Why We Can't Ignore Ram Ki Leela

Ram-Leela wouldn't have been such a curious affair, had it not been for its sultry, strong-headed female lead. I'm sure you too wouldn't agree more.

There are more reasons than the typical 'top-five' ones that will land us at our nearest cinema-halls this weekend. So, my top six picks are -

6) BECAUSE BHANSALI HAS CHOSEN HER

Just look back and recall all the SLB heroines, and you'll understand what I mean. They've all been delicate yet delicious, strong yet vulnerable. Deepika too joins the coveted gang of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's girls. And I'm sure the maverick filmmaker must surely have taken full advantage of Deepika's surprisingly improving acting chops as well as heart-warming ravishing looks.

5) BECAUSE SHE'S WEARING A NO-BOKWAAS ATTITUDE UP HER SLEEVE

As a Gujju girl in the magnum opus, Deepika shows clear signs of a hot and saucy femme fatale, who calls a spade a spade. She is bold, aggressive and passionate so far as the promos are concerned. And we are all the more curious to get more, bigger doses of her spunky, free-spirited approach in her forthcoming role.

4) BECAUSE SHE IS THE ULTIMATE BOX-OFFICE QUEEN

After her geek-turned-bombshell stint in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, supa-hawt avatar in Race 2, a charming South Indian role in Chennai Express - our dazzling Dippy is set to warm the cockles of our hearts yet again. In her latest screen-portrayal, the actress looks promising enough to set the ticket-windows afire, for the fourth time this year! That's definitely something to go bananas for!

3) BECAUSE SHE'S LOOKING OH-SO-SEXY IN HER LEHENGA-CHOLIS

Post her hot-as-hell recital of a rich, spoilt brat in Cocktail, DP has only gone one step ahead with each movie-outing. I agree, she's not playing a bikini-clad Veronica-seque charcter in Ram-Leela, but who says only a beach wear can charm the pants off us? Deepika surely knows all the smart tricks of the glam trade. That's precisely why we don't miss her tiny attires even a tad bit when we see her in those absolutely bodilicious traditional outfits, in the film's trailers.

2) BECAUSE SHE'S ROMANCING THE EQUALLY HOT RAM

They may have kept away from sharing their relationship status with us. And we certainly don't care for reasons aplenty. For one, the two stunners - off screens and on it - never fall short of sending us into raptures. Thanks to their super sizzling chemistry in all the frames, hands down. Now tell me, could a paisa-wasool movie-experience ever disturb us about their love-story-or-no-love-story debate off the reels? Naaaaaah! We definitely have much better things to get worried about.

1) BECAUSE SHE'S 'THE DEEPIKA HOT-BOD PADUKONE'

That's the obvious one! Need I even attempt to elaborate it?

Let me know if you too have a reason to look up to this smoking-hot Leela.


Images Courtesy: Ram-Leela

Why Is Kissing Still A Big Deal In Bollywood?

First things first. Okay, we have outgrown those days when two beak-rubbing birds had to endure all the pain to lay bare a supposed kiss between our screen-lovers. Or two roses would get together in a quivering osculation to hint at the intimacy. Times have changed. Lip-locking has turned a trend now – an indispensable component of a wholesome masala flick. Even art films, as some 'serious, thinking actors' love to label them as, aren't devoid of an 'aesthetically shot' smooch.

The freshest example is Sanjay Leela Bhansali's forthcoming magnum opus, Ram-Leela, promos of which have already dished out few of its spiciest and juiciest scenes. Apart from some naughty games played between Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, the trailers have also served us with some real hot stuff! The two leads are getting cozy and passionate, in turn, indulging in some raw, intense kissing sequences. But as they say, heat whips up fire, and it surely holds true in this case too.

Deepika and Ranveer, rumoured to be real-life sweethearts too, have sent the cine-fans into raptures with their oh-so carefree kissing bits that come as naturally as there were no cameras around when the scenes were filmed. The two sexy stunners pull off the wild moments with sheer flourish and conviction. So-called virtuous scouts be damned!

Despite the so-called maturing times and ever-increasing flux of kisses in films, one thing remains rooted to the spot – intimacy and lip-locking are still frowned upon by a certain section of our society. Call them watch-dogs, moral police or responsible citizens – they never fall short of showing up each time a movie gets an 'A' from the censor board.

Our actors and actresses are thinking bolder now. And are always game for plunking down their inhibitions 'if the script demands'. However, some self-styled custodians raise their eyebrows and drop their jaws the minute they get wind of a 'scene' in an upcoming project. The intensity of their gripes and grumbles against such on-screen acts unwaveringly bank on the number of kisses a certain film boasts of. The higher the figure, the more the nit-pickings.

Bollywood kissing may have become a rage only in recent years, but its roots are almost as old as the Hindi film industry itself. It was Devika Rani who locked lips with her screen-man (and husband) Himanshu Rai in Karma back in 1933. The first ever on-screen kiss in tinsel town. Though the scene was edited before the film's release, it surely grabbed eyeballs. And the tradition hasn't taken a break since. Every filmi kiss is watched with eagle eyes.

From Zeenat Aman and Dimple Kapadia, to Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor, to Rani Mukerjee and Aishwarya Rai, to Mallika Sherawat and Bipasha Basu, to Vidya Balan and Kareena Kapoor, to Nargis Fakhri and Anushka Sharma, to Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif – almost all big league hotties have smooched their leading men on silver screens. And each time, those sensational frames became one of the biggest USPs of those films.

The fashion of counting kisses probably began with Mallika's 17 smooches in Khwahish. I wonder if some hawks were really toting up the digits! Anyway, the latest flick to get listed here is Shuddh Desi Romance that scorched the headlines with its 27 kisses. While in the West, such 'scenes' are just a part of their films, they are the driving points back home. They become the sole identities of many movies, irrespective of their decent storylines. All the credit goes to the moral inspectors who are outstanding at their jobs, hands down.

So birds and flowers have been replaced with real stuff. And the evolution – from a peck on the cheeks to on the lips, to tongue-fighting smooches – has been a slow yet steady process. That is only going stronger and bigger with time. Though we may have entered the freethinking era of 21st century, PDA-ing, kissing and smooching are still considered a taboo here.

I ask, is there no end to it? Will Hindi Cinema be ever assessed purely on the basis of its weight instead of the flesh involved?