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June 1, 2006
Eight Days a Week
FILM
Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye lifts scenes liberally from Notting Hill, throws in yet another scene from Four Weddings And A Funeral (I suppose the thinking was why steal from just one Hugh Grant movie when you can steal from two) and combines them with a plot (and some scenes) inspired by a small movie called It Had To Be You, starring Natasha Henstridge and Michael Vartan. It Had To Be You isn’t a classic by any stretch of the imagination but it’s a sweet, romantic movie which works well as late-night cable TV fodder. Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye, on the other hand, is not sweet, not romantic and will not work anywhere, late-night cable TV included.
The plot – same as You – has two people (Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif) meeting while preparing for their separate weddings and realising that they were really meant for each other and not their intended spouses (Bipasha Basu, Anil Kapoor in cameo roles). Something slightly different for Mollywood but director Raj Kanwar’s direction is so heavy-handed that the movie becomes extremely difficult viewing. The clumsy attempts at humour are particularly painful. Katrina Kaif looks lovely, Akshay Kumar is adequate, and some of the songs (by Anu Malik/Himesh Reshammiya) are kind-of catchy but it’s all for naught.—Khusro Mumtaz
ORI’m a big, big fan of the graphic novel V For Vendetta by writer Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd which was set in a futuristic, dystopian Britain where the country’s citizens had surrendered their rights over to a “Big Brother” type of government in exchange for security until one masked man, code-named V, rises to challenge the establishment. Dark, complex, layered, and disturbing, the original work lays much of the blame for any fascist/totalitarian regime on the citizenry which allowed it to assume power while advocating the undesirability of any form of government.
The danger was that when Hollywood got its hand on the material it would remove all the intelligent bits and turn it into a mindless action flick. There were even rumours that the film version would be set in an alternate future history in which the Nazis had won World War II. Luckily, that rumour turns out to be completely unfounded. While the Wachowski Brothers’ (the people who brought you The Matrix trilogy) adapted script of V For Vendetta doesn’t go so far as to advocate anarchy like the original work and much of the density and intricacy of the graphic novel is excised, there is enough here to keep grey cells churning. Tough questions about terrorism/fighting for freedom are raised and only the most oblivious would miss the references to the current Bush government and the climate of fear created by it (interestingly, Moore’s work was in response to Margaret Thatcher’s England). And, where the movie hews most closely to the comic-book such as the Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) interrogation/torture scenes during which Evey – a young woman drafted into V’s war –– comes across hand-written notes from a prisoner in the neighbouring cell, the film has startling power.
Director James McTeigue keeps a steady hand on this thinking person’s action film and the performances, particularly by Portman and Hugo Weaving (as the masked V), are all fine. The cast includes John Hurt, Stephen Rea, and Stephen Fry. Quite acceptable.— K.M.
ALBUMCover albums always seem like the easy way out. Many times when a band is experiencing “music block” or unable to come up with new material, they seem to record an album full of remakes. Too often, the tracks sound like carbon copies of the original and you wonder why they bothered.
Legendary rock band Def Leppard has just released their album of covers of tracks that influenced their career. Titled Yeah!, it follows along the lines Styx’s Big Bang Theory and Toto’s Through the Looking Glass and is far superior than either of those other efforts.
The secret behind Def Leppard’s success on this album is their choice of relatively obscure songs that personally meant a lot to them in the early development of their music and their delightful ability to make the music their own. Particularly their reinterpretation of Kinks’ Waterloo Sunset is a masterpiece. The band recreates the song into a signature Def Leppard rock ballad, without disturbing memories of the revered original. Another great success is their macho versions of Electric Light Orchestra’s funky 10538 Orchestra, Free’s A Little Bit of Love and Thin Lizzy’s Don’t Believe a Word, which are all revamped and Def Leppard’s signature power guitar placed at their core.
There are some tracks like their versions of Badfinger’s No Matter What, David Essex’s Rock On and T. Rex’s 20th Century Boy which are very similar to the originals, but even they do not detract from the magic of this disc as they serve to complete this odyssey of the band’s influences.
Their best album since Hysteria, Yeah! is a must-have for fans of the band as well as fans of the 1970’s UK rock scene.—T. U. D
DANCE PERFORMANCEThe All Pakistan Music Conference presents ‘Khayal’, an exclusive performance by Kathak legend Naheed Siddiqui at the Bahria Auditorium, Karachi, on June 9. Naheed Siddiqui will be bringing Ustad Naqi Ali Khan as vocalist, Sajid Hussain on tabla, Mohammaed Baksh on harmonium, violinist Javaid, Baber Ali on flute and Hassan Mohyuddin. Her talented student Ahsan Nadeem will accompany her in the performance. –– A.S.
EXHIBITIONFor Qaiser Khan, the line is the most important phenomenon of the universe. It is the major source of inspiration of his work with wood. Like the changing lines in the palm of his hand, his carvings in wood set out to explore numerous questions arising from the changing circumstances of his life. Khan hails from Quetta, and is a graduate of the NCA Lahore where he is presently teaching sculpture at the college. The exhibition is at Croweaters Gallery, Lahore, till June 6 from 11am – 7pm. ––– Courtesy www.danka.com
ORPaintings exhibition by Shehrbano Qizilbash titled The Dialogue Continues is being held at Clifton Art Gallery, Karachi from 1st to 15th June.
TALK
Dr Zahid Mahmood will give a talk on ‘Coping with Bereavement and Loss’ at the Model Town Library, Lahore, on June 1 at 6pm. ––- Courtesy www.danka.com
TOURNAMENT
To commemorate the Anti-Tobacco Day being celebrated worldwide, the Pakistan Women’s Tennis Association (PWTA) in collaboration with the City District Government Karachi, has organised the 10th Anti Tobacco Day
Tennis Tournament at the Government Sports Complex Kashmir Road, Karachi from May 31. Dr Saira S. Khan, Founder President of the Association stated that the youth of our country are indulging in tobacco consumption and it is our duty to make them conscious of the hazards of smoking.
A total number of six events will take place such as Men’s and Ladies’ Singles, Men’s Doubles, Executive Men’s Doubles, Junior Boys under 18 Singles, and Veteran Doubles. The finals will take place on June 4.–– A.S.
CONFERENCE
Section of General Surgery, Department of Surgery and Continuing Medical Education (CME) is organising a conference on ‘The Procedure for Prolapse and Hemorrhoids (PPH)Technique’ on June 1, from 2:30 – 4:45pm at AKU Auditorium, Karachi.
CONCERTMausiqar, a music NGO, is arranging an evening on June 2 at 9pm in Karachi. Four participants will sing vintage songs. Dinner will precede the programme which is taking place at 96/1, 14th lane off Khayaban-i- Rahat.
SUMMER CAMP
Alliance Francaise, Karachi, is holding a summer camp for children from 5-12 years from June 5 to 22nd July. French, computer, swimming, martial arts, sports, poetry and art classes will be from 10 to 12.30 noon, Mon - Fri. Phone: 5862864 - 5873402.
OR
PC Karachi is holding its summer camp from June 5 to 25th July, Mon. - Fri. timings 10 - 12 noon. Classes include taekondo, swimming, tennis, art and food classes. For children from 4-13 years old.
OR
Summer Camp is being held at Marriott, Karachi, from June 1, for two months for children aged 4-14. Time 10.30 to 12.30 noon.
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