I had all the individual posts all glued to the front page, but it was getting long and confusing. So I am putting them all in one long linked list instead. Click each link and put your vote in the comments. Oh, and also Officially Announcing, Voting Closes 1/30. And then I will announce the winners on 1/31.
Continue readingSunday 1/20: Raabta
Wednesday 1/23: Koode
Friday 1/25: A Death in the Gunj
Weird full moon night here, one of those evenings when everything is just a bit strange. For instance, I spent 5 minutes in a traffic tangle in a parking lot that was finally resolved when I backed up onto a sidewalk so two other cars could get out. Anyway, I am finally home and tired and I am going to spoil myself by writing a movie that has been bouncing around in my head since I got lost down a George Hamilton wikipedia hole this afternoon.
Continue readingI sincerely recommended 30 separate movies about Indian history. This is the silly version, when I try to tie together the entire history of the subcontinent in 10 films. And only use films I haven’t listed in any of the other posts. Be warned, none of this films are exactly “historically” “accurate”.
Continue readingEither there is always a lot of news on Mondays, or I am always catching up on all the news I missed over the weekend. Either way, here is a post!
Continue readingHappy Monday! Which is also, in America, Martin Luther King day. But I still have to work. Distract me from my misery!
Continue readingThe history streak continues!!!! This time, focused on that early 1900s era right before independence. And I am pretty sure I can come up with a whole other 10 films. Also, prepare yourself for a whole lot of versions of “Rang De Basanti” (yes, according to contemporary accounts, Bhagat Singh did sing it while preparing to be hung) and “Vande Mataram”.
Continue readingTotally did not plan to have this movie re-reviewed the same week as Magadheera! But didn’t that all work out nicely?
Continue readingWriting the 10 Historic Epics post got me thinking about the movies that are set in the past, but not so they can do a big historical fight scene, more for purposes of putting this particular story in this particular time and place, whether it is a semi-fictional biography or a completely fictional invented story.
Continue readingNormally I do “10 films to watch once you finish the standard list”. But there are so few historical films from India, that I don’t think I could come up with 10 to recommend without dipping into the standard list. Plus, everyone should watch Mughal-E-Azam, and that essentially IS the standard list.
Continue readingI am very excited to write this review because I am hoping you can help me figure out this plot! I almost have it straight, but not really.
Continue readingIt’s snowing, and I am feeling very cozy and ready to watch things. I’m hoping to knock off 2-3 movies on one day today, very exciting!
Continue readingThis was a random impulse. No new Hindi film was playing this week, I was planning to see the NTR film but then a big snowstorm came up so I wanted to get home earlier and this film was playing at 5:15. Anyway, so glad I saw it!
Continue readingThis is mostly to force myself to watch it. But maybe it will also force some of you to watch it! And then we can all admire the period clothing and Konkona’s directing and become fans of Vikrant Massay.
Continue readingTo be fair, I didn’t see that many Malayalam films in 2018. But this one was really really good!
Continue readingI’ve already done saris and Anarkalis, this year I am thinking small. And also something we can all have opinions on, no need to be experts. Right? I’m assuming most of us wear/own/have bought earrings.
Continue readingI really like this movie. I know it isn’t one of the super super best Mukherjee films, but I don’t care, it makes me happy!
Continue readingI watched Magadheera last night with a baby, her Grandpa, and her Mom. And we all agreed that Ram Charan’s hair is the best part of the movie. Soooooooooo pretty. Well, I think the baby agreed, she said something like “ba ba ba BAAAA!” when I asked her, and I am taking that for agreement.
Continue readingIt’s Javed Akhtar’s birthday today and I love him, both as a scriptwriter and a lyricist. I am going to try to limit myself to 25 reasons I love him, one for every film he wrote with Salim Khan, plus a bonus just for being him. And I’m going to include quotes from his Salim-Javed films, because although they were both credited, it’s generally believed that Javed wrote more of the dialogue.
(This is an updated and re-posted post)
Continue readingWell, this is a sign! I am excited about two upcoming things, and neither of them are traditional Hindi theatrical releases. Not only that, both of them were tweeted/promoted by mainstream Hindi film people, so the industry is paying more attention outside of Hindi theatrical releases too.
Continue readingYes yes, it is that fun time again! The time for you to read/ignore the monthly reminder to promote me.
If you want to start the year off right by paying back your Karmic debt to me, tweet my posts to your friends, or mention me in comments on other sites, or recommend me to podcasters/bloggers/professional writers/editors/whoever you may know. I’m bad/unlucky at this kind of thing, so I really need help through personal introductions.
Most of you enjoyed my writing for all of 2018 without doing anything to promote me. Turn over a new leaf in 2019!!!! Spread the word about my blog and pay me back a little bit for all I do to entertain you.
I’m back! My first new Malayalam movie in I don’t know how long! But I had time this Saturday, and it was on Hotstar, so I did it! Very proud of myself.
Continue readingNice little news round-up today, not a lot of stories or very important stories, but some nice little ones to talk about.
Continue readingHappy Wednesday! What’s going on in your life? I was up way too late last night so I make no promises about responding promptly, or intelligibly. But I still want to hear from you!
Continue readingIt’s that time again, the time I remind everyone that it is a good thing to tip people who provide a service, even if that service is writing on the internet. Think of it as a New Year’s Resolution, start the year off right by paying off your debts, including your debt to me for giving you entertainment all year long.
Donation
$1.00
If you want to set up a recurring payment, then you can do that through Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/dontcallitbollywood
Or, of course, you can always Buy My Book! Which gets me no real money (a percentage of a percentage on every sale), but makes me feel appreciated:
Well, these are very different! And yet, the same, both are all about “young people growing up in modern India”, that theme that movies and internet think pieces love to explore.
Continue readingSeems like a good time to do one of my “this isn’t everything, or even the best things, this is just some stuff to think about” posts on queerness with Ek Ladki Ko Dekho coming out soon. Plus, I love our little discussion posts!
Continue reading