Happy Madhuri’s Birthday again! And Happy Monday! I started the week by waking up at 4:30am (again). 6 more days until my sister comes back from Chennai and my sleep schedule gets back on American time instead of India time!
As always, you can ask me anything you want, from the personal (“do you like Madhuri best or a different actress?”) to the specific (“I am new to the films, why is Madhuri such a big deal?”) to the general discussion question (“Is Madhuri the biggest actress of the 90s or not?”). Oh, and it doesn’t HAVE to be a Madhuri question, I just like to have a theme for these posts so they aren’t identical and boring every week.
The only rule is, you have to let me answer first! Otherwise it’s no fun for me. But once I do answer, feel free to jump in and join the discussion!
dontcallitbollywood 
I just watched Bahubali The Beginning on Youtube (they have made the 4K version available for free now). Probably because of this, youtube has thrown a bunch of “suggested videos” at me, one of which is a truly fascinating “behind the scenes” interview with Rajamouli (and a little of Prabhas and Rana) on Part 1. It talks about scenes and dialogs which were cut and why, where Rajamouli got the ideas for various visual bits, etc. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and only regretted that I couldn’t recommend it to you and others here, because it’s all in Telugu (or at least 90%; Rana tends to talk in English). I’ve been thinking about it for the last couple of hours, and an idea occurred to me. I know people attach subtitles to youtube videos all the time which were not originally there. I would be happy to translate what they’re saying, if you can figure out a way to attach the subtitle file to the video. You’ll probably need your own youtube channel to do this. I’m not sure if there are any copyright issues involved, so you’d need to check on that, too. Are you interested?
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I am interested! If you are willing to do all that work for us. The simplest thing might be for you to just post the translation in the comments, I can start by just reading that while I watch the video and see if I can follow along.
On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 5:16 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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OK, but don’t expect it any time soon. I’ve lost a week being sick, and am way behind on all my other deadlines. I’ll probably do it in bits ( say five minutes at a time — the whole video is about 35 minutes).
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That would be amazing! Thank you so much!
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Do you mind sharing the link to the interview?
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Yes, yes, yes!!!!!!!! Thank you kindly.🙂
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Did you check trailer of Super Singh? or check Lahoriye?
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I haven’t, although I saw that the Lahoriye box office is very high in the traditional overseas markets, Australia and Canada.
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Thats cool. You checked Lahoriye. Alas, I wont be able to watch it. I wanted to take my mother to watch it.
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Did you check my videos for Mother’s day?
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I did not, I was busy spending the day with my mother 🙂
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Thats good.. Please check those videos and like them. I dedicated them to my mother.
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I notices last time that you like Jeet. It is one of my favorite Sunny Deol movie. He was absolute Badass in the movie. Although, You have get bored in the middle for Salman and KArishma love story but Sunny Paaji makes this movie worth watching. He is good in not only badassery but also emotionally.
what are your reviews of it?
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I wrote a review of Jeet on the blog, if you use the search box, you can find it. If you search for Sunny Deol, you should be able to find a few reviews.
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I hope you like it for same reason that I do. Not for the parts that I despise
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I wont be sending any videos today. Because no one is watching them. I will post it on wednesday
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How do you watch so many movies?
You might have watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai about 50 times but I have not watched it fully even once. You watched bahubali 20 times as you admitted. I haven’t watched any movie that many times not even Die Hard, Gadar, Border, Rambo, Terminator etc Apart from that you watch every Indian and tamil movie.I am considered a movie buff in my friend circle but I am nothing over here. I haven’t even be able to watch every Punjabi movie released this year not even lahoriye or Rabb Da radio How do you manage it?
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Movies are a big part of my life. They are both my “work”, that is, the thing that I watch seriously so I can write about it for the blog or for my school (back when I was in school), and my social life. I get together with friends once or twice a week, and we will either watch a movie in my apartment or go to a movie in the theater.
