TZP reviews rock

Reviewer/ Website	Rating	Plusses	Minusses
Taran Adarsh/Indiafm	****	Sure, TAARE ZAMEEN PAR boasts of a story that strikes a chord, but most importantly, it has been treated with such sensitivity and maturity that you're left shell-shocked in amazement by the sheer impact it leaves at the end of this 18 reeler.TAARE ZAMEEN PAR is an outstanding work of cinema. To miss it would be sacrilege. It has everything it takes to win awards and box-office rewards!	NONE
Khalid Mohemmad/HT	****	Yup, Taare.. is a weepie and not ashamed of it. Several terrific scenes stay with us. Like the teacher treating a tiny canteen boy to tea, the bargaining session with the school principal to allow the child one more chance before expulsion. And the finale’s painting competition. Above all, the amazingly confident child actor Darsheel Safary is the li’l big champion here. A must-experience for sensitive viewers. And do stick on for the end credit titles, showing documentary footage of children with smiles and tears as real as yours..and mine.	Also, Ishaan’s scowl-scowl dad is a virtual Mogambo. Inexplicably, he walks away from an opportunity to redeem himself – just by giving the boy a Munnabhai-like jhappi. Plus, a cartoon interlude drags. And what about a Lady Jabeen who hangs around Teacher saab? Honestly, woh kaun thi? And yoww, what about that cliched cheesy stock shot of a bird feeding its babies? Technically, the look and the shot takings are humdrum. The editing (teacher waits for bus, gets into bus, feels warm about mum-‘n’-kid in bus) slackens the daunting length of 18 reels.
RajaSen/Rediff	***	Mighty nice, Mr Khan, mighty nice. Taare Zameen Par is an impressive debut indeed for filmmaker Aamir Khan , and showcases a brilliant performance by the young Darsheel Safary -- one of those child actors you can't possibly resist. More than just dyslexia, the film is a look at childhood dreamers who feel shunted out by the rest of the world, the cruel world that doesn't understand them. At some level, I guess we all relate. And this ends up a nice watch -- sincere, even if somewhat simplistic.	All great, except he does this over the length of one song. There are far too many musical digressions in this film anyway -- and while most are touching interludes to enhance the narrative, they end up stroking what's already been touched. Highly watchable and -- again, because of Darsheel and Aamir's knack for sentimental imagery -- warmly likeable, Taare flounders fatally at the end. Sure, it's okay to appease the masses with a tacked-on and cheesy ending, but for a film which stresses that we need to give our kids their space and not force themselves into constant comparisons, a film which asks them to take their time to find their talents, the climax becomes about a competition, about how winning magically makes everything better. And that's a scary thought, in context of what the film tries to say, overall.
Rajeev Masand/IBN-CNN	****	There should be no doubt whatsoever in anybody's mind after watching Taare Zameen Par that the real hero of this film is its remarkable, rooted, rock-solid script which provides the landscape for such an emotionally engaging, heart-warming experience. Few films have innate goodness within them and Taare Zameen Par is one such film. It tugs at your heartstrings, it urges you to introspect, it makes you look at children differently. How many Bollywood films achieve all that? Simple in the truest sense of the word, it's a film that wins your heart because it's such a relatable story - Ishaan could be your friend, your child, who knows he could be you.	Taare Zameen Par has its fair share of hiccups, but then which film doesn't. At times snail-paced and repetitive, it takes its own sweet time to unfold. It also rushes through Ishaan's whole "learning process" in the end, a portion where a little more patience and detail might have helped.
Praveen Lance Fernandes/TOI	***	Don’t be under the impression that it is a children’s film. It’s been quite a while since we saw a sensitive film which the entire family can watch together. Not preachy but not completely entertaining at the same time sums up Taare Zameen Par.Watch it for the lack of melodrama, watch it for the performances, watch it for the sheer genuineness that the filmmakers try to show.	The major problem of the film is that it moves at a constant slow pace. It doesn’t get heavy but gives you a figment of restlessness.
Aparajita Anil/ Indian Express	****	This outstanding work of cinema is a result of perfection from all perspectives. It subtly highlights the gifts bestowed upon handicapped children, the sensitivity with which these special kids need to be treated, the lackadaisical approach of the society and various other unwanted factors. The film runs for slightly more than two and a half hours but the beautifully crafted script would not allow a sense of discomfort to seep in. The creative team comprising of writer and creative director Amol Gupte and Deepa Bhatia have brilliantly pieced together the entire screenplay, giving the apt emphasis on details when needed.	NONE
Aniruddha Guha/DNA	****	Taare Zameen Par, among other things, is a lesson in how silence can be used wonderfully to depict emotions. Every time the actor looks into the camera, his eyes reflecting the inner turmoil he's undergoing even as he talks, it pulls at your heartstrings. At that moment, you're glad that Gupte took his brilliant script to Aamir because he thought the star would do justice to it, as an actor, and producer. Who ended up directing the film, doesn't matter. The result is awesome. The movie has an emotional quotient that will move even the stone-hearted.	NONE

