Jay-Walk

Paul Merton: The Series

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:05:00 +0100

My voyage of comedy discovery continues with Paul Merton’s Channel 4 show, Paul Merton: The Series (1991-1993) back in the day when he was young. These days, he does mostly travel documentaries and, of course, the excellent political satire panel show Have I Got News For You. But he’s someone with quick wits fashioned thanks to an obligatory background in stand-up comedy.

Paul had been on TV before with appearances in comedy improvisation show, Whose Line Is It Anyway. Actually, he had already started Have I Got News For You, but Paul Merton: The Series was his own sketch show, written with John Irwin. I say sketch show, it was more of a combination of sketches and stand-up. The stand-up is performed with him manning a tobacconist’s stand in a tube station and delivering his witty one-liners, intermittently interrupted by customers whom he interacts dryly with. The sketches have a dark surreal edge to them, ranging from the absurd to the frankly weird. Which is exactly how I like my sketches! <catchphrase alert> Innit marvellous!

The great thing about watching old comedy stuff is that you occasionally catch a face you recognise and it turns out to be a well-known comedian in his young years doing his apprenticeship. Paul Merton: The Series features people like Ben Miller of comedy duo Armstrong&Miller and Caroline Quentin. There is even a cameo by the magnificent Paul Whitehouse and also Hugh Bonneville (Twenty Twelve, Downton Abbey)!

I would heartily recommend catching this show on Channel 4oD (only for UK viewers!) if you like dark, surreal and mad humour with the typically deadpan comedy genius that is Paul Merton.

Here’s a taster video clip from the show: WW2 Prisoner camp sketch

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Love Ain’t On The...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:22:00 +0100

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Love Ain’t On The Run

One of my favourite recent political satire show on TV has been Channel 4’s 10 O’Clock Live (having ranter extraordinaire and comedian David Mitchell and the satirist Charlie Brooker on the show was a masterstroke) and I particularly liked their theme tune. Summoning the power of the internet, I found out that it was a track called Bernie by some obscure band I’d never heard of, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The track sounded fantastic and I was immediately on itunes doing some digging and downloading more of their stuff. I haven’t gone for full albums, but their album Now I Got Worry seems to be their best work, along with the compilation album Dirty Shirt Rock ‘n’ Roll: The First Ten Years. The above track is from the latter. Utter blues magic!

Abhay - Koyal Se Mili Trawling through my old external...

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:04:00 +0100

Abhay - Koyal Se Mili

Trawling through my old external hard-drive, I happened upon some old music that I had dumping into it since my university days. This one is from Abhay (a film which I couldn’t even find on Wikipedia, but, I remember, had the legendary Kamal Hassan). The music is by some of my favourite Bollywood music guys, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. And of course, Shankar Mahadevan is one of the playback singers and just listening to his voice brings back so many memories from when I used to listen to him and S-E-L’s music on a regular music (these days, it’s been reduced to DCH pretty much!).

Shankar has always been one of my favourite Bollywood playback singers. There is always a poignancy in his voice, ideal for heart-tingling romantic songs. The music isn’t awesome, but it does the trick.

Hope you enjoy the track! I am now moving on to some fantastic Lucky Ali stuff that I haven’t touched in years…

P.S.: Ignore the Fmw11.com… Some of you know what it means. It was university days and I was broke.

Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke - Kash Koi Ladki Mujhe Once every few...

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:30:32 +0100

Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke - Kash Koi Ladki Mujhe

Once every few months, I like going back to early 90s classics. Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke is definitely one of those I always scour YouTube for. The most popular song from this Aamir Khan-Juhi Chawla starrer (it’s a great movie too!) is probably Ghoonghat Ki Aad Se, but I do like this one too. Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik are supremely good!

Enjoy! Bollywood might be all plastic and obscene these days, but you can always find jewels here and there.

