TPP: Shobana in Siva

Some of her facial expressions and mannerisms in this movie make me think of Madhuri Dixit. I don't know why, I just "see" Madz whenever Shobana moves or looks a certain way.





8 more caps behind the cut:

TPP: Jennifer Kotwal

She appears to be aging backwards. I checked her Wiki page and her birth year is now listed as 1983. The original year was 1981, then it was changed to 1982. In a couple of years, her DOB will probably get bumped up to 1985. I'm not hating, though. I'm just my father's daughter in the sense that I'm age-obsessed. Man, if only I'd known how good I had it when I was in my teens. Anyway...

So far, I've watched only 3 of her films--Yogi, Sree, Sathyavan Savithri--but I love her almost as much as I love Ileana. Ugadi, E Bandana, and--I think--Mast Maja Maadi are available at Bhavani, but Ravichandran gives me the creeps, I'm not sure if she gets enough screen time in E Bandana, and I'm waiting for Mast Maja Maadi to get marked down to $7.99 before I buy it. She was also in the Telugu film Naaga with Sada and NTR Jr., and while it's only $2.99(or it was when I last checked), she's more than likely relegated to the sidelines. Oh, well.

I forget where and why these pics were taken. I think it was for a clothing store opening, or the launch of a clothing line.



Five more pics behind the cut:

NFR: Sridevi

Filmfare nominations red carpet.

I don't like the outfit as a whole, but I do like the top and that shade of lavender. Besides, it's SRIDEVI, and seeing her makes me happy.




Pics of Sri at an art gallery behind the cut:

SFR: Sana Khan in Thambikku Indha Ooru

The oh-so annoying Vivek **gag** is also in this, but I hope there's enough footage of Sana to make up for his presence.



Many more pics underneath the "read more" link:

TPP: Kamal Hassan

I think he's still a nice-looking man, in spite of his tendency to look bloated and/or aged, but I prefer the late seventies/early eighties version of Kamal sir. Had I been in the movie biz around that time, I'm sure I would've been yet another notch on his stump of a bedpost. **ahem**

The first set of caps are from his "kissing" scenes with Rati Agnihotri in Ullasa Paravaigal, the second set are gratuitous shots of his chest and legs in Tik...Tik...Tik.

Previews:





Click the "read more" link to see the rest:

Former SLO: Nisha Kothari

Last night, I watched Madhyanam Hatya(later remade in Hindi as My Wife's Murder) and sort of fell in love with her again. I used to be somewhat obsessed with her; not in a stalkerish way, but in a "I wish I were a cute, young plaything 'muse' of a 'maverick' film director obsessed with my legs and butt, too!" way. And she was a Sridevi fan, which automatically added 25 bonus points to her kitty. I've since moved on but I still think she's cute, and maybe someday I'll watch RGV Ki Aag, just to see if it's really as bad as critics have claimed. Raaj the Showman is another possibility, even though I find Puneet Rajkumar rather unappealing.

I found these caps on the internet a while back. They're from the "Chadti Jawani" remix video she did with Negar Khan and another model whose name I don't know.





Seven more behind the cut:

TPP: Ileana

Her latest Wiki entry claims that she was born November 1, 1982. I read on another site(don't have the link) that her birth year was 1985, same month and day. Her "official" birthday is August 19, 1987. I think it would be cool if she were actually 27. Plus, she strikes me as more of a Scorpio than a Leo. (Yes, I'm sort of into astrology.) Anyway...

I love this girl but, with the exception of Mahesh Babu, I can't stand most of her co-stars. NTR Jr. is alright, but why did he have to be so fat in Rakhi? Ram and Ravi Teja make my head hurt, Nitin and Tarun are a waste of screen space, and Pawan Kalyan is just "Whatever!" Having said that, I may end up ordering Jalsa and Rechipo, anyway. Saleem, too, if it's no more than $5.99.

