Happy Monday! I had a long wonderful lazy weekend, and even found time to vacuum, and now I am trying to get back into “work mode” in my head. Help me!
You can ask me anything from the personal (“what are you doing for Diwali?”) to the specific and factual (“what is Diwali and how do people celebrate it?”) to the general discussion (“Is Diwali or Christmas a better time to release a movie?”).
Only rule is, you have to let me answer first! The discussion just goes better that way. But once I answer, feel free to leap in and join the discussion.
Now, question for you!
One thing that really surprised bye about Bazaar was that I liked Saif’s voice. I used to hate it, but now he has aged and gotten better control and so on and I really liked it. Which brings me to my question, What Voice do You Really Like in Indian Film?
I like Shahrukh, obviously. Ajay Devgan also has a really good voice. Prabhas of course. And among women, I really like Juhi’s voice. And Katrina Kaif, strangely. Abhishek makes every single line different and interesting. Akshaye too.
Now, the converse! What Voice do You Really NOT Like in Indian Film?
Alia, ever since a friend pointed it out, I am really irritated by her lack of articulation. Emraan Hashmi mumbles, I hate it. Nivin, don’t like his voice as much either although I think he is improving. Kangana, really really can’t stand her voice any more! It’s just always so similar and so strange, I was fine in the first few movies I saw with her, but now her diction is bothering me since it is the same in every role and every interview, and so distinctive. Salman, when he does his drawl, not when he speaks clearly and simply, but he doesn’t do that much.
What about you?
dontcallitbollywood 
My advice for a rainy Monday is: 1) walk Hazel 2) whip up a few idli 3) stay home and watch both versions of Dilwale.
My question is: where can I get a copy if the 1994 version with Ajay Devgan and Sunil Shetty? (If it’s the same story; I have no idea.) I know a DVD exists but I haven’t been able to find it. Does any service stream it?
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I think the original Dilwale is completely unrelated. But if you are curious about it, here is the link to watch it:
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 8:43 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Arjun Rampal has the sexiest voice, I’d say. I also like Saif’s voice and never really got why people made such fun of it. I know it’s nasal-y but even I can tell he speaks Hindi beautifully. Abhishek’s voice is nice (that yelling scene in Manmarziyaan and the way he punctuates his Hindi and the English is so freaking hot…I can’t wait to see the whole scene) but often reminds me of his father’s which will always sound like a voice-over to me. I also like the timber of Arjun’s voice but he tends to mumble, too. I used to like Hrithik’s voice a lot, too.
I’ve always thought that Aishwarya’s voice was quite beautiful in that breathless sexy way that only she could pull off…certainly not all the time but she did in ADHM. I like Tabu’s voice, too. And, of course, Rani’s. It’s unique and classic. I actually find Parineeti’s voice annoying sometimes. She has the perfect nagging voice
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Second Arjun mentioned…of course, I meant Arjun Kapoor.
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Also, Kajol’s voice can be super annoying in particular scenes!
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I was thinking about Kajol! Like Aish, in the right scenes, her voice is perfect. And even sometimes when it is irritating, it feels like she is doing it on purpose, like in K3G when she is supposed to be a bit overwhelming and loud, I think she is purposefully exagerating the irritating qualities of her voice.
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 8:47 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Aish’s voice is tricky, because I liked it in ADHM too, but the same reasons I like it there are the reasons it can be death in the wrong role. Fanney Khan, for instance, her voice was completely wrong and really irritating.
I forgot you are waiting on Manmarziyaan! I have to keep my eyes open on the streaming services for you. And for me, I think I liked it well enough that I want to rewatch a few scenes.
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 8:45 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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This is terrible but unless the actor has an unmistakably distinct voice like Rani (whose voice I love) I just don’t notice it because I’m paying attention to the captions. I hope eventually I get to the point where I can pay more attention to the voices. Salman’s voice is pretty distinctive because (forgive me) sometimes he sounds a bit simple when he’s speaking (presumably he does this on purpose because you don’t get that in his earlier films).
Your Shahrukh celebration got me to rewatch RNBDJ and it’s a delight all over again.