Stephen Merchant: Hello Ladies

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:15:18 +0100

Being a massive fan of Gervais-Merchant (The Office and Extras are ground-breaking pieces of TV comedy, in my opinion), I was extremely excited when I heard Stephen Merchant was going to embark on a stand-up tour this year. At first, I was disappointed to discover that he was not going to grace with his presence the Grand Opera House in York which is part of the national stand-up comedy circuit. But then, as usually happens with successful tours, new venues and dates were added and York was finally going to welcome a comedy genius. Of course, I pounced like a hungry predator to get tickets.

I had some reservations prior to the show. It’s not easy to see someone you like out of their element, even though Merchant was a stand-up comedian before he met Gervais. He hadn’t done it for around a decade and I thought that if I hated the show, I would lose some of my appreciation for his fantastic work on TV. But those doubts were dissipated minutes into his show. Stand-up comedy is a different beast entirely. Nevertheless, Merchant looked absolutely effortless on stage. He immediately tackled the elephant (or giraffe or some other proverbially tall animal maybe…) in the room: his height. He talked about the few advantages and the many disadvantages, combining wit with physical comedy. He’s also a very talented actor after all, on top of being a writer and a director. The second half of the show dealt mainly about his attempts to find himself a wife. He used his geeky side to great comedic effect, particularly when recounting his pedantic letter to Blue Peter as a child. For someone who works with the ruthless Gervais, he seemed very charming and warm. No potentially offensive material, nothing dirty. Even when he does come close to it, he gets all shy.

I thoroughly enjoyed the show, so far so that it was possibly the best stand-up I have seen this year (my 12th since January) outside of Edinburgh! Stephen Merchant is an incredibly funny man and looks so slick on stage that it’s amazing he stayed away from it for so many years, albeit while churning out comedy gold on TV and in the world of podcasts. Check him out if you can!

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-9-25)

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:03:18 +0100

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-9-25):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Jimi Hendrix - Power Of Soul This was part of a live album...

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 13:07:00 +0100

Jimi Hendrix - Power Of Soul

This was part of a live album recorded at one of the concerts of Jimi Hendrix with the Band Of Gypsys at New York’s Fillmore East. Bassist Billy Cox and Jimi Hendrix come up with a psychedelic mix of soul and rock. The gritty riffs are enthralling, clearly the product of an inspired and evolving Hendrix being complemented to perfection by the brilliant Cox. They almost try to possess your body and recharge it with the power of soul. Because “with the power of soul, anything is possible…”

Enjoy it! Easily one of my favourite rock tracks of all time by easily the greatest guitarist of all time, in my opinion!

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-28)

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 06:09:42 +0100

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-28):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011: Day Six

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 01:05:08 +0100

Final day at the festival. To be fair, I was absolutely knackered and although I could have crammed in more shows today, I only went for the two I already tickets for.

Alun Cochrane: Moments Of Alun

I was back the The Stand to see a grumpy misanthropic comic moaning about everything in life. Cochrane talks about his life and stuff that annoys him. Pure and simple. It was a haphazard collection of hilarious anecdotes and funny routines. He tackles the usual topics of the middle-aged comedian: age, children, old parents, drinking, fat people,…etc. An hour well spent. Also, Tim Key was sat next to me for the whole show.

Andrew Maxwell: The Lights Are On

Last show of my Fringe was that of an Irishman, Edinburgh Comedy award nominee, Andrew Maxwell (as seen on Mock The Week). I think he was the last comedian to leave the building at the festival. He was on quite late, on a Monday, when most other shows finished a day earlier. Maxwell does mostly politics and current affairs. Being an Irishman, he was able to let himself loose on the Scottish as well as the English. Being an Irishman also meant he could tackle religion with a degree of ease. He was another comedian who rewrote part of his show because of the riots in order to stay topical. The show was brilliant as he toyed a lot with the audience, by trying to insult everyone and then being very self-deprecating to win back all the affection of the public. He did end the show in a weird fashion though. Apparently, this was only for the last show, something he does every year. He brought another comedian on who downed a pint of beer through a horn, to prove it was hollow and clean. And then, he did a solemn send-off with everyone in the audience asked to stand up and salute! Very unconventional and I was a bit annoyed, but I could see the fun in it. It was also the last show, so what the hell!

