Wednesday Watching Post: What Are You Reading and Thinking and Watching 2 Days Before I See Arjit Singh?

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Happy Wednesday!  Time to discuss what we have seen so far this week.  And what we have read and what we have thought about what we have read and seen.

I’ll go first.  I’ve shown Running Shaadi to two separate groups of friends, all of whom loved it.  In the non-Indian realm, I’ve been going through the Marple series.  They keep the mysteries, but change the relationships around a little bit just to keep us on our toes.  And it’s a good thing to watch while blogging, since I don’t have to pay that much attention, seeing as I’ve already read all the stories.

Moviemavengal retweeted a link to an interesting article related to our continuing discussion of nepotism, from The Huffington Post (not always the best source), but pretty good. Here’s the link.

As for thinking, I’ve been moving slowly closer to actually moving out of my apartment.  I officially filled my first packing box, and wrote down about a dozen phone numbers to call and try to set up showings.  Next step is to keep filling boxes, and writing down phone numbers, and then actually go on showings in 2 more weeks when it is closer to my moving date.

90 thoughts on “Wednesday Watching Post: What Are You Reading and Thinking and Watching 2 Days Before I See Arjit Singh?”

  2. I finished Pataudi: Nawab of Cricket by Suresh Menon in 3 days.It’s a slim volume full of articles about Tiger Pataudi by his contemporaries.Soha as well as Saba wrote a couple of articles which gives us a glimpse of their family life.There was a story about Saif’s boarding school days.I didn’t know that Sharmila converted to Islam when she married Tiger.And Soha has an MSc from the London School of Economics.Whatever is she doing in Bollywood?

    Of course once I finished it, I had to look up Tiger and Sharmila’s old interview by Simi Garewal.It is in English and has plenty of anecdotes about their courting days.Now I know why Saif chose to propose to Kareena in Paris.(Ignore the dated title song).

    And here’s Simi’s interview with Tiger without Sharmila.

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    • Worth putting the book on my Chennai list? Or not enough movie dirt?

      On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 8:58 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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      • It’s mostly about Cricket and about has some excellent anecdotes about Tiger’s razor sharp wit.Unless you are a fan of the game (or Pataudi) it’s not worth hauling it all the way from Chennai.It’s available on Kindle though, if you want to check it.The filmi stuff has all been covered by Simi.The book does mention the infamous ‘body line’ incident where English bowlers aimed directly at the Australian batsmen causing some severe injuries (a cracked skull among others).There’s an Australian TV series in the 80s called Bodyline starring none other than Hugo Weaving (with a full head of hair) as the English captain Douglas Jardine. Tiger Pataudi’s father was a member of the English team and he didn’t agree with his captain’s tactics.He left midway during the tour and joined the fledgling Indian team.

        And here’s the anecdote about Saif by Mike Brearley.

        By repute or possibly by scurrilous rumour, Saif Pataudi had a streak of his father in him.Shortly after the younger Pataudi’s leaving Winchester, a young boy in the same house announced that they were glad Saif Pataudi had gone, because now they could get onto the billiard table.Did he spend a lot of time playing,came the natural question.No, said the boy, but he spent a large amount of time asleep on it.

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        • My first thought is “Heck, I’m not the one who has to bring it all the way from Chennai! Why not make my sister throw in one more book?” But then I would have to actually read it, and I don’t know if I necessarily want to do that, if it is 80% Cricket.

          On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 12:02 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  3. Spring has been busy so far! My three-year-old is in a pre-K class now, from 10-12 every morning, to prepare a bit for kindergarten. It’s really good and focuses on pre-literacy, counting, printing, etc. The only trouble is that used to be my down time in the day to jot down my thoughts about movies I’ve watched. I’ve fallen a bit behind! I’ll try to keep these short…

    I watched Main Khiladi Tu Anari. This one was very entertaining! It was fun to see Saif and Akshay so early in their careers. Saif was really good as the knucklehead actor (he really plays the lovable goofball well) and Akshay pulled off the cool, macho cop (although it seemed a bit of a stretch). They complemented each other nicely and made a funny, odd-couple sort of pair. The songs were pleasant and the picturizations had lots of 90s goodness. It was an easy watch. It was interesting to see how ingrained the gangsters seemed to be within the film industry, in those days, and how everyone was kind of accustomed to the situation. Some great action too!

    Taal was also a lot of fun! Definitely not the best movie but I enjoyed watching it. Any momentary problems I had were immediately washed away by awesome music and dance! They really covered up a lot of the flaws with those big elaborate song sequences, didn’t they? Aishwarya looked so young. I actually find her more attractive now. She was a bit awkward and gawky looking in those early movies. Akshay Khanna had such a goofy expression on his face for most of this film that it was difficult to take him seriously. Even Anil Kapoor was a bit more ‘on’ and over-the-top than other films I’ve seen. I could definitely see your point about how the plot was very similar to Chandni (and half as good). Still, though, that soundtrack! I especially enjoyed the songs in the second half, when more of the modern, western elements were added (drum machines, synthesizers, etc.). Also, one of the songs had a scene where Anil and Aish were in my city, Niagara Falls! Then, of course, towards the end their big concert was at Skydome (now Rogers Centre) in Toronto, which we visit several times a summer for Blue Jays games. That was kind of neat to see!

