This movie is just barely a classic. It’s not the best, it’s got quite a few massive flaws in fact, but it’s still really interesting and worthy of discussion. And the best part is how well it shows women rescuing themselves, very appropriate for today’s discussion.
Amrita Singh! She has such a fascinating life story that I can’t resist writing about her. And it’s her birthday, so why not?
Happy Amitabh’s birthday again! And, because it is his birthday, I thought I would do a Shahrukh birthday post that could kind of work for Amitji too. So, co-stars!!!! Not in order in any way, just 22 that are interesting to think about.
Okay, how can I say this classily? There is a certain kind of pose which seems to say “yes, climb on top of me and enjoy yourself”. That is the kind of pose that I am looking for this week. You know, so you can pretend you are kneeling on top of them throwing rose petals or something in a chaste and romantic manner. (I promise, next week will be something silly and innocent again! I don’t mean to be running a soft porn site, truly!)
I am writing this in my new apartment on my new internet sitting on my old couch and facing my old TV, but with a new-to-me coffee table (rescued from the trash, where all the best furniture comes from). Also, a dishwasher! Anyway, I thought I would take a break from unpacking boxes to tell you how the move went, since I have been pestering you with posts about it.
Still not going to say “Bollywood”! I have taken a solemn vow! And even my addiction to alliteration will not sway me! But I am going to give in to my addiction to Fairy Tales and use it as the basis for a movie.
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.
Moimeme pointed out that my Superlative post was tragically lacking in some of the worthy old-timers. So I am giving our Evergreen heroes their very own post. Hopefully it will make you look at some of our current father-role actors and go “Hey! He used to be HOT!”
King Uncle is a silly silly not very good movie. Did I mention silly? But it is notable for building an entire film around a female child character. Children based movies are rare enough in Indian film, but female child based films are even rarer.
One news item that calls back to a past stand that the industry took in politics, and one item is a stand taken today. Really interesting to think about how things change and how they stay the same.
It makes no sense! I can barely get over the idea that Amrita Singh and Juhi Chawla would be fighting over Jackie Shroff (Even I have to admit that he does look good in a mustache), but why would Jackie Shroff ever be interested in Amrita Singh if he could get Juhi Chawla? She is so clearly superior!
So, the plot of Dilwale can either be seen as a triumphant homage to multiple past films of Shahrukh and Kajol’s careers. Or, it can be seen as part of an industry that is constantly recycling plots and abhors originality. I would argue it is a combination of the two, certainly the essential plot is a result of laziness, but it is still worth while to compare the way it interacts with past performances and films in order to discover how things have changed and how the stay the same.
