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Thank you! Thank you! To you and you and you...
By: meetu
In the recently conducted Indibloggie awards, wogma won the Best Entertainment Indiblog award. We are of course, mighty pleased. Read the entire list of nominations and winners here.
About meetu
By: meetu
d is a very close friend of mine. She wrote this piece as a gift to me when I put up my first 'about' page. Having Meetu for a friend is never having to consult the local yellow pages again! From where to find the freshest iceberg lettuce to which ...
i'm 3 today!
By: meetu
happy birthday to me
happy birthday to me
happy birthday dear wogma
happy birthday to me!
wogma usability survey
By: meetu
wogma.com needs revamp. Help us choose what content goes where. Thks for the 5 mins you'll spend on this survey. All in the hope of getting content to you the way you'd like it!
Swine Flu attacks Kaminey
By: meetu
Aaja aaja flu nichodein
Raat ko H1 todein
Koi good luck nikalein
Aaj N1 ko phodein
A R Rahman Live in Jai Ho Concert at Pune
By: meetu
Feeling cheated and yet Rahman Rocks! I don't think we need any explanations on why 'Rahman Rocks'. I feel inadequate to use adjectives to describe his compositions. But, I cannot resist mentioning that he is just an awesome singer. His performance of "Khwaja" (Jodha Akbar), "Arziyan" (Delhi 6), and of ...
Revisiting DDLJ
By: meetu
For the uninitiated, DDLJ stands for Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. And since you’ve apparently not seen the movie yet, don't read this, go watch it at Maratha Mandir, Mumbai. 700+ weeks and the balcony was still full. There's something really warm about visiting a heritage theater and watching a film ...
Keep It Going
By: meetu
In tough times like "new release strikes!", the theaters are pumping fists and feet in air trying to entice viewers. So, it’s good news for all ye out there who either missed some of the "superhits" in the last couple years. Or for those of you who don't mind a ...
Making news
By: meetu
My husband (Navin Kabra) was in the news lately... Trust me, there's a reason why this is on wogma. Watch this - Scroll down just a bit... Well, this is on wogma because I co-wrote the dialogues and was hovering around, poking my nose while this film was being made ...
Kashyap and the music in his films
By: Noopur Bora
Anurag Kashyap – one may call him the flag bearer of independent cinema in India. He already is a superstar for all the aspiring directors in the country. The cheer he garners for his blink-n-miss roles in his own films confirms this fact. But the "aarambh" (beginning) was never "prachand" ...
Update your wogma e-mail or RSS subscription soon
By: meetu
Dear Readers, As you might already know, I recently revamped the site 'Without Giving the Movie Away' - the hindi movie review site you have been subscribed to. Please ignore this note, if you are subscribed to the new feed. That is if you visited the new site and subscribed ...
Roland Reber: I deeply believe in creative expression
By: Maitreyee Manglurkar
Noted German director, Roland Reber was present at PIFF this year with his film 'My Dreams or Loneliness Never Walks Alone'. Film festivals are not just to promote films but it's about networking and a brand new opportunity to learn, unlearn, explore and expand.How did the idea for this film ...
Stalled Perfectionism
By: meetu
In Ghajini, the best sequence for me, and for everyone else I guess, was the one when Sanjay Singhania gets a bout of short term memory loss amidst the bashing of Ghajini Dharmatma and forgets everything only to be told by the latter that Ghajini was coming the other way. ...
Update subscription please
By: meetu
Dear Readers, As you might already know, I recently revamped the site 'Without Giving the Movie Away' - the hindi movie review site you have been subscribed to. Please ignore this note, if you are subscribed to the new feed. That is if you visited the new site and subscribed ...
Gabhricha Paus: tragedy of a farmer through humour
By: Maitreyee Manglurkar
Even if “Gabhricha” is a local Vidharbha slang used by the debutant director Satish Manwar to criticise the rain that won’t pour, it rained praises for the film at the recently held Pune International Film Festival . Girish Kulkarni, the protagonist ‘Kisna’, who is contemplating suicide because he is fed ...
