Thank you anonymous commentator for alerting me to the new Nani trailer! And thank you Karan Johar to alerting me to the new SOTY2 trailer. Although, that’s kind of his job, so I don’t know if I have to thank him for that.
It feels like a movie I have seen before. A little bit ’83 with Nivin Pauly, a little bit Dhoni, a little bit Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. Also, a little bit 17 Again with Zac Efron. Oh, and Rock On! A little bit Rock On too. Lost glory of youth, depressing present, slowly rebuilding your life, nagging wife/mother/father. But, does my cheerful happy Nani fit within this dark world of disappointment and regret? I believe he can play the role, I just don’t know if it is the best for his star persona to branch out like this.
Oh, and also, I HATE the nagging wife plots!!! Especially contrasted with the “at least my son loves and respects me, I’m doing this all for him” plot. Why can’t the wife be supportive? Why can’t he be doing it all for her? Instead, I am expecting a bunch of boring repetitive scenes of her being all “we have to be practical” and him being all “but it’s my dream, I am dying inside”, and then on the day of the Big Game, she finally comes around and gives him that last bit of support that allows him to do the Big Thing and win the game.
It’s also really well directed and acted and the music in the background is great. So I’m definitely watching it, and will probably enjoy it, even if I am waiting the whole time for Nani to start smiling and dancing again, and gritting my teeth at the predictable wife role.
Now, Student of the Year 2! Pretty much as expected, Tiger is the new boy in school, Tara is the fancy rich girl, Ananya is the tough sporty girl, there’s some kind of a love triangle. New twist, they are fighting not just for the internal Student of the Year trophy, but against the evil enemy school for the Best School trophy.
That twist is kind of a big deal, it breaks the whole “Student of the Year” concept. That is, that Karan is launching three new actors equally. The first movie had a group of young actors, with the three leads taking center stage, friends and rivals and lovers and so on, the whole plot was about the three of them. But now, Tiger has his whole thing with the rival school, and separate from that also has the love triangle. It’s not really 3 equal leads, it’s one lead and two heroines.
I guess I should have expected it, with Tiger being cast despite being way far beyond his launch. It was never going to be super balanced. But I am still a little disappointed that the actresses are being turned into “just” heroines, not lead actors. Oh, and I am also squicked out that Tiger and his rival both look about 35 and the heroines look like the teenagers they are. At least in SOTY1, the two boys looked more like early 20s with their nice clean shaven faces. This is just creepy!
On the other hand, I have to admit the songs sound super good, and the dances and fight scenes look super fun, and I will definitely be seeing this movie opening night.
dontcallitbollywood 
I don’t watch Student of the year trailer because I don’t want to add views, but I saw Jersey, and for me it’s like Chak de India meets Gold.
You’re right – happy Nani is better Nani, but I liked his sad scenes in this trailer.
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Big question, is Beaded Nani a better Nani? I don’t know! I think he looks better with a beard in general, but it also kept making me do a double-take, like seeing a beard on his face just wasn’t right somehow.
On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 11:01 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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He is a rare case of a man who looks better without a beard/with only little beard.
Oh and I know what else this movie reminds me of – Patiala House!
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Yes! Although in that case the love interest was all “rah rah!” instead of “nag nag”
On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 11:10 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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@Angie: “I don’t watch Student of the year trailer because I don’t want to add views” LOL! LOL! LOL!
If at all you’re interested in a much more grounded intercollegiate arts festival movie, I’d highly recommend the Malayalam movie Poomaram. It’s available on Hotstar. Ironically, this also features St. Treesa college!
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I can’t tell if Jersey will work or not because it’s coming out next week and the trailer makes it look quite similar to Majili which has turned in to a huge hit. Both movies are based on cricket, love and life after your cricket dream ends so I wonder if the audiences will be interested in Jersey if it looks a little similar to Majili. Also I feel like there’s something off about Nani in this movie. Coming to the wife, it seems like she was supportive in the beginning but slowly that faded over time.
Student of the Year 2 looks fun but you’re right about Tiger. I wish they launched someone new instead of casting him. Apparently there might be a cameo from Varun, Alia, and Sid in SOTY 2 so that will be fun 🙂
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Shoot, Jersey is next week? Oh well, Kalank is Wednesday, maybe I can squeeze in Jersey over the weekend.
I think Karan confirmed Tiger in SOTY2 over a year ago, and suddenly just in a year, the casting no longer makes sense. Baaghi 2 had him as an army vet with SPOILERS a 7 year old daughter END SPOILERS, he just no longer makes sense in this movie and in this part. Especially since I feel like they put in the beard and fight scenes and stuff for his fanboys who want that. If he had made the movie just two years ago, when he was still playing the “boy growing into manhood” part in most of his movies, it would have worked better.
On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 12:55 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I just looked it up and Karan first tweeted about SOTY2 with Tiger way back in 2016. I know it was finally supposed to come out on November 23rd last year and the only reason I remember that was because it was my birthday. So it makes sense why they chose Tiger when they originally started but this movie kept getting delayed and postponed so Tiger’s image changed over time.
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Oh wow, that is even farther back than I remembered! He was only one or two films old when he was signed, almost a newcomer. And his movies were all boyish hero type stuff. And now we are in a post-Baaghi 2 world where he is a big in demand name, and plays tough damaged action guys.
On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 3:26 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Do you know why the movie was delayed?
