Marketing by day, movies by night. Latest: The Bollywood Pocketbooks Series. Author of 7 books (Written By Salim-Javed, Bollybook, Bioscope, Bollygeek etc.)
A roll-call of my books, for those casually or passionately interested in Bollywood.
- Hindi movie trivia (Bollybook and BollyGeek)
- Biography of rockstar writers
- Non-linear history of Hindi cinema (Bioscope)
- Set of pocketbooks about all things Bollywood
Take your pick!
Two news items about a day apart.
1. Swiggy's health insurance for their delivery workers is dependent on them meeting targets.
2. Swiggy's corporate workers get additional leave if they have pets.
My mother had taken Soumitra Chatterjee's autograph in 1963.
53 years later, she met him again and managed to take a second autograph on the same page.
This page is now priceless.
Lakshya did not do well at the box-office.
@Javedakhtarjadu
thinks this is because the film was too long and should've "gotten over by the half-way mark!"
In this age of buzzy startups, a salute to these two characters (played by Neeraj Sood) who provided debt funding and advisory to two of India's most promising start-ups:
- Rocket Sales Corporation
- Shaadi Mubarak
Calcutta: where Bengalis eat an Iranian dish in a Continental restaurant (owned by Punjabi businessmen) in a building constructed by an Armenian real estate developer.
Artiste Pallab Bhowmick has created this stunning version of Durga as a migrant woman.
Once in a while, Calcutta still manages to take your breath away.
My favourite Manmohan Desai story is when he narrated Amar Akbar Anthony to
@SrBachchan
, he told the actor, "Lalla, after this picture releases, people won't call you Amitabh. They'll call you Anthony bhai."
And then, this happened...
1. Vaccine will be ready soon. Like the economy will recover soon.
2. Centre will provide vaccines to states. Like the share of GST is given to the states.
3. Vaccines will be available to all through a simple process. Like we exchanged our notes simply.
Everyone, calm down.
In 1999, a cyclone killed 10000+ people in Orissa.
In 2013, Phailin had a death toll of ~40.
In 2019, it has fallen below 10.
Orissa's goverment and people should be proud of their disaster management system. Shows year on year improvement of both process and spirit. Salute!
Living outside Kolkata during Pujo is a blessing in disguise. You can invoke the Goddess, meet friends, have great food and adda, while avoiding the crowds.
And thanks to tech and modern marketing, you have helpful reminders.
In the form of great Durga Pujo ads.
A thread.
I am the type of filmgoer who pauses the movie when a phone number* comes on screen.
And I smile when I see someone has covered bases.
*Or a name/title/address/book/movie etc
When you share bad content (say, a jingoistic ad), you signal to the makers that their ad is 'viral'. Don't do it.
Share good ads instead.
Well done, Lifebuoy!
Details of the offer: Dey's Publishing offered a 50% discount on their in-store catalogue from 11th-15th August, calling it "Independence Day Book Bazaar".
In Alipurduar (a small town in North Bengal), a three-storey book mall is coming up. Some of the major publishers in Bengali are setting up stores there.
We often lament that Bengali books aren't available on Kindle. Clearly, that's not because of a lack of readers.
To be pedantic: "hitting the ball out of the park" is a good thing in cricket.
"Kicking the ball out of the park" means nothing in football, at best an attempt to waste time.
Rahul Dravid - and not Ravi Shastri - has got all credit for the Hanuma-Ashwin partnership.
I guess taking taking naps in full public view while games are on has its downsides.
#INDvAUS
The part of Rang De Basanti where
@atul_kulkarni
recites 'Sarfaroshi ki tamanna' is one of the most goosebumpy scenes in Hindi cinema.
(Monthly reminder: No other film captures modern India better than RDB.)
The entire country mourned Lata Mangeshkar but only* in Calcutta did a bunch of fans decide to conduct a mini concert in her honour.
This city will die one day. But there will be music at the funeral.
Bhanu Athaiya designed what is probably the most memorable, most iconic costume of the 1960s: The Mumtaz saree from Brahmachari.
And her filmography from the 1960s-70s reads like a roll call of classics.
RIP.
A 'selfie' by Satyajit Ray with his mother... As the caption says, "I clicked the photo myself by tying a thread to the camera shutter and pulling it."
A word of thanks to
@FHF_Official
for the restoration of some of our most loved films and
@_PVRCinemas
for giving them the big screen they deserve.
While watching Deewaar, I caught many things that I had missed earlier.
(And I've watched Deewaar countless times!)
Thread.
Some belated thoughts on The Romantics, the most star-studded documentary in my memory.
The Romantics does to Bollywood what Indian Matchmaking did to Indian weddings, exaggerating and simplifying outrageously to grab attention.
1/7
Just realised (yes, I am slow) that two pivotal characters in Hindi cinema's two greatest hits are called Baldev Singh.
One had a few more fingers, though.
A boy flying a model airplane, standing at the edge of a cricket ground.
He was looking longingly at the batsman waiting to go in. The batsman was looking enviously at the plane.
The grass was equally green on both sides.
Calcutta is a woman. She shocked you when you were younger, by smoking. And blowing smoke in your face.
She gave you books. And movies. Taught you to eat steak.
You wanted her to adjust. Change a bit. But she laughed.
You had to move on. You want to hate her for that. But can't.
