Happy Monday! I don’t have to work! And I may not be sitting in front of my computer waiting for your questions and quick to answer them, sorry about that. But I am still putting up the post! Just so we have it for the rest of the week.
You can ask me anything from the personal (“what movie do you like to watch to celebrate New Years?”) to the specific and factual (“what Indian movies have a New Years scene?”) to the general discussion (“what is the best New Years movie?”)
The only rule is, you have to let me answer first! That is, if someone else asks a question and you feel like you know the answer, wait for me to give my answer and then leap in and join the discussion. It just works better that way.
Now, a question for you! What did you do New Year’s Eve? I played board games with my family, and then we went outside and banged pots and pans at midnight. And came back inside and had fruitcake (good luck to have something sweet at the beginning of the year) and went to bed.
And to get you in the mood for the question, this very very catchy song:
dontcallitbollywood 
I went to a New Year’s Eve party and I haven’t gone to bed yet (though I am home). I am just about to, though.
I’ve been waiting for Monday so I could ask you this question: What do you think about Rajnikanth’s announcement that he is going to enter politics? Since Kamal Hassan made a similar announcement a few months ago, do you think their filmi rivalry will now carry over into the political arena?
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I just don’t know what to think. From what people have told me, there is a gap in Tamil politics since the death of Jayalithaa, so it isn’t surprising that now is when they are making their announcements. And I also know that their filmi rivalry was never personal, that is, their friendship remained in tact through it all. I could believe that they would work together and create a joint power block. I could believe that they would become rivals. I could believe that their campaigns would just sort of fizzle if they never manage to harness their fans into a political ideology. I could believe that they are both the face of a power behind the throne that we don’t know about yet. I will be watching and see what happens!
On Mon, Jan 1, 2018 at 6:13 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh, and what do you think of the title of the SRK-Anand L. Rai film?
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I’ll be putting a post up shortly! You have more party stamina than me. I went to bed around 1am, and just woke up a little bit ago.
On Mon, Jan 1, 2018 at 6:15 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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At midnight I was raiding the pantry for some cake quietly humming “Tumne hume mar dala, par ham jee rahi he” (You have killed me, but see I’m still alive). That was when the heavy tin hit my forehead and fell on the floor.Of course the noise brought everyone awake and we ended up finishing the cake.
My question is have anything similar happened to you while you were listening to a Hindi song? We do have a lot of songs about blue dupattas, bells ringing, chocolate,roses and whatnot.
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I haven’t had something happened by accident, but I tend to do it on purpose. Like, when I am studying, I listen to “Ratta Maar” from Student of the Year. And most of all, when driving, I have a whole series of vehicular songs that I listen to. “Dhadak Dhadak” from Bunty Aur Babli, “Jadoo Hai” from Ghulam, “Yun Hi Chala Chal” from Swades, and so on.
Also, your New Year’s sounds lovely! I’m jealous.
On Mon, Jan 1, 2018 at 7:48 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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First year that the kids kept awake till midnight (and beyond 😀 )…so it was a delicious evening meal then a lot of plays, champagne and juice to cheer the new year, then boom and bang and zzzish and sparkles galore outside then putting the kids to sleep and then Poker game for the adults with self-made cocktails 😀 😀 😀
Yep, the title & teaser is out and my imagination is happy to get enticed in such a way 🙂
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That sounds really nice! We skipped the champagne and all of us just had juice. It’s tastier!
On Mon, Jan 1, 2018 at 8:07 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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My husband and I saw the new year in at our local brewpub. It was a very low-key celebration. Beer, a light snack, some noisemakers, the countdown, then home.
And I have a question for you! One of the people in my “beyond Bollywood” movie group has a 10-year-old daughter, and is looking for movies she might enjoy. She found this list online: https://m.idiva.com/photogallery-iparenting/21-best-bollywood-movies-for- kids/24773/3
What else would you suggest? She has Netflix, so that is a consideration.
