Happy Wednesday! I am much less sick than I was last Wednesday. Thank goodness! Oh, and REMINDER: THIS POST IS WHERE YOU CAN PUT ANY NEWS ITEMS, COMMENTS ABOUT MOVIES YOU WATCHED, ANYTHING ELSE ALL WEEK. I am pinning it to the home screen just to make that easier. Oh, and read to the end for a question for you.
I’ll start!
Reading: Nothing! Ha-HA!!!! I should be starting Twinkle’s book before Padman comes out, or returning to the never ending Memoirs of a Thug, but I am being lazy and not reading anything at all!
Watching: Holiday TV show specials. Caught up on Bob Newhart so far, and Miranda. Possibly Gavin and Stacey tonight.
Thinking: Thinking about Tiger Zinda Hai! I’m going with my sister and my cousin as a little young-people-of-the-family date. I bought tickets for the early show so we can have dinner afterwards, but now I am worried it will be terrible and dinner will be this awkward silent thing as we all try to think of something nice to say.
Now, your question! Courtesy of datablue in the Monday Morning post (also pinned to the homescreen): What is your favorite trope?
I already gave my answer, the bad-boy-who-falls-in-love-with-good-girl, especially when it is done well so the good girl is more than just simply “good” and the bad boy is more than just simply “bad”. What’s your favorite?
dontcallitbollywood 
Just watched Coco, and ended up crying from the last 20 minutes of the movie till I reached home. What an amazing movie! And I don’t even like animated films.
Now, coming to your question, my favourite trope is the “heroine is really depressed and bitter about her life/job/family and the hero makes her fall in love with life while travelling to gorgeous places”
LikeLike
This is why I avoid Pixar!!!! Too emotional. The last one I saw was Inside Out, which I don’t think is as emotional as this one, but was still pretty bad.
That is an excellent trope! I wish there were more Indian movies that used it, but they seem to avoid letting the heroine be unpleasant. Although there is Chalte Chalte, sort of.
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 7:02 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I had no clue that it would be so emotional! And that Mexican families are very similar to Indian families!
I think the trope was kind of used in Yeh Jawaani hai diwani. Deepika was not rude, but she was definitely not too happy about her life. And Jab we Met, though the roles are reversed.
LikeLike
And Jab Harry Met Sejal! Although Anushka and Shahrukh are kind of equally unpleasant in that. Oh, and Dear Zindagi!
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 7:41 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
That was part of the reason I went to watch Jab Harry Met Sejal.
LikeLike
I watched this today
This is officially available on YouTube for no charge. It was not cleared for release in India. It was a thrilling moment in recent Indian history. I so wish you would review this. I cried watching this. I remembered what it felt like!!!
LikeLike
Interesting that they went the youtube route. I was thinking about that with the recent news of Madhavan having an Amazon series and some others. at least if it is online, instead of in theaters, no one can protest and no one can be afraid.
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 7:37 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
They might make more from having it on YouTube though
LikeLike
Watched Rajneeti all over again.This time with all the deleted scenes.I had always thought that Kat was surprisingly gracious to Ranbir’s American girlfriend Sara.But she was not, at least not in the beginning.Kat was very bratty and Sara gives back as good as she gets.The conversation went something like this
Kat:Samar always liked the way I prepare his masala tea.I expect you Americans like it bland,don’t you?
Sara:I love masala tea.Samar taught me how to make it.
Kat:And what else did he teach you?
Sara: That would be telling, wouldn’t it?
Kat: Mom, have you decided where you want to put Sara?
Mom: The room next to me.
Kat (clinging to Arjun who had just come in): And this is my husband Prithvi.He’s going to be the next Chief Minister, you know.
Clearly Kat had a lot of growing up to do before she comes into her own.
Also read the book about the making of the movie and got some surprising insights.Especially since it had character sketches of all the characters and the script in English and Hindi. Ranbir was almost always dressed in white because his character was based on Arjuna and white is the latter’s favorite color.Ajay Devgan’s earrings were meant to remind us of Karna’s divine earrings.Naseeruddhin Shah’s character was called Bhasker because it’s a synonym for the Sun, Karna’s divine parent.
LikeLike
I still haven’t seen Raajneeti, I somehow thought it didn’t look worth checking out. Is it good enough to watch?