Delhi is an old man. Distinguished, cultured, rapacious and smug. He cares about power most of all, and gets along, charmingly, with any criminal in cahoots with the state. He likes gardens, ghazals and carcinogens of all flavours.
Life. Death.
Sadness. Happiness.
Fairytales. Tragedies.
Debuts. Comebacks.
Young Turks. Old warhorses.
Coming of age. End of the road.
Heroes. Superheroes.
What a bag of stories IPL is!
Batriarchy: The belief in cricket that bowlers don't have the same rights as batsmen.
E.g. Faff du Plessis (of CSK) didn't want Kagiso Rabada (of DC) to play IPL.
ভালো খাবার দেখলে মনটা 'উল্স' করে ওঠে আর জিভের জল 'সুরুৎ' করে টেনে নিতে হয়, পেটে কনুইয়ের গুঁতো লাগলে 'ওঁক্ৎ' আওয়াজ বেরোয়, খুব জোরে মারলে 'গদাম' করে লাগে... নারায়ণ দেবনাথ না থাকলে এই ব্যাপারগুলো আমরা বলে/বুঝিয়ে উঠতে পারতাম না।
Pic 1 & 2: Views
Pic 3: Ambience
Pic 4: Food
Standing ovation for the Indian cricket fans who go to watch matches in stadia. It's as if BCCI and the regional associations are trying their best to dissuade them.
Photos:
@mutthusouplover
,
@mtanmay
Steven Spielberg said of him, "Amrish is my favourite villain - the best that the world has ever produced and ever will!"
As a fearsome villain, there won't be another one like him.
Naseer sahab has a stellar record of illegitimate children in his films:
- Jugal Hansraj (Masoom)
- Ajay Devgn (Naajayaz, Raajneeti)
- Urmila M (Chamatkar)
- Kalki Koechlin (Girl in the Yellow Boots)
- Shah Rukh Khan (Main Hoon Na)
- Farhan A (ZNMD)
This is one of my favourite posters of the 1970s.
The horizontal version looked even better with the leaning image giving a sense of speed and
@SrBachchan
's contorted face conveying the mortal danger he was in.
It made you want to buy a ticket RIGHT THEN and rush to the theatre.
Utpal Dutt and his production of Kallol deserves a book in terms of the boldness of its content and the opposition it faced.
The play implicated the Congress for sabotaging the 1946 Naval Mutiny, which was a shown as a precondition for transfer of power.
252.
@INCIndia
CHARGED the great Utpal Dutt with SEDITION for his play Duswapner Nagari; JAILED him for 7 months for Kallol. Congress workers BURNT the set, THRASHED actors, poured BOILING water over the director. (h/t
@shivkmishr
)
My first 'memory' of Amitabh Bachchan was even before my memory formed.
When I was less than 2 years old, a domestic help used to take me to a cinema hall where Sholay was running (on the pretext of going on an evening walk).
And I made friends with Jai.
1/80
Dear
@SonyLIV
,
When India's first Olympics medalist is on the podium, you split the screen for ads?
On a paid service?
That too for (what looks like) your own show and not even a paid ad?
Please give up your rights if you're this clueless about broadcasting.
The
#CitizenshipAmmendmentBill2019
will ensure that the less unfortunate among us, Hindu refugees from Muslim majority countries where they face dehumanising persecution, are restored their dignity. Please do not grudge them the compassion they deserve. Stand by
#CAB
In 1984 when South Africa was still under the Apartheid regime, Glasgow renamed a major road St George’s Place to Nelson Mandela Place.
The South African consulate-general offices were on the road then and had to send out slightly awkward communication.
India cricket fans of 80/90s are like poor people who've suddenly won millions in a lottery.
SA 109/5 at Tea on Day 3.
If we bowl them out for ~160 today and score ~250 (D4). Then we bowl them out on D5.
A very plausible outcome but I'm feeling guilty just thinking about it.
It seems people are looking for historical and cultural accuracy in a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film.
What next? Looking for gravity in a Rohit Shetty film?
"What were you doing when you were 6 months old?"
"My mother and I were playing the World Cup, sir."
Fatima Maroof is accumulating some serious brag value.
Interesting...
#Chhapaak
collects 28 Cr in Week 1 (80% of 35 Cr budget).
#Tanhaji
collects 119 Cr in Week 1 (80% of 150 Cr budget).
But Chhapaak is a flop but Tanhaji is a hit.
Whoever has done the English subtitles for
#JaggaJasoos
on
@NetflixIndia
deserves an award!
All the rhyming dialogues and songs are translated in rhyme. Brilliant!
Watching a TV debate after ages.
The NDTV anchor told a panelist who was speaking, "Can I interrupt you? Mr X wants to say something."
The panelist said, "Yes, sure." And stopped.
Have I reached a different universe through some wormhole?
Aditya C says he told SRK "not to be closed to becoming a romantic hero" to convince him about DDLJ.
Before Darr and Baazigar, SRK had several romantic roles: Deewana, Raju BBG, Kabhi Haan KN etc.
SRK's romantic charm predated DDLJ, for God's sake!
5/7
Hum Tum, a copy of WHMS, is called 'fresh'.
Aditya C talks about building Saif as an urban romantic hero, a role he had already done with aplomb and massive success in Dil Chahta Hai and Kal Ho Naa Ho.
In short, YRF is credited for everything that's right in Bollywood!
6/7