Happy Wednesday! Halfway through the week, and I get to leave early on Friday to go visit my sister, woo! Oh, and in the meantime, I have a question for us all to chew on from Niki.
First, what are we all reading and thinking and watching this week? I’ll go first!
Reading: Still going through Dilip Saheb’s bio. It’s great! Very slow going, but the journey is so pleasant I don’t mind. I’m up to college when he first became friends with Raj Kapoor. Raj flirted with ALL the ladies (who is surprised? Anyone? Anyone?)
Thinking: I need to reorganize my kitchen!!! I put everything in temporary not great places when I moved in 5 months ago (like, silverware really should not just be sitting permanently on the counter). So I finally bought a new kitchen cart which The Internet says only takes 5 hours to put together, and you should have a magnifying glass for the instructions, and then once that is set up, I need to empty all my cabinets and put everything back again in a different configuration.
Watching: Finished Stranger Things, it was supposed to be on in the background while I put together the kitchen cart, but I got totally sucked in and that didn’t happen. Also almost done with Father Brown, but considering an immediate rewatch because it’s not like I actually paid attention to the mysteries. Otherwise I will need to find another soothing period murder series. Maybe time to go back to Miss Fisher? Has she actually kissed the police inspector yet?
Now, question for you! Courtesy of Niki in the comments yesterday on the post about Shahrukh not having signed any new films at all and being open for projects. What director do you want to see Shahrukh work with who he has not worked with before?
For me, as I said to Niki, I think I might like to see Shahrukh with Sooraj Barjatya. Just a few years back I wouldn’t, Sooraj seemed to be more about the big ensemble films and I like Shahrukh best with character dramas. But he would have been an interesting fit in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, and I would love to see what he and Sooraj would come up with together. And second choice, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari who wrote and directed Bareilly Ki Barfi. Has a really great way of working with actors, very rich characters and setting, and Shahrukh always does interesting work with female director. Third choice, AR Murgadoss, let him do an action movie but one with some depth and pain in the action.
Or, opening this up totally, what director/actor pair in Indian film would you like to see come together for the first time?
A lot more thoughts here! I want to see Kajol in a Guari Shinde film centered on her character. I want to see Sonam work with Karan Johar, they both are so good at appearances being part of the character. I want to see Fawad Khan work with Anurag Basu, bring some dignity to those troubled male characters. I want to see Ayan Mukherjee work with Anushka Sharma, give her the calm maturity he gave Dips and Konkona. And I want to see Alia work with her father.
dontcallitbollywood 
Watching — started Kapoor and Sons, and am trying to motivate myself to finish it. I have Fan and Bang Bang to be watched after that. I don’t know when I’ll get to them if I can’t finish K & S.
Reading — nothing! I have to return all my books to the library and get some more, but haven’t found the time for over a week. 😦
As for your question: I think the best match for SRK right now is Shankar. SRK likes those big spectacle films, which Shankar specilizes in. They almost came together before, but fell apart because SRK wanted to use Red Chilies for the special effects (it was then in its infancy). So if SRK can let go of his ego in that regard, it can work. BTW, I think SRK and Sooraj Barjatya are a TERRIBLE combination! SRK is too cynical to fit into Sooraj’s innocent world view.
Other first time actor/director combinations: Salman and Rajamouli — Rajamouli is essentially a hard core masala director, and, at least for now, Salman is most successful with the masala format. Sonam with Gauri Shinde? Maybe it could work, give a bit of gravitas to Sonam’s brand of “feminist” films, which are dismissed as fluff right now. Ranveer and Prabhudeva — I don’t care much for Prabhudeva as a director, but he’s competent enough, and this way we can get the dancing and action. 🙂
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Ooo, I like your ideas!!!! Shankar is kind of hit and miss for me, and so is SRK in big special effects films. But if the choice is Ra.One versus Ra.One directed by Shankar, the Shankar version would be way way better. And Shahrukh could give him the kind of Hindi launch he needs (he isn’t going to make the sort of small film that can sneak in and out of theaters, he needs that big Red Chillies promotion campaign).