I average about 4 movies a week. A new release in theaters every Friday with my friend Dina and sometimes other friends join us, 2 movies on Saturday for the blog while I do laundry and other household tasks, and then one more movie sometime during the week when I have friends over for a movie night. It’s really not a lot when you break it down like that.
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Okay
But you watch only Indian movies. Not a single American movie. Even I watch Indian movies once in a while
also your reviews of movies confuse me. My friends do watch movies that you praise but their reviews are always it was okayish movie at best. And other times waste of time. I watch movie by planning. They watch movies without planning. They dont discuss those movies afterwards.
Me and my friends loved Civil War and Logan but you dont like them.
It puzzles me greatly. What do people over here see that My friends and I dont see? I am considered movie expert in my group
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If you read our comments, and my reviews, that is what we discuss, why we liked movies, what we see in them that appeals to us. Keep an open mind, and you can see the answers right here.
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Sorry, if my comment was offensive. I sort of cleared myself in next comment.
I have narrow definition of good and bad movie. Either I like it or not like it. No movie is a guilty pleasure movie. I like the movie, If I like it. It can be that it is enjoyable like Sudden Death, though provoking like Bourne triolgy or both like Terminator. If the movie is none. I dont like it.
My friends actually have only 2 types of movies either mind blowing or waste of time.
I apologise, if my comments were rude. I didnt intend them to be.
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But I should say that it is perhaps only time that I respect opinions completely different than mine. Your blog has made me a little bit more tolerant.
I have to respect opinions over here because sometimes Dharam Paaji and Sunny Paaji are praised here.
Please write a blog of Sunny paaji movie here. Preferably Ghatak or Damini. Not of Border because I cant commend you on it unless you have seen Hacksaw Ridge or 13 Hours. Border is my favorite Sunny Deol movie
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Did you also check Manje Bistre?
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I think I saw that it is also doing well, again in the traditional markets.
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they are supposed to do well in traditional market only. These are made in Punjabis and mainly punajbis can understand them. They are not likely to do well in the areas where there are no Punjabis. Overseas markets will involve only Canada, Australia and new Zealand.
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But it is good that people are taking interest in them. My mission is successfull. HAHAHHAHA
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Seems like my comment disappeared again. It was the first one in this thread this morning.
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What the heck? I responded to it, and someone else did as well too. I just found it in spam. It seems like the spam filter is spamming stuff after it’s been posted, which is not how it is supposed to work! I’m gonna get in touch with the WordPress tech support.
Thanks for the heads up!
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Ah, I thought it just didn’t like me. 🙂
You’re welcome.
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I have two unrelated sets of questions. Feel free to answer one, both, or neither!
1. What do you think it would take to get a movie with Madhuri and SRK as the leads into development? An unusual story? A studio willing to take a risk? Do you really think it’s true that older female actresses in the lead won’t get the box office return, even with a good script and production?
2. I’ve been looking forward to Hindi Medium, coming out on the 19th, being a big Irrfan fan. I’m following the film on Twitter and they retweeted this sideways promotional video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X27gLBmiBVc&feature=youtu.be
It’s kooky and made me laugh–I’ve seen infomercials like this in Bangladesh and India–but it’s also pretty racist, I think? Hindi comedy groups like AIB, and I guess Filter Copy, have such a weird relationship with African-American culture. What do you think? I have certainly noticed racism in Hindi films w/regard to South Indians, and I know racist incidents happen against African migrants in India. How does it all tie together, in your opinion?
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1. I think all of those things. Firstly, a male-female lead film is supposed to always be a romance. If Madhuri-Shahrukh are in a romance, that means Madhuri would have to be either a) divorced, b) widowed, c) a woman who didn’t get married by the time she was 25, or d) a woman whose marriage with Shahrukh is breaking up and needs to be saved. All of which are no-nos! Alternatively, it would have to be a male-female lead film which is NOT a romance. Which is, again, a bit of a risk. So the script would need to be very clever in how it navigated all those areas. And that’s where the studio would be taking the risk, and where they might lose the audience.
