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Post by moviemavengal on Oct 26, 2015 22:14:12 GMT
To honor our visit to San Francisco and Napa last week, I rewatched the first hour of MNIK. How I do love the beginning of that film and the SRK/Kajol romance.
I watched two interesting Malayalam films I had downloaded for the trip, one on each flight. Both starred Nivin Pauly who was in the film Bangalore Days that I loved. In Bangalore Days he played the sort of naive nerdy character. Very much NOT the nerdy character in these two films.
The two films were interesting mainly because they were both completely and utterly from the point of view of the young female heroine. And that felt radical, as we don't see that much in Bollywood (or Hollywood, truth be told).
The first film, Mili, I can't recommend at all. I was really disappointed in it. It's about a socially awkward young woman, who gradually gains confidence in herself after being fired as a preschool teacher, and she opens a daycare center. The romance with Nivin Pauly was just sort of in the background, but not overtly dealt with. The whole film just felt loooooooong. It might have worked as a 90 minute film, but not 180.
But I really liked the female coming of age film Om Shanti Oshaana, which I watched on the flight home. Nazriya Nazim (also from Bangalore Days) plays a young 16 year old, tomboy only daughter of a doctor and a teacher. She falls hard for a guy she meets at an amusement park. He's an older guy, and a farmer. So I gather it's an intercaste thing, but also he's Hindu (the Om Shanti), and she's Christian. Oshaana was for Palm Sunday which is a key date for her story. She tries to tell him her feelings, but he stops her, and says she's too young to say something like that to an older man. She's crushed, goes off to medical school, and they meet again 6 years later when his mother is in the hospital where she works. So we're seeing the story completely from her point of view, and what wasn't the best was her trying to change herself (start wearing saris, learn to cook, etc.) which was all very traditional. What was AWESOME, was her parents knew she would never go for an arranged marriage, and encourage her career. And THIS scene was just the ultimate. I had seen it GIF'd on Tumblr, and it was the main reason I downloaded the film. Her parents joke that she would expect to visit the groom's family to check HIM out, and she then has this fantasy sequence with the bridal visit turned on its head, and Nivin serving HER tea. It's not subtitled, but she's asking him his name ("Giri") and then what he studied in school, and he demurely says, "Malayalam", which makes her laugh uproariously.
It's just so absolutely delicious to see the role reversal!
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Post by ShantiSal on Oct 29, 2015 0:03:32 GMT
I was reading something about Nargis last week and it dawned on me that Sanjay Dutt is her son. I'm not a huge fan of his but thought I would watch something of his that wasn't too 'bad boy'. I quite enjoyed Munna Bhai MBBS. I could see the facial resemblance between him and Nargis but she was so lovely and he ain't that pretty, lol.
Will probably watch Lage Raho M.B. next.
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Post by moviemavengal on Oct 29, 2015 21:55:14 GMT
I saw a late night showing of Shaandaar with my next door Indian neighbor Tuesday night. In a cavernous theater, we were the ONLY ones there. Not a great sign, but I have to say I really enjoyed the whimsy of it. Flashback scenes are cleverly animated, and Shahid has never looked better. Ever. He is so much better looking in this than his baby-faced Jab We Met Days. I quite like the music, too, especially Gulaabo. There just isn't much there, there. The plot is kind of weak, but I still enjoyed it. Alia and Shahid had adorable chemistry together, and for once she doesn't look 12 years old. My neighbor insisted the groom's father was Anil Kapoor (we could talk out loud since we were the only ones there!), but it was actually his brother Sanjay. There is a fun cameo by producer Karan Johar, and my neighbor stunned me by asking out loud, "Is he gay??" I replied, "Is the sky blue?" Made me wonder if there's a cultural blindspot at work here, or she's just not as Karan Johar fascinated as I am. She has seen some Koffee With Karan episodes, but has not seen his short in Bombay Talkies or the AIB Roast. The gay uncle in Shaandaar comes out at the end, and the family's universal reaction is "We know!" Makes me wonder if Karan pointedly put that in. On the way home, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna was playing in my car, and I talked with my neighbor about the gay subtext in so many of Karan Johar's films. Yesterday, I saw the hilarious documentary Meet The Patels. You all HAVE TO SEE THIS! The tag line is spot on -- It's a Real Life Romantic Comedy. I LOVED Meet the Patels! It is SO good. Completely heartwarming. The camera work leaves a lot to be desired, but the sister was trying to catch these intimate family moments, frequently in the car. Those moments she couldn't catch, they used cute animation as the brother would explain what happened -- like when he finally tells his parents that he had dated a white girl for 2 years. He specifically chose a time his sister was out so she couldn't film that. The way it was edited, I knew pretty early on how it was all going to end, but you have to remember that they filmed for over a year, and THEY didn't know then how it will all resolve. We've seen some of the arranged marriage process in India through Bollywood films, but this was a fascinating look at how parents who want their kids to marry someone from their very specific region of India (a 30 mile triangle in Gujarat) have to try to make that work when the Indian families are spread all over America and Canada. Poor Ravi took a LOT of flights trying to meet girls. He dates one girl and says, to have a second date, I'd have to buy a $500 ticket. I'm feeling it's maybe worth a $200 ticket! I really felt for Ravi who was trying to please his parents, but was drawn to the only girlfriend he ever knew -- a redhead from Connecticut. Nearly every Indian he meets tells him it's time for him to be married, and you really get how much pressure these young men and women are under. Some of the pressure, though, he put on himself because they show all these warm family gatherings, and he had always envisioned a wife who was from his religion and culture who would understand it all and help him carry it on to his children. I think it's a very universal story, and also one that is so fascinatingly specific == a window into a world most of us have never seen. If you have a chance, GO SEE IT!! You'll love it.
