Happy Wednesday! I got slightly more sleep last night than the night before, but I am still trying to make up my deficit. Sorry if I lapse into the occasional incoherency.
I’ll start!
Watching: I have a trial of youtube TV which is letting me watch TCM, a terrible terrible addiction. I may have to keep up my subscription after the trial is over just so I can still have my nice black and white movies with the pleasant trivia in the introductions.
Reading: I’m finishing the Penderwick series! I am about 3 times older than the target audience, but I still enjoy them intensely.
Thinking: This Friday, Junglee with elephants and Vidyut Jamwal or Notebook with the two nobodies and the good soundtrack?
Listening: So sleepy! I’ve got this on repeat to keep me up:
Now, you ready for a silly question? If your ideal movie fantasy man is married, would you rather fantasize that his wife is dead or that he is having an affair with you?
For example, Shahrukh is my ideal movie fantasy man. And on the one hand, I like Gauri and I want her to stay alive. But on the other hand, I also don’t want Shahrukh to be a cheater. It is a puzzle. I think I will land on my fantasy being that they have a semi-open marriage, just me and Gauri and no one else. Let Gauri take the hard day to day work of raising kids and attending movie premiers and stuff, I will just be the kept woman who gets him once or twice a month for romantic getaways and spends the rest of her time eating chocolates in pajamas.
dontcallitbollywood 
Booked for lucifer starring Mohanlal, prithviraj, Manju Warrier, Vivek Oberoi, Tovino and indrajith Sukumaran directed by prithviraj
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Ugh, Viviek.
The local showtimes haven’t come out for me yet, it’s possible Lucifer will have better times than Junglee and Notebook, in which case we will check it out.
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 8:00 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I knew a single older woman who had complicated religious and moral standards — but she was still hoping to find a man for a long term relationship. After considering the available men of her demographic, she concluded only a widower would fit. That was about ten years ago and she’s still looking.
—
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Junglee has sexy Vidyut Jamwal, but I’m super excited for Notebook. First I was like: oh this looks like my kind of film, I will watch it someday.
But recently I saw the poster again and I just can’t wait. I don’t think there are many as excited as me. Hope stupid Zee won’t lock it without subs on their site like they did with other movies I liked.
Watching: I’m so proud of me because I watched good movies last week.
First Peranbu, but I already said that last week. Than I watched malayalam movie Joseph and it was so good. You know this kind of movies, when you can see from the very first minutes that it will be good and high quality? Joseph is like that. Beautiful music, camera work, and the most important ACTORS esp. Joju George. He was there standing, doing nothing, but his eyes were so expressive, and were telling it all. Amazing. Later I checked him and was shocked because I have seen a lot of his movies, but I don’t remember him. He was always there in the background. I hope he will gat many good roles now.
Yesterday I saw Sarvam Thaala Mayam, and it was good, but I didn’t loved it as I thought I would.
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I know exactly that kind of movie and I am so glad to get a recommendation of another really really good one! And shoot, I forgot to respond to your Sarvam comment on the review, I will dig it up and get back to you.
I am torn between Junglee and Notebook too! It might come down to showtimes. Notebook has a surprisingly decent soundtrack, always a good sign.
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 9:12 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh I forgot to write what I’m listening to these days. This beautiful, beautiful song, from bengali movie Drishtikone (btw it’s other movie I can’t watch because of stupid Zee5)
And your question: Definitely secret affair option. I don’t want people to die
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If you are having a secret affair in your fantasy, would you fantasize that you yourself have an open relationship? That is, would you want many married movie stars to be having a secret affair with you simultaneously, or would that be too much?
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 11:49 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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LOL only affair at once 😉 I’m not that modern
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I have taken a Zee5 subscription on offer and has been catching up on all the Hindi movies,plus a few Telugu. So here goes the long list.
Veere Di Wedding-very superficial & lazy filmmaking in that they had a good premise on which barely spend 5 minutes is spend coming up with good dialogues or directing actors or creating some layers for the characters. All the clothes and HSBC sponsored girl bonding does make for a fun one time watch though. I guess that’s all that is enough to make a movie these days.
Taaxiwala-good thriller,Vijay Devarakonda as always is charming and shines.
Geeta Govindam-stupid ,stupid movie with all kinds of wrong messages but again Vijay Devarakonda to the rescue.To repeat my earlier line, he can really really act.Songs are bonus.
