Happy Wednesday! I’m trying something new this week, this is supposed to be the post where we share things that don’t fit in anywhere else, and it just occurred to me that I should have a “listening” section for the songs you are enjoying right now.
I’ll start!
Reading: I’m enjoying my last gasp of pleasure reading before I plunge into Thugs so I can at least say I skimmed the whole thing before the movie comes out. So, Terry Pratchett and Lois Bujold alternating. Interesting authors to compare, because one of them is a man who is so good at writing women that I keep forgetting it is a man, and the other is a woman who is so good at writing men that I keep forgetting it is a woman.
Thinking: Poor Dog Hazel, I got her a little nose harness. It doesn’t hurt, but it itches. On the other hand, she looks very cute in it. And it will be good for training and all that. But mostly, it looks very cute.
Watching: I’m rewatching Lakshya in preparation for the Friday classic post, without subtitles which is an interesting challenge. The problem is, Prime subtitles show up on my laptop but not on my TV. I don’t know why, and I’ll send Amazon an error report, but in the meantime I get to see how well I remember the film and how many Hindi words I can figure out.
Listening: My new section! I’m all excited! Right now I am feeling like light songs mostly. So I’ve returned to the JHMS soundtrack again. My most favorite song from it is always “Hawayein”, but I think on this listen “Butterfly” is my second most favorite (the second varies time to time). I’ve also got a couple odd forgotten ones from other albums, the female voiced “Tareefan” from Veere Di Wedding, which I like so much better than the male voiced one. And “Alizeh” from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil which I think is just beautiful but was only over the end credits of the movie. And what is becoming my favorite song from Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, “Hayati” which was barely used in the film. It’s the only non-light sounding song I’m listening to right now, make sure to let it play a bit so you can see what I mean.
So, what are you listening to? And reading and watching and thinking?
dontcallitbollywood 
I saw Sui Dhaaga this afternoon – loved it. Apart from that and Rajneeti a couple of weeks ago most viewing has been rewatches – Jodhaa Akbar, Koi Mil Gaya, Krrish, Veer Zaara, Main Hoon Na.
Reading – a few books on the go – Calling Sehmat, Sacred Games and A Princely Imposter (the day I started reading this, by coincidence, I found out there is a Bengali movie being released soon about this true tale)
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Oh, saw a teaser trailer for Zero today too.
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Is there a new one, or is it the same Salman one from Eid? they played that in front of Sui Dhaaga at my theater, which was kind of weird since it was so clearly labeled for Eid.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 6:48 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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It was the Salman one. I noticed ‘Eid’ as well and was puzzled for a microsecond.
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So glad someone else saw Sui Dhaaga! I liked it, but I wasn’t sure if that was just me or if it was an actual good movie. Did the second half also feel odd to you? That they shifted from such a grounded struggle to something so much bigger all of a sudden.
And if you have been on a little Hrithik binge, you should watch Lakshya so you can comment on my review this Friday!
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 6:26 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I wasn’t expecting it to go in that direction and was a little sceptical about them creating a whole collection in a month, considering they were weaving some of the fabric, but what the heck it’s movie-land. For me – sewing machines, fabric, adversity, a competition, victory – what’s not to love? And Anushka & Varun, bonus.
I might watch Lakshya today – I did watch it ages ago and liked it. I had my frail and elderly mother staying with me last weekend so I ‘treated’ her to Main Hoon Na – her first Indian movie. She thought it was silly (she doesn’t do ‘silly’). Wonder if she’d think Fan is silly, ha ha.
Rajneeti – I had planned to watch half one evening and the other half on the following day but did see it all in one sitting. I was thinking ‘Sonia Gandhi’ when the reins were handed to Katrina.
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I did get a kick out of the excitement over the sewing machine. Although it made me feel a little guilty, because I am drowning in sewing machines, and here they are desperate for just one.
Lakshya is definitely worth a watch, I am finishing it off now as I write you. Very much not the film you would expect, neither military nor non-military.
If you can watch Raajneeti in one sitting, you can definitely handle Lakshya!
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 6:10 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I watched Mom, which effed me all the way up. But it’s so good. I took notes for our discussion Sunday. What are you people turning me into?
