Let's talk about ... Deepika Padukone!

I haven't done an installment in my "Let's talk about" series in ..gosh, quite a while. I figured it might be good time to bring it back up, as I'm trying to give my blog a bit of a revival, and what better way to do it, then discuss a star who's only still at the beginning of her career, and somebody I like, but don't consider myself a fan of. Yet? Maybe?

Deepika Padukone started out as another model pushed out into the world of cinema, forced to learn on the job, and who some people probably didn't think we'd be seeing much of, seven years from her debut. And yet, here we are - she's undeniably gorgeous, but people seek her out as an actress because she's a star, and she can have great, evocative performances. When it comes to on-the-job training, she hasn't floundered all that much - her early films aren't great, but show me a star whose first films are all great picks, great performances and considered classics to this day. That almost never happens.

I think I went with the majority view on Deepika throughout her career. I wasn't in love with her in Om Shanti Om - good dancer, breath-takingly gorgeous, yes, but an amazing actress? I didn't really think so, even though I also thought the role(s) were flimsy as hell. Farah Khan, for all her other virtues, has never written great female characters.

I haven't watched most of Deepika's body of work so far, but based on the films I did see, her steady improvement as an actress sort of snuck up on me. One day she was an actress I didn't really mind one way or the other, and the next I'm watching Break Ke Baad on the plane and thinking, "Damn, this lady is the best thing about this film!". (She was also in another film I watched on a plane journey: Chandi Chowk to China. Uhh. The less said, the better, probably.)

I've missed some key films where the progress probably happened - Love Aaj Kaal has been on my "I'll get to it, whatever, it can wait" list for nearly five years now, and I'm still like, whatever, it can wait. Was she good in Aarakshan? Sadly, would have to watch Aarakshan to find out, which is just not a very appealing prospect. I did see Housefull, but then, that was Housefull, which was not exactly the film for powerhouse performances.

But luckily for me, and for my enjoyment of Miss Padukone's work, I did finally get to Cocktail, where she breathed life into Veronica, a character who was probably much less on the page. And then came 2013 and you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a Deepika Padukone blockbuster. I've still yet to see Ram Leela or Chennai Express, but Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani was a gem, and will be remember long after some of those other films will have been forgotten, or at least I hope so. The future looks extraordinairily bright for Deepika, and I honestly couldn't be happier - unlike some people who rely on the value of their looks or their famous last name and rest on their laurels when they arrive onto the silver screen, it seems like she's put in the work, and it's shown up as fast improvement in her performances.

I didn't watch many Koffee with Karan episodes from this latest season, partly because ugh and mostly because argh, but I did see the wonderful episode with Deepika and Priyanka, where they had a great, genuine rapport with one another, and they both seemed like precisely the sort of smart, cool-headed women that gossip rags never want to portray actresses as, because all women are catty divas, right? Priyanka's had her gifts appraised by the industry already, but I think Deepika's best work is just around the corner, hopefully. The more capable, interesting film makers see her as an actress and less as eye candy to put in Race 2 or something, I'm sure we'll see new achievements from this lady.

So, I throw to ball to the audience. What do you think of Deepika? (And please tell me if I'm an idiot for missing out on some of her performances not mentioned here. I will gladly correct such mistakes.)

Let's talk about .. Abhay Deol!

Dear friends,

I write to you at a very difficult time in my life. The fact is, for months now, there's been a deficit in my life I've not been able to face for what it was. Little by little, this need has consumed me.

You see, for months there has been a film with Abhay Deol in it that I've not yet seen. 

I hear you ask, "But what about those twenty-odd years in your life when you hadn't seen a single Abhay Deol film? Did you live those in spiritual poverty?", and I must reply, "No, not in the least, but then I knew not of what I was missing; so blissful was my ignorance."

But you've read my story before. You know how it all began, and how it continued. It's not an uncommon one, as there have been others before me, and there will be new ones after I'm gone, so long as pictures like this one keep circulating the internet:

It's perhaps not that I've not yet seen Shanghai, that I find so tragic, but the fact that it feels so long since I've seen anything new from the man. Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara I watched around a year from right now, but it feels like the longest year. And it's times like these that I really start to long for rewatches of his films, to re-ignite those memories, because it suddenly hits me just how much I truly love Abhay Deol.

