Happy Wednesday! This comes to you from under a mountain of blankets. For once, I called in sick even though I could technically walk. I feel so guilty!
So, what am I watching? Mostly old sitcoms while I drift in and out of consciousness.
Reading, nothing! Books are so heavy.
Thinking, thinking about when it’s time for my next Advil.
And now, a thematic question for you! What is your home sick movie, the one you can watch over and over and it makes you feel better?
dontcallitbollywood 
Get well soon!! What exactly are you down with anyway??
My sick time movie as of this year is Bahubali.. 😂
Mostly because it’s been sitting on my thumb drive and it’s two flicks of a remote button away. I’m very irritable when I’m sick and it isn’t good for the remote if I need to paw the remote too much to get to what I want to watch.
My usual usual sick film isn’t a film at all. It’s home improvement shows/renovation /tiny house shows. I’m addicted to them. 😂
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I’ve got the standard sore throat/runny nose/stuffed head thing, but with a topping of a really really high fever. Which is always satisfying, because the thermometer gives you objective justification for how terrible you feel.
Have you watched Househunters? It used to be on Netflix US and it was the perfect drifting in and out of consciousness show. They all start and end the same way, so you can fall asleep in the middle of one and wake up for the end of the next one and it all kind of flows together.
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I have not. I’ve heard about it on fb though.. That’s the one where people with part time minimum wage jobs have million dollar budgets right?
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Yep! Well, sometimes it’s believable, I’ve seen some with some really rich people. Or young people who were clearly using their parents’ money. Most importantly, it’s only 20 minutes long and it is so completely fake that you could set your watch by it. So perfect for just sort of hazing in and out of things.
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Blech! If I wanted people acting fake on tv I have indian MTV!! 😂
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Feel better, Margaret! Between work, Christmas prep, and school-related Christmas stuff, haven’t been watching much. As a family Christmas present we went from an older 30 inch to an HD 40 inch TV, and have been watching the Great British Baking Show (season 2) on Netflix. It all looks so pretty! And everyone is so nice! I watched a bit of JHMS just to see how it would look. We took bets on how big Shah Rukh’s nose would look on the new TV. My estimate was closest, with “It will look about as big as a small pony.” (Eddie Izzard reference–any fans here?)
Lately I’ve tended to listen to audiobooks or podcasts while sick. It’s nice to fall asleep with a pleasant voice in my ear, and then either rewind or just keep going when I’m awake again. No need to get up or even reach for a remote.
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I think that is an excellent family Christmas present! Although it does bring up the risk of seeing more details than you want to really see. I still haven’t recovered from years ago catching the Winter Olympics on an HD TV in a waiting room. All the snot and panting and just unpleasantness on the faces of people who had just done something super athletic in really cold weather, I don’t need to see that.
I was trying to remember why podcasts/audiobooks while sick sounded familiar to me. It’s what I used to listen to when I was little. Only it was podcasts, it was my mother reading aloud, waiting until i went to sleep, and then picking up again when I woke up. Which I think has spoiled me, an audiobook just wouldn’t be the same.
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I once read the first 2 Harry Potter books to my husband when he was really ill over the holidays. It was a nice bonding experience.
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Here’s hoping you’ll be back on your feet soon.I love something sweet and uncomplicated when I’m sick.No morally ambiguous characters or complicated heist movies.Om Shanti Oshana,Saathiya…you get the idea.Mostly I like to watch the songs or read a good old Harlequin romance.My Kumar Gaurav movie of the week Hum hain Lajawab has a plot lifted straight from a Harlequin romance.Our hero is a humorless duty bound rich aristocrat without an ounce of human kindness.His brother had run away with the gypsies years ago and died recently leaving a son behind.Now Kumar G is in Goa trying to get his nephew’s custody from the boy’s gypsy aunt Padmini.In a typical Harlequin he’d have taken the child forcibly and blackmailed the heroine to marry him.But Padmini is refreshingly different being an ex- thieving gypsy.She cons the custody papers out of him.He in turn turns up on her street in a different guise- as a wandering singer named Aashiq (Lover) with the intention to con the custody papers back out of her.But after a suitable interval and various chastening experiences of life as a poor man, turns into a new leaf.There’s a lot of slapstick and our hero manages to get engaged to two women having the same name.There’s a brother and sister pair of matching villains,pipe chomping rich hero,Shakti Kapoor’s buffoonry, terrible melodrama and an autocratic father before a happy ending is reached.Plus points include the church from the movie Josh, Padmini’s way of saying Grace (May that scoundrel Pawan die hungry) and music from R.D.Burman.The movie is available on Youtube with English subtitles.
