Indian Movie Reveiw: My Name is Khan.

What the heck was THAT?  Is about all I could think while walking out of the theater.  I was expecting…something more.  Something very different to be sure.  Karan Johar and Shahrukh have disappointed me for the first time.  I felt insulted and kind of angry after this film ended.  Not to mention disappointed that the inclusion of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna & Kal Ho Naa Ho on the soundtrack were just fillers and not enticing secrets to be held in the film.  I think that Shahrukh and Kajol acted the heck out of this film, but aside from that I was left highly disappointed  I think that the assumptions of how things really happen here in the US and the reality were so far apart that it was unbelievable and miss Sita-ji and I laughed our way through this ridiculous movie.  There was so much that could have been done to save this film, but they neglected to think about who the real target audience of this film is.  Sure, there were hoots and whistles during some scenes that had great lines about equality and being non-racist, but for a film that is essentially AGAINST racism; I found it to be, well, rather racist itself.  Apparently there are only two nice white people in the US along with some hillbilly African-Americans from 1920’s Georgia to be had here.  I agreed with the main theme of the film, that it’s wrong to assume something about someone merely based on their culture/origin/last name, but to turn around and show no respect back to the same culture that they are asking to give respect is a bit hypocritical if you ask me.    Kajol was lovely and I loved their chemistry together in the first oh, 40 minutes, but from there the film took a steep dive downhill.  A friend I went to the movie summarized it very well: “It’s like the Indian Forrest Gump!”  Yes, Yes it is.

3.5 out of 10 Stars.

Last nights movies.

Well, in one case movie is a loose term.  I watched Kaal (blech) and The Inner/Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan last night.

Kaal was the worst Bollywood film I’ve seen yet.  The cinematography was awkward and distracting.  They repeated shots of the tigers which annoyed me and reminded me heavily of cheap and crappy anime.  The movie had great potential; it was produced by Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan.  Starred John Abraham and Vivek Oberoi alongside Esha Deol and Lara Dutta.  Entering later in the film is Ajay Devgan.  It is supposed to be a thriller, but with the odd framing and laughingly week thrills I just was annoyed with it through the film.  I was sorry to have watched it.  Not to mention in the last 10 minutes it had a bunch of  parts ripped straight out of Final Destination.  Unless you are a die-hard fan of any of these people and absolutely have to see everything they’re in – stear clear! The only redeeming bits to this movie were the opening and closing item numbers, even if they were missing their subtitles.

Blurgh.

The Inner/Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan.  Where do I start?  With the sad fact that I was in or near two of the cities he was in during the time the Temptations tour was here in the States? (I lived three hours from Orlando and went through the hurricane he talked about…)  And I was in Atlanta for a family get together around Thanksgiving that year.  Alas…  No use crying over something I can’t change.  I am a bit concerned with a few things that King Khan said though…  He mentioned that he has to work so hard and become someone else during filming because that is the only way that he can forget the grief of losing his parents.  Does anyone else see a problem with this?  Is psycho-therapy non-existant in India?  I’m left wondering if everyone just thinks that if they have a problem then they have to learn to deal with it on their own and not seek help.  Wouldn’t it be better for him to treat it and try to gain control over it than to simply avoid the subject altogether?  I feel that he needs to become a complete person, not just a star.  It’s really sad that he can’t move past that grief and holds onto it so tightly.  I’d rather he be a healthy and happy human being than an unhappy and fantastic super star.  I love the fact though, that he helps his children to respect and believe in both Hindu and Muslim customs.  They are lucky enough to belong to a home that is accepting of both religions and that’s a rare thing – in any part of the world.  In all I was happy to have seen it, it gives me a little more insight into my favorite Bollywood Indian Film Star.  I’m also left wondering – did they ever release a DVD of Temptations 2004?  I bet a lot of people would have liked seeing that.

Movies, movies, movies!

I was recently inundated with some movies from both Netflix and the local library.  Hence, no reviews as I’ve been too busy watching them to get online to review!  Here’s a list of what I’ve seen in the last two weeks:

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (Sad movie starring Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla (yay!))

Bommarillu (My first South Indian film – very good, however I hated the fact that Genelia D’Souza had a voice over . . )

Life…In a Metro (An interesting movie.  It kind of follows a recent trend in movies from all over the world that focusing on many different people through a six degrees of of separation kind of lense.  Shilpa Shetty was ok, Kolkana was lovely and I loved Irfan Khan – he was just too funny. Again.)

Gadar (A film about the separation.  This one has a happy ending though!)

King Uncle (A silly movie starring Jackie Shrof as an angry man who ruins his family only to be opened back up emotional by a young orphan named Munna.  Shah Rukh has a smaller role in this quaint film, but it’s nothing to write home about. Although I wish I had screen capped the opening because it was very creepy and inappropriate for such a child friendly film.  I red and black lense zoomed in and out on Munna yelling “King Uncle!” in a creepy audio warble.  Eee!)

Koi. . . Mil Gaya (re-watched this one – it’s a favorite!)

1947 Earth (Not a big fan. Typically if it garners attention from major film critics/awards I don’t like them.  Who knows why…)

Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (AnotherAamir Khan and Juhi Chawla film – this one much more fun and I saw many similarities to Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic in it.)

Bluffmaster (Abhishek is very charming as a con artist who finds out he’s dying.  Priyanka is, well, Priyanka…)

Raja Hindustani (LOVED this movie – just not the missing subtitles during the songs. I HATE when they do that to us not blessed with fluent Hindi skills)

Kabhi Alvida Naa Khena (Karan Johar + Shah Rukh + Rani + Abhishek + Preity + Me = Love.  Bas)

Black (Rani as a Indian version of Helen Keller and Amitab-ji has her “tee.”  It was very western in film style and setting, but I still think it was good.  It proves Rani can blow her younger competition out of the water and that she deserves to still get good roles.  I abhore the fact that she is stuck playing roles that make her seem “old” – she isn’t that old!  Give the young 30-something actresses in India a chance to shine and break through the stereotype PLEASE!)

Humraaz (Akshaye Khanna & Amisha Patel play in this movie that coined a new term for me – Pretzel Bag.  Matlab: This movie has more twists than a bag of pretzels! Goes along with my other rating: Yawnie – a movie that is deathly boring…)

Dor (A pleasantly surprising  film staring Ayesha Takia as a young widow who must face her own anger to help another woman save her husband.  Gul Pang is lovely as well and plays a beautifully strong and independing thinking woman not seen much in most films.  Dor earned Ayesha a lot of praise and I strongly suggest seeing this movie.  I’m a fan of hers, I think she has a great charm to her and I wish she hadn’t decided to stop acting when she got married…)

::dregs through her brain:: Did I forget anything???  I don’t know.  Hopefully not.  But probably so.  I have Yuva, Mughal-E-Azam, and The Inner/Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan waiting at home, as well as Traffic Signal and Kaal to pick up at the library.  The fun never ends!  I think I need to see what’s floating around the world of Korean/Japanese/Chinese cinema again too.  I have too little time!