gorgeous Mrs. Dixit-Nene grabbed 15 of all the votes cast in the poll, putting her in fourth position. I’m a huge fan of Mads, I think she is so awesome – she’s just a star in every sense of the word. And one of the great things about her is her professionalism, the way she throws herself into every performance and does her best to create the right dynamic between herself and her leading men. Sometimes the chemistry is so convincing that it’s unforgettable, as in the otherwise-unmemorable ‘Dil’ with Aamir Khan; but even when it’s not quite that striking, it’s still thoroughly convincing.

I’ve liked Madhuri and SRK together in the films I’ve seen in them in together (not as much as I’ve liked either of them with other actors though), and I think that’s down to their hard work, professionalism and star quality. Films which have featured Ms. Dixit and Shahrukh Khan in lead roles include ‘Koyla’ (I really liked them together in this), ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ (which I loved more for the Madhuri/Karisma dynamic than for the Madhuri/SRK jodi, actually), ‘Devdas’ (not a great pairing here in my opinion, but a great performance by Madhuri), the oft-criticised ‘Anjaam’ and the pretty darn awful ‘Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam’.

PREITY ZINTA: As far as I know, SRK and Preity have only co-starred in a movie thrice – they’ve shared the marquee in ‘Veer Zaara’, ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ (KHNH) and KANK. In KANK, they aren’t a romantic couple even though they’re playing a married couple, so I would guess that Preity earned 12 of the votes cast in this poll (placing her in fifth position) on the strength of her memorable pairings with Shahrukh in ‘Veer Zaara’ and KHNH.

I am not a HUGE fan of Preity, but I do think she’s a good actress given the right roles, and I think her performance as Zaara in ‘Veer Zaara’ was one of her best. SRK also handed in a superb performance. One striking thing about this couple is the way they were able to portray such a strong emotional bond so well… there wasn’t too much physicality or even sentimentality about them in the film, but they still made you believe in their prem kahani. Great job by both actors. I am less enamoured with Preity’s performance in KHNH (and with the film in general) – I really liked Saif Ali Khan’s dynamic with SRK in the movie, but I was less taken with SRK and Preity as a couple. I still think that they were still pretty good together in the film – and I actually loved the melodramatic scene in the storm (after Preity’s character discovers the truth).

SUSHMITA SEN: Up next is the gorgeous Ms. Sen, in sixth position with 7 of the votes cast. She and Mr. Khan (in a nice, age-appropriate pairing) burned up the big screen in ‘Main Hoon Na’. I remember thinking how nice it was to see these two more mature characters together, both just enjoying their mutual chemistry and doing the whole silly-serious thing. I also thought they were too cute together with the whole sexy-teacher thing and the spontaneous-bursting-into-song thing… I just thought they were great together and played off each other well. Ram and Miss Chandni were really into each other and they were also having fun. Works for me.

AISHWARYA RAI: In seventh position, we have the poised and beautiful Aishwarya Rai, with 5 votes. The lovely Mrs. Bachchan has co-starred with SRK in films like ‘Devdas’, ‘Mohabbatein’, and ‘Josh’ (in which they play siblings). This jodi also had a very memorable dance number together in ‘Shakthi - The Power’. The thing that struck me about this number was that although both dancers were technically brilliant (two of my favourites, actually) and executed some very difficult moves extremely well, the whole thing just didn’t move me. It was like a very beautiful work of art that just doesn’t speak to your heart. I think this is true of a lot of the work SRK and Ash have done as co-stars – beautiful but sorta ‘soulless’ and just not very interesting or compelling. I think they just don’t make a very good couple for some reason. (But she was great opposite Hrithik Roshan in 'Dhoom II' and Akshaye Khanna in 'Taal' (well the first half of it, anyway)).

There are three actors in eighth position, and each one garnered 1 vote in the poll -

MANISHA KOIRALA: ‘Dil Se’ is a film that is difficult to forget – in addition, it’s not happy viewing, it’s disturbing and leaves you wanting some comfort food or a phone conversation with your mama… it’s very tough viewing – especially at the end. But at the centre of it all, we find two central characters that, when they encounter each other, bring home to us all the pain, longing, angst and suffering that are such a reality of our world. I think Shahrukh and Manisha did some amazing work in this brilliant film – I think Ratnam chose just the right cast for his story. Manisha also acted opposite SRK in ‘Guddu’, which I haven’t seen.

SHILPA SHUKLA: This actress, who played the fiery senior player Bindya Naik from ‘Chak De! India’ handed in a very strong performance. I really liked this young lady opposite SRK, she just did the business and ‘brought it’. No-nonsense acting. Not a single sign that she was over-awed by SRK’s star presence. The scene in the locker room was excellent – the way they eyeballed each other. Loved it! And it seems that at least one of you liked it too.

