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Scary Khan And The Saawariya Edge
Sakshi Juneja
Okay, don't get me wrong here – this is not a Shah Rukh Khan bashing post. But seriously yaar, you cannot ignore the uncanny resemblance the two superstars share. The minute Shah Rukh appeared on the television screen during the India against Pakistan T20 Finals, the scary image of Michael Jackson flashed in our (me and my gang) minds. The hair, the face, the sunglasses, the entire package (with the exception of skin shade) - makes one wonder, are they brothers from different mothers? [By the way, would like to thank my dear friend Melody for the awesome SRK-Jackson picture job]
Anyway, moving onto another related topic – the entire Bollywood (including the fans) are talking gossiping about the Diwali dhamaka, Om Shanti Om vs. Saawariya clash.
Personally, with most certainty I will be one of those who will watch the two films on the same day. Yes, I can be kind of loony at times, such is my love for the Hindi Film Industry. But if I have to choose between SRK's full on commercial attempt and Salman's minor guest appearance – yup, you guessed it right, Sallu wins from all quarters. And so Saawariya will be given the first priority.
Besides, the Salman factor, there are other attractive aspects to Saawariya as well.
1.The lead pair, Ranbir and Sonam comes with immense hype and expectations as well. After all they belong to top-notch Bollywood families. Though I doubt the acting capabilities of many filmy sons and daughters, these two compel me to think otherwise.
2. It’s a Sanjay Leela Bhansali production – I am a sucker for melodramatic emotions and SLB is freaking good at stuffing our faces with it.
3. Saawariya has a vibrant and soothing feel to it. Sanjay’s films are often associated with colors; Hum Dil De Chupke Sanam was filled with various lively shades, Devdas was dominated with color red and Black was presented with different shades of grays. Similarly, Saawariya's platelet consists of lively sky blue, white and black – very different yet eye-pleasing result.
4.The other praise worthy quality of SLB is that he successfully manages to create the whole larger-than-life persona in his films, be it the sets, the costumes, the picturization – everything is grand yet never out of character. And Saawariya seems to have it all.
6.The film also stars Rani Mukherjee, which is an added star attraction.
On the other hand, here are some of the points which I personally don't think work in favor of the rival team, Om Shanti Om.
1. Every time I watch the promo of the song Dard-E-Disco featuring 6 packs Shah Rukh Khan, I want to scream out loud, Darr-(h) E (y)-Mujhko.
2. Farah Khan’s debut, Main Ho Naa may have been a box-office hit but frankly it didn't impress me much.
3.The whole 70s-early 80s look is refreshing but not entirely convincing.
4.SRK and Deepika pairing seems odd – it's more on the lines of Amitabh Bachchan and Tabu's coupling in the film Cheeni Kum. Okay, maybe I have exaggerated a little here but surely you get the point.
5. The story is mostly out – it's based on reincarnation. SRK is in love with a top actress but dies before he could express it to her and then comes back in the next life to complete the circle. And therefore the name Om Shanti Om – Om (70s SRK), Shanti (Deepika) and Om (6 packs SRK).
One thing is certain though, even if the film sucks it is mostly likely to recover its investments (and even make some profits), all thanks to the King Khan’s attachment and over-the-top publicity stunts.
But as they say Bollywood only imitates real-life situations and therefore, sometimes even the crappiest of the films are showered with awards and praises while the deserving ones barely manage to sustain their presence for more than a week.So let's just wait and see who wins the battle this time round.
SG
October 13, 2007
03:07 PM
Utter bullshit!
VM
October 13, 2007
10:55 PM
Stop displaying your ignorance and get a life,you poor thing.
By the by, I thought personal attacks are not allowed here...???
Some hypocrisy and hyper-crassy, this.
AnArch
October 13, 2007
11:07 PM
Saks, thanks for the effort of suffering through the Khan-ine odyssey. Looks like King Khan is over the hill
tej
October 14, 2007
02:34 AM
what a rubbis thoughtssssss!!!
ur all points are wrongsss
first think wht u what u want to say!!!
Neela
October 14, 2007
06:02 AM
King Khan is over the hill. Just look at his latest effort.
http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/review.asp?ID=749
Critical acclaim and money too?
http://www.planetbollywood.com/displayArticle.php?id=100807072151
And a feminist message?
