Aaaa! I totally forgot Aamir’s birthday! Luckily, I made a big fuss last year, so I can just update and re-post those posts. It’s still not as much as I did for Shahrukh and Salman, but he is just going to have to be mature and life with that.
My first Malayalam movie from my huge online shopping haul! It was so-so. I think I remember why it was recommended to me, because it was Nivin’s first movie, and the first movie Vineeth directed. It was kind of cool to see how both of them started out, and the movie was also sort of interesting in its own right to look at how a plot I have seen in Hindi and Tamil films was done in Malayalam. But I wouldn’t say it is exactly a “Great Film.”
I already re-posted last year’s post, so if you are wondering where “Rang Barse” or “Balam Pichkari” is, look over there. Now the challenge is, can I put together a new post including all different songs? Maybe I can, if I “cheat” and look beyond Hindi.
Happy Monday! Time for questions! No big movie coming out this week (unless I have forgotten something), so all we have to talk about is an Irish holiday.
Still not going to say “Bollywood”! I have taken a solemn vow! And even my addiction to alliteration will not sway me! But I am going to give in to my addiction to Fairy Tales and use it as the basis for a movie.
Happy Holi! At least, in India. It’s still the 23rd in America. But I am super excited about this post, because there are so many fun options, so I am posting it “early”!
I’m back! After I scribbled off my No Spoilers Review in the middle of the night, I am now awake (sort of) and am ready for my SPOILERS review! And in this case, I am going to say that you should read this whether or not you have seen the movie. There are already various think pieces going around that critique the film by taking elements in isolation, I want to critique it by taking everything in context.
Well, here it is, after midnight, and I have my sun lamp on to try to trick myself into thinking it isn’t after midnight. I just want to go to bed! But no! First, I must give all you nice people an indication of whether Badrinath is worth rushing out to see.
Happy Friday! This was a fun one to put together. My first thought for International Women’s Day was a “look at these pretty women!” post, but I already did that. So, I’m going to go a little deeper. International Women’s Day is supposed to be about men respecting women. Doesn’t always work, of course, but that’s the idea. And so I want to put up some pictures of men being happily dominated by women
An experiment! Which, be aware, is really really terrible because it is our first try.
Well, this was depressing! And shockingly coincidental. I am beginning to suspect that the K. Balachander fictional universe only contains about 200 people, which would explain why so many characters end up having surprising connections to other characters previously introduced.
Welcome back to Meena Kumari part 2! As I mentioned in the first part, this is almost entirely based on her classic biography, published within weeks of her death. It’s not a completely unreliable source, but it’s also the version that people were remembering just after she died. One thing that does seem clear is that she was a woman who never fully controlled her own destiny.
Good news! My publisher is temporarily dropping the price of my book! If you haven’t bought it yet (why not? It’s BRILLIANT!), today is the day you should! And then read it and love it, and write a review on Amazon or GoodReads or wherever else.
Here it is on Amazon
And on Barnes & Noble
And here is the general publisher site with links to other sources
(This was not posted yesterday as usual because of this) Only 2 days left until Badrinath comes out! I am all excited, and also trying to figure out my viewing strategy. Friday night viewing will be me and my regular Friday friend. And maybe also two other people. Even 3 more is fine, but more than that and I ran out of car space. Maybe we can tie some more folks onto the roof? Or I can run a shuttle system to bring them in shifts?
I can’t afford to take the day off work, but I can take a day off of blogging. Regular posts will resume after midnight on 3/9/2017. If you are a man, feel free to keep commenting, and I will respond tomorrow. If you are a woman, you can comment or not, depending on how you feel.
In the meantime, here is more information about this protest: https://www.womensmarch.com/womensday/
And here is a place to donate to and defend Planned Parenthood:
https://secure.ppaction.org/site/
And here is a link to Emily’s List, the organization focused on electing more female candidates:
Success! I found the Kangana Koffee! Despite it being “not available in your region” on the HotStar website and “content pulled at the request of…” on most other sites. I did finally find it on one site, which I am keeping to myself, and successfully watched it! So now I can talk intelligently both about the episode and about Karan’s recent comments.
(This is a reposted and Updated post from last year)
There are so many many many options for a Women’s Day post, that it kind of blew my mind and I couldn’t decide! Most empowering films for women? Most feminist songs? My favorite female characters?
Anyway, I decided to switch focus to the “International” part of it, and look at the most International women in Indian film!
I’m finally doing Meena Kumari! Because she was consistently the second choice every time I gave you options. And because I have this book (be aware, it’s written in an unusual style for a bio. But it’s still fun!) for a source, so it’s easy. The thing with Meena, is that she was never able to really live alone or control her own destiny, she just went from man to man, starting with her father.
I mentioned last Monday that I saw two Malayalam movies in the theater. This was the other one! The showtime gods were kind to me, I realized I could catch a matinee of Ezra, grab a lassi at the concession counter, and then move right into the show for Fukri.
You know that feeling when you are at a party and everyone else is sharing a joke but you missed the beginning and aren’t sure why they are laughing or if it was actually funny? That’s how I feel about Commando 2. Suddenly it’s everywhere, and I have no idea what it is or why I should care!
Is the rest of the world as excited about Badrinath as our little blog community is? I know Karan’s been tweeting like crazy and all that, but Humpty Sharma wasn’t actually THAT successful. Anyway, I know I am excited at least! And that several of the rest of you are too. And here is where you can ask me anything related to Badrinath, or anything else, as we enter the homestretch before release.
The Taming of the Shrew, obviously. It’s a super fun play with great characters and plot and some really nice speeches. But also a big bad misogyny section right in the middle that it is very hard to deal with without losing that “comic” touch. But I think we can do it! With careful casting and some gently massaging of the plot.
I’m so excited I can’t sleep, so I started scouring twitter for “evidence”. Of what, I’m not sure. People who are also excited about babies?
I got a text and a tweet while at a tea room celebrating a friend’s birthday. And then immediately had to tell everyone at the table, and then text everyone I know, and then write an emergency blog post so you could all share in the joy. But now I am home, and I can scour all my favorite internet sources and see what I can find out!
dontcallitbollywood 