    Maine Pyar Kiya was also a lot of fun, especially with the group watch. I do wish that I had watched it once ahead of time. So many songs! So much set decoration! So many patches on Salman’s jacket! It’s easy to poke fun at the Rajshri movies but I do enjoy the extravagance and opulence of the films. Everything is so heightened and romantic. They’ll never be my favorite films but with the right mood, in the right setting, they can be very enjoyable.

    I watched Sarfarosh for Aamir Saturday. This was a really good movie. It was an interesting story with very strong performances by Aamir and Naseeruddin Shah. There were some surprisingly brutal and violent scenes. The bus massacre, with a bunch of innocent civilians gunned down in cold blood, at the beginning was particularly difficult to watch. I’m sure that a lot of the religious aspects of the story went over my head but it seemed to say a lot with the character portrayals (the distrust of Mukesh Rishi’s muslim police officer; the contempt and vitriol spewed at Gulfam, despite being a much beloved ghazal singer). Also, nice little cameo by a young, and pretty scrawny, Nawazuddin Siddiqui! The songs were very well done and fit perfectly into the film. I was wondering how song sequences would figure into such a serious and intense movie but they absolutely worked and added extra interest in the love story.

    I also, finally, got to watch Raees. I liked it but maybe not as much as I had expected. I will have to watch it again before commenting too much. I also want to go through and read all of the pieces that you wrote about it, back when it released. I thought the first half was spectacular- the character development, the story build, songs and everything. I did find that the last half hour or so kind of lost me a bit. I’m not sure if this happened because I was tired (it was pretty late). The acting was all very well done. I loved the look of the town and the way that the film was shot. The songs were great. There was a lot to like. I’m not sure why the end didn’t quite resonate with me. I don’t think that it was overly long or that the second half dragged. As I said, this is one I will definitely watch again in the near future.

    I just got the blu-ray set of Twin Peaks, so I will be re-watching that over the next few weeks, before the new season begins. I’ll only be watching when my wife is home so I’m sure that I’ll have lots of opportunities to squeeze in some Indian films as well.

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    • So glad you saw Main Khiladi Tu Anari! It’s one of those movies I vaguely knew about, but hadn’t heard of as a cult classic or anything. And then I watched it and was surprised by how pleasant it was. Definitely a lot more entertaining and clever and fast-paced than some films today.

      For Taal, Ghai movies are generally not the place to go for lowkey acting and serious character development. But so much fun! Have you seen Khalnayak yet? That’s my other favorite Ghai and Madhuri is just luminous. It might be a fun one to watch sometime before the Sanjay biopic comes out too.

      It had been a few years since I last watched MPK, and I forgot how over-whelming it is! Hum Saath Saath Hain, there were long slooooooooow moments, and we all kind of knew the plot anyway. But MPK was filled with incident! I kind of wish I had pre-watched it too.

      So glad you saw Sarfarosh! It’s one of those movies that got a lot of critical buzz and attention when it first came out, and then has been a little forgotten for whatever reason since then. For some background, a big part of what it was dealing with was the specific situation of “Muhajir” people. That’s the term for Muslims from India who ended up in Pakistan after Partition. Pakistan wasn’t, like, empty before Partition. And there was, and is, some resentment and conflict between the “native” Pakistanis and the Pakistanis with Indian area ethnicities. From both sides, the Muhajir have a natural feeling that they have suffered for their identity and should be welcomed with open arms, while the “native” Pakistanis (mostly of Sindhi and Punjabi and Pathan ethnicities) resent having to share their ancestral homes with newcomers. And then there is the same conflict among those who chose to stay in India, Aamir’s co-worker would be one of those, forced to constantly prove his identity as Indian just because he is Muslim, even though his family already chose to be “Indian” by staying after Partition, in the same way Naseerji’s character chose to be “Pakistani” by immigrating. There’s all these conflicts between national identities, and ethnic identities, and religious identities and no easy solution for them. I did read an interesting article, which I think about a lot, which pointed out that the big flaw with how Sarfarosh grapples with these identities is that our hero is off the hook. As a Hindu Indian, he never has to deal with identity issues, and the script never expects him to, implying that Hindu religious identity=Indian National identity perfectly with no conflicts. Oh, and also the songs are really great, I hope you got a subtitled version, because they’ve got lovely lyrics as well. That song when they are searching the dance clubs, that was one another one of Farah’s early splashy hits. Notice it’s the same song in each club, and they synch together perfectly, but each club has different choreography and dancers.

      If you read my posts, you will see that I had similar struggles with the ending. The film as a whole felt like it wasn’t the ideal film, like the filmmakers had to bow to practical realities and change their vision. Shahrukh’s knee injury, the Mahira Khan debates, concerns over box office after Fan flopped, I could see all kinds of reasons that they decided last minute to cut a scene or add a song or any other random changes which make it feel not quite right. I did eventually make my peace with the ending, if I took it as a version of the Muharram story. Oh! I should ask! In the version you watched, was Shahrukh’s intro on a bike or shirtless? And did you watch on googleplay or DVD or some other way? One of the other commentators (I think filmilibrarian?) mentioned that they cut the two significant Muharram scenes on the googleplay version and we are trying to figure out why and if there is a “clean” version available anywhere.

