2011: Best Songs

Not necessarily sorted in any order

Kyun Main Jagoon (Patiala House): Best track of the year with excellent singing by Shafqat and great lyrics....still my most heard track even after a year of the album release...the song was picturised quite well and showed Akshay's pain effectively...aadat hai wo and baby when you talk to me were another great tracks from this awesome album....one of the best albums from SEL..

Saathiya (Singham): Shreya always scores especially if its a solo...be it jaadu hai nasha hai, yeh ishq hai, barso re, bahara, o bekhabar...best romantic number of the year....

Saibo (Shor in the City): Shreya solo fare didnt stop with Saathiya...Saibo was one more brilliant track from Shreya...

Senorita(ZNMD): how many times have we seen actors getting behind the mikes and the last couple of decades...very few actor singers have been lapped up...this track falls into that category...farhan, hrithik and abhay have made this an enjoyable track...

Darling (7 Khoon Maaf): great peppy track....brought out the best in Rekha Bharadwaj and Usha Uthup provided nice support...

DK Bose (Delhi Belly): inspite of controversial lyrics, the tunes were too catchy to miss it....worth repeated listening....

Tere Bin (Dil to Bachcha Hai Ji): My fav Sonu struck an ace with this track..this song could have been promoted well...

Teri Meri (Bodyguard): among the better romantic numbers of the year though I preferred

Saathiya (Singham) over this one....Shreya and Rahat did ample justice to this song..

Rab rakha (Love Breakup Zindagi): Excellent duet from Sonu-Shreya combination...this combo has always given amazing tracks to listeners...piyu bole, pal pal har pal, aaj maine dil se, zoobi doobi, chori kiya re, ishq hua, main hoon na, dheere jalna...this was one of the most underrated songs of the year

Chamak Challo(Ra.One): Zingy track from a disastrous movie....

Te Amo (Dum Maaro Dum): Nice duet...

Dhinka Chika (Ready): Fultoo item song...ekdum jhakaas...Character Dheela was also nice

Sadda Haq (Rockstar): song to be heard repetitively on my 5.1 home theatre system at full volume...altogether a different sound from AR Rahman...Mohit in the past has sang really welll but this movie is a turning point in his career...never in recent times have we seen an album which has fully explored the vocals of a great singer...

Hawaa Hawaa (Rockstar): Like this song for the tongue twisting lyrics and amazing Mohit vocals... Phir Se ud chala, Tum Ho, Nadaan Parinde were some of other great tracks of this album...Rockstar can easily go on to win all the music awards this year...though I would have preferred Patiala winning it...dunno why...

Shaher Ki Rani (Tera Kya Hoga Johny): Guess the singer without referring to the album cover...You wont be able to find out that the singer is none other than Shreya...showcases her versatility...gone are the days of sunidhi....

Ohh la la (The Dirty Picture): This is now definitely Shreya's year...80s number with peppy tunes....like the track (my wife hates it...more for the visuals than for the songs)....Chikni Chameli is another track worth mention from Shreya's stable though it will make into my next year's list (listen to last 1 minute of the song to find out why Shreya is the best singer we have had in last 20-30 yrs)...

I have deliberately left out Why this Kolaveri (3) because

• its a track from 2012 movie
• Non Bollywood track

2011 Year In Pictures: Courtesy Boston.com

Right from Japanese earethquake to Tahrir Square event to Libya revolution to Christchurch earthquake to Royal wedding to Chicago snowstorm

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/12/the_year_in_pictures_part.html

ZNMD: Life has an all new meaning

Very rarely does a college/school group get together and go on a fun trip sans their better halves almost 10 yrs after their college...Quite often do people get involved in adventure sports but very rarely they get a chance to live life (post the sport) with an altogether different perspective...Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a perfect example of that.

The movie starts off with Abhay Deol-Kalki engagement night...Abhay, Farhan and Hrithik decide to go on a road trip in Spain and indulge in 3 different adventure sports of their choice....Hrithik an I banker straight out of Wall street is initially unwilling to go on this excursion coz of project timelines..However he later decides to go owing to issues on his personal front...as part of the 1st trip they end up meeting Katrina...Farhan and Hrithik both get attracted to her. However never ever jealousy is shown between the two and it always comes out as a good-natured bantering...eventually Kats ends up on the Roman God's end....the lyricist has not come to Spain to woo Kats but to meet his padre...Kat-Hrithik bond well and their long walks and underwater diving bring a complete change in Hrithik's attitude and his perspective towards worldly pleasures...Anurag Kashyap's dame ends up in Spain to play a spoilsport and a rift develops between the lovey-dovey couple...Abhay too starts evaluating his decision to marry her..in the meantime Farhan gets a chance to meet his father only to be disappointed...However all three buddies end up finishing all 3 adventure sports and the movie culminates to an apt end...

