Happy Wednesday! I have had a pretty nice week so far (saw Arjun Patiala on Monday night with my friend, last night sat at home and thought about Kuch Kuch Hota Hai). Hopefully it stays nice. I’d know it would be nice if Jabariya Jodi was releasing this Friday, but stupid release date got moved. Grrr.
I’ll start!
Watching: Finished off Workin’ Moms, I didn’t love-love it, but it was nice blogging background, and it really really informed my take on Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and soulmates! If you haven’t seen the show, it’s one of those rare wonderful narratives that puts a connection between two female friends at the center of things.
Reading: Started the Cameron Strike series, thanks to Nish’s comment on the Shahrukh fictional detective post. I’m enjoying it, but struggling to get used to Rowling’s distinctive writing style when she is talking about gritty reality instead of magic.
Thinking: I get to be home in my apartment all weekend for the first time in three weeks. How long will it take me to start going stir crazy? Better plan on numerous movie outings, I think.
Listening: This popped up on my ipod yesterday (thanks to my Best of Yo Yo cd) and I really really like it! Still don’t want to see the movie, but like this song.
Now, question for you! I kind of stumbled in to doing a theme week on Kuch Kuch Hota Hai this week. What other movie do you think I could/should do a theme week about? Bangalore Days? Premam? 3 Idiots? Deewar? Rangeela? Anything else? It has to be popular enough that people will want to talk about it (not Guide, that theme week was not well received), but also deep enough that I will have a lot to say (not Krrish 3). Oh, and also something that I haven’t covered in depth already and still have things to say (not JHMS).
dontcallitbollywood 
I tried with Rowling’s detective series a few years ago when she began writing them but I just couldn’t get into it. I gave up halfway through the first book.
LikeLike
Banglore Days Week.
I am watching Money Heist on Netflix and it is too much fun.Spanish are so good at edge of the seat thrillers as seen earlier in Badla original.The hero or anti hero is a tall,bearded geeky guy with spectacles who is called Professor.He practices kick boxing and prefers in-depth conversations and long walks before having sex-pretty sure a woman wrote this character and I am not complaining one bit.The heroine is equally well rounded and it is great to see a romance in the middle of clever plotting and all the action.
Major Rant
Have you ever grown disillusioned with someone you really liked?I am having a crisis of faith with Baradwaj Rangan.Off late i am seeing that FilmCompanion South is really catering to the men in the audience.They released 2 lists on the occasion of FC turning 5 years.First list was an assortment of all must watch movies in all south indian language and every single list was curated by men and consequently has movies that celebrates masculinity.The absence of female voice in FilmCompanion South is so glaring.The second list was by BR himself on the breakthrough artists(actor,director,writer etc) in each industry and again not a single woman in any of the fields in any of the languages in last 5 years.Like Anjali Menon making a multi star cast movie in Malayalam(which hasnt had a female director in decades) that made non Malayali audience pay attention to Malayalam films for the first time does not count as breakthrough for him.Or Nayantara becoming a major crowd puller in the male dominated Tamil movies.He would rather celebrate a 22 year old guy for directing an okayish thriller or Vijay Devarakonda for redefining the angry hero template.
BR personally did two QA session on Arjun Reddy which had a lot of whataboutery to justify the masculine tone of the movie.It wasn’t a simple ‘I like it despite all its flaws’ but more like ‘I dont think films should be viewed with gender lens’.He was drawing comparisons with Lolitha and what not.In his effort to stand apart,he sometimes mansplains ideas that female critics have an issue with and his predominantly male audience lap it up as some sort of gospel.I still like his interviews and writing but wish he is a little more sensitive in recognizing teh impact of movies on general audience and included more women in their writing team for a balanced perspective.
Rant over.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha! I love your quick summary of the Money Heist hero! Tall, bearded, glasses, kick-boxing, long talks.
Thank you for your rant, that was less of a rant and more of an “interesting and informative discussion of an issue”.
