Happy Wednesday!!!! My housemates were gone all weekend, and I almost managed to finish my American Gothic puzzle, but now they are back today so I don’t know when I will finish the last little bit.
I’ll start!
Reading: Finished the Dorothy Dunnett book, and now I have recommended to the same friend who recommended Dunnett to me, Laura. Very nervous to see if she will like it.
Watching: I have finished all of Shetland! My other weekend project, along with puzzling. My goodness there are a lot of scenic small towns in Great Britain that have a lot of murders in them!
Thinking: Now that Christmas is over, I need a new project. I think I should go back to scheduling reviews in order to force me to watch movies. I like writing reviews and I like watching movies, I just have a hard time organizing myself into it.
Listening: Thanks to my “best of Dips” post, now I’ve got “Doobey” in my head again.
Now, question for you! It’s Dips birthday tomorrow, what is your all time favorite Dips performance?
I feel trite, but I have to go with Piku. Fabulous character, fabulous performance, and she looks lovely.
dontcallitbollywood 
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I finally watched Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy! Didn’t like it, sorry to say. The outfits were great but hardly any songs and it was just men shouting and fighting for like 5 hours. I wanted to tape all their mouths shut.
Did my end of year lists: https://thickthighsandbadguys.wordpress.com/2022/12/31/best-and-worst-of-2022/
Very odd and also gay, I suppose this year will be even weirder and gayer.
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I’m still taking the win for correctly figuring out what movie you meant when you just said “the earring movie”!
And now you have to watch Cirkus.
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Yeah absolutely. I mean the earrings were great though and the necklaces and the clothes. The wigs were a bit overstyled but I’ll take it.
Yes but I’m not going to a movie theatre for it, so. Haven’t managed to find it yet.
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My mother still has not forgiven Chiru for his failure to dance in that movie! His “Acharya” songs returned them to reasonably good terms, but I still think he’s on thin ice with her, LOL.
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She is entirely right. Not only would it have improved the movie SO MUCH but also it is her right as a fan. He needs to make it up to her. I get genuinely furious when Govinda doesn’t dance in a movie.
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She and you could have your own mini-support group for frustrated fans of dancer stars XD
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Ram-Leela is definitely my fave Deepika performance with Piku a close second. Finding Fanny and Cocktail the next level down after that.
Watching: still lots of year end roundtables – the Bollywood Hungama ones with younger folks were pretty good and now I’m watching the Sucharita one…I have such a crush on both her and Rahul Desai.
Goal of catching up on a lot of 2022 Indian films…so far have watched…
Monica Oh My Darling – very well-done genre film though not my favorite genre, Huma and Sikander Kher were definitely the standouts
Doctor G – really enjoyed it though I thought I was getting bored of these social message films…I don’t know how Ayushmann does it…he is a master of choosing projects–this may have been my favorite Shefali Shah performance of the year (though it is the least mentioned) and Rakul Preet Singh finally made an impression on me
Tara vs. Bilal – oh my dear pretty Harshvardhan Rane…still a pretty and angsty bad boy, still questionable acting but what surprised me about this one was the very sweet LGBTQ storyline and the surprising humor in the story (both of which do work better overall than the actual romance of it)…still some swoonworthy moments that gave me the Sanam Teri Kasam feels and I would recommend it to fans of that underrated romantic gem
Non-Indian stuff…enjoyed two Christmas Netflix series, A Storm at Christmas (Love Actually in the Oslo airport) and I Hate Christmas (the Italian adaptation of the Norwegian series Home for Christmas which I love)
The Banshees of Inisherin – didn’t like it as much as I thought I would (always interested in anything Irish-related as I did graduate work in Irish studies), technically a brilliant film but left me cold
Downton Abbey: A New Era – seemed a bit of a retread of the first movie, but still very enjoyable if you love the world to begin with
Might watch Govinda Mera Naam tonight!
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Apparently, the sweaters in Banshees are amazing? Did you notice the amazing sweaters? That’s the only thing I remember hearing about that movie.
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Actually no, didn’t notice the sweaters. Everything was drab and depressing and that was kind of the point, I guess. Colin Farrell and Kerry Condon really were great in it though.
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I watched Double XL. I love Sonakshi, and like Huma, but I knew nothing about other cast. And it turned out the guy from Notebook (Zaheer Iqbal) has an important role , Kanwaljit Singh (he is my favourite filmi dad) plays Huma’s dad and Jimmy Shergil has a cameo (btw I don’t know what he did, but he looks very good) + a hot bearded tamil guy, I’m sure I already saw somewhere, is also in this film .
It looks like a perfect Angie movie because they hired every less known actor I like + the southern guy and there was also a scene so cute I almost melted and most important it’s about nice, intelligent women in London. I feel I should love it, and still I didn’t. It was pleasant, I’m happy it was made, I enjoyed it, but I understand why it wasn’t a hit. It’s lacking something in the second half, not sure what.
And now I just finished 777 Charlie. If you want a movie about a dog, it’s a must watch because the dog is in every scene, and it’s the most important character. The music is very good (I loved how, when the protagonists are traveling, the music and the lyrics’ language change), the cinematography is good, and Rakshit Shetty is great as always. BUT be careful, I cried buckets.
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Nope! Not watching a sad puppy movie!
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This song is very happy and sweet:
But yeah, one must have a right mood to watch this film. But when you’ll feel like crying and watching cute dogs – watch 777 Charlie.
