(Note: I swiped the title(s) of my post from Shortpurge and Amit)
In Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Sanjay Dutt has a visitation from “Bapu,” and afterwards starts trying live in a more Gandhian way. The film is technically the sequel to the superhit from 2003, Munna Bhai, M.B.B.S., but wisely goes off on a completely different direction from the first film (you don’t need to have seen Munna 1 to enjoy this). The “dadagiri” is the same (just wanted an excuse to use the word “dadagiri”), as is the “everyman triumphs against heartless bureaucracy” theme, but the story and the shape of the two films couldn’t be more different.
One of my favorite bits: at one point, Munna is getting smacked around by a security guard employed by his nemesis, the heartless builder Lucky Singh. After getting slapped once, he gamely turns the other cheek. After getting slapped twice, he gives the guy a big, “baap re baap” punch in the gut, which knocks the guy across the street. Munna’s sheepish explanation: “Bapu never said what to do after they’ve hit both of your cheeks.”
Now that’s the kind of Gandhianism I like. And indeed, this is the kind of Bollywood I like. (Manish, who is pretty choosy with regards to Bollywood, also liked it; in fact, we went to see it largely on his recommendation). The humor is sweet, the songs are energetic and relatively “traditional,” and everything is actually in good taste for once. Moreover, the Mahatma Gandhi part of the plot is the excuse for an admirable, relatively non-dogmatic social message. At the theater where I saw it last night, in Doylestown, PA, the audience all came out looking well-pleased.
Apoo from Baltimore liked the film as well, calling it a “laugh riot.” He also says that Vidya Balan is so gorgeous in Lage Raho, she takes the “Droolotrophy” from Diya Mirza! I don’t know if Diya Mirza ever had my droolotrophy, but I have to concur on Vidya Balan.
Bloggers have even begun to write their own “Munna Bhai” style jokes based on the style of the comedy in these films: see Preetinder, in Patiala. And this blogger went ahead and did the guitar tablature for “Par Pal Har Pal,” one of the film’s better songs.
And Bollywood Fans Deutschland says:
LRMB ist ein sehr witziger Film, mit sympathischen Charakteren, Tanz, Gesang und einer rührenden Story. Es wird geheiratet, ein Familiendrama spielt eine Rolle, und so erhält man einen typischen BOLLYWOOD-Handlunsgsstrang witzig erzählt. (link)
Couldnt agree more. Especially about the Handlunsgsstrang part — how true.
axually – i speedread through a few of pages of that in the local store while browsing – ya he had a tough time – but he seems to be downing his glum in scotch or something stronger.
I watched it last night at Bollywood Cinema 6, one of Houston’s two/three Bollywood-dedicated movieplexes. It is PACKED. Officially, the last show was for 10:30pm, but there was so much demand that they created an 11:30 and 12:30 show to accomodate the crush of people. Of course, the waiting area was jampacked, with the desi concept of a non-queue. When we got to get into the theater hall after waiting for over an hour, it was typical desi faux-chaos rush to the seats. A lone cop was trying hard to maintain order, screaming, ‘Please, this is America, relax!!!’ It was pretty hilarous.
The movie itself? Worth every minute of that wait! And definitely total paisa-vasool. It’s just a whole lot of fun. Arshad Warsi cracked us up all through (Circuit as Sarkeshwar? OMG! What a beautiful pun!!!). Being from Mumbai, there are many many more points of humor that I find just because of the familiarity. And I shall never look at chemical imbalances in the same way again!!!
Not to mention that the trailers for Don and Dhoom 2 had my friends and me Drooling. Can’t wait!!!! Don looks so matrixey they should have probably just called it ‘Don Reloaded’ or something.
Amardeep,
And then some people would insist that their colour of Kleenex is the most “authentic and accurate”. Which would result in some other people mentioning that Kleenex comes in a variety of different colours and that the specific shade varies accordingly to exactly which factory originally produced it and the local conditions regarding where it’s subsequently sold. And then some people would go berserk and claim that the second group are claiming superiority over other varieties of Kleenex along with being in denial about the true shading, consistency and origin of unadulterated Kleenex compared to other brands of tissue which may be around.
Sometimes, I think people should just blow their noses so that it removes the snot clogging up their pipes, instead of flicking the offensive material at other Kleenex-owners just because having a blocked shnozzle may have caused them certain problems during their own experiences.
😉
And I am not even gonna comment on the color thing anymore, sick of it. I find hotness in every color around, period. My dream girl’s color is a beautiful glossy mocha…ooooh. Still looking for her, tho 🙁
Technophobicgeek,
Me too. I can’t even remember the last time I heard such one-track obsessing about the topic on this side of the Atlantic. Some people like light-skinned girls, others like darker varieties. To each his own. As long as no-one disrespects or mistreats anyone who doesn’t match their preferences, it should be a non-issue. End of story.