The blindness of men to female artists is so frustrating, because it’s not a matter of them “deciding” to ignore women, it is that they truly don’t see them. Like, I am sure BR didn’t sit down and say “I am deciding to ignore Anjali Menon”, but instead sat down and said “I am going to write a list of the important artists who come to mind” and the only ones he thought of were men because that is how his brain is trained. And then he read over the list to make sure he wasn’t leaving anyone out, and again it never occurred to him to check for gender. You know what I mean? So there can be a sincere response of “I didn’t mean to do that, I wasn’t trying to exclude women, this is just who I thought of”. But that’s not an excuse! You should be aware of your unconscious prejudices and CONSCIOUSLY correct for them. And of course the same goes for any sort of privileged blindness, race or gender or class or anything. Be aware of your own shortcomings and work to make-up for them. And when someone points them out, take their concerns seriously and think about how to do better.
Anyway, yes, I have found people disappointing like that. I start out being amazed at their original ideas and so on, and that at some point you reach the limits of their perfection and realize they are human. For me, discovering Bardwaj has an expected limitation and blindness to gender privilege wouldn’t take away the quality of everything else I like about him, but might make me a little more aware moving forward.
Most importantly, this whole comment made me think of a new theme week idea! What do you think about a week devoted to female directors? I won’t say “best” directors or anything because (especially in the south) I just don’t know enough. But there are more than enough female directors I do know about for me to discuss them, or at least repost reviews of their films. Anjali Menon, Meghna Gulzar, Farah Khan, Geetu Mohandas, Konkona Sen Sharma, Sudha Kongara, and NOT Kangana.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes yes yes! (to the women director’s week, and please do include Bangalore Days)
LikeLike
It will also give us a chance to ugly cry over Koode some more. I feel like what she attempted with Fahad’s character in Bangalore Days, the sad wounded man, really really worked in Koode with Prithviraj. And is an interesting kind of hero that I think only a female director would make.
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 1:32 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
OMG, Koode is my new Steel Magnolias, my new Terms of Endearment. In other words, yes please!
LikeLike
Hell yes to the female director week idea.You have seen Oh Baby -which is also from a female director.Then there is Nandita Das too who made Manto.You could throw in a female script writer week too with Kanika Dhillon(Manmarziyan),Juhi Chaturvedi(October,Piku),Anjali Menon(Ustad Hotel) and few more.
LikeLike
Female director week! Sai Paranjpe! Meghna Gulzar!
Also if Bangalore Days is like Koode I will watch it and then I can enjoy Bangalore Days week.
LikeLike
You should watch all the Anjali Menon movies! Bangalore Days and Ustad Hotel (which she wrote). And her first film if you can find it. They are all like Koode in that they are beautiful and deal with unspoken human emotions and deep complex relationships and stuff. But they are not like Koode in that there is no Prithviraj in them.
On Thu, Aug 1, 2019 at 5:53 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I was able to come up with a bunch of directors that I had seen a few films and could write a real discussion of their style and all. But I don’t know what to do with the others who only made the one or two movies.
On Thu, Aug 1, 2019 at 12:17 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Excited you’re watching and liking Money Heist! Have you made it to the third season? Haven’t started watching that one yet, I’m a little nervous about what they’ll do with the characters now.
LikeLike
I am two episodes short of finishing season2.Just skimmed through the descriptions for season3 episodes and it sounds promising.Fingers crossed.I really liked Berlin,hope he makes it into season3.
LikeLike
Yay! I won’t say anything for now, then ;).
LikeLike
He didnt,but okay.Professor is looking like God-with-specs in white shirts & linen pants,im happy to keep watching…:)
LikeLike
I got stuck with movies. I feel I should watch Virus and Ishq and I’m not in mood for this kind of film. I started Ishq but managed to see only 20 minutes, because I was so anxious. I couldn’t focus because my head was like : OMG something terrible will happen! I couldn’t stand this tension.
