Happy Wednesday!!! I have an exciting busy day today, and then a boring day the next two days. Oh wait! There’s still the Friday movie to look forward to! Okay, it isn’t all bad.
I’ll start!
Reading: Have you ever semi-suspected that website companies are run by idiots? My sister sent me this article that basically confirms, yes, website companies are indeed run by idiots. They have one good idea, talk a lot of tech speak, but are actually dumb. Kind of reassuring, and I am going to say it is Indian film related, because a lot of movies tend to show their hero working for a website like it is the awesomest thing ever. Or having him quote famous tech founders like they are inherently better people. They are NOT! https://www.wired.com/story/ebay-employees-charged-cyberstalking-harassment-campaign/
(really, read the link, lots of hilarious details like how much money they spent on hotel meals)
Watching: I watched Dangal with a friend last night, we all agreed that the first half of the film with the little girls is the best bit. I watched two Pedro Almadovar movies this weekend, super good, I’m glad I put off watching his movies until now so I have so much left to enjoy. Oh, and I started a new BBC series, Line of Duty, extremely tense and extremely good and there are 5 seasons (yaaaay!). But they are each only 6 episodes (booo).
Thinking: I’m gonna have foot surgery! Maybe. If it all works perfectly. It’s semi-elective surgery so it’s not covered by regular insurance until after deductible, so I had to increase my insurance this year which is costing me another $3,000 a year. Which means, I absolutely HAVE to have the surgery this year because I can’t afford to have these crazy premiums again next year. Oh, and also my foot is beginning to really hurt, that’s the other reason I want the surgery now instead of waiting until things settle down. Anyway, I was going to have surgery in March, but obviously that went on hold, so now I have to see the primary foot doctor again and get new x-rays, then see a doctor-doctor and get confirmed that I am healthy enough for surgery, then get a COVID test within 3 days of the scheduled surgery, and if I pass all of that, I get to FINALLY get my gosh darn arthritic toe taken care of. The last time I saw the doctor, I got the impression that somehow I have the toe of an 80 year old woman. Feels kind of like a witches curse, like I dipped my toe in the waters of aging while the rest of my body remains young. Anyway, it HURTS. And all my shoes are ugly.
Listening: As I said, I just watched Dangal again, so obviously this song:
Now, question for you! It’s Karisma’s birthday tomorrow! What is your favorite Karisma song?
I’m gonna go Jaanwar because I love Jaanwar, “Mere Sapno Ko Rajakumar”
dontcallitbollywood 
Watched: ‘Axone’ which was great and a small look into the racism against the Northeasterners, hopefully, there will be more films with Northeastern characters in the future. Then watched ‘Bulbbul’ in the morning in the daylight and loved it! It’s the Bengali gothic folklore fantasy and period drama I always wanted and I love it!!! So satisfying in the end and the psychology of the characters are interesting (the women are great!) and the costumes (period accurate as well!) are gorgeous! Tripti Dimri and Avinash Tiwari are my new favourite Jodi and this movie just confirms it. They have such good chemistry and rapport.
Thinking: I have some Tagore books and the movies seem to be easy to see. I have an urge to watch something Bengali or read Bengali books after seeing ‘Bulbbul’. Thinking of starting with ‘Charulata’.
This new trailer dropped. Looks interesting as well, hopefully it will be on Prime everywhere.
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Okay, out of all of these I think I am most tempted by Bulbbul! Can’t deal with racism, can’t deal with communalism (which it looks like the Sufi movie will be about), but I think I just might be able to handle period Bengali magic.
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Sufiyum Sujatayum was the only movie from the “directly to streaming” ones I was really interested in. And now after having seen the trailer I’m even more excited. It looks like something made for me 🙂
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I second both Axone and Bulbbul! So many good things to say about Bulbbul, so I’ll go with the most important one, it rekindled my teenage crush on Parambrata, sigh!
Both Charulata and Chokher Bali are clear influences on Bulbbul, so they are good choices for Bengali movies. And both are based on Tagore’s writings!
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I was so happy to see Parambrata play someone good after seeing him in Pari!
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 5:32 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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But he was not a bad guy in Pari, he stepped up to do the right thing in the end!
Waiting for the review!
