Musings of the Obsessive Kind

People make Fanaa MVs (unspoilery, which is hard for this movie).



She is a blind Kashmiri girl in Delhi with a delegation. He is a tour-guide who harbors a terrible secret. Their love should not be and is utterly forbidden.



God, how much do I love this movie? This or Veer-Zaara or Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge are in a three-way tie for my favorite Bollywood movie.

Speaking of, here is a MV someone made for Veer-Zaara.



He is an Indian air force pilot, she is a Pakistani aristocrat betrothed to another. Their love, guess what, also should not be and is forbidden. It's largely my favorite scene from the movie with a very different but somehow appropriate song:



You know, that is what I miss in the last couple of years in Bollywood - a good, epic, forbidden love story. I think Fanaa was the last one and that was in 2006 - WTF! Both Fanaa and VZ were huge hits - make more, Bollywood!

It's funny - when I saw Veer-Zaara in the movie theater, grown men were crying around me (I wasn't exactly dry-eyed either). When I saw Fanaa? No idea, I was crying too hard to see. :D

And I continue with my picspam of Fanaa, one of the prettiest movies ever.



( The scene where he sees her again after 7 years )

( Some scenes I love from second half )

( Your life is mine now, do you hear? )

( Mere Haath Mein, the most gorgeous picturization ever )

( Climax of the movie )

And I continue with my picspam of Fanaa, one of the prettiest movies ever.



( The scene where he sees her again after 7 years )

( Some scenes I love from second half )

( Your life is mine now, do you hear? )

( Mere Haath Mein, the most gorgeous picturization ever )

( Climax of the movie )

As promised: a picspam of Fanaa, a Bollywood super-hit of 2006, starring two of BW's biggest: Kajol and Aamir Khan.

Fanaa (tagline: 'Destroyed in Love' just so we'll know it will end up well) is one of those movies possible only in Bollywood: an epic, almost three-hour romance between a blind Kashmiri woman (symbolism!) and a terrorist which somehow, impossibly, works. Zooni comes to Bombay to perform with a delegation and meets a carefree tour guide who is not what he seems. It is one of the most romantic movies I have seen and is definitely in the running for my favorite Bollywood movies ever. (I wrote psychotically long write-ups/analyses when it first came out, if interested just click on tag).



It is also one of the most gorgeously filmed movies out there. If I was going to cap the entire movie, I would break my GOMPlayer, so instead, I just capped a few of the most gorgeous, favorite scenes. I can't post them all at once (it's hundreds and hundreds of caps), so I am going to do it in stages.



The scene I am posting now is when Zooni (Kajol) asks Rehan (Aamir Khan) to spend the night with her, no strings attached. Part musical number, part dreamscape, this is gorgeous.



( Night in the Rain )

If you think this is pretty, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Mere Haath Mein, a song picturization from the second half of the movie, is tied for my most favorite number in Bollywood.





But that picspam is to come...

Saw RNBDJ today and have a lot of thoughts but the internet is messed-up so that post will have to wait. Short synopsis: loved it!

Also, am rewatching Fanaa songs and Chand Sifarish is still vocally the most gorgeous song out there but Mere Haath Mein still beats almost any song out there for picturization. God, I have forgotten how much I love the messed-up, incredibly romantic pit of angst that is that movie! Kajol and Aamir Khan's chemistry is incredible and once internet is back to normal, I simply must cap this movie - so gorgeous. I don't know for sure what my favorite BW would be but Fanaa would definitely be in the running.

Saw RNBDJ today and have a lot of thoughts but the internet is messed-up so that post will have to wait. Short synopsis: loved it!

Also, am rewatching Fanaa songs and Chand Sifarish is still vocally the most gorgeous song out there but Mere Haath Mein still beats almost any song out there for picturization. God, I have forgotten how much I love the messed-up, incredibly romantic pit of angst that is that movie! Kajol and Aamir Khan's chemistry is incredible and once internet is back to normal, I simply must cap this movie - so gorgeous. I don't know for sure what my favorite BW would be but Fanaa would definitely be in the running.

