Is The ‘Khan’ Magic In Bollywood Fading Away?

The ‘Badshah’ of Bollywood, the ‘Bhai’ of film industry, the ‘Nawab’ of the industry and our very own ‘Mr. Perfectionist’ have lately been going through a rough patch in their career.

We are talking about the ‘Khan’ clan of Bollywood that is now on a very evident downfall and we don’t know how we feel about this. As someone who is from the 90’s, I have spent all my life investing in movies and emotions that the superstars of Bollywood created for me.

Shah Rukh Khan taught me love, Aamir taught me versatility, Salman taught me swag and well, Saif.. I am sure he must have taught me something, I just can’t think of it right now.

What’s happening currently at the box office is more like a revolution and as much as we are a part of it, we can’t help but imagine how Bollywood would be without the Khans.
Maybe, it’s too early to speak about it and maybe they will come back with a bang but for now, we fear this is what the end of an era looks like.

Salman’s ‘Race3’, Aamir’s ‘Thugs Of Hindostan’, Shah Rukh’s ‘Zero’ and also, unfortunately Saif’s ‘Kaalakandi’ have proved that this isn’t the time for Khans and we don’t know if it’s coming back anytime soon.

The fact that they are trying their best to change with time and are also experimenting with scripts is even more disheartening because it is clearly not helping them get back to the place where they once used to be.

The current trend at Box office is ‘the guy next door’ personality and hence that is exactly why we appreciate and swoon over faces like Vicky Kaushal, Rajkumar Rao and Ayushmann Khurana.

Nevertheless, for someone who grew up watching ‘Dil toh Pagal hai’, and ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, this era is the beginning of something new and the end of ‘quintessential bollywood’ that we once loved and looked up to.

As audiences, we are ready for a change and looks like we have embraced it just fine but the questions is ‘are the khans ready to embrace this change’?

If you think the same and have an opinion about the Khans and their presence in Bollywood right now, don’t forget to share it with us in the comment section below.

Disclaimer: The views represented in the article belong to the author and not the organization.

This New Year, Can We Expect New Content From Bollywood?

Bollwyood is no less than a sea of talent and all sorts of people dive in here with their talents, their stories and their ideas but not all of them float all the way up to the top. To survive these rough waves of nepotism, casting couch, ego clashes and so much more, one needs a solid foundation to make their place way up to the top.

But, Bollywood, as someone who has looked up to you since 1994, don’t you think it’s about time we make ‘Content’ the king already? When are we going to bring the ‘sexist patriarchy’ themes to and end and make movies that are more reflective of the society?

Times have changed, the women are changing and it’s about time that you change as well, Bollywood.
It’s about you let go off certain idea and perception that you hold about the society because we’re clearly not the same people now.

Here are 8 things, we hope you get rid of as we enter 2019.

Concept of the Ideal Woman – The new audience relates to Rumi more than it does to Anjali, Bollywood. Anurag Kashyap gave us the reality, you’ve given us delusions for long enough. It’s about time we fix this, don’t we?
Consent and violence don’t go hand in hand– If she is scared of love but not scared of a slap, there is something wrong with her in specific. Women in real life are not scared of love as long as it’s with their consent and are certainly not cool with the idea of being slapped.
Creepy Compliments – Women like to be complimented but no, not the way Bollywood does it. Here’s what I am talking about “Ooperwale ne tumhe aage aur peeche bohot kuch diya hai , lekin uper kuch nahi diya hai”, says Anil Kapoor to Ameesha Patel in one of the ‘Race’ franchises and I don’t see how this is acceptable. Bollywood, you’re not categorizing women as either brainy of beautiful. The new era woman is both and she is sick of your judging standards.
Women can’t dare to dream- Why are basic mundane tasks achievements for women, Bollywood? Why did you think it was okay for Simran’s mother to say “Sapne dekho, zaroor dekho.. bas unke pure hone ki shart mat rakho”. Why have men dared to dream and why have women been waiting for permission from either the parents or the boyfriend or the husband? We’re out there to dream and we don’t need no permission to make them come true!!
No, not all women are bitches- Enough with the Pyar Ka punchnama concept, Bollywood. Men can be equally confused, frustrated, depressed and cranky and we don’t think it is cool to label all women as bitches. Tell you what Bollywood, ‘Sonu ke Titu Ki Sweety’ was an entertaining movie but I didn’t see why the girl was ‘not right’? She was just the ‘bad person’ with no clear motives. Emotions are not bias to gender, Bollywood. Let’s be more realistic.
Women don’t need to be protected– No Bollywood, No. It’s about time you understand and accept that women are not damsels in distress. We are not always out there waiting to be protected by a knight in shining armor. The new woman is strong and is capable of taking care of herself and wouldn’t it be nice if you showed a movie or two about this too?