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Well, the ten year old I knew who loved Indian films really really loved Dil To Pagal Hai. Don’t ask me why, but it was her absolute favorite! Kuch Kuch Hota Hai would also be good, Mr. India definitely. Generally, from kids I have known, what they like is the big colorful silly movies, not the serious dramas-about-kids. Chennai Express, possible. Singham too. I mean, ideally Indian films are made for the whole family, so any really big blockbuster hit would be good. Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Prem Ratan Dharm Payo. Hmm. Let me take a moment to skim through my whole Netflix list. Aaiyyaa and Asoka, maybe. Bahubali, DEFINITELY. Baabul and Baghban, maybe. Chamatkar, maybe. Dil Maange More, maybe. A Flying Jatt, maybe if she likes superheroes. Happy New Year, possibly. Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Hum Saath Saath Hain, maybe. Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na, yes. Jab We Met, maybe. Kaho Na Pyar Hai, yes. Koi Mil Gaya, yes. Lucky No Time For Love, maybe. Makkhi, YES!!!! DEFINITELY!!!! Singh is King, maybe.
I don’t much like that list you linked to, because it seems to have translated “movies for kids” into “movies starring kids”, which is a totally different thing. I would NOT recommend Taare Zameen Paar for a child, or at least not for all children. At ten, it would have been much too dark and upsetting for me, for instance. But KKHH, no problems. I also don’t like the idea that kids can only relate to movies that are about kids, or made particularly for kids. And of course, not all children are the same. I would say, anyone (child, adult, anyone) would like Makkhi and Bahubali, so those are safe bets. After that, start her with Singham, and Lucky No Time for Love, so she can see the fun action type movie and the swoony love story, and see where she leans. There are plenty of both options.
On Mon, Jan 1, 2018 at 10:54 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Interesting! I just introduced her mom to Indian films via Makkhi.
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I bet Jab we met will be good, and Makkhi too. But not Aiyya and definetely not Asoka.
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Hum hain rahi pyar ke would be another good choice.
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I recently showed Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi with subtitles to a 9 y/o girl who immediately fell in love with Suri and loved the movie and its music. She also like Khoobsurat.
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Oh of course! Those are the perfect movies! Now I kind of want to go back in time and be 9 years old again just so I can watch those movies through those fresh eyes.
On Tue, Jan 2, 2018 at 7:23 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Here’s a (mildly) raging controversy I just became aware of. Apparently a couple of days ago Anupama Chopra posted a list of her resolutions for 2018 on her Twitter (none of them very earth shaking), and Amitabh Bachchan responded by suggesting that she add one more: learn to speak Hindi. So I’ve been reading some discussion on this at another forum, where many people are defending her by saying that one doesn’t need to speak the language of the film in order to review it. Well, you obviously prove that point. 🙂 (along with some other non-desi Bolly bloggers). But at least you usually have subtitles for all the films you review. Anupama is reviewing Hindi films she sees in theaters in India — i.e., ones without subtitles. In any case, I wanted to ask you: 1. What do you think you miss by not knowing the language when you review a film? 2. Though you say you don’t speak Hindi, you are more familiar with it than the South Indian languages. So, do you notice any difference or any extra difficulty (due to language) when you review non-Hindi films? (I am not referring to the points you make frequently, on not knowing the history of the industry or the stars.)
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I saw that tweet! The one from Amitabh. And I thought “wow Amitabh! A bit bitchy!” Glad to know I wasn’t the only person it stood out for.
Great questions for me though! For 1. I miss a lot. Little character touches through word choices, indications of class or background. Plus the subtle double-meanings that don’t come through in subtitles. And most of all, the poetry of the language! Vishal Bhardwaj, for instance, he will put in these layers, puns and rhymes and double meanings and everything, and I only know that because other reviewers point it out. I will watch movies without subtitles occasionally, but I will never review them unless I have subtitles, because otherwise I really don’t know what I am watching. It’s very frustrating, but I try to make up for it by watching the body language and the language of the visuals closely in order to catch everything there and kind of fill in what I am missing from the dialogue. Even the rhythm of the way people talk can tell me things, if I listen for it, whether or not I know the exact words they are saying.
