Happy Saturday! I am trying to fill it with a million lake activities to keep me going after I return to the hot boring city. oh, and also, SHAHRUKH TWEET ALERT!!!!
Things to talk about!
SHAHRUKH TWEET!!!! Which seems to be saying he is about to start filming, yaaaaaaaaaay! But also that he is going to shave the beard, boooooooooo.
Second Shahrukh Tweet! Why would Tom Hiddleston call him out in a promo for Disney+HotStar and why would SRK Respond?
I have 3 possibilities:
- Tom Hiddleston legitimately thinks of Shahrukh Khan, no ulterior motive. And Shahrukh was alerted to this by someone and thought it was nice and said “thank you”, no ulterior motive.
- Tom and SRK are secretly working on a co-production project thus the coordinated communication cross fandoms.
- SRK is secretly working on a Hotstar/Disney production thus Tom was ordered to mention him and SRK was quick to re-tweet.
- Disney thinks of SRK as the most recognizable beloved easily promoted name so ordered Tom to mention him.
I am going to reject option 2 just because I don’t think Disney/Hotstar would be down with this and Tom’s video was clearly heavily edited.
I want option 4 to be true because it means the SRK Power is still strong and internationally respected.
But I think really option 1 or option 3 are most likely. I would be okay either way, I like nice celebrities being nice with no meaning. And I would be happy to see what Disney does with SRK.
Less important things to talk about, I kayaked! Without falling out this time! And I went swimming and I went for a drive with my Dad and I did laundry, all before 11am. And now the rest of the day is downhill and I just sit around reading Ms Marvel.
(there IS a cross cultures/races Muslim romance, just like I dreamed!!!)
dontcallitbollywood 
I think the answer is option 1 mixed with 3. SRK is the most famous Indian star, no wonder Tim mentioned him. But I think SRK answered because in some way he/Red Chillies works with Disney/Hotstar.
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If nothing else, I assume Red Chillies VFX has/wants some Disney contracts?
On Sat, Jun 12, 2021 at 3:42 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I want something fun and stupid and recent, and have run out of recs.
I’ve also been thinking about how with the increased political pressure on Bollywood and the pandemic, I don’t know if the industry really has long. I feel like they’re losing their audience to Korean stuff which is more liberal in some ways. I can’t find sources on whether and how it’s affecting regional cinema, because it seems to me like they suffer less from political interference but it’s so impossible to find good information (if so I think they will be the next target anyway). I know we don’t do politics here but it’s hard not to count down.
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😉
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Oh my god.
Well, with stuff like that coming out, how can I say the industry is dying???
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To answer your specific question, the Tamil and Telugu and Malayam cinemas in particular are totally tied up with their state politics. The Telugu and Tamil speaking states have always pushed back against the centre government, and if they drop out of the coalition it could take down the government. And of course Kerala has always been it’s own little radical state. So I think the centre is afraid to touch their film industries and break the fragile peace. State politics are an enormous influence on the film industries, but that’s nothing new. Watch Iruvar!!!! It’s a thinly veiled fictionalized version of MGR’s rise to power and how film and politics became intertwined in Tamil Nadu. And it has AR Rahman music. Check out this song:
On Sat, Jun 12, 2021 at 4:10 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Thanks! Well, we will always have regional cinema then, I guess.
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