You know how you find someone you like, and then you are inspired/obsessed with watching every film they have ever been in? Share your stories! Who was it, when was it, why did you get tired and stop?
Now, you probably think I am going to say “Shahrukh”. But actually, no! I never binged Shahrukh like that. I watched his top 5 movies back in 2004 when I first got into him (Kal Ho Na Ho, Main Hoon Na, K3G, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, DDLJ). And then I immediately branched out into all Hindi film. I still watched Shahrukh movies of course, but it wasn’t a “I will dedicate myself to just this one actor until I am done” thing.
I did that with Hrithik though! Maybe because he has a shorter filmography than Shahrukh? Or because it was dance focused, so I didn’t care as much about the whole plot and stuff to make me picky? Anyway, I tracked down Kaho Na Pyar Hai, Koi Mil Gaya, Aap Mujhe Aache Lagne Lage, basically every Hrithik film pre-2006 (when I went on the kick). Oh, except Fiza. Because SAD. I still haven’t seen that. Because SAD.
Also, Prabhas! Saw Bahubali, loved it, went hunting for more. Loved Mirchi, loved Bujjigaddu, was okay on a bunch of others I saw, and I think finally ran out of steam with Billa. It’s just soooooooo bad.
And Nivin Pauly. I think I really have seen all but two Nivin Pauly movies. Including his weird first movie where he was just part of an ensemble.
Not Prithviraj, I started with Prithviraj, and then I ran out of energy almost immediately because I have no patience for horror.
Oh, and non-Indian, Fred Astaire, then Cary Grant, then Gene Kelly, then Danny Kaye, then Eleanor Powell, then Doris Day. I have seen ALL their movies.
Anyway, how about you?
dontcallitbollywood 
When it comes to serious binge watching,I did it with Aamir(barring some 90s stuff that is of no use to me)and Meena Kumari(I left out her 1964-68 stuff,and films where she played character roles.Rest of the stuff,I feel is the reason why I might probably need a pair of spectacles).I unintentionally binged-watched Madhuri a lot as she did not have many movies as a solo lead,but was always a glorious addition to the cast,and one that would stay with you longer than other actors.
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I didn’t binge watch Aamir, but I have seen a surprisingly large number of his movies. Maybe because back in 2004 when I started there were a lot of 90s movies on DVD? And he had a lot of hits in the 90s. I’ve seen everything from Dil to Sarfarosh.
On Fri, Aug 21, 2020 at 11:13 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Shashi, where I burned through everything of his I could find which took me about a year, and Govinda, which took me less than that. Before that, I had Amitabh (this is when I was starting out), Vinod Khanna, and slightly shorter ones of Zeenat and Helen.
Non-Indian is too many to list, basically any major female silent film star from Europe and a few from the US.
The Year of Shashi was a great year, though.
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Helen? Like, all 700 movies? Or did you limit it in some way? I just can’t imagine sitting down and trying to figure out where to start with Helen, let alone actually facing all those movies!
On Sat, Aug 22, 2020 at 1:28 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes, this is why I gave up. I limited it to speaking parts but even then it was so uneven and the quality was so bad, I just added her to the priority list with other people.
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Oh, did you get far enough to see Anamika? I love Anamika, and Helen has some good long dialogue for once.
On Sat, Aug 22, 2020 at 8:36 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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The Jaya movie? My cut off was that year I think, but I don’t THINK I’ve seen it, because I’d remember Jaya being in it, but at the same time the Helen part of the plot seems very familiar.
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Oh you HAVE to watch it! Helen has a great song and character, and the plot is bonkersville.
On Sat, Aug 22, 2020 at 3:52 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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It looks completely insane! And Jaya, I think I should watch it.
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And chubby Sanjeev Kumar! You know he’s your type.
On Sun, Aug 23, 2020 at 1:55 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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For me it was Ranveer Singh. He kind of introduced me to bollywood. I had seen Bollywood movies before, but I never had any interest in them until 2018. I think it was because the only Bollywood movies I would see would be those my parents made me see and our tastes don’t align. So, I consider Padmaavat my introduction to Bollywood. The movie was OK in my opinion but in the theater I literally said oh shit while watching Ranveer’s performance. A woman who was sitting near me threatened to kick me out of the theater.
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HA! I love this story! And I am so glad someone has some Ranveer love. I mean, we all love him here, but for most people he is kind of a “okay, charming, keep trying” actor, not a lot of folks see his brilliance at the first go round and are ready to follow him into any role. I know I didn’t, I found him no more than okay in the first several movies I saw with him, it wasn’t until Dil Dhadakne Do and then finally Gully Boy that I realized he is a really good actor and worth watching in any role.
On Sat, Aug 22, 2020 at 3:26 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes. This is why Zoya’s such a brilliant director. She knows how to get the best out of her actors. Even with the most energetic ones, she knows how to control and focus them.