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So glad you rewatched RNBDJ! I love it so much. Someday you should watch JHMS just to see the growth of the Anushka-SRK chemistry if nothing else. They shouldn’t work together as well as they do, but they really really do.
I also had a hard time telling apart actor voices for years, I still sort of do. I think Saif was the first one I noticed because my college roommate wandered into the room while I was watching Hum-Tum and said “ugh, I hate this scene, he sounds so whiney” and she was completely right. It took me a lot longer with the others.
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 9:39 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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It took me a while to get focused on the actual intonations and timbres of the actors’ voices, too. I immediately heard about how awful Saif’s voice was, but I never really noticed it. Asim and friends over on the Khandaan podcast (probably my favorite Bollycast right now because Amrita and Asim are so brutally funny) have a hilarious riff on Saif’s voice in an earlier film.
But Rani’s voice was the first and most instantly recognizable.
Margaret, you and pushing JHMS lately:) It’s like me and Meri Pyaar Bindu and HTP!
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Well, the SRK month has my thinking about it because it’s his last time onscreen! Wait until after Zero and I may be less interested.
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 9:48 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Since you mentioned Khandaan I have to share this again because it’s on point for SRK month and also hilarious.
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No surprise here, but I love Madhavan’s voice. So sexy. Don’t judge me but I even watched “Smoking causes cancer. Smoking kills” part in Vikram-Vedha several times, because I enjoyed his voice so much.
Other one is Amitabh of course, I love his voice.
And from south – Sundeep and NTR Jr.
Women – Vidya Balan.
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Oh, Vidya has a great voice! I’m so glad Tumhari Sulu made it a plot point.
And yes to Maddy, especially as he ages, it’s one that just gets better and better the older he gets. So looking forward to Savyasachi and him monologuing into the phone for 3 hours.
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 9:52 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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How could I forgot about THE MOST ANNOYING VOICE IN HINDI – Shraddha. Seeing bad actor is one thing, but listening to bad actor with bad voice is plain torture.
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Maybe if we watch the Telugu version of Saaho she will be dubbed.
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 12:36 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Do you mean Sudeep?
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Yes, Sudeep, the one who was in Eega.
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Forgot my Monday morning question! Why didn’t you see 5 Weddings this weekend? 😉
Also, what are you planning to see this weekend?
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I didn’t see 5 Weddings because I couldn’t convince Dina. It was playing at the same time as Bazaar and I was strongly for it because, although the two films looked equally bad, 5 Weddings would be over at 10 instead of 11. We argued the whole drive over, but I could not shake Dina’s argument of “I miss Saif!”. Plus, I was kind of looking forward to giving her the responsibility of picking the bad movie for once. It was interesting to me that it was playing at the all-India theater despite being English language and an American made film. The release was so delayed, I am going to guess that they couldn’t find a mainstream distributor to take it and so ended up hitting the desi distribution circuit.
Oh, and I didn’t see it on Saturday because Bazaar got out at 11 and I am trying to shake an incipient cold so I spent Saturday walking the dog and reading in bed and doing similar lowkey activities instead of driving out to the movie theater.
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 10:56 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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What are your plans for Diwali? I’m sure there are many events in Chicago, but do you ever visit those desi parties?
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I will be seeing Thugs! The greatest Diwali celebration possible! I always just go to the new movie, and half the time everyone is dressed up and it really feels like a celebration. When I was in college, the Diwali party was the biggest event of the year, took over the whole student union and almost everyone went (desi and non-desi). I never did it because socializing and getting outside of my comfort zone is scary and I could just spend time with my imaginary Indian movie friends instead (see the “dangers of fandom” post), but the people I saw coming back from it certainly seemed like they had a good time.
Although, now that I think about it, I will also be cleaning my apartment this year (which is part of the Diwali celebration prep I think) just because I invited a bunch of people for SRK’s birthday and I have to clean it for them.
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 12:34 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m sure if we lived in the same dorm we wouldn’t know each other, because I have very similar approach when it cames to socializing.
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I just found out that ToH is opening at LA Live, which is a major entertainment complex in Downtown Los Angeles. They do Hollywood movie premieres in that complex, among other things. So interesting! I guess they are expecting a big turnout. It’s wayyyyy more convenient for me so I’m psyched. Hubby wants to go with me too, which is a big deal because he is not much of a moviegoer.
