June 19, 2007
Rani Mukherjee to Marry...Some GuyHumor
…random men everywhere who aren’t Aish/Bips/Shabana-devotees gnash their teeth and shake their fists at the sky impotently. Or not.
Oooooh, DRAMA! An anonymous tipster leaves juicy news on the…well, news tab (via SAWF):
Bollywood star Rani Mukerhee, 29, is all set to marry film maker Aditya Chopra, 36, son of Yash Raj Chopra. A commitment ceremony or “Roka” was held Monday at the Chopra bungalow in Bombay.
A source close to the family told the Hindustan Times: “The roka took place at the same Chopra bungalow where Chandni was shot. Around 60 people (family and friends) attended the ceremony that included Rani’s parents Ram and Krishna Mukherjee, brother Raja and his wife. Present from the Chopra clan were brother Uday, dad Yash Chopra and mum Pamela Chopra.”
Awww, that’s so cute! My last two german shepherds, who were litter-mates, were also named Raja and Rani. And no, I didn’t name them, so shut up.
“Rani wore a maroon saari with silver embroidery and Aditya wore a kurta-pyjama, both designed by designer Pallavi Jaikishan. Pam aunty didn’t seem very happy, as she has a soft corner for Adi’s ex-wife, Payal. Another function will take place at Rani’s house next week,” the source added.
Why do I care, when I am a clue-free Mallu ABCD who has gone on record as not paying attention to Bollywood? Because it’s JUICY. Duh.
Aditya was recently divorced from Payal Chopra, whom he married in 2001.
Ah, so THAT is why anonymous tipster namechecked Angelina Jolie! Apparently, Rani is a homewrecker, but my half- third- quarter-hearted googling found nothing. If the girl Big B got creepy with in KKKG really did break up this guy’s marriage, I’m sure one of you will edify us with confirmation of such sordid details.
According to the Mumbai Mirror, Aditya’s decision to divorce Payal, who is the daughter of a close friend of father Yash Raj, has strained relations between the father and son.
I can’t be the only one thinking…all this would make a great Bollywood movie? Life imitates art…? Annnnnd, I’m bored again. Who wants to talk about Obama, caste or saffron balls? Anyone?
anna on June 19, 2007 07:10 PM in Arts and Entertainment, Humor · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
Life imitates art - KANK.
saffron balls
Does Rani wear a vial of blood of any of her exes? Or french her brother? If she doesn't, she's no Jolie.
Google is filled with links to their affair....even though Aditya is much more of step down from Brad, than Rani is from Jolie.
http://passionforcinema.com/aditya-chopra-rani-mukherjee/
http://www.bollywoodmantra.com/1343_rani-and-aditya-chopras-secret-rendezvous.html
Did Rani get together with Aditya while he was divorcing Payal? If not, then she's really not a homewrecker at all :)
I also agree that one must french their brother and wear a vial of blood to even be conversationally analogous to Angelina.
I don't know about Rani, but if you want to talk about caste,
And in that photograph, are her eyes lighting up like saucers at the sight of that sweet, sweet moustache?
Sorry the link disappeared, but here is a caste related story
From what I heard she was dating Jr Bachhan but Big B never let it happen, for obvious reasons. Never heard of Aditya Chopra or his ex-wife associated with Rani's name until today.
woah, she's 29! i always thought she was 35 or older...
Didn't MP-saab Govinda separate from his wife for a while to be with Ms. Mukherjee? Seems like someone has a thing for the taken man... *cough cough* Angelina
What are the obvious reasons?? :)
perhaps tattoos will get her into jolie's league?
and she was subsequently not invited to the big wedding. (yes, i am big-time into bollywood gossip, but only because it's far more entertaining than the movies themselves). but what re these obvious reasons?Well apart from the ugly spectacle of BigB drooling big time over Aishwarya?
I don't know what the other reasons are, but let me just say that Amitabh is a disgusting male chauvinist. And it bothers me tremendously that his adherence to troglodyte customs, superstitions, and practices is followed so closely by everybody, with nary a questioning remark in the press. Sorry for getting serious for a second, but this always gets under my skin.
