Happy Wednesday! It is finally SUNNY! I woke up so much more cheerful and energetic, woo-hoo!!! And then tomorrow it goes back to overcast and rainy, oh well.
I’ll start!
Reading: If we consider podcasts reading (and why not?), I’m in the middle of one about a murder in Florida in which a man’s ex-in-laws hired someone to kill him so their daughter could get custody of the kids. Very movie, right?
Watching: All kinds of things! I showed Fidaa to my friends last night and they LOVED Sai Pallavi, because she is awesome. And my friend made me watch The Circle on Netflix which is a surprisingly good hearted social media based reality competition show. My friend wanted me to put up a “who would win The Circle in Indian film?” post, but I said that was stupid because the Bombay film world IS a social media based reality competition show and clearly Karan is winning. Way more connections and loyal friends than anyone else. Oh, and I am also dabbling in A Million Little Things which continues to be bad and the perfect ambient noise for while I work on puzzles.
Thinking: I’m gonna try eating healthy in a new way! I eat poorly because I am lazy and don’t make food a priority, I know this. But eating healthy to lose weight never works for me long term because it’s just not enough of a motivation. And eating healthy for heart disease or whatever also never works as a motivation for me partly because my genes are SO GOOD I just can’t make myself worry about it. But, NEW THEORY, I’m gonna try eating healthy to stave of seasonal depression. It’s a real “no duh”, if I eat a lot of empty carbs and sugars my depression is worse, my energy is down, I just feel sucky. If I eat fresh vegetables and fruit, it is better in every way. So, new goal this year, I eat leafy greens to be HAPPY and no other reason! We will see how long that lasts before I start thinking “but, I could order a pizza and have an extra half hour to work on my puzzle”.
Listening: For Hema-Amitabh week, gotta go with Baghban:
Now, question for you! Obviously, gotta be an SRK question: Favorite SRK-Hema Malini movie?
Dil Aashna Hai. Hands down. She was his first director, she told him to get a cute hair cut, and the movie is INSANE.
dontcallitbollywood 
Oh buddy I missed your post. I am bored maybe I should watch a movie. I so want to go for a walk.
LikeLike
Reading: Something about the origins of the universe. It is well written. Waiting for the library to inform me when I can pick up Sooley by John Grisham. When I finish reading that I would have completed reading all his books.
Watching: Trailer Park Boys.
Thinking: I visited Chicago over the weekend and thinking why did I not buy more stuff to take back with me from Chinatown. The bakeries there – I was amazed.
LikeLike
There is a Chinese bakery a couple blocks from my new place, you are inspiring me to go back there this weekend and getting some bean buns 🙂
Did you go to the original Chinatown or the bonus new Chinatown on the north side?
LikeLike
This was by the Chinatown CTA station. I think it is the older/original one. I got the read bean buns and pastries. I also went went to Tour Les Jours and there was so much variety of stuff. Bought couple of things there too.
LikeLike
Red Bean Buns are so good! If you like Bubble tea, the best bubble tea place in the city is Joy Yees.
LikeLike
Outdoor exercise is my Zoloft. Studies show people who eat a piece of fruit a day are happier. I have no link or anything to back that up but I did read it, once, somewhere. In late April I did a 10 day trial for a weightloss app, after a week I lost 5 pounds so I coughed up the money for it, and now have lost 38 pounds, size XL to a size L. After all the money I spent on the app I don’t have enough for new clothes so I’m stitching the waist of all my pants smaller. But what really got me was the logging of my food. There are free food logging apps out there. Just seeing what I was actually eating everyday, and how many calories I was consuming was essential. I wasn’t eating that unhealthy, but now I have two veggies with dinner every night, and I am much less tired. The app I use also has inspirational articles everyday that I think would be right up your ally. If you want I’ll email you a link. (BTW- big city dweller, I’m pretty sure you can order salads for delivery just like pizza to maximize puzzle time. That said, my app lets me eat pizza.)
Yesterday the 9 year old was home with a cold, so we watched Bhootnath together. While the child actor wasn’t bad, he wasn’t so charming that we loved the movie, but we were entertained. And as I had to read subtitles I got absolutely no work done.