Got Fanaa (and a bunch of other Bolly movies) in the mail. Rewatched bits of it and God, still as excellent as ever and I still cry and Aamir and Kajol should be mandated to make another film together.

Also, got my DSL back so there was much rejoicing. And since I don't get cable back until Sunday, it will be my means to watch BSG (and I can finally watch Supernaturalpremiere).

Also, got my 87 (!!!) discs of doramas in. Considering the little time I have lately, and all the doramas I already had that I didn't watch yet, it will take me a year to get through them. Yay.

One of the discs was the Korean movie The King and the Clown which is supposed to be period and deal with politics and gay issues and all sorts of other interesting things. Here is a poster for it behind cut. The guy in the forefront is a guy btw, though I find it hard to believe.

( How come he is girlier than me? )

Also, anyone have any idea why BollyWHAT is down?

The poll has spoken and since Jensen Ackles is the winner, expect Jensen spam some time this week. I must admit that I will be doing a picspam of all these gentlemen because hey, someone voted for them (except for poor Tom Welling. I guess WB angst and deer eyes only get you so far) and because they are hot. Escpecially Olivier Martinez, because I've never done a picspam of him and he was to die for in Horseman on the Roof (one of the coolest love stories I've seen, and there wasn't even any kissing).

I went to see Fanaa for a third time last night. Siiiiigh. So good. The theater was full, even on a Sunday night. Still wonderful. There really is nothing like watching Bollywood on big screen. And I cried (again) and that moment of Kajol letting go and spinning during 'Des Rangila' still makes me giddy with joy, and I have a new favorite moment: when Kajol and Aamir are bathing Rehan Jr and Kajol goes 'Rehan, look up' (to her son) and Aamir looks up. Guuuuuh. It just gets to me. And his in her lap at the end is seriously sob sob sob territory. To complete the wonderfulness, after the movie I asked the theater person if I could buy one of the movie posters (being a polite girl) and he was so nice. He told me I didn't need to buy and asked me which movie and gave me a huge, gorgeous poster with Kajol and Aamir's faces on top and that bit with him in her lap in the snow (from the part of MHM that wasn't in the movie) and I love it. Thank you, lovely person! There were Krrish posters everywhere and the movie looks soooo deliciously tacky. Oh Hrithik. Why can't you make ONE good movie where I can enjoy the flick AND you at the same time, and keep my self-respect?

And thinking of Fanaa, I decided to rewatch the 'Suraj Hua Maddam' number from Kabhi Khushi Kabie Gham to see if 'Mere Haath Mein' from Fanaa replaced it as a favorite. It was a close thing, but no. Nothing is as surreally beautiful as SHM. Still, like that other contender, 'Roshni Se' from Asoka, MSM came close but didn't win. So here is the youtube video of this song. Do check it out! The first minute or so is actually not the song but the moments in the movie that lead to it. Basically, the really short synopsis is that he is the eldest son of a really rich, proper, proud family. She is a madcap girl who is from a very poor area. Completely ineligible, in short. Not to mention his family is about to finalize his engagement with an entirely suitable girl. But they are OTP and he defies his family and marries her even when he gets disowned. And that's only the first half of the movie! But anyhow, this is right when they discover they are in love with each other. Pyramids, colors, and passion

Also, being tired in the morning, and needing a shot of wangst to get me up and moving, I rewatched the ending og Meteor Garden, the part where they both go on a hunger strike, and the evil mother lets them talk but only through a door so they can't see each other and he tells her he misses her and there are tears. Heeeee. It's the perfect thing I needed: being angsty, resulting in a HEA, and also full of cheese. Actually, since HYD anime had a similar storybit (evil Mom locks up and restrains Our Hero so as to force him into marriage), I am wondering if it was in the manga (please say it was!) Though I can't see how it would have gotten resolved there, because manga went on for volumes and volumes after that so it's not as if Mommy Dearest gave up. Also, I am amused by the fact that he's been on a hunger strike for days but the girl is doing it for less than a day, but she is almost as ill as he is. He doesn't look like he has fat deposits though :P

I am also reading Autumn Bridge, by Takashi Matsuoka, which isn't bad, is set in 19th century Japan, but is unfortunately a sequel to a previous book, with same characters and all, a fact which would have been useful to have on the cover. And being lured by the evil of Netflix, I've netflixed Felicity, Alias, Dawson's Creek and second season of cracktasticness that is One Tree Hill. And has anyone watched The Lake House with keanu and Sandra Bullock? Is it worth $10 and two hours of my time?

