Kicking off Imran Appreciation Week: The Next Generation of Khan

In honor of this weekend’s release of Delhi Belly, we bring you a mini Imran Khan Appreciation Week, complete with a post each from the three bloggers here, including (HOPEFULLY) my lame co-bloggers who rarely show themselves these days. If anyone wants to join in, that’d be more than welcome. We plan to cover Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, I Hate Luv Storys and Break Ke Baad (we have yet to see Kidnap, Luck, and Imran’s roles as a young Aamir in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak or Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander).

To kick off the week, I want to talk about some of the reasons we just love Imran.

But before I get into the specific reasons that we love Imran, I want to take a look at a larger sort of trend about our blog. I’ve noticed so far that an overwhelming amount of our blog thus far has focused on films from the 2000s, particularly on new films since 2010 (eight posts on films from just the last 18 months). Part of that is ease of access through Netflix, part of that is probably attributable to our age.

Yes, we have quite fervent attachments to Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor and particularly Imran Khan, probably more than we’ve seen from other bloggers. To be perfectly honest, I attribute it to the fact that these guys are the stars of “our” generation. We’re all quite young (I won’t go into exactly how young, but let’s just say even these three youngsters are older than us), and while we all adore Akshay Kumar and the three seemingly ageless Khans, these men are older than our fathers. Despite their youthful appearances (really really youthful), they aren’t young. I also admit I think I developed a strong like for Shashi Kapoor in the 45 minutes of Kabhi Kabhi I watched, and Shashi is roughly the age of our grandpas. Obsessions like that just get a little weird at that point.

So it’s really nice to have some younger fellows on the platter as well so we can feel slightly less creeped out by our obsessing.

Maybe part of it is also that with the basis of our movie-watching experience formed by Hollywood, it’s refreshing to see the films of this younger generation step out of traditional Bollywood boxes and take on some more globalized film elements. I think it's an effect one of ever-growing globalization (with technology, the world keeps getting smaller, folks) and an audience that is globalized. In fact, I get the impression that with several films of the younger lot that they could, with minor adjustments, take on a Hollywood audience. If you cut down or out the songs, shortened the runtime and spoke English, many of these films could be on the clean side of Hollywood. And all of this is perhaps pushing further and further all the time, like with the fact that Delhi Belly is in English (which we all actually have mixed feelings about); I know lots of Bollywood folks want to be able to capture the American-film audience. (Which is particularly interesting because our dear Imran is actually Indian-American; love you, brother!)

For example, I’ve noticed that an increasing trend with the younger set is they’re much freer with kissing and talking about sex. The dynamics there are certainly shifting. There’s also been a healthy dose of skepticism added to the normal love story (see I Hate Luv Storys) but without changing the basic message of all-conquering love. (And it’s a healthy skepticism too; not the mess that Hollywood has.) Then there’s also the fact that these films increasingly take place partially abroad (Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na has its protagonists fly off to America, I Hate Luv Storys has a jog in New Zealand, and Break Ke Baad is set primarily in Australia).

Call this change what you will, but it’s nice to enjoy a younger, more globalized film once in a while; some of the obvious points that other films ignore are getting easier to tackle for the younger, less-established set. (Not that untainted, pure, classic Bollywood cinema isn’t fabulous itself; we obviously love Bollywood more than Hollywood for many reasons. Trust me, we get tired of the unrealistic sleazy sex-fest that is Hollywood all the time.)

*ahem* Anyway, proceeding off of that... One of the reasons that we love Imran is that he’s, well, sexy. Like really. (Even though the poor fellow cannot wow with his dancing skills.) Photos say it all when words can’t.

But Imran’s not just a sex symbol either. The man, like his Uncle Aamir, is completely adorable in the most basic, unmanly, cheek-pinching way. Maybe it was growing up around Aamir because sometimes Imran is almost frighteningly like him. And hate to break it to you, fellas, but an adorable man works his way into a woman’s heart much faster than a hot one.

And Imran works both sides of that coin flawlessly.

The man can even do both hot and adorable with just his eyebrows!

And as part and parcel of his being adorable, he can make us laugh pretty easily.

He’s so likable, in fact, that you like him even when he’s a MEAN pain in the you-know-what like in I Hate Luv Storys. (This is a quality he shares with his buddy Ranbir, as seen in Bachna Ae Haseeno.)

Do I think Imran has potential for leading-man status worthy of the surname Khan? Sometimes I doubt he has the full-power impact of the elder Khans, and instead of Aamir’s perfectionism, Shahrukh’s charm and Salman’s badfannyness, Imran has a chill, relaxed coolness instead. He has less of an immediate knockdown-powerful presence. But even if he doesn’t, I’m convinced he has the subtle likableness to be just fine without it.