I think I had an awesome time in Edinburgh for the festival. I saw 18 shows in all, almost all of them were worth it. The city itself loved welcoming everyone and it was all very well organised. The best show I saw is probably a tie between Rich Hall’s and Phill Jupitus’s, not a surprise really given both are experienced comedians who have been in the industry for years.

I hope to make it back to Edinburgh next year!

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011: Day Five

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 01:37:04 +0100

Penultimate day of the festival! I even missed a great match to be at a show. But ultimately, it was probably my best day at the Fringe!

Robin Ince & Michael Legge: Pointless Anger, Righteous Ire 2

Anger can make for great comedy. This was a mostly improvised show where Robin Ince and Michael Legge went through things that made them angry. There was a lot of audience participation. People were asked to come up with something that made them angry and Ince and Legge would argue about it, have a row and then let the audience decide whether it’s pointless anger or righteous ire. Utterly enjoyed the show. Both comedians are clearly very quick with their improvisations and also like to ask the audience to leave several times and insult the people on the first row!

Andy Zaltzman: Armchair Revolutionary

Because I am a huge fan of political satire, I thought it was okay to miss Man Utd thrashing Arsenal 8-2 and go and see Andy Zaltzman, satirist who even brings a certificate on stage to prove his satirical prowess! To be honest, I had never heard of Zaltzman before and after the show, I almost felt ashamed of it. His material was great and above all, very topical, which always helps with satire. He had to rewrite part of his show as the riots happened during the festival. There were hilarious intermittent radio broadcasts and laboured puns during the show which lightened the mood as political stuff can be heavy. Oh and he does the whole show with an arrow through his head…

Seann Walsh: Ying And Young

After two great shows at The Stand, I made my way to the very commercial Pleasance (according to Robin Ince and Michael Legge) to see another comedian off Mock The Week! It was more traditional stand-up once again, although not extremely original, but still funny because you identify with the observational comedy. Walsh basically talked about the ridiculous things that people do these days, including himself (“what’s that all about” stuff). He got the laughs though, so fair enough!

Rich Hall

You know you are a veteran and a master-craftsman when you don’t feel the need to have a title for your show! Your name is enough to attract people. Rich Hall, the American comedy star, is one of those comedians. Like Phill Jupitus, he could do comedy in his sleep and still mesmerise the crowd. His main topics, as always, are the differences between the British and the Americans, politics and living in London and he likes terrorising audience members in the front rows. He even got this guy to do a few songs with him and read a letter from a kidnapper. Rich Hall reeks of experience as he is masterful at going through his routines. He will take it up a notch as he expertly navigates his way to the punchline and will no rest easy until he has you running out of breath as you laugh. All in all, fantastic end to the day!

So far, I have only two shows booked for the final day of the festival tomorrow: Alun Cochrane at The Stand and Andrew Maxwell at The Assembly. Might stick in 1-2 shows before Cochrane.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011: Day Four

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 02:33:22 +0100

It was a marathon of shows today. Managed to squeeze five in even though I started at around 2pm!

Jon Richardson: It’s Not Me, It’s You

Jon Richardson is instantly likeable. He’s got a funny voice, he gets irritated very easily and has OCD. I saw him for the first time on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and he was impressive. His show at Edinburgh this year, though, was more book reading than pure stand-up. He reads a few passages from his book, but interspersed with anecdotes, jokes and witty comments. He sounds like a miserable old bastard who cannot enjoy life to the fullest as he is always worrying about filing his receipts for the last 10 years and keeping forks and knives separate in the cutlery drawer. He said that he’s probably the only comedian whom the audience will be concerned to leave on his own after the show, given his tendencies to take life too seriously. Nevertheless, although not strictly stand-up, he was hilarious.