To recover from Mom I watched a couple of my no-fail Happy songs, Kashmir Main Tu Kanyakumari, and Jiya Re. I like Alizeh too, but I always skip the rap at the end. 🙂 Wondering–do you think Shah Rukh and Deepika will work together again? Would be interesting to see them work together now that they are both in different places life and career-wise.
Traveling home from Zimbabwe today. Glad it’s Koyla day so I can participate without re-watching. I seriously love this movie.
Have had more time for reading than usual. I’ve been alternating between The Kingdom of Ohio–highly recommended–and Producing Bollywood–an ethnography of Hindi filmmakers and how they think and talk about themselves and the movies over time–with a focus on the 80s till, maybe 2000? It’s dense reading, but some of the insights and some of the conversations with filmmakers are quite interesting. I’m assuming you’ve read it, Margaret. What did you think?
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Okay, your opening saying Mom effed you up and you took notes had me very worried until you clarified it was for the discussion! I had a moment of thinking “wait, is Procrastinatrix so frustrated with the world that she is taking Sridevi in Mom as a role model and planning to immitate her????”
I really want Dips and Shahrukh to work together again for the same reason. It has been so interesting seeing him come back to Anushka three times, each of them in very different relationships to each other. Dips and Shahrukh in something like Piku would be wonderful, something where they are both paying to their more art house sensibilities.
I love Producing Bollywood! Ganti is my hero. Dina was at a conference with her last year and secretly took a cell phone photo like a papparazi because she was so excited to see her in real life. It’s really interesting to read it as a comparison with her Guidebook, which was written early on in her research and meant for the lay person. Producing Bollywood is so much more in depth and serious. There is so much to enjoy in it, even just the glimpses of how she did her research, was able to gain access and get on set, tells you so much about the industry. It wasn’t anything special, she was just friendly and made connections. The very end is when she puts in an interview with Shahrukh where he accurately predicts the next ten years of the industry, which is FASCINATING. She had talked to all these producers and directors and everyone, and it was Shahrukh he had the clearest and most elaborate vision of the future. Oh, and of course you can play the game of “who does she mean and what is she talking about?” when she gives her stories from set with the names changed.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 6:44 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Happy to report that I actually watched a movie in a theatre-Varathan.The reviews were all great & of course Fahadh Faazil. The end result is I’m confused how I feel about it.On one hand,the movie is a great take on the current mob culture & voyeuristic eyes in Kerala(&elsewhere in India) & the male gaze that women have to encounter in the public(sometimes terrifyingly in the private space also).But I am also disappointed with the resolution given by the movie to all these things-in the form of a highly choreographed & stylised action sequence in the climax.I do not want to spoil the movie in case you or anyone reading this wants to watch since it’s still in theatres. It was also interesting to notice that most reviews & the men in our group(from a 20 year old to 50 year old)all enjoyed the climax sequence. So maybe it’s a man’s film masquerading as a woman’s film up until the last 20 minutes. On the positives, I was very impressed by the female lead played by Aishwarya Lakshmi,she seems to make good choices considering the last Malayalam movie that drove me to theater, also featured her. The movie is superbly shot & everything else from the supporting characters to songs to dialogues are so good. The best part of the trip to the theater though was meeting an old school mate there & catching up. Movies do connect people in more than one way.
Listening -Vaanaville from Koode, Sakhiya from Goodachari & RX100 songs.
Not much reading happening.
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” a man’s film masquerading as a woman’s film up until the last 20 minutes” is a great description, and one that suddenly clicked into place for a lot of movies I have seen. Koyla for instance, the one I am reviewing today, has this great strong Madhuri role until she is completely side-lined for the final action scene. It’s like, they can perfectly express the problem, but then the only solution they can come up with is macho action. I love Mom and 22 Female Kottayam because they stay female straight through.
I can’t remember, have you seen Koode yet? I really want to talk with more people about it, but since it was only in theaters for a minute it feels like not many people caught it.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 8:41 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I had every intention of watching Koode in theater but it was released a week or two late in Bangalore & then it was gone before we realised it was around. I’m hoping it will release in one of the online platforms soon.
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I hope so too! It’s really good, especially if you like the kind of damaged fragile version of Prithviraj.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 9:26 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I always love the fallible, fragile guy whom you want to hug & cradle -especially if he’s as good looking as manly as Prithviraj or Prabhas.