Laila Majnu-man,this movie depressed the hell out of me for more than one reason. Firstly the story itself is bummer but then I knew that with the title. Secondly I had held Ranbir Kapoor in Rockstar as one of a kind of performance for descent to maddness done flawlessly. Avinash Tiwary has smashed that to pieces. He is insanely good and it’s shame the award ceremonies are not giving him even a nomination in debut or best actor. The heroine Tripti Damri was also a revelation. She looks like the typical Hindi film heroine but her performance is similar to Mahira’s in Humsafar. She goes from being silly,flirty,dreamy to being in love to being bleak& resigned to her fate and takes the audience with her.By the end of the movie,there’s such a clear distinction created by the lead actors between the initial puppy love portion and the super intense doom. She can do breakdown scenes without flaring nostrils and ugly crying.It’s really a shame these actors are not encouraged or given more chances to do other roles.
Manmarziyaan-nice movie,great great soundrack. I liked all the characters,setting,dialogues and performances but once the movie was over I didn’t think much about it.I am playing Grey Wala Shade & Dhyanchand continuously though.
Also I saw the Spanish original of Badla- great thriller.I am now curious to see how they would have made the climax work with such a popular actor in Badla(clever title).
After seeing Vijay D, Avinash T,Tripti Damri,Tapsee etc I was thinking there’s something very earnest about the performances of a struggler.They seem to give their everything to a role and the performances don’t look like self conscious or posturing pretentious which is something that irks me about most Bollywood actors.
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First and most importantly, how the heck are you accessing Zee5?????? All the other people in America are waiting and waiting. Or are you doing it through satellite? Or are you not in America at the moment?
Interesting point about the strugglers. I think part of it might also be that they are looking at their career role by role instead of plotting out a grand scheme. If you are someone like Varun Dhawan, you are shooting for stardom or nothing. And he knows first hand how stardom works, how every part of your life and not just the performances become a factor. He’s not just thinking role by role, he is thinking about the big picture of things. But someone like Vijay D, he doesn’t know if his next role is ever going to come, he is going to give his all to the part right in front of him and not think beyond that. Vicky Kaushal is one I am very curious about, because in Raazi I felt like I was watching a struggler trying to get noticed, but in Manmarziyaan it began to feel a little more calculated. Still a wonderful performance, but a little bit showing off his talents and building a brand in addition to disappearing into the character. I’ll be curious to see what he does with the rest of his career.
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 9:25 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oooh, what’s the Spanish original of Badla?
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the Invisible Guest, it’s on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80093106
I’ll leave it up to you, the plot is close enough to Badla that you will know the big twists already, but slightly different so you can appreciate the changes.
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No, of course I don’t know the big twists in Badla, ***fingers in ears*** lalalalala. No spoilers!
But I will watch this Contratiempo with my husband and then maybe he can be convinced to watch Badla with me to see what they did with it, since being Red Chillies it will presumably come to Netflix at some point.
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Happy Wednesday! I have a request: can you write a history of the Bhatt family and how it led to Alia being a huge star today? I have so many questions but what I do know about them is fascinating. I’m especially taken with Mahesh’s Twitter, which is all artsy photos and poetry.
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I love this request! Yes, I will get right on that. The Bhatt family is fascinating and confusing, and most of their family background Mahesh Bhatt worked through on film because he is one of those autobiographical filmmakers.
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 9:27 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I want to re-watch Made in Heaven before I read and comment on your posts. Maybe this weekend?
My fantasies about actual Shah Rukh range from having 10 minutes to speak with him in a quiet place to working for the Meer Foundation and getting to see him once in a while, as you know. In this scenario he and Gauri have a marriage that works for them, regardless of whom either is sleeping with. And neither of them are sleeping with me–too complicated!
Then there’s the non-real Shah Rukh, whose marital status, romantic history, age, and personality are all pretty much whatever I want. As are mine. I mean, that’s what fantasy is for, right?
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I was wondering where your MIH comments where! I will let you continue to formulate your thoughts, and await in eager anticipation.
I get way too literal in my fantasies. If Shahrukh is single (in fantasy), then that means he is a 50 year old man who has never had a serious relationship, and I don’t want that. If he has had a serious relationship and it ended in divorce, then I don’t want that either, there’s a whole messy ex-wife thing and bleh. And then widower, you are back to competing with a dead woman, even messier. So even if I have all the fantasy options possible available to me, I think I would still go with open marriage.