Farhan is the pick of the lot...In fact he steals the show from one and all..He is a terrific actor and this role suits him to a tee....He is at complete ease and seems to be sleep walking through the entire movie...it looks completely effortless...Hrithik has the largest role in terms of screen space..his character has different shades (arrogance, money minded, generous, romantic) and he does a complete justice to his role...in fact very few of his movies has showcased his versatility...Abhay though not as effective as Dev D, Manorama Six Feet Under, Socha Na Tha, has an important role and is likable as ever....not a bad decision for selecting this role...Kats looks a li'l plump but essays her part effectively...Kalki was a bad choice for Natasha and would have preferred someone else...Deepti Naval and Naseer bring up memories of their past performances...

Zoya follows her bro's footsteps and make us relive the DCH experience...its a far better effort than her last outing Luck By Chance though LBC too was a nice movie...Javed Akhtar deserves a special mention for penning wonderful poetries and Farhan delivers them excellently...After Udaan this is another movie which has wonderful shayaris...SEL has another winner in their pocket after Patiala House...Senorita is peppy with excellent singing...Der Lagi is a revelation..Dil Jaise Dhadke is pulsating and Paint it Red is pure awesome fun...Tomatino Festival and Pomplano Bull run has been picturised well...cinematography is perfect and it captures Hrithik's mood specially on the starry night, deepwater diving and during the song Khwabon ke Parinde...the skydiving sport is also brilliantly...

I would rate ZNMD as one of the better movies of this millennium..definitely worth repeated viewing...

One of the best ways to express joy n happiness

I am talking about dancing....ever realized that most of the folks instantaneously get into a jig once hearing good news or when one is happy......dance is something which will come natural to all and mind you i need not be a good dancer....almost everyone dances though not publicly....

Here are present to you some of the best dancing pics taken recently (courtesy Boston.com)

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/03/bodies_in_motion_dancing_aroun.html

Enjoy and put on ur dancing shoes....

Movies I watched last week

was on a movie watching spree last week..almost saw most of the genres..romance, comedy, war, sci-fi, drama, animation....stayed away from horror as this is a territory I dare not cross....

Do Dooni Char (3.5/5): Have already posted my review earlier...one of the better movies of 2010

Mirch (3.5/5): Interesting, funny and hilarious movie..dealt with a topic (female adultery) never touched in Bollywood...all the 4 stories are riveting....however the plot which binds all the 4 stories is lacklustre...this could have been much better....raima is too expressive with her eyes and konkona is superb...Boman plays his part with aplomb...

No Problem (1/5): Giving a single point for all the spot boys, assistants, make-up artists who had to work hard for such a stupid crap movie....movie had big names but neither the story was good nor the acting...

Well Done Abba (4/5): One of the most underrated movies of 2010...had zero expectations before I started watching the movie..Minissha has given her career best performance and Boman has scored another winner....i commend the way they have adapted to Hyderabadi accent...the supporting cast is also good...the movie seems to drag at the end...could have been 15-20 mins shorter to creating a far greater impact..

Break Ke Baad (3.5/5): Far better than 2010 rom-coms such as IHLS, Aisha and Anjaana Anjaani....Deepika is an eye-candy..absolute treat to watch...has also given a good performance...Imran is pretty decent...

District 9 (4/5): Loved this movie...the junior alien reminded me of E.T...the guy who played Wikus acted really well...

The Secret in Their eyes (4.5/5): There is something about this movie which keeps haunting me...may be the rape/murder topic..or may be the quest of Esposito...or maybe the love of the husband....justice was done in the form of academy awards for best foreign language film last year..

Persepolis (3.5/5): Had high expectations but was somewhat let down by this movie...

Hurt Locker (4/5): First movie I saw which dealt with the Iraq war...had a good story and equally interesting performances....direction was spot on...

Khosla Ka Ghosla VS Do Dooni Chaar

I happened to finish Do Dooni Chaar today after hearing a lot of rave reviews about it...lot has been published in the media about its similarity to Khosla ka Ghosla...I too would agree to it with some minor differences....

Similarities

• Movies have Delhi as the backdrop and have tried to portray it from "aam junta" point of view
• It is based on a central theme (house in KKG and car in DDC)
• Both the protagonists (Anupam and Rishi) are from middle class family.
• Central characters face opposition from their wives/children in the first half...however post popcorn meal there is a transformation and they make all efforts to help Anupam/Rishi
• Central characters are shown helpless for most part of the film and often rely on ideas/suggestions from others.
• Central characters are shown to be honest whereas their kids are rebels in their own way.
• Mom plays the pacifier in both the films
• Both the movies depict common-man issue in a very subtle but humorous way.
• Simple story told with an almost perfect screenplay.

Differences

• The protagonist in DDC is the only source of income in the family which isnt the case in KKG. Hence they have a better standard of living
• The hardships and struggles (though a bit over the top in the 1st half) are more in DDC than in KKG
• It is based on a central theme (house in KKG and car in DDC)
• Both the protagonists (Anupam and Rishi) are from middle class family.

Coming to performances each of the characters in both the films excel and leave a lasting impression. Rishi and Neetu look perfect as the on-screen couple and their camaraderie is their to be seen.

KKG had a better background score as compared to DDC. Same hold true for the music. However the performances are better in DDC as compared to KKG.

For me, KKG has more repeat viewing capability than DDC. But this does not demean DDC as it is still one of the better movies of 2010.