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He was the WORST guy in Pari! He was weak and betrayed her, he wasn’t a zealot like the others, he made his choices and chose wrong. A last minute right choice doesn’t erase his betrayal. He was the Satya of that movie, so far as I am concerned.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 6:21 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m watching nothing and reading Scaramouche, because I’m spending all my time doing stuff, although honestly I’m unsure what all my time is frittered away on besides work. I really want to watch Gumrah now though.
Karisma and Govinda had a lot of sexy songs, but they’re not my favourite for Lolo, because she always looks embarrassed. They do a lot better in fun, active songs. Obviously, Meri Pant be Sexy is always top, but besides that:
I love this song for her because her dancing is great in it and WHAT is she wearing? Who thought a Janet Jackson look would suit her? But actually, it works for me.
She looks like she’s having fun getting to shove him around. Also, love the diaspora crowds.
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You should watch Gumrah!
Also, I love Karisma having fun in songs. she is so peppy and funny and just looks like she is enjoying herself.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 9:02 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, she’s so great in high energy songs. I hate it when they try to make her demure and shy or really sexy, it doesn’t suit her at all. She has about 15 times more chemistry with Govinda in songs where they’re running around or pushing each other than the serious ones.
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And she is such a good comic actress! If she were less pretty, and not a Kapoor, she could have had a great career just playing funny character parts.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 9:33 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes, absolutely. Well, I always hope she will decide to come back and do that now she’s older.
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Oh, forgot this! Favourite Karisma songs are these from ‘Zubeidaa’
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I forgot about that movie! I was just trying to think of a really really good role Karisma had gotten, and the best I could think of was Fiza. Zubeidaa is so much better.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 9:28 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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She is so good in it and the role was made for her!
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It’s been 3 weeks I’m trying to finish marathi film Bonus and I’m not even in the middle. And it’s less than 2 hours long film. I don’t know why. It’s a good movie, well done, the actors are good, the protagonist very handsome (I already checked him and can’t wait to see his other movies) but I’m just not interested at all.
From other news – I finished 8th season of Murder she wrote and had an unpleasant surprise because Prime doesn’t have the last 4 seasons. How dare they?!
I started Colombo then which I maybe like even more.
Listening :
Reading: Warrior Cats with my son.
Thinking:There was a little confusion but seems there haven’t been Covid-19 cases in my province for last 2 weeks. I’m very happy.
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Yaaaaaaay, Murder She Wrote! I asked for DVDs for my birthday because I am sick of Prime taking it away from me.
Also, YAAAAAAAAY Columbo!!!! Sometimes I think that all I want in life is an Akshaye Khanna Columbo remake.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 9:33 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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My library is finally opening back up for curbside pickup this week, so it’s my goal now to read as much as I can this summer, especially since my local pool isn’t opening. Still lots of YA, and so far, nothing worth mentioning.
I watched two movies over the weekend, which is a lot for me. Source Code and The Big Sick. Both my dad’s picks, since Father’s Day was Sunday and his birthday was the day before. Source Code is a sci-fi thriller that was kind of a cool concept but sort of confusing, and as more details were revealed about the situation, my brain hurt. The Big Sick was better, in my opinion, the genre is more my speed. Heavier than I thought it would be, but the chemistry between all the actors was great. And Anupam Kher was in it as the father, because obviously.
For Karisma, I also keep going back to Husn Hai Suhana, which was already mentioned. The entire Coolie soundtrack is actually great. I was listening to it more a few weeks ago, but Aa Jaana is really good.
And of course, the classic.
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I totally watched Source Code! In theaters I think, possibly with my Dad. It’s a great “movie to watch with Dad”. But agree, makes no sense and the ending is kind of unethical if you think about it too much.
Finally someone mentions Le Gayi! I was waiting for someone to bring it up.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 12:12 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Wow Aa Jaana is great! Does anyone know who choreographed it?
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I love that Anupam was cast because Kumail asked his dad who he wanted to play him and he said Anupam Kher (of course). Heard that on an interview with Kumail I don’t know where, but Anupam talks about it here:
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I watched Cake last night. Half way through I realized I had seen it but I kept watching for Sanam Saeed who is the Pakistani actress I love just one notch below Mahira Khan. The story is a dysfunctional sibling one, pretty well done. What is interesting is the glimpses of life in Karachi and the country side. It looks very different than India. Which is kind of odd since they are part of the same place….