Toby: Lucky

Toby is a double act consisting of real-life sisters, Sarah and Lizzie Daykin, two young women. I went for their show after missing out on a ticket to see David O’Doherty, so I didn’t know much about them beforehand. I didn’t even know what they looked like. The show was a tragicomic narration through videos and sketches of the life story of the two sisters, one of them, dominant and Machiavellian, the other shy and downtrodden. Let me just point out from the outset that it wasn’t my thing. They were funny at times despite the frequent uncomfortably (and unnecessary) long pauses. They are decent actors and they got decent reviews at the Fringe. But, although it wasn’t money down the drain, I still prefer good old-fashioned stand-up!

Joe Wilkinson: My Mum’s Called Stella And My Dad’s Called Brian

I think the first I saw of Joe Wilkinson was when he stole the show on the sitcom Him & Her. I then discovered via the wonderful medium of YouTube that he was also a stand-up comedian and a pretty good one too! Wilkinson, on stage, is a very awkward guy. He’s got a full beard and constantly shuffles his hair back. He went through a selection of routines, all of them funny pieces of observational comedy. He ended his show by talking about his parents, which is most comedian’s favourite subject. Brilliant show overall! Keep an eye out for this guy, he’s meant to be one for the future!

Jack Whitehall: Let’s Not Speak Of This Again

Next up was young hotshot, Jack Whitehall. He was performing at the massive Venue 150@EICC, which is a conference centre, I think. Ed Byrne and Sarah Millican were the other big acts who were booked at the venue. Whitehall is mad on stage. He jumps around, twists his body and exaggerates when trying to act out a routine for maximum comic effect. He’s mostly a frustrated man and harnesses that frustration as he talks about his experiences in life, be it living at home with his parents or relationships. He absolutely delighted a packed auditorium!

Josh Widdicombe: If This Show Saves One Life

My last show of the day was a late one. It was another extra show for someone who had had high demand throughout the festival. If Jack Whitehall was one boy trying to grow up, Josh was a young man trying not to go back to his youth. He had a very Jack Dee-esque aspect to his show, basically moaning about everything that other people find okay but that he despises. He’s more confused than grumpy though. He’s yet another young comedian I saw today. It seems like future of British comedy is looking very bright indeed!

Comedian-spotting: Given the hectic nature of my day, I barely saw anyone of note, apart from Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Josie Long and Isy Suttie, star of sitcom, Peep Show. In fact, I spotted Isy Suttie while trying to cross a busy road and she was stood right next to me. I can’t believe I couldn’t even muster the courage to say hi to her. I would probably sh*t myself if Eddie Izzard was in the same city as me.

Busy schedule tomorrow too. Seeing Robin Ince & Michael Legge and Andy Zaltzman at The Stand and Seann Walsh and Rich Hall at The Pleasance!

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011: Day Three

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 01:42:27 +0100

I am amazed I have lasted three days on this whole Fringe blog thing, but today is why I came to the festival for. I got to see my headline act tonight and one other show from a very promising (relatively) new comedian.

Phill Jupitus: Stand Down

You cannot imagine how excited I was to see this colossus (both literally and figuratively) of a man getting back on stage for stand-up. I haven’t seen much of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, but I loved him on QI and I have been through YouTube for videos of him doing stand-up. He was at The Stand Comedy Club, which is miles away, not only in terms of distance from the big four comedy venues, but also in terms of atmosphere. Stand One is basically a small pub with what seemed like a very relaxed atmosphere, in sharp contrast with the way shows are churned out at the Pleasance or the Gilded Balloon. And to have a seasoned pro perform in this environment was a pleasure to behold. Jupitus was very comfortable and thrived as he was in his element. He talked mostly about generation gap, analysing hilariously what separates age groups in terms of character, likes and dislikes and what constitutes motivation. Of course, he also includes his pants-wettingly accurate impression of his good friend, Eddie Izzard (check it out here if you haven’t seen it before). His observational comedy connected extremely well with the audience (including myself) and I think it’s fair to say he’s easily the best act I have seen at the Fringe this year. No contest.

