Trailers! Trailers trailers! I already mentioned Dabangg 3 in a post somewhere, but I am dragging it up again along with the two other big films coming up.
Dabangg 3! Well, they solved the “how can we add to the story without losing what makes it fun?” problem! Looks like we get an origin story mixed with effects on the present day. I have nothing to actively complain about with this approach, the idea of Salman being inspired to be a police officer of a particular type thanks to a run in with a Big Bad that the lay can’t touch, and the idea of him having a tragic love story in his past inspiring him to be so quick and definite about his love when it happens a second time, that works for me. And obviously the casting of Sudeep as the Big Bad works also, and is smart, a really good charismatic actor who isn’t familiar to the Hindi audience and so won’t overshadow the “hero”.
The problem is, there’s also nothing that makes me sit up and go “oh boy I can’t wait to watch this!” It’s a decent twist on the same idea, but it’s still the same idea. There’s no growth of the central character after 3 films, and no growth of the essential questions of the film (answering to a higher law, and so on). I suppose I am really asking a bigger question, is a franchise about doing the same thing over and over again or is it about building on the foundation you established to do something slightly different every time? These are the questions Farhan Akhtar should ask himself while he WRITES DON 3!!!!!!
This is the exact same film over again and I don’t care. Anees Bazmi throws in a funny guy who falls in love with a funny girl, adds Anil Kapoor, some random slapstick action scenes, an item song, and a novelty rap, and I am there opening night. You shouldn’t necessarily be there opening night. Anees is very hit or miss on his films depending on the chemistry of the cast and the energy on set and all of these kind of lightening-in-a-bottle questions. Welcome was fun, Mubarakan was fun, Welcome Back was terrible, and so on. This one has Anil, John, Arshad, and Ileana, so I am hopeful.
And finally, Pati Patni Aur Woh! This trailer pleasantly surprised me, which just tells you what low expectations I had. My big concern was that the filmmakers didn’t know why they wanted to make this movie. That’s always a problem with remakes, do they really have a vision or do they just want the name recognition of the title? In this case, they do seem to have a vision. Our hero is the same kind of helpless every man looking for a fantasy escape that was the idea of the original. But they shifted everything else around that, updated to present day and adjusted for the present cast. I still don’t love the plot as presented here (wah-wah, my wife doesn’t make me feel like a man). But I am basically expecting a flip in the film to directly address that the problem is with him and not his marriage and he is to blame for everything. If they give the Fantasy Woman a personality and motivations too, than I will be a completely happy camper.
Okay, that’s all I got on the upcoming trailers! What are your feelings? Are you excited about ANY of them (I’m not)? Which ones would you be willing to see in theaters if you absolutely had to?
dontcallitbollywood 
Forget Pati Patni.. and other trailers. Panipat’s poster came out today and Arjun looks like a boss. I’m not sure about Kriti, she looks beautiful but her face is so fair and slim and I think it is too modern for this “Baahubali” look.
https://images.indianexpress.com/2019/11/pani759.jpg?w=759&h=422&imflag=true
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The nose thing! I just really want to rip it off Arjun’s helmet so I can see his face.
On Mon, Nov 4, 2019 at 10:44 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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He looks hot despite the weirdly placed helmet shadow (does it have a sticky out thing on the nose like a rhino horn? what else could be making that shadow, photoshoppers???). Kriti looks like a whole other person and also has the exact awkward expression on her face I always make in posed photos.
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That helmet style just makes me picture all these tough warriors going “protect the nose! I must maintain my perfect profile!” to their armor designers.
On Mon, Nov 4, 2019 at 1:39 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Panipat trailer:
I really, really, really want this movie to be a hit, and I wanted to like it so badly, but I have some issues with the trailer:
First – in my opinion Kriti is miscasted. I didn’t like her on the poster but seeing her in the trailer made it even more evident: she not only looks like a modern girl but also moves like one. Am I biased, or you also see that?
Second – the trailer reminds me of Padmavat: good (Hindu) guys in white beautiful clothes, Muslims look like beasts.
I don’t have problems with Arjun Kapoor, but it’s proved that I like him in absolutely everthing, so y’all tell me: is he good here? Everybody is making fun of him in yt comments 😦
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I felt it is the standard issue period drama.And yes,very reminiscent of Padmavat and Baajirao Mastani. Nothing noteworthy.Arjun Kapoor and Kriti looks out of place but then I don’t know if it’s just pure boredom at having seen so many of such characters and setups.
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I was sorta excited for Pagalpanti because I really enjoyed Mubarakan but the trailer makes it seem like there’s too much going on. There’s a ton of characters which is to be expected but then there are also horror and action elements? I don’t have a good feeling about this one.
Pati Patni pur Woh looks okay but I’m not in a hurry to see it in the theaters or anything. But I am excited about the fact that it seems to have some fun songs in it!
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Mubarakan had such an ultimately simple idea, two identical brothers whose love stories get mixed up. I’m not sure if I’m seeing that simple idea in Pagalpanti. But then, Mubarakan throw all that other stuff on top of the central plot, maybe this trailer is just giving us all the other stuff instead of the center.
I will watch Pati Patni Aur Woh for the good of us all and report back!
On Tue, Nov 5, 2019 at 10:38 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Good point about Mubarakan having a simple plot with a bunch of extra fun stuff. Maybe this does have a simple plot that they aren’t showing but I’m sort of thrown off by the horror elements. Plus this cast just doesn’t seem as fun. I like Illeana and Anil Kapoor but not really anyone else.
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I don’t wanna say they all look awful, but I have absolutely zero interest in any of them, and I don’t think I ever will. If I HAD to pick, probably Dabangg 3 just because it would give me a reason to finally watch the other two and see why everyone loves them so much.
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Dabangg 1: super silly well-constructed amoral fun; Dabangg 2: relies a little too much on nostalgia for the first one, not that original, not that well-constructed; Dabangg 3: ????
On Thu, Nov 7, 2019 at 10:22 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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