Wednesday Watching Post: What Are You Reading and Thinking and Watching This Week?

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Happy Wednesday!  One week to Spyder opening night!  Not that I will be seeing it then, I don’t think I am quite brave enough yet for a Mahesh Babu opening night crowd.

I’ll start!  For reading, I am studying deeply Indian history, religion, and culture.  Or, in other words, I am reading a bunch of ACKs.  Finished Famous Sikh Gurus, moving on to Heroes of the Revolution.  SO MUCH easier to read than actual books!

Thinking, I am thinking about how much Hotstar India has changed my life!  No longer struggling and trying to think what to watch next, anything I want, and poof!  It’s right there at my fingertips, on my TV screen.  Just watched Classmates for the second time, without having to spend months tracking down a DVD and then waiting for it to be shipped, just pulled it up on my TV.  And I have to say, young Prithviraj was HOT!!!!  With the mustache and the slightly unshaven and the mundis?  Oh yesssssssss.

And watching, I have almost finished going all the way through Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which is another excellent background-while-blogging show.  And I am considering trying Dr. Blake Mysteries, which I have heard good things about, once the weather gets cool enough for me to be able to think straight again and follow complex non-sitcom plots.  Plus, of course, Hotstar has changed my life and I am watching all kinds of Indian things that I never thought I would have access to.

77 thoughts on “Wednesday Watching Post: What Are You Reading and Thinking and Watching This Week?”

  1. I would like to improve my Hindi communication skills. So I thought that watching sitcoms/comedies (more talking, less action and BGM) would be a good idea. I have found ‘Nimkhi Mukhiya’ and ‘Kya haal Mr Panchal’ on Start Bharat to be very entertaining. Any other programs/channels that any one here can suggest to me?

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    • If you can get your hands on zindagi channel’s videos on the net, you should definitely watch Kuzey Guney, Fatmagul and Feriha – they’re all Turkish shows dubbed in hindi. Very high quality hindi and addictive stories and amazing actors!

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      • Asmita, I like ‘humra’, ‘tumra’ words very much in ‘Nimki Mukhiya’ episodes. But I just came to know that the story is taking place in Madhubani, Bihar. Is it okay to pickup and use that dialect?

        And can you tell what dialect is used in “kya hall mr. Panchaal” and if it is okay to use that dialect.

        Those serials may be beneath your taste, but for me they are so entertaining 😁

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        • They are 😛 lol Not beneath me per se just not what I like.

          See, the Bihari dialect is very much the rural one. If you’re looking to learn hindi proper DO NOT use the bihari dialect. It uses Maithili and bhojpuri languages heavily which i would not receommend for someone just learning at an intermediate level.

          I think nimki and Panchal both have decent conversational hindi. Of course, like i’ve said before in comments also, there is no standard hindi anymore. As long as you know the basic of structure and have a decent vocabulary, dialect isn’t an issue. Right now, mainstream hindi has punjabi, urdu, bhojpuri, bengali and marathi words too. So dialect wise, you can use south hindi too. Which sounds super cute!! 😛

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          • I am 46 but have fatherly affection towards Nimki and may be thats why I like her dialect.

            I notice UP background in “…Paanchal…” and like it too and I will keep it as my main intake apart from keeping my inborn ‘Madrasi accent” to be endearing to you northern folks 🙂

            Aap kee madad ke liye dhanyavad!

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  2. I’m in Dhaka, and while I probably won’t have time to watch a movie, I am now watching a saas- bahu serial. And I saw Vidya on a billboard! And Shradda is advertising lotion! And I flip on the TV and there’s a young Shabana Azmi!

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  3. Yes to Dr. Blake! It took us a few eps to get into it but then we binge watched all the eps available on Netflix in like a week.

    I’m currently watching bits of JHMS before going to work, because I think you missed some pretty hot parts when you shared those time stamps with Asmita. (Can’t remember what post that was on; not good enough at searching WP to find it.) Respectfully I’d like to add 30 mins to 31:30, and 1 hr to 1 hr 4 mins, til he says, “Look Sejal”. Both bits are followed by bits that really don’t make much sense out of context, but both bits definitely build up the tension for the later scenes you listed. 🙂

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    • I am hoping one of our Australian commentators will jump in to confirm that post-war Australia small towns really were filled with murder and middle-aged sexual tension.

