Happy Wednesday! Halfway through a weird week. Things are super slow at work right now, which means the work days pass veeeeeeeeeeeeery slowly. I know it shouldn’t work that way, but it does, the busy weeks go by a lot faster.
I’ll start!
Reading: Well, I finished all the current Cormoran Strike books, thus my need for recommendations for good mysteries from you all. I haven’t started a new book, but I requested one book in the series from all the recommendations you gave me and I will try them one by one until I find one I like.
Thinking: I get to host a movie night on Friday! I’m so excited! I haven’t had people over to watch a movie since summer started. Of course, that means I am missing the opening day of The Zoya Factor, but it’s worth it. If the schedule works out, maybe I can double bill it with Zoya and Dream Girl on Saturday.
Watching: I finally started Bosch. Dark seedy underbelly kind of mysteries, but on the other hand it’s set in LA so it is always sunny and pretty. Kind of weirdly happy making. Oh, and I’ve been showing bits of Indian film to my new co-worker at work, Hrithik is her favorite so far, so I’m doing Jodha-Akbar on Friday.
Listening: “Ghungroo Song”! Have we talked about this yet? And what a travesty it is that Hrithik only dances for like 30 seconds? But the lyrics and the contrast of the traditional with the modern sound and visuals, that’s all great.
Now, question for you! Related to my question from Monday. What is your favorite Indian mystery movie?
Call me crazy, but I like Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! And from the older school ones, I like Jewel Thief.
dontcallitbollywood 
I am just catching up on all my movies and finally watched Bharat. It was surprisingly good even with the OTT action sequences. Salman-Katrina chemistry is just perfect. But it made me think a few things:
1. Why are subtitles SO bad? “Bharat bro, the desert has turned madam-sit into Marilyn Monroe.” SERIOUSLY? Why can’t film producers get a good translator?!
2. Katrina with curly hair and no make-up might just be the most beautiful person I have ever seen. She should sport curly hair often. I also think curly hair is Katrina’s secret superpower that transforms her from average into a fabulous actress.
3. Older Salman with beard and glasses looks SO much better than Salman trying to play a man-child in his 50’s. I wish he would just grow a beard, wear glasses, and transform like Amitabh – thankfully – eventually did.
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I just realized I didn’t answer your question. Favorite mysteries: Talaash and Ittefaq and from older more serious mysteries: Gumnam, Who Kaun Thi. Both of these movies terrified me as a child but I am a wuss. And Teesri Manzil and Shikar for fun mysteries.
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I thought Gumnaam would be scary! I have always avoided it for that reason. I think I’ve seen songs from Woh Kaun Thi? which looked fun and cheerful and then I looked it up and it is also scary!
On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 9:38 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Bharat! That’s the movie I should have done for my ReRun! I was staring into space trying to remember what movie it was that was a big deal and just hit streaming and I couldn’t think of it.
So glad you watched and enjoyed it.
1. Totally forgot to give a shout out to the subtitler for Gang Leader, not only did they not change the references to be “American”, they even gave the exact footnoted information, like adding on “(reference to the song “—–” from the movie “—–“)” all with the original Telugu names. Why can’t Hindi subtitlers do that?
2. Yes! I’ve long thought Katrina is more striking with no make-up, And the big hair really really works on her. I don’t think that is her natural hair? Like, I think her natural hair is straighter and thinner. But it looks sooooooooo good, she should just always have it like that. And I can imagine people on set telling her “don’t worry about how you look, the character is supposed to be natural”, which freed her up to focus on the acting.
3. Yeah, I didn’t even mind the ridiculous old man fight scenes. Let him age gracefully, he can still do the action stunts his fans want and he will look soooo much better doing them.
On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 9:11 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I bet you that Telugu subtitler was Rekhs. I’ve gotten to know her on Twitter and she’s passionate about subtitling. One of her team members has won national writing awards.
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I don’t know, from what I have seen of films that I know were done by Rekhs, I actually don’t like her subtitles. Too much focus on translating to American references and doing things like trying to rhyme lyrics, not enough on pure accuracy. I should have stayed through the credits to see who did Gang Leader, because whoever it was deserves credit! I’ll try to remember to check once it hits streaming.