But also, there is the scheduling issues. Remember how little Kajol was in Dilwale? She just was not available that much. Shahrukh’s schedule is insane, he needs an actress who is ready and willing to wait on his availability. Madhuri’s got her TV shows and her online dance class and her public appearances, and her husband and kids. That’s got to be another big concern.
So, it would have to be the perfect script, which convinces Madhuri and Shahrukh that it is worth it to throw their schedules away and do the shoot. And which convinces the studios that it is worth the risk of turning off the conservative viewers with a non-traditional heroine. And which convinces the audience that Madhuri may not be the usual virginal young thing, but they shouldn’t hate her for that.
2. Have you seen the AIB “party song” video? My favorite line in there is something like “we act like black guys, even though in real life, we are really racist”. So there is at least a little awareness of the problem.
For me, it’s a bigger issue than just India, American pop culture, especially the music industry, has been packaging and selling the African-American experience since, like, forever. India has picked up on that, but I feel like the solution has to come from America, not India. They are a symptom, no the problem, if that makes sense?
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Thanks for tackling both topics! I knew you would have good insights. The scheduling issue hadn’t occurred to me–I’m sure it is a huge issue for them. And I have to remember, while they might be a bit nostalgic, and may enjoy working together (no idea on that one), ultimately they have a LOT of options to choose from. 🙂
Totally agree with your points about race and American pop culture. My concern really stems from being a white American who benefits from structural racism in the US, not trying to judge Indian race relations from afar! 🙂 It’s more about–should I and other white folks in the US consume, enjoy, share on social media, stuff from India–or any other country that might replicate the racism we have in entertainment in the US. Complicated!
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Ooo, good question! I think I would land on “no”? Or at least, only share it in a forum where you are sure it would be viewed from the Indian context, not the American one. I would possibly consider sharing a this video on my blog, where I know my readers will see it within the Indian context, but not elsewhere where it might be seen as referring to African-American culture.
On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 8:36 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I am an Indian and I have some authority on race relations in India.
I can say that just chill. We have been enjoying American pop culture since ever even though there are stereotypes in it. Enjoy something if you like it. If you dont then dont. We enjoy Big Bang Theory with Raj character. He is way off the mark(we have simpler names and we have some of the biggest flirts) but it doesn’t matter. Religion matters more here. Just enjoy, if you like it. Stereotypes are part of entertainment. It is not good and must change but it can be good entertainment.
Have you ever checked portaryol of Sardars and Punjabis in general? Only Dwayne Johnson is a black actor who can match popularity of white actors like Christian bale, Tom Cruise, Vin Diesel, Bradd Pitt. Slyvester Stallone etc. in India.
One advice. If you dont discriminate and tell others not to, then your work is done.
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According to you, what is most unethical thing done by a hero in a Bollywood movie? I am not talking about movie where Hero is intentionally evil like Baazigar or stupid like Andaz Apna Apna. But the movies where Hero is supposed to be epitome of good. Like I find Singham to be pretty unethical. Part 2 was especially bad. In it HEro is supposed to be super cop but he does nothing cop like. He fails at every front. Thewn he kills people ignoring court’s order giving message that judiciary means nothing and police should kill everyone whom so ever they deem fit.
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Ta Ra Rum Pum Pum, I think. Probably not the answer you were expecting 🙂
I assume you haven’t seen the movie, it was a huge flop so not many people did. The plot is that our hero and heroine lose all their money and have to go live in a poorer area of the city. It’s set in New York, and they are Indian immigrants, but they have been living an upper middle class life. And now they are living in the lower class immigrant area, their neighbors help them, get our hero a job as a taxi driver, and welcome them into the building.
Our hero and heroine and their kids are presented as suffering these terrible torments because they have to live there. But, everyone else is already living there! What makes them so special? They have no empathy or understanding for their neighbors, no gratitude for how these people are helping them. And then, worst of all, because their daughter is so sad about not having a nice birthday, they lie to the neighbors that she is sick and take the money that the neighbors collect for her healthcare and use it for a birthday party.