If you have access to the B4U Music channel over there, I suggest you keep an eye out for a bhangra/rap video called “Screw the Lightbulb” by Hunterz which is currently on their regular playlist. It has more than enough beautiful glossy mocha-coloured desi models/dancers to keep you happy.
Actually, in South Indian films, both light-skinned actors and actresses were the norm, or at least enough makeup was put on to make them look light-skinned.
Darker-skinned actors (not actresses) only got popular in tamil cinema in the last 6-7 years.
“i dont think that things such as ligthing are used to make indian films actors look more fair – if they look fair, chances are thery are pretty fair already”
Nah, not really. Look at the South Indian legend Rajnikanth without makeup: [url]http://archives.aaraamthinai.com/arasiyal/newpgs/fb/images/08feb-ph04.jpg/[url]
With makeup: [url]http://www.siliconeer.com/past_issues/2005/Sept2005-files/guft-rajnikanth-chandramukh.jpg[/url]
“”Jai you think British Asian women are good looking? Meh. About average, same proportion of fitties and mingers as back in the desh or across the Pond. I don’t think their fairness is particularly different either, if one were to compare with the people in the areas from whence they came.””
I don’t know about that. Look at people from Tamil Nadu in the US today, then look at the average person from tamil nadu, and you’ll see that the one from the US is significantly more lighter. It’s usually the middle-to-upper-class (upper class = upper caste) indians who are able to emigrate out to the Canada and the US (enough points and all that), and they tend to have lighter skin then the rest of the region.
On the other hand, a sri lankan tamil from Sri Lanka and one living in Canada pretty have the very similar skin tones. This is probably due to the fact that it’s not just middle-upper class coming in, it was everyone — most came as refugees, not immigrants.
If any of the Mutineers have not yet watched “Munna Bhai MBBS”, here is an YouTube link where all of it can be watched or re-watched, i.e., if you have the patience to take in a Bollywood fillum in 10 min segments, and don’t have too many qualms about copyright stuff.
And speaking of “classic” desi beauties, I would also nominate Chitrangada Singh of Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi fame to this list. And I think former SM guru, Manish, would approve. 🙂
Damn, I really need to learn how to link properly (and quote too).
PS: By “this side”, I meant Britain, not the US (in case there was any confusion).
Isnt this the guy who bought/stored/supplied AK47s during the mumbai ’93 blasts? Mahatma Gandhi would have been proud.
and i bless my stars everyday that we have an equitable representation from all over, rather than an overabundance of slooshyarsed, jigglyarmed brainiacs with the pallor and vapors of sourdough bread.
happy onam to y’all who care to be greeted thusly .
I completely buy BB’s argument about non-sexy desi beauties being called ‘classic desi beauties’, but do you really think Madhuri was maternal and wholesome? I’m not a guy, or a dyke, so have to say my perspective is flawed…but seems to me she was smokin’. Specially when she danced.
Hairy D, You said it, Canuckbrutha.
Just saw Lage Raho Munna Bhai today (first Bollywood movie I’ve seen in the theater since Rang De Basanti back in the winter)…enjoyable and funny. Vidya Balan is gorgeous. Hope to see a lot more of her in the future (interpret that anyway you all want…)
I loved the movie, and saw it on its first Friday in Dallas. Theater was packed, and that was the best way to watch it. Family film indeed – even the kids in the theater enjoyed it enough to not cry, and there were LOTS of them at 9pm on Friday. We were laughing throughout the movie, even my husband who only understands the subtitles. Some things don’t need translation 😀
The trailer for Kabul Express came in a close second to the film for hilarity… it looked pretty good up until the jeep stops, a dramatic silence, and the guy points and says “Osama bin Laden” … at which point the entire audience busted up laughing. I think I’ll Netflix that one. 😉
They say in the US, “Indians are vegetarian” when only about 20% are.
“Indians are great at math”
A Mexican woman (5’4″) would NOT believe me when I said that the average Indian woman is her height. She pointed to all her Indian colleagues and Indian movies…
All three above have reasons you have described. Does anyone know the average height of the Indian man and woman. Is this different from that of other countries in the subcontinent?
Puhleez my macacas and macacis, Movies (especially the desi variety) are escapist. It’s for this reason that they usually portray what doesn’t really happen in real life. This may be why Tamil heroines are so chunky. Since most women in TN tend to be skinny, I guess being fat is sexy. And so it is with the fair actresses-look around India, most people are dark brown to black in complexion.
So remember to leave your brain at home when you go to the next desi flick.
So, in Kashmir, darkies are hot?
Thomas Kurma,
I believe it’s 5ft 3 for women and 5ft 7 for men (in India itself).
Very good point, but it would be wise not to start that particular off-topic debate again. There are some nasty people here on both sides of the argument who jump at any chance to push their bigoted racist (and reverse-racist) agendas. Let’s not feed the trolls.
