How I fell in love with Bollywood movies … via a little movie called Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

It’s a question I have to answer on an almost monthly and sometimes weekly basis: How did you fall in love with Bollywood movies?

Since this week is the 16th anniversary of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which was my first Bollywood movie, it seemed time to finally write a blog post about it. The story has a little flair of the dramatic -- as it probably should when it relates to Bollywood and especially a Karan Johar movie -- but at its heart is really quite simple.
In college, I had a roommate who loved all things Asian, and I had the apartment’s only Netflix subscription back when they mostly did DVDs. She guilt tripped me into ordering her favorite Indian movie, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which I kept pushing down my queue because I didn’t want to read subtitles and hell I couldn’t even pronounce the title. But finally the time came to sit down for a three and a half hour (!!!!) marathon.

Spoiler alert: I laughed, I cried, I maybe even fell in love.

2014 IIFA Awards up close and personal: A disastrous, infuriating mess

Two weekends ago now, I attended the International Indian Film Academy — IIFA — Awards here in own back yard of Tampa Bay as a member of the media — a dream come true, right? A dream that led me to come home early from India, to skip a trip to Assam.

Boy, did I end up regretting that.

I've watched IIFA broadcasts before and was so excited to see it up close and personal, but I came out of it realizing that IIFA is much, much better enjoyed as a TV show. Covering IIFA was a terrible, terrible experience that given the chance I’d never choose again. It was infuriatingly unprofessional and much less than promised (more on that later). And I'm not the only one who feels that way. I've heard complaints from everywhere, and there's even a survey circulating about how awful the experience was. Some others have made me feel like a whiny baby though (boohoo the stars came to my back yard but didn't want to see me), so I've held back on posting even after writing this epically long rant days after the events ended. But, nope, most of the fury hasn't died down.

I get the impression that IIFA’s “imperfections” are generally glossed over by media and everyone else, but I’m not one to sugarcoat things — ever — so here goes nothing.

NEW: Krrish 3: the movie that will not die

Synopsis: Now-married and domesticated superhero Krishna/Krrish (Hrithik Roshan) gets a supervillain: Kaal (Vivek Oberoi), a paraplegic telekinetic who is obsessed with finding bone marrow to fix his paralysis and thus fuses his odd DNA with animal DNA to create mutant humans. The mutants don’t help his marrow problem, but they do help him in his evil quest to rule the world by creating viruses and the providing an antidote based on that same wacky DNA.

This post should start with the disclosure that I haven’t — sadly — seen Koi Mil Gaya or Krrish. I have some idea of what happens in both and had every intention of watching both (especially Koi Mil Gaya, given my affinity for aliens and science fiction) before Krrish 3’s release, but, well, it didn’t happen.

So I was able to come in this with a fresh set of eyes that turned out to be mostly skeptical.

Okay, Krrish is a pretty cool all-purpose superhero. I will give him that.

But Krrish 3 mostly turns out to be the kind of overloaded superhero movie that makes you cringe at the plethora of superhero types.

The ridiculous image I can't seem to shake: Hrithik Roshan as Superman

I know this is totally coming out of left field (is there a cricket equivalent to that baseball idiom?), but I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since I found a GIF of Hrithik in Na Tum Jaano Na Hum that somehow struck me as Superman/Clark Kent-esque.

Who better out of Bollywood to play Superman than Hrithik? I know that question is in and of itself UTTERLY absurd considering — who’s going to come snooping around Bollywood to cast an American icon? (Letting Henry Cavill, a Brit, play Superman is also just weird. To me, at least.)

But setting that aside, let us consider a few marks in his favor.

Who has better muscles in all of Bollywood? Answer: No one. (Sure, there are some others that have very impressive physiques — John Abraham and Salman Khan come to mind— but none of them quite have Hrithik’s chiseled look.)

Previous Supermans — George Reeves, Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, Tom Welling, Brendan Routh, Henry Cavill — have all been dark-haired, tall, striking gentlemen with mostly long, straight noses. Mostly light-eyed, too excepting Dean Cain (although sometimes filmmakers have gotten way out of hand with playing up blue eyes). For all of which Hrithik fits the bill again (though I’m pretty certain he lightens his hair these days).

Transformation from nerdy journalist to suave superhero is a must for any would-be Superman. I’m convinced Hrithik can manage.

Hrithik has already played a superhero with alien powers in Krrish. Has to count for something, right?(Admittedly I haven’t seen any of the Krrish movies, yet...)

The only major drawback is that Hrithik has to convince us somehow that he crash landed and was raised in Kansas. But, eh, he can manage that one challenge, right? After all... he'd be Superman. :)

Now the real question is... Who would be Lois Lane?