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This is why I have faith in TOH! It’s the power of the holiday release, they can convince the big theaters to take a chance at least once a year, and they can make a film that may not be as good overall but has enough appeal to bring in the husbands and kids and the whole massive Diwali family group.
Heads up, you may need to buy tickets in advance, and you should DEFINITELY get there early to make sure you get good seats together. It’s a big family group thing, so you end up with 8-15 people arriving all together and taking an entire row, seats go from empty to completely full very fast. They may have assigned seats, but I wouldn’t necessarily trust that, unless you have the internal strength to confront a scary little old lady who doesn’t speak English (or pretends she doesn’t) and tell her she is in your seat (I do not have that internal strength, and therefore get there super early before the little old lady has a chance).
Oh now I am all excited! I may have to see if I can scare up a whole group to go with me. Or maybe my parents, continuing the “family” theme.
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 2:31 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Hahahaha That’s hilarious! I most definitely do not have the courage to confront a little old lady. But LA Live is the kind of place where even being in the front row isn’t bad.
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The little old desi people who pretend not to understand English are unconquerable enemies. Best to just avoid confrontation when possible. Also my advice for riding the bus with little old ladies that put their shopping bags on all the seats.
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 3:09 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I love Fawad Khan’s voice! I am pretty sure I have seen some of the scenes from Humsafar multiple times just to hear his voice. I usually love Diwali releases and almost always watch them, but for some reason, I am having a tough time convinving myself to watch ToH. The trailer and the songs have done nothing for me. If enough people I trust (including you) say it is worth seeing in the theaters, I will go see it on Saturday/Sunday.
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Oh, I forgot about Fawad! So beautiful.
I still don’t have a ToH plan. I am sure I will see it opening night, but I don’t know when or with who. I guess that probably means I am having a hard time getting excited also.
On Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 5:03 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I really like Kareena’s voice. I think she speaks and pronounces Hindi really well. I cannot stand Sonam’s voice at all. Her pronounciation and dialogue delivery is awful.
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When it comes to Hindi pronunciation you know who cames to my mind – Priyanshu Painyuli in Bhavesh Joshi. I don’t speak Hindi , so I don’t notice it usually, and don’t know if hindi speaking people agree, but I was enchanted by his dialog delivery and the melody of the language in this film.
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He was so good in that!
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The only flaw I have with Kareena is that sometimes her pronunciation is a little too much, but I think that was more a problem in her earlier films, she over emphasized her dialogue.
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Yeah she was a bit too much until Jan We Met.
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Have you seen the Kedernath trailer yet? I was very nervous about this…it seemed like it was taking a long time to come out and was plagued by problems. Maybe it was partly the CGI issues, too. And the release of Simmba so close made me think that she would need a quick release to erase that memory. Not so, this seems like a pretty powerful debut. She looks so beautiful in it and with an intense screen presence that makes me think more of her grandmother than her mother (though she looks like the best combo of the two of them, plus she also looks like her father’s daughter!). SSR is not one of my favs, but he is undeniably a strong actor who I like in a romantic role (see Raabta and SDR especially). The flood CGI looks a little sketchy but the underwater scenes look strong. All of a sudden, I’m so more excited about this one than I am for Simmba.
My money has always been on Sara Ali Khan in the ridiculous but unavoidable match up with Jhanvi. For one, she went and got an education and life experience abroad and I think that will help her in graduating quickly to the more dramatic, new-agey roles.
By the way, I noticed Karan is now using the phrase “new age” to describe this generation of actors (Vicky, Rajkumar, Ayushmann, Nawazuddin). Who are the female equivalents? I think Bhumi Pednekar, Taapsee Pannu, for sure.
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Running late this morning, so I still haven’t seen the Kedarnath trailer, but now you have me excited for it!
I always found Sara very striking looking in her candid shots, but less so as she got closer to her debut and her look got more sort of standardized. Glad to hear she still has something different about her face.
Hmm, for the female “new age”, I’d agree with Bhumi and Taapsee, I’d also add on Huma Qureshi and Radhike Apte for sure.