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I love Cake! The movie, and also the dessert. I’ve only seen it once, and yet I remember it so well, which is a sign of a very very good movie. Agree about it feeling like a different place, even though it was the same place until 1947. Not just under the same bureaucracy, but I think Kerachi in particular has a ton of Muhajirs from what is now India. One small thing I kept getting distracted by, in both Kerachi You’re Killing me (the book) and htis movie, everyone talks about wearing jumpsuits to formal events. Like, that is the common Western style formal wear option for woman. It looked great in this movie, for sure, I just can’t figure out why jumpsuits instead of dresses. They just aren’t as much a thing anywhere else that I can think of.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 1:33 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Also watched Bulbbul which (I had very high expectations for) and I have some issues with it but overall I found it an engaging watch even though it was a difficult viewing experience at times due to the occasional abuse. Anushka also produced it and it reminds me a lot of Pari in some ways but not as ambitious and is a bit more simpler. I didn’t have a problem with this though because it was very much going for a folktale vibe which are simple stories and the performances were really good.
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I also watched Bulbbul! I’ll do a full review today or tomorrow, but my big take away was, only 90 minutes! So short!
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 1:34 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah I wouldn’t have minded if it was a bit longer!
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Was it scary? I want to watch it but have a dilemma because during the day my son is in the room with me (and he is quite faint-hearted) and during the night I’m afraid to watch it alone.
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There’s rape. So your son might be confused and not scared, but you will be upset.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 5:08 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Ok. I’ll watch it when he will play outside.
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I guess I chose the wrong one of the two older Hindi films that suddenly popped up on my Netflix. But come on, the cast of the 1980 Dostana sounds pretty amazing. Now I’m stuck pretty early on, though, while Amitabh is singing a boring song about how being harassed is Zeenat’s own fault for not wearing enough clothes. Stupid!
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Switch to Gumrah! We were going to do Dostana too, or Namak Halaal, but then changed our minds and felt like something 90s. It’s so fun and crazy and awesome.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 3:05 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Watching: Virgin River and really enjoying it. I needed something romantic and light and new. The subject matter is not very light but overall it is romantice and the heroine is wonderful so I am going to continue watching it.
Reading: I just finished Red White and Royal Blue and it was as good as everyone said it was! It is a romance between the son of the U.S. President and the British prince and it is all things swooney and perfect.
Favorite Karisma song is probably Le Gayi Le Gayi. Also most songs with Salman from Andaz Apna Apna and Judwaa. I just love Karisma and Salman’s chemistry.
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I’ve been debating starting Virgin River, your vote gets me interested!
Karisma and Salman’s chemistry is the best, I think they might be my second choice for a middle-aged reunion couple after SRKajol.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 3:43 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I fully agree that Karisma is so much better in fun, rather than sexy, songs. Mainly because while other actresses could do sexy, nobody could match her comedic energy. And Salman-Karisma were fire! Many of my faves have been listed, some others are-
Saanson Ka Chalna
Oonchi Hai Building
I really like the Fiza title song
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You are making me question my decision to take Jeet off the table!
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 5:52 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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For what?
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For Friday watchalong.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 6:22 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Just watched Pataakha (aka Firecracker), a 2018 movie about sisters. Simple village types, they put the “fun” in dys….oh crap – they are outrageous and their relationship is compared to that of India and Pakistan. Kind of made me wish that I had a sister. Or not. (The younger sister is played by an actress who made her film debut in Dangal as Aamir’s second daughter, Babita.) Filmed and set in Rajasthan, it’s an interesting accompaniment to Paheli. It’s on Amazon Prime.
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Oh yeah! The other sister, not Sanya, went on to be the heroine of Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota and was AMAZING, totally stole the movie.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 8:52 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I love seeing all of these Karishma songs! I haven’t seen enough of her films.
I’m hate watching Zindagi Gulzar Hai at this point. Kashaf has gotten an amazing government job with her own house, servant, car and driver and her younger sister is happily married yet no one will leave her the hell alone because being a successful educated woman isn’t enough. And then Osama, a genuinely nice guy, proposes to her but she can’t say yes because she’s too emotionally scarred from how she grew up. I’m still boggling that she’s going to end up with that tool Zarun. I’ve seen (and enjoyed, tbh) some regressive movies and shows but hoo boy this is one of the worst I’ve seen in a long time. I’m glad I saw Fawad in Khoobsurat and Kapoor and Sons before this because otherwise I’d hate him.