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Miss Braganza!
Junior artiste
Posts: 60
Favorite actor: Rahul Bose, Irrfan, Ranveer Singh, Rajesh Khanna
Favorite actress: Konkona Sen Sharma, Vidya Balan, Sharmila Tagore
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Dear Zindagi, Befikre
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Post by Miss Braganza! on Oct 30, 2015 5:02:50 GMT
OK, I stuck with Koyla and I don't regret it--after the mullet and Johnny Lever-filled beginning it's just singing, dancing, furniture-breaking fun. I have a sort of running contest in my mind that goes: If I were playing a drinking game with a movie and I took a drink every time someone started crying, how drunk would I be at the end of the movie? So far KKKG is the all-time winner, but this one is up there. I did get a bit bored during the final 20-minute violence-fest (I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but an experienced Bollywood-watcher could guess most of the plot from the poster). But Madhuri actually gets a few punches in, which is refreshing.
In defense of Johnny Lever, I saw a movie a while back, which may have actually been KKKG, that made me really appreciate what he does a little more. His face is just so mobile. He literally changed to a different, highly exaggerated expression with every syllable he was speaking. I don't find it funny, because my cultural background doesn't favor frantic mugging as a humor device, but he is very good at what he does. Not really seeking out movies he's in, though.
And I also watched The Dirty Picture over the weekend. Vidya was wonderful, so fearless, but I felt a bit underwhelmed by the whole thing, possibly because I just saw Heroine and I'm burned out on downward spirals. Nevertheless, I think I may continue Vidya-fest this weekend with Bobby Jasoos, now on Spuul.
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filmilibrarian
Guest appearance
Posts: 102
Favorite actor: Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor
Favorite actress: Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee, Anushka Sharma, Konkona Sen Sharma, Deepika Padukone
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Padmavati, A Gentleman, Lucknow Central, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Mubarakan, Simran, Chef, Ittefaq
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Post by filmilibrarian on Oct 30, 2015 14:33:36 GMT
And I also watched The Dirty Picture over the weekend. Vidya was wonderful, so fearless, but I felt a bit underwhelmed by the whole thing, possibly because I just saw Heroine and I'm burned out on downward spirals. Nevertheless, I think I may continue Vidya-fest this weekend with Bobby Jasoos, now on Spuul. I had the same reaction to The Dirty Picture. Great role for Vidya, but I didn't think it was as ground-breaking as many thought it was. Plus Emran Hashmi is one of my least favorite actors in Bollywood. Bobby Jasoos was a very pleasant surprise for me...I went in with low expectations thinking it would be too goofy, but instead it actually has a pretty intense subplot and a really believable romance along with the goofiness. I'm in a rewatching mode right now and spent one evening this week fast forwarding to my favorite parts of Mujhse Dosti Karoge, Hum dil de chuke sanam (ie all the scenes with Ajay, none of the scenes with Salman), and Wake Up Sid. I'm gearing up to watch Ray's Devi and the classic Sangdil this weekend.
