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Following the inspirational trend of Bollywood movies, the small screen also starts getting their ideas directly from the English Originals. The latest example is the new serial “Bhaskar Bharti” which is based on the theme of a boy turning into a girl overnight as a punishment for his disrespectful behavior towards women.
The same theme was used by Antra Mali in her movie “Mr. Ya Miss” released in 1995. The film which was also said to be co-written by her, revolved around a person who gets reincarnated on earth as a women in order to rectify his earlier mistakes. Aftab Shivdasani played the womanizer man who gets transformed into a girl enacted by Antra herself. The film didn’t do well at the box office and was also criticized for its borrowed idea without any acknowledgement.
The movie was in fact highly inspired from “Switch” (1991), and even the poster of both the movies give you an idea of the borrowed theme.
Interestingly “Switch” was also a kind of remake version of “Angle Number Nine” (1974), which originally came with the idea of a man taking another birth in the body of a women.
Additionally in 2002, another movie was there which used the same idea in just the opposite way. In “Hot Chick”, this time it is a girl who gets into the body of a man and starts experiencing the world from the other perspective.
However, the latest sitcom "Bhaskar Bharti" also seems to be highly inspired by another TV Serial from Argentina called "Lalola" (2007). Interestingly the foreign serial was just aired in India a few months back on “Firangi” channel.
(Note : Thanks to “Jayesh Adhyaru”, a regular reader at our site, for contributing the info about “Lalola” serial’s influence on “Bhaskar Bharti”.)
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Mr. Ya Miss, Bhasker Bharti & their inspirations, Inspired Movies, Inspired Cinema, Bollywood Plagiarism, Plagiarism in Hindi Cinema, Copied Movies, Movies Inspired From, Borrowed Concepts, Inspired Plots, Bollywood & Hollywood, Reviews by Bobby Sing, Bollywood Gets Inspired, Cinema Gets Inspired, Bollywood & World Cinema, Inspiration from World Cinema
Kabir Khan, who gave us a brilliantly directed movie, “Kabul Express” returns with his latest project, "New York", revolving around the global terrorism and its silent victims. The movie talks about the brutal torture faced by many innocent people in America after 9/11 and also touches the sensitive issue of racism in an intelligent manner.
However, it has a complete sequence taken from an OSCAR Award Winner movie, “CRASH” which came in 2005 and was widely appreciated for its insightful treatment of the subject.
The scene where Katrina’s car is stopped by the policemen and she is searched all over her body disgracefully by the officer, can also be seen in “Crash”. In the English flick, the sequence is more elaborately used to show the racist exploitation faced by the people having a different colour and the pain they have to bear due to that. “Crash” has not got a big star-cast as “New York” but it has a heart beating more gracefully as compared to the Mega Bollywood venture.
More similar scenes spotted in the movie were the ones involving John’s detention and interrogation. These particular scenes are quite close to “Rendition” released in 2007, wherein also a wife is trying to save her husband who has been taken into custody by the officials due to his foreign identity.
Apart from this, the same social issue was earlier raised in a much stronger movie made in Pakistan titled, “Khuda Ke Liye”. It also featured Naseeruddin Shah in a special role and was officially released in India too in the year 2008. The best part was that this highly praised movie tackled the issue more realistically without going into any detailed love angles added only for the commercial purposes.
Tags :
New York & Crash, Inspired Movies, Inspired Cinema, Bollywood Plagiarism, Plagiarism in Hindi Cinema, Copied Movies, Movies Inspired From, Borrowed Concepts, Inspired Plots, Bollywood & Hollywood, Reviews by Bobby Sing, Bollywood Gets Inspired, Cinema Gets Inspired, Bollywood & World Cinema, Inspiration from World Cinema
Michael Jackson, a dominant figure known as the KING of Pop Music and Dance all over the globe, left us for his eternal musical journey on June 26, 2009. A Genius of his art, the man was (and is) worshipped as a true master by uncountable number of artists living in different parts of the world. A music magician, who still holds the record of Highest Selling Music Albums, sold in millions till date and still selling. An unbelievable performer, who started the trend of having “Ambulances” arranged at his Show venues, ready to help the over enthusiastic fans who used to faint, screaming and crying at the sight of their Pop Icon.
