Part 5! I always forget how much faster it moves once I get into the second half. Because I’ve already done all my discussion of the underlying motivations and blah blah, and I can skip all that. I have great hopes of finishing entirely in one more part! (part 1 here and part 2 here and part 3 here and part 4 here)
I took a couple days off, because I had to go see Raees again which killed 5 hours (travel to the theater and back plus trailers), which was also my 5 hours when I could have been writing recaps. But now I am back! And hoping to get well into Shahrukh and Nawazuddin’s first mental duel. (part 1 here and part 2 here)
Global figures are out! Actually they were out on Monday, but I forgot to check. It’s been so long since I cared about figures! Because we had weeks of “Dangal does awesome, not really news” and then “OK Jaanu does terrible, still not really news.” But now, news! The first week of Raees and Kaabil, how did they do? (figures, as always, come from Rentrack by way of Bollywoodhungama)
That statement is less impressive than it sounds, because I am counting a song and a “song” that comes right next to it. But I’m going to try to move even further past that as well, we’ll see how I do. (part 1 here)
Okay, I did a mini-spoiler review, a no spoiler review, and a full spoiler review. Now it’s time for the scene by scene shot by shot breakdown!
So, I saw Raees for the second time last night! Some things were better on this watch, and some things were worse. But, knowing how it ends, I was able to pay more attention to various hints and clues that were dropped along the way, and I think I have a better sense of how the whole thing was built piece by piece. So I can do my “real” spoiler review, instead of just a mini one.
I already put up a quick SPOILERS review late last night for everyone who’s already seen the film, now I want to put up a NO SPOILERS version for those of you who are debating whether or not you want to watch it.
I’m tired, it’s late, but I also really want to start talking about Raees with you guys! And I want to do it in a place where we won’t spoil it for those poor people who haven’t been able to see it yet. And thus, a mini-review! I still get to write and put up a better review sometime tomorrow, but this is just something to hold you over until then.
I’m just going to say it, Deewar is the best written film in the history of Hindi cinema. It deserves an epic detailed perfect discussion. That is not this post. This post is a very superficial and not detailed discussion as it relates to the upcoming release of Raees.
The final (probably) Raees song has just been released. And it is the Mika Singh song that is apparently required in every hit film now (Mika or Yo Yo or Badshah). Tough and a little Bhangra mixed with hip-hop sounding. Less hip-hop in this case, more 80s style.
Happy Raees Week! I was considering not even including Don as an option, because it was so extremely different from the kind of film it looks like this will be. But on the other hand, it is Shahrukh’s most famous “bad” role, so I really should talk about it.
You don’t have to ask questions about Raees, or related to Raees, or anything. Just wanted something so you could tell this was the most recent Monday post! I bet next week it ends up being something super clever like “first week of February post.” (you can find all the Monday Morning Question posts here)
I already put up 3 very detailed posts discussing and reviewing the entire 23 episode series that rocketed Mahira Khan to international fame. But those were really for people who had already seen the show and wanted an in depth discussion. Or were never planning to see the show, but still wanted to know exactly what happened. But what if all you care about is getting a quick sense of what made Mahira Khan so appealing to the Raees producers that they just had to cast her in this role? Then, this is the post for you!
I’m I the only one who has seen Streets of Fire? If so, you must ALL WATCH IT IMMEDIATELY!!!! Anyway, Streets of Fire was remade in India as Tezaab, with Anil in a tapoori-type role and Madhuri in her break out performance, and lots and lots of 80s style action.
Is that his last gangster role? It feels like it is anyway. Not counting Don, where he is more a kind of globalized loner gangster, and less a gritty street fighter gangster. Which is what he plays here. Very very poorly. This is not a good movie.
I talked about this movie a little already when the first “Laila” trailer came out. But I thought it deserved another post! Especially since Raees is supposed to pick up on the older tradition of gangster movies from back in the 80s.
Second week for this, and I think it is going well so far! This is just a general discussion area, for movies you are watching this week, or thinking about, or want to know if anyone else has seen, or really anything at all! I will, of course, chime in with my thoughts and suggestions and opinions, because I just can’t help myself.
Just to clarify, you don’t have to ask me something Raees related! That’s just my cheeky title so you can tell this week’s Monday Morning Post apart from all the others. And so I can explain my plan for the week. There are going to be 2 Raees weeks for Monday Morning Questions. Because it’s coming out mid-week, I’ll be starting my traditional 7 days of vaguely related discussion this Wednesday, making today the beginning of my “Raees week”. And then next week is the week it actually comes out, which shall be the second Raees Monday Questions Post. (full list of Monday Morning Question posts available here)
Yes, even sexier than Hrithik flirting with Amisha Patel in Aap Mujhe Aache Lagne Lage. And I don’t usually find Garba’s sexy!
Yay, the Raees love song! I could do with a little more guyliner, but otherwise it’s pretty great! There’s even a wet white shirt scene, which adds a touch of class to any pictuarization.
Way back when I woke up this morning, I saw the new Raees poster. And then I didn’t exactly forget about it (how could I? It’s my new computer wallpaper!), but I forgot to do a blog post on it. Until now!
I sent this link around to all my friends, of course, and about a minute later I got a message from one of them saying “Shahrukh doesn’t even show up for the first 29 seconds, what’s the point?” Followed by a complaint about the presence of a shirt. So you can see that we have a fairly limited area of interest for song sequences. But, setting that aside and viewing this objectively, I think this is a pretty good one!
SO GOOD!! And not just because the eyeliner/dorky 80s glasses is really working on Shahrukh. Well, that’s part of it. But there’s a lot of other good stuff too!
A few days back I reported that rumor had it Mahira would be replaced in Raees, or at least the producers were investigating finding a different actress. One of the commentators pointed out that this wasn’t a very reliable report, which I agree with, but it was in Bollywoodhungama, which means that if it was wrong, at least they would give a detailed follow-up. Which they now have!
dontcallitbollywood 