I’m getting a little better at this, checking the news stories. Still not great, I’m still only using one source which is terrible, and I still don’t have a ton of background on things. But I’m getting there!
Salman as a Father
Salman recently said that he is thinking of having a child in the next 2-3 years, possibly by surrogacy. If marriage doesn’t work out (Salman, pretty sure if marriage doesn’t work out, that’s on you). Because his parents want to see his baby and, the unspoken thing, they are getting up there in years so time might be running out for them.
I would love to see Salman as a father! He’s such a great uncle, and before that he was such a great big brother, he deserves to have his own kid. And I also love the idea of him being the 3rd single father to opt for surrogacy after Tusshar and Karan. Well, I don’t love-love it, I would prefer if he adopted.
(BABY! And Salman. And BABY)
Let me back up. In American/Western culture there is an assumption that men are less interested in babies/children than women. For a man to adopt or have a surrogate just because he wants a child is very odd and rare. And if a celebrity did it, it would be a wonderful thing, a lesson that men can want children and want to be parents just like women can.
However, I don’t think it is quite the same in Indian culture? There is more acceptance of the idea that everyone, male or female, wants a baby? Because who wouldn’t want a baby! So the whole “pro-fatherhood” message is kind of not needed.
However, I would really like to see more of a pro-adoption message. Again, not needed in the same way in American/western culture, but does seem to be needed I think in India? For one thing, there are so many children waiting to be adopted. I mean, there are in most places, but in India it is approximately 4% of all children. While in America, it is a high number, but still to love to be a percentage of the total population of children.
For another thing (and feel free to correct me if I am wrong), but it feels like there is a slight sense of “but where did they come from” that might come into play with an Indian reluctance to adopt? Caste, ethnicity, all of that could be an unknown with an adopted child, unlike with a child by surrogate.
But all of this is moot really, because I am pretty sure the Indian laws make it harder for a single man to become a father through adoption rather than through surrogacy. Which is too bad. Because Salman, as I said at the beginning, would be a wonderful father, and would be a wonderful loving father to any child who was given to him in any manner.
Ranveer as a Cricketer
Well, we have another Cricket biopic careening towards us. On the captain of the 1983 team, Kapil Dev. Which means one thing: Ranveer is growing a mustache again.
The director/writer is Kabir Khan, who says he is fully researched and ready with a script right now. Which, hmmmm. He was shooting Tubelight just a few months back. Kind of feels like he must have been working on this project, which he really cared about, at the same time as that shoot. Which is yet another reason to think that he didn’t actually care about that film at all.
And it’s also making me wonder if Ranveer is fiddling with his career a little in order to achieve some balance. His next role will be a hated Muslim conqueror. Did he decide to take this part at least a little bit in order to balance that with playing a popular national hero and patriot?
And so we have another sports film! I am getting so sick of sitting through sports films. There’s the humble origins, the coach who supports you, the explanation of the rules of the sport (Dangal did that the best) or else the lack of explanation leaving me totally confused for much of the film (Dhoni‘s route). The awkwardly inserted romance and love song, the slow rise to success over many obstacles, and finally winning The Big Thing (in Azhar, a court case. In Dhoni, the World Cup).
But mostly, all this talk about Kapil Dev and 1983 is just making me think that if you truly want to see his impact and what that year meant, you need to watch the film 1983. It’s not just about the one man, it’s about what he did to an entire country.
Abhishek as Flake
Now, this is very odd! My friend Dina mentioned something to me recently about how it seemed as though Abhishek had just disappeared. I thought she was wrong, that he was probably still making public appearances for his Kabaddi teams and stuff, just taking a break from acting. But by golly, for perhaps the 378th time since I met her, Dina is right and I am wrong!
Abhishek was supposed to be preparing for and then filming and starring in a big big movie, JP Dutta’s Paltan. It’s a Dutta film, so obviously a historic epic with a massive cast etc. etc. This particular one is based on the 1962 war, supposed to have a long filming schedule in Ladakh, and I am sure like all Dutta films, it will be scrupulously historical accurate, took tons of time in preparation, and will be very complex to film because of his historic accuracy requirements (ooo, maybe I should rewatch LOC: Kargil again). And I just realized, if you don’t know Dutta, you could think I was being sarcastic. No really, he is amazing in his pre-film prep work and standards for accuracy and respectfully portraying what actually happened, especially in war films.
If it were a different director and a different film, it would still be a big deal for Abhishek to flake at literally the last minute. Like, the rest of the team is already in Ladakh, he was supposed to fly up to join them and start filming and just isn’t. But for a JP Dutta film, it is a really big deal. This isn’t a small commitment he made, and this isn’t a last minute thrown together shoot, this was probably years in the making and now Abhishek is dropping out last minute?