On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 9:08 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Two indian movies I really liked in recent times are Thadam and Adhe Kangal. I’m not sure these are 100% mystery movies, I think yes, because there is a crime and investigation. You should chack them, especially Thadam.
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Oooo, Thadam has Arun Vijay in a double role! That’s got to be good.
On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 9:25 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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And in both roles he is beyond sexy 🙂
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Awesome that you started bosch, you are right; i read all the novels and when i started the series , the atmosphere is so close to imagination as well as LA , as you said allways sunny and bright.
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Yeah, I’ve never even been to LA, but somehow this feels like a real place to me, like I don’t even have to go there because I’ve already been.
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A dream girl-zoya factor double feature seems interesting! Both are quirky comedies! Though I admit that I don’t really have much interest in the Zoya Factor. Is it just me or does Dulquer seem less interesting in his hindi stuff?
I really love Gunghroo and I have it on repeat! I think it’s a great remake. Love the funky guitar riff. Also I think it’s nice that vaani and hrithik get to dance together even if it’s 5 seconds.
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It is not just you, I find Dulquer so uninteresting in his non-Malayalam stuff that I have to keep reminding myself how good he is in the Malayalam films. I found him super dull in Mahanati too. I don’t know if it is because he struggles with the language, or just isn’t being given as interesting roles outside of Malayalam.
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It’s so sad because The Zoya Factor book is hilarious and so much fun! I never would have picked Sonam and Dulquer as leads for this movie, and they look so boring and nothing like what I imagined the book characters to be.
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Well, I will watch it at some point next weekend and report back!
On Thu, Sep 19, 2019 at 3:27 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Regarding mystery recommedation, Margaret, believer and give “Alloysius Pendergast”( check wiki on him) a try , he is one my fav and fascinating fictional characters ever, second to “bruce wayne”; start with “cabinet of curiosities” it will awe you.
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Watching:
Another regional, women-leaded movie I’m sure you won’t be interested to see. Marathi “Smile, please”. It’s about succesful women who is diagonesed with an early-onset dementia. It’s on Prime if somebody is interested, but I wouldn’t recommend it, because it was boring.
I have some indian tv channels now and give them a look from time to time. Yesterday Nanu Ki Jaanu was on one of them, and I can tell you Abhay Deol has short shower scene in it. Unfortunately the movie didn’t have subtitles 😦 (Eintusan also doesn’t have them)
I also noticed there are Jab tak hai jaan songs everytime I watch B4U music , and everyday an Akshay Kumar film is broadcasted.
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Ooh! If you have any other fun Marathi reccomendations I’ll take those. Nothing sad please. I have only seen Bucket List and Baavare Prem He. Baavare Prem He is very to Nicholas Spark-esq young romantic tragedy if you are into those types of movies.
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Baavare Prem He is something I could enjoy 🙂
I’m very very new to marathi cinema, only saw few movies, and I really enjoyed maybe only two:
Katyar Kaljat Ghusali – a must watch if you like the music
Aamhi Doghi – beautiful, in my opinion, and rare story about a friendship between two women, but it’s a little sad in the end.
I also liked Kshan (it’s on Prime), one of the first Subodh Bhave’s roles. But again it’s sad (about ill woman)
Films you can skip:
Tula Kalnaar Nahi – boring
Mogra Phulaalaa – about momma’s boy who should grow a pair (spoiler: he doesn’t )
YZ- the movie is not bad but Sagar Deshmukh has a scene in very revealing outfit and it’s not something people should watch.
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Thank you so much for the recommendations. I completely forgot that I watched Mogra Phulaalaa. I think I blocked it out like a traumatic memory because I HATED it so much. Although, if anyone decides to remake it into a hindi film, he/she should absolutely cast Ranbir as Sunil and Neetu Singh as Sunil’s mother. Don’t you think that would be perfect and also very life imitating art?
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I’m happy to see I’m not the only one who thinks Mogra was terrible. What’s the point of all this movie? He didn’t change, his mother is still terrible, the girl will have another bad mother-in-law.
