remakes remakes

After James Cameron appropriated the thunder of a Rajesh Khanna starrer with his 3D blockbuster, Philip Noyce has helmed a film that, thanks to its English title, will not be mistaken for that Kawal Sharma dud starring Sanjay Dutt

Meanwhile, back home, Robbing Hood Priyadarshan has returned to his own stash once again after regurgitating Vettam as De Dana Dan and the brief sojourn into foreign territory with Bumm Bumm Bhole. This time he drives his Chinkara Roadster back into 1988 to excavate his own Vellanakalude Nadu and try and pass it off under the moniker of a Basu Chatterjee film from the 70s (which in turn was an "adaptation" of Yours, Mine and Ours). Remember थोड़ा है थोड़े की ज़रूरत है? Interestingly, the 70s also saw another "adaptation" of Yours, Mine and Ours in the Sanjeev Kumar starrer Hamaare Tumhare (with music by the late R. D. Burman and an early appearance by Anil Kapoor). But we must return to Priyadarshan's flick that hit the marquee today. This is the flick that got its share of notoriety thanks to Akshay Kumar's character being linked to R. K. Laxman's most famous creation. It's also Trisha Krishnan's first Hindi flick. One wonders if Trisha's fate will be alike Daisy Bopanna's with Garam Masala. Time to catch the original flick and see why Mohanlal was not compared to the Common Man.

ye naaii ho sakataa!

The Saloon and Beauty Parlours Association, the Hairdressers' Associations of Mumbai, the whatever card-foisting Nest Of Naaiis reportedly had a problem with the title of Priyadarshan's latest repackaged ripoff, Billu Barber (the film is a filch from Katha Parayumbol in which writer Sreenivasan plays a barber called Barber [duh!] Balan). The reason offered by Uday Takke, the President of the SBPA, is funnier than any Priyadarshan film can ever hope to be:

We want Billu Barber to be called Billu Hairdresser as barber is a derogatory and insulting term. We choose hairdressing as a profession because it is an art. Also there are many women hairstylists if Billu Barber becomes a hit, women hairdressers will be called barbers too!

Right. This film is supposed to be biographical. What caves do these post-apocalyptic clowns reside in? Don't they know that Bollywood is all about escapist cinema? I don't expect them to understand alliteration and why their alternative title simply sucks (duh!).

Shah Rukh Khan, whose glorified extended special appearance in the film might equal Amitabh Bachchan's in Andha Kanoon in value and audience draw, promptly did the easiest thing he could to tackle the tonsorial tremors: He shaved the Barber from the title. The film has hit the marquee with its trimmed title which will have no doubt confused those who showed up thinking this was a sequel to Billa.

Bathing in the brylcreem of victory at this shave too silly, this trim too traboccant, Takke added more butter to the deadly dish of reason: Barber is a casteist term. Those who think this is an insignificant issue have stunted minds. Stunted minds and unshaven heads ... or undressed naked heads perhaps, since the locally politically correct caste-free term seems to be hairdresser.

pilferaaj pigeon snips again

Sanjay Gupta looks across the seas, but as long as the Malayalam film industry continues to thrive, the patriotic furacious filmophagous purloining P continues to be faithful to God's own country; if he had to remake a foreign flick he'd try and find a Malayalam remake of that flick (either his own doing or someone else's) and thus continue to remain faithful to the frond. Malamaal Weekly proved to be an exception only because the responsibility of remaking it in Malayalam seemed to have fallen on his trusty shoulders and our Arabian sea-facing Atlas shrugged and decided to do the Hindi remake first.