Also managed to watch Bankchor which would be perfect for you right now.Ritesh and his two henchmen are bumbling thieves who try to rob a bank -try being the operative word.Right from the beginning thinks go wrong.Hotshot police officer Vivek Oberoi (with the unlikely name Amjad Khan) is right outside.”Kitne atmi the?” asks Ritesh upon meeting him.Plus there’s an undercover police officer and a gang of real thieves inside.Newton is more of an art movie than a commercial movie.But it is entertaining as well as thought provoking.And it was a real treat to watch Rajkummar Rao and Pankaj Tripathi (Kriti Sanon’s dad in Bareilly ki Barfi) interact again. This time on opposite teams.Both movies are available on Amazon Prime.
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that Kumar Gaurav movie, at least the basic set up, really sounds like Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai, which also starred Padmini. Which is a really weird coincidence! Or else one director was stealing from the other, that would be the other possibility.
The last time i was this sick (a year ago, stupid winter), I watched Manam, which was that perfect “good people doing good things” kind of movie.
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Oh I love the songs from Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai.They are definitely better than those from Hum hain lajawab.Interesting that R.D.Burman gave the music to both.The plot seems similar too .But Kumar Gaurav is a nasty piece of work when he first meets Padmini.He had every intention of snatching the child forcibly from her.I have to admit it was gratifying to see him suffer in a rat infested room (with goats) and suffer other petty humiliations.Sort of taming the shrew in reverse.Except that no one was doing the taming.He had brought it on himself.Rishi seems so much nicer by comparison.
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So sorry to hear you’re down with what sounds like a miserable cold & fever. When I’m feeling like that there are a few Hindi films I can watch, ones I know so well it won’t matter if I doze off. For me they are SRK movies, like DDLJ or K3G. But actually what I like best when I’m sick are Hollywood classics, often musicals. Anything Fred & Ginger, or Singin in the Rain, On The Town, Anchors Aweigh, stuff like that. Recently watched The Philadelphia Story and Woman of the Year (though I wasn’t sick), but almost anything Katherine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy will do as well.
Hope you feel better soon!
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When I was little, and AMC was “American Movie Classics”, we got to pick one movie from the schedule to watch when we were home sick. I saw a lot of really random stuff that way. But the black and white predictable plot comedies really were great when you were feeling lousy.
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Get well soon!
For years my “sick” movie was K3G, and then Dhadkan. It’s great when you have cold. And you know what else would be great – Hum Saath Saath Hain. You can even fall asleep, and when you wake up, they will be still dancing on somebody’s wedding/engagment 😉 I saw it today for the first time. I wanted something easy to watch while cross-stitching, and it was perfect, and even better than I thought.
Really liked the scene of Mohnish and Tabu wedding, when she holds his hand. So sweet. But didn’t like Tabu’s role. It was because I know it’s Tabu and that she can do so much more, and here she has like 5 words to say and nothing to do. But even with so little she made me like her character, unlike Priya Gill in Sirf Tum. Almost the same kind of character – good traditional Indian girl, but Tabu was interesting and Priya plain boring.
So I watched two Mohnish Bahl movies this week and now I’m thinking – why he wasn’t a star? He is handsome, talented, and has family connections. I like him, and I wish he has made more movies as hero.
Other thing I’m thinking – I try to find logic in selection of indian movies avaiable on italian amazon prime. Newer Salman hits, Tublight, Athiya Shetty’s Hero, Daddy (which was in cinemas like few weeks ago), few random marathi movies, 2 or 3 tamil, a loooot of old bengali films from 70′, 80′ and 90′ (WHY? and who watch this? I mean I’ll watch one of them for sure, but I’m odd), than telugu movie Mister, which looks like crap, and very well hidden Ninu Kori (with italian subtitles!) and Arjun Reddy. Who choses those movies? And why so many bengali, and no malayalam or hindi? I guess I’ll never know.
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Hope you feel better soon! I feel your pain…I have a bad cold but no fever so am struggling through work today. My favorite sick movies are usually romantic dramas or romantic comedies or binge watching something on tv…many a bad cold has been soothed by marathons of Buffy or West Wing.
I still haven’t watched an Indian film since way back before Thanksgiving break, I think. Qaidi Band was the last new film I’ve seen. But I did discover a good Hallmark Christmas movie called My Christmas Love from a couple of years ago. One of the few that I have watched all the way through this season.
Just basking in the joy of the beautiful Virat/Anushka wedding photos and looking forward to the holiday break to try to catch up on as many Hindi films as possible to be able to make my year-end lists of favorites!
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I’m so sorry you’re sick! There’s something bizarre about being seriously ill in the middle of the week. It completely derails you, mentally as well as physically.
Reading: Alabama election results and feeling grateful voters rejected a pedophilic megalomaniac. It’s a low bar but we cleared it.
