September 18, 2003

FILM
I think Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost wanted to be the next Lagaan. You know, the whole charming-village-with-quaint-characters-rises-up-against-cruel-overlords kind of thing. But it falls way, way, way short of its Oscar-nominated inspiration. Abhishek Bacchan plays a recently-returned-from-the-big-city villager who brings with him a big television set and a satellite dish to his recently electrified village. This premise could have been used to good effect to strike a few pointed arrows at our urbanized consumption-oriented existence but instead it just turns into a standard good vs. evil flick. The villain of the piece emerges in the form of the local thakur who doesn’t like the new-fangled ideas being brought to the village by the television screen. Cinematography-wise Dost looks good but the script is so uninspired that I slept through part of the movie, forwarded much of it, and stopped the tape only when the amazingly gorgeous Lara Dutta was on-screen. Can safely be given a miss. — Khusro Mumtaz

 

OR
Surprisingly, Kuch Na Kaho turned out to be not too painful an experience. Don’t get me wrong — there’s nothing very new here and there are some typical Mollywood/Lollywood moments wherein if the characters on screen had acted like normal human beings all the confusions that arise would have been cleared up quickly and everybody involved would have ended up living happily ever after an hour (in terms of screen time) earlier than they do. But, overall the movie is an old-school romance, slickly made and decently acted — Abhishek Bachhan is quite good and Ashwariya Rai overacts less than usual — and it has a couple of hummable tunes, as well. The movie reminded me of a Haseena Moeen serial and that’s not a bad thing in my book. —K.M

 

OR
Based on the comic book miniseries by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, The League Of Extra-Ordinary Gentlemen has several classic literary characters of the late 19th century coming together to save the world from disaster in the year 1900. Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery), Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), Mina Harker (Peta Wilson), Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (Jason Flemying), The Invisible Man (Tony Curran), Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend) and Tom Sawyer (Shane West) — the latter two not in the original source material but added to the League for the movie — combine forces to battle a mysterious and deadly enemy. This movie has generally received terrible reviews and has none of the intricacy associated with an Alan Moore work (the rich vein of material that comes with the characters is left mainly unexplored) and has plenty of implausible events and some huge plot holes. But for all that it’s not too bad a summer flick. It’s enjoyable in a switch-your-brain-off-and-go-along-for-the-ride kind of way. —K.M

 

SINGLE
Counting Crows became an overnight success in 1993 with their moneymaker hit Mr. Jones off their August and Everything After CD. Since then, they have been in and out of the spotlight but have not released a real gem until now. Big Yellow Taxi, the second single off Counting Crow’s new album Hard Candy, has monster hit written all over it. A non-LP cover of the Joni Mitchell classic, the single features critically acclaimed songstress Vanessa Carlton sharing vocals with Crow frontman Adam Duritz. While many artists have tried to cover this groovy track, including Amy Grant in 1994 and later Janet Jackson (who sampled it on Got ‘Til Its Gone), none have managed to get the vibe just right until now. Carlton’s voice complements the Crow’s sound and it is no surprise that this phat remake is becoming a big hit from the Sandra Bullock-Hugh Grant film Two Weeks Notice. In fact, it has proven much more successful than the film. One thing is for sure. As the classic chorus “Don’t it always seem to go/That you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone/They paved paradise and put up a parking lot” sticks in your head, this Big Yellow Taxi is certainly going somewhere. —T. U. Dawood

 

OR
While charges continue to mount that critically acclaimed singer R. Kelly (I Believe I Can Fly) has been spending too much time with underage girls, his music just seems to be getting better and better. He’s written and produced songs for a number of artists including Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, and his latest solo release Snake off his sixth solo album Chocolate Factory is one of the sweetest tracks of his career. Simply irresistible, this infectious Eastern-inspired single combines a Middle Eastern dancehall beat with Kelly’s trademark provocative lyrics.

Lines such as “I wanna see you move your body like a snake yeah,” “mama you’re bringin’ me to my knees” and “girl I wanna dance with you baby no doubt” are the most subtle lyrics on this steamy single.

The absurd video features scantily clad harem babes in desert attire while Kelly rides camels and charms snakes. Filmed during the time of the Iraqi war, the video may possibly be a political metaphor but is more likely an outlet for some of the singer’s secret fantasies. Despite its ominous name, this Snake is as sweet a production as R. Kelly’s chocolate factory promised. —T. U. D

 

ALBUM
When GEO TV premiered the film Daira (A Circle of Life), it was highly doubtful any screen version could hold a candle to its much lauded inspiration, the complex and creative Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid. The accompanying original score, however, is one of the most exciting and enjoyable albums out right now. A formidable 25-track collection by 22 artists, the Daira soundtrack features numerous gems and is destined to be a cult favourite.

A fluid disc, the score interweaves snips of story, both lyrically and textually. Some songs contain scenes from the film, while on other tracks, the singer reads aloud excerpts from the novel. This back and forth does not interrupt the soundtrack, but instead reflects the turmoil and contradictions of the characters in Moth Smoke.

At times dark and pensive, the score has minimal commercial appeal aside from its remixes of popular film hits including Shakila Khorasanee’s Kya Huwa.

Daira is Pakistan’s first telefilm to have a soundtrack release. Produced by Faakhir it features artists such as Bunny, Naeem Abbas Rufi, Faisal Kapadia and Nadeem Jaffery. —T. U. D

 

WEBSITE
The practice of yoga dates back to thousands of years. It originated from parts of India and is a Sankskrit word. Yoga is becoming more and more popular in west as well. The only difference remains that the west looks more into its external benefits whereas the Indian Yogis (the pioneers) say that it has more to do with internal benefits. Whatever the case it is a universally accepted fact that yoga therapy is a great healer (both internally and externally). The site www.yogasite.com is a great place to visit if you wish to discover the amazing benefits of yoga and the style with which the therapy can be initiated. In the “Yoga News” section you can read articles from experts who explain the connection of yoga to the cure of different medical ailments such as insomnia, chronic pain, shoulder pain, hardening of arteries etc. Different postures of yoga are also explained and are accompanied by illustrations, which makes it very easy to copy the styles. Benefits of meditation and links to other yoga sites are also there. — Azeem Haider

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