Happy Wednesday! Stupid winter solstice nonsense madness. I hit rock bottom depression on Monday as soon as the sun went down and it went away when the sun came up. And then came back again. And then went away again. Anyway, just 5 more days of darker, and then it gets light again. But I’m warning you, BE HAPPY! I am NOT in a good place.
I’ll start!
Watching: Remember how I said I hit rock bottom solstice depression? In the past 3 days I have watched Best Man Holiday, Almost Christmas, Frozen, Noelle, Into the Spider-verse, Wreck It Ralph, and Ralph Breaks the Internet. Oh, and my friend introduced me to Say Yes to the Dress. I don’t want to buy a dress there, and I don’t want to work there, but it is a cheering watch.
Reading: Well, the beautiful fanfic I wrote yesterday as part of my “Margaret stays happy” effort! Really, check it out, there’s secret wheelchairs, and adorable children, and a tutor-athlete love story. link here
Thinking: So, I was counting out the days until the sun would be on the same schedule it was before I got depressed. Started on the 17th, it’s gonna get darker and darker until the 21-22, so that’s 4 days-ish. Okay, 4 days after the 21st, that’s….the 25th!!!! HA! It’s almost like Christmas was scheduled around seasonal depression and the solstice, not the magical birth of a historic figure that it is impossible for there to actually be an accurate record of a particular date of birth.
Listening: Christmas music, obviously. But speaking of things that make me happy, I was just reminded of this song when talking about Anushka, and it always makes me happy.
Okay, finally, question for you! Two questions really. What are your happy songs/movies? (serious question, I need recommendations for the next 8 days!)
And, what actress do you want me to do a 101 on next? Now that I have done Dips and Anushka and Vidya?
dontcallitbollywood 
For the question, maybe Preity Zinta?
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Hmm, maybe! I am so happy with her “Mr. Goodenough” ending.
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 9:10 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Also hope you’re having a better day! Maybe you should rewatch Jaan E Mann to feel better!
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It is an awfully happy movie. And did you suggest that because you remembered I have mentioned before that it is my “cheer up” movie? Awww! So sweet that you remembered!
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 9:39 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes! Because i read your really enthusiastic review of it before (which made me watch it) saying it’s your favorite!
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I am currently watching (to my husband’s utter dismay) cheesy Christmas movies. They are all so bad but they make me happy. One non-Christmasy Hallmark movie I just watched that I thought was surprisingly good was Recipe for Love. I love Danielle Panabaker.
My happy movies are HSSH, Khoobsoorat, Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke, K3G, KKHH, Hum Aap Ke Hai Kaun (but fastforward the sister dying scene), Bang Bang, A Gentleman, Sarfarosh. They are either big happy silly romantic movies about family or action, generally with actors and actresses that I love. And happy songs are just any upbeat hindi songs I can sing along too. I loved all the ones you posted with Salman and Rani.
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Oh oh! A Gentleman! Maybe that’s what I should watch tonight. Or Khoobsurat, that looks good too.
I have no access to Hallmark this year, but luckily to cover the loss, Netflix and Prime are pushing hard their own original content. Actually, when I had cable, Lifetime was my Christmas movie source of choice. It’s like Hallmark, but with some non-white people.
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 9:46 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, I like Lifetime better too but unfortunately, I don’t think I can access it on any of the streaming platforms I already subscribe to.
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Also, how’s that D3 intake of yours coming along? And no you may not just watch Dhoom 3 as a substitute.
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But it seems like it would be a substitute! I’ll have Vitamin D the next time I have water, which I should also probably do more than once a day.
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 1:37 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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There was briefly a Lifetime Movie streaming website that I was slightly more addicted to than is healthy.
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 1:30 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Do Kareena & Madhuri!
I finally got the Christmas tree up and I’m trying to get a few professional things locked down before the holiday. I can’t believe Christmas is so close, my God. I’m so not ready this year for some reason.