EDIT: I’m apparently not the only one who thinks this. (Ignore the comment there about Hrithik being one of the few good Indian actors; we all know there’s more than one way to skin a cat. ....and again with my American idioms.)

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham revisited: a Bollywood anniversary

Well, the time around Thanksgiving was not just a holiday for me. It also marked my one-year anniversary with Bollywood. Sometime around Thanksgiving (or a little after) last year, I watched my first Bollywood film, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, with my then-roommate.

I was reluctant to watch it, actually, because of the subtitles. But little did I know what would result! I fell in love with K3G almost immediately (almost meaning after that confusing opening scene that I still don't love) and that was the launching pad to my Bollywood obsession.

Well, on the occasion of my Bollywood anniversary, I wanted to do a list of the 120+ films I've seen in the year since then, but I lost my list somewhere and most of my viewing history was wiped out when I canceled my Netflix account a few months ago. So instead I only get to do the other thing I wanted to: an assessment of how far I've come in that year. Aka watching K3G again and thinking back to the first time I watched it (or even the first three times I watched it within a two-week span because I was introducing it to other people).

I realize now that watching Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham — whose title I couldn't even remember or pronounce — there were so many things I straight-up didn’t understand. Some of them you think I would with my literary background that has a definite lean toward India and colonialism. But, nope, I was clueless.

NEW: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara: An adventure in Spain and in life

Ahhhh! I’m back! Finally! Due to extreme busyness (if you follow me on Twitter, you know about what), I haven’t had time to consume Bollywood in almost two weeks (apart from Murder 2). I was going through some serious withdrawals and yesterday ended my busyness... So! Once again, I completed the now-ritual weekly trip to the theater for a dose of Bollywood.

Yesterday, it was FINALLY one of the ones I’ve been waiting for, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. And when I say waiting for... I use that somewhat loosely. I’ve been anticipating it for a couple of months, but nothing near my fangirlish anticipation of Ra.One, Mausam and Don 2.

Speaking of which, I saw the trailers today for those last two and OMG SO EXCITED. (I’m glad I didn’t see a Ra.One promo though; it would have sent me over the edge!)

Also interesting note, I saw this film in an AMC theater, which is closer than the Big Cinemas theaters but where the audience is usually different and much smaller (and sometimes bizarre, like when I saw Murder 2). This was the first time I’ve seen a Hindi film in an AMC theater and been part of an actually decent crowd. One of the old white men from before was there again and was kinda obnoxious (in fact, he bought his ticket ahead of me and TOTALLY botched pronouncing Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara), but the crowd was mostly desi. :)

Synopsis: As Kabir (Abhay Deol) prepares to get married, he and friends Arjun (Hrithik Roshan) and Imran (Farhan Akhtar) set off for a “bachelor trip” across Spain. But Kabir is struggling relationship stres, financial trader Arjun is obsessed with money and never stops to enjoy life, and Imran is hoping to meet a man he only recently found out was his biological father. The three longtime friends set out to capture life and bond anew over adventures that also run them into Laila (Katrina Kaif), a half-white half-Indian free-spirited girl who travels at her whim.

First, let’s get the obligatory out of the way: Abhay Deol is FREAKING ADORABLE. Hrithik Roshan is a mighty fine-looking man, especially with his curls kicked into high gear by the salt water and a little bit of tan. (Although, random side-note, Abhay’s character struck me as randomly metrosexual at times and Hrithik kept wearing cuffed pants that showed off his ankles, which is SO annoying to me.)

Now if you read my Kites post, you know that besides Indian culture, I am all about Hispanic culture too (especially Mexico). Although I admit I don’t quite include Spain on the same level as my Latin American loves (and admittedly Spain Spanish is almost obnoxious to me; I blame it on spending too much time around Mexicans), the traditions of Spain have a certain special place in my heart too. So, you should know this film was almost destined to be a hit with me right off the bat just by blending Hindi and Spanish. And it certainly does that in a pretty fabulous way. (Also, random side note, but Hrithik speaks no less than four languages in this film: Hindi, English, Spanish and Japanese.)

And in truth, this song Señorita was one of my favorite scenes in the film (and is already on my iPod) partially because of the Hindi-Spanish blend. It also has the added amazingness of the three leads having actually sung the song (Abhay’s voice is, in the words of Papaya, “almost silly” but I LOVE it) and this awesome fun dance number.

(Video is promo with partial song.)

I joked to my Papaya that ZNMD is the bromance that Delhi Belly wishes it had. The camaraderie in this film is gorgeous; the men struggle, help one another through fear and emotional turmoil, laugh, cry, joke, talk women and cars, and do everything together. Farhan Akhtar’s Imran reminds me of that somewhat douchey but thoroughly hilarious friend that everyone has.