For 2., absolutely! It is a huge challenge! Relationship words alone do so much work in these films, and I know them all in Hindi with the shadings of meaning (Bhai, Didi, Mama, etc.). But in non-Hindi, I am lost. I know enough Hindi vocabularly now that I can follow if the subtitles make a mistake, or fill in a line they missed. I still need the subtitles, but I kind of have anchors to help me follow them. But in non-Hindi, I just don’t have anything and I have to rely on the subtitles entirely. Which is very frustrating when I can see by body language or facial expressions that there must have been something the subtitles missed.
On Mon, Jan 1, 2018 at 12:10 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Thanks for your thoughtful response. I remember when Lucky No Time for Love came out, it was shown in the U.S. without subtitles and I was congratulating myself because I thought I got about 90% of it. Then the dvd with subtitles came out and I realized it was closer to 50 or 60%.
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Re: films for kids – very much up to the child. My daughter at that age wouldn’t watch anything with violence and but she loved sad, love-lorn stories – her favourite film for a long time was Kal Ho Naa Ho. Both my kids loved Ta Ra Rum Pum, we had to watch it over and again, and my son was mesmerised by Tara Zameen Paar, and loved MHN and the Don movies. They both loved the iconic Shahrukh romances like DDLJ and KKHH.
Any film I hadn’t seen previously I was prepared with the pause button in case it became too violent or inappropriate. Watching Indian films was very much a shared experience!
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I am NOT an Anupama fan, but she does speak and understand Hindi though her Hindi is NOT up to Mr. Bachchan’ standards. But then his son’s isn’t either. Abhishek was once asked something what does his father want him to do better or something and he said “speak better Hindi”. I’m interested in what prompted Big B to say something like that? Seems uncourtly of him.
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Yes, very ungentlemanly. I have a hard time believing he would say that about anyone, but especially about a woman. Minor googling doesn’t bring up anything particularly terrible she did to him, I wonder what inspired it?
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I spent the day working. In the evening, we went out and bought some sambhar, coconut chutney and idlis from a food truck we’ve been meaning to try out. Also got dosa batter mix and vada mix. My new year’s resolution includes giving up dairy, sugar, alcohol and smokes so nothing sweet and no booze etc. Also withdrawal is a bitch and gave me a throbbing toothache.
The dosa batter mix was uncooperative. It turned out more like crepes than dosa. The vada mix decided it was too cold to rise in time. So we kept that aside for the night.
The idlis and our dosa crepes turned out to be way too filing. We were in bed watching Saat Uchhakkey. Fell asleep a bit before midnight and then got up and spent the rest of the evening fiddling with the phone, calling friends, even managed to pay a game (Homescapes).
So a nice, peaceful evening at home. Except for the toothache. But i’ll fight this!!
So what are your new year’s resolutions?
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Your New Year’s sounds nice! And your resolutions sound very ambitious.
I have given up on New Year’s resolutions, because as soon as I say I will do something, I immediately feel like I’ve already done it and stop doing it. So no resolutions! Just keep on keeping on.
On Mon, Jan 1, 2018 at 9:53 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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The resolutions have been in action since boxing day. Apart from the throbbing tooth, nothing too bad so far. I guess the trick to keeping new year’s resolutions is to have them begin immediately after Christmas. Because a regular NYE food and booze hangover can last a few days post Jan 1 and it spirals downwards from there!
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Just stopping by to say Happy New Year to you, Margaret, and all of the commenters here! My main resolution is also to keep on keeping on–with kindness and humor. My stretch goals, haha, are to exercise at least a bit every day–something that gets my heart rate up, and a couple times a week some workout that is fun and makes me laugh–and to change jobs sometime this year. I think my current situation is just too messed up. The team does good work but management requires a sort of self-flagellation from most team members, while simultaneously celebrating bullies. I don’t need either in my life!