He makes no mistake this time. He chooses last year's hit Kadha Parayumbol, ropes in Irrfan to replace Sreenivasan (who also wrote the original) and HamStar Khan himself to substitute for Mammootty. The name's Billo Barber and it promises lots of laughter. kisii ke waade pe kyo.n aitabaar ham ne kiyaa, wrote Sahir. I agree. I hope he ropes in Pritam for the music. The highest-paid (in all likelihood) user of torrents in South Asia has been churning out unexciting homogeneous product of late. Being associated with a lift won't hurt in any way -- Anu Malik did that with Akele Hum Akele Tum (with some of the most rewarding stratified stealing on display), Sanjeev-Darshan did it with Mann ... heck! Pritam been doing this with the big P for a while now (Bhool Bhulaiya, Dhol, Bhaagam Bhaag, Garam Masala). One hopes that Priyadarshan will learn from the turmoil surrounding Bhool Bhulaiya and include credit for Sreenivasan.

The Rediff article includes a nice little note (my emphasis): Since the film is made in Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan will romance three girls -- Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. Juhi Chawla will play Billo's wife. And one thought that having multiple heroines was something right down the alley of the likes of Pawan Kalyan, who, in his last release Jalsa managed to spend screen time with Ileana D'Cruz (born to a Muslim mother and a Christian father), Parvati Melton (born to a German father and a Punjabi mother) and Kamalinee Mukherji (from Calcutta; last seen by YT as Kamal Haasan's wife in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu).

One cannot end without noting another Priyadarshan/Pritam collaboration that packs so much belly-aching irony that it deserves to be made (or remade, if you will). It's a film about a music band fighting piracy. And the film's called Pirate. ##black pearl## ke baare me.n kyaa jaanate ho?. And apparently Pritam's been roped in for the music to Golmaal Unlimited, Rohit Shetty's sequel to his comedy Golmaal [notes on the music], a film that echoes, only in the title, the wonderful middle-class classic of identity creation and theft directed by the late Hrishikesh Mukherjee, which included a reference to Pele and it all comes back to Jack's ship and the mind is now buzzing with references and connections. Oh Möbius!

update [April 17, 2008]: The clouds have sprung a leak. There's another offering in the pipeline from the Raja of Refurbished Reels. It's called Mere Baap Pehle Aap (kindly ignore the grammatical liberties here -- one can always blame Guru Dutt for convincing Majrooh to go with sun sun sun sun zaalimaa pyaar hamako tumase ho gayaa and starting it all). He raids the cellar of Sibi Malayil this time (having done it before with Gardish) and comes up with Ishtam.

when will the drums signal curtains for priyadarshan?

[last post in thread]

La gazza General returns to his pilfering ways with Dhol his newest stinker that hit theatres on Friday. His treasure chest is the ouevre of writing duo Siddique-Lal, which has previously yielded raw material for Hera Pheri (Ramji Rao Speaking), Hulchul (Godfather) and Bhagam Bhag (Mannar Mathai Speaking). He unearths In Harihar Nagar and proceeds to effect his own transformation, even though the path was already charted in the early 90s with Parda Hai Parda by K Bapaiah, the maker of such influential works as Mawaali, Majaal and Pyar Ka Mandir. That plagiarist duo Anand-Milind from Parda Hai Parda are replaced by the solo entrepreneur Pritam might be an indication that Priyadarshan might have chosen Bapaiah's effort instead of going straight to the source.

priyadarshan returns to home state for source material [last post in thread]

After having ventured overseas (Waking Ned Devine) for a stillborn serving of unseasoned daal (Malamaal Weekly), Priyadarshan returns to the verdant land of elephants, rubber trees and fish (Punjabi House, a comedy from the filmmaking team of Rafi-Mecartin, responsible for a few mainstream boilerplate hits in God's Own Country) for his forthcoming release Chup Chup Ke. Have to give it to the guy for being very open and clear about his inspirations and sources: I never come up with an idea, he says, among other things:

Does the final product excite you?
I am a filmmaker who makes films for children. I don't make movies for pseudo-intellectuals. I don't want them to watch my films. My intention when I make a film is very clear. I make it for a certain kind of people who have average intelligence -- because I am also like that. I have an average sense of humour and an average brain. So far, people have accepted my films. I have used the same formula that I used in my earlier films, so I think common people will accept it.