As for Rani, she has a voice that sounds like it's been subject to decades of Marlboros (Wills?) and Bud Lights, run over by a car, and then hung out to dry.
ak, I'm with you on the tattoos! Can't believe I remembered the vial of blood but not the tattoos.
I want to know the obvious reasons! I have absolutely zero knowledge of Bollywood gossip, but this sounds funny.
Your just jealous! You can't have her so ur eating sour grapez and stuff. LOL! Free Paris!
From what I heard she was dating Jr Bachhan but Big B never let it happen, for obvious reasons
Oh my. Sounds salacious. Tell me more!
what - that's not sexy to you?
camille, i think it would be pretty cool if a desi actress was that into tattoos.rahul, i did read an op-ed in a national newspaper about amitabh taking the country in a rather regressive direction. maybe it was a one-off thing, but even you must know how superstitious hindus can be.
See, I don't mind the people who are genuinely traditional/conservative (as much), what really angers me is hypocrisy. I lost all respect for him when I first learnt about the fact that he'd insisted Jaya stay in the kitchen right after marriage, but then philandered with Rekha. And with his mucking around with Rajiv and other politicians, playing all sorts of tax games despite his immense wealth, and also all his recent shenanigans with marrying Ash to a tree (or snake or whatever, I can't keep track anymore), going around to astrologer after astrologer, and temple after temple, and his pretty pathetic drooling after Ash (which is what made him willing to do anything to get past the manglik crap), he's done nothing to win it back. Other stars might be like him, but they are not as revered as he is, and I also think his behavior has been more egregious than others.
Did she have to marry more than one peepal tree?
It would be, if it spoke the words of Tom Waits.
definitely. i've often thought of getting one myself, but fear that what looks cool to me now, is in reality uber cheesy. my best friend got a tweetie bird tattoo (bright yellow) when she was 16. enough said.
his most recent was fraudulently obtaining farmer status in two different states to hold land. in lucknow it was part of a government grant to poor villagers, so what pisses me off is that that land could have been allotted to somebody actually deserving of it.
Tattoo regret is not new.
yes, the NYT article is the most recent affirmation of my fear...
A friend of mine got a tattoo in Hawaii last year, as another customer was getting his removed. The other guy imparted one sage piece of advice based on his bitter experience: Never ever get a tattoo a girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse's name.
Doesn't Sushmita Sen have some tattoos? She is the coolest among the current crop, in my opinion.
Coolest != Best actress, btw :) Also, Google coughed this up.
seriously? i assume not seriously...
Are you asking if my not equals is not seriously? Too few negatives. NOT! I have no idea which direction your question was in.
Tattoos are taboo? I happen to have one (ok, three)...my mother chi-chi'd them, but I think they're kinda cool.
I have to admit that I have been into Bollywood for quite some time and the fascination is starting to wear off. I feel as if I am finally waking up especially since I heard Shahrukh Khan will be endorsing a fairness cream for men. How disappointing, but it just goes to show how he will do anything for money. He doesn't seem to care if he offends his dark skinned fans. Why would you endorse an alcoholic beverage and you claim you do not drink (Masterstroke)?
As for Rani, I believe she is into the fairness cream too. If this story is true it is quite sad. Couldn't she get her own man? The only justice Aditya's ex-wife will have is 'what goes around comes around.' Rani will get what is coming to her in the end.
With all do respect The Big B is a lying, greedy, land grabbing, ... and I hope Mayawati continues to whip his ass!
OK...time for some gossip update. My Bro in law is a general manager of a 5 star hotel.., and its common knowledge that Amitabh Bachhan is a bigger womanizer than his son ever was. Another confirmed thingie is between Sushmita sen and the younger Ambani Brother. She's his mistress, and has more property to her name than other top actresses combined. I would give her a pass...since she adopted an orphan, but..........such are ways of the desi glamour world. You gotta sleep with producers in order to make it. Another one that doesn't have a good reputation among the hotelwalla's is Preity Zinta. No wonder Maureen Wadia is putting her foot down on her son Ness' engagement with Preity...(BTW Ness is Jinnah's great grandson.)
oo..thanks for the juicy gossip Vic.
vic - that was awesome - way better than the usual gossip pages. your BIL should start his own blog. sen-ambani, eh? and all that property - i guess sush figured that it's easier owning your own home than to be renting as a single female.
