Tag Archives: Bollywood

Really bad form old chap!

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Mr. Bacchhan does not like Slumdog Millionaire.  This is what he says on his blog :

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ projects India as Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations,” Amitabh said in a posting on his blog www.bigb.bigadda.com Wednesday from Paris, France.

“Its just that the ‘Slumdog Millioanire’ idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a westerner, gets creative global recognition,” he added.

Aw c’mon Mr. Bacchhan, dont tell me your Coolie, Mard, Ajooba were really classy movies that portrayed “India Shining” or even “India Real”.  Oye Lucky was more real a movie than the above three.  And you did not criticise Omkara which showed grim rural India.  Now why did Slumdog upset you?

Is it the classic case of “We are like this only” for our movies for home viewers, but abroad we have to show a Karan Johar kind of social mileu?

Yes we have slums, we have beggars and prostitution, we have over-crowded trains and we have call centres.  Okay, so Boyle did not sanitise their portrayal.  He kept them stark and grim.  He even showed Taj through piles of stinking rubbish.

Instead of criticising the portrayal of the underbelly of India Shining, why doesnt Mr. Bacchhan with all the might of his brand and fame mobilise us Indians to clean up our act?

I read about a year ago on MyLot that AB was in talks with Boyle for the game host’s role but nothing worked out.

Really bad form, old chap!  Grown men should not cry.

Alternate Sexuality

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So Karan Johar has come out …. or rather as out as he dares to, without jeopardising his stake at the Box Office.  He shows two guys pretending to be gay to get themselves an apartment and also to be close to a girl.  Yes its Dostana I am talking about.  My family saw it, and told me the gist of the story.  Well, in my opinion all the men shown by Johar in his movies are gay pretending to be straight anyway.  I also think Shah Rukh Khan is bisexual – as per his body language.  Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam was all about Shah Rukh and Hritik and Kal Ho Na Ho was all about Saif and Shah Rukh.  The girls were incidental.

It got me thinking, is it a trend or something?  Fashion with all its gay designers, and now Dostana.  Has the time come for gay visibility?  Is India finally getting mature and comfortable with alternate sexuality?

Gay people are normal and real.  They are not sleazy sex manaics ready to grope any good looking butt.  They might look appreciatively, but there is no harm in that.

For me the main stream masala film that worked in depicting gay people was Honey Moon Travels, in which the NRI played by Vikram Chatwal and the small town groom played by Karan Khanna come to terms with their sexuality.  The NRI knows he is gay, and that he has decieved his wife by not telling her about this crucial fact …. and he confesses and tries to make amends.  Karan Khanna’s character does not even know about himself.  He is totally bewildered by the emotions awakened in him by this NRI.  He probably does not even understand the concept of being gay.  Both of them are good decent guys, they want to be good husbands to their wives.  The way the small town groom tries to rationalise and understand his attraction for the NRI really touched my heart. 

I know I am not very tolerant.  I guess I am deeply thankful that my sons are heterosexual and do not have to face a hostile society and I will not have to watch them get ostracised and hurt.  Homosexuals have the same needs, wants as heterosexuals, and do need to be given space and respect for their choices.  They dont need to be laughed at and be at the recieving end of Kantabai jokes.

Some Bollywood Dialogues I like

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I am hopelessly addicted to the wonderful blog Calcutta Chromosomes for my daily dose of Bollywood. I am like this only heh – I need tadka, I need mirch masala and I need Bollywood. He has written about seeti bajao dialogues both male and female. It inspired me to list some which are my favorites. One very important movie for its mast taaliyan type dialogues was Musafir starring Sunjay Dutt and Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Manjrekar. Some of those dialogues even became ringtones for a while.

Sunjay Dutt as Billa to Anil Kapoor when the latter throws attitude : Abbey saaley, takdeer teri chutti pe, aur maut tere sir pe…par baatein aise karta hai ki jindagi tere bistar pe………

Other gems by Sunjay Dutt to Anil Kapoor in this movie :
Jhar ke piche heroine ke sath nachne ki khujli nahi hoti tu villian ban sakta tha BILLA ban sakta tha

Film mein villain hero ko tension deta hai par yahan tu hero hi villain ko tension de raha hai ?

Bol Goa main sab kaisein hain? Papa kya layen yahan say tere liye ?

Sanjay Manjrekar to Sameera Reddy : Too bhi bathroom mein, Ye bhi bathroom mein, Dono mil kar bathroom ki tanki saaf kar rahey the ?