The movie presents this as a tiny white lie, no big deal, kind of a funny con. But not only are they taking money away from people just as poor as they, people who might have needed it for rent or food, but that means there is less disposable money available if someone wants it for a REAL emergency. What if a kid actually gets sick next week? The money that could have been collected and used for their care has already been used on a birthday party! It’s just so shortsighted and uncaring and selfish, and the film itself never really punishes them for it, just assumes that because they are the hero and heroine, they get to do whatever they like and are more important than everyone else around them.
What really bothers me is that it plays into actual class issues that I see around me all the time. It feels related to the wealthy NRIs in America who are supporting government policies that lead to the incarceration and deportation of the poorer NRIs. Because that’s “them” not “us”, and “they” don’t matter.
Like I said, probably not the answer you were expecting, but it’s the honest one for me 🙂
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I know that this movie exists but I have never seen it and know nothing else about it. I am glad that I have never seen it. It sounds horrendous. Thank god, I have never seen this movie
Sometimes symapthetic characters are not sympathetic. Samething happens in Dhoom 3. Why should anyone sympathise with Aamir Khan and Jackie Shroff in it? What is bank’s fault? I have worked in this field. Bank will confiscate your property if you default big time.
And bank doesn’t grant you extension if they like your show. Bank looks at your financial record and future potential. In the movie Ardaas same thing happens. One of the character is ranting against bank for same thing, main character says stop whinning, why did you take this loan? When the guy tries to commit suicide after bank takes away his loan. main character comes and consoles him. He says “Guru Gobind Singh didn’t end his life after his 4 sons were martyred and you are ending your life your life only after losing a tractor. Sikhs weren’t supposed to be this weak willed”. Brilliant movie. Please watch it.
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I dont like to comment on politics. But I talk to my friend in USA and he is a staunch conservative. And I agree with most of the things he says. I wonder why conservatives are called racists. He respects my culture and I respect his culture. And I agree with him on the deportation of illegal people. People should go to a country legally. Illegals mainly become criminals afterwards. I am not rich but I also dont like poor illegals coming to my country from poorer countries and creating mess. We tried this in 1971 and it has only yeilded communal tension
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I don’t like to comment on politics either, but at a certain point not commenting is unconscionable.
Please be aware that the situation with immigrants in America is so much more complicated than your perception of it that I can’t even begin to explain it, and try to show some compassion and do some research and open your mind. And also be aware that a large number of people reading and commenting on this blog, including myself, are American and are living with these issues everyday.
On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 8:44 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Okay.
I must say that it is not my place to comment about problems of USA. It is not my duty. My friend talks about politics from time to time and I find his points to pretty valid.
I apologise for commenting about something which is not my place to comment
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Do you think that Diljit should star in Karz remake? I think that he can do better job than Himesh.
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I think anyone could do a better job than Himesh.
On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 8:35 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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That part is true. I wrote in my review of Angrej. If you want to be singer and actor, be Amrinder Gill not Himesh
Diljit suits this character. He is a rockstar. Gippy Grewal will also be good in it
I think that there is talent now to make Karz remake
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Hi Margaret, I ran into this article that summarizes the history of the Telugu film industry quite well. The article is really about the impact of Bahubali, but you get the history to see the context. I thought it would be of interest to you:
http://www.vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=3659
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Thank you!
On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 11:35 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Madhuri is a classically trained dancer. But are there any other actresses who are not trained, but are well known for their dance?
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Well, Katrina Kaif is a recent one. I believe Karisma Kapoor isn’t extremely trained. It’s hard to say with any Indian actress that she is completely untrained, because my impression is that little girls might take classical dance classes in the same way that little kids in America might take piano lessons. There is a huge difference between that, and what Madhuri went through with years and years of classes. But it also isn’t like they showed up on set the first day and had never danced before. There might be 4 or 5 years of weekly classes somewhere in their childhood in the background. I know some of the nicer private schools also offer dance classes as a kind of gym class option. I feel like I can say Katrina is completely absolutely untrained, because she didn’t even grow up in India. Although who knows, maybe she had a few years of ballet or something back home.