Well. Is nobody going to say anything good about Rani Mukherjee? Then I will - I like her, her acting, her voice, her hairstyle, her smile - everything. In fact, I think Manmohan Singh and Musharraf like her too. Probably one of the few things they can agree on :)
In a handshaking lineup in 2005, Mushy (and Begum Sehba) and MS, and a random male member of the entourage, to say nothing of the cameraperson - all have their eyes locked on her even while Mushy's now shaking hands with the next person in line. She grins broadly, knowing just what's happening.
I can't believe "don't get your significant other's name as a tattoo" is breaking news.
Anyone else got a tattoo?
Back in 1995, I was talking to a non-brown friend of mine who happened to be a tattoo artist in Memphis, and told him I'd wanted to get a tattoo, and he asked me what I wanted to get. I told him, "A Ganesha, which is the Hindu god of auspicious beginnings--"
He cut me off. "How about you come by my studio next week?"
A week later, I walk into the studio (Underground Art, if you must know) and he shows me into a room...and there are...HUNDREDS of sketches of Ganesha on the wall. Ganeshas upon Ganeshas. My jaw dropped.
"How about that one?" he says, and it's a green Ganesha with four tusks and slanted eyes with no pupils or irises, holding a ray-gun. Subtitle: Alien Ganesha. "Or that one!" and there's a sketch of a very delicate Ganesha, his body colored as if made of butterfly wings.
No, no, no.
But clearly I'd come to the right place. I had a statue that I'd brought with me. He turned it into a sketch, and it was an incredibly accurate representation.
I've been wearing it on my back for 12 years now. No tattoo regret at all. It's faded quite a bit, but it's still a beautiful tattoo. Maybe one day I'll get it touched up.
That was the year of the Milk Drinking Ganeshas.
Girlfriend is NOT 29. Definitely not.
And also the year A Perfect Ganesh premiered on Broadway....
Not that either explains why a tattoo artist in Memphis had thousands of Ganesha designs...
Oops. That was the Broadway Theater, Milwaukee. Still, off-off-Broadway.
I must remember not to be more careful posting on SM after my solitary beer :)
Another addition: you have to be bisexual to fit the Jolie analogy. Pity none of the desi actresses are that adventurous.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Shimizu
Karthik @ 21 : yes, Ash married a peepal tree AND a banana tree. There is a joke possible here somewhere. Where is that Badava Rascal (TM) Rahul? :)
Karthik : sorry, I misread your question. I read this story about Amitabh Bachchan and Sheila Jones. I don't know if it is true, but it might be. With marriages, the Big B is supposed to be somethin' else -> the obvious reason referred to?
Abhishek’s attitude is exactly similar to that of his father. Amitabh Bachchan too was seeing a model called Sheila Jones. One good day Bachchan casually drove her to the airport in a Fiat. Sheila was not at all aware of what was going to happen that night.
Bachchan kissed her goodbye at the airport and returned home. He then dressed up well and went ahead for an important event. He was to get married to Jaya Bhaduri that evening. Sheila was shocked to see news of Bachchan’s marriage with pictures
the next day in the newspapers.
Badava Rascal reporting. I was out drinking beers to salve the wound of Vic #34 demolishing two of my lovelies in one little post.
A small part of me feels that we shouldn't have any form of tattoo removal (yes, this goes against all of my feelings towards personal choices, getting people out of your private business, etc). If you feel that having to ink something on your skin is that important (and hopefully you've thought about it long and hard), then you should just be able to deal with it indefinitely afterwards. This whole teenage craze with tattoos just mystifies me. Ugh, I hope this doesn't make me a closet conservative.
It's funny - at many clubs/bars I've been to lately, the patrons without visible tattoos were outnumbered by those that did (and I'm not talking about places like the Blue Oyster Bar either [not that there's anything inherently wrong with that place, mind you]).
this is better than any gossip blog...but i have to ask too, what are the "obvious reasons" rani wasn't allowed to marry abhishek? i saw some reference to it in one of the articles i read. according to a lot of the sources, aditya chopra and rani have been together for some time. any other juicy gossip? do tell!
The question is, whom does she rent to?
