Happy Wednesday! Halfway through the week! And this weekend, I am getting a dog!!!!! No matter what you say! (REMINDER: you can come back to this post whenever you want all week to post links to articles, talk about movies you just watched, anything else)
Right, I will start with my weekly rundown.
I am reading Rajnikanth’s authorized bio, and I am already fascinated! But it’s hard to find time to read it, since I’m carpooling to work instead of taking the bus and if I am home, I am blogging. Oh well, I am sure I will finish it someday. I just have to finish it in time to get back to Thug before that movie comes out. So, months and months!
Watching, lots of stuff! It’s cold, so I curled up in bed and watched a bunch of Malayalam and Tamil movies this weekend. But I’m not telling you about them! You will just have to wait and see the reviews. Oh, and also, last week I re-watched Raabta with a friend, can’t remember if I told you that already. Anyway, it is still good.
Thinking, I’m really doing it! I am taking a dog home, by golly! It’s been a year of thinking about it, and 6 months of really thinking about it, and 6 weeks of seriously looking, now is the time to actually do something. So I am going to buy a crate and dog dishes and stuff, and go back to that shelter I really liked on Friday and take home whatever dog they will give me. And then we will learn to love each other. Like an arranged marriage. I’ve watched my Ratnam’s, I know it’s possible!
dontcallitbollywood 
Still catching up on 2017 releases and have seen Golmaal Again, Ittefaq and Judwaa 2 in the last week or so, plus a really quite good Hallmark movie with Rachel Leigh Cook called Frozen in Love. Reminded me of Rachel Gibson hockey romance novels. Looking forward to watching Tumhari Sulu when I get a chance one night this week.
Going to see Lady Bird this weekend and starting to go to the movie theater more (I get MoviePass and it’s kind of a New Year’s resolution).
Reading #11 in the Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series by C.S. Harris (my favorite mystery series of all time).
Listening to too many podcasts but I’m all caught up. Loved the year-end wrap-up on Bollywood is For Lovers. Another new favorite podcast is the Wicked Wallflowers Club where they interview romance authors.
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I really want to get back to the movie theater! But there is nothing for me to see (part of my bitterness in the screens discussion in the box office posts). I was all excited to see Kaalakaandi, and then it didn’t come out. I could tell Agnyavaathavaasi would be an expensive ticket for a movie I didn’t want to see, so I skipped it. and nothing good this week either! And then next weekend I will somehow have to find the time to squeeze in two films.
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Looks like Padmavaat will come out a day early or maybe just in India. Still can’t get out to the big theaters showing Indian films here but am going to try to focus more on Hollywood films this year and catching up on old ones I missed. There’s a great film institute in my town that I really don’t take advantage of enough!
So I’ve seen only a handful of Hindi films in theaters and they were always the same price as other films…so is it only the Tamil/Telugu distributors that charge so much more? I really want to see Kallakaandi, too! Anupama liked it and clearly it compares well to Delhi Belly. Breathe, the second Amazon India original series with Madhavan streams in the US starting the 26th. You might need to start talking about all of these web series more….now that everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Amit Sadh is in it, too!
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So far as I can tell, Tamil and Telugu films always have a higher prices, even the smaller releases by regular distributors. “Higher” can sometimes mean just $12 instead of $10, but it’s still higher, and everyone is used to it. And it goes down as time goes on, so it might be $12 opening weekend and then $10 after that for a smaller release, or $30 opening night, $25 opening weekend, $20 the first week, $14 the second, and finally $10 the third week if it is a really big successful film. I have no idea why this is, if you start to think about it, it kind of makes more sense to charge prices like this than the other way. Because people are more anxious to see the film opening weekend, why not charge more if the market is there?
I think (and readers can correct me) that there is a similar shifting price to movie tickets in India. A major release, you may have to pay slightly more for tickets than a smaller release. And again, that just kind of makes sense! I am sure if movie theaters upped their prices across the board for Star Wars opening weekend, everyone would pay it here. But for some reason the market doesn’t work like that here, we are used to paying the same price for every movie if it is playing at the same theater. Although that’s kind of what 3D and “special showings” tickets do, let the theater have an excuse to charge you more especially for films they know you are desperate to watch and explain it away because it is 3D or in the luxury theater.