John Lee: An exciting time to be alive
By: Anna Pande
In the first part of his interview with wogma, John Lee, Dean of Whistling Woods International, shared his thoughts on Slumdog Millionaire and the future of the film-making industry in India. In the second part of the interview he talks about his experiences of film-making and makes some more exciting ...
John Lee: No bad time for a good story
By: Anna Pande
In a two-part interview with wogma, John Lee, Dean of Whistling Woods International, shares his thoughts on Slumdog Millionaire and the future of the film-making industry in India.What were some of the reasons that you decided to leave America and come to Mumbai?There’s a re-balancing that’s going on, on the ...
Subhash Ghai: Black and White was not made to generate finance
By: Maitreyee Manglurkar
When speaking about Subhash Ghai, films like Hero (1983), Ram Lakhan, or Taal come to mind. All films were blockbusters, with brilliant story lines and melodious music. He is the master mixer of the elements of the ideal Bollywood blockbuster, including songs and dances. Although he is renowned for Bollywood ...
Jogwa: societal grime with aesthetic beauty
By: meetu
Jogawa is a Marathi word used to describe alms received by a Jogta or a Jogtini - a boy or a girl sentenced to devote their lives in the service of God by society. But, the crux is that the jogta/jogtini are servicing the members of the society that has ...
Girish Kasaravalli: A legend of parallel cinema
By: Noopur Bora
A name that has grown from a very humble beginning in the interiors of Karnataka to a director of international repute. One of the contemporary legends in the world of cinema due to his Kannada films. A person every aspiring filmmaker looks up to. Girish Kasaravalli. After three decades in ...
Barah Anna: A common man's story
By: Maitreyee Manglurkar
The recently concluded Pune International Film Festival was an occasion for some noteworthy appearances by film makers. One such film maker seen at the event was the maker of “Barah Anna”, Raja Menon sharing his thoughts. Speaking about his experiences during the making of the film Menon said, “In the ...
Slumdog Millionaire -- Is it really poverty porn?
By: meetu
Much has been said and written about Slumdog Millionaire’s depiction of India. Some insist it’s the real India while others think it’s a biased depiction of what the West sees India as. As a viewer and an Indian, I see merit in both arguments.For long, the West has perceived India ...
PIRATES Vs. US
By: Noopur Bora
Yesterday I was walking by a local street market. A market of the vendors who sell the latest Chinese cell phones, international magazines and novels printed with ink which can dissolve into thin air if exposed to it, all the funky t-shirts with ‘DIZEL’ written on them and also CDs ...
Plagiarism
By: meetu
I get extremely miffed when something I've written is copied and pasted elsewhere without permission. And yet, I find myself more liberal towards "inspired" movies. The anomaly has always bothered me. One obvious factor is that the remake of a movie is not a blind copy-paste. However bad it is, ...
Script-Writers On Their Craft
By: meetu
Eminent scriptwriters Anjum Rajabali, Atul Tiwari, Kumar Gautam, Subhash Jaitley, Imtiaz Hussain, and Pinches Eden together conducted a Vijay Tendulkar Memorial on Scriptwriting workshop for Marathi film makers and screenplay writers. "Structure is a hidden element. People don't talk about it, but it holds the movie together", said Anjum Rajabali, ...
My Film Tackles The Subject Of Death In A Light Manner
By: Jyothi Venkatesh
"Death is a serious subject but I have set out to make a film on the subject of life and death in a light manner through my Tamil film Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai. It is about the journey of a young filmmaker who comes from a very affluent family. It ...
Paul Newman was fond of soccer
By: Siraj Syed
One of the most famous alumni from Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan’s Actors’ Studio, Paul Newman died last year, at 83. A favorite with both the cognoscenti and the hoi polloi, he was nominated for the Oscar in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1959), The Hustler (1962), Hud (1964), ...
Aki Kaurismäki was a savvy producer and also an auteur
By: Siraj Syed
Finland has a population of a little over 5.2 million and two official languages- Finnish and Swedish. This North European republic has 100% literacy, with compulsory education till the age of 16. Among its most famous exports are the mobile phone giant Nokia and its widely appreciated films. The first ...