It's so funny that three friends and myself were discussing some of these things over dinner tonight in NYC (and yes, after that 'dutch' thread I made sure to pay extra). Is it true that Amitabh Bachchan is a big womaniser? Because I was commenting that things have changed so much in India, that back when Big B was young (70s/80s), despite being so popular, he had only one well-publicised affair (with Rekha) whereas nowadays, even B and C list stars have numerous well-known affairs...and I chalked that up to changing societal mores. I also said it's unlikely that the dude is womanising these days since his image and reputation would take a major nose dive if it ever came to light. At the same time, it's hard to imagine a man restraining himself, with the amount of women who are probably throwing themselves at him daily, and the kinds of opportunities he has.
I loved the sections in Maximum City which talk about Vidhu Vinod Chopra trying to sign BigB for Mission Kashmir. Hilarious how Suketu Mehta gently pricks the Bachchan bubble. That and the section where he completely eviscerates Bal Thackeray were the high points of the book for me.
key phrase is probably well-publicised - today' media is far more interfering in and less forgiving of celebrities' personal lives. during WWII, the media largely abided by FDR's request not to be photographed in his wheelchair. these days, shit like that wouldn;t fly. but just judging by vic's comment, there is still a lot of stuff on the DL, so it's plausible that the indian media respects certain boundaries. i have a feeling that desi PR is a lot better at american PR from keeping things private.
sorry, darling, but i assume since it's not you, this point is rather moot for you?
i am pre-requesting no spoilers here - i just received the book and it's high on my summer reading list.
I second that! It's been gathering dust on my bookshelf for far too long, so I'm about to start reading it, too. Perhaps we should start the virtual SM book club, years after it was first requested. ;)
Whatever happened to free speech?
Badava Rascal reporting. I was out drinking beers to salve the wound of Vic #34 demolishing two of my lovelies in one little post.
Welcome back, Badava R! So what do you call the tattoo of a tattoo? Here is my latest submission to Urban Dictionary. Yes, I am bent on world domination!
Tathree (noun)
The representation of a tattoo in a tatto. For example, a tattoo of Janis Joplin may show her own tattoo. That makes it a tathree.
Example
Oh, that is a nice tathree of Janis Joplin's heart over your heart.
You mean like this?
Yes, because the Big B in compromising positions with "other" women would be such a small and insignificant story. I mean Indians dont really want to read that. Now if they have a B list star like Shakti Kapoor caught in a sting operation, they would be all over it, but Big B scoop is not really a scoop.
Suketu Mehta's book cant have any embellishments.. C'mon it is not like he gets paid based on number of books he sells and the more controvertial and provocative you are the more books you sell. So there is no reason for Suketu Mehta to embellish any "facts". None. He is writer and writing is a "higher" profession than these naach-gana walahs.
set it up, ANNA!
you were so apologetic when it was re shawshenk redemption - not so much love for maximum city?
Perhaps we should start the virtual SM book club, years after it was first requested. ;)
I'd love that. Maximum City is a good reason why. I started reading it, but for some reason, I never finished it. Without a book club, I doubt I will pick it up again. Is a book a month a good way to do it?
wasn't sushmita sen dating randeep "australian idiot" hooda from monsoon wedding. also tanisha mukherjee is dating uday chopra, so i guess the mukherjees hooking up with the chopras is a family business.
Can I join the club of people who fess up to giving up on Maximum City 50 pages from the finish? I tend not to do too well in book clubs because I have a long list of books that I desperately want to read, and reading flavor-of-the-month books takes up too much valuable time :)
Shawshank was all hema's fault, in any case. BTW, ak, Jack Nicholson ordered the Code Red on Santiago.
Maximum City is a great book -- though it could have been 50 to 100 pages shorter and still been just as good. Suketu deserved the Pulitzer (he was a finalist) and I hope he eventually wins one.
Jack Nicholson ordered the Code Red on Santiago.
Also, Jar-jar Binks is Darth Maul. Don't click this link.
hema merely pointed out your original transgression. as for AFGM - i still mourn the loss of pvt. santiago.
Speaking of high points in "Maximum City" (I think this is where it came from) I loved it when Shahrukh Khan makes chai in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's kitchen, and of course, the domestic help is stunned that "badshah of bollywood" is so ultra down-to-earth, humility personified etc.