On a different note, now that Koffee with Karan is restarting, will you be writing posts for the episodes.
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You better believe I will be writing posts! Especially now that I have legal Hotstar instead of illegal funky means I had to use last season. That is, assuming Hotstar makes the episodes available. They have to, right? Anyway, I’ll be doing the same kind of in depth discussion I did last season. Unless it is a stupid episode, like I think I skipped some episode with Nargis Farkhri or something last year, no one needs that.
You will love Koode, you spend the whole movie just wanting Prithviraj to get some love and gentleness, and then Parvathy gets to be the one who gives it to him.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 9:40 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I like that you included “listening”. I’m obsessed (again) with Kun Faya Kun from Rockstar. Usually when a song convices me to watch the movie, and I hate the movie, I start disliking the song too, but Kun faya is so beautiful and deep I can’t dislike it. It’s impossible. And I love how, in the movie, the song is sung by muslims and by Ranbir who plays a Hindu, but I, as a Christian can identify completely with the song too.
Watching: It was week of strange movies for me. First I finished Gurgaon, and it’s too dark for me.
Waste of time.
Then I found Chandaneer,odd bengali movie about Bharatanatyam dancer on Prime and I watched it. I should have known better it won’t be good. It doesn’t even have a wikipedia page! but it wasn’t complete waste of time. The movie is about famous Bharatanatyam dancer from Calcutta who falls in love with poor blind musician and singer. They elope (even if it wasn’t neccesary because her parents wasn’t bad) and live happily till she doesn’t get angry with him because of art. After the argument she becomes the worst wife ever (makes him sleep on the floor, forbids the maid cleaning husband’s room, doesn’t care when he is in Big trouble etc). I liked the movie till this part, but after that nothing happens, she only dances and dances and dances, sprains her ankle while dancing, recovers and dances again. I wish somebody remade this story but with some changes and less dances.
The third movie was Sadak, and yesterday I saw kannada movie Tarak. I don’t recommend it. It’s “family ententainer” where white and black people are only spoiled brats, prostitutes and drug addicts, hero who, let’s say is not the best actor in the industry, and crazy heroine (imagine Kangana from Tanu weds Manu and Trisha from Hey Jude had a daughter who acts in poorly written movie). On the top we have traditional grandfather who must be always forgiven, and spoiler heroine with incurable disease
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I hate the traditional grandfather who must be forgiven!!!!! WHY??? What good is he???? He’s just an old man, cut him out of your life like a tumor and move on!!!!
And I am very pleased that my forcing you to watch Sadak meant you got at least one good movie you enjoyed in the batch. You should also watch Lakshya!!!! (I am trying to talk it up because I am re-watching it and it is so much better than I remembered).
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 8:53 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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In Tarak, when the protagonist finally told his grandpa that he is culpable of his parents death, guess what? Grandpa had massive heart attack! And according to doctor, has only few days left, so must be forgiven. Just forgiven, he started emotional blackmail “I couldn’t see your father marriage so how about marrying the girl I choose for you?” The protagonist was like: ok, grandpa has only few days left, let’s pretend the engagment. Days were passing and grandpa was still alive, so they started wedding preparations, and then wedding, and the guy married girl he didn’t love. It’s family film, so of course he learnt to love her, they had a dauther, and guess what again – grandpa was still alive, and saying he will live till his great-grand-dauther’s wedding.
LOL I don’t know why I finished this film!
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Not much to report, work and life have been busy. Finished a Sarah MacLean romance novel which wasn’t one of her best (A Scot in the Dark). Just watching some random Bollywood YouTube content (Rajeev’s interview with Tabu was good and gave me some good recs). Just haven’t been in the mood to watch much at all and definitely not anything longer than 30 minutes. I did watch an episode of Kim’s Convenience and it was cute! I just like the idea of a Canadian sitcom in general. It’s so weird that very few Canadian tv shows break below the border (I can only think of Slings & Arrows). But will be watching Karwaan this weekend with my new movie watching buddy who lives in my apartment complex. Yay! Also planning to see A Star is Born asap. It looks so good!
I like the new Listening category! I’ve been addicted to the music from Manmarziyaan. Daarya is one of the best songs in a long time. Also Shallow from A Star is Born is an amazing power ballad and bodes well for the rest of the soundtrack.
