TEASER: THE REVENANT
Leonardo DiCaprio goes wild in the teaser of The Revenant, directed by Birdman maker Alejandro G. Inarritu. Inspired by true events, The Revenant tells the story of wildlife explorer Hugh Glass (Leo) who is attacked by a bear in the wild, left for dead by members of his expedition and betrayed by his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). His will to live and come back to his family keeps Hugh going against all odds. The arresting 2:25 teaser — set in sepia tones and shot beautifully by Gravity man Emmanuel Lubezki — stands out for Leo’s intensity, especially when he says: “I ain’t afraid to die anymore... I’ve done it already.” The week’s biggest YT hit has been watched and rewatched 12,187,476 times.
TRAILER: SPECTRE
“Welcome James... what took you so long?” Producer Sony Pictures and director Sam Mendes have just released the first full trailer of the new Bond film Spectre. Running into 2:32 minutes, the trailer boasts a host of key moments — from a clear look at Christoph Waltz’s villainous mastermind Franz Oberhauser to revealing that Bond girl Lea Seydoux’s Madeleine Swann is intrinsically linked to Bond’s past. Daniel Craig, meanwhile, continues to show some serious swag in his fourth 007 outing. Total whoops for the trailer of the November 6 biggie: 5,056,052.
TEASER: RAEES
Shah Rukh Khan plays a bootlegger-turned-don in Rahul Parzania Dholakia’s Raees, the teaser of which hit YouTube recently. Sporting his bearded Chak De! India look — the soorma in his eyes and the taabeez around his neck are additions — SRK grabs attention from the get-go, delivering lines like “Dhande se bada koi dharm nahin hota”... the way only he can. Set in ’80s Gujarat, Raees also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pakistani stunner Mahira Khan and ends with SRK saying: “Aa rahaa hoon main”. The date: Id 2016, the same day as Salman Khan’s Sultan. Meanwhile, the 1:05 Raees teaser has 3,768,141 catcalls and claps.
TEASER TRAILER: BAJIRAO MASTANI
Sanjay Leela Bhansali has unveiled the teaser trailer of his magnum opus Bajirao Mastani. Sweeping in scale and epic in storyline, the 3:06 teaser is a visual delight, with Ranveer Singh holding attention as Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I and Priyanka Chopra impressing as his first wife Kashibai. But it is Deepika Padukone as Bajirao’s second wife Mastani who grabs eyeballs, easily making the transition from coy bride to fearless warrior. What we loved the most? The heroic war scenes — especially that final shot of Bajirao hoisting himself on an elephant — and the teaser’s only dialogue: “Bajirao ne Mastani se mohabbat ki hai... aiyashi nahin.” Bajirao Mastani releases December 18 — yes, the same Friday as Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol’s Dilwale. For now, watch the teaser which already has 1,986,268 views to its name.
AHALYA
The myth of Ahalya from The Ramayana gets a modern spin in Kahaani man Sujoy Ghosh’s 14-minute short film of the same name. Starring veteran Soumitra Chatterjee as a maverick artist, Radhika Apte as his much-younger wife and Tota Roy Chowdhury as a cop who comes knocking on their door one day, Ahalya merges mystery with magic realism to become a compelling watch. Praise has been pouring in ever since the short premiered on YouTube on Monday evening, with Amitabh Bachchan — who was directed by Sujoy in Aladin and sang Ekla cholo re in Kahaani — tweeting: “The magic of short films .. Sujoy Ghosh .. brilliant !!” Ahalya has 1,820,138 thumbs-ups and counting.
I LOVE SALMAN!
Cried buckets while watching Bajrangi Bhaijaan? Well, you have company in the form of Suzi. A
15-second video of this knee-high Salman Khan fan sobbing in the theatre at the end of a screening of his latest blockbuster has gone viral. Sitting on her mother’s lap, an overwhelmed Suzi is seen sobbing her heart out, saying “I want Salman!” When her mom Madiha asks her why, Suzi bawls: “I love Salman,” even as tears continue to roll down her cheeks. Shared extensively on social media, the video has even caught the attention of Bajrangi director Kabir Khan who tweeted: “This little girl’s reaction at the end of my film is truly overwhelming.” Total sobs for Suzi? 232,431.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
WELL SAID, DR THAROOR
Shashi Tharoor’s 15-minute speech at the University of Oxford — in which the Congress leader smilingly rips apart the British, succinctly pointing out how colonial rule exploited the Indian subcontinent— has gone viral on YouTube and earned praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shared extensively on social media, the speech —delivered as part of the debate “This House Believes Britain Owes Reparations to her Former Colonies” — shows what a brilliant orator Tharoor is as he points out how the British ruled India for 200 years for their own benefit and left the country poor and under-developed. Even as he hits back at the British, Tharoor manages to keep things light — “The sun couldn’t set on the British empire, because even god couldn’t trust the English in the dark,” he smiles cheekily, as the audience breaks into applause.
Watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7CW7S0zxv4
PINTEREST PICK
MOTHER TO SON
Picked from the blog called mylifeoutofbounds, an article called 25 Rules for Mothers of Sons is an interesting read. From telling mothers to help their young sons to cite examples of men and women who can act as his inspirations to teaching them how to dance, this one gives valuable advice that will help GenY respect their parents, their women and themselves. The bit we loved? “Teach him how to do laundry... and load the dishwasher, and iron a shirt. He may not always choose to do it. He may not ever have to do it. But someday his wife will thank you.” We bet she will!