Holly Walsh: The Hollycopter

This was one of the many extra shows put together at short notice towards the end of the festival for those performers who had been very popular. Holly Walsh has recently been nominated for the Best Newcomer award and she’s one of the revelations of this year’s festival. Around a year ago, Walsh jumped off a pier for charity and smashed her arm to bits as she hit the water at an awkward angle. She was inspired to write her show while doctors tried to mend her arm. Her show is about taking risks and how her attitude to it changed throughout her life. She was a bit slow on the jokes at the beginning, maybe because it was a hastily arranged show, but once she got in the groove, she was relentless. One of the nice aspects of her performance is that she barely swears or does vulgar jokes. She’s very energetic on stage and very quick-witted as she interacted with the crowd a few times. The crowd loved her despite how late the show was. She’s definitely someone I will be seeing again!

Comedian-spotting: Some comedians I saw, off-stage obviously, while I gallivanted from venue to venue were Ruby Wax, Andi Osho, Stewart Lee, Ava Vidal and Dave Gorman. I wanted to say hi to Stewart Lee, whose show is unfortunately sold out, which means I can’t check out his stand-up, but, like most comedians off stage at the Fringe, they are always rushing somewhere!

Got four J’s to get through tomorrow: Jon Richardson, Joe Wilkinson, Jack Whitehall and Josh Widdicombe!

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011: Day Two

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:22:01 +0100

Quiet day on the Fringe front for me today as I had other business to attend to during the day. I only managed to catch two shows in the evening, both of which I was really looking forward to.

Imran Yusuf: Bring The Thunder

Imran Yusuf has had a great year, appearing on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and has got his own BBC show in the pipeline. I am not a fan of comedians who make the most of their ethnicity, some taking it to awkward lengths. That concern of mine was squashed very soon as Imran Yusuf was way too articulate to fall into that trap. His show is about how insecure he used to feel and how he managed to overcome this handicap. He also broached the topic of multiculturalism and although it seemed like he was being too serious about it, he made sure he didn’t try to be vulgar or get cheap laughs by making fun of racial stereotypes. He did get dangerously close at times, but overall, he came across clever and, most importantly, very funny. He was performing at the Pleasance Courtyard, which was a nice venue: he was close to the audience, but he also had a lot of space to perform in.

Sam Simmons: Meanwhile

This guy has been a much talked about performer at the Fringe. Everyone I talked to had rave reviews for Australian comic, Sam Simmons, who has been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award 2011. The “maestro of suburban absurdism” does exactly what it says on the tin. He goes through a series of “meanwhile in <insert city>” to describe what might be happening in various places in the world. He also reads various letters he is supposed to have received from people. Those are the most normal segments. And then he starts throwing bread at the audience, opens a vigourously shaken bottle of Sprite and splashes it over the audience, swings hanging from the ceiling trying to get his balls into an audience member’s face,…etc In a word: mental! By the way, he doesn’t do those things haphazardly, there is a clear structure. Okay, there are other routines which are absolutely random and crazy. This is a difficult show to like. You will either think “what the hell is going on here” and find nothing to laugh about or you will choke yourself with laughter. I lost it a few times since I am a fan of absurdist or Pythonesque comedy. At other times, I was struggling to see past the mental-ness. But I had a great time because I was told to expect the unexpected, so I wasn’t really taken aback and was relaxed rather than nervous while the people in the first row probably thought they were in the middle of a nightmare!