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 9:28 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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So interesting where MIH left all the characters at the end. That’s my kind of cliffhanger–an emotional one!
See, I really can’t do realistic fantasy when it comes to romantic or sexy times. My brain is too much of a downer. That’s why most of my fantasies re: actual Shah Rukh involve good conversations, hanging out drinking and playing board games, or working for him in some capacity. Because these things are in the realm of possibility, if not very likely.
As my grandma used to say, “Each to their own, said the lady who kissed the cow.” (truly one of the weirdest of her quotes–most of them were quite sensible.)
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Here’s my grandmother’s quote: “A gum chewing girl and a cud chewing cow look almost the same, but there’s a difference somehow. Ah yes, there it is, I see it now! It’s the intelligent look on the face of the cow”. But I think you grandmother’s saying is better. And less judgemental.
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My grandpa, other side, had some judgy saying about “ladies” not whistling…
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Saw Uri – a well made, war movie because that’s definitely not one my favorite genres. Vicky Kaushal was very good. I’m astonished that the makers trusted Vicky Kaushal who hadn’t even had Raazi at that point.
Simba – Hated it! First half was ok, and Ranveer Singh’s scenes with Ashutosh Rana were pretty good, but the second half was all over the place. Also didn’t like Sonu sood at all, felt like he walked in right out of R.. Rajkumar. Can’t believe this became such a huge hit.
Count me in too as Joju George’s fan! Such a good actor. Love him in Joseph which is such a taut thriller. Unbelievable sometimes, but a really good movie.
And saw June in the theaters – what a cute, sweet lil movie where everyone is happy@the end. So happy my husband thinks it shouldn’t be a Malayalam movie 😀 (see this is why you don’t find too many happy happy movies in Mal lol)
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Oh shoot, now I feel bad I missed June in theaters! Oh well, maybe it will still be there. Of course, there’s also Prithviraj’s new director movie and Junglee and Notebook. Such a busy weekend!
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 2:35 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Lucifer is hopefully good, but I don’t really like most of Murali Gopy’s movies. Hopefully Prithviraj is able to keep the movie from meandering too much.
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Looks like I am stuck choosing between a matinee showing of June on Saturday or Sunday, or a very far away or very late show of Junglee or Notebook on Friday. Hmm. This is what I was just saying in response to Carol’s question about how much screen counts effect increase in ticket sales. If Junglee or Notebook had showtimes closer and earlier, they would be what I watch. But no one is going to see them this way.
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 3:37 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I also don’t understand why all these movies have to come out at the same time! Sometimes there’s literally nothing to watch! And then times like this where you have to pick.
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Yes! The weekend before Kesari, nothing. This weekend, Tamil and Malayalam and Hindi all have interesting off-beat releases. I understand why they aren’t coming out at Diwali or something, when they would be swamped with other films, but why not release any other dead weekend? Why all this time?
On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 12:16 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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A friend reccomended June to me, when he heard I love Ohm Shanthi Oshana.
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It is definitely the same genre as OSO and Premam. I’ll always be partial to OSO because Nazriya! and Nivin Pauly was hawt in that movie. June missed a slightly more experienced lead actor in that sense but was cute nevertheless.
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I haven’t seen and don’t plan watching Simba, but I think Sonu wasn’t at his best because, if I’m not wrong, Madhavan was supposed to play a villain, but he broke his arm and was replaced by Sonu, who at that time also was dealing with Kangana on Manikarnika’s set.
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Poor Sonu! Simmba must have been a nice break for him.
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 4:17 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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What don’t you like about Viviek Oberoi? You seem to not be able to type his name without putting the word “blech” as a suffix after it, lol.
