So many little little stories today! I don’t want to try to tie them together and they aren’t really worth deep discussion on their own, so instead I will throw it all out there and let you discuss.
This is interesting. There’s been a slowly growing number of official Korean remakes in Hindi film. That means the Hindi filmmakers are able to see these movies, and the relationship between the two countries is tight enough that they are officially buying the rights instead of just ripping them off. And now some K-Pop group is coming to India for a tour and giving nice-nice quotes like “It’s always been our dream to go to India”. I don’t know what is going on in other industries, but it looks like the entertainment worlds of the two countries are trying to form a block. Add on the growing China connection, and there’s a sort of China-Korea-India thing happening that can challenge the existing Hollywood/America domination of popular culture. Nehru would be so proud!
Janhvi Loves Rajkummar
Oh Janhvi! This is another one of those times when either she is the most innocent little girl in the world, or she is faking it. And I am leaning towards “innocent”. It came up in some interview recently that she posts a lot of “I love you” messages on Rajkummar’s instagram. Janhvi was embarrassed and explained that was before her instagram account was public, it was just her as a person posting those. Oh Janhvi! That is so what a 20 year old girl should be doing! Very healthy, stay up late at sleepovers and send messages to the movie star you have a crush on. Just, don’t do it if you are also trying to be a movie star, because now the whole world knows.
Shahrukh and His 22 Film Deal
I don’t understand where this story came from. I think it must be a legitimate leak. Unlike the awards story, it wasn’t referenced on his twitter, and it doesn’t seem to be all pulled from the same press release issued by either the channel or Shahrukh. If anything, this is bad for Shahrukh, a lot of the coverage I am seeing is tending towards “rich get richer while still making bad movies” instead of “another savvy business move”. Anyway, multiple sources are reporting that Shahrukh made a deal with a satellite company similar to his Netflix deal, selling the “Shahrukh Khan Collection”. I am fascinated with his decision to buy up the rights to all his old films, no matter what it took. Such a neat subversion of auteur theory, saying that it is truly and literally the Star who owns the films.
Kajol Ajay Move House, Defend Nyssa
I guess Ajay is in a movie now so the whole family has to suffer. On the one hand, the Nyssa story is because he has to give interviews and public appearances and people will ask about her. I guess she was trolled online for not dressing appropriately? Ajay defended her by saying “none of your business”, but of course even his defense makes it more our business, so poor Nyssa keeps getting talked about. Also, Kajol and Ajay are looking for a rental because they want to redo their current house which means they have to move out for a couple years. I’m kind of jealous, I want to redo my house and go live somewhere else too! Oh, but again, not really our business, only Ajay is doing a movie, so every little scrap of family news has to be made into grist for the media mill.
Alia Still Might Possibly Be in an Osho Movie
Weird story, because Priyanka keeps being dragged into it too. Did we know Priyanka’s version is going to be based on Sheela’s memoir? That makes me VERY uncomfortable!!!! In contrast, I forgot until just now that Alia’s Dad was one of the people who escaped Rajneesh and was (and is) vocal about what a damaging scam the whole thing was. So that makes me more comfortable with the idea of Alia maybe possibly being in a film based on him.
I was disillusioned.I couldn’t get what I had sought out to search. I thought I could get the gyan I was given at the Osho commune from books. I didn’t want to fool myself anymore. I gave my heart to it, but didn’t find it rewarding enough.
Rajneesh ashram collapsed after some time and Rajneesh was handcuffed and jailed. The Osho show was over.
https://www.spotboye.com/bollywood/Bollywood-interviews/mahesh-bhatt-reminisces-i-was-instrumental-in-taking-vinod-khanna-to-rajneesh/5901d1658ce16f1a1ad328cb
Kangana Directs?