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Hopefully, you’ll do a news/trailer round up post:)
Sara does have the potential to be one of the most striking actresses on screen. I was actually underwhelmed in some of the candid shots early on and thought she looked too plain! Especially compared to Jhanvi Kapoor, but I think that was because Sara likes a more natural look while Jhanvi is more glam. In addition to looking so much like her mother, father, and grandfather, Sara also reminds me of her aunt Soha at times, too. It’s in the chin and nose that she resembles her father’s side.
I wonder who will be the better dancer between the two. Still haven’t seen Dhadak, but I hope they both are good. I don’t want the newer generation to skimp on the dance lessons…it’s such an important part of the industry!
And in the trailer, you can see that Sara has a less plastic-y set of expressions…and the “adult” chemistry is there, too.
Perfect additions to the new age actress list. I also forgot Richa Chadda. Karan needs to have guests rank the actresses, too! Though it’s all crap…everyone was picking Parineeti over Alia for better future and look where we are now!
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I love Karan’s rankings, because they tell you whose got the power right now, or more like who isn’t hated. Ranbir/Aamir were the leading “best actors” for years because they were so kind of neutral that no one cared if you picked them. I’ll be curious to see if that holds true this year or if Vicky Kaushal or one of the other young guys knocks Ranbir off.
On Tue, Oct 30, 2018 at 10:37 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Is it just me or did the comments on the blog start increasing ever since you started your Shahrukh birthday posts?
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They did! I think it’s because people have too high standards for themselves. I have nice commentators who think “I don’t really know enough to join in this discussion, I don’t deserve to share my opinion”. But with Shahrukh, they are on firm ground.
I just have to convince them all that they are smart and interesting and should talk about EVERYTHING, not just SRK topics.
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Also a lot of these posts are you asking for opinions specifically.
I was also wondering if the traffic is higher or just people are commenting more frequently?
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The traffic is staying the same, but that means higher, because there aren’t any big releases right now. If that makes sense. Normally in the 2-3 weeks before a big film, my traffic takes a dive, but it is remaining steady now.
God Bless Shahrukh Khan, he brings the whole internet together.
On Tue, Oct 30, 2018 at 7:58 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh okay, that’s good!
By the way, I’m about 30 mins into Yes Boss so far and this movie is so freaking cute! I probably won’t be able to get through all of it today but I’m really enjoying the interactions between Juhi and Shahrukh so far!
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It is so cute!!!!! If you enjoy it, you should check out Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani for the full SRK/Juhi experience.
On Tue, Oct 30, 2018 at 9:00 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I guess it was never really in doubt but check out the quote
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Thank you! Little interesting kernal in there, Panga is already delayed because Kangana was re-directing Manikarnika. So, not a good sign for the whole “we have an ironclad contract and there will be no issues with Panga” statements.
On Tue, Oct 30, 2018 at 5:22 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I just thought of a random question for you and your commenters that might be a fun Monday morning post someday. What is your favorite Indian food and what is your favorite scene/song that involves food in Indian film?
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That is a good question! Maybe I should save it for Thanksgiving week? Seems appropriate food oriented?
On Thu, Nov 1, 2018 at 11:40 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Golgappa scene in RNBDJ y/y?
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Not for me. I’m not sure what my favorite food scene is, but I am sure that isn’t it.
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That’s a good one! The first things that come to mind for me are 1) the song in the hero’s cafe in Daawat-E-Ishq, 2) the ladoo scenes in K3G when grown up Hrithik gets his flirty revenge, and 3) the birthday cake scene in Wake Up Sid. I think I could come up with a long list. Thanksgiving would be a perfect time for it!
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Another good one is the Chicken Song from Bajrangi Baijaan
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Presumably you saw this? Nice gesture of support from SRK!
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Ha! I saw it late last night and was waiting to make sure you saw it! Nice mutual gesture, Aamir just posted a nice remark about the Zero Trailer. I assume Shahrukh invited him over to watch it and they took a selfie together afterwards and Shahrukh used the occasion to push Thugs. They look like a couple of really interesting older guys who used to be college roommates and get togehter once a year to talk over old times.
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