Happy Monday! I was up way way too late yesterday watching two disappointing movies back to back. Good news is, we snuck into the second one so I didn’t have to pay twice, just watch twice. Anyway, keep me awake! Ask me questions!
As always, you can ask me anything from the personal (“what were the movies?”) to the specific and factual (“how do you avoid paying for a movie?”) to the general discussion (“sneaking into a movie, moral or immoral?”)
The only rule is, you have to let answer first! The discussion just goes better that way. But once I answer, feel free to leap in with your own thoughts.
Now, question for you! Inspired by the two movies I saw last night:
Would you rather watch a movie with a great idea poorly executed, or an unoriginal idea perfectly executed?
For example, Mohenjo Daro was a good idea (epic historical set in ancient times with Hrithik saving a city) poorly executed (plot meandered, bad songs, etc.).
Sultan was an idea based on dozens of other films, with a tone pulled from Bajrangi Bhaijaan, nothing really risky there. But the songs were great and the performances top notch, and the production quality right up there.
Which would you rather watch?
For me, I would always go for the ambitious idea. Even if the execution is off, I just want movies to go big or go home.
dontcallitbollywood 
`
I pretend I prefer great ideas but in fact I like expertly executed. The worst is weak idea poorly executed.
So, I’m morally opposed to remakes, yet about half of them are better than the original and some are my favorite movies.
LikeLike
Yeah, same for book adaptations that really just take the book and turn it into a film, but it’s really well done and is worth it.
On Mon, Aug 6, 2018 at 8:26 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
So did you go see Fanney Khan and Karwaan then?
LikeLike
I did! Guess which is which!
On Mon, Aug 6, 2018 at 9:28 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Based on what you like, I would guess that the unoriginal idea well executed was Fanney Khan and the reverse was Karwaan? I hope you payed for Karwaan and snuck into Fanney Khan!
LikeLike
nope, other way around!
LikeLike
actually other way twice, i paid for fanney khan and snuck into karwaan
LikeLike
I am currently watching this interview with Saif…he really is my favorite actor on and off the screen…for someone so privileged, he always comes across as a really thoughtful and genuine guy who would be fun to hang out with, could talk about any topic, is self-aware enough to know that sometimes he spouts BS (the nepotism stuff), and he doesn’t take himself or the industry too seriously. The most touching and telling thing he says in this interview is that whenever his mom was getting ready to go out and be a moviestar, ie hair and makeup, etc., she was always very grumpy and the kids would avoid her. Also, he’s roguishly charming when he admits that though he doesn’t wish failures on others, when some fail sometimes he does relish in it. He’s almost too honest for his own good at times. And, damn, if he isn’t looking his finest in his forties…the beard is really doing it for me:)
LikeLike
Yeah, Saif is definitely aging like a fine wine. Once again, Kareena is smarter than us all, picking him up at a low bid right before his sexiness value suddenly started increasing.
On Mon, Aug 6, 2018 at 11:53 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Kareena definitely knew what she was doing…I think she dodged a bullet with Shahid (who I still love on-screen), who more than any Indian actor throws off wacky Tom Cruise vibes in real life.
Of course, he’s always been my favorite Khan since day one of my fandom:)
Now watching Aishwarya’s interview with Rajeev…I totally get why she doesn’t do very many interviews…she is so pretentious and vacant at the same time when she’s trying to be serious.
LikeLike
Yeah, Shahid is hot, but in a way that isn’t quite the “and I also want to plan a vacation with you” way.
On Mon, Aug 6, 2018 at 12:34 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I watch movies for entertainment & not necessarily for getting enlightened (I would rather read a book for ideas to ponder about). It’s great if a movie can make me think AFTER im done entertained. At the very least I want to be blown away & hooked by what’s happening onscreen & im okay with realising later that it was probably just another revenge or rebirth or love story. If I’m not entertained, I can’t even be bothered to think back & decipher the messages, ideas that may or may not have been there. The performances, execution & construction is what does for me than what’s on paper.
Mohenjodaro had the return of the long lost avenging son idea which even Agneepath had & done so much better. The title is so irrelevant, they could have called it Masalanagar & no one would have blinked.
LikeLike
I want a movie called Masalanagar!!!! No, I want a miniseries called Masalanagar!!!! Every home hides hearbreak, every bush hides secret lovers, there’s a line out the door of the temple for all the mother’s crying for vengeance, and every baby is a reincarnation. Also, there is a wedding every two hours, and all of them include a big speech and then a surprise wife/groom swap.
On Mon, Aug 6, 2018 at 10:29 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Something like this?
LikeLike
Yes! Only, with fight scenes. I miss the dishoom-dishoom in these soaps.