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carla
Junior artiste
Posts: 62
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Post by carla on Oct 30, 2015 14:49:30 GMT
I was reading something about Nargis last week and it dawned on me that Sanjay Dutt is her son. I'm not a huge fan of his but thought I would watch something of his that wasn't too 'bad boy'. I quite enjoyed Munna Bhai MBBS. I could see the facial resemblance between him and Nargis but she was so lovely and he ain't that pretty, lol. Will probably watch Lage Raho M.B. next. Do! It's wonderful - better than Munnabhai MBBS, in my opinion. (Although the interaction between Sanjay Dutt and his father Sunil Dutt in MBBS is a lot of fun.)
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carla
Junior artiste
Posts: 62
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Post by carla on Oct 30, 2015 14:59:35 GMT
So I was working on a piece about the pains I have endured out of love for Shabana Azmi and so in the last few weeks I binged a little on some of her more ... questionable fare. This included:
Devata - Below-average and completely unmemorable melodrama starring Shabana opposite Sanjeev Kumar. He is one of my favorite actors but when he unleashes an extreme melodramatic style you'd never know how delicately talented he really is. The moderately distinguishing feature of this film is that they are a Christian family. The story is overcomplicated and involves Shabana Azmi in a double-role (mother and daughter), Sanjeev Kumar aging 25-ish years, during which he goes to prison for murder, escapes from prison, disappears for 20 years, and returns a rich industrialist. Oh, also Danny Denzongpa as the cop from whom he escaped, bent on proving that this rich industrialist is the convict who got away.
Lorie - Below-average middle cinema, starring middle cinema stalwarts like Shabana, Farooq Sheikh, and Naseeruddin Shah. The story is decidedly odd, and was later reproduced in a Law & Order episode, I am sure: Shabana Azmi is a woman whose greatest dream is motherhood; after an accident renders her infertile she goes off the deep end and kidnaps someone else's child. Husband Farooq Sheikh feels too sorry for her to turn her in or even try to combat her delusion. Ending even more strange and improbably. Highlight is Farooq Sheikh's beard which gets shaved off partway through the film. And Shabana Azmi's mother Shaukat Kaifi is in it as well, as the mother of the kidnapped boy.
Ishk Ishk Ishk - Shabana Azmi's first mainstream film! Utterly execrable vanity-project in which a 50-year-old creepy-uncle-ish Dev Anand gets to romance not only 23-year-old Shabana but also 22-year-old Zeenat Aman. WHAT. Highlight is Kabir Bedi prancing around with an accordion.
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Post by ShantiSal on Oct 30, 2015 23:55:10 GMT
I was reading something about Nargis last week and it dawned on me that Sanjay Dutt is her son. I'm not a huge fan of his but thought I would watch something of his that wasn't too 'bad boy'. I quite enjoyed Munna Bhai MBBS. I could see the facial resemblance between him and Nargis but she was so lovely and he ain't that pretty, lol. Will probably watch Lage Raho M.B. next. Do! It's wonderful - better than Munnabhai MBBS, in my opinion. (Although the interaction between Sanjay Dutt and his father Sunil Dutt in MBBS is a lot of fun.) I'm about halfway through LRMB - I keep dozing off (only because I've been so tired, I hasten to add)
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Post by MrB on Oct 31, 2015 8:58:59 GMT
Ishk Ishk Ishk - Shabana Azmi's first mainstream film! Utterly execrable vanity-project in which a 50-year-old creepy-uncle-ish Dev Anand gets to romance not only 23-year-old Shabana but also 22-year-old Zeenat Aman. WHAT. Highlight is Kabir Bedi prancing around with an accordion. Sadly it only got worse. Nearly 25 years later Dev Anand produced, directed, and starred in Main Solah Baras Ki in which a 16 year old girl falls madly in love with the dashing Dev. Because what teenager doesn't dream of getting it on with a wizened septuagenarian gnome? It's a horrible film - don't ever watch it.
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filmilibrarian
Guest appearance
Posts: 102
Favorite actor: Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor
Favorite actress: Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee, Anushka Sharma, Konkona Sen Sharma, Deepika Padukone
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Padmavati, A Gentleman, Lucknow Central, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Mubarakan, Simran, Chef, Ittefaq
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Post by filmilibrarian on Nov 1, 2015 1:50:12 GMT
Watched Bahubali (Hindi version) last night and was surprised at how much I loved it until I realized that (duh!) the director was also responsible for Magadheera (which is ridiculous and flawed but has some amazing moments). No flaws at all in Bahubali. It's pacing was wonderful, the CGI delivered, and the story and acting was wonderful. I now am really looking forward to seeing Anushka Shetty in Size Zero. She was great and I'm looking forward to seeing her as the younger version of her character in the sequel. Also loved the kickass Avantika (Tammanah). Prabhas was perfectly cast and does make me want to try more of his films and look forward to more of his work in Hindi films.
