Let’s make this a little easier for you, if you want to just read my super super intense detailed analysis/coverage of individual films, the stuff no one else on The Internet or even in the real world really does, here are all the films (so far) that have gotten this kind of treatment. Just click on the name to be taken to their individual Indexes.
Continue readingAnd another Shahrukh movie! I honestly didn’t set out to cover Shahrukh more than anyone else (I do personally like him more than anyone else, but that shouldn’t affect my professional style reviews). It’s just that I started the blog in late 2015, and since then Shahrukh has been in 5 major movies and Salman and Aamir have only been in 1 each (I’m not counting Tubelight), and Dangal came out at Christmas so I didn’t have time for full coverate.
Happy Wednesday! Time to talk about what we’ve been thinking about. And watching without thinking, and reading without thinking.
DVDs are out, yaaaaay! And I was able to watch the deleted scenes! And now I can report back on them, so you don’t have to go out and buy your own DVD.
UPDATE: And I forced my friend who understands Hindi to watch and give me better translations too!!!!
I just watched Dear Zindagi straight through for the 5th time. With my friend who missed it in theaters. And who had also suffered through Josh with me on an earlier movie night. And suddenly, IT ALL MADE SENSE!!!!
This was my rule for finding the best character. Who felt like a real person, a full 3-dimensional person, like someone you almost expected to see on the bus on the way home? And I promise, my massive prejudices played no part in this decision!!!
2016 is over! Yaaaaaay! Now, let’s try to remember what was good about it. Here is every new Hindi releases that I saw in theaters and wrote a review of, in chronological order. And you get to vote on them! I’ll be putting up my own “Editor’s Choice” type Awards over the next week, and then at the end of the week I will post the results from this.
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)
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)
The last section got a little extreme with the general thematic analysis. But this time, I am going to stay strictly focused on what happens in this actual section. Or at least, that’s the goal.
I have now seen this movie 4 times, which means in theory I should be able to remember in in exact detail and give a perfect summary. But in reality means I am going to mix up the order of a couple of scenes and forget an important line and stuff. Oh well, someday my brain-recorder technology will be perfected and I won’t have to worry about this any more. (SPOILER review here, non-spoiler here, and part 1 of the summary here)
Thank you rediff! Yet another in depth thoughtful interview for me to pick through! This time with Gauri Shinde, talking about what I was just talking about in the first part of my Dear Zindagi summary, how funky and sidewise career paths can be in the Indian film industry. Along with other interesting things.
I mentioned in my SPOILER review, how this is a very very female story, both in content and style. Sure, the narrative is all about one woman’s journey, based on emotions and relationships and all that “girly” stuff. But it is also told in a very female way, more about what is unsaid than what is said, through body language and intuition and so on. Which starts in the very first series of shots.
Global figures are out for Dear Zindagi! Yaaaay! And it did best in North America! Which has no significance whatsoever because North America had an extra 2 days in the weekend! And on the other hand, had a lot of competition here! But being a hit in Australia, now THAT is significant! (as always, the figures come from Rentracks courtesy of Bollywoodhungama)
First, just like I did for ADHM, I put up a SPOILER review for DZ first so people who have seen the movie have a place to discuss it. So please, no spoilers in the comments here! And no specific questions like “what did you think it meant when the aliens landed and it turned into a gritty post-apocalyptic drama?” here either. This is the place for people who haven’t yet seen the movie to hang out and learn about it. Everyone else, go hang out here.
Yes, I AM going to spoil the whole movie! I feel terrible about this, considering that Shahrukh was nice enough to release it 2 days early in America so I could see it before leaving for Thanksgiving. But on the other hand, a bunch of other people in America also saw it today, and we should have a place to discuss it. And there are those people (sometimes I am one of them) who want to know how a movie ends before they even decide to see it. But if you are choosing between seeing the movie and reading this post, SEE THE MOVIE!!! It’s really really good.
Saved the best (and also most obvious) for last! When you talk about Shahrukh supporting and encouraging and teaching young women, it’s all about Chak De, India. But, why is he doing it? Both his character in the film Chak De, and in real life by taking this role opposite Alia in Dear Zindagi?
Om Shanti Om! Not the most obvious comparison for Dear Zindagi. But I’m thinking specifically of the second half, and the way Shahrukh interacts with Deepika, changing her into a stronger and deeper person. And the way that interacts with the first half, where it is the other way around.
I somehow missed this one. Maybe nobody tweeted it? Hardly seems worth posting, seeing as the actual movie is coming out shortly. But Shahrukh is so cute! I just have to share!
My second Anushka movie of the week! This time it is NOT a May-December romance. Or I guess it is a May romance but not a December romance? It’s unrequited is what I am saying. And I have to kind of wonder if there is going to be something similar in Dear Zindagi, if only because, how could Alia NOT fall in love with Shahrukh after spending time talking to him? How can anyone?
I was going to! I set up a time to pick up a friend, I checked the showtimes, I was all set. And then at the last minute, I couldn’t go. For an interesting reason!
I find this an interesting one to think about. Because Shahrukh manages to be in a May-December romance, in which the power is balanced between both parties. Very hard to do, often in the fictional version of these relationships, the young woman is supposed to “control” the man with his desire for her, or the man is so much wiser that she obeys him in every way. But Rab Ne is different.
dontcallitbollywood 