Her figure looks best in jeans and crop tops. She has a nice midriff. I wish my stomach were as flat as hers. (It probably would be, if I could give up my fondness for white rice and pasta, but I doubt that will ever happen.)




Four more under the cut:

TPP: Sridevi in Devatha

It was remade in Hindi as Tohfa.

I like the cones. Really, I do. And I like--no, LOVE Sridevi even more.

SFR: Asin in London Dreams

Screen caps swiped from this thread on zulm.net.

I sort of want to see this just because I like the way Asin looks in these caps and in the stills I've viewed on bollywoodhungama. But, I'm not a fan of either Salman Khan or Ajay Devgan, and I don't know how well I can tolerate them. Maybe if/when Induna lists the DVD for $1.67 I'll take a chance and order it.

Bunny(2005)

Strangely enough, I like this movie better than Paragu. I say "strangely" because 1) I paid only scant attention to whatever scenes I skipped to/through, and 2) somewhere along the line, the plot got lost among a comedy track with a comedian whose name I can't be bothered to look up, a segment or two involving politics, and a child left in the middle of the road during a rainstorm(baby-switching, perhaps?). And then there was Allu dancing, and the heroine...doing something. I wouldn't call it "acting", more like "just being there". I can't recall either her character's name or her real name, but the one thing that stuck with me was how hard she looked, like she spent her childhood drinking and smoking and hanging out until the wee hours of the morning. She was a "MILF" minus the "ILF". I found it laughable how, within the first 7 minutes of the film, the word "beautiful" was used twice in reference to her. I thought, "She ain't cute!" That being said, I will admit to having a weird fascination with her matronly-looking, almost expressionless face. She sorta reminded me of Sonia Aggarwal, but with about 1.3 more facial movements.

Prakash Raj plays another daddy. I wish he were my daddy. I used to poke fun at his ubiquitousness, but now I want to--never mind.

Allu was cute, but I think I prefer the longer hair he sported in Desamuduru. Should I try to watch Arya(which apparently was successful enough to warrant a sequel)? Or Gangotri? I still don't consider myself a "fan" BUT, he does have a certain je ne sais quois that makes me wish--oh, once again, never mind. **sigh**

That's all I have for now. One day, I'll try to watch Bunny in its entirety. Or maybe I should just post some screen caps and call it a day. Yes, I might do that. (Which reminds me, I still need to make caps from Boss.)

Good Luck(2008)

If you've seen the Lindsay Lohan starrer Just My Luck then you've already watched it's Hindi counterpart. Same story, different actors. Sayali Bhagat is Saba Sharma, an ad exec who's incredibly lucky. Aryeman/Aryamaan is Vicky Varma, a struggling musician who's cursed with bad luck. The two meet at a party and exchange a kiss that reverses their fortunes. Vicky saves music baron Tarun Chopra(Lucky Ali) from getting hit by a car, and Tarun signs Vicky's band to a deal. Saba gets thrown in jail, and loses both her job and her apartment. She goes on a quest to find the guy she kissed so that she can get her luck back. It's not an easy task, however, because he wore a mask, so she doesn't know what he looks like. But she remembers the chain he wore around his neck.

She meets Vicky again, not knowing he's the guy she kissed, and they soon fall in love. But when she realizes he's the one who stole her luck, she plots to take it back. Does she succeed? Will true love prevail in spite of her selfishness? Would anyone be suprised if I said, "Yes, she succeeds, but feels guilty, so she gives back the good luck kiss to help his band succeed"? No? Didn't think so. (And if you were spoiled, I'm sorry, but I thought the conclusion was obvious.)

Sayali was pretty and did a decent job. She's the sole reason I watched this. I liked her in The Train and wanted to see her onscreen again. Aryeman was okay, but looked hotter when he was wearing glasses or that mask. Ranvir Shorey was hilarious as a smooth-talking gigolo. Nazeen Patel, the woman who played Saba's boss, was awful. She spoke her lines in such a stiff, affected manner that she sounded as if she were either constipated or reading from cue cards.