Today I have two kids home with a cold. It is 30 degrees outside and I’m pretty sure I just heard them run out the door. I’m also pretty sure neither of them is wearing shoes. If they have this much energy maybe I should force them to go on a walk with me? But then they might not get better as fast… stupid runny noses.
In an embarrassing confession I’m reading the Wings of Fire series. My 12 year old read them all, the 9 year old read the graphic novels (I think he is dyslexic so he is balking at the chapter books), and I am reading the books to all three boys every night at bedtime. When I finish the chapter or two I read aloud I find I want to know what is going to happen, so I take the books to bed to read on by myself. And now at 45, no longer a children’s book buyer or anything of the sort, I am reading middle grade chapter books.
LikeLike
I love children’s books! Books for adults are STUPID, kids books are where it is at. Although if you want to go a bit more adulty and stick with Dragons, the Anne Maccaffrey dragon books are insane.
I’ve done food tracking before, and it never works when I think of it as “Losing weight” as a goal. I just get too depressed when it doesn’t work and there’s so much else that goes into weightloss than just diet. I know that sounds like an excuse, but it’s true. My hormone cycles, my genetics, stress, all this other stuff that can effect it. And when I think of food just for that purpose, it feels like it is pointless if I’m not losing weight at the same speed at a steady pass. But this time, just gonna think of it as “eating fruit and veggies and fewer carbs and sweets so I feel better in every way”. We’ll see if that works. For the actual goal of “not feeling draggy and energyless and sad all winter” without any consideration of weight or anything else that is harder to control and takes longer for a result.
If the kids are healthy enough to run outside, surely they are healthy enough to go to school! Follow that rule!
On Wed, Oct 13, 2021 at 10:53 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Margaret – I totally feel you about weight loss not being enough of a motivator. I always feel like I am weirdly depriving my body of certain things and then want to eat just that. But eating healthy because I just don’t want additional heartburn or don’t want to feel sluggish always helps. Then I feel like I am just eating the foods that agree with me more. This is why I never developed much of a taste for cheese. It always made me feel bad after eating it.
But I am still curious about the app and definitely want to see if it helps.
LikeLike
I have to admit that weight loss wasn’t the initial goal. Initially it was that I wanted my knees to work and thought loosing weight would help. I have now given up on my knees working. It isn’t going to happen. I will never be able to play a full game of soccer with the kids. But as I loose more weight I am able to do more things, like bike to the top of canyons I never made it up before. So I want to loose more to see what else I can do. But I don’t like being hungry, so it has been slow going.
LikeLike
Oooh! I will take the recommendation for the app. I have been pretty good at tracking calories for most of my pregnancy – mainly to make sure I am eating enough, I am eating the right stuff, and actually meeting the calorie goal, but definitely fell off the wagon recently. However, I will definitely need help losing the weight after the baby.
Exercise (especially running outdoors) is one of the ways I manage my mental health also. It has been really really helpful over the last couple years especially.
I just looked up Wings of Fire and now I want to read it!
LikeLike
75 years ago when my Grandma was pregnant with her first baby, her doctor told her she wasn’t allowed to gain more than ten pounds AT ALL. Isn’t that crazy? And she had a nice big German baby too, so most of that 10 pounds was actual baby. Anyway, be glad that is no longer a thing people tell pregnant ladies!
Albie Dog is my little outside time structure coach. I get at least an hour outside every day going “poop! Poop! POOP ALREADY!” and then coming back inside. It’s not a very pretty way to be outside, but it gets the job done. Do you think maybe he knows that and that is why he refuses to poop on my schedule?
On Wed, Oct 13, 2021 at 12:34 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLiked by 2 people
HA! He is a smart dog. He totally knows that as soon as he poops, you will take him inside, so he refuses to poop! He is no dummy! 🙂
LikeLike
So I do NOT recommend focusing on weight loss after having a child. Your whole life will change, sleep is difficult, merely being kind to your spouse and present for your child will take up all your effort. If you are lucky nursing will automatically cause you to loose weight. I confess that did not happen to me, but it did happen to over half of my friends. But I could not have lost the weight I just did when my kids were young. Loosing the weight took focus and dedication and, well periods of hunger that I just couldn’t have delt with when they were younger. Also, your baby will love your fat. We have issues still with our six year old squeezing our fat. It is genetically comforting to most children. But if you must the app I use is Noom.
