Happy Wednesday! Dumb Dog woke me up at 6am by throwing up, probably because of something he sniffed/ate on a walk because he is DUMB. All you parents don’t know how lucky you are to have children instead of dogs. He woke me up after ONLY 7 HOURS OF SLEEP!!!! I’m gonna be cross all day.
Continue readingI 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 readingThis is a sad one. Not a sad one today, just a sad one in general. A life story that makes me a little mournful when I think about it.
Continue readingHappy Monday! I am not ready to go to work. I finished all my Christmas stuff over the weekend and I feel like that should earn me a day off. Right? Work is dumb!
Continue readingThis is gonna be a fun one for me to write, and a useful one for some of you. Thanks for the suggestion Catherine!
Continue readingGetting into the fun romantic part of it in this section, woo-hoo! Read on if you like exciting real life romantic drama.
Continue readingI already wrote my farewell post to Rishi, what he meant to me, but I want to put together a post about Rishi the person. As a Kapoor, we (the public) know a remarkable amount about him personally, and Rishi in interviews and his memoir has made even more available. I’m not going to try to rake up scandal or demonize him, but I want to do my best to give a fair and balanced look at the life of this man we have just lost.
Continue readingI’m gonna get a bunch of people yelling at me for this because it isn’t totally perfectly comprehensive and accurate. I’m sorry! I’m trying! This is close enough!
Continue readingRitu was related to a lot of famous public people, but was not a public person herself. I don’t want to reveal too much of her life which (by choice) she kept private. But I want to point to how she affected those around her who have chosen to lead a public life.
Continue readingThank you Emily for the suggestion! This is the perfect song to do a lazy Saturday when I don’t want to think that much.
Continue readingI put up a post this morning of classic films that could be rewritten and remade for Shahrukh, and after thinking about it, I think Sangam is my top choice. Shahrukh can play the guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and loves loves loves and ultimately turns out to be a better happier husband than the dignified guy who hides his feelings.
Continue readingThe news broke late last night, right after I went to bed, so I am aware I am late in acknowledging it. But I still felt I should say something.
In honor of the release of Sanju today, I am reposting my entire series on Sanjay Dutt. If you can’t wait for the reposts, you can find the original posts in the index here.
I’m finally doing it! The Sanjay Dutt Hindi Film 101 series! And if his movie gets delayed again, well that’s just too bad, they will have to live with my having already posted his series way way too early (not really, I’ll probably repost all these posts the day it comes out for convenience).
I was trying to think of what to do for 420, a super druggie movie or a super conman movie or what, and then I realized, it has to be Shree 420.
I forgot about this post until reflects on life reminded me of it! And now I think I will make it an annual tradition, to update and repost it on Valentine’s day.
Valentine’s Day! Day of love! And for that reason, a good day for a one of post just about love stories. The two kinds of them, the socially relevant ones in which the romance is just a jumping off point for a broader social issue, and the fun fun fun ones that just make you smile.
Yes, it’s time for another 100 year post! You can see all the others here, I’ve already done male stars, films, and songs. Time for something different! Producers!
Another reposted post from the early days! My first stab at Raj and Nargis, in terms of what they meant related to the homage to them in SRKajol movies. Based on “Janam Janam” from Dilwale.
You’re dead, but that’s no reason to stop celebrating. Your legacy lives on in many ways. So I am going to count down 63 reasons I love you, one for every year you lived (until you died). (obviously this is a reposted post from last year, I don’t have time to come up with 63 new reasons every year, not even for Raj)
Yaaaay, Dilip made it all the way to 95! And I made it all the way through his massive autobiography! And now you don’t have to, because I am summarizing the whole thing! Isn’t that nice of me? (part 1 here)
I finally read it! Don’t tell my friend who brought it for me all the way from India 2 years ago, only for it to sit on my shelf unnoticed unloved and unread. Until now! It took a while, but I finally finished it. And it was fascinating in lots of little “history of the industry” ways.
This is fun, doing these little over view posts! The lists help me from getting all tangled up in my own thoughts, and let you join the discussion, because everyone has an opinion on what wasn’t included and should have been, and what was included and shouldn’t have been.
I got lots of cool suggestions yesterday as to what I should cover next, but while I let those percolate (and please, keep suggesting! Here is the post where I ask for ideas), I am going to do something simple and look at the top grossing film year by year since 1940. Should be an interesting way to see the industry evolving, both financially and creatively. You’ll see what I mean when I am complaining about the out of control box office inflation lately. Plus, gives us all space to talk about something totally different from Jab Harry Met Sejal.
I was going to just leave it at Greatest Love Triangle of all time, but then I remembered Rekha and Jaya and Amitabh, so I am modifying it to be Greatest Love Triangle of All Time Between Two Men and One Women. (Nargis part 1 here)
I am trying a new thing, sort of cliff notes version of Hindi film history. Not the actual history (“Bombay Talkies studio was founded by Harivanshri Rai and Devika Rani…”), but the gossip history that everyone kind of knows if they’ve grown up with the films or if they’ve been following them for years. But I know that isn’t true for some of my readers and so, just for you, I am giving you the kind of informal oral history. Starting with the Kapoor Family (part 1 here).
dontcallitbollywood 