Archives For Celebrity

Gulaab Gang is set to open next week (and I’m jealous of you), so they’re heavy on their online promotion. I don’t know how heavy the promotion in India (posters, billboards, tv ads, etc) actually is, but I supposed the production is hoping for a decent opening overseas in the limited regions (I suppose).

Besides the Koffee with Karan epi [1] — from which I ended up reading a bit more on Juhi — Madhuri Dixit has turned up in this YouTuber’s channel- known as Superwoman — in an episode titled What Bollywood Has Taught Me. It’s funny business if you know all the references, of course.

They’ve also been posting Behind the Scenes clips [1], as well as the mandatory Jukebox [1]. And of course, I just spoiled myself with the Juhi clip. It’s sorta been my way of watching Indian films, just go blind and be surprised. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t like Mr. India because I was all spoiled with the best bits featuring Sridevi.

Anyway, the clip made me wonder about the perception of anti-heroes and ‘bad guys’ on India films, and how that may have affected Juhi’s decision to play a negative role. I’ve also watched Kareena Kapoor’s Heroine which made me shrug at how sucky it is to be a heroine (anywhere in the world). In terms of acting, it feels like the filmmakers had a bit more confidence in Juhi’s abilities and charisma to play a bad guy. In the end, she seemed to have had fun.

I hope the film is good business.

Normally… normally I wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to watch Vidya Balan and Tabu (together!) on a film, which is the case with Urumi (English complete title~ Urumi: The Warriors Who Wanted to Kill Vasco da Gama), but I just can’t shake the feeling that it’s gonna be more than two hours of cringe-worthy cartoon ‘demon-white’ colonialist with random musical numbers. I could maybe take it for two hours sans musical numbers and loads of pumping action fight sequences.

You can try it out even without subs.

Plus, it’s a Malayaman film, so I bet they’ve got their voices dubbed. As an alternative, I found their item songs. Though I’m unsure if Vidya has a more extensive role in the film, Tabu’s credit on IMDb lists it as a special appearance.

The original track song is called Aaranne Aaranne [clip], but the Telugu dub upload is much better for obvious quality reasons.

Vidya’s number after the break~

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I’ve been so disconnected from Shakira for so long. I still listen to her old albums, but that fandom fijacion that would have been is not there- that means I literally don’t know what’s new with Shakira. After the birth of her son, she’s making a comeback. The last single I sort of knew was Loba or She Wolf, so apparently it’s been less time since her last album.

Not a fan of Can’t Remember to Forget You, but her latest single Empire brought back all those Piez Descalzos and Donde Estan Los Ladrones vibes and feelings. Lyrics-wise still not there, but it’s okay.

All of a sudden interested on what’s coming up with her new album.

I gotta admit that I haven’t watched many of Juhi’s films yet. She’s certainly popped up quite a number of times in supporting roles here and there, but in terms of fandoms, Madhuri’s filmography has taken the lead. Having said that, I was taken by how candid and honest Juhi was with her answers.

While Madhuri is strictly diplomatic with her answers, revealing enough but not too much; Juhi’s relationship with her rise to fame and her mistakes through the course of her career seemed… refreshing. I’ve barely seen her, but it feels like I got a small window to get to know her. That’s an interesting quality in movie stars nowadays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bWZtqQ4eQ4

But seriously- THE moment of the day is Ranveer Singh’s tribute to the both of them. How could anyone be sexy, sweet, cute, funny, dorky and such a good actor.

— EDIT Nov 7, 2914 —

For some reason, StarTV has made the clips private, but you can still watch the episodes on their website.

BiBi placed last this episode. WHATEVER. I’ve already explained my opinion on people’s voting and how faulty the democratic system can be (specially on reality television and competitions). All that matters is that BiBi sang a GREAT arrangement of David Tao’s Black Tangerine (黑色柳丁).

It was around 9 years ago when my friend introduced me to David Tao via Ghost (鬼) and Black Tangerine, and I’ve never regretted it since. Then I discovered BiBi via the Beijing Olympics, learned about the Chinese music scene and the rest has been history. My relationship to Black Tangerine is a very strong one, and I’m usually not one for covers of great songs, but that was a great fresh arrangement. It was the song and it wasn’t — both at the same time. It was like listening to it once again and discovering it all over again.

That’s a great feeling to have.

It doesn’t matter if you placed last in this show, BiBi. You can very well go home knowing you did an amazing arrangement of a great song.

Oh, man. I ran into a random photo of Tabu when she did a small part in Hum Naujawan back in 1985. My first reaction was “she hasn’t changed at all.” Then, I was pretty amazed at how easy it was to find a clip of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCnLzWQgSe4

I could see why some people would think Meenaxi was a self-indulgent movie, but who am I to deny myself the self-indulgence of a lens focused solely on Tabu? Beautiful cinematography with a soundtrack by A.R Rahman to top it all off. I can’t. I could watch this film forever.

Oh, gosh. It hurts just to look at all this gorgeousity.

[Talking about her traits compared to her The Namesake character] In six months, I will drive my husband mad. I will cry; I will not cook because I do not know how. I will crave for home food and he will have to take me to an Indian joint. I will cry more because I will have to walk to the taxi. I will feel hot; I will feel cold… and I will be miserable, even though I will enjoy meeting new people and eating at nice restaurants.

Verve Online Vol. 15, Issue 7 – 2007

Nothing Serious About Tabu

A couple-worth of celluloid frames from Main Hoon Na.

tabu-main-hoon-na-srk-dance

xD

I ran into this episode of India’s Most Desirable featuring Rani, and watched it through the night. She explains the development of her personality, which resulted in her character in No One Killed Jessica. I find it a bit odd, but okay- I’ll take it.

What I found most interesting was her relationship with her parents, and the thing she said about having one set of parents in your lifetime really struck a chord with me.

Then she plays the games- the 2 Truths and 1 Lie game was a bit odd. She does elaborate on one hard to believe truth (a baby switch when she was born), but she totally skims through another one (almost married at 14?) ; I’m not sure if she was joking or not. LOL The fan questions segment was a bit weird, but Rani participates in all good fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QvavnYh2s8