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For me it was Tovino Thomas since I sam him in Godha. I tried to watch at least one Tovino movie a month, and have seen half of his filmography so far. It was easier when I started because since then he has become a star and started making like 15 movies a year. The odd thing is that the little strange movies of him are easier to find then the big ones. E.g Prabhuvinte Makkal his first film ever is with subs on youtube, and it is such a strange movie about religion and Vinay Forrt making yoga shirtless. Then he was in Mohanlal’s Koothara, and this film is imposible to find with subs.
You Too Brutus, another odd movie with strange plot has subs and I saw it. The same 2 Penkuttikal – a little (only 73 minutes long) feminist movie with short Tovino’s cameo. On youtube there is even some girl’s final semester short movie with Tovi, and it is subtitled! But his newer movies like Maradona or The Oscar goes to.. doesn’t have subs. It’s so annoying!
I also don’t like the fact that he doesn’t make my type of movies anymore. I fell in love with him in Godha and Ennu Ninte Moideen, and want more movies like that, and he only makes films about criminals and cops now. That’s the reason I loved Luca so much. Finally a romantic film!
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You have the most interesting obsessions! I know it is Tovino now, but surely you have a long list from the past?
On Sat, Aug 22, 2020 at 4:40 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m also Sai Pallavi fan and I have seen all her movies except NGK (tried once but it was so annoying I quit, but I don’t surrender, will try to finish it soon).
Obviously I also tried to watch every Madhavan’s movie, but have seen only 30% of his filmography. I love him, but must admit I don’t love majority of his movies. He won best actor awards for Anbe Shivam, and I didn’t like this film; for Run, and it was such a bore; Everybody loves him in Minnale / RHTDM and I hate his character. And don’t make me talk about A Peck on the Cheek 😉
Also Priyasakhi was one of the worst movies ever.
The only movies I enjoyed a lot were: Irudhi Suttru, Tanu Weds Manu 2, Vikram Vedha and Akeli,
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I also hated Anbe Sivam! That’s one of the reasons I decided Kamal Hassan is a bit full of himself and not for me.
On Sat, Aug 22, 2020 at 2:39 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Mahesh… I m regular with hindi films then I stumbled on mahesh babu movie… Athidi i was 17 maybe n loved time pass sort of movies n had to watch every movie of his coz style…
He has some bad ones and I had to use subtitles coz I dunni tamil so i kind of hated his non stylish roles…. Then jumped to allu arjun… His filmography is amazing for a masala lover…
Then fawad… I saw him in khoobsurat n had to watch more of him… Loved his Pakistani shows humsafars n zindagi gulzar hai… Couldn’t connect with dastan… Khuda ke liye alsowas good
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That’s so interesting! A lot of people here feel the same way, only they aren’t desi. That is, they found Indian films as adults, started with Hindi because it is just easier to access and more popular, and then stumbled onto a Telugu film and loved the Masala. But of course, it would be the same for a desi, the same appeal of the Masala and fun would still be there.
I also went through a little mini Mahesh phase, but I don’t like a lot of his recent stuff, too self-serious and not fun enough. Allu Arjun though is always great! Always having fun with things.
On Sat, Aug 22, 2020 at 7:08 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Ranveer Singh and Shah Rukh Khan. I completed Ranveer’s filmography during the quarantine and watched 52 SRK films in the same period – and counting. Shahrukh is special to me because I went through a very difficult time recently and, as it were, his films saved me from a dark place. They made me happy and made me think of something other than my problem. I will always be grateful to him for that.
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Wow, 52 SRK movies! I’m impressed, and a little bit jealous that you had so many you got to watch all at once! He really does bring such joy and escapism to the world. You are far from the only person here who was really “saved” in some way by finding him.
On Sun, Aug 23, 2020 at 11:01 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I don’t think I’ve ever binged on any actor’s whole filmography, not even Rani’s. That’s a little like your experience with SRK: I immediately branched out. But I think in my early days of fandom, she was probably my strongest reason for choosing any among the cheap smelly DVDs with the crappy subtitles at the local Asian store. The blurbs on the back never made sense anyways.
I can like an actress so much that I check out her other projects, I’ve recently experienced that outside of Indian film with Katie McGrath. But there still needs to be some additional pull, something else I find interesting about a new show or film.
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What I like about Indian film is that often the stars create their own genres. It’s not 100% of course, but if you like Shahrukh and you like rom-coms, you can be pretty sure you will like his movies. And if you like Amitabh and you like social dramas, you can watch his 70s movies. And so on. I guess even Rani has reached that point now, but it took her a long time. Her most recent movies are all strong unusual female empowerment kind of roles (No One killed Jessica, Mardaani, Hichki, Mardaani 2, even a little bit Dil Bole Hadippa).
