Untitled Ravi Sir, Hopefully once it hits theatres in Chennai. Mad Munky, that's an interesting take on remakes. I can't recall offhand if anyone has made a remake of a failure. The very thing about a remake is "brand recognition" of the property, and that's usually due to the previous version being a hit. bart - doesn't *everyone* have a right to an opinion :-) Swathi, but I preferred the way Shabana says it.

U are so right about Abhishekh..He just doesnt seem to have the persona to carry out a rough and tough charachter, despite looking like one. Thanks to the umpteen number of TV channels these days overloading us with star-based shows like stageshows, behind the scenes shows, formal interviews, informal chats, bhakra shows, mtv shows , one gets to see someone like Abhishek being himself--a happy go lucky, cute,goofy,spoilt son of a superstar father.I guess he cant help being who he is. Abhishek taking on macho roles with some depth is commendable, but he doesnt seem to have the personality or the ability to pull it off. He so look like he is "play-acting". He is the sort who would look for a women to baby him, rather than be all macho and in control. Give him a charachter who can show weakness and vulnerability and he excels- case in point, KANK.(He looked so comfortable in the break-down and crying scenes, it convinced me that he has some real life experience doing it). I have some apprehesion about his new movie "guru". The trailer didnt impress much.Abhi looks wrongly cast. Him raising his voice and shouting in front of a large gathering, looked almost cartoonish.I think he is fit more for stylish thrillers like dhoom, where style matters and not substance.

I agree with Mad Munky's idea. If its a classic, why bother remaking it? This is why I didn't mind the idea of remaking Don (I haven't seen the remake yet). Its not a classic, but it was popular and enjoyable, and it has brand recognition. It could be modernized. If filmmakers are going to adapt novels and stories, they should adapt stories that haven't been made into classic or semi-classic films. The last thing I want to see now is another Saraswati Chandra, for example. Since there are so many offspring of film personalities now making Hindi films, I wonder if there's too much insularity, leading to remakes of Indian films (only a few so far) and foreign films (too many to count). Is this a generation of filmmakers that knows little besides what they see in films? I am pinning all my hopes for the future of Hindi cinema on Anurag Kashyap :-)

amala - "Thanks to the umpteen number of TV channels these days... one gets to see someone like Abhishek being himself" That's how I got to know he had something in him. He was in one bomb after another and one day I caught him on MTV or something and he was so confident and fun, it made me wonder why no one was casting him as himself. But he did pull off that "macho" role in "Yuva", despite it being such a stretch! Ravi K - "The last thing I want to see now is another Saraswati Chandra" Well, but Parineeta did work, didn't it, despite there being earlier versions? But at least give us a new vision is all I ask. And ever since I heard the magnificent soundtrack of Paanch -- some five-odd years ago -- I've been waiting to see at least ONE film by AK. The poor bastard seems cursed, though I'm happy he at least gets all those writing assigments!

Hi Rangan, As usual an amazing review! I don't plan to watch this one. I have that option you see! :P

"Well, but Parineeta did work, didn't it, despite there being earlier versions? But at least give us a new vision is all I ask." That's a good point, but I'd like to see some contemporary novels and stories being adapted.

Hi Baradwaj, Just read your stray comment about Paanch, and cannot agree more. But I remember reading a couple of Paanch reviews somewhere. Is it not accessible in India? (it's another thing that I cannot get my hands on this movie in the USA where people are mostly satisfied watching cheesy SRK movies). But magnificent soundtrack by Vishal Bharadwaj again!! This guy is an underappreciated gem. Can't wait for his next movie.

Hi fart, Actually, Baradwaj is a critic himself, so he should be open to critical reviews about himself from others. Nothing wrong about that. Rahul

I think we are here to critique the movie and not the critic. You are of course entitled to your opinion, but you should not make it personal, imo. Saying things like "you have completely lost it" because *you* disagree with something Baradwaj said is missing the point.

hi baradwaj great review as usual. i went in with low expectation based on the bashing that other critics gave it. i liked the movie a lot more than the critics. you are the one movie reviwer who is closest to my taste in movies, i invariably agree with you.. dont let biased shahrukh fans bring you down, why is it that its a federal crime to give a SRK movie a poor review ( rolls eyes) i watch all movies without an inherent bias , read reviews only after watching them and only yours come across as written by someone who KNOWS their movie.. not a trade journal biased hack trying to pass off as a movie critic.. back to UJ, i am as much a purist for the 81 version as the next person but i have to give jp props for attempting this in an era of fast disposable generic hollywoodised claptrap without heart or soul..( you know which movies i am referring to !) aish did v well even if she butchered the khuda , khud and khat ! lol.. she made me feel for her character,, not something ANY OTHER female lead from this year can say

Thanks moonbeam - and I'm glad you liked UJ. Flaws and all, it wasn't as bad as everyone said it was, and now - after seeing the critical reactions to Vivah and UJ - I'm wondering if old-style "Indian" movies are ever going to get made any more. Sad. I just hope the box-office failure of UJ doesn't deter Ashutosh Gowarikar (and Jodha-Akbar)

Older people like us in our 50's and 60's generally do not blog and hence the comments get skewed in favour of young. Seeing movies is serious business for our generation since that was the only form of entertainment for us. It takes effort and it costs rs. 500 for 2 people to see a movie today.We are not part of the IT economy. We do not lightly make a decison to see a movie. Let me put things in perspective regarding Rekha's Umrao jan. It was great. It was then. It is familiar territory for us. Aishwarya is now. While old Umrao jan was great, we shed tears hearing 'Agale janam me bithia na bhejo' as this Umrao is our children's generation. Aishwarya's Umrao sticks in our mind as much as Rekha's. Ofcourse Music is so so, the first charecters speak Urdu in Punjabi accent, Abhishek can not hold a candle to Aishwarya and so on. But overall we felt it was paisa wasool. Of course I will not see this movie 8 times like I did Dev Anand's 'Jewel thief' or 4times Shivaji's 'Jyana Oli'. But then I suppose in these times no body does. Lastly I concur with you that Aishwarya is a greatly underrated actress, may be because she is so beautiful.

Thank you Deva Sagayam, for your lovely comment.

Hi, I know it's a little late in the day to post a comment on your review of a film that's completely forgotten now, but I just came across this. I largely agree with your views. However I didn't quite get your point about "out-of-nowhere device of Umrao narrating her tale to... someone". This was clearly established right in the first scene, and is in fact exactly the way Mirza Ruswa had narrated the story in his book. That "someone" is Ruswa himself. I also tried my hand at a review of this film, and talked about this 'device' being something that I liked in the film. :)