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I must also share this song. I heard it for the first time only yesterday but it’s already in my heart. So beautiful, and those drums
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OMG! I LOVED Double XL! The uplifting female friendship was amazing, the interactions between all the characters were just so endearing, the romance was surprisingly sweet and sucked me into it. The ONLY thing I did not like was the whole trope of forgiving Huma’s mom who was a huge jerk! Everything else was absolutely perfect for me!
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Oh yes, the mother was terrible and Huma all of sudden is like: Mom, you’re the reason of my success. I was like WTF?
But you know what was worse for me? The dresses Sonakshi designed for her first show. Half of the movie we were hearing about clothes good for everybody and in the end she comes with those ugly parachutes that make everybody look really bad and fat. I just couldn’t .
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I was going to give Double XL a pass after the poor reviews, but the fact that you both liked it makes me think I will give it a try now! I love both actresses.
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Me too! I’m glad to hear you both like it; I love Huma and Sonakshi and that encourages me to give it a go.
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I went into it with no expectations and ended up loving it, except for the part where Huma forgave the mom. I hated that part. I’m also a sucker for films that show uplifting female friendships and sweet romances. I’m willing to forgive a lot if I like the message and the chemistry. And here, I thought Huma and Sonakshi had amazing chemistry.
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Oh, “Piku” for me as well, for sure.
I watched approx. one zillion movies over Winter Break, yet somehow neglected to catch up with either “Qala” or “Monica O My Darling,” which everybody has been recommending to me! Notionally I’ll try to catch up with those this week or weekend, but functionally I am more like to rewatch “Aaj Aur Kal.” In the first place, I LOVED it, and in the second place, I accidentally deleted all my notes about it so, even though I’d like to write it up, I fell like I need a refresher: P
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Oh man, Sunil and Nanda! I need to see it.
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It’s SO SWEET. Just a really kind, gentle movie. Tanuja is hilarious in it, too. In the meantime, listen to this (I am strategically witholding the picturization):
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Is this available with subtitles somewhere?
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The print on Einthusan has subs, although for maybe 5% of the runtime they have flipped out and just read “#NAME?” suspiciously as though the transcriptionist triggered an error in their Excel spreadsheet ; ) There was nothing that I wasn’t able to reconstruct from a combination of context clues and standard vocab.
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Okay, I’ll try that one then, thanks!
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I haven’t seen Qala or Monica O My Darling also. I know they have been recommended but I just don’t think I’m in the mindset to watch either movie. Instead, I’m going to listen to you and watch Aaj Aur Kal because I have never seen it and because need something fun and happy!
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Deepika: agree, Piku. And for a more blockbuster role, Chennai Express. She’s my favorite thing about that movie, I love her character’s dry humor and her toughness.
Q: did anyone watch “Kantara”? I saw it in a best film songs of the year roundup and I’m intrigued but a little afraid it will be tragic.
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I saw Kantara. It’s not tragic. In my opinion it’s not very different from the typical southern village films: a landlord, caste inequality, some violence and a hero who must grow and take care of his community. A well made film, especially the climax, but I didn’t love it as the other people.
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Thanks! Does it do a good job showing the performers or musicians? That’s the part that I thought looked cool.
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There isn’t much more than what you see in the song you posted.
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I was tempted to say Chennai Express too! And then I thought “nah, no one will understand”. But you do! She makes that movie work.
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Kind of in spite of the script, which doesn’t give her a ton to work with besides her relationships to the male characters.
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I think it’s given that Deepika was amazing in Piku but my favorite was Ram-Leela. She was incredible in it and I don’t even like Bansali.
I am debating whether I could buy Zee for one month so I can watch Unchaii. Has anyone else seen it? Is it worth watching?
Question for you, any chance you plan on watching and reviewing Double XL?
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Ooooo! I’m considering Double XL for the watchalong this weekend, what do you think?
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Oooh yes! Double XL would making a great watchalong!
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Agree about Ram-Leela and Deepika’s performance…she got to do such a range of emotions (not to mention dance). And she was the most charismatic she’s ever been. Her performances in the other two SLB films were great but still paled in comparison in my opinion.
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Completely agree. Deepika also just seemed like she was genuinely having so much fun in the movie!!
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Definitely second Ram-Leela! She was incredible! Also probably my favorite of hers.
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One friend has mentioned to me that she really liked “Uunchai.” No Zee5 here either, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Uff, I think my earlier comment got eaten : P Anyway, one friend mentioned to me that she had really liked “Uunchai.” I saw one song and was very charmed by it, but it also had Danny in it so that’s not a surprise. No way I’m getting Zee5 again, so unless it lands up pirated somewhere. . . ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Ugh! I know. The movie has to be really worth it for me to get Zee. If the new Fawad Khan series, Money Back Guarantee and The Legend of Maula Jatt is available on Zee, then I will buy it again. I am not sure if Unchaai is worth it though.
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OMG, don’t tell me about Zee5. Today I subscribed for 1 month to watch Monsoon Raaga. I downloaded the app on my tablet and tried to log in but it’s impossible. If their app wasn’t already terrible, they added double security logging . I must enter my email, and then wait till they send me a code. I tried like a million times, and they don’t send the code and it’s impossible to enter the app without it. So frustrating! I should have known better!
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Favorite DP performance has to be between Piku and Gehraiyaan. Piku is a lighter watch so that wins out maybe. Honorable mention Chennai Express.
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OK, I finally watched Thank God! It made a good contrast with all the serious things I watched last week, and it is really sweet and happy and has a funny Amitabh joke.
Really torn between Piku and Ram Leela for all the reasons people mentioned above. I think Piku though–she really made an almost unlikeable character sympathetic.
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Seems like Thank God is becoming DCIB favourite 😉
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