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 7:38 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I can’t believe you haven’t seen it yet.It’s a landmark movie and should not be missed.Equally inspired by Mahabharata and The Godfather.Each and every character is fascinating.You might not like them all the time.But they get your attention.Kat and Sara are the only ones you might term as good.The others have shades of gray.
LikeLike
Well, maybe something to watch after the holidays, seems likje a good post-family time decompressor.
LikeLike
Reading: Finally finished three books in one week, the Gaskell classic, a play about Queen Anne (a movie not based on the play but the history covered it in is coming out with Emma Stone, Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz and I can’t wait!), and When Dimple Met Rishi (which was boring until the last 50-100 pages which saved it).
Watching: I finally got to see my fav Arjun Kapoor;) in Half Girlfriend. It’s laughably bad (Shraddha is awful but I’ll grant her she at times is strikingly beautiful and usually doesn’t actively make you hate her characters). It’s also problematic in its portrayal of obsessive love. Arjun’s expressions and physicality can often come across as threatening when not intentional and paired with a obsessive character it’s kind of scary territory. In the end, after a really nice cameo by Rhea Chakraborty, I really wanted a completely different story where Arjun’s character realizes that Shraddha’s character isn’t worth the trouble and ends up with the very sweet and sexy character played by Rhea. Is it still strange that I would add this to my DVD collection for a couple of good moments by Arjun, an interesting performance by Vikrant Massey, some good outfits, a few good songs, and a cheesy Christmas-themes finale?
So far this year for Christmas tv movies, only My Christmas Love (a couple of years old?) and Snowed Inn Christmas have made the canon for me. The latter was on Lifetime, which I’ve noticed generally has better writing and a tiny bit more heat to the stories.
I also like to watch fun British holiday specials. Miranda is one of my favs!
Thinking: Today is my last day at work before vacation and there’s a holiday party in the afternoon so should be a quick day! Lots to do with finishing holiday shopping.
LikeLike
I am so impressed with you actually finishing a Gaskell! That’s more than I’ve ever managed.
Glad to hear I wasn’t missing anything in Half-Girlfriend. Since you bring it up, here’s what is puzzling me: the Netflix menu image looks really weird, right? Like, I keep looking at it thinking “is that a different movie?” because it looks nothing like Arjun.
My sister is trying to get us to try Christmas in Boston, which she got on DVD for like 50 cents. But I am confused because it has the same plot as Salt n’ Pepper and I can’t decide if it is a coincidence or not. Kind of the same as Hichki and Front of the Class, the one sentence plot description is the same, but of course they could have come up with that separately. And it would be very surprising for either a American holiday movie scriptwriter to run across a Malayalam rom-com, or a Malayalam rom-com maker to run across an American holiday TV movie.
Totally agree with your Lifetime versus Hallmark opinion. My sister and I refer to it as “Lifetime Handsome” versus “Hallmark Handsome”. Also adding to the gritty realism, you are more likely to see non-straight and non-white people in Lifetime holidayland than in Hallmark holidayland.
I’m jealous that you are already done with work! Although my work should start slowing down now, as all the offices we support start to shut for the holidays. It’s been crazy busy the past two days with everyone trying to get in their questions and stuff before they leave.
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 8:43 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Not sure about the Netflix menu image…the one in the rain looks like him, I think?
I do remember Christmas in Boston but have never seen the Malayalam film, so not sure? I’m a fan of Suits and Patrick J. Adams is pleasantly bland…I’m a Harvey girl for sure…Gabriel Macht in Love Song for Bobby Long is one of my favorite smoldering performances of all time!
It is weird how these remakes or ideas seem to float in the ether. I just read that Arjun, Varun, and Alia are going to be in a remake of Philadelphia Story? I’m assuming it’s Arjun in the Jimmy Stewart role…which could be interesting? I’d want a much older cast in a Philadelphia Story remake. I could see SRK and Aishwarya as Dexter and Tracey with Akshay as the Jimmy Stewart character and Rani as his witty writing partner.
LikeLike
My Philadelphia remake: https://dontcallitbollywood.com/2017/10/22/silly-sunday-addendum-philadelphia-story-and-harry-potter-options/
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 9:37 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
And funnily enough from my comment, I must have lied when I said I couldn’t see SRK in the Cary Grant role. I have to say, I would return to my original choices of Arjun Rampal and Deepika.