And now, the REAL reason for this post: SCREENCAPS! Click the "read more" link for visuals.

Boss(2006)

I had ordered this movie several months ago, along with a couple of other titles, but my package either got lost in transit, or stolen by a disgruntled postal worker who decided to give him/herself an early Christmas gift. In hindsight, I should've taken my missing package as a sign that perhaps Boss wasn't really worth watching, anyway. (Same goes for Manasantha, but I don't regret reordering Preminchu Priya.) It's not that it's a bad film, it just suffers from Nenunnanu-itis in that there are several unnecessary scenes and subplots that make me reluctant to rewatch it more than once or twice.

Boss is the Tollywood version of Two Weeks Notice, but with the requisite comedy, sentiment, tragedy, songs, and fights thrown in. Nagarjuna is the boss, GK, and Nayantara is his lovelorn secretary, Anu. Romantic rivals in the form of Anu's designated replacement Sruthi(Poonam Bajwa) and GK's deceased wife Sanjana(Shriya Saran in a cameo role) complete the love rectangle. If the movie had focused on just the GK-Anu storyline and it's predictable ending(GK finally accepts and returns Anu's love), it would've been a pleasant viewing experience. However, I had to put up with a bunch of extraneous shit that kinda made me regret getting it. I should've heeded the words of the Bhavani reviewers who remarked that "the last 45 minutes goes haywire" and "I can watch the first part over and over again, but not the second".

On the plus side, Nagarjuna had his jolie-laide. I thought he looked quite handsome, and he and Nayantara made a good pair. Nayan looked stunning in her sarees, Shriya was her usual gorgeous self, and Poonam may very well become my next SLO. She has a sexy, glamourous look that sort of reminds me of Raasi/Manthra, and maybe a little Daisy Bopanna. I found myself really liking her and wanting to check out her other films.

Once I stop feeling lazy, I'll come back to this post with some screencaps.

Paragu(2008)

So far, I don't like it. Admittedly, I watched a total of maybe 30 minutes, thanks to my liberal use of the "skip chapter" button, but what little I saw failed to hold my attention. Allu was likeable, and nice to look at, but not even he could keep my eyes glued to the screen. Perhaps if Poonam Bajwa had been the main heroine, I would've made more of an effort to sit through it. While I liked Sheela in her small parts as a child actress in Rettai Jadai Vayasu, Dheena, and--I believe--Dum Dum Dum, the all-growed-up version leaves me cold. She lacks the looks and charisma to be a lead heroine. Maybe I'll feel differently after more viewings, but my gut instinct tells me that my initial impression is right.

I'll give this one a rewatch, and maybe some "ETA"s, when I'm in a better mood.

Suhaagan(1986)

It's been a few years since I last watched this movie. It used to make frequent appearances in my DVD player on lazy Sunday afternoons. This post will serve as the write-up I meant to do a while ago, but without the aid of Wikipedia, imdb, or the currently misplaced DVD itself. What follows is totally off-the-cuff and based on my faulty memory:

Sridevi and Padmini Kolhapure are sisters. (I forget their characters' names, and I'm not going to look.) Sridevi is the oldest, and spends most of the day reading(and daydreaming?). Their father is a...landlord? He loans money to a lot people and as a result, the family isn't as well-off as it could/would/should be. One day, Sridevi runs into a guy I'll call Dreamboat because again, I don't want to "cheat" and actually get everyone's names straight. Anyway...Dreamboat is a former flame, I think, and he reads a lot, or his father does. I recall Sridevi purusing his bookshelves and selecting a book(or did he choose it for her?). I can't remember the title but I believe it was a paperback.

