Happy Wednesday! So strange when there are only 4 work days in a week, I’m almost done but I also just started.
I’ll start!
Watching: I am now halfway through Rockstar and I think it may kill me. Why is Ranbir so irritating? Why is Nargis such a bad actress? Why am I supposed to care about their problems? Oh, and I also watched the Versace season of American Crime Story over the weekend, very well done and far more deep and sympathetic than Rockstar.
Reading: I’m on the last Cormoran Strike book, which means I am almost out of books. On the other hand, I am also almost out of summer, so I won’t have time for reading anyway.
Thinking: I did the big summer to fall clothing swap over the weekend and then the air conditioner at work immediately broke. It’s all my fault! The world had to punish me for getting out my sweaters early.
Listening: Rockstar does have a great soundtrack. If I close my eyes, I can enjoy watching it.
Now, question for you! My nephew is now a month old and my brother-in-law is going back to work and my sister asked for watching suggestions. What are good movies to watch while you are home with a month old baby? Things that will keep you from falling asleep and dropping the baby on its head, but won’t require a lot of deep thought and concentration? I already suggested Happy New Year and Dear Comrade, but there must be more.
dontcallitbollywood 
Yeah, I was asking the same: How somebody can be such a bad actress and still be hired by a good, very careful for details director? WHY?
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It was supposed to be Kareena according to one thing I read. But they had to dump her in order to keep Ranbir. Not the decision I would have made! Keep Kareena, replace Ranbir with literally anyone else, and the film still would have been good. His role is a lot easier to play (loud tormented artist) than hers (internal secretive troubled young woman).
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 8:17 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Ok, I can understand they couldn’t take Kareena, but there are like hundreds of actresses in Mumbai and I’m sure 99% of them are better than Nargis! Take one of them!
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Or, I mean, they COULD have taken Kareena. Kareena and Ranbir’s grandparents were cousins (that is, cousins who married each other and had children), why not just bite the bullet and cast the real life cousins as a fake romantic pairing!
This is the same reason that Dips was cast in Ram-Leela, it was supposed to be Sonam, but then they took Ranveer, and Sonam and Ranveer are cousins.
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 8:33 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Apparently they had confirmed Diana Penty for this before replacing her with Nargis for whatever reason. Imtiaz then cast Diana in Cocktail as a compensation. I’m guessing he has a steady stash of long haired,slender girls to move around according to whatever he smokes.A variation of Nargis’s role was played well by Anushka Sharma in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in the similar tortured guy turned artist story.
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I hate Tamasha, but even Dips in that was better than the Nargis character in this.
Also, the dubbing artist is bad! I was thinking “oh well, at least her dialogue is dubbed so it won’t be terrible”. But it is terrible! And that brings up the question of, if the dubbing artists is this bad, how bad was Nargis’ real voice and dialogue?
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 8:36 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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For your sister: Ralph Breaks the Internet and Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse. Animation is the way to go.
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I don’t know, those both might be a bit too complex and layered.
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 8:24 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Are you ready for bad movie recommendation for your sister? Half Girlfriend. One doesn’t need to think while watching it, the visuals are good, the protagonists are nice people so one doesn’t get angry.
Things a woman with a newborn baby should avoid : documentaries about women who abandon their newborn babies. I’m speaking from experience.
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Oh my gosh, WHY WOULD YOU WATCH THAT??? That just sounds so horrible. Plus the babies on the TV would be crying, and then the baby you are holding will start to cry, and then you will cry, and it is just all bad.
I was thinking even, like, Hum Aapke Hain Koun would be something to avoid because the baby has a sad story in that. On the other hand Half Girlfriend sounds really good. No sad babies in that, right?
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 8:42 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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The only sad person in Half Girlfriend is Shraddha, because she has terrible parents.
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I’m watching Derry Girls and loving it. I watched Dear Comrade(boring),a super fun Telugu comedy movie Brochevarevarura(complicated name) which maybe my favorite Telugu movie of the year since Prabhas failed to impress. Yet another Telugu investigative thriller Agent SaiAthreya something which is little slow to start but had a unique crime & interesting ideas at the center. The little Telugu films are so interesting cos they don’t have any stars or big money to splash and comes with such little expectations.
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Finally, someone else watched Dear Comrade. It was kind of boring, wasn’t it? Thus my suggestion as the perfect film for your first day home alone with a newborn. You can drift off, get distracted by a crying baby, make yourself a snack, and come back and Vijay will still be dripping around tormented.
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 8:48 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes, Brochevarevarura and Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya are the two best Telugu movies so far this year. Brochevarevarura I just rewatched yesterday and did not get bored even for a second. In the movie, at the end, does Satya Dev accept Nivetha Pethuraj’s proposal- even after rewatching I was not sure what to make of it.