I mentioned yesterday that I saw Photograph and it is a very weird little movie, like a combination of The Lunchbox (made by the same director) and Talaash. Nawaz is so good, I can’t even point to any one thing he does to inhabit a character but whenever he’s on screen you’re paying attention to him. It’s a wonder. I wasn’t as impressed with Sanya but to be fair it was a very challenging part. She has almost no dialogue and the character starts out very depressed. It’s all about her inner emotions being expressed through her eyes and how she reacts to other people and it doesn’t quite jell for me. But she has fantastic chemistry with Nawaz, which I’m going to attribute to him. There’s a lovely little scene in a cab where she briefly rests her hand on his and then he puts his hand on the seat next to her but doesn’t touch her. Anyway, I don’t think you’d like this movie very much since it’s very Art Film but I’m glad I watched it.
Meanwhile we are having what passes for cold weather in Los Angeles (42 degrees in the morning) and I’m shivering in Californian.
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Ooo, Kareena-Karisma might be a fun one! I kind of already did them as part of my Kapoor series, but I can always unpack more.
Maybe I should watch Photograph? Happy ending?
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 10:35 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Ambiguous ending but strongly implied it’s happy. But the happy ending isn’t shown. So not sure how much tolerance you have for that sort of thing.
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I hate that kind of thing! Weddings and babies, I want all movies to end with weddings and babies.
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 5:47 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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One of my two best friends lives in Alaska, and she swears by taking Vitamin D. It also probably helps that her family has chickens and things so that they are outside somewhat everyday, despite the weather. I think they sell special lights for seasonal depression as well. I do hope you feel better, I hope you are enjoying your movie discussion groups.
Two of my children are down with a stomach bug, but thankfully Netflix just brought on awesome new Hindi films, so we have had a blast watching the Don’s. I have also forced the kids to watch Dil Dhadakne Do as well. It is the first time I’ve been able to see the songs subtitled in English, so I’m loving that.
Have you done a 101 on PC? I was thinking of her because of DDD, she really is good in that film, and she has chemistry with two of her 5 main co-stars. Or how about a 101 on the eternal Hindi mothers? I see the same faces in so many films, and I don’t know who they are.
I think my happy movie is Yes Boss, I’m not really sure why, but if I feel like I’m missing my “friend” Shah Rukh it is the first movie I turn to. And my English happy movie is Top Secret, young Val Kilmer singing and dancing and ridiculous jokes. I’m also quite fond of South Park, but now that I have children I don’t get to watch it anymore, so I guess I WAS quite fond of South Park 10 years ago. Humor cheers me up.
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Oh shoot, this reminds me I forgot to take Vitamin D again today. Oh well. Thank goodness for Albie Dog, he gets me outside too. But we are both very cold right now, so it isn’t for that long. Another Action Item, I can start bundling up more so I don’t mind the longer walks. And poor Albie Dog can just make his peace with being cold. And I already have a freaky number of lights (including the “bright as the sun” SAD light), plus my 5 Christmas trees, my apartment can be seen from space at this point. It’s beautiful.
Thank you for bringing the good word of the Dons!!!! It sounds like Netflix may have picked up the full Excel catelogue, which means Dons and Lucky By Chance and DDD and Talaash!!!! All the wonderful wonderful things! You should probably not show the kiddos anything but the Dons, but you should love them all.
I’ve done a couple 101 PC posts about the SRK romance rumors. Problem is, I really dislike PC and I don’t think I can do a 101 without explaining why I don’t like her, and that means putting hate into the world, and that is bad. See also, Kangana. But I do like the Hindi Film Mothers, that might be a fun 101, talking about where those actresses come from and what their careers are like.
I’m not sure what my Happy Movie is for India. It was DDLJ for a long time, and then JHMS, and then City of God. I like movies that are really beautiful and I can just have them on in the background over and over and over again. Oh wow, I hadn’t thought of JHMS in a while! Maybe I should turn it on now.
