Happy Wednesday! And, if you are in America, Happy Day Before a Day Off Work!!!! I am so excited, I love random days off work.
I’ll start!
Watching: I’m going to hang out with my friend tonight and, if we have time and the baby cooperates, maybe watch a movie. But what to watch? I think I’ll go with two extremes, if we have almost no time then I will do Daawat-E-Ishq. If we end up having loads of time, Mirchi. Oh, and I also finished the most recent season of Call the Midwife.
Reading: Not much, it’s too hot!
Thinking: What shall I do tomorrow? With my magical day off? I am torn between a double bill at the movie theater and cleaning the apartment. I think it will get down to how hot it is. If it’s super hot, there is no way I can clean, and the theater a/c will be very appealing. If it isn’t, then a clean apartment is very appealing.
Listening: I’ve randomly swung back to Thattathin Marayathu. It’s a really pretty soundtrack!
Now, question for you! In addition to just generally “what have you been watching/reading/listening/thinking lately?” What Indian movie do you think is most appropriate viewing for the 4th of July?
I’m torn! Either Kal Ho Na Ho, with it’s very American sense of things complete with a 4th of July block party.
Or Lagaan, for it’s very “Colonized country coming of age and joining together in rebellion” feeling.
dontcallitbollywood 
Watching: Might be back into watching Indian films again finally after a brief hiatus! Watched Kalank this week and though it definitely lacked a bit of soul and I hated the ending (or at least the way the last shot was done…so cheesy with the close up of her face). They could have ended with the shots of the three couples and left it at that…or even the final shots of Aditya and Alia in Amritsar. I did really love the spectacle of it. The performances were a bit all over the place, with Aditya and Sonakshi turning in the strongest (and subtlest) performances. I, of course, kept hoping for Aditya and Alia to grow to love each other by the end, because that’s one of my favorite love story tropes (ie Manmarziyaan, etc) and that scene in the newspaper office where they don’t know who each other is even though they are married is sweet and symbolic and kind of sexy…(but I guess I appreciate that the script didn’t make it easy for them by making them grow to love each other). I also liked that Varun and Alia’s characters never kissed or slept together…it makes their love story even more bittersweet. I also had a particular reading of the Kunal Khemu character and his unrequited love for Varun. Yes, Varun manipulated him about the politics in the interests of his own revenge, but there was definitely more to the subtext than a brotherly love, especially in his anguished expression as he kills him at the end.
Also been catching up with the Marvel and DC franchise films (really liked Aquaman!). Also saw Ocean’s Eight and was kind of disappointed. But Fleabag (both seasons) is the last thing that I saw that really blew me away. Hot Priest really does live up to the hype. Wonder if there’s ever been a hot priest in a Malayalam film…I know I’ve seen a lot of priests in the films I’ve seen…one of the reasons I like Malayalam films is the interesting Catholic content for sure.
Reading: lots of comics! Trying to appreciate the comic art form better. Reading Ms. Marvel, DC Comics Bombshells, and Saga right now.
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Good for you, reading comics as a librarian! I’ve gone through comic periods, and I always got them from the library (I’m not spending money on something it will only take me a couple hours to read), and often they are horribly organized the librarians didn’t seem to know anything about them. And now you are making me want to go back to comics, only I think they are in the teen section at my library and I hate to fight of hordes of teenagers for them.
And yay for seeing Kalank! Have you seen Luka Chuppi yet? I can’t remember. It’s on Netflix now and it’s a pretty cute rom-com. For Kalank, so agree that Aditya and Sonakshi were the best part. In my fanfic version, I removed Alia entirely and just made it a love triangle with Aditya and Sonakshi and Varun, and it worked pretty well.
On Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 9:00 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, even though I work in special collections, there is an increased focus on collecting in the graphic narrative genres. So it kind of helps with work (or at least understanding some of the interests of the college students I interact with when I teach). But I also just got hooked on collecting Funko Pops and they are just feeding my pop culture obsessions. Ms. Marvel was really the first “traditional” comic series I’ve read, but I obviously was drawn to it because it’s the Kamala Khan series (the last volume I read they threw in a few Bollywood reference which was fun). DC Bombshells has fun pin-up style art combined with girl power and fighting Nazis…so very timely. Saga is a critically acclaimed one that you might find interesting…it’s a very adult fantasy/space opera.
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Oh, you are wetting my appetite! I may need to swing by the library on the way home and see what I can pick up. It’s been a while since I read straightforward mainstream comics, usually I go more in the graphic novel series direction (I like closed narratives!). Strangers in Paradise is weirdly my comfort food because I have read it so many times over the years.
On Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 9:35 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Hopefully she’s WHETTING your appetite, not WETTING it! 🤣
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And, yes, I’ve seen Luka Chuppi….in the theater even. Love Kriti Sanon but still not totally sold on Kartik and it was just an ok rom-com…I think I just don’t like rom-coms without just external conflict. I need a tiny bit of angst, too. Looks like a string of promising rom-coms coming up soon.
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New question, have you seen the Jobriya Jodi trailer? I can’t decide how I feel about it.
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Yes, I saw the Jabariya Jodi trailer. It does look fun and seems to have the spark that Namaste England lacked, so possibly good news for Parineeti to reclaim her spunky and charming image. Not so sure how this helps Sid, but my two favorite performance of his were in romantic comedies (Gentleman and HTP), so maybe this is his genre. But he has to be careful that he doesn’t just fade into obscurity like Imran Khan.
But based on the trailer this seems like a combination of the “rustic” Indian rom-com and an old Hollywood classic screwball comedy. So I’m excited about it.
Also Arjun Patiala looks fun and I’m really excited about the possibilities of Malaal.
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I could have seen Malaal today, but chose not to. Only I really didn’t like the movie I watched instead, so maybe that was a mistake.
On Thu, Jul 4, 2019 at 6:47 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’ve recently watched some episodes of recent informational Indian tv series that are now steaming on Netflix. They are a good addition or companion to DCIB hindi film 101 series, for anyone who want to know more about Indian film & music history, or broadly about Indian mythology, religion, and related cultural practices, since many Indian films assume that you already have a background knowledge in these topics.
Classic Legends by Javed Akhtar
Like Hindi film 101, does a deep dive into the background and career of a particular artist and his/her family in each episode. He covers actors, directors, music directors, singers; men and women though mostly men.
Golden Years by Javed Akhtar
Covers the years 1950 through 1975 in Hindi cinema and film music, and the relevant actors, singers, directors, music directors. One episode per year. The final episode covers javed akhtar’s own career, as a screenwriter, lyricist, and poet.
Because he is such a good storyteller plus a “man of letters”, even watching his expressions and reading the subtitles had me hooked. I imagine the experience would be doubly rich and rewarding for viewers who know Hindi.
Devlok
Rasika Duggal is having a breakout year in 2019 with so many streaming and film properties. In 2017 she wasn’t yet famous (tu hai meri Sundays might be the only thing she was known for then? ). Turns out she’s the host of this 2017 program! Each episode she interviews this Indian world myths expert (sort of a Joseph Campbell type) to discuss Indian religions, world mythology, vedic poems, metaphysical concepts, and Indian art and architecture. 35 episodes, just reading the episode titles gives you a good sense of what all they cover. You can pick and choose episodes to shore up any knowledge you are weak in. Side note : what’s funny is to spot when Rasika Duggal is genuinely interested in an episode topic, and thus being an enthusiastic host, vs when she’s not very interested, and thus using her acting skills to “play” the enthusiastic host, lol.
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I freakin’ love Devdutt Pattaniak! He’s my favorite scholar of Indian myths. And he has, like, no qualifications. Which is I think why I like him the best. He looks at the stories with a completely open mind and puts in what he finds interesting, there is no effort to fit within traditional Brahminical teachings, or the traditional academic ways of looking at myths. He has just read a lot of them, all on his own, and put together his own framework. His books Jaya and Sita are amazing because he tells the Mahabharata and Ramayana as small separate stories of different incidents, and he picks stories from all over, so you get the feel of this rich variety of oral history instead of “this is the one True version”. I think he has written a bit too much at this point (kind of like me!) so the quality varies book to book. It’s all good, but some of it feels a little less imaginative and deep than other things. And definitely the same content that was covered in his massive Jaya and Sita books is reused in his small texts here and there. Oh, now you have me wanting to reread Jaya and Sita! They are going to have to compete with the comic books Filmilibrarian is tempting me with.
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I think Kal Ho Naa Ho generally feels very 4th of July. Swades is an ideal of how outsiders and insiders, people from different castes and creeds, can bring out the best in each other and solve problems. I just used Yeh Tara Voh Tara in a workshop today in Zimbabwe because the project here is very much about that message that we’re all best in collective effort while retaining our individual spark. And the movie “screen” coming down between the have’s and have nots is moving. These are all good and badly needed messages for the US this 4th.