Taare zameen par (TZP) - Excitement Aasmaan Par (EAP)

Proud to be a Aamir khan fan. Seena thaan ke agar kisi indian actor/flim maker ke kaam ke baare mein garv se naam le sakte hain tho, its got to be only Aamir i guess.

Oh god!! see his body work, its amazing.

Naturally, as an ardent aamir fan, i am excited/nervous/curious about Taare Zameen Par.

And of course after seeing Taran's review just a while back , way before the films release makes me releaved. Going with Taran's reputation and sensibilities i would bet the movie would be a sure shot winner with masses and also for sure would be a sensible entertainer too.

Note to Taran, Making a review of a movie public couple of days before the release might help the film get a good word of mouth and get a good start at the ticket window, but its kind of fizzles out the whole excitement part of the first day first show viewers. Dont you think so?

Having said that...Aamir ka film hai bhai....First day First show tho jayenge hi jayenge..

Anyways coming back to the TZP as a movie as such, here is an interesting observation i was thinking to myself this morning....When was the last time a bollywood movie made you know and think about a new topic to such an extent that you would end up googling?
Believe me guys, when the TZP previews were out, i googled about dyslexia...and now after a year i am kind of in research mode on that matter.

Kudos to you aamir, I mean at a time when most of the bollywood variety ke naam pe are dishing out same old themes with just slick packaging, here you are Aamir dealing with a true "different" subject.

I Can't wait anymore...Friday ke liye tayyar hai hum.
All the best to Aamir khan.

Check this out, funny...real funny

Bollywood Critic 6 feet under ?

I religiously read the reviews of every bollywood release first thing on Friday, most of the times they even influence my decision of ultimately watching on big screen. (So can we term movie Critics as our Money savers/personal financial advisers???)

Everyone is entitled to have their own opinion on everything and there's nothing wrong in it , right? , and so even i decided, why not critique the critiques themselves.

I wrote whatever i felt like as a moviegoer, so please excuse me if you feel something is improper or inaccurate..please take it in good spirit.

Khalid Mohammed (Hindustan Times)

Good : Probably the Bheeshma pithamaha of bollywood critics, Experience is his USP, Hard task master, "no mercy" approach while ripping apart a bad movie. History proves that he likes arty stuff more and its very tough to impress him. So naturally his high rating of a movie means, a dud at box office and high on arty values.

Bad: Biggest problem with him is, he ridicules anything way too soon and i feel like he has a very negative approach in reviewing a piece of work. Even when reviewing a good movie, he always starts with a negative tone and then may be gradually appreciates a bit midway. Some times he goes way to overboard and personal with his comments.

Final Comments: Frankly in my opinion, he should RETIRE now. I think he has seen too many movies where his head is kind of saturated and he is at a stage where nothing impresses him anymore. Its high time he avoids self- indulgent display of his world cinema knowledge while reviewing a bollywood masala flick.

