Oh dear. I liked it! But apparently, not many other people did. Even worse, Aditya seriously over-estimated the American screen count. Not good!
Global Box Office: Befikre Be Financially Not Good!
9
New Shahrukh Book! Best Excerpts!
Well, I assume best excerpts. These are my favorite quotes from the quotes rediff pulled, but I don’t have the actual book, there could be other fascinating bits they didn’t include in their article. But I doubt it, because it is a veeeeeeeeeeery long article.
Happy: Half a Cute Love Story, Half a Lesson About the Struggle of Professional Women
I watched Happy! Because I wanted Bommarillu and I got confused. But this one was still cute. Is it possible there is a whole genre of “Genelia D’Suoza rom-coms”? Just because she has such a young perky face, she ends up in cute young perky love stories?
Monday Morning Question Post! On Rajnikanth’s Birthday!
Please don’t ask me any questions about Rajnikanth! I can’t answer them. But it is a big day, and I thought it should be recognized in my Question heading.
OK Jaanu Trailer: Was This Worth My Staying Up?
What is with Dharma releasing trailers at midnight my time? I just went through this with ADHM! If it was 3am, I wouldn’t bother. But 11:30 is just on the farthest edge of when I would be awake anyway, so I figure I might as well stay up. Oh well, I’ll have coffee tomorrow! (if you are curious, my review of the original OK Kanmani movie with SPOILERS is here)
Happy Birthday Rajnikanth!
I really don’t have much to say, besides “Happy Birthday!” But it is such a significant event, I felt like I should acknowledge it somehow. So here, from the depths of my great ignorance, are the first dozen reasons I have for loving you.
Koffee With the Khan Boys! (Don’t Get Excited, It’s Sallu and His Brothers, not SRK and Sallu and Aamir)
Oru Sindoora Pottinte Ormaykku: This Movie Kept Zigging Instead of Zagging
I know I know, I should be picking off of my list. But ErosNow just added a bunch of Malayalam films and I got over-whelmed by options and decided to just go with the first one that popped up with Mammootty.
Befikre Review (SPOILERS): Like a Souffle, I Don’t Want To Break It Apart, Because That Would Destroy It
No big massive full summary coming for Befikre! Partly because Dear Zindagi exhausted me, partly because my sense is that my commentators aren’t as interested in a massive discussion of this movie, as they are of other movies. But mostly because I don’t think it is analyzable, to take it apart would be to destroy it.
Christmas Give-Away Post 6!
It’s getting closer and closer! And I still have no idea what to give Grandpa! A sexy poster of Shahrukh? All 95 year old men like that, right? I usually do something homemade, but I haven’t even come up with a project yet and I’m running out of time. Anyway, give-away! Whoever makes the most comments in a given week gets one of my custom Christmas Card! (week 1 here, week 2 here, week 3 here, week 4 here, week 5 here)
Happy Birthday Dilip Sahib!!!!
I might finally got around to reading his biography! I made my friend buy it and bring it to me aaaaaallllllll the way from India, and I STILL hadn’t read it. But surely his birthday would be an occasion for that, right? I was tempted to do a full 94 reasons I love him, but maybe that should wait until next year when he hits 95. This year, I will just do 32, for the age he was won the first FilmFare Award ever.
Dear Zindagi Part 8: The Epilogue!
I was trying sooooooooooo hard to finish in the last section. But I was also getting soooooooooo sleepy as it got later and later, so I finally gave up. However, I did manage to get all the way to the emotional peak and resolution of the film, so everything I have to cover here is just epilogue stuff. (part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, part 5 here, part 6 here, part 7 here)
Befikre Review (NO SPOILERS): Adi’s Little French Crepe of a Film
I was very very nervous about how this movie would work, but it totally worked! I was afraid it was going to be a big Aditya Chopra movie taking the industry in another new direction where I didn’t want it to go. But turns out, it’s just a little Aditya Chopra movie, a nice harmless little thing that just happens to be made really really well.