How awesome would it be to have SRK bring me my morning cuppa in bed ;) tres agreable.
This isn't going to sound too good, and will probably come back to haunt me, but I haven't actually read an entire book in well over 10 years. Just don't have the attention span anymore. Which is a shame since I used to enjoy reading when I was a kid. Fiction in particular is something I don't think I can ever get into again. I did actually buy Maximum City from Borders one day (still like to browse), and like Rahul I barely made it past page 50. But I don't think that's any reflection on the book.
Vic, Sushmita Sen and Anil Ambani was two or three years ago. They've both moved on, from what one hears (several pieces of jewellry and apartments later, of course).
A "roka" literally means that both families stop "looking" at other prospects. Very Punjabi thing.
And all Bollywood stars lie about their age, always add five years.
AB's reputation in the business as a womanizer (and harrasser) is indeed awful, and yes, he did seem rather foolish around Aishwarya...in all the publicity photos pre-marriage he was always the one appearing with her with an idiotic grin, not his son. Ugh.
I think you have to be a Bombay person to truly love Maximum City, sorry folks...and Sacred Games is in the same vein.
Maximum City - required reading and requires much patience. Well worth it though.. because in the end...
Amitabh, I made it past page 50, just got stuck at the end. Don't remember if it was the book that started drifting, or outside circumstances that made me give it up, but it was certainly no "Special Topics in Calamity Physics". That, I sat up a whole night to finish, once I got to page 200 or so, and a major momentum-shifting event occurs. The book took a little getting used to because it was very show-offy, but I LOVED it.
portmanteau, I can't think of anything more scary than having to see SRK and his quivering lower lip first thing in the morning. What will he say, k-k-k-koffee? And, where SRK and koffee are, can k-k-karan be far behind? Not a good combination.
Oh, and one story (no way of confirming accuracy) I heard from a family friend in the bidness about Junior AB's broken engagement with Karisma Kapoor was that someone told Big B that "this girl is not OK" (i.e. like many actresses she had to sleep her way to jobs) and so he got someone through someone to offer her Rs 1 crore to sleep with some guy, and when she showed up in the hotel, he was there with his son, and that was that.
it was like that one time at band camp...
SP, I am a Bombay person. I think Bombay is far and away the most wonderful city in India. That is what kept me chugging through Maximum City.
Sorry to unSuketu the thread.
What's with all the player hating on Rani? she's a great actress, (Black) and she's hot and classy. Also, perhaps Payal wasn't keeping her man satisfied, not Rani fault!
i'm reading sacred games right now and really loving it. i'm by no means a native of bombay, but i do like how vikram chandra treats the city in his books. but, yes, i'm sure that fondness for the city plays into the appreciation.
SP - that is some crazy story re karisma...
I haven't read Sacred Games yet (it's holding down my bedside table right now), but I really liked Love and Longing in Bombay. With a TamBram author ex machina and such exquisite descriptions of Marine Drive, who wouldn't?
I loved it and I've never lived in Mumbai. Having grown up outside India, it opened my eyes to a lot of what's going on there. The police brutality was particularly shocking to me. (Not that it doesn't happen elsewhere.)
And Mr. Aditya Chopra, producer/director/writer of "Dilwale Dulhaniya Lejayenge", longest running film in history in India since "Sholay". Who hasn't succumbed to the hype, a la "Kofee with Karan". Very humble and accomplished guy, built a $20 million modern studio and has launched so many directors with him simply as producer. Rani went for the creative guy instead of the glam factor. But now the Bachchan's work for her new family, very well played indeed.
Daahlings, the story I'd heard about Baby AB and Karishma was that Babita wasn't impressed with Baby AB's prospects and that's what eventually put the kibbosh on the proceedings. That's all, kitty kats.
Raul, Babita must have been spinning cartwheels when Karishma and Mr.Karishma were estranged after their child was born and she was stopped from getting a passport for said offspring...
Hehe - I did think that AB-Karisma story sounded like the product of a rather active imagination, and Karisma had the family backing to not have to sleep around, but who knows? Perhaps that was the story the ABs spread around to get their own back.