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When I was working nights, I would come home at 1 or 2 am and turn on the TV and on the funky broadcast channels, they had some Canadian TV shows playing in the middle of the night. Flashpoint and The Rookie were the ones I remember, they Americanized them for syndication, so they had to remove all the specific references to the city they were in, which was really weird since they were both cop shows. And of course Orphan Black is/was a big big cult hit. But yeah, that’s all I can think of for Canadian TV. Not nearly as much cross over as you would expect. Oh, and I encourage you to keep watching Kim’s Convenience, because by the second half of season 1 and continuing into season 2 it commits whole-heartedly to being a romance story between two very attractive and likable people.
So jealous of you having a movie watching buddy! I need a new one, I have Dina but we see films in theaters, I need a back-up person to watch movies with me at home. I’ll be interested in what you think of Karwaan, I did not like it AT ALL, primarily because it felt like Irrfan was being side-lined in favor of the much less interesting Dulquer. But it would be a good first time movie,a nd a nice way of easing her towards Piku where Irrfan gets to take more of a central part.
Daarya is used really well in the film too, very powerful and evocative. I just can’t wait for you to see Manmarziyaan! I know you can’t wait either, I am keeping my eyes peeled and fingers crossed for it to hit a streaming service soon.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 8:59 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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My new movie watching buddy is actually Indian and grew up in Gujarat and is a big Hindi film fan and really likes Irrfan Khan! She’s been in the States for just about 10 or so years and I think she’s just as happy to have found a new friend who likes watching Indian films (even if I’m sure she still finds it a bit odd that I do) and it’s extra nice that we can just walk up or down a floor to each other’s place!
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That is so cool 🙂
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I forgot to mention that I did really like Lost Girl too and that’s Canadian! I guess there are a few good ones out there. Now I’m wondering if it’s the cute brother and his boss that have the romance?
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…on Kim’s Convenience if that wasn’t clear!
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Oh, I don’t want to spoil it! It’s one of those romances that builds very slowly so you start out thinking “nah, it will never work” and then by a few more episodes you are all in and cheering them on.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 2:02 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I came back from a short vacation, now I miss my vacation, its only the next day morning. Hmmp.
I managed to watch Chekke Chivantha Vaanam, now is the time for me read your reviews and comment on it.
The song I’ve listening to is Pal ek pal tham sa gaya from the movie Jalebi., its soothing and nice. I love this new section you’ve introduced.
Reading – Well going to start reading Crazy Rich Asians because I loved the movie.
Have you watched it yet? Did you like it? Which was your fav bit? I
IT felt like a big bollywood movie with asian characters speaking English.
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Yaaay, CCV comments!
I haven’t seen Crazy Rich Asians, but everyone keeps saying I should because it feels so “bollywood”y. Maybe once it comes to streaming or something. I doubt I’ll have a chance in theaters.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 11:25 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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It’s an interesting companion piece for K3G. Very similar story line.
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I started watching Jodhaa Akbar. Got the bluray delivered yesterday (Gandhi’s birthday, so national holiday)
I managed to complete only half the movie but managed to watch the Kwaja Mere Kwaja song multiple times. This was the reason I bought this CD and it is worth it for the song.
I started looking into wikipediavto factcheck the movie and surprisingly all the details match perfectly better than any hollywood adaptations and much better than any Indian movie that I have watched.
Only fillers seem to be the subjective emotions of the characters which of course is open to interpretation for each individual.
I haven’t completed the movie, but couldn’t help comparing to Baahubali. Especially the taming of the elephant scene and Aishwarya’s sword fighting scenes.
Somehow this feels static to dynamism of Baahubali. It looks like Gowrikar made this more like a drama whereas Rajamouli made an opera. There is physical energy in both the screenplay and how the characters act it out, in Baahubali. Maybe it helps Rajamouli that his story is complete fiction.
Also the camera in Baahubali absolutely loves and worships each character, whereas here it stays more aloof. Which is why I make the Opera vs Drama comparison
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Really interesting point about the way the characters are filmed and introduced as part of the drama versus opera. I think that also goes back to J-A’s commitment to historical accuracy as much as possible. They don’t want us to see Jodha or Akbar as larger than life figures, but just as human people who lived.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 12:17 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Watching: Besides Kandukondain Kandukondain for our discussion, I saw Sui Dhaaga in a theater (I liked it a lot and it was even better that I convinced TWO friends to come along) and rewatched Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and the first part of JHMS. Can you tell I needed a respite from the noise coming from a few miles down the road, in Washington DC?
