tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post323911352512529259..comments2023-11-10T08:26:51.182-06:00Comments on Beth Loves Bollywood: Squeeeeee! Billu BarberBeth Loves Bollywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05540154833326987567noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-2162566675565639472010-05-27T19:55:48.960-05:002010-05-27T19:55:48.960-05:00Re-reading these comments, I wonder if I'd sti...Re-reading these comments, I wonder if I'd still like the movie as much if I watched it again...so maybe I won't! :) Carol, I think that's a fair point about the songs. Unfortunately.Beth Loves Bollywoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05540154833326987567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-24721664359951181272010-05-26T13:36:55.504-05:002010-05-26T13:36:55.504-05:00Irrfan is the best thing in all the movie: I would...Irrfan is the best thing in all the movie: I wouldn't have watched it till the end if it wasn't for him.<br /><br />I don't like this movie because the super produced dance numbers didn't match with the simple and lovely story they wanted to tell.The village is great, the characters are great...so why the hell people singing nonsense songs should appear amongst all of it?They made the movie looks strange.<br /><br />I loved the ending, it's one of my favourites bolly-endings ever!Carol Juvenilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15549704202763990421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-81129806978115396942010-02-11T20:00:21.690-06:002010-02-11T20:00:21.690-06:00I agree with those or whom there is just too much ...I agree with those or whom there is just too much of the "incidentally" appearing SRK. Irfaan was superb. Just superb. I don't think anyone mentioned how funny the guest house manager was when he messed up all his lines as "the inspector." I would like to know if calling Om Puri "Dhoom..."whatever rather than "Dhaan..." whatever has a funny meaning, more than just a mistake played repeatedly for laughs. As for the music, I thought it was awful, all of it, sorry. Including the "let them go to hell" song. It is almost unwatchable for me, having to endure SRK and the dancers in those horrible "item numbers." I wouldn't have enjoyed them in the 80s or 90s either; their entire aesthetic concept such as it is, is cheap. I mean no disrespect to what am I ssure is a huge audience that like this music and these numbers. I'll take the old-school stuff anyday. BUT, once again,just like in the train station scene and much else in Swades, SRK showed me the real actor beneath. And it was in the scene where he gave the speech in the school, and most of all in that final scene with Irfaan. This film could have flown much higher in my opinion, but I give it an A- anyway! FWIWMichaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00984085644034134988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-76614530755928063592009-10-03T18:14:23.569-05:002009-10-03T18:14:23.569-05:00I will just comment on the Marjaani Marjaani song,...I will just comment on the Marjaani Marjaani song, which I like so much!! I'm a Punjabi girl and this is just one of the best Bollywood Punjabi songs of the year. I like the song picturization and KK's white costume especially.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-62371997194458388082009-04-07T00:49:00.000-05:002009-04-07T00:49:00.000-05:00I agree a lot with what Daddy's Girl had to say. T...I agree a lot with what Daddy's Girl had to say. Though I love SRK usually in any capacity, I felt like the best thing about BB was Irrfan for sure! I'm going to post my own review shortly, but great recap!Shelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08758282383525747870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-55542130308739717162009-03-09T09:25:00.000-05:002009-03-09T09:25:00.000-05:00Too many metaphores in Delhi-6. A monkey, hindus, ...Too many metaphores in Delhi-6. A monkey, hindus, muslims, and dreams. It was entertaining none the less. At least the sondtrack is cool.U Shahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14639928239378179420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-27670962517045620662009-02-27T12:19:00.000-06:002009-02-27T12:19:00.000-06:00Ahh, can't wait to see this! It was replaced rathe...Ahh, can't wait to see this! It was replaced rather quickly at my local theater with Dehli-6. <BR/><BR/>Since Rab Ne was so disappointing, I'm glad we didn't have to wait too long for the next SRK film. And I don't care what anyone says--I will never get sick of watching SRK parody himself. <BR/><BR/>Still ROTFLOL on that SRK-Fugly post you linked to, though!NidaMariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03979527736140327136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-17871929838391483592009-02-26T00:39:00.000-06:002009-02-26T00:39:00.000-06:00I love how people can come away with such divergen...I love how people can come away with such divergent views after seeing a movie... I didn't like Billu much, so it's great to see that some people enjoyed it. I thought there was way too much shamless self-promotion by SRK,I felt he had way too much screen time for someone 'incidentally' in the film, and I hated how they used the old footage from his older work - for me it completely shattered the wall between SRK and Sahir. I disliked SRK's preachy, eyeroll-inducing scene about how the 'flim fraternity' is so close-knit. Irrfan did well with what he was given, but I've seen him do much better, and I don't think he had a whole lot to play with in this film. For me, Lara was unconvincing - her teeth were too white, her manner too practised.