Happy Wednesday! Today’s the day I move from my parent’s place to my place every week, so I have a kind of holiday feel, even though it’s really still middle of the work week.
I’ll start!
Reading: I risked death to get every Thirkell in existence from the suburban library. They have a much better selection than the Chicago library, and they let Chicago people check out from them, but they won’t do holds or curbside pick up for city folk. So I had to actually go inside and get things from the shelves, terrifying!
Watching: Well, I saw Seder-Masochism! Highly HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you liked Sita Sings the Blues. Only three things to know about it: 1) It’s quite a bit darker than Sita in several spots, be prepared for that; 2) as Sita was about her relationship with her ex, this one is about her relationship with her Dad, be prepared for some loving but frustrating conversation; 3) My father worked on her father’s election campaign in 1973, isn’t that weird????
Thinking: It is impossible to get a cooking pumpkin! Not impossible-impossible, I am sure they are in stores like usual in September. But impossible for online ordering and curbside pick-up. There are “medium” pumpkins available and also “tiny”. Tiny is clearly those little decorative gourd things. I tried “medium” last time I did pick up and they came out with this huge carving pumpkin thing. Anyway, I am sending my elderly parents out to get them for me since they get to go to Senior Hours. I looooooooooooooooooove my pumpkins, I can’t handle not having them. If my parents fail me, I’m raiding a community garden.
Listening: Yashji week! I don’t like this movie, but I really love the songs:
Now, question for you! For Yashji week, a simple one, what is your favorite Yashji movie?
Oh man, this is SO HARD! I think I am going to go with Trishul? It’s not as good as Deewar, but that Amitabh intro is the best, and I really like how decent Shashi is. And happy ending! And a Karna story!
dontcallitbollywood 
Favorite Yashji movie? Veer-Zaara
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NOOOOOOOO!!!!! Why does everyone keep picking the movies I HATE!?!?!? I considered saying “any Yashji movie but JTHJ and Veer-Zaara and Dil To Pagal Hai”, and then I thought “no, it will be fine, no one will suggest the other two”. Should have listened to my gut!
Whatever, I am ignoring you and Claudia, La-la-la-la-la-la, the only movies I hear suggested are Chandni, Lamhe, Darr, Trishul, Yeh Dillagi, and Waqt.
On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 8:23 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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LOL I’m not suggesting , I’m just saying it’s my favourite Yash Chopra movie. The only I really love. The others are beautiful but slow and don’t have this something.
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Humph. Well, I guess I have to allow that. I can’t tell people what they should like. But also, REALLY? It just makes so little sense!
On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 8:36 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I don’t like Veer Zara either, but I don’t know why! I also hate the Challa song. Feverishly.
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It just feels weirdly light to me. There are still some great Yashji moments (like saving the bangle so casually), but somehow the film as a whole isn’t solid enough, I don’t feel the impact. Plus, the final series of plot things are just so stupid.
On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 7:42 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Pumpkins: the growing season started cold and rainy this year so the harvest is a little later than usual. Be patient and they will come!
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But will I be able to get them???? If the stores already have jack-o-lantern pumpkins, doesn’t that mean they also have cooking pumpkins and I just can’t communicate my needs correctly?
Does it sometimes feel like Baby:You is the same as Us:Online grocery shopping apps? Should we try learning simple sign language to convey our wishes better than words?
On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 8:48 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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In Illinois, you should be all right,
https://vegetablegrowersnews.com/news/18859/
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I watched Moothon on Angie’s recommendation, which was good, but Nivin Pauly was GREAT in it. I’m going to review it, but man, it’s worth watching for his performance alone. But a lot of other things were also good about it. If it wasn’t released in 2019, it would be my best movie of the year.
I also watched Loins of Punjab, which was fine, pretty funny and nice comment on antisemitism in India. Also watched Roadhouse, which (inexplicably) I’d never seen before, and it was 100% what you want it to be. So stupid, so fun. Reminded me a lot of early Govinda movies.
