When SRK Won Me Over- Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

As I mentioned in a previous post, the very famous Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, which launched Shah Rukh Khan's lover boy persona and remains at this writing the longest running movie in Bollywood history, only served to leave me slightly bemused as to the appeal of SRK. The movie was fine and he did have some moments that proved he knew how to turn on lovey-dovey charm, but mostly I spent the film thinking, "Really?" Why, I wondered, has this odd-looking man with his over-the-top "look at me!" acting style won the hearts of fans the world over?

I warmed up to him a little when watching Dil To Pagal Hai (The Heart is Crazy), which is an overblown 90s romance full of cheesiness and angst and fate and love and soul mates and Madhuri Dixit running through verdant green meadows and DANCING and some horrifically ugly dance costumes and I love it. I just do. I've heard this type of Bollywood movie described as "candy floss romance," which didn't mean much to me until I remembered that "candy floss" is the UK English term for cotton candy. It fits perfectly. There is nothing of nutritional value in cotton candy at all, but it certainly tastes delicious! And sometimes you just want to indulge.

I'm sure I will devote an entire blog post to Dil To Pagal Hai eventually, but for now, check out the rain song with all the adorable dancing children (watch the kids in the background closely starting at the 2 minute mark to see one little boy miss his cue in hilarious fashion):

But I still wasn't feeling the magic, although his chemistry with Madhuri Dixit is sizzling (Madhuri herself is fabulous).

Then, one night, I was scrolling through the offerings on Netflix Instant Streaming and came across Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (A Match Made by God). I have to admit, the fact that it starred Shah Rukh Khan was part of what made me pretty indifferent to watching it at first. But I thought I'd give it a go.

I planned to just watch it for a little while to check it out but watched the whole thing then and there. I suppose you should know before reading on that I cannot with any kind of objectivity speak of this movie. I love it that much. I love it so much that perfectly reasonable criticisms of people who don't like the movie make me irrationally defensive. I love it so much that it almost ties with Jab We Met, which was on such a pinnacle I thought no other Bollywood would touch it. And in that one viewing Shah Rukh Khan wormed his way into my heart and I totally got it. I don't even find him funny-looking anymore, but impishly handsome. That's the power of his charisma.

The story centers on Surinder Sahni, a bespectacled, quiet-spoken and perfectly ordinary middle class man who is invited to attend the wedding of his favorite university professor's daughter, Taani, played by Anushka Sharma.

He is charmed by her, and who wouldn't be? In fact he is immediately smitten. But she's about to be married and all, so... short movie, right?

No, of course not. I will warn you that the beginning here, which sets up the premise of the film, is an awful lot to swallow, at least for a Western audience. I always give this warning when recommending the movie, as well as assurances that just rolling with it is worth it! What happens is, as fate would have it, a tragic bus accident means the wedding doesn't happen. Suri's old professor friend, Taani's father, promptly keels over with a heart attack. On his deathbed at the hospital he calls Suri in and begs him to marry Taani so he knows she'll be taken care of after her dies. He begs Taani to marry Suri even though she is grieving, because he doesn't want to leave this world worried about her. Both of them agree, Taani to make her father happy, Suri ostensibly for only the same reason (but we know better).

So now Suri is in the unenviable position of being married to the woman he loves, but without her loving him back, and he is at a loss for how to go about changing this. He ends up having a friend change his look entirely and goes to see her at her dance lesson, but though she ends up seeing him there she doesn't recognize him.

Seeing his chance to spend some time with her with no baggage, he ends up playing a double role: her dance partner, Raj, and her husband, Suri.

Raj

Suri

A very sweet love story follows. I love it all. I love the music, and the song-and-dance numbers are very entertaining and sometimes touching. There's humor I actually find humorous, and Anushka Sharma's debut performance is quite lovely. Then there is SRK's performance. He is wonderful in this. The man can actually act! His reaction to the decision Taani eventually makes brings tears to my eyes every time. YES, I KNOW I'm sappy! And sure, the movie is kind of sappy. But it is wonderfully heartfelt and sweet. Also engaging, and technically well-made with brilliant colors and beautiful cinematography. And you should watch it. And if you don't like it DON'T TELL ME because I don't want to be disappointed in you. All right, fine, but while you're telling me, just know that I'll figuratively have my fingers in my ears while singing "Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai" at the top of my lungs.