This film is about three men who thought they knew who they were, what made them happy and what they wanted from life... Finding out they didn’t really know at all. So they go on all sorts of adventures in Spain that force them to confront their fears and their confusion. It’s about living and letting go of things you don’t want to let go of. It’s of course too idealistic in that way that all films are, but that’s OK because all films are like that. In truth, some scenes drag out for a long time like they’re supposed to be super meaningful but they take it too far, but for the most part, I thought the message of this film connected. It was a nice emotional ride.

The movie was also funny -- at some point, at least everyone in the theater from young to old laughed. It’s got an element of that gene that all men have where they never quite seem to grow up or grow out of silly pranks. And there are enough jokes about enough different things that it keeps you entertained and smiling.

There’s also kissing and sex, but it’s surprisingly well done and not awkward like most of the other stuff I’ve seen lately.

 And while on the subject of physical love, the love story in this film was pretty nice too. Laila (Katrina Kaif) basically teaches Arjun how to live in the moment and experience life, and he falls in love with her in the process. Now, often to me Katrina Kaif is annoying, maybe because she’s so often given preppy, kind of dumb-blond roles. But in this, the girl she plays is amazing and I love it. Laila is someone who lives life on her own terms and doesn’t stop to think about what other people think. She’s also a deep-sea-diving, motorcycle-riding kind of girl who’s not afraid to get dirty. I love this empowering view of women in a movie that’s basically about bachelorhood.

I just wish they hadn’t played out female stereotypes in the character of Natasha, Kabir’s fiancée. Natasha is basically, pardon my language, a bitch who takes over everything and only thinks about herself. And she’s the stereotypical rich bitchy woman who also can’t drive (because we all know that women can’t drive *eyeroll*).

Overall, though, I don’t see why anyone shouldn’t enjoy this movie (except for maybe little kids), although from reviews, it appears that a lot of people didn’t.

I honestly don’t understand why others didn’t like it, but maybe I enjoy it more because in a lot of ways, I have a “man’s” taste. I can appreciate the epicness of skydiving and running with the bulls and a roadtrip in an awesome car (I think but can’t confirm it’s a late-40s convertible Buick Eight). But whatever the reasons, I certainly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend seeing it. :)

Kites (2010): Mexico + India + Vegas = Que no es amar, mi amor? Aur kya pyaar karane ke lie nahin hai?

As you may have noticed, we're not only messing around with the layout but also clearing a backlog of posts. We watched a lot of films in a short amount of time and then got really busy, me especially with moving stuff up to New York, and didn't post about the films that we watched.

So still likely to come up soon for reviews/posts are Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (Papaya has been working on it for two months now...), 3 Idiots (now one of my fave films!), Break Ke Baad, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, Mere Baap Pehle Aap, Dil Chahta Hai and Bunty Aur Babli. There's probably more than that, but those are the ones I can think of right away.

Kites (2010)

Jay (Hrithik Roshan) is a dance teacher in Las Vegas who also chases money – including gambling and marrying immigrant women to get them green cards in exchange for cash. When Gina, the daughter of a rich casino owner falls for him, Jay goes along with it to marry into money. Later he finds out that the family dabbles in illegal activities as well, and then that Gina’s violent, ruthless brother Tony (Nicholas Brown) is engaged to Mexican bombshell “Natasha,” better known as Linda (Barbara Mori), the last immigrant that Jay married. Entranced, Jay draws her out for a night to discuss their “divorce” (which only halfway makes sense, just FYI), but the romantic night turns into a run for their lives and the Mexico border when Tony arrives.

Like Aisha, this is one we waited for a long time. Much longer, in fact. We cursed Netflix repeatedly for months until FINALLY they got the DVD. So, pardon much rambling because due to the nature of the film, there must be… much rambling.

Obviously, as you can tell by the fact that we have this blog, the things we talk about on this blog and the amount of Indian film we consume, we (like most of you, I'd hope) have a minor obsession with Indian culture and/or all things Indian. Well, truth be told, we also have a (possibly larger) obsession with Mexico and all things Mexican. We all speak varying degrees of Spanish, eat Mexican food like it's manna from heaven, are planning a cruise to Cozumel if and when funds arise, and have Mexico T-shirts from the FIFA World Cup. Yes, we are possibly a little psychotic, but the takeaway message is WE LOVE MEXICANS.

So basically when we found out that Kites is in Hindi and Spanish and set partially in Mexico, well, we were rather excited. I believe my literal reaction was captured by Papaya in tweet: "lexiburpsalot (talking about #Kites) @nercabeyul: "It happens in MEXICO?!" *flails* (yes, she literally flailed) "WE HAVE TO SEE IT!!"" Heh.