For now, this is what the people of ‘2019’ want, Bollywood!
You make awesome content, you just have to make more of it.

Disclaimer: The views in this article do not represent the organization and solely belong to the author.

Here’s The Tragic Story Behind The Tragic Queen ‘Meena Kumari’ And Her Left Hand

If you belong to the army of Meena Kumari fans then you’d probably know what are we talking about, if not the reason, you would definitely have a fair idea of the mystery behind the left hand.

Meena Kumari was born as Mehjabeen Bano and shall forever remain one of the most cherished people in Bollywood. Her performances in Pakeezah, Saheb Biwi Aur Gulam among others hold a very special place in our hearts and they shall for years to come.

If one had to speak of all the little things associated with her, the list would never end but as fans, we decided to bring out a very important fact from her life. Many of us must have seen Meena Kumari put an effort to hide her left hand from the camera and that is bound to leave us wondering why.

So, here’s what had happened:

On May 21, 1951, Meena Kumari was returning to Mumbai from Mahabaleshwar when her car met with an accident. It was quite a major car crash which resulted in Meena Kumari being in the hospital for quite a lot of days. The little finger of her left hand was broken during this accident and started to look crooked, leaving her conscious about it.

After the accident, the shape of her finger changed, making it look round. Henceforth, Meena made sure that she hides her left hand from the camera but with all that poise and grace, one obviously couldn’t tell.

If you’re a true Meena Kumari fan and you have facts about her life that we should speak about, don’t forget to mention them in the comment section below.

FI: Source

Here Are 8 Movies That We Think Deserved More Attention!

Bollywood makes a lot of content everywhere and it is natural for most of it to go unnoticed by the audiences. Also, the fact that Bollywood runs on box office collection makes it difficult for quality content to stay in the race for long.

We are certainly a more star driven industry than content driven and this this attitude often leads into missing out on some creative gems that are created in the industry.

Here are 8 movies that we think deserved more attention but they got buried under the rubble of star studded performances.

Omerta – It was written in the year 2004 by actor Mukul Dev but the movie took 12 years to reach the pre production stage. Directed by Hansal Mehta and starring Rajkumar Rao, this wasn’t your low budget art movie. A whopping 180 million Indian Rupees was spent into making this epic biopic but it managed to recover only 40 million gross collection. Omerta is based on Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh; two incident explores in the film – 1994 kidnapping of westerns in India and murder of Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl and shall definitely remain one of the most underrated movies of all times.
Mukkabaaz– Another one of Anurag Kashyap gems that gathered pace at the box office gradually and bagged the title of a successful movie eventually. Despite having two sports centric blockbusters like Dangal and Sultan, the movie managed to win hearts all across the globe. The actor, Vineet Kumar had written the story five years back and Kashyap transformed it to reality in 2018 and the movie is undoubtedly one of the finest productions of Phantom Films.
Beyond The Clouds– It was such a delight to see an International director working with an Indian story. Iranian director Majid Majidi who directed the cult movie ‘children of heavens’ decide to cast Ishaan Khatter for the lead role in ‘Beyond The Cloud’ and he delivered such an exceptional performance. Despite Ishaan’s wonderful debut, the box office preferred ‘Dhadak’ over this brilliant masterpiece.
Bioscopewala – The movie is an adaptation of Kabuliwala, the original short story written by Rabindranath Tagore, from the 19th century to somewhere in the 1980s during the Taliban regime and changed the profession of Rehmat, the central character played by Danny, from a dry fruit seller to a man who goes around showing films to children through his bioscope. The movie stars Danny Dengzogpa, Adil Hussain, Tisca Chopra and Geethanjali Thaapa in the lead role. It was premiered at the International Tokyo Film Festival and received critical acclamation but failed to do wonders at the box office.
Kaalakaandi– Before we start to talk about the story, we need to acknowledge that something of this sort from an A-listed actor is something that needs to be appreciated. One of the reasons why the movie couldn’t do so well on the box office was because of excessive use of regional language. It is astonishing how Kaalakaandi released on the same day as Mukkabaaz and 1921 with 1921 makes it to the top. This movie is a must watch for Saif Ali Khan’s brilliant performance.
Blackmail– Abhinay Deo is who was known for creating the cult movie like ‘Delhi Belly’ never touched this genre again and went ahead to make movies like Game, Force 2 and TV series ’24’ before getting back to the black comedy genre with Irrfan Khan’s ‘Blackmail’. The much hyped movie didn’t manage to leave an impact on the box office but the dark humor and the climax make the move quite watchable.
Bhavesh Joshi Superhero– Bhavesh Joshi was india’s first dark super hero movie and coming from Phantom films, we are not even surprised. Bhavesh Joshi is your dark, edgy and super cool super hero. This vigilante super hero movie starring Harsh Vardhan Kapoor, directed by Vikramaditya Motwane has all the right reasons to make it to our underrated movies list.
Union Leader– The movie ‘Union Leader’ was titled initially as ‘Kamdar Union’. Starring Rahul Dev in the lead, the movie gives him a chance to deliver a clap worthy performance. The film released in almost 100 screens on 19 January 2018 in India with positive reviews but couldn’t manage to be commercially a blockbuster. This is one movie you should definitely watch before the year comes to an end.

