Lahore Calling Karthik :D

Hi friends

I am eagerly waiting for the release of two movies - "Karthik Calling Karthik" (KCK), due on 26.02.2010, and "Lahore" on 19.03.2010. I am very optimistic over Bollywood for the first time in my short life on 24 years on this planet (thanks to RGV's "Rann" which I liked a lot!)

KCK floored me with its awesome music, and with its simple, effective trailer(s). Yes, the trailer matters to me as much as the movie itself. If a RTI was filed against me asking for what I look for in a movie, it would perhaps look like this:

Bollywood:

1. New Concept / Originality: 15-20%

2. Trailer: 25-30%

3. Appealing Music: 15%

4. Storyline: 15%

5. Screenplay / Casting / Feel-Good factor (after seeing the movie): 20%

6. Other factors (Mood before/after seeing the movie, and other personal factors): 0-10%

Hollywood:

1. New Concept / Originality: 20%

2. Trailer: 30%

3. Genre (Sci-fi / Romantic Comedies preferred): 10%

4. Storyline: 20%

5. Screenplay / Casting / Feel-Good factor (after seeing the movie): 20%

Tollywood (and other languages):

1. New Concept / Originality: 20%

2. Trailer: 0-10% (rarely seen any)

3. Reviews: 20%

4. Storyline: 20-30%

5. Screenplay / Feel-Good factor (Entertainment): 20%

6. Other factors (Mood before and after seeing the movie, and other personal factors): 10%

(This is just an estimate, and not a guarantee of the way I have rated movies over the last 4 years)

So you see, the trailers and "the feel-good factor" matter a lot to me. Trailers show what the movie actually has to offer. Movies like "Get Smart", "W", "Tropic Thunder" and "Bandidas" received high ratings from my side solely because their trailers cemented a certain impression in my mind even before seeing the movie, and the feel-good factor! But yes, there are always exceptions like "American Beauty" whose trailers created a wrong impression, which changed (for the better) once I saw what the movie had to offer. 

Now for KCK - the movie seems to be worth a watch judging by the trailers, but its songs are a revelation! The music is simply breathtaking! Rarely have any Hindi songs made me experience the "Ear-worm" phenomenon (in a non-threatening way) as much as the songs of KCK. I keep humming its tunes, and the songs run in my head more than any other thought! 

Coming to "Lahore" now. This article in Mint titled "Indo-Pak harmony served with a kick" tells it all - another unseen sport (kickboxing) filmed with an Indo-Pak setting. Sounds cliche, right? But I feel that this movie will be different from many of the earlier sports-related movies because (a) It deals with a sport I am yet to see  and which is not known to many (b) SPS Chauhan, the director, used to be a professional fighter himself and has represented the country on several occasions & (c) There are no mainstream actors in the movie. I have not seen Farooq Shaikh and Sushant Singh on the big screen in a long time. I have admired Sushant since his role as "Victor" in the movie "16th December" and have always wondered why has he been regulated to the No. 2 roles in movies.

I just hope both these movies live upto my expectations. After all, I evaluate the movies on many other  unknown parameters too :)

Ciao for now.