He just wants her love!

The Triumph of Sridevi- English Vinglish

Netflix, you know I love you, but what are you thinking? Why are you not offering the wonderful English Vinglish? Why is not even on your radar, not even under the dreaded "availability unknown" tag?

Well, people, there's always amazon.com, which is how I got English Vinglish as a Christmas present.

Sometime last year, before English Vinglish's theatrical release, the internet was abuzz with news of a comeback vehicle for Sridevi. Bollywood afficiandados were doing the internet equivalent of excitedly squealing, "SRIDEVI!" Meanwhile, as an enthusiastic newbie, I rejoined with... "Who?"

Well, Sridevi is a star. I say "is," not was, because when you can come back to films after 15 years with a reception and a performance like Sridevi's for English Vinglish, you are definitely and irrevocably a star. When I first heard tell of English Vinglish, I had never seen or heard of Sridevi. After my abortive attempt to watch Chandni, this is the only Sridevi film I have seen all the way through. She. Is. Fantastic. I'm almost tempted to try to finish Chandni for her sake, but I think I'll see if I can find some of her other pictures first, in the hopes the storylines will make me less nauseated.

English Vinglish is the charming, simple story of an Indian housewife, Shashi, who is intelligent and runs her own little business out of her home, making and selling ladoos. (As a side note, after watching this film I very badly wanted a ladoo, despite never having tasted one before. Unfortunately for me, I know of no way to procure one around here.) However, she lacks confidence, and is frequently the butt of insensitive jokes from her husband and obnoxious insults from her daughter, because she can't speak English. Apparently, this is a thing in India, at least in some circles. I won't pretend to fully understand it or all its implications. At any rate, the daughter is truly and hideously awful to her mother. At least Shashi also has an adorable little boy who doesn't treat her badly.

Well, Shashi's niece in New York is getting married, and Shashi travels to the Big Apple for the first time to help with the preparations, with the rest of the family planning to follow closer to time for the actual wedding. With time on her hands during the day, she covertly joins an English class, complete with an international assortment of comic characters, plus a Frenchman (Mehdi Nebbou) who is easy on the eyes and fascinated by Shashi.

And let me disabuse you now: there is no romance happening here. She is flattered by his attentions, but that is as far as it goes. I, frankly, love this. I love that they are able to make a story about a middle-aged woman looking for something more in her life, and trying to gain confidence and self-respect, and refrain from the cliche of "a sexy man sweeping her off her feet (and a divorce) is what she needs for self-actualization!"
No, Shashi gains confidence as she makes strides toward the goal she has set for herself.

This film is a gem. It reminds me of the wonderful Japanese film Shall We Dance (which was remade into a much lesser film starring Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez) as a story about reaching a point in your life where you're wondering if what you are is all you ever will be, if how people are used to seeing you is all there is to you, if there is no change or growth left. Shashi's growth and her inner strength are marvelous to watch, and Sridevi, as I think I mentioned, is just amazing and simply stunning. When she's onscreen, you can't look away.

English Vinglish isn't perfect, but it's so large-hearted and winning that it's pretty easy to dismiss some stereotyping and other minor flaws. I really wanted a scene where Shashi tells her daughter, in no uncertain terms, that her behavior is unacceptable, but I guess one can't have everything. Another disappointment for such as I is the lack of big dance numbers (could have had at least one at the wedding!), but on the other hand, it makes for a film that should easily appeal beyond Bollywood fans to anyone without a crippling case of cynicism.

Watch English Vinglish if you can! I'll lend you my copy.