I was thinking about checking out some of the streaming series. Partly because they seem like the kind I like! 6-8 hours, I can finish the whole thing in a weekend while folding laundry and cooking meals for the rest of the week.
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 8:51 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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The original reason why South Indian film tickets in the U.S. cost more than Hindi film ones was that there was a much smaller audience base. Plus, in the early days, the “distributor” (often an amateur who just wanted to see/show films in his/her language) would rent a theater for one or maximum two shows, and those two shows would have to cover all the costs. The national distributors, especially some times the same one as distributed Hindi films, charged the same fee as for Hindi films or films in India. So basically a South Indian film had to get in two shows what a Hindi film could get over three or four weeks (even at two shows per day, that’s 42 or 56 shows). And then the costs for the films with the superstars like Rajni were also much higher than other films.
Now there is enough of a South Indian population that, in the major metros, at least, these films can play for a week or two — but that’s still much less than even a “small” Hindi film like Subha Mangalam Saavadhan, for instance, with no big stars, but which will still play for three to four weeks. So it’s just basic economics.
Now coming to the higher prices for opening day and weekend — that’s what they do in India for all films, especially Hindi films. Surely you’re aware of the humongous price jacking that goes on for films with the major star stars? Even otherwise, “weekend” rates are always higher than “weekday” rates, which is why sites like BOI talk about the “normal Monday drop” and the like. It’s not that fewer people are coming to the film, it’s that the ticket prices drop. It’s also why distributors and exhibitors get so excited about “extended weekends” for holiday releases, because then they charge the higher weekend rate for more days.
Before the GST was enacted, the South Indian states had strict laws limiting how much the prices could be raised for the weekend, and it wasn’t much, especially when compared to the weekend rates in places like Mumbai or Delhi. OTOH the South Indian stars have much more fanatical fan followings, who are all insanely committed that they MUST see their favorite’s film on the opening day itself, so they end up paying ridiculously large prices, but in the black market. These rates are usually several times higher than even the hiked weekend rates in North India. But of course, it doesn’t go to any players in the film industry, but to the criminal scalpers. Note, all this was before GST. I don’t know how the situation has been affected after that.
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Thank you! I knew the end result, that the market will bare higher rates on a sliding scale for southern films overseas but not Hindi, but I didn’t know the backstory. This makes sense!
From my research, I know Hindi films started out in a similar way, with organizations sponsoring special showings and so on instead of playing in mainstream theaters. But now they are completely integrated, maybe because they have built more international connections? Like, Fox Searchlight funding and distributing some of their films?
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 11:07 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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As a veteran of the times when Hindi films were shown on university campuses by the India Students’ Association, let me say that the present situation is purely because of the increase in Indian population, not due to any international collaboration.
I moved from a smaller place to Los Angeles and was both shocked and excited to discover that they had a theater where they showed Hindi films. I went twice, and decided to never go again, because 1. There were no subtitles 😦 2. The theater was in a definitely “not nice” part of town and I didn’t feel safe going there, especially at night. 3. The audience was “rougher” than the university crowd I was used to, and again I didn’t feel comfortable among them. Another factor was that, not only were they all Hindi speakers, most of them were only Hindi speakers — i.e., there were not many who spoke English, so that I had no way of finding out even basic information, like, when will the show start, etc. All that together just made me decide not to go back.
After some years. they started to show Hindi films in a theater in a slightly better location, but still no subtitles. So I didn’t have any motivation to go, especially because at the same time, Telugu films were being shown by our local Telugu association, in 16 mm prints in a university class room. Funny thing is, this theater also showed a number of other foreign films, and I went to those when the program was interesting. You know how a lot of non-desis complain about the desi guy in the box office trying to steer them to the other theaters because surely they couldn’t be here to see the Indian film? Well for me the Indian guy in the box office kept telling me “This is not a Hindi film!” To which I replied, “I know! That’s why I’m here!” 🙂 BTW, in those days, the Hindi films were screened about a year to three years after their release in India. 🙂
I can’t tell you how amazing it was for me when the Hindi films started releasing simultaneously with their Indian release. Of course the reason for that was piracy. At first the South Indian films, when they started showing in regular theaters, were also a bit delayed (a few weeks or a month), but they soon caught up to the worldwide release strategy of the Hindi films, and that probably had to do with having more local contacts to act as distributors (again a result of the increase of South Indian population).