I could take a step back and try to phrase some praise for his acting abilities, dimples or choice in roles; the man seems to know his strengths and plays to them, and while you could perhaps criticize the upper middle class, smug but adorable Delhi boy role he seems to be mostly occupying in his films so far, you can't really fault him for such a stunning filmography. There's not really a single bad film in the mix, and even the ones that didn't impress me much have numerous fans.

So what do I like about him so much? It's hard to say.

Something about the combination of talent, looks and of carving out his own niché that doesn't really rely on his family relations (though the fact no doubt eased things for him - I'm no nepotism apologist). He's captivating and convincing, even in fairly forgettable films like Road, Movie (and let's face it, most of us did forget that one). He's just good.

So, so good.

In the end, that's all I've really got to say.

How about you?

Let's talk about ... Lara Dutta!

The "Let's talk about" series is typically one where I just get to ramble about my favourite actresses and actors for a post, and feature some lovely pictures of them to boot. But I can't quite honestly claim I consider Lara Dutta a favourite. Or do I?

The fact is, this former pagent queen is a consistent positive surprise in my books, but her filmography is filled with movies I just don't really want to watch. I first saw Lara in No Entry, which was the biggest hit of 2005 (yeah, bet you didn't remember that fact, did'ja?). The film itself is an absolutely unbearably unfunny Salman Khan comedy that also has Anil Kapoor and Fardeen Khan (remember him?) as two hapless husbands and one cheating playboy (can you guess who Salman plays?) in another one of those "oh ha ha isn't cheating-except-not-cheating hilarious?" genre comedies. Lara is a gross stereotype of a mistrusting wife of Anil's character, and yet she won me over.

Then there are films like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom which is fairly unpopular (depending on who you talk to), but which I absolutely loved her in! Chalo Dilli is a nice smaller film, too.




Billu Barber gave Lara a fair opportunity to showcase her acting alongside the always magnificent Irffan, and she was definitely good in it. (Overall the film is my favourite from Priyadarshan, the only Hindi film he seems to have actually put some thought and effort into.)

However, about 80% of her career seems to be special appearances or random big cast dumb comedies, or just horrendous flops like Blue and Zinda. I have to wonder, as I do with many actresses and actors who just can't seem to catch a break no matter how much I personally enjoy them on-screen, what gives? Is she just not an actress good enough to be seriously considered for more substantial roles? Is she unpopular in B-town? Or is she, now that she's married, just actively cutting down work to focus on raising a family? Does she just enjoy making big cast dumb comedies where she forms a mere fraction of the insanity?

I haven't got the slightest clue, but the point is, I like her. And I really wish she was in more things I actually wanted to watch. But if she's moving to family life (and seems to get replaced by younger actresses, because that's sadly the way the world works...), I of course respect that choice, but can't help but feel a little annoyed. Something about her choices in films makes me feel like she never got her fair due.

Let's talk about ...Salman Khan!

[Earlier editions of Let's Talk About here.]

I meant to do a selective rewatch of Wanted this one evening, but enjoyed the movie so much I ended up watching it the whole way through. I'd be hard-pressed to name more than three Salman Khan films as good as this one, which is why I really truly cherish this film, despite the fact that the Southie film fan inside me feels betrayed.

And the next morning I found myself watching Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (2005) and was going to write this totally tortured metaphor about Salman's filmography based on these two films and one of the worst films I've ever seen, Marigold (2007) but decided to scrap that in favor of this more general post about the man.

The thing I found out quite early on in my Hindi film obsession is that Salman Khan really splits people. Unlike the other Khans, who have their haters, their lovers, and their more casual fans, it seemed like whether you liked or disliked Salman was a touchy topic for some. The lovers are more vehement, but even more so are the haters.