Salman and Rajamouli, absolutely!!!! He already worked with his father for Bajrangi Bhaijaan, if they can come up with a plot like that which uses Salman perfectly, and add some of the Rajamouli imagination to how it looks, that would be perfect.
Sonam and Gauri Shinde, I would be excited to see what they did together creatively, but I also want to see what they do from production side of things. Sonam is aggressive enough to get the budget and release that Gauri deserves and make sure she gets the correct credit for it, instead of the way Dear Zindagi got such a small release and Shahrukh somehow overshadowed everything else, including the director.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 6:42 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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SRK and Zoya Akhtar for sure! I just want everyone to work with Zoya who hasn’t already because I think her ideas are really interesting and her films just have a cool vibe that brings out the best in her actors (cameos in Lucky By Chance don’t count). I really like all the ideas you and Moimeme have suggested, too. How about Ranveer Singh and Anurag Basu…the wackiness would be off the wall, but it might work better? Vishal Bharadwaj with Ranveer Singh, too. I would love to see Konkona Sen Sharma as director work with Vidya Balan or Rani Mukherjee.
I’m not going to meet my reading goal of 50 books this year at this point:(
And haven’t seen a new Indian film since Daddy. I have Bhoomi, Rocket Singh, and Cinemawala to be watched, plus tons of random things on Netflix to watch. Waiting patiently for Shubh Mangal Saavdhan and Half Girlfriend to pop up with subtitles.
I’ve been watching a lot of figure skating and some Hallmark Christmas movies in the meantime…apparently I really am a middle-aged white woman now.
But what I’m really excited about is the comeback of the Democrats yesterday in the elections with some really amazing moments for inclusivity and representation in our state and local governments. My county in PA went Democratic for the first time since PA was a state!
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Cinemawala is a very nice film. I think you’ll enjoy it.
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If watching figure skating and Hallmark movies makes you a middle-aged white woman, I have been that since I was in college! But really, I already knew that! Hate staying out past 9pm, like going to my church knitting group, very fussy about my house, etc. etc. It’s a very happy life!
You are right, Zoya and Shahrukh would be amazing! Especially after seeing what she and Reema did with Aamir in Talaash, breaking him out of his stardom and back to a character.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 8:20 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Mubarakan is on Netflix and I really liked it!
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I’m glad you liked it, Niki! I enjoyed it, too for a one time watch. Here’s hoping that Arjun keeps getting solid lead roles!
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I love the idea of SRK and Zoya Akhtar working together. Just based on seeing her in interviews, the behind the scenes alone would make it worth it. But I would love to see him in a Zoya-type ensemble story.
The question is, would we rather see him work with Zoya or Farhan next? Something totally new or Don 3?
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Personally, DON 3!!!! but that’s because I am obsessed with completion, I can’t enjoy something fully until I know how it ends. Setting aside my personal preference, I bet anything he does with Zoya will be better and more interesting than Don 3. Don 2 was already a let down, and we’ve already seen a lot of what he can do with this character.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 4:55 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Don 2 was fun, but it did feel more like a Western heist movie knock off than a Hindi movie. Honestly I’d watch Don 3, 4, and 5. SRK just has so much fun being bad, which is fun to watch. Still I’d rather Zoya next. That way Farhan et al. have some time to work on a clever script for Don 3!
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Yep, that’s it exactly, Don 2 was fun, and I am sure 3 and 4 and 5 and however many would be “fun” too. So long as they keep Shahrukh and Farhan as both director and writer. But Don 1 was an actual good movie, more than just fun.
On Thu, Nov 9, 2017 at 12:38 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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For me, definitely Zoya…since I’m not a big fan of the Don films (though I love the original)!
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Watching: Saathiya (for the SRK cameo), Dear Zindagi (I caught my husband wiping his eyes at the scene where Alia crawls into bed with her parents and hugs her mother!!), and of course I saw
Ittefaq. It was a 12:15 pm show on a Monday in the far off suburbs and there were 10 people in the theater, a mix of desi and non-desi. Very unusually high number: I am used to “private screenings” at that time of day! I liked it a lot, and was completely taken in, right up until the end.
Reading: American Fire, non-fiction about a series of arson events in very rural Eastern Shore Virginia. My new book group is reading it and the author is coming to our next meeting, since she lives in our town.