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      • I watched the version of Raees on Einthusan. Shahrukh’s introduction was riding on a motorcycle. Oh no, did I watch a chopped up copy of the film? Does that have the same edits as the Googleplay version? I was going to rent it through there but it was only available to buy and it was so expensive, I was going to wait until the rental price popped up. Then it suddenly appeared on Einthusan the other day so I just watched that. Have you heard anything about Mahira’s scenes being cut due to the issues? I expected her part to be a bit larger than it ended up being.

        Unfortunately Sarfarosh didn’t have subtitles for the songs. I hate when that happens! I always feel like I’m missing important pieces of information contained within (plus they’re usually really poetic and pleasant to read). I thought the editing of that club search song was really well done. It figures that Farah did the choreography – it seemed really innovative. I’ll have to go back and watch it again! I also loved the earlier romantic song with Sonali and a rather disinterested and aloof Aamir (I think you had posted the video awhile back, it seemed really familiar).

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        • You did watch a chopped up copy. His “real” intro is as part of a Muharram procession. There is another small scene later, also involving Muharram, which was also cut. Our collective guess when we were commenting on it here is that they changed the streaming version to try to avoid offending the Middle East market (since Muharram is a Shia holiday, although what I’ve read is that it is celebrated by Sunnis as well in some areas). It’s just two tiny cuts, but they are incredibly important to the film, in fact I argue in one of my posts that the recurring Muharram theme gives meaning to the entire film. I’m still waiting on the DVD (was told last Friday that it is delayed again), but I have hopes that at least the DVD version will be the “real” version. And hey, if not, that’s what my film summaries are for! Just look at Part 1 and part 4 and try to picture it in your head.

          That’s the Sarfarosh song I was thinking of when I asked if you had subtitles! My version doesn’t have subtitles either, but for some reason it is subtitled on one of my songs DVDs. It’s super cute, she keeps giving him these romantic poems, and he keeps finishing them with sarcastic comments. Until the end, of course, when he gives in.

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          • That is disappointing! I will definitely wait until I can get my hands on the dvd/blu-ray before I re-watch Raees. I usually check Amazon India for release dates and it seems like the Raees and Dangal releases have been pushed back about four or five times. Looks like it’s May 4 now (yesterday, they were both supposed to be released on April 15, I believe). I hope they come out eventually-I want to watch them both again!

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  4. I am in San Diego for the Popular Culture Association conference, and downloaded DDLJ for the cross-country flight (7 hours with one stopover). That was a brilliant move on my part. I truly enjoy and appreciate the film more every time I see it; this time it was Amrish Puri’s turn for attention. His performance as the father is so fantastic, especially in the warm, fatherly scenes in the first half.

    The next films in my SRK chronological trek are Ram Jaane and Trimurti, which won’t be quite as much fun, but will certainly make my return flight pass quickly.

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    • Now I’m distracted, did you watch DDLJ 1 and 2/3rds times? Or did you watch DDLJ once and something else for another 2 and a half hours?

      Oh! And before I forget, Midwest PCA submissions are open now, it’s in St. Louis this year. If you submit something, I will guarantee acceptance to the India Area 🙂

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  5. Last week I watched Aiyyaa and Premam, but you already know that, because as soon as I watched it, I came here to write comments 🙂
    Can’t get out of my head Aga Bai song, and all Premam’s details. Funny, because when I finished Premam, I thought: Nice movie, but I don’t feel like watching it again. And than, I read your review, and some other people comments, and now I must re-watch.
    Last week too, I become totally dependent on your blog. I read all old stuff, new reviews, comments. I should study to my driving license exam, but instead I’m always here. It feels so good to find somebody who I can talk about indian movies!
    I love to comment, and discuss all I watch, but nobody here is interested 😦 There are some polish blogs about bollywood, but seems that all people there are die-hard Shraddha fans, and consider Sanam Re as one of the best movies ever (I try to watch it, but could bear 20 minutes)

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    • I am fascinated that Sanam Re is big in Poland! I think in my post when it released, I was really struck by the big release strategy for this fairly average film. Apparently it worked, if it is big in Europe now.

      I’m glad you found my blog too! I was lucky when I first found Indian film, in that I was living in a college dorm surrounded by desi college students. I would have had a harder time talking about Hollywood film than Indian back then. But then there were a couple of dark years after graduation when I didn’t have any desi friends, very lonely and frustrating!

      I had that same reaction to Premam! That is, I enjoyed it while watching it, but didn’t really think much about it. And then it just kept popping up in my head, little moments, over the next several weeks, until I had to go back and see it again.

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    • Angie, we’re glad you’ve found this blog, too. It is wonderful to have a place to talk about these movies. My next door neighbor is Indian and she hasn’t watched anywhere near the number of Indian films I have!

