Happy Birthday Filmikudhi!!!!!! This is great, I am never going to forget this date, it’s as good as Angie being born on Allu Arjun’s birthday.
This is a gift to you, and to me at the same time. Because we have very similar tastes and the things you like talking about are the things I like talking about. And we both like talking!
Love Aaj Kal 2020 and emotionally abusive mothers. You defined this for me in our discussion of the film, that Sara’s character was a victim of emotional abuse and that is the source of all her strange behavior. But isn’t it interesting that no one besides you (including me) was able to label that behavior?
Is it because it was emotional abuse? We didn’t see her mother hit her (I don’t think) we just saw her yell at her, and give her erratic strange advice. The mother-child relationship is always emotional, is it possible that the audience simply accepted this heightened behavior without questioning it in the same way we might accept it in real life? Or, as in real life, thought of it as the exception instead of the norm (“well, that was weird, but maybe it was a really bad day and an unusual fight”)? Although Imtiaz also was sure to include the flashback post-interval showing that this behavior was NOT unusual, but was in fact normal for their household.
Or is it because it was mother-daughter? Mothers are given such a privileged position, while the father is the “enemy”, the mother is the “ally”. The idea that a mother could be bad, could be someone you need to challenge and fight against, is so alien to everything in every culture.
And then there is the issue of the manner of the abuse. Sara’s character was seemingly the ideal young modern Indian woman. She wasn’t being forced into a marriage, she wasn’t being harassed or stalked outside the home, she was encouraged in her career. The anti-abuse towards women messages in Indian society are about mothers-in-law, husbands, fathers. They are about women not being allowed education, forced into marriage, trapped in a home. Sara suffered none of those results, but that does not mean that she was not abused.
The Big Bang Theory, Romance and Feminism and a Remake. The Big Bang Theory! Commonly dismissed by uppity media scholars as populist trash. But if you actually watch it, remarkably feminist and romantic and well-constructed. It started with a simple idea of 4 “nerds” who interact with the new attractive young woman across the hall. But then it quickly developed into a balanced 7 lead show, 3 women and 4 men, focused on the slow growth in many ways of all 7 characters and the development of 3 central relationships.
We have a young pretty actress who is initial insecure in her relationship with a successful scientist, breaks it off impulsively, then comes back to him when she is more sure of herself and grows into a confident successful saleswoman. We have a sweet nerd who is always kind of a “beta” type and loves the actress from afar and can’t believe his luck when they get together. We have a ladies man who is over the top and extreme, until he starts seriously dating a sweet young fellow scientist and quickly marries her and is all about her and vice versa from then on. And we have our autistic super smart scientist who has never thought about love or intimacy until he meets his perfect match, a gawky eager equally smart young woman.
Okay, tell me what you like about this show! Which romance is your favorite? Which heroine is your favorite? And, most importantly, who should we cast in an Indian remake?
Is it Perverted and Wrong to be attracted to Old Amitabh?
I mean, obviously YES. But Filmikudhi says “K3G and Mohabbattein Amitabh was such an alpha, powerful, grumpy, meanie that I wanted to tame! And in Bhagban he was just so romantic.”
What does everyone else think?
Oh, and finally:
dontcallitbollywood 
Happy Birthday Filmi Kudhi!!! Clearly older Amitabh is hot af, this is simply the plain truth.
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MADNESS! He’s got grey hair, it’s yucky.
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Thank you! And yes, he is definitely hot AF!
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Happy Birthday Filmikudhi!
Hope you have a great day 🙂
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Thank you and happy end of WWI/Polish Day!
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Many happy returns! And congratulations on your entirely correct Amitabh opinions. I only like him young (1978 and before) and old (renaissance streak, not anymore). Weirdly, most of all in Sarkar.
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ICK!!!!! He’s your FATHER!!!
On Wed, Nov 11, 2020 at 12:37 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Thankfully, not in any way like my father!
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Oh dang, I just realized, older Amitabh is EXACTLY like my father. Young Amitabh would be too, but no beard.
On Wed, Nov 11, 2020 at 1:25 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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looool
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Now in all your stories I will be picturing your dad as Amitabh.
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Thank you on the birthday and Amitabh confirmation! I completely forgot about Sarkar. Definitely very hot in it!