And last, but not least, a gazillion Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna came out over the weekend. It looks TO DIE FOR and I can't wait for the movie. I am sure most of you have already seen the stills, but nevertheless, here they are.

And now I melt into a puddle of goo:


( The rest of gorgeous angsty goodness )

The poll has spoken and since Jensen Ackles is the winner, expect Jensen spam some time this week. I must admit that I will be doing a picspam of all these gentlemen because hey, someone voted for them (except for poor Tom Welling. I guess WB angst and deer eyes only get you so far) and because they are hot. Escpecially Olivier Martinez, because I've never done a picspam of him and he was to die for in Horseman on the Roof (one of the coolest love stories I've seen, and there wasn't even any kissing).

I went to see Fanaa for a third time last night. Siiiiigh. So good. The theater was full, even on a Sunday night. Still wonderful. There really is nothing like watching Bollywood on big screen. And I cried (again) and that moment of Kajol letting go and spinning during 'Des Rangila' still makes me giddy with joy, and I have a new favorite moment: when Kajol and Aamir are bathing Rehan Jr and Kajol goes 'Rehan, look up' (to her son) and Aamir looks up. Guuuuuh. It just gets to me. And his in her lap at the end is seriously sob sob sob territory. To complete the wonderfulness, after the movie I asked the theater person if I could buy one of the movie posters (being a polite girl) and he was so nice. He told me I didn't need to buy and asked me which movie and gave me a huge, gorgeous poster with Kajol and Aamir's faces on top and that bit with him in her lap in the snow (from the part of MHM that wasn't in the movie) and I love it. Thank you, lovely person! There were Krrish posters everywhere and the movie looks soooo deliciously tacky. Oh Hrithik. Why can't you make ONE good movie where I can enjoy the flick AND you at the same time, and keep my self-respect?

And thinking of Fanaa, I decided to rewatch the 'Suraj Hua Maddam' number from Kabhi Khushi Kabie Gham to see if 'Mere Haath Mein' from Fanaa replaced it as a favorite. It was a close thing, but no. Nothing is as surreally beautiful as SHM. Still, like that other contender, 'Roshni Se' from Asoka, MSM came close but didn't win. So here is the youtube video of this song. Do check it out! The first minute or so is actually not the song but the moments in the movie that lead to it. Basically, the really short synopsis is that he is the eldest son of a really rich, proper, proud family. She is a madcap girl who is from a very poor area. Completely ineligible, in short. Not to mention his family is about to finalize his engagement with an entirely suitable girl. But they are OTP and he defies his family and marries her even when he gets disowned. And that's only the first half of the movie! But anyhow, this is right when they discover they are in love with each other. Pyramids, colors, and passion

Also, being tired in the morning, and needing a shot of wangst to get me up and moving, I rewatched the ending og Meteor Garden, the part where they both go on a hunger strike, and the evil mother lets them talk but only through a door so they can't see each other and he tells her he misses her and there are tears. Heeeee. It's the perfect thing I needed: being angsty, resulting in a HEA, and also full of cheese. Actually, since HYD anime had a similar storybit (evil Mom locks up and restrains Our Hero so as to force him into marriage), I am wondering if it was in the manga (please say it was!) Though I can't see how it would have gotten resolved there, because manga went on for volumes and volumes after that so it's not as if Mommy Dearest gave up. Also, I am amused by the fact that he's been on a hunger strike for days but the girl is doing it for less than a day, but she is almost as ill as he is. He doesn't look like he has fat deposits though :P

I am also reading Autumn Bridge, by Takashi Matsuoka, which isn't bad, is set in 19th century Japan, but is unfortunately a sequel to a previous book, with same characters and all, a fact which would have been useful to have on the cover. And being lured by the evil of Netflix, I've netflixed Felicity, Alias, Dawson's Creek and second season of cracktasticness that is One Tree Hill. And has anyone watched The Lake House with keanu and Sandra Bullock? Is it worth $10 and two hours of my time?

