Musings of the Obsessive Kind

Heeeeee.

Excellent, excellent day today.

1. I picked up my copy of The Kapoors, the book about the most famous Bollywood family and it is super-super awesome for facts like:

a. Indira Gandhi wanted to marry Rajiv off to Raj Kapoor's daughter (he fell for Sonia while in college so it fell through)
b. Prithviraj was UBER hot. seriously, hottest Kapoor ever as photos prove. considering my first glimpses of him were as an old, rotund man in Mughal-e-Azam and Awaara, it was a life changing shock. In fact, he was so hot that the reason he got to be a star (he was an extra who stood in line every day) was because a female star saw him in a line-up and thought he was so hot he should be the lead in her next film.
c. Shashi Kapoor + Jennifer Kendal FTW. Seriously, their story is so filmi, complete with inter-culture young love, unforgiving parents, poverty (he couldn't afford to buy books for her!), and angst. So so so awesome. I love Shashi even more now. Oh, and Shammi was their go-between. And he is the one who dragged Shashi out of his depression after Jennifer's death. Mmmm. Awesome.
d. Speaking of Shammi Kapoor. Heeee! His wife was an illiterate South Indian actress older than him. And he totally adored her. Yay. And she died of small-pox. :( And he is an internet geek.
e. Rishi Kapoor's wedding to Neetu went on for almost three weeks and they invited thousands of people and so the venue was a golf course!
f. Raj Kapoor was kinda a bastard. But I still love his movies the most.

2. I bought tons of volumes of Kimi Wa Petto manga. I love it to bits. Actually, I think I will try to rewatch the KwP drama shortly, with the extra knowledge and understanding I gained from the manga (those thought baloons!) Because I do adore the manga so, and I was exhausted when I continued with KwP drama so I will give it another try.

3. Sapuri. Seriously, how are there people in this world that do not like Sapuri? I mean, even Mr. Mousie, who likes dramas the way I do dirt pies, is interested in this one and is sort of watching it. I am five episodes in and seriously, it is the most delightful, clever, pitch-perfect thing ever. I now start watching it in the morning because I know I will be in a good mood for the rest of the day. And I love all the characters (yes, even Ogiwara, who I really like now, and yes, even married lady) but Minami and especially Yuya are the favorites. The bit when Yuya is so excited because he got that singer's autograph but comes in and sees Ogiwara and Minami together and you can tell just from his face (there is no dialogue) of how meaningless this prior giddiness became for him, how the almost innocently childish joy is squashed by this adult emotion in him is...EEEE. And I love that when he tells the short-haired girl he doesn't like Minami, and she asks 'realy?' he replies 'No, it's a lie.' *meeeeeep* Yuya, you are awesome.

4. Mr. Mousie expressed an interest in Blackpool too, so it shall be spousal bonding time tonight :)

ETA: OMG, the curry bit in Sapuri? It's ridiculous but I was getting misty-eyed when Yuya was presenting his idea. I was so anxious for the others not to shoot it down, to like it. Sapuri, what are you doing to me?

Heeeeee.

Excellent, excellent day today.

1. I picked up my copy of The Kapoors, the book about the most famous Bollywood family and it is super-super awesome for facts like:

a. Indira Gandhi wanted to marry Rajiv off to Raj Kapoor's daughter (he fell for Sonia while in college so it fell through)
b. Prithviraj was UBER hot. seriously, hottest Kapoor ever as photos prove. considering my first glimpses of him were as an old, rotund man in Mughal-e-Azam and Awaara, it was a life changing shock. In fact, he was so hot that the reason he got to be a star (he was an extra who stood in line every day) was because a female star saw him in a line-up and thought he was so hot he should be the lead in her next film.
c. Shashi Kapoor + Jennifer Kendal FTW. Seriously, their story is so filmi, complete with inter-culture young love, unforgiving parents, poverty (he couldn't afford to buy books for her!), and angst. So so so awesome. I love Shashi even more now. Oh, and Shammi was their go-between. And he is the one who dragged Shashi out of his depression after Jennifer's death. Mmmm. Awesome.
d. Speaking of Shammi Kapoor. Heeee! His wife was an illiterate South Indian actress older than him. And he totally adored her. Yay. And she died of small-pox. :( And he is an internet geek.
e. Rishi Kapoor's wedding to Neetu went on for almost three weeks and they invited thousands of people and so the venue was a golf course!
f. Raj Kapoor was kinda a bastard. But I still love his movies the most.

