So, there’s been a story, really more of a sort of discontented rumble, going on for a while now that I have been ignoring, because I could kind of guess where it was going, and I was waiting for the resolution. Which happened today, so now I am going to talk about it.
My goodness, it has been a long time since I checked out the news sites! Let’s see what’s been happening.
Akshay Kumar and Jimmy Stewart actually have a lot in common! Reliable hard-working long-term popular movie stars who managed to combine a variety of crowd-pleasing roles with some solid acting turns. But what I am talking about today is just economics.
If you are like me, you have spent the past few years shaking your fist to the sky and saying “Farhan! Stop wasting your life!” every time Farhan announces a new project that is not Don 3. Well, the wait is over! FINALLY! He just announced that, once he finishes the script for Rock On 2, he will go back to Don. Yaaaaaaay!
Karan tweeted the first Kapoor and Sons poster today! That seems so fast! I can still remember when it was just a rumored production! I think I must be getting old, I remember back in the day when Happy New Year was announced it felt like For. Ever. before the first look came out. Oh wait! That was just a couple years ago! Yeah, I’m not getting old, this movie turned around in production super fast! Well, fast for a high profile big budget release.
After a news black out, suddenly stuff is happening with SRK’s next films! Well, not suddenly, more like inevitably and part of a production plan. He just started a new filming schedule for Raees, and Fan is coming out in a couple months, so it is time for the PR people to jump-start the rumor mills.
It’s all worth talking about, so I will, below.
So much gossip this week about break-ups! I don’t believe basically any of it, but I still think it is worth talking about because of how it is reported and why it is reported and what that means socially/industrially.
(yes, I will be tying it all together with Raajkumar in Pakeezah as shown in the header image)
Ghayal Once Again (which has been talked about for months) goes up against Sanam Teri Kasam (which I never heard of before today) this Friday! Who will win! Who will lose! I will make a guess but I have no idea if it is correct!
But I do know the random trivia related to these films which I am about to drop on you is correct and, I think, interesting!
Engagement story! Sikander Kehr apparently had a lowkey engagement to Priya Singh (not an actress) a couple days ago. His parents and the Bachchans were there, and presumably also other people we care about less. But the biggest note from this story is a sign of how important Sonam is getting in the industry
Bollywoodhungama is reporting that Siddharth Anand has the rights to the Rambo trilogy. Which is exciting and intriguing and all kinds of interesting!
So, Sonam just started talking about this like two days ago, and now it is here! Coldplay’s new video, featuring Sonam Kapoor! Except, not so much. And also, not so much a bunch of other parts of India. But really, it’s a 4 minute song, it’s not about what’s left out, it’s about what’s included. And I guess it’s all fine?
I was just talking about this with someone last night, about how Indian film is still a mostly word of mouth world. Usually, when you read gossip articles, there is a big unspoken thing at the center of them, like Rekha and Amitabh’s affair, and they just keep dancing around it. You have to learn the big unspoken thing on the streets or through osmosis, and then all the written stuff will make a whole lot more sense.
Anyway, I don’t know what’s going on right now, but I just stumbled across a whole bunch of articles from the past few days that actually say the things no one is supposed to come right out and say!
Kind of a slow week news-wise, I think everyone is still in shock from the one-two of the Farhan and Ranbir-Kat break-up news. But there were a couple of low-key industry news items that have filtered out. Some of which I predicted, and one of which I did not.
Karan Johar tweeted a link (restricted link, so I can’t embed it, but you can find it through the Times of India here) to the first trailer to Aligarh this morning. It looks like a great movie, but the trailer, and the fact that Karan tweeted it, raise some interesting questions. Related both to Indian film and Indian society.
As is being reported all over the place (for instance, in Variety), Uma Thurman has been cast in Marjane Satrapi’s The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir. Oh, and also Dhanush. Who is often referred to in these articles as a Bollywood star. Is that accurate? I’m not sure. I have my issues with the name “Bollywood” (see the name of the blog!), but if it is ever an appropriate term, it would be for the Hindi language Bombay-based industry. And Dhanush has only been in one of those, and it wasn’t exactly a typical one anyway.
But, forcing myself to move on from that, this is pretty interesting news, right? In a bunch of ways.
I caught the beginning of this news story, but somehow missed the middle, and am now coming in at the end. As I previously posted, Aamir said something in an interview about being concerned about the news stories in India, and his wife being worried for his safety and the safety of their child (this was after Shahrukh had mentioned “growing intolerance” in his birthday interview, which was the remark that lead to protests for Dilwale. Which could be a whole other post, about how the Khans are always connected, even when they don’t want to be, and a remark by one will always force a response from the others).
Anyway, protests, FIR filed against him, etc. etc. And then it blew up again last week in an interesting way, which I apparently missed!
So, this isn’t an original thought from me, but someone on the internet has pointed out that since Farhan’s separation announcement yesterday, every single main actor in Zindagi Na Milega Dobara has now had a big public break up.
Is that actually true? I think it is! And if so, is it a coincidence, or is there a reason behind it? I think there is actually a reason for it.
I already posted the awesome awesome videos that Shahrukh and YRF released today highlighting the SRK fan community. Reverse fanvids, if you will. But I have so many more thoughts on what they mean than I was able to put in that post!
For instance, doesn’t this remind you of Aamir Khan promoting 3 Idiots?
Just did my daily check in with news articles on the three Khans. And guess what! They all have women problems! Of widely varying categories and degrees.
Bollywoodhungama is giving us the chance to choose our own winners! If you were dissatisfied with the winners of FilmFare, here’s your chance!
(click below to see what my picks were)
So, word is out today, both Shahid and Hrithik were injured on set, delaying filming of Rangoon and Mahanjo Daro respectively. Which is kind of an odd coincidence (do you think there is any chance it was really a secret underground dance-off which damaged them both?), but not that unusual, as onset injuries are fairly common in Indian film.
But, why are they so common?
I already covered who actually won the awards, but that isn’t the biggest question of the night. No, the biggest question is always, Who Performed?
Again, thanks to awesome Times of India and their minute by minute coverage, I can answer that!
So, just like a couple days ago, the nominees were announced, and now the awards ceremony is already over! That is so fast!
But, let’s be real, it was never really about the Awards anyway, it’s all about the live performances! Which you can read about here. But in the meantime, thanks to Times of India and their minute by minute coverage, I can tell you who won, who lost, and how right (or wrong) I was in my guesses.
I checked my twitter feed this morning to find out that, for once, Aamir Khan had actually posted a tweet. He isn’t a regular twitter poster, his last big message was to release a public statement about his issues (or lack there of) with the Bombay police force. So any time there is a message from him, it is a big deal.
And it was a big deal! Rajesh Vivek is dead! You probably don’t know the name, but if you look at the picture above, you will go “oh right, that guy!” You probably know him best as Guran, the village wiseman/mystic in Lagaan (which is why Aamir posted the tweet, as head of the Lagaan family, it was his responsibility). Yesterday, Alan Rickman died, and the world discovered his massive filmography, his range, the respect he had from his friends and co-workers. Today, Rajesh Vivek is dead, and I think we should take at least a little time to acknowledge how, in his own small way, he also contributed to the world of film.
Bollywoodhungama is just the best. They just posted the best of the box office 2015 list, broken down by territories. I already talked about how Bajirao stacked the deck by focusing on the Bombay audience, and how Dilwale suffered by losing market share to protests. And how Salman is consistently the all India winner. But this makes it even more apparent.
dontcallitbollywood 