Eventually I found myself positioned more in the "like" column than the "dislike" one when it came to Salman. I liked him a lot in roles he seemed to excel - Andaz Apna Apna, Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, Salaam-e-Ishq, Maine Pyaar Kiya - but wasn't particularly interested to see the mediocre or the bad films of his career. I read his interviews and found him to be really entertaining, down-to-earth and his world views generally simple but honest.

In a nutshell - I grew fond of him. And I became very forgiving and understanding, but not in a super-fanatic manner. It's just that I began to sort of place him in a category of his own.

Like I always say, Salman is as Salman does and what Salman does is not traditionally classified as acting. But strangely enough, that's one of the appealling things about him. I wouldn't say Salman defies definition -- it's more like, he doesn't benefit from definitions.

But so there I was, watching Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, a film from that poor David Dhawan "ha ha fake cheating is the funniest thing ever" school of comedy, and it's got a constantly hysteric Katrina Kaif, a mildly amusing Sohail Khan, and the too-good-for-this-movie Sushmita Sen (seriously, she was the best thing about this movie). And I suppose I could ask myself why I'm watching this movie, as I know it's not exactly favourite material.

In my heart of hearts, I know why, though.

Because I like Salman Khan. I don't love him, I certainly don't enjoy him unconditionally, but the fact remains I do like him.

As much as I sometimes find myself defending that fact, to myself, or to the haters, it's true.

Even if it's a little guilty pleasure, even if I recognize all the flaws others see in him (like the fact he looks eternally tired nowadays, he's involved in more scandals than the Catholic Church, he sometimes only employes one dance move..), the fact simply remains that I like him and I really, really love him in Wanted, which just might be his best movie last decade (no, seriously).

And as far as previous decades go, I've got one word for you: Prem. That about sums it up, no?

Let's talk about ... Kareena Kapoor!

The "honor" of being the second actress to be discussed in my "Let's talk about something other than a specific movie"-series goes to golden child (or according to some, spoiled brat), Kareena Kapoor.

Kareena is a difficult case for me to discuss because even more than some actresses, people seem to either fiercely love her or hate her. I moved from one end to the other of the "Bebo love/hate spectrum" pretty fast but even though I love her now, I understand the views of the opposing party far too well.

Kareena comes from the lineage of Kapoors, the Kapoors. When your sister and uncle and basically everybody in your family is in the business, the laws of Bollywood dictate, breaking into films isn't going to be a tough task for you. Becoming a good actress, on the other hand...

I haven't seen most of Bebo's earliest films, though I did have the misfortune of sitting through Yaadein, so I can't say objectively how she developed in terms of acting talent, film-by-film. I first saw Kareena in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, my first ever Hindi film, and I disliked her severely in it. At this point, I couldn't really see the exaggerated comedy in the character of Poo(ja) that she portrayed, and so it took a long while until I warmed up to Kareena,. If you'd asked me what I thought of her in 2004, I would've said "Yuck!" - and this was based on just that one performance, not a single interview blurb that a lot of people base their dislike of her on.

I might've seen some Kareena films between my first viewing of K3G and my later rewatch of it, but if I did, I don't recall it. The next time I saw her, it was once again, in K3G as Poo(ja), the mini-skirt sporting egomaniac of a forever-teenager like straight out of Clueless, only without the heart. But this time, I got it. The character was a joke, an instead of being annoyed, I just chuckled at her, because I felt like I finally understood. And like Hrithik's character in the film, I saw through that act, that joke of a Westernized NRI girl stereotype, and learned to like Poo, and through that, Kareena.

I saw okay films of hers like Yuva and Hulchul and Kyon Ki (okay, that one sucked but not thanks to Kareena) but what really sold me on this lady were two 2006 films; 36 Chinatown and Omkara.

Chinatown was not a great film, but in the filmi climate of its release - after Rang De, before Fanaa - it was a nice, all-around decent comedy with a couple of great performances (loved Akshaye Khanna!), cute song picturizations (Shahid and Kareena in 24x7 crackland!) and the first signs that Shahid and Kareena together could actually amount to some on-screen chemistry. It's no Jab We Met but it was cute enough and it made me recognize that Kareena actually had talent in the field of comic timing.