      On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 7:13 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  4. Are you ready for some fangirling and sighning? Because I’ve seen Godha, and I fell in love with Tovino Thomas deeply and irredeemable. I always liked him, and I watched it for him (I watch sports movies only if there are my crushes in it).
    In the beginning I thought: I did well choosing this movie because Tovino is so cute and handsome. But then he did some wrestling on one poor policeman and one super sexy look and I was like: OMG he is new Madhavan! And you can’t go higher on my sexsiness scale.
    Apart of Tovino (who also does SRK pose, and takes his clothes off) there are other things I really liked. Honestly I thought this movie would be worse and I’m surprised I like it so much. The girl’s story and character were good, I loved how he did want was good for her, and not what men told her to do. Comedy scenes were funny (Aju Varghese), Renji Panicer was superb as always (I don’t know how old he is but he was sexy as wrestler).
    don’t know if there is Godha on Hotstar, but if yes, please watch it 🙂

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    • I really want to see Godha! where did you find it? It’s not on Hotstar. I have seen Guppy, where he was AMAZING and it made me all curious about his other films.

      On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 7:18 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  5. I am now on my one-and-only day at home between attending my two 50-year high school reunions, and doing laundry and re-packing. I have been able to watch Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and the Hindi remake, Satte Pe Satta. KHKN was the perfect choice for my reunion week (thanks, Margaret!), if only because of the presence of at least three pairs of long-married high school sweethearts. Satte Pe Satta, which Shemaroo has on YouTube for free, was pretty funny. and very Indian in its plot variations. (The Hollywood one is all about romantic love, but SPS is all about family!!!) And I would much rather see Amitabh in a double role than Howard Keel trying to act.

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    • Random recommendation, the Betty Hutton-Howard Keel Annie Get Your Gun includes one moment that was surely improvised in which Betty-as-Annie does a spot on Howard Keel impression. Best moment of the film! Worth fast-forwarding through the whole thing just to find it.

      On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 7:27 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  6. To continue my run of Salman-Karisma movies, I started watching Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge. It showed up on recommended on youtube plus I wanted to check it out since Moimeme said she this was her happy film. I got through halfway but I was already kinda annoyed Karisma was overdoing it. Then the subtitles were off in the middle of the movie and though I could kinda understand the dialogue without the subtitles, I didn’t think it was worth the energy to continue.

    Last night, I was planning to watch Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju but I was in the mood for Fidaa so I saw the first half. I love that movie so much!

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    • Hmm, now you’ve got me thinking about other Salman-Karisma options! Chal Mere Bhai is fun, Ek Rishtaa is more about family drama than romance, but the romance that is there is cute. Jeet is definitely not light, but Salman is dreamy in it. And, of course, I already told you about Andaz Apna Apna!!!

      On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 8:08 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  7. Very random selection of movies the last few days…

    Disco Dancer: it’s so. much. fun! I’ve only ever seen Mithun in Agneepath and now I get why people love him. He commits to roles so thoroughly and when an actor, director, and everyone involved commit to the ultimate cheeseball plot, magic happens!

    (Next four watched on Hotstar!)
    Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju (Telugu): it was as sweetly romantic as Margaret’s review says. Nithya Menon is a special actress. The guy was a little too boring for me though handsome enough. Her daughter’s character was so obnoxious and her styling really was a distraction. But those are petty concerns…overall a really rewarding romance.

    Fukrey: wanted to see this before the sequel comes out and because I’m a big fan of Ali Faizal and Richa Chadda. Actually ended up being just as excited about Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, and Manjot Singh. I want to see all three of them in more and more. I know Pulkit Samrat was in a couple of OTT romances recently that flopped. I’m hoping he finds his way because he has some actual leading man potential and he can do the more understated comedy/black comedy pretty well, too. I love when Delhi is a supporting character in films and this one really did seem to have a real sense of place.