LikeLike
Oh, I have no intention to immediately lose weight but I want to make sure I am equipped with the tools when I am ready. I have been good about eating somewhat healthy and working out while pregnant because I want the baby to be healthy. But I know all that will go out the door when I’m sleep deprived and exhausted.
LikeLike
(You know your kid best, just here to say that my oldest is a strong reader and still resisted the transition to chapter books, and the series that helped him over the hump was the I Survived books by Lauren Tarshis. Also graphic novels are really good now and part of me thinks they just like hanging out there.)
LikeLike
I have six I survived books in my house! What age did your oldest transition to chapter books?
LikeLike
I don’t remember exactly. Pretty sure it was third grade, which would put him at 8 or 9. But definitely way after he was capable of reading longer books. My youngest has been slower with reading. He’s in third grade now and just dipping his toe in (Freckle Juice, the Chicken Squad books), but I think the fact that he has any desire at all to level up is because of peer pressure from his friends and the fact that his brother is constantly on his case .
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this comment, Genevieve. I can SEE you and the kids and the cold; reminds me of myself when I was your age eons ago. It made me happy. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
New movier and trailer alert! The trailer for Hum Do Humare Do just came out.
The movie will be on Hulu/Hotstar/DisneyPlus. According to the trailer, here is the premise: Kriti wants to marry a guy who has sweet parents. Rajkumaar doesn’t seem to have parents so he hires Paresh and Paresh’s old ex-girlfriend Ratna to be his parents. They agree. Ratna is obviously still miffed at Paresh but he is still in love with her. It looks cute and harmless and I love Kriti, Rajkumaar, and Ratna. So, even though Paresh Rawal is in it, I will watch it.
LikeLike
“Wants to marry so hires fake parents” reminded me about 14 Phere, but I must admit Hum Do Humare Do looks better and maybe will be less confused and toxic.
While we are talking about new trailers – Meenakshi Sundareshwar.
I was waiting for this film, but the trailer disappointed me a little. I don’t know, but I just didn’t fall in love with it and found it fake.
LikeLike
Thankfully, I don’t think Rajkumaar wants to hire fake parents because he is worried his or Kriti’s will kill him or her. I think he just wants to do it so get the girl. Definitely, much less toxic!
I saw the trailer for Meenakshi Sundareshwar too and wasn’t too excited for it. If you watch it before me, please let me know what you think.
LikeLike
Might be too brainless even for me, but I have to say I will absolutely watch and probably like it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Second half of Pordenone was much better than the first, reviews still being posted.
It was less exhausting than I thought it would be, but I have decided that I will rewatch all the fun Christopher Lee horror movies I’ve watched in the run up to Halloween so I will have a nice spooky time the rest of the month. I’ll put up decorations soon and decide if I want to make any more.
LikeLike
I wanted to watch Welcome to New York (Sonakshi / Diljit comedy) but seems that the movie dssappeared off the face of the Earth. I saw Ittefaq (the 2017 one) then and being honest I’m disappointed. Akshaye was great and I liked Sonakshi, but Sid in my opinion was bad. He was acting too saintly and it was obvious he wasn’t saying the truth. I didn’t enjoyed the movie.
Listening: I forgot how good Butterfly is. I found it on one of my plylists and now I can’t stop listening to it
LikeLike
The whole JHMS soundtrack is AMAZING! Also, that gives me an SRK discussion post idea.
On Wed, Oct 13, 2021 at 2:49 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Started a new writing project yesterday (Gothic Romance, which I’m told is enjoying a resurgence) so I won’t be doing much else for a while. I do look forward to my nightly film, however. Tonight it’s the true crime series about police procedures in Bangalore. I hear it’s good. I’m into true crime in a big way and have watched most of the 48 Hours and Dateline shows on You Tube. I listen to the podcasts while I walk the dog. I don’t know why stories about folks doing nasty things to other folks fascinate me. When I read/watch/listen to romantic tales or adventures or almost any other genre, I put myself into them, become one of the characters. But with real murder and mayhem, I detach and enjoy from afar, like a wise observer. House of Secrets about the Burari deaths however, made me very uncomfortable. I had to turn it off halfway thru and don’t think I’ll go back to it. BTW, anybody see Chehre? Boooring. Too bad because Emran Hashmi is such a good actor, a match for Amitabh.
LikeLike
Thank you for saving me from Chehre. I almost started it 2 or 3 times.
LikeLike
You’re welcome. Don’t bother unless you want repetition and long speeches.
I recall another film with the same plot, not Hindi, I think. A bunch of seemingly friendly old guys invite a young guy (and maybe his girlfriend, not sure) to spend the night in their creepy mansion and proceed to murder them (or just him, again not sure). Anybody know what I’m talking about?
LikeLike
I had already decided the Burari Deaths documentary looked way too spooky for me. glad to have that confirmed.
On Thu, Oct 14, 2021 at 7:45 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I’ve watched the trailers of the movies releasing today, and found not one or two but three films I’m excited to. Maha Samudram looks much better at the second look. Or maybe the second trailer is better? Anyway I’m very excited and can’t wait to watch it. Just after I watched Most Eliglible Bachelor and and it looks soooooo bad and boring . I never was a fan of Akhil Akkineni but seeing him right after Sidharth and Sharwanand shows all his flaws both in looks like in acting or charisma. Pooja Hedge is even worse. What a pity. It could be a nice movie if only real actors were casted.
There there is also Diljit Dosanjh’s Honsla Rakh, which look hilarious and very Diljit’y. And kannada movie shrikrishna@gmail.com that looks like my cup of tea. I wasn’t that excited for many movies like since ages.
Sudeep’s Kotigobba 3 releases today too, pardon my language but unfortunately it looks like shit. The worst part is that I feel obligated to watch it because they filmed it in Poland , exactly in Torun, where I studied for 5 years and I want to know how they show the city.
LikeLike
Unfortunately, the reviews for Mahasamudram say it is bad. I read multiple and all share the same issues with the movie. Most Eligible Bachelor will require Akhil to be relaunched again. None of his movies so far have been successful and this one won’t be either based on twitter reviews etc.
About trailers watch this one releasing on prime on Oct 22 – https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IbDLu-Ro9ko. After long a trailer caught my attention.
LikeLike
The trailer is interesting because it has so much stuff inside. I though it’s another simple “30-something guy has problems to find a wife”, but then twist, and then another twist with the gangster. I hope it will be available in Italy.
I don’t want Mahasamudram to be bad, but deep inside I’m like: they should have made a simple love story without gangsters, like I wanted.
It’s funny because I was checking what people say about Most Eligible Bachelor and found only nice tweets and pictures of people who pour milk on Akhil’s photos outside the cinema. I can’t understand why- The guy has charisma of a dead fish and zero acting talent.
LikeLike
I apologize in advance for my Kangana rant! I woke up cranky this morning, so I decided to read some random bollywood gossip while I drank my morning coffee to cheer me up. Ofcourse, I came across some Kangana nonsense. Generally, I just ignore it and move on because there is basically some Kangana nonsense all the time, but this one I had to share.
Apparently, according to Netflix, Kangana’s new movie, Thalaivii was trending in Pakistan. Most normal people would be happy if their movie was trending anywhere, thinking “Great, more people are watching my movie. This should help me make more deals with Netflix. All around, this is great news.” Kangana’s response (I am translating): “It good to know that traitors don’t just exist in our country.” Oh, but she prefaced it by saying, “On a lighter note,” so that makes it okay (eyeroll!) WHAT IN THE WORLD would make someone react that way?!?! How is that funny given her hateful rhetoric about Pakistan in the past? What is wrong with her? Okay. Done. Yes, I know none of this should surprise me. And yet, she somehow managed to baffle me enough today to rant about it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rant away, Filmi.
You don’t ever have to be done with Kangana. Funny how I loathe her but can’t get enuf of reading all the shit (wonderful, mind-boggling shit) about her.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I finished my latest K-drama series and it left me feeling meh (While You Were Sleeping, though I still love the actor I was watching for, Jung Hae-In, adorbs). Want to take a break and catch up on some movies. What should I watch? Here are a few that have been on my watch list for a while:
– Mimi
– Uppena
– Cargo
– Salaam-e-Ishq
– English Vinglish
– Lootera
– Newton
– Rock On
– Dhanak
– Once Upon a Time in Mumbai
– Bhavesh Joshi Superhero
Or anything else good! I’m very suggestible right now.
LikeLike
Uppena if you are in mood for something romantic, colorful and a little over the top with good looking and talented leads.