LikeLike
I’ll forgive you for changing your mind in the past 2 months! Interesting that we came up with all of those casting ideas, and no one thought of Alia-Varun-Arjun. But it’s a really good threesome now that I think about it. If it weren’t for Alia and Varun seeming a little young, I would be all for it. Although I guess their ages work, if they eloped at 21, divorced at 23, and now Alia is getting remarried at 25.
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 12:12 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
If you had asked this question yesterday I would have let it pass.But today has been a busy day.Got to watch the teaser of one of my favorite actor Anushka Shetty’s next film-Bhaagamathie(the spelling is complicated,but the teaser is very intriguing)which made me re-watch one of her earlier landmark films-Arundhati. Mainly because the genre(horror/thriller) and setup looked similar.It was also one of my first telugu films.In my first watch, I was blown away by the grandeur and special effects(something never seen in Indian films at that time).It is familiar story of haunted house,ghost seeking revenge story with the difference being that ghost is a man seeking revenge on a woman.The setup was novel,it had some spine-chilling moments and Anushka was sensational.Upon re-watch,it seemed a tad over the top. Anushka is still glorious.If there ever lived a queen,she would have looked like Anushka in Arundhati. My Republic Day will be reserved for Bhaagamathie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Boy, Republic Day is shaping up to be busier than Diwali was! What an odd movie release schedule era we are in. January is looking super busy after a kind of slow October-November-December.
LikeLiked by 1 person
MNS saying they won’t let Tiger release in Mumbai. Nothing official on the news yet.
LikeLike
Looks like their objection is that it is taking precedence over a Marathi film. So the threat is “give equal screentime to the Marathi film and the Hindi film”. Which is, hopefully, an easy one to cover. It’s not like “remove entirely one of the 4 leads of your film” like they said for ADHM. Being optimistic, it could even be a matter of Salman just needing to issue a statement saying “everyone should go see films in their own languages before they watch Hindi pictures” to clear the whole thing up.
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 10:38 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Or maybe that’s just the MNS feeling neglected on the national scene with the hardcore right wingers stealing their trademark style! It’s an absurd notion anyway that a large metro with people from all over north India needs to make way for a marathi film. Can’t understand why they’re attacking the film now. Maybe I should watch the news for more on this
LikeLike
Oh, I just assumed they were feeling neglected. Whenever I try to understand the MNS, I just picture that one little boy in my Sunday school class who starts jumping off furniture and throwing things if the teachers stop paying attention to him. This is what happened when you are a spoiled only child/spoiled only protest group.
It also irritates me because it is such a ridiculous way to try to support Maharashtrians. I mean, at least 80% of the non-headline workers on Tiger Zinda Hai must be Maharashtrian, right? I’m thinking of like the guys who are putting up posters around the city, or building the sets on Yash Raj studio grounds. It’s not like Tiger was made somewhere else and the Marathi film was made locally, they were both made in Bombay with Bombay workers, and the profits are going back into Bombay too. If you want to protest something, protest Star Wars, you know?
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 10:56 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I’ve had a sneaky feeling for a while now that the industry itself is looking for a new base. Mumbai, as you’ve seen, is a nightmare for people with irregular work schedules. At some point, if they have enough incentive, I suppose they could move their studios to a smaller town, possibly out of Maharashtra, maybe Goa, have a Ramoji style state of the art film city with a cul de sac close to it only for film folks. They can continue to live live in Mumbai or wherever else they want to live and for work they can just come to film town. Travelling from Mumbai to a film city in Goa is probably going to be same amount of fuss as travelling within Mumbai!
As for this particular case, the news says the actor from the marathi film went to MNS himself because Tiger got all the slots. And MNS and Shiv Sena have both said either YRF give the marathi dude a fair slot or they won’t be allowed to shoot in Maharashtra anymore. Makes the case for moving the hindi industry even more. I actually won’t mind if they moved it right to Dubai or South Africa or Sri Lanka! Let the politicians provide employment to the masses of unnamed people that earn from the industry.
