Showing posts with label Jaadugar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jaadugar. Show all posts

Music logon ko theatre tak kheench ke laata hai-Kumar Sanu

2:50 PM

Posted by Fenil Seta

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Kumar Sanu's Daughter Shannon On Making Her "Own Identity": "Not Here Because Of My Dad's Name"

Debarati S Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; January 25, 2025)

In his career spanning almost four decades, Kumar Sanu has sung around 22,000 songs in 26 languages. And recently, he also recorded an English number, 9 to 5, with his daughter Shannon K. In a conversation with us, the Aashiqui singer spoke about his initial struggles, the challenges he overcame in the music world, and the joy in collaborating with his daughter.

For someone who has been singing for around 40 years, you initially did not aspire to be a singer. How do you reflect on your journey?
I didn’t dream of becoming a singer. I was a tabla player and a good painter. However, circumstances changed my decision. I was around 16 years old when I started doing stage shows in Kolkata. My desire to become a singer grew, and I began singing in hotels there. When I came to Mumbai, I sang in hotels and saved money to make a demo cassette that I’d play for music directors. Jagjit Singh ji discovered me and introduced me to Kalyanji-Anandji. I would do covers of Kishore Kumar’s songs. Later, for Jaadugar, they made Amitabh Bachchan listen to my songs, and he agreed to have me as the playback singer. That’s how it all began. I struggled for around 18 years in Mumbai before I became a name.

At the beginning of your career, you were called Kishore Kumar’s clone. How did you deal with that?
After Aashiqui became a hit, things changed. Mere upar ilzaam tha ki main Kishore da ka nakalchi tha, but Aashiqui gave me the opportunity to get rid of that. Uss picture ke gaano ko log tees saalon ke baad bhi bhule nahin. After Aashiqui, I kept getting offers. It went from, ‘theek hai, gawa le isse’, to ‘Sir, please mera gaana gaa dijiye’. I’ve seen it all.

The number of songs that Bollywood films feature today has reduced considerably. Do you think that earlier film songs were a big draw for the audiences?
Films flop miserably despite makers spending crores on them. They should understand that they have to pay close attention to the story and the music and give a free hand to the music director. I believe that music logon ko theatre tak kheench ke laata hai.

You once said, ‘Main Bollywood politics jhel raha hoon’. What did you mean by that?
Yeh politics hamaare legendary singers ne bhi jheli hai, hum bhi jhel rahe hain, aur future singers bhi jhelenge. It’s not new, but the industry wasn’t as cruel earlier. People were kind-hearted. But I believe you can’t stop talent. With the help of politics, you may get fame temporarily, but only real talent will last for years. I also feel songs have changed. Earlier, there were more melodies, great lyrics and Urdu shayari, but abhi halkapan hai. It may change again in the future.

I admire my dad’s positive attitude, says Shannon
Recently, Kumar Sanu and his daughter Shannon, an independent singer who began her Bollywood career with Happy Hardy and Heer recorded an English song.

Ask him about the experience, and he says, “Initially, I didn’t want to sing the song because there was a portion in English. Shannon ki accent ke wajah se main darr raha tha (laughs). My younger daughter Annabelle is a songwriter and she insisted that I sing this song. Now, I am glad I did it.”

Talking about collaborating with her dad, Shannon shares, “He was very concerned about the diction. He wanted to make sure that he justified the language and would keep asking me how to pronounce certain words. It was fun for me, I’m not sure about him!”

The young singer says that her father is her inspiration in every way. “I admire his positive attitude towards life. It is so easy to fall prey to negativity around, but dad’s positive spirit, way of looking at life, and attitude are things that I really admire and hope to emulate,” she says.

