Whoohoo, it's Friday and I'm hopefully guaranteed a brilliant weekend, but I don't want to jinx it so let's say I'm going to have an OK weekend. So to end things of, here's Shahid! ...and Vidya.
The music launch of Kismat Konnection happened recently and while there's still no official comments of the soundtrack, the media seems to be obsessed about the fact that Shahid Kapoor and Vidya Balan both appeared late for the launch.
Shahid and Vidya both made their excuses, with hers being that she was stuck in traffic and his was that he was told it was at a different time. Those... are really lame excuses. At least they said sorry for keeping the journalists waiting.
Shahid said that the music has a very club feel to it and most are dance numbers, since that's what he's known for. Vidya is also seen dancing, which I've noticed she tends to avoid in movies, but she says that no one should compare her dancing with Shahid's.
Although Shahid claimed that he wasn't standing up for Vidya, he defended her dancing and says that she worked hard and should be given credit for it. Um, good for her, now bring on the music! By the way, what's with Shahid's stubble?
Happy Friday all, see you on Monday!
June 20th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Yaaay! You have kept with your Shahid tradition. I love your blog btw.
Anyhow, not only did he forget to shave but I think he also forgot he had an appointment with the hair stylist. I’m not digging his hair AT ALL!
Have a lovely week end!
June 21st, 2008 at 2:43 am
I guess he try to look older for the sake of Vidya. Hehe.. thats why he don’t shave.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:26 am
he looks like an over grown teenager.Not just Vidya but everyone looks older next to him
June 21st, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Thanks Pagli, and I agree with you completely. Before it didn’t look that bad but now I’m almost sure I can see some split ends there! He has to go back to the clean shaven and shorter hair look!
Well, that is the problem with Shahid Kapoor. He looks too young! While it’s great for us fans, lol, it’s harder for the directors to find actresses that can match up with him. And the stubble/beard thingy doesn’t make him look older, just makes him look scruffy.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:32 pm
It’s certainly a matter of opinion, but mine is the same as Spike’s, it makes him look older. Trust me, Tiggy, if he were to grow the beard some more, the cherubic appearance would be gone. And Vidya is a particularly unfortunate choice of co-star, she is a “total auntie”,as Perx said on another post.
June 24th, 2008 at 3:26 am
I like him there, maybe coz I did not know who he was till I saw JWM … so I have always known his mature avatar, the older he looks the better! Hair just going a bit too long there…
Looks like a french beard coming through, maybe its for the Vishal Bhardwaj movie he is due to start working on soon, atleast I hope so..
June 24th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
You didn’t really want to know him before JWM.
June 24th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Vishal Bhardwaj movie? Like I said before in response to you, he will probably take the “I will do what I consider to be good film”, or, the Aamir Khan route of “I don’t care about ‘awards’”. Way to go.
June 24th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
lol, locustwillow, though i start my obsession of Shahid post JWM, i don’t think he is that bad before the film. I remember the first time i saw shahid in Fida and thinking wow, this guy is really cute and look so young and fresh.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Yet, you started obsessing after JWM…my point exactly…he did not make much of an impression on you before JWM. So, I think it is pretty obvious that JWM put him in a role which suited his skills…he is not yet at least, an exceptional actor, i.e., with range. He needs to take serious lessons from his father….nevertheless, I think he will make it.
June 25th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Maybe a beard or stubble does add some years to his face, but he went through JWM without any stubble and still pulled that character off.
Lol, hey Locust, he wasn’t that bad before JWM! One of my fav movies is Ishq Vishk and while his movies have not been hits, most have been watchable and entertaining, which is basically all I’m looking for in a Bollywood flick.
And his Vishal Bhardwaj movie is with Priyanka Chopra…while she doesn’t have the ‘auntie’ look, I still wonder how that jodi is going to work.
So am I the only person who was a fan of Shahid’s before JWM? Weird.
June 25th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Its strange what the world has come to.I would like to beleive(and I am not going to justify my theorization)that economic disparities have created such a gulf in aspirations that we are in the clutches of many alienated socities as far as aspirations are concerned.One of the outcomes of this,has been the kind of attitude hormonically hypercharged teenagers,fascinated with ‘objects’(excuse my blasphemy)that satiate their apetite,have towards people who don’t share their aspirations.I submit,that I have forever been befuddled by the accusations of someone being “fat,short,old” etc etc being hurled as poison darts in the direction of someone whose physical limitations(even if they exist)are not even a barrier to their work.
