Oh yeah, old school Hindi Film 101! One of those where I go back back back in time because it’s important to have the proper grounding.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: The Idea of “Pathaan”, Where is It From?
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Tag Archives: Hindi Film 101
Hindi Film 101: American Musicals, Margaret’s List
These are not the greatest musicals of all time, or even my favorites. These are more just really interesting ones I think more people should see and which aren’t that famous. And be warned, it is a loooooooooooooooong list. And there’s lots more I am going to remember and wish I could add, but won’t, because it already too long.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: The Standard List of American Musical Films
I was gonna do a “Margaret’s list” and then I realized before I do a “Margaret’s List”, I should get the “normal list” out of the way. And then the post suddenly got to long so I am splitting them in too. If you want a quick intro to the broad sweep of American musical films, here are all the super important ones in chronological order. And PLEASE, my fellow film musical nerds, start an argument with me in the comments!!!! I have OPINIONS. On EVERYTHING. (oh, and the more excited I am about a topic, the more typos I make. I am very very excited about this topic)
Continue readingHindi Film 101: A Brief History of American Musical Films, and How They Are NOT the Same As Hindi
I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate it when people say “oh, Indian movies, they are just like those classic American Musicals I loved”. Because they’re NOT!!!! But then, at the same time, they kind of are. Which is why I hate it when people say that because it’s a really really complicated argument to prove to them that they are being inaccurate and then they start slowly backing away from me and eventually I realize I have become a person alone in a room giving a lecture to nothing.
Continue readingFriends, Why Being First is Important (and other discussion topics)
I finally found an interesting angle on Friends!!!! Well, interesting for me. Not necessarily interesting for you. And I want to write something to distract myself from work today, so I am writing this!
Continue readingHappy Birthday Fearless Nadia Wadia, a Heroine on and Off Screen
I just love Nadia Wadia. She represents, to me, everything that is good about the Bombay film industry. She was an outsider, she was down and out, and she was welcomed and found love and acceptance. And then she turned around and payed it forward, representing a heroine and an icon for the independence movement, her heroines talking about literacy, anti-casteism, all kinds of awesome things. While having fights on the top of a train.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: Seven Behind the Scenes Films to Watch to Learn About the Hindi Film Industry
Just watched AK vs AK, loved it!!! And it made me think about all the other behind the scenes Hindi films that really greyed the line between fact and fiction, and gave you something close to a glimpse of the real industry.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: The Double-Edged Sword of Charisma, the Target of Celebrity
I think I found my point by the end of this, but it took me a bit to get there. Please read carefully and see if you can follow.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: Top Hindi Film Personalities Decade By Decade
This is gonna be a fun one for me to write, and a useful one for some of you. Thanks for the suggestion Catherine!
Continue readingIn Honor of Kamala, a Repost of Hindi Film 101 on Indian Americans
I wrote this post, I don’t know, 4 months ago? 5 months ago? Anyway, it’s interesting to look at and think about how Kamala fits into the history and both is and is not recognized by the Indian American community (I am fascinated that I have seen nothing from the Indian movie stars I follow on social media about her).
Continue readingHindi Film 101: Shahrukh Khan, Is He Rich Or Poor?
This is a question that just came up, how much money does Shahrukh have? And the answer is “there is no simple answer”.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: The Feroz Khan Family, Qurbani and Zeenat Aman’s Eye Socket
There are so many Khans around! Because it is a very common name/title in the northern regions where Urdu is spoke and men are tall and handsome and refugees fled in droves to Bombay in the 1940s. But there’s only one Khan family in Hindi film, all the other little Khanses aren’t actually related to each other. Isn’t that interesting?
Continue readingHindi Film 101: Happy Birthday Saira Banu! The Most Untraditional/Traditional Actress Around
Saira Banu! She’s only 76, and she has lived so many lives. Just a fascinating woman who refuses to fit into any box you try to put her in.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: Kishore Kumar, Here to Make Us Smile
Kishoreda! I don’t have a super good source for his life, so I am sure I am going to miss things, but I want to do a 101 anyway because he is such a memorable figure that those of you who are new to Hindi film should have some sense of him. I kind of covered a lot of this in other posts, but I don’t think I have given Kishore his on post before.
Continue readingMarriage in Modern Urban Indian Culture, a Random Thinky Post Inspired By the New Netflix Matchmaker Show
Not a 101, I am not qualified to write a 101. This is me basically just sharing my personal history with learning about modern urban Indian marriage practices from people I know and things I have seen and read, and then you can share your own experiences and ask questions of each other and hopefully just talk and learn from each other.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: Abhishek Bachchan, the Quiet Prince
I just wrote about Aish and was surprised that I hadn’t written about her before. In contrast, with Abhishek I know I haven’t written about him before and I’m not quite comfortable even know. He is growing so much before our eyes, I don’t think anything I write now will be the end of his story, I don’t think I can even predict how his story will end.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: Aishwarya Rai, Public Perfection and Private Humanity
Huh, I thought I’d already written this, but I guess I’d just written around it. Aish is someone who appears to be complicated but, I believe, is simple at the heart of it.
Continue readingAmitabh and Class Repost, My Article on Classism in India and Indian Film Reporting
The first thing you need to know about this post is that I wrote it back in May. As soon as India started being hit with COVID, I started thinking about class, and how that is going to affect everything, including the reporting on the crisis and the attitude towards who it is affecting. Now Amitabh is sick, and the India (reported) numbers are rising, and suddenly other people are also thinking about class and who matters and who doesn’t. Now, this is a Happy Place, so we aren’t going to get super deep into things here, but it’s a good time to think about how invisible classism effects the way we see the world, and what it takes to wake us up.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: Guru Dutt, Hindi Films Great Martyr to Art
I said if I was in the mood, I might finally write a Guru Dutt 101. Well, the rain kept me awake all night, it’s still overcast and drizzling now, but at the same time the light on the lake is so beautiful in the rain that the beauty is worth the melancholy. Perfect time to think about Guru Dutt.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: 4th of July Week, A Brief History of Desi Immigration to America
Woot, American History! The thing I got my undergraduate degree in! Let’s see if I can dust off those skills.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: American Racism in Hindi Films
What a fun topic! No, I mean that sincerely, I find this an interesting intellectual exercise since it is kind of like looking at my culture through a looking glass.
Continue readingHappy Birthday Nargis! Here is Your Life, Part 3
Final section! Happy, and sad. But mostly happy. So that’s good!
Continue readingHappy Birthday Nargis! Your Life, Part 2!
Getting into the fun romantic part of it in this section, woo-hoo! Read on if you like exciting real life romantic drama.
Continue readingHappy Birthday Nargis! Your Life, Part 1
This is one of my oldest Hindi Film 101s, but it holds up pretty well! And if you are on my ecard list, you just got a whole slideshow of her life, so I feel like I should give you some context.
Continue readingHindi Film 101: Box Office, Why it Does and Doesn’t Matter!
Another box office post! Maybe the first one I wrote? Anyway, it’s big and complicated and goes into a lot of detail. And some of the examples are a hair out of date, but still okay.
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