Digi's Blog

“Change” is a word that carries a lot of weight. It is a movement which takes a lot of time. 5 years ago, Cineman productions brought one such change in the Gujarati film industry. Actually, they rediscovered the film industry.  First came the witty “Kevi Rite Jaish” and then came the blockbuster “Bey Yaar”. And all of a sudden, as if all the doors of a dam were opened, there arrived a flood of films – ranging from downright horrible to just about average. Every film would proclaim itself to be “An Urban Gujarati film” and would ultimately be filled with mediocrity. “Wrong Side Raju” brings an end to this mediocrity. As I walk down the steps of the theatre after watching the movie, I am filled with satisfaction and pride that we are slowly but surely getting there. PLOT The film has a strong storyline, loosely based on the infamous hit and run case of Ahmedabad of 2013. Raju Bambani is a driver cum bootlegger who unfortunately gets involved in a hit an...

It is a golden period for the gujarati film industry. Yes I prefer to call it that instead of the horrible names “DHOLLYWOOD” and “GOLLYWOOD”. Is it mandatory to copy everything from the United States? Coming back, the Gujarati film industry is witnessing a phase like never before. It all started with the “Chetan Bhagat of the Gujarati Film industry”, i.e Abhishek Jain. His 2 films opened a door of vast opportunities and soon everyone followed suit. The latest offering is Kirtan Patel’s “Bas Ek Chance”. Now this is a special film because apart from it being a gujarati film, it is also the first mainstream film to be almost entirely shot in my city Vadodara. Let us have a look at the music of the film which has been composed by Pranav – Nikhil – Shailesh.     “ LAAGI RE LAGAN ” starts off with soft guitar riffs and a lovely female chorus which reminds you remotely of “Jab se tere naina”. Aishwarya Majumdar  takes the reins from there on. Along ...

So after an unpardonable delay, here I am with my list of favorite songs of 2014. Thank god I put it up on my blog before 2015 ended. If we look at entire albums, here are my favorite albums. These are albums whose all songs I love – 1.        Highway – This is vintage Rahman. Plus there is Imtiaz Ali to give you breathtaking Himachal along with the songs. 2.        Happy ending – Raj and Dk always manage to extract the best out of Sachin – Jigar. There is an unusual addictiveness in this album which makes it un-put-downable. Very versatile album. 3.        Queen – This is Amit Trivedi at his very best. Once again a very creative and lovely album. The best part of the album was it complemented the film very well. The songs fitted well in the film, never seeming forced or unnecessary. As far as individual songs are concerned, here are my top 50 songs. The songs from 50 to 11 are in no...

The gujarati film industry has never been something about which we could talk proudly to the rest of Indian regional cinema. For an outsider and even for a gujarati, a gujarati movie inevitably meant a film with the actors in traditional costumes, with garbas and heavy dialogues. But things changed few years back when Abhishek Jain gifted us with “KEVI RITE JAISH”, a movie which revolutionarized the Gujarati film industry. It was the first gujarati movie which was “Normal” meaning that something with which we could identify. It featured normal gujarati urban people speaking normal gujarati, with no over the top melodrama. In short, it was a film which the entire gujarati clan loved. So it was no wonder that I had a lot of hopes from Jain’s next movie “BE YAAR”. And with the movie having released in only a single show in the entire big city of Rajkot (Which is a shame on part of the Rajkot cinema owners), I made it a point to go to the first show on the first day. PLOT...