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I think he did. It’s an all around happy ending. He goes on to make the movie with her and they start a relationship.
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Reading: I almost finished my Lech Walesa book. I’m reading it very slow because it’s infuriating.
Watching: Some random stuff, little Indian.
I finished Monk series, and started Grantchester. I saw first episode of korean series Love alarm. It’s cute, I would like to continue but it’s so slow and I’m not sure I will have the patience.
Italian Netflix finally added Luis Miguel series, I have been waiting for months. For those who doesn’t know Luis Miguel is one of the biggest latin american singers with very messy life (+ he is my second favourite singer ever). I watched almost 2 episodes and need to rest because the actor who plays Luis’s father is so good in being bad it’s exausting. Think the were t-shirts sold in Mexico with “I hate you Luisito Rey” written on them. I now want one too.
I also watched All about Eve. Watching Eve’s shenanigans was also exausting but I’m so happy I finished it.
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Yaaaaay, All About Eve!
Question, do you prefer a gender swap remake with Shahrukh playing Bette Davis, or a regular remake with Rani playing Bette Davis? The rest of it basically writes itself, right? We just move the setting to Bombay and the film world.
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 9:05 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Shahrukh playing Bette Davis’s role of course. It would be perfect in so many ways!
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Here you go!
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 12:50 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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HI!
I have been quietly lurking, while still in the throes of writing a chapter that is KICKING MY ASS. But I have also been reading: Robin, by David Itzkoff, a wonderful biography of Robin Williams that unexpectedly offers parallels with SRK. (The layers of sadness, the loneliness, the manic tendencies, the way he hides himself in his characters). His movie choices (“one for the masses/money, one for me”). And somehow I ended up rewatching “Oh Darling Yeh Hai India” and “Jab Tak Hai Jaan”. There can not be two more different films, but such was my mood. I adore ODYHI for all of its Brechtian Dr. Strangelove craziness, for Amrish Puri chewing the scenery, the fountain scene, and SRK’s magnificent jail monologue. Not to mention Javed Jaffrey’s dancing. And I watch JTHJ mainly for the soundtrack — not just the songs, but the underlying score, which is so amazing. It’s also great fun to watch knowing that SRK and Anushka finally get together in JHMS. (The airport scene in JTHJ is even better now that you know…)
Thinking: how hard it is to stay grounded in ordinary work and life while the world is burning up and our leaders have lost their minds.
Too dark? C’est la vie…
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I will allow you to lurk, but I do feel you should comment on at least some of the Shahrukh Summer posts 🙂 Pick an imaginary husband! Or a favorite costume!
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 10:02 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Sorry, I can’t. I keep going back to his booty shot in JHMS and getting distracted. I think it is always there, seldom deployed.
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Perhaps he fears it is too powerful? It is only in JHMS because he was distracted by playing the character and let it fly free?
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 11:40 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I was going to recommend HAHK but only the bit before Pooja goes down the staircase (at least she wasn’t carrying the baby?) For US films, how about Always Be My Maybe? It’s really funny but the plot is whisper thin and Keanu Reeves has a hilarious cameo.
I binged Ugly Betty when I was on bedrest during my pregnancy. It’s very silly and does not demand any brain energy at all.
Maybe Khoobsurat? Pretty pretty pretty and a Cinderella plot so it’s impossible to not know what’s going on.
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Always Be My Maybe was one of her “I am so uncomfortable when will this baby be born” movies, so that one is already used up.
Ugly Betty might be good, we watched it when it was first airing but stopped somewhere around season 2 or 3, so there is catching up to do. Along those same lines, Jane the Virgin would be perfect, except for all the baby stress. Why do shows always put in babies?????
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 11:13 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Baadshah, Happy New Year (finally watched it, woooh!), Duplicate, The Kid (by and with Charlie Chaplin), Blackadder, Jeeves & Wooster (90s series ), Stranger Things, Breaking Bad (okay, I admit this is rather dark, but it’s certainly great viewing and doesn’t ever get boring).
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Wooo, Happy New Year! And I love the 90s Jeeves & Wooster, it is still my primary reference for Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry no matter what other things they have gone on to do.
Now, Fan! Time to go dark.
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Reading; The Courtesan, the Mahatma and the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History by Manu S Pillai. It is a compilation of short essays based on Indian history he has written else where. It is an amazing read especially in light of political climate in India.
Watching: Sanal Kumar Sashidharan’s latest movie Chola, which premiered at Venice Film Festival, has got some good reviews. Went looking for the trailer on YouTube. Trailer is not available and ended up watching bunch of random videos.
Recommendations for Sister: Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.