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I get too involved in JHMS, and because of my tour guiding past and some of the emotions I have around that I feel things that aren’t necessarily happiness when I watch the film. I love the film. It is my favorite, but it isn’t my “happy”. However, I do often turn it one when I’m doing laundry, and then I don’t get much laundry done…
I don’t really know how to navigate Netflix and when the new purchases are coming out. BUT as I was attempting to this morning I saw that the original Don is being added to their streaming films next week. I haven’t seen it, so that is something fun for me to look forward to.
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The original Don is such a kick! Great Shahrukh performance, watch it once for fun, and then a second time to appreciate what he is doing as an actor.
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 1:54 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes, sorry! Feel like I should have mentioned the resolution to that question I asked a week or two ago. The Excel catalog did move over to Netflix. Planning on watching Talaash as soon as I have some headspace, like on break next week. I rewatched Luck By Chance this week and found myself really disliking Farhan this time around. Off and on I develop an aversion to him, but in LBC I think it’s the character. It’s a very entitled, Ranbir-style character. Though at least in LBC the script gives Konkona a chance to call him out on it, and gives her her own happy ending.
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And I just put up a post about this!
I don’t like the LBC Farhan character as a person, but I think he is brilliant as a character. Because you do understand him and sympathize with him, up to a point, just like Konkona does. And her take down of him is spot on, that person who doesn’t mean to be horrible, but truly only thinks about himself.
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 3:43 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh, and this time I noticed Arjun Mathur as the friend who’s a theater actor and looks down on Farhan until he makes it big. The Akhtars seem loyal to actors they like and respect?
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Yep, the Akhtars are definitely loyal. Or at least smart enough to find really good talent and cultivate it. Sheeba Chaddha is my favorite, found her for LBC, made her one of the leads of Talaash, and now she is every where.
On Thu, Dec 19, 2019 at 9:43 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Reading: A Jonathan Kellerman Thriller (I like Dr. Delaware and Milo Sturgis very much).
Listening: If not audio-books than funny Christmas songs with the kids.
Watching: nooooo time!
Thinking: That I would like to hug you, give you my happy smiles, turn on lights and candles, put rocking music to sing and dance along (would Albie like this, too?)
Happy songs: whatever the kids choose from my collection of ShahRukh-movie-songs 🙂 Yesterday it was the “stars song” (Swades), the “umbrella song” (Janam Janam), the “parting song” (DDLJ) and the “ice song” (Gerua).
Happy movies: JHMS, Zero, Yes Boss…
101: I join the others with Madhuri, Preity, Kareena…and the ‘mothers’ 🙂
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Albie has no reaction to anything! Which makes him an excellent comfort dog. I just put him on my lap and squeeze him like a stress ball and he tolerates me.
Oooo, now I want to watch the “Umbrella Song” too! It’s such a great one.
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 11:53 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Taking advantage of that Excel-Netflix deal so I rewatched Talaash and parts of DDD, watched Luck by Chance and now I’m watching Lakshya.
Read Where the Crawdads Sing and I really don’t get the hype.
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I love Lakshya! So under-appreciated. And another great Hrithik performance.
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 1:54 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I was counting days when there will be more light and days will be longer, and now I came to Poland and the days are even shorter! I forgot about that. It’s my first Christmas in Poland after 11 years and I didn’t remember it’s getting dark at 4 p.m (in Sicily more or less at 5 p.m).
My happy movies:
Prem Aggan (I know you are not interested in watching this one but it’s fun)
Style (Unni playing a guy named Tom and his brother’s name is Jerry + Tovino playing a psycho + a girl who falls in love with a guy when she sees him plaing with kids in the rain. How not to love this film?)
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Oh oh! Amitabh’s still there! Try to catch him!
And blech! I remember that feeling from when my sister used to live on the far edge of her time zone, I’d go out to visit her and suddenly it would turn dark a good 40 minutes earlier than I was used to.