Billa kills a man in front of the man’s son.

Henchman to Billa : Billa Bhai is bachey ka kya Karen

Billa (After some deep thought) Chodh do, Jap bees saal baad apney baap ka badla leney ayega, tab khelenge is sey.

Another gem from this movie is : POLICE ASLI HO YA NAKLI AATI HAMESHA LATE HAI

Of course the very slick comedy Pyaar Ke Side Effects which actually gave break up ke side effects which went like this …..

Breakup Ka Side effect no.1
Aapko bahut rona padega…ya jitna rooenge utna breakup se bahar aaenge..i know hame rona nahi aata…but then..we have to listen to sad songs…

Breakup Ka Side effect no.2
Ex girlfriend ko bhulne ke liye bhaut sari shopping karni hogi..it really helps..maine 15 hazar ki ghadi lee hai aur 25 hazar ke speaker’s…Ofcourse on installments..but i feel AWESOME!!!

Breakup Ka Side effect no.3
Breakup ke baad aap har raat apne dosto ke saath ..ghumne, peene aur party karne jaaoge…as for me, Freedom!!!!…AM BACK

Breakup Ka Side effect no.4
Aapko suddenyl doosri ladkiyo main zaada interest aane lagega..and why not ? Loha he Lohe ko kaata hain.. hehehe

Breakup Ka Side effect no.5
Aapko sari anniversaries yaad rehti hai..
Aaj Trish ka birthday hain aur muje pehle baar yaad hain.”

And the very awesome coffee sequence which adds a totally new dimension to a simple cup of coffee. Sid, the character played by Rahul Bose goes to drop Baby Doll Vol. 3, an item girl played by Sophie to her flat and is “invited in for a coffee”. The comedy is situational and the innuendo very obvious …

Item Girl: What kind of coffee do u like?
Sid: Hot.
Sid: What kind of coffee do u like?
Item Girl: Coffee without Milk and Sugar

He cant have her coffee, and walks out while she is still in the kitchen and comes home where Naanu (Ranvir Shorey) asks him about the evening.

Sid confesses : I couldn’t have coffee with her”

and Naanu freaks out “What do you mean you couldn’t have coffee with her? That’s what men take birth for, to drink coffee.

Edited to add

I havent even begun with Omkara – which in my opinion had the most hard hitting dialogues. The movie was total paisa vasool for me. I can watch it over and over again.

 

In defense of being a WWE fan

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I love watching WWE, and can totally empathise with Zohra Sehgal in her fabulous Cameo in Cheeni Kum!! She is hasseled by AB’s behaviour and watches WWE mushtande, gabru men and taunts her bachelor son all the while bullying him to go to the gym. She is tactful, spunky and full of crass humor. Old wine and an even older bottle. Yeah, and she even threatens to leave him and go to Haridwar … something I do pretty regularly – though my sons turn around at tell me that I am a total fraud. In my defense, I developed a taste for WWE when I bonded with my sons, sitting and cheering Triple H, Rock and others.

One might view the WWE as nothing but a combination of gymnastic moves, extensive training and dedication bundled with muscular structure and poise. However, if you really look at what they do and how they do it this really is a tough sport. One night you take two bumps, the next night three, the night after that a chair shot, the week after that a suplex on the concrete. You may be bruised, a bit achy, and then maybe 5-10 years down the road and you can’t walk. This is a serious sport!

In defence of watching WWE

  1. I love the muscular athletes : the mushtande are good eye candy
  2. I watch it for entertainment value. It’s funny, and even sometimes really dramatic. Like for example seeing a real-life backstage drama being exploited on TV, which has been done numerous times.
  3. Wrestling is not a combat sport, it’s not real fighting, it’s just a form of entertainment. It is immensely popular and I watch for that, entertainment as movies
  4. The matches are scripted, full of athleticism, amazing high flying moves, hardcore brawling and/or scientific mat wrestling or holds along with the over the top interveiws and compelling storylines that can hold your attention..
  5. Even the women wrestlers are good eye candy. A good athlete is a pleasure to watch.
  6. I’m a sucker for huge pops/crowd reactions because sometimes they can just be so awe inspiring to see thousands and thousands of people on their feet screaming their hearts out.
  7. The catch lines “If you smelllllllllll what the Rock is cooking!!!” and others.