It’s Christmas Eve, I will give you an early present: Shahrukh fanfic, because it’s the only kind anyone reads/wants. And Christmas themed, Sexy Angel Shahrukh! Sexy Sacrificial Family Man Angel Shahrukh!
This is I think the first serious review I wrote. Back when no one was reading me. So I am reposting it so you can enjoy it now. And also because it’s December and no one much is reading, so I might as well put up a review that I’ve already posted twice.
I love Christmas, and I love Fanvids, but unfortunately it is very rare for the two of them to come together. But I do what i can! And what little I found is all in this post. (this is a reposted post)
It really would! Especially if you have been trying to explain to your family and friends why you like these movies and take them seriously. Let me make the explanation for you! It will save you so much energy and anger. Or, you can buy it as a Christmas gift to yourself, and then have handy talking points all ready for all the family gatherings.
I mostly watched Dhanak, because the one sentence description made me think it would be a good Shahrukh fan watch. And it was, certainly. He comes off very well in it. But most of the movie is just about the two small children we are following, and their performances are so delightful, that’s what really makes the film. If you have access to American Netflix, it is streaming now, and I highly recommend it.
I mostly watched Dhanak, because the one sentence description made me think it would be a good Shahrukh fan watch. And it was, certainly. He comes off very well in it. But most of the movie is just about the two small children we are following, and their performances are so delightful, that’s what really makes the film. If you have access to American Netflix, it is streaming now, and I highly recommend it.
Children’s Day in India is November 14th, because that’s Nehru’s birthday, and Nehru loved children. Isn’t that sweet? And, just like World Animal Day and all the other sub-holidays, I am marking the occasion with a theme video post. (this is an updated and reposted post from last year)
I actually ran the numbers for 2017. Claudia, my German reader, by posting 9 times in a German language fan forum, gained me 506 new readers. Not all of them stayed, but 506 separate people clicked through from her comments to my blog.
Someone else who I don’t know posted twice in the comments on a Bhawadraj Rangan review and gained me 177 click throughs. In contrast, I wrote a guest post for srkuniverse, a massive fan community, and that post with their official stamp of approval got me only 66 views.
So when I say to you that the best way to gain me new views is to put a link in the comments of another site, or in another forum, I’m not kidding! It’s practically the only way. And it isn’t something I can do for myself, no one clicks through links posted by the author.
So, here’s your monthly request to please help by posting links to my related content on other sites.
Oh, and also, COMMENT!!!! I also ran the numbers on that. Every comment gets me 20 views. People who may have already seen the post clicking through to it, others who wouldn’t have read it otherwise clicking through to read the comments. It doesn’t have to be a brilliant comment, just say “I love this film! —— was so good in their role!”, that’s enough. Or, if you want to be really easy, just answer the questions at the end of the TGIF or FanFic posts.
So, two things. Real simple. And that have an enormous effect.
Here’s an exciting thing, I finally got around to visiting and updating my Patreon site so it makes more sense. Click below to view it:
If you set up a monthly subscription to me through them (just like you do for Netflix and magazines and all the other entertainment sources you use), I will mail you a thank you card! $5 or more a month gets you a card for every holiday. $10 or more a month gets you a card EVERY SINGLE MONTH!!!! And who wouldn’t want one of my cards every month?
If you don’t want to commit to a monthly thing, that’s fine too, I would appreciate a donation of whatever you feel is fair (donate here). Or at least, a purchase of my book (purchase here)! It’s really good, and I want more people to read it.
One other request that costs you nothing. Please “whitelist” my site. That is, turn off your adblocker when you are here. I know ads are irritating and all that, but it’s part of what helps me pay for movie tickets and my domain name and everything else. Well, not really pay for it, but it helps me not lose quite as much money. So if you have adblocker going all the time and don’t even think about it (as I do myself), this is a reminder to turn it off on my website because you like me so much.
There is a little button on the menu at the top, if you enjoy my writing and want me to keep going, you can always click there to give me a donation. If you don’t have the money, or don’t feel my content is worth paying for, that’s okay too.