    Jhootha Hi Sahi: why hadn’t I see this one yet?!!! It’s like catnip for me. Hot, sweet guy with bookish things integral to story?! Also smart writing and charming friends! It is definitely Notting Hill-filmi style. I’m so glad that Palki (who also wrote this great script) has found success as an indie director, because she really had no future in the acting thing. I hate when reviewers comment on women’s looks but in this case I agreed with some other reviews I read, she does look much older than her age (like Vidya in Kismat Konnection). And John Abraham was really good in this! I thought he was more believable as the bumbling, bookish guy than he has been in many of his roles. The stammering is hard to do believably and he did it well. Plus his chemistry with Raghu Ram was fantastic. Why doesn’t Raghu Ram do more films? I could go on and on about this one…I loved the name of the bookshop “Paper Flowers” and how cool London looked and the no-big deal gay friends and the ridiculous but charming Tower Bridge finale and John Abraham in specs and sweaters over button down shirts and..

    Take Off (Malayalam): an intense current events story told with heart and realism. I couldn’t finish Airlift, mostly because Akshay’s character was so awful (and I know how he’s redeemed is part of the storyline, but blah). This one has a very similar taken from real life story and works far better because of the time we spend with the two characters in the first half to establish our sympathy. Parvarthy is so, so good. This and Charlie show her versatility so well. It’s a bit weird that next to romance, this genre of film usually interest me the most, the international terrorism/espionage and the stories of people fighting it/caught up in it. I don’t like the testerone driven versions like Bourne or Mission Impossible, but instead the more personal stories. The film D-Day and the tv show MI-5 are big personal favorites and this one fits in that genre well. I enjoyed Baby for the same reason and was so disappointed that Naam Shabana let me down.

    And finally thinking about what film I’m going to chose for my dad’s first Indian movie!! I’ve “forced” my mom to watch one Hindi film every year for the past few years and she likes them more than she’ll admit, but my dad has been steadfastly against trying one. He watches a lot of sports films and likes certain kinds of westerns and historical epics, so I’m thinking Sultan (because he loves Rocky) or maybe Chak De India or Dangal. I don’t think he could get into a cricket film like Dhoni or Patiala House because he doesn’t understand the rules (I don’t either for that matter). Also, he’s a retired high school English teacher, so a Shakespeare adaptation. His favorite thing to teach was Hamlet so I was thinking Haider, but I think it’s too dark for him. Omkara might work better…

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    • If you like Delhi as a character in films, watch Titli if you haven’t already.

      Thank you for the Take off review. It’s popped up on my hotstar a lot and I’ve been avoiding it because I wasn’t mentally prepared for an Airlift kind of film. I’ve actually watched a few bad aeroplane films recently so anything with a plane and I instinctively try to avoid it.

      Your dad might really like Haider because of the Kashmir backdrop if he’s into political thrillers though Omkara is amazing. I would also recommend Black, Junoon (1978), Qissa (the punjabi one though it’s kinda dark), Maari and Pinjar. I mean if my high school English teacher had never watched an Indian film, these are the one’s I’d recommend to them.

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      • There’s really no plane in Take Off (it’s kind of a weird title). It’s just the idea that Indian nationals are stuck in a very volatile foreign location and need to be “airlifted” out. So it’s a very similar situation with Embassy officials getting involved (Fahadh Faisal in this case). I highly recommend it!

        I’m not sure about Titli (my favorite podcasters didn’t like it…they said something about a very unsympathetic protagonist?), but I will give it a try! I rewatched Delhi-6 recently and that’s another that works on that level (thus the title!).

        Thanks for the other recs for Dad:) He doesn’t love political thrillers because he finds them hard to follow but it’s still a possibility. He does love macho American westerns like Tombstone and Wyatt Earp so I was thinking that Omkara might be good because it has a western feel to it. I don’t know if my dad likes much nuance in his films to be honest! So the others may be too artsy. He may have been an English teacher, but he’s not a very big reader (only the sports page on a daily basis). He also taught journalism and he’s more the grammarian type not the literary type.

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        • Maybe Sholay? The best most cowboy movie India ever made, along with being the best of everything else. I mean, it starts with a train versus horses fight scene, how can you not love that?

          On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 9:35 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • Singing and dancing cowboys may be too much for him, but I agree it is the best cowboy movie India ever made:) I don’t know why I think dancing wrestlers (Salman in Sultan) will work any better but I’ve always felt like Salman has a Bruce Willis/Sylvester Stallone type of vibe and my dad likes those guys and has even watched more than one The Expendables movie.