2) Taran Adarsh (INDIAFM.com):

Good : He is quite sincere about his job and that shows in his reviews. He is the face of the popular cinema as far as the critiquing is concerned. He is a true believer of cinema sticking to just entertainment, I guess that's the reason he is the most popular critic among all in the bollywood. His end comments are the high point of his reviews, usually pretty good at predicting the box office fate.

Bad : Too much emphasis on bollywood style entertainment, does not easily accept new style of film making. Recent example being 'Manorama Six feet Under", i think it deserved better treatment from a learned critic like him. Typically loves yashRaj/ Karan kind cinema, nothing wrong with that but also need to be aware of the happenings beyond them.

Final Comments: He is accused of being a trade pundit and not a true critique, i think to get away from that image he needs to stop predicting fate of a movie in his reviews and just stick to critiquing it, and may be separate the prediction part in trade section. He is good at appreciating mass entertainment values and he should continue doing that but also would be better if he even acknowledges the tastes of new audience that is emerging fast these days typically termed as "multiplex audience"

3) Rajeev masand (IBN-CNN):

Good : Probably the most energetic and animated critics we have. Though he looks like a world cinema buff and also seems to be well read on cinema, still he makes sure to critique a bollywood movie on its own merits and doesn't try to dump his sea of cinema knowledge (May be Khalid saab needs to learn some here??).

Bad: Inconsistent with his verdicts , he is in between Khalid and Taran, may be with experience will get better.

4) Raja Sen(Rediff.com):

Good:Pretty detailed reviews, probably one of the few bollywood reviewers who emphasises on the technical aspects of the cinema too.Seems to be passionate and crazy about meaningful cinema.

Bad: Not sounding too harsh, can we call him a self-indulgent idealist?, so will that make him a younger version of Khalid? He is the most inconsistent/unpredictable among all the bollywood critiques , why would u think Rediff most of the times publishes alternate reviews of the same movie that even Raja Sen critiques?.

Final comments: May be he should balance out between his idealist world cinema knowledge and bollywood masala. Please appreciate the tastes of Indian masses too , btw your unprofessional bashing of Krish was uncalled for.

FINALLY to all bollywood movie critiques out their:

Janta Janardhan

PLEASE PLEASE Appreciate the tastes of the Indian Masses, Except for Taran and to an extent Rajeev, all you reviewers simply do not appreciate or acknowledge the tastes of the masses. You trash films like FANAA, PARTNER, NO ENTRY etc; but they become the biggest block busters.

You guys might have done a thesis on Coppola's cinema or u might be a world cinema guru, but realize that all you are reviewing is a bollywood masala movie, which has its own grammar, treat it on its own merits. when half a billion of Indian masses love a bollywood masala flick and make it a blockbuster , who are you guys to question the intelligence of the masses?

I think this is a cultural thing and happens only in India i guess, ridiculing anything POPULAR as low class.

Hollywood ki aisi ki thaisi :

Not only our reviewers but even general Indian public are aware that bollywood still heavily gets inspired by Hollywood, plagiarism is rampant in bollywood is no secret. And our learned critiques like any other responsible moviegoer might be even bothered about this and would be thriving to see more of original creations over a kichdi movie made out of ten Hollywood movies.
My problem though is, why on earth does our Desi critiques end up committing the same mistake themselves? Why do you guys look even at the most original work from Indian cinema as an Hollywood insider? Don't you think its the job of New York Times/Times etc?

Lets say our becahara Indian film maker attempts a original Desi dark comedy..our critiques start out as "This one is a great movie in the dark comedy genre on the lines of "Some Like It Hot". No matter how good or classic videshi work you are comparing it with, it is an insult to ones creativity i think. Take recent 100 desi movie reviews i bet you would find world cinema being mentioned/referred/compared in 90% of them.
Same way take 100 recent American reviews of Hollywood movies, you hardly find even a mention/comaprison of their own cinema when critiquing ones work.
Sincere request "Be a True desi when reviewing a desi movie".


RATING KA KYA CHAKKAR HAI?????

