There was one year I tried to do a really really intensive coverage and it exhausted me. Digging through all the various sites for images and to make sure I didn’t miss anything was just BLAH! So I’m not doing that again, I’m just going to do highlights and you all can fill in what I miss.
I was talking about this with my friend I visited this weekend, and we couldn’t decide if it was just us that went “ew” about Alia-Ranbir and everyone else thinks they are cute, or if at least some folks agree with us. Here’s Alia’s acceptance speech for her best actress award for Raazi:
Meghna for me Raazi is you, your blood and sweat. You are my main chick. Vicky without you, the film wouldn’t be complete. Thank you my mentor Karan for being my mentor, father and my fashion police. Tonight’s all about love there my special one, I love you (Ranbir Kapoor).
https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/alia-bhatt-says-i-love-you-to-ranbir-kapoor-during-filmfare-awards-speech-calls-him-her-special-man-watch/story-GVyl7HigCnhRZVdEl4h6fO.html
Now, tell me in the comments, is your reaction to that “Ew” or “Aw”?
Rajkumar Hirani
There was a bit of a thing because Hirani was nominated for a FilmFare award for Sanju despite being under a shadow of harassment allegations. I agree that Sanju shouldn’t have been nominated, but that is more because it was a stupid stupid movie than anything else. Plus, the FilmFare Awards are meaningless, they are merely a confirmation of the power and prestige you already have, they feed on the industry and not the other way around. Sanju getting so many nominations tells me that Hirani’s brand of watered down philosophy and obvious goodness is still the safest bet for an awards show. And that the industry is still figuring out how it wants to handle the #MeToo accusations, if it taints everything done by an artist or not.
Supposedly Ranbir called Hirani an “amazing human being” in his acceptance speech or something. But while I could find that full Alia quote above very easily in multiple sources, I cannot find the full Ranbir quote anywhere. Which could mean it doesn’t exist and we should all just relax. Or it could be that people were very focused on Alia’s acceptance speech, both the real media and social media, and no one really cared that much about what Ranbir had to say.
Vicky Kaushal Does a Dance Number
FilmFare Awards themselves are meaningless, but the dance numbers are what you want to keep your eye on. The Awards just confirm who already has the power, it’s a show designed by a film magazine to make sure stars feel kindly towards them. But the dance numbers, that’s how you can get a leg up in your career. Once the show is edited down and broadcast, people all over India and the world will watch Vicky Kaushal do a big dance, learn to like him and learn more about him, and come away with the feeling that Vicky is a major important start on the same level of Ranbir and Ranveer. Heck, he was even seated between Ranbir and Ranveer. I don’t care who won the actual awards tonight, Vicky doing a dance is the biggest news.
Clothes
Here are a bunch of instagram links and official FilmFare photos. Discuss!
dontcallitbollywood 
Here’s an article referencing the Ranbir speech: https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/ranbir-kapoor-called-raju-hirani-accused-of-sexual-assault-an-amazing-human-being-because-thats-how-bollywood-is_in_5c91da90e4b07e05729f96fe
The Alia Ranbir thing definitely makes me go “Ew”. However, if I were in her situation, I would totally get it (wink, wink) and then move on once I realized that he’s no good (and makes some really weird movie choices!).
Vicky is becoming the male version of Alia’s Bollywood darling. I’m OK with it…he kind of deserves all the fuss.
Alia’s was my favorite look and Deepika looked great, too. Vaani has terrible taste but I respect her thinking outside the box and going for the sexy jock look. And I also have to respect Sara Ali Khan for staying on brand with her traditional look. I also can’t wait for her to start to glam it up, too. So far she’s mostly done traditional or quirky and colorful.
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Of the guys, I actually liked Ranbir and Ranveer’s looks. Arjun is looking nice and fit, but the hat is doing nothing for him (I get that he’s doing Panipat and has a shaved head, but I can’t wait until he’s buff and has hair…I really want to see him with long hair someday).
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Oh yes, Arjun and his hat
Sometimes I watch his Aurangzeb photos to keep me interested because I hate his current look with all my heart.
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His hands look really good in that shot though, focus on the hands.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 9:07 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I am not loving the fashion of jackets that look too small. It was okay when they were super fitted, but now they are just slightly too short in the arms and waist and it is ODD. I think I would pick Karan as my top just because his jacket actually covers him.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 8:38 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh no no no, how can you pick Karan when SRK is there? Blasphemy!!