Damn! Now I know how his films become hits; they pack the cinema halls and multiplexes with kids! Special screenings and bookings are arranged for schools ... Um, besides he didn't exactly answer the question.

Is there a different technique you have used in this film?
I have shot the entire film in white colour. From the beginning to end I have shot the whole film in a white set -- from a white backdrop to using white light for the shots. That is the only experiment I have done in this film to bring out the innocence of the romance in the film.

Stark raving white I say!

You said you get inspired from a lot of movies. Is it because of a lack of novel ideas?

There are only seven plots in the world. For example, take the Mahabharata. There is no story in the world that was not told in that great epic -- simply because its canvas is huge.

One cannot possibly make a movie outside the basic seven plots of relationships. The only thing that varies in the film is how you treat the screenplay. Everyone today is inspired from something or the other. Even a child who plays cricket is inspired by, say, Sachin's shot and he tries to copy it. So I think inspiration is not a bad thing. It helps one come up in life.

Looks like he's taking Anu Malik's postal course on Responding to Allegations of Plagiarism for Dummies.

furthering titular abuse [last post in thread]

Despite all odds, charaNadaas chor aka Priyadarshan, is relishing the success of Malamaal Weekly. He has decided to celebrate by launching his next. This guy's faster than rabbits. The film's called Bhagam Bhag. No plot details yet so we won't be able to figure out what his influences will be, but the title's an unfortunate case of reuse. Does anyone remember a 1956 movie of the same name made by Bhagwan Dada? If not the film itself, how about a Kishore/Rafi song for O P Nayyar that went "he baabuu ye hai zamaanaa teraa he baabuu"?

Taking bets now for a future Priyadarshan flick called Maya Machindra, which will benefit both from the A R Rahman song in Indian [the howlarious lyrics of the dubbed Hindi version] and from the old Nirupa Roy starrer (didn't know there was one did ya?)

priyadarshan originality alert

Consider an Indian avataar of Pinocchio. Let's give him a desii moustache and sunglasses. Since Pinocchio's a foreign name, we have to "adapt" it to fit the desii palette. So, his name becomes Priyadarshan.

After having showered cinema halls with the fruits (Garam Masala, Kyon Ki, ) of his filmmaking incontinence the multi-tier remake raajaa has now unleashed the force of Malamaal Weekly (how iTrans-unfriendly!) upon us. And he also loads his interviews with interesting quotes:

"I have had my fill of remakes. Both 'Kyon Ki' and 'Garam Masala' were remakes of my own Malayalam films. My next release, 'Malamaal Weekly', is totally and absolutely original. I am willing to offer a prize money to anyone who catches me out remaking anything this time"

This is a golden opportunity, dear readers, to milk the cash cow. As noted before in this space over a year ago and again recently, this is nothing but a Bollywood-isation of Waking Ned Devine. Be warned, however. P might actually argue semantics when you approach him for the prize -- after all, he might've meant that he had had his fill of remaking his own movies (some remakes themselves, to begin with). Almost like buying clothes from the tailors in India instead of getting them at your friendly neighbourhood Rich's-Macy's. This is in keeping with Bollywood's recent confidence in illicitly adapting source material even before the authorised American versions hit the marquee (Zinda, Naina).

He also can't leave the Malayali thread hanging can he?:

"I am in a totally original frame of mind this time. In fact, 'Malamaal Weekly' is already being remade into Malayalam by my assistant Murli"

As if that wasn't enough for a trumpet solo, he ensues into a brass flourish in an interview where he compares this rip-off to Malgudi Days. Time for Swami and friends to re-enact Ankush:

What finally inspired you to make an original Hindi film?
Oh, that has a very simple answer — I have exhausted all my films that could be remade for a national audience!
...

