Monika’s Pensieve

There’s this very weird (and pretty bad) Indian art house film with Shahrukh from 1995, which is called Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India (literal translation: “Oh Darling! This is India”). The reason it’s called that is that throughout the film anything strange that happens is followed by that line. When I watched the clip below, [...]

I’m getting more and more excited about the film - can’t wait until it finally makes it into cinemas here!
I’ve been trying to follow the response in India and it’s quite peculiar. On the one hand there’s a lot of praise for Danny Boyle and a lot of excitement about A. R. Rahman’s Golden Globe [...]

I came across the video below today… It’s a kind of dinner thing that he did in New Jersey in 2005 and I guess I somehow found it particularly amusing cause it feels a bit like he’s doing American style stand-up comedy.

You may remember I spotted a very strange creation that involved India, China and the USA together. Chandni Chowk to China has done reasonably well from what I’ve gathered, but the response is a bit mixed.
It’s pretty much the first Bollywood film ever to be marketed at non-Indians in the USA and it received a [...]

The ban on smoking in films, which India introduced in 2005, has now been lifted.

I’m completely not used to seeing Shahrukh taking any kind of political stands - he’s the guy, who always wiggles out of making any definitive comments on anything political. So it’s a surprise to discover he’s been making a very strong one recently… Or maybe it just seems strong to me because he doesn’t usually [...]

{FILM SPOTTING}
Doubt (USA, 2008)
Polish Distributor: Forum Film Poland (20th February 2009)
Release Date (worldwide): 12th December 2008
Runtime: 104′
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Cast: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis
Production House: Scott Rudin Productions
Plot: (from imdb)
Set in 1964, Doubt centers on a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him abusing a black student. He denies [...]

I came across this clip today and it’s ridiculous ;) It’s not even the answers Shahrukh gives (which are funny in itself). It’s just that I can’t believe journalists ask such things in that way lol I’ve heard about interviewers directly asking him about his sexual orientation, whether he’s ever cheated on his wife and [...]

…they’re in demand at the Golden Globe Awards *grin*
A.R. Rahman became the first Indian ever to win a Golden Globe yesterday :) Rahman is responsible for some of Bollywood’s most famous music and is a bit of a legend. He won the award for his work on Slumdog Millionaire (a film I “spotted” quite a [...]

{FILM SPOTTING}
Dev D (India, 2009)
Polish Distributor: I doubt one exists or that one will exist in the near future :]
Release Date (worldwide): 9th January 2009
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill
Production House: UTV Motion Pictures (UTV Spot Boy)
Plot: This is a modern interpretation of Devdas, one of India’s most famous novels (it’s been adapted for [...]