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I don’t myself. Ananya signed another movie in the meantime, and Tiger cranked through 3, but poor Tara Sutaria (the one with the most credentials who really needs this boost) hasn’t been doing anything.
Here’s a possible logical series of events: Tiger signs SOTY to be made after he finishes Baaghi and Munna Michael. Baaghi turns into a surprise hit and they want to crank out Baaghi 2 ASAP. Because Baaghi 1 is such a big deal, they expend the action sequences of Baaghi 2 and it takes far longer to film. Instead of filming starting 6 months after the announcement, it is delayed until more like 2 years after the announcement. Tiger is really in demand now, I think he probably had to put his YRF Hrithik movie on hold for promotions of this one, plus he’s still got that rumored Rambo remake cooking.
Alternatively, Ananya’s parents thought she was too young and wanted her to finish more acting/dancing classes before she started filming. Or, Karan decided the script wasn’t right after the Baaghi hit and went into rewrites and rethinking that delayed the film start. Lots of things could have happened.
Or maybe Ananya and Tara fell in love during the initial photo shoot and eloped and their parents have spent the past year and a half trying to track them down. Unlikely, but it could happen!
On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 3:44 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I agree Niki, launching some one new would have been the better move; especially if it was some unknown guy. That would have gotten him some brownie points, not just launching star kids but giving newbies an opportunity too.
Although, it was probably a marketing move, as I don’t think either of the girls, even with Anaya’s dad, would bring people in? unless it is a really really good movie. This way it’s a Tiger movie, with his fanbase showing up, while the girls have less pressure.
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Also I feel like they literally gave away the whole movie in this trailer. Maybe the only question is which girl he chooses, I guess. 99% he chooses Ananya.
Look at me discussing movies I will never watch!
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Those are the best movies to discuss because you don’t have to worry about the actual movie interfering with the discussion!
I wouldn’t be too quick though, I was sure I would never watch SOTY1, made fun of the trailers and everything, and then I ended up being there opening night somehow after all. Karan has some kind of freaky mind control that draws you in to see this films against your will.
On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 3:17 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Looks like they decided on Tiger in 2016 so that made sense at the time. Tiger only did two movies so far at the time but he was also a known face to help launch two other newcomers. Now it seems like Tiger doesn’t really fit anymore but you’re right that he’s probably the one that is bringing people in.
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The storyline of Jersey reminds me a Hollywood baseball movie The Rookie, although I think the wife was supportive in that (I saw 10 years ago).
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0265662/?ref_=m_ttls_tt_15
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I was thinking of that one too! Except in that case, he had a good life even before returning to his sports dreams, it was a matter of taking a risk of losing what he already had in order to pursue his dreams. Which kind of makes the wife’s reaction more understandable, that they had a good life and if the dreams didn’t pan out, it is possible they could just return to this.
On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 11:36 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I really liked Jersey’s trailer. And regarding the unsupportive wife, what is she supposed to do? How can she deal with an unemployed 36 year old husband? This is realistic, as apposed to the extremely supportive wife which was shown in Majili. That was too far fetched for me. Also, the son is a kid, he doesn’t know any better, so it’s better to show him as supportive.
And SOTY, gag! I was 18 when the first part came out and was a Varun fan girl(!!!!!!), which made me watch the film on the first day. And the songs were quite good. But no way am I watching this one. Both the girls were pathetic in their dialogue delivery. Atleast il give Tiger props for all the hard work he puts in for the stunts.
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I suppose if he’s already unemployed, her reaction could have been “I am proud of you for trying to make something of yourself” since it’s not like he was bringing in money or anything before. This reaction makes logical sense, it just seems like the wife is always a nag in these “I’m going to follow my dreams” movies.
On Sat, Apr 13, 2019 at 12:58 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I feel like there’s probably a turning point in the movie that leads to the wife becoming unsupportive. Because based on the trailers, it seems like she’s pretty happy with him playing cricket in the beginning.
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I was just assuming she got pregnant, they got married, and she was ready for him to find something more stable and secure.
On Sat, Apr 13, 2019 at 3:23 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Another movie Jersey reminds me of: KANK.
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YES!!!!!! Except, less sexy and just depressing. Although probably would have been healthier for Shahrukh to try to return to his career than to start an affair for fulfillment.
On Sat, Apr 13, 2019 at 4:08 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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LOL Jersey tagline should be: every movie you have already seen, but with Nani 😀
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Yes, but she feels that going back to play cricket at 36 is probably not viable. That’s what the coach and others tell him as well.
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Jersey based on cricketer Raman Lamba who had fatal accident when ball hit his head.
Even Jersey may had Sad ending
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Can expect such endings in Tamil, but not in Telugu – they may not dare to end like that – they may change.
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“Tara is the fancy rich girl, Ananya is the tough sporty girl” – what makes you say this? As Tara has her intro on foot (gasp!) While ananya arrives in a fancy car.
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See, this is just a sign of how hard it is to tell them apart. I can’t even tell in the trailer.
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Have you watched/ reviewed Jo jeeta wohi sikander? It would be a nice Friday Classics before SOTY2, an actual well loved classic unlike many of the highly questionable movies you review under this category.
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I have watched it, haven’t reviewed it yet. It’s surprisingly hard to track down, I watched it on DVD several years ago but I think it is out of print now and not on any of the streaming services.
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It’s on YouTube just rewatched it recently.
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I can’t seem to find it with subtitles
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