Kangana says she will be releasing first looks and stuff soon for a movie she will direct, starring herself. And she had a hard time finding funding because no one wants a female lead film. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!! I am pretty sure it is because no one wants a KANGANA lead film. Anyway, we will see what happens. (story here)
Fans Attack Varun, Nawazuddin
Interesting stories here. I’m glad they are coming out. There’s long been a cultural acceptance that movie stars don’t talk about their relationship with their fans. You pay for a fan’s heart surgery? You don’t talk about it. A fan threatens to kill you and your family? You increase your security and you don’t talk about it. Partly, I think, because it was supposed to go without saying, everyone should know that stars have this intimate relationship with their fans. But now there is a lot of grief being given to the movie stars, “how are you giving back to the country? How are you connected to the common folk? How did you earn your position?” and blah blah blah. So I am glad that we are beginning to get some of those fan stories made public, both the sweet ones about charity and the scary ones about attacks. A female fan stood outside Varun’s house and threatened him and Natasha and it was really scary, so he called the police on her. Nawazuddin was grabbed by a fan who wanted a selfie while on location and manhandled so much it twisted a muscle. It’s not the worst thing that ever happened, but it’s a good reminder that these people are people, not just stars who exist for us to do what we will with them.
dontcallitbollywood 
Another really fun Kangana story – are “Creative Differences” arising in Mental hai Kya shooting? The circus begins again!! Wonder how she will lash out this time? How will Ekta handle Kangana? Oooh so excited for the drama!
https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/news/rangoli-slams-reports-kangana-ranaut-ekta-kapoor-having-creative-differences-sets-mental-hai-kya-446174
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I really really want them to have had differences! Partly because I think Ekta is tough and smart and I want to see how she responds. But also because she would be a tough target for Kangana to hit. Another woman, and one who profited by nepotism but then went far beyond it all on her own.
On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 1:40 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I CANNOT stand that they call Kangana ‘fearless, unapologetic, and uninhibited. She is unapologetic because she doesn’t care what she says. She attacked Alia AGAIN. That’s beyond nuts. What has Alia done to her besides being born? I am praying Ekta has differences with her. But you know who I really want to take her on? Zoya! She also takes no prisoners. She can be as psychopathic as she wants, but the epithet (the Homerian kind) attached to her name is always feminist or fearless and all they can say about others is how their last movie fared. Why dont her failures count???? She is being given a buy in the Hindi film world I do not grasp. Okay, rant over.
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Yep, it’s weird! I can’t figure out if it is because of her political connections, or because she is so blatant that no one has caught up with her reality yet (if you say “Manikarnika was a hit” enough times in enough places, people just assume you are telling the truth), or maybe because she has very good and very aggressive PR. Not Rangoli’s tweets and stuff like that, but some team somewhere that is constantly releasing coordinated leaks. Like PC does.
On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 2:40 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Hate to say it but Kangana appeals to women in the same way Priyanka does. Average people do not closely follow BW news as closely as we do so they don’t know every single thing she’s doing. They just hear the occasional headline that she spoke against nepotism or exposed a movie star like Hrithik as being a cheating husband and bad guy. They hear bits and pieces that she’s not afraid of taking on a big producer like Karan Johar. She’s woven this story of being a fearless woman in a man’s world who was rejected even by her parents and now has become his strong and bold woman who takes crap from nobody.
You have no idea how many Indian girls identify with this and root for her because they feel subjugated in their own lives and wish to be strong like her. PC also plays the same game.
On top of that, she’s aligned herself with the bhakts (again just like PC) so that group sees her as a proud Hindu and not a secular coward like many others in BW. The biggest trait of most of the right wing all over the world is being privileged but feeling threatened by the minority. Both Kangana and PC have played into this and they are untouchable because of it.
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Fear of Small Numbers! You should read it if you haven’t yet, it’s a really interesting analysis of how the majority becomes increasingly aggressive towards and fearful of a minority as that minority becomes smaller. The factors that allow the Muslim and Christian minorities to leave in harmony with the Hindus in Kerala, where the “minorities” are very large, but make the Hindu majority in other states where the minority numbers are extremely small obsessed with protecting themselves.