And someone even convinced him to get a hair cut and rid himself of the ugly ponytail!
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I con’t find a good photo of Shahrukh’s clothes! These are fine, but they aren’t red carpet posed shots, or even instagram posed shots. he must have come in the back way, very irritating.
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I hated Alia’s look, it looked like she put on her petticoat and corset and then forgot to put on the dress on top of it. Deepika’s was okay, only I feel like it could have been slightly more tailored to really pop. Vaani’s was good in that she looked good, but bad in that it’s not going to really get her noticed and talked about the way Jhanvi’s look, for instance, will get her noticed. Sara, on the other hand, is wisely choosing to look good but not make a big splash right now. She’s not trying to rush her career any, and she must have known she would be getting an award which is plenty of attention for the night.
Thanks for the Huff Post link! And I am surprised how inaccurate it is. Hirani has already had support from the industry, Javed Akhtar spoke out in support of him immediately. Unlike the other #MeToo accused, Hirani was instantly put in a position of awaiting judgement. Nana Patekar, Sajid Khan, Alok Nath, they are all persona non grata and no one speaks in support of them, but Hirani was different all along. Whether that is because he is so successful, or so good at hiding what he really is, or something else, I don’t know, but the FilmFare stuff is part of how he has been treated all along.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 8:35 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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In my opinion Filmfare awards are a big bag of all the worst things in bollywood, beautifuly packed and thrown in our face. Harrasers are celebrated, mediocre movies and actors with connections win and talented outsiders are left without awards
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And also, men wear high fashion suits that DON’T FIT!!!! It’s growing within me now, I see myself spending the next year complaining about shorty jackets on suits.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 9:16 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh, I hate this “I lend this suit from my little brother” look! And also those too short pants everybody (men, woman, kids) is wearing now. Bare anklets in winter! C’mon.
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Or else the “I suddenly got a growth spurt and didn’t have time to buy something new” look.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 10:47 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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aka The Pee Wee Herman Suit
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It’s just stupid.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 12:40 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I love Alia but, Ranbir-Alia thing is total ew.
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Thank goodness I am not alone. All of the swoony “OMG their love is so adorable” coverage of her speech was making me feel out of it.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 10:08 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh no. There’s nothing adorable in Alia-Ranbir. They’re trying to become the next Deepveer, which would not happen. And, given Ranbir’s history of dating, I’m afraid I don’t see them lasting long either. Their energies are so different to look adorable off-screen.
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I think Alia-Ranbir story is more fake than PC-Nick. They love each other so much, work together, talk about this great love in the magazines, but she doesn’t have even one photo with him on her instagram?
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I hope it’s fake, because YUCH!
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 10:58 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Speaking of Alia, isn’t her public persona odd? She’s the prom queen of Bollywood at the moment but her family is a bunch of artsy, troubled weirdos. Have you seen Mahesh Bhatt’s Twitter? I love it but super weird. And one older sister who was suicidal and another who is a recovering alcoholic. There’s such a disconnect there. I wonder what’s really going on beneath Alia’s sweet girl facade.
And yes, all the EWWWWWWWWs to her and Ranbir.
(I say all this despite never seeing Alia in a film oh the shame)
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Well, she’s never worked with Aamir, so why should you see her in anything?
I agree, it is super weird. Pooja had the same persona when she was starting out, bubbly cute 16 year old. Based on what she is now, either she grew up a lot post-25 (which can happen) or she was always a lot deeper than that teen princess persona. Now that I think about it, Emraan Hashmi (Alia’s cousin, the last flagship star for the Bhatt family) also was a bit fake and disconnected. He played the troubled sexy dangerous bad boy, but in reality married and had kids pretty young, never goes to parties or does anything wild, works 20 hour days, and is serious about his acting. My guess is that Alia is a more complicated person than publicity can convey, honestly young and sincere and naive in a lot of ways, but with a core of sophistication and experience and emotional maturity from her family that doesn’t match her youth in other ways. I still think Ranbir is too old for her, and some of her roles are too old for her too, but I also think there is a lot more there than the prom queen surface shows.
If you ever see Gully Boy, you’ll appreciate just how remarkable Alia is.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 12:43 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Hey, I see plenty of films without Aamir! Especially since he makes so few movies. (I saw his recent commercial and someone needs to tell him no when he heads for the makeup trailer)
I will see Gully Boy when it streams. I never got to see it in theaters because of a combo of illness and work drama. And I just pulled up Highway so that will likely be my first Alia film. (I have no interest in SOTY).