36 China Town (2006): A Bollywood Whodunit

Synopsis: In Goa’s flashy China Town, a motley crew of folks ranging from a struggling actor, a scorned bride, a gambling-addict hotel owner and his wife, a would-be Romeo and a couple on vacation get embroiled in a murder mystery when casino owner Sonia Chang turns up dead. Hard-nosed Inspector Karan (Akshaye Khanna), who seems to fancy himself a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, then goes on a quest to sort out the tangled web and find the killer.

Picked this up from the DVD store because Shahid Kapoor was on the cover and also Kareena Kapoor and Akshaye Khanna. I’d never heard of it, but seeing those three, I was like how could I not have?

I didn’t know what to expect (36 China Town is a kind of vague title), but when I realized it was a murder mystery, I braced myself for the worst and prepared to just enjoy staring at Shahid.

And then it didn’t happen. The film was pretty solid. I actually felt suspense even though I pretty much could guess what was going to happen (I have a rather uncanny knack for predicting “twists”; writers everywhere are not as clever or original as they think). I mean, I wasn’t terrified or anything, but I held my breath when certain characters were unknowingly trapped in a house with a murderer and gasped a little when a dead body fell out.

And then on top of it, it wasn’t just a suspenseful murder mystery. The story is about a whole bunch of innocent, well-meaning folks who are connected in some way to the murder but keep lying about their connection so as not to seem guilty. And it’s hilarious. There’s antics about bodies being stuffed in suitcases (kind of gruesome)...that a couple then tries wildly and fails to get rid of on a train (hilarious). In a way, it reminds me of Clue, more of a whodunit than anything else. (Like bodies being stuffed in suitcases can go one of two ways: Law & Order, where it’s, “Eek there’s a body in a suitcase!”; or Psyche, where it’s like, “OMG, I can’t believe this; there’s a body in a suitcase!” This film is a mix but mostly the latter.)

And the slate of characters that runs through this one... Man, it’s crazy. There are so many quirky people, and the cast gets more and more entangled with every passing moment. If you’ve seen Welcome and you know how the plot gets increasingly more complicated in that crazy way that makes you go, “Oh, God... This is so... convoluted!” every couple of minutes... You should have a good idea of how 36 China Town operates. Everybody and their brother gets mixed up at least once with everybody else in this film.

My favorite set of characters are Raj and Priya, a struggling actor and a scorned would-be runaway bride who find Sonia Chang’s missing son and set out to bring him home for a reward. Shahid and Bebo had such lovely chemistry. It makes me somewhat sad that they aren’t together anymore (no offense to Saify-poo). This wasn’t perhaps on par with Jab We Met (which turned out fascinatingly well since they broke up in the middle of filming) but it’s still up there pretty close. And again Bebo didn’t get on my nerves!

Oh hai cuteness.

Akshaye Khanna did, though. I will say that I love Rahul much more than his younger, fairer-skinned less beautiful brother, but I usually like Akshaye. Loved him in Dil Chahta Hai and Tees Maar Khan (Osssccaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!), even liked him fairly well in Mere Baap Pehle Aap, which I despised as a film. I think it was more of a seeping annoyance with the character of Inspector Karan and the poorly arranged deductive reasoning a la pseudo-Sherlock Holmes (I have a very deep love for the original Sherlock Holmes), but for as many of these annoying cops as there are in film, this is the first one I’ve been so thoroughly annoyed with. Every time he showed up on screen, I groaned.

I'm afraid the logic of your deductive reasoning is elementary, my dear Akshaye.

 Another groaner is Upen Patel playing Rocky. He kind of annoyed me in Namastey London (although a lot of things kind of annoyed me in Namastey London), but he definitely annoys in this film. He plays a playboy who repeatedly uses the same lines but gets no good results. AND they're the most ridiculous lines too! "Your dad must have been a terrorist because he sure knew how to make a sex-bomb." SCUSE ME, WHAT?! And still he goes on his way, thinking he’s all good. Oh, also, he’s a playboy but can’t defame women in public -- as in he can sleep with them behind closed doors, but he won’t tell about it. The assumption is because he respects women (though by his lines he obviously doesn’t); these folks need to see Thank You and Akshay Kumar’s Kishan, a reincarnation of Lord Krishna who loves women in all ways.

Tanaaz Currim as Ruby and Payal Rohatgi as Gracy play the wives of two gamblers -- one poor and the other (formerly) rich -- who are controlling and keep their men in line. Ruby also wins tons of money and puts her husband to shame with it. Here, the ladies rule the roost.