Overshadowed by the questionable controversies in his final years, MICHAEL was treated almost like a GOD by his lovers in the last century. The unmatchable, Greatest Musical Icon of this planet was forced to live an isolated life and suffered a lot due to the allegations made against him in the new millennium. May be it was the same pain of disrespect and agony which took away the maestro, in an early age of 50 and deprived us from having many more musical gems from the supremo.
In India and may be in other parts of the world too, Michael was more famous as an amazing dancer with incomparable talent, than a singer. His hit numbers were more recognized for their foot tapping beats and innovative dance steps and less for their lyrical content and singing. Especially, In India and its adjacent countries, he was more worshipped as a Godly Dancer and an incredible performer. The man was responsible for inducing the spirit of dance into numerous artists and performers in this part of the world. Prominent figures in India like, Mithun Chakroborty & Prabhu Deva are the best examples of his celebrity fans immensely inspired from Jackson’s dancing styles.
Michael was a name, known in even the remote rural areas of our country wherever there was a soul with a passion towards dance and music. Such was the impact and influence of his persona that you could hear his songs playing in the areas where not even the language (English) was properly spoken or understood. But they all just loved listening and dancing to his various chartbuster songs. He was a true inspirational source for all the aspirant artists in the entire world who wanted to move, dance and perform like him on stage. But sadly, this greatest inspiring figure of the world, witnessed an unexpected setback in his final years, which was like a heavy price he had to pay for his earned fame, name and glory.
For me, Michael was one of the greatest musical geniuses I have ever heard and seen in my life till date. A man who thought of composing and arranging his songs in a completely different style all together, in contrast with the usual music scene at that time. For me, he was just not only an amazing dancer, but was more like a musical soul who liked to think from his heart. A maestro, whose music was his only possible solace in his otherwise over famous life of a world renowned figure. A poet from heart, who could think of lyrics such as “Heal The World”, “The Earth Song” and many others, caring about the current state of our planet and the life-force living on it.
As I can remember, Michael was the name, who introduced me to English Music arena. His immortal musical gems like “Liberian Girl”, “Bad”, “Thriller” and “The Girl Is Mine”, were the first few English Songs I ever heard. His long vertical poster purchased from the “Archies Gallery” was one the first few, pasted in my room in my school days. In fact, his lovable songs made me search for the English Songs Lyrics books in the late eighties, since I wanted to understand each and every word he sings in his perfect numbers.
But now he is gone……., leaving us with the legacy of his eternal songs to cherish. The Greatest Icon of Pop Music and Dance ever lived on this planet has departed. But he is sure going to be remembered forever by every present and future artist of this world, irrespective of his location, origin or language.
And Michael will be always there with us, performing at the tender stage of our hearts with the same zest and zeal……..forever.
MY FAREWELL to the Master
May His Soul Rest In Peace.......
Tags :
My Tribute to Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, Thriller, Bad, Heal the World, Liberian Girl, Dangerous, Blask & White, Heart Attack, Allegations, The Greatest Pop Icon of the World, My Farewell to the Master.
More than the Yash Raj banner, it was Kabir Khan for whom, I was eager to see “New York”. Impressed by his unique style of direction in “Kabul Express”, I had my own expectations from the star studded movie based on the impact of terrorism and its innocent targets in America. But the movie is nowhere close to the director’s first attempt and has nothing new or exceptional to offer in terms of content and storyline.
To begin with, “New York” is not a fun filled, youthful movie as suggested by the catchy & colourful promos on air. Instead it’s a dark & intense thriller, dealing with a serious issue of global terrorism and its silent victims. The appealing romantic element associated with the three glamorous faces in the movie lasts for only a few minutes in the first half and then the story moves on to its original plot. So, the relief element with all the college scenes and love angle is only there initially and it all becomes pretty rough and grim later on.
