Preity Zinta Scores, Deepa Mehta Bores; Videsh (Heaven On Earth)

(Contains some slight spoilers, but don't let that discourage you from reading; You may have a better experience with Videsh if you know what to expect, and when I discuss the ending, I'll let you know)

There's good news and there's bad news. First, the good news, which can be summed up in two words: Preity Zinta. Just like she did in The Last Lear, Preity proves all those who thought she was only good for "bubbly, Westernized" roles wrong. Dare I say that I saw shades of Tabu in The Namesake in Preity's performance? She obviously worked very hard on this, and it all paid off--her character was the beating heart of Videsh.

As for the rest of the film, let's just say I'm still trying to figure it out.

Videsh starts out promising enough. Chand's family arranges a marriage for her to a man named Rocky, a NRI who lives in Canada. It's a full house; Rocky lives with his parents, his sister, his sister's husband, and their two children. While things are a bit crowded, the family is welcoming enough to Chand and she dutifully accepts her new life. But Rocky's mother is jealous of his new wife, and it doesn't take long for her to put a guilt trip on Rocky that provokes him to treat Chand like dirt. Tension escalates and Chand finds herself in an abusive relationship she is powerless to escape.

The film's gray, gritty photography and simple dialogue made it feel very realistic, but it was a bit slow. Still, I was glued to the screen; After all, it was a Deepa Mehta film. I knew I could expect each scene to get increasingly potent as the film progressed, and at the end it would all erupt in a dramatic climax...Right?



Wrong. What the heck happened? I'm still trying to figure it out. Somewhere along the way, this drama that was only engaging because of its raw performances and in-your-face realistic approach to a messed up situation (as most Deepa Mehta films I've seen) fell off the track and ended up in la-la land. The film lost me when it tried to go all Paheli-ish and actually expected me to believe a cobra had taken on the form of Chand's husband. I'm not kidding.

Chand's coworker, a well-meaning Jamaican woman named Roza, advises her to grind a piece of ginger root and place it in Rocky's drink as a black magic tactic that would cause him to fall madly in love with her. The abuse would stop shortly after. None of this was the problem--I actually felt like Roza's character was detrimental to the story, like she honestly cared for Chand and would save her from this hellhole after her home remedy suggestion proved unsuccessful. But that's not the direction the film chose to take--Instead, after one failed attempt, Chand's black magic went arwy and !Voila! a cobra ended up in her backyard.
This cobra would eventually take up the form of Chand's husband Rocky and provide her aching heart with the love and affection it craved.

If the above paragraph made absolutely no sense to you, imagine how I felt when watching the film.

I love fantasy in film, but when it is well placed! I thoroughly enjoyed Paheli and Pan's Labyrinth. BUT it just didn't fit here! If this was a fantasy film, then it was an incredibly boring one. There was no color, no excitement. And the stage had not been set for something like this to happen!

After doing some reading on Wikipedia I found out that this curve in the storyline was based on an Indian fable. So perhaps I just didn't "get" it, and I don't mean to sound authoritative about a subject I know very little about (such as Indian folklore).

It's very possible that I'm misinterpreting this, and Mehta intended the snake's metamorphosis to be a figment of Chand's imagination, a coping mechanism related to her physically abused state. I'd be willing to buy this, and perhaps it would have even made the film all the more effective. But that still doesn't explain why a cobra ended up in the Ontario, Canada!

All of that being said, Videsh wasn't a disaster, either. The entire cast was amazing, but of course it was Preity I was rooting for. Newcomer Vansh Bhardwaj made me jump in fear every time he looked like he was going to hit Chand. In fact, I wish Mehta would have scrapped the cobra and just used the "real" Rocky more. We could have seen more of the depths of his character, the different mood changes that an abuser can often take. We never saw Rocky's good side, and perhaps if we had we could have empathized with Chand's predicament even more. We could have felt just as torn and heartbroken as she was, and that would have made an effective film. Bhardwaj would have been more than competent to pull it off.


(***SPOILER ALERT***)
The climax wasn't a complete loss, either. Despite the ridiculous circumstance, my eyes were wide open as I watched Chand reach into the snake pit.