Now yes, the big Indian distributors (like Reliance) also started their thing in the U.S., and people like SRK and KJo have their collaborations with the Hollywood studios, so that some of their films (though not all) are shown in mainstream chains like AMC, instead of the strictly Indian theaters. The situation is still evolving.
Yeah, so we’ve come a long way, baby. 🙂
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I was just thinking . . . I can’t name any dog-themed Indian movie. There are the occasional dog cameos, but was there anytime a major dog role?
And, is this due to the prospective audience’s attitude to dog relations?
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What? How can you forget that very dog-centric movie, HAHK? The dog was the main force. 🙂
A dog also plays a major, though supporting, role in Chillar Party (again in the “motivation” sense).
Lots of dogs have played “Lassie” type of roles in various films, where they come and perform a rescue at a crucial point in the story.
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That’s Entertainment with Akshay? I do love when a cute golden retriever pops up in Indian film…I think there was one in Mujhe Dosti Karoge or was it K3G, but my fav could be the one in Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic.
And of course the dog narrator in Dil Dhadakne Do!
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Oh right! DDD! I think the golden retriaver was in Mujshe Dosti Karoge, I remember noticing it had the same expression as Hrithik in some scenes.
Oh! And Kal Ho Na Ho!!!! Definitely a signifier of upperclass/globalized culture.
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 9:23 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Hum Aapke Hain Koun!!!!! There have been a few others like that, where there is a cute dog that belongs to the family and does something important for the plot at some point. Oh, and the Telugu children’s movie I watched recently, Little Soldiers, had a cute family dog that traveled with the children. But I can’t think of one at the Haathi Mere Saathi level, where the man-dog relationship was the main point of the film.
I am open to people correcting me on this, but it might be because dogs aren’t seen as working-partner animals in the same way. They are kind of more realistically portrayed as what the majority of dogs are now, family pets who do funny things and are sometimes protective. Versus, say, elephants who you might build a bond with, but would also go out in the fields and work with you and save your life from a snake and so on and so forth.
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 8:55 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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So excited for you and for the doggie! These folks whom I follow on Twitter are having a weeklong discussion about feminism and pop culture in India, with a focus on movies. They have a new host every week for a different topic and I often find interesting thought pieces or essays to read there. https://twitter.com/genderlogindia
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If I could understand twitter, that does look like an interesting conversation to join in.
Again, I don’t understand twitter so I don’t know if this is possible, but if you are joining the conversation and there is something appropriate you could link back to from my blog, that would be awesome.
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 9:07 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m just reading if something good comes up in my feed–here are some good links so far:
Commentary on Padmavat, Hindutva, and “mob censorship”
Neoliberal romance in current films:
Deconstructing Lata/good girl vs Asha/bad girl:
Thread about female-female love, including homo-eroticism in Queen:
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I’ve really got to start reading Caravan magazine more regularly. I’ve enjoyed and been impressed by every article of theirs that I have read.
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 10:46 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh! And I think it’s clear that SRK and/or one of the Ratnani’s read your “Shah Rukh is a vampire” post this year!
https://twitter.com/Khan_azwaSrkian/status/952956735593046017
How can I get any work done on Dabboo Ratnani calendar day? 🙂
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I am debating whether to do a series of posts as each image leaks out, or just wait 12 hours until cleaner versions are available. I think wait 12 hours is the way to go, otherwise it will already be out of date by the time I post it.
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 10:53 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m so excited that you will choose a dog finally! Can’t wait to see this lucky lady.
Movies I’ve watched last week: 0 because I’m stuck with Anarkali of Aarah. I think I should finish it before starting something new, but I just don’t feel like watching it.
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I get like that with books. With movies I just force myself to power through and keep checking the time remaining so I know just how long I need to torture myself. But with books I will suddenly stop and not feel like I can let myself read anything fun until I finish that book. So I end up just staring into space, or reading online articles that don’t really count, instead of officially starting a new book I actually want to read. Thank goodness I finally saved myself from Memoirs of a Thug and decided I could officially take a break from it and read something else.
And I am nervous because I still haven’t heard from my landlord about the dog permission and it’s been two days. I just sent him another little nudge email, but that would be the only reason I can’t get a dog on Friday. Anyway, once I get the dog, be prepared for many many dog photos on the blog.