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Oh good, you got past the younger sister part! Now you can read my fanfic about how she sweetly and slowly wins over her American doctor husband.
Keep an open mind! Fawad’s character keeps growing straight through.
On Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 9:28 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Ha! You’re lucky you didn’t watch him in Khuda Kay Liye first like I did!
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Found older seasons of Midnight Diner on Netflix. Three seasons before Netflix produced two more. The older version is better I felt even though the cast and everything is almost the same.
Thinking about how big should a immigrant population become before movies or shows centred on such people are made catering to such people. I saw the trailer for Lucky Grandma which seems like a movie that caters more to Chinese Americans along with others.
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I watched Lucky Grandma with my parents, and it was wonderful. Interesting question with immigrant populations, my answer would be that it is less about how big and more about how long. There was a big burst of desi centered movies in the West in the early 2000s. I think it was less about the population growing, and more about a large number of ABCDs coming of age, some of whom would be interested in film. There was a similar burst of Chinese American movies at the same-ish time, which would be the same reason.
In America, we had a massive overhaul of our immigration policies in the early/mid-60s which allowed for non-European immigrants to arrive, legally, in large numbers for the first time. Obviously there were people here before that through various extra-legal ways (paper sons in San Francisco, for example). But the big burst of Asian immigration in particular was in the 60s-70s. And then in the 90s you have the children of that population coming of age and wanting to see American movies that tell their story.
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What you say makes sense. Although I have always wondered why movies in Spanish are not made in the USA. Maybe they are made but I do not know about them.
Also where is Lucky Grandma available to stream?
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Spanish language movies used to be made in the US, back in the 1930s or so. But now I think the Mexican film industry is so strong, and the cultures are so similar (unlike, say, Spain and the US) that the American Spanish speakers tend to just watch those. Funny thing, the same week Bahubali 2 was #3 in America, I think #2 was a Mexican made Spanish language movie.
I saw Lucky Grandma through a deal with my local art movie theater. they set up an online hosting system where you could pay to see the movie and the money would come to them, since they had scheduled to be showing it at their theater that weekend anyway. Here is the website: https://gooddeedentertainment.com/luckygrandma/#tickets
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Thanks for sharing. They have a theatre in Pittsburgh, one which I have not been to before. So will buy the pass and watch the movie.
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I finally saw Love Aaj Kal 2020 and kind of liked it but didn’t super like it. It is really nice to look at, and the story is good and so are the characters, but Sara’s performance rubbed me the wrong way. There’s a sort of chin-thrusting acting which looks very forced to me, and she’s doing it here. Also Karthik looks like he’s doing a Rajkummar Rao impression when he’s playing Randeep–there’s a head-duck and shy smile combo that Rajkummar does and Karthik is doing. And the CGI jawline didn’t land for me either. The mental breakdown in front of the parents made me really embarrassed for Sara’s character. In general though, it was fun to watch and I really liked the quirky touches, especially the very odd dance that Karthik and Arushi do at the school dance. The only other thing I’ve seen her in is Simmba, wherein she did practically nothing. I really want to like her since she is the granddaughter of my favorite actress ever, but the jury is still out.
Looking forward to watching Bulbbul at such time as I can do so in broad daylight, but meanwhile I’m really pleased by all the attention for my boyfriend Rahul Bose, and I hope it means he gets a lot of interesting movie roles.
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I will just sit here alone having read Sara’s performance as purposefully strained to show that she as a person was always struggling to be herself. But I am glad at least you didn’t hate the movie like all the critics seemed to.
Rahul Bose is 52!!!! I looked it up, and my main response was “oh no, he only has a few more years of acting” So he better get attention and get cast in a lot of stuff in the next few years before we run out of Rahul Bose.
On Sat, Jun 27, 2020 at 4:46 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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His entire career has been a bit offbeat, so maybe he’ll keep acting a bit longer as well.
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I hope so! He’s certainly been blessed with a face and body that can carry age almost invisibly.
On Sat, Jun 27, 2020 at 10:21 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Ahhh, I hope one of the two Almodovar movies is Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios b/c just thinking about the gazpacho puts a smile on my face 🙂
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It was! It was so fun! And then I watched All About My mother which isn’t nearly as wacky and fun.
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Ahh yes, it’s been a while since I saw that one, but I do remember being impressed by the way the film had such a tragic beginning, but still had a sort of lightness to it that I wasn’t expecting.
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