I do feel, however, that the ending left more unanswered questions. Was Chand really going to be safe from Rocky? And if it was that easy to pack up and go, why didn't she leave sooner? I'm a nursing student, so I know that abused women often have to wait until they feel safe to leave a dangerous relationship, but still...this wasn't explained clearly enough in the film.

(***SPOILER END****)

Watch Videsh for Preity--she makes it all worthwhile. Rent it, download it, do whatever you have to do, but please, please don't pay more than $3 for it.

Preity Zinta Clear her Relation with Ness

Durban: After denying for so long, Preity Zinta has finally confirmed that she has split with Ness Wadia.

Both co-owners of Kings XI Punjab, the actress and the Bombay Dyeing heir, had been together since 2005. Both of them were at the ground for the match, but sitting separately.

Zinta, apparently sent an official mail to her team to clear the air about her equation with Ness Wadia.

Preity zinta getting cosy with Bret lee

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) players, Brett Lee, Sreesanth, Kumar Sangakkara and Ranadeb Bose together with club co-owner, preity zinta, connected with fans from around the world and young South African cricket players during an event conducted recently in Cape Town. The event witnessed the launch of the club’s mobile fan club with mig33, the leading global mobile community. The partnership will give KXIP fans the chance to engage directly with each other and Kings XI Punjab players via mobile phone.

The event took place at Nyanga Cricket Stadium in Nyanga Township, just outside Cape Town in South Africa. One of the oldest townships in the area, this community is racked by poverty and has little access to sporting facilities. Over fifty young players from two local schools received the opportunity of a life time when they took on Kings XI Punjab players in the nets.

Preity Zinta like to keep distance

Preity Zinta who’s in South Africa with her cricket team is cool as a cucumber most of the time.

But when people whom she barely even knows get familiar with her, she finds it hard to take. Though she’s most charming, sweet and often genteel with fans, Zinta likes to keep a wee bit of distance. She tells us, “I am fine with people posing with me for pictures, but what I don’t like is when some put their hand around my waist or shoulders! When you don’t know someone too well, it gets awkward and this is something I just don’t like.” So next time you try to put your arm around this lady, remember touching is touché.

SRK and Preity At IPL Images

SRK and Preity At IPL Images

A Much-Needed Indulgence...Maine Pyar Kiya

Oh, what to do when you have five papers due and two exams to study for?

Pop in Maine Pyar Kiya, of course!



After all, what could be a better stress reliever than a babyfaced Salman and a ravishing Bhagyashree surrounded by an '80s infused Bollywood?

The answer is nothing, except maybe some chocolate...But watching Maine Pyar Kiya was similiar to that, too. It was like binge-eating a box of chocolate covered cherries--the bursts of syrupy sweetness just kept coming, and I kept shoveling 'em in with a big ol' smile on my face.

Bhagyashree reenacts the Like A Virgin video.

In what I'm convinced must have been one of Salman Khan's most adorable roles ever, MPK was yet another "forbidden" young love story of its era, one that I to keep wanting to lump together with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. It's interesting that the big breakthrough films of the 3 Khans had similar plots, particularly this one and QSQT. You know the cliche...two young lovers kept apart by their disapproving families...Sound familiar? One would think at least one of these would have been tossed aside as a copycat of the others, yet from someone who's seen all three, I can honestly say each one holds their very own and is well deserving of their individual successes as Hindi cinema classics.

Prem has posters of Micheal Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna!

The film was directed by Sooraj Barjatya, and if you disliked HAHK and hated Vivah (or vice versa), don't let that deter you from watching Maine Pyar Kiya. Unlike those two films, MPK is easy to follow and engaging from the very beginning. Also, its super enjoyable--think all the best elements of an 80s teen love story with Bollywood fairy dust sprinkled on top.

An accent from the 80s I still love--lipstick prints!!

It wouldn't be an 80s film without a party scene...

...Or Seema's bad perm!

Suman (Bhagyashree) and her father, Karan(Alok Nath) live in a modest country home. One day, Karan is offered a job abroad, and sends his daughter to live with his beloved friend, Kishan (Rajeev Verma), whom he has not seen or spoke to in years. Because of the depth of this friendship, however, Karan entrusts Suman's well-being to Kishan and sends her to live with his family without a second thought-he's convinced they will treat her like royalty.