Reading: The Four Feathers, for my book group. It’s a real British period piece; apparently made into films several times, but I have never heard of it. It is so stuffy, colonial, and Edwardian. Not a bad yarn, but I am wondering why the group chose it, since I wasn’t there for the discussion.
Listening: I have two iTunes playlists, one lively (writing music) and one more sweet and thoughtful (for reading). I have been listening to the Guru soundtrack quite a bit, too.
Thinking: How delicious autumn is. it is my favorite season. Warm days, cooler nights, beautiful colors. Unpacking my cozy sweaters and favorite jeans. Making soup!
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I was able to bring extra people to Sui Dhaaga too! I guess it is a really easy sell somehow, the poster or the plot description or something just makes people interested.
The Four Feathers (the original) is one of my Grandfather’s favorite movies. And the remake is really interesting, you should definitely check it out, because it was directed by Shekhar Kapur, director of Mr. India. It’s got a very lush look to it.
I feel the same way about autumn, I am now on my second huge pot of chicken soup.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 1:47 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I had Sui Dhaaga all to myself, I was the only one in the cinema. My occasional Bolly movie friend was unable to go to the cinema yesterday but I think she would have liked it too.
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They finally posted Fidaa (Hindi dubbed version) on YouTube, and I watched that since I hate reading subtitles and wanna be able to focus fully on the movie. Fidaa is soooo good uff I just LOVE Sai Pallavi and I think I developed a new crush on Varun Tej (this is my first movie of his) and omg hes 6’4! sorry for the fan girling lol
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Varun Tej is so delightfully tall! And Fidaa is so good. I feel like it lost it’s way a bit in the immediate post interval section, but then once they are on the road trip it finds itself again. And the ending is just perfect.
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Thats what I love about it finally the girl has it her way and doesnt have to sacrifice her family for the guy
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Your Mani Ratnam series and our following discussion put me on a Madhavan binge. I rewatched one of his older movies – Dum Dum Dum and Alaipayuthey (again!). DDD was nothing extraordinary but a very cute romcom. Jyothika was OK, guess she’s a much better actress now that she was back then.
Reading: I started with Men without Women by Haruki Murakami and I hated the first story. Please tell me it gets better, or I might stop with just this one.
Listening: Have been listening to CCV songs, i liked Sevandhu Pochu Nenju, that seems to be the only song that wakes me up on my morning ride to work!
Oh, and an update for Margaret, my daughter this last weekend told me she wants to see the song where “the boy spreads his arms” aka SRK’s Tujhe Dekha and my husband can’t believe he needs to deal with one more SRK fan at home 🙂
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I keep seeing Dum Dum Dum on Maddy’s filmography and considering it and then turning it down. Sounds like I’m not missing a hidden gem.
Can’t help you with “Men Without Women”, I pretty much read silly light trashy stuff or else film books, so I’ve never even heard of it. I vote you give it one more story, and then unless someone here jumps in to reassure you it gets better, you set it aside.
Sevandhu Pochu Nenju was my favorite for sure until Saavn finally released the full album and I started getting into Hayati. I am sure Sevandhu Pochu Nenju is a more beautiful film with better lyrics and all that, but I am just a sucker for the catchy faux-hip-hop stuff. Also, coincidentally, Sevandhu Pochu Nenju just came up on my Saavn playlist while I was reading your comment! Clearly, your words have the power to Control the World.
Also, so cute!!!! I love that story. If/when you meet SRK, you should tell him, he would love that.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 4:15 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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But Maddy is darn cute in it, so still worth a watch 🙂 SPN is a earworm, can’t get it out of my head!