I'm about 350 pages through Sacred Games right now and LOVE it. Could definitely have used some editing, and at some points I found myself snorting at the intellectualised first-person narration by Gaitonde, but it's really gripping and you can practically feel the car swerving down the road towards Haji Ali sometimes.
Rani was supposed to have been dating Govinda at some point (ewww) but she denied it vociferously. I think that's what got her the homebreaker rep. She was definitely going after junior AB, what's the story on why AB opposed it? I heard Jaya was in favour (of course, as Rani's her mini-me).
The story I had heard was that it was Reagan's military build-up. But apparently, it was a liquidity crunch due to oil that eventually put the kibbosh on the proceedings. Marc Andressen of Netscape reports.
I think Rani is overrated!. She is not as talented as Sridevi or Madhuri Dixit. I've heard that she started getting good roles after she started dating Aditya Chopra.
Jaya did not want another Bengali in the family... this is all publicity... AB jr and Ash have made films before, no buzz.. they are "hinted" at dating and "Umrao Jaan" did pretty well. Rumors of engagement and "Guru" did extremely well (despite it being a Mani Ratnam fillum, which needed no such assistance). Lest us forget, AB Sr, was "actor of the millenium" in the BBC poll. He's trying to make sure his legacy survives at least beyond the immediate generation at hand.
ok, confession, as far as SRK is concerned, I belong to the cohort that was 10 when DDLJ came out. He's playing rugby or soccer or whatever uber-masculine sport in the rain (the wet sari scene for XYs), and I, being a very-very impressionable ten year old just lapped up the cheesiness and adored the his *rakish charms* in the movie. Yeah, I'm a sucker for rogues.
Ever since then, I haven't seen many of his movies (and I bet he was really annoying in Darr), but have enjoyed his wit and candor in interviews.
My apologies littering this thread with personal history. But you all will remember that DDLJ was Aditya Chopra's claim to fame and possibly a seminal film for its time. Perhaps, Anupama Chandra (again featured in the ensemble cast of characters in MC) will attest to that.
Rani's a good actor by Bollywood standards...Sridevi over-acted terribly, and Madhuri did the same three roles in the same cliched style her entire career. Rani probably gets stock roles too but she doesn't over-act, thank goodness.
And I'm of the generation that remembers Shahrukh in the TV show Fauji (anyone?) When he had awful floppy hair and I couldn't understand why the other girls cooed over him like he was Tom Cruise.
oh, and some insight about the reclusive Mr. Chopra, via Google:
"Adi is actually very conservative. His idea that
the two lovers must not rebel against the parents but must ask for their permission is very conservative. For a second-generation film person who went to [Mumbai's] Bombay Scottish School and Sydenham College to be so conservative, was very interesting."
from:
http://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/oct/08anu.htm
Apparently, things have changed.
And I am surprised by my own avid interest in Bollywood drama.
I actually really like Rani as far as Bollywood actresses go. That said, I hated Black! (watch that statement come around and bite me in the ass).
What I like best about SRK is his overexaggerated facial expressions and his crazy eyebrows! I'm so serious.
I'd be down!Maximum City? *blink blink* Just kidding! Have never read sacred games, though. I'm beginning to feel un(desi)-cultured, kind of like the opposite of paneer.
portmanteau very observant - that was exactly the premise for DDLJ "two lovers must not rebel against the parents but must ask for their permission is very conservative"
he just happened to dramatize the process of exactly that process.
If the stories about Chopra Pere threatening to cut off Aditya over the divorce are true, then that would certainly be a nice ironic twist on the family and duty-worshipping films that lot have always made.
Does anyone else think Aditya's moustache looks like something out of the Mangal Pandey set leftovers?
I can't believe I'm gossipping about Bollywood.
please tell me that you have read a suitable boy?
portmanteau, i understand : i recently caught an episode of KBC and SRK, much to my surprise, rocked! i've never seen it before, so no clue how AB was, but it became quite clear as to why this man is a superstar (of course, with no relevance to his acting skills).
the idea in bollywood of "producer" is a relatively new phenomenon. Sanjay Gupta, Vinod Chopra, Aditya Chopra (do not vilify me for omissions), is refreshing. Then you have the-over South Directors (which I have no exposure to so don't lambast me) but who crossed over like (Mani-ji) and made enoyable and memorable films. Indian filmmakers just recently