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 11:34 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Just started watching McMafia on Prime.Our hero is the son of a retired Russian mafia boss and a fund manager in Britain.He’s coerced into letting the mafia launder their money via his fund.Interesting.I was quite surprised to see Nawazzudin Siddique as the Indian agent of one of the kingpins.Some of the action takes place in India.There’s a meeting at a dance bar in Mumbai with ‘Mehandi saja ke rakhna’ playing in the background.Odd choice though.
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Oh how interesting!
Just did a quick spin through the McMafia webpage, the only Indian connection I can find (beyond it being a BBC show and the BBC seeming to have a better grasp and connection to Indian casting directors than other companies) is that the screenwriter also worked on Four Feathers, which was of course directed by Shekhar Kapur.
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 1:46 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Greetings! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Sorry for being MIA. It’s because I was grounded for the past 3.5 weeks for sneaking away at midnight to go to McDonald’s. My shoes at the front door gave it away as it wasn’t in its usual cubby. #HonestlyNopREGRETS because a girl’s gotta have her chicken nuggets!
THANKYOU SO MUCH!! For the amazing, wonderful, and PERFECT (#HA) Christmas Card ever!! I have put it in my bible <333. May GOD Bless you and your wonderful blog, and Prabhas (God help him for picking Shraddha as the heroine, and FOR MARRIAGE)
I gave up movies for Christmas, and I only had 2 days before I was grounded and I watched 10 movies! Bahubali (1 and 2) , Ohm Shanthi Oshaana, Villain (Horrible), Thupparivalan (Amazing), Action Hero Biju, Richie (meh), 1983, Ustad Hotel and Bangalore Days. Most of them repeats for my craving heart. Thupparivalan was amazing, and Anu Emmanuel was too good!!!
Reading: YOUR BLOG! Everything I missed and I am so sad that I couldn't vote but next year, for sure!
Watching: Old Mohanlal-Sreenivasan-Satyan Anthikad combos. Pathanaprevasam, Akare Akare Akare etc. They are so good and what a good laugh! The classic! Cant wait to watch Bhaagamathie. Looks so good!!
Thinking: Anushka is so preety (the audio lauch looks amazing). Also need to be productive for #NewYearNewMe.
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Welcome back! And now I really really really want McDonald’s chicken nuggets. Possibly dinner tonight?
So glad you got your card! And glad you liked it. And thank you for the recommendation, I will have to check out THupparivalan. And please still VOTE!!!! Voting has not closed, because not nearly enough people responded. Look for the posts that already limit it down to the top few options, the recent ones, for TGIF and Editorial and FanFic. And for the general movie voting, that one’s still open on the original post. I’ll probably sit down and work them all out sometime this weekend and put up final tallies and discussion.
Oh and you can update me, are the Prabhas-Anushka engagement rumors true, or are they just taunting us again?
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They are currently having a McPick 2 for $5. 20 CHICKEN NUGGETS FOR 5! #Amazing
Will do. Thanks! I will do it all tonight! The ads are such a problem. Some webpages go all over the place.
December was the month to look for. Zilch! nothing!! In an interview yesterday for Bhaagmathie promotions, when asked to talked about prabhas, she was very short and prompt in her response with no mention of their relationship whatsoever when she talked for so long about her other co-stars. JUST DENY it if you are not… Why are anchors so scared to ask the questions? #IWonder
My heart </3
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Anushka’s getting kind of up there in years, isn’t she? Heck, they both are! Just get married already!!! To each other, or to someone else, either way, so long as this agony is ended. So long as it isn’t Shraddha.
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Both have stated so many times that they are just good friends and nothing else, no wonder she was short with that question.
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Yes! Anything but Sharradha! I hope he marries someone close to his age rather than marrying someone really young! Because Anushka just dropped a BOMB in a latest interview that Prabhas is like a brother to her. Yup. That’s it ladies and gentlemen. The show is over 😦 I hope she finds someone soon as well!! My mom is freaking out about our cousin who is 26 and not marrying but she is 36. May God bless her
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Watching:
K3G
Baabul
Hindi Medium
Beyond Bollywood (documentary)
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (all 8 episodes!)
K3G and Baabul were for the comparison/contrast. OMG, I disliked Baabul so much! Hindi Medium was interesting, right up until the unrealistic altruistic ending. Why do movie makers do this? And it is not just Indian films that insist on magically happy resolutions.
Reading: A book about humanities approaches to the study of aging. Really. It’s better than it sounds.