The good this is, I finally saw The Big Sick. I wanted to watch this movie since forever. And it was good, I’m glad I watched it, and I’m glad I hadn’t read the plot earlier.
Listening: Proper Patola (again)
LikeLike
Can you access Bechaaran on your Prime? The Sanam Saeed Pakistani movie? I think you might like that. You would LOVE Dear Comrade, and it said it was a partner with Prime over the opening credits, but of course that won’t be available for months.
And you are better than me, I still haven’t seen The Big Sick despite everyone saying it is amazing.
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 9:04 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Unfortunately there are no pakistani movies on Italian Prime, and on Netflix only Teefa in Trouble and Dukhtar.
LikeLike
Booo!
I wonder if I can find a list of Italian Netflix/Prime options just so I can find out what is good for you? I hate how hard it is for me to recommend you things!
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 9:39 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
For Netflix you can use this site:
https://www.netflixlovers.it/catalogo-netflix-italia/generi/film-indiani-10463
For Prime, it’s not that easy, but basically we have Dharma movies, the movies produced by Salman Khan (that’s how I saw Loveyatri 😉 ), and a little collection of the newest tamil/telugu + a lot of odd older and newer bengali and marathi movies.
LikeLike
Thank you! Okay, from that list here are the ones I think you might like (most of which you have probably already seen, but it makes me feel useful):
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Baazar Bucket List Soorma Bareilly Ki Barfi Qarib Qarib Singlle 2 States Fitoor Baaghi Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na Lucknow Central Rangoon Aiyaa Drishyam
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 11:52 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Hey, Fitoor? Rangoon? I thought you hate those film swith all your heart. And you see, there is not much on italian Netflix, only things I have already seen or the ones I’m not interested like Lucknow Central
LikeLike
I do! I really really do! But you hated A Gentleman, and liked Half-Girlfriend which I was afraid to even attempt to watch. So I thought I would throw in two over the top bad historical romances for you. “Miss-matched rich-poor couple who spends all their time dripping through musical montages instead of talking through the issues? I hate it, but maybe Angie will like it!” was my thought process. Also, Fitoor:
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 2:34 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I haven’t seen A Gentelman, but I saw Dishoom, and I absolutely hated it. I don’t think I can hate Fitoor more. Will check it someday. As for Rangoon, this one I never plan to see because: it’s bad, it’s about war, I can’t stand Kangana, and also I don’t like Shahid and Saif.
Update: I decided to be tough and continue with Ishq. I arrived to the important scene that made me so anxious, I couldn’t stand the tension and so quit and started the first colourful movie Prime was recommending – punjabi Muklawa. Oh man this one is bad. Just in the beginning the protagonist wakes up frightened because he had a nightmare that he married a dark-skinned girl. The rest of the story is not good either. The girl doesn’t want to marry, and everyody knows dowry is bad but they just respond with: It’s the custom, we can change it, so better don’t even talk about it.
LikeLike
At this point, how much worse can Fitoor be? No stress because you already know the story (Great Expectations), and ARK is cute, and Tabu is a blast as Mrs. Havisham.
Or, you can just rewatch Notebook.
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 3:58 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
If I hate illness movies (except Beaches), but love Emily and Kumail and want to quietly perv on Kumail for a while, should I watch The Big Sick?
LikeLike
I hate illness movies too! And that’s why I’m glad I hadn’t read the plot, because probably I wouldn’t watch it. But the illness is only one part of the film and (spoiler, but not really) nobody dies so you can watch it without fear.
I loved how Zoe Kazan looks in this film – like a normal everyday woman, and it was so refreshing. She is intelligent, and funny and that’s enough to fall in love with her. She doesn’t need any makovers or other stupid changes. It was so empowering for me.
LikeLike
That sounds great, honestly. Perfect for my perving on Kumail purposes.
LikeLike
Dear Comrade, kind of the same thing! But stupid. But romantic. Really, you will love it.
