I don’t know for sure that Adi did these. I know for sure he made the Darr trailer, which is instantly recognizable as something a little bit different and better than anything else. And there are other YRF trailers that have that same feel which I am choosing to credit for Adi.
Continue readingAdi! Such an odd director, unpredictable and yet predictable. And always achieves the goal he sets out to achieve. I forgot, I already covered Aditya’s personal life in a Hindi Film 101, so if you want to learn more after reading this post, click here.
Continue readingAnother common NRI trope! I was thinking these films didn’t fit because the hero is still desi, and then I realized it only doesn’t fit if I consider the national identity as residing in the man. It doesn’t of course, a woman can just as easily be an NRI.
Continue readingThis is a post I wrote for his birthday, but it’s really quite good! And fun to read and discuss. I already did the first 13 early today, here are the last 12.
Continue readingI know I have asked this question many times before, but it is a fun one. And one that everyone should be able to answer, even if the answer is “I was born and it was there because my parents are Indian”. Although I am also expanding it, so if you spent your life watching Indian movies and not really thinking about it, and then as a teenager really really fell in love with one movie that got you seriously into the films, tell that story. Or if you have already told your Hindi film story, tell your Tamil or Malayalam or Telugu film story instead. Remember, I am giving away an SRK poster at the end of the month to the person who makes the most comments!
Continue readingI have really and truly never heard of this artist. But some nice person in the comments told me that he is really really famous even outside of India? So now I get to do a post that maybe/hopefully gets picked up outside of my Indian blog by people who are the opposite of me, having heard of Marshmello but not Shahrukh Khan.
Continue readingI already compared and contrasted the first halves of DDLJ and Humpty. And that got so long that I decided to break at intermission and talk about the second half today. This may be slightly too much thought to put in to Humpty (although it is a very good movie. With a terrible title), but it is interesting as an example of how DDLJ has forever changed and influenced the Indian romance film.
Continue readingOh boy, fun post! And one that I definitely need your help with, because there are just so many romantic songs out there.
Continue readingI am probably going to be busy at work again today, and I will definitely be sleepy because I woke up at 5am for no reason, so I am going to put up a post that will give me something interesting to read (I hope) while I try to stay awake and field phone calls. (don’t worry, there is also a Shahrukh themed TGIF going up later)
This is a post from a long long time back, but it’s a good post! Worth posting again, and so long as we are stuck in a dead news cycle, I thought I might as well squeeze it in.
It’s been a busy day, and I don’t feel like this post got enough views the first time around, so I am reposting. Plus, it is perfect for Raksha Bandhan!
I’m back! Sorry, it was the screenshots I didn’t have time for. Takes about two hours steady work on my home laptop, and I haven’t had two hours straight at my home laptop in a while. But tonight I did, and I got enough screenshots for two posts, so I should be good for next week too. (full index of DDLJ here)
I’m back! Because you promised to comment and make it worth writing these. And I’m gonna hold you to that! Very depressing spending 5 hours on this and then getting no comments. (full index of DDLJ coverage here)
Happy Easter! Not a very long new fanfic this week, I put up my epic Amar Akbar Anthony Easter post from last year to make up.
Well, this turned into a whole thing! I started just wanting to establish Amrish’s character journey at this part in the film, and I just ended up going on and on until it went way beyond the usual Scene By Scene and turned into a screed on the tragedy and trauma of the immigrant (full index of DDLJ posts here)
It only took a month, but I have now finished “Mehndi Laga Ka Rakna”! There’s really a lot in that song, much more than in the other ones. It’s also, I think, only fully “real” song, even “Ruk Ja” feels like it has some fantasy in there, and certainly all the other songs are a mix of real and not-real. (full index of DDLJ coverage here)
“Mendhi Laga Ka Rakna” continues!!!! But I think I will be finishing it next week. So sad. Then it’s all drama and angst and Anupam Kher straight through to the end. (full index of DDLJ coverage here)
I forgot how much the outsiders in the love triangle have to do in this song! There’s Mandira Bedi all over the place, but this bit has Kuljit too, and he will show up again later. (full index of DDLJ coverage here)
Yes, this song will last us well into the new year. There’s just so much to look at in it! And it is so pretty and romantic and fun and everything else! (full index of DDLJ coverage here)
What, you thought it would be over in one entry? Nope, this things gonna continue for another 2 parts at least! Anyway, it’s a really important song! And I think the last song of the film? Am I forgetting something? If I’m not forgetting something, that is even more reason to appreciate it, that this is the last glorious burst of song before the rest of the movie plays out. (full scene by scene index of DDLJ here)
What a great song! A big song number with the whole cast involved, but it doesn’t feel contrived, it feels like a party at a Punjabi farmhouse, only slightly exaggerated. (full index of DDLJ coverage here)
I put up a version of this post a couple of days ago, but then we all spitballed back and forth in the comments and ended up coming up with a few changes. So this is the New Improved Better version of the post (original version, you can still view here). This is to help sort of orient you to Indian film history. A big accepted “classic” from each decade that will help you understand how the industry grew and changed. I don’t promise that you will be able to find and watch each of them (the website indiancine.ma is a fantastic resource you might want to try), but you should at least be familiar with the titles of these films and what they meant.
Part 37! I skipped last week because of the holiday, well, the 3 holidays (my blogaversary, Niki’s birthday, and Thanksgiving). But now I am back. And it’s a super cute bit. (full index of DDLJ coverage here)
Get ready for me to be lazy! I just dug up a paper I wrote for grad school on this film/Shahrukh’s star persona and wildly slashed out bits and rearranged and then threw it up. But whatever, I haven’t done a Rab Ne post yet really, and it was time. The post I really wanted to write was on Lucky: No Time for Love, but I’m not going to let myself, because that should wait for Salman’s Birthday Celebration time.
Welcome back to DDLJ! Our lovers are still separated, but we do get some really cute Shahrukh faces in this bit. And I am sticking with my theory that these paired sequences represent the male and female reaction to “love triumphant”. Kajol was shy and eager to share her happiness with another woman and be a bit dreamy, but also a bit afraid to trust it. Shahrukh is so proud of himself he is about to burst his buttons. (full index of DDLJ coverage here)