Additionally, you can always buy my book, click HERE to purchase.
Donate through Patreon, which will allow you to set up a monthly subscription donation. And which can allow you to pick a reward, if you wish.
Or through Paypal, which allows for a one time donation of any amount you choose. Any time you particularly like a post, or appreciate something I am doing, just drop a dollar like it is a tip jar. And feel free to add a note saying why you are donating, maybe I will write more posts like that.
Donate
To help support my work, donate to the site, $1 or $2 or $20 or $200, however much you want.
$1.00
And thanks for reading!
Happy Holi! I almost forgot this holiday thanks to the national mourning happening (sounds like at least a few of the Holi parties for the film industry will be canceled altogether), but I remembered in time. This is a mix of songs I have posted in previous years and new ones. Enjoy! And let me know if I missed something (yes yes, “Rang Barse” and all the other must dos are there)
I put up a post yesterday related to Sridevi’s death about how there is a recent association in Indian popular culture between “skinny” and “healthy” and also “beautiful”. And then the comments section just went wild with people talking. Mostly people from the west, where the weight issue has been the dominant issue in appearance for years. But I started to feel odd talking about this on an Indian film blog without acknowledging the fact that in India it is in fact skin tone that is the dominant issue.
Another short one. But there is a little bit of Dog, including a furiously wagging tail, which is very cute. Also, I like my shirt. (same content more or less as this post here)
Well, this was interesting. Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety won the weekend on only 66 screens easily beating Padman and Padmavat (at least, this week). (figures as always courtesy of Rentrack by way of Bollywoodhungama)
Just trying to get something positive out of this. Might as well use it as a reminder of what “healthy” actually means, versus how the Indian press and public figures (just in the past few years! It is still reversible!) have started to use it. And how the West has been using it for years.
This story is just going to drag on and on, I can feel it. And if I am already getting tired of it (not mourning Sridevi, just the logistical updates), can you imagine how exhausted her family must be? Waiting and waiting and waiting and putting all plans on hold over and over again?
Happy Monday! Extra happy for me, because I get to go on vacation on Friday (wee!). Not from the blog of course, I never take a day off from you, but from everything else. In the meantime, I want to give you answers, and a question of your own!
This is the second part of the story that always happens. After the twitter messages, the personal visits start, and the stories of people comforting or helping directly. And then tomorrow (probably) will be the final story, the funeral and wake. At which we will see what public statements are made by who attends and how. Well, not quite the final story. It doesn’t end with the funeral. These bonds we are seeing now aren’t just for show, they will be followed up by serious commitments and lifelong support in Sridevi’s memory for the people she left behind.
And now the tweets have started. Which is expected. Always the first reaction after a death. In this case, they are interestingly similar and interestingly wide-ranging.
This was fun, I didn’t have to write anything this week! We wrote it all together on Monday in bits and pieces, I just had to pull it together and make sense of it for this.
This is really an unbelievable performance. As in, you watch the movie, enjoy the movie, then look it up and discover that it was Sridevi’s first adult role and she was only 13 and go “I don’t believe it”. (full list of Sridevi reviews here)
This is such a fun movie. And it is also the movie when I realized that what feels odd about Ram Gopal Verma’s Hindi films, is that he is trying to make over every heroine into Sridevi, and not succeeding. Because there is only one Sridevi. (full listing of my Sridevi reviews here)
This is the movie I stayed up much too late to see in theaters and review right away, and then left at 6am the next day for a family vacation. And it was worth it. (full list of Sridevi films I have reviewed here)
There was so much promotion for this film, it seemed impossible for anyone or any picture to measure up to it. But then, somehow, she did. (full index of Sridevi films here)
Happy Birthday Shahid! I have to admit, I am secretly a bit of a Shahid fan. And so he will get TWO dozen reasons I love you, instead of the usual dozen (this is an updated and reposted post)
dontcallitbollywood 