Showing posts with label Bhatt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bhatt. Show all posts

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Hate Story 2: Music Review

Starring Surveen Chawla & Jay Bhanushali
Music Directors: Mithoon, Meet Bros Anjjan, Arko Pravo Mukherjee, Rashid Khan

Hate Story 2 is another Bhatt sequel that is trying to stay afloat in Bollywood. As with Murder and Raaz  the Bhatt's achieve at selling their films with superb music and sexuality. What separates the Hate Story series from the other Bhatt movies is that the firstHate Story did not have a good soundtrack and the film did not offer even one well known actor or actress. Starring in this movie is Punjabi/Tamil/Telegu Surveen Chawla and Jay Bhanushali, relatively unknown to Hindi cinema. However, the music of Hate Story 2 has been sending waves across India before its release. Boasting multiple music directors, like the famous Mithoon and Meet Bros Anjjan, Hate Story 2's album stands among the hit Bhatt soundtracks.

Hate Story 2's soundtrack starts of strongly Aaj Phir Tumpe Pyaar Aaya Hai. If you are young enough to remember the 1988 film, Dayavan, starring Madhuri Dixit and Vinod Khan, this song should register with you immediately, as it is a remake. This remake of Laximikant-Pyarelal's song featuring Pankaj Udhas and Anuradha Paduwal has been replaced and refined by Arjit Singh and Samira Koppikar. This Arko Pravo Mukerjee composition refines, slows and increases the sensuality of the original. Overall an improvement over the original, but nevertheless a remake. 4/5

Hate Story 2 - Surveen Chawla, Pain, Bollywood Meme, Burnt NaanThe Aaj Phir Tumpe Pyaar Aaye Hai (Remix) like all remixes has unnecessary techno and English like "if the shoe fits can you be my Cinderella" or "damn shawty that's very depressing". The remix detracts from the overall tone of the song and makes it into something unnecessary. 2.5/5

The next song Pink Lips is definitely the item number of the soundtrack. The club number composed by the Meet Bros Anjjan and sung by Khushboo Grewal definitely separates itself from the item numbers of these days. They have even roped in ex-pornography star Sunny Leone as the featured dancer for this song. Immediately catchy this song should be something memorable both off screen and on screen. Pink Lips the special Meet Bros Anjjan mark on it. 4.5/5

The Pink Lips (Remix) unlike the Aaj Phir Tumpe Remix this remix does take the song to different levels. Since it is an item club number the extra layer of added beats without the involvement of English lyrics puts the remix above the level of the original song. This is the club version of the more tame original. 5/5

Hate Story 2 gives us Kabhi Aayine Pe sung the famous K.K who gave the Bhatt's some of their their early hits, like for Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai. We see composer Rashid Khan put  K.K back in his comfort zone with Kabhi Aaiyne Pe, but this song does nothing to really change the pace of his usual songs. This slow ballad is, of course. beautiful, but so common with K.K that its not very special. 3.5/5


Surveen Chawla Jay Bhanushali Hate Story 2Hate Story 2 is full of remixes. Actually for every song there is a remix. We are given Kabhi Aaiyne Pe (remix).  This remix takes away from the romantic, ballad feel of the song. Nothing special, but a faster more techno version of the original. 3/5

Hai Dil Ye Mera brings in composer, Mithoon's and his new favorite singer Arjit Singh. This is by far the most romantic song in Hate Story 2. We can see this one perfectly blending in with the Ek Villain or Aashiqui 2. This soft, mellow song brings the pain through Singh's voice. Though it is a very pleasant listen, we don't see Mithoon leave his comfort zone either. He is playing safe with piano and Arjit Singh. 4/5

Hai Dil Ye Mera (remix) offers nothing pleasant, like most of Hate Story 2 remixes. This is probably more of the more useless remixes on the album. Unnecessary once again. 3/5

In the end, the Hate Story 2 soundtrack is very enjoyable. Being a collaboration of many accomplished music directors and singers, the songs of Hate Story 2 come across as melodious and varied. This is the standard Bhatt soundtrack and will definitely attract Bhatt fans. Besides the one good remix, the fact that half the soundtrack was remixes is highly unnecessary.

My Picks: Pink Lips (remix), Aaj Phir Tumpe Pyar Aya Hai, Hai Dil Mera


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Sexuality in Bollywood: Treatment of Homosexuals and Transvestites Part One


A skewed onscreen representation of homosexuals has been recurrent in both old and new Bollywood films. Older cinema’s treatment of these forms is harsher, since they likely will demean these forms of sexuality for their own purposes. Although not thoughtfully done, the fact that Murder 2 did not implement transvestites as an element of comedy points to a more developed handling of different sexualities. Other films have been increasingly shedding light on the struggles that homosexual men and women are currently facing in India.