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It’s the first week of classes and we are having back to back typhoons, so that’s keeping me busy. Besides watching Piku for our discussion last week I clicked randomly around Youtube until I found an old Bengali movie called Shyamali. It fits into a subgenre best described as Uttam Kumar Accidentally Gets Married, which is larger than you would think. In this case, the bride is a deaf/mute and her sister is engaged to Uttam, and the father thinks that conducting a fake wedding, with a real pandit, while Uttam is there in his finery getting ready to get married to the sister would be a great way to give the deaf sister the experience of being a bride. He does not share this with Uttam, who subsequently insists that he has been married by a pandit and he’s sticking with it. So his mother pulls out all the tools in the Bengali mothers’ big bag of emotional manipulation trying to get him to divorce. That’s where we are now, and I’m hoping to finish it over the weekend. My money right now is on the deaf girl dying, but I think it’s equally likely that she’ll become able to speak.
So, yeah, I really should make it a theme week and watch Koyla, but I’d like to see Lakshya and also Mom, depending on how temperamental Einthusan is being, and I’m not sure I’ll have time. Also, not in a Johnny Lever place at the moment.
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That Bengali plot sounds amazing, and makes me want to rewatch Aaina. Also reminds me of a Barbara Cartland I read years ago where the family swaps out the “good” daughter for the “bad” daughter at the last minute without telling the groom. In that one, her problem is terrible acne, but once her new husband takes her to India, the climate clears it up and she becomes beautiful.
And you should watch Lakshya! Definitely watch Lakshya! I’m having a surprisingly hard time selling it to people and it deserves to be watched.
On Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 9:56 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Okay I know this is a very superficial question but who do you find it to be the most good looking Actors/Actresses in Indian cinema?
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Subjective taste, just for me, I like Shahrukh and Madhuri best. But that’s not their faces, it’s their charisma and how interesting I find it to watch them.
Objectively, I think it’s still Aish and Hrithik. They are both getting older, but they still have the kind of perfect striking symmetrical faces that I don’t think anyone else has.
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For best looking I go for Arjun Rampal and I like Deepika P and Anushka S.
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I watched Chaahat, which I already posted about in our discussion of item puppies, and Udta Punjab. Not in that order. Udta Punjab, then went looking for something light and happy with little emotional investment required. (Except for that last half hour, where Chaahat beats up on its characters and is not light or happy at all.) I liked many things about Udta Punjab. The performances were all really good. I kind of wanted to see Shahid and Kareena in at least one scene together, even though that might have derailed the plot a bit. First time seeing Diljit, he was very appealing. Shahid was tone perfect, I keep being surprised at his acting chops – and that opening concert number is something, shows off all his assets :). I was bothered by the little brother character, even though he felt like as much a symbol as a person, and also somewhat by the perfectly balanced representation of cocaine for the rock star, heroin for the defiled girl, and whatever bottled concoction for the street junkies. That part felt a bit too constructed, but overall can’t fault the movie for being carefully conceived and well executed.
Back to listening to my Violeta Parra and Victor Jara station, my go to when I need soothing with an undercurrent of revolution. Thank you for the song recs, though, love all of those.
Did you see the Faridoon videos with Aanand Rai? He seems to be on a mission to figure out SRK’s future, first with Imtiaz and now Aanand. (He totally uses SRK as clickbait, very effectively, have to wonder if some of his curiosity comes from the cognitive dissonance over how many clicks he gets any time he can stick in a reference to SRK vs. the disappointing box office performance.) Aanand’s focus on just telling the story you want to tell, fearlessly, seems promising. That sounds like the kind of coherence of plot and vision that has not been SRK’s strong suit. He also says something clearly that to me really gets at the dilemma for directors working with SRK: “You must know what you want, because he is there. He will not say no to anything. So, are you clear about it? If someone is not questioning you at all, it’s a tough thing.” (There was more, I know I’m missing parts where they switch into Hindi, but that’s the gist.)
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Interesting comment from Aanand. Because I don’t think that is the case with all of his films. Like, in the making of and director’s commentary on Main Hoon Na, he definitely stepped up and challenged Farah on things and insisted on other things. But then, it was ultimately all in the service of her vision, he wasn’t saying no to the silly fantasy of the college campus or the big hero introduction or anything like that. So maybe it is the same thing, once she sold him on the overall film, he was there 100% for whatever. And it feels like in his last few films, he really has given himself over to the director, especially Fan and JHMS.
I think Amitabh is a similar actor, once he commits to a part he is in the director’s hands and will do whatever is asked. It can lead to some really wonderful performances (like Piku) but also some terrible ones (like Nishabd).