I have never been able to fantasize about a married person, irl or celebrity, especially if I’ve seen or met the spouse. Not for lack of trying lol, but my mind and hormones seem to friend zone them instantly. I think I dreamt about myself with Mel Gibson once, probably 25 years ago, after the “Mel Gibson fantasy” running gag in the movie LA Story (In which random disparate male and female characters in the movie admitted to fantasizing about him at random points throughout the film). He was solidly married with, like, 100 children back then lol. The wife and kids simply didn’t exist in my fantasy, not that he killed or divorced them, just that the fantasy exists in a parallel universe in which those people either don’t exist or don’t factor. Ironically, that’s how extramarital affairs work irl, right? 😉
Predictions about Sobhita Dhulipali (sp?) career after her star making turn in MIH? I was just thinking, if this were Hollywood, she’d be catapulted to A List status after such a breakthru, getting her own movies, Vanity Fair covers, fashion designers and cosmetics lives chasing her, etc. But I wonder if nepotism-laden BW won’t make space for her, because they are too busy making space for the 18YO star kids? The FC YT channel just had a junior grade staffer interview her instead of Anupama herself… which was very WTF to me. Last decade, at least the star kids that survived had exceptional talent (hrithik, ranbir, shahid, even sonam for fashion), but this decade only alia and tiger seem exceptional. Looks like she’s got some Southern movies coming up next, which makes sense because she is from Vizag. She’s got the kind of chiseled yet feminine features that the western audience has a taste for, so she should just come to HW if BW can’t appreciate this diamond in the rough.
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Because Vivek took the lead role in the biopic coming up next week, which I’m not even talking about because I don’t want to give it any power. I used to be “well, he seems kind of dumb and shallow but harmless” about him, but now I am straight up revolted. Oh, and purely in terms of acting, whatever it was he had in Company seems to have gone away somehow, the few more recent movies I have seen him in, he was just terrible and I’ve started avoiding his films for that reason too.
So right about the extramarital affairs! Speaking of MIH, love how they handled Kalki’s constant effort to rationalize what she was doing to her friend instead of just accepting that this marriage existed and she was doing a wrong thing.
I’m thinking Sobhita just doesn’t want it/isn’t willing to do what it takes to get up to the big leagues. She could have easily used her beauty queen status to get a role in, like, a Housefull movie and then crawled up the ladder from there, brand endorsements and appearances at awards shows and stuff. But instead she took roles in small funky films and then this show. I’m not even talking about casting couch or whatever, just going to the right parties and making nice with the right people, and then being happy to take boring roles in action films. Jacqueline Fernandez, she could have been Jacqueline Fernandez level in a heartbeat. But then Jacqueline Fernandez doesn’t get to play interesting roles, even Sobhita’s small role in Chef was really different and cool and I bet she had a fun time doing it. But I agree, it is ridiculous that she isn’t getting the higher level interviews on FC. FilmFare, sure, they are just looking for celebrities. But if FC wants to be taken seriously as a place that cares about art and quality and not just celebrity, then they should pay attention to the talented lead of a hit new streaming show. Even if she doesn’t play the fame-game.
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 4:33 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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What exactly is the definition of big league?I think we as audience have been conditioned to think that big means KJo or Khans. I can accept the Khans or Deepika Padukone as big stars but discerning audience should not endorse the idea that big means KJo’s clique or being a Khan heroine. Secondly that idea itself is not foolproof either.I dont see Jacqueline anywhere near the big league yet despite having Salman and KJo on her side & doing the said stupid films. I don’t like Kangana at all but I think this is exactly what she was alluding to when she said(not sure if she necessarily meant it)that you have to suck up,try to fit in with the gang,party with them or you are an outsider who is never considered ‘big’ enough. Vicky Kaushal is clearly going that route.Sobhita mentioned in an interview that ppl like her are always on the fringes on award shows & parties and it is depressing & a big dampener for self confidence. Tapsee,despite having hits,and good performances is still non ‘big’ enough.i don’t know how the market forces,in terms of brand values and monetary benefits get affected by being in the ‘big’ league which are the true indicators of a big star. Can Alia’s brand value alone ensure an opening for a film or is she getting paid on par with Varun Dhawan?Since we have so many manufactured stars around us these days and clearly that trend is going to stay,,do you think a post on how a star is created,how that impacts the audience perception,brand endorsements, movie openings, the validation from awards,media etc will be a good discussion topic? There’s also a parallel group of actors like Tapsee,Sanya Malhotra,Sobhita etc who are probably not willing to play the game,but gets picked for unusual roles, retains the individuality yet are not rewarded by the media & awards which in turn feeds the perception that they are not big yet. It’s clearly a vicious cycle that’s centered on few men and their mechanisations.
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Yes, that might be an interesting post. In the two Bhatt posts I just wrote, it was really interesting to look back at Pooja versus Alia. They were both playing the game in a very conscious way, but Pooja was doing it on behalf of the family studio and never dominated the market the way Alia does now.