2. I bought tons of volumes of Kimi Wa Petto manga. I love it to bits. Actually, I think I will try to rewatch the KwP drama shortly, with the extra knowledge and understanding I gained from the manga (those thought baloons!) Because I do adore the manga so, and I was exhausted when I continued with KwP drama so I will give it another try.

3. Sapuri. Seriously, how are there people in this world that do not like Sapuri? I mean, even Mr. Mousie, who likes dramas the way I do dirt pies, is interested in this one and is sort of watching it. I am five episodes in and seriously, it is the most delightful, clever, pitch-perfect thing ever. I now start watching it in the morning because I know I will be in a good mood for the rest of the day. And I love all the characters (yes, even Ogiwara, who I really like now, and yes, even married lady) but Minami and especially Yuya are the favorites. The bit when Yuya is so excited because he got that singer's autograph but comes in and sees Ogiwara and Minami together and you can tell just from his face (there is no dialogue) of how meaningless this prior giddiness became for him, how the almost innocently childish joy is squashed by this adult emotion in him is...EEEE. And I love that when he tells the short-haired girl he doesn't like Minami, and she asks 'realy?' he replies 'No, it's a lie.' *meeeeeep* Yuya, you are awesome.

4. Mr. Mousie expressed an interest in Blackpool too, so it shall be spousal bonding time tonight :)

ETA: OMG, the curry bit in Sapuri? It's ridiculous but I was getting misty-eyed when Yuya was presenting his idea. I was so anxious for the others not to shoot it down, to like it. Sapuri, what are you doing to me?

Today's clip-of-adorableness is courtesy of the Bollywood classic Bobby.

Bobby, a huge and very influential Bollywood hit of the early 1970s (I think most of the 'young love' story movies are indebted to Bobby some way or another), follows a rather simple but effective story. Raj (Rishi Kapoor), the only child of neglectful, rich parents (seriously, they are dreadful) falls in love with Bobby (Dimple Kapadia) the warm and vivacious daughter of a poor fisherman. But young sweet love might have no chance against society and parental disapproval.

One of the things I love is that it reminds me of American teen movies from 1950s, and another is that, unlike a lot of movies nowadays, actors playing teenagers are very young: Rishi is 17 and Dimple 15. And they are adorable together (they both became huge stars as a result). And the 1970s fashions are much too fun.

Anyway, here is the clip. Raj and Bobby are waltzing together for the first time, at the same time their fathers are deciding their children are never to be allowed together.

A nifty little Across the Universe picture to start with:



Seriously, the movie was delightful, but more than anything, it made me want to own every Beatles CD ever.

And in other movie news, I just received from Netflix, my DVD of Ryan’s Daughter, David Lean’s controversial 1970 movie. Considering that Lawrence of Arabia is my favorite movie, if I had to ever pick one (seeing it in a movie theater when they had a limited re-release was amazing), that I think Bridge on the River Kwai is one of the best movies I’ve seen, and I have even managed to enjoy Doctor Zhivago despite being from the former USSR, I had good hopes for it, which were quite realized. Haven’t finished it yet though.