Oh, and so impressed you saw Udta Punjab! It is so saaaaaad, I was only able to watch it once. An agree, Shahid is super impressive as an actor. Kaminey was the first movie I saw with him where I really sat up and took notice. But after that I started to see the same kind of brilliance in everything, even something silly like Dil Bole Hadippa, he was really bringing a special touch to his character.
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https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/photos/photos-krishna-raj-kapoor-prayer-meet-rani-mukerji-aishwarya-rai-bachchan-and-preity-zinta-offer-their-cond
I hate to be mean but Preity isn’t dressed appropriately and what the hell did she do to her face? On a nice note, I live in Los Angeles and if I ever saw her in person I’d probably flip out.
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Maybe Preity only packed for promotions and had to rush around and find whatever white thing she had available?
And yes! Her face has looked very different for years, and it keeps changing too. I can’t decide if it’s her nose or eyes or chin, but it’s definitely one of those subtle things that change the whole face without making you go “oh, she had a nose job” or whatever.
On Thu, Oct 4, 2018 at 3:40 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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This is going to be a huge episode:
https://twitter.com/karanjohar/status/1048268937790672897
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I’m excited!
It’s also a very very good place to do their first combined interview. Karan knows all of them extremely well and will make them feel comfortable, and will know what questions are on or off limits without prompting. And it will give them plenty of time to cover everything they need to cover and establish a narrative that they can refer back to in any future interviews.
On Fri, Oct 5, 2018 at 1:00 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh my gosh, more news. Busy Friday.
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Oh dear, I just find this exhausting. Not the stories themselves or knowing the world is like this or whatever, I just assumed that. But the trying to balance outrage with intellect. You know? It’s easy to just be outraged and declare the world is a terrible place and so on. But, what do you do next? What are the logical consequences to ask for in these individual cases? Because you certainly can’t lump together even the examples in this one story as all the same, one of them is an internet date with a guy who was slow to take “no” for an answer (although he eventually did), and the other is a supervisor coming on to an employee in an inappropriate manner which the HR department refused to investigate.
Thank goodness I can choose not to cover it until/unless it directly relates back to film.
On Fri, Oct 5, 2018 at 2:32 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I haven’t been watching much movies with school being busy and the NFL season starting. By the way, the Chicago Bears are one of my favorite teams in the league right now 🙂
I’m also towards the end of a Friends rewatch though it’ll take another couple weeks for me to finish the series at the pace I’m going.
I saw Sui Dhaaga and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. I liked Sui Dhaaga but I didn’t really like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. It was cute but it was also too dramatic and real for me. I don’t know how to explain it but it wasn’t a pleasant viewing experience.
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Also I saw Bareilly Ki Barfi with my mom and she liked it. I didn’t like it anymore than I did the first time though. It’s just a small, cute love story.
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Did you see Devadas? I’m debating whether to move heaven and earth in order to see it this weekend, or just let it go.
On Fri, Oct 5, 2018 at 9:34 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I didn’t get a chance too since it was all sold out the day I was planning to go!
From what I’ve heard, it’s a fun movie but it’s not a great movie that you have to see right away. Maybe check it out if you have time?
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You and my Grandpa can cheer for the Bears together. He is a rabid fan.
I’m considering starting another Friends rewatch. I think I got interrupted in my last go through around season 4. So now the question is if I start back at the beginning or try to pick up where I left off.
I know what you mean about the “too real”. Going back to the topic of my post from a few days ago, the way women use romantic fantasies, I think that’s part of the reason romance novels are so often set in the past. It makes it just enough less real for it to be true escapism.
On Fri, Oct 5, 2018 at 9:32 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Well, I hope he’s excited about this season 🙂
I started this rewatch during the summer. I liked the first 4 seasons but my favorite seasons are season 4-8 so I started at season 4. I lost access to Netflix for a while but now I got it back and I’m almost done with season 8. I’m not sure whether I really want to continue after I finish season 8 or not.
Hmm, that totally makes sense. One thing I’ve noticed is that I can handle romances that are realistic but only as long as I don’t see myself in the character. If I relate to the heroine, then it gets too real and I start getting too tensed about what happens to her. It’s fine if I see it in a theater but if I’m watching by myself then I tend to get too worried and just keep pausing the movie everytime something that resembles a conflict arises. I think I spent around two hrs to watch the last hour of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.
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