And of course, Omkara. Even if everything else in the film sucked (which gladly isn't the case), it really made a case for Saif and Kareena. She delivered a strong, believable dramatic performance without fail and looked gorgeous in a completely non-glamorous way, capturing the innocence and naivity of Dolly.

Since then, I've liked everything I've seen of her and anticipate some of her upcoming films a ton (3 Idiots? Gimme!). But sometimes I have to wonder..

The thing is, what with her previous controversial statements and the fact that she does sometimes come off as a highly privileged star kid, even though I normally don't enjoy allowing off-screen personalities affect my opinions of stars, Kareena always makes me examine my views on nepotism. It's one of those things every Bollywood fan will find themselves commenting on at some point in time. Most of us like at least one star who's got family in the industry and even worse, most of us like at least one star who "learned on the job". The automatic reaction is to condone it, or at least not oppose it vehemently - after all, if your favourites are kids of stars or big producers, who are you to say they shouldn't have gotten the break they did, entering the industry themselves?

But at the same time, it seems so wholly unfair that for every son/daughter/niece/nephew of producer Y or actor X, there's a guy or a girl struggling in Bombay, taking acting lessons, dance lessons, borrowing money and rubbing elbows, just trying to catch their own break. There could be some real talent there, among the kids who are not blessed to be a part of a handsome Bollywood lineage. As a viewer, would I rather watch a starkid struggle to emote in a crappy film or a newcomer actually knowing a thing or two about acting?

Even as I say that, I admit it is somehow easier to watch a starkid, crap or not, than to give a film full of total newcomers a chance.

So yeah, I'm torn on the issue, and more so when it comes to Kareena than say, Abhishek, whose rich famous kid privilege has never come out in interviews so obnoxiously as it has with Kareena or some other stars.

Ending on a bit of a sour note, but hope you enjoyed reading despite.

Let's talk about ... Preity Zinta!

Yes, the first lady to be featured on the "Let's talk about" series (also known as the "I have nothing else of interest to post about" series) is Preity Zinta. It was a few days back that I got to thinking how Preity is an odd favourite of mine; I used to not like her and then slowly, without there being any particular moment of realization, she became a favourite. I've not seen all of her film catalogue, far from it, really, but I think I've more or less seen the quintessential Preity films, so let's talk.

She debuted in Dil Se, not the least interesting film to debut in. Her role of course was minor and therefore really didn't leave an impact on me, which I suppose can be said about all of my first films with her. Curiously enough, all of those films had her star opposite Shahrukh Khan. Veer-Zaara and Kal Ho Naa Ho aren't the worst movies out there, and I think she's quite alright in both roles, but something about her in all of these three films left me cold. A lot has been said about their jodi, and I don't want to rag on it, if partly because I know the biggest Preity-Shahrukh fan, Anita, might be reading this post! Let's just say I think it's not so much a fault of the jodi, but that the movies - as movies - left me unimpressed.

But as I watched more of Preity, I was struck by how consistent her work was. Even in a part-trainwreck like Kya Kehna she gives a memorable performance. Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, despite having two other major stars in it, managed to become all Preity's by the "The End" screen. The tragic romance between her and Hrithik in Mission Kashmir was without a doubt the best thing in the movie as far as I'm concerned.

Preity did not always blow me away, but she always did so good I couldn't not like her. And like that, little by little, I became a fan.

I suppose the tragedy of Preity nowadays is that she's not the most sought out actress in Bollywood, though there are so many reasons why she could (and perhaps should!) be. In fact, when I thought about making this post, I had to consciously decide not to let it drift into Rant Zone by detailing why it upsets me so much that box office success decides how much work the star gets offered. The latest three films by her that I've seen, I've simply adored her in all of them:

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna certainly was not great, but Preity's role in it was without a doubt one of my favourite things about it. Then there was Jaan-e-Mann, a flawed but funny, endearing movie alongside Akshay and Salman. And of course, my biggest favourite of the three, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom where we finally got to witness the Abhi-Preity jodi and it fully rocked the house.