Watching–a Prithvi fest still. Aurangzeb, Mumbai Police, Ranam, and City of God. This weekend I’ll make up for it by having a Shah Rukh binge of some kind. I brought a 4 in one DVD that has Baazigar, KHKN, Dil Se, and Swades on it. 🙂
Reading. Nothing. I’ll be on my own all weekend so will try to remedy that.
If you see a double bill, what are your options?
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Ooo oo! City of God!!! I hope you like/liked it. And if not, I will chalk it up to being a movie that requires a lot of concentration and you just weren’t in the right mood. Koode is another one I think you will just love, and love him in it.
You are still traveling? Ugh, I don’t want your job. Flying across country for a weekend wrecks me, multi-country travel in the course of a few weeks would kill me.
On Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 12:40 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, two trips got sandwiched together. Not ideal. I’m kind of processing City of God. I liked it, but there’s such a lot going on, and the looping back of the story from different perspectives is neat, but calls for multiple watches.
Do you think its odd for Malayalam actresses to play the love interest of Indrajith in one movie, then of Prithviraj in the next?
Koode was an option on the flight, so I’ll check it out.
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I think I didn’t really fall in love with City of God until the 4th time I saw it straight through. There is so much there and you have to kind of have everything in your head simultaneously.
Be warned, Koode is a difficult watch!
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Random suggestion – if you decide to review Article 15, it might be interesting to compare and contrast it with Swades. Similar themes about caste, different narrative pov (hero’s journey vs societal message, even though both have a hero on an internal & external journey and both have a societal message). Just a thought.
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That is interesting! There’s also the greater tradition of “outsider arrives to save village” films, from My Name is Khan to Guide. Still haven’t seen Article 15, so I don’t know if that fits exactly, but it’s something to think about while I watch it.
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Watched Hema Malini’s Meera.Or more properly Gulzar’s interpretation of Meera.His Meera can be best described as quietly stubborn.Due to her cousin’s suicide( family sanctioned) Meera had to marry Vinod Khanna the younger prince of a neighbouring Rajput kingdom.Her husband is at first amused by her devotion to Krishna( to the extent of considering herself married to the blue God).But Meera doesn’t outgrow it and Vinod finds himself irritated,jealous and at last devastated. He tries to reason with her,command her,build a household temple, and as a last resort sends her back home to her people.All of it futile.Meera was born to be a wandering saint.She consorts with low caste fellow saints,and wanders all over singing her bhajans.Her husband can serve as a shield and save Meera from his family(not all of them bad) and her enemies only for so long.Meera is unflappable as she faces her trial and later death.It’s her husband who’s devastated.We meet him initially as a handsome young prince, confidant in his power and even a little bit arrogant.At the end, he’s not only wounded physically.But mentally he’s a wreck as well.He loves Meera completely but has to accept that she’d never return anything more than a cool distant affection.How can you compete with a God after all? As I said before, it is ironic to cast Vinod in the role of the long suffering husband who tries to cope with being married to a saint.
Meera’s arguments are logical if a little bit too out-of-there.She refuses to give her loyalty to just her country, refuses the obligatory ties to society and marriage.She’s never passionate or hateful but stands firm on her opinions.There’s a debate with the Rajguru when Meera refuses to serve meat for her bridal feast.The Sisodia clan are kshatriyas and are their patron God is Kali.Hence the sacrifical meat is her prasad which must be distributed argues the Rajguru.Meera counters the arguments very well.
One of the best characters is the emperor Akbar played by Amjad Khan.We expect him to be cast as villain since he’s the enemy Meera’s family and her husband’s family is fighting.But Akbar is bewildered that neither the Hindus nor the Muslims accept his son Salim, the son of his Hindu wife Jodha.Am I not one of you?Wasn’t I born in this land? He asks.Perhaps he’s the only one who shares Meera’s controversial theories about religion.He did find his own religion later.
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Was there an earlier version of this movie? I read an article when I was researching my Master’s thesis about Meerabai in Holland where a movie about her started a craze, but I think that was much earlier.
There isn’t a strong tradition of women in religious life outside of the home in South Asia, is there? I am remembering one of the Mahabharat figures, I think the woman who is reborn as a man, had to really fight to be allowed to live with the Rishis because her family didn’t want it and neither did the Rishis. I love your description of Vinod being broken and bewildered at her simply not caring.
I am having a hard time bending my mind around Hema Malini in this part, she just feels so alive and human onscreen, I can’t quite picture her as a woman devoted to other-worldly concerns.
