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Bombay Dreams

Topic started by Sajeev Raj (@ 210.195.144.64) on Sat Apr 13 22:31:21 EDT 2002.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Bombay Dreams is releasing in June 2002

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Moderation then Sensation (@ 205.188.195.26) on: Sat Jun 22 16:54:09 EDT 2002
  
  yaaro, that is a sordid statement. too much of (rahman's) music makes it too sweet and sickly....
  
  a bad strategy on the team. simplicity and moderation would've done it instead of throwing the guests into the curry pot. now everyone can appreciate why normally thre are only 6 to 8 songs in a 3 hour film!!! even that many are not able to take these days. (explains why many rahman movies failed.)
  
  generally, i've hardly noticed any special ooh-aaah type of praise of ARR's specific works either in reviews of lagaan or in the many reviews of bd. very general.
  
  it seems like the western journalists have heard the tunes before and did not seem to find it strange at all or even worth much attention! that is what strikes me as odd. so, is entire musical just those two repeats shklka baby and chaiyya?
  
  fortunately Rahman is young and learning, so it will be a stepping stone to newer ideas, hopefully.
  
  
• From: yaaro (@ 195.93.50.168) on: Sun Jun 23 03:46:19 EDT 2002
  
  MTS-that is not from me-I c and p the article for which I have given the link.I repeat,what is above is not from me.
  
  
• From: WN (@ 203.24.100.133) on: Sun Jun 23 07:33:03 EDT 2002
  
  I was surprised to see an article abt BD in yesterday's West Australian (WA's staple newspaper)...thing is, Perth/WA is a sleepy little town where Sydney/Melb is almost considered like foreign cities...tat's abit of exaggeration of course, but u get the hang of wat i'm saying...it's rare for them to cover news very specific to other countries (excepting HW).
  
  Anyway, here's how the article goes:
  
  "INDIAN IDYLL SCORES
  
  British crtitics have given theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest musical adventure, Bombay Dreams, a qualified thumbs-up after its London premiere.
  Hinting at a possible blockbuster status, the Daily Express described the lavish love story as the "best film-world musical since Sunset Boulevard" and "a refreshing change from every other West End show".
  But the Evening Standard tagged it "a bold, inventive shot at something new that misses the target".
  
  There's a picture accompanying it with ALW standing wit ARR and a few others and the dumb caption reads "Show of confidence: Bombay Dreams composer Andrew Lloyd Webber with Indian friends". Goes to show the ignorance of the media about ARR and his role in this. Tho tis was by the WA newspaper, and hence doesnt surprise me at all.
  
  
• From: WN (@ 203.24.100.133) on: Sun Jun 23 08:17:07 EDT 2002
  
  "it's rare for them to cover news very specific to other countries (excepting HW)."
  
  shud have been:
  
  "it's rare for them to cover entertainment news very specific to other countries (excepting HW)."
  
  btw, this article appeared on the Star Gaze section.
  
  
• From: yaaro (@ 195.93.48.151) on: Sun Jun 23 08:27:20 EDT 2002
  
  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2101-331778,00.html
  //And you cannot deny that Bombay Dreams is a terrific show: a big, silky, sensual show, lush and lavish and extravagantly colourful. True, Bollywood music is not my thing. The beat can be terrific, but the melodies, the harmonies and the orchestration are neither quite East nor quite West. This is where cross-culture becomes almost cultureless. //-
  in general encouraging.the entire article is too big to c and p-you need to register at the site
  