Thinking: I am about to do a mini road trip with one of my closest friends, who is moving across the country to Northern California. We’ll travel together for a few days, then I will jump on a train and return home. That makes three of my closest buddies who have moved away in less than a year.
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I really need to see Hindi Medium, it suddenly popped up streaming somewhere and I made a mental note of “I should remember that is available and watch it”. And now I can’t even remember what the streaming site was. Oh well, I am sure I will see it again.
Have you seen Baghban yet? I didn’t mind Baabul, but the whole time I was watching it I was thinking “Baghban felt similar but slightly different and better in a way I can’t define”. I am curious if it was the same for you.
I’m in an odd situation of all my friends moving on emotionally but not physically. Not like huge dramatic breaks, but people get better jobs, get married, etc. etc. and suddenly are less available, but there’s no real good reason for it like “they moved away”. Anyway, I’m getting a dog! So I don’t need any humans any more!
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 3:38 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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That other kind of moving away happened to me after grad school. One minute we were so close, bonding over our shared interests and torment, the next minute we had nothing in common.
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For me it was mostly a couple of jobs, hours spent together every week, and then we moved on to other jobs and slowly it became harder and harder to spend time together. anyway, now I will have my dog! Who will always love me and never leave me (and if she does, she will be microchipped and I can get her back).
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 9:30 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Are you sure you’re not putting a little too much responsibility on this poor dog? Retaining a human friend or two might not be a bad idea, just to give the dog a break now and then.
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Well, I will also be at my current job where I currently friends with my coworkers (just have fewer of them) for 8 hours a day. So that should be a break.
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 10:52 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Watching: This was the historic week when I finally got to see the first Bahubali in the actual movie theater! First, I discovered that there are more Indian movie fans than I would have suspected in my little city, because the theater actually had more than the usual three people in it. The theater was doing a deal where you get to watch the second for half price if you watch the first, so that might have been part of it though. I, as discussed last week, opted to only see the first one and save the second for this coming weekend. And boy, am I glad I did. In case anyone was wondering: this film is HARD to watch with Japanese subtitles. And not to be boastful, but my Japanese is pretty good and I watched Dhoom 3 and Bharfi and Margarita with a Straw and basically had no trouble. This was different. First, people talk a lot and in long, complicated sentences. Second, they use a whole lot of words for which I either don’t know the actual word or know the word but not the kanji. Like, the extended sequence when they talk about the sword–I knew they were talking about the sword but I couldn’t figure out anything they were saying, although it was presumably about what a great sword it was. (But that’s OK, because SUDEEP). So, hard to follow and what’s worse, I missed some stuff happening on the screen because I was concentrating on subtitles so hard.
However, eventually I got into the swing of things and truly enjoyed the movie. It’s a bit bigger than I usually like, but the sheer spectacle was pretty breathtaking. I’m really looking forward to this weekend to see the end of the story. The only thing was, I’m not a big fan of the “sissification”/forced gender conformity scene in Indian movies as a way of indexing falling in love–I get it, he sees her as a woman, etc,. etc., but it seems like it never goes the other way. In Karthik calling Karthik Deepika gives Farhan a makeover, but that’s basically a matter of combing his hair a different way.
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First, let me highly recommend Taarzan: the Wonder Car, in which our hero does in fact have a big dramatic make over. Followed by a sexy drunk item song. There’s also Pyaar Impossible, but he doesn’t really get a make over in that.
And second, so excited that you have watched Bahubali!!! I have SO MUCH COVERAGE!!!! One small part of which is a discussion of how the dialogue is in a special formal kind of Telugu and recited in a specific kind of acting style that is very difficult to do correctly. Similar to Shakespearean acting versus modern acting styles. I am guessing that is what you got from it, lots of specific somewhat arcane words that probably aren’t in common use in the Japanese translations, and long long long long long monologues.
But if you got SUDEEP, you got the most important part of that scene. Tragically, Sudeep does not come back in the sequel. Telling you now so you won’t be disappointed.
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 9:14 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Ok, good to know about the formal Telugu acting style, which makes me feel better about my Japanese ability/worth as a person. I noticed that the Japanese was syntactically a bit formal/archaic and they were probably trying to reflect what it sounds like in Telugu. (Also, a lot of words like “lingam” which we don’t often use in daily conversation).
