Happy Wednesday! I hope you are as cozy and warm as I am this week. The horrible cold is over and now we are back to normal cold and thick blankets and hot baths and it is just a super nice end to the winter.
Watching: Nothing terrible intellectually difficult! The two movies in theaters this weekend wore me out.
Reading: A Damsel in Distress! Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga got me in the mood. It’s really good. And, copyright expired! You should all read it.
Thinking: I’m going to the gym! Well, okay, I’ve gone to the gym! Once. For 20 minutes. But still, impressive! My office is across the street from the Y, I got a membership and (in theory) I can either go after work and get a ride home with my friend who works until 6, or I can go in the middle of the day. Or I can not go at all and feel vaguely guilty every time I look out my window at the Y.
Listening: Trying out the Gully Boy soundtrack before it comes out. It is, indeed, very good. And I think my favorite is the less-hip-hop sounding one, “Train Song”.
Now, question for you!
Now that we have had a mainstream movie about a same-sex romance, what same-sex actors would you cast opposite each other in a love story?
I have MANY ideas! Mostly male. Shahrukh-Arjun. Shahrukh-Irrfan. Amitabh-Dharmendra. But also, Hema-Rekha. Rani-Kareena. Katrina-Alia.
How about you?
dontcallitbollywood 
Watching: Zero on my PC and equally will do with some of the Valentine list.
Reading: Still comments on Zero and SRK-interviews…also tried to get a low price copy of the wodehouse book online (failed, and my libraries don’t have it…*sigh*)
Thinking: about why ShahRukh made Zero
Listening: Suisse Classique on the radio (I like hearing classic musique while doing all kind of stuff)
Your question: ShahRukh – Irrfan (yes!) … if ShahRukh continues to go the ‘mainly actor way’ and if Irrfan gets healthy enough, they could play a mature gay story (I still remember a movie of which I forgot name and actors from many years ago about a gay couple living together – one a bit older than the other…I still can feel the emotions I had while watching the movie).
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Book! https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2233
It’s a couple more steps than a regular kindle, you have to download it to your computer to read it, but it’s free.
Funnily enough, we used to listen to Suisse Classical at my office. I was receptionist at a doctor’s office for a bit, and it was nice to have some ambient music in the waiting room so people felt less awkward about just sitting there. But my doctor discovered if he had an American station on, he would get distracted by the occasional announcements. So we streamed a non-English station and ignored all the announcements. I think it was Suisse Classical.
On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 8:13 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Watching: Mukkabaaz. I really liked it. Both leads were amazing, especially Singh. After seeing him in Gold, I was even more impressed. He has that indescribable quality as an actor that you immediately empathize with him. Jimmy Shergill’s villain in this one was a tad too over the top…it didn’t quite fit with the realistic tone of the film.
Reading: the second in the Forbidden Hearts contemporary romance series by Alisha Rai, which features a bisexual Pakistani-American widow/single mom as the heroine, so it’s pretty great on premise alone.
Same sex romance casting would be Abhishek and Aditya Roy Kapur or Taapsee and Swara Bhaskar.
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OMG, YES to Taapsee and Swara!!!! That is perfect. And now that I think about it, that is the casting they should have had in ELKDTAL. One of them a little older and more experienced and confident, and the other the small town girl who never quite fit in.
Abhishek and Aditya Roy Kapoor doesn’t feel quite right to me. I think I want more spice of a kind of “opposites attract” way. Adi and Sid would be great, one a sort of tortured sexy artist type, and the other Sid. For Abhishek, I think I would just want the gay-er version of Dostana. John Abhraham is a gym bro who is bisexual but has never acted on it, Abhishek is the guy who falls in love at first sight and starts following him around and making him laugh and eventually wins him over.
On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 8:33 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I had Dhanush week.
First I finally watched Maryan. Beautiful music, beautiful sceneries, gorgeous Parvathy (she plays simple village girl, wears simple clothes and make-up and is so pretty) and the most important superb ACTING. But overall I won’t reccommend watching entire movie. Better just watch songs and trailers or only the first half.