(Crisp) Movie Review: JAADUGAR by FENIL SETA

2:37 PM

Posted by Fenil Seta

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Jaadugar, which has been released directly on Netflix, is a lovely entertainer that tells the story of an aspiring magician in a small-town who’s compelled to play in a local football tournament. The writers deserve praise as they neatly weave magic and football into the narrative. Moreover, unlike in other sports films, here the characters are trying to fight a small-level football league. But the makers have succeeded in explaining the importance of it and why winning matters a lot to the protagonist and his team. The love story that brews between the lead protagonists is cute. The supporting characters are well fleshed out. Unlike other sports films, here the characters are middle-aged and are not full-time players and that gives a nice touch. However, one can’t help but draw parallels with films like Chhichhore, Chhalaang and Jhund, which were also stories of underdogs in a sports setup. A few developments are difficult to digest. The film is too long (2 hours and 47 minutes) though thankfully, it’s not boring at any point. Jitendra Kumar, as always, is in top form. He looks a bit off while performing the romantic song, but overall, it’s a fine performance. Arushi Sharma does much better, compared to Love Aaj Kal, and gives a memorable performance. Jaaved Jaaferi is too good while Manoj Joshi adds a lot to the film with his performance. Out of the players, Shayank Shukla (Hemu; goalkeeper), Raksha Pannwar (Dipa), Shoan Zagade (Riju George), Ajay Mehra (Ikrar) and Raj Qushal (Lalli) leave the maximum mark. Rajiv Nema Indori (Commentator Nima) and Sameer Saxena (Commentator Doshi) raise laughs with their one-liners. Purnendu Bhattacharya (Avinash ji) and Rukshar Dhillon (Iccha) are okay in cameos. All in all, Jaadugar is a feel-good clean film. Worth watching!

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 734

11:26 AM

Posted by Fenil Seta

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A DRY WEEK BEFORE SHAMSHERA WAVE ARRIVES

The last few weeks have not been great for Bollywood. This week too shall be one of those dry weeks though there are the following four films up for release

SHABAASH MITHU: It is the biopic of cricket legend Mithali Raj. Taapsee Pannu plays the lead in this film, which is the first-ever sports biopic on a female cricketer. The film was earlier supposed to be directed by Rahul Dholakia. However, he had to leave the project as it got delayed due to the pandemic. Srijit Mukherji then stepped in. The trailer of this film is impressive and Taapsee seems to have given yet another smashing performance. The buzz, however, is limited. Moreover, after the debacles of cricket films like ’83 and Jersey, one wonders if Shabaash Mithu will be able to excel at the ticket window. The opening of the film is expected to be in the range of Rs. 1-1.50 crore.

HIT - THE FIRST CASE: It is the remake of the 2020 Telugu film of the same name. It stars Rajkummar Rao and Sanya Malhotra in lead roles and is about a cop who is trying to solve the case of the disappearance of a young girl. Though the trailer is intriguing, the film has failed to generate any sort of excitement. It also looks like a film for the classes and will have no chance in the mass centres. Its opening would be in the range of Rs. 1 crore or even less.

LADKI: It is directed by Ram Gopal Varma and stars Pooja Bhalekar as a martial arts fighter. The film’s posters and trailer caught attention as it features a skimpily clad Pooja fighting baddies. The release is limited as the hype is minimal. It stands a chance in B and C centres and might even do better than Shabaash Mithu and Hit - The First Case in certain cinemas.

JUDAA HOKE BHI: It is directed by Vikram Bhatt and written by Mahesh Bhatt. The thriller stars Akshay Oberoi and Aindrita Ray of Bhavai fame. At one point, such films by Vikram Bhatt would be able to find at least some audience. In the case of Judaa Hoke Bhi, the marketing strategy is absent. Viewers are not even aware that such a film is being released in cinemas. Hence, it’ll have a very tough time at the box office.

Besides these aforementioned films, Jaadugar will be released on Netflix, on July 15. It stars Jitendra Kumar and Arushi Sharma of Love Aaj Kal fame. Sameer Saxena of TVF has directed and also acted in the film. It is a story of a small-town man who aspires to be a magician and who has to reluctantly participate in a local football tournament to win his love. The film looks like a clean entertainer and hence can record significant viewership.

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