Ah well, I got to see a bit of Sudeep. And there’s plenty to look at besides him. Prabhas is nice and Rana is FINE.
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Rana and Prabhas in the second part are even better!
And I know the pain when you must focus on subtitles and can’t admire the visuals and actors.
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Been down with the flu, so in order to make things worse, I’ve been foregoing sleep in favor of obsessively Reading: every last article, blog post, video, tweet, fb post, and comment about the Aziz Ansari controversy.
This is more a Monday question than a Wednesday one, but if you’ve been following the Ansari controversy and related commentary, what are your thoughts and opinions, on both the incident and the public’s reaction to the incident?
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Hadn’t heard about it until just now, just did a quick spin through the internet to get a general idea. The similar story I was aware of was James Franco, Which has different shadings because it is several women relating professional experiences where they felt pressured. But I had the same feeling reading it of “this is icky, but doesn’t necessarily fit with what I want to be addressed.”
Turning it to Indian film, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been under fire a bit recently for how he described an ex-girlfriend and their sexual relationship in detail with gusto in his book, and another ex coming out and relating a similar experience, him proudly sharing details of their intimate life. Which makes me think “that’s icky”, but doesn’t make me think “he should be arrested and I never want to watch him on film again”. It’s tricky, because of course the same general concept of not seeing women as people could eventually lead someone down the path of rape, so I guess it is related? But it’s not the same thing, to put it as best I can, there’s a difference between “icky” and “life destroying”.
On Thu, Jan 18, 2018 at 12:08 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Something that isn’t being addressed are the cultural issues. Not that Ansari gets off the hook on that score but what are clear non-verbal cues to white Americans may not be clear at all to a Desi even if he’s ABCD.
Another thing I’m struck by is the huge generational divide between younger and older women on this issue. It’s gotten very nasty with age-based insults being tossed around on both sides. It’s depressing.
–Alisa
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Fascinating points, both of them. The other thing about Aziz being ABCD is that it makes him a particular kind of target. Possibly. The idea that Asian men are somehow more “harmless”, or should be. So there could be the idea from the woman’s perspective that she wouldn’t be going home with an aggressive person because he is a “sweet little Indian” in her mind. And she would also be less able, or less willing, to read his signals thinking that what he was clearly saying (taking the lead in suggesting they go back home, asking her out on a date after just meeting her, trying to kiss her) wasn’t what it appears, somehow he was going to be more sensitive or clever or something than that. Would she have reacted the same way, in the moment, if a white American were saying and doing all those same things? And from the perspective of people getting angry with him, consciously or subconsciously there is an awareness that he is a softer target since he would not be as easily able to find allies among the usual patriarchy if he chose to try to do so.
On Sat, Jan 20, 2018 at 8:27 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Breaking News — Padman has been postponed to Feb. 9. People are thrilled and calling it the best development for Padmavat, which is true, but I can’t help thinking that it’s also a great example of bullying by the big Hollywood studio on the small independent Indian production. Why couldn’t Padmavat have gone for Feb. 9, instead of forcing a long announced movie to move, especially since Padmavat doesn’t even have any resonance with Republic Day? (except for the extended weekend, I guess). It’s just an extension of the way they’ve behaved from the beginning. In a way I’ll be glad to have it released and out of the theaters quickly, so we can all move on from its never ending drama fest. I kid, of course. There’s no such realistic prospect. If it succeeds, we’ll have endless crowing from all concerned; if it fails, we’ll have endless blame games and the whole series of events revisited ad nauseum. 😦
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OK, a few more details have come out, and the news is all polished up, with Bhansali expressing his eternal gratitude to Akshay Kumar, and Akshay graciously tweeting that it was the right thing to do, since “their need was greater than ours.” It could be genuine, it could be spin. But I guess at least it indicates some kind of negotiations took place.
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I’ll have to see if I can do a news round-up real quick. One thing that occurs to me, just in terms of filling theaters, this now means everything is riding on Padmavati for January. So if it fails, there will be no tickets sold for the whoooooooooooooooole month. That was the one bright spot to me of it opening opposite Padman, at least the damage would be contained if it failed. Now, it has scared everyone off of January and will fill every theater meaning if the audience doesn’t want to see it, they will end up not seeing anything. That was the saving grace of JHMS, that it had a solid guaranteed Akshay hit coming out the very next week to get people back into theaters.