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There’s a Tamil movie about her in 1940s.No idea about the cast or the concept.Gulzar changed a lot of Meera’s backstory.Hema is very good as a stoic saint.But she’s too old at the time to play the part.She’s supposed to be a teenage bride and hence indulged by her husband initially.Casting someone older carries the risk that the audience expects her not to be so naive and expects her to fulfill her duties as a wife and bahu.
As for Vinod, he’s emotional and the contrast with a stoic Meera is interesting.He’d have probably made a good match with Meera’s cousin -a passionate, loyal Rajput girl.Too bad she was asked to commit suicide by her family.As it is, there’s too little Vinod.His character is fighting Akbar’s armies and hence away from home a lot.Hence he couldn’t protect Meera as much as he wanted.Plus he’s the ruling monarch Shammi Kapoor’s younger brother.As per rumors, Vinod was in the process of leaving films at that point.Gulzar promised him that his part would be small.But as always Vinod gave his 100% for his friend Gulzar.I’ve seen him getting away with less(even bored) performances in other typical masala fare from that time.
The Indian subcontinent does have its share of nuns who renounce family life for spirituality.Emperor Ashoka’s daughter Sangha-mitra was a Buddhist missionary to Sri Lanka.Even now the chief priestess of the Mannarsala Serpant temple, for example is supposed to renounce family life when she takes over the position from her predecessor.
Amba (one of my favorite characters) is the princess from Mahabharata.I don’t remember her living with the Rishis.Her family didn’t accept her after she came back from her kidnapping.IIRC she performed her heavy penances all by herself.She was probably dissuaded by the Rishis, because they knew it was going to be difficult for a young, pretty,sheltered girl.Also they might not have wanted the temptation of a woman nearby.In Ramesh Menon’s version, she goes to her grand father a Rishi who had renounced the material life.He in turn takes her to Parasurama who intervenes for her and asks Bhishma to accept her as his wife.
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Watching Mind the Malhotras on Prime and loving it. If you decide to watch it, I would love your thoughts. Most reviews make it seem like it is just a frivolous show, but I think they have taken on so many potentially controvertial topics and displayed them as if they are just a part of life that most people miss how cutting edge it is. I don’t want to get into spoilers (unless you never plan to watch it) but I think the show can lead to very interesting discussions.
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But will I ever be able to see Cyrus Sahukar as more than “bad friend radio DJ who starts Roobaroo playing in Rang De Basanti”?
On Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 3:23 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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You can do it! I have faith in you!
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I just read this very interesting interview with Randeep Hooda. I know you don’t like his face but the more I read about him, the more I like him as a person.
https://www.filmcompanion.in/randeep-hooda-on-battle-of-saragarhi-film-that-never-got-made-akshay-kumar-kesari/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
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Tragically, I think I might like him as a person as well! If he ever gets a face transplant, he could become my favorite actor.
On Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 3:46 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I finally watched Andhadhun and I really enjoyed it! One thing that did surprise me is that Radhika Apte didn’t have a larger role and she was mostly just a romantic interest. I was kinda waiting for some kind of twist related to her because it was Radhika Apte if you know what I mean.
I’ve also been on a bit of a Dhanush kick and I watched both Maari and Maari 2 back to back. Maari 2 isn’t as good as the original but it had some nice moments. I really enjoyed Sai Pallavi’s character though!
I am seeing Spiderman: Far From Home tonight so I’m very excited about that!
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Yes! It’s Radhike Apte. Although I think they did use her well in that she was a love interest, but not the normal love interest. We can see right away from how she looks and acts that this won’t be the usual perfect magic fairy tale romance, but rather two people getting to know each other. Kind of felt the same way about Sanya Malhotra in Badhai Ho, they could have styled her differently and made her the beautiful perfect heroine, but they chose not to.
Report back on Spider-Man! I’ve only seen the first movie of this newest reboot. Tobey McGuire is still the “real” Spider-Man for me, but I am willing to give this new series a chance if it is really good.
On Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 4:01 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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True that it isn’t a typical love interest role but I would still say that it wouldn’t have made that much of a difference whether Sriram Raghavan casted Radhika Apte or someone more mainstream like Parineeti in the role. The fact that it was Radhika Apte added another layer of intrigue in my opinion.