Favourite Yash Chopra movie is absolutely Trishul, I like how it’s nutty but also mundane. I could actually imagine it playing out in real life, because so many of his revenge plans are so petty and stupid.
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Great, now you are all going to guilt me into watching Moothon, and it’s going to be sad and end with people looking into the rain as tinkly tinkly music plays and they think about the emptiness of their life.
Of course you needed to see Roadhouse! I saw it the traditional American way, late at night on some cable channel, and it is an absolute delight. You should also check out The Films of Sylvester Stallone if you haven’t already. Forget Rambo and Rocky, check out Over the Top and Rhinestone.
Another Trishul lover! Woo-hoo! Someday YRF will give it better subtitles and release it streaming and everyone else will appreciate it too.
On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 8:52 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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That’s not what it’s like, it’s more about how strong the bonds between LGBT people are and how much the lives of minorities in India suck. IMO you can tell the movie was made by a woman because people try to help each other, even when they’re terrible at helping or also trying to screw people over at the same time.
Roadhouse is a perfect late night TV movie. I did not know Stallone was in a movie with Dolly!!! How haven’t I seen it??
Trishul has some great Shashitabh too, everyone should watch it.
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Oh man, Roadbouse is so great and so is Rhinestone. Now I want to watch other fun Sylvester Stallone movies like Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (who has one of my favorites – Estelle Getty) and Tango and Cash.
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I’m so happy you watched Moothon.
And yes, Nivin was special. He is great and not in a “people don’t understand me and I suffer so much” stupid way but in a ” I’ll take this role no other hero would take and make it mine”. After watching the movie I felt like buying a crown and sending it to Nivin.
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I’m happy you recommended it to me, or I would never have heard of it! Am I crazy for thinking it was one of the best acting performances I’ve ever seen? It was SO good. I read he was far from the first choice, and that is just insane to me. Nobody could possibly have done a better job with it.
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I can’t wait to read your review Popka.
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I saw V and it was bad. Not bad bad but boring and too violent at times. The only good thing: Nivetha Thomas scenes. She was sassy, funny and can have chemistry with everybody.
Yesterday when I ask for your recommendations , I also searched the most romantic movies on einthusian. I have already seen majority of the movies the site recommended except Dangerous Ishhq. I watched it and it was crazy! But the kind of crazy and romantic I needed. We talked about Hameesha being a reincarnation story and Dangerous Ishhq is 4 times that. There are 4 reincarnations, few deaths, a kidnapping, black magic, bad explosions and poor special effects. It was like 90s movie in 2010 packaging. I enjoyed it a lot.
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That’s good to hear! There was a lot of excitement about Dangerous Ishq as Karisma’s come back, and then it went no where, so I felt bad. At least it was a good Angie movie!
On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 9:01 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Being honest, I don’t understand why Karisma chose this film as her come back. It was like typical Bhatt movie but with reincarnation and in 3D, what raised the costs. They could never earn this money. Besides Karisma was a little too old for the role, and people don’t appreciate a good reincarnation love story anymore. She should have chosen a simplier movie.
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She is perfect in Mentalhood, I still want more people to see that, largely because it is exactly the comeback role every middle-aged actress should have. Complicated age appropriate role and she looks gorgeous.
On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 10:00 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Watched assorted things from different parts of the world.
The Kandaswamy Wedding (Netflix) – South African movie about Indians there and wedding shenanigans. If you like to watch Bollywoody drama (mothers and mother-in-laws) where characters speak in English then you might enjoy it. The women get prominent roles in the movie and that is a good thing.
London Irish (Amazon, I think) – Show written by Derry Girls creator that came out in 2013. Has some of the cast from Derry Girls. I totally did not love it but it is only one season and six episodes. I am assuming it did not get a second season.
Alice in Paris (Amazon) – French show about food. The initial two seasons were in French with English subtitles. Strangely the third season the audio is in English. Plus the episodes, which usually run less than 10 minutes have been combined into three episodes of 30 minutes each.