Their poor can’t-keep-on-the-straight-and-narrow husbands K.K. and Natwar are played by Johnny Lever and Paresh Rawal respectively, who are always welcome comedy schlubs as far as I’m concerned. Johnny Lever has amused me since Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (my second film), and despite what others say, I’ve honestly never not found him less than amusing. Paresh Rawal is also always fun as the poor schmuck who gets all kinds of crap done to him (see: Ready, Welcome, etc.). BUT there is one major drawback of Paresh Rawal being in this film.

Paresh Rawal in a speedo! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! I think my eyes will never recover! (And now you must also suffer with me. Mwhahahhahaha.)

To maybe help you recover from that (maybe), Piggy Chops makes a cameo.

One thing I will say that kind of perplexed me about this film was its setting, which seems to roughly translate to a version of Vegas. I didn’t know until this film that Goa had a China Town, and personally no Chinatown that I’ve ever been to is even remotely like the China Town of this film. I actually find it somewhat funny considering India’s proximity to China.

But something else bothers me about this setting. In my literary study of colonialism, I’ve also learned a great deal about literary tropes and practices like exoticism and, a particular form of exoticism, orientalism (especially as defined by Edward Said). Exoticism in its most simplified form is using something foreign for the sake of using something foreign or exotic, basically reducing the culture to a distinct foreignness and not much else. Yes, there is a fine, fine line between being influenced by a culture and reducing it to exoticization, and I feel this film steps somewhat into the latter.

This film engages in exoticization of China Town; China Town is foreign and Other (set apart from regular Indian Goa), swathed in bright colors and druggy, dreamy sequences, oversexed and embroiled in all forms of sin (drinking, gambling, etc.). The “foreign” place is full of intrigue and it cannot be fully understood simply because it is foreign; rules of decency common to the civilized and dignified homeland of the exoticizer do not apply, so murder is allowed to happen. (Perhaps the classic literary reference I can point you to is Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone; historically, exoticization is a colonial practice often applied to India.) In these ways, the film engages in exoticization (of Chinese culture), a form of racism historically descended from colonialism. Ever since taking a semester course on exoticism, I see it everywhere (I’ve written an essay about its prominence in the space-western TV series Firefly) and it bothers me.

I think I first noticed it in this song, touting the “unique” nature of China Town.

And speaking of songs... The choreography and dancing for this film – superb! Shahid’s always a brilliant dancer, and Upen Patel’s not shabby as a dancer even when he is a frustrating actor. Watching this one really made me realize that the last few films I watched before this were really not well-choreographed. But the sets for the songs – ridiculous! Someone was on crack! Case in point:

But then, this is a zany Bollywood whodunit. Maybe insane song sets were called for. 

11 Reasons Why Dostana is Better Than I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

This post! I've been wanting to do it ever since we started this blog, but I just got inspiration again finally and decided to sit down and knock it all out.

11 Reasons Why Dostana > Hollywood's Version

So, we all know it happens. Bollywood quite frequently and quite shamelessly rips off Hollywood films. Sometimes it's bad, sometimes it's brilliant. Right now, I want to talk about one that is BRILLIANT in all caps.

Dostana (2008), about two men who pretend to be gay to live in a nice apartment and get their immigration papers approved quicker, is a shameless copy of the Adam Sandler-Kevin James flick "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" (2007) about two firefighters who pretend to be gay to keep one's pension benefits.

I watched Dostana first several months ago with trepidation because I really didn't find Chuck & Larry to be that great of a movie. In fact, I found it pretty much downright unfunny. Personally I'm not the biggest fan of Adam Sandler, but the man definitely has his moments; I find Kevin James definitely funnier though he's also not a favorite.

Well let's just say I was more than pleasantly surprised when I watched Dostana. I was in fits of laughter the entire time, and this instantly catapulted itself into my favorites list. I then made sure that Kiwi and Papaya watched it. Papaya never saw Chuck & Larry, but Kiwi agrees that Dostana is a thousand times better. We now bring you some reasons why, then some rambling/expounding below.

1. Abhishek Bachchan is funnier than (professional comedians!) Adam Sandler and Kevin James combined.

2. John Abraham is a million times better-looking than Adam Sandler and Kevin James. And that may be an understatement.

3. Friendship is a more translatable message than the garbled gay-rights-maybe-law-maybe-sacrifice? message of Chuck & Larry.

4. Abhishek and John pull off being a gay couple better than Adam Sandler and Kevin James, even with the horribly fake kiss. I mean, really, this movie gave us AbhiJohn! And what did Chuck & Larry give us? ...more Adam Sandler and Kevin James.

