Sonam Kapoor - Dolly Ki Doli

After a few years of going nowhere, Sonam Kapoor's career has taken a huge upswing since scoring 2 back-to-back box office blockbusters in 2013 with Best Film winner Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and her Best Actress nominated performance in Raanjhanaa. She followed this with Khoobsurat last year which also did well.

Now, not only has she signed the sure-fire hit Prem Rattan Dhan Payo opposite Salman Khan but she is also rumoured to be in the running for Shah Rukh Khan's next.

Coming back to Dolly Ki Doli - the trailer and promo songs have really created a buzz. Especially the Sunidhi Chauhan number "Phatte Tak Nachna" which is an energetic wedding party anthem in the vein of "Ainvayi Ainvayi". Check it out:

The last time we saw Sonam taking centre stage like this was in 2010's Aisha which I believe was truly underrated as it was one of her best performances, and also a very good film. 5 years on and it looks like Ms. Kapoor will get her due. Dolly Ki Doli gets a worldwide release on January 23rd 2015.

Best Actress Nominations 2015

It's January and that could mean only one thing: AWARDS!

Of course the only award that matters is Best Actress (in it's many forms) so let's take a look at some of the possible contenders for the upcoming blitz of award shows this season.

ALIA BHATT - HIGHWAY
This performance blew me away. Completely. I still can't get over it. I first saw Alia Bhatt in her debut film Student Of The Year (2012) and thought she was fine playing a bimbo/high school diva - but didn't see anything special about her (well done Karan Johar). I am very selective about what I watch at the cinema but I really liked the trailer so went to watch it. Also the fact that Imtiaz Ali was directing, along with A.R. Rahman composing the soundtrack, I thought I would enjoy the technical side of things. I just can't praise Miss Bhatt enough - she played the role with such maturity, and at such a young age - she deserves endless praise for her portrayal of Veera - a rich kid looking for true love and adventure.

KANGANA RANAUT - QUEEN
I watched Queen no less than 6 times in the cinema (doubling the previous record of two of my most favourite divas' comeback films Madhuri Dixit in 2007 + Sridevi in 2012). Back to Queen.

Kangana Ranaut was brilliant in every scene. The film itself is one of the best coming out of Bollywood over the last many years. Not only is it a film about female empowerment - it's about anyone finding themselves and dealing with turmoil in their lives. Kangana truly is the hero and in my eyes the frontrunner for picking up most of the gongs. But the competition is tough.

PRIYANKA CHOPRA - MARY KOM
Priyanka Chopra continues to amaze me. She's completed a decade in Bollywood since debuting in 2003. Nobody expected her to still be around 12 years later, still getting offered great roles, let alone win a National Award.

In and as Mary Kom she once again challenges herself and comes up with another career-defining role. She was absolutely flawless and not many could have committed to all the strenuous physical training she had to go through. I hope she wins something.

RANI MUKERJI - MARDAANI
The last scene of this film is what makes it an instant classic. Think Rekha in Khoon Bhari Maang. Think Sridevi in Army. Think Madhuri Dixit in Anjaam. Basically Rani Mukerji kicks ass - literally. This is one of Rani's best roles of her career - if not her very best. She was just so strong and restrained and powerful and beautiful. She deserves some recognition at the awards - and I really hope she wins something.









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Now usually the Best Actress categories have 5 nominees. For me the 4 names listed above were far and beyond the most outstanding. So the 5th or 6th option is up for grabs. It could go to any of the following:

Vidya Balan (Bobby Jasoos)
Shraddha Kapoor (Haider)
Madhuri Dixit (Dedh Ishqiya)
Parineeti Chopra (Hassee Toh Phasee)

MAGAZINE COVERS - JANUARY 2015

So here we have - an old favourite of mine. Hopefully will continue this trend on the first day of the month for the rest of the year. Pick your favourite in the comments below.

Overall not a great month at all. Found it hard to source the covers (out of practice you see). Didn't recognise Dia Mirza at all - first thought it was Kangana Ranaut.

My pick of the month goes to Anushka Sharma for her simple and smiley Vogue effort.

Kareena Kapoor

Huma Qureshi

Dia Mirza

Anushka Sharma

Kalki Koechlin 

Sapna Pabbi

Shraddha Kapoor

Vaani Kapoor

Happy Birthday Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan was born January 1st 1978.

She made her Bollywood debut in 2005 with the critically acclaimed Parineeta - which won her several Best Debut awards.

Vidya Balan // Parineeta

After a few years of good performances in bad films she finally hit her stride in 2009 with her performance in Paa which won her the Best Actress award. She followed this with several award-winning performances in Ishqiya (2010), No One Killed Jessica (2011) and the huge hit Dirty Picture (2011).

Vidya Balan // The Dirty Picture

2012 was another great year for her as Kahaani was a runaway success at the box office and got her a ton of awards to add to her collection.

Vidya Balan // Kahaani

2013 and 2014 may not have seen her deliver any big hits but she has been appreciated nonetheless in her roles in Ghanchakkar, Shaadi Ke Side Effects and Bobby Jasoos.

Vidya Balan // Ghanchakkar

Vidya will next be seen in Hamari Adhuri Kahani which is due out in June 2015.

Here's wishing Vidya Balan a very Happy Birthday x

Happy New Year

Hi all. Have decided to give this blog another go. Finally got a computer to myself after a long while. Happy New Year to everyone.

KAREENA KAPOOR - SINGHAM RETURNS TRAILER

Kareena Kapoor is BACK with a BANG, as the trailer to her next film Singham Returns has just been released! At least, that's what I thought. To my half-surprise she does not utter a single sentence in the trailer. In fact not even a word. That's right, one of the greatest actresses of our time, at her artistic peak, is reduced to the treatment of a newcomer, or perhaps even less.

Yes there are the expected "beauty shots" of the diva thrown in from the middle of the trailer onwards along with a "slap" shot - but I was waiting for at least one dialogue delivery from the former Filmfare Best Actress Award winner.

In this male-dominated industry, antics like this are not new, but it is strange seeing the likes of Bebo being relegated in this manner. 

At this point in her career she should be doing meaningful films, and not playing the side-chick in some random action flick - even if it is destined to become a mega hit. At the end of the day, she had back-to-back blockbusters when she opted for big productions (Ra.One + Bodyguard) over the chance of working in good cinema (Ram-Leela + Queen) but what did that do for her professionally? Absolutely nothing.

It's not easy for a Hindi film heroine to remain on top once she reaches that pinnacle in her career - but Kareena did manage to do it for a while, but she slowly slipped into the trap of thinking she needed to be part of commercial money spinners in order to stay relevant - but in the meantime she lost out on essaying great roles that went on to make the careers of her rivals: Vidya Balan, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone.

It remains to be seen now, what sort of role she has in this sequel. Unfortunately I won't be watching as the trailer did nothing to get me excited. I just hope Kareena signs her next film uses her artistic senses rather than survival instinct.