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After being dissapointed and depressed with the recent crop of Indian movies, I went on Disney and watched the entire first season of Diary of a Future President and it was adorable and happy and everything I needed in life. Favorite Yash Chopra movie is definitiely Trishul. So, if we don’t watch it on Friday, I will watch it this week and then also watch Vijay and think how much better Trishul was. Oh maybe I will watch them in reserve order so I can end on a happy note!
I haven’t started a book because work has been so busy, but I might go back to the DCIB book suggestion post and pick one out.
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Oh man, I should watch that. Or maybe The Healing Powers of Dude on Netflix. Kids shows are the best!
Read Thirkell! Or not. But they are so light and pleasant and escape-y, I am having a blast.
On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 9:42 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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IIRC it is Kalyug that is the Karna story, not Trishul. Karna’s mother abandons him at birth & he therefore aligns with the Kauravas, partially to avenge his loss of rights as an heir. IMHO any story of two half brothers doesn’t become a Karna story.
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I haven’t seen Trishul, so clearly I need to see it! I finished reading The God of Little Things and that was seriously depressing and awful. And I have these hallucinatory seizures sometimes at night and that DAMN BOOK made them super scary and awful and I kept throwing myself out of bed trying to kick the awful person standing at the foot of the bed. Ach.
Now I’m reading Let’s Just Pretend It Never Happened and An Artificial Light. I need fewer downer books!!
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You need to go back to our book recommendation post too! Also, Thirkell! Cheerful period British romances, they are cheering me up like anything.
On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 7:49 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Maybe … (‘cause I’m sure it wouldn’t require any extra time or effort or anything) … You/We (I could certainly help) could have some sort of index by mood for movies/books. I know that anytime I feel like getting REALLY REALLY DOWN, Schindler’s List or Leaving Las Vegas are always good. Oddly, I haven’t seen either of those in yeeeeeaaaarrrrsssss.
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Well, I think I have had a bunch of “happy romances” or “comfort food” movie posts!
On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 8:18 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Watching: Bunty Air Babli – you’ve recommended it a bunch of times but talking about the new movie made me finally check it out. It’s fun, already my favorite Rani/Abhishek movie and maybe my favorite Rani character of all. Halfway through, meant to finish it tonight but Wonder Woman is on TV and I got distracted. (How can anyone be as perfect looking as Gal Godot, and also fight and also act? I have such a girl crush.)
Also: started watching We’re Here on a co-worker’s recommendation. It’s Priscilla Queen of the Desert but as a reality show going into out of the way cities and towns in middle America. The reality piece made me skeptical, but they truly go into these unwelcoming places with love and call forth the lonely and the misfits who needed beauty and fearlessness in their lives. Recommended if your faith in humans needs restoring.
Thinking: what should I even do about Halloween this year? is it happening? do there need to be costumes?
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Yaaaaaay! Bunty Aur Babli! It is so good, and fun, and clever. The plot kind of meanders, but it is so fun that I don’t mind we aren’t really going anywhere. And the Ranishek chemistry is STRONG.
I don’t know if I can handle We’re Here, sounds too touching, but I’m glad to know it exists in case I ever feel like it.
For Halloween this year, I am going to put Albie dog in his pretty costume for all 3 of our daily walks. And maybe offer to bring him by friend’s houses if they want to see him. I guess you could do that with your boys? Take them around to stand on the sidewalk outside friend’s houses?
On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 11:20 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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We’re Here is just slightly more real (in the dig into real problems sense) than Queer Eye. Like Queer Eye but with more family issues – generally conservative family members who don’t fully accept the show subjects, but there are other kinds too – and without a tidy resolution in every episode. And instead of a real life makeover they get fabulous drag for a big cathartic show (subjects and allies).
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That sounds interesting! Right now, my father is refusing to even watch Queer Eye, because it makes him feel things and cry and then he can’t sleep. Maybe Mom and I can rebel and watch this show by ourselves while Dad is off watching his Mickey Mouse cartoons.