5. Music like Desi Girl! (Which is my ringtone. Irony being that I am not a desi girl except at heart.)

6. Kirron Kher (aka Dimples! as we call her) coming in as Sameer's mother presents the horribly hilarious complication of family entanglements that fails with Larry's kids, who are barely around.

7. Chuck & Larry tries to make a comedy from a serious situation (James's character is losing pension benefits as a widower); Dostana is a comedy with a heartfelt basis.

8. Dostana is young and fun, and Chuck & Larry is... not. Kevin James and Adam Sandler are, well, old. And yes, old people are funny too, even James and Sandler (see: Grown-Ups, Paul Blart: Mall Cop), but the youth of Dostana is a definite appeal.

9. Miami > New York for comedy and sex appeal. Florida girls may be biased, but come on, you have to admit you go to South Beach for fun in the sun, not New York.

10. Jessica Biel's character may have more substance and brains than Priyanka Chopra's, but the love story in Dostana (with Bobby Deol) makes infinitely more sense.

11. Bollywood avoids sex, but even the bed scene was better!

I love Abhishek Bachchan for many reasons. The poor guy is one giant gangly, goofy teenager, though (you probably would be too if you were a 6'3" [195 cm] monstrosity in a country where the average man is 5'5" [165 cm]), and it sometimes makes his "serious" dances in other films... Well, laughable. I'm sorry, but the man is ALL LEGS and no rhythm. Here he just gets to be that wildly hilarious gangly awkward teenager and it's GREAT (again, see Desi Girl). As a matter of fact, I wish Abhi would quit trying to do too many serious roles (taking on drugs and stuff in Dum Maaro Dum) and just have fun more often (or mix them, like in Bunty Aur Babli).

John Abraham is another one that I feel often gets lost in more serious roles. The man is adorable. Like I love it when he makes his goofy-looking laugh face. Let him be adorable. And he's darn hot too. As petty as it sounds, I'm tired of him being in roles where he has horrible long hair and you can't enjoy the beauty that is John Abraham.

And even though the first time I watched it, I thought Abhimanyu (Bobby Deol) was the peepeeman, I have to admit, I became increasingly endeared to Bobby as I watched the film over and over again. And, wonder of all wonders, he doesn't have horrible hair in this one!

But anyway, back to the comparison this post is really about. Really, I think the main problem with Chuck & Larry is that the movie started with an issue and tried to spawn a comedy off of that issue, so it tries to straddle the line between serious ideology-thumping and comic situations and juxtapositions. The two don't really mix. On the other hand, Dostana starts off with a comic situation that gets even worse (when both Sameer and Kunal decide they've fallen in love with Neha), but the whole thing is interwoven (not straddled) with a story of friendship and acceptance (which go hand-in-hand).

Yes, perhaps Chuck & Larry has a more serious and/or tightly written plot, but I'd go to bat with you over the quality of its weaver work. Does Chuck & Larry weave in four love stories (Abhi-Neha, Kunal-Neha, Sameer-Neha, Sameer-Kunal), a kid and a begrudging mom? Nope!

And I will say that on the surface, Jessica Biel's character in Chuck & Larry gets a lot more brains and substance to her (she is a lawyer) than Priyanka Chopra's Neha, who has spunk but ends up mostly being just batted between the three guys that love her. BUT Jessica Biel has to walk around in a bra and underwear and put Adam Sandler's hands on her boobs for sex appeal. All Priyanka has to do is stand up in a shimmering gold one-piece bathing suit.

All the appeal with twice the clothes and none of the sluttiness. Doesn't that = more power?

In case you haven't gotten it yet, I think Dostana puts Chuck & Larry to shame, especially in the laughs department. This film never ceases to make me laugh, no matter how many times I watch it.

Oh Darling Yeh Hai India! (1995): Oh Darling, Yeh Hai... wth?

So this is probably going to be one of the smallest posts that we'll ever have here at Bollywood Queens (despite the fact that I'm sure it'll be longer than I intend).

The film: Oh Darling Yeh Hai India! (1995).

In brief, do not get tricked into watching this film! I picked it up off of a cheap DVD rack because it was a 90s film with SRK that I hadn't heard of, and, well, it was $4. Joke's on me. This was the absolute strangest thing I have ever seen in my life and the one classification that this film falls under is "WTH?!" Because that's what you'll be saying through the entire film.