Thinking: About the female gaze and Hindi cinema and how male Bollywood stars unabashedly show off their bodies for the enjoyment of women as contrasted with Hollywood stars who seem to show off their bodies as an aspirational object for straight men. Salman Khan seems to hit both poles, started out as an object of female desire and now is an avatar for his fan boys.
Watching: Tried watching Shakespeare Wallah but couldn’t get into it. Not sure what’s going to be next.
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Yes! I had this strong feeling that I am supposed be sick on Friday and then just make it a long sick weekend. It’s too strange to have worked two days, and then be off.
Yes, I agree completely with your interpretation of Salman Khan! For one thing, it is few women I have spoken to who are attracted to him now, whereas everyone I know has to acknowledge the appeal of young-Salman.
Aiyyaa! Totally different from Shakespeare Wallah in every way. Has a really bad comedy track, but besides that, it is perfection.
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I just finished having what you’re got — it’s the flu. Don’t fight it! Figure at least four days in bed.
I ended up browsing endlessly through the Netflix options and ended up with the old 1980’s satires “Airplane” and “Airplane 2” — just the right level of sophistication for a sick-addled brain.
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Sorry you’re sick, and hope you feel better soon. I don’t watch anything when I’m sick. I prefer to reread old favorites. If you liked Manam as a feel good movie, let me recommend the Telugu Maya Bazaar if you haven’t already seen it. It’s on youtube with subtitles for the colorized version, and without for the black and white original version. There are a whole bunch of Telugu movies from the 60’s and 70’s based on the puranas on youtube, but without subtitles. There are a whole bunch just based on the Mahabharata which you might want to try, since you know the story anyway. Let me suggest Bala Bharatham, about the childhood of the Pandavas and Kauravas. You may be less familiar with some parts of the story, but you’ll get to see a ten year old Sridevi as the lone girl among a hundred brothers. And I think the part of the child Bhima was played by one of NTR’s sons, but I can’t remember which one.
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Sorry you’re sick today! I just got over that a few weeks ago, but it wreaked havoc on my life for about two weeks (because I have to make up classes, etc., not because I was sick that long). My sick movie is either Om Shanti Om or Salaam E Ishq. The latter is basically a marathon by itself, without having to lift the heavy remote or think about anything. I also like watching Amitabh yelling and punching people.
Speaking of which, I finally finished Deewar last night–what a movie! I’m still processing.
In the theater, I saw Miss Sloane, a political thriller with Jessica Chastain that came and went in 2016 in the US and I don’t remember it. It’s just been released in Japan. This movie is already a Hindi movie: anti-corruption stance, heroic anti-hero, nonsensical twist ending. In the Hindi version, Miss Sen, the icy career-driven lobbyist could be Kareena Kapoor, the idealistic lobbyist she works for would be Akshaye Khanna (who even looks like Mark Strong), and she would have a romance with him in Hindi although she didn’t in English. The evil Senator would be Boman Irani because I love evil Boman Irani. Taapsee Pannu would be her young colleague whom she develops a friendship with, and Sid would be the dumb young male prostitute with a heart of gold.
Also at the theater I found out the extremely exciting news that Bahubali is getting a theatrical release in Japan!!!!!!! And will be at my town’s little theater January 13!!!!!!!!!! Yes, the first one and I know it came out like four years ago but that’s how we roll. Luckily I haven’t seen it yet and get to watch it for the first time on the big(-ish) screen.
Feel better! Fluids and rest!
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I’m so glad you’ll be able to see Bahubali 1 on the big screen. IMO it’s far better than the second part, and the visual effects are much better, too. I’ll wait eagerly for you to report back on your experience. 🙂
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Hope you are feeling better and the fever has reduced so you feel more comfortable.
Reading: Alabama victory. FB, WhatsApp messages and this blog. Trying to catch up with all the reading online.
Thinking: It’s been too bitterly cold to go out shopping today. Snow forecast for tomorrow morning with frigid air till Friday. I may tough it tomorrow b/c need to get Christmas cards out to daughter in Australia. And where is that snow shovel-er from JTHJ? I keep waiting for him to show up!
Also thinking I’ve seen more Hindi films than I sometimes remember.My daughter mentioned that she said she was working with Jacqueline Fernandez’s cousin and did I know who JF was. Told her, of course, then named off some films, Aladin, Housefulls, Kick, Roy, Brothers, Dishoom, Flying Jatt, and A Gentleman.
Watching: Yesterday I watched RNBDJ bc of Anushka’s wedding and 9 yr anniversary. Today I watched Golmaal Again, I’m not a big fan of Ajay Devgn but there were some moments when I just laughed out loud, silly funny slapstick comedy at times. Half Girlfriend was okay, not as good as 2 States.
