Watching--Paa

This movie has been sitting on top the TV for quite a while--gotta love Netflix, but if they realize how long I keep a movie--I am in trouble. Alex had to go to a meeting this morning, so I decided to watch Paa.
Mind you, I am not a huge Abhishek Bachchan fan--even in the roles I like, I find him a bit underwhelming. He doesn't have the charisma on the screen that Shahid Kapoor or SRK have-but he ususally does a great job--umm, let us forget about Drona, in that movie, even the horse seemed embarrassed to be there.

This low-key movie has the romantic start that many expect--the young lovers in college. When Vidya discovers she is pregnant--he lover Amol, feels not ready for family, marriage etc. He suggests terminating the pregnancy--Vidya just says that she will no longer be a burden to him. Vidya is worried that her mother will be upset and throw her out-but her mother is her biggest supporter.

When Auro is born, it is obvious there is something wrong--the diagnosis shortens his life expectancy--Progeria--a rare genetic disorder that causes rapid aging--Auro's family treats him not very differently--the school he attends, treat him like a regular 12 year old.

Auro wins a contest--meets.........well, I think you need to watch this charming film yourself, so I am not going to give away any more--other than Auro does meet his father--and you have a sad but happy ending.

The extras are not much on this disk, just showing the progress Big B underwent for the prosthetic makeup!! Alex was home by then, and marvelled that he felt no big Hollywood star would allow to have himself filmed while the mask and prosthetics were being made!! Gotta love Bollywood!

Peepli [Live]

A rainy Sunday--perfect day for a movie. My friend Deirdra and I decided we would head to the Worcester area to see the new Aamir Khan productions--Peepli[live]. I had read interviews with Aamir, Deirdra had heard an interview on NPR--I had been wanting to see this movie, but with car issues and Alex needing the car to work inventory--I saw it as a near impossible objective. Well, Deirdra was just as intrigued by this movie as I was--so we headed off, fighting rain, accidents on the turnpike, and heavy traffic returning home from weekends.
As always, the Sunday matinee was pretty much deserted. I was surprized by the number of 'anglos' in the small crowd--though, there were enough Hindi speakers in the theater that they seemed to get some of the in jokes that the subtitles did not properly translate.

I could give you a synopsis of the plot-but it was more the ideas, concepts, and the statements made (overtly as well as covertly) about the press-not only in India but in the world. Natha and his brother Budhia are struggling to save the family farm--the bank refused the loan once again. The local politico suggests that maybe one of the brothers should consider suicide, since the government will pay reparations to families of those who die.
The story is really about how the local newspaper reporter--Rakesh--gets disillusioned by the 'big city' press.

As the story goes "Live"--and all the news folks descend on the small dusty village--everything gets its day on the news, and I mean everything!! goats, cranky mothers, the neighbors, the police force--everything gets a moment in the limelight. As the 'suicide watch' becomes a bit of a sideshow-Rakesh seems to feel that the real story is not being addressed. This movie is about 'the real story'. How many times do we turn on the news and see the mole hill rather than the mountain--the trivial story rather than the broader picture.

As Deirdra and I discussed the intricacies of the story, and how it effected us--she brought us a story that I had passed over in the newspaper that she thought was not appropriate for the local NPR station to cover. JDSalinger's toilet--and its recent sale! on that note--that's it, I can say no more about the movie--for it all comes down to toilets--in real life as well as in the movies.

My Name is Khan--is coming!

Well, I got the notification today that my DVD copy of My Name is Khan is on its way. I am kind of nervous about it arriving--which version will it be? Will it be the international, edited version(without the embarrassing hurricane bits), or will it be the version I saw at the theatre that shows first run Hindi films?? The hurricane bits were cringeworthy--but if they take them out, how will it affect the movie?
I still have a backlog of films to finish/or just plain watch! I have a SRK film in the DVD player that even my meager knowledge of Hindi is telling me that the sub-titles don't give you all the information you need. I finally broke down and bought (on a major sale from Nehaflix) The Inner/Outer World of SRK--so many things seem to refer to the interviews etc on this DVD--that I felt I finally needed to become a voyeur into SRK's life.

Oh well, to have several days to do nothing but knit and watch Bollywood!--and now I found I have a friend who is also a Bollywood nut---humm need to really find out HOW she got hooked! My dear, sweet goddaughter got me hooked by making me feed her while we watched her Hindi film class homework, and then when she brought home Kal Ho Naa Ho from a trip to India--I was sunk for good into my obsession!

Oh well, let us hope I have time to check out My Name is Khan this weekend--I so look forward to the extras!