And you are so right! Ranbir and his mother should remake this in hindi. Or better, they should have their reality show: Keeping up with the Kapoors, and it would be the same like this film.
Yesterday I started another marathi film – Ranangam. I liked the trailer because it was odd, and I also thought Swwapnil Joshi will be great as a creep. He always plays hero, but he doesn’t have the look of the hero and here he plays a psycho and it suits him so well. There is more drama in the first 45 minutes, than in all marathi movies I have seen so far combined.
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Well to be fair to B4U, if they are showing a selection of films from recent times every day, the odds are high of an Akshay film. He has made SO MANY.
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Yes, but why JTHJ songs all the time? The movie is old.
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Maybe spent a ton of money buying them from YRF and trying to get their money’s worth?
On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 12:17 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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“maybe I can double bill it with Zoya and Dream Girl on Saturday…” enough of lighthearted movies, we wanted angry margaret back , please watch “prasthanam” this week 🙂
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Well, I can always try rewatching Bharat Ane Nenu, but I am worried I will destroy my television in a fit of rage.
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Lol
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I’m not sure if these are mysteries, thrillers, or both… Bas ek Pal, Ek Haseena Thi, both with Urmila.
Watching: I watched the final episode of Mindy Kaling’s Four Weddings and a Funeral reboot, a Hulu original. I really enjoyed the whole thing. Too many ensemble shows whittle down to focus on a favorite character or two after a while, but this one maintained the importance and storylines of each character in the ensemble to the end. The Rom and the Com were equally balanced. Some of the actors weren’t good enough at comedy so their lines fell flat. Others were really aces. Such a variety of unconventional romances too. Older woman younger man, ivy league woman high school man, establishment white man working class immigrant man, city woman country man, black woman desi man, wealthy woman poor man.
The final episode was especially good. From a “male critic” standpoint, they had a really excellent tracking longshot that lasted an entire scene (several minutes) to demarcate the passage of time and accompanying advancements in people’s lives, set to an Indian version of Ain’t No Sunshine, a collab between Vishal-Shekhar and UK’s Naughty Boy. An entire song in Hindi, on an American tv show… when does that ever happen! The song is on YouTube but so far I can’t find the scene anywhere on its own. In another great technical scene, two former lovers go on blind dates with other people, and the way they interplay the two dates, echoing each other, is visualized and captured expertly. From a “female critic” pov, the excellence and creativity of those scenes are really effective in bringing out the poignancy of the moment. And the whole episode is full of poignant moments and fulfilling ones.
Finally, I really like how the season ender closed enough threads to feel like a true finale to end the entire show, while leaving enough threads open to merit a second season should they go that route.
In general, if you like American and British ensemble pieces, if you like rom coms, and if you like the emotional experience of an Indian film, then you will enjoy this property. 🙂
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I really need to see Ek Haseena Thi, I’ve been hearing about it for ages and now it is on Netflix so I have no excuse.
And your description of Four Weddings and a Funeral is both so good that it should be used for their ad campaign, and shows a perfect understanding of what I meant by “male” versus “female” criticism, and how they can and should intersect. So impressive!
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Ek Haseena Thi was quite nice. A little predictable, but as revenge movies go, very satisfying. I loved seeing Saif get his comeuppance 🙂
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Also recommending EHT. I was presently surprised by the presence of all of the female characters in it!
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The Zoya Factor comes out this week?!? I didn’t even realize and I was actually looking forward to that movie.
Since the past week, I’ve only seen like three movies. I rewatched Ishq after seeing Gang Leader and I really enjoyed it. Nithya Menen was adorable and Nithin was fun as well. I did forget how terrible of a character Ajay was as Nithya’s brother in the movie. They forgive him in the end but they shouldn’t have because he was a horrible person throughout the second half of the movie.
I also saw NGK which is Suriya’s political drama directed by Selvaraghavan. It didn’t do as well as expected and got mixed reviews but some people really liked it so I decided to watch it. It was one of those movies where you end up disappointed when you watch it because you can tell it could be so much better than what it actually was. Sai Pallavi was in the movie but her character made no sense after a while. Rakul Preet was decent in her role. It wasn’t a really good movie but it had potential to be and they ended up leaving me disappointed.