All sorts of bizarre things happen in this film. It opens with a truckload of rowdy hookers riding down Marine Drive singing a "come hither" song. I should've known right then and there that this film was going to be a bizarre one. And when Anupam Kher showed up and he had hair, I really should've known; Anupam Kher barely had hair in DDLJ, which came out the same year. And "bizarre" is the understatement of the year. I watched a hooker beat up a guy with her boobs, a don's son dance like Michael Jackson to intimidate people, and an auction to sell India to the highest bidder. ...yes, you read all of those correctly.

Ignoring all of the completely strange things that happen in this film, even the premise is strange. A hooker bored with being a hooker, "Miss India" (Deepa Sahi), meets a homeless, down-on-his-luck-but-not-spirit actor who cops beat away from sleeping on railing, "Hero" (Shahrukh Khan), and promises him a meal if he'll entertain her for the night. Well, it turns out that said hooker is also the particular favorite of a big don's son, Prince (Javed Jaffrey), and he's not willing to let her go. At the same time, Prince's father Don Kihote (read: Don Quixote) (Amrish Puri) is launching a plan to take over India by replacing the president (Anupam Kher) with a surgically engineered lookalike (also Anupam Kher) who will then auction the country off to him.

Oh, yeah, this film is nuts. And you know those movies that are so bad they're funny? Well "Yeh Hai India" has its moments where it's so absurd it's hilarious, but for the most part, it's just a wth kind of bad.

These wonderful scene names and that gorgeous picture of (scary!) Amrish Puri tell all.

Also, I know that Bollywood films have a bit of a tendency to be a decade or half a decade behind the U.S. with trends (i.e. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai <3 circa 1998 watches like Saved by the Bell circa 1989), but this film was probably the most late-1980s film I have ever seen despite the fact that it's from '95. I was constantly reminded of early Full House and definitely Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (which came out in 1990 but is pretty 80s). That was at least somewhat fun. As were the following botched subtitles (fyi, check out Paagal Subtitle for the best of this kind of stuff!):

And even in this horrible-quality film as basically a hobo, Shahrukh is a real charmer. Even with this horrible material, the man was obviously a star. Thank God DDLJ followed right on the heels of this one and catapulted him up to his rightful place.

Speaking of DDLJ, I must also address Amrish Puri who, it would seem, worked with SRK thrice in 1995: here, DDLJ and Karan Arjun. Amrish Puri scares the living daylights out of me. He was scary as Simran's dad in DDLJ. He was seriously frightening as a maniacally scheming murderer in Karan Arjun. He was downright terrifying in this film as a don plotting to cause mass mayhem and murder. I am SO not kidding. I have never seen a villain in Bollywood that scares me more than one played by Amrish Puri. Even with scantily clad dancers prancing around him singing about the coming apocalypse.

<sarcasm> And even scarier is his son, who, knowing daddy's a badfanny, goes and dances people into submission! The horror! </sarcasm>

Prince dancing people into submission in a white suit. Not scary, though Amrish Puri really is a terror.

Hero is not bowed by Prince. And how true those words are, Shahrukh. How true.

 And for a film called "Yeh Hai India" (This is India), this is the worst portrait of India I've ever seen. Hookers and dons who want to buy the place and cops who beat at a hobo man and crowds/masses that cause riots and set things on fire. The song Yeh Hai India is kind of an interesting across-the-board take on upsides and downsides of India, but it's nothing much special either.

In effect, the only reason I would ever watch this film if I were you is if I were going on a campaign to watch every SRK film (a quest which I probably will formally embark on very, very soon). And even then, I'd think twice.

3 Idiots (2009): The perfect well-rounded film and the embodiment of college.

In keeping with the line of "highly anticipated films" that we seem to be on a streak of (with Aisha, Kites and Madrasapattinam) and a line of Aamir Khan, we now bring you a post on 3 Idiots. We'd heard so many good things about this film, and images from Zoobi Doobi were splashed across a copy of The Plot magazine (BIG Cinemas' magazine) that Papaya has from early 2010. We were shocked and dismayed when this highest-grossing Hindi film of all time (unadjusted AND adjusted) was nowhere to be found for months on end — not on Netflix, not in any regular store, not in the first bazaar we went to in the end of March. Luckily, we found it at the second bazaar we went to in April (the one in my college town). And then in May, after we'd bought it from the bazaar, it became available in the local Target and Walmart. Last month it also became available at home on our cable's pay-per-view. Go figure.

So let's just say that 3 Idiots is a big hit, and we all three understand why. After watching it multiple times and raving about it, Papaya and I shared the film with our 14-year-old brother and Kiwi shared it with her fiance. Neither watches Hindi films, but both thoroughly enjoyed 3 Idiots.

I don't know that I can sing the praises of this film enough, but I'm going to take a heck of a crack at it because IT IS A MILLION KINDS OF WONDERFUL.