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 2:45 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I feel like a Bangalore Days week would be fun. There’s a lot to talk about in the movie and I feel like it’s a lot of non-Malayali people’s first Malayalam film. Also it got added to Prime recently if anyone hasn’t seen it yet.
The only movies I’ve seen lately are Dear Comrade and La La Land. I tried going to Arjun Patiala but the timings haven’t worked out or I haven’t gotten anyone to go with.
I saw La La Land again since I first saw it when it came out. I liked it a lot more this time since I wasn’t as focused on the plot and could just appreciate how beautiful the movie is instead. I’m totally in love with the soundtrack now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now that I think about it, thanks to the remakes Bangalore Days might be vaguely familiar to people (at least in terms of broad themes) who saw the other language versions too. Another bonus!
I hate this early August/late July dead zone in movies as everyone runs scared of the Independence Day releases. The only thing this week is that odd Sonakshi Sinha comedy. At least next week should have Jabariya Jodi, finally.
LikeLike
I really liked La La Land. It’s one of the few Hollywood musicals that I didn’t hate along with Chicago. I watch BW and yet I can’t handle singing and dancing in HW films. I don’t know why… it just seems so boring!
LikeLike
Watching : Bosch and Longmire listening/Reading : Bark of the Night by David Rosenfelt.
LikeLike
I am also watching Longmire off and on! I just finished season 3, which was pretty terrible but I’d heard it was pretty terrible and things are supposed to get better in 4-5-6.
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 11:04 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I think season 4 went exclusively to netflix, then it got better. I liked all seasons though, makes me want to see wyoming.
LikeLike
Me too! Although, it was actually filmed in New Mexico I think? So it makes me want to see New Mexico again. My uncle lives there, maybe I should plan on it for my next trip 🙂
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 11:29 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Ya places like casper look simmilar. New mexico is another place i want to visit. Loved it from watching “better call saul”. Weirdly i couldnt get into “breaking bad” and stopped after watching a season, better call saul felt way better.
LikeLike
Watching: Well, just finished Big Little Lies. I might be in the minority but I really liked this season, maybe even more than the first season. Looking forward to watcing Jabariya Jodi next weekend.
Reading: Just finished Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. It was brilliant! A fascinating and very entertaining character study, great writing, and very well thought out. Also, there are so many layers to the the book.
Thinking of reading Whisper Networks next and would love any input from the DCIB community who has already read it.
Also, I love the theme of of female directors. I also really enjoyed your Sangam so maybe a theme of watching old classics (ones you might not have seen yet but have been meaning to) and then reviewing or discussing them?
LikeLike
I really liked the Sangam post too! That was the initial goal of Friday Classics, to bring up the really classic films. Problem is, no one is interested in reading about classic films 😦
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 12:03 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
One good thing about such a long trip, I watched so many movies. Mostly I was on a Prithviraj bender. Most of these I watched twice.
Bel Canto (the only non-Indian movie I watched, and I loved it, but it is hella sad); 96; Koode; Qarib Qarib Singlle; Aiyyaa; City of God; Mumbai Police; Hero; Puthiya Mukham; Urumi; Thriller; Masters; Ezra; and Ranam. Since coming home I’ve seen Lucifer; Adam Joan; and Kana Kandaen. Quite the variety in quality.
So glad to have another actor who is interesting enough to be obsessed with during the Shah Rukh content drought. Now that I’m having to, like, live with people, I’m going through movie withdrawal. 🙂
I’m kind of scared to see Ennu Ninte Moideen, having already been a bit spoiled on the ending. That’s one I need to plan recovery time from, I think. You mentioned My Story is terrible–why?
LikeLike
Why does the sun rise in the east? Why is the sky blue? My Story is terrible because God made it so.
