Bolly ramblings
Dec. 8th, 2005 07:01 pmOh Saif Saif Saif. How much are you officially competing for being my favorite Bollywood actor. Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much *stretches out hands*
Yes, Shahrukh Khan is still my number 1, but he had only one movie this year. And while Paheli was good and feminist and colorful and all that, this year my soul belongs to Saif's Parineeta which I loved about 10 times as much as Paheli. (Though of course, you were also in Salaam Namaste, a movie I loathed with a passion).
And when I look at the list of upcoming movies, whose are the ones that get me rabidly excited? Saif's. All of a sudden he's found out how to pick interesting projects and whoa. There is Being Cyrus which is an art-house look at a Parsi family and sounds brilliant. There is the Indian version of Othello with Ajay Devgan and Kareena Kapoor where Saif will play Iago. There's Eklavya which is by Parineeta people and is about a twisted Rajastani royal family (and Vidya Balan is his childhood love. Yay). Then there is Devi Choudhurani if it gets made, which just sounds...guuuuh. And they are all kinda different.
None of SRK's upcoming movies excite me all this much. Granted, once I see them, maybe I'll change my mind, and he is definitely always good in any movie, but Don is a remake of a movie I didn't care for in the first place. KANK is a Johar flick and while I really do enjoy them, I am not excited about them, and Happy New Year sounds like pleasant fluff. None of it is making me jump for joy.
Now, if this was like last year, with SRK in the really thoughtful, rather docudrama-like, and very moving Swades, and in one of my all-time favorite star-crossed romances Veer-Zaara, in addition to the hilarity of Main Hoon Na, that would be another matter. But oh well...Not every year can be great, so I am glad Saif is having all those neat projects.
Abhishek Bachchan, the other competitor? I love you but you are only in KANK (see above) and Bluff Master. Both sound fun, neither seems salivating.
Though who knows. I might end up adoring KANK after all.
Also, I just splurged and bought:
The Inner/Outer World Shah Rukh Khan: Two interconnected documentaries on Bollywood's biggest star. I saw "Inner World" courtesy of a nice person from the UK a long time ago and found it fascinating.
Kyun Ki? I missed this when it was in the theaters. But any movie where Salman plays a disturbed mental patient and there is angst galore is totally up my alley.
Virrudh: Amitabh Bachchan and John Abraham in an art-house flick? So there.
Pyar Mein Twist: a love story about grown ups, and I so want to see Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia together again.
Dil Jo Bhi Kahey: It's set on Mauritius and the whole story is a love story between and Indian Boy and a White Girl.
Yes, Shahrukh Khan is still my number 1, but he had only one movie this year. And while Paheli was good and feminist and colorful and all that, this year my soul belongs to Saif's Parineeta which I loved about 10 times as much as Paheli. (Though of course, you were also in Salaam Namaste, a movie I loathed with a passion).
And when I look at the list of upcoming movies, whose are the ones that get me rabidly excited? Saif's. All of a sudden he's found out how to pick interesting projects and whoa. There is Being Cyrus which is an art-house look at a Parsi family and sounds brilliant. There is the Indian version of Othello with Ajay Devgan and Kareena Kapoor where Saif will play Iago. There's Eklavya which is by Parineeta people and is about a twisted Rajastani royal family (and Vidya Balan is his childhood love. Yay). Then there is Devi Choudhurani if it gets made, which just sounds...guuuuh. And they are all kinda different.
None of SRK's upcoming movies excite me all this much. Granted, once I see them, maybe I'll change my mind, and he is definitely always good in any movie, but Don is a remake of a movie I didn't care for in the first place. KANK is a Johar flick and while I really do enjoy them, I am not excited about them, and Happy New Year sounds like pleasant fluff. None of it is making me jump for joy.
Now, if this was like last year, with SRK in the really thoughtful, rather docudrama-like, and very moving Swades, and in one of my all-time favorite star-crossed romances Veer-Zaara, in addition to the hilarity of Main Hoon Na, that would be another matter. But oh well...Not every year can be great, so I am glad Saif is having all those neat projects.
Abhishek Bachchan, the other competitor? I love you but you are only in KANK (see above) and Bluff Master. Both sound fun, neither seems salivating.
Though who knows. I might end up adoring KANK after all.
Also, I just splurged and bought:
The Inner/Outer World Shah Rukh Khan: Two interconnected documentaries on Bollywood's biggest star. I saw "Inner World" courtesy of a nice person from the UK a long time ago and found it fascinating.
Kyun Ki? I missed this when it was in the theaters. But any movie where Salman plays a disturbed mental patient and there is angst galore is totally up my alley.
Virrudh: Amitabh Bachchan and John Abraham in an art-house flick? So there.
Pyar Mein Twist: a love story about grown ups, and I so want to see Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia together again.
Dil Jo Bhi Kahey: It's set on Mauritius and the whole story is a love story between and Indian Boy and a White Girl.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 12:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 12:58 am (UTC)Can't wait to read your thoughts on Kyon Ki!
Now you're probably wondering who the heck am I, but I've been reading your livejournal quite a while! I just love your BW reviews!!!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 02:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 06:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 02:58 pm (UTC)Abhishek has just finished five years and is going through a good phase. I think he is more comfortable in front of the camera now and is choosing roles based on the script and not his director friends. Bluffmaster is one of my eagerly awaited films! I"m also looking forward to KANK b/c of Arjun Rampal but I know it's not going to be groundbreaking.
What all three of these actors have is the common man factor. Even though NRI marketing factor is huge these days, it's always the down-to-earth, Indian roles that make an impact (eg: Saif in Hum Tum, Abhi in Yuva, etc.). Most of these new actors don't have this common man appeal - Zayed Khan is cute and all but he will forever be a rich, spoilt brat no one can really relate to. The same can be said for Fardeen, to an extent. I think the reason Abhishek and Saif will remain on the scene is b/c of this reason.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 03:37 pm (UTC)Yeah, I have no idea why, but Bluffmaster sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe I just want to see Priyanka and Abhi together.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 03:41 pm (UTC)Re: Abhi. I really love him because he can do both hilarious doofus comedy (B aur B) and incredibly intense, even frightening drama (Yuva) equally well. I guess there is some genetics involved.
Re: common man factor. You are so right. The leading man really does have to be someone you can relate to easily. In a way, I think Hrithik's uber gorgeousness plays against him there. But not too much :P
no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 08:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 09:05 pm (UTC)