Thinking: “Whew!”, after the elections. So many new faces, so much diversity, such a good turnout. Also still trying to figure this retirement thing out.
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Love Saathiya!!! And not just for the SRK cameo. And thrilled to hear about Ittefaq, I have high hopes for a solid or even growing second weekend.
I would be so nervous meeting an author of a book! I am way too critical, but also hate hurting people’s feelings.
And hey, if you are retired, combine your two thinkings! Go volunteer for your local democratic party!!!! Partly for me, I feel guilty that I’m not doing more, so you can do it for me!
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I actually was the guest author at another book group several years ago. One of the attendees panned the book on Goodreads and then gushed all over me in person. Strange and awkward. So I will be extra polite with this author; it won’t be hard, as I am really enjoying it. She is a reporter with the Washington Post and this was a small story about a series of mysterious fires that turned into a complicated book about relationships in a rural community.
My main political focus is voting rights and work against gerrymandering. Complicated, since our state is one of the few where the Democrats have gone overboard in “picking their voters” through gerrymandering.
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This is why I feel a little weird sometimes tweeting reviews to actors/directors!!!! It’s never 100% complimentary and I don’t know if I could be honest if I pictured the actual person reading it.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 9:00 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I have never minded honest, insightful criticism, especially when it points out places that needed a different perspective or more clarification. As a writer, I need that! I would look forward to reviews from someone like you! Also, keep in mind that some publicist probably reads the review first and may or may not share it.
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How about reviews that say “he looked just yummy in the shirtless scenes”?
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 9:50 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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If an interviewer or review ever includes a compliment on my appearance — affective or physical — I would be pleasantly shocked, because THAT NEVER HAPPENS. But an actor, who must have understood what the director was after in that scene, knows you were supposed to notice and respond that way. Be yourself in your reviews. It what makes reading them so good.
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I’m still glad I cut the line of “I never really got what made Prithviraj attractive before, but in this movie, OH MY GOD!!!!” from my City of God review before he read it.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 10:50 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Um, but now he can read it here, n’est-ce pas?
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That’s assuming he is coming back daily and reading every single post and every single comment on it. Which I suppose is possible, there is a lot of downtime during shooting, right? And heck, in that case, “hi Prithviraj! Sorry we constantly objectify you, we just do it out of love!!!!” But it seems unlikely.
More worrisome, the one post I know he actually read, descends into highly personal gossip about his parents in the comments: https://dontcallitbollywood.com/2017/04/10/monday-malayalam-city-of-god-love-is-what-ties-it-all-together/
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 10:54 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Just want to say that I love reading about Indian movies from a foreigner’s perspective. Also, Margaret, I’m always surprised about the fact that you get a lot of cultural references, and also understand a bit of Hindi. When I watch a Hollywood Movie or a Sitcom, a lot of popular culture references go above my head. Also may I add that you are more aware of different Indian languages and movies than most Indians are 😀
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Thank you, glad you are enjoying it and appreciate the work I put in to learn the cultural context!
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 8:45 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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SRK – Kabhir Khan
Both of these people seem highly intelligent, both well spoken and heart felt during interviews
Maybe Salman as good guy, SRK as bad guy, in a cat and mouse game set in a typical kabir Khan setting, with enough character development tho utilize srk strengths.
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I was avoiding Kabir Khan because Tubelight was such a massive disappointment. But now you are making me think about it, and the Shahrukh/Salman scene was by far the highlight of the film. So yes, I would absolutely want to see what he would do with them if he had them for a whole movie.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 10:16 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Or srk & Kabhir Khan starting a James Bond like franchise series.
SRK’s James Bond avatar can be like Daniel Craig in presence but with the wit of Sean Connery.
Listening to
the song
Meet Virginia
by Train
Yay Dems!
Thinking about
Will this blog add an Edit button? 😉
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I have no idea how to add an Edit button! For comments you mean? I have the ability to Edit, but I don’t know how to make it possible for anyone else.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 10:34 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes for the comments. It would be nice to fix typos
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I found a thing on this! Google, my IT support, helps again.
https://en.support.wordpress.com/comments/
Apparently it is not possible. Unless I switch to the version of wordpress where I control and write my own code, and that’s not happening. I need my computer training wheels!