(Thank goodness, reports say that Suniel Shetty in an army uniform is still part of the film. Which is enough to sell me my ticket!)
Plus, JP Dutta launched him! In Refugee. And gave him a GREAT launch. That’s one of the best showpieces Abhishek had in his first few years in the industry. And he got another great role in LOC: Kargil, and in Umrao Jaan. It is hugely disrespectful to the man who helped him get his start, and ungrateful to the man who always made him look good, and also just plain stupid to avoid looking that good again, by passing up another chance to work with Dutta.
So, really, what IS going on with Abhishek? Is it possibly something is actually wrong? That there is more going on than some starry tantrum? I just have no idea. Any gossip/theories/rumors from the Indian side that I don’t know about?
dontcallitbollywood 
The Abhishek thing does not sound good at all. His career may be in the beginning of a downward spiral. There was a blind item recently that hinted that he and Aishwarya are having major marriage issues and she’s been very unhappy with his work choices.
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Also, I think Abhishek was recently at an event discussing the future of Indian sports internationally. I feel like his current interests aren’t films but sports and maybe this is a new career path? He does own a team, right?
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Yeah, he owns a Kabaddi team and is also the brand ambassador or something for the league. Maybe he’s in the middle of restructuring his brand and investments and stuff, but it is still very odd to pull out of a film absolutely last minute. Especially a Dutta film which he must have agreed to months and months ago and had plenty of time to back out of before now.
On Mon, Sep 25, 2017 at 10:47 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Doesn’t he also own a soccer team? I think John Abraham owns one as well.
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Yes he co own Chennai team in Football league. Kerala hates him since he co owns direct rival team and also he shows antics insides the stadium. There is heavy booing whenever he is shown in big screen inside the stadium in Kerala while everyone in kerala loves John Abraham even though he is the owner of North east team since whenever he visits Kerala stadium he covers the ground and wave at the crowd and makes respectful and nice gestures. Kerala team is owned by Sachin Tendulkar and Chiranjeevi with Nivin Pauly as brand ambassador
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Right? It has that sound of “personal issues now so bad they are affecting career”. Marriage problem, mental health, something else, but it must be serious if he is backing out of this film so dramatically. And I don’t think he’s flaked out like this before? I don’t feel like he has a history of being unreliable on set or anything.
On Mon, Sep 25, 2017 at 10:46 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m worried simply because I’m a staunch fan and still want him to have some good roles and big hits. I love his comedic roles like in Bol Bachchan and Housefull 3, but he is an underrated actor and deserves better. But maybe he’s more interested in sports and that’s OK, too. But, yeah, I think there’s a divorce in the future. I hope not, but it will be interesting to see how the Bachchan family does handle it if it happens.
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I’ve also heard divorce rumors about Shweta. It would be really interesting if both kids got divorced at the same time.
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I think Ash and Abhi and their families are too traditional for there to ever be a divorce. At awards shows earlier in the year, Ash was gushing “love you baby” type of stuff about her husband. It was cringeworthy to be honest.
They have a huge house. Even if they don’t get along, they would live in different wings and that would be that.
Shweta is married in name only. She’s always alone and partying in Bombay. Hubby lives in Delhi.
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Even if their aren’t rumors about their relationship, I always find that “love you baby” stuff gross! No need to be all sappy in public to prove how you feel.
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There’s actually a theory on the internet about how Ranveer’s movies where he has facial hair are always his biggest hits 🙂
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But Band Baaja Baarat?
On Mon, Sep 25, 2017 at 10:49 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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How big of a hit was it numbers wise? I always thought it was like an above avg hit with a really good reception. But then there’s always exception to the rule 🙂
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I think it was a big hit in terms of profit margin. Not a hit in terms of raw figures, but for a small budget rom-com with two unknowns, it did really really well.
On Mon, Sep 25, 2017 at 10:52 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh okay. How did Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl do?
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I’m not sure. I don’t remember hearing about it as a huge hit or a huge flop.
On the other hand, I am pretty sure Gunday didn’t do well, how was his facial hair in that?
On Mon, Sep 25, 2017 at 11:05 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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He had a mustache in Gunday. But are you sure about Gunday? I remember seeing somewhere that it did break even, similar to a Dishoom. Plus it came out in February and it’s still the highest grosser in the month.
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Huh, looks like you are right! So the mustache theory holds.
On Mon, Sep 25, 2017 at 12:20 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Any plans on watching Sachin: The Billion Dreams? (Way better than Azhar and Dhoni). It is not about the rise to success. It is about staying there for 24 years for that the support of Family especially the wife plays the major part.