Sridevi wants to marry Dreamboat(or vice versa) but her father is worried about the dowry. He wants her to marry a farmboy?, played by Jeetendra. Jeetendra is one of those reliable, good-hearted, hard-working guys who most families love. Anyhow, Jeetendra loves Sridevi but she doesn't give him the time of day. However, they end up getting married because her father doesn't have to worry about paying dowry, and maybe also because he likes Jeetendra and thinks he's a better marriage choice than Dreamboat. Dreamboat's father comes to the house to give his consent for Dreamboat and Sridevi's marriage, but he's too late, he overhears Sridevi's dad making marriage plans with Jeetendra.

Let's see...oh! Jeetendra and Sridevi's first night. It's actually similiar to the first night Sridevi has with Anil Kapoor in Judaai. She complains about the heat, and the hard mattress, I think, and Jeetendra takes her over to the window and points out the people who are sleeping on the ground because they don't have homes. "Be thankful for what you have" and all that. Um...they have a baby, a girl. Sridevi is frustrated with married life. Jeetendra walks in on her one day while she's yelling at her daughter in the crib. He scolds her(Sridevi). She's miserable. Somehow, Shakti Kapoor, the local nuisance/pervert, comes into all this, convincing her one night in the woods to run away with Dreamboat. Not out of the kindness of his heart, but because he wants to shame her dad. Sridevi falls for the ploy and sneaks off into the night with Dreamboat. But it's not exactly happy times. She has the stigma of walking out on her husband and daughter, and living with a man she's not married to. One of her teachers comes by the house and, in a long-winded, roundabout way, calls her a dirty hoor. (I can't recall if he gave Dreamboat the same scarlet letter treatment, but I'm inclined to say no, just because, double-standard and all.) After he leaves, Sridevi, feeling lower than low, tries to light herself on fire, but Dreamboat stops her. The next day? Sridevi finds Dreamboat dead from self-poisoning. He may or may not have a left a note.

Sridevi returns home, but of course, being a shamed woman and all, she's not allowed back in the house. I believe she was living in the barn, or somewhere far from her parents home. In the meantime, Padmini and Jeetendra got married, and were raising Sridevi's daughter, who she meets one day, but her daughter doesn't know that the woman she's talking to is her mother since she was still a baby when Sridevi abandonned her. I don't remember what happened afterwards, so I'll jump ahead with this SPOILER ALERT:

Sridevi dies at the end. I want to say it was from heartbreak, but I don't think so. However, I vividly recall thinking, "She makes a good-looking corpse." Seriously. She looked so peaceful and childlike. She was very good at playing a dead person.

Yeah, that was a jumbled mess. Perhaps one day I'll come back and clean it up, but for now I'll leave it as is. Feel free to correct and/or fill-in-the-blanks. In the meantime, I'll continue trying to remove the writer's block I'm currently experiencing with my Boss post.

Rog(2005)

I watched this movie ages ago, but felt inspired to type something since I'm currently listening to the soundtrack.

The soundtrack is great. The movie is...not-so-great. I didn't think it was awful, just very, very average and lacking in suspense. As with most(?) Bhatt films, Rog is a knock-off of a Hollywood flick. In this case, the "inspiration" is the 1944 Otto Preminger film Laura, with Irrfan Khan and Ilene Hamman cast in the roles played by Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney, respectively.

Irrfan is a world-weary police inspector who falls in love with a murdered model(Ilene) after he sees her portrait. He immediately becomes obsessed with her: he stays in her house, reads her diary, visits her grave, and dreams about her. However, it turns out she really isn't dead; she was out of town for a few days and it was another model who was killed. Whodunnit? The answer is obvious--well, it was to me, anyway--the minute that character appears onscreen. The remainder of the film is spent waiting for Irrfan to finally figure out who it is.