Thomas Kurma (#67):
Isn’t that how tall Aamir Khan is?
Please explain?
Ugh, puns never sound that good when explained, but I’ll try
1) Well, ‘Circuit’ in Mumbaiyya slang can denote a crazy, headstrong guy (from ‘short circuit’, of course). 2) ‘Sarakna’ is Hindi for ‘to slide’. In Mumbai slang, someone wierd is ‘Sarkela’ (i.e his brain has slid away). 3) Adding ‘esh’, ‘ish’, or ‘eshwar’ to any male name adds the meaning ‘Lord of…’ eg: Karunesh=Lord of compassion
So combining, Sarkeshwar could translate as ‘Lord of wierdos’ for most Mumbai folk, but would sound like a very decent legit Indian name anywhere else. And it sounds close enough to ‘Circuit’.
boleto Sarkeshwar ka bheja khiskela hai.
Anybody else bothered by Sanjay Dutt’s connection to the 93 Bombay [Mumbai] blasts, or his [proven] links to the underworld, or his owning an AK-47 gun, illegaly. I doubt you guys would blog/fawn over his mediocre talent, had he been a hollywood star.
I’m jealous of all the new Bollywood/Indian films you seem to be able to catch in Philly, Amardeep. I looked for Omkar in LA but no scene…does anyone know if this current movie is playing anywhere in the Los Angeles vicinity? Please? It sounds utterly fun!
PS: thanks yet again for these great reviews. Great way for us to keep in touch with interesting movies/music coming out of desh(s).
Yay. Just found the answer to my question above: Lage raho is indeed playing at Naz8 in Artesia (6440 E. South Street, Lakewood, CA – (510) 797-2000) right now!
Sorry about the multiple posts :).
Wanted to know what our mutineers thought of Munna Bhai MBBS? I haven’t seen it: is it worth trekking about town to buy/rent before seeing this sequel? How important is Munna Bhai MBBS to Lage Raho?
Thank you!
Thanks for the info, Jai. Do you remember the source? I looked a few months ago on the net and found only one place, which I don’t remember. It had the average height for women.
Sorry, I didn’t know about the agendas. The rarity thing that desidawg mentioned does have a lot of merit. I forget which one but I read this story about an Englishman who was in Egypt (early 20th century, I think) and went to striptease type thing with fat women dancing. He asked his host “Why do you people like fat women?” to which the Egyptian responded “Why do you like thin women?” and the Englishman had no good answer. But some examples show that the color thing in the movies is not entirely along those lines.
Anyways, over and out from me on this topic since it’s not what the thread is about.
Oops. Just realized Amardeep had indeed already anticipated and answered my question about whether or not ’tis necessary to have seen MBBS. Thanks.
Thomas Kurma,
If you are familiar with the thread I linked to in post #29 then you’ll understand what I mean. Two threads (so far) have been hijacked during the past few weeks alone, to a great extent by the same people, and ideally we want to prevent this happening for a third time. Especially as the same culprits have now reappeared and have begun to subtly make the same kind of insidious remarks. It would be best not to give them further ammunition for their neuroses.
Sorry buddy, I can’t remember. I think someone here on SM (probably Razib, although I may be wrong) mentioned it a little while ago, but I’m afraid I can’t remember either the reference or the specific thread.
Jai you need to lighten up. I am not allied with some group that hijacks threads. You should go look at some of my previous comments before you include me in your paranoid, thread-hijack conspiracy.
DesiDawg,
I wasn’t actually referring to you and, in fact, did nothing to suggest that this was the case at all. I am familiar with your previous posts on this blog. So, with all due respect, you may wish to check your own paranoia. SM regulars will know who I was actually referring to.
It may also be in your benefit to take on board the SM Intern’s comments directed towards you on the other thread, as you appear to be miscalculating repeatedly today. Too much caffeine, perhaps ? 🙂
Jai, with all due respect, your constant veiled references to the participants in those now mercifully closed threads are distasteful. If SM participants want that whole episode to recede into memory (and I suspect that most do), that means that you’ll have to stop making oblique references to other people’s alleged neuroses. One of the people you sparred with in those notorious threads was perfectly civil in this one; at this point, the only person keeping this issue alive is you.
Amba,
Your point is correct, but quietly suggesting to some other commenters — who are unaware of previous events — that it would best not to raise certain issues, in order to pre-empt another distasteful threadjacking (which, as I mentioned earlier, has already happened twice in a relatively short space of time, with the same people involved), is not “keeping the issue alive”. Neither is clarifying for DesiDawg’s benefit that my post to Thomas Kurma was in no way regarding him. With hindsight, I can see why DesiDawg would have misinterpreted my comment as being about him, but I have read enough of his previous posts on SM to know that he is a decent guy and, indeed, to be aware of the (non-malicious) context of his other post on this thread. The same applies to my opinion of you [not a guy, obviously, but you know what I mean 😉 ].