SPOILERS I don’t know, because this looks like well-thought movie, but there are some scenes that look like thrown without sense. So Dhanush works in Sudan, and is kidnapped. That day he has short hair and mustache. In the next scene he is thrown into old well, and has long hair and a lot of facial hair. I saw this and thought: OMG hom many months have passed? Then the kidnappers move him to the other place, and again, he has short hair and mustache and a little facial hair. At thet point I thought: hey what’s going on here? And I read he was kidnapped for 3 weeks. I don’t understand why they left this inconsequence.
And today I watched Maari 2. It was so much fun. Everything was over the top and funny. And I loved seeing Tovino in such diffrent role.
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Well, you are making me want to watch Maari 2! I enjoyed Maari 1 far more than I expected to, and of course I was excited to see Sai and Tovino.
On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 1:44 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I enjoyed Maari 2 far more than I expected!
I never watch tamil masala movies (and haven’t seen the first Maari). But I watch all Tovino’s, and all Sai’s movies so I had to watch this one too, and I was surprised how amusing it was.
Now I’m reading it had mixed to negative reviews and I don’t understand why (maybe it’s because I have no experience in this kind of movies)
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I saw another thing his week, or better I only saw some scenes. Prime has added punjabi movie Banjara – The truck driver. I was curious how it is and played it. In few first minutes I saw: the worst hero entry ever, low-cost tornado scene, and the song that goes like this:
“Like a white boy on a beach
playing with his girlfriend’s tresses
I have 36-tyred truck
I like to play on the road”
The song mentions Kim Kardashian too.
And now I wonder – how it is that Banjara is available on Prime in Italy and malayalam movies are not?
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All I have to add to that, is Diljit Dosanjh’s strange Kardashian obsession. I thought it was just him, but maybe it is the whole Punjabi film industry?
On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 2:22 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Watching the last couple episodes of Four More Shots Please and getting really sad because work travel is preventing me from watching Ek Ladki and I really really want to see it.
Reading the first Forbidden Hearts novel (Hate to Want You) because of FilmiLibrarian’s comment! Thank you, FilmiLibrarian!
In terms of same sex-couple I think Sonakshi-Sara romance would be wonderful. They are a couple in a long-term, live-in relationship living in the U.S. Sara is more modern, Sonakshi is more traditional indian but they are a happy settled couple (lots ot normal couple moments). However, they both have to come back to India and deal with family who are unaware of their sexual orientation. Sonakshi’s family (though being more traditional and conservative) comes to accept Sonakshi after she breaks down and tells her grandmother who says love is love and she couldn’t help falling in love with her grandfather (they eloped and got married) so why is love any different for Sonakshi. Sara’s family is super rich and consider themselves modern and liberal but are not accepting. They want her stay in the closet because of the whole “log kya kahenge” (what will the others say). Eventually they all come together and it’s a happy ending.
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Well, Ek Ladki is doing really well, and there isn’t a big release until Gully Boy, so maybe you can watch it in theaters when work travel is over!
I love your Sonakshi-Sara idea! Everything is perfection. Especially that Sara’s “village” kind of family is more accepting. They don’t care, they can adjust and not worry about definitions, but it would be the city family that worries about people knowing and saying things. Only thing I would add to the story is either a second half in which Sonakshi gets pregnant and they have to deal with that. Maybe invite both families to America and then surprise them with the news. And the families make unexpected alliances as both grandmas are excited, but both grandpas disapprove, and so on and so forth. All ending with everyone coming around a big reunion in the waiting room as the baby is born.
Or, flashback to their early romance. Sara teasing and flirting with Sonakshi, Sonakshi getting flustered, first kiss, sexual identity confusion drama (maybe Sonakshi is a little bi and even had a boyfriend in college), then dramatic meeting in the rain and deciding to just go for it, moving in together, happiness, and finally this trip back to India.
On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 2:54 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I love both ideas. The first half includes the flashback and the second half ends with the baby!
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Yes! That would totally work! Sonakshi explaining to her sympathetic Aunt who saw them kissing good-bye at the airport how this all happened. And then the families finally come around, and right at Interval Sara and Sonakshi come together to tell them that they are pregnant. The second half jumps ahead six months to find everyone arriving in America.
On Thu, Feb 7, 2019 at 9:29 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh yeah, I think I saw that. Sanya, continuing to make the savvy career choices! Passed Thugs, ended up with the sleeper hit of 2018 and international awards instead.