GAYATRI JOSHI: I really liked this elegant actress with a very restrained mien in ‘Swades’. What I liked about the couple in this film was that both the man and the woman were mature – no silly childish mucking around. Gayatri’s character came to SRK’s character when she was good and ready, and she told him exactly how she felt about him – with no hysterics or unnecessary emotion, but quietly and with conviction – like you would expect from her strong, independent character. She knew what she wanted and I loved that. I really liked Gayatri and Shahrukh together in this film. And at least one person agreed, which is cool.

And finally, down at number nine, we have -

MAHIMA CHAUDHARY: To the best of my knowledge, Mahima and SRK have only done ‘Pardes’ (which my mother calls ‘I love my India’ after the film’s super-saccharine signature number) together… ‘Pardes’ is not that bad, but I didn’t like it much either. For me, it was a one-watch-only kinda movie. It was Mahima’s first film, though, and her performance struck me as being quite young and fresh. I think she and SRK were good together, but not memorable, which I guess explains why she didn’t pick up any votes in this poll.

So that’s it… I would have liked to have Bebo in the poll to see how many votes she’d have picked up, but it skipped my mind until it was too late to include her. I actually liked her opposite SRK in ‘Asoka’. Anyway, we’re done with this poll… another will be up soon! Take care…

I FINALLY GOT KANKED… AND A BIT ON ‘EKLAVYA’…

So, yonks after the rest of the world, I finally got KANKed yesterday. ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ (KANK) is not a bad film, even if it’s not exactly good. It seems like Karan Johar is losing the plot a bit – always trying to make the big, over-dramatic, overly-contrived, star-studded epic even when the story clearly does not call for it – K3G had the same problem. Shankar Ehsaan Loy also seems to have lost the plot a bit for KANK (although it was obviously – and thankfully – a bump in the road, as they’ve done some great soundtracks since KANK), with a distinctly uninspired set of songs – I particularly hated ‘Rock n Roll Soniye’. I also hated the choreography and picturisation of the faster ‘disco’ numbers – even the special appearances by Kajol and John Abraham couldn’t save them for me. The slower songs I thought were a bit better – I like ‘Mitwa’.

What else did I hate about getting KANKed? The film was too long, they dragged it out too much and put in some unnecessary stuff – especially near the beginning. The truth is they didn’t need all that time to tell the story – thinking over it now, I can pick out the key scenes –some scenes just should have been cut from KANK in their entirety. It also seemed really unevenly scripted – some scenes were really good and nicely done, and some were just so blah. What else bugged me? The ‘Sexy Saaam’ thing they played almost everytime Amitabh Bachchan came onscreen, the often unfunny and irritating attempts at comic relief, the over-‘perfectness’ of all the sets, clothes, make-up and hair (although one just has to learn to live with that in many contemporary Bollywood films). Oh, and, is it just me or does Preity Zinta look kinda funny in this movie? There’s something about her eyes, it seems…



Okay, now that I’ve got all that out of the way… it’s really not a bad film. It actually works on some levels. As a story about relationships, communication, honesty, and all that good stuff, I think it works. My friend who lent me the DVD told me it’s a story about ‘real life issues’, and I agree. It’s a cautionary tale in some ways, but it’s not preachy. I think some scenes captured the discomfort, tension, conflict, and frustration of modern marriages very well – this might actually be a good film for married couples to watch together and have a ‘discussion’ about – but then what do I really know about marriage? Anyway, I liked the way they brought out some of the messiness, the false starts, the skewed timing, the complexity, the layers beneath all the ‘mundane-ness’ of modern relationships.

I think the performances were strong, even if none was particularly brilliant, and most had some rough patches (partly because it was all a bit too much, I think). I think I liked the older actors’ performances (Big B and Kirron Kher) best, actually. And what (asks, rather predictably, this SRK fan) is it with all the SRK-haters saying Shah Rukh Khan’s acting was terrible in this film? I really don’t get it. I thought it was a decent portrayal of who this guy is supposed to be – disenchanted, disappointed, frustrated, tired, self-seeking, but also (to me anyway) kinda appealing. I could actually see what Rhea and Maya saw in him. Which takes me to my next point – call me crazy, but I don’t actually see why the character of Dev is so maligned in all the reviews – he’s not a nice considerate guy, he’s really kinda mean, but I thought he was just a fallible messed-up human being, just another selfish man with a chip on his shoulder… not an evil person.

