Tag Archive for 'Karan Johar'

Shah Rukh Khan vs Shiv Sena

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asianwindow
on February 12, 2010
in India, Movies, Politics, Religion, Sport and environment
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Update: Mumbai calls Sena bluff as movie opens to full house

Multiplex chains in Mumbai will have only a limited release of Shah Rukh Khan’s new film “My Name Is Khan” following threats of violence by the ultra Hindu-nationalist Shiv Sena party. As things stood on Friday noon, single-screen theatres will not show the movie.

Bal Thackeray, the leader of the party, has warned that he will not allow the movie to be released unless the actor apologises for opposing the party’s call to boycott Pakistani cricket players.

Shah Rukh Khan is the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket team. He had said Pakistani stars should be included in the Indian Premier League teams. Shiv Sena supporters say that Pakistani players are not welcome in the city after the 2008 terror attacks.

Thousands of police were guarding Mumbai’s cinemas on Friday.

The movie is a classic love story set in the US after the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the Times of India’s critic has given it a rare five-star rating:

Ok, let’s get this straight from the very beginning. It’s Khan, from the epiglotis (read deep, inner recesses), not `kaan’ from the any-which-way, upper surface. In other words, it’s the K-factor — Karan (Johar) and Khan (Shah Rukh) — like you’ve never seen, sampled and savoured before. My Name is Khan is indubitably one of the most meaningful and moving films to be rolled out from the Bollywood mills in recent times. It completely reinvents both the actor and the film maker and creates a new bench mark for the duo who has given India some of the crunchiest popcorn flicks.

The new Bollywood Muslim

Published
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on June 26, 2009
in Movies
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He’s not the decadent nawab nor the benevolent ‘Khan chacha’ added on as a secular prop, not the crazed jihadi nor the underworld sidekick. The new Bollywood Muslim is just your average Indian Joe in search of material and emotional comfort, writes Sanjukta Sharma in Mint.
On 27 November 2008, a film crew began work on location in Philadelphia, US, trying to replicate a terrorist attack. Most members of the crew, including the film’s director Rensil D’Silva, were from Mumbai.Before he arrived on location, he had spent hours in front of CNN watching the Taj hotel under siege—and the surreal paralysis of his city that followed.
For him, as perhaps for most members of the crew, recreating a terrorist attack that day, in front of high definition cameras, was a disturbing, even eerie, task. Qurbaan (a working title), produced by Karan Johar (Dharma Productions), was suddenly akin to what was unfolding in Mumbai.
The film’s protagonist, played by Saif Ali Khan, an “urban, educated, liberal” Muslim, in love with a Hindu girl (played by Kareena Kapoor), was in the throes of a crisis because of a similar terrorist act. “I will never forget that shoot,” D’Silva says.
I met D’Silva more than six months after that day, at the ad agency where he works as creative director. “But now when I look back, I believe that the film, more so its main characters, are all the more relevant, and more contemporary in the post-26/11 world,” he says.

Why I’m going to see Dostana with my mom and kids

Published
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on November 15, 2008
in Movies and Society
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Posted by Namita Bhandare

dostana21I’m still a bit gobsmacked, two hours after returning home post my Dostana outing.

In many ways the film is vintage KJ (Karan Johar): an ensemble cast, sumptuous sets, beautiful people (even the extras look gorgeous), great location. And if KJ (whose own sexuality has been the topic of endless speculation) pushed the envelope on extra-marital relationships in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, he pushes another envelope with Dostana: exploring gay relationships.

OK, so the two leading men — Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham are only pretending to be gay. Why lie? They want to share a fabulous apartment with an Indian girl (played by Priyanka Chopra) whose conservative aunt wants her to share it only with girls. So, Abhishek and John pretend to be gay and even concoct a hilarious story of how they met and fell in love in Venice.

Two things stand out in what could have been an otherwise stereotypical romcom. Of course, both Abhishek (Samir) and John (Kunal) fall madly in love with Priyanka (Neha). But then, just as you begin wondering who will finally get the girl, a third man (Bobby Deol) enters the scene just before interval, quite literally queering the pitch. The ending? Not as predictable as you might imagine.

Second, director Tarun Mansukhani tries to break as many cielings as he can within the ambit of a mainstream flick. When, for instance, was the last time you saw a movie where a leading actor played the part of a nurse? Never? So, three cheers for dignity of labour.

Also, I concede, this film is no Brokeback Mountain. But what it will end up doing by the time it’s completed its run, is make homosexuality a little bit less of a taboo. Abhishek and John might not be gay after all, but Priyanka makes an impassioned plea to Abhishek’s mom (Kiron Kher) to accept her son for what he is so that he can live his life and be happy. How’s that for promoting gay rights?

There’s none of the ‘chee‘ aspect you’d imagine a mainstream film would smear onto homosexuals. There’s no passing of judgment, and what stays with you finally is a friendship that is warm and real.

And, yes, it’s sexy in many ways. Buff, toned and tanned John Abraham rising out of the sea in his yellow trunks could give Daniel Craig a run for his money. And there are plenty of jokes on the lines of Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Bum (the version I’ve heard substitutes a word for cat instead of Khushi, to describe bisexual behaviour). Bobby Deol tells Priyanka he’s good in bed. And I can tell you that the audience I watched this movie with loved with sexual references. It was as if years of repression had just lifted away.

Yes, the film drags (oops, no pun intended) post interval. But all in all, I liked Dostana so much that I’m going to see it one more time with my kids and mom.

And thanks for pointing out the obvious: Of course, Gabbar Singh (of Sholay) is gay.

Check out the IMDB link here.

Watch the movie trailer on YouTube here

And previously on AW:

Bollywood’s cautious coming out

Dostana: Bollywood’s cautious coming out

Published
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on November 13, 2008
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Homosexuality is still illegal in India but is its film industry ready to tackle on this final taboo? Anil Sinanan finds out for The Times (London)

dostana1Is Bollywood coming out of the closet? It looks so with the release of Dostana (Friendship), a gay rom-com with four A-list stars including Shilpa Shetty and produced by Karan Johar, Bollywood’s biggest director. Of course, in Dostana two of Bollywood’s biggest heroes — John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan — only pretend to be gay to get closer to the object of their affection, Priyanka Chopra. Even so, this is daring for Bollywood as it is the first major film to address the love that dare not speak its name in such a mainstream manner.

Homosexuality remains illegal in India, and is still considered a taboo topic by many. The relevant law is Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (1860), which prohibits “unnatural offences”, defined as “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal”. But Johar says he thinks the timing is right for Dostana. Section 377 is now under review in the Indian courts and, at least in the major cities, negative attitudes are changing. In an action begun in 2001 the law is being challenged in the Delhi High Court.

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