On Sun, Aug 23, 2020 at 2:31 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I am an obsessive/compulsive. Not only do I fixate on an actor and binge watch everything he has ever been in, I am driven to BUY all of that actors DVDs.At present count, I have over 1500 DVDs. (And about 500 VHS tapes I’m trying to get rid of.)
It all started with Rudolf Valentino – I love silent films.
Then the remarkable Conrad Veidt (He was the template for DC’s Joker and Disney cribbed his look for their Jafar in Aladdin.)
The golden agers – Errol Flynn (I have a life mask of him – he was gorgeous!) and Gary Cooper.
Then Mae West (the only woman on my list. I sense a touch of sexism here.), Danny Kaye (funny and beautiful – a rare combination.) Howard Keel (a manly man with a great big voice.) and Mel Gibson (I know, I know. But he was so handsome in his less controversial youth.)
Then I moved into Indian movies – thanks to my enabling niece. I started with Hrithik then moved onto Shahrukh. (And I keep coming back to Shahrukh. He just never gets stale.) Prabhas followed, then Prithviraj’s older, more huggable brother, Indrajith. Now I am working on, fixated on, obsessed with Vijay Raaz – 34 DVDs to date. Only about a hundred to go!
I need help. Not mental help, DVD storage help!! Between the DVDs and the books, my house is becoming a tight squeeze. I may have to rent a storage locker. Not for the DVDs and books. For my furniture. It’s just in the way!
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I have this dream of someday figuring out how to rip DVDs to hard drives like everyone else. So far, no luck, but it is a glorious vision. Right now I am in the same boat as you (only not quite so bad), shelves and shelves of DVDs just to have them.
Yes Danny Kaye! And his stuff is hard to find, you were smart to buy DVDs. I can’t think why, but somehow all his movies except The Inspector General and The Court Jester have just disappeared.
On Sun, Aug 23, 2020 at 10:02 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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And some of those that are no longer readily available are so-o-o good! The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Wonder Man, Hans Christian Andersen ….so good.
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Up in Arms was our favorite, the WWII army spoof with Dana Andrews.
On Mon, Aug 24, 2020 at 1:34 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I pretty much do nothing but binge; I choose films largely by actors and I tend to stay on the same actor until I’ve exhausted their filmography. I’m trying consciously to branch out a bit more. My first binge was Rahul Bose, which led to binges on both Irrfan and Konkona, since they’re in a lot of stuff together. (My interest in Bengali film started because both Rahul and Konkona are in a lot of them). There was a time in the late 2000s when I was nuts for Ajay, but the binge sort of petered out because I don’t really like action films. I had a brief Fahadh Faasal thing because he was featured on ErosNow, but I hit a wall with Haram, which is a truly terrible film. But after seeing Bangalore Days I thought I should get back into it. I’ve watched everything by Ranveer, almost–going to knock out Gully Boy this vacation–but it’s not really a binge because I’ve been interested in Hindi film for longer than he’s been in the business. I really liked him since BBB, but I only watch about one per year since I’ve got to wait for him to make them. And I’m still binging Uttam Kumar. I will feel so weird when I no longer have any new Uttam films to watch, but I’m sure I’ll start happily rewatching my favorites.
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As of a year ago, I have no more SRK films to watch. I held off on watching Guddu as long as possible just so I wouldn’t be done-done, but then I finally did it. It is a weird feeling! Hold on to Uttam as long as you can!
Also, if De De Pyaar De is ever available, you should watch it! I think it might be the kind of Ajay you like, not the other Ajay.
On Sun, Aug 23, 2020 at 10:47 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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This was sort of my MO when I initially binged Bollywood–the reason I would usually check out a movie would be either I liked the music, or it had an actor that I liked and the plot sounded somewhat interesting/safe. I had a list that after a while was kind of organized by actor. There were chunks of Varun movies, Anushka, Alia, Sid M, Ranveer, maybe Deepika too. Kind of like what you did with Hrithik, I focused on younger actors because their filmographies were smaller. Though, I don’t think I’ve seen any actor’s full filmography, Indian or American. Unless you count, like, Tara Sutaria, who’s only two films in and I’ve seen them both. As for Americans, I had such an obsession with Zac Efron when I was in middle school that there was a good 5 year period that I would watch any movie of his simply because I loved him so much, and then he started making questionable choices and I also grew out of my obsession.
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Probably wise not to see an actors full filmography, even someone fairly safe like Sid M has a real stinker like Aiyaary on the list that is just a total waste of time.
I think when I started Hrithik was the one I saw pretty much everything (except Fiza), but I sort of had a mental list of people who meant it was a high quality movie. So, if it had Salman and Rani, or Ajay and Sonali, or Shahrukh and Juhi, it was probably good. I didn’t follow anyone in particular, but had the folks that would make me pick up the DVD box and consider it.
On Tue, Aug 25, 2020 at 4:58 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’ve seen Aiyaary and it was a struggle to get through, huge regret.
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