I can’t say I really LOVED anything about this film but I liked a few things. One major thing was the fact that it emphasizes the need for self-discovery and introspection, understanding who you are and what you need BEFORE you go and take on all the responsibility of marriage and children and having to put another person’s needs alongside yours. It also explored our human-ness, our weakness, our constant need to connect with someone else – I think my favourite scene in the movie is the little bit where Dev hugs the guy on the park bench near the end. Ultimately, the story of KANK is one well worth telling, but Johar just didn’t need all of the extra big-production stuff – I think the film would have fared much better if he had stripped it down some – no, a lot. It was just rather overdone.

And now that I am no longer a KANK virgin, I’m off to read Angela’s review (and the other KANK reviews I couldn’t read in depth before now).




AND A BIT ON ‘EKLAVYA’…

My friend Uzo and I saw ‘Eklavya’ at the cinema on Saturday. Although we were the hapless victims of an elaborately-orchestrated act of sabotage played out by the people in the row behind us (LOL), we really liked it. This is definitely a must-see for people who, like me, are fans of Amit-Ji. He is really, really good in this film – I fell in love with him all over again in the role of Eklavya – I want an Eklavya in my life to love me intensely and keep my scarf for years, and be all loyal and noble too (well, not really, but I kinda did when I was watching him). Saif Ali Khan (his real-life mother Sharmila Tagore also plays his mother in the film, although they actually never share the screen) is pretty hot stuff too as the tortured prince – I so wanted to hold him and ease his pain, but Vidya Balan apparently has all the luck. Sanjay Dutt has a smallish role as a policeman, but he rocks it out in style.

The performances are uniformly lovely (Boman Irani, playing the king, was really really good, and Jackie Shroff was also very good in his role as the king’s brother – and I rarely find reasons to praise him) and the chemistry between the leads (especially between Amitabh and Saif) was great. The beauty of the royal fort (where the story takes place) is something to see – not overdone in Bhansali style, but very authentic. The story is engrossing and compelling (we were at the edges of our seats more than once) and the dialogue very moving (made me wish I understood Hindi), but what stood out for me even more is the way the film was shot. It is absolutely beautiful – very creative, very stylish, very provocative, and just NICE. That’s really all I want to say about this film.

Oh, that and ‘poor, poor, poor Jimmy She(i)rgill’. You’ll see what I mean when you see the movie.

One more thing - don't go reading any of those reviews that tell you the whole story before seeing this movie (unless, of course, knowing exactly what's going to happen in a movie is your thing).

SOME RANDOM BOLLYWOOD-RELATED MUSINGS

In my last post I wrote that I was torn between doing a 'Dharmendra post' next or a 'Bollywood post. Well, I've decided to post some randomness about what I got up to in the world of Bollywood this past weekend.

LAKSHYA:

I saw 'Lakshya', which stars Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta (Amit-ji too). Lakshya is one of those 'Jai Hind' patriotic war movies, and it's a decent effort, in my opinion. It's about a guy who finds his 'laksh' (objective, goal, focus) when he joins the Indian army. There was a nice love story, a little father-son drama, and some shooting (with guns, I mean). The only problem I had is that I would've like to see all the characters (particularly the soldiers) fleshed out a wee bit more, so I could actually feel bad when they were killed in battle. As it was, I didn't feel much (and that's not because I'm unfeeling - honest!) I think the whole story needed a bit more oomph to it, so I could really get into it.

This was quite an interesting film although I must confess that I zoned out during the battle scenes. I don't blame the filmmakers, I'm just not a fan of those scenes where all you can hear is shooting... in fact I'm not a war movie fan. I liked Hrithik's acting in this film, and this was also one of Preity's stronger outings. The music was partially very good and partially bad (but I would say mostly good). The tone of the film is a bit too dark, I understand the use of darkness as a device but it was a bit of overkill.

I always wondered why Farah Khan was always going on and on about Hrithik's great dancing skills (I always thought that hip action in 'Ek Pal' from 'Kaho Naa..' was annoying, but guess that Farah's fault). Anyway, I finally saw Farah's point in one of the musical numbers in this film (I think I counted only 3 numbers as it's a war film, personally I think only 2 were necessary). Anyway, in the song (can't remember its name), he was really good. It was kinda arty (by Bollywood standards), with him in a straitjacket at the beginning and end. Interesting (even if derivative) choreography... and Hrithik CAN dance. I now agree with Farah. His acting is really good in this film too, I think the young lad has prospects.

Amit-ji was good in this film although he seemed a bit bored and tired at times - and the use of darkness in most of his scenes wasn't particularly flattering. I once read a review of KANK where the reviewer said something like 'Bachchan's wrinkles are now too scary for the big screen' - think that was VERY unfair (I love love love Amit-ji and think he should go on acting as long as he likes), but... I was a bit scared myself in this film, I must admit.