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Fever finally broke early this morning/late last night, so now I technically have the energy to do things, but I won’t, because I need to get healthy enough to go to work tomorrow and the best way is to sleep and drink hot tea and orange juice for the next 24 hours. It’s so hard! I want to rush around doing things now that I am feeling so much better!
My sister just sent me a message, all happy because they have managed to find a snow person. She rents a house, and they live in one of those places where it can snow so much that you either need to just plan on being super late to work after shoveling your car out, or you hire someone to swing by and do the driveway after every storm. It all makes me happy that I live in an apartment and don’t have to worry about handling snow management myself.
I know what you mean about realizing you have watched more than you think you have! It starts out with listing out every movie you have watched. And then eventually the number of films becomes so massive that you can’t keep them all in your head.
Golmaal Again sounds just about right for a snowy day in! If nothing else, the setting is so beautiful.
On Wed, Dec 13, 2017 at 9:31 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Hi, dear 🙂 How are you today?
It may be a ‘good’ thing that sometimes our body forces us to take a leave from the hustle and bustle of daily life…
If that happens to me I tell my body that I understand and then simply do what pleases me: reading, hearing audiobooks, surfing the Net, watching movies or simply sleeping-daydreaming-writinginmyhead. When I feel like getting up, I do some housework I otherwise would not take the time to do like sort papers or photos or other things 🙂
This week, I took three late evenings to watch Shashi- and also Dharmendra movies you wrote about…it was a pleasure as the rest of my time I was very well occupied with my family and daily housework…and still will be 🙂
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Feeling better! Good enough that I have to force myself to do nothing, because I actually have the energy to do something. But I shouldn’t, because then I will just get sicker again. So, good time for your reminder that I need to listen to my body and not force anything!
On Thu, Dec 14, 2017 at 2:01 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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OK, so the Bahubali Twitter account wished Rana Daggubati Happy Birthday, and to illustrate their wish they put the clip of Bhallaladeva’s coronation from Bahubali 2. Now that happens to be one of my favorite sequences from the film (I didn’t like the film overall), so I wanted to watch just that. So I went to youtube, and decided to watch it in very high definition, which meant it took forever to load, and I couldn’t just skip to the scene I wanted. Then I decided, since it was taking so long, and I was stuck at the beginning, I may as well download the whole thing onto my computer, and started that. This meant I had to watch (or at least keep running) the whole movie from start to finish. So I more or less watched the whole thing (playing solitaire in the parts I didn’t like), and it just finished, and — it didn’t download! Aargh! So I will have to repeat this whole process at some point in the future, and in the meantime I have stayed up three hours beyond the time I wanted to, and won’t have slept enough to go to an appointment this afternoon.
Anyway, that’s my Wednesday watching story. 🙂
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Oh how frustrating! I hate it when things like that happen.
On Thu, Dec 14, 2017 at 7:08 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I was so busy yesterday, I couldn’t post! I got a call late Tuesday night from an Indian journalist who had interviewed me a couple of years ago. She was in town and wanted to meet for coffee. So I got up really, really early and bundled up (it’s frigid in in DC right now) and met her at her hostel and we had coffee, walked all the way to the Museum of the American Indian, spent two hours there and then had lunch before I had to head home. Pooya is about 30, very curious about these “other” Indians. We took turns blowing each other’s minds. Imagine the two of us trying to explain our respective country’s politics to each other in the context of colonialism, capitalism, and racism as experienced in the US and India. Realizing how tangled and global the problems are. So that’s what I am thinking about.
I finished reading Paul Coelho’s The Spy, about Mata Hari. He is such a fabulous writer!
Watching: Sunday I invited a bunch of friends over for Lagaan (2001). They had a blast, learned about cricket, and were rocking to the music by the end. Booed the British baddie. Ignored modern politics for four blissful hours. Since then I watched Aiyyaa, which I loved.
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Yaaaaaaaay, Aiyyaa!!!! Is this the first time you have watched it?
On Thu, Dec 14, 2017 at 11:14 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes! Thanks to your mini review on the Netflix list.
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Hope you recover quickly but take rest until then.
Just fyi to aamir khan fans, Netflix just uploaded Lagaan, Dhobi Ghat, and Peepli Live. Looks like someone at Netflix likes Aamir’s art films.
Fcc rolled back net neutrality today. Time to strike up a deal with your ISP for DCIB lol.
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From Asmita:
“https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/bollywood/shah-rukh-khan-replaces-aamir-in-rakesh-sharma-biopic
Christmas came early for you Margaret! SRK might play Rakesh Sharma in the biopic Amir is giving a miss”
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I’m still not sure if I believe it, since it’s been “rumored” for about 2-3 weeks now and right now The Quint is the only one confirming it. It hasn’t even been tweeted yet. But maybe I will put up a post that’s just about Rakesh Sharma a little, because he seems interesting.
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