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Probably not. Missed it in theaters, and my non-theater viewing schedule is pretty restricted. I’d have to drop one of my weekly posts in order to squeeze in something else.
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It was a bad one. I couldn’t sit through it. It felt like a fictionalised account of it. It would have been better to have a cricket historian just narrate the story. The ending felt abrupt.
I didn’t like the Dhoni film either.
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The Bachans are not getting divorced. Every bit on it is rumor. Shweta is for sure separated. She lives in Mumbai or at least spends all her time there and her husband is in Delhi and never appears. Do we know for sure Abishek backed out? Has HE said so?
There are these American girls who have a podcast about Bollywood and they proliferate the WORST rumours. I don’t want us to be like them even a little bit.
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JP Dutta’s daughter/producer has confirmed that he backed out and only told them just now, “Abhishek Bachchan is no longer part of Paltan for personal reasons best known to him. It has come as a shock to us as this happened less than 24 hours before our unit left to shoot in Ladakh.”
Again, if it were a different director/production team, I would take this with a grain of salt. But JP Dutta is classy, he doesn’t play the gossip and the drama. And he also wouldn’t announce an actor as a star without having actual confirmation from him, not with how much planning his films take.
It’s still possible that Abhishek will issue a statement saying that the Dutta’s never had a commitment from him, this whole thing is blown out of proportion, etc. etc. But it is very odd.
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Abhishek can’t say he never had a commitment to the film. I saw this news on another forum, and people there posted Abhishek’s tweets when he signed the film, announcing it in a big way, about how thrilled he was to work with Dutta again, how it’s going to be a great film, etc., etc.
As for this being the “beginning” of a downward spiral for Abhishek’s career? It’s been on a downward path for years. Which is another reason why this film was a huge deal, it was a major role in a big, respected director’s film. Some people at the other forum speculated that Abhishek might have worried that the film would be a flop, and thus pulled out. But again that’s a decision to be made at the beginning, not now.
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It’s too bad, he was by far the best part of Happy New Year and Housefull 3. And I was hoping that would be his new career path, playing the supporting comic role in multi-starrers and focusing on his brand endorsements and so on along with acting. But this is such a strange decision, now I don’t know what to think.
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I did not anticipate that part of reading this blog would be worrying about all these rich guys and gals, but here I am. I have only seen Abhishek in a few movies, (and in the Ranishek fanvids that you’ve posted in the past, Margaret), but find him really charming. Hope he’ll be ok.
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I really need to cultivate more schadenfruede, instead of whatever the opposite is, where I worry about all these people when their lives take a downturn.
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I know exactly which podcast your’re referring to and I think they are often ridiculous as well. But as they pointed out this week, they were right about Mahira and Ranbir! And they are only usually reading blind items published in Indian news outlets, not making up new rumors. Despite their age, they do have a juvenile approach to the gossip and I often cringe at how absolutely vapid they are, but I still listen. I guess that’s on me!
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https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/indian-cinema/mahesh-babu-spyder-release
Spyder tickets selling well
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Good to hear! I won’t be buying one until Saturday, but glad to know there is money floating in to my theater.
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Looks like Harshvardhan Rane has replaced Abhishek in the war drama! I’m definitely OK with that…I’ve been hoping he gets more opportunities in Hindi cinema since my favorite movie of all time;) Sanam Teri Kasam. He’s also filming a Sunny Leone romance which could be interesting?
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This is a great role for an up and comer! Knowing nothing besides “JP Dutta”. He always does ensemble pieces, so you don’t have to worry about carrying the film on your back, but you will also get your own moments to shine because everyone does. Which is also all the reasons Abhishek should have stayed in and it makes no sense that he left.
On Thu, Sep 28, 2017 at 7:21 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m so happy for Harsh! I follow him on twitter, but he was always twitting about strange things like going camping and stuff and I was worried that he is not working. It’s a great news. So we will have a movie with Sunil Shetty, Harsh, Sonu Sood and Arjun Rampal? Will watch it for sure.
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JP Dutta is very very very good at casting for appearance. Not even a slam, if this is going to be a war drama and they will be in uniform for 3 hours, there has to be something to keep us visually interested!
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There were always war movies and war series in polish tv when I was little and I grow up hating this kind of films. But I think I will watch this one for Harsh.
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Wait, aren’t you one of the many who called me out for skipping Suniel in my TGIF post? You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Suniel in a war movie.
On Thu, Sep 28, 2017 at 8:42 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes, I was in #teamSunil too 🙂
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Oh yeah, check out LOC Kargil. Or at least the Sunil edit of it.
On Thu, Sep 28, 2017 at 10:02 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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