Something else to consider (again, thinking about my Bhatt posts) is how money has changed since the liberalization. Before, you had to do the brand endorsements and so on because films just were not enough security. Actors like Naseeruddin Shah worked in stage, in parallel cinema, and in regular mainstream films simultaneously and lived a very modest life style. Actresses like Pooja Bhatt worked in dozens of films, and did brand endorsements, and lived a slightly nicer lifestyle. But now, Sobhita is no doubt making enough money from Made in Heaven alone that she can support herself in a pleasant way. There is no need to scrunge for outside money sources, or desperately search for another role just to pay the rent, or quit and get married. The difference between a top star and a working actor is no longer the difference between skipping lunches when you are out of work and buying lunches for the whole crew, it’s more the difference between having the two story luxury penthouse apartment, and the smaller one on a lower floor of the same building. If Sobhita wants to keep acting, she can make a good living at it without needing to reach for the stars.
On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 3:24 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m back to romcoms without meaning to, but I watched Wake Up Sid and that unexpectedly left a good taste so now I’m halfway through Band Bhaja Baaraat. In which I’m appreciating Ranveer’s mouth. I don’t remember noticing that before, I think it might be his best feature. Which is saying something.
Also, I’ve been doing a thought experiment lately where I replace Anushka Sharma in her film roles with Mahira Khan. I think this first occurred to me during our Zero discussions. Mahira could do most of the same roles as well or sometimes better, I think, with an extra layer of vulnerability. Only in the most physical roles like Jab Tak Hai Jaan or Raab Ne Bana Di Jodi, for those it wouldn’t work, Anushka has good athleticism and nice comic timing.
I’ve meant to go back to other genres, maybe if Alisa is going to watch Highway I will too on the chance we can both comment. Alia was good in Udta Punjab too, is her Highway performance a similar vibe?
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Interesting point about Anushka and Mahira. I think you hit it correctly, Mahira has a little extra sensitivity in her performances, but Anushka has that extra athletic physical quality. Phillauri and Pari are the two films where I think she is least physical, interesting that she also produced them herself.
Alia in Highway is very similar to Alia in Udta Punjab. Different background for her character, but same symbol of how young women are beaten up and disposed of. So be warned and prepare yourself! Another way to think of it is JHMS, but extremely dark. But now you’ve got me excited, I think I will schedule it for Friday and see who all can join me in watching it!
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 10:42 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Tamil movie Super Deluxe is also releasing this weekend. Not sure of the USA release. The cast has Vijay Sethupathi as a transgender,Fahadh Faazil,Samantha,Remya Krishnan etc. The director’ first film Aranyakandam is a cult film & this is his second. There’s too much hype about this film in Twitter with the trailer itself looking completely out of the box. Maybe worthwhile to check out.
Oh,btw I’m in India,so Zee5 access is not an issue.
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Oh, booo! At least in olden days I could ask you to bring us all back DVDs, but there is no way for you to bring us all Zee5 access. Stupid streaming era. If you happen to pass a Zee5 office, throw tomatoes at it or something and yell “when are you opening your US website???” on behalf of us all.
I was also consider Super Deluxe, mostly because it is starting at 7pm, while everything else is at either 2pm or 10. And maybe the June matinee on Saturday or Sunday, if I can squeeze it in.
On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 10:55 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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If you Google ,there are hacks available to make your computer look like it has an India IP address to use Zee5. But as I was telling Angie,only the latest movies have subtitles added to them in Zee5 which I assume would be a bigger problem for you & Angie.
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Blech, now I really hate Zee5. Why are they the worst?
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Yeah, they are the worst! Zee5 works in Europe but who cares since they are like: everybody should know hindi so we won’t add subtitles (subs that certainly exsist because those movies were screened in US with subtitles). My only hope they will change it when they open in US.
And btw they have southern movies too, but always with ridiculous names. Almost every movie has Khiladi in the title, and malayalam Charlie has become Action man Charlie. I was like: WTF, for a week since I read that.
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Not much watching this week, since we’re preparing for the new semester and I’m simultaneously trying to get some research done. I watched I think about 20 more minutes of Aiyyaa, and since unlike the first time I saw it I have now watched Chasme Baddoor I now get it when Prithviraj is dressed up like Farooq Sheikh.
My eternal spiritual boyfriend Rahul Bose is not married, probably because he hasn’t met me yet. Neither is Abhay Deol, and neither is Akshaye Khanna. This is actually a bit of a challenge for me, but I think I’d prefer to be a mistress for some super good reason, like the wife is secretly a lesbian and we’re all friends who get together on holidays.