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        • Titli is dark underbelly of the big city kinds and very far away from Delhi 6. Although the film is nothing like the actual Delhi 6. It’s almost doesn’t feel like a part of the rest of Delhi!! Awesome Street food and the clothing material you find there lasts a good decade of regular use!!

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    • WHY HAVE I LET YOU GO SO LONG WITHOUT SEEING JOOTHI HI SAHI???? I feel that I have failed as a blogger. You’ve seen Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na at least though right? Oh! Dil Maange More! Not the greatest film, but a funish romance. Let’s see, what else is a little obscure? Shirin To Farhad?

      I watched Disco Dancer after you first mentioned it. SO FUN!!!! Have you seen the Pretentious Movie Reviews video on it? If not, be warned, you WILL fall in love with Kanan Gill:

      And let me throw in for your Dad, Parineeta or Eklavya. They feel very Shakespearean and novel-y. Or, Dil Bole Hadippa! Which is both Shakespeare and sports, but also probably not to his taste. But maybe!

      On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 8:50 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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      • I know, I think I thought I had seen it but it was just an aborted attempt really long ago! Of course I’ve seen Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na because Imran and the gorgeous music. Makes me sad that the director hasn’t done anything since except write good dialogue on films.

        I might have to try the Shirin/Farhad movie someday. I do like Farah Khan, probably for her personality more than her films though…so maybe this is a good middle ground.

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        • Sherin Farhad is super cute. And Farah essentially plays herself. So if you like her personality, you will like her character.

          On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 1:14 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • It’s definitely worth watching! Very cute young love story.

            On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 2:07 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • Very simple but believable romance with a cute framing narrative. Look for the breakout performance by Prateik Babbar as the heroine’s brother. I always say that I wanted a separate film all about his character. Unfortunately, the actor seems to have had some personal issues and his career didn’t take off. I’m still rooting for him though.

            Also a great AR Rahman ballad song by Sukhwinder Singh that I’ve always loved. “Jaane Tu Meri Kya Hai (Jai)”

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  8. I’m in the middle of IT filing so not much happening on the new film watching scene for me. But I did rewatch the first few episodes of Death Note (the Japanese original) and the first episode of The Walking Dead. Mom’s in the middle of a Aşk-e-Memnu marathon so that’s happening in the background. BUT I’m showing my dadi Bahubali 1 and 2 back to back right now. She said she loved the first one. I buy her review because she didn’t doze off even once. We’re at the kuntala battle right now and she’s sitting up and inching closer to the screen every few minutes. I guess she really does like it!! She’s looking at Amarendra Bahubali like he’s a god!! 😂

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    • The “not falling asleep” is the highest possible praise. My mother did not make it all the way through HAHK without nodding off a little. She was also fighting a cold, but still.

      On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 9:13 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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        • After about 85, my grandmother used to consistently fall asleep in movie theaters, and then wake up halfway through and have to loudly ask what was going on. Which was endearing to me, because it was Grandma, but probably not great for the other people there.

          On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 9:33 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • Eega she has watched but she slept till we woke her up for the revenge of the fly part. She loved it. She hasn’t watched Chatrapathi but I doubt she would like it too. Magadheera toh even I had a hard time following because I was half asleep when I watched it. Havent watched Yamadonga.

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  9. I’m reading things on my reader, about to start watching secret romance and waiting for Jai Lava Kusa only because it seems to be more interesting than spyder.
    I love Mahesh but his track record for good films is just too rare that he decided not to do good ones.

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  10. May watch Parava this weekend which releases tomorrow directed by Soubin Sahir (The friend character in Maheshinte Prathikaram, CIA) which has Dulquer Salman in an Extended Cameo ( 25 min role, also Dulquer said in an interview this is one of the best films he have worked in) and the hero is Shane Nigam ( He was the one in C/O Saira Banu)

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  11. Watched adam joan new prithviraj film twice this week in theatres. Initially i avoided this film because of poor review from a trusted reviewer.But it was better than expected. A very slow paced dark mood thriller.Its overlong (around 2 hr 40 mints) and not a film for impatient. I enjoyed it more in the second watch because in the first watch i was waiting for something big to happen and nothing really happens till climax.But on the second watch i was able to better appreciate the film .other aspects of the film. Story is really good and if u havent gone through all the promos story will take unexpected twists halfway. Performances were all good especially the foreign actors.That is unusual in indian films. I looked in wikipedia and the main antagonist had acted in films like batman begins ,medallion etc. .Cinematography and background score were nothing short of international standards. Beauty of scotland is captured well. Helicam visuals of the country are breathtaking. So totally i enjoyed the film .It has pacing issues but still there is a lot more In it to enjoy.