While the family is nice enough to Suman, its Kishan's son Prem (Salman Khan) who goes out of his way to make her feel welcome, and the two become fast friends. Here's the first thing I liked about this movie--I felt like Prem was genuinely interested in being Suman's friend and not just trying to get with her. He was drawn to her because he could tell she was a kindred spirit, respecting her and showing her he cared before the romance began.

Of course, since Suman is a breathtaking beauty with a heart of gold, Prem eventually falls head over heels. And once he does, he's committed to being with her. The sacrifices Prem makes for Suman throughout the film made me love Salman Khan's character!



Sure, one could argue that Prem had his crabby moments--For example, after a fight at a party, Prem tells Suman to fix him a plate rather curtly, which she gladly does in submission. This attitude may be frustrating to some who hate this Hindi film cliche, and while I don't embrace it myself, for some reason I didn't sweat it in this film. You see, it was clear to me that Prem respected Suman so much--and that she treated him with honor because she wanted to, not because she was a woman and he was a man.

Hands down, this performance marked one of my favorites from Salman Khan (the others being HAHK and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam). He was so adorable here!Mostly for the reasons I've listed above. And...wait...in his final scene alone with Alok Nath and Bhagyashree, he proves he can really and truly act! And here I thought he was the worst overacter ever...



Bhagyashree. Do I need to say anymore than that(except maybe COME BACK BHAGYASHREE!!!)? She was awesome! First of all, her name even sounds cool, as most one-part movie star names do. Bhagyashree. Dharmendra. Kajol. Nargis. I've decided that if I ever make it big in Bollywood I'm going to go with a one-part name, and its not going to sound too feminine, either. But getting back to Bhagyashree...how can I describe her? She was something like Nargis--Grace, class, poise, and sensuality all wrapped into one. At times, her facial expressions even reminded me of Marilyn Monroe!

That's a wall covered in Salman Khan photographs, just so you know.

The film is NOT just sugarpie romance scenes like Vivah was, for the most part. There's a twist to this happy tale--You see, Kishan is a very sucessful businessman. In a quest to gain a part of Kishan's empire, his business partner devises a plan to get Prem to marry his daughter Seema. Along with Seema's brother, Jeevan (played by Mohnish Behl), the three make up a trio of scheming villains that bring out every trick in the book to try and keep Prem and Suman apart.

Though all three are far from nice, Mohnish Behl surprised me with his sleaziness as Jeevan. This guy played one of the nicest characters in HAHK and here he was, picking on poor Bhagyashree? But alas, he was perfect for the part, deliciously good at being bad. His dashing handsomeness made him seem all the more dangerous!



Other key players are Alok Nath as the loving father he can portray so well and Reema Lagoo (yay!) as Prem's mother. Rajeev Verma plays Kishan and Laximikant Berde has a small but non-irritating comedic supporting role. AND...

In true Barjatya fashion, there's a crucial animal in the film--a white pigeon that also wants Prem and Suman to be together. And let me tell you, HAHK's little dog Tuffy is no patch on this butt-kicking bird. He even plays a critical role in the climax that will have you LAUGHING OUT LOUD(I sure did!).



As far as the music is concerned, let's just put it this way--My favorite song in the film revolves around a pigeon and a love letter.Doesn't that just sound like a fairy tale? The pigeon carries the letter away to the handsome prince while the princess sings a melody in her nightgown. And the tune was super catchy, too! I've included the Youtube Video for those who want to reminisce BUT if you haven't seen the film, please, please wait! Its the surprising little details like these in MPK that won my heart because I didn't know they were coming.



Don't you just love the climax of this song with Bhagyashree's thick shiny black hair blowing in the wind and the city lights in the background?
There's nothing more I can say about this film except that I loved every minute of it. After my recent viewing of Aa Gale Lag Ja, I seem to be on a streak of guilty pleasures in Indian cinema that have me overusing my exclamation point key. But I'm not complaining, and I apologize if I sound like I'm overdoing it. I just can't help it--I really get that excited about this stuff (hence the blog)!