With regards to the original issue, I consider the matter closed. However, it would be in people’s best interests if they did not attempt to pull another stunt like that again.
Jai, Amba is right. Let it go.
Amardeep, as far as I’m concerned “the case is closed”. My occasional interventions on this thread were just to prevent it veering off into a depressingly-familiar direction, which it was in danger of doing a couple of times. I have a zero-tolerance policy towards racists of any hue and it’s best if everyone here didn’t even give them an opening. I trust you to keep things under control anyway.
Back to the main topic. I thought the next Munnabhai installment was supposed to be “Munnabhai LLB”, ie. depicting him as a lawyer ?
I’m aware that the original title for the new movie was “Munnabhai versus The Mahatma”, but presumably they changed it due to the misunderstandings people had about the story.
Yes, Thank you Amardeep for stepping in. Your patience and guidance, not to mention martial blood is required in times like this. How are you by the way?
I have been on this site since the Gupta dynasty and if you know my reputation on this site–you can ask Tinkle, Juggy, Bobby and Pinky for references–you know I’m anti-racist, pro-woman, non-homophobic and an avid gardener! Not to mention the many countless mutineers of all shades who enjoy my Mughal Miniature!
I don’t why anyone could be so callous in bringing up petty internet flame wars on any number of unrelated threads. Are they jealous of me? Certain thread jackers, not to mention my internet stalkers keep bringing up topics not relevant to the discussion of…what was it again…oh yea Munnabhai MBA?? Oh anyways, it would be racist for me to suggest that they don’t have sharp features, but perhaps it would be wise if they start their comments by telling us if they have a blunt nose or not. This will allow us to put their comments in perspective.
We don’t have these internet jihadis in the other side of the pond, hiding beheind veils of anonymity bringing up matters not related to the subject at hand. In Mother England, we have real jihadis, not cowardly ones who hide behind their Dell Monitors. Even the Rajputs never had to face so many troublesome Sepia Jihadists at one time. One of my female admirers should tie a rakhee on my wrist before I go into battle against them. As a matter of principle I still will not allude to my hotness, that will only supply the haters with more ammunition to attack me. I will take the high road as always.
Well I’m glad I could clear up these issues and steer the discussion to a more positive, fruitful direction. Well I don’t want to turn this note into the length of a legal brief, though many say my comments are about as enjoyable to read as a legal brief!… so I’ll end by saying to all neurotic, jealous commenters: Stop oppressing me trolls! Death to Speia Jihadists!!
JaiLam – #%^&@ brilliant. What took you so long?
Off to think up my next internet jihad.
take a chill pill guys.
har ek baat pe kehte ho tum ki “tu kya hai” tum hi kaho yeh andaaz-e-guftgoo kya hai
“JaiLam”,
A very poor effort for once. Come on, we all know you can do better than that. Try again.
And this time, don’t forget to include references to fortresses, deserts, detailed comparisons of British South Asians versus their American cousins, random uses of the words “vanilla” and “porcelain”, along with gratuitous references to bikinis, high-heels and item-number girls. You can even throw in detailed explanations of Sikh theology and various associated historical events if you dare.
I’m very disappointed with your contribution. SpoorLam would roll in his grave. Although presumably he was cremated instead. Or maybe he was even more daring and became an honorary Parsi, in which case some vultures currently circling Mumbai probably got a very good meal for once. Eating too many saffron balls tends to fatten you up, you see.
Oh yes, I nearly forgot — you’ll need to include repeated uses of the word “badmaash” in order to ensure maximum accuracy.
Anyway, apart from the fact that post #89 is the worst imitation of SpoorLam I’ve ever seen — we’ve all come up with better examples than that — it’s also worth bearing in mind that using multiple aliases (particularly to harass other commenters) is an offence which gets people banned from Sepia Mutiny.
Just something to remember 😉
Jai, like many (wannabe) policemen – you’re all-too-willing to overlook your own violations of the ‘rules’, like wantonly calling people liars, vicious, and ‘nasty pieces of work’, comments which caused one of the threads you gratuitously refer to to be closed.
BTW I’m not JaiLam. Others have apparently noticed that you are a self-righteous pontificating windbag. Not to mention colour-obsessed.
(hee hee!)
i’ll make public what i’ve told the ops in private: this blog needz SCOOP.
Jai and DQ: much love to you both, but YO! could you two please chill? or exchange email addresses and fight elsewhere? you can videotape the tape and if it’s good, we’ll post it, promise.
DQ, you are CG reborn.
Was she in Parineeta? That was a nice film.
vidya balan is fair in nature..if u luk at ne of her pix u can c it
She is a classical beauty. I would love to see more films of her. She is looking too good in parneeta