Also watched Brothers. I was very worried after the less than stellar reviews and because I love (and own) the original film, Warrior. Surprised at just how closely the remake is to the original, but still enjoyed the Bollywood moments. Shefali Shah is fast becoming one of my favorite character actresses. Jacqueline Fernandez surprised me with a good performance. I think the script let the flashback speak more to the character development and Akshay and Sid weren't really given much to do in that department (and might not have been up to the task anyway). I've also never liked Jackie Schroff in a film until this...he was very effective. Plus the MMA scenes were extremely well done. I hope the fact that this didn't do really well doesn't hurt Karan Malhotra's career because this and Agneepath were both great!
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Post by bollylarki on Nov 1, 2015 12:19:30 GMT
Since I'm rather incapacitated this weekend (I threw a hip out and have to use a cane for a bit, making walking very difficult and painful), I decided to watch all the new films I received. So i started with Bāhubali: The Beginning. This film came highly recommended by my friend Shiraz. He said even his wife enjoyed it so I should give it a try. The visuals were exceptional and beautifully done. I’ve never seen Prabhas in anything before but he’s quite something isn’t he? It was a bit “bloodier” than I had anticipated, but the story is very interesting and I enjoyed every minute. I can hardly wait for the conclusion.
Piku with Deepika, Irrfan and Amitabh was next. Hmmmn, what can I say. The acting was good and quite true to life. I have noted in the past how certain old men become very fixated on their “bodily functions” so I really had to laugh about some of it.
I had rented LOC: Kargil from Netflix because it has so many stars in the group. Rather reminded me of some of the older Hollywood war films with large star casts (D-Day come to mind). I’m not sure I’d recommend it, but hey give it a try if you like war films.
So that pretty much took up my Saturday.
This morning I was up at 4:30 (daylight savings time ended last night so it was my 5:30). Decided I needed a SRK fix and wanted something funny, so in went Chennai Express. I know this isn’t one of his best, but I do like it. The scenery is to die for and the interactions between him and Deepika are cute. Especially the song conversations.
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Post by ShantiSal on Nov 5, 2015 4:07:34 GMT
I finished watching Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Enjoyed it as much as the first one.
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shahrukhkhan4ever
Dancing in the chorus
Posts: 2
Favorite actor: Shahrukh Khan
Favorite actress: Madhuri Dixit
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Dilwale
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Post by shahrukhkhan4ever on Nov 6, 2015 2:37:41 GMT
Krishna's Cottage and Koyla are the last Bollywood movies I have seen. Koyla is the movie I have been kind of hooked on for the past few days. As a Shahrukh Khan fan. I just so totally loved him in that movie. It is definitely one of my top 10 favorite movies that he did.
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Miss Braganza!
Junior artiste
Posts: 60
Favorite actor: Rahul Bose, Irrfan, Ranveer Singh, Rajesh Khanna
Favorite actress: Konkona Sen Sharma, Vidya Balan, Sharmila Tagore
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Dear Zindagi, Befikre
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Post by Miss Braganza! on Nov 6, 2015 7:27:10 GMT
Watched Abhimaan this past week. Wow! Why didn't I watch this years before? And every subsequent day since then? Actually the second hour drags a bit--I think the slow dissolution of a marriage is a very difficult thing to portray on film, and one does get a bit weary of Jaya's sweet patience while Amitabh is being a massive ass. But I love the music, particularly Teri bindiya re (which the subtitles render as "your killing bindi accessory"). And the visuals! The first "Amitabh is real super famous" montage! Jaya skipping through the temple in her rustic-chic cotton sari! Jaya in basically every scene she's in! It's probably not for everyone, but for me it was two hours of pure aesthetic pleasure.
@filmilibrarian: I forgot to say, I agree about Emran Hashmi. He is (or, you know, plays) a total personal hygiene product in everything I've seen him in. However, I think it works in this film in which the character is supposed to be a bit sleazy.
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Post by moviemavengal on Nov 6, 2015 23:54:15 GMT
Krishna's Cottage and Koyla are the last Bollywood movies I have seen. Koyla is the movie I have been kind of hooked on for the past few days. As a Shahrukh Khan fan. I just so totally loved him in that movie. It is definitely one of my top 10 favorite movies that he did. Koyla has some of my favorite moments for SRK. That dance Madhuri does while he's banging the big drum is one of my all time favorites on film!
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