I remember Robert De Niro once mentioning in an interview that he was becoming increasingly worried about how the cinematic world is becoming polluted with this fascination for pretty boys and drop dead gorgeous girls(”women” is an inappropriate term).And how prescient was that remark!As far as I think Vidya has a face with very sharp features,which translates into strong countenances,resulting in her face looking matronly.Her body is untoned,and unless demanded by a role I beleive she isn’t going to chose to tone it up as well,and she isn’t the kind that will satiate the lasciviscious instincts of certain people,so she becomes a soft target for them to hurl their misogyny at,for others to inflcit their hate at.
Talking of prescience,I am reminded of Orson Welles’ ‘Citizen Kane’ in which the reporters were always(shot) in shadows (Thompson, the reporter assigned to discover the meaning of the word “Rosebud” is often on screen, but we can never make out his face), showing that they were like insects, like mindless machines, without personality and only interested in discovering this mystery to gain fame.
Given how bankrupt the Indian media is,this filmmaking choice holds perfectly for them.But,these guys will never be inspired to do any better because we have people who buy what they sell.As Danny Archer playing the devil’s advocate in Blood Diamond said,you and these mind-numbingly moronic morons are in business together.The media is helped by a curious loophole in our constitution according to which they cannot lie by fabricating stories(even though this is true of Mumbai Mirror and Mid-day),but can lie by omission to suit their interests.The fourth estate(also referred to as the media)functions outside democracy,in the sense that any critique of the media is not likely to be published since it is not in their interests..so they lie,lie and lie-and you buy.They play the arbiters of the destiny of stars/people,and you gulp it all up and then direct your own abuse at these people just because they choose not to conform to “your” worldview.Get over yourself,not everyone wants to conform to what you think.
@locustwillow
I’ve been watching your comments for quite a while and I understand the design of your mind is truly arcane-almost Borgesian - as you inflict the ancient Biblical plagues on the aforementioned hapless victims - you know, locusts, hail, death of the first born, darkness and all that.Perhaps that explains the choice of your handle.Hey,I have been all along discrediting and lampooning such surreal treatment,man.
I guess you might have heard the adage “Opinions are like assholes,everyone has one”.Unfortunately some people(airheads?)like their mouth to do the job of their lower orifice.I submit that you belong to the latter category,so I am not going to bother dissecting your pearls of wisdom,full of more holes than those on a sqaure metre of Swiss Cheese as they are,but I shall drop in my two cents…
I am not going to be hypocritical and say,that you are a moron,since I was one too-foolish enough to think that I was a better judge of the craft than those involved with the craft.As far as popular art is concerned the ’site’where it is created is different from the one where art is ‘examined’. There is always something a little mysterious, a little enigmatic about artistic creation.All understanding requires a measure of ‘distance’but unless one is properly educated one cannot engage as well as the art piece in question deserves to be.
To dismiss actors as lacking “range”(whatever that means?!),being above-average/below average etc etc is to spectacularly miss the point.Moreover,to pose as someone who thinks everyone is a gloryhunter and jumps on to supporting someone when the sun starts shining is purely snobbish on your part.Actorly bodies accomplish a lot of functions on screen,and a perceptive viewer choses to experience those functions and then choses to articulate his stimuli,what is cinema after all?An audio visual experience meant to stimulate your impulses.It might be of help if you read what Amitabh Bachchan has to say on actors when being asked about them..
Here is the great man on a certain “auntie” you described as an “above-average” actress..
“I’ve a special soft corner for her. She’s absolutely marvellous and so wonderfully natural. She’s so endearing to watch on screen.She has magic in her face,coupled with a wonderful demeanor and an incredible screen presence.When I saw her in ‘Parineeta’ for the first time in Amsterdam, I wanted to look only at her and nobody else on screen… with all due respects to the rest of the cast.”
http://www.vidya-balan.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=6&pos=3
I wonder whether you understand what he is talking about.If you do I might as well elaborate on why Vidya has been wasted in each of her subsequent films barring Guru and Salaam-e-Ishq.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Hi Spike,
Firstly, thanks for commenting on SC and putting so much thought into your writing.