That’s another day in Edinburgh done and dusted. Tomorrow, I see my headline act of the Fringe: the magnificent Phill Jupitus, and I also got a ticket for the much acclaimed show of Holly Walsh.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011: Day One

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:29:00 +0100

Yes, I am finally here. I am really in Edinburgh because of tutorials for my next set of exams, but it all worked out nicely so that I could also enjoy a festival I had been dying to attend.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. It showcases various forms of art, ranging from dance and cabaret to theatre and musicals & operas. But there was only one art form I was eager to sample and that was comedy. According to the official Fringe website, there are around 978 shows described as comedy, the next largest events are theatre with 792 events.

I hadn’t really planned my first day, so I couldn’t make the most of my time today. Three shows from around 2pm till 10pm is not really an efficient use of time since each of the big comedy venues have around 48 shows in a day. While I am here, I will stick to the Edinburgh Comedy Festival which is part of the Fringe and consists mainly of shows at four big venues: Assembly, The Gilded Balloon, Udderbelly and Pleasance. The three shows I saw are as follows:

The Unexpected Items Are On It, In the Zone, Off the Hook and Down With the Kids

My first taste of the Fringe at the Gilded Balloon and it was okay. Not really that awesome. They were a sketch comedy group and they managed to extract a few laughs out of the audience. I didn’t expect them to dazzle anyway.

Diane Spencer: All-pervading Madness

Next up, at the Gilded Balloon once again, was English comic, Diane Spencer (not the princess, as she pointed out). Some of her jokes were very dirty. I don’t really mind it, but sometimes it can get a bit weird. But she was hilarious throughout as she described a hellish journey she made from New Zealand to home in London. She’s meant to be a rising star. So, looking forward to seeing more of her!

Richard Herring: What Is Love, Anyway?

I quite like Herring. I have been a bit of a fan since I started listening to his AIOTM (As It Occurs To Me) podcast. And he was awesome at the Udderbelly! The two previous shows were in small rooms holding around 30-40 people. Herring had a big audience of a couple of hundreds. Last year, he did a show, called Christ On A Bike, about religion and how, even though it’s nonsense, we should not frown upon it as we believe in other useless stuff anyway to make our lives more interesting. One of these useless things is love apparently. So, he spends this year’s show talking about how depressing love is, de-constructing every aspect of it while talking about his own experiences. Loads of laugh-out-loud moments as he powered through (he barely stopped talking during the hour!). I would highly recommend him!

P.S.: He does a funny impression of his former comedy partner, Stewart Lee as some point! He definitely loves him and misses him.

Right, that’s it for today. I am seeing two more shows tomorrow: Imran Yusuf (whose show I missed by two minutes today and they wouldn’t let me in!) and one of the nominees of the Edinburgh Comedy Award, Sam Simmons who, I have heard, is pretty mad and is called “the maestro of suburban absurdism” by the programme! Just what I like!

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-14)

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:44:20 +0100

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-14):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by …

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-7)

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 06:24:09 +0100

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-7):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Super 8 (2011)

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 22:37:40 +0100

A few months ago, I saw Joe Cornish’s edgy and beautifully shot and written, Attack The Block. This evening, I caught up with the bigger and more explosive American response to it, Super 8. Produced by Spielberg and directed by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Trek the film), the story is about a group of kids, fanatical about Super 8 films, who are thrown at the deep end in a mini-alien-invasion of their town. They witness a train crash while they are shooting for a film competition and something escapes the wreckage.

The plot revolves around this menacing presence in their town and strange occurrences that pop up. The backdrop to the story is this young boy who has lost his mother recently and who seems to be stuck in an emotional impasse with his Town Deputy Sheriff father. The latter is engaged in a battle of his own trying to get to the bottom of the mystery in the face of rough tactics from the army. There is also the obligatory crush on the cute girl. And this is what I loved about the film, all the sub-plots. They could be viewed as cheesy in some cases, but the dialogue is so well-written that it is funnier than it is ridiculous. It is the young children who make it work too. Somehow you forgive all the cringe-worthy sweetness because they are only kids, and funny kids too.