The value of art can not be quantified on the basis of how much money it makes. As people who cherish good cinema, it is important that we embrace such daring movies and contribute to their growth.

If you think we missed out on a movie, let us know in the comment section below!

12 Bollywood Movies That Will Keep You Hooked To Your Chairs Till The Very End

Suspense in real life, not so interesting but suspense in movies definitely makes it ten times better.

Don’t we all love watching thrillers that keep us waiting till the very end? Bollywood, stereotypically known for its romance has given us some really amazing thrillers and we bring to you a list of top 15 that you could binge watch on weekends.

Kahani (2012)

The story revolves around a pregnant woman searching for her missing husband in the city of Kolkata, with the help of a police officer. Vidya Balan’s acting is to die for and the climax is going to leave you speechless.

Manorama Six Feet Under (2007)

The story revolves around an amateur detective who finds himself in the middle of a complicated murder mystery. The movie stars Abhay Deol, Gulpanag and Raima sen but Abhay’s performance is what will leave you asking for more.

Special 26 (2013)

A team of con artists conduct raids to loot politicians and businessmen of their black money, posed as CBI officers. The movie has a stellar star cast with Anupam Kher, Akshay Kumar, Jimmy Shergill to name a few. Also, the climax is definitely one of the most unexpected one!

Karthik Calling Karthik (2010)

This story revolves around an unknown caller who calls the protagonist, Karthik, from time to time. Starring the very talented Farhan Akhtar and Deepika Padrone, the movie stands out to be one the finest psychological thrillers.

Drishyam (2015)

A man takes desperate measures to save his family from the dark side of the law after they commit an unexpected crime. Ajay and Tabu manage to keep you glued to your place effortlessly.

A Wednesday! (2008)

A retiring police officer remembers the most astounding case of his career, the one he never filed. It all happens on one Wednesday. Also, you can’t expect a movie that stars Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah to go wrong.

NH10 (2015)

While on a road trip, a couple comes across a series of incidents involving a gangster who makes them run for their lives. Anushka Sharma’s performance is powerful and full of the modern day rage that we loved on the big screen.

Missing On A Weekend (2016)

Missing on a Weekend is an investigating crime story based in Goa. Police Inspector Ali Ansari from CBI has been transferred to Goa to take charge of the current ugly undercover crime space which has troubled the tourism capital of India.

Khiladi (1992)

Four friends decide to play a prank for money and fun. They pretend to kidnap one of their friends and ask for ransom. What happens next is something they hadn’t thought of. Also, the movie stars the Khiladi of Bollywood and that definitely adds more thrill to it.

Bluffmaster! (2005)

A conman after getting dumped by his girlfriend finds out that he is suffering from a fatal disease, after which he decides to do some good, one last con, for his sidekick. Watch it for Abhishek, Nana Patekar, Priyanka Chopra and the music.

Gumnaam (1965)

After winning a contest, eight people find themselves in an eerie mansion on a remote island where they get murdered one after the other. A classic that is highly recommended and Mehmood’s acting makes it one of the finest thrillers to be made.

Ek Ruka Hua Faisla (1986)

Twelve jury members gather to discuss a unanimous decision for the verdict of a murder case. All but one find the accused to be guilty who then insists on proving otherwise.