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 10:43 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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This weekend I rewatched Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Baahubali 2 which were both fun to rewatch. I then saw Thor: Ragnarok which was a decent Marvel film, not the best this year but fun nevertheless. Then I ended the weekend by watching Mubarakan which I really enjoyed.
I liked Mubarakan so much that I rewatched most of it again on Monday. It was still really fun to watch. I can’t believe that I liked Mubarakan so much more than Bareilly Ki Barfi 🙂
I started watching Happy New Year yesterday but I don’t know if I want to continue. I’m not really finding it to be funny and I’m really annoyed at how Charlie is treating Mohini. She deserves so much better.
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I think your reaction to Mubarakan hooks into part of the reason it was such a surprise hit in theaters. It’s just a big fun re-watchable movie. Not that smart, but with enough fun moments that you can enjoy the experience.
I think of Happy New Year and Dilwale as a pair always, because they are the two big stupid disappointing SRK movies. But now you are making me think about them again and what is different. Dilwale, I can hugely enjoy on rewatch WITH FASTFORWARD. Because the problem is, it is a mixture of okay scenes, really great scenes, and terrible stuff. So it averages out to “meh”, but on fastforward you can edit out the Jonny Lever and filler stuff and turn it into a great 90 minute movie. But Happy New Year, I can think of a few short scenes that are really pointless (the elevator mindreading part), and a few that are totally good (the explaining of the heist and the dance competition cover and everyone’s reaction) but mostly the bad is just sort of consistently there in the whole film.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 10:31 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh yeah, I’d agree with you. Plus I didn’t like the character of Charlie since he kept putting down Mohini for being a bar dancer. Like what was that all of that about.
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I feel like there was supposed to be something a lot deeper going on, Charlie had some self-hatred and identity issues to work through, and keeping Mohini in the “bar dancer” box was part of it. We were supposed to get that he actually had a crush on her and respected her and was falling in love with her, and it was ironic and sad that she kept walking in just as he said the one bad thing. But of course the movie totally failed in execution of that.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 10:58 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, we didn’t really get any of that. It ended being more that Mohini was in love with Charlie and he barely cared about her.
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My fantasy ending for HNY is that Mohini and Sonu end up together. Sonu’s character actually likes women, generally, and Mohini, specifically. She’s much too good for Charlie. His story should have just focused on the heist/revenge part.
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Yes! I thought Mohini should have ended up with Sonu as well!
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Oh yeah, I forgot to answer my question 🙂
I would like to see Shahrukh work with Shoojit Sircar. I feel that that would be really interesting.
I have a list for Varun that’s always evolving in my head. Right now I want him to work with Ali Abbas Zafar, Anees Bazmee (Mubarakan effect 🙂 ), Kabir Khan, Zoya Akhtar, and Vikram Kumar (Manam).
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Shoojit Sircar would be interesting. Especially if he isn’t actually the focus of the film, I’m thinking like Irrfan Khan’s character in Piku. It would let him play an interesting character in an interesting script without the overwhelming pressure of being the star.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 10:40 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, that’s what I was thinking about!
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I don’t know if I hope for that with October and Varun or not. On the one hand, I would like to see him in more of a supporting role. On the other hand, I don’t necessarily want a whole movie lead by an unknown model/actress.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 11:01 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Before they finalized the actresses, there was a bunch of speculation that Deepika is going to be the actress. Then there were a bunch of reports that there is more scope for Varun’s character in the movie which is why Deepika rejected the role.
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I will always have a soft spot for Anees Bazmee due to Pyar to hona hi tha….I loved Kajol and Ajay in it. Ajay was fun, and brooding, sexy all at the same time…
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I keep meaning to rewatch that movie and then I never do. Agreed! It was great! Better, I think, than the original French Kiss it is based on.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 12:14 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Watched the new thor movie and finished Jonathan Creek TV Series. I have with me the following tv series now – Miss Fisher’s Murder mysteries, Ripper Street, White Chappel, True Blood. Which to watch next among them, any suggestion?