I liked the new Spider-Man movie! I loved Spider-Man: Homecoming so I wasn’t as impressed with this movie. But it looks like a lot of Spider-Man fans in general are liking Spider-Man: Far From Home more. I’m seeing it being compared to Spider-Man 2 a lot as one of the best Spider-Man movies. This movie has more action and superhero stuff compared to Homecoming and the parts of Homecoming that I liked the best was Peter figuring out how to balance his home life with his superhero life. I’ve seen the Tobey Maguire movies when I was younger but I don’t remember much so I can’t really compare. I really think that Tom Holland plays a great Spider-Man though! I heard that they’re planning on making a total of 9 movies with him as the lead.
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I’m supposed to be spending next weekend with my parents, looks like Spider-Man might be a good option to watch with my Dad!
On Fri, Jul 5, 2019 at 1:18 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, it would be a good option!
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I’m done, temporarily, with all the stuff, yay! Finally can catch up on the blog and also watch a whole movie instead of just dozing in front of Veep for 30 minutes before passing out. The first order of business is to finish Delhi Crime, and also Made in Heaven. Also looking forward to Chopsticks. No idea what it’s about, but Abhay Deol and Mithila Palkar? And Vijay Raaz? What could possibly go wrong? I’m tentatively planning to watch Guru if Einthusan cooperates. I first wanted to see it when I started watching Hindi movies, in the “ooh, pretty!” phase. It wasn’t available and I sort of forgot about it, and then whenever I run across Tere Bina I vaguely think “I should watch that” and then forget. But your review reminded me again, so I’ll give it a go.
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I didn’t have high expectations for Guru and I really liked it. Can’t wait to hear what you think.
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Yaaaaay, I love this plan! Especially Made in Heaven, I need help deciding if the cameraman is sensitive and troubled or just a jerk.
On Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 10:43 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Watching: (aside from comfort fare re-watches) Cake. Agree with everyone who said you should watch and review it, I think you might like it. It has Sanam Saeed from Zindagi Gulzar Hai, but in a different kind of role, a bit more sophisticated. And Adnan Malik from Sadqay Tumhare, but better in this role – I think the humble character is more suited to him, (Sadqay Tumhare almost needed someone more imposing who you could imagine killing it at cricket and fighting seven guys at once – Aditya Roy Kapur or someone, tall and muscly and so good looking you think he must have been spoiled all his life.) The story is that kind of coming back together of a not perfect family that I’ve been craving, really well executed – like I think you’d dig the craft of it, good script, great acting, interesting camera work. Aamina Sheikh as the older sister is gorgeous and complicated. Syed Mohammed Ahmed and Beo Rana Zafar as the parents are just the best, so wonderful to watch.
Reading: Interesting from this Variety piece that a summer full of superhero movies isn’t panning out in terms of ticket sales. This quote is kind of in line with a discussion in the comments earlier this week about why people do or don’t choose to go watch movies in the theater:
“There’s so much content available at everyone’s fingertips…There is healthy competition for everyone’s entertainment dollars, but people love the theatrical experience. You just have to give a compelling reason to go. It’s causing everyone to raise their game.”
Feels like the studios have been going after that family or young male audience with so many superheroes, but then it turns out the movie actually has to be good or people won’t go see it, even if it has lots of special effects. And as you were saying, people find out very fast now whether a movie is any good, worth paying full ticket price for. The interesting thing to me is the idea that came from everyone talking about Article 15, or even Kabir Singh for different reasons – the reason for people to go see a movie in the theater doesn’t have to be pure spectacle or special effects, it can be just because it’s good and people want to participate in the conversation about it. If you can figure out that formula, it’s a lot cheaper than the tentpole Thugs of Hindostan or Zero model.
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/summer-box-office-movie-business-downturn-1203256608/
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Cake, Chopsticks, Delhi Crime, if I decide to stay home and just watch Netflix today I will be spoiled for choices.
It’s interesting how the Indian and Hollywood market are in such a similar place right now. And meanwhile, Dharma is still chugging along trying to finish the Superhero epic they started 4 years ago when the market was entirely different.
On Thu, Jul 4, 2019 at 12:32 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I long for the day when I can enjoy a holiday/Sunday in peace without having to study. And that day is still 2 years away. There are so many films on Netflix/Prime that I want to watch – Super Deluxe, Kumbalanagi Nights, Kalank….but sigh, I have exams coming up.
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If you’re like me, you will finish school, get bored, and immediately start a blog that takes up even more time than studying.
On Thu, Jul 4, 2019 at 3:42 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I found an American show on Netflix called “imposters” which seems promising.
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Oh, I watched that! I liked the first season but I found the second season to be kind of boring.
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