Then Preity became busy managing a cricket team and thanks to the non-success of JEM and JBJ, she probably wasn't getting a ton of offers. Thankfully the lady has a few movies coming out, and while Heroes and Har Pall do not look the most enticing films to come out in the future, it's definitely better than nothing.

Let's talk about ...Vikram!

My third favourite Indian actor was born as John Kennedy (yes, really) in April 1966 somewhere in Tamil Nadu.

Fast forward around forty years, to January 2006, when a fellow Finnish Bollywood (and Kollywood, Mollywood..) enthusiast popped a Tamil film DVD in her computer, and we watched what was the first 30-40 minutes of a certain film titled Dhool. That evening I took the DVD home, watched the rest and for the next week revelled in the glory of this movie. I rewatched the songs, the comedy sequences, I would even put the DVD on as background music for doing homework. But I've talked about that movie enough in this post, so back to Kenny!

See, to every thesis there is the anti-thesis. Allow me to elaborate.

Thesis: All South-Indian actors are old, fat and generally unattractive with hideous moustaches and nothing compared to the stunning looks of their Hindi film counterparts.
Anti-thesis: Vikram. Surya. Madhavan. Siddharth. [others I may not know; I'm not that versed in Tamil films yet!]

Synthesis: R-E-M-O Remo Remo...

But let's get down to business, because while the man provides me with some serious eye candy, I wouldn't have gone, "Hot damn!", had I just seen pictures of him. No, it was the performances, the screen presence that warmed me to him. In the choreographed fighting sequences of Tamil action masala films, I just completely bought into the ridiculously exaggerated, macho hero characters when it was Vikram playing it. And yet, as his expression softens, he's equally convincing as a romantic hero and when you place him next to Vivek's wise-cracking comedy track, he will just as easily punctuate the scenes with his comic timing.

Am I gushing? Yes. Will I stop? No, I'm only getting started.

Because besides the masala performances, such as Dhool, Arul, Saamy and Majaa, there are the 'different' roles. I've blogged about the Bala films before, but these things bear repeating: Sethu gave Vikram his nickname "Chiyaan", as well as his comeback break after failing miserably in the early 1990's - after seeing one of his first films, Meera (discussed here), I can safely say it's no wonder. Pithamagan of course won him the National Award.

And in a bizarre league of its own stands Anniyan (blogged here), where he plays not one or two, but three characters and pulls each off with no seeming trouble whatsoever.

And to those of you who might want to see Vikram in a film, but aren't sure if you're ready for truckloads of kickass which are pretty standard to Tamil films, there is King, a light family drama where Vikram stars opposite Sneha (the Queen of Smiles as she's known). Not the perfect movie, but definitely worth a watch and not violent at all.

What brought this post on, I should mention, is news that the next Mani Ratnam film will have two versions: Hindi with Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, and Tamil with Vikram (!) and Aishwarya Rai. Fun fact: Vikram dubbed for Abbas in the Aishwarya-starrer Kandukondain Kandukondain and ever since seeing that film, I have been dying for Vikram-Aish properly on the same screen. Looks like I'm getting my wish, let's hope the outcome is good.

Vikram's next release, Kanthasamy, on the other hand, looks this delicious:

Considering th 8 minute teaser (?!) of it, this will be epic, and possibly horrific but I anticipate it anyhow.

For John Kennedy, anything.

Let's talk about ... R. Madhavan!

It isn't always easy to champion the little guy, but there are times when it truly pays off. Still, I do often ask myself, why is it that R. Madhavan, a talented actor who is also easy on the eyes, and with a handsome filmography behind him, is not as popular as he perhaps would deserve to be?

But let me first back up a bit. R. Madhavan is a Tamil actor who's also done a few Hindi films (Rang De Basanti, Guru to name the best). He debuted in Mani Ratnam's Alaipayuthey (later remade as Saathiya in Hindi) and has later collaborated with Ratnam on various occasions, producing perhaps his career's best works with the director. Married, vegetarian.. should you be interested in more biographical data, visit his Wikipedia page.