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main34.asp?filename=Ws1361007ChakDe.asp
Nothing much is known about Saawariya excdept the fact that it is an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's White nights - and will have Salman romancing Sonam. Somehow the 3 months that Salman has on Shahrukh makes this a much more palatable romance.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's debut Khamoshi was his only film that impressed me. Hum Dil De Chuke was crassly over the top, Devdas was bloated to the point of indigestion, and Black was a pathetic ripoff of Miracle Worker. Yet again a ripoff seems likely with Saawariya - one should check out who else has adapted this material before - Saawariaya's bridges and boats bring to mind a certain adaptation set in Venice.
Adventurer
October 14, 2007
03:00 PM
Why the hell did I waste my time on even skimming through this piece? Remorse!!
Saakshi O. Juneja
URL
October 15, 2007
02:58 AM
Ah ! The Joys of Bollywood Blogging. :-)
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
05:02 AM
And the resultant tortures of the same! :)
Saakshi O. Juneja
URL
October 15, 2007
05:48 AM
@ Adventurer: Well, I beg to differ. Tortured are those who continue to go along with it, one always has the option to stop it.
So if you don't like what you read then just roll over or even better, write yourself. ;-)
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
06:08 AM
Saakshi, you are right to an extent, after all this ain't a police torture that one cannot escape, it's just a 'schoolgirl's' review of Bollywood and related things ;)
Deepti Lamba
URL
October 15, 2007
06:15 AM
Adventurer, you are most welcome to write your own review here on DC:)
It is easy to denounce an article and not appreciate the efforts put in by an author. Out of curiosity what makes the article a school girl's review?
Cool !
October 15, 2007
06:20 AM
GREAT GREAT POST !!! Thanks so much !!! I do hope OSO tanks ... probably not going to happen going by the extreme reaction of the SRK fanatics in the comments. One can only hope. LOL !
Saakshi O. Juneja
URL
October 15, 2007
06:24 AM
@ Adventurer You calling me "School Girl" Awww..choo chweet. :-)
(*Now just hoping you ain't the sorts who fancies young school girls*)
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
06:34 AM
Aah, do I see a cartel at work to protect certain authors? I suspect yes!!
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
06:38 AM
Saakshi,
Well Saakshi, I just have one thing to say to you:
kuch hawa si bahar nikalti hai tujhse
aur kuch mahaul kharaab hota hai?
:)
P.S. All in fun.
Saakshi O. Juneja
URL
October 15, 2007
06:42 AM
@ Adventurer - LOL!! Well the same goes for you too. ;-)
ps...All in fun.
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
06:49 AM
Cheers!!
Deepti Lamba
URL
October 15, 2007
07:49 AM
Adventurer, I cluck over them all!!;)
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
07:59 AM
Well, Deepti, I long to see the day you cluck for me, when I dish out something controversial!! :)
Cheers!
Adventurer
Saakshi O. Juneja
URL
October 15, 2007
08:01 AM
@ Deepti - And I thought I was special! :-(
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
08:06 AM
Saakshi, there you go, reality check!! :)
Saakshi O. Juneja
URL
October 15, 2007
08:20 AM
@ Adventurer - Ah! The joy people get over other's misery. I tell you.
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
08:36 AM
Saakshi, I tried to make peace earlier, but some things are too tempting to resist :)
Tell me when you are tired, I'll call it a day!
Saakshi O. Juneja
URL
October 15, 2007
08:43 AM
@ Adventurer - You silly, me totally loving this. :-)
The only problem, I will be closing the net early today (another hour or so)...going to fetch my 2nd-hand TVS Scooty.
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
08:53 AM
Well, that's sad, for what promised to be a big battle is gonna fizzle out all because of a TVS Scooty, sigh!!
Saakshi O. Juneja
URL
October 15, 2007
09:01 AM
@ Adventurer - Oye! Don't sound so disappointed re. Look on the bright side, now I will have (hopefully) you lurking on my forthcoming posts as well.
And I assure you there are plenty more battles in line.
In the mean time, let's chant "Sallu Bhai Zindabad". ;-)
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
09:07 AM
You betcha sally baby!! Better watch out!!
What's this sallu hting about?
Saakshi O. Juneja
URL
October 15, 2007
09:15 AM
@ Adventurer - Great! As for the Sallu thingy, I thought I will give you something to keep you occupied in my absence.
Note This-
Me love :
Sallu Bhai
and
Rakhi Sawant
Me can't stand :
John Abraham
and
Vivek Oberoi
Chalo for now, wish me and my Scooty well. :-)
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
09:24 AM
eeks, Rakhi Sawant, well God be with you and your Scooty!!
