FilmFare was finally broadcast! Which means it is finally available on certain not-necessarily-legal locations on the internet! At least until all the copyright holders find it and descend. But just in case you miss the magical illegal window, here are the big things I noticed:
So, there’s been a story, really more of a sort of discontented rumble, going on for a while now that I have been ignoring, because I could kind of guess where it was going, and I was waiting for the resolution. Which happened today, so now I am going to talk about it.
My goodness, it has been a long time since I checked out the news sites! Let’s see what’s been happening.
After having gotten through Baazigar and Karan-Arjun, which were both more fun and less SRKajol than I remembered, I have finally reached the first real drop dead classic SRKajol film, DDLJ. And, since it is a drop dead classic, I am moving through it very very slowly. So much to think about with this one!
(part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, part 5 here, part 6 here, part 7 here, part 8 here, part 9 here, part 10 here, part 11 here, part 12 here, part 13 here, part 14 here)
Akshay Kumar and Jimmy Stewart actually have a lot in common! Reliable hard-working long-term popular movie stars who managed to combine a variety of crowd-pleasing roles with some solid acting turns. But what I am talking about today is just economics.
Indian film has a very complicated relationship with China, reflecting India’s complicated relationship China. To help understand it, in honor of this holiday, here is a nice story followed by 5 examples of not so great film moments. Fun!
Saala Khadoos! A good movie, but a short and single track movie. So not as much to say! I am actually finishing the whole thing off in 2 posts.
Read on for the second half!
I have now seen 3 Malayalam films! Tied with my 3 Telegu, but beating my 2 Tamil. But if re-watching counts, Malayalam is going to double pretty soon. Because I loooooooved this movie, and I will be watching it over and over and over again.
I already posted a spoiler-free review, but if you aren’t able to see the movie, or have seen it and want a reminder of what happened, or are just curious about my opinion in detail, here is a complete scene by scene breakdown!
I finally saw Saala Khadoos! A week after it came out! And it was definitely worth the wait. A lot to chew on, and, more importantly, a great role for Madhavan and a totally loveable new heroine!
If you are like me, you have spent the past few years shaking your fist to the sky and saying “Farhan! Stop wasting your life!” every time Farhan announces a new project that is not Don 3. Well, the wait is over! FINALLY! He just announced that, once he finishes the script for Rock On 2, he will go back to Don. Yaaaaaaay!
I posted a summary of the first half yesterday, now it is time to bring it on home through to the end! And the second half is where things get CRAZY.
And also crazy interesting from a statement on society perspective. There is a long rant in the middle about social responsibility. So that’s something for you to look forward too!
(Read part 1 here)
Airlift is rounding the corner of one more week of box office dominance. It’s possible that Ghayal Once Again or Sanam Teri Kasam may come up to challenge it but I doubt it. On the other hand, Fitoor is definitely going to knock it out of theaters next weekend. So, really, we are in the homestretch and can start making final box office estimates.
Ghayal Once Again comes out tomorrow! I am not terrible optimistic about it. But just in case it ends up getting great reviews and revitalizes Sunny’s career and all that, I thought you should all know more or less what happens in Ghayal.
I watched Ghayal, while also answering emails and doing dishes, about a week ago. My memory may not be as good as usual, but I think I can remember the general details of most scenes, and some scenes I remember real well. So, let’s see how I do, and if I can manage to do the whole thing in one post!
(UPDATE: Summary finished! Read part 2 here)
Karan tweeted the first Kapoor and Sons poster today! That seems so fast! I can still remember when it was just a rumored production! I think I must be getting old, I remember back in the day when Happy New Year was announced it felt like For. Ever. before the first look came out. Oh wait! That was just a couple years ago! Yeah, I’m not getting old, this movie turned around in production super fast! Well, fast for a high profile big budget release.
After a news black out, suddenly stuff is happening with SRK’s next films! Well, not suddenly, more like inevitably and part of a production plan. He just started a new filming schedule for Raees, and Fan is coming out in a couple months, so it is time for the PR people to jump-start the rumor mills.
It’s all worth talking about, so I will, below.
So, part one got a little deep and a little poetic about the meaning of the diaspora and male versus female life spaces and so on. I will try very hard to keep it light with this one, but I don’t know if I can! I think this is the first movie I’ve recapped here (except maybe Airlift?) that I think is legitimately deep, not just fun to watch.
So, onward! To the one who comes in my dreams!
(part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, part 5 here, part 6 here, part 7 here, part 8 here, part 9 here, part 10 here, part 11 here, part 12 here, part 13 here, part 14 here, part 15 here, part 16 here)
So much gossip this week about break-ups! I don’t believe basically any of it, but I still think it is worth talking about because of how it is reported and why it is reported and what that means socially/industrially.
(yes, I will be tying it all together with Raajkumar in Pakeezah as shown in the header image)
The weekend figures have been totaled now, which means bollywoodhungama and other sites are putting out their analysis. And I am going to steal their figures and do my own analysis.
DDLJ! Woo! I can go off DVD with full confidence in my abilities! Woop woop! Although I may still re-watch it at some point just for joy and happiness.
Also, if you really want to learn about DDLJ, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I will be referring back to it constantly, and even when I don’t refer back specifically, just assume that Chopra’s theories are the underlying force behind everything I say.
(also, oh my god I love the header image I found! Adi was such a dork. Also, I am pretty sure that is actually from the sets of K2H2 based on the suit, but I don’t care, I’m still using it. I may reuse it if I ever get to K2H2)
(part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, part 5 here, part 6 here, part 7 here, part 8 here, part 9 here, part 10 here, part 11 here, part 12 here, part 13 here, part 14 here, part 15 here, part 16 here)
Ghayal Once Again (which has been talked about for months) goes up against Sanam Teri Kasam (which I never heard of before today) this Friday! Who will win! Who will lose! I will make a guess but I have no idea if it is correct!
But I do know the random trivia related to these films which I am about to drop on you is correct and, I think, interesting!
Box office figures are out for last week/weekend! No big surprises here. Everything did about what you would expect it to do. But it is still nice to have that confirmation!
dontcallitbollywood 