In the past, the main purpose of any scene featuring transvestites was primarily comedy. Transvestites maintain open sexual expression in movies and are allowed more explicit dialogue than any other character. Donned in garish outfits, they are overly animated as they outwardly vocalize their desire for men in pitchy voices. Transvestites are mostly utilized in tense scenes.. In Anjaam[1994], Johnny Lever performs the role of a transvestite to provide comic relief. This movie revolves around Madhuri Dixit who is taking revenge on a man and all those who aided him in the destruction of her family. Among this madness, Lever, the capricious leader of two other transvestites, is seen onscreen committing petty crimes and flirting with male police officers to dodge jail time. Lever and his crew are able relieve much of pressure from the terrible the series of deaths occurring by bursting in with their amusing stunts.

Homosexuality in its pure form, without the shelter of transvestites, is a touchier subject to the Indian audience. Nevertheless, Bollywood has been slowly opening up to the gay community in their films with both a mature and immature views. While treatment concerning transvestites is almost always insensitive, films concerning homosexuality alone are sometimes handled with more caution. Films like, My Brother…Nikhil [2005] and Fashion [2008], break away from the stereotypes from the gay community with hard hitting, meaningful messages. My Brother...Nikhil addresses the topic of AIDS in the gay community. Sanjay Suri and Purab Kohli play the roles of the gay couple, but Suri is the one that contracts HIV. Suri’s homosexuality and disease makes his familiy shun him and throw him out of their home. He is also kicked off of the swimming team because of the illness. This film focuses intelligently on the issue of AIDS in the gay community.

Similarly, Fashion deals with the struggles of coming out of the closet. Fashion has three leading ladies: Priyanka Chopra, Kangna Ranaut, and Mugdha Godse.  Godse has a marriage arrangement with Samir Soni, a closeted gay man. As an older unmarried man, Soni begins to face skepticism about his sexual orientation. He attempts to dispel these rumors with his marriage to Godse. Although Godse and Soni’s story is a subplot, it still is critical of the rejection of homosexuals in Indian community.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Sexuality In Bollywood: Evolution of Female Desire- Part Two [The Bhatts]

Randeep Hooda Sunny Leone Jism 2 Bollywood Sexuality
Sunny Leone and Randeep Hooda in Jism 2
Similar to the directors of The Dirty Picture, filmmakers like Pooja Bhatt, and her father, Mahesh Bhatt, have tackled a dark side of sexual desire, touching on the bodily needs of both hero and the heroine. Pooja and Mahesh Bhatt try to experiment with the heroine’s sexuality in Jism 2 [2012], with the introduction of the Indo-American pornographic star, Sunny Leone. In Jism 2, Leone seduces an assassin to retrieve important information for the police. The assassin and a police officer both play her love interests in this movie. Leone is able to believably express herself as a strong heroine with her own desires onscreen, because of her previous work in pornography.   Jism 2 creates aesthetic view of sexuality when new talent combines with the fresh, natural scenery of Sri Lanka. Stunning cinematography and careful boundaries to prevent intimate scenes from becoming crude set this film apart from other Bollywood movies related to this genre. Leone plays a character that is in complete jurisdiction of her own sexuality and is able to manipulate it in whatever way she wishes.  In Jism 2, Leone is able to illustrate the shift to a more mature sexual identity of Bollywood heroines.
      
Emraan Hashmi Jacqueline Fernandez Murder 2 Bollywood Sexuality
Emraan Hashmi and Jacqueline Fernandez
Murder 2
Murder 2 [2011], another Bhatt production, has a more multifaceted view on sexuality. This film not only addresses escalated carnal cravings, but also focuses transvestites, and prostitution.. Even though these different sexual elements are explored in various ways, they end up intertwined with each other in the end. In Murder 2, Emraan Hashmi plays a former cop who is sent to investigate the disappearance of prostitutes in the area. Although Hashmi and his girlfriend, Jacqueline Fernanadez, engage in a few rounds of sexual intercourse in the film, he remains emotionally detached from her due to personal reasons. She, on the other hand, tries desperately to expand their physical bond with concepts of romantic love.  On the opposing side is Prashant Naryanan, a transvestite who brutally murders prostitutes. Driven by his uncontrollable physical desire, he decides to become a eunuch. The manner which Murder 2 presents sexuality on three different platforms is an unusual, but daring feat for a director. There is a thoughtful depiction of human trafficking, and an attempt to realistically portray the emotional and carnal needs of men and women in contemporary relationships. However, the sexuality of the transvestites is not as tastefully explored as others.  Narayanan is portrayed as a psychotic killer who has deviated from accepted social norms. Meanwhile, his transvestite friend’s character is illustrated as crooked and overly dramatic.


Check Out These Articles From Sexuality in Bollywood Series:
Sexuality in Bollywood: Evolution of Female Desire Part 1
Sexuality In Bollywood: Return of the Vamps

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