Happy Wednesday! What a weird week this is. Halloween Sunday, Monday off so I could do family Grandpa dying stuff, Shahrukh’s birthday yesterday, and now all the holidays are over all of a sudden.
I’ll start!
Reading: Nothing! And I need something. I need something soothing and cozy and fall-y. Do you have a good cozy mystery series for me? Or a children’s fantasy book? We also need a good DCIB book club pick, I need to think about that.
Watching: For SRK Day, we watched Dear Zindagi. On my own, I’ve been watching Hot in Cleveland which continues to be not very good and yet very soothing. And with my friend, I’ve been watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills which is both terrible, and perfect to watch with a friend while paying half attention. You see why I need something to read? My brain is melting with trash!
Thinking: Not thinking real good!!!! I told all my co-workers to book me up with phone calls because those are easy to focus on, I’m having a real hard time with anything else. I can drive. And I can do a puzzle. And I can write the weekly DCIB posts (often hours and hours late, but I do it). But everything else is a bit of a mental challenge.
Listening: I’m all stressy and worried about life and the future! So, obviously, “Kal Ho Na Ho”
Okay, question for you! I want to do a theme week/month because it’s easy when I’m not thinking straight. Possibilities are:
Murder Month
Adoption Month
Baby Month
Death Month
Salman Khan Month
dontcallitbollywood 
I am always up for Salman month but can we please (pretty please) diverge from any of the themes for my birthday watchalong pick. I also have to add that while I definitely have a huge soft spot for Salman, with regards to ShahRukh I have to bring up Juhi and give her credit. She went with ShahRukh to post the surety for Aaryan and sign his bail. I just adore the ShahRukh-Juhi friendship. It is just so solid and so deep. She isn’t a celebrity friend to him, she is the person he calls to drive with him to get his son.
I am having a terrible week, so here is what I am doing. Husband and I are watching an episode or two of Ted Lasso at night. It is heartwarming and gives us all the warm and fuzzies! Even though it is very different, it gives me the same feelings that Schitt’s Creek did. It’s exactly what I need to watch before I go to sleep.
On my own, I am watching a super super trashy Spanish show called Elite. On its surface, it is just a frivolous show about rich prep school kids versus scholarship kids doing debaucherous things, but I think it is so much more. It has really good representation that highlights tough issues in an entertaining way ((being HIV positive, being a gay Muslim, class divide and how the rules are different for the rich versus the poor), it is decidedly feminist, it shows imperfect parents and teenagers choosing their own lives. I am completely into it and it is perfect for what my brain can handle right now. If anyone has seen it, I am so curious to hear their thoughts.
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Yes, your birthday pick is your birthday pick!!! I just need a theme to help me write short brainless posts every day. Your birthday pick is ALWAYS your birthday pick.
On Wed, Nov 3, 2021 at 10:55 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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then I saw Salman, baby, or adoption. Or a combination of them all.
Oh! And I am going to watch Sooryavanshi in the theaters on Sunday afternoon. I don’t think it will be packed then and I am super excited. Are you going to watch it in the theaters?
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No, I am going to be responsible like a boring person. I’ve got another COVID risk in my greater circle so until I get a clean test I’m not going to a movie theater. Which is also why my SRK party was virtual last minute. On the other hand, this means I can stay home and watch Hum Do Humare Do!
On Wed, Nov 3, 2021 at 11:00 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yay!!! I have plans to watch Hum Do Humare Do this weekend also. Keeping my fingers crossed that there are no COVID scares around me. And like last time, we will likely buy the seats next to us, so no one sits by us. I’ll let you know what I think after Sunday.
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My husband watched Élite and was totally into it! Which made me kind of indignant because he always complains if I want to watch American movies or shows set in high school. Also his description reminded me of some K-dramas which he also won’t watch with me. I didn’t watch it with him so I have no opinions of my own (it was while I was away over the summer), but the fact that he liked it when it was totally not in his lane means it must have something compelling.
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That is so interesting that he watched it despite not liking shows set in highschool. Someone described it to me as Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars a long time ago, which made me go, meh okay, I’ll watch it sometime when I have nothing else to watch. And on its surface, I can see why that description makes sense. But I think it has so many layers to it. There are no truly good or truly bad characters (well besides the parents, especially one who is just evil). I feel like everyone is three dimensional. They start of thinking they are in control and then messy teenage feelings and hormones take over. Everyone does things they regret and then they show a softer side. It is all just so interesting. The issues are also messy. It shows class differences really well and how different rules apply to the rich vs the poor. All while everyone is having sex. I was reading articles by some about how it perpetuates certain cliches and I like that it doesn’t shy away from them because they can be true. For example, just because you are discriminated against because of your religion, does not mean you don’t discriminate others based on color or sexual orientation. Just because you are gay parents doesn’t mean you understand your child who is bisexual and in a polyamorous relationship. It is just incredibly entertaining and also fascinating.
Also, Emily, my husband and I also watched the first season of KungFu, which is a CW show that is currently on HBO Max and it made me think of you. They took the old 70’s show and flipped the script. It now has a woman as the lead and the cast is predominatly Asian. It does a really nice job bringing in Chinese culture. Oh and it is generally family friendly for older kids (there is some killing but it is CW so it is maybe PG-13 at most)! If you end up watching it, let me know what you think.
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I don’t have any feelings for SRK but I absolutely cannot stand Salman so I vote against that. The only things he’s good for are calculating the heights of other people and for slashing with Govinda.
I’ve been so busy I’m still rewatching the Dracula movies. I guess I’m a sadist because I like the last movies best because Christopher Lee looks like he hates his life and is full of utter disdain. It’s great.
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Lady Hardcastle! I think I’ve mentioned it before. A lady and her maid bantering around the 1900 English countryside and solving murders for a hobby. Read it!
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Thank you!
On Wed, Nov 3, 2021 at 2:44 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I saw Varudu Kaavalenu this past weekend and I really enjoyed it! It wasn’t anything original and the movie kinda dragged in the end but it was sweet love story with nice songs. Also I thought Ritu Varma was really good in it!
I haven’t started reading it yet but my friend recommended a drama/mystery novel called Everything We Didn’t Say by Nicole Baart. It sounded really interesting based on the summary.
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I just watched Ankahi Kahaniya on Netflix. It’s a 3 part anthology. The first two stories are hohum but the third, with Kunal Kapoor, is worth watching. Worth watching because Kunal Kapoor is freaking GORGEOUS!!
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I just found out from Arisa’s twitter that Kristin Lavransdottir has a new (2005) translation. I haven’t read it since I was a teenager, before 2005, so I’m putting that on the list. Would that be soothing and cozy?
Also reading Mithir Bose’s history of Bollywood which is interesting but I get irritated at the spelling errors and typos.
My life is also quite complex these days, so concentrating on something I can control, which is watching Chokher Bali in Stories of Rabindranath Tagore on Netflix and seeing how it differs from Chokher Bali by Rituparno Ghosh. Mostly I don’t understand why they made the publicity photo exactly the same (Aishwarya as a Bengali bride vs Radhika as a Bengali bride).
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Watching and listening: my mom is out helping with the kids since they’re off school this week, and I took advantage to go see Hadestown with her and my aunt. It’s so good!! I got interested after finding a Tiny Desk Concert the cast and composer did when I was on my tiny desk kick over the summer, but the full show was so much better. It’s also a moment when everyone is super happy to be together in the theater – the audience, the cast, all of us, it was a beautiful energy. I had an emotional reaction to the dancers. Something about these strangers’ bodies moving joyfully onstage after I’ve been sharing space with the same small group of humans for so long, it just got me in the feels. Anyway, it looks like it’s going on tour lots of places and will be in Chicago on March, if you get the chance to see it totally worth it (and if the pandemic cooperates – they checked vax cards in NY and masks are still required). I love me some Lin Manuel Miranda but I’m wondering why we don’t talk more about Anaïs Mitchell, the crazy talented lady who wrote the show.
Kind of related, my older kid has been reading all the Lightning Thief books and I totally would have taken him if he had been vaxxed. Bad timing, just a smidge too early. Those are fun books, if you haven’t read them yet.
Other than that, I’ve been slowly watching through the last episodes of Little Things, interspersed with big doses of my latest Korean shows What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? and Romance Is a Bonus Book, both nice romcoms. I’ll be sad to finish with Dhruv and Kavya. Excited to see big movies are finally coming here though! Can’t wait to hear what’s good.
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I finally watched my most awaited Qismat 2. Unfortunately it’s not a continuation, or reincarnation story. It’s just a similar movie with the same actors playing characters with the same names like in the first Qismat. I don’t like to be too excited for movies, watching the songs, trailers and stuff because I want to watch every film with a clear mind and without expectations. That’s why I watch so many random movies in all the languages. With Qismat 2 I was so impatient I kept imagining how the plot will be, and in the end I was a little disappointed because it wasn’t how I wanted it to be. I think I should watch it again, without pressure this time.
Also, I know I shouldn’t complain because Zee provided the subtitles so I should be grateful, but OMG how they destroyed one of the best parts of the movie – Jaani’s lyrics, especially in the title song. The songs starts with “One who was a part of my fate (qismat) yesterday, is now someone else’s fate (qismat)”. The movie took its title from this song. But Zee decided to change that and translated those lyrics as: OH I was happy yesterday and now someone else is happy”. WTF? All the lyrics have been butchered like that.
From other news I also watched Himesh Reshammiya’s Happy, Hardy and Heer and it was so bad. My son who was watching with me said: I’m so sorry for the people who are in this film. And yeah, it’s the best review for this movie. I’ll only add that I found it offensive for punjabi culture. Terrible film, but I’m happy I can cancel it from my watchlist finally.
Badnaam Gali – this on the contrary was very nice. Similar plot to Mimi but lighter and simpler. Recommended.
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Wait wait wait! Have you finally gotten your son to watch movies with you??? Do you have a little movie buddy at last????
On Thu, Nov 4, 2021 at 10:00 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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We had terrible, terrible weather the last week and half. Heavy rains, very strong wind and even a cyclone in the end, so the schools were closed. We killed the time by watching movies, his and mine.
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Perfect! If the weather stays bad, you can seduce him fully to Indian film.
On Thu, Nov 4, 2021 at 2:58 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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He was more interested in building with lego, but from time to time he was looking at the screen. Happy Hardy and Heer isn’t a good choice to watch with beginners. But it would be perfect to watch with adults and drink everytime Himesh uses word “loser” or “achiever” (spoiler: it’s a LOT, I don’t think I would be able to have so many shots)
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Reading: I’m reading The Falcon by John Tanner, he was a child captured by Indians in the late 1700s at the age of 9 and ultimately sold to an Ojibwe woman who treated him like a son. He lived with the Indians for decades before returning to the white world, temporarily. While living in the white world he narrated his life story, and culturally it is the first story told from an American/Canadian Indian perspective. The reason I’m writing this is because he mentions the typical marriage customs of the Ojibwe, in which he did not partake, and they were arranged marriages. The elders in the family would arrange the marriage typically between young adults who did not know eachother well. A price would be paid / gift given to the family of the bride. If the marriage didn’t work out the wife or husband could leave. Less gifts would be given the more husbands a woman had had.
Listening: I was watching Swades last night and I really like the music in the RV song.
Watching: I saw Vidya’s Sherni. A slow film that requires focus. GREAT ACTING, and not just from Vidya, though honestly there is something about that woman’s face where you can just look at her thinking for hour after hour and be satisfied. Living surrounded by national forests and near national parks it was fascinating for me to see how India managed it’s jungle and the struggles of trying to save species while protect humans. The ending of the film needed some work. Basically they didn’t finish telling the story. The nine year old saw the last 45 minutes and really liked it. He was happy there wasn’t dancing, but it isn’t a kid’s film, he’s just a weird kid.
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I love your 9 year old!!!!
On Sun, Nov 7, 2021 at 8:43 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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for the record the reason i don’t use their names is the 9 year old – he told me not to, and yet he is most embarrassed / pleased when he see’s i mention him. complex child. but srk is complex, perhaps that increases my fandom. also, this is the computer with the broken keyboard. sorry.
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Reading: I finished Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World, the sequel to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I read Secrets of the Universe over the summer, a slow, beautifully written YA novel about two Mexican-American boys who fall in love in the late 80s. It was gorgeous and made cry. Waters of the World pretty much went the same, following the boys in their romantic relationship as they navigate sex, their senior year of high school, and heavier topics like the AIDs pandemic, love, relationships of all kinds, and death. I expected to love it, and I did. Made me cry again.
Now I’m reading a book called The Dinner List which is about a 30 year old woman who goes out to dinner with her best friend but it turns out it’s one of those “who are the 5 people, living or dead, you’d most want to have dinner with” things come to life. So Audrey Hepburn, her dead dad, and her ex, among others. It sounds cool, but it’s so boring because I don’t care about any of the characters, they are completely indistinguishable and boring, and it’s trying too hard to be deep but it doesn’t make any sense. Waters of the World was deep and powerful but in a way that made me think and I could still understand what the author was trying to say. Maybe cuz that was YA and this is adult and my brain is small. ~SPOILERS~ Plus, I’m halfway through the book and it turns out the ex is dead. WTF?? Then how is this a romance book and she’s trying to get back together with him if he’s been dead the entire time? I read so many scathing reviews of the author’s most popular book where a girl falls for her best friend’s boyfriend but then the friend dies of cancer and then the girl immediately gets with the guy, but then she ends up with someone completely different at the end of the book anyway. So maybe this author just sucks. Or maybe I don’t like magical realism. ~END SPOILERS~
Watching: I started Namaste Wahala and I don’t like it. It’s literally every cheesy romcom trope glaring you in the face. Love at first sight. Sassy friends. Disapproving parents. Characters are boring and I don’t care about them. Also racism? Indian music every time the Indian love interest comes on screen? I like Nigerian accents though so maybe i’ll finish it.
Thinking: My students had a really hard test last week that most of them actually did well on, better than everyone thought. I’m shocked. Either I’m too nice or they cheated. Or maybe the point system worked in their favor.
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I think it sounds like the author sucks.
On Sun, Nov 7, 2021 at 11:46 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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