Besides Madhuri, and Aishwarya, so far as I know none of the other major actresses (Deepika, Kangana, Rani, Kajol, Kareena, etc.) have a great deal of dance training in their background. So all of their hit dance numbers were created from scratch, as it were, they showed up on set ready and willing with maybe a few years of dance classes somewhere to help them along. I find that so impressive! For all concerned, that the actresses are willing to work and learn, that choreographers can quickly invent and teach them steps that will look good, and so on.
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Aishwarya falls into the “piano class” category (wonderful analogy!) except I don’t even think she kept it up for for or five years.
Sridevi is someone who never had classical training, but is renowned for her dance numbers. There were quite a few South Indian actresses who were classically trained who were her contemporaries, and you can clearly see the difference in their movements, though Sridevi is very graceful and accomplished as a dancer.
Helen, of course, is another famous dancer (known only for her dancing almost) who was never classically trained,
But I think we should make a distinction between “classically trained” (i.e., trained in some form of classical dance), and “trained.” Obviously anyone who wants to or gets established in films will be trained for their filmi dances by the choreographers, and over a period of time will become quite expert at it.
The question was only about actresses, but among actors, Prabhu Deva isn’t classically trained, but Kamal Hassan is. You can see the difference in the kind of dances they do, and are good at. Kamal can easily do both classical and filmi type of dances (though perhaps not Prabhu Deva’s brand of Michael Jackson inspired numbers), but Prabhu Deva can never pull off a classical dance.
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I was thinking about Helen, but I don’t even know how I would describe her. I guess Sridevi would fall into this category as well. They weren’t classically trained, but they were dancing since they were children 5-10 hours a day, like you would if you were classically trained. Only without one formal style, or one formal guru, in charge of their training. Versus, say, Kajol or Rani Mukherjee or Deepika, who have been trained by choreographers and slowly gotten better and better. But as adults.
I guess I would say “classically trained”, “dancing since childhood”, “learned as adults on set” would be the 3 main categories. With a fair number of people in the 3rd category falling into the “piano class” category.
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First time commenter (commentor?) !
I was wondering if you got a chance to see Rana’s first movie. LEADER (Telugu 2010) . Pretty good film. May need to have a little understanding of Indian politics, I’m guessing you will enjoy it.
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Thanks for commenting! And welcome!
I’ll have to check that out, after seeing Rana in this, and in the Ghazi Attack, I am much more interested in him as an actor.
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Thanks for the reply 🙂
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Leader is a pretty good movie. Plus it was an interesting choice to make especially since it was his launch movie. It’s not really a standard romance or an action masala movie.
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Yeah, I’d like to think Rana never really wanted to become a “Hero”. He just want to play roles that he finds interesting and be content with that.
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That’s true. I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s always jumping around different industries. He just signs whatever he finds interesting.
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You don’t need to know anything about Indian politics to follow Leader. About all you need to know is what a “Chief Minister” is, and you already know that.
I thought Rana acted well in Leader, though I didn’t like the film. I thought the premise of the film was silly.
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Well, I think the movie doesn’t really explain, at some points, why a particular character is doing something and is left out to the users imagination (Which is where the knowledge of politics/positions helps). I think I can make a better case with spoilers. (Added at the end of this post)
Onto your second point, For me its the opposite, the plot is good (not great but good) and Rana’s acting was subpar (His first film so he gets a pass). 🙂
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
When Subbaraju asks for the Home ministry under Rana, Rana’s mother is scared and says that it’ll be the death of her son. The movie really doesn’t explain why, But we know that the home minister controls the security of the state and that might give him enough power to plot something against Rana.