Who are your own icons as a filmmaker?
Well, I was a fan of Bharathan, Bharati Raja and Mani Ratnam. But at one point, I myself realised that I had crossed them. Though I have liked many recent films, none of them has stunned me into thinking, 'Man! Why can't I make something like that!'

no laughs, no vim, only mind-numbing jet lag

{being some thoughts on Garam Masala} [December 29, 2005]

winner of the Adulerated Milk Award: Marc Camoletti's play -> the 1965 film directed by John Rich -> the 1985 Malayalam version directed by Priyadarshan -> this lacklustre piece of existential stupefaction directed by Priyadarshan again

watching this film provides a close approximation to the spanish inquisition or other ways to make you tock

DOA just as priyadarshan's Hungama with everyone trying really hard to convince you that it's funny

John Abraham's performance seems like a cross between a Bruce Lee impersonation, an audition for a drag queen contest, a shower drain choked with seaweed,

Neeraj Vora's dialogue includes a bunch of tangential non sequiturs that stick out like sore tyrannosaurus rex power fingers; YT would wager that will a more competent cast (especially people who know that "comic timing" is as important in a comedy as the eggs in egg bhurjii)

just about every review of this film seems to be filled with hosannas; {a sample} methinks these people are either (a) failures of some experiment involving simian responses to documentary films on the mating habits of drosophila melanogaster or (b) ashamed to admit that they got duped into thinking that this might actually be a watchable film

as if rimi sen's true-to-life impersonation of a member of the ashikshit strii kaamagar varg wasn't bad enough, priyadarshan tosses in three sublime airheads who responded to the "wanted: cute dumb south bombay types with lots of yaa and ; officially they are called neetu chandran, daisy bopanna and nargis no-last-name {more} * to say that this film is rather anti-feminist (and pro-dumb) is putting it mildly, but it doesn't seem to have prevented it from being the big grosser that it is ... perhaps women folk were content to stare at akshay kumar and john abraham and sigh their woes away

rajpal yadav and paresh rawal are wasted, and there are moments where the latter has to do little more than flip the page of a magazine or effect a facial expression with consummate ease to highlight the incompetence of the "comic talents" pervading the film; and let's not forget Miss India 2002 Neha Dupe-ya.

go find a copy of the Malayalam source, and perhaps even the Tony Curtis/ Jerry Lewis original), or even a good performance of the source play

Pritam's mostly-pilfered songs provide much-wanted large speed bumps on a downward slope in the darkness ... YT prefers the late R D Burman's compositions for the Mehmood starrer from 1972 with the same title

the sensory Flashy assault on the official site uses 60s design for the titles and interestingly uses members of the cast to adopt salacious poses to form the letters in the English title ... somehow those visuals of Akshay Kumar and John Abraham grabbing at each other's assets[sic] aren't a good sight before dinner

obligatory Sholay reference: People on a yacht singing ye dostii ham nahii.n to.De.nge

filch(flich(source)) [a diwali nest]

Priyadarshan is all set to achieve a new dubious record of sorts with his 2/3 contribution to the comedic[sic] releases for Diwali. Not for maximising his contribution, but for achieving a two-level remake on each entry. Kyon Ki is a remake of Thalavattam, which was his remake in Malayalam of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. And Garam Masala (nothing in common with the Mehmood starrer in 1972 that boasted some fine songs from the late great R D Burman) is a remake of Boeing Boeing, which was his remake of a 1965 comedy of the same name.

Want to hear something more ridiculous? Try this. Priyadarshan was accused of filching Garam Masala from a play called Plane Crazy for Love (weak pun there) written and directed by Naved Aslam. This play is also based on the Marc Camoletti play that Priyadarshan filched in Malayalam (and is now filching therefrom in Hindi!). Classic case of the Pot and Kettle standoff.

more about Priyadarshan's wheel "reinventions" elsewhere in this space

paapii priyadarshan paratalaa

The last time we saw what P was up to he was (predictably) planning some more remakes. As if he hadn't had enough. There he talked about his ambitious plans to remake Thalavattan, his remake of One flew over a cuckoo's nest. With Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya no less. The interview we had referenced in our last exploration of all things plagiariyadarshan included an update on this front. SRK was out (a sequence of bad timing and then a difference of creative[sic] opinion) and Salman was in. The film's Kyon Ki. A title that tells you nothing and might seem tantalising to some members of the audience, chiefly Salman lovers. Meanwhile, we can only continue to monitor Priyadarshan's Progress on the Path of Personal Plagiarism.