Preity was really good in Lakshya, mad props to her. She plays a nice strong female (always nice to see in Bollywood). Her performance had depth, but I wasn't convinced as to why her smart and pretty character even likes Hrithik's character in the first place, as he is a total 'duffer' and 'loafer' and not even cute (before he enters the army). A charity case? Wan't convinced, but that's not Preity's fault, guess the scripting is too blame for that. Anyway, Hrithik cleans up really good in the army and becomes a different man, having found his 'laksh'. His ears are really big (as his army beret highlights), but he's still tres cute, and I still have a little demi-semi-crush on him.

Re-watching K3G and Mujhse Dosti Karoge (well, bits of them, anyway): I am not a big 'Kabhi Khushie Kabhie Gham' freak, but I surprisingly enjoyed re-watching bits of it. I steered clear of all the 'Poo' bits (where I come from, we flush poo down the loo), and watched all my best bits, which are:

1. The bit where Jaya B finally (after years of silent suffering - not cool, Nandini!) lays into Amitabh and tells him 'bas. I've said it, haven't I?'

2. My favourite musical numbers, which are, in descending order: 'Suraj Hua Maddham' (wet SRK!!), 'Bole Chudiyan' (this time I noticed they borrowed 'Wah Wah Ramji' from HAHK and used it here), and 'Say Shava Shava' (I always love watching SRK and Amit-ji dancing, but for very different reasons).

3. All the Kajol/SRK bits (except the super-saccharine 'Jai Hind' bit at their son's school).

4. SRK and Hrithik on the park bench.

5. DJ finally recognizing her Baaba.

6. Amitabh Bachchan breaking down at the end.

The rest of the movie can go down the toilet with Poo, as far as I'm concerned (ok, that was a bit mean, Daddy's Girl).

Watching Mujhse Dosti Karoge again was nice, too. Again, I tended to avoid the Bebo bits, and enjoyed the Rani/Hrithik bits more. It's a bit of a silly movie, actually... especially all the random Yash Raj touches (like the irritating 'uh oh' sound effect everytime Kareena says something daft). Kareena's character deserves a denseness award, but I guess that's not her fault. Her acting is actually okay in this movie (it's bad at the beginning but picks up about 20 minutes in), although anything is better than Poo. And of course MDK features the lovely 'Medley' ending with KKHH... why must Yash Raj rip off their music in every one of their films? I mean, enough already. But it was quite sweet here, I think.

The 'L' Word: Now this was a revelation... for those not in the know, 'the L word' is a slightly (actually, quite) trashy US TV show about a group of lesbians living in LA... their lives, their loves, their lesbianism, you get the picture. Sometimes this show displays a few strokes of genius, and can actually (at its very rare best) be thought-provoking.

A lot of the time, though, the acting is very very weak (the cast features has-beens (that's a bit harsh, Daddy's Girl) like Jennifer Beals from the classic 'Flashdance' (whose acting is actually quite good on this show, along with Mia Kirshner - feel a bit sorry for them when they have to say stupid lines and do silly things), and whatsherface from 'Foxxy Cleopatra'... oh yeah, Pam Grier) and the writing is even weaker. I hear this is down to the fact that the writing team is constantly changing, leading to inconsistency.

Which is a pity, as this is a groundbreaking show (in terms of subject matter) and, if handled properly and maturely, (which it is not) could raise very some interesting questions about women and sexuality in America. The show is now in its 3rd season, though (go figure), which I personally think is down to the fact that they liberally sprinkle each episode with some quite-risque-for-tv girl-on-girl 'action' (they can cos it's on Showtime). Just my opinion. Oh, and the theme song is one of the most irritating things I've heard in a looong time (sorry, I always notice the music).

Anyway, was watching an episode of the show and this girl who looks very familiar, with a crisp British accent and wavy brown hair, comes on. It takes me a minute (I know, I can be a bit dense), but I finally cotton on the fact that it's Rachel Shelley, yes, 'Memsahib' from 'Lagaan'! Yes, the one that sang 'I am in love, I am in love, I am in LOOOOOOOOVE!!' (with Aamir Khan). The one that didn't quite convince me that 'Memsahib' was actually in love with 'Bhuwan', and not under the delusion that she was starring in her own personal Mills and Boon novel. Anyway, Rachel's acting in the L-word is actually pretty good (although quite a bit of it, the episode I saw, was horizontal, if you know what I mean). I think, just maybe, she's going places.

And here ends my random musings... have a great week!