I am always confused with this ratings business.
TARAN GIVES 1 and half rating for recent hindi releases RED, GAURI,
and same rating for even Khoya Khoya chand ????? I think its not fair.

I agree Khoya Khoya chand is no classic but it is miles superior in its intentions, quality of the content, production values or even entertainment values than the 2 above movies i mentioned.

How the hell you club those 2 with this one ??? I am not advocating KKC here but just took as an example.
Taran can u please justify here ? I think things like these make film makers averse towards you critiques.

Here are few suggestions on this..

Why don't you critiques exactly define the parameters you consider for rating?

or may be even good if u breakdown the key elements that makes up a bollywood movie and rate each one of them seperately and then give a overall rating. Then at least we janta would be clear of your intentions and would be more scientic , do u agree?

Entertainment values:
Technical values;
Screenplay:
Choreography:
...VAGAIRA......

And by the way KHALID saab why didn't you rate OM shanti OM ? Daal mein kuch kala hain?.
Not that it makes any difference, anyways khalid saab's minute elite niche loyal readers would not even make a dent at the already mega hit.

Chai peeke abhi vaapas athoo...baaki ka likthaon... jara gaaliyan chodo comment section mein...shukriya...

Life comes a full circle

Sonu said "Life comes a full circle", how true it is.
It really touched me, i mean at first i couldn't believe that Sonu Nigam and Aamir Khan being in the same industry are meeting there on a reality show for the first time!!!
For a moment i thought its staged, but what the heck..still it felt so touching.

And the moment came when Sonu actually confessed that he is a big fan of Aamir and the moments after that, i am repeating but it was in fact touching. I am always a big fan of Sonu but now after seeing his "No-Ego" and "child like heart" avatar my admiration towards him has become ten folded.
And i also like the part where sonu looking into the eyes of aamir thanked aamir for living up to his perception about him. Man that was the peak

Staged or No staged these reality shows are slowly changing the perceptions of the Indians about communication, "opening-up", "putting your feelings forward", "frank opinions" sort of things...Don't you agree guys?

Those qualities were never considered USP of a so called good natured person till recently. Man in tears in public was never heard of phenomenon in india but now just at the drop of a hat tears flow in the reality shows.
I think its happening for good...Dont't you think so?

Hyd Radio City vs Dubai City 1016 FM

Have been listening to radio a lot these days. Apna tho yeh haal hai ki, din bar bak bak sunthe rehna nahi tho khaana hazam nahi hora!!!

Some say radio programming is easy, just if u have huge library of music then woh ek ke baad ek play karo bas woh station hit hojaayega.
Kaash yeh sach hotha, we all know we expect more from a FM radio, if you just need music then you would rather own a mp3 player with a huge playlist.
We expect quality talk, chahe woh bak bak ho magar usme kuch DUM ho. wont you agree with me.
Obviously since i love hindi/telugu muisc/talk i depend more on Hyderabad Radio City for my needs.
I was hooked to sameer's bak bak, Anuja ka tamasha, shradha ke nakre, vamsee ka sir dard, gautami ka nadaani all day long.

Man, i can take sameer any time, no issues with him apart from jokes being repeating .
He is spontaneous and improving by the day.

But i can't stand this RJ Vamsee, he is a creep. Content is zero in his talk, i mean he is clueless as far as spontaneity is concerned..he suits for good old vivid bharati "meeru korina paatalu" .Only reason i used to occasionally tune to his programme was his choice of illayaraja songs. Magar, jaise maine pehle bhola, why would i tune to a FM if i just want to listen to music?

Ab asli baat pe aayenge, recently i have shifted my loyalties to City FM1016 a Dubai city radio. Man o man..this station is Revelation..kya RJ's !!! and what a content!!!

Each and every RJ is outstanding, amazing spontaneity and quite professional backup team i guess. That shows in the programming they dish out.
Gaurav, Krithika, Abhijeet, Minal, Sachin and more...amazing brigade of RJ's who know what they are doing. I mean they can compete with top RJ's in the industry.
Even songs selection is also superb.