I’m cautiously optimistic/extremely excited about ZEE5.It is available in Japan. I’m having trouble registering, but I think it’s because my tablet is glitching. I hope that can be fixed. It’s an iOS device and ZEE5 is supposed to work on them.
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I think Abhay Deol and Akshaye both have serious girlfriends, and I suspect they are avoiding marriage for reasons of “my father was a total disaster as a husband”. I could be wrong, but if that is the case, would you want them to break up with their girlfriends and then go to Japan for a break and meet you and fall in love and whisk you back to India to live with them forever and ever? Or would you want them to still be with their girlfriends, but just have you as a mistress?
And give us all the Zee5 report! I can’t wait to hear how it works for you.
On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 7:36 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Hmm. I think I could live in India forever and ever with Akshaye, but Abhay seems a bit intense and with more baggage. I might like to save him for weekends and school holidays.
And yaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy I was able to login to Zee5 and experimentally watched about 4 minutes of Kya Kool Hain Hum 3, because it’s free, before realizing that’s going on my “unfinished” list forever. (I really wish, with Netflix and everything else, that there was a way of taking movies off that list. Besides, like, finishing them). We are not quite out of the woods–I’ll see what happens when I pay. And, nothing Bengali seems to have subtitles. But I am optimistic that I will be able to stop whining about not being able to see movies until years after they release everywhere else. Speaking of which, going to see Bajrangi Bhaijan next weekend! In the theater!
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If nothing else, Akshaye seems like he has more acting range. I am consistantly surprised with how he delivers his dialogue, it is never the way I expect. So if that translates to real life, imagine being continually amused by the different way he says “Good Morning” every day!
On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 8:58 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m absolutely obsessed with this song today. So beautiful.
And also after all those good movies I feel like watching some bad Unni Mukundan film, or worse Sheesha. I need something with handsome men, and entertaning plot. What should I watch?
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Raabta! Or Dostana! Or something else better than that that someone else will recommend to you.
On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 3:40 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I saw both.
I’m reading about Sheesha and look what is written on wikipedia: “Neha Dhupia and Sonu Sood kissed a lot in the movie. Sonu Sood has best shirtless body in the film. They also kissed with open mouths and tongue wars “. OMG who wrote this?
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Unni is the king of romantic gazes, and I’m surprised he doesn’t make one romantic movie after another.
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I thought of another one! Dishoom! Have you seen Dishoom?
On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 4:18 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I haven’t seen Dishoom, and it can be fun. But before I could read your reply I opened Prime and it welcomed me recommending this film:
https://static.toiimg.com/photo/msid-65541168/65541168.jpg?622559
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Prime knows you well.
But you should definitely watch Dishoom! It’s exactly your kind of movie, except with John Abraham instead of Unni Mukundan. Big stupid action thing.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 10:18 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I have broken down and started to “find” films I’m desperate to see through alternate avenues instead of waiting for Zee5 to get their act together and take my damn money!
I finally saw Veere Di Wedding! I had low expectations, so I really enjoyed it. It was even slighter than I was expected. Each of the women’s stories deserved it’s own film. Though Sonam’s character would need to be recast. She needs voice modulation training or something…she sounds exactly the same in every film with every dialogue. Swara rocks and her parents’ reaction to her marital issue was hilarious. I did find the classist issues really problematic, especially the thing with the maid and domestic abuse.
Have Kedarnath and Namaste England ready to go…
Also watched Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi because my favorite podcast is doing an episode on Rekha and I’ve heard so much about the Akshay/Rekha chemistry and I’ve never seen a Khiladi film (and now I will probably never see another!). Akshay really is handsome/hairy. Rekha was gloriously campy. Their famous shower scene and song was so OTT, I was embarrassed to watch it. I almost think the makers deliberately made it laughable.
Watched Bawarchi and enjoyed it so much. Jaya Bhaduri is so lovely in it. And Rajesh Khanna was perfect. Loved the younger brother as well. Hrishikesh Mukherjee is one of my favorite directors with Guddi and Khoobsurat on my keeper shelf as well. There is a clear link between slice of life/domestic dramedy films today and his films.
Also saw Period. End of Sentence doc short. Netflix had the English dubbed version as the default. I hated it and only realized it half way through. Still nicely done and great to see the actual Pad Man at work.