      Also, Margaret’s posts are so in depth, that I frequently want to rewatch movies to see what she’s illuminated for me.

      Aga Bai was on non-stop repeat for me for weeks after I first watched Aiyyaa! So catchy!! (And Prithviraj is so smoldering in it, too.)

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      • Yes, Margaret’s post and your comments makes me reflect better on movies I see. I was used to watch indian movies without thinking. Just watch, without analizing it, without coming back. And this is wrong. At least with some movies, which deserve to be watched attentively. I think that this blog really made me treat indian movies more seriously 🙂 And I’m so happy about it.

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        • I’m so glad to hear it! That is the main reason I wanted to write about Indian film, whether here or in my book or in an academic setting. It’s a good thing if people think more about what they watch, it makes you a smarter person, and ultimately it makes it more enjoyable to watch things.

          Although, not all things! I am posting a review of Sanam Teri Kasam tomorrow, and that is not necessarily a film that requires a lot of thought 🙂

          On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 4:04 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • LOL Yes, Sanam Teri Kasam requires a lot of crying, and not thinking. Can’t wait to read your opinion .

            I would love to read what you think about Munnariyippu. I saw that you have it on your to-watch-list, but I guess you haven’t seen it yet, because there is no review. I watched it last month, before I found your blog. I think it was my second malayalam movie ever (The first one was Rathri Mazha, which I loved, even if it’s not my kind of movie) and I was little confused about it.

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          • I’ve been avoiding Munnariyippu because it sounds scary! And I don’t like scary movies (usually). I like romances and babies and subtle social messages.

            But it is on my list, I’ve heard good things about it. And the cast is great, Parvathy is wonderful in everything and Mammootty of course.

            On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 4:43 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • I didn’t found Munnariyippu scary. Yes, there is some tension, because it’s thriller but nothing else. And I’m the one who have waited 5 years to watch Manichitrathazhu (those malayalam titles are killing me), because I thought it’s dreadful.

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          • Can’t wait to read your review of Sanam Teri Kasam! I love that movie, flaws and all.

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  6. Watching MPK with all of you was super fun on Saturday. I hadn’t seen it in a long time, and it was fun to see after having seen more Salman Khan films. Also, holy MOLY there were a lot of songs in movies back then!

    I caught a matinee of Kaatru Veliyadai on Friday. While not my favorite Mani Ratnam film ever, it has stayed with me and I keep thinking about it. I might try to catch it again. Full thoughts here on my blog:

    https://moviemavengal.com/2017/04/07/kaatru-veliyidai-mani-ratnams-latest-romantic-film-with-complex-characters/

    It was sort of interesting that with that abusive/passionate complex relationship dynamic in Kaatru Veligyadai, I also finished watching the 7 episode mini-series Big Little Lies on HBO. Whoa. If any of you have HBO, I highly recommend it. It is framed as a murder mystery, but really it is about the dynamic of several women with first grade aged children, their complex relationships and rivalries and their marriages. Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard play the “perfect” couple, passionate sex and all, but after the first episode you see more and more darkness in their marriage. It was not a simplistic portrayal of an abusive husband — and made me compare it to Mani Ratnam’s complex portrayal of the key passionate yet dark relationship in Kaatru Veliyadai. Karthi did not physically abuse Aditi, but there was darkness there.

    Big Little Lies was co-produced by Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman. The level of acting in it was astounding — Laura Dern, Shailene Woodley, Adam Scott, Zoe Kravitz and on and on.

    Also on a whim I watched the short (90 minute) indie film Tangerine on Netflix. It is a trip. It’s about two LA transgender sex workers — one of whom goes on a rampage to find the “fish” (i.e. heterosexual woman) that her pimp fiance cheated on her with. The really interesting thing about this Sundance film is that it was filmed entirely with three iPhone 5S’s. They used an app to get rid of autofocus, and then used editing software in post to crank up the saturation of the colors — thus the title Tangerine. It looks amazing, and you can’t believe they just used iPhones with steadicams, but they could get right into tight spots in real locations and film on the street without shutting down normal traffic.

    The last few days have been Passover, so I’ve either been busy preparing or attending Seder dinners so no movie watching this week yet.

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    • Big Little Lies sounds like exactly the kind of mini-series I like to binge on a Saturday. Put it on in the background, clean the apartment, do the dishes, finish blogging, and be done with the whole thing by the end of the day. Can’t wait for it to pop-up at my library or somewhere else!

      It’s cool that Passover and Easter almost lined up this year! I always like that when it happens. A nice little reminder of how it is all connected.

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    • I will have to check out Tangerine! I’ve been curious about it since I saw Sean Baker, the director, on the Criterion Closet feature that they do on Youtube. I have an iPhone 5S and shooting an entire movie with one (or three, I guess) is a technical achievement in itself. It seems that instead of seeing it as a limitation, the filmmakers really looked at it as an opportunity to do something fresh and unique.

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  7. Well I saw Main Hoon Na a couple of days ago and it was really fun!