I will now sing the praises of this film in chorus with these fellows!

The film, which I found out afterward is quite similar to Dil Chahta Hai in premise, has an across-the-board appeal: There's youth, age, humor, romance, friendship, art and a moving statement. It has a dose of just about everything a person could look for in a film. There are tests being failed, weddings being crashed (twice!), manhunts going on, lots of big dream-chasing, people being electrocuted, and so, so much more.

I think a good deal of the power of this movie is indeed attributable to Aamir Khan. I love all three Khans in their own right, and I feel like Aamir is often the underappreciated or at least dark horse Khan because he doesn't have Salman's attitude or Shahrukh's charm and flair. But whatever Aamir may lack in overwhelming star power, I've always found him to have this buddy-buddy have-a-good-time quality that gives him a level of chemistry with everyone he works with. I have seriously never seen an Aamir film where he didn't have chemistry with his co-stars — male and female alike.

This film is no exception — the three-way bromance between Aamir, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi is fun and heartfelt (there are many manly tears!) and committed — Raju jumps from a third-story window rather than choose between sacrificing Rancho to the principal or disappointing his family by being expelled.

I want to be in her place right here, with that dress and everything.

The chemistry between Aamir and Kareena Kapoor is also electric. While Bebo does have a tendency to get on my nerves (she has since my Hindi-film experience began with Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham), she and Aamir were a perfect blend of zany and brilliant together and I never felt annoyed with her once. (Even though the thought of Bebo as a doctor quite frightens me. I'm glad Pia was always a medical student, never shown as an actual doctor.)

Aamir also has a zany adorableness that shines and shines and shines in this film (which I think is part of the reason that the jodi with Kareena works) and is one of the reasons why I increasingly love Aamir. Shahrukh has a quick tongue-in-cheek humor, Salman does strange things with a straight face (like peeing on a haystack in Ready), but Aamir is just downright goofy. AND IT IS ADORABLE. And on top of that, the man is pretty much pint-sized by my standards (I'm actually taller than all three Khans, but Aamir is particularly tiny), which I find all the more adorable! Yes, Aamir is by far the most adorable of the Khans. (And Sharman Joshi also has a level of this zany adorableness, though he's not on par with Aamir.)

SO ADORABLE WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE IT!

I also love the soundtrack to this film. It's catchy, snazzy, fun, mellow and sweet in all of the appropriate levels. Kiwi, Papaya and I walk around singing and whistling "Aal Izz Well!" all the time.

The film also takes on real issues — the validity of the education system and student suicides — and grapples with them in powerful ways without allowing them to beat you over the head or be way out in left field like a lot of films (I'm looking at you here, Deepa Mehta). The film definitely has a darker side when dealing with gruesome suicide: One student, ironically named Joy, hangs himself from a ceiling fan, and Raju jumps from a three-story window to strike pavement below — pretty gruesome stuff. But it is a story about college and youth, and even the darker side of that can't drag this story down too far. The painful, weighty topic of suicide is balanced out by pee jokes and it WORKS.

In fact, I think this is a brilliant college film — possibly the most brilliant college film I’ve ever seen — because it captures just about every faucet of college: friendships, enemies, tests, the greater struggle of learning, growing up, facing parents, having fun, watching classmates fail, depression, pressure... And one thing that's utterly amazing to me is how well Aamir, at 46 years old, plays a college student so freaking perfectly. I think he'd play a better college student than me and I am one.

Such a perfect little crazy brilliant genius.

The questions that 3 Idiots poses about the value of education are also really thought-provoking. You have the character of "Rancho" who *spoiler alert* isn't actually Ranchoddas Shamladas Chanchad (what a name!) but goes through all of college under that name to get the degree for another man — and all Rancho gets out of it is the benefit of learning. Now, I really love learning. I really do. But there are times in college where the only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that I'll soon have degrees to show for it (T-minus six months!). This film presents the question of how much do we really learn for learning's sake? How do we really experience learning when we're so focused on that piece of paper at the end? And also a slight related nitpick after this, since Rancho goes off and becomes a scientist after he falls off the radar... How does he do that without a degree? How does one secure research funding without a degree and credentials? Forgive me, I'm just a little skeptical.

The only other thing that bothers me really in this film is the scene where the baby is delivered. I'm usually not a big fan of babies-being-delivered scenes in films period, although I will admit that I saw great purpose in this scene. It shows that Rancho thinks on his feet and applies his engineering knowledge to real life (not that you didn't know that from the first scene where he electrocutes a guy with a spoon) and it repairs the divide between Virus and Rancho. Buttttttt for a film this well-made, you'd think they could have done better than one of the fakest looking babies I've ever seen in a film!