LikeLike
You know that’s why the American film industry is in LA? They were in New York and other cities, and then Edison started using goons and lawyers to enforce his crazy patent claims on the movie cameras and drove them all to California, as far from Edison as possible. And LA is such an industry town, wasn’t much of anything there before the film industry and the film industry runs everything now, so there hasn’t really been a group as powerful as the filmmakers themselves that was able to grow up to threaten them.
I think that’s why Indian film started being out in Bandra and stuff, the land was cheap and no one really lived there and everyone could get houses close to each other and have a little enclave. But of course now the city has grown up around them and they are trapped.
I’d say they should move somewhere totally off the beaten path, not even Goa. They’ve got the money, if they wanted to invest it they could build a total film city from the ground up. Somewhere that you could fly in and film a movie in 2 months and then fly out again. No other industry around, not even tourists. Like they did for Sholay. Heck, just build it up around the Sholay village! I think it’s still standing in the middle of nowhere, with a good train line nearby.
It does seem like they are already filming more and more overseas for this reason, stuff like the second half of Happy New Year, the only reason to have it in Dubai instead of Bombay is so they could film in Dubai instead of Bombay. There was no plot reason for it.
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 11:15 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I just assume every large American city has a reason like that for existing! 😁 but that is a good precedent.
Does Dubai have any incentives for films made there?
LikeLike
I think your large American city theory is probably true!!!! I was going to argue that Chicago is different, but then we were founded at least a little bit on the bootlegging/organized crime industry.
I assume Dubai has some kind of official incentive. Otherwise I can’t imagine the Hollywood films would be filming there now too. But unofficially, I know Shahrukh at least actually owns a home there, and I am guessing a fair number of the big stars and business people do, which makes it nice. Plus with the way the Dubai population works, they get all the perks of being famous and powerful if they want them, like being treated special at the airport, without the hassle of paparazzi or people following them around. And they can always pick up work, I think Shahrukh got the Dubai place because he was doing so many private shows there.
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 11:29 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Dont think I will be watching Tiger Zinda Hai. Doesnt like Masala Action Films. More interested in watching Prithviraj’s Vimanam this weekend. Its jampacked christmas weekend for malayalam as well with 5 releases.
1. Vimanam (Airoplane) starring Prithivraj, its a true story based on a deaf guy building an Airoplane. The real story was shown as a documentary on Hrithik Roshan’s show real heroes in discovery channel a while back.
2. Masterpiece starring Mammootty. Wont be interested in watching this as its an masala action film.
3. Mayanadhi starring Tovino Thomas. Interested to watch this as it from the scriptwriter of Maheshinte Prathikaram, thondimuthalam Drisakshiyum and iyobinte pusthakam along with the writer and director of salt and pepper.
4. Aadu 2 (Goat 2) starring Jayasuriya. Slightly interested to watch as the first part was entertaining even though not a great movie. It was hillarious in parts. First part was a spoof comedy movie. Name of the first part was Aadu oru beegara jeeviyaanu ( Goat is a dangerous animal)
5. aana alaralodalaral (Elephant Roaring) starring vineeth sreenivasan. Not that interested but could be good feel good family movie
LikeLike
Hrithik Roshan’s program on Vimanam’s true story
LikeLike
Vimanam Teaser
LikeLike
Masterpeice trailer (Wont be watching this one) also starring unni mukundhan along with mammootty
LikeLike
Mayanadhi trailer
LikeLike
Aadu 2 trailer
LikeLike
Aana Alaralodalaral trailer
LikeLike
I think I’m most interested in Vimanam and Mayanadhi out of that list. Of course, as I’ve learned from experience, I will just have to content myself with watching whatever happens to come to my local theater.
On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 11:34 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Me too. Think Vimanam will surely realease there as it has a wider release. May come to US after 2 weeks
LikeLike
Prithivraj, Tovino and Unni (in uniform!, but without a beard 😦 ) in one weekend. I wish I could pass Christmas in Kerala this year 😀
LikeLike
Now I am having a vision of all the actors in Kerala doing door to door to greet you on Christmas. In which case, I want to spend Christmas in Kerala too!
On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 8:38 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
aadu 2, vimanam and Mayanadhi getting good reports but box office collection is for aadu 2 with heavy rush for it since its a sequel.