    Honestly, this entire movie was Shahrukh’s show. He does everything; action, romance, dance, comedy, emotional scenes, etc. I don’t think I’ve seen such a complete performance in a while and though I prefer his romantic movies, this was fun too. One thing that I found interesting was that his character in Main Hoon Na and Kal Ho Naa Ho lands in a new place and helps people solve their problems and achieve their dreams. Sushmita Sen was so beautiful and had great chemistry with Shahrukh. Their romance was really fun. I wonder what happened to her. Amrita Rao was really cute and I liked her scenes with Shahrukh. Zayed Khan was okay, he struggled in the emotional scenes though. I actually liked him better with long hair. Surprisingly, Khirron Kher wasn’t playing a comedic role for once. You could tell that Farah Khan is a choreographer because the songs are shot quite interestingly. I especially loved the end credits song and how the entire crew was shown. I also really liked the title song and Tumse Milke Dilka Jo Haal.

    Karan Johar did Shahrukh’s costumes. I thought he only did Shahrukh’s costumes for DDLJ and his movies?

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    • Main Hoon Na is so fun! what a treat to talk about it. I like your description it as a “complete performance”. It’s one of my go-to films when I think about how much more a movie star brings to a film than an actor. If you watch some of the making of stuff, or the director’s commentary, it’s not just that Farah wrote the film to perfectly capture Shahrukh’s stardom, he was running the shoot some days, directing his own action sequences, recommending certain lines or moves, everything. He kind of “left it all on the floor” in terms of making this movie work.

      Sush just got too old. And too picky. Which is why I love her. She only does roles that interest her and which she likes. And if there isn’t anything, she doesn’t work. She really started to slow down around 2010, when she adopted her second daughter. I think she might just have decided she’d made enough money and decided to stop working and focus on her kids. She still shows up at fashion shows and stuff sometimes.

      And Karan always does Shahrukh’s costumes! Not just for movies, he also dresses him for public appearances and stuff. At least, he used to, I think he stopped around the time of My Name is Khan, when they started to drift apart and Karan got more and more busy with Dharma and stuff.

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      • I’m sure he was an important part of making Main Hoon Na, especially since this was Farah’s directorial debut. He was also producing this movie right. Has Shahrukh ever expressed the desire to direct a movie? Varun mentioned recently that he wants to direct in the future and that he’s been working on a few screenplays.

        Oh, I thought that she stopped acting after Main Hoon Na for some reason. I think the only other movies I’ve seen her in are Biwi No.1 and Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya. I liked her; it would have been nice to see her in more movies. But I’m glad she’s happy with her kids.

        That’s interesting that Karan used to dress him up for events and stuff. I would think that maybe Gauri would be the one doing that. Maybe that’s just because Mahesh Babu’s wife, Namrata, is usually his costume designer. Speaking of Mahesh, the first look of his movie with A.R. Murugadoss came out today 🙂

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        • Gauri was always his costume designer, she even has an official credit in a lot of his early movies. But then Karan started doing it around when Kuch Kuch came out, which is also when Aryan was born. In interviews, Gauri and SRK have mentioned that she only did the costume designing early own because she was so bored and lonely and frustrated in Bombay, with Shahrukh working crazy hours and no friends. She has a design degree, so it wasn’t just a “pity” kind of job, it’s what she was actually trained for. But then, I assume, she found her place in Bombay and get into other things and stopped dressing Shahrukh, and that’s when Karan stepped in.

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          • Oh, I must have read that somewhere then 🙂 It’s nice that she still found a way to be involved in Shahrukh’s life even when he was doing multiple movies a year.

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  8. I watched a punjabi movie Jihne Mera Dil Luteya. I dont think that it has been suggested to you by anyone. I also watched Fast 8. No words can describe Charlize Theron. She is absolutely stunning. What were they thinking while casting her as evil queen? In what world, Kristin Stewart will be considered more beautiful than Charlize Theron? What happened to Hollywood beauties? No young actress can match Sharon Stone, Jennifer Anitson, Catherine Zeta Jones, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, CHarlize Theron etc

    Jihne Mera Dil Luteya is a light hearted comedy movie. It is a good movie. The movie that you watch on a friday night. It doesnt disappoint in any way if you want a light hearted comedy. It is not serious enough to be Mel Kara de rabba, Goofy enough to be Jatt And Juliet, Comic enough to be carry on Jatta, not ethnic enough to be Angrej. But a good enough movie. One of the last movie that I watched in college. It was also first hit movie of Diljit and Gippy. It is strange that they haven’t worked with each other ever since. One of my friend after watching this movie suggestd that they 2 should work in a remake of Anda Apna Apna. There are also other colorful characters like Prof. Bhalla and Advocate Shingara
    Story is about 2 hooligans Yuvraj and Goornoor who are bitter enemy of each other. One rich girl Noor moves in their college and they try to woo her in their own way just to get back at each other. But they seriously fall in love with her. Who will Noor choose?

    I won’t say that it is best movie ever made. But it is a simple clean comedy. No item song, no cheap double meaning comedy. They dont actually stalk Noor but becomes friend of her although due to questionable means. But noor is never objectified and eve teased in this movie. They just try to get her attention. In the end, Noor’s decision matters. It is just a good movie. A simple, clean sweet movie. Movie that you can easily watch with your kids(atleast I wil).