On Thu, Sep 24, 2020 at 8:36 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m on vacay this week, my last hurrah of vacation before I start fall semester next week. I started on Masaba Masaba, which I really liked–I thought it would have more of a reality show feel, but it actually kind of reminds me of The Larry Sanders Show, with good-natured celebrities sending up themselves. (Although I wish Farah’s joke hadn’t been about her weight). I’m done with the first half of the season and putting it aside for a while as stories about people unable to do creative work always make me very anxious and particularly when I’m trying to plan a very weird semester. (I looked up Masaba’s ex-husband, and he seems to have produced the Bengali film Autograph, so good on her for divorcing him. It’s a clumsy and unnecessary attempt to remake a Ray film.)
Anyhoodle, after that I went to Dolly Kitty, which I was looking forward to but it was hard to get through. I love Konkona and she can make any character sympathetic, but I couldn’t stand how gleefully mean she was to her poor mother and I almost tapped out when she pounded on her gender-nonconforming child. (I was happy that things were rectified in the end). And, I mean, you can see what’s going to happen with Bhumi and “Pradeep” and it felt like a slow-motion trainwreck. And a bunch of goons destroying a giant fiberglass vagina is a bit on the nose. I wish they had developed Bhumi’s relationship with the kind auntie who gives her a bear and it could have been a different kind of look at female empowerment than the old betrayed by a man thing. It seemed in parts to be a bunch of yelling punctuated by awkward sex. However, one thing that I hate about “women-centric” movies is when they try to bring in every possible women’s issue, as in Angry Indian Goddesses, and I thought this was handled well in Dolly Kitty–slight mention of surrogacy, and the backdrop of the difficulty for a woman of having to balance marrying someone you love with marrying for security. I think I’ll watch Cargo also this week so I can see Vikrant as someone not jerky (I think).
Then I saw Tenet in the theater and did not like it–extremely confusing, listened to the English dialogue and read it in Japanese and still couldn’t follow and eventually gave up. But Dimple as a badass arms dealer made it all worth it.
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Dimple is in Tenet? How big is her part? I won’t like the movie but I might watch it for her.
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Dimple’s part is pivotal but tiny. I’d say she’s on screen for 15 minutes tops. If she’s the only reason you’re watching it might not be worth it.
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Thanks! I will wait until it’s streaming and fast forward, I think.
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Oh, and my favorite Yashji is Daag!
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Masaba Masaba switches in the second half, dumps the “incompetant and life is falling apart” character bits and moves on to “she is plowing forward and thinks she has it all figured out” bit. So you can relax about the creativity part.
Yeah, Vikrant Massay is so transparently BAD IDEA!!!! That kind of relationship is clearly based on fantasy on both their parts, not something real.
Thank you for the Dimple report on Tenet!!!! That’s all I cared about for this movie.
On Thu, Sep 24, 2020 at 12:37 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I was wondering how the incompetent child in grown up clothes thing was working for someone who is an actual fashion designer portraying her actual self! If I am a big celebrity and I want a dress for an event am I going to look at Masaba and think “Yeah but she has trouble getting ideas and also has ill-advised sex with her exes”? Maybe all of her clients are also friends and she doesn’t care.
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I think it might be more of a “she is so well established that she can make this show making fun of herself without worrying about any effect on her brand”. Or, her brand is established as the face of youth and hip and questioning India, so playing a young messy woman might be even more appealing to her client base?
Anyway, there is a sudden shift in the second half that continues especially into the last episode where it starts to feel more like her life fell apart with the divorce and we were seeing her at her absolute worst, and now she is crawling back to where she was before, a confident experienced successful professional.
Also, that little girl is ADORABLE and I don’t care what they had to do to get her into the show, I love her.
