So this is a little outside of my usual realm of Bollywood reviews, but this is something I wish I had been able to find a couple of months ago when I moved to New York.
A Guide to Finding Bollywood and Desi in New York (Mostly Manhattan)
Basically, I want to put out there what I’ve learned so far in the hopes that it might help someone else.
Here’s the knowledge that’s easy to find on the Web: Little India, Jackson Heights, Queens is the place to go for all things Indian. Cheap DVDs, food everywhere, sari/clothing shops, jewelry stores — everything is in Jackson Heights, right off of the subway stop.
But what if you can’t get out to Queens? It’s a long haul from Manhattan to Jackson Heights. (Honestly, I’ve only made the hour-long trip once so far and am going again next weekend.)
Here’s what I’ve found in Manhattan:
Music of India at 28th and Lexington, on the second floor above a cafe. This is my Bollywood DVD store in NYC — and, of course, it can be your music store too, if that’s what you’re after. The DVDs range in price. There’s a four for $20 rack, some $9.99, some collection sets… It just depends. But the selection is pretty darn good.
Now where to see the new releases?
Well, there’s a few options. On the Upper East Side, you have BIG Cinemas Manhattan (formerly the ImaginAsian) on 59th Street near Second Avenue. This theater is very small, though, and is usually showing only one or two films at a time. BIG Cinemas also has a larger theater that shows Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Hollywood films out in Flushing, Queens, (the Bombay Theatre) but it’s hard to get to (requires subway and a bus or at least two buses). Honestly, the one over the river in New Jersey is easier to get to, and it’s also large and multilingual. Both of those other BIG theaters are also cheaper than the Manhattan one, though it may even out with transportation costs.
Actually, your best bet for Bollywood is the AMC Loews theaters. Some of these are also in Jersey, but the AMC Loews Village 7 in the East Village is easy to get to (really, really easy for me) and it’s usually carrying at least one and sometimes two Bollywood films at a time. PLUS, if you can catch a movie before noon (I’ve been going on Saturday mornings), it’s only $6.
Now let’s move past Bollywood to other things desi.
Little India at 28th and Lexington (near Music of India). This grocery store isn’t the best (last time I went in, there were flies everywhere) and it’s kind of pricey, but this is my Indian grocery. It has almost everything you could want. Also at 28th and Lex, there’s plenty of restaurants, including Curry in a Hurry (which isn’t always in a hurry but is nice anyway).
Heart of India at Second Avenue and Fifth Street. This is definitely my go-to Indian restaurant. It’s in the East Village not far from my apartment, the food is SO good, the atmosphere is classy, and the prices are CHEAP. Now, the one possible complaint about the food is that some of it is occasionally bland by Indian standards. But speak your mind on spice and that shouldn’t be a problem. The waiters are all SUPER nice too. Also nearby to Heart of India is a sari shop of which I don’t know the name and the Pak Punjab Deli.
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 fromMurder 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. :)
So it appears that our Imran “week” will be something more akin to an Imran “days” as we’ll probably pack in our posts within the next two days and then have something on Delhi Belly after we see it Saturday. We just have ambitions that are greater than our free time at the moment, it seems.
Of course, it appears to be only fitting that the film reviews of Imran Appreciation (insert word for short timespan here) starts with Imran’s first film as an adult: Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. (And as probably could be predicted, it’s by yours truly, the Mighty Mango, because the others here are notoriously hard to get in gear.)
Synopsis: On the cusp of graduating and learning to make it in the real world, best friends Jai “Rats” Singh Rathore (Imran Khan) and Aditi “Meow” Mahant (Genelia D’Souza) face a lot of choices. They’ve been so close through school that everyone has assumed they’re together as a couple -- Aditi’s parents even ask seriously when the wedding will be. But Jai, who’s a pacifist, and Aditi, aggressive and impulsive, are convinced they’re all wrong for each other and each sets out to pick the perfect mate for the other, not realizing, of course, that everyone around them was right all along. Meanwhile, Aditi grapples with chasing a dream in America, and Jai unknowingly struggles to suppress a violent family nature that would fill his late father’s conditions for him becoming a man. The narrative is framed as a story recounted by Jai and Aditi’s group of friends -- Bombs, Jiggy, Rotlu and Shaleen -- to their new friend Mala.
Speaking of groups of friends, I feel like that’s a good place to start. This is a great movie about friendship and love. In case you haven’t already figured this out, I’m a big fan of fun friendship movies. I just feel like friendship is such a universal concept that an audience can connect with, and when real friendship works among the cast, it creates real chemistry that gives a film a firm foundation to build on. When you create that kind of atmosphere around a set, the film attains a smooth feel that almost guarantees a success.
And this film has a great bunch of friends who are the right mix of zany and serious. While I will say not all of the characters were necessarily deep enough to stick in my mind (had to look up almost all of their names for the synopsis), they were a delightful cast of supporters.