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Personally, I haven’t seen Ripper Street or True Blood, but I have heard mixed things about both (True Blood starts strong and rapidly gets weak in later seasons, Ripper Street is kind of confused and unfocused). For the other two, I like White Chappel a lot more than Miss Fisher. Miss Fisher is consistently “fun”, but Whitechapel goes a bit more thought provoking sometimes
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 12:52 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I have watched kannada movie this week. It’s called Modalasala. While watching I was thinking I should recommend it here, because it’s one of those it’s-all-about-loving-your-parents (and children) movie , and everybody is so good and decent, and the hero and heroine love each other so much, but then the ending happened I I was like “OMG what is this”.
Now I’m watching “Majunu” (tamil). I have very long list of must-watch movies but then I end watching odd random films without reason (ok there was a reason for Majunu – I saw that young Sonu Sood is in this and I was curious)
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You are a lot more adventurous than I am! And I appreciate it, keep watching funky movies for us and warning us away if they are no good.
Margaret
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 2:28 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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🙂
Modalasala is parental love to the extreme and it has some nice scenes and most important Yash is in it (won’t lie – it was the main reason to watch this movie)
Majunu – the only thing I can say so far is that Sonu Sood is hot (nothing new) but he doesn’t have big role in this film.
BTW I’m wondering what happened with Tutak Tutak Tutiya. It’s been a year since it was released but it isn’t on Einthusian nor on other platforms.
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Found it! It’s on Herotalkies. Which I didn’t even know about myself until a few months ago. Seems like the Tamil industry is way way ahead of the other industries in terms of legal streaming, unlike Hindi films you don’t have to troll through 5 different services to find them and then make do with a terrible print. But that also means you can only see the films on the legal platforms. Herotalkies has almost everything and is a pretty good service (less than $10 a month, and you can chromecast to your TV). But they own the rights to everything and actually police einthusan and the other services to make sure it is only available on their site. Oh, and you have to search for “Devi” to find it, not Tutak Tutak Tutiya.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 3:10 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh thank you.
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And speaking about funky films – I just watched Aksar 2 trailer and just can’t wait to watch the movie.
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Really? I just assumed it was another run of the mill sexy thriller type film. Is it especially good looking, or especially amusingly bad looking?
On Thu, Nov 9, 2017 at 10:01 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Seems like typical sexy thriller with Zarine Khan, but I have a weak spot for movies like this because I absolutely love the cheesy twists.
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I’m not quite enough of a cheesy thriller fan to be excited about Aksar 2. But I have to admit to a sneaking excitement about Race 3!
On Thu, Nov 9, 2017 at 11:35 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I loved Race, but still haven’t seen Race 2 because it came out durning my break from Bollywood (the same for Don and Don 2)
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Race 2 is fun. Saif is the only returning star, but it’s a similarly twisted plot.
And you should definitely see don! Don 2 is a lot weaker, but Don 1 is a legit new classic
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I expressed myslef badly – I have seen Don 1, more, I love it and have seen it in the theatre, and have special edition polish dvd too 🙂 But I have never seen Don 2.
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Oh, then no hurry. Don 2 is fine, but not great. If we ever get Don 3 (FARHAN!!! STOP IT WITH THE ROCK BAND AND *FOCUS*!!!!!!), you should probably watch it before you see 3. But otherwise, no real need.
On Thu, Nov 9, 2017 at 2:42 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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ARM – SRK would be lit!! I love ARM’s movies. Like you said, they have so much pain and intensity – SRK would be such a good fit. I wonder why SRK hasn’t worked with him yet. I think his sensibilities are very different and he tends to not work with people he doesn’t know at all(not sure, thats what I fee). On that note, I hope he doesn’t work with Farah Khan for a long long time – her characters are all so one note and HNY was such a disappointment.
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It seems like his last few projects he has been looking to get outside his comfort zone and just work with people where he likes the work, not the person. Hopefully he will keep that up even if the last few projects haven’t been big hits, because I have been really enjoying the experimenting. And a Murgadoss movie would be amazing! All that agony Shahrukh has hidden inside brought up to the surface in the most wrenching and painful way possible and then expressed through massive complex action sequences. and hopefully no romance because the Spyder romance convinced me Murgadoss should never do romance again.
On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 9:15 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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