I finally saw the two big Bhagat Singh movies which released past friday.

March 23, 1931 Shaheed- In all honesty, the less said the better about this film. It was really horrible, what were Sunny Deol & Dharmendra thinking when they decided to get Guddu Dhaona to direct the film? ??? This guy is no Ashutosh Gowariker.

The Legend Of Bhagat Singh- No surprising, Rajkumar Santoshi's direction was overrated, even Ajay Devgan was overrated at times in the film, however, that's not to say that he was bad in the movie, he was just good, but not the perfect choice to portray the title role. I thought this film had heart but no brains, because it was a really biased film geared towards making a lot of things to work towards the advantages of Bhagat Singh's name and image. It neglected many other revolutionary people of its era. (ie. Udham Singh, Benoy Mukherjee). Though, I would still recommend this film because it had a good revolutionary look and I'm a big movie buff when it comes to historical films.

Final thoughts- If your interested on the topic of Bhagat Singh, ditch Bobby/Sunny Deol version and watch Rajkumar Santoshi's version. But neither film is even half as good or loyal in all aspects as was Manoj Kumar's classic portrayal of Bhagat Singh in the 1965 film Shaheed. Even a better film than LOBS which was concentrated on the same era is the Punjabi film Shaheed Udham Singh, with Raj Babbar in the title role.

Dissapointing Turnout For The Shaheeds

http://www.planetbollywood.com/News/s061102-080500.html

This prooves ur point..colector, Miyan! right on!

Biliyan dekhti reh gayeen, Uday Bandar Roti Kha gaya!!! Tota Mirchi Kha Gaya!! ha ha!! :p



Edited By arsh on June 11 2002 at 12:50

B4U reviews on all 3 slatning LOBS? the BEST!
MYKSH..Meetha Goli/Hauva!!

]Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai

Boring wedding:**

The director follows the Yash Chopra School of filmmaking throughout without a single fresh scene. The film though is a moderate attempt at clean and good cinema. The music by Jeet-Pritam is pleasant specially Sharara Sharara and Resham Si Hain Ye. Of course Uday Chopra has a bigger and better role, which he performs with sincerity. He makes you laugh at places too. Jimmy Shergill is competent while the newcomer Sanjana needs to join acting classes. Bipasha Basu’s special appearance is superb but she needs to take care of her eye makeup.

On the whole, Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai is as sweet as it gets.

[URL=http://www.b4utv.com/movies/review/mereyaar.asp?ReviewID=mere6102002


The Legend of Bhagat Singh

Right on target:****

This one is perhaps the best film made on Bhagat Singh. The film describes each event chronologically and in depth. Even a kid will understand Bhagat Singh’s ideologies and his movement to free India after watching the film.
Rajkumar Santoshi has made a brilliant film, which doesn’t deviate from the facts. A R Rahman's melodious patriotic songs touch a chord in your heart. Ajay Devgan has given a performance, which will be remembered in history of Indian cinema. Sushant Singh as Sukhdev portrays his character with an honesty that will get him awards. Raj Babbar, Akhilendra as Azad are very aptly cast.

A must see film for history, for Bhagat Singh and for Ajay Devgan!


23rd March 1931: Shaheed

His story, Bollywood istyle!:**

And the saga continues… The Bhagat Singh mania that gripped the industry now reaches the peak. Two industry heavy weights are finally subject to the best critic – the discerning public. Amongst fire, fanfare and controversy the Bobby and Sunny Deol movie is obviously a sentimental journey for the Jat family and the regional connection has helped in creating the ambience in terms of the son of Punjab who made India proud. In true Bollywood ishtyle the movie is loud and furthers the Gadar formula that incites patriotism. Making the Bhagat Singh role topical to today’s times though is what is called going just a tad too far!
An overdose of the freedom fighter’s life will not be well received by movie goers who would appreciate a choice of different fare on their platter.. The ones to suffer though would be the smaller productions under the glare of the mega tussle. Though bigwigs of the media world had their favorites the movie now subject to public scrutiny will definitely trump a final verdict putting an end to media speculation that have preceded the movies.

http://www.b4utv.com/movies/review/bhag ... gat6072002
baaa:



Edited By arsh on June 11 2002 at 13:27

"LOBS" - NY Times review/article:
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http://www.nytimes.com/2002....56a8977


Gandhi Is Eclipsed by Another Indian Hero

June 10, 2002
By DAVE KEHR/NY Times

According to the Planet Bollywood Web site, "over three
films" are in production in Bombay, the capital of India's
Hindi cinema, about Bhagat Singh, a young Sikh
revolutionary who was executed by the British government in
1931.