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Katrina has been cast in Thugs of Hindostan and she’s doing Tiger Zinda Hai. She’s also apparently been finalized for the Shahrukh-Aanand L. Rai film though that hasn’t been actually announced yet. Along with that, the latest rumors are that she is doing the Akhsay movie that is being produced by Karan and Salman, and that she is being approached for Prabhas’s next, Saaho. Is Katrina back or what?!?
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Oh no, she will again ruin so many promising movies 😦
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These casting announcements keep rolling out and I keep thinking “why?????” I liked her in Ek Tha Tiger, and she was okay in Dhoom 3 (where she didn’t have much to do) and a few others. So Tiger Zinda Hai I can see, and maybe Thugs of Hindostan since it is the same director as D3, and she is the second heroine so it may not be that big of a role. But the Shahrukh-Aanand L Rai movie? Which based on what we know of it, plus the director, is going to have a complicated unusual character? Why??? And the Akshay-Karan-Salman movie, and Saaho???
Is it just that there is a lack of actresses willing to take these kinds of roles? If you want a major actress to take a minor supporting role, I don’t think Dips or Anushka or Alia or any of the others would be up for it. But Katrina can slot in to that “heroine in the film, but only had a quarter of the lines of the hero) kind of role.
This is supposed to be the questions post, and I ended up asking all the questions!
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The Aanand L. Rai movie is a two heroine movie and from what I’ve read, the more complex character still hasn’t been cast yet. Remember how we talked about how there is only a handful of actresses that are able to work with the Khans at this point but they are all unavailable. Priyanka and Deepika are focusing on Hollywood and Kareena is recovering from her pregnancy which leaves Katrina, Sonam, and Anushka. Based on the rumors it looks like Rai approached both Sonam and Deepika for the complex role but I guess they rejected it. He apparently approached Alia recently but she said her dates were already taken. So now they can either approach Kareena or Anushka (two back to back films with Shahrukh?) or they can try to get some new girl. Honestly, I think it would interesting to get an experienced actress from the south like Anushka Shetty or cast someone less mainstream like Huma Quereshi or Radhika Apte instead of launching a new girl.
I think Katrina won’t do Saaho but they are trying to get her since this would be Prabhas’s first Hindi movie after Baahubali and they want a big name Hindi actress.
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Saaho is a hindi movie? “real” Hindi, with a Hindi director and screenplay and all that, or just dubbed?
For the casting, both Aamir and Shahrukh opted for a television actress in their last films, which is a nice compramise. Experienced, somewhat age appropriate, but without the scheduling complications of a major film star.
I wish the political situation hadn’t gotten so complicated, and Mahira could do more work with Shahrukh.
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I think it’s a trilingual that will actually be shot in Hindi or at least it will get a dubbed Hindi release. But the rest of the cast and crew is Telugu.
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Saaho is supposed to be a trilingual movie, made in Telugu, Tamil, and HIndi. It was originally supposed to be a bilingual, the way Bahubali was, but after Part 1 released, they decided to make it trilingual, adding Hindi. It will be dubbed into Malayalam.
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But was Mahira actually any good as an actress? The reactions I saw were lukewarm about her at best. She didn’t make the kind of impact that Fawad Khan did.
The casting decisions themselves were political (in the PR sense) and business related, so it doesn’t bother me that they got done in by other political considerations.
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I wasn’t blown away by her in Raees, but she also didn’t turn my stomach, seemed the right age to be opposite Shahrukh and strong and mature in a way that one of those little model-actresses woudn’t have,
Mostly it’s because I saw her in Humsafar where she was really really great, which makes me think that if she had been able to get a better role in her second film, she could have been something. And a better option then discovering another teenage model.
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Katrina has denied that she was ever approached for Saaho.
In the Rai film, isn’t SRK’s character supposed to have a crush on Katrina the movie star, and his goal in life is to meet her? So it makes sense that Katrina would be in the movie, playing herself.