    All in all a good movie to watch on your laptop.

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    • Sounds nice! I will have to check it out if/when I have time (I haven’t even had time to watch the youtube videos you sent this week, all my posts are on things I watched weeks ago),

      On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 8:34 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  9. You didn’t watch all videos that I sent you. Should I send them again?

    Should I send them again?
    The videos contained trailers of Punjabi movies with subtitles and some other good music videos

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    • No, I got them, I’ve been watching when I have time. It’s been kind of a crazy week.

      On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 8:38 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  10. I watched Running Shaadi too. I enjoyed it. Taapsee Pannu certainly had a better role than in The Ghazi Attack. I liked her interplay with Cyber – teasing/pulling faces at him as if he was her brother.

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    • So glad more people are watching Running Shaadi! I’m not saying it’s the greatest movie of all time, but it deserved to be in theaters longer than 5 days.

      On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 9:38 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  11. Started the semester this week and have been again paralyzed with business and exhaustion, so not much watching except I saw The Nice Guys, which has finally come out in theaters in Japan about a year after everyone else. It’s a darkly-comic crime movie like so many these days, but this is really well done and I like Ryan Gosling’s performance and particularly Russell Crowe, who has gotten considerably less insufferable in the past few years.

    Besides watching MPK I only was able to spare 30 minutes for any Indian movie, but I am proud to say I finally finished Happy Bhag Jayegi and can now go on with my life. The last bit was pretty funny, and I liked Zoya’s little arc, but didn’t think much of Bimal and Zoya’s relationship as a whole. It seems like a lot of movies where they set up a woman to be a delightful blythe spirit who is irresistible to everyone and then fail to develop the character into anything more than a pretty woman who is a complete pain in the keister for the majority of the movie. (This was my problem with Jab Tak Hai Jaan also). Especially when contrasted with Zoya, who is smart, resourceful, and kind, it’s hard to understand why Bimal would prefer her.

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    • Congrats on finishing Happy Bhaag Jayegi! I love the Zoya character too, and I wish she’d gotten more of the romance she deserved.

      On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 11:01 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  12. I had a very busy week so not such a good movie week. Had plans to watch both Kaatru Veliyidai and Take Off but it didn’t work out, so hopefully this weekend.
    I finally gave in to my temptation and watched OK Jaanu…..obviously it was terrible. But my sister and I got to have some fun comparing the performances and the scenes, and now I like OK Kanmani much much more than before.
    I also finally watched Manam! And loved it just as much as you did! I loved everyone in the cast, and really appreciate the way this complicated premise was simplified. I suggest you watch 24 by the same director, and starring Suriya, where he has dealt with time-traveling. Moviemavengal has reviewed it too, and I think she liked it.
    Also, please do watch Munnaryipou! First of all the heroine isn’t Parvathy but Aparna Gopinath (she was there briefly in Charlie as the doctor). But she was wonderful in the film. It is a very interesting and engaging thriller, and I would love to know your take on it.

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    • I still haven’t seen OK Jaanu, and it sounds like that is a wise decision.

      So glad you saw and liked Manam! It’s just the best movie. I didn’t realize the same director did 24, that’s been on my longtime “maybe someday” list just because of the interesting plot and the Rahman soundtrack, but this might put it over the top to “watch soon”.

      Munnaryipou is on that same “maybe someday” list. And someday might be this weekend! If I have time between the thousand other things I need to do this weekend.

      On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 11:22 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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      • 24 is really good but I didn’t like it as much as Manam. But it is a really good movie and you’ll finally get introduced to Suriya!

        Another movie you might want to check out is Ishq (2012, Telugu) starring Nithya Menen and Nithin. It’s a nice love story that was directed by Vikram Kumar before he made Manam. Again, not as good as Manam but still pretty good.

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    • Huh. What channel is showing it in India? Part of the reason it’s such a big deal in America is because it’s on HBO, which doesn’t censor anything, so it’s kind of “TV for adults”. I would have thought they would try to find a similar channel for other markets.

      On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 4:06 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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      • You can watch Game of thrones uncut on an app called Hotstar. You have to pay money for watching it. Dont say that Game of thrones is succesful only because of nudity. It hurts GOT fans

        I am on GOT marathon. I will complete it before next season starts. Thank goodness, I will perhaps watch it with my parents. My mother loves Sansa. How she rebounds after horrific circumstances, how she becomes the hero she needs.
        Apart from that, I will be naming my daughter Arya.

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  14. Watched Chameli last night. Now I understand better Kareena Kapoor’s career trajectory. She took a chance with this performance (way back in 2003!) and it tapped into her serious acting potential. First film I’ve actually understood the appeal of Rahul Bose, but I still really haven’t explored his Bengali arthouse stuff. His natural expressions were perfection, especially in a cute scene where Chameli kids around with him in English and teases him about taking her to London. He laughs at her silliness and then you can completely see his realization that he would love to do just that…take her away from this life. There’s still the whole Pretty Woman/hooker with a heart of gold thing going on here…it is, after all, a classic plot, but this film treats it with relative sensitivity and charm.