The List Of Bollywood’s Most Awaited From 2019 Is Here And We Can’t Wait!

Bollywood creates a different magic everywhere and 2018 had more mega weddings to it more than mega movies.

Nevertheless, it was a great year for Bollywood and we did witness some amazing movies that outshone at the box office with Padmavat, Sanju, Tiger Zinda Hai, Padman to name a few.

The industry never ceases to amuse and the release list for 2019 definitely has all of us waiting. With fresher faces and fresher stories, we look forward to these amazing releases that are scheduled for 2019.

URI

Starring Vicky Kaushal URI is a story based on Surgical Strike executed by Indian Special Forces featuring Yami Gautam, Paresh Rawal, Kirti Kulkarni, and Mohit Raina and is all set to release on 11th January 2019.

BRAHMASTRA

This is the first film intended trilogy by producer Karan Johar featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt & Amitabh Bachchan in the lead roles. Johar’s one of the most ambitious project is titled as “Brahmastra”.The film is going to hit the box office on 15^th August 2019.

MILAN TALKIES

Tigmanshu Dhulia directorial Milan Talkies is a love story based on the old world allure of single-screen cinemas starring Pankaj Tripathi, Ashutosh Rana and other is likely to hit the silver screen on 18^th January 2019.

THACKERAY

Nawazuddin’s Thackeray is most likely to reach the theaters on 23 January 2019. It is the most awaited biographical drama on the life of Bal Thackeray, the founder of Indian political party Shiv Sena.

SUPER 30

Hrithik’s Super 30 is all set to hit the silver screen on this republic day. Directed by Vikas Behl, is an upcoming biopic drama on the life of famous Mathematician Anand Kumar and his education program ‘super30’.

MANIKARNIKA: QUEEN OF JHANSI

Another historic biographical drama is ready to take over the cinema by a storm on 25^th of January 2019. It is the much-awaited biography on the life of Queen of Jhansi, Rani Laxmi, featuring Kangana Ranaut. The movie is already making headlines as it is going to have the biggest box-office clash with Hrithik’s Super30.

GULLY BOY

Gully boy is a forthcoming Indian Bollywood musical drama directed and written by Zoya Akhtar starring Ranveer Singh Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin in the lead roles. Ranveer Singh is playing a rapper in the film. The movie is all set to release on Valentines Day -14th February

BADLA

Directed by Prince Dhaliwal, produced by Gauri Khan, this movie is the remake of ‘Contra Tiempo’, a Spanish thriller. The movie is about an investigation of a young man and the dubious circumstances surrounding his death. It is all set to hit the floors on 8th March 2019.

KESARI

Akshay Kumar starrer, Kesari is an Indian period war drama. The story revolves around Havildar Isha Singh who takes part in a battle of Saragarhi for earning respect for his estranged daughter.

STUDENT OF THE YEAR 2

Casting Tiger Shroff, Ananya Pandey, Tara Sutaria, Karan Tacker, Ronit Roy in lead roles, Student Of the Year 2 is all set to bring some new faces. The movie is a sequel of 2012 superhit movie ‘Student of the year’. Directed by Punit Malhotra, the movie is expected to be in theatres from 10^th May 2019.

BHARAT

Bharat is an upcoming Indian Hindi-languagedrama film directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and jointly produced by Atul Agnihotri, Alvira Khan Agnihotri, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Nikhil Namit and Salman Khan. The film stars Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Tabu, and Disha Patani. Principal photography began in June 2018 and Bharat is scheduled for a theatrical release on 5th June Eid 2019.

HOUSEFULL 4

Presenting superstars like Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, comedian Shakti Kapoor, Boman Irani & Chunkey Pandey in lead roles, Housefull 4 is going to be a laughter riot. It is the 4^th part of the popular Housefull series and is releasing on 25th October 2019.

ABCD 3

Director/Choreographer Remo Dsouza is coming up with his biggest dance-based movie featuring Varun Dhawan & Katrina Kaif is all set to release on 8^th November 2019.

KICK 2

Sajid Nadiadwala’s action movie Kick 2 is the sequel of super hit movie kick of 2014 is expected to release on 20 December 2019. The movie will be featuring Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez in the main lead.

Bollywood is known to leave us surprised everywhere and we should totally brace ourselves for the filmy roller coaster ride that we are going to take in 2019

Let us know which movie are you waiting for eagerly in the comment section!

FI: Source