RD has the requisite doomed love affair, beautiful cinematography, and gorgeous performances (it was apparently nominated for a slew of Oscars). The story is set in a remote part of Ireland at 1916. Rosy Ryan (Sarah Miles) is a naïve, spirited young woman who wants more than what her life has given her. Rosy is trapped in a loveless marriage to a much older man (Robert Mitchum) and equally trapped in her harsh, closed-off community, where the main occupations are hating the British and picking on the local halfwit (played by John Miles, who got an Oscar for the role). Temporarily, her life is made shiny when she notices the newly arrived British officer, Randolph Doryan (Christopher Jones). The shell-shocked, recovering from horrors of the war Doryan and Rosy fall into passionate love (or maybe it’s desperation, and physical compatibility, you decide). But of course, this is quite doomed. Not just because Rosy is a married woman in a puritanical land, but because Doryan is a British officer, something that is akin to a leper to the staunchly nationalistic villagers. When an incident happens, the villagers begin to look for a traitor in their midst and…

I promise to screencap shortly. Let me just say, on a very shallow front, that Christopher Jones as the Edwardian, upper-class, messed-in-the-head war hero is HOT.

Also, I just realized that the 1970s French adaptation of La Dame De Monsoreau actually gives some hope for a happy ending for Bussy and Diane! (!!!!!) As opposed to the total bleakness of the novel, where he survives the fight with the assassin squad, only to be killed by his patron and ‘friend,’ and she goes insane and disappears.

( Ramble ramble )

Oh, and last but not least, here are the newbie stars of the upcoming Saawariya, Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor (no relation). The whole thing is supposed be a loose interpretation of Dostoyevsky’s White Nights (!!!!!)

They look adorable:

( Cut for size )

A nifty little Across the Universe picture to start with:



Seriously, the movie was delightful, but more than anything, it made me want to own every Beatles CD ever.

And in other movie news, I just received from Netflix, my DVD of Ryan’s Daughter, David Lean’s controversial 1970 movie. Considering that Lawrence of Arabia is my favorite movie, if I had to ever pick one (seeing it in a movie theater when they had a limited re-release was amazing), that I think Bridge on the River Kwai is one of the best movies I’ve seen, and I have even managed to enjoy Doctor Zhivago despite being from the former USSR, I had good hopes for it, which were quite realized. Haven’t finished it yet though.

RD has the requisite doomed love affair, beautiful cinematography, and gorgeous performances (it was apparently nominated for a slew of Oscars). The story is set in a remote part of Ireland at 1916. Rosy Ryan (Sarah Miles) is a naïve, spirited young woman who wants more than what her life has given her. Rosy is trapped in a loveless marriage to a much older man (Robert Mitchum) and equally trapped in her harsh, closed-off community, where the main occupations are hating the British and picking on the local halfwit (played by John Miles, who got an Oscar for the role). Temporarily, her life is made shiny when she notices the newly arrived British officer, Randolph Doryan (Christopher Jones). The shell-shocked, recovering from horrors of the war Doryan and Rosy fall into passionate love (or maybe it’s desperation, and physical compatibility, you decide). But of course, this is quite doomed. Not just because Rosy is a married woman in a puritanical land, but because Doryan is a British officer, something that is akin to a leper to the staunchly nationalistic villagers. When an incident happens, the villagers begin to look for a traitor in their midst and…

I promise to screencap shortly. Let me just say, on a very shallow front, that Christopher Jones as the Edwardian, upper-class, messed-in-the-head war hero is HOT.

Also, I just realized that the 1970s French adaptation of La Dame De Monsoreau actually gives some hope for a happy ending for Bussy and Diane! (!!!!!) As opposed to the total bleakness of the novel, where he survives the fight with the assassin squad, only to be killed by his patron and ‘friend,’ and she goes insane and disappears.

( Ramble ramble )

Oh, and last but not least, here are the newbie stars of the upcoming Saawariya, Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor (no relation). The whole thing is supposed be a loose interpretation of Dostoyevsky’s White Nights (!!!!!)

They look adorable:

( Cut for size )

I promise to reply to everyone tomorrow. Last couple of days have been a bit crazy.

This is a bit unconnected :)

I. Movies

Saw Across the Universe tonight. It was a flawed (if fun) movie but the creators of it were both incredibly talented and on drugs, to be able to fit all the Beatles songs the way they did. (it's worth seeing if for nothing else than for Bono doing 'I am the Walrus). And Jim Sturges is much better than the already-good movie. I have a new crush.