  
• From: pragmatist (@ 172.181.204.98) on: Sun Jun 23 10:05:41 EDT 2002
  
  http://sport.independent.co.uk/world/comment/story.jsp?story=307809 Gooey Bombay mix that fails to fulfil its promise Review by Rhoda Koenig 20 June 2002 A £4m budget, a large cast, a story about the mad Indian movie-making industry – Bombay Dreams may have the right ingredients, but the whole samosa is less than the sum of its parts. It suffers from an uncertain tone, an identity crisis that isn't much of a drama. The show leaves one unmoved despite all the colour and movement – and there isn't even enough of that. Meera Syal's book has plenty of tart lines. "Goddess of love!'' a non-fan sneers at a movie queen's sobriquet. "Of love handles, more like.'' But she is less successful at the big, heartfelt emotion this kind of show needs, settling instead for unconvincing sentimentality. Her hero, Akaash, is cocky and crude, but when he sets eyes on the heroine, there is a gooey musical phrase and he sings, "Is this love? It feels like love." Later, when Akaash becomes a film star, and denies his slum background in front of his old neighbours, a thunderclap sounds and the heavens pour forth angry rain. Priya, his beloved, wants to direct a movie that shows the real Bombay, where bulldozers crush people along with their homes as slums are cleared to profit the rich. But, though we are supposed to admire her crusading spirit, we're shown a scene from the film, in which Akaash, as a crusading lawyer, strikes attitudes with his briefcase and excited destitute women do a happy dance. It's also difficult to take seriously a villain who wears a single black glove and laughs like a drain in a Christopher Lee film. It's not only the spirits in Steven Pimlott's production that failed to hit the heights. A R Rahman has written a few pleasant tunes, but the overall sound is more background than foreground, and a lot of the music is routine "oriental'' stuff, the sort of thing one would hear in an old movie behind a snake charmer or a treacherous veiled lady. The romantic numbers are familiar too, with the instant-wistful sound we know from many, many sappy musicals. Nor do Don Black's lyrics hold any surprises. When Akaash says that he is "like the eagle, born to fly'', we can sing the next line along with him, "right across the open sky''. What is a surprise is the meagre, empty look of the stage. Most of the time the action takes place on the bottom quarter of the proscenium, while the rest is simply blank or filled with a huge movie poster. The dances are repetitious, the hip-shaking, head-waggling movements quickly losing their novelty, and never enlarging character or furthering plot. Indian costumes can knock your eye out when you walk down any Bombay street, but Mark Thompson's saris look as if they climbed out of the bargain bin. Raza Jaffrey and Preeya Kalidas are perfectly adequate as the leads, but were obviously chosen for their looks and physical grace rather than any acting or singing talent. It's a shame that this potentially thrilling subject is crippled by formula and mediocrity, but, then again, its time is out of joint. When "India'' does not mean songs and sequins, but terror and panic, one needs more than this shoddy glamour to forget reality. SORRY GUYS, THE TRUTH IS ALL THE CRITIS HAVE REJECTED THE MUSICAL INCLUDING THE MUSIC. I AM LIVING IN LONDON AND I HAVE SCANNED THROUGH ALMOST ALL PAPERS. MAYBE A FEW PAPERS HAVE SOMENICE WORDS ABOUT MUSIC, BUT ALL HAVE REJECTED THE MUSICAL AND TICKETS SALES ARE NOT GOOD. THE TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE WHENEVER YOU WANT THEM. THE TICKETS OF MOST MUSICALS ARE BOOKED IN ADVANCE FOR SIX MONTHS OR SO. SO IT IS GOING TO BE A HUGE DISASTER. AR RAHMAN HAS WASTED THREE YEARS IN LONDON FOR THIS
  
  
• From: a (@ 204.30.230.103) on: Sun Jun 23 10:15:50 EDT 2002
  
  congrats arr!!!! I am a great fan of Ilayaraja but of you too.....
  
  IS THERE ANY WESTERN MD WHO COMPOSED INDIAN
  CLASSIC MUSIC......SUMMA COMMENT ADIKKATHEENGA....
  
  
• From: bb (@ 206.154.118.2) on: Sun Jun 23 11:32:30 EDT 2002
  
  http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=&ncid=762&e=8&u=/nm/20020620/stage_nm/arts_britain_bollywood_dc_1
  
  
• From: janakaraj (@ 151.201.31.10) on: Sun Jun 23 12:43:50 EDT 2002
  
  http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=&ncid=762&e=8&u=/nm/20020620/stage_nm/arts_britain_bollywood_dc_1
  
  
  Critics Applaud Lloyd Webber's 'Bombay Dreams'
  Thu Jun 20, 6:48 AM ET
  By Ed Cropley
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - British critics gave theater impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest musical adventure, an extravagant version of Bollywood love story "Bombay Dreams," a qualified thumbs up on Thursday after its London premier............
  
  is the london mentioned above is near gumudipondi or what?
  
  
  "I AM LIVING IN LONDON AND I HAVE SCANNED THROUGH ALMOST ALL PAPERS"
  --- are you living in someother london we dont know?
  
  conpusion!
  
  
  
• From: yaaro (@ 172.183.205.154) on: Sun Jun 23 13:59:21 EDT 2002
  
  janakaraj,
  steady!look at the date-that was immediately after the premiere.now the dust is settling down and real picture is emerging.what he says,whether you like it or not, happens to be true.
  
  
• From: nothing but .....something. (@ 151.201.28.42) on: Sun Jun 23 15:14:53 EDT 2002
  
  Are they showing something different now from the first premiere?
  
  yaro, if you have had geninue comments, you would stop with one word
  "I dont like it...period...." you will not carry the same pazaya pallavi, when other say it is good with proper proof of articles.
  what next!...the ariticles were paid to be written good ...:(
  
  as far as tfm is concerned it is big break! no other musicians have come so far (with solid proof, no word gimmicks, no self apreciations.) Arr worked, he got it out, he was not afraid of critics. he was bold enough to get his experiments, where us.......i will stop it here.
  
  You are trying hard to bring down something for some reason which this forum is known for...nothing else to say.
  
  
• From: yaaro (@ 195.93.32.172) on: Sun Jun 23 16:02:20 EDT 2002
  
  NBS,
  I thought i will just ignore your posting-but one thing you people have persistently refused to accept what i said right from day 1-this script is rubbish.that is the point-that is the reason why BD will fail-if it does.I am telling the same thing told poramai-do c and p of one posting where I said bd music was not good-I will stop posting here in DF!
  I gave the link to daily mirror which said BD was rubbish-it was me again who gave the link to todays times.you see,i too live in uk-when i come across something which I hope may interest you,i give the link.If I was trying to trash BD,I will give only the ones which are putting BD down -i would not have bothered with times which has many things good to say.
  moral:think before you type.
  
  
• From: pragmatist (@ 195.93.34.173) on: Sun Jun 23 16:04:10 EDT 2002
  
  dear a,
  arr has not composed classical music. hr has made music for a musical. it is different. most of songs are filmi songs
  
  

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