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Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood is a great choice, except I fear she is entering a 5 year period when she will be stuck with more Mr. Rogers than she will ever want to see.
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Chiming in while baby is being held one-handed to say I doubt I will tire of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. Except maybe the Land of Make Believe.
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I am going to remind you of this comment 4 years from now and see what you say then.
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 1:50 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Fair enough.
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For your sister, perhaps a golden oldie guilty pleasure kind of watch? Dhoom 1/2, Main Hoon Na, Neil n Nikki, or on the western side, Amelie, Ferris buellers day off, or Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure? Both Amelie and Bill/Ted have an episodic structure where you can doze through one scene, watch the next, and still enjoy the movie.
I’m currently watching Killing Eve. It is refreshing to see a primarily female cast in a cat and mouse game between a spy and a contract killer. So far all the actresses are bringing their A-game. Also nice to see content where family plays a role in the lives of both the male and the female characters (I.e. not just the females’) and a source of conflict for both re work life balance and passion/dedication to job vs family.
Thinking: it’s nice to see middle aged leading ladies like sandra oh in killing eve, Elisabeth shue in The Boys, Patricia Arquette in The Act, and Kate Winslet in The Dressmaker, all aging naturally, including weathered dulled skin, wrinkles, and asymmetrical facial indentations and muscle movements. It’s so much more interesting than botox and fillers, and it gives me a more personal and empathic relationship to the character they are playing, whereas botox and especially fillers are like a mask, a shield between me and the character. I wonder if the viewing audience skews middle aged female, hence giving us actresses that look like us (but better)? I feel like during the last 30 years, at least in the west, lead actresses would be suddenly drop out of sight during ages 45-65, then reappear as senior citizens, when it’s ok to be wrinkled and weathered. Whereas during my childhood I felt we saw lead actresses during their entire lives, even when they weren’t getting as many parts, they were still at award shows etc. So we as the audience had role models of how we would look as we aged. The last 30 years have been really unhealthy to American women’s self esteem re aging, I hope the recent spat of natural looking lead actresses in popular cable and streaming shows will help reverse the damage.
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I’ve been thinking similar aging thoughts while watching my comfort TV, Murder She Wrote. For both men and woman on that show, I feel so much more oriented just because of how their faces look. As a viewer, when I am watching a modern show and a new character is introduced, I am never sure if this is supposed to be a 60 year old or a 30 year old. And that matters when you are talking about a character! Is the tough talking reporter supposed to be a young wonderkind, or a middle-of-their-career seen it all type? The way their face looks tells us that. But now, at least in American pop culture, everyone exists in a kind of nether world where they look no age at all. In Murder She Wrote, and other older shows, that was part of the character. Their hair, face, clothes, would tell us what generation they came from and fill in some of the gaps in their backstory as soon as they appeared. There was so much more texture to the characters, just from that. And we get the same effect in Killing Eve (dragging it back to your topic). Our three central female characters are a very young woman (the mid-twenties ideal), a middle-aged (late 30s/early 40s) woman, and a woman towards the end of her working life. And we don’t need a lot of dialogue to establish that, we just look at their faces and we know it. If all three characters looked approximately the same, the show would lose so much.
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 2:15 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I watched the Pakistani soaps when I was up late with my youngest. Slow moving, especially in the beginning (takes 8 episodes at a minimum for the lead pair to be in the same room together!) but sustained attention pays off, perfect for passing time. Also any of those 3+ hour movies you can’t find time for usually. Or adult content that will be harder to find time for later when the kid starts understanding things – Fleabag, for example, or Working Moms if that’s not too on the nose. I remember being super sensitive to violence and anything too bleak, including the news, so whatever constitutes pure escapism for her.
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Ooo, Pakistani soaps might be a good option. And would tie in with the Khoobsurat suggestion from above.
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 9:47 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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PS watched Humpty Sharma Ki Dilhania last night. Is this the southern Sid you keep mentioning? Yum. And Ashutosh Rana, totally the boss of any scene he was in. Varun is still very puppy-like, though good at gazing longingly, still haven’t seen him really act. Alia… don’t think I’d realized how many of these tough girl roles she’s gotten, she’s good at them and they play off her baby face. The Highway effect? Maybe it’s just because I’m catching up and only recently watched Raazi and Gully Boy. They were good together, but I liked the other characters more. It’s a good example of secondary characters who could have theirs own movies – Alia’s sister, or her parents, or Sid the NRI with the gay best friend, or Varun’s father.
