Monday Morning Questions: What Do You Want to Ask Me On Tom Alter’s Birthday?

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Happy Monday! It’s also Vijay’s birthday, and Amrish Puri, but I decided Tom Alter is the one I care about the most.

Here is where you get to ask me anything you want about anything, where you can stream that movie you want to see, or what I think about the latest scandal, or what a particular slang saying means. Anything at all! Just keep swinging back to this post all week.

Now, question for you! In honor of Tom Alter’s birthday, who is your favorite white actor/actress in Indian film? (“white” meaning they present as white, and their characters are supposed to be exotic non-Indian heritage usually)

I’m gonna go with a tie, Tania Zaetta and Evelyn Sharma! Tania Zaetta had two major roles, in Salaam-Nameste and Bunty Aur Babli and was hilarious and fun and great in both of them. And Evelyn Sharma was okay and kind of funny in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, and sweetly touching in Jab Harry Met Sejal.

41 thoughts on “Monday Morning Questions: What Do You Want to Ask Me On Tom Alter’s Birthday?”

  1. I see now that Sushant’s fans are pushing the idea that he was murdered, not in a metaphorical, “they drove him to suicide” way, but in an actual, someone came in and killed him way. I can’t fathom why that would be more acceptable/less hurtful to them than to think that he killed himself because he no longer wanted to live, for whatever reason. What’s your take on that?

    As for your question, is Katrina Kaif an option? 🙂

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  2. I see now that Sushant’s fans are pushing the idea that he was murdered, not in a metaphorical, “they drove him to suicide” way, but in an actual, someone came in and killed him way. I can’t fathom why that would be more acceptable/less hurtful to them than to think that he killed himself because he no longer wanted to live, for whatever reason. What’s your take on that?

    As for your question, is Katrina Kaif an option? 🙂

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    • I suppose it’s always easier to think of anything else before suicide. Especially if you can find something that gives you someone to blame.

      And yes Kat is an option! She usually plays what I think of as “Tom Alter” roles, within Indian society but established as part white somehow (raised in Canada, for example).

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  3. Jennifer Kendall and Tom Alter are my favourites, for the modern era it’s Kalki.

    Do you or anyone else here have recs for Indian or Indian character focused romance novels? It’s going to be really hot here so I’m going to spend a lot of time reading in the sun. I actually have a preference for historicals, but anything is welcome.

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  4. Tom Jane from Telugu movie Padamati Sandhyaragam because I like the movie, because he spoke only English except for 3-4 scenes in climax unlike other Indian movies where they are shown talking in accented Hindi and because he acted as protagonist instead of a typical villain role

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  5. Would you include Fearless Nadia as a white actor?

    Not an actor but Marcus Bartley is some one who contributed to many acclaimed movies as the cinematographer.

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  6. Are you planning to watch Bulbbul? I’m looking forward to it. The trailer, the whole Bengali setting, some of my favorite Bengali actors – all have me excited! I’m curious that the writer/director Anvita Dutt is Punjabi and there doesn’t seem to be any Bengali creator involved, given that both Pari and Paatal Lok from Clean Slate Films had one at the helm.
    I saw the film Axone on Netflix starring Sayani Gupta, about a group of friends from Northeast India living in Delhi, who desperately try to find a place to cook their foul-smelling delicacy Axone for their friend’s wedding without inconveniencing their neighbors. It confronts the issues they face living among people who view them as outsiders, their inter-personal relationships. The overall tone is light and funny with some dark elements and has a happy ending. I quite liked it, the director is from the northeast, it’s so rare to get an insider’s view in mainstream cinema.
    I know there are better examples of white actors but Bob Christo in Mr. India is what came to my mind!

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    • Ooooo, Bob Christo! So great! I might be watching one of his 70s classics tonight.

      Not planning on Bulbbul because I don’t love horror movies, but maybe if everyone says it is brilliant I will give it a try.

      On Mon, Jun 22, 2020 at 7:13 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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      • Oh man, I am so excited to tell you this! I just saw a Bob Christo Sex Scene! Topless! And twisted and weird and there were uniforms involved. And then afterwards, he went out and tortured the shirtless hero, so there is this whole sex-torture combo thing going on as well.

        On Tue, Jun 23, 2020 at 1:04 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  7. Happy Monday! I started watching Zindagi Gulzar Hai and even though I have a lot of problems with the story, Fawad Khan and his gorgeous eyes are keeping me interested. It’s a terrible shame that he was shut out of Bollywood because he could’ve been a star like Irrfan Khan, moving back and forth between big budget films and small prestige films.

    The SSR conspiracy theories are still all over Twitter and Reddit which is awful and scary but this video about the taboos in India around mental health is a bright spot in the craziness.

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    • Yes, Zindagi Gulzar Hai! Just hold on firmly to the idea that it is Pride and Prejudice redone, with Mr. Bennett for once held to account for his actions and inactions, and you will be able to hold the thread. Unfortunately I think my one review was for the whole season at once, so you will need to finish it before you can read that. And more importantly, my fanfic that gives a happy ending to my favorite overlooked sister.

      On Mon, Jun 22, 2020 at 7:23 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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    • I’m envious of anyone seeing ZGH for the first time, but I also remember how angry I was at many things shown, so there’s that!

      Speaking of Fawad, does anyone know what happened to the Maula Jatt movie that was supposed to come out?

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      • Still hasn’t released, so far as I know. I think the Pakistani releases slowed in general? There seemed to be this big burst of investment which is now dribbling away, as sometimes happens with industries, everyone gets excited and thinks it is the next big thing, and then it doesn’t succeed as fast as expected and the money dries up. Remember when cupcake stores were everywhere for about two years? And then everyone realized you can’t make money in cupcakes and they kind of faded away a bit?

        On Mon, Jun 22, 2020 at 10:53 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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        • Okay, I’m at the episode where Zarun almost hits Kashaf in the library and I hate him. I know they end up together at the end and I have no idea how they will salvage his character after that.

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          • But he’s smart! He’s the only person around who is as smart as Kashaf and ready to challenge her and vice versa. He wants to hit her partly because he’s the only person smart enough to understand how cruel she is being, if he was dumber he would just let it roll off like other people who underestimate her.

            Also, you have to keep watching at least until the sweet sister gets her happy ending, because I love her.

            On Mon, Jun 22, 2020 at 11:34 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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        • I looked it up, apparently it was supposed to release this Eid before the pandemic hit, so there’s hope!

          I figure you’d appreciate a little dose of Taimur to brighten up the day, so here he is crashing Saif’s interview from 17:05 onwards, and being grumpy about being complimented –

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          • Oooooo, Taimur is so cute!

            Also, I got distracted by how weird it was for Kareena to be walking through the background of this particular interview. Because it’s about Omkara! And she was in that too, and her performance was also one of her career best. But she and Saif had almost no scenes together, and weren’t even dating at the time, and now they are married? It’s just weird.

            On Tue, Jun 23, 2020 at 9:36 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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