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I didn’t realize that three movies are releasing this week. Which makes me think the makers don’t have much faith in any of them and are just dumping them out as fast as they can. Zoya Factor, Prasthanam, and Pal Pal Dil Ko Pas.
I wish Sai Pallavi would get more movies that really used her! I am so excited every time I see her name with a new release, and then become un-excited when I read how tiny her role will be.
On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 3:24 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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They’re probably not wanting to clash/get in the way of War and the other holiday releases that come out the rest of the year. Speaking of, what are the Diwali and Christmas releases this year? Brahmastra was supposed to be coming out for Christmas but I think that got postponed.
I think Sai Pallavi is sort of picky with the roles she selects. I read that they tried to sign her for Dear Comrade but she refused the role due to the kissing scenes. Have you seen Padi Padi Leche Manasu or Maari 2? I really loved her in both of those movies though her role in Maari 2 is not that large. Also the Shekhar Kammula movie with Naga Chaitanya is supposed to come out for Valentine’s Day 2020 so that’s something to look forward to.
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Ooo, that is something to look forward too!
On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 7:10 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I just got a consulting contract which is very good for my pocketbook and very bad for my Bollywood hobby 😭 I feel so out of the loop.
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You know Procrastinatrix’s work has picked up too? I feel so lonely! All my playmates are busy!
Anyway, you are an Aamir fan, you’ve got a good year or so to go before there is a movie you really really need to watch.
On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 9:14 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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It’s been about a week since I saw JHMS but I’m still thinking about it. I just wanted to thank you for writing so much about the movie. I feel like I’m finding something new I didn’t read everyday! Anyway, I’m planning to rewatch the movie straight through when I get a chance sometime soon.
Coming to ghungroo, I’m really hoping that the actual song is longer and they’re just teasing Hrithik’s part of the dance in the promo. It would actually suck if that was all there was too it.
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So glad someone is enjoying all my JHMS posts! There are soooooooooooooooooooo many of them.
I am ready to boo if Hrithik doesn’t dance in Ghungroo in the movie!
On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 10:39 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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This isn’t very original, but I’m going with Kahaani and Ishqiya. Though I guess Ishqiya maybe doesn’t count as mystery. Had such a good time watching both of those, I guess Vidya has my number.
Reading: Vulture has this cool series going about different behind the scenes jobs in the film industry. The hardest stunt one was fun.
https://www.vulture.com/amp/2019/09/the-hardest-stunt-i-ever-pulled-off.html
And close my rights geek heart, clearing song rights:
https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/the-hardest-song-i-ever-chased.html
Watching: Access Bollywood said the YRF catalog is disappearing from Prime, so I finally started Silsila last night. Any other must watches before they go?
And do you know anything about The Warrior Queen of Jhansi?
Oh! I thought of a mystery series you might like, if you haven’t tried it already – the Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley. Precocious girl protagonist with a knack for poisons. I remember the first book being good but a little wobbly in spots, but he got better as he went on in the series.
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For YRF, there is SO MUCH!!!! But I am sure you will be able to find them somewhere else, they were all on Netflix first, then Prime, I am sure once Prime releases them someone else will snap them up. Or else Adi is going to launch his own streaming service. Anyway, Kabhi Kabhi, Aaina, Chandni, Lamhe, and Deewar. And Trishul if you like Deewar. That’s in order of the ones I would most recommend to you, so you can start with Kabhi Kabhi and keep going until you run out of energy.
Thanks for the article links! They all sound really interesting.
For The Warrior Queen of Jhansi, I didn’t know about it at all! It was written and directed and produced by the lead actress, according to The Internet. And Rupert Everett is in it? It does not look great, and yet still better than Manikarnika.
On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 11:01 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Your question is so well timed. I happened to watch the Telugu remake of the ‘Invisible Guest’ aka original of Badla. It was very impressive in that while retaining the basic structure and narrative style,they completely changed the characters,basic build up and motives. So despite knowing the twists,it made for a gripping watch in a way that Badla wasn’t. Adivi Shesh is becoming an expert in the thriller genre.