On Tue, Aug 7, 2018 at 2:23 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I need to know how do you avoid paying for a movie? I have never done this and I don’t even know how to do it.
And your question is hard! I think I would chose certitude of unoriginal idea perfectly executed, but at the same time I always appreciate artist who try new things, risk and evolve. So I would watch “old story” thinking and having remorse I haven’t supported “new movie”.
LikeLike
It depends on how the theater is set up. Most of the big multiplexes don’t really care, they have one person check your ticket at the entrance, and then you can go into any theater you like once you are inside, there’s no reserved seating and the staff never checks tickets in the theaters. It’s not just “easy”, it’s almost invited to do it that way. I assume because they would rather you spend the day at the theater buying overpriced snack food, than watch one movie and leave. No special trick needed, no hocus-pocus. My favorite theater to movie hop at, they check your ticket at the foot of the escalators to the theaters on a whole other floor, there is no way the ticket checker could ever see which theater you went into, they are too floors down. When they really care, when it is a special screening or sold out, they assign an usher to check tickets at the door to the theater, but that almost never happens.
It was tricky doing it at the Indian theater here because it is smaller with only 5 screens and, more importantly, I am white and really stand out. But they still didn’t seem to care, no one questioned me about it.
On Mon, Aug 6, 2018 at 2:48 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
There is always a guy who checks tickets at the door of every theather in italian and polish cinemas I have visited, so you can’t sneak and watch for free 😦
LikeLike
So mean!!!!!!!
On Mon, Aug 6, 2018 at 3:04 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
So dishonest.
LikeLike
I’m shallow shallow shallow! I don’t care what the movie is about or if I can speak the lines before the actor’s do, if it’s exciting, colorful, romantic and sexy, I’m there. It doesn’t even have to have music altho that’s a plus. Saif, SRK, Ranveer, Deepika, Vidya, the Anushkas, and all of my faves old and new…I’ll stick like oatmeal to any movie that meets my limited but beloved standards. The theater that plays Indian movies is in the next county so I wait for Eros, Amazon, Netflix, and sometimes You Tube for my nightly fix. Last night it was Two States (finally). Arjun was so thin and adorable; ditto Alia. Are there any other channels I can subscribe to? Ones with subtitles, please, where the films were made after 1960. Altho the older ones can be stellar too.
LikeLike
Hotstar! Here’s the website:
https://us.hotstar.com/subscribe/get-started?returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Fus.hotstar.com%2F&web=true
They are the most popular streaming service in India, with 60% of the market. They have over 400 Hindi films, most of the new releases, and a staggering 800 Malayalam films (one of the hardest industries to track down on streaming). This is the streaming service that Indians actually watch, I don’t think it has any American made content.
Be warned, it can be a bit touchy. Sometimes slow to load. But well worth the hassle, it has, truly, EVERYTHING.
On Mon, Aug 6, 2018 at 2:59 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Have you ever been recognized before like Hey! thats Margret from the blog dontcallitbollywood! 😀 (i know stupid question)
LikeLike
Actually it happened to me for the first time a couple of weeks ago! It was super cool! I was at my regular theater watching Soorma and a nice woman came up and asked if I was Margaret from DCIB and thanked me for blogging. And then I was very awkward and probably didn’t handle it well, but it made me happy all day!
LikeLike
Who do you think are the three Khans or equivalent to of the new generations?
LikeLike
I am always always always wrong about this. I always back the wrong horse, I was all about Imraan Khan and Viviek Oboroi and Shahid Kapoor, and they all fizzled out.
But, currently, my probably-wrong guess is Varun Dhawan and Ranveer Singh and (I hope I hope) Rajkummar Rao. Varun has the kind of fan following, and interest in building that following, that a lot of the younger actors don’t. Ranveer has so much energy and willingness to push boundaries. And Rajkummar is just super talented and finally getting noticed for it. and seems interested in pursuing mainstream stardom in a way other actors out of art films don’t.
LikeLike
Meenakshy wrote “At the very least I want to be …hooked by what’s happening onscreen”…that’s exactly my first wish 🙂 Pondering about the movie, analyzing it comes after (if I feel the movie is worth it). Even if a movie doesn’t drag me into the story & lives on screen, I may still think about, if the subject/idea captures my interest or a performance.
For me movies are stories told – always – it is mainly the reliable (unreliable) narration that works (doesn’t work) for me.
LikeLike
Then Karwaan is probably the better movie for you. The story is less original than Fanney Khan, but it is told clearly and builds smoothlya nd draws you in.
Or Koode, that movie is almost JHMS like in how it is about what is happening but also not about what is “happening” so much as how people feel about it.
On Tue, Aug 7, 2018 at 11:59 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike