Happy Wednesday! I got dressed, I emptied the dishwasher, I made myself coffee, and now I get to sit on the couch and recover for at least 2 hours. But! I can still manage to do a blog post while sitting!
I’ll start!
Watching: I finally started Shetland! It is indeed really really good, just like everyone says. And it makes me want to go live in some wild remote place. Oh well, one more month and our lake house will be open, that’s kind of wild and remote. You know, in the way where you have neighbors on all sides and lots of noise from the bars every night.
Reading: My favorite recent reading, the NHS suggestions for recovery from COVID fatigue. They are talking real COVID, not vaccinated COVID like I had which is so much better, but I still love it. “Lay on your back and breath. Then roll over, and lay on your tummy and breath.” This is the kind of exercise I can DO! Also, reading the suggested exercises, they are exactly what new babies do. Saira and Filmikudhi, this is familiar to you, right? Rolling over, then rolling back? Raising yourself up on your tummy? Then taking a nap?
Thinking: I’m almost done with my coloring books, and I think I am going to sort them out and send half my pretty pictures to my 2 year old nephew, and give half to the 4 year old little girl I know. And then probably buy more coloring books. I keep looking for a Bollywood coloring book, but no luck. At least, not a real one that isn’t secretly just random pictures of Indian things.
Listening: Time for some slow contemplative kind of listening, pulling out old school Rahman
Okay, now a question for you! It’s Ramadan, Passover, and Easter this week. I always find it cool when holy days overlap like that. And it brings up a big big question! Which is better, chocolate bunny, latkes, or Haleem?
Now, I would lean towards chocolate bunny because I love chocolate. But bunnies are just too big, it’s too much chocolate. Latkes, love them, very strong contender. But they are just too carb-y. So, I’m going for Haleem. Soothing soft meat pudding, it’s the perfect food.
I encourage you to try all three options and make up your own mind!
dontcallitbollywood 
I had a “Nice movies with pretty leads” week for my Birthday. First I rewatched Ohm Shanti Oshana and it was as sweet as I remembered. Then I partialy watched Mirzya and it was even better than I remembered. So much beauty! I almost forgave Harsh the torture of Ray.
Then I watched Dulquer’s Hey Sinnamika. The beginning was terrible and I almost quit but I’m glad I didn’t because later it becomes a little cheesy and a little dramatic love triangle and it’s one of my favourite things. There are beautiful clothes and interiors and a lot of drama. All leads are very pretty (Dulquer looks so fine) if only they were better actors the movie would be fantastic. But even with little acting I enjoyed the film.
Yesterday I finished Cobalt Blue and OMG I have no words. Prateik was super sexy. Neil Bhoopalam was great and he touched my heart in one of the scenes (I now need more with him) but all the rest was terrible. Every 2 minutes I was like: Is this movie for real?? Eg. Prateik and his lover (a guy I don’t remember the name because he was absolutely talentless) are gays so they are never given normal snacks, only sausage shaped snacks are permitted. But the worst part was how they ignored women drama and concantrated only on guys – Talentless guy’s sister has been locked at home without food, forced to abandon her life and marry a random guy because she fell in love, but the hero is like: Oh I’m the one who suffers the most in this situation because my boyfriend left me. It’s basically Ranbir Kapoor movie but with gays. Skip, skip,skip.
Today I finished Written on the wind to clean my eyes after Cobalt Blue.
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I enjoyed Sinnamika. Dulqueer is sexy even playing a sort of wimpy guy, and Aditi always delivers. But not sure about Kajal. She looked stiff, too made up, and not right for the part, maybe too old for it, too.
Mirzya remains my favorite Indian film, even all these years later. David Lean’s Summertime, with Katherine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi, is my fave American film.
Didn’t finish Cobalt Blue. Prateik did a good job; he should be in more films. Neelay turned me off, all that toothy eagerness. The cinematography was lovely but not enuf to hold me.
Gays and sausages. You’re a hoot, Angie!
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Neelay is terrible, he says his lines like a robot without any emotion, has a very creepy face and also his role was so creepy (watching people sleep, being so horny you kiss the mirrors…)
Cinematography was great. It was made by some italian cinamatographer. I’m sure the makers were like: nice images+controversial topic= deep movie. But insted they made a joke instead of a movie.
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Nooooo Angie you’re breaking my heart. Is the homoeroticism enough to watch it???
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I really think you should watch this film. Partly because I want to know your opinion and make fun of it with you, but also because I think it’s rare to see an Indian movie so openly gay (Prateik and the hero are shown kissing a lot, having sex, cuddling and hugging). I think it almost qualifies to “so bad it’s good” because they think they are being subtle but they are not (e.g the phallic snacks) + the hero is absolutely non subtle in his “acting”. Please give it a try.
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lol okay, I will watch it only to make fun of it with you.
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Coloring book:
https://www.moderndesi.com/products/803862-bollyart
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Dancing in India Coloring Book, $5.99 on Amazon. Not exactly Bollywood but Bollywood-evocative and very pretty.
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Watching: Mostly Dharma movies I have not seen before or just rewatching old ones. I am in a school project that is focused on Indian cinema and Dharma Productions especially. Linked some of your posts to them to give them a quick run-through about Karan and Dharma etc. and the current situation. Not sure if they will be used in the final report, but thought I’d let you know. 🙂
Reading: Karan’s autobiography, naturally.
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Yaaaaaaaaaaay, Karan’s autobiography! He is SO dramatic.
On Wed, Apr 13, 2022 at 10:21 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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And that is why we all love him! 🙂
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Tuesday is Movie Day here, but since nothing interesting had come out I just saw “RRR” again. For the third time. Whoops. Also, I saw a ’60s movie that I was certain that I had watched before (“Kahin Din, Kahin Raat”), but it turned out that the film I was thinking of was actually “Kahin Aar, Kahin Paar.” I don’t feel particularly responsible for this confusion, given that both films feature the CID trying to crack open a gang of smugglers headed by Nadira! Not certain why there are two of those, but it pleased me.
But the main reason I am writing is because your holiday food competition is rigged–RIGGED, I tell you! Coming from a Karaite background (Jewish minority within a Muslim community), I feel that have got to defend the Jews’ culinary honor here.* The haleem is obviously going to win if you put it up against those weaksauce, calendrically questionable latkes. But there’s such better Pesah food than that! Leek fritters, fried taro root with turmeric, halwa, raisin juice (hard to explain but it’s delicious), all kinds of almond- and sesame-based cakes. . . Rabbanites don’t eat lamb on Pesah but for Karaites it’s a tradition, so we usually have it cooked over a wood fire with this sauce that’s kind of like a green salsa on steroids. It’s made of raw chiles, garlic, cilantro leaves, parsley, sumac, and lots and lots of lemon juice. And then, after Hag Hamatsot ends, you get to eat qatayef. Who doesn’t love qatayef???
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/sites/default/files/styles/featured_image_2x/public/2021-03/qatayef.jpg?itok=s-knf26m
(Pictured: qatayef, loveable)
Speaking of which, we actually get upset when Pesah falls during Ramadan. Kashrut becomes so intensive during Ramadan that even pretty lenient Jews can’t eat Muslim food. You have to go a WHOLE WEEK with nobody inviting you to iftar ) : In the Maghreb, where my dad’s family has their roots, there is a post-Pesah festival called Mimouna that partially celebrates everybody getting to eat together again. The main Mimouna treat is moufleta, which is basically like somebody handing you a paratha and telling you to eat it with honey/fruit preserves/other sweet things. I am having a pretty low-key Pesah this year since we aren’t having anybody over for seder itself and then I immediately have to travel for Hag Hamatsot. (The Karaite calendar normally gets way off from the Rabbanite/ordinary Jewish calendar, but this year we are celebrating only one day later in North America.) Even so, this is our menu:
Kusa mashy (zucchinis stuffed with lamb)
Roz wa salq (chard risotto)
Orsa (homemade matzot with coriander)
Maror (NOT horseradish, but a green salad made with pickled lemons)
Malahabiya (custard with cherry/almond flavor)
*Christians, you are on your own; I don’t know what you-all eat!
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Oh, and of course, hag pesah sameah, hag hamatsot sameah, ramadan kareem ❤
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Oooh! Do you recommend the movie? I need some silly movies to watch. I totally go to your blog for these recommendations but I think I have now seen all the movies you have covered so far.
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Just saw your comment below–I also saw “Dasvi” and liked it quite a bit! Nimrat Kaur was so good in it. It also makes me hopeful that we will be seeing more streaming-only films getting proper songs.
“Kahin Din, Kahin Raat” definitely doesn’t work well as a thriller/mystery, but if you are looking for silly/”mostly people just having fun” it was a pretty good time ( : Nadira is fabulous, obviously, and Helen gets a speaking part as a Tragic Crime Girl. The main sin that must be overlooked is that Biswajeet is the hero and spends most of the runtime in a godawful carroty wig. Oh, and the “comic” “relief.” I really liked watching the cityscape in this song:
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Yeah okay I don’t think I can deal with Biswajeet’s wig. Thank you for the warning. If you have any other recommendations, I’ll take them.
Also, Dasvi was so nice right? I was a bit worried about where they were going with Abhishek and his wife but I am so happy that they took something that could have gone awry and just rolled right over it like the rest of the movie. Nothing was taken too seriously. Everything was a bit tongue and cheek. As you said, the songs were great. Abhishek continues to surprise and delight me!
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We all have our limits, LOL ( ; Biswajit can be a trying presence in the best of times.
I’ve been doing a lot of rewatches recently–hence the silence on the blog–and expect that most of what I’ve seen, you’ve already watched. Did I recommend “Raampur Ka Lakshman” to you already? Some other fun films I’ve revisited recently would be “Humjoli,” “Aan Milo Sajna,” “Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye,” “Professor”. . .
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Oooh! Thanks. I haven’t seen Rampur ka Lakshman! I will add it to my list. And yes, there hasn’t been much out there so I’ve been rewatching stuff too. Looking forward to watching RRR when it is streamed. I’m so jealous that you saw it 3 times in the theater!
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Hm, it must have been Popka I was mentioning it to, then–probably on account of Ranjeet’s wardrobe! I do recall “Kahin Aar, Kahin Paar” as being a very good time, if you can get hold of it. (Does not seem to be in any of the ordinary places at present.) Nadira and Pran are a gleeful evil power-couple in that one.
Oh, and I saw that TommyDan put up something new last week, although I haven’t gotten the chance to watch it yet:
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Oooh, so I watched a movie that I surprisingly enjoyed: Dasvi. I love when movies are tongue and cheek, surprisingly funny, and don’t take themselves too seriously. Spoiler warning. The basic premise is that Abhishek is an uneducated politician from a small village that abuses his power without even thinking about it. He is caught up in a scandal and sent to jail. There he is basically treated like royalty until a female jailor takes over and refuses to be bribed and cannot be transferred. All this leads to Abhishek deciding that he is going to pass the 10th grade exam. On the other side, Abhishek’s wife goes from being a submissive woman to a ruthless politician who enjoys her power. It’s all silly and entertaining and everyone just has so much fun in their roles. I miss movies like this. Yes, there is an underlying message but it’s mostly people just having fun.
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Latkes! They are delicious. I try to make them periodically and find them to be a lot of work and they never come out to my satisfaction, so my best case scenario is to eat someone else’s latkes made with lots of love and tradition and be grateful.
Reading: mostly here to share this lovely, gossipy interview with Mira Nair, which comes with the news that Mississippi Masala will be available again in the not too distant future! I’ve been wanting to see that one since I first learned about it, excited that it will finally happen.
https://slate.com/culture/2022/04/denzel-washington-mississippi-masala-mira-nair-criterion-interview.html
Watching: coworkers recommended Good Omens, which is entertaining so far, lots of tongue-in-cheek Terry Pratchetty humor. We started it after finishing Y: The Last Man, another show made from a book series, which I liked and was bummed to learn is not coming back with more seasons. My kids for once agreed on a show, Making Fun, also recommended by a coworker, in which grumpy bearded guys have to build toys based on ideas given to them by adorable but mischievous children, as in for instance a unicorn that farts glitter. Oh, and the latest season of My Brilliant Friend is really really good.
Thinking: we’re driving 11 hours on Saturday to our spring break destination. Vacations are so stressful!
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My Upstairs Friend is OBSESSED with Good Omens, mostly for the romance at the center. And now she is also obsessed with Our Flag Means Death for the same reason.
I read the Y: The Last Man comic books which are really REALLY good, but I think the ending is a little all over the place. So if you want to know more, check out the comics!
On Wed, Apr 13, 2022 at 10:58 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Seeing a lot of good opinions on Dasvi here, which makes me happy! Love Abhishek and Nimrat and I can watch on Netflix!
Thinking: At least I kind of like what Alia and Ranbir wore.
I watched, or tried to watch, The Sky is Pink. Don’t ask me why, the combination of Priyanka, an assortment of child actors, and a sentimental premise make this emphatically not a Miss Braganza movie, but I made it through half of it. I find the story of the actual person very admirable, but the movie leans too far into the cute ‘n’ quirky.
Then I watched a definite Miss Braganza movie: Macher Jhol. I think I’ve wondered here before why there is no real Indian food movie. Daawat E Ishq is sort of a food movie, as is Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, but nothing like Babette’s Feast or Eat Drink Man Woman where the focus is mostly on food. Well, trust the Bengalis, I think this is it. It’s a story of a Bengali chef who lives in Paris but has to go back to Kolkata because his mom is sick, which features in a number of Hollywood movies, but it has a different spin. It deals with family expectations and, particularly resonant for me, being an expat. It has Ritwick Chakraborty, one of the best Bengali actors of the Parambrata generation, and for a change he’s doing normal things and not like dying or getting cheated on. It’s a very good gateway Bengali movie: upbeat and happy and most of the subplots are resolved. The best part of the movie is the depiction of food preparation, which could be fairly called pornographic. It also includes something no other food movie has: an actual working recipe that you can try. Wholeheartedly recommend this to Indian food lovers who aren’t necessarily into Bengali movies.
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„Badhaai Do“ is finally on German Netflix, so I could watch it in installments. Bollywood has come a long way since the only lesbian was the antagonist in „Girlfriend“. And you’re right, Margaret, the movie seems decently realistic. Though depressingly, I think in real life it would end with that fake fade to black at the end.
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Latkes are more of a Hanukkah thing, just an FYI 🙂
Happy holiday, whatever you’ve all been celebrating today!
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