    I really enjoyed the stagey quality of the production and, yay, for a positive portrayal of the transgender community and homosexuality. I know Bose was in that groundbreaking film “I Am”, too, which I need to see!

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    • Still haven’t seen Chameli. I can share a story about it, which kind of relates to Kareena’s career trajectory. It came out right when I started college, and the joke that was going around the dorms was “Kareena Kapoor’s only good performance is in Chameli, because she’s playing a prostitute”. Mostly the joke is funny because 18 year old good desi girls (I was in the honors dorm, it was all pre-med students who went home on weekends) are the meanest people on earth. But it’s also a sign of where Kareena was at that point, still mostly known for her “Poo” character and all the other roles she had taken that were similar to it, aggressive sexual types that good desi girls HATED. Chameli was clearly something different, but everyone thought it was a random one-off. And now here we are over ten years later, and she had matured into a respected actress, one that the good desi girls of today look up to as a successful career woman.

      If you are on a Rahul Bose kick, watch Jhankaar Beats!!! It’s a shockingly good movie, great performances from everyone, Juhi is luminious, and the soundtrack is what kicked Vishal-Shekhar into the big time.

      On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 8:35 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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    • You must have put in the wrong link, that’s not Bahubaali 2 🙂

      Interesting that this is a documentary. It’s the first big sports documentary, isn’t it? And to get a big theatrical release, that’s different from documentaries everywhere else. Right there, that’s a big sign of how special Sachin is, that people will want to see a documentary about him and will want to see it in theaters.

      On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 11:57 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  18. Lots of exciting Varun rumors came out lately 🙂
    – Well first off, Varun is in London shooting for Judwaa 2 with Taapsee. I think this is his Raja look: https://twitter.com/TheAnujRadia/status/852209470105157632
    – Apparently Varun’s playing a soccer player in his movie with Shoojit Sircar! This sounds really exciting! http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/scoop-varun-dhawan-football-film-shoojit-sircar/
    – He’s also rumored to be doing a biopic on Dhyan Chand who was an Indian field hockey player. He denied doing this movie back when Dishoom was releasing but the rumors popped up again now. http://www.india.com/showbiz/dhyan-chand-biopic-will-varun-dhawans-loss-be-sidharth-malhotras-gain-2023725/
    – And finally, Nitesh Tiwari is talking to Varun about doing his next movie with him. Apparently he’s doing a movie for Sajid Nadiadwala, who is close to Varun, so I feel like this may turn out to be true. http://boxofficeindia.co.in/nitesh-direct-dhawan/

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    • I am so grateful for you keeping me up to date on all Varun news! This all sounds super exciting. Well, the Judwaa 2 news isn’t exactly huge, but a soccer player movie with Shoojit Sircar sounds like it might be a little off the beaten path of comedy and light romance. And the Dyan Chand one would be a historic biopic, definitely something new! I’m less excited about Nitesh, he seems like a very hit and miss director, and Dangal was workmanlike, but not brilliant.

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      • Seeing leaked pictures from Judwaa 2 makes me more enthusiastic, but I’m still more excited for Shoojit Sircar’s movie. Since they’re saying that Varun’s playing a soccer player who goes through a life changing match, I’m starting to wonder if Varun gets hurt and can’t play soccer again. I don’t know, it’s way to early to speculate 🙂

        Dhyan Chand’s story seems interesting and it looks like there is a lot stories that could be told about him. According to his wikipedia page, he’s one of the greatest field hockey players of all time. My only problem with this movie is that I think this will be the director’s first movie and he hasn’t worked under Karan or anyone big that has been mentioned.

        I haven’t seen any of Nitesh Tiwari’s work other than Dangal but I think working with him might be good for Varun. Even if the movie doesn’t turn out to be as good as Dangal, I still think it would create a lot of buzz for Varun to work with the director of Dangal.

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      • I loved Dangal. My favorite film last year is Dangal.
        My top 5 movies of last year from what I have seen

        1. Dangal
        2. Kammattipadam
        3. Arrival
        4. Maheshinte Prathikaram
        5. Action Hero Biju

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        • I liked Dangal but I don’t think I would say it’s one of my favorite films of the year. In all languages, I think my top five movies of last year were…

          1. Neerja
          2. Oopiri (Telugu)
          3. 24 (Tamil)
          4. Manamantha (Telugu)
          5. Sultan

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          • Watched Manmatha’s malayalam dubbed version in theatres with my parents. For me it was above avg with good acting and good script My parents said it felt like watching a 1980’s malayalam movie, with really similar direction, story, cinematography to that era.

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          • My theatre ( My family owns a theatre in Kerala) ran 24 the tamil movie, so got to watch it couple of times. The film was good with superb performance by Suriya but felt like they could have made it even better with reducing the time given for the romantic track between suriya and samantha.

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          • That’s really cool that your family own’s a theater!

            I didn’t have much expectations from Manamantha, so I ended up really liking it.