Would I be a glutton for punishment if I said I loved Maine Pyar Kiya more than Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge? Because guess what...I sure did!

Preity Zinta has finally revealed her British connection

Fed up with responding to queries about her family background, actress Preity Zinta has finally revealed her British connection.

"Some people think I'm south Indian, while some feel I'm a Muslim. There have also been fans who have asked me whether I hail from Himachal Pradesh," said Preity in a press statement.

"In the early 18th century, when marital alliances between the Rajput and British became quite common, the Zinta clan was born. I'm the rare combination of British and Rajput blood," she added.

The actress has reportedly signed a film with her "Dil Chahta Hai" co-star Aamir Khan to be made under the Yash Raj banner.

Sonu Nigam gifts BMW to his father

Celebrity singer Sonu Nigam gifted his father a red BMW sports convertible. Agam Kumar Nigam says his son's thoughtfulness brought tears to his eyes.

"I am really proud of my son. The way Sonu has expressed his love has nearly brought tears in my eyes. I pray that every parent should get a son like Sonu," Agam Kumar said in a press release.

Sonu gifted the car to his father to celebrate the success of his album "Woh Bewafaa".

"Woh Bewafaa" is his fourth album in a row with T-series. His previous three albums were "Uski Yaadon Mein-Bewafa Saman", "Bewafaa" and "Phir Bewafaai".

Mandira Bedi gave her co-star a hard slap

For a scene in her forthcoming marathon-based film "42 kms", Mandira Bedi had to slap co-star Gautam Kapur and the actor says it was a "slap to remember".

"I did expect a slap but not with that intensity... it was definitely a slap to remember," said Gautam.

Gautam and Mandira play a married couple in the film and the scene takes place when Mandira finds out her husband had been cheating on her.

Preity's team connects with fans around the world

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) players, Brett Lee, Sreesanth, Kumar Sangakkara and Ranadeb Bose together with club co-owner, preity zinta, connected with fans from around the world and young South African cricket players during an event conducted recently in Cape Town. The event witnessed the launch of the club’s mobile fan club with mig33, the leading global mobile community. The partnership will give KXIP fans the chance to engage directly with each other and Kings XI Punjab players via mobile phone.

The event took place at Nyanga Cricket Stadium in Nyanga Township, just outside Cape Town in South Africa. One of the oldest townships in the area, this community is racked by poverty and has little access to sporting facilities. Over fifty young players from two local schools received the opportunity of a life time when they took on Kings XI Punjab players in the nets.

The Kings XI Punjab players saw the youngsters how to show off their batting and bowling skills. Questions were also fielded on them by the young cricketers who were eager to know their Heroes and about cricket in general. Based on these questions, a young player was selected by the team to walk with their captain for Toss during their inaugural match against the Delhi Daredevils on Sunday.

At the stadium the Kings XI Punjab players as well as preity zinta engaged in a live chat in the mig33 Cricket FanZone. After joining the mobile fan club, Kings XI Punjab fans can “watch” matches live with other fans on their mobile phones in dedicated chat rooms complete with live ball-by-ball commentary, receive important news updates from the team, meet new friends and buy official Kings XI Punjab virtual merchandise in the mig33 content store. Members also get access to the Kings XI Punjab Chat Stadium and chat live with their cricket Heroes.

During the live chat Preity Zinta fielded a range of questions from who she considers her best player to whether she would ever make a movie about cricket. Commenting on her experience preity zinta said, “It was amazing to connect with so many fans from around the world and be so close to them while sitting in South Africa. I hope that our fans will use this platform to ignite passion and support the team during the IPL. I look forward to this association with mig33 and to engaging in future chats with our fans.”

Preity Zinta Ask to Bring the change you want

Not only is Preity Zinta setting an example for every responsible citizen of India to vote, stars like Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan will be in Mumbai on V-day (read Vote day) to cast their valuable votes.

Preity and SRK who will be in South Africa during the election time for the IPL season will take a day off from their hectic schedule to be in Mumbai to exercise their vote on April 30 (that’s the day when Mumbai goes to poll). If SRK and Preity are busy with IPL, Aamir, who holidaying in the US, will fly down to Mumbai, just to cast his valuable vote.