Anyway, yes, I think you are on to something with the identification of young women. It irritates me because a) it means the people who really deserve that identification are getting cheated out of it (Illeana D’Cruz, Sonam, Swara Bhaskar, Alia Bhatt, Rani Mukherjee, and so on and so on). And b) they seem to be using that identification to push an ultimately regressive view of feminism. Kangana doesn’t seem capable of owning her own sexual desire, for instance. she is yet to describe a relationship where she wasn’t “Tricked” into being with a man. She turns into a cautionary tale instead of an inspiring one, something to teach young girls never to trust men or date or work outside the home or anything.
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I think its worse than that. Because she is willing to “take on” the male establishment she is viewed as a ground breaker. Since that is hard to find, no one feels they can afford to ‘out’ her as the sociopath she is. Her whole nepotism thing was welcomed in many quarters. We only know the big stars but there are smaller places where it is irksome. So they leave her alone. I can’t imagine that at some point (and I hope I’m here to see it) that it blows up in her face. I do not think there has ever been an American equivilent of someone who lied so much and slandered so many without repercussions…oh, there is the President…..
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Another irritating thing, similar to how her slightly twisted version of feminism has erased and confused the issue, her slightly twisted call for industry reform has erased and confused the issue. Rajkummar not getting hired for years after Kai Po Che, that was bad. But that’s totally different from Alia failing to acknowledge Kangana’s film, and calling out things like that won’t help. In fact, they make the whole situation seem petty.
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True. True.
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Well, the thing is Kangana says things normal people wish they could say. Whether the story was real or fake, she brought a movie star (Hrithik) to his knees. The guy has still not recovered. She is the only one taking on Alia Bhatt who is using her connection to Karan Johar to bag every juicy female role in the industry. Look at the state of the industry. There are hardly any mainstream female roles available outside the Dharma cabal. Deepika was jobless for more than a year (and admitted she was not getting anything good) and had to produce a movie for herself. PC also has nothing other than the rumors she plants to keep herself relevant. Sonam mainly produces movies with her family. There is nothing available outside scraps. The fact that Kangana says it out loud is probably making half the industry happy. She is surviving because people really aren’t upset with her the way that you would think. She is cunning enough to know who and what subjects to attack.
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I don’t know if I would say “cunning” so much as “hits the biggest target first”. I feel like maybe now that she has run through the biggest targets, she is just going to start going after the smaller and smaller ones. Partly because the big targets aren’t touching her any more, she’s not getting an invite back on Koffee and she certainly isn’t getting a film offer opposite a big male star. So either she will have to play nice and make friends, or she will start attacking Ekta and the other lessor people around her. The way Manikarnika played out makes me think she is just incapable of not being defensive, even when it will hurt her in the long run. It was hard to spin her attacks on Sonu Sood and Krrish as “punching up” and taking a stand, instead of just star tantrums.
Something else with Kangana’s tantrums, they are hiding the more restrained and sober comments from other actresses. She’s just louder than them, even though she is far less justified. Not fair to them either, Amit Sadh and Rajkummar Rao and Taapsee should be getting way more attention and sympathy for being shut out than Kangana is.
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There is another very interesting story today. No need to say I’m super excited.
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Super cool! From how it is phrased, it sounds possible that this is a concert video, or a mood movie, or something other than a tradition film with a narrative and all of that. But I hope it is a traditional narrative film, I like his songs best when they are related to a story and characters and the emotions all tie together.
On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 1:48 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh yes. I will be disappointed if it’s concert or something like this. It says “young, passionate love story” and I want a love story with a lot of music.
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I wonder if he will cast his nephew from Sarvam Thaala Mayam? I would be okay with that, he was decent. I’d be more okay if he cast someone else though. Also, no director listed, right?
On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 1:54 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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No director yet, and it’s strange. They have already an exact date, but no director or actors. Btw, I hope his nephew isn’t in this new film. He was ok in STM, because it was all about drums, but now I want somebody who acts better.