LikeLike
She also liked Vimanam which I didnt (I found it cliched and melodramatic)
http://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/vimaanam-movie-review-prithviraj-sukumaran-durga-krishna-embody-heartache-and-yearning-4273579.html
And hated Mammootty and UnniMukundan starer Masterpeice
http://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/masterpiece-movie-review-in-which-mammootty-chants-i-respect-women-and-proves-he-doesnt-mean-it-4272543.html
LikeLike
Mayanadhi was excellent.One of the best film of the year.Dont miss it.
Heard good reviews for aadu 2. Other malayalam releases r getting mixed reviews.
LikeLike
http://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/mayaanadhi-movie-review-aishwarya-lekshmi-tovino-thomas-headline-the-romance-of-the-year-from-mollywood-4274751.html
Anna M vettikaad gives Mayanadhi 4/5 and calls it romance of the year
LikeLike
Mayanadhi is getting universally positive reviews from critics and film makers alike.
If it makes to the theatre near you, please do watch and share a review…
LikeLike
There is this claim that YRF films don’t give more than 3 crores for any female actor. Considering this, do you think Katrina was paid more than this since she is a star, in her own right? Since, I am absolutely sure Salman is getting paid >50 crores.
I am been thinking about the gender gap in wages a lot this week, even though, both men and women work in the same field.
Watching: None! Because I gave up watching movies as my fast for Christmas. Thank God you didnt ( since I know you teach Sunday School and maybe? go to church) because your blog is my only raksha (hope in malayalam). Badly missing Bahubali, Classmates, 3 idiots, Om Shanthi Om; my go to movies. Movie cravings are legit!
Reading: Your BLOG! ❤
Happy Advance Merry Christmas! I will for sure have more to say next Wednesday, because, Christmas is on Sunday!!
LikeLike
I suspect it’s more that YRF films don’t pay more than 3 crore for anyone but the very top stars. For something like Mere Pyaari Bindu, I bet both actors got the same rates. And YRF went with a small script with a small interesting hero that could be played by someone like Ayushmann because of that restriction. But they will bend the rules for Aamir, Shahrukh, Salman, Amitabh. If you look at the YRF slate of actors, they tend to go really really big or really really small. You aren’t seeing many Akshay, Ajay, John Abraham level people.
Oh, do you fast for Christmas? I don’t fast for anything, but at least among the people I know it is more common to fast for Lent than Christmas. Even if I fasted, I don’t know if I could give up movies. Chocolate would be easier.
Looking forward to your report on your post-holiday movie binge!
LikeLike
Very Interesting. Do you think Karan does the same for Dharma? since Karan does tend to be more involved with every movie than Aditya through his social media presence. Really fascinating how Aditya has the iron fist in a way even though, he has ZERO social media presence. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE??!
Ah yes! The Christmas-fast is not as prominent as the lent fast, but, people do it. I read from a previous commentator that Bhagmathie’s teaser released, and I saw it! Does this count? Shoot. Shoot. only 5 days to go!!
AH! ME TOO! I have threatened my family to not watch the TV after Christmas Eve Mass! lololol
LikeLike
Margaret, dear, I would like to respond more to all the input you give…actually, I am thinking a lot 🙂
However, no time to read, to watch…my little family (with three small children) keeps me busy in a way I won’t miss – especially at this time of the year 🙂
So I just skip through your posts, send you smiles and hugs…and wish you a really merry Christmas (and to all those I read here, too) 🙂 🙂
LikeLike
Oh how wonderful, Christmas with three small children! Definitely more fun/important than watching movies or commenting on the blog.
LikeLike
Aadhi Trailer starring Pranav Mohanalal ( Mohanlal’s Son). Not that great acting from him. Could definitely improve.
LikeLike
He seems to have a feeble voice..what was noticeable about Dulquer(comparisons are inevitable),even from his first film, is his baritone & easy dialogue delivery.Something seems to be amiss with Pranav voicing his dialogues.I just hope he doesnt try to do a young Mohanlal.Always a trap for star kids.
LikeLike
Yesterday I watched new Star Wars , and I really liked it. Much better than The Force Awakens. It was my first 3D movie in cinema, but I’m very very disappointed bt the quality. I was expecting super quality of the video, but it all seemed like smudged. I don’t know. It’s me, or it should be this way? Or it’s cinema fault? I have only seen 1 3D movie in tv (Gravity) and it was spectacular.