Of course the main feature of the film is the complicated friendship-relationship between Aditi and Jai. I think one of the big reasons that I like this film is that it plays with the dynamic of a friendship-relationship really well. Jai and Aditi understand that they love one another as friends and just don’t understand that they really love one another more than that. The film plays on the theme that love is based in friendship (Shahrukh is in my head right now saying, “Pyaar dosti hai: Agar woh meri sab se acchi dost nahin ban sakti toh main us se pyaar kar hi nahin sakta” [hopefully I said that all correctly]) but with the idea that they’re too confused by that love to chase it outright. It’s love and friendship with a twist.
For example, take "Kahin To Hogi Wo." That whole scene just about makes me want to cry because poor Jai and Aditi are both hopelessly in love with one another, but they’re confused and with other people and both jealous...
But before we get to this whole mess, we have a bunch of wonderful friendship moments. Like, and sorry I’m going to refer so much songs here, but "Kabhi Kabhi Aditi," where Jai tries to cheer up Aditi and we’re treated to plenty of adorable Imran, and "Pappu Can’t Dance," which is a fun group song.
Speaking of people who can’t dance... I’m afraid I must add Imran to this list. I know I’m probably getting a reputation as a dancing critic after mentioning Abhishek Bachchan’s gangliness, Saif Ali Khan’s stiffness + lack of rhythm and Salman Khan’s infuriating lack of motion or enthusiasm, but when you have to watch so much dancing... You notice these things.
Imran’s lack of dancing prowess is much milder than those mentioned above, and it’s often well-hidden. I cite this film as an example. Imran doesn’t actually dance-dance very often, if you pay attention. And when he does, it’s in a group or goofing off, so you don’t really notice. Like, again, if you go back to "Kabhi Kabhi Aditi," Imran is just having fun through the song, being adorable. And honestly I’m convinced the fact that he can’t dance doesn’t at all detract from his appeal, either.
Instead of dancing, we get lots of this dramatic arm-fling during songs.
Now if I can refer back to the post I made earlier this week, you’ll remember I said while Imran lacks in overwhelming star power, he has instead a cool, relaxed demeanor. This film pretty much capitalizes on that in a way I don’t know that I’ve seen another film do. For most of the film, Jai is just kind of cruising along, all passive. But by the end of the film, Jai finally gets worked up enough to punch Aditi’s fiancé Sushant in the face and you get to rejoice that he finally got fed up enough to do it.
Speaking of that, the storyline about pacifist Jai and his true heritage -- as a member of the violent Rathore clan in which you must hit a man, go to jail and ride a horse to “become a man” -- was just about the strangest, most ill-placed element I’ve ever seen in a film. (Well, perhaps it’s second to the headless horseman pot-growing detour in Tees Maar Khan. Perhaps.) Apart from the fact that the name Rat-hore made me laugh every two seconds, IT WAS SO WEIRD and had nothing to do with anything! In a film dealing with the complex line between love and friendship, there’s a dead dad painting that has arguments about manhood with Jai’s mom (who oddly never does much but lay around the house reading). There’s also Jai’s random cousins -- ironically played by two of the other Khans, Sohail and Arbaaz -- who have been obnoxious the entire film, that he meets up with in jail. They seem to have been chasing what it means to be manly in their family with little success.
Three Khan I mean Rathore jailbirds.
Oh, and one more thing about that -- after getting out of jail to go after Aditi, Jai has to fulfill the third part of being a Rathore: riding a horse. So he rides a horse (quite well, might a person with some riding experience say) down Marine Drive (how epic would that be?!) at night... And has no problem with cars or people! Come on!
And then the film’s story (not the film because it has that convoluted framework) culminates in what has to be one of my favorite love-professing scenes of all time. Jai-Rats frantically runs from airport security to the terminal where Aditi-Meow is boarding her plane for America, gets tackled and still manages to both sing and meow (yes, meow) at her, much to the confusion of airport security officers. And, you can probably guess what I’m going to say about this scene and Imran in this scene. That’s right. It’s adorable. He’s adorable. It’s sweet and cute and a million other things. And I loved every second of it.
Another thing, I really like Genelia D’Souza. She’s cute but a kind of off-the-wall, atypical girl with some edge (like in Chance Pe Dance, where she sports multicolored hair). I love it when we get to have a girl like that who’s off-beat; it makes things so much more fun. She also just seems to radiate energy to me, especially in this role, which I think balances perfectly with Imran’s coolness in this film. And there, I will end this review on a positive note instead of going into the reasons that I think Meghna (Jai’s other love interest/the peepeewoman) is the most annoying character ever.
So! That's it. The debut of Imran, the debut film of Imran Week. Hopefully we'll have more for you soon. :)
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 Youand 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.
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.
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.
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 orShahrukh'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. -__-
Well, there’s a few options. On the Upper East Side, you have BIG Cinemas Manhattan (formerly the ImaginAsian) on 59th Street near Second Avenue. This theater is very small, though, and is usually showing only one or two films at a time. BIG Cinemas also has a larger theater that shows Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Hollywood films out in Flushing, Queens, (the Bombay Theatre) but it’s hard to get to (requires subway and a bus or at least two buses). Honestly, the one over the river in New Jersey is easier to get to, and it’s also large and multilingual. Both of those other BIG theaters are also cheaper than the Manhattan one, though it may even out with transportation costs.