It was inevitable that even Virus would love Rancho at the end. He's that loveable.

Annnnd now that I went through this whole post, I really want to watch this film again! Unfortunately, I am in New York and my DVD is in Florida. -__-

Lagaan Redux: 7 Basic Reasons to Love Lagaan as a Film

Well, as promised, here I am again with another post about Lagaan. I promise this post will be much simpler and easier to read than the last one, in part because it’s a more basic look about the things to like about Lagaan and in part because my brain is kind of fried at the moment!

Some of the many good reasons that Lagaan is a great film that’s easy to enjoy:

1.         Aamir Khan. Aamir is just an all-around likeable guy (which I'll probably end up talking about in my 3 Idiots post), and as Bhuvan that’s no different. He’s perfect for this role – fun, defiant, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, Aamir makes the audience connect with Bhuvan. Lagaan was my first non-SRK Hindi film, which was a feat since Shahrukh's charm was a part of the reason I fell for Bollywood, as amazing as that sounds. When I read Anupama Chopra's biography of Shahrukh, "King of Bollywood," I discovered that Shahrukh was actually originally supposed to play Bhuvan in Lagaan. As much as I love that man (a lot), I'm glad he wasn't in this film. I doubt Shahrukh's flair could have adequately filled the role of defiant but down-to-earth Bhuvan. Aamir is the man for this film.

2.         The love story. In a story so thoroughly pervaded by serious themes (see the epic essay post that preceded this), the love story of this film is so light and fun. Aamir plays a wonderful coy lover to poor exasperated Gauri, who was also so well-played by Gracy Singh that I had trouble believing this was her first film. Oh, and Lagaan contains what I still maintain to be the most romantic line I have ever heard in my entire life: "There's only one house in the village with a neem tree in the yard. There's also a big field beside it. There's some chickens, two cows, and three goats. And I know whose house that is! It's mine, you silly girl! One thing before you go. Mother likes you, too!" Yes, that makes absolutely NO sense out of context and it’s probably weird regardless of context, but it is so sweet!

3.         Everyone else in the film. I feel like every single actor in this film was perfectly cast and had a perfect performance. From Paul Blackthorne (who I always love as a villain; see White Collar!) as villain Andrew Russell to Rajesh Vivek as crazy Guran, everyone in this film was a character who held his or her own.

4.         The music. The music of the film is effectively flawless while also being broad and deep. It remains one of my favorite all-around soundtracks (the complete soundtrack of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam is perhaps the only thing that comes close to rivaling it). A particular favorite is Radha Kaise Na Jale.

5.         The film is fair to the white characters. I know this probably sounds horrible, like the white person who has no right to complain, but it’s hard for me to watch films that blindly “strike back” at whites as a whole without considering that not everyone took or takes an equal part in colonialism or racism. (Speaking of HumDil De Chuke Sanam, that’s one that shows my point: All Italians are outrageously, inhumanly bad; Namastey London is another.) In this film, Elizabeth and the two white cricket umpires are not evil whites. In fact, they side quite frequently with the Indians over their “own” Englishmen, all because of a sense of fairness. That's basic humanity, not racism.

6.         Cricket, of course. Sports movies always know how to keep the action moving – and Lagaan’s cricket match manages to do that for nearly two hours, which is amazing! And as I briefly said in my other post about this film, Lagaan really takes the time to mostly walk you through cricket, so you can understand it even if you didn’t before. I credit Lagaan (and in part, Dil Bole Hadippa) for getting me attached to cricket. Me, a random American who doesn’t even keep up with baseball, the American equivalent. Now that’s something.

7.         The time period. I’ve said twice before that I am an avid fan of the period piece in more than just Hindi film. But in particular, the time period of this film allows for dynamic settings and brilliant costuming. It also, of course, takes a dive into one of the fascinatingly transitional periods of Indian history.

Annnnnd we’re going to end it there because I think my brain is now completely dead. I know there was more I wanted to say and had planned to say, but all mental function has now stopped.

But needless to say over the past few days of mulling quite frequently over Lagaan, I’m about to be on the hunt for it in the DVD shops!

NEW: Always Kabhi Kabhi (2011): Are you sure you're 18?

Once again I put all pending reviews on hold! This time for the new release Always Kabhi Kabhi. After a day spent in Little India in Jackson Heights, Queens – which was AWESOME even though I ached but was too chicken to go into the sari shops for bangles and clothing (curse my awkward whiteness!) – I came back and went over to the theater to see AKK. This viewing experience was much more like watching a Bollywood flick in the theater back home (as opposed to my viewing experience at Ready): in a non-Bollywood theater, mostly empty, me the only non-Indian person in attendance.