This time, most stars (with the exception of Salman Khan ) are keeping themselves away from campaigning. There were rumours that Aishwarya Rai might campaign for her uncle Amar Singh’s Samajwadi Party, but the star is busy with shootings. According to sources, Congress was keen to rope in the bold and outspoken Preity to campaign for them, but the actress is either not interested or too busy.

Not only are these actors doing their bit, in fact, director-producer Karan Johar has joined hands with various celebs to create awareness about voting among people. Karan has made a short film ‘Kuch Nahi Ho Sakta’ for Lead India campaign with the help of young stars who are also youth icons to encourage people to vote and make an informed choice about the candidate they vote for.

Stars like Imran Khan , Kareena Kapoor , Priyanka Chopra , Deepika Padukone , Ranbir Kapoor , Abhishek Bachchan , Ritesh Desmukh , Asin , Shahid Kapur , Farhan Akhtar and Sonam Kapoor took some time out to be part of this joint venture and urged citizens to use their fundamental right without a miss in Karan’s film.

Emirates Title sponsor for Preity Zinta's Kings IX Punjab

No it was not Preity Zinta’s charming ways that made the Dubai-based global airline; Emirates sign a three year sponsorship deal with the Mohali team. It was plain marketability of cricket that made the leading airlines decide to become the title sponsor of Preity Zinta co-owned and Yuvraj Singh led team in the upcoming IPL cricket tournament. Preity Zinta however thanks the airlines that allows you to take a shower on board.

Kings IX Punjab has what the IPL teams do not have - a beautiful and vibrant owner called Preity Zinta. And so for the Punjab team, there is no shortage of sponsors. Till date, the team has tied p with eight other corporate sponsors and global airlines - Emirates is the latest to join the bandwagon. The Dubai based airlines has just announced that it is going to be the title sponsor of the Mohali based franchise that has vivacious Preity as one of its owners and hard-hitting Yuvraj as its captain. "We welcome Emirates to our family as the title sponsor," said Preity Zinta in an official release for the Mohali based franchise, "I would like to thank Emirates for its long-term partnership with the Kings XI Punjab. Emirates is a front runner in sports sponsorships around the world. Emirates is a great airline, with great cabins and a great place to have a shower onboard," she added.

On the global airline’s part, the sponsorship deal is the recognition of the fact that cricket is the number one sport in the country with over one billion population. In a country, where Emirates happen to have a big customer base, cricket can greatly help the airlines connect to their customers. Emirates connects 10 destinations across India with the rest of the world via Dubai. So far as South Africa is concerned, it operates three daily flights to Johannesburg and a daily flight to Cape Town. From 1st October, Durban will be added to its daily flight destinations in South Africa. With IPL fever catching up like wild fire in both the countries, the Emirates investment came as a very astute business move.

Maurice Flanagan, Executive Vice Chairman, Emirates Airlines and Group, said: “Emirates is a great supporter of global sporting events, and we are very excited to announce our partnership with the Kings XI Punjab team.” With cricket being the number one sport in India, it was only natural for us to form a partnership with one of the leading teams in the Indian Premier League; a tournament that invokes such passion amongst the cricket fans all around the world. “This three-year sponsorship commitment will allow Emirates to become closer to our customer base in one of the most important regions on our network.”

However, Emirates is not an all together new player in the international cricket circle. Before grabbing the limelight as the title sponsor of the Kings XI Punjab, Emirates has also been an Official Partner of the ICC. It also sponsors the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Referees. In addition of Emirates, the King’s IX has eight more sponsors. “'All our sponsors are dynamic and share the common passion to promote the game of cricket. With their support and our talented team, Kings XI Punjab is ready to win the IPL trophy,” Preity Zinta concluded in her characteristic spirited way.

Preity Zinta Launches Kings XI Punjab Team's T-shirt

Preity Zinta, chairperson Kings XI Punjab, charmed at the launch of her team’s T-shirts for the upcoming IPL season at Taj Lands End, Bandra Mumbai on Saturday April 11.