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 3:12 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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My happy movies: see, when I’m sad I like to watch a sad movie and cry and feel better. Or, watch an art film that has nothing to do with my life so I can think about something else and remind myself that art is eternal and survives our little problems. When I am in the mood for something happy, my go-tos are Om Shanti Om, which is probably already yours, or Band Baja Baaraat, which I know you don’t like. But, I was sick a while back and watched Salaam E Ishq and found it’s the perfect movie if you just want to sit on the couch wrapped in a blanket and not move for the better part of four hours.
Watching: Dealt with my own seasonal depression by watching Ram Leela again, see above. Also good for if you have workplace issues. I can fantasize about flouncing into a faculty meeting covered in silk and velvet and dripping in jewels, and then spitting into a cup and handing it to someone to let them know what I think of their suggestion.
Also watched Sui Dhaga, to celebrate Anushka’s wedding anniversary and prepare spiritually for Streetdancer 3D. This is a liked-until-the-interval for me. I couldn’t believe they dug out the threadbare (sorry) old contest plot. Before that it was like one of my favorite non-city films–Dum Lage Ke Haisha or Stree or something like that, where it’s just one thing after another but people survive by their wits and because they love each other. But no, there has to be an evil person and that person has to be publicly humiliated and the protagonist set for life in one dramatic moment. Also, the last scene’s clothes suuuuuuuuuuuuck. Oh, Varun was super, though. Disappeared into his loveable schlubby hotheaded roll.
I love the idea of Hindi mothers! One of the things I love about Ram Leela is Supriya getting to be so evil! Maybe you could include the Pathak sisters, although they are so much more than mothers. I would love to hear about their earlier careers.
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I go for sad movies when I am in the mood for a sad movie. Which is very rare, but very specific. I wake up in the morning and think “today is the day I want to rewatch the sad bits of Mom and just cry and cry”. It’s not sad or happy or sick or anything, it is “I am in the mood to cry and watch a sad movie”. And I am NEVER in the mood to watch Ram-Leela!!!! That’s just madness.
Yaaaay Sui Dhaaga! Agree, both that Varun is great and it gets lost in the second half. I loved the small triumphs of the first half, and it felt like the second half cheapened those triumphs by suddenly upping the stakes in a ridiculous way. Their happy ending should have been Varun and Anushka getting a website and founding eshakti, not this ridiculous magical contest. Although I have to admit the runway moments really got to me.
Oh boy, now I actually have to look up those mother actresses! There’s so many of them. I think I will have to go the “a few representative lives” route.
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 9:06 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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OK, yeah, I also liked the runway scene, except for the sucky clothes. I thought the point would be that they were making simple, well-made Indian clothes for regular people, not dressing everyone up like they’re in an 80s metal band. Which would have been better with all the regular people on the runway. And I did love the scene of Anushka in make-up with her hair down. Also speaking of, I loved Anushka’s regular cotton saris.
Bhansali is super hit or miss for me, but I did like Ram Leela. The over the top style really suits a Shakespearean tragedy in a way it doesn’t, say, a thoughtful movie about euthanasia. And I like how he filled out Romeo and Juliet, a story about two boring teenagers, with some gang business. And Supriya just rules.
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And what is the deeper message here? The only place for traditional handicrafts is in high fashion, not for average people?
On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 9:37 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah! Especially with the first garment being the maxi for hospital patients, I thought they were going to move forward making good quality, low cost clothes for their own neighbors.
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Forgot to say about Hindi movie mothers: could you divide them into people who were only mothers and people who were heroines and then came back as mothers? The only one I can think of in the first category is Reema Lagoo. Maybe Farida Jalal?
Poster for Panga has come out. It’s very reminiscent of Queen, but I see it’s a sports biopic so I don’t have to watch it.
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Not sure if this has been posted by anyone yet, but the Christopher Nolan movie Tenet trailer just dropped.