Indian movies – I’m trying to finish malayalam film “I love me”. I heard it’s bad, but it has Unni and Tovino, so I just had to watch it. But man, it’s so boring, it’s only 1 hour and 40 min long, but I’m still in the middle. Unni has no beard in it, nor his super sexy gaze, and Tovino still hasn’t appeared 😦
LikeLike
I’ve always been disappointed by 3D movies, in fact I try to find the 2D showtime if at all possible. The color saturation is off and, like you say, everything seems blurry. Beyond that, there’s parts of how a film is made that just don’t look right in 3D, not unless they were designed that way. Gravity and Avatar are the only ones that come to mind at the moment where the filmmakers specifically said they wanted 3D, they shot for 3D, they had a vision that would only work in 3D. Most other films it seems like the filmmakers shot for 2D, because that was their vision, and then the 3D was put on later.
On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 8:58 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
What’s the deal with Dial M for Murder? Wasn’t there something about the way that was filmed that was for 3D, or not for 3D, or something?
LikeLike
I think Hitchcock didn’t want to do it in 3D and the studio forced him to and he hated it. Which seems to be the same way a lot of these new films end up in 3D. Movie theaters can charge a lot more for 3D tickets, so studios like it because it artificially inflates the box office. But I haven’t exactly heard the audience going “oh boy, 3D!” or most filmmakers. Seems to be more of a business driven decision.
On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 10:44 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I LOVE ME was a big flop and I dont think Tovino was in it
LikeLike
Please don’t tell me that Tovino is not in this film. I continue to watch it only to see him. Wikipedia says he acts here, but who knows maybe he plays “passenger in the train” or “random guy in the mall”
LikeLike
Just checked. it is given as uncredited. So dont think will notice him. The movie was before his real debut.
LikeLike
You were right – I haven’t noticed Tovino. Wikipedia says he plays Albert, but it’s not true 😦 Well, at least Unni has good fight scenes, and the movie was short . I guess I must watch “Style” to see my favourites together 😉
LikeLike
Style was also a flop. A mass masala film with over the top fights between Unni Mukundhan and Tovino.
I watched Prithviraj’s Vimanam and didnt like it. Was just a cliched love story. with poor performance from some of the actors (Except Prithviraj and seasoned actors, some of the actors Iam seeing for the first time where bad) in it and not so good direction.
Hearing great things about Tovino’s new movie Maayanadhi. Critics have given 4/5 for it.
LikeLike
I’m so happy that Maayanadhi has good reviews. I hope it will be big hit. And how is this new Mammooty movie going?
LOL “over the top fights between Unni Mukundhan and Tovino” – I don’t need more to be happy! Will watch this one for sure now 😉
LikeLike
mammootty film got avg reviews and doing decent business at the box office. Its aadu 2 starring jayasuriya, sunny wayne and vinayakan which has become the christmas blockbuster (Heavy rush everywhere) since its a sequel ( to Aadu oru beekara jeevi aanu ( Aadu is a dangerous animal). The first part didnt make much at box office. But it got a cult status when it was released in dvd, for its style of comedy and spoof. Critics are saying the second one is better than the first one. The director of the film is the scriptwriter of ohm shanti oshana and director of Ann mariya kalipilaanu. Will be watching aadu 2 tomorrow and mayanadhi next weekend. Dont think I will be watching mammootty film.
LikeLike
Interesting, comedy was the big surprise winner in Hindi this year too, Mubarakan and Golmaal Again both doing better than expected, especially up against tough competition from more “serious” films.
On Fri, Dec 22, 2017 at 1:35 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I rewatched Ek Tha Tiger for a refresher before Tiger Zinda Hai. I just really like the chemistry of Kat and Salman. I enjoy a romance with spy elements. Salman is particularly adorkable in ETT.
Gangs of Wasseypur was about to leave Netflix (thank you AccessBollywood for the heads up!) so I watched all of it over a couple of days. The 5 plus hour film was broken down into eight 40-45 minute episodes. I’m curious if they did any re-editing or what. I really liked it, and am even more puzzled that a director that could pull off this magnum opus could make Bombay Velvet. No wonder the expectations were sky high for BV! While everyone rightly sings the praises of Manoj and Nawaz for their great performances, I was pleasantly surprised at how strong the roles were for the women, And they were strong strident characters, too! Huma Querishi really surprised me, and Richa Chadha was amazing!