LikeLike
Oooo! It really depends on what you are in the mood for. Salaam-E-Ishq is the only one on that list that is a big song and dance Masala type movie. It’s not the best, but if you want something big and silly, it will scratch that itch.
Dhanak, Cargo, and Bhavesh Joshi are all very good, but more sort of interesting art films like you would find from any industry, not really song and dance Masala stuff.
English-Vinglish, Lootera, and Once Upon a Time are all good but not your typical love story kind of plots. A little darker, a little thinker. English-Vinglish is the happiest of them.
Mimi and Rock On are pleasant time pass, but just aren’t very good.
And the others I haven’t seen either 🙂
On Thu, Oct 14, 2021 at 10:58 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Thank you both, very helpful!
LikeLike
Little Things SPOILERS: Margaret – it ends on a happy note, so now I can’t wait to watch it!!!
LikeLike
phew! And also, now I know why October 15th seemed like an important date. Could not remember for the life of me what was supposed to be happening today.
On Fri, Oct 15, 2021 at 8:20 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Ohh, right! Maybe Little Things will be my next watch!
LikeLike
YAY! Yes, let’s all watch Little Things so we can talk about it!!! It is such a well made show and there is always so much to discuss!
LikeLike
Hiya! Just dropping in to say hi and happy SRK month! I really need to get back into the swing of things with Bollywood. The delayed releases and just the overall “seriousness” and lack of big stars of most of the straight to streaming releases just have not excited me. Still think Sherni and Sandeep aur Pinky Farraar were the best movies of the year so far. Mimi was a big disappointment but had potential, so looking forward to the next Kriti slice of life film this month. I did go back and rewatch Bareilly Ki Barfi after Mimi and remembered how much I loved it. Looking forward to that cute Sanya Malhotra film, too, that will be on Netflix. Otherwise just kind of bored with it all. Wanted to love Bhoot Police (because I’m still an Arjun and Saif fangirl), but it was just OK. At this point, I’m most excited about two films in the distant future because finally Hrithik is picking good/any projects (the Vikram Vedha remake with Saif and Radhika is like a dream pairing and Fighter with Deepika). I’m not holding my breath because both could still not happen. Do you have any suggestions to get me out of my watching slump?
Otherwise, just watching a lot of Grace and Frankie, Ted Lasso, Succession, GBBO, Kim’s Convenience, etc. Also finally watched Star Wars, Episode IX. It was as awful as everyone said it was. Did really like Black Widow and Shang Chi though.
Reading lots of witchy romances and spooky things this month.
Hope you are well and, as always, I hope to be a regular again someday soon!
LikeLike
Hi Filmilibrarian!!!! So glad to hear from you, as always!!!! There’s nothing I am super excited about right now either, except for the new Little Things season. Oh, and yoyu HAVE to tell us if you think Shang Chi is going to be a romance or stay just friendship.
LikeLike
I watched the first two Little Things webisodes way back and I didn’t get hooked, but I gather that the recent seasons are full fledged episodic storytelling. I do need to get back to TVF’s Tripling though. Loved that first season and don’t know why it didn’t catch on more. Though I guess it did because it got a second season.
I hope Shang Chi and Katy stay platonic friends because I didn’t think they had any romantic chemistry just great buddy chemistry. I honestly caught a vibe with her and his sister and I think that would be much more interesting as a romantic pairing. Loved the movie so much, right up there with Black Panther for me in the MCU. I even loved the CGI at the end with the Great Protector (I may have been the only one). I even thought about getting a Morris stuffed animal (very briefly…lol). I did get a couple of Funko Pops for my women of the MCU collection.
Loved Florence Pugh in Black Widow and can’t wait for Hawkeye.
Oh, forgot to mention that one of the witch romance/paranormals I just read had a Bollywood actor/vampire hero based on Ranveer Singh (according to the author’s note even)! It’s called Don’t Hex and Drive by Juliette Cross. There are a couple of scenes where you could tell the writer loves Ram Leela. Though she describes him as wearing a man bun a lot, which I guess he has in some movie, but I can’t remember which? I pictured him as a cross between Hrithik and Ranveer. Very fun and steamy romance and she had a lot of beta/sensitivity readers for good South Asian representation.
LikeLike