Check out Dimple Kapadia at 01:28!
Also, addressing his “white males only” casting problem, this one has a black male as the solo lead. Not only a first for Nolan but for HW broadly – blacks don’t get cast as leads in mainstream thrillers, unless they are co-lead with a white actor. Certainly not not-famous blacks (normally this might have gone to Will Smith or The Rock). This actor was the lead in Black Kkklansmen, a spike lee film.
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Shifting conversation slightly, the lead is actually Denzel Washington’s son.
Which brings us into an interesting Nepotism area, I think. His family gave him an advantage, but racism gave him a disadvantage. Plus, he’s not playing on his father’s name in the public eye or part of his publicity. On the other hand, there is NO WAY the family connection didn’t play a role in Spike Lee casting him in his break out part. Is there another equally or more talented young black actor whose father doesn’t have connections through out Hollywood? Probably. But does that mean this very interesting and talented young actor didn’t earn all his chances?
And finally, Denzel Washington is definitely one of those actors where part of it is learned skill and talent, and part of it is pure genetic inborn ability to shine on camera. If his son inherited that (which I suspect he did), is that “nepotism” or just a shared biological trait between father and son?
On Thu, Dec 19, 2019 at 12:12 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Spike Lee used Denzel as his lead in Malcolm X and cast him in 1-2 movies before that (Mo Betta Blues? She’s Gotta Have It? I’m sure IMDB can clarify).
The HW black film fraternity is tight like the various Indian film fraternities are. But I would argue that it makes sense for black HW to caste talent they can rely on to excel onscreen in charisma & talent, nepo or otherwise, as a sheer survival tactic against the juggernaut that is white Hollywood. Whereas in India BW *is* the juggernaut.
One doesn’t realize quite how white HW is until one steps inside. HW (the town) is the only place in urban CA where you might step into a crowded restaurant, examine all the patrons and all the wait staff, and find that you are the only person of color. I’ve built and provided software to companies with offices on Universal and Warner brothers lots, as well as to talent agencies like CAA and WMA, and the only “color” I ever saw was “Jewish”. Fighting for funds, marketing, etc. must be an incredibly daunting task for black HW, and I’m sure they draw a lot from their own.
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Yeah, that sense of overwhelming whiteness, even as a white person it is weird to me. It’s not natural, America today (especially in urban areas) just is not built for total whiteness, so when it happens it always gives me a little shock. I just had it on Sunday when I was at a dinner and realized there were no people of color anywhere in the restaurant, not just at my table but ANYWHERE (including all the staff). Such a strange sensation. Something must be up with the management of that restaurant, it doesn’t just happen by accident.
Now, to your argument, I would say that all of that applies to the Hindi film industry, at least until the mid-90s. They were the dominant film industry, but were under attack by the larger culture/government. If you have borrowed money from the mob and are counting on the censor board to let your film release, that to me is another situation where it is justified to rely on a pool where you know there is charisma and talent because it’s too big of a risk to try someone new. And the fact that the industry was primarily made of of religious minorities and/or refugees supports that for me, if they really had power in society why weren’t the powers in society trying to be a part of it?
Of course that is no longer the case now, they’ve got all kinds of power and you can see that by how people who are born to power desire to be a part of the Hindi industry. Which makes nepotism a whole different bag.
On Thu, Dec 19, 2019 at 12:56 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Housefull 4 just popped up on Hotstar. Looking forward to watching it and commenting on your review.
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It’s definitely a housefull movie!
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On a separate note, any interest in doing a 101 on Ajay DevgAn? I can’t stand him but he has an interesting life to write about.
Just to peak your interest, here is a very very old interview of him: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bollywoodshaadis.com/amp-articles/ajay-devgn-and-raveena-tandon-affair-8325
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Yeah, the challenge would be finding enough data. He and his family seem pretty private.
On Fri, Dec 20, 2019 at 2:08 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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