<BR/>And the 'come along, walk along, sing along' rock song has to be the absolute worst song I've heard in ages (although perhaps that was intentional). I agree with you on 'Marjaani' though - I love the song, and it was beautifully picturised. <BR/>And I'm definitely with you on Deepika - very lackustre in Love Mera Hit. My theory is that it was intentional sabotage on Farah's part. LOL And I did like the ending somewhat - better than the rest of the film anyway.Daddy's Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14679564351145843434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-88845637906505335002009-02-22T20:12:00.000-06:002009-02-22T20:12:00.000-06:00Just got back from seeing this and had a lot of fu...Just got back from seeing this and had a lot of fun. Every so often SRK gets this joyful look during the dance scenes as if to say, "I still can't believe they pay me for this! A whole frickin' lot!"<BR/><BR/>I actually saw the Tamil version of this film a while ago (when I went in to see the movie, I did not realize Tamil movies were not subtitled, and my knowledge of Tamil is limited to hello, so that was interesting.) That speech the superstar gives at the end is a whole lot longer when one has no idea what is going on.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02960423728549604979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-44012419786800785152009-02-21T19:07:00.000-06:002009-02-21T19:07:00.000-06:00Ellie - I love the phrase "cheerful irony" and it ...Ellie - I love the phrase "cheerful irony" and it really does sum it up for me. There is always a thinly concealed layer of SRK glee at being able to be all starry and ridiculous on purpose. I think this is one of the reasons that I find him so endearing - he thinks his day job is a bit silly but is committed to doing it as well as he can, and that makes him tremendously likeable IMHO. I have seen Billu twice now and it was better the second time when I could concentrate more on the dialogues and the background action.Templehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02100144509902267935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-62572418896571615082009-02-21T08:39:00.000-06:002009-02-21T08:39:00.000-06:00Thanks to your review we hunted this down in Austi...Thanks to your review we hunted this down in Austin and we loved it! The music was wonderful and the story was just the right blend of masala and modern twist. Lara Dutta was great. I know SRK does a lot of the meta-star stuff these days but honestly, I can't get enough of it-- he does it with such cheerful irony. I'm assuming-- hoping-- praying-- that his acting and the writing in his big speech was ironic too-- as we like to say, "Shah Rukh is quivering: NOW it's a movie!" and I assume he's aware of that particular, uh, hole in his acting ability. The only low for us in the movie was the fact that everybody was across the street watching Delhi 6, and there were only 5 people in the theatre, so no crowd energy (although based on what people are saying, I guess not too many people would have enjoyed it as much as we did?). Extra: I had a Bindiya-like dream where I got to briefly brush SRK's hand! I woke up without falling off the bed, fortunately.Elliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04888019230555832929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-61662922862745604912009-02-18T11:22:00.000-06:002009-02-18T11:22:00.000-06:00Beth, this is the first positive review of "Billu"...Beth, this is the first positive review of "Billu" that I hav come across. Evryone in India has given it an average rating - didn't risk seeing it especially after watching the best movie of this year (IMHO)"Dev.D"...I would strongly recommend u to watch "Dev.D" (and then the previous movies by Anurag Kashyap, viz. "Black Friday" and "No Smoking")sudiptohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12206907399980632765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-67178147229002023102009-02-17T16:16:00.000-06:002009-02-17T16:16:00.000-06:00I liked it. Irfan was great. Almost, all of those ...I liked it. Irfan was great. Almost, all of those village characters seemed very real. I also, loved the fact that most characters are depicted as gray. Rajpal Yadav was Hilarious. The village with its greenary and mountains reminded me of my village back home.kalyanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06558473872048086842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-35605753989035234342009-02-16T18:55:00.000-06:002009-02-16T18:55:00.000-06:00Beth!! You went and saw it before I could!! I won'...Beth!! You went and saw it before I could!! I won't EVEN READ your review as it may influence my experience... I will of course, check back AFTER I have seen Billu!! :)Ashleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03625984938283037038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-48743411833991769752009-02-16T13:52:00.000-06:002009-02-16T13:52:00.000-06:00I'm with Anarchivist! Irfan and SRK in the same mo...I'm with Anarchivist! Irfan and SRK in the same movie sounds too good to be true. I'm hoping it sticks around long enough for me to see it in a theater when I visit the Bay Area next month.Magpie Imahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09567892262171400521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-89049866657507184782009-02-16T13:24:00.000-06:002009-02-16T13:24:00.000-06:00Beth, you are hilarious. I'm passing on Billu sin...Beth, you are hilarious. I'm passing on Billu since I'm bored with all these 'superstar' movies. It seems like SRK does the superstar type role in every other movie of his.