    Its an open secret that prithvi is ghost directing all his films now. All his recent films are by debutant directors and are from the saMe mould. It seems he is practicing direction before his official directional debut ‘lucifer’ with mohanlal. anyway I hope he stops his obsession with slowmotion shots before lucifer.If this film was allowed to run in natural pace and actors were allowed to behave naturally without the long dramatic pauses between dialogues, atleast 30 minutes could have been saved

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    • All of this is very interesting! That Adam Joan works better on the second watch, which would explain some tepid reviews I have seen. And that Prithviraj seems to be ghost directing to try out his skills in a no pressure way. Very clever!

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      • I think the prime example of Prithviraj ghost directing is 7th day which also stars Tovino. Prithviraj has 1 hour role in the film. The scenes with Prithviraj is well directed while the scenes without him is really poorly directed and shows it was directed by a new director. There is complete contrast in direction in scenes which has Prithviraj and which doesnt have Prithviraj in it. Dont know if his recent films with newcomers like Adam joan, ezra and ennu ninte moideen was ghost directed by him.

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  12. A really happy news for you. Nazriya Nazim is back that too in a film directed by Anjali Menon( Director of Bengalore Days) and starring alonside Prithviraj and Parvathy. This will be Prithviraj’s 100th film as well.

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    • Okay, I will try to remember that for 3 weeks from now when it FINALLY makes it to my theater! I’m still waiting on Nivin’s film, and hoping it doesn’t come out next week when it will overlap with Judwaa and Spyder and I may have to see 3 films in one weekend.

      On Fri, Sep 22, 2017 at 5:14 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  15. First leg of my journey home done (13 hour flight from London to Singapore) – first I watched Jindua – a Punjabi/Canadian movie with Jimmy Shergill (he has outstayed his visa and marries a Punjabi Canadian citizen to get residency but really loves another Punjabi girl on a student visa. All Izz Well in the end. Not too taxing on tired brain cells.

    Then a rewatch of M.S. Dhoni – Sushant is so good in this. I noticed when he was playing Dhoni as a teenager he had a higher pitch to his voice, to emphasise that he had t quite come to maturity.

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    • And now you have my fanfic to entertain you! Also, oh my that sounds grueling! I hope you manage to get home soon and sleep for 20 hours.

      On Sun, Sep 24, 2017 at 7:53 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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      • My second flight was only 6 hours – but spent 5 hours at Singapore waiting for it.

        I did another on-the-plane rewatch of Raees! I did keep dozing off during it but that was OK cos I’d seen it several times already. And after failing to manage to snooze after it I watched Force 2 – loads of car chasey/beat em up/shoot em up nonsense but that is all my sleep-deprived brain could handle.

        Am now home once again and seeing what is newly available on Einthusan.

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        • Force 2 is pretty much a perfect airplane movie. Not a lot that is worthy of paying attention to!

          On Sun, Sep 24, 2017 at 8:01 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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          • Well, there was John Abraham’s torso!
            And Sonakshi did kick ass a little bit (not as well as in Akira though).

            😉

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          • I’m still disappointed at how poorly Akira did!

            On Mon, Sep 25, 2017 at 5:07 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  16. I saw two more movies this weekend, Bhale Bhale Magadivoy and Iraivi.

    I first rewatched Bhale Bhale Magadivoy and I enjoyed it a lot! This is a hilarious rom-com starring Nani as a guy who is very forgetful. It’s one of my favorite Nani movies and it has really good repeat value.

    Then I ended up watching a Tamil film called Iraivi (“Goddess”) which was a really interesting movie. I honestly don’t know how else to describe it. Here’s the trailer with subtitles:

    By the way, Iraivi is on youtube with subtitles if you want to see it.

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