The script department is the main culprit with nothing new to offer to the viewers. It’s the same story of three friends, Neil, Katrina & John, who had a good time in college, but had to part with each other, after their studies. Later, it is found that John, who had married Katrina, is now the leader of an underground terrorist group, which he had formed to fight for his dignity. John’s step towards terrorism was a result of his severe torture by the FBI, who detained him on the grounds of suspicion, just after the 9/11 incident. Taking a clue from their college days, Neil is spotted by an FBI officer, Irfan Khan, and sent to live with John & Katrina as an undercover agent in order to know their future targets.
Now how many times we have already seen the similar subject of an infiltrator being sent in a terrorist gang to know about their game plans. The moment you come to know the main subject of the movie, half your interest is gone. And you further lose more, with all those lengthy unwanted sequences where everyone is giving justifications for their choices made in life. In addition to this, there are many unanswered question left for the viewers to guess, such as what was Neil doing after his College, why was he driving a cab after having completed his studies, how did John become the leader of his high profile gang and many more. The characterization lacks the required depth and that’s the reason why the viewer is not able to feel the pain felt by John and Neil on the screen. The climax has its own loose ends too, where the bombs are being planted on a FBI Headquarters building openly without any security intervention. The dialogues given to John, Neil and Katrina towards the end are also quite underwritten and unimpressive, leading to a somehow weird and uninteresting climax.
At the performing level, the three key actors, John, Neil & Katrina have excelled themselves in “New York”. Especially Katrina, has taken many leaps ahead with her acting skills and expressions. Irfan Khan, is superb as usual and he seems to be enjoying every character he plays in his movies. Cinematography is competent as it captures both the big streets and the lousy backyards impressively. In the music region, there are only few songs incorporated on the screen, whereas you will find more in the original soundtrack of the movie. But no particular song stands out as a winner this time, from Preetam. On the other hand, background score by Julius Peckam, having a rock feel, does grab your attention in a few thrilling scenes.
The director, Kabir Khan, who showed great capabilities in his first venture, “Kabul Express”, stumbles this time with an ineffective script written on an old story plot. The good old Kabir is only visible in some particular sequences in the movie, like the one where John goes on to search for the brown bread and then kidnapped in a van. Otherwise, Kabir is not able to meet his own set standards of excellence in “New York”.
Moreover, I couldn’t understand the need of lifting an entire sequence from the 2006 Oscar winner movie “Crash” and using it in his most prestigious project having great expectations. The scene where Katrina is searched all over her body by a male cop, is straight away taken from the movie “Crash”, where the same sequence was used to show racism being practiced by the cops with the black.
In few words, “New York” is like an old wine presented in a glossy Yash Raj bottle. It is just an Ok movie with nothing new or exceptional from a brilliant director, Kabir Khan. Would love to see him, back in form again with his next.
Ratings : 2 / 5
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New York Movie Review, New York Film Review, New York Movie Review By Bobby Sing, New York Film Review By Bobby Sing, Movie Review New York, NY Movie Review By Bobby Sing, NY Film Review By Bobby Sing, New York Review, New Bollywood Movies Released, New Hindi Movies Released, New Hindi Movie Reviews, New Bollywood Movies Reviews, John Abrahm, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Katrina Kaif, Kabir Khan, Kabul Express, Yash Raj Movies, 2009 Bollwyood Releases
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For me,
But now he is gone……., 
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Now how many times we have already seen the similar subject of an infiltrator being sent in a terrorist gang to know about their game plans. The moment you come to know the main subject of the movie, half your interest is gone. And you further lose more, with all those lengthy unwanted sequences where everyone is giving justifications for their choices made in life. In addition to this, there are many unanswered question left for the viewers to guess, such as what was Neil doing after his College, why was he driving a cab after having completed his studies, how did John become the leader of his high profile gang and many more. The characterization lacks the required depth and that’s the reason why the viewer is not able to feel the pain felt by John and Neil on the screen. The climax has its own loose ends too, where the bombs are being planted on a FBI Headquarters building openly without any security intervention. The dialogues given to John, Neil and Katrina towards the end are also quite underwritten and unimpressive, leading to a somehow weird and uninteresting climax.