            I didn’t feel like 24 was too long, it was pretty engaging throughout. I thought the romance was mainly used as a way to show the audience what all the watch could do, so I didn’t mind the romance much. Plus Suriya is just really charming 🙂

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  19. Over the past few days, I rewatched both 24 and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

    24 is a Tamil time travel movie starring Suriya, Samantha, and Nithya Menen. It’s directed by Vikram K. Kumar who also made Manam. It’s a really clever and fun movie. You should really check it out! Here’s the trailer:

    Then I rewatched RNBDJ which is one of my favorite Shahrukh movies. This movie is so underrated in my opinion when compared to other movies like Veer-Zaara and Dil To Pagal Hai. I feel like people end up hating on RNBDJ just because Taani can’t recognize her husband, Suri, when he shows up as Raj. I loved Shahrukh’s performance in this movie, and Anushka was really impressive as well. I also love the entire soundtrack of RNBDJ though Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai has to be my favorite song.

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    • I feel the same way about Rab Ne. Shahrukh’s performance, and the quality of the story and script as a whole was so much deeper and more original and creative than the bigger “classics” DTPH and Veer-Zaara. Although I can see the advantages to those as well, they have a sort of bigness that is missing in Rab Ne’s simple story.

      Oh, and I am definitely watching 24 this weekend!

      On Sun, Apr 16, 2017 at 12:28 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  20. Can’t wait until Wednesday to recap my last two new movie watches:) I watched Mujhse Dosti Karoge and didn’t absolutely hate it, which was a huge surprise! I dislike Salman Khan in any role that is primarily romantic or rom-com. Also not a big Priyanka fan. And my only real exposure to David Dhawan films has been Main Tera Hero (which has a lot of similarities to this one). But Akshay’s really strong comic performance saved it for me and Rajpal Yadav was also amusing and not as annoying as the character could have been. The Farah Khan choreo was also a plus.

    For a complete change of pace, I also watched the Bengali film Kadambari and really loved it. Konkona Sen Sharma was just beautiful in it and all of the acting was strong. Talk about sub-text and understated acting. I think often the Bengali arthouse films are too internalized for me, but the fact that this one was based on famous historical people and was only 87 minutes helped so much! Also, beautiful period sarees, interiors, and gardens. It makes me long for there to be a film Hindi (or Bengali) where Sabyasachi designs every costume and interior in his distinctive textiles. Like the recent Cinderella live action film with the phenomenal art production and costume designs.

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    • OK, after doing more research, it looks like Sabyasachi has done costume design for a few films, so good for him for doing great work that I couldn’t recognize as his. I loved the costumes in Guzaarish and Baabul and the others he did, but I never would have known he did them. I love his distinctive use of flowers in his textiles and more neutral earth tones.

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    • I saw Mujshe Shaadi Karoge pop up on Netflix, but I haven’t re-watched it yet. I saw it the first time right when it first came out, which would be over ten years ago now, so I really need a refresher. I remember finding it refreshingly different in how it handled the love triangle. And being surprised at how amused I was at Akshay and Salman’s performance. If you haven’t seen much Dhawan, I would highly recommend Biwi No. 1, partly for Salman (who really is his muse, kind of like Karan and Shahrukh), but largely for Karisma. She is just marvelous in it, and makes every comic heroine after her pale in comparison.

      I continue to know nothing about Bengali cinema and have nothing to add to their conversation 😦 But thank you for making me look up Sabyasachi! It was one of those experiences where I had never put together these various elements before, but now that I see a list of all the films he has worked on, and celebrities he styles, I can go “oh yeah! I totally see the connection!”

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      • His current collection (the Udaipur Collection) is stunning. He did a collab with Pottery Barn recently and I stupidly missed when things went on sale and now there’s not much left except stuff marked up on ebay!

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        • I wonder if he did the costumes for Wazir? Those look very similar to Aditi’s look in that film. And maybe Fitoor as well?

          On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 1:13 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  21. I have watched –
    1. Barah Aana – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1202517/?ref_=nv_sr_1 – one of a group of 3 friends decides it would be a good idea (to make easy cash) to ‘kidnap’ ordinary folk and ask for small ransoms. Things go a bit awry but by some quirk it all works out OK in the end. Good performances 🙂

    2. Jhankaar Beats – enjoyed this 🙂

    3. Sardaarji 2 – Probably about an hour too long. Filmed in Australia but I found it very irritating that all the ‘Australian’ characters were played by no-name European actors who spoke with a strange intonation. And what was with the cops who had American accents and acted like the FBI?!? A bit too ludicrous in parts and I didn’t like it as much as Sardaarji. But Diljit Dosanjh was cute in his triple role, he has a very engaging smile

    4. Salaakhen – with Saashi Kapoor. Very 70s – oh the platform shoes! Amrish Puri in very groovy gear and platforms, lol. Shammi Kapoor was supposedly in a cameo role but I didn’t spot him.

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    • I have seen none of these! Except Jhankaar Beats. Isn’t Juhi Chawla wonderful in it? and now I kind of want to watch Salaakhen.

      On Tue, Apr 18, 2017 at 8:16 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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