Trailer Watch

These trailers caught the eye, for wide ranging reasons:

* Darna Mana Hai : continued its innovative plug for the ghost stories medley that becomes more and more awaited as the ads appear. The creativity content did dip with an unwanted song featuring Sameera Reddy, but the latest (and last, I should think) set of spots pushed it up again. The basic idea is to show a clip from a film, and say aana mana hai ! if you're the kind who likes the film clip shown from a family drama or romantic film or so on. The delicious bit is that all the clips are from previous Ram Gopal Varma films. Who else would have the confidence to run himself down to promote another of his own!

* MPKDH (I can't bear to sully these pages by the complete expansion): Each year trots along a film that hits you in the solar plexus with its incredible silliness. The mushiness permeates every aspect of thes movies, leading also to some of the hammiest (they can make words ham too!) subtitles. Giving the immortal It's all about loving your parents - Karan Johar (It was the byline that tipped the scales above the tolerance-meter of every sane-minded man. Did it in turn inspire the coccyx-like Times of India "Our Comment" ?) a run for its mushy money is this year's topper with I will love him till the end of time. Any more thought on it and I'll probably evaporate with infuriation.

Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost: If this inspires dollops of deja vu, then it probably is because:
* The film is shot in a desert location
* The umpteen "how-we-made-the-movie" clips tell you how the locals were roped in to act in the film
* The Director is Aditya Lakhia who is definitely a relation (but what kind) of Apoorva Lakhia who is in the film too, sans the spinning hand though.
* Yashpal Sharma (dunno if he is a carpenter this time also) has more than just eyes for the local gaao.n ki chhori
* There is a temple on a hillock nearby
* There is a pujari who seems to enjoy a long hairstyle
* The hero is touted as a "Leader"
* The choreography is by Vaibhavi Merchant

Of course, these could be mere coincidences with Lagaan, and there seem to be nothing common with the story except for young man versus unnamed bad people.

Tere Naam: A wide gamut of hairstyles for Salman Khan, starting of with upturned-bowl-of-noodles cut to prickly-cacti styling. Accompanied by what is now becoming his trademark dancing style (he does with his hands what Sunny Deol does with this feet) in which right hand pushes an imaginary piston to the left while the rest of his body twists in exactly the opposite direction. Repeat one-two-three with left hand and there's no need to go to Laughter Clubs anymore.

Koi Mil Gaya: I'm beginning to believe his teeth are clamped in some sort of hideous death grimace, like the deceased Sholto brother in The Sign of Four. Or else, why doesn't Hrithik Roshan stop baring his canines and incisors? I don't really wish to "vibe with" him, but if it will make him stop grinning, I might. If only I could understand the rest of the lyrics that go xxx-cha hai, yyy-cha hai, zzz-tta hai, sab khel hai. His pose (can't call it a dance step) at the zzz-tta hai makes me feel he is saying "kutta hai", but I'm inclined to discount that as a little too extreme even for the Roshan clan. Add to that his choice of colours for his costume, a bright blue, red and yellow ensemble, after which can anyone blame me for getting visions of the flags of the collective Central African nations when the trailer is on?

Hawa: Ghastly, not ghostly. Pass please.

I didn't think I heard it properly each time it came on, but a news item in today's paper seems to make it plausible that the words in a song from the cross-over (from the border of course) film Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya is indeed Ek Pakistani Chehra... (followed by lehra and sehra in quick succession.

And quietly lingering in the background with establishing shots of the Metro and crowds is Calcutta Mail.