remake raajaa priyadarshan is back {aka 2 for the price of 1}

Garam Masala with Akshaye Khanna is a remake of Boeing Boeing. [ref: rediff interview]

I am making another film with Om Puri, Paresh Rawal and Riteish Deshmukh, based on a new subject. I was supposed to make it in Malayalam, but now I will make it first in Hindi... The film is about a dead man winning a lottery, and the entire village tries to hide it and get that money.. Waking Ned Devine, anyone?

In his second interview, he even drops a note about Hungama being a remake of Poochakkoru Mookkuthi.

related: the other remakes

the priyadarshan phenomenon

In 2001, Priyadarshan talked about "being consumed by the idea of directing Shah Rukh and Aishwarya in a romantic comedy set in a mental asylum" (a remake of the Nicholson vehicle One flew over the cuckoo's nest, complete with songs and twisted around to be a comedy). What he neglected to mention was that this horrifying prospect was nothing but remaking his Malayalam take on the subject, Thalavattam, starring Mohan Lal.

The bulk of Priyan's Hindi remakes have been Mohan Lal starrers, directed either by Priyan himself or someone else. Lal is a more versatile and talented actor, and also enjoys commercial appeal. Moreover, Priyan seems to be more at home directing movies in his mother tongue (malayalam) set in his native land (kerala). The best Malayalam cinema seems to benefit from the regional bias and is a little too strongly rooted in the culture, customs, practices and norms of the state of Kerala to lend itself to easy adaptation. No actors in Hindi cinema can boast the attributes that Lal lends to a movie he stars in. All this makes Priyan's remakes stink to the high heavens in the most cases. I wonder if there's anything beyond commercial success and more widespread mainstream appeal (read: any really artistic reason) that compels Priyan to churn out borefests like the recent Hungama. Here's a list of Priyan's Hindi films/remakes, along with information about the originals, and (since this is a blog after all) my rants and raves about either.

* Muskurahat (1992) {his own Kilukkam (1988)}. Revathi carried over, but Jay Mehta did not make even a passable replacement for Mohan Lal. Amrish Puri barely passed muster, standing in for Thilakan.

* Gardish (1993) {Sibi Malayil's Kireedam (1989)}. Incidentally, Dum was a remake of the Tamil film Dhill, which was also a remake of Kireedam. Dum had Mukesh Rishi playing a good guy, and Rishi had made a big splash as the baddie in Gardish.

* Virasat (1997) {Bharathan's Thevar Magan (1992)}

* Saat Rang Ke Sapne (1997) {his own Thenmavin Kombatha}. Pointless replacing Mohan Lal and Shobana with Arvind Swamy and Juhi Chawla

* Doli Saja Ke Rakhna (1998) {the Tamil hit Kaadalikku Maryada}

* Hera Pheri (2000) {Siddique Lal's Ramji Rao Speaking (1989), which also spawned a sequel called Mannar Mathai Speaking (1995)} [early reactions to Hera Pheri]

* Yeh Tera Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar (2001) {Sathyan Anthikad's Sanmanasullavarkku Samadhanam (1986) and apparently fragments from Minnaram and Vandanam}. Again Sunil Shetty for Mohan Lal.