I can believe that Alia is more sophisticated than her persona conveys. I guess my question is why she’s embraced that persona. It feels like she’s turned over her PR to Karan and Dharma.
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Highway is a really hard watch, be warned. I was considering recommending it to you, but it is such a tough one I don’t like to tell anyone to watch it. On the other hand, it really is Alia’s “first” movie. SOTY was more like her audition reel, lots of making faces and wearing clothes but no acting. Highway came out over a year later after an intensive filming experience and made her into what we know her as now. But a very hard watch!
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 1:11 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Alia is a very good actress which makes me believe there must be more going on up there than it seems from the outside. Her family is very strange and has gone through a lot and that alone would give her some maturity.
I think the public persona is cultivated by Karan Johar. It looks very odd to see her always around Ranbir/Ranveer/Deepika/Katrina. They all seem way too old for her. It’s like the little sister tagging along in a group she doesn’t belong. It would look much appropriate if she was seen with Sara, Kriti, Jhanvi and Ishaan types.
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It’s all to market Brahmastra. Once it’s out, they are going to “break up”
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I don’t understand why they do it. Brahmastra has Ranbir, Alia, Ayan Mukherji who is successful, the movie is about a super hero I guess, and all that is enough to make people come to cinema. They really don’t have competition. With or without the fake romance this movie will be a hit.
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Something I didn’t like about Filmfare this year? There being #VimalElaichi on all its captions. 🙄
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It even made it hard for me to find these photos!!!! I wasn’t sure they were the right ones because the name was so weird.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 10:10 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I read a meme somewhere, “The only thing that can ruin the pics of all the beautiful and expensive dresses everyone wore at Filmfare is #VimalElaichi in the caption.
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Pro-tip for next time – follow Viral Bhayani’s instagram. He has all the pics in real time for all events and you won’t have to look in 10 different locations to find anything.
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Love Vicky who gets better and better. Ranbir doesn’t even make the bottom of my list. He looks stoned all the time; something about his eyes. I hope Alia chucks him, or vice versa, soon. The clothes are a mixed bag. The women are relaxed; the guys try too hard, are too self-conscious, and all, “Look at me with my trim waist and yokel hat”. Filmfare extravaganza is obviously rigged and way loooooong . Still, it’s much better produced that some of the others I catch on You Tube. Is there any one awards show that’s genuine?
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The National Awards come closest to being real, but even there it is a lot about politics. What I like about the Indian awards shows is that they aren’t broadcast life, so they get all edited down to just the interesting bits later and you don’t have to do the big slog like with the Oscars.
Out of all the guys on this post, I think I might like Ranveer the best. At least he knows who he is and what he is doing.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 10:22 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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“trim waist and yokel hat” made me lol! 🙂
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My reaction to Ranbir-Alia is meh. Whether it’s real or fake, they both know what they’re doing. I loved Sara’s look and it really differentiates her. Smart. I’m glad Zero won for VFX. I’m annoyed that streaming of so many winners is being bogarted in the US by Hotstar or Eros. At least I got to see Andadhun and Tummbad. No Raazi, Stree, or Badhaai Ho yet. Grrr.
This may come across as creepy but I noticed that Karuna Badwal and Shah Rukh’s sister are seated just behind and to the side of Ran-Al-Deep-Veer, so I’ve been scoping them out in the background of all the pics. Shah Rukh’s sis looks like how many people would feel sitting through such a long show, and Karuna looks like the poised power player that she is.
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Sitting arrangements for these shows are so weird. I understand why, the nominees/performers have to be in the front row so they can get to the stage easily. But it ends up with these random combinations of folks in the front row, and the weirdness continues on back as everyone else gets squeezed in. If it was seating based on who came together and who talks to each other, there would be a mixture of famous and none all together, but instead it is very heirarchical.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 11:17 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I love Alia and I agree with FilmiLibrarian that that Vicky is becoming the next Alia and I am completely fine with it. However, there is nothing adorable about Ranbir-Alia. It is just gross…EW EW EW. You already know my thoughts on the women’s outfits, but in terms of the men, I my votes for best dressed would be Vicky because he just looked impeccable and classic and Ranveer because he commits to being avant-garde and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.