April 12, 2009, - Preity Zinta, chairperson Kings XI Punjab, charmed at the launch of her team’s T-shirts for the upcoming IPL season at Taj Lands End, Bandra Mumbai on Saturday April 11.

The team, captained by Yuvaraj Singh, is sponsored by Emirates Airlines and eight other sponsors.

The 34-year-old Heaven on Earth star looked cool wearing the team’s red and silver Tee with black pants.

The Tee has been designed by the actress with the help of the team's apparel partner Reebok.

Preity’s Jennifer Aniston inspired hairstyle was a charm! Opting for a sporty look she accessorized with just her good fortune stone rings - a yellow topaz gold ring in right hand index finger and a cat eye ring in right hand middle finger.

Her makeup was restrained: she wore clear lip gloss and 50's style eyeliner and shadow on top lid only with lots of mascara.

A no show at the event was Kings XI Punjab co-owner and Preity’s beau - Ness Wadia. His absence is likely to be gleefully played up by a Mumbai tabloid that, despite denials by Preity, steadfastly maintains that the couple has split.

Other sponsors for Mohali IPL team include Gulf Oil, Nimbooz, Netlinkblue, Reebok, Springbok Intl, Royal Challenge, Dabur Glucose-D and Orbit.

Preity Zinta Clarifies on Split ville Issue with Ness.

Bollywood actress Preity Zinta today lashed media and blog writers for spreading rumors regarding her so called break up with her long time boy friend Ness Wadia.

 Preity Zinta slams media for spreading rumors about her relationship

Preity writes at her blog post “It’s ridiculous how media sits and writes anything they feel like without even the decency and the journalistic norm of contacting all parties - well in advance - for their side of the story.”

The actress has bluntly denied the rumor, saying the journalist who wrote the story for Mumbai Mirror tried to call her up, but after the story was already published. Preity asks “At .12.00 o’ clock, midnight (08th april 2009), I got a text message from this journo, saying ‘There’s a story about your new link-up’, and we need your comment on this.’ But when I called him back, I was told that the story was already printed and that they couldn’t do anything at that point. I was livid. So then, what was that call? And exercise in futility?”

Preity writes further at her blog post “Apparently, now they’re saying that this story came about because I was cheering for Vikram Chatwal at the Fashion Week. How ridiculous is that? When I cheered for Shah Rukh Khan, then no one questioned me as to why I cheered him the most? At the LFW there were also Arjun and Mehr Rampal, Rahul Bose, Ujjwala Raut - all famous celebrities and my friends; and I cheered all of them. I cheered for all of them because the show was for Mumbai.”

“I don’t like discussing this so publicly, but the point here is, I want to clarify what is right and wrong. People cannot write anything wrong about someone and get away with it. Especially about me, because I will take strong action against any false rumours or stories. I will fight against what is wrong,” the actress writes.

Not only this, Preity slammed the Bollywood media, saying the paparazzi culture of Hollywood is catching up here in Bollywood. She says, “In fact, in Hollywood the paparazzi system is really strong, but whenever there is false news, the Courts abroad are fast and quick to punish the offenders. Any false news is severely and immediately dealt with by the Courts.”
Tags:Preity Zinta,split ville, ness wadia,preity's boyfreind,rumours

Vikram chatwal lost in Preity Zinta's Dimple smile

Preity Zinta after splitting away from Ness Wadia is not sitting mum and howling over her break up. Infact, the bold lady has soon found solace in the arm of a new man by the name Vikram Chatwal who is a New York-based businessman and hotelier and onetime model.

Both Vikram and Preity are lonely souls. If Preity has broken up with Ness then Vikram’s marriage with model Priya Sachdev is also on the verge of ending. The bonding between the two forlorn souls was best seen at Lakme Fashion Week, held at Mai Mumbai.

At the recently held Lakme Fashion Week when Vikram walked the ramp with Naomi Campbell, Preity from the audience seat was heard hauling and cheering thereby giving clear indication of some open secret affair. They not only hang out together on the show but at the party also they were seen hand in hand.

We can say that another relationship in the tinselville has gone kaput. Preity and Ness has been together for five long years.

