It's been a long time since I've posted here hasn't it? I have a bit of an excuse--I was in Jamaica, playing bridesmaid in the wedding of one of my best friends (and meeting so many fantastic people!), then in San Juan, Puerto Rico, exploring Old Town and getting a wee bit tipsy (true story) with some more friends, and then finally on a Caribbean cruise with my dad and sister.
I'm so spoiled.
Congratulations Danielle and Omar! <3
Anyways, now I'm back, and I'm slowly catching up on all the awesome (and not so awesome) goings-on in Filmiland.
What's not so awesome? Ready. I'm soooooo over hearing about Ready. I'm just...not interested. Asin's great and Salman's occasionally entertaining but when you watch three or four trailers in a row for a film and are still hard pressed to remember what it's about...well, that's a bad sign. Looks like another mass-produced formulaic bore. Yawn.
What's awesome? I'm glad you asked.
This is awesome:
Let's talk about this. Because I wasn't super excited when I heard about the project, and I wasn't super excited when someone sent me the trailer. But then I watched it. And I watched it again. And I decided I was kind of intrigued.
Politics of Love is about an Obama campaign worker (played by Mallika Sherawat) who falls in love with a McCain campaign worker. Craaaaaaazy, I know. And not just any old McCain campaign worker. A black McCain campaign worker (I know I know, but it's a movie so it doesn't have to be realistic.)
Anyways...drama drama, etc etc. It's your standard girl meets boy, boy happens to work for the spawn of Satan film where everything works out in the end with the help of sassy family and friends and a "can't we all get along" speech (or not...I haven't seen it but I'm assuming there'll be one of those in there somewhere).
So why wasn't I super excited about it? Because even a few years later I still have freaking Obama fatigue. I'm one of those super liberals who isn't really an Obama fan...you know the drill. Anyways. I wasn't sure how much "zomg isn't Obama amazing?!" I could take in one two minute trailer, but I was pleasantly surprised. The fact that I was able to set my political fatigue aside and get (albeit oh so briefly) involved with the rest of the trailer is a good sign. I'm not a big Mallika Sherawat fan either but I'm willing to give this a try.
Plus, come on, Loretta Devine? I fucking love her.
Continuing with things that are awesome, let's talk about Chammak Challo. You know the one. Akon doing his thing on a track that got leaked and made Shahrukh Khan cry?
Three things. First, this track is HOT. Like...I've listened to it a hundred times in two days hot. Second, a note to SRK: if it makes you feel at all better, I had absolutely no intention of seeing RA.One at all until I heard Chammak Challo. Now I'm willing to go just to check out the picturization. So see? Life's not all bad. :) Third, Akon could become a Bollywood playback singer in a heartbeat. His Hindi sounds better when he sings than mine does, and I've been studying Hindi for damn near five years now. If he and Vishal ever did an album together...just sayin'...
Akon. So hot right now. Akon.
Ahem. Moving on...
Another trailer, this time for Breakaway, the new Russell Peters/Rob Lowe film about a desi ice hockey team. Think The Mighty Ducks meets Bend It Like Beckham. It has all the things I look for in a film: Rob Lowe, Russell Peters, Anupam Kher, and Sikhs on ice.
And finally, the official trailer for Aarakshan is out, and it looks like a humdinger. I'm excited to see Saif finally do something that looks interesting. Add in the riveting Prateik Babbar and you've got a film I'm dying to see.
Not a bad group of things to be excited about!
There is one thing I'm starting to get a little nervous about, and that's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. I have exceptionally high hopes and expectations for Zoya's second film, based on both how absolutely amazing Luck By Chance was and on the ZNMD cast. Other than Katrina Kaif, the film has a cast you simply can't go wrong with. Hrithik, Farhan, Abhay, and Kalki are all favorites of mine and are phenomenally talented. And of course I'm drawn to anything set in Spain. Which brings me to my concern:
Spain. I love it. The best times of my life have been in Spain. Every once in a while I swear I can still smell it.
And I'm afraid that it's about to be turned into a film cliche. La Tomatina? Running with the bulls? I worry that my beloved Spain is being used as an exotic backdrop rather than as a legitimate character in the film.
That, along with the fact that I'm horribly underwhelmed by the soundtrack, is bringing down my expectations just a little bit. Who knows, it could end up being a phenomenal film. But I'm getting a bit worried...
Oh oh oh! Forgot to add the trailer for My Friend Pinto, which looks HILARIOUS and stars Prateik Babbar (swoon) and Kalki Koechlin (total girl crush). I can't wait for this one!