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First and most importantly, Southern Sid! Big star in Telugu/Tamil films, had a couple crossover roles in Hindi and stole our hearts forever. He goes by “Siddharth”, no last name, so it’s really hard to identify him as different than Sid M. Thus our nickname
For Alia, it took a bit for her to find this persona I think. In SOTY she was kind of a “princess” type. And in Highway she was more of a child type than a tough girl. 2 States had her playing way older, more of a career woman type. And then this role was just perfect and she kind of stuck with variations of it, I think.
And I would watch a movie where Ashutosh Rana and his wife have a romance in a heartbeat! Oh my, I may have to write that. What do you think about something like Ashutosh gets amnesia and doesn’t realize he is married, the doctor says they should go along with the lie that he is a successful businessman and carefree bachelor and his wife is just his housekeeper. He ends up falling in love with his wife at first sight, but not knowing how to romance her because she is a respectable widow with a grown daughter (he thinks). And the divorced daughter ends up having a romance with the doctor. Heck, maybe the doctor falls in love with the daughter at first sight and that’s why he’s lying about the amnesia treatment needs so he can keep coming around the house.
Alternatively, Ashutosh and his wife have a big fight and she throws him out. He desperately tries to win her back, and the divorced daughter pretends to be engaged to someone to force them together to plan her wedding. And then falls in love with the pretend engagement person for real. Or something. I just want to see more Ashutosh romancing and a happy ending for the older daughter!
On Thu, Sep 5, 2019 at 10:57 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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You can add me to Ashuntosh Rana’s fanclub. I’m ready to watch Jeena Isi Ka Naam hai only because I think he looks hot in it. Unfortunately I can’t find it.
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You can watch Dushman and watch his break out role as a young rapist?
On Fri, Sep 6, 2019 at 8:45 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I don’t usually go for amnesia plots but that one sounds fun ;). It would be a good excuse to break him out of stern patriarch and show lots of character nuance as he figures out who he is and who he wants to be. Plus I love the mother and divorced daughter teaming up.
Yay for Ashutosh fan club!
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That’s what I’m thinking, I don’t want to make him single in middle-age, but I also want to see a glimpse of that wild funny confident courtship guy we heard about.
Alternative plot idea, what if he and his wife have a fight and she storms out, maybe over the daughter. Maybe he wants to start looking for a groom for the daughter, the daughter says she doesn’t want to be married again, the wife backs her, big family fight, he goes off to cool down living in his garage, and then for some reason they don’t make up like they usually do. Like, maybe when he shows up the next day with flowers and sweets like usual (I feel like they probably have a big blow out fight about once every two years), the guy he messaged about the daughter misunderstood and shows up at the house too and the wife throws them both out. Oh! Yes! This is perfect! The Dad doesn’t know that one of the guys he messaged on the marriage website actually knew the daughter in college and had a big crush on the daughter. He was so excited to see the message from the Dad that he rushed to the house. The daughter remembers him and yells at him for just showing up instead of messaging her in advance like a friend. The wife yells at the husband for going ahead with finding a husband. And suddenly Ashutosh and the nice young man are both living over the garage, and both of them trying to woo the angry women in the house.
Oooo, I like this idea!!!! I really really like it. And I feel like it could be used for pretty much any aging actor. Daughter for some reason is resistant of marriage, Dad sticks his big nose in, fight with Mom, and then Dad and suitor end up crashing together and both trying to win over Mom and Daughter.
On Fri, Sep 6, 2019 at 7:09 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m back in Japan after my US vacation, and preparing hastily for my trip to Bangladesh next week. Still fairly tired and jet-lagged. I watched Bazaar on the plane and it really made no impression on me. It might just be me–business intrigue is not a favorite genre–but I found it fairly boring and also hard to follow. I would like to see Saif in more anti-hero parts, though.
While in the States I also watched Once Again, which you all have on your Netflix but it’s not on Netflix Japan. This is a really nice mature romance with Shefali Shah and Neeraj Kabi, who is one of those actors I’ve never heard of until I IMDB him and discover I’ve seen him in all kinds of things and he just looks different in every movie. It’s very quiet and slow-moving, which of course as a veteran Bengali film watcher does not bother me. The film is very reminiscent of The Lunchbox in that it’s about a mature couple who communicate long distance, except that it deals more with what happens when they try to bring their relationship into real life. Shefali is great in this and it sounds shallow but she looks gorgeous. This character is so different from the no nonsense police officer she played in Delhi Crime. In this movie she plays a former dancer and there’s a wonderful scene of Neeraj looking adoringly at her as she gracefully prepares food.
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I don’t think it is just you that has a hard time with Bazaar, I found it boring and hard to follow too. But Saif’s performance was great, so there was that to hold on to. And yaaaay, another Neeraj Kabi fan! I first noticed him in Byomkesh Bakshy and have been tracking him since then.
On Fri, Sep 6, 2019 at 12:06 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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