II. Bollywood

Aamir Khan has a blog. You guys, Aamir Khan has a blog. And he responds to people. OMG. I didn’t think I could love him more than I do (I mean, come ON! Fanaa AND Rang De Basanti same year?????). Seriously. I was wrong.

Here: http://www.lagaandvd.com/blog.php

In one of his posts he has this to say and it’s the best defense of Bollywood I have seen:

( Aamir Khan on Bollywood )

III. I rant about Tolstoy (inspired by fire_snake)

I have decided to blame my fascination with angsty repressed aristocrats and hyper, spritely girls on War and Peace. Reading it at an impressionable age, I am afraid I fell in love with Prince Andrei Bolkonsky and Natasha Rostova. So it’s all Tolstoy’s fault. Grrrr. I have still not forgiven him for the ending (considering that Anna Karenina ends up under a train, I guess only 33% of Tolstoy couples I find interesting, i.e. Kitty/Levin, end up having a hea, hmmm…That’s still better than the average for a Russian novel). I wonder if it was published today whether there would be ship wars, heh. It’s a little bizarre to crush on the same literary characters as your grandmothers probably did, but whatever…

( Ramble on Anna Karenina )

IV. Vladimir + Sarcasm = OTP.

Vladimir, I am deeply impressed by your sleuthing skills and your uncovering the real killer of your Daddy. I am also impressed that, even though you have lost all your property, you still managed to do it AND get Zabaluyev jailed and Maria Dolgorukaya running from the cops.

( ramblings on Bednaya Nastya )

V. My childhood tastes explain a little too much about me.

Seriously, when I think back to the types of movies I watched when a kid, is it any wonder I love Bollywood and kdrama? I mean, come on, I found this clip on youtube from the Russian movie I used to be nuts about when I was a kid (in my defense, so was the Vice Principal of our school :P), Gardemarini Vpered (sort of a Russian take on 3 Musketeers type story). Below is one of the two OTPs. I mean, come on, people singing songs in a movie and chock-full of love affairs storylines? So very Bollywood, including obligatory fade-outs to flowers and other growy things. And oh, so kdrama. Did I mention that this OTP first met when the guy was cross-dressing as a girl and the chick invited heself to travel with him because she was running away from a monastery? Could it get any more kdrama? :P Seriously, I have had the same tastes in fiction since I was six or so.

Here is a mv for my favorite Bollywood movie ever, Veer-Zaara:

( MV )

I have just realized something. My two most anticipated Bollywood movies this year are Om Shanti Om and Saawariya.

And they come out on the same day.

OMG.

What to do? Which to see first? Should I just move to the movie theater? What?

What is additionally complicated, this is the weekend I might well be out of town so I won't see either until week after.

Argh.

SLB, please PLEASE move Saawariya. Your movies are usually a powerhouse, but it's going to get slaughtered by Om Shanti Om because it's Shahrukh Khan in a romantic role, and I don't think there is anything that can beat that. Worst case, both movies are going to kill each other.

Btw, The soundtrack for OSO is one of the best in years. BY FAR.

I so missed seeing SRK in a romantic role (I adored Chak De India but there was no romance and Don was a total actioner. I really like Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna but it's over a year since that, and it wasn't a romantic movie: it was about adultery. It's been since Paheli! Though if he never made another romantic movie after Veer Zaara, I shouldn't complain as this was the best romantic movie I've ever seen).

Oh, and the other Bollywood-of-the-period movie, Khoya Khoya Chand is coming out in October, YAY!

Oh, and in case you are wondering, here is the entire Ajab Si from the soundtrack, with basically every bit of the footage we have from the movie so far:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFV7fdG1LK8

And here is the same song but with less footage:



( More MVs )

Here is a mv for my favorite Bollywood movie ever, Veer-Zaara:

( MV )

I have just realized something. My two most anticipated Bollywood movies this year are Om Shanti Om and Saawariya.