* Hungama (2003) {Poochakkoru Mookkuthi (1984) | director: Priyadarshan}

As an aside, here are some Priyan films that were remade into Hindi, but not by him:

*Chandralekha (remade as Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega), although itself a remake of While you were sleeping

The one film I haven't managed to track back is the shoddy Kabhi Na Kabhi (1997), which lay in the cans for a while, and was one of A R Rahman's first Hindi movies (he signed on for this even before his eventual Hindi film dé Rangeela). The story is a rehash of Saagar (and one of the characters is Kacharaa Seth, played by Paresh Rawal, who shares a name with a character played by Shakti Kapoor in Hungama). Any surprise considering Javed Akhtar contributed to both? And mil gayii mil gayii is the same as a.njalii a.njalii in Duet.

related: discussion board for priyadarshan's remakes | Priyadarshan's films banned (June 2003)

a movie-intensive labour day weekend

* Split Wide Open: Hyped for the appearance of VJ/model Laila Rouass, this film marks the second collaboration of Dev Benegal, Rahul Bose and Upamanyu Chatterjee (who co-wrote this film with Benegal), after English, August. Bose plays Kut Price (KP), who sells tank water to slum dwellers and bottled Evian to business people. KP is our guide through "the dwellings of urchins who sell flowers by the roadside, the mafia dons who control water distribution, and the growing urban middle class whose clandestine sexualities are pried open under the blinding arch lights of Bombay's TV studios" {source}. The prevalent outlook is bleak. Nitin Sawhney's simple sparse avant music emphasises this, undercutting great performances from Bose, Rouass, and a host of staples including Shivaji Satam, Ayesha Dharkar, and Virendra Saxena. The language is explicit, and even gets muted at some points (rather irritating). Although unsettling and perhaps predictably downbeat for some, this is a harsh but compelling look at the urban class struggle in Bombay. Watch out for the end credits, which include mention of incidental music used, as well as "Kut Price loves Evian". Writer Kiran Nagarkar plays a gay Catholic priest. Special mention for the screenplay by Farrukh Dhondy, Renu Saluja's editing, Sukumar Jatania's camera, and a confident performance by Farida Haider Mulla{BBC News Online | rediff page | music review | trivia galore}. question: what was the place referenced at the end of the film in regard to the water mafia raising their rates?

* Hungama: Priyadarshan (who should be shot in the nuts) lifts (yet again) from a South-Indian source for his latest film. This time, it's his début feature poochakoru mookuttha. Akshaye Khanna replaces Mohan Lal (the horror! the horror!). Jagadish moves from Malayalam to Hindi playing Pandu (the role was played by Jagathi Sreekumar in the Malayalam original). Paresh Rawal, effortlessly sleepwalking through his role, comes up with the best performance in the film (only because he can deliver bad jokes with comic timing -- something no one else in the cast can manage, even with good jokes, which are scarce). The movie is a tired exercise in loud comedy, and virtually nothing is funny. Some people got confused with the number of characters and their relationships with each other -- clearly they haven't heard of Robert Altman. The songs are Nadeem-Shravan standards. All in all, a great way to exercise the FF button on your remote control. Die Priyadarshan die. (Sidenote: Why do I think Sujoy Ghosh who made Jhankaar Beats would have done a better job with this one?)

* Khanjar: The Pankaj Udhas song a.nkhiyaa.N Gam kii nadiyaa.N hai.n employs the umro.n se lambii metaphor for nights (translation: nights longer than the course of human lives) , last heard in Gulzar's plaintive ek akelaa is shahar me.n, which applied the metaphor to the roads and streets of the city (of Bombay).

* Darna Mana Hai (yet again): It's about time I noted another reason (something I realised only later) for my liking the film. Neither the print in the cinema hall nor the DVD has subtitles. It's both embarassing and painful to watch Hindi movies with subtitles (1. I know the language, why do I need subtitles | 2. the people responsible for the subtitles are usually morons).

* Dance Dance: Not as impressive as its predecessor Disco Dancer in the unofficial B-Subhash/Mithun/Bappi trilogy of dance movies (Kasam Paida Karne Waale Ki being the third). Still there's Smita Patil playing Ramu's (Mithun) sister -- making your jaw drop and wonder what she was doing in a movie like this -- hamming away, singing bad songs, cavorting about and then dying. The film is full of references to Disco Dancer and Tarzan in terms of diegetic songs. Inconsistencies like Ramu/Romeo being mostly clueless in the English department suddenly singing a song with full-blown English lyrics. And then there's the whole angle of nutrition: the only thing that Ramu will eat is halawaa (Which means we have a superhit song that goes aa gayaa aa gayaa halawaawaalaa aa gayaa, which owes a lot to the title song of Jhumroo). Still it's great to see Mithun dance and distribute attitude and earnestness, something that even a cocktail of today's top stars will not be able to match.