<BR/><BR/>But I'm really excited about Delhi 6 and hope is does not disappoint. The screening in NYC at MoMA was last night and I have only good feedback so far. Here is a link to an article from Arthur Pais who saw the movie - http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2009/feb/16sld1-delhi6-premieres-in-us.htm.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-12050840539988247022009-02-16T11:14:00.000-06:002009-02-16T11:14:00.000-06:00sparkle, I was wondering that exact same thing dur...sparkle, I was wondering that exact same thing during the trailer! I vote some sort of Bachchan hypnotic power (perhaps an involuntary one) - like me, the dove would do anything to be near Abhishek, even if he wasn't in that scene, so it just sits there in a trance, knowing that all its ridiculous shenanigans will be worth it for even five minutes in the presence of Baby B.Beth Loves Bollywoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05540154833326987567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-52775947331108830862009-02-16T11:08:00.000-06:002009-02-16T11:08:00.000-06:00I loved Billu Barber too and can't wait to see Del...I loved Billu Barber too and can't wait to see Delhi 6. After you see Dilli, maybe you can tell me how they keep the dove on Sonam's head. Staple? Glue? Tape? Hypnosis?2020https://www.blogger.com/profile/10905469142234190538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-88611537871315046462009-02-16T09:35:00.000-06:002009-02-16T09:35:00.000-06:00I think Lara is so underrated---she's a good actre...I think Lara is so underrated---she's a good actress, not just a beauty queen...looking forward to seeing this one of these days! Songs are very nice :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-14968644453880465402009-02-16T08:47:00.000-06:002009-02-16T08:47:00.000-06:00"Maar Jaani" is the best sort of earworm. I am def..."Maar Jaani" is the best sort of earworm. I am definitely going to give this one a shot.ajnabihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08296593338690811213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-80107978321657019302009-02-16T03:46:00.000-06:002009-02-16T03:46:00.000-06:00am not going to watch this one in the theatre but ...am not going to watch this one in the theatre but so waiting for dilli 6. The music of D-6 rocks, by the way, it is truly incredible.bird's eye viewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01338332150874851183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-87404526685263518732009-02-16T03:43:00.000-06:002009-02-16T03:43:00.000-06:00Delhi-6 has some wonderful music...Delhi-6 has some wonderful music...bawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14772313690591638108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-81251526353101132592009-02-16T00:22:00.000-06:002009-02-16T00:22:00.000-06:00Hi Beth - I liked BB very much indeed. I think a f...Hi Beth - I liked BB very much indeed. I think a few of my friends who were expecting a big starry SRK megapic were a bit disappointed, even bored, but not me. Irrfan owns this movie and his performance is so subtle and layered...Billu's reaction, the odd smart quip, his decency all came through. Lara Dutta was pretty good as Bindiya and was less pretty pretty than I would have expected. I liked that SRK used his own oeuvre to illustrate the career of Sahir as those bad 90s outfits were the real deal. You can't fake that look..I enjoyed SRK a lot - he played himself or how he would like to be seen as being, he kept himself out of most of the story and allowed it to be Billu Barber not Sahir Khan the movie. The songs were fun - but he looked bored in the song with Priyanka. And Deepika really can't dance so well, and proved it all over again. For all the speech at the school was over the top SRK with a hint of the Parkinsons tremors and crying, the scene at Billu's house at the end was beautiful. Other random likes - Budbuda - who wouldn't want to go there? The production design and cinematography - excellent. SRKs daft Man from Mars outfits- superb! <BR/>I am so pleased you got this as a chaser to Drona!Templehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02100144509902267935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-91137111485426422272009-02-15T20:58:00.000-06:002009-02-15T20:58:00.000-06:00Nahinnnnnnnnnnnnnnn! I hated it :D but i am really...Nahinnnnnnnnnnnnnnn! I hated it :D <BR/><BR/>but i am really really looking forward to watching Dilli 6- I found it is opening here on Friday as well!Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13543438271055378809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-68642916197668179312009-02-15T20:15:00.000-06:002009-02-15T20:15:00.000-06:00Glad that you liked it.Its a feel good, fun family...Glad that you liked it.<BR/><BR/>Its a feel good, fun family film.<BR/><BR/>Love the idea that I can watch it with my parents and kids and not squirm in the seat at any moment.KeepingItSimplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13681151167121978457noreply@blogger.com