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It seems the grumpy grampa act from Amitabh and the flattering junior act from Shah Rukh was basically a publicity thing. I thought it might be. Now turned into a contest of sorts by RedChillies asking for suggestions for theme, playlist, menu for a Badla celebration party. Whatevs.
Shah Rukh selling the satellite rights. I say get it, my dude! Hope it gives him the wherewithal to make some more offbeat movies, or take a sabbatical and finish his book, or set up Suhana and Aryan in homes of their own, or whatever.
I’ve been noticing more and more people who post in the Shah Rukh tags on Twitter who are also K-Pop fans. Makes me feel SO OLD!!!
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The only K-Pop fan I have ever met in real life is a late-30s mother of two. Oh, and not-Korean. So when I hear about K-Pop fans, that is the image that immediately pops into my head, frazzled late 30s mother of young children. I’ll just continue to assume that is true until I am forced to believe otherwise.
I suspect that Shahrukh will react to the sale of Satellite rights by folding that money right back into Red Chillies. Good business decision, bad personal! I somehow feel like most of his focus now is on getting Red Chillies to a stable self-supporting place. If the satellite sales can let them expand their VFX wing or produce more low-budget solid profit machines, great. Also, come to think of it, I wonder if the satellite sale is lined up to off-set losses from Zero? If they had a business plan that relied on a massive cash influx around now and it isn’t coming from Zero?
On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 2:11 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I was also wondering if it’s linked to Zero, or something planned over a longer time period.
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I suppose it doesn’t hurt anything, it’s not like Red Chillies is planning to open a TV channel any time soon, they would only own the satellite rights in order to sell them. Unless there was a possibility of doing a one showing kind of sale over and over again, instead of this one time one big lump sum.
On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 2:24 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I posted a link under this post. According to the RCE ceo, they do not sell rights in perpetuity. All their deals are only done for 5 years and then the deal is renegotiated. So technically, SRK can let the contract expire at the 5 year term if he wants the full rights back.
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Smart, especially with the way technology is changing. I suspect HotStar has a lot of stuff right now because the rights holders foolishly sold in perpetuity without expecting that streaming rights would eventually separate from Satellite.
5 years from now, Shahrukh might be able to negotiate separate deals for satellite, internet broadcast TV, streaming, and individual downloads. Plus some other rights idea we can’t even imagine yet.
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Speaking of Red Chillies, here’s a really interesting look at the company and the numbers – not the kind of reporting you see often in India. They spoke to the CEO who tells them RCE wants to be producing between 5-10 movies a year. That’s the goal.
But putting that aside, the real money is in their sports business. They are expecting Knight Riders Sports to cross a net worth of a BILLION dollars within 2-3 years.
https://www.rediff.com/movies/special/srk-the-formidable-global-businessman/20171121.htm
Here’s a new article from just last week –
https://www.business-standard.com/article/sports/knight-riders-plans-to-pick-up-teams-in-s-africa-uae-to-globalise-brand-119032400150_1.html
RCE plans to buy another team this year in the UAE. They will also take up ownership of the South African team sooner or later.
The other big bet is on their VFX business. People complain about why SRK does movies like Zero but I think there’s the answer. He tries to find scripts where his company can do VFX work because waiting for it organically will take forever. How often is there going to be a script available that is really good and also needs VFX and also wants SRK? He would have to wait years. His focus is on growing his business and he’s willing to take the hit it takes on his acting career if it means mediocre scripts. The larger goal is something else other than movie stardom.
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Thank you! That was a really interesting article, especially seeing as it is about two years old. Since then, they have produced two of those lower budget films they talked about, plus the big budget Shahrukh film (that ended up flopping). And the VFX has grown and grown and grown. And they have had another successful IPL season.
I was most interested in the comment about how the KKR are the most profitable team in the IPL. All of Shahrukh’s appearances at the stadium and talking it up on twitter and so on are having an effect. Plus the savvy business move of picking a team that already had an established stadium and in a city with a strong identity and so on.