Irrfan was good and Ilene was adequate, given that her role required only a little skin show and the ability to convey a couple of facial expressions. I still say any reasonably pretty desi model-slash-actress could've delivered the same result. I was none-too-thrilled about seeing a White woman cast to play an Indian. And Pooja Bhatt's assertion that none of "the Indian beauties [she] met" were as "stunningly beautiful" as Ilene gets an eye roll and a "Whatever!" from me. I thought Ilene was attractive, but not to the extent where Pooja had no choice but to resort to brownface casting. However, as someone once said, "That shit's as old as the work week is long," so...**shrug**

Anyway, the soundtrack, as I already mentioned, is great. Even if you don't intend to watch the movie, I highly recommend giving the soundtrack a listen. If you have a pop-up blocker enabled, you can hear the songs here. (I didn't have a problem with the site, but since I got one of those "pop up blocked" messasges, I thought I'd mention that.) "Maine Dil Se Kaha", "Tere Is Jahan Mein", and the duet version of "Guzar Na Jaye" are my favorite tracks. Whenever I'm in the mood for something relatively soothing to listen to, I usually choose this CD.

Desamuduru(2007)

Scattered thoughts, based on last Saturday's viewing:

1. This movie is LONG. I put it in the DVD player at a little after 5 PM and by 7:30 it was still playing. "This is like the Energizer bunny," I thought. "It just keeps going, and going, and going."

2. Some of Allu Arjun's mannerisms and facial expressions reminded me of Simbu, and not in a good way. But perhaps I've watched Simbu's movies so often that I "see" him in every dancing, fighting, OTT chocolate hero.

3. Hansika Motwani didn't annoy me. In fact, I actually--**gasp**--liked her. And she didn't look a day over 17. Must've been the makeup, or lack thereof.

4. The Bala-Vaishali storyline was similiar to Paap.

5. I don't know what this movie is about. I wasn't really paying attention. There were so many things happening that I lost focus, as well as interest. But that's okay, because I'm sure that a few months from now, I'll return to this post with at least one "ETA".

6. I recognized one of the actors as the guy who was engaged to Laila before Ajith killed him in Paramasivan. He was the one who got fresh with Hansika when she was begging in the market.

7. Rambha's item number was near the end, which was kinda disappointing. I hoped it would be at the beginning.

8. The bits of this movie that managed to sink into my brain made me like Allu Arjun enough to purchase Paragu(got it today), and I'm thinking about getting Bunny, even though I find the heroine rather unappealing.

Short takes, pt.15.

Or, "Look what I received from Induna today!"

I'm addicted to ordering from Induna. If my blog attracted several hundred unique visitors per week, I'd sign up for their affliate program. Anyway...

Dekha Pyar Tumhara(1985) - I thought, "What the hell?" Even though I'm not really a fan of Kamal's Hindi movies, I find myself wanting to collect as many of them as I can find, just because.

Gateway of India(1957) - I have no idea what this is about. I got it because of Madhubala, even though I wasn't really feeling her looks in this song.

Kal Hamara Hai(1959) - I did a half-assed post here. Madhubala in a double role, that's all I know.

Masterji(1985) - Rajesh Khanna kinda annoys me, but Sridevi AND Anita Raj in the same movie? Okay. I thought I would try to watch the Telugu original first but again, "What the hell?"

Naata(1955) - No clue, but Madhubala, y'know, so...

Qaid(1975) - I saw some screencaps posted in the Leena Chandavarkar thread on Indomania and thought she looked good, so I tried to hunt it down, but Nehaflix didn't carry the DVD at the time, and I hadn't yet discovered Induna, so I forgot about it until last Friday, when I was searching for films to buy. According to Nehaflix, "A girl's evil uncle plots against her in order to steal her inheiritance". Sounds good to me. I hope it's entertaining, even if it's in a unintentionally hilarious way.

What should I get during my next visit to Induna? I would like to check out more Bengali flicks, but I don't know where to start. I guess I could get Sab Choritra Kalponik, and/or maybe Neel Nirjane. Aainaate, Swapner Din, Amanush, Nirjan Saikate, Antaheen, and Kaalpurush are other possibilities. I'll have to keep those titles in mind.