Doron Eran & his insight into social problems
By: Siraj Syed
Cannes gave the nod twice to Doron Eran, first ‘Un Certain Regard’ for ‘Stalin’s Disciples’ (1987, Eran produced) and then the Young Cinema Award for ‘White Night’ (1995, produced by Eran and directed by debutant Arnon Zadok). Two of his films won their lead players the Best Actor Award: Mohammed ...
Small Is The New Big
By: Noopur Bora
2008 - the most mercurial years Bollywood has seen in recent past. It was a year where most of the big films proverbially bit the dust and some small ones conjured biggest of surprises. It was a year where the small indeed became the new big. Hindi cinema saw an ...
Alain Resnais knew to experiment by manipulating time
By: Siraj Syed
Son of a pharmacist, Alain Resnais studied cinema at Paris’ famous IDHEC and served in the army for a year, before turning to cinema for a career.He’ll soon be 87, but that is not going to keep legendary French director Alain Resnais away from his passion. Come October, and ‘Les ...
2008 - introspection
By: meetu
Here goes the mandatory annual round-up post. I'd been wracking my brain on how to make this one different from my usual laundry list of films. As a starting point I glanced at some numbers and I saw an interesting trend. Thought I'd share that with you instead - Rating ...
Ravi Chopra On His Dad B. R. Chopra
By: Jyothi Venkatesh
"Though I am touched by the fact that the Pune International Film festival is paying homage to my dad by screening his film, I just cannot believe that my dad is no more. I can still feel his august presence around me. I am his only son. As a dad, ...
7th Pune International Film Festival kicks off in style
By: meetu
The 7th Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) kicked off in great style on Thursday, January 8 with a magnificent inauguration ceremony at the Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch. The festival was inaugurated by Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of State Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Also present on the occasion ...
Why this rating scale?
By: meetu
This is the rating scale we were using until very recently - Must see - on the big screen Watch for sure, preferably in theatre Wait for video release Watch if you have nothing better to do Switch channels if it's on cable! "Why such a verbose scale?" many ask. ...
Why read a review?
By: meetu
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Why the dress-change?
By: meetu
Why the dress-change? To all the lovely regular readers - yes, yes, it’s the same site, stay on. There's lot more to hang around for. Dearest first-timers, welcome here - we are prettier and meatier, all to turn you into regulars. And subscriber hun-ney, do check out the changes. I'm ...
Why Wogma?
By: meetu
Over two years ago, before I wrote my first opinion on a movie here, I struggled with the question - "What gives me the right to comment on anyone on his/her job? Be it Amitabh Bachchan or an assistant director of a little known movie? aakhir, main kis khet ki ...
Note to new subscibers
By: meetu
Dear subscribers, We are shifting base and are very excited about it too!! We have a spanking new site with the same content but more features at http://wogma.com But like all changes, this one too will cause some inconvenience to a few of us. We tried our best to avoid ...
‘IF’FI WE ‘CAN’NES EVER?
By: Noopur Bora
- by guest author, Noopur Bora One of the most important events of the year for cinema in India began two days ago - the 39th International Film Festival of India, popularly known as the IFFI. IFFI is India’s oldest and most prestigious film festival. The event is India’s attempt ...
Saurabh Shukla Interview
By: meetu
When I think Saurabh Shukla, I think writer of Satya and Mithya rather than a character actor. And I was surprised to find that Saurabh is not a man of many words. His answers are short and to the point. The Writer A glance at the movies Saurabh Shukla has ...
Rashomon, Kurosawa, and the Nature of Meaning - Part 2
By: Anand S
From our taken for granted understanding of reality, the court of justice is where the actors narrate their version of events, so that the ‘truth’ can be ascertained; where “truth” is an external reality, which can be observed and known through mental representations in the mind of the knower. The ...
Rashomon, Kurosawa, and the Nature of Meaning - Part 1
By: Anand S
It has been 57 years since Kurosawa’s Rashomon was first seen by viewers, and its power to engage and confound audiences continues undiminished. On the surface the film is straightforward, an incident occurs in a forest and three people are involved; a bandit, the samurai husband, and his wife. The ...