Library hauls and an evening of music, mystery science theatre, and some great ice cream

So it's getting warmer now and summer will soon be in (sweat and dread!). Got a few hauls at the library

• Books
  
  
  
  • The regatta mystery, and other stories /Agatha Christie
  
  
  • Murder in retrospect : a hercule poirot mystery/Agatha Christie (also known as Five Little Pigs)
  
  
  • Folk-style guitar/Harry Taussig
  
  
  • How to make & sell your own recording/Diane Rapaport
  
  
  • Bold! Daring! Shocking! True : A History of Exploitation Films, 1919-1959/Eric Schaefer
  
  
  
  


• CDs
  
  
  
  • The best of the Band/The Band
  
  
  • Graceland/Paul Simon
  
  
  
  


• VHS: Sleepless in Seattle, The Tingler, Guitar Method in the style of the Beatles

In the evening Vijay (a friend from the guitar class of Spring 2002) came over and we spent our time exploring my little CD collection: Starting off with the blues roots of Clapton and Led Zeppelin (Listen to Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe singing 'When the Levee Breaks' and then switch to the Led Zeppelin version: sheer magic), we proceeded (inevitably) to R D Burman. Here's what I remember:

* The Kronos Quartet covering Aaj ki Raat from Anamika (with Zakir Hussain on tabla)

* O Maajhi from Bandhe Haath (the 'cabaret boat song')

* Teri Meri Yaari Badi Purani from Charitraheen (the tea saucer hitting a tympanum)

* Listen to the Pouring Rain (as covered by Usha Uthup in Bombay to Goa. A tune that RDB later used in Double Cross as did Anu Malik in Sir for 'Sun Sun Sun Barsaat ki Dhun Sun')

* Mere Liye from Raaton Ka Raja

* O Jaaneman from Chhalia (with bonus dialogues from Shotgun Sinha and the infectious RDB-favourite bossa nova surfacing again with some great horns and his impeccable 'everything but the kitchen sink' instrumentation)

* Dil ka Darwajja Khol De from Hifazat

* Nasha Husn ka from Mardon Wali Baat (which seems like the seed for 'Bholi Si Surat' in Dil To Pagal Hai) (A Planet Bollywood reviewer also seems to have noticed!)

* Our recordings from Firodiya 1996: The Workshop (How I wish I had the other recordings!!)

* Rangé Mehfil from Samundar (guitar solo picturised as a sax solo)

Post-dinner I paid a visit to Ara and Pari as they watched Hera Pheri, Priydarshan's Hindi remake of Siddique Lal's Malayalam monster hit Ramji Rao Speaking (which even had a sequel called Mannar Mathai Speaking). Priyadarshan has done this a lot -- adapting Malayalam/Tamil films for Bollywood, that is. Remember Gardish (from Sibi Malayil's Kireedam, which also had a sequel, Chenkol), Viraasat (from Thevar Magan)? Although the film did well at the box office (why oh why???) Priyadarshan had differences with the producer, especially since they added two songs into the film without his consent (and let me tell you, the songs stink and stick out like fat sore thumbs). That doesn't excuse him though. From what I made of it, the film was tired, the comedy flat and there was just no chemistry anywhere. Add to that some extremely strange cheap wide angle shots and fast first-person camera without reason; an underused unfortunate Om Puri; a performance of Paresh Rawal that soon goes from exciting to interesting to bearable to irritating, especially since he has to bounce off two fine pieces of wood as Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty. A perfect candidate for Mystery Science Theatre, which is what we indulged in, as I downed some generous ice cream.