Finally, I don’t normally watch mega CGI special effects films. Because there are so many of them that it all seems so fake and easy. You rarely find one really taking your breath away. But Super 8 achieves that. The train crash scene is utterly brilliant and the eerie presence of the monster (which is only seen clearly towards the end) is portrayed masterfully, so be prepared to jump out of your seats, spitting popcorn on people in front of you a few times! For me, and it’s quite a bold statement, this was probably the most entertaining film I have seen this year so far. Do watch it!

P.S.: Don’t get up from your seat when the credits start rolling at the end. They show the short film that the kids are meant to be making throughout the actual movie. It’s really good (and hilarious!).

Dhobi Ghat (2011)

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:56:31 +0100

In a desperate attempt to regain some of my meagre credibility as a huge Bollywood fan, I thought I should stop postponing it and just watch the critically acclaimed Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diairies). This is the directorial debut of Kiran Rao (sometimes known as Aamir Khan’s wife). She’d been an assistant director for the Oscar-nominated Lagaan as well as Mira Nair’s incredible Monsoon Wedding. But she finally lets her creative talents loose in Dhobi Ghat, which she wrote and directed.

The film is about the emotional adventures of three souls, set against the backdrop of Mumbai. Shai, a US-based Indian is in the city to explore the working lives of ordinary citizens through photography. She meets Arun, a reclusive painter, and his dhobi or washerman, Munna who dreams to be an actor someday and who slowly falls under the spell of Shai. While Munna is showing Shai around Mumbai, Arun makes a chance discovery which moves and inspires him.

Dhobi Ghat is essentially a human drama, and a lot more genuine and less artificial than most films that come out of Bollywood these days. It’s deeply moving and gripping till the end. No song and dance, no shooting in Swiss mountains. Just amazing acting from the three main protagonists, Aamir Khan, Monica Dogra and Prateik Babbar, a great story laced with nuances and a vibrant city.

I would highly recommend this film, especially to people who haven’t seen much of Bollywood before. I was blown away!

P.S: Aamir says “f*ck” at some point. I liked it.

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-7-24)

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:30:09 +0100

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-7-24):

Imported from Last.fm…

Harry Potter And The Last Of The Series

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:50:09 +0100

I am not really a fan of Harry Potter. Actually, I used to find it childish when it came out (I think I had just started secondary education then), probably in an attempt to resist conforming to the new craze and look cool (failing miserably obviously). I have now read the first 4 books and watched, I think, 7 of the 8 films. I saw the last one, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 today and I must say, it was thoroughly enjoyable.

The main reason I like the films (although books are usually better) is the fact that it is mostly British. The complete cast of actors used in all the films are an assortment of staggeringly talented individuals (leaving the kids out of it, for now). Most of the greatest British and Irish actors of their generation were involved, like the truly magnificent Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, Michael Gambon, Julie Walters…etc. The list is mindblowing. When David Yates got in as director, Bill Nighy, another great actor and previous collaborator of Yates, joked that maybe now he wouldn’t be the only actor in England not to appear in the Harry Potter series! Of course, he then played Minister of Magic in Deathly Hallows Part 1.

As much as people out there might hate Harry Potter, it’s not really just a fairy tale with a nice ending. I have grown to like the story, even though some stuff is inevitably sugar-coated. The phenomenon that is Harry Potter has also led to so many kids reading more and more. Which is great. Something that stimulates one’s imagination is always nice. Some of the darker chapters of the story also give an edge to the films and make it look less kiddie and more appealing to a wider demographic. Finally, I would just like to add that, even though I would not necessarily miss the series or the books, god I will miss the epitome of uber coolness that is Severus Snape!

P.S: The ending was quite funny. I won’t divulge why in case it’s a spoiler. But you will understand when you see it!