My recommendation for mystery thriller would be a late 80s Malayalam movie Utharam(Answer).It’s intriguing and simple at the same time. Oh and someone has written a great article about it.
http://fullpicture.in/flashback-detail/55/finding-utharam-a-g.html
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Utharam looks really good! And, of course, is not available with subtitles. BOO!
On Thu, Sep 19, 2019 at 12:07 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Btw Article 15 is on Netflix now, too.
I showed it to my octogenarian dad last night. Imo it doesn’t hold up to a second viewing, because the “on the nose”-ness gets amplified, it feels pedantic and preachy. My dad felt the same way.
However we both liked the pacing and storytelling of the final 1/3 – 1/4 of the movie, which is more showing-by-doing then telling-by-talking.
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Yeah, I really appreciated Article 15 in theaters, but I think I would be more likely to show Bharat to people. Bharat is fun and peppy and fast moving straight through, Article 15 goes up and down in pace and is so unrelentingly dark.
On Thu, Sep 19, 2019 at 11:57 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Did you see the IIFA winners? The whole best of 20yrs awards are ridiculously hilarious! They really managed to outdo themselves with these
https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/winners-iifa-awards-2019/
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NO! I was reading the awards thinking “well, this sounds reasonable” and then I hit the 20 years awards and they are all INSANE!!!! Starting with, Rakesh Roshan? I know he’s dying, but still?
On Thu, Sep 19, 2019 at 5:36 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m back from Bangladesh and a trip in which I had no time for a whole movie or even a serial, but I had the following Hindi film adjacent experiences: saw Sonakshi on a billboard, Bengali not good enough to figure out what she was selling; watched about 10 minutes of Salman and Urmilla dancing in a movie I am too ignorant of movie history to know; watched Shraddha in that same shampoo commercial she was doing last year; and picked up a 2014 Film Fare that someone left in the hotel lobby. What a time capsule that was: Parineeti was the next big thing, Kangana was most famous for her fashion sense but the magazine mentioned she was participating in late-night phone calls with Hrithik to practice her English, wink, nudge; Rajkummar had just hit in Shahid and was extolling his (then) girlfriend and talking up his new film, City Lights. Oh, Raj! Your whole life is about to change! Most interesting for me was an early look at Piku, which was originally spelled Peeku and was going to focus on a relationship between Amitabh and Irrfan. It was billed as a medical drama, using stomach flu as a metaphor for emotional problems. I guess once they settled on the stomach they decided to go all in. Deepika is not mentioned.
Thinking: having a week when I feel like I’ll always be Karisma and never Madhuri.
Favorite mysteries: I also love Byomkesh, for the atmosphere as well as the mystery; plus Badla and Ittefaq. Talvar is sort of the opposite of a mystery but has the same feel and I liked it despite it being hideously depressing.
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Salman Urmila movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaanam_Samjha_Karo
It looks ridiculous, she is a dancer with a heart of gold and he is a millionaire.
And Karisma is so much more interesting than Madhuri! I would rather be friends with her.
And oh Raj! You dog!!! I did not realize he had a serious girlfriend before meeting Patrelekha. That seems likely to have been more messy than we know about.
On Fri, Sep 20, 2019 at 2:54 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, the movie definitely looked a bit unhinged. Forgot to mention that I also saw a few minutes of Biwi # 1 again, having run into twice on last year’s trip. Biwi #1 is apparently always playing somewhere in Bangladesh.
We don’t know, maybe Raj amicably split right before Patralekha fortuitously came along to help him heal? And she’s now living happily as a lesbian or something? But, yeah, I think a lot of these stories of how the met and fell in love aren’t giving us the whole story.
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Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Everyone’s favorite nice grandparently true love forever couple. Except, oh right, he was married with kids when they first met. But let’s not think about that 🙂
If I were running a country, I might also have Biwi No 1 playing at all times. It’s such a fun movie! Terribly amoral, but fun.
On Fri, Sep 20, 2019 at 10:05 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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