Saw The Last Jedi, of course, and I loved it. Especially the last minutes. I have been very amused at the fan boy freakout about the film. Either people love it or they despise it. My son came home from college and saw it the other night, and his brother said, so do give it five stars or zero stars, those are the only options. LOL
I also caught Lady Bird which I highly, highly recommend. Greta Gerwig wrote and directed — it’s an incredible debut feature.
Last night I saw Nani and Sai Pallavi in Middle Class Abbayi in a packed theater. It was a decent masala romance comedy. Not great, not awful either, but Sai was terrific. Review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2DVoidn7AQ
As for favorite tropes — oh, I have so many. Plucky girl breaks through to surly arrogant man — i.e. Beauty and the Beast, like Aiyyaa or Pride and Prejudice. Marriage of convenience turns to love is another favorite — which is why many Indian films are perfect for me.
LikeLike
Ooo, plucky girl breaks through is a great one! And once again, one that Jab Harry Met Sejal kind of fits with. It’s really interesting, I think every trope listed so far kind of matches with something JHMS did.
On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 11:19 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Random thought: since Bollywood is having a terrible year at the box office it’s not that surprising your blog traffic is down. Hopefully Tiger Zinda Hai helps break the cycle for you and Indian films in general.
LikeLike
Oh yeah, my blog traffic is usually about a quarter people coming to read SPOILERS for the new Hindi release. But there hasn’t been a new release in a month, thanks to Padmavati dropping out and nothing else coming forward. I have hopes that Tiger Zinda Hai SPOILERS will bring them all back to me, but I am trying not to count on it too much.
On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 1:59 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I will have to read all the comments at another time…
As this year we are the one of the family who will welcome the others for the Christmas Eve celebration, there is a lot of work to do which takes the double of time with three small kids (2, 5, 7) who are eager either to help or to play 😀 (both is fun, btw)
So…watching = kiddie movies, reading = Christmas stories (to the kids), thinking = how to balance work and play 🙂
LikeLike
We hosted the entire family when my sister and I were around that age! It was really exciting for us, to have the aunts and uncles and both sets and grandparents all in our house at one time.
On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 2:59 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
We take turns in our family and it’s a lot ‘easier’ for the other parts (only one part has a – now – 7-year-old boy) 😉
LikeLike
Not thinking anything but getting through the semester, and making my flight to the US tomorrow, and watching Bahubali in the theatre on Jan. 13. But I wanted to say Merry Christmas! And my favorite trope is: hero and heroine have a super good reason to spend the night together. (DDLJ, Aradhana, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, etc.)
LikeLike
And the streak continues of Jab Harry Met Sejal fulfilling every trope mentioned!
And Merry Christmas to you too!
LikeLike
`
OK, this may be more of a male thing — favorite trope: Mild mannered guy, kind of a nerd, ignored by everyone. Then it turns out he is a man of mystery with stunning intelligence and physical prowess — to the amazement of those who thought they knew him. Sort of like in “A Gentleman.”
–
LikeLike
Oh yes! Stories with good guys are the best. One of the other tropes I can’t resist is: woman, with some problems/sad past comes back to her little town, and meets this mild mannered man, who for some reason is still single.
LikeLike
an excellent trope!
On Fri, Dec 22, 2017 at 2:00 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Saw Aadu 2 starring Jayasuriya and Vinayakan (Kammattipadam) . Was fun to watch. Have to watch it like watching a golmaal film. It has become the Christmas blockbuster. Heavy rush for it everywhere. Vinayakan (Kammattipadam and kali) just rocked. Its continuation of first part, so may have to watch that first if you are planning to watch this. Second part is better.
LikeLike
Carbon Trailer starring Fahadh Faasil. Music of Carbon is by Vishal Bhardwaj, his first Malayalam film
LikeLike
Thank you! You are so good about keeping me up to date on things.
On Mon, Dec 25, 2017 at 7:01 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
@Mohzin, AFAIK, it’s his second Malayalam film after “Daya (1998)”
LikeLike