Ek baar sunke tho dekho miya maloom padega....Only missing thing is it not being a Hyd based station..otherwise its worth your time. a
Yentha kaadhanna FM is new to our hyd city kadha, may be we'll get some quality RJ's in near future who would make a difference and hope soemday we reach the standards of Dubai radio. Y

Here is the link arnonline.com, Happy listening...mereku chai peena hai, phir milenge...comments/gaaliyan chodna bat bhoolo.

Information Screw up.

Naa zamaana lo 3/6 irani chai sip chestoo, we used to gossip a lot. Sollu kaburlu ane maataki GOSSIP word is a face lift i guess.

Evening koorchunte okko saari night dhaati poyedhi. I guess these days boys have lot many options and also jebu power, but kya karte apna tho yeh haal tha ki kabhi kabhi 1/4 chai bhi peena padtha tha.

But hats off to all those irani adda ke owner's, if not for you guys being so liberal on renting us the valuable real estate for almost free for hours together to bewaars boys like us, we could have ended up in some other rotten places :-(


Gossiping around is so important activity for any human ani anipisthadhi naaku. People mistakenly only associate ladies doing this, but i guess men are in no way less with this talent.

So going back to my zamaana, there was not this amount of information overload that we are witnessing now, i mean Indian air waves were just opening up back then...few private TV channels just started out...No private FM radio..definitely 24/7 news channels were never heard of.

So the onus of all the talk, analysis and gossip was still left with us general public, media was just the source of topics for our discussions.


Change happens so fast, if it happens of course..and man o man what a change the world is witnessing and specially India right now.

I mean information Revolution ante thokka lodhi yedho high level lo change vasthadhi anukunnamu aa zamaana lo...with in a span of few years here we are with information overload/saturation/baadhudu.

Right information flow vunte yetuvanti baadha ledhu, but ikkada yedhi righto, yedhi chetto, yedhi shitto assalu idea kooda vundatam ledhu. The situation at the best can be termed as INFORMATION SCREW UP/ INFORMATION BLOW UP.

Naa zamaana lo just normal kallu compound lo vesukone sollu, ippudu TV, Radio, Internet okatenti anni mediums chesthunnai. Inka general public ki even gossip chesendhuku yemi kotha vishayalu dhorkatledhu.

Doordharshan days teesukondi, vaadu just news cheppevaadu...inka aa news gurinchi charcha, argument anni mana chethilo vundevi. Brain ki metha, oka awareness antoo vundehdhi manishiki. But now nothing is left to imagination or discussions, anni media ne chesukuntunnai. Intha varaku aithe No problem , but the content is the real culprit.


Chiranjeevi family matters/political entry daggari nunchi start chesi, normal household petty matters varaku everything is blown out of proportions. Kaadhedhi news ki anarham annattundhi.

If am not wrong SITARA movie lo anukunta, Shubalekha sudhakar gets a advice from his editor that "If dog bites a man that’s not a news, but if a man bites a dog then its news". Manchi dialogue, but present condition yentante
1)Even if the dog is thinking of biting a man is the NEWS.
2)Even before a dog is born, a Dog Bite Expert is hired to analyse if it would bite a man ever and blow it as a news for entire week.
3)Even before a dog or a particular man is born the NEWS is to predict who/how they would look like and when they would bite each other, and even go for a SMS poll.

Silly ga vundhi kadhu, joke laa anipinchina its true. It is happening around us right now.

Media ku ethics anevi lekunda pothunnai...OK, agreed that inernet medium is still in transition and infancy lo vundhi kaabatti there is no control over the information flow. But responsible media anukone TV, Radio ivanni rochchu ayyayi.

Some might say, just avoid and ignore the media. Why do you even bother if u have a problem with them?

My argument is why should I be cut off from the world just to avoid the information shit that’s happening around me? I am a human and I need information, that’s my basic right. But not information ke naam pe PENTA.
I dont know what guys are even discussing these days in coffee shops, but I bet the quality of that sollu would be no where near to SOLLU of our zamaana, where we only had unadulterated topics to discuss.