And last, but not least, a gazillion Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna came out over the weekend. It looks TO DIE FOR and I can't wait for the movie. I am sure most of you have already seen the stills, but nevertheless, here they are.

And now I melt into a puddle of goo:


( The rest of gorgeous angsty goodness )

OK, this is actually about all the people who hated Fanaa because it was unrealistic. You know, Fanaa. The movie whose one-line summary is "A blind girl and a terrorist fall in love." And it's a summary known basically to everyone who went to see it. This is not going to be a slice of real life, kitchen-sink drama, and you know exactly in advance what it's going to be. That's right, an epic, angstorrific melodrama, like so many other Bollywood movies. You've been warned. This is the genre it's in. It's like going to see MI3 and complaining there is too much action or some slasher flick and complaining about the violence. You can complain if the romance or the action or the horror is badly done, but you have to look at the movie within the confines of its genre.

( Fanaa and genre )

In other, completely unrelated news, I've been reading the essay aliterati recommended on Robespierre by Hilary Mantel. I think I have a bit of a girl-crush on her now. That site has a lot of thoughtful essays and they are not all about the French Revolution either. There is a fascinating one about saintly fasts in the context of anorexia. Btw, Hilary Mantel is a novelist who wrote the best novel about the French Revolution I've read, called A Place of greater Safety which is the interconnecting stories of Danton, Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins (if the book has a main character, it's him). According to aliterati, she started the book in love with Camille and ended it in love with Robespierre but it was too late to re-write. I am not complaining since there are plenty of books about Robespierre and Danton and not that many about Camille.

And to go on a tangent, I remember reading Carlyle's The French Revolution and thinking how differently the historians used to write. Because I mentioned Camille, here is how Carlyle introduces him:

A fellow of infinite shrewdness, wit, nay humour; one of the sprightliest clearest souls in all these millions. Thou poor Camille, say of thee what they may, it were but falsehood to pretend one did not almost love thee, thou headlong lightly-sparkling man!

Or this description of Robespierre (whom he clearly wasn't fond of, sorry aliterati): With a strict painful mind, an understanding small but clear and ready, he grew in favour with official persons, who could foresee in him an excellent man of business, happily quite free from genius. Ouch.

Or on Danton: The great heart of Danton is weary of it. Danton is gone to native Arcis, for a little breathing time of peace: Away, black Arachne-webs, thou world of Fury, Terror, and Suspicion; welcome, thou everlasting Mother, with thy spring greenness, thy kind household loves and memories; true art thou, were all else untrue! The great Titan walks silent, by the banks of the murmuring Aube, in young native haunts that knew him when a boy; wonders what the end of these things may be.

Can you imagine a modern historian writing so? But I actually rather like it. It makes for a hell of an entertaining read, if nothing else.

And of course, the Georgians were struck by the 'romantic,' just the way we are. Just see this: Camille's young beautiful Wife, who had made him rich not in money alone, hovers round the Luxembourg, like a disembodied spirit, day and night. Camille's stolen letters to her still exist; stained with the mark of his tears. (Apercus sur Camille Desmoulins in Vieux Cordelier, Paris, 1825, pp. 1-29.) The citation at the end is rather anticlimactic :) (I did read some of them, as well as his other stuff, and he was quite a good writer. Understandably angsty and self-pitying in the letters to Lucile that Carlyle mentions though).

Of course, whatever Carlyle's historical biases, he was an immensely readable writer.

And thus ends this digression from anything...