On Fri, Jan 19, 2018 at 7:12 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I watched Madhavan interview today, and I really like it.
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You like a Madhavan interview? I am SHOCKED!
But yes, it does look interesting, I’ll see if I have time to check it out.
On Fri, Jan 19, 2018 at 2:15 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes, I could skip this part.
But really I liked his view of industry, that movie makers tend to return to their comfort zone, and repeat what was working for them, but people are no stupid and don’t want the same things over and over.
And I love Maddy’s face when Baradwaj asked him about his famous selfie and about doing a romantic film, because this selfie proved that there are a lot of ladies crazy about him and he still is a great romantic hero material.
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I just googled Madhavan Famous Selfie and hello!! 😍
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Yes indeedy! I love Madhavan, he is the male star maybe the most comfortable with his body. Big or small, he knows how to work it and doesn’t mind giving the fans what they want. And also, he read my lengthy lengthy post about his body and retweeted it, which really makes me love him: https://dontcallitbollywood.com/2017/06/22/alert-madhavan-is-still-hot-also-interesting-cross-industry-promotional-strategies/
On Sat, Jan 20, 2018 at 8:29 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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So I’m finally diving into Deewaar today. I kept putting it off because I know it’s long and heavy and I wasn’t up for that but today I feel relaxed and reasonably ready to handle it. Wish me luck! This will be the first iconic Sr.Bachchan movie I see.
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Good luck! I would say “don’t be distracted by the corny 70s elements”, but you are the person who fell in love with Indian film after seeing Raja Hindustani, so I don’t think “corniness” is a problem for you 🙂
Oh, and be sure to come back and tell me all about it and also read my Parveen Babi, Shashi, and Neetu posts after. Or at least Parveen Babi, because she is FASCINATING.
On Sat, Jan 20, 2018 at 8:31 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m halfway through and really enjoying it but had to share this newbie revelation about how self-referential Hindi movies are: I watched a bit of Wanted recently including the scene where Salman locks himself in a room with a bunch of gangsters, gives them the key and proceeds to destroy them. And then discovered last night that it’s a direct homage/ripoff of Deewaar. Mind blown!
Also, it’s interesting how Shashi and Amitabh seem to be in different movies, one a young romance and the other grim dark dark dark. I’ve reached the point where Shashi becomes a cop so it will all be dark shortly.
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Yes!!!!!! That Deewar scene is HUGE, I literally cannot count the number of homages I have seen to it. It’s at the point where it’s not even an homage, it’s just what a hero does, like a bride wearing white is no longer “because of Queen Victoria”, it’s just what brides wear. Also, “786”, Amitabh’s license number, pops up everywhere. Not even mentioned, just like the hero in jail and the number on his shirt is 786 and no one points it out or says anything, it’s just there.
My theory is that no one realized just how dark and serious Amitabh would go with Deewar. So on paper his and Shashi’s parts seemed balanced, but then Amitabh just roared in and stole the movie.
On Sun, Jan 21, 2018 at 11:44 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I finished watching it and wow. I’ve cried more and harder for other films but not many have left me feeling this gutted. I have now been blasted with Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Man star power.
The only corny part that made me laugh was when AB wipes his sweat with his gun 🌽
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Yeah, it’s just an amazing movie, something about the director and the star and the writing came together to form something entirely new and powerful. I’m so glad it worked for you!
and now you can read about Parveen Babi and Indira Gandhi and The Emergency!
On Sun, Jan 21, 2018 at 7:44 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I watched kunjakko bobans new film ‘shikkari shambu’ and loved it. A nice funny family entertainer .Story is about 3 thieves arriving in a forest village and posing as wild hunters to catch a man eating tiger troubling villagers.First half is filled with good humour.Second half some twists in the story and some thrilling moments. Plus the film has beautiful visuals of the forest.Totally a good film to watch with family.
Here is the trailer
And here is a nice rain song from the film
Will be watching fahad fazils ‘carbon’ next week.It got highly positive review from baradwaj rangan and others.So it should be something on the level of angamaly diaries ,take off etc..Do watch it if u get a chance.
Its a good start of 2018 for malayalam cinema. Carbon,Eeda,Queen and Shikkari shambu..4 good movies already within a month.
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Oh boy, I wish I could see these! But I think the only thing playing at my theater is Aadu 2, from weeks back.
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