Jab We Met, जब वी मेट

Movie: Jab We Met (2007)
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Starring: Shahid Kapoor (Aditya Kashyap), Kareena Kapoor (Geet Dhillon)
Music: Pritam
Story: 7 out of 10 Music: 8.5 out of 10

I just watched Jab We Met, and it was one of Shahid's best movies. He plays--no, he creates--the role of overworked and emotionally burdened corporate leader on the brink of the abyss. Shahid's own special playfulness and thoughtfulness gradually peek through the darker sides of his Aditya's helplessness, balancing out the movie to bring us a well-rounded, surprisingly complex character. The plot of Jab We Met is not very complex nor emotionally stirring. It's more like a listless walk through the ways people can be hurt and the unexpected ways in which two people can connect. Jab We Met is about characters and people, not about situations of conflict created by external sources. The music is very good, and some of the scenes when they head north are breathtaking. My favorite songs from this movie are "Mauja Hi Mauja"(the reserved Adi busts out a song with superb Punjabi style), "Tum Se Hi" (Adi thinking about how much Geet means to him when he's at work) , followed by "Yeh Ishq Hai" (great scenery of the Himalayas and a dance with Tibetan-type people).
Overall, I'd say that while Jab We Met is not a masterpiece, it is definitely one of Shahid's top two. The cinematography, the music, and the character-based story make it a good movie. And this is good news because now Shahid will be back soon in some better-financed and better-written pictures than the ones he has worked his way through. Jab We Met is complex and cute at the same time, and it's no surprise that it was one of 2007's hits. Get your hands on Jab We Met, and watch Shahid do what he was born to do.

Most Memorable Scene: The cute rain dance in "Tum Se Hi"

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, कभी अलविदा न कहना

Movie: Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)
Directed and written by India's most successful and moving director, Karan Johar
Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Starring: Shahrukh Kahn, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, Kirron Kher
Story:10 out of 10 Music: 9 out of 10

I watched the Bollywood film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (Never Say Goodbye). While KANK was an international hit, it did not do so well in India because of its treatment of extramarital relationships, a topic which goes against the torrent of most Bollywood films. It came on a pirated DVD 2-in-1 disc that I didn't even ask for, but it turned out to be so good that I bought it from YashRaj. Thank the fates that this thing that I thought I didn't want came and that I was bored enough to watch it. I have never cried so much while watching a movie in my life. It's an amazing movie about how sometimes relationships don't work out no matter how hard you try, about how circumstances can make or break everything, about how humans are just so very...human. We love, we make mistakes, we try so hard to ask for forgiveness, we try to move on, and maybe somewhere in our hearts we can find a little of that forgiveness for the people we love the most and who maybe have hurt us the most. Nothing is ever perfect, but we try to make do. We try to be good people, good friends, and good partners. I can't do this movie any justice by talking about it. This one is a masterpiece. Get it, get a box of Kleenex handy, and prepare to watch the kaleidescope of humanity unfold before you.

Moon Child

Moon Child is a movie seemingly about nothing, but really about something. It isn't so much of a vampire movie as a movie about what matters in life. In the end, it's the friends you've made. Even though somehow you've ended up at each other's throats along the way, even though you haven't seen each other for years. Kei has been gone for nine years, and one day Shuu calls him. He says 「会いたかったよ、ずっと。でも、わり。俺、いろいろあってさ…だめだよ、俺一人じゃ。お前の助けが必要だよ。助けてくれよ、けい」. America wouldn't or couldn't make a story like this with a vampire as one of the main characters. It doesn't seem to go together, but it does because it asks questions about immortality versus friendship and the meaning of life.

Now, Gackt, my man, can play a vampire like he was born to be one. His gaze reaches off into the distance and takes a hold of you. In one glance at him, you get this feeling that he's been around for centuries. Gackt is number one at vampire in my book because he can make you think he is in less than two seconds, without even opening his mouth to bare sharp teeth. Gackt can sing like none other, and the raw emotion that comes through his eyes is indescribable. Moon Child is worth watching if you like Gackt and his mesmerizing 467 year old persona.