It’s just terrible in every possible way. First time director who had no idea what she was doing, plot that is insanely melodramatic to the point of inducing giggles while also being bored, characters that are so poorly written even talented actors like Prithviraj and Parvathy struggle to make them seem real. and of course that bane of every bad melodrama, bad old age make-up. Picture the worst dramatic TV movie romance you have ever seen, one of those 90 minute 80s garbage things, then cut the budget in half, and you have My Story.
On the other hand, I am super super super impressed with all those Prithviraj movies! At this point you have now surpassed me in Prithviraj-ness. But I have to point out, you haven’t commented on all my reviews yet. Get on that! I want thoughts on 96, Qarib Qarib, Ezra, and Urumi. Or you can spend time with your family and dog, whatever.
Ennu Ninte Moideen, yeah, whatever you needed after Koode, plan on the same. Similarly beautiful, similarly sad. A nice strategy might be to plan on Ennu Ninte Moideen, and then My Story. A little reminder that ultimately Prithviraj and Parvathy are just actors who sometimes make terrible movies.
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 1:51 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
I want to see My Story so badly! I don’t care if it’s bad. And I hate that now some movies disappear without a trace. There are no dvds anymore, streaming services don’t want them and I’m here waiting. This movie and Abhiyude Kadha Anuvinteyum ( Abhiyum Anuvum) are the ones I just can’t wait to see.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Terrible quality and no subtitles, but at least the Pirates are trying: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6o3271
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 2:31 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Haha, I just snorted my coffee. I think My Story could end up being a guilty pleasure of sorts. Assuming P and P look pretty. What is their jodi portmanteau? Does ParvathyRaj work or does that mean something weird?
I think I’ve commented on Qarib Qarib because I first watched it as an Irrfan fan, but I’ll get on the others! I started going through your Prithviraj tags, but got a bit shy about acknowledging how much my obsession has progressed.
Vijay Sethupathi recs are welcome too. Having just seen 96, I can’t tell if I like him, or just like his character/the movie.
LikeLike
I’ve only seen Vijay Sethupathi in Pizza (his break out role, a smart low budget horror film) and Vikram-Vedha (Vijay versus Maddy). And 96. Based on those 3 roles, he is a brilliant brilliant actor. Honestly, you would swear it was a different person in each part. But I can’t speak to if you will love him, that is a deeply personal decision 🙂
Now I need to have a portmanteau for Prithvi and Parvathy too! Prithvathy?
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 3:15 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
Could be Parvathvi but that’s tricky to say and it’s too easy to miss the v.
LikeLike
All of this is why I think the trend of naming your baby a combo of your two names is STUPID. People never fully think it through and just end up with something that doesn’t sound like anything. I am still grumpy about Shahid and Mira naming their daughter “Misha”. And don’t get me started on Aditya and Rani going with “Adira”!!!!
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 4:55 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Reading through older Prithviraj posts, and a comment by Moimeme reminded me I’ve also seen Kaaviya Thalaivan. As Moimeme said, “He has an interesting role in it, as an actor in a theater group during the 1920’s/30’s.” It’s basically a Salieri/Mozart kind of story. Good stuff, but sad.
I enjoyed it. Also just watched Tiyaan yesterday. I’m glad the movie centered on Indrajith–he is wicked talented. I didn’t realize until after watching it that the baddie is the screenwriter, also the same screenwriter for Lucifer. Good for him for writing such a fun role for himself!
My Story is not even on einthusan. It must really be a stinker.
LikeLike
Oh, I thought of a Prithvi movie that I’ve seen and you may not have! Ayalum Njanum Thammil. He plays a sensitive doctor in a hill station and the scenery is gorgeous. And there’s one really nice love song.