The fact that you get to see Hrithik in traditional Mexican garb COMPLETE WITH SOMBRERO may make the entire thing worth watching anyway. ;)

Oh, hello, sombrero!

Designed matador pants too, eh?

 In many ways, Kites lived up to my expectations. It was beautifully shot. The majority of the film was overall beautifully crafted. It’s sexy (very sexy) and much more fast-paced and action-packed than I expected. The name “Kites” is kind of deceptively mellow – the film has one quote in the beginning about kites, but basically it has nothing at all to do with kites.

Hrithik Roshan is a gem. The man can woo and be sexy (he was looking especially fine in this film, if I may say so) and do comedy and shoot people. And even more than that, the man can dance. As in my mind can sometimes not even comprehend the ways in which he can move. I wish we'd actually gotten more of him dancing.

There seemed to be a lot of complaints in reviews about Barbara Mori and her acting. I really didn’t see it. She was kind of smiley to the point of being annoying, but I think she played her role very well. In later scenes when she had to grapple with some very serious emotion, she pulled it off convincingly and movingly. She and Hrithik also had fantastic chemistry, as I'm sure you can see from the photos lacing this post.

So cute together and such lovely chemistry.

But may I just point out that, based on wardrobe, we appear to have gone from Mexico to Hawaii?

The casting of the bad guy, though – Tony, Linda's finacé/Jay's potential brother-in-law, played by Nicholas Brown – bothered me. His voice just felt strained the entire time he spoke English (and half of the time when he spoke Hindi), and considering the actor is Australian, I think it's an attempt to have the correct accent that just... didn't turn out well. On top of the thinness of Tony as a villain, it was just annoying.

And while we’re speaking of speaking, let’s talk language. The blending of languages is a habit of mine (or ours... among ourselves, we speak our own hybrid blend of about four languages), and having a film in Spanish and Hindi was just flat-out awesome.  (Also, I now wonder... would a Bollywood blog in Spanish go over well? Hmmm...) 

My poor brain likes to confuse languages though, so that was fun. I once watched a chunk of Lagaan with Spanish subtitles right before going to sleep, and I woke up SO CONFUSED with my brain counting, "Ek, do, tres, cuatro..." This was less confusing than that, but my poor brain still struggled a little to separate as either Spanish or Hindi what I was hearing and comprehending. That being said, I had my doubts about the number of people in this film who spoke both. One of the central cruxes of the film is that Jay and Linda fall in love with one another even though they don't speak a common language (except a smattering of English that Linda can pick out). But never fear, for there are about five different people who pop up in this film with fluency in both Spanish and Hindi to translate between the two.

*hem* The only common language Jay and Linda have is sex and money, but they seem OK with that.

At the same time, as much as I love the idea, I'm kind of skeptical of a love that develops between two people who can't even speak the same language. I know so many films in Bollywood hinge on the idea of love that develops rapidly and even nonsensically, and I accept that on almost every occasion. It's part of the aesthetic, and on some level we all want to believe in lasting love that forms almost immediately between two people, regardless of circumstance. But yes, honestly I'm a little bit bothered by this one. How fully can you understand a person, much less love him or her, when you can't... well... understand him or her?

And another language nitpick I have, even though it is, well, nitpicky: Linda's able to send Jay a text message in perfect English, despite a relatively firm establishment in the film that she can only speak broken English. In my personal experience, even my Mexican friends that have been in the U.S. for four years (much longer than Linda) and learned to speak English relatively well can't text in grammatically correct English.

Confused Jay walking around, trying to remember how this film was going...

The film is also somewhat confusingly told in a series of flashbacks, but that's probably an intentional attempt to throw you off balance, especially with the ending, which, though I won't go into detail, is a truly painful downer and both evocative and somewhat silly at the same time. I understand it somewhat on an intellectual level, but it still feels like a degree of escapism to me.

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the action in this film. I'm sure we all know the painfulness that is poor-quality action scenes – from muggings and fistfights to wars – in Hindi films. There weren't any awkward punching scenes or blatant ridiculousness going on. Which, you know, is a good thing since most of the film has action.

I can never tell how I feel about the "running-away-from-the-bad-guys" plot line. I tend to roll my eyes at the plots because they usually get a little stale after a while (frantic running, near-capture, being shot at, time of peace, repeat – *yawn*), but at the same time, I did just write an entire novel that has the characters running away for the entire book. lol. It's an easy way to keep throwing out constant moments of suspense. So sometimes I get tired of it, sometimes I’m OK. In the end, I don’t know which sometimes rules more.

Moment of peace while evil evil people are chasing after us.

Ultimately, Kites is one that I loved enough that it’s now on my to-buy list, and I definitely plan on rewatching it again in the near future, even if I don’t watch it all the way to the, well, conclusion.