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Rashmi Rocket, Taapsee Soars Skywards With This Thought provoking Sports Drama
Starring: Taapse Pannu, Priyanshu Painyuli,Abhishek Bannerjee, Supriya Pathak, Manoj Joshi
Directed by Akarsh Khurana
Rating: ***
Towards the closing of this cannily crafted athletic sports drama, Taapsee in what’s clearly a awards-nomination showreel moment , talks to her unborn child, giving us a classic glimpse into her feminine impulses… a womb with a view, so to speak.
You really can’t keep a good woman down. The unsporting sports association in this rocking sports drama tries hard to play spoilsports, garrulously making our spunky heroine Rashmi Veera’s sprint to national and international glory from Kutch to Kutch Khaas, a frigging hurdle race.
The smoothly turbulent script(we know exactly when and where the next storm is coming from) where we are told in the credits that Taapsee’s Haseen Dillruba writer Kannika Dhillon has done some “additional screenplay”(in other words, some damage control) plays it safe most of the way.
Given the constraints of a real-life sports drama where the protagonist is at once based on a real character and is an amalgamation of all those female athletes who have been subjected to the humiliating ritual of a ‘gender test’, Rashmi Rocket does well for itself.
It is an amiable, charming film with no real flashy high points.But the actors ensure we remain invested in Rashmi’s rise-fall-rise trope . Abhishek Bannerjee as the out-of-luck lawyer who fights Rashmi’s case in front of a female judge(Sipriya Pilgaonkar) who seems straight out of Law & Order,is earnest enough to earn brownie points even if he plays dirty to win. But it’s for a good cause.
I wish there was more of Rashmi’s romance with the army officer , who is so supportive he gives infidelity a bad name, and Priyanshu Painyuli plays the ardent love interest with such fidelity I wished there was more of him in the plot.Rashmi’s blow-hot-blow-cold relationship with her outspoken mother(the ever-dependable Surpiya Pathak) is illustrative of the film’s intentions: stay in the safe zone and whip up excitement in that zone.The recipe rocks.
Clearly the script is not overly bothered with the supportive cast,not even the skilful Varun Vandola who ends up playing the dirty nepotist villain in an underwritten role.
This is again Taapsee’s drama , and she embraces it with a confident hug, manly shoulder and all. Her expressions of Rashmi’s humiliation and defiance are so faithful as to lift the drama notches above the routine.When it comes to selecting roles, Taapsee is clearly proving to be the Aamir Khan among actresses.
While Rashmi Rocket remains charming and well-intended all the way, it could have easily avoided some of the more blatant pitfalls of masala cinema, like a song-and-dance at a wedding and Rashmi’s arch-rival on the field coming out so suddenly in her defence in the courtroom
Such things can only happen in movies. Not that we mind, as long as the product remains as patently true to character as this. Rashmi Rocket is Zee5’s face-saving gambit after an endless stream of trash.
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Jamuna Had A Love-Hate Relationship With Bollywood

Veteran Telugu actress Jamuna who passed away on Friday, shared an uneasy relationship with the Hindi film industry.She did eleven Hindi films including the iconic Milan in 1967 where Jamuna agreed to play the second lead, or the supporting role if you will, to Nutan.
Jamuna as Gauri was the Other Woman who craved for the hero Sunil Dutt’s attention whereas he had eyes and devotion only for Nutan. In later years Aruna Irani played a similar role in Caravan.
In Milan Jamuna was not keen to do a supporting role. Producer L V Prasad tempted her with three chartbusting songs. Besides, Jamuna had played the same role in Mooga Manasulu, the Telugu original of Milan. But it was the songs composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal which convinced Jamuna to take up the second lead in Milan.
While Nutan had no solo songs in Milan, she did have the chartbuster duet Sawan ka mahina . Jamuna on the other hand, had two splendid Lata Mangeshkar solos: Tohey saawariya naahin khabariya and the magnificent Ghazal Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin.Not only these, Jamuna also had a hit duet with Mukesh based on her character Gauri: Bol Gauri bol tera kaun piya.
But then, fate intervened. After the film released one of Jamuna’s solos, the poignant and memorable Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin was snipped out of the film.
Here is what happened: the Ghazal , one of Lataji’s all-time greats, was very much a part of Milan when it released on 17 March 1967. But then it was seen to hamper the flow of the film and edited out. The beautiful song occurred right after intermission. Producer Prasad, a shrewd filmmaker, got to know that audiences prolonged their loo breaks as there was a song after the break. Hence the sacrifice of a seriously sonorous melody.
Jamuna hardly did Hindi films after Milan. Her last Bollywood appearance was in Raj Kumar Kohli’s Raj Tilak where she was lost in a multistarrer as the royal queen.
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Karan Johar Moves Alia Song From Switzerland To Kashmir