On Thu, Sep 24, 2020 at 8:16 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Reading: I just started The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren a few days ago and I am loving it way more than I expected to. It’s about this girl who’s twin sister gets married, and the best man is the girl’s nemesis. The twin sister is very lucky and was able to finance almost her whole wedding by winning contests, including an all inclusive honeymoon to Maui. But everyone who attends the wedding except the girl and the nemesis get food poisoning, and the twin insists the girl and the nemesis take the free trip. So the girl and the nemesis go to Maui pretending to be a newly married couple and are obviously going to fall in love. They haven’t yet, but it’s an absolute blast to read so far, and it turns out I love enemies to lovers and fake dating.
Watching: Mostly wanted to come to this post to talk about my watching. Last weekend was one of my best friend’s birthday and I went to a party at her house. This is the friend who basically was the catalyst for me getting into Bollywood–we watched Chennai Express back in the day and loved it, I also have since showed her HSKD, which she thought was cute but doesn’t remember it much, and JHMS, which she fell asleep during. At this party, I basically forced her and someone else to watch SOTY1 and it was a truly glorious experience for me because I was just screaming the entire time about how much I loved it and how gay it was, and while they were convinced, I don’t think they loved the movie as much as I do. Except Rishi. They loved Rishi.
And THEN, well, a bit of backstory, not sure if you ever reviewed or have seen Machine, but one of the scenes from that movie went viral on Twitter (if you’ve seen it, you probably know the one) and she sent it to me before the party because she knew I could probably figure out where that scene was from. I did, even if I haven’t seen it, but we also watched the first half of Machine and it was WILD. Truly an experience. I slept over, we watched SOTY at night, then Machine in the morning and then she kicked us out because her family was coming over, so I never finished it, but she did and told me everything about it and it truly seems bonkers.
Thinking: This experience got me thinking though about how in my circle of friends, the only Bollywood movies we watch that are memorable are the bad ones, and I’m not a fan of this being the reputation. They can’t remember HSKD aside from Alia. They probably won’t remember SOTY aside from me embarrassing myself for 2 hours. It would be better if I showed them the bad movies which disappoints me that they truly won’t appreciate Indian cinema genuinely.
Also, dealing with online teaching and apartment stuff at the same time has been kicking my butt. Staring at a screen all day is exhausting. I am so busy all the time, which is why I was absent for a bit and am catching up on stuff sort of (it’s a long weekend for me). But I JUST got a mattress and legit furniture. The mattress isn’t coming until the end of October and the rest of the furniture isn’t coming until DECEMBER and I am very frustrated that my moving is getting so delayed.
Listening: I’ve had Ed Sheeran’s Give Me Love on loop for no real reason.
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I know what you mean about the bad movies being the memorable ones! For my friend group, I ended up looking for ones that are bad/good. Like, you aren’t supposed to take it that seriously. Dabangg was a big hit, so was Don 1, and Chennai Express. War and Bang Bang too. But of course I forgot that lesson and tried to show JHMS at my last virtual movie night and I am still not sure that anyone really liked it or “got” it.
With your apartment, can you move in once you have a bed and mattress? Or are you going to wait until December when all the furniture is there?
On Sun, Sep 27, 2020 at 9:34 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I literally started making a list of movies to show them that are either fun bad or bad bad. War and the Dabanggs are on it, but also Marjaavaan and the Baaghis and basically every comedy movie SRK did in the last decade. If anyone would like to add to this list, feel free.
My plan is to move in when I get my mattress. When I say furniture, that includes the bedframe and headboard, as well as a dresser and nightstand. The mattress was from a different store, but I also got a boxspring with it, so I’m probably gonna just put the mattress on the boxspring and basically sleep on the floor. I have my own bathroom, and a walk in closet that has some shelf space in addition to hanging space, so I think I’ll be okay in that regard.
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Shower curtain! I always forget to get a shower curtain before I move in, and there is nothing worse than showering without a curtain.
On Fri, Oct 2, 2020 at 7:41 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I already have a glass door, thank god 🙂
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