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FILMIKHUDI!! 😀
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Thank you! You were missed last week during the Jaan-E-Maan watch along!
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Aw, you are so dear! 🙂
There was a family trip that I had to wake up early for the next morning so I had to not do it last week. Thankfully, now it’s back to business as usual!
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Happy Birthday, Filmikudhi!!! Have a great day!!
Also, Amitabh unfortunately does look like my father a lot, to the extent that when I went through old family albums, I once wondered who the diehard Amitabh fan in our house was, to have his pictures scattered throughout the albums. So I can unfortunately never be attracted to any sort of Amitabh.
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Ha! My dad looked like Shashi when he was young so they could have played brothers/friends in many movies! And thank you for the birthday wishes!
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Margaret – thank you so much for this amazing post. I just finished work and am going for a pedicure. I promise I’ll answer all these wonderfully thought out questions when I get back. But for now, with regards to BBT, I love all the women but think Bernadette is my favorite. I love her tiny, squeaky, bossy, competitive self! She just cracks me up. She also scares me a little bit. However, I think Leanord and Penny are my favorite couple. They have been through the most and I love that they are polar opposites but so supportive of one another, especially regarding decisions the other doesn’t understand but respects.
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Ooo, a pedicure! I missed my pedicure window in Chicago, but at least I gave myself a nice home one. Go off and enjoy!
And yes, Bernedette is so great! And she is the female character that straddles both sides, a successful woman interested in science, but also comfortable with girly things. I think Amy is my favorite character, but Bernedette and Howard are my favorite couple.
On Wed, Nov 11, 2020 at 5:03 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Happy Birthday Filmikudhi! You always say nice things about my children during watch-a-longs which is pretty much the fastest way to my heart. I’m not very good at watching sitcoms, I rarely get hooked, but I’ll put on the first episode of The Big Bang Theory now in your honor. I hope your pedicure is relaxing bliss.
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Ooo, first episode, okay, but not the greatest! Don’t judge the whole series by the one Ep!
On Wed, Nov 11, 2020 at 5:32 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Your kids are seriously awesome. They are more perceptive and intelligent than most people I know. But then again, I live in DC, so I guess that makes sense! Thank you for the birthday wishes! And yes, please don’t judge BBT based on the first episode.
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Happy birthday, filmikudhi!! I have barely watched BBT and just realized that, while I liked Love Aaj Kal, it has now completely left my brain, so I’m coming up useless in this conversation. But here’s hoping you found a way to make your day feel special and happy!
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Wait wait! You can at least give your opinion on Old Amitabh: Hot or Not?
On Wed, Nov 11, 2020 at 11:40 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I like watching Amitabh onscreen…but no desire to tap that.
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You are a sane woman.
On Thu, Nov 12, 2020 at 8:08 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Thank you. Now that I have come down from my sugar high, I feel slightly guilty objectifying Amitabh. But then again maybe not. He’s an old man now and should get some pleasure knowing that he’s still got it.
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I am sure it makes him very happy. Elderly people need to feel desirable too.
On Thu, Nov 12, 2020 at 5:59 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Happy belated birthday Filmikudhi! I only have barely started to get to know you, but I really enjoyed all of our October Hrithik movie commentary together! I hope you had a great day yesterday! ❤
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Thank you! Yes, Hrithik is just such a great movie star crush. I would never want to meet him in real life because then he’d want to talk and I would figure out his actual height and my fantasy would be ruined!
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He is! I also have really conflicted feelings about ever meeting a movie star, like what unconscious ‘truth’ have I decided about them that they won’t live up to?! What will they say that I can’t ever unhear and will affect all future viewings of their movies??? I don’t want that, I don’t think…
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Belated birthday wishes Filmikudhi!! First, I love your name, always wanted to say that! I haven’t watched LAK20 or BBT. Old Amitabh is not for me but I’ll never judge anyone for being attracted to any celebrity 🙂
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Thank you! I love yours as well! Hopefully, you will be able to join the watch-along today and we can revel in all the snark that is about to come out during Tum Mere Ho. I mean, that movie is just asking for it. I don’t even feel bad about being mean.
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Yeah, it’s hard for me to make it on weekdays! Dare I say I don’t regret missing Tum Mere Ho, hope y’all had fun though 🙂
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