If you wanna fight over the Sawant lady am available at, :),
adventurer_upnover (at) hotmail (dot) com
Cheers!!
kela
October 15, 2007
10:54 AM
seriously you people need to find a better mascot than rakhi sawant argh ewww puke
Mayawati would make a better icon
and as regards this so called preview i suggest you go watch the movie with an open,you might be pleasantly surprised
kela
October 15, 2007
10:57 AM
and sallu the bloody murderer,ran over how many and slaughtered how many...at least Sharukh has inspired millions of people to get fit
Adventurer
October 15, 2007
11:21 AM
hahahaha, that's the joke of the day, 'SRK has inspired millions of people to get fit'
hahahaha
I shudder to think if it were not for SRK and ilk we would've been a lackluster people. God be with us!!
kela
October 15, 2007
11:22 AM
watever chubby
Nation
October 15, 2007
12:58 PM
This is nothing but stupid article, Shahrukh is much ahead of this new pack of kids...it is simple as comparing a person with 20 years of experience with a fresher...
Deepti Lamba
URL
October 15, 2007
01:06 PM
This is nothing but stupid article, Shahrukh is...
Sakshi, why am I suffering from deja vu?
Adventurer, if its witty enough I will be on your side;)
And yeah I agree with Kela about Sallu Miya- that deer killer will never have my sympathy. May his best car be run over by a herd of elephants.
Sonya
October 15, 2007
06:13 PM
hahahaha! nice article, i liked your reasonings, although i wouldnt write off SRK that easily, he does wield quite a lot of power especially in my part of the western world.
Adventurer
October 16, 2007
01:30 AM
Deepti, so we have the disclaimer, so much for 'I cluck over them all'!
Deepti Lamba
URL
October 16, 2007
01:46 AM
Depends upon the 'them';) As Tony Soprano said "We take care of the family."
Adventurer
October 16, 2007
01:59 AM
Good for 'them', they quite need it!! :)
Deepti Lamba
URL
October 16, 2007
02:09 AM
Lol, they can 'quite' take care of themselves. Doesn't take much to join da mob! You can join but you can never leave!!
Adventurer
October 16, 2007
02:17 AM
'quite' is the operative word here, well am already part of the 'mob'. This is just another avatar!!
Deepti Lamba
URL
October 16, 2007
02:24 AM
touché;)
ayhan
October 16, 2007
02:38 AM
edited
critic my ass
October 16, 2007
02:39 AM
stick to one nick please
message edited
i like that
October 16, 2007
02:43 AM
one more and you will be blocked - ed
one more what?
October 16, 2007
02:47 AM
you are history - ed
im history..so mssg is frm the past. ;)
October 16, 2007
02:53 AM
edited
Adventurer
October 16, 2007
03:21 AM
Saakshi, your article it seems has become a hot piece, u were right, 'the joys of bollywood blogging' :)
Saakshi O. Juneja
URL
October 16, 2007
03:22 AM
Wow, the war is still very much on. :-)
Adventurer
October 16, 2007
03:30 AM
Desi Battle of Blogssey!! :)
Fleiger
URL
October 16, 2007
09:40 PM
Interesting: http://in.rediff.com/movies/2007/oct/15msg.htm
Great minds, huh?
VINAY
URL
October 22, 2007
02:48 AM
WHOEVER SAys that saawariya is a good film,,,,,,,,,,,,,,is a fool.......
rubbish wate 3rd class waste movie..................
desigirl
URL
October 22, 2007
06:37 AM
Dee:
#40 Deepti Lamba
AMLol, they can 'quite' take care of themselves. Doesn't take much to join da mob! You can join but you can never leave!!
Whatz this, Dee? Hotel California by way of Sopranos? Jeez! No one told me that before I signed on the dotted line!!
Deepti Lamba
URL
October 22, 2007
07:06 AM
DG, we did tell you we are a sinister cabal did we not?;)
desigirl
URL
October 22, 2007
11:28 AM
ack!
i saw stars after "superior...." and blotted out the rest!
u know who i am
October 22, 2007
12:14 PM
i am your official stalker!
Deepti Lamba
URL
October 22, 2007
12:51 PM
like I said before you aint the first bud.
hi again
November 9, 2007
12:57 PM
saawariya edge... check ur crack!
Dhirani
URL
November 12, 2007
02:44 PM
Hi Sakshi,
your comments according to your limited information at the time was okay, but, after watching the movie, Badshah is a badshah and he has done what was expected of him. the movie was entertaining, on the other had Deepika has done her part well too and is much better than Sonam.
Ranbir, we still have to see him in some real movie 'acting' unlike sawaariya
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