Was offline throughout the holidays. Looking forward to catching up on so many good posts!
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There are SO MANY good posts!!!! None of which I can remember at the moment, but I know they are there. The Christmas fanfic alone is worth it (although also a bit of a tearjerker).
I decided to just get a dog and then I don’t have to worry about making myself work out. Because I’ll have the dog to nag me. It’s perfect!
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Hi Margaret I wanted to rant about fake feminism In hindi movies. Please provide a female perspective on top two so called feminist movies recently.
1 Badrimath ki dulhaniya . How is it woman empowerment when a woman leaves the alter of wedding to pursue her dream. You should not have agreed to wedding at 1st place. Now don’t get started dat it was for her sister. So being selfish is feminism.
2 dil dhadakne do they made Rahul nose character the villain against farhan’s. But what wrong did Rahul do. He gave his all to the relationship, supported priyanka in all her endeavors. It was priyanka who was wrong. She still had feelings for farhan, even after marriage, doubted her marriage, used contraceptive without her husband knowing. So Rahul was bound to make his reactions or in a pseudo feminist fillm man must have no expectations.
Rant over.
Would like your views in the same
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I think you may still be looking at the world in terms of male versus female. It’s never that black and white. Alia wasn’t completely right in what she did, as the film acknowledged, and Varun wasn’t right in what he was doing, only helping her sister get married so Alia would marry him, and Alia’s father wasn’t right in not listening to her dreams, and so on and so forth. The world, and most film plots, are a lot more complicated than simply trying to figure out who is “right” and who is “wrong”.
I don’t think DDD made Rahul a villain exactly either. He was wrong for Priyanka, and her family supported her in leaving him because that is what families do, they support their family members against outsiders. That was the lesson of the film, that the family had to learn to support each other and be honest and give unconditional love.
Let me direct you to a post a wrote on generally what “feminist film theory” means, and what it means to analyze a film through a feminist lens: https://dontcallitbollywood.com/2017/11/04/feminism-versus-feminist-film-criticism/
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But I don’t think Akshat was asking about feminist film theory, as much as asking about what is claimed to be “feminism” in Hindi films. As your own post went to show, the two are vastly different.
I’d like to ask you if you think Lipstick Under the Burkha was a “feminist” film. And if you already talked about it in that feminism posts, my apologies. Tell me so, and I’ll read it again.
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I haven’t talked about Lipstick Under My Burkha because I still haven’t seen it. I’m sure I will someday, but until I do, obviously I can’t comment on it.
On Wed, Jan 3, 2018 at 12:06 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Ohk but was priyanka right exactly for harbouring feelings for farhan. If she was not happy with Rahul bose she should have told him off.also keeping husband in dark regarding pregnancy pills is strict no no. And if shefali can give chance to anil kapoor after infidelity, Rahul bose had quite small issue. They could have sat and solved like mature adults. So I felt the overall message was of faux feminism, male bashing etc.
It is not worth the whole feminist hype it generated
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Regarding bkd, once alia lost her father’s earnings due to her beau duping. Keep yourself in place of father, what would be your reaction. We are talking about small town India, where dowry etc still prevalent.
So I feel hindi films just glorifies anf are happy with surface level solutions. And people get awards etc. For them is just pisses me off
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Not really related, but have you stopped malayalam reviews altogether.
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No, I’ve just been on Christmas break. I’ve had time to write posts, but not to watch movies. So no new Malayalanm reviews, no new Tamil reviews, no new Hindi reviews for the past couple weeks. But this weekend I plan to get back to it and watch a whole bunch of stuff.
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Have you seen “Hey Jude” and “Breathe” (Madhavan’s Amazon series) trailers?
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No, I haven’t seen anything. It’s all very sad. I’ve just been spending time with friends and family for the past two weeks. What a waste of a life!
On Fri, Jan 5, 2018 at 9:19 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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