Happy Monday! I am at work, where we will be slightly shortstaffed until Thursday, and then very shortstaffed until Tuesday. Fun fun! I am terrified I will get sick and then we will have to just shut the office down.
As always, you can ask me anything from the personal (“what movie do you watch not to get sick?”) to the specific and factual (“what movies are coming out this weekend?”) to the general discussion (“what are the best movies so far this year?”).
The only rule is, you have to let me answer first! The discussion just goes better that way. But once I have answered, feel free to jump in with your own comments.
Now, question for you! Which I am stealing from an anonymous commentator who asked it to me. What are the actors/actresses that cause a feeling of dread and heart sinking when you see them on the cast list?
I’m not saying that they are bad people, just that they don’t tend to give good performances. Shruti Haasan for me, and Aishwarya (unless it is in very specific roles). And Ranbir (unless it is in very specific roles). Oh, and Nargis Farkhri of course.
How about you?
dontcallitbollywood 
Johnny Lever – sometimes he is bearable, other times not.
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Agree completely! And it’s not fair, because they tend to surprise you with him. He isn’t on the posters or anything, you have no idea he will be in this movie, and then his face appears and your heart sinks.
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Shahid, Deepika (except in certain roles), Salman (except in certain roles), Kriti Sanon.
I am also realising that Parineeti plays to a very limited range. Ajay Devgn.
And of course any time i hear Shiney Ahuja’s name i shudder.
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awww, I love Shahid! I think he would be my opposite of “always excited and happy when I hear his name (except in certain roles)”.
The nice thing with Parineeti is that she seems to be aware of her limited range and keeps taking roles that are solidly within it where she does well.
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I’m not a fan of Tusshar Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Arbaz Khan, Sohail Khan, Ameesha Patel, Esha Deol, and strangely despite his character actor ability Paresh Rawal. All of them except for Rawal flared out or have had very limited success and whenever I see them on a cast list from an old movie it’s a deterrent.
But I love when I see Nargis on a cast list! She’s never going to give up! As you know, I have a strange affection for her. Shruti was really good in D-Day, so I’m always hoping she’ll be good in other things (but she never is).
Which movies are you seeing this weekend? I hope Namaste England. You know you’ll have to see it because I won’t be able to!
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Badhai Ho is coming out this weekend and there is a strong vote for that being our Friday movie. But I just saw that Nameste England is coming out a day early, so maybe I can get it in on Thursday and do Badhai Ho on Friday. Otherwise, I’ll do it on Saturday.
I hate Nargis! Great spirit, but she is the Movie Killer. All interest just drains right out of the film as soon as she appears.
On Mon, Oct 15, 2018 at 8:22 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I want to see both, of course. And I’m pretty sure that Badhaai Ho will be the better film overall. But Arjun and Parineeti have been fun in their promotional interviews so far. However, I have never been so frustrated with a celebrity’s personal style as I am with Parineeti. Deepika was never this bad when she was struggling to find her personal style. I respect that Parineeti wants to style herself, but she’s so disappointing. She always looks like a 40 year old woman from the 1990s. At least Vidya Balan when she was getting negative press about her style just said screw it, I’m going to wear what I’m comfortable with and she is now rocking the traditional looks (with Bohemian flair) all the time. Parineeti has absolutely no style sense. And the red hair is such a trend lately…it doesn’t suit her. She looks monochromatic in the outfit she wore on Film Companion. OK, rant over.
This makes me think about actresses who I like their personal style…Anushka Sharma, Konkona Sen Sharma, Vidya Balan, and Taapsee Paanu always look so eclectic and cool. Rani and Kajol look either sophisticated and a bit dated or when they’re doing casual completely like moms dressing up to be cool. Priyanka, Deepika, and Kareena always look so much like Barbie dolls. Katrina’s fashion never really registers which is weird.
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Vidya was so bad! I remember thinking how stunningly beautiful she was in Parineeta, and then the shock of seeing her in real life. It was one of those where you think “why can’t you just take home your costumes from the film, you looked so good in them!” Sounds like Pari might be similar, I’ve loved her looks in every movie I’ve seen her in, she can really wear bright colors and bold prints well, especially with a fitted bodice. And then in real life appearance, bleh.
Katrina is interesting, I feel like I’ve heard she is kind of shy and doesn’t like the limelight, and that is how she dresses. Normal jeans and shirts, minimal make-up, you would hardly notice her in a crowd.
On Mon, Oct 15, 2018 at 9:34 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Rishi unless he’s with Dimple. He is such a camera hog/scenery chewer and she’s the only person who can rein him in. Plus he insulted Salman’s SIL at Sonam’s wedding and left poor Neetu to apologize. He’s an ass.