I have so many favourite performances of his to list. My first exposure was the aforementioned Alaipayuthey; the realistic struggles of the otherwise sweet married couple were touching, and while the film may have a few glitches, I was mesmerized by the chemistry, the performances, and the songs (Pachai nirame is one of the most beautiful Rahman tunes I have ever heard).

Then came Dumm Dumm Dumm, another romantic film, this time more comedic and Madhavan opposite Jyothika, my favourite Tamil actress then and now. It's hard to explain why I found him so appealing. The quality of the movies certainly helped, but there was something more to it. He had a presence on-screen that could be light and up-lifting (and my goodness, that smile) or pensive and darker, or various shades in between.

His villain in Ayitha Ezhuthu was disturbing and showed true range (of course, he is the least likely person ever to play a villainous role again), and while I won't even mention some of his early Hindi ventures, I cannot leave out Rang De Basanti and Guru. Both small roles, mere side characters in a way, but left such an impact on the movie, and hopefully its audience. (And if not, at least we fangirls swooned.)

Madhavan or 'Maddy' is a misfit, in a way. On various fronts, I think he will always be appreciated as a capable actor, I doubt he will ever hit mega-stardom, though technically he has all the right ingredients. But even for all his bilingual glory, Maddy simply just seems stuck in character actor pool in Hindi cinema, and not quite fitting the action hero roles of Tamil popular cinema, somewhat outcast there as well. Though I suppose it's possible Maddy is comfortable in his niche - a mix of masala and something more challenging every once in a while.

And if nothing else, I very much look forward to a DVD release of his best movie last year, Evano Oruvan. While I wait for that, I can always rewatch the song of the same name from Alaipayuthey. It was, after all, what made me fall in love with Madhavan in the first place.

Let's talk about ..Siddharth!

The first time I looked at pictures of Siddharth (shown to me by stimpy, good friend and my door to South-Indian cinema), I thought to myself, "Eh, cross a puppy and a young Portuguese football player and you get this guy. Sure, whatever."

Fast-forward a month or four, and I watched Rang De Basanti, which I adored. The Portuguese football player/puppy cross guy was in it, too, but I was too busy drying my Madhavan-induced tears to pay attention. Everybody else was kicking up a fuss about him, though, a hype that I brushed off quite quickly. Yeah, so he can act. Whatever.

Again, time went by, and somewhere along the line I started seeing a long, long Telugu film title pop up here and there. During one of my visits to stimpy's wonderful film library, she nudged the very same film into my pile of borrowed titles. Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana, the film was called. "Everybody's been talking about this film," I said with a shrug. "I guess I could see it."

I popped it in with low expectations and was soon presented with ...

In retrospect, this was the watershed event. I know many people, even existing Siddharth fans, found his character Santosh annoyingly hyper - like a kid high on sugar - during the first half of NVNN. Not me. I love all of it. Ostrich pants, random dancing included.

And now, after having seen everything with this guy (and owning all but two of his movies), it's quite embarrassing to admit that what drew me in was not his award-winning serious acting, but rather the young but fantastic all-around entertainer with an eye for good scripts that we see mainly in his four Telugu films (NVNN, Bommarillu, Aata and Chukkallo Chandrudu - in my personal order of preference). On the other hand I could argue that this Siddharth is exactly what Indian cinema overall needs; younger heroes with not only the sufficient acting and dancing skills but also enough charm to genuinely win over audiences, not just ape the older stars that do.

Tragic times have struck us, though. Since the Vishal Bharadwaj AIDS awareness short, Blood Brothers (also starring Ayesha Takia and Pankaj Kapur), Siddharth hasn't been filming anything. His name is connected to a number of things, but nothing official about anything as far as I know.

Regardless, if you find yourself shaking your head reading this post, or any of the exuberant praise that I give this guy in this blog, don't worry, I didn't see it either for a very long time. In fact, I think the real revelation only happened after I saw Bommarillu and realized I couldn't wait to see whatever his next film would be. The film was of course Aata, and you all know how I feel about that film (obsessed is a good word).

This concludes the first post in my self-indulgent opportunity to fangirl stars "Let's talk about ..!" series, where I'll be going over my favourite Indian actors/actresses. Believe me, there are many. ;)