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Vicky loses out for me because his JACKET IS TOO SMALL. And only slightly too small, he could have gone up one inch and looked better.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 11:24 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Everything about the ranbir-alia relationship is just ew. I don’t see any sparks either. I think this relationship is only to help promote brahmastra. Given that this movie will have at least 2 other sequels the ranbir-alia “relationship” will be around for a long time. Heck, they might even get married.
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Let us hope that they have a big implosion break-up and then have to keep working together for years, because that would be so much more juicy!
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 12:56 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Is it just me who cannot stand looking at Ranveer Singh? His horrible sense of fashion, his attention seeking look-at-me personality, his annoying constant PDA with Deepika, his bizarre poor me interviews (we were so poor we could only afford to visit the US on our annual holidays.. type of stuff).. Ugh. I get irritated just looking at him now.
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Ranveer is one I go back and forth on. I was okay with him at first, than hated him for a bit for the same attention-seeking reasons you gave, and now have come around on him again. But check in with me in a year and I may agree with you.
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I can tolerate Ranveer when he is in the background. He is colourful and funny but I don’t want to watch his movies, interviews or learn more about him.
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I’m up and down on Ranveer too, until I rewatch the hotel bedroom scene in Ram Leela. Lordy!
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Deepika’s looks are just annoying me now. He clothing was fantastic post Cocktail, but it’s just gross now. I think she got a new stylist? Either way, I’m not a fan of this look at all, she needs to get her old stylist. Her beauty is being downplayed by the heavy eye makeup, and the clothes look like something a modern art student might come up with (just bleh).
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Her wedding outfits were mostly good, but I but she used a different stylist for the wedding than for everything else.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 3:38 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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It must be hard for Deepika to pick a dress now, knowing she’ll be photographed next to Ranveer. Will she just be in basic black from now on? How else will they not clash?
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Poor Dips! I hadn’t thought of that. Although looking at Ranbir at this event, she could have gone with deep blue or red and looked nice.
Maybe this is part of adjusting to celebrity marriage? Ranbir and Dips have to both decide on an outfit long enough in advance that they can coordinate, instead of making a last minute decision like they used to be able to do.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 6:32 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I also hate the tiny little boy jackets a lot of the men are sporting. I like Ranveer, but hate the giant glasses he’s been wearing lately. His current stylist is dressing him like a 70’s porn star.
I think Ranbir is a good actor, but I’ve never understood why he’s viewed as “hot”. While he’s not unattractive, I find his looks pretty ordinary. He has a very hangdog expression and rarely smiles. A real sadsack. If the relationship is real, I feel sorry for Alia given his history with women.
I find Vicky very attractive and he’s a very good actor. Glad he’s getting his turn in the spotlight!
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I think it might be Karan’s influence, he seems to really love his fake glasses look and I don’t know why.
I find Ranbir attractive when he makes an effort, if he is intelligent and smiling and charming (as he is in most film roles), then his charm carries him. But in real life he seems to just not bother, always kind of grumpy looking and closed off.
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Ranbir really comes alive when he dances. He looks so ordinary and then the music plays and blam he sprays you with charisma. It’s quite compelling even though I side-eye most everything else about him.
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According to legend, the Kapoor men have a kind of sneaky charisma that is far far more powerful in person than onscreen. What women say is that you meet them, and you are like “whatever”, and then you spend time with them, and a week later you are like “I will do whatever you command of me”. It’s not, like, a joyful thing. Beyond the euphoria of being in love. Because you aren’t having fun with them or making a choice, it’s completely outside of your control. You know Raj Kapoor got all the women in his life to wear only white chiffon? His wife, plus every girlfriend. And he wasn’t abusive or anything, he would just say “I think women look best in white chiffon” and they would all go “yes master, whatever pleases you” and do it. Another reason Shashi is the only decent Kapoor, he fell in love with Jennifer so young that he never fully got to experience The Awesome Power and remained humble and unaware of what he was doing to the women around him. Of course, the poor women around him were falling over themselves and forgetting how to speak and stuff, and there was no help for them.
So I think what we feel when we watch Ranbir dance, is what it is like all the time being around him in real life. Poor Alia. And Sonam and Dips and Katrina. And various other women who weren’t famous and passed his way.
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 9:25 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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“Side-eye”. Perfect expression for Ranbir. Love it. Wish I’d thought of it.
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Neither Ranbir or Ranveer are the least bit attractive. You got it pegged perfectly with the 70’s porn star look Ranveer has going. He always comes across kind of creepy and gross because of his sleazy style.
The most conventionally attractive is Siddharth Malhotra but he can’t act so there’s that.