TGIF Post: Santa/Raees-themed! Men With Beards!
I am sure if I wanted to google “sexy Santa” I could find it. But I don’t want to do that. So instead, I am going to limit myself to one Santa-like element, and look for beards. Sexy men with beards.
Upcoming Movies: Another Dangal Trailer, OK Jaanu First Look, and Sanjay’s Come Back!
I don’t know if any of these three actually tell us anything new about their respective films, but they are pretty to look at!
Dear Zindagi Full Summary Part 7 (SPOILERS): the Ending! Almost!
Massive Combined Birthday Post!
Happy Birthday Shotgun Sinha, Dia Mirza, Dino Morea, and Priya Gill! Phew! I’m exhausted! Obviously, they are not going to each get reasons I love them. Let’s see, how to be fair? Okay, each person gets 3 reasons, either 2 songs and one fact or two facts and one song. Whatever I feel like.
Befikre Release Details: Adi Has NOT Lost His Mind
Thank goodness, Aditya Chopra is still capable of running his life and business! As trailer after trailer came out for Befikre, I kept thinking “really, Adi? You are betting the farm on this….thing?” But nope! He isn’t betting the farm, he is just betting, like, that one cow that doesn’t give very good milk any more.
Dilip Sahib Was in the Hospital and Himesh is Getting Divorced!
It’s an epidemic! Of people publically acknowledging the problems in their marriages and taking legal action instead of just living in misery and hypocrisy! Oh, and also Dilip had another brush with illness, but is home again now.
Happy Birthday Sharmila! Sorry You Had To Go After Dharmendra!
Well, it’s only fair, right? Age before beauty and all that. But now Dharmendra is done and it’s Sharmila’s turn to get a post all to herself! Let’s see, how many reasons do I have to love her? How about 13, for the age you were when you made your debut?
Byomkesh Bakshy! A Movie My Brother-In-Law Actually Likes!
So, back at Thanksgiving 2 weeks ago, I saw this movie for a second time. And I am just now getting around to writing about it, because Christmas and work and Dear Zindagi, and it’s all been a very stressful time. While I was visiting her for Thanksgiving, my sister and I had a wonderful time watching sappy romances, but it is always a bit of a quest to find a movie that would suck in my brother-in-law. Bahubaali worked wonders last year, and this year I did the “just keep us company for the first 5 minutes” trick with Bakshy!, and by ten minutes in, he was asking us to pause it when he ran into the kitchen for more pizza, because he didn’t want to miss a minute.
Happy Birthday Dharmendra!
Okay, big day today, and really really big day tomorrow. But at least tomorrow I won’t feel guilty for sort of combining people, whereas today Dharmendra and Sharmila clearly deserve their very own posts! So, Dharam-Garam, here are 10 reasons I love you, one for every decade you’ve lived (counting the 9th one you are starting today) plus one to grow on.
Raees TRAILER!!!!!! It Looks SO GOOD!
SO GOOD!! And not just because the eyeliner/dorky 80s glasses is really working on Shahrukh. Well, that’s part of it. But there’s a lot of other good stuff too!
Dear Zindagi Summary Part 6 (I think?): Shahrukh Gets Close To The Heart of Alia’s Dysfunction
Ha! I originally had a typo of there, making it “the heat of Alia’s dysfunction”. Which sounds kind of sexy, but also kind of sci-fi-y. And, maybe, this scene is “sexy” in that caring and sensitive men are always “Sexy”, but it’s not sci-fi-y at all. So I went ahead and fixed the typo. (part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, part 5 here)
News Round-Up: Aditya, Varun, Varun, and Shahrukh
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, which has allowed the news stories to build and build to the point where I have to deal with all of them at once. Or at least, all the ones that interest me (no, I am not going to touch Tamil politics with a ten-foot pole. Although my Iruvar review is getting all kinds of hits right now!)
dontcallitbollywood 