The first one out of the box, apparently, is "The Legend of
Bhagat Singh," a Bollywood superproduction that had its
global premiere on Friday, opening simultaneously in India
and in Indian communities around the world. In New York it
is playing at the Loews State Theater in Times Square, as
well as at five other theaters in the other boroughs and
the suburbs.

"The Legend of Bhagat Singh" is not as polished and
appealing as "Lagaan," the Bollywood musical that became an
international hit last year and earned an Oscar nomination
for best foreign language film. But, as energetically
directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, it does add to the critical
mass that lately has been building up around Bollywood
filmmaking, suggesting that someday soon it may explode
internationally the way the Hong Kong cinema did in the
late 1980's.

The peculiar genius of Bollywood lies in its ability to
transform every kind of material - from romantic comedy to
espionage thrillers - into musicals. The action simply
stops for a few minutes as the characters burst into song,
tablas and sitars throb on the soundtrack and dancing
choruses materialize out of nowhere. The
political-historical nature of "Bhagat Singh" forces the
filmmakers to curtail some of the more extreme tendencies
of the Bollywood musical, but there are still plenty of
startling moments: jailed hunger strikers breaking into
song as they are beaten, and the hero and his two closest
comrades smiling broadly and singing lustily of the glory
of self-sacrifice as they march to the gallows.

Singh, played by the glowering Ajay Devgan, was a young
follower of Gandhi who became disillusioned with the
Congress Party's policy of nonviolent protest against the
British imperial forces and joined a radical
Marxist-Leninist group. The script, by Anjum Rajabali,
portrays him as a firebrand with a sense of humor and a
gift for friendship. As he gathers his followers around him
- including Sushant Singh as the urbane, unpredictable
Sukhdev, and D. Santosh as the comic relief camp follower
Rajguru - the film effectively deifies him. He is wiser,
stronger, more compassionate and more dedicated than any of
the mere mortals around him. Unfortunately, he is also
chaste, which poses a small but not insurmountable problem
for the inevitable cute, passive Bollywood ingénue (the
newcomer Amrita Rao): her big romantic ballad has to be
performed as a dream sequence.

At the same time the film is industriously building up
Singh's stature, it is quietly tearing down Gandhi's. For
the Western viewer, this is probably the picture's most
interesting aspect: far from being the serene sage played
by Ben Kingsley in Richard Attenborough's 1982 biographical
film, Mr. Santoshi's Gandhi (Surendra Rajan) is a faintly
ridiculous poseur, whose policies play directly into the
hands of the British ("He's the ideal enemy," one English
officer notes. "He doesn't fight back.")

For all of its militant rhetoric, however, "The Legend of
Bhagat Singh" backs off from bloody exhortations. A
principal theme is the need to transcend religious fighting
and establish a genuine Hindu-Muslim solidarity; the film
frankly admires Singh's determined atheism, suggesting that
it may be one way out of conflicts both historical and
contemporary. It is hard for an outsider to sort out the
political and social undercurrents that run through "The
Legend of Bhagat Singh," but they are clearly there, and
add much to the movie's weight.

THE LEGEND OF BHAGAT SINGH

Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi;
written (in Hindi, with English subtitles) by Anjum
Rajabali; director of photography, K. V. Anand; edited by
V. N. Mayekar; music by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by
Sameer; choreography by Ganesh Acharya and Jojo Khan; art
director, Nitin Chandrakant Desai; produced by Kumar S.
Taurani and Ramesh S. Taurani; released by Tips Films.
Running time: 150 minutes. This film is not rated.

WITH: Ajay Devgan (Bhagat Singh), Sushant Singh (Sukhdev),
D. Santosh (Rajguru), Akhilendra Mishra (Chandrashekhar
Azad), Raj Babbar (Kishen Singh), Farida Jalal (Mata
Vidyavati) and Amrita Rao (Girl From Manawale Village).
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