On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 4:23 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Watching: Finishing up Sacred Games and still hanging in with Bodyguard. It’s actually getting more interesting–not just a couple story. Also watching City of God so I can comment as soon as I figure out what’s going on.
Thinking: When you asked for ideas for Valentines Day I had an idea: movies where real life couples fell in love! But then I could only think of City Lights, Ram Leela, and Sholay, and none of those are particularly Valentiney. But it might make a good theme some time.
Same sex couples: I like most of your ideas, but I was thinking Rani/Kareena are kind of bit too much alike? I was watching some Bengali music videos and thought: what about Kareena with Raima Sen? Raima gives off this really delicate, fragile vibe and she’d be a good foil for Kareena in a more vibrant persona.
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Ooo, I like the real life couples idea! There’s also Tashaan, and Hulchul (Kajol-Ajay), and Guru. Although now that I think about it, falling in love on a film set is pretty rare, it seems more often a matter of “we are already dating and know each other, so lets get cast together”. So I guess, continuing in love on a film set.
I like Kareena and Raima Sen! Now that I think about it, I was thinking of Kareena and Rani in Mujhse Dosti Karoge when I pictured them together, and Rani was kind of sweet and shy in that one. You know who else would be good together? Deepika and Anushka. Anushka has that kind of confident sporty vibe usually, and Deepika can be really quiet and internal. I’d love to see something like Deepika having an unspoken crush on Anushka for years, and Anushka finally seeing her and falling in love.
On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 8:29 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh! And Ranveer could be Anushka’s ex-boyfriend and Deepika could pursue him until she realizes she really wants Anushka!
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Yes! In, like, a college flashback. Really I just want Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani remade as a same sex love story. Deepika pursues the guy she thinks she likes, but then realizes it’s really his girlfriend that gives her the tingles, learns they aren’t dating any more because Anushka is single/gay, is too shy to make a move and just kind of hangs around the outskirts waiting for Anushka to notice her, they end up as pen pals, ten years later Anushka returns to Bombay and Deepika still hasn’t confessed her sexuality/feelings while Anushka has had a series of one night stands but nothing really serious. They start hanging out in Bombay just as friends, but slowly come closer and finally kiss, only to be interrupted by the appropriate doctor NRI woman that Deepika’s family has (surprise!) set her up with (Deepika’s brother is gay and came out which inspired Dips to come out too in support of him. He has a long term partner who the family accepts and loves, which has made them think they should interfere and find someone for Dips). Anushka backs off, thinking Dips will be happier with someone more stable and acceptable, and then so on and so on.
On Thu, Feb 7, 2019 at 7:21 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Or, alternatively, a series of miss-communications. Anushka drunkenly kisses Dips, Dips is so overcome that she runs away, Anushka reads that as Dips being straight and offended, backs off and pretends she isn’t interested at all so that Dips won’t be scared off and at least they can be friends, Dips thinks it is because she reacted wrong and Anushka is no longer attracted to her, asks Ranveer to be her fake boyfriend so she can hang out wiht Anushka nad Anushka’s fake girlfriend. Ranveer and the fake girlfriend end up vibing, Anushka is furious on Dips behalf when she finds them kissing, it makes Dips realize how she truly feels.
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I watched KGF. Very impressive for a Kannada film.Especially after seeing mediocre movies like Thugs-made by the richest production company with the biggest cast and crew,what this relatively unknown team of moviemakers achieves in terms of entertainment and visuals is very commendable.The world of the hellish,dusty gold fields is shown very nicely.The action scenes are all imaginative and well staged and a good part gory.Only thing is that there are way too many punch scenes and way too many bearded,snarling villains who all walk in slow motion.Everyone is always talking like they are constipated. In the middle of all the highly stylised, testosterone filled fights & scenes,the story(and there is a decent enough story to tell) is rushed. Punch scene followed by someone saying ‘okay,blah blah blah'(the actual story) and we land immediately to the next punch scene. The writer was surely smoking something while writing all these big scenes cos they all are good but there are just too many of them which maybe exactly what the male moviegoers like to watch.After first 20 mins,hubby put aside his phone to watch all the action without blinking.Yash is no Prabhas but he is sincere and intense and looks suitably deadpan as required for the macho, unbeatable gangster.I am now complelled to watch his other movies and part2 of this movie whenever it comes out.