I think people are being a little unfair to Katrina. At this point, she is the best dancer in Bollywood. For me her dances were the only enjoyable things in Dhoom 3, an otherwise dreary film. And those dances certainly bring in the audience. So it makes sense for her to be cast in commercial, big budget films like TZH (which is a sequel, so all the more reason) or TOH. As for the Akshay Kumar film, people still love the chemistry she had with Akshay, and most of the films where they were paired were hits or at least broke even (barring Tees Maar Khan, which had one of the most popular and successful dances/songs for Katrina). A lot of fans keep asking when they would get together again, so again it makes sense.
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Think of it this way: Who can do the glamorous roles that Katrina can? Of the “top” heroines mentioned, only Priyanka and Deepika come close, and Katrina is a better dancer than either of them, though Priyanka is a better actress. But both of them are busy elsewhere, so really it only leaves Katrina. Neither Alia nor Anoushka can do the kind of glamour roles that Katrina can.
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“Think of it this way: Who can do the glamorous roles that Katrina can?”
I would give Swara Bhaskar a chance. She is beautiful, good actress, isn’t teenager, and I think she can dance. Haven’t see her dancing, but I read she trained Bharatnatyam since age of 7.
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But would Swara Bhaskar want to do a glamorous role? A lot of these roles don’t give the heroine much to do and I don’t think Swara Bhaskar would want to do those kinds of movies.
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did you watch/are you planning to watch ‘meri pyaari bindu’? reviews don’t seem to be good.
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I was planning to watch it, but Dina (my regular movie friend) wasn’t available opening night, and then the reviews came out and it just didn’t seem worth a midweek dash to the theater.
I’m worried that the same thing might happen with Half-Girlfriend. Dina isn’t available, again, and while I am interested from the trailers, I’m not like “I must see this no matter what!” about it.
On Tue, May 16, 2017 at 9:15 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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So we won’t know if Bindu dies or not? )
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We will just have to wait for some nice commentator who has seen it to tell us!
On Tue, May 16, 2017 at 10:44 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Nitesh Tiwari’s next movie, in which Varun is rumored to play the lead, in is going to be based on a book called “How I Braved Anu Aunty & Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company”. Apparently this is an autobiography of a an entrepreneur who faced and overcame familial pressures to start his own company. It would be really interesting if Varun does this film since I think this would probably be his first urban film without the traditional commercial elements. What do you think?!?
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/bollywood/150517/after-dangal-nitesh-tiwari-finds-his-next-project.html
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This would be fascinating! Especially as a move for Varun’s career. He is jostling for position with like 5 other guys to be the “star of tomorrow”. This could be the kind of role that lets him pull far in front, if he is able to find the right character to really connect with the new generation.
On Tue, May 16, 2017 at 10:19 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Right! I think this could be Varun’s Rocket Singh. I know so many people that started liking and respecting Ranbir as an actor because of Rocket Singh and I hope this is that kind of movie for Varun.
So who do you think are going to end up being the stars of the future? I would put Ranbir, Varun and Ranveer at the top. I think Sushant and Tiger will also become huge but not as big as these three. I would say that Ayushmann seems like a dark horse who could be a star but maybe not. Sidharth will always be a favorite among girls but I don’t think he’ll become a star. But who knows, there might be some other new actors that show up soon as well.
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I agree, right now it looks like Varun, Ranbir, and Ranveer. Which is really super impressive for Varun, and kind of impressive for Ranveer! Ranbir got a head start, and has the Kapoor name to help him. Ranveer started later and has done far fewer films. Varun started way later and has reached the top in what, 4 years? Something like that.
I’ve been super impressed with all three of the Kai Po Che boys, I’d love it if even one of them ended up being on top. But now that Sarkar 3 has failed, it looks like poor Amit is dropping down again. And Rajkummar sounds like he might be a bit of a pill to work with. Which means that it is all on Sushant. Sushant’s positioned well right now, some really good industry connections, a solid body of work behind him including a few hits, and if Raabta takes off and checks his “romantic drama” box, he could leap up to the top. But I don’t know if Raabta will take off, it is Kriti after all.
