NEW: Bol Bachchan is full of ridiculous laughs — and why I love Bollywood comedy

I sadly have been very remiss in updating the blog, even when I have had the time to go see new movies. I promised myself after this one that I would say at least something brief.

Synopsis: Orphans Abbas Ali (Abhishek Bachchan) and his sister, Sania (Asin), have lost everything in Delhi, so they move to Ranakpur with their father’s friend, Shastri. Shastri promises Abbas a job with Prithviraj (Ajay Devgn), the powerful man who’s basically the benevolent ruler of the village. But they end up lying to “Prithviji” about Abbas’s identity, instead saying his name is…Abhishek Bachchan. Oh, yes. Hijinks ensue to keep up the ruse to avoid Prithviji’s wrath, including convincing him that Abhishek (who is really Abbas) has an identical (but half) brother named Abbas who is a gay dance instructor.

Sum total? I liked it. But then Bol Bachchan is exactly my cup of comedy tea that I don’t expect everyone to enjoy, just like many AkshayKumar comedies are. If you’ll pardon a mixture of talking about Bol Bachchan in particular and zany Bollywood comedies in general, I’ll proceed.

What’s to like about Bol Bachchan:

·         Bromance: I’m increasingly convinced that Bollywood has mastered the art of a good bromance, and this one is rife with brotherly love and suggestive jokes about something more than brotherly between Abbas/Abhishek and Prithvi. (See below for more on why I love this.)

·         Humor: The humor here just doesn’t stop. There’s physical comedy, dialogue comedy (Prithvi’s English? HAHAHA), situational comedy. All mixed up together.

·         Action: Good guys beating up a ridiculous amount of bad guys. That is always fun, right?

·         Abhishek Bachchan: I know he gets a lot of flak, but I love Junior B because he’s not a miniature Amitabh Bachchan. He’s a gangly goofy giant of a man who’s unafraid to act like a complete fool if it’ll generate laughs.

I'm thinking this is a good look (and role-type) for Ajay.

·         Ajay Devgn: I’m hardly Ajay’s biggest fan, especially in a typical wooing romantic role. BUT give him a power-role and I think he’s made for it. And his muscles (and tattoo!) certainly don’t hurt either. ;) If Ajay wants to run around being the badass good guy, I’m okay with that.

Hellllllloooo, senor.

In that way, Bol Bachchan is kind of like Singham 2.0 … times two heroes with Abhishek also doing double (or triple, considering the dual role) duty as comedic relief.

One reason I think that I love Bollywood comedies — while American comedies rarely make me laugh and I think the “romantic comedy” in Hollywood has very, very little humor — is that they’re unafraid to embrace all types of humor. Colorful is another way of putting it. No gag is too easy or too low or too ridiculous, and so they’re able to have a mass appeal.

I mean heck, we get to watch Abhishek (playing Abbas playing Abhishek playing Abbas) practically lap dance on Ajay. Who looked wildly uncomfortable. I don’t see how that could not make you laugh. I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe.

Bromance time. (I think in this photo, John Abraham looks
jealous of Abhi's new bromance.)

I think what makes the bromance such a great comedic tool — really a great tool in all fiction — is that it effectively stands for a level of pure (nonsexual) love and understanding where two men are so close they’re unafraid to act ridiculous and yet they have trouble admitting feelings to one another. Because they’re men and that’s just how they are.

To fully understand my sense of humor, you perhaps have to understand that I come from a family where my father is something of a hybrid between Jim Carrey and George Lopez and we speak our own improvised language. “Embracing ridiculousness” is probably an apt way to describe what I love in a comedy. (Heck, one of my favorite Hollywood comedies is the 1944 screwball Arsenic and Old Lace in which two sweet old ladies kill people and bury them in the basement.) I don't want Hollywood's films that like to revel in their own cleverness. I want absurd hijinks that make me laugh. That’s exactly what many Bollywood comedies — Bol Bachchan included — provide.

NEW: Housefull 2: Insane is the only adjective (and long-live bromance!)

Where to begin on Housefull 2... (After never having seen Housefull...)

Let's just say this film is INSANE. Like...whoa. It is absolutely nuts.

There are not words to describe it. Let's just say for an idea...there are four friends pretending to be "Jolly." ...all under the same roof. Add in feuding families, several arranged marriages (and love that crosses all of those planned marriages), a dad with a criminal past, a revenge plot... Yeah, it gets crazy.

But it's an awesome never-stop-laughing kind of crazy. It's kind of scattered all over the place, but it's hilarious. It's fun. I'd recommend seeing it if completely off-the-wall nuts is your cup of tea -- but I totally understand how it could not be your cup of tea.

Oh, that and crazy-long list of stars might be your cup of tea too:

Akshay Kumar, Asin (Thottumkal), John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ritesh Deshmukh, Zarine Khan, Shreyas Talpade, Shazahn Padamsee, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Boman Irani, Chunky Pandey, Johnny Lever, Ranjeet.

My thoughts otherwise are pretty scattered.

Everyone's favorite jodi. Or maybe just mine.

One: Out of the 5 million jodis in this movie, the best? Akki and John. Total bromance. This might as well have been a continuation of the Desi Boyz bromance. (And God, I do so love to look at John Abraham. Mmmmmmm.)

I love Ritesh Deshmukh. He is adorable. And I've never seen a movie with Shreyas Talpade/didn't know who he was, but he was pretty adorable too.

And who can go wrong with Rishi and Randhir Kapoor? (Also, random side note I just observed, Randhir could totally pass as white.)

Someone else I love -- Johnny Lever. ALWAYS makes me laugh. Perfect comic timing.

Asin, the only worthwhile female in this film, gettin' down.

On the other hand.... Chunky Pandey's character got annoying after five minutes and I was glad when he unceremoniously exited the movie. Which is sad because I love Chunky.

Except for Asin, the entire female cast could pretty much have fallen off the face of the earth in the movie and I wouldn't have cared. They had very little to do but dance (some of them poorly) and be pissed and introduced to people.

I loved the music. So, on a positive note, I end with THIS SONG of the four friends in college was one of the most hilarious things I have seen in a VERY long time.

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. :)

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.

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. -__-