On Sun, Aug 4, 2019 at 10:58 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
Watching: last night Dil Dadakhne Do. Can Zoya be in your female director week? Love that idea and I’m curious about her. I meant to stop the movie at some point and go to bed but I was so entertained I just stayed up and watched it all the way through. Really liked the dysfunctional family dynamics, loved how all the young people banded together against the older generation with their rules and fear of social censure. I mostly liked all the leads – there was a point as the drama ratcheted up that Ranveer’s performance got a little too manic for me, but he reined it back in. Surprisingly really enjoyed his sibling chemistry with Priyanka, I felt they actually had better chemistry than Ranveer-Anushka. (That made me think I’m not sure I’ve ever really bought them as a couple, even in Band Baaja Baaraat, and now I’m curious to see if there’s anyone who does click as the perfect Ranveer jodi, which might finally cause me to watch Padmavaat.) Anushka was the only one I thought was miscast. I usually like her, but I didn’t believe her as an up-from-nothing born to dance character. Vaani from Befikre would have been better in that role. The first meeting in the pool was beautiful, though. Farhan was the sexiest I’ve seen him, though I did feel like maybe Zoya indulged him a bit on the songs. And Anil and the other parents were deliciously gossipy and backbiting. Fun movie. Would maybe get rid of the dog, I have a thing against animal narrators as a device for explaining human characters.
Also watched the recent Hautelight interview with Mahira Khan – she said BTW that she’s hoping for a December release for the Legend of Maula Jatt, and hinted that possibly it was delayed because they’re preparing a wider and more coordinated release. That would be a happy reason if it’s true. Can’t wait for Superstar in the meantime, I hope it comes to theaters too. Anyway, it made me curious to go back and rewatch her scenes in Raees, which confirmed one if the flaws we’ve discussed, her character just doesn’t have enough meat on it. Not her fault, I just feel like she needs a bit more backstory and toughness to balance out Raees. Mahira’s face is so expressive, all that emotion while making her clueless about some of his plans makes her look weak, it doesn’t match their dynamic.
By coincidence watched Nene Raju Nene Mantri – on my Rana exploration – which is another businessman turns gangster turns politician story, but way more masala and over the top. Kajal Aggarwal plays his wife, and the balance between them in the plot is more even, it helps ground and humanize Rana’s character the same way Mahira’s should have done for Raees. Not as good a movie, and Rana’s character was so nasty in a few parts that he lost me, but still got a kick out of watching him do the magnetic antihero thing.
LikeLike
Oh, Zoya is a great one! There are so many female directors really, I am having a hard time remembering them all. And with Zoya comes Reema her not-officially-together-but-come-on-it-is-obvious life and creative partner.
And HA to your wish to get rid of the dog! It’s Aamir Khan, a favor to the family. And in his typical Aamir way, I picture him being handed a 3 line script and rewriting it to be 50 pages long, and them not being able to turn it down because he is so excited about it.
Now that you’ve seen DDD, you’ve also seen some of the best famous-not-famous actors. Rahul Bose is Priyanka’s husband, he’s been around since the 90s, been in a lot of big movies and is super respected in the industry, but was never interested in playing the fame-game. Shefali Shah played the “mother” character in a lot of movies and I always find her striking, I think she is amazing in this playing a mother who actually has something to do. And Anil of course, usually plays the dopey Dad or else the charming young rascal. Seeing him play mature-sexy here kind of blew my mind. And Vikrant Massay, who plays the young Romeo lover, is positioning himself to be the next Rahul Bose.
On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 8:50 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I liked all of those people very much. It did feel like an all star ensemble.
OMG that’s hilarious, I didn’t recognize Aamir as the dog. To be fair, my issue was with the idea of the dog narrator, which seemed unnecessary and a bit lazy, and with some of the un-canine-like observations, not with the voice.
LikeLike
Watched ‘Jalsaghar’ now. Did you watch this Satyajit Ray gem? It’s in Amazon prime as well with English subtitles.
LikeLike
No, I think I have only seen one Satyajit Ray movie and one Bengali film.
On Thu, Aug 1, 2019 at 5:19 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
You can watch Satyajit Ray’s films…I bet you would like them too. A few of them are available in Amazon, YouTube. For starters, you can watch the short film ‘Two’, available in youtube. There’s no dialogue at all.
LikeLike