Away from desk
By: meetu
…and cinema halls BUT…I’m off on a vacation for a couple of weeks. First one after 5 years, so really looking forward to it!! No, dear readers, I’m not missing Kidnap, Drona or Ramchand Pakistani. The reviews will be out by Saturday. No vacation can be important enough to miss ...
Happy Birthday
By: meetu
My third baby, wogma, turns 2 today. Most of you are here for reviews and not to see me go all sappy and melodramatic about how it has changed my life (it has, really!). Exciting things have happened here in the last year. My first two babies have grown old ...
Movies I enjoyed watching
By: meetu
What’s a birthday bash on a review site, if the author doesn’t list the movies she enjoyed the most over the last 52 Fridays? So, here goes - Taare Zameen Par and Chak De! India completely had me sucked in. I watch an average of 2 movies a week. And ...
Reviews I enjoyed writing
By: meetu
Every once in a while, a movie moves me so much that it starts affecting a certain part of my brain. And that part of the brain nags till I appreciate the movie in a way that’s a little different from the usual. Turns out, those are the views I ...
What’s in the news these days?
By: meetu
Me! Uh…maybe not. So, if some of you read this DNA article “Now you can earn while you blog“, and were confused by the name of the author of this movie review site, you were right. I know wogma is not really the forum for me to talk about the ...
New features at wogma.com
By: meetu
Audio reviews: Now you can hear wogma reviews at indicast. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed or you can get them by e-mail. Genre by rating table: A lot of movie watching is “mood” based. Check out the genre-wise table. So, if you are in the mood for ...
Big B and RGV notice WOGMA’s Sarkar Raj review
By: meetu
So, Ram Gopal Varma reviewed some of the reviews (especially negative ones) that Sarkar Raj got on his blog. Among many other reactions, he has also reacted to my review of Sarkar Raj!!!! Of course, he wasn’t very happy about some of the comments and has pointed out 5 observations ...
Gul Panag Interview - Part 2
By: meetu
This is Part 2 of Gul Panag’s interview taken on 5th April 2008. Read about Gul’s journey so far and how she chooses scripts in Part 1A motoring enthusiast, an adventure sport lover, an avid traveler and of course an actor who has impressed us with movies like Dor and ...
Gul Panag Interview - Part 1
By: meetu
Dor and Manaroma Six Feet Under - both belong to the “different” genre, the genre which is slowly changing the face of the Hindi cinema. The kind of cinema that I look forward to. So, as soon as I spotted Gul Panag, the one common factor in these two movies, ...
First Half vs. Second Half
By: meetu
How often have you come out of the theater shaking your head in despair and saying/hearing, “the first half was good, but they completely @#$%&* it up after interval, man!!!” This is what I call the first half-second half syndrome. Of course, there are times when the movie becomes more ...
The Film Appreciation Course 2007 (FA) - Part 3: The Lectures
By: meetu
This is the third post in a series about about the film appreciation course I did last summer. The first post was about the overall experience. The second one discussed the selection of movies and what I liked and the very little I did not. This one is about the ...
Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI) International Film Festival 2008 - II
By: meetu
MAMI International Film Festival 2008 - II 28 movies in 7 days - What more could one ask for? The 10th film festival conducted by MAMI was a very satisfying experience overall. I don’t think it would be fair to review all these movies when I have seen 4 a ...
Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI) International Film Festival 2008
By: meetu
Update: This post was written at the end of day 2 of the festival. My thoughts at the end of the festival are posted here. * * * I could see my excitement wane away as I sat through some pretty boring - very mediocre movies, and just a couple ...
The Film Appreciation Course 2007 (FA) - Part 2: The Movies
By: meetu
This is the second in a series of posts about the film appreciation course I did this summer. The first post was about the overall experience. This post attempts to discuss the selection of movies, and what I liked, and the very little that I did not. (Update: The third ...
