Wednesday Watching Post: What Are You Reading and Watching and Thinking and Listening To Halfway Through May?

Posted on by

Happy Wednesday! It’s a lovely lovely day here and it’s my early work day (I start early and leave early), so I am happy!

I’ll start!

Reading: It’s summer, so I want to read children’s books! That’s the rule, murder mysteries in fall, fantasy in winter, children’s books in summer. I am considering whether I want to re-read stuff I’ve already read, or if I am willing to risk trying something new. There’s a new Mysterious Benedict Society book out, and I am like 10 books behind on Redwall. Or I could just reread the Anne of Green Gables books again.

Watching: I’ve been zipping through Babylon 5! Really shockingly good show, very intricate and layered and easy to binge. Also, this trailer! I think I actually want to see this movie in theaters?

Thinking: In my True Crime Podcast world, I’ve just listened to 3 in a row that involve a beautiful young troubled lower middle class woman who ends up in a relationship with a wealthy older man and then is thrown out like the trash when she becomes inconvenient. Literally like trash in one, he drugged her and threw her down a trash shoot, then told the world she was a mentally ill drug user and did it herself. Anyway, men suck, and I am very glad I am not beautiful and troubled and therefore a tempting status object for a wealthy older man (until I become inconvenient). Also, India does not have a corner on the market of “marry a younger woman for her looks and fertility, then get mad when she turns out to be a Person” dynamic.

Listening: We watched Aradhana for our Zoom discussion, and I completely forgot that Aradhana has “Chanda Hai Tu” and “Roop Tera” but also “Mere Sapno ki Rani”!

20 thoughts on “Wednesday Watching Post: What Are You Reading and Watching and Thinking and Listening To Halfway Through May?”

    • Nope, does not have a corner! The cases I’m learning about are from Australia, America, Belize, and Canada. It’s the same thing the world over, 40 something rich man gets with 20 something beautiful young woman because it makes him feel better about himself, and then disposes of her when she is inconvenient.

      Like

      Reply ↓

        • Agree. The one I’m listening to now, he went out clubbing while she was giving birth to their twins. She grew up dirt poor on a farm, he was the son of a millionaire. He presented the babies to his millionaire father and then lost interest entirely in the relationship. Sooooooooooooooo familiar from India, only in this case it’s in Belize/Canada.

          Like

          Reply ↓

          • well, not being judgemental but would she have married him if he was dirt poor? A crime is obviously wrong.

            Like

  2. Mr. and Mrs. Mahi looks lovely! I wish I could see it in a theater too.

    Week before last I was watching Aradhana on my lunch breaks which meant that I went around the halls and to the copy-machine subconsciously singing “Challi aa, tu challi aa!” for the entire week and I continued last week also. So it’s pretty catchy, although I still Roop Tera is just one of the best songs in the history of Hindi film.

    I’ve been seeing a bunch of stuff. Laapata Ladies is really good. It’s not like Dhobi Ghat; it’s completely positive–one of those movies where someone turns into an unexpected hero. It really made me happy.

    Saw 12th fail also which I expected more from. I mean, it’s really good and all and I love Vikrant Massey, but everyone loved it so much and I thought I would too and I didn’t love it SO much. It’s a biopic, which I didn’t realize, and it hits all those biopic tropes. Of course he loses all his money on the way to the city! Of course his boss doesn’t want to hire him but he proves his mettle! I just expected something a bit more original.

    Still watching Jubilee and if you ever want to watch it–I know it’s a big time commitment–I would love to talk about who’s who and what really happened and didn’t. I’m getting some references but probably not all.

    And I’m watching Dahaad, which is dark and scary, but from Reema and Zoya! Such good writing! And I really want Vijay Varma to be the lead in a romcom; he’s so great and I’ve only seen him as a negative character.

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • So interesting the experience you had with 12th fail. I think the hype for the film made it seem different than what it really was. Even I was a bit shocked when I initially started the film. However with the generic ness of hindi film biopics it was refreshing to see one which really cared about its messaging and story. The real life locations, live singing, cinematography and overall commitment of the whole cast was what made it slightly different. But I think story wise it was sort of presented differently than what it was.

      Like

      Reply ↓

      • I really liked it, but I thought it was going to be a quirky comedy. And the first scene does look like a quirky comedy, but then it gets serious really fast. I think if I had gone in knowing what it was I would have liked it a lot more.

        Like

        Reply ↓

  3. Finally things are becoming a little more free for me so I’m so happy and I can actually do things I like.

    Reading: Right now I’ve been reading Angel by Elizabeth Taylor. It is wonderful as the character is so delightfully narcissistic and awful. This is a book truly impossible to render on screen as so much of the film depends on the writer’s quips on the titular character. It is sort of a tragicomedy and even though the character is awful you still feel sympathetic.

    Watching: I just started watching Aavesham which is so fun! I also watched Chak De India! But overall I am just starting to get back into watching full fledged films again as there was so much going on in my life. Still I am very excited.

    Listening: Due to the release of Heera Mandi I’ve started listening to old hindi film songs again. As usual with me these are all moderately sad songs:

    Thinking: Has anyone watched Heeramandi? Is it recommended? I have been hearing so much mixed emotions. The Indian/South Asian diaspora loves it but critics/indian audiences have criticised it heavily. Additionally Sharmin Seghal has been the target of most of the hate. I’m quite surprised as I loved her in Malaal but she was in so few movies after that film so I was excited for this new opportunity for her.

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • I’m so excited someone else knows about the other Elizabeth Taylor! I read something by her many years ago–I can’t remember what it was but I remember I really liked it. Recently I bought Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont but haven’t started it yet, and Angel sounds great! It’s definitely on my list.

      Heeramandi is also on the list, for when I have more free time, which might not be until the end of the semester. But I’m excited for the cast.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

    • Aavesham was so good! It reminded me a bit of Kaminey and Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota in some ways. Its very much a new age masala film and I think Fahad was fantastic. He is so sincere as the eccentric gangster with a heart of gold that the film never feels gimmick-ey or that the makers were so taken by their writing. I also liked how though the film lacks a heroine; it doesn’t feel like a film that forgets that there are women in the world rather it acknowledges women as people while still keeping in mind that the characters are very male.

      Like

      Reply ↓

    • I watched Heeramandi and there was a lot that I liked. The acting was pretty solid all around, especially Richa, Sonakshi and Manisha, but Sharmin was the weakest link. I could watch it again just for the costumes and jewellery and it is what we expect from an SLB venture. The story progresses pretty well for the first 7 episodes but the last episode undos all that which is its biggest downfall IMO. Wished the dance sequences were longer!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.