Let’s see what’s happening in India today!  There’s news about a “Hey! It’s That Guy!” actor, the latest box office figures, and one of those “controversies” that everyone needs to have an opinion on.

First, Razzak Khan died!  Which I didn’t care about at all, until I saw a picture and went “Oh!  That guy!  That guy was great!”

(This guy!)

He was great onscreen, showing up for 5 minutes of comic dialogue and then disappearing, playing roles like “taxi driver” or “Don” or “Dance Master” or, very occasionally, “humorously disapproving father”.  And he was also great off-screen, it sounds like, because a lot of people who worked with him are coming out to express condolences and respect for his professionalism.  Here‘s a link to the top tweets.

But, life goes on!  And so does the Housefull series!  Let’s see how it is doing on opening day, is it going to be a surprise hit like Housefull 2, or a horrible flop like Humshakals?  So far, unclear!  About 35% occupancy for the early shows, which is decent, but it means the word of mouth from that 35% has to be really good to bring in the 100% for the evening and weekend shows.  Because the reviews were, of course, terrible.  As always for a Sajid Khan movie.  But, also as always, that seems to have no effect on the box office for a Sajid Khan film, since everyone just writes off the reviewers opinions on these kinds of entertainers.

I kind of blame the reviewers.  I know the Sajid Khan films aren’t that deep or well-made or any of those things reviewers like.  But there is a variance in quality between them (Himmatwala was one of the only movies in my life that I actually considered leaving halfway through; Heyy Babbyy legitimately makes me laugh), and it would be nice if the reviewers did their jobs and said “Okay, this Sajid Khan movie is gross and obvious and all those things I hate, but it also moves along at a nice pace and the actors look like they are having a good time, and the songs are fun::On the other hand, this Sajid Khan movie is gross and obvious and all those things I hate, but also slow and the actors can’t seem to deliver the dialogues correctly and the plot drags a bit in the middle”.

Finally, Lataji!  I came into this story late, apparently there was a comic video posted that makes fun of her and Sachin Tendulkar in a really gross way?  I like this new trend of high-quality and high-profile comic videos, it feels like the kinds of jokes people have always made with their friends, or in comedy clubs, but now the internet is letting the whole world in on the conversation, not just the Bombay in crowd.  So you have the brilliant AIB Alia Bhatt video, or their roast of Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, and it feels like it is all in good fun, and everyone is in on the joke, and the only people it is making fun of are those who take it all too seriously.  But it sounds like the Lata-Sachin video is a whole different thing.

Most importantly, AIB has been careful to only make fun of people who agree to it.  They have general videos making fun of weddings or behavior on airplanes or festivals, but they have been careful to get permission of specific people before they make them into targets.  At least, I think so?  I know Aamir Khan and some others were offended by the Arjun and Ranveer roast, but I don’t think they were offended because they personally had been insulted, just on principle.

But now there is this video making the rounds that is mean to poor almost-90 Lata Mangashkar and nice guy never done anything wrong Sachin Tendulkar.  And that’s just mean!  There’s no reason to make fun of them, it’s not clever, it is just cruel.  I assume.  Again, I haven’t seen it.  But everyone in the industry is saying they are against it with one voice, which almost never happens, and is a pretty good sign that it really did go too far.

(Now, this is a respectful way to make a video featuring a living legend)

There is a kind of satisfying footnote to this story though.  The New York Times got in trouble for reporting on it and describing Lataji as a “so-called playback singer”.  Meaning, “in India she is what is called a playback singer”.  But it was poorly worded, and the internet took huge offense to it, since it sounds like they were saying she wasn’t a real singer.  And then the NYT had to tweet an apology.

Which, for me personally, was the best thing EVER!!!  Every other month, the NYT deigns to review an Indian film, and they are always super ill-informed and patronizing about it, and they end up playing into the kinds of attitudes that are the whole reason I wrote my book.  And now, FINALLY, they are getting called out for it!  I don’t even care about this particular word choice, I am just glad they are learning that people really deeply care about these stories, it isn’t just something they can do drive-by coverage of every 60 days.