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He is, indeed, a horse’s behind. The nice thing is, he’s started playing semi-negative roles lately which work much better with all his scenery chewing and so on. He is amazing in both Agneepath and Kapoor & Sons.
On Mon, Oct 15, 2018 at 8:39 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I agree about Rishi…the more he shows his true colors the more I dislike him on screen. However, his ability to be charming in supporting roles where he is the cool/kind advice-giving uncle is sometimes tough to ignore…his roles in Love Aaj Kall, Shuddh Desi Romance, and Delhi 6 all made me appreciate him. He is terrifying in Agneepath and this illustrates how good an actor he is. The roles where his scenery chewing work (102 Not Out) are few and far between though (I didn’t really like him in Kapoor & Sons and thought his character ruined what could have been an even better family drama).
He’s indisputably an ass and all signs point to him being an abusive, controlling husband and father and that’s just awful.
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I can’t stand Sonam, with her irritating voice. And I hate her personality because she thinks she’s better than everyone else. And recently on Twitter, some guy told her that the usage of AC cars by celebs also contribute to global warming, and her reply was ” It’s because of people like you that women feel scared to use public transportation” or something like that. It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.
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thankfully, irritating voices never really bother me. I think because I don’t have to listen to the actual dialogue, I am just reading subtitles.
On Mon, Oct 15, 2018 at 10:56 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Sonam is so full of herself, its so funny how she praises herself like oh my gawd I was soo good in ranjhana, sanju, padman etc like bichh the films worked because of the actors who actually did most of the acting not cuz of your dumb flower plot roles. I wonder what her career would be without her dad, then she would realize the pain and struggles of #metoo instead of being so naive
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So I tweeted this and it’s getting a strong response. Maybe someone will pay attention and build an action movie around Katrina.
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That’s kind of the plot of Naam Shabana. Taapsee had a cameo as part of Akshay’s team in Baby, it wasn’t romantic she was just a fellow agent and got her own action scene, just like several other actors had as part of his team. And then they did a prequel showing how she was recruited and trained and her first mission, and this time Akshay was the one who did the cameo.
I was just thinking recently about that movie, the execution wasn’t great (Taapsee essentially was created by all the wise men around her) but the central idea was good, giving her her own action film.
On Mon, Oct 15, 2018 at 12:36 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I avoid Ranbir movies whenever possible. And the sight of character actor Rahul Dev always gives me a sinking feeling. Because I find him to be weirdly, bizarrely attractive. I dearly love Prabhas but, in his fight scene with Rahul Dev in the movie Pournami, I kind of wanted the villainous Dev to win.. (Am I the only one with a shameful attachment to the unsavory? Do you secretly yearn for Randeep Hooda? Be honest.)
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I have Randeep Hooda! And I think I hate him even more in positive roles, because I know I am supposed to like him.
I know what you mean about Rahul Dev though. In Hindi, it seems like either the “bad guys” are interchangeable, or they are legitimate stars who usually play positive roles. But in Telugu, there is this whole group of young attractive actors that specialize in “evil” parts. I guess maybe because of the fight scenes? You need to be young and fit to do them, and you need a certain amount of skill which limits it down to just a few often repeatd choices.
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Sonam, Parineeti, Katrina Kaif, Shradha – when I see their names on the poster the movie is dead for me. There must be something VERY VERY special to make me watch film with those “actresses” like Shahrukh presence in Zero, or Arjun’s sexiness in Namaste England. Life is too short to spend 2 or 3 hours watching those women pretending to know how to act.
I dislike other actors, like Kareena Kapoor, Rishi, Alia or Ranbir, but they aren’t “deal breakers” because at least they can act, and can make me forget I don’t like them.
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I was thinking about Kareena as well, for a long time I really didn’t like her onscreen. But then I saw her in a few more off-beat roles and I realized it wasn’t Kareena herself, it was the kind of role she tended to be cast in. When it is a character I like, she can be amazing and I will forget it is Kareena I am watching.
On Mon, Oct 15, 2018 at 12:47 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Off topic (or maybe not, depending on your dreaded actors) but just noticed a bunch of new additions to (US) Netflix – Wake Up, Sid, Jagga Jasoos, Khoobsurat, Soorma, all three Race movies, looks like maybe a new batch of Punjabi movies too…
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Oooo! Soorma! I can finally watch the first 5 minutes! And of course Race is the best.
I noticed Khoobsurat too and was thinking about maybe making it one of my upcoming Friday Classics or something, it is such a fun one.
On Mon, Oct 15, 2018 at 9:31 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’ve been wanting to watch Khoobsurat.
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Fawad Khan is Everything. If you ever had a crush on Mr. Darcy, he will be your dream man.
On Mon, Oct 15, 2018 at 9:58 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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