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I saw the beggining this morning, but now after reading your opinion I don’t know if I should continue. “what the male moviegoers like to watch” is the biggest turn off for me. I think I will watch Zero instead.
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You who watch SrinivasaKalyanam & Bengali, Malayalam movies with no wikiepdia pages can’t give up that easily. Give it time till the big hero song.
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Is “punch scene” common terminology that I haven’t run into before, or did you just invent it? Either way, I’m stealing it!
I’m so frustrated with Thugs, and Tiger Zinda Hai, and other movies I can’t remember right now, because they are spending so much money on things that don’t matter. Surely it would be cheaper to hire a bunch of extras for the day and give us the actual feel of a mass of humanity rather than pay an fx studio to build some clunky CGI? And unless the action is truly out of this world (like in Bahubali), I would always rather see a real fight filmed in close up than a CGI’d edited to death fight. The “international standards” they are chasing are from places where labor is more expensive, and film fighting skills are different. Why not stick with Indian standards, hire a whole bunch of people and give us a gritty fight?
On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 10:26 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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‘edited to death’- yes,this movie has an overworked editor.I can’t see where the hands and legs are going in the fight. It’s all hand flying-cut,slow motion-cut-leg-cut-people flying-cut and so on. But at least the CGI is used for world building and not so much for the action.
Goodachari was good in that way-very less CGI,cleverly staged action,no over editing and there’s a long single shot fight scene which makes you feel at the center of all the action instead of just wanting to get it all over.
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City of God, my favorite, also has some really long fight scenes. In a low budget Malayalam film. And they are better than what you can see in a Hindi big budget picture.
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Watched Peranbu (tamil) starring Mammootty and its one of the best films i have watched in recent times. its about a father and his daughter with cerebral palsy. Not an easy watch but u will love it by the end. Its both depressing and uplifting at the same time. A superbly nuanced performance from Mammootty shows why he is the best in emotional roles. And an equally brilliant performance from the child artist who played daughter role. try not to miss it.There is a lot to think and write about it.
And the songs are all really beautiful..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KAKHkrtsaUw
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tAOu6n4ygHY
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I think “both depressing and uplifting” can be used to describe 90% of all Malayalam films 🙂
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Hi I just read that avengers 4 Is 3 hour long and the makers r thinking of a intermission for it.
This has brought a mixed response from the audience.do Indian movies have a intermission in USA or they have 1 uninterrupted run
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Indian movies only have an intermission if they are shown at the Indian theaters. American theaters really aren’t set up for intermissions. It’s not unheard of, there are special events in theaters (like live broadcasts of Operas) which have intermissions. But even there, they will play some kind of filler thing during the intermission so you can stay through it if you want.
There was a period back in the 60s when “Event” movies used to have intermissions, but that is a long long time ago. Today’s audience would find it super odd, I think.
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So how do they do continuity as Indian movies have a definite interval portion ,some High point/twist as interval.
It must be so disorienting .for eg bahubali had that epic coronation scene and post interval was just bleh.
Just be tough to digest in a non Indian theatre
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It makes me appreciate the interval structure so much more this way. With some films, you can feel exactly where the interval point would have been if they had included it. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga I saw at a theater with no interval, and it was obvious where it should have been. But then there are other movies that fight the interval structure, actually make more sense without it.
Now that I think about it, you can see this yourself when you watch movies streaming. They don’t always have the interval marked, and you have the option of playing through it if you want. But in some films there is such a natural pausing point that you find yourself stopping it and getting snacks or talking with your friends about what has happened so far before continuing. And in other films, it just goes straight through and you wouldn’t think of stopping.
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I’ve never had an intermission in an American theater and it kills me that I have to run to the restroom in the middle of the film where the interval should be. Though when I saw Padman a very nice man filled me in on what I missed when I got back.
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I watched first hour of Zero and this is my face:
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I’m not necessarily going to say it gets better or worse, because those are personal taste judgments. But it definitely gets different! The first hour isn’t the same as the rest of the film.
On Fri, Feb 8, 2019 at 11:10 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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As an Srk fan which type of movie would you like him to do?
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