Also very interested in the idea of a global sports brand. I hadn’t really realized before that this was a new thing, buying up the teams in multiple leagues. And the way they are talking about moving players league to league. It’s very similar to movie releases, the global branding and promotion, the tour to multiple countries in turn, and sometimes the different release dates to take advantage of local promotions.
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SRK I’ve always believed was temporarily dabbling in acting. His enduring legacy will be to the industry as a whole. Much like Raj Kapoor who along with being na director and producer had a studio floor. At that time that was an enduring legacy for the RK brand which has then endured across multiple generations.
Even among the kids the feeling always has been Aryan – studio head or behind the scenes, Suhana – the actor or the sports franchise owner and Abram the star. By then SRK would be off the scene plus that kid already has a lot of crowd charisma.
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Oh, I like your plan for the kids! Makes sense too, Aryan is studying filmmaking and making his own movies, Suhana is studying acting and practicing being the face of the family.
On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 8:26 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I think the satellite deal is a good one. The only reason to own the films is to have control over who shows them. Having them on a satellite channel doesn’t hurt anyone. I think he is plowing all the money back into Red Chilies. Money generated by Red Chilies, serves Red Chilies. He always says to young people, take care of yourself and your family first, then give money away. I’m pretty sure he has a stockpile somewhere for his kid’s education and maybe homes. Though, I think he made Mannat so huge so that when they grow up he can give each of them a couple of floors. (might be his fantasy, not theirs…) He’s been doing lots of ads, some that seem a tad “beneath” him but he has always says, that’s the money he lives on, not the money from films. Look, he and Venky make very shrewd business decisions. And we (his more discerning audiences) don’t think the last films were flops or mistakes. Zero will go the way of Swades and Dil Se= ridiculed at time of release and loved later. We think he’s made good movie decisions for the most part. It is fools like Anupama and larger Indian audience who have made the mistakes….
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Shahrukh’s book if published will be posthumous. He has already said he doesn’t want to give away trade secrets 🙂 and that will keep the SRK brand alive for that much longer. 🙂
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Other news: Sunny Wayne married his childhood friend. Isn’t it cute?
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Super cute!
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Hello!
Regarding: “The factors that allow the Muslim and Christian minorities to live in harmony with the Hindus in Kerala, where the “minorities” are very large, but make the Hindu majority in other states where the minority numbers are extremely small obsessed with protecting themselves.”
As far as I know, there is a large Muslim population in UP (40 million), but I can’t say both the majority and minority communities live as equals there as they do in Kerala. I think it has got a lot to do with the Communist movement in Kerala – they’ve not really allowed the right wing any foothold in Kerala.
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I am sure you are right about the Communist movement, but you got me curious and I looked up the percentages for the two states. The UP is 70% Hindu and only 10% Muslim. Kerala is 56% Hindu and 26% Muslim. The actual population number of Muslims may look similar, but the weight of the Hindu majority is much higher in the UP.
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Where did you find 10% Muslims in UP?
Wiki says it’s 20:80
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttar_Pradesh#Demographics
UP has a population of around 200 million to Kerala’s 30 million. That means, there are roughly four times more Muslims in UP than in Kerala.
There’s also a lot of caste equations at play which means it’s not really 80% – the “bhakths” would be roughly a third, I would say. The lower caste people, I think have not been properly represented politically and not really empowered in places like UP.
In Kerala, the communists came to power because of strong support from them. And that has so far kept the right wing in check.
Tell me, how many movies can you think of where they even have a lower caste person in a prominent role? Lagaan, Aarakshan, ???
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Never mind, I miss-read the rural versus urban statistics as the total for the UP.
Dabangg is the first movie I always think of with lower caste characters. Isn’t that interesting? Salman’s silly action series has a heroine who is explicitly low caste, and their caste differences are acknowledged by the script. And she is a full character, not just defined by her caste.
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