And they come out on the same day.

OMG.

What to do? Which to see first? Should I just move to the movie theater? What?

What is additionally complicated, this is the weekend I might well be out of town so I won't see either until week after.

Argh.

SLB, please PLEASE move Saawariya. Your movies are usually a powerhouse, but it's going to get slaughtered by Om Shanti Om because it's Shahrukh Khan in a romantic role, and I don't think there is anything that can beat that. Worst case, both movies are going to kill each other.

Btw, The soundtrack for OSO is one of the best in years. BY FAR.

I so missed seeing SRK in a romantic role (I adored Chak De India but there was no romance and Don was a total actioner. I really like Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna but it's over a year since that, and it wasn't a romantic movie: it was about adultery. It's been since Paheli! Though if he never made another romantic movie after Veer Zaara, I shouldn't complain as this was the best romantic movie I've ever seen).

Oh, and the other Bollywood-of-the-period movie, Khoya Khoya Chand is coming out in October, YAY!

Oh, and in case you are wondering, here is the entire Ajab Si from the soundtrack, with basically every bit of the footage we have from the movie so far:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFV7fdG1LK8

And here is the same song but with less footage:



( More MVs )

I thought I couldn't be more excited about the upcoming Saawariya. I was wrong. The new trailer, with title song and actors' faces Came out. Large version here:

http://www.saawariyafilm.com/

but here is a smaller, youtube one. Am dead.



Ranbir and Sonam are adorable. *melts*

Went with smartylibrarian and tatterpunk to see Chak De India today.

Wow.

WOW.

It's a story of a ragtag women's field hockey team and their haunted, stern coach.

I never thought I'd love it in a million years, as I hate sports movies, and this also had no love story whatsoever. But. BUT. OMG. It was amazing. I was hyper, I was cheering, I was applauding, and I cried when Shahrukh Khan cried. I am so in awe of the man, not just because of this being one of his best performances (and that's a high bar), or because he looked incredibly amazing, but because it was the most feminist, incredibly assertive (but not a bit shrilly) of women being equal to men in every way. He always makes feminist movies, doesn't he? I love him SO MUCH.

I am going to have a detailed write-up when I am more awake, but run, don't walk to see this.

I have also finished ep 8 of Why Why Love so expect caps and meta later.

And to finish it off, a daily dose of Russian emo drama :) Browsing youtube, I found out that Bednaya Nastya seems really popular. It has over 600 vids, and I found Finnish, Roumanian and Arabic subs clips on there (no English so far, no luck. Though as I said, if I find out I like it once my DVDs get here, I think it might be fun to sub, if I can find a timer as I have no idea how to time.)

I have been watching so many clips on youtube and I find it fun to post and translate them. Let's see if the urge continues, but for now there it is. I have no idea if clips I'll do are in any order, but when has it stopped me?

Now, as everyone knows, in addition to being drop-dead gorgeous and angsting beautifully, 19th century noblemen liked only one thing better than kissing th hands of the girls they are in love with. And what is that something? That's right, A DUEL. Bonus points if it's over a woman, and the guys fighting are former best friends. Hey, this worked on film since The Flesh and The Devil, and that was John Gilbert and friend, over Greta Garbo, all the way in the 1920s! (They get bonus points for the ice).

Anyway, our former two best friends, Vladimir and Michael, are about to shoot each other over our beauteous heroine Anna. One feels a certain amount of pity for both of them, especially our hero Vladimir, who seems mentally damaged, as Anna is his serf but instead of doing the thing I always understood 19th century Russian noblemen to do (i.e. if liking her, taking her against her will, and maybe giving her a house of her own if he feels nice. She should be thankful he didn't sell her!) he seems to express his feeling by falling madly in love and treating her like procelain and courting her and eventually (but not at this point) marrying her. Yeah, I like fairytales too.

Basically, hot guys fighting each other. Over love. What more do you need?

( Vids with translations )