I've Got To See More Films Like This One...Aa Gale Lag Jaa

My dil is smiling right now. It just is.

How could it not be after watching Aa Gale Lag Jaa, the 1973 film starring Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore(along with a really cute kid)? Aside from two bothersome scenes (We'll discuss them later), the movie is just a bag full of goodies. I was grinning from ear to ear from start to finish...Take a peek at some of this stuff:

You know you're in for a real treat when the first line in the entire film is this:



Surely if I was going to star in a movie, this would be my opening line of choice as well!

We have Shashi on roller skates:



Sharmila looking stunning in every scene (I'm convinced she's the type of gal who can wear anything and make it look classy)...






A smitten Shashi...



Shashi's a single dad(How often do we see this in Bollywood?)!



...And Sharmila's a doctor!



Letter Mix ups!





The song that inspired the title for Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na!





A cute little kid that melted my heart every time he smiled (Or frowned, for that matter)!



Ice Cream!



Musical Chairs (I love musical chairs! I want to go to a grown-up party where this game is played--Wouldn't that be fun?)



Long-lashed Shashi pines for his love in this woeful-yet-touching song (Don't worry, Sharmila--its YOU he's singing about!)




Even the "villain" in this film joins in on the happiness when all's said and done!



As you can see, Aa Gale Lag Ja was brimming with goodness. Yet it was also more--a snappy little love story with misunderstandings and mishaps keeping our hero and heroine apart. You know, one of those stories that has you screaming at the tv, because only you,the viewer, know the real truth. Luckily (and surprisingly, because this is Bollywood), the film doesn't drag any of this out past much more than what it needs to---everything unravels at just the right time.



As if you needed any other reason to watch this, allow me to give you one more. The music! The songs in Aa Gale Lag Jaa are delightfully catchy and sweet, every single one. Like most of my Bollywood faves, every time I listen to this soundtrack it warms my heart as I reminisce about the corresponding scene from the film. Ahh, I can't say it enough--I'm so glad I found Bollywood!



I browsed through some of the other reviews on Aa Gale Lag Jaa and found that many listed all the film's ambrosial elements (Pony rides!Elephants!Shashi!Sharmila!)as I have. I certainly didn't mean to be redundant--but its just that its hard not to do exactly that when describing this film. Its truly a bag of treats, one I know I'll keep reaching in for more! (I know, I've used wayyy too many exclamation points in this review)...

(***WARNING***Slight spoilers ahead, but nothing that would prevent you from enjoying the film if you read***)

Which brings me to the bad news. Yes, believe it or not, I do have something negative to say about Aa Gale Lag Jaa. Two things, in fact. First (and if you've seen the film, I'm sure you knew this was coming) was the fact that Preeti (Sharmila's character) became pregnant after Prem (Shashi's character) slept next to her, saving her life (After a sudden accident that left her hypothermic) by transferring his body heat onto her. What?? Did I miss something??? Perhaps I was being naive, but I really assumed directly after watching this scene that Prem and Preeti merely slept next to each other in the nude (Strictly for medical purposes, of course). Now I was supposed to believe that...oh, never mind. Okay. It's Bollywood. You just have to take some things with a grain of salt, na?

The second thing that disturbed me was the scene where Preeti's fiance (because you know there's always a fiance lingering around keeping our protagonists apart), who also happens to be a doctor, starts whipping Prem's son (the kid from above photographs). Now, as I said, this little guy's as cute as a button--and also happens to be disabled. Who would want to watch him get hurt? Definitely not me! It helped a little that the doctor was actually doing this as a legitimate part of the boy's treatment, but...it still stung nonetheless.

(****END of slight spoilers*****)

Those two things aside, it wasn't hard to love this film. Heck, I'd probably say its found a spot on my Favorites List--at least for now. If you need a dose of sunshine in your life, pop this in--you'll be grinning by film's end!



Finally, I'd like to thank all of you that are hanging in there and still visiting/reading/commenting on my blog. School's been crazzzyy...I've had very little time for recreational things such as writing and Bollywatching. But--have no fear! I've got quite the pile of films to dig into, and school's almost out in 3 weeks...Stay tuned!:)