Siddharth and Ayushmann and Shahid and others I am forgetting seem like their future is pretty much set at this point, not going to go higher or lower than they are right now.
On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 12:16 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes, Varun would be complete five years in the industry this October. Now that I think about it, Ranbir is almost 10 years old in the Industry, it doesn’t seem like he’s been around for that long.
I really like Sushant’s choices and he’s really gotten popular ever since Dhoni came out. Other than Raabta, he also has Tarun Mansukhani’s Drive, Chandamama Door Ke (a space film), and a spy movie called Romeo Akbar Walter.
I forgot about Arjun Kapoor but I think I would club him in with the Sidharth and Ayushmann crowd.
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I’m not a fan of Arjun, but don’t know why I have a feeling he will make it
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I think Arjun could make it, or at least make it to a slightly higher level than he is now. But he doesn’t seem terribly interested. Big gaps between films, not a huge number of public appearances, no public shows that a know of.
He’s the only one I can think of like that, who could do better and chooses not to.
On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 2:33 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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That’s interesting. Why he doesn’t try to be bigger star, in your opinion?
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I think he is just happy this way. He never intended to be a star, he was planning to be a director until his life took a turn (Salman Khan suggested he make himself over and try acting). And he has so many big names in his family, I am sure he has seen the price of that kind of life. His parent’s marriage broke up, and his uncle Anil spent all his time working and missed his kids’ childhoods.
He’s a good actor, I think, and when he has a movie to promote, he does his job and promotes it. But he doesn’t seem to enjoy the promotion and the attention, the way that Varun does in his interviews and live performances.
On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 4:10 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I wonder why Arjun gained weight? Was it for Ki and Ka or something?
Also have you noticed that Arjun hasn’t worked with YRF after his initial three film contract (Ishaqzaade, Aurangazeb, Gunday) was completed. I wonder if he’s not interested in any of the movies that they’ve offered him or whether Adi Chopra isn’t really interested in him.
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I think Adi may not be interested in him. He seems to treat those contracts as a bit of a try out period, and then if it doesn’t work out, no judgement on either side, they can end it.
Maybe Arjun is just gaining the weight back? I think he looks kind of cute and pudgy, but it’s definitely getting bigger and bigger.
On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 10:09 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, you’re probably right. It looks like Ranveer is the star of the YRF camp at the moment.
Yup, it looks like he’s gaining more weight. So do you think Half-Girlfriend will work or will it get washed out by the storm that is Baahubali 2? The songs and promos haven’t really interested me but these kinds of movies usually work.
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I don’t think it will. The release date doesn’t look good. not so much because of Bahubali 2, but because the producers had so little faith in it, they are dumping it in the Bahubali 2 release month. And right before Ramadan, so it’s stuck coming and going.
They’ve seen it, we haven’t, and it looks like they don’t have much faith in it. Plus, Shraddha Kapoor.
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Aww, Shraddha’s not that bad. I think she can be decent in the right kind of roles. Like in Aashiqui 2. Plus she’s a really sweet person 🙂
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Okay, I will try to withhold judgement.
On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 10:32 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Don’t worry, I’m not upset or anything. All I meant was that there are worse actresses out there than Shraddha. Like Nargis Fakhri 🙂
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I will always agree with that.
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Since we were talking about Varun, I thought you would find this interesting.
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I just got distracted by his profile description, “the voice of the voiceless”. Really, Varun?
On Fri, May 19, 2017 at 10:39 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Lol, that’s been his twitter bio for as long as I can remember 🙂
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It’s a wee bit pretentious, and a wee bit like the year book quote “That Guy” would pick, the one who calls himself a feminist and sometimes wears a kilt. But I will pretend Varun is doing a little self-aware humor and doesn’t really mean it.
On Fri, May 19, 2017 at 4:40 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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