But anyway, you want to know about the film.

Synopsis: Tariq (Satyajeet Dubey), Sameer (Ali Fazal), Nandini (Zoa Morani) and Aishwarya (Giselli Monteiro) are four students going through their senior (12th standard?) year at St. Mark’s High School, struggling with life, love and friendship all along the way. Tariq’s a nerd pressured by his parents to carry on the family tradition of MIT grads. His best friend is cool-guy Sameer, who always seems to mess something up, especially in the eyes of his overbearing father. Nandini (aka Nandu aka Nandy Bull) is a rebel wild-child with absentee parents. And Aishwarya’s the gorgeous daughter of a former film star mom who pressures her to become a model and actress.

I thought this movie would be a kind of cute young adult high school story and was moderately looking forward to it. Of course I probably would have seen it anyway since it’s under the Red Chilies banner, produced by Gauri Khan.

Sum total, my opinion of the film is this: It has its moments, but mostly I think everybody involved in this film has forgotten what it was like to be 18, which is how old the protagonists are supposed to be. The film wavers between having them act 25 to having them act 13 and doesn’t really land anywhere in between.

As someone who’s really, really not that far from 18 herself, I feel kind of offended at their view of 18-year-olds. I didn’t go to normal high school and I certainly didn’t go to high school in Delhi, but these kids act far, far more like middle school kids in my opinion. Yes, 18-year-olds (actually 20-somethings too) act like they're 10 or maybe even 5 at times, but usually that's in fun times with good friends. Not all the time bratty.

Do these kids look 18?

The only one who really may have hit it square on is utter freshman (first film?! wow!) Zoa Morani, playing a rebellious but inwardly hurt 18-year-old. Her performance and character was the only thing really keeping me tied to the film. She commanded the scenes she was in and demanded to be noticed.

Zoa takes over as, aptly named, Nandy the Bull.

Both the male leads are somewhere in between for me, but on the other end of the spectrum is Giselli Monteiro. Now I know she’s been catching a lot of flak for being a foreigner playing an Indian, and honestly that doesn’t bother me. More power to her, even. And I have to admit, the girl is pretty gorgeous. And I liked her all right in Love Aaj Kal. But here she has NO acting presence AT ALL. She’s awkward and numb and just… there. And for all the fact of her playing a girl who doesn’t WANT to be a model, it might help if, well, she stopped standing or sitting around like a model (and also DRESSING like one; her wardrobe people deserve a thumbs-down too).

The couples in this film are also kind of too-oddly paired and the chemistry doesn’t really go. I wanted to like Ali Fazal after loving his brief bit in 3 Idiots, but I really couldn’t love him all the way. He certainly had me about half of the time but only half. And then to put his character, Sameer into a relationship trying fervently to woo a reluctant Ash… Well, presence-less Giselli ruined that one. You can’t woo someone who’s not really there. And the other couple, Nandy and Tariq, just didn’t make the transition from friends to lovers enough. The beginning of the transition was good, but then they were just all of a sudden together. Didn’t work.

So with all of that happening, many of the scenes just didn’t have chemistry because too much was trying to go on/everything was too forced. The songs were, while awkwardly placed within the film, pockets of fresh air I needed to make it through this film. The few scenes I think that really, really had chemistry were mostly in the songs (some of which had the most ridiculously too-young-for-high-schoolers lyrics) where there was just fun going on. Youth and music mix well together. As do youth and social media, something that was used effectively in some parts and underutilized in others.

Oh, and another thing… The lingo of this film! I don’t know if it’s a cultural difference, but most of the lingo in this film was ridiculous! What 18-year-old is going to use the lingo that’s in the song Antenna?

Oh, but speaking of that song… Be sure to stick around into the end reprisal of Antenna! It features a special appearance from Mr. Red Chilies himself, SRK. :D 

Anyone that knows me at all probably knows that this instantly made the film a few degrees better. What can I say? I love and adore that man for reasons I can’t even begin to fathom. I was honestly disappointed when I read his tweet the other day that said, “Wish the cast and crew of always kabhi kabhi...most love and hope all like the work. Hectic shoot so couldn't be around...sorry guys & girls.” The sneaky little rascal. And I joked to Papaya via text that SRK acts more like an 18-year-old than any of the others, and he's 46! But watching that performance made me SO much more excited for Ra.One. October can’t come fast enough.

Summarily, age-inappropriate Always Kabhi Kabhi is definitely, definitely skippable. If you want some part of the film…Watch the songs. Leave it at that.