To answer to your comment, while your observations do make some sense, I have to argue others. I disagree with your idea that socio-economic status leads to the creation of your so-called “hormonically supercharged teenager”. The world we live in today is a very shallow place where people do make judgements based purely on looks…this has nothing to do with how much money you have or earn. A better education does not lead to a more accepting world view. Less money does not make you a nicer person.
It’s very nice that you like Vidya Balan and if she read this blog, she might appreciate your protective attitude towards her. But she doesn’t, so all I have to say that you are welcome to have your own opinion but I refuse to be the blogger that caters to mindless hero-worship of an actor/actress. At the end of the day, they are still just people who perform for money and while they may have earned some respect, excuse me if I feel that my grade one teacher is more deserving of respect and admiration than Vidya, Shahid or Amitabh.
Also, you are quick to judge on a few comments or posts. Consider that this is the internet and there is a certain amount of anonymity that is guaranteed, which allows people to speak or write in a way that they may have not done so in real life. Read the comments properly Spike, how many of us seem uneducated or negative for the sake of being negative? You yourself said that Vidya looks older compared to Shahid, so how is that any different from calling her an “auntie”? Did any of us say anything that is not already coming out from the industry? Yes, just because the industry and media say that Vidya Balan has a bad dress sense doesn’t mean that they’re right. This is just a blog however, and it’s point is to make fun of Bollywood actors and actresses. While I try to be funny while doing so, I still have my own views, which don’t conform with mainstream views. Read some more, or read some older posts and you might get an indication of it. You also make it sound like we have Vidya on gunpoint, holding her hostage until she gets liposuction…please, actors and actresses know exactly what they’re getting into when they enter the industry and one blog is not going to make a difference to her. Look at the bigger picture, we have our “world views” as you say, but they are not as shallow or narrow as you consider them to be and no one here is trying to force them on any one else. Kindly don’t judge on a few comments.
Finally, I’ll let Locustwillow fight his own battles but in his defense, your comments are very hypocritical. I’ve found Locust to be funny and smart, with a very vast knowledge of the industry…if that’s not enough to give an honest opinion of a movie or actor, then what is? Actually, there is no one in the world ‘qualified’ to review a movie, a book, a song because they did not create it, according to you.
The fact that you’re quoting Amitabh Bachchan does not help your case, because I don’t need someone else to tell me how to feel about someone. Like I said, everyone is entitled to their opinion and you fell into your own trap. You’ve accused people of being morons and airheads because they don’t agree with your view.
BTW, cut the pompous language, it’s annoying. What are you trying to prove? That you’re smart? “Actorly bodies”? Puh-leez.
While I appreciate the fact that you are not a Vidya fan that has descended to abusing me with every swear word in your vocabulary, I’m sorry that I still don’t regard you as protector of the poor “victims” in Bollywood who have to deal with societies norms being inflicted on them. You forget who created these norms in the first place.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Well said Tigger.
Oh God! I visit this blog for fun. I am sure nobody is here to prove to anyone how smart they are and how smart there comments are etc etc. We all know we are reading Bollywood gossip which, fortunately, does not require supreme intelligence… so why not just enjoy it and not take it too seriously plus C’mon this is supposed to be humorous. I have rarely seen anyone to be really nasty in their comments, it’s always in good humor.
There are more important things in life to get serious about.
June 27th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Thank you, my point exactly. Some people want to turn everything into a psychoanalysis of world populations.
Ah Sarah you haven’t seen the really evil comments. Before nice regulars like you and Locust and Perx and Appu pitched up, I always had the odd disgruntled fan coming after me for insulting Kareena, lol.
Even recently, one person commented with a long sentence consisting only of Hindi swearwords on an Ayesha Takia post…still not sure if that was aimed at me or Ayesha, lol.
June 28th, 2008 at 2:21 am
Oh cheeze…I am glad those people don’t visit your blog anymore. I have seen some blogs with just awful comments and I stay clear of those, some people are too passionate about Bollywood I suppose
June 30th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Lol, it’s funny though, like a whole new form of xenophobia…”YOu don’t like Kareena? I’ll kill you!”