The romantic duet in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani which was to be shot in Switzerland and which was delayed due to the film’s leading lady Alia Bhatt’s motherhood, is now being relocated to Kashmir.
Purely out of the love for new mom Alia.
Says a source in the know, “Karan loves Alia like his own daughter. He would do anything for her. He postponed the release of Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani as the love duet could not be shot before Alia’s maternity leave. Karan had decided to shoot the song in Switzerland after Alia’s maternity love. But now he has relocated the song to Kashmir as Alia doesn’t want to leave her baby girl behind for long stretches.”
And as Karan Johar argued, snow is snow. How does it matter whether it is Switzerland or Kashmir?
This song would be Karan Johar’s tribute to his idol Yash Chopra. Alia would be dressed in chiffon sarees while Ranveer, for a change, would be seen in formals.
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Bobby Deol’s Switchover To Villainous Roles

After Prakash Jha’s webseries Ashram where Bobby played a sleazy godman, and Love Hostel where he was a ruthless assassin, he is playing the villain to Ranbir Kapoor in Sandeep Vanga’s Animal.
Bobby says it is not conscious career decision to play negative characters but a conscious decision to play interesting characters. “ I don’t look at characters as positive or negative.When I watch films there is always one character that stays with you. I want to play that character.”
Prakash Jha’s Ashram proved a gamechanger for Bobby. He admits finding challenging roles is tough. “I am trying. I am doing Sandeep Vanga’s Animal with Ranbir Kapoor , Parineeti Chopra. Then I am doing the family film Apne 2 which I am very excited about.”
In an earlier interview with this writer Bobby spoke about his long absence from screen before Prakash Jha’s Ashram. “My fans would ask why I wasn’t being seen on the screen.And I couldn’t tell them it was because I wasn’t getting good roles. But my fans stood by me. They gave me the strength to keep looking for the right roles. Thankfully I found the roles I liked. My new films have given me some new fans. I am thankful I am still here. Yeah , I am in a good space right now.”
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Pathaan Collects 55 crore nett in India On Day 1

YRF’s Pathaan has apparently wiped out all previous records as it collected 55 crore nett in India and recorded the biggest ever Day 1 for a Hindi film. The total collections of Pathaan on Day One is 57 crore nett (Hindi – 55 crore and dubbed versions 2 crore).
It is the widest Hindi release of all time in India and also the highest grossing 1st Day for a Hindi film.It is also the highest grosser on the first first for a non-holiday release. Pathhan is also the highest opener for Shah Rukh Khan.
Akshaye Widhani, CEO of Yash Raj Films, says, “It is a historic day for Indian cinema and we are humbled to see the love and appreciation that is flowing for Pathaan globally. For Pathaan to shatter records in this fashion on a non holiday, just proves that the theatrical business is here to stay, provided we make films that entice people to come to the cinemas to witness a never seen before experience that entertains them thoroughly.“
He adds, “We, at YRF, are thrilled with the start that the film has got across India and we are hopeful that Pathaan brings joy to cine-goers globally in the days to come! Pathaan is the fourth film of our YRF Spy Universe and we are thrilled that we have been able to elevate the cinematic experience of audiences with each film from this franchise. We humbly share this moment with all the stake-holders of the film who have given their blood, sweat and tears to give people a movie-going experience like never before.”
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