Silly Fun With Salman Khan- Ek Tha Tiger

Something fun for me about watching Ek Tha Tiger recently is that it was the first Bollywood film that I watched after having been aware of it before it was released. When I first discovered Bollywood, I simply bounced around Netflix and YouTube, watching movies that were, inevitably, at least several years old and often much older. As I started following Bollywood news a little bit online, and joined the fabulous BollyWhat? forum, I began to be exposed to movies before they were even released (amazing! tantalizing!). Reading about the Bollywood films coming on the horizon could be quite frustrating, because who knew when they would be available to such as I?  Well, kudos to Netflix, because a little over four months after Ek Tha Tiger's August 15 release, I watched it via online streaming.

I must stress that I wasn't expecting much from Ek Tha Tiger, because I think that is a key component to why I had so much fun watching it. The other fun came from, again, being able to watch a movie that I had watched, so to speak, people anticipate and then react to. I was also already very familiar with the soundtrack. Very. Familiar. I bought it after noticing how much my kids liked the song "Banjaara" on YouTube, and have listened to it countless times in the car, particularly "Mashallah," since my two-year-old is wont to shout "Again!" when it finishes.

But the reviews for Ek Tha Tiger were often lackluster, and since I didn't much care for Dabangg, which is a Salman Khan action flick that most people do seem to adore, I didn't think this would be my thing either. However, I was thoroughly entertained! It is entirely brain candy, and if you are looking for a taut spy thriller, you might be dismayed by all the plot holes you threaten to fall into, but if a silly modern masala that mixes action with romance and touristy-shiny views of foreign locales could float your boat, well, I present Ek Tha Tiger for your viewing pleasure! Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, neither of whom can really, well, act, are clearly having fun and their enjoyment is infectious. Luckily acting isn't so necessary for this, and charisma (Salman's) and looks (Katrina's) carry the day.

The story centers on Salman's character, an Indian agent code-named "Tiger." He gets sent to Dublin to keep tabs on an Indian professor who may be sharing sensitive technology with Pakistan. There he meets Katrina's character, who takes care of the professor's apartment and also works at the local theater in some capacity (which is why at one point we get glimpses of a very, very odd stage performance of "Pinocchio"). He falls for her, but he hasn't been able to tell her who he really is, which is troubling for him. As it turns out, she is not what she appears to be either. So adventure and romance ensue.

This film had the kind of wink-and-a-smile lightheartedness that I am a sucker for. It definitely does not take itself too seriously. For example, after the song-and-dance to "Banjaara" that lets us know that Tiger has truly fallen for the girl, Tiger's disapproving colleague suddenly appears saying, "What are you doing? Were you just dancing??" Tiger, looking briefly sheepish, glances back down the now empty street, which just moments before was filled with singing-and-dancing extras in various colorful costumes, and says innocently, "Dancing? No one's dancing." I cracked up! The film had already been silly fun, and I think, after that good laugh, I was in a very forgiving mood for viewing the rest of it.

If you are an action film buff with exacting standards for realism and a desire for the plot to make some kind of effort at logical sense, don't bother with this film, just get a laugh from The Vigil Idiot's comic review of it (warning for bad language). But if you can turn off your brain and enjoy, then... enjoy!

Am I the only one on the planet who thought this was much more fun than Dabangg? Comment and let me know!

Bollywood items on my Christmas list

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it! And if you don't, I hope it just happens to be a wonderful day for you anyway!

If Santa offered to bring me anything at all Bollywood-related that I wanted, here would be some of the things on my list:

* A good-quality DVD of Lagaan. I really, really want to see this movie, but it has been a "very long wait" on Netflix for... ever. Netflix! Buy some more copies!

*The book King of Bollywood by Anupama Chopra. It sounds like a very fun read! And my library has no decent books on Bollywood, for shame. I need some Bolly-education!

* The Bollywood Cookbook. Two of my favorite things! Bollywood and cookbooks! (Notice I didn't say "cooking"...)

* A new movie starring Shahid Kapoor that is both excellent and a blockbuster hit. Maybe Santa has some pull?

Happy Bolly-days! ;)