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Oh my goodness, you watched so many more movies than I did this week! Glad you finally saw Veere Di Wedding and liked it. There is supposed to be a sequel, and it’s one of the few movies that I feel like really could build into something even better in a sequel. Like you said, each character could easily have their own movie just about their life, a sequel would let us see those stories continue without needing to waste time on explaining backstory or anything.
I still haven’t seen Khiladiyon Ki Khaladi and it sounds like maybe that is okay? I’ve seen a couple other Khiladi movies (if you haven’t seen Main Khiladi Tu Anari, you really need to), so I think I have as much Khiladi as I need in my life, and I’ve seen the love song with Rekha, which is clearly the best part of the film.
I’ve only seen a couple Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies too, and I know that is definitely NOT okay and I need to fix it.
On Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 8:15 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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There are also two songs that feature Akshay as a vampire (in one he’s got a Dracula costume on, too). So Khiladiyon Ki Khaladi is possibly still worth watching for all of the craziness.
The Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies are definitely something that I want to keep exploring…I think I’ve seen those three and Abhimaan and Chupke Chupke that I didn’t like as much.
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Can’t wait to hear what you think about Kedarnath and Namaste England.
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Will keep you posted:)
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Can I please ask the name of the podcast?
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Bollywood is for Lovers – it’s the one with two non-desi Canadians and their journey through Bollywood fandom
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Wow, Namaste England could be one of the worst Hindi films I’ve ever seen. Definitely one of the worst Hindi rom-coms I’ve ever seen. It may have actually dealt the death blow to my love for Parineeti. She’s lost and I’m not sure what can save her career. I can’t believe it but Arjun actually slightly out performed her and that’s not saying much, but he still has a weird but sometimes strangely charismatic presence on-screen…he could end up doing villain roles in his later career and I think it might suit him better if he doesn’t turn to producing/directing first. He has a rousing speech at one point (Namaste London redux), he has an element of the Punjabi macho charm that works at times, and he really can do the sarcastic humor well (something that’s not tapped into enough in his films-dark comedy could suit him). The clothes for Parineeti in the second half reminded me of how bad Vidya was dressed in Kismat Konnection. The plot was regressive and the writing was terrible, but what was unforgivable was just the complete lack of originality and the absurdity of certain moments. It completely lost me when Arjun and another man are crossing borders illegally and are shot at and survive miraculously. I’m glad I watched it because now I can stop wondering if the reviews were too harsh (they weren’t). This is definitely the kind of movie that you try to rewrite as you watch it to save it from itself. There’s a moment where Arjun’s Param and the character of Alisha have a heart to heart (she’s clearly fallen for him at first sight and he’s still focused on winning back Parineeti through manipulation) and I wanted it to be these two who fall in love when he realizes that Parineeti is a manipulative shrew and not worth the trouble. Sadly there was more chemistry between Arjun and the other actress than with Parineeti in most of the movie. I still think they’re perfect in Ishaqzaade, but it looks like Sandeep aur Pinky Farrar has been pushed back again and maybe it won’t even release. I do feel bad for them.
One nice thing to say about it…still love the full soundtrack and Tere Liye is a beautiful song and picturization.
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Parineeti is the worst here. Now maybe you can understand when I said that at least Shradha is trying. She is terrible actress but she works, and take different roles, and does something. Parineeti, on the other hand doesn’t even try. She uses her cute smile and thinks it’s enough (and maybe that we should thank and applaud her for doing the movie).
I wasn’t that disappointed with Namaste England because : first – I saw it right after Loveyatri and that was the worst regressive rom-com ever, second – Arjun is so sexy and charismatic. I couldn’t take my eyes of him. I knew Parineeti and the plot will be terrible and I ignore them all the time. I was there only for AK.
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I think I agree with you that Shraddha is the more committed to her career and maybe in the end will actually have more longevity.
Arjun still does have a couple of really sexy moments in this. And I kind of like his dancing…he’s like a big sexy bear bumbling about. I thought he was the hottest in the scenes where he was being a manipulative jerk to Parineeti (who deserved it)…I think this must be the lingering effect of Hrithik in Mujhse Dosti Karoge for me!
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India’s Most Wanted is still coming, and that could be good for Arjun with dry humor and stuff. We’ll see. at the very least, his first look for the film looks good.
On Tue, Apr 2, 2019 at 9:36 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Fingers crossed for that one and, who knows, Panipat could be great…it is Ashutosh Gowarikar and despite Mohenjo Daro he does have a pretty great track record.
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