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Filmfare has lost every bit of credibility, now that everyone knows it’s all fake. A couple of years ago people didn’t have as much awareness, and everybody used to wait for the awards to be telecast. There would be a suspense about the winners of the best actor and actress and best film, but now with social media, everything is known in real time. I wouldn’t want to waste my time watching the awards on TV with the fake edited reactions and the cringe worthy humor.
Man do I miss the old innocent times!
Ranbir and Alia are so fake. Everybody knows it’s a publicity stunt. And Ranbir looks annoyed in all their photos together.
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Oh right, I forgot that it isn’t just the awards that are fake, it’s the trumped up drama during the telecast that is as well, reaction shots of people you later realize weren’t even there at the same time.
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Assuming Ranlia/Alibir/whatever we’re calling them are not fake, I hope Alia is having a fun unsuitable-older-man fling before she finds and settles down with someone good. Everyone needs one of those.
I do not like the bobbles on Katrina’s breasts. They remind me of a bedspread my grandma had.
I agree 1000% on the jackets purchased in the boys’ department!
I loved Sara’s look and I think it’s my favorite, but why wear a silver watch with a gold sari? Why wear a watch when you’re in evening clothes? (Probably it wasn’t actually evening).
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We could call them “Albie”, after my dog.
I think I might like the bobbles because they remind me of my Grandma’s bedspread. Makes me feel like a little girl again.
Maybe the watch is just her favorite watch?
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Hmm. Do you want Alia and Ranbir’s relationship to have the same as your sweet pup?
If it’s Sara’s favorite watch, that would be OK. I would love for her to add her personal touch to what is clearly a smashing outfit. What’s weird is if her stylist went, “You know what this needs? A giant silver watch so you look like an aunty!”
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Well, it is a dog of a relationship, so that kind of works!
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 7:51 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Tabu deserves best actress award in my opinion 😦
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I just rewatched Andhadhun, and her performance really is amazing. Alia was good in Raazi, but it wasn’t nearly as technically challenging a performance.
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I’m pretty neutral on alia ranbir coupling, but I’m pretty yuck on each of them individually – they deserve each lol – though I like watching them do their jobs (I.e. Act).
**OTOH I’m pretty excited to read that Alia thanked ranbir in her acceptance speech, explicitly saying I love you. I don’t really watch these award shows, so I’m not the authority here, but is it the first time an A list actress has acknowledged a non-wed relationship so explicitly in an acceptance speech? Score one for feminism and progress! Hopefully Bollywood stars loosens up further in acknowledging relationships. The non Alisters are already doing this (Riccha, Swara, etc).
This might be my favorite Ranveer look ever – the suit fits his body and his personality like a glove. Deepika looks so comfy in her attire, and then in the photo right after hers, Katrina looks so uncomfortable in her attire, lol. She’s never comfy in this prom attire, so she should just veer left, go off trend and just wear something that brings her a smile. Vaani is next level, too fit-and-sexy for Bollywood, looks uncomfortably underclothed here, this look would fit better Stateside. I want the other ladies to move past the 50s Grace Kelly Audrey Hepburn vibe and toward a modern artistic template. Or else gimme Indian glam… whatever happened to fashion forward sarees with bikini-style blouses from the 2000s?
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I know Dips and Ranveer acknowledged each other at the ceremony last year, but they were practically engaged so it’s not the same thing. Really hope Alia’s statement was about being proud and open of her non-marital romance, and not about being about to announce an engagement!
Kat always looks her best, both happiest and most flattered by her clothes, in jeans and a t-shirt. She needs to find the formal wear equivalent of that I think. Can you imagine how good she would look in a female tuxedo, for instance?
I was just talking with a friend about how boring this year’s FilmFare looked with all the evening gowns and no desi look! Except for smart little Sara, of course.
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 3:02 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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OMG! I just realized my “up/down” comment on Ranveer Singh sounded smutty. Didn’t mean it that way altho maybe in my younger days…no, no, no. This is a clean blog. What I meant is, I go back and forth about adding him to my SRK/Prabhas, et al, list of good AND good-looking male actors. I’m not a fan of Ranveer’s Mardi Gras look; believe it to be a ruse like his manic bounce and all-too-earnest, finger down the throat, life story. He’s way ambitious and might listen to the wrong people in his drive to get and stay on top. But heck, the guy’s a swimming actor and among the bare chested best. Okay, he’s on my list. So there.
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