Just a thought - A movie a day keeps the doctor away
By: meetu
I love movies. I almost always find at least one thing to like in a movie and cannot, just cannot leave a movie half-way through, even the crappiest one. My favourite genre is comedy, I think a good comedy is the most difficult to make. But, slapstick is comedy for ...
First Birthday Contest - Results
By: meetu
A huge thank you to all who participated in wogma’s first birthday celebrations. Without much ado, let me announce the winning entry submitted by Rashmi Kannan. (This choice is from the list here) Rashmi’s top five movies were - CHAKDE! INDIALage Raho MunnabhaiGuruCheeni KumDhoom 2 The top five movies according ...
Just a thought - Shah Rukh Khan
By: meetu
He comes across as an awesome person and an awe-inspiring personality from the things he says and his body language, in his interviews and stage shows. The life he puts in his dances, both on and off screen, is truly energizing… … what I can’t handle though, is his acting… ...
Happy Birthday to me
By: meetu
It’s party time!!! Join the celebration and win prizes…I turn one today. meetu is too busy being sentimental to write me a ‘happy birthday’ note. So, here I am doing the honors. I thank Navin for pushing her to create me, edit me, and in general be my CTO. *High ...
The Film Appreciation Course 2007 (FA) - Part 1: The Experience
By: meetu
This is the first in a series of posts about the film appreciation course I recently did. This post describes the overall experience at the course. Later posts will have details on the structure of the course, the content, more on the movies screened, etc. (Update: The second and third ...
Aap Kaa Suroor: Rating Correction
By: meetu
Due to a technical glitch, the review of Aap Kaa Suroor posted yesterday, carried a rating of “Must See - on the big screen”. That was, of course, a major blunder - which was hopefully obvious to anybody who actually read the review. The correct rating is, without a doubt, ...
My Favorite Movies
By: meetu
Among other things, the application form for the film appreciation course I am doing at National Film Archives of India (NFAI) required the applicant to name five movies that s/he liked and why. It was easily the toughest question to answer. At the end of an extremely long yet enjoyable ...
Break from reviewing, off to FTII
By: meetu
About a month ago I heard that I got into the crash course on Film Appreciation conducted by National Film Archives of India (NFAI) - Yay! NFAI conducts this month-long course which starts on May 21, 2007 in collaboration with The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). I feel ...
Follow-up - Water
By: meetu
I had seen Deepa Mehta's 'Water' on video a couple of months ago and had written a video review. The movie is a passionless portrayal of the state of widows in the 1930s. A subject that could have been dealt with a lot more sensitivity. It has some excellent performances ...
Just a thought - Too many genres spoil the movie
By: meetu
So, what does make a movie enjoyable? There is no blanket 'one-line' to answer that question. It does depend… While watching a drama, the constant nagging thought has to be, “What’s going to happen next…How are they going to get out of this one?â€. You should be at the edge ...
Nominated for the indibloggies awards!
By: meetu
This site has been nominated for an indibloggies award in the entertainment category! indibloggies is a website that organizes awards for best Indian blogs in various categories every year. This has come as a very pleasant surprise and is most certainly a huge morale-booster since I started writing only in ...
Follow-up - Black Friday
By: meetu
Thank you so much for your feedback! I am truly overwhelmed by the time and energy some of you have spent in penning your thoughts down and sending them to me. Of course, I have received a lot of feedback for my latest review Black Friday, and for good reason. ...
Just a thought - Remakes
By: meetu
The top and bottom line of enjoying a movie is, “Expectations make or break the experienceâ€. Now, by definition -> remakes involve comparisons -> the very base of comparisons is expectations. Add to this equation the fact that today’s remakes involve Amitabh and Rekha in the originals and you have ...
Just a thought - Songs in Hindi movies
By: meetu
Songs are certainly not necessary, but they have a purpose, that of entertaining. Some do just that. Some take the story forward. Some express a situation. And then there are the ones that exist just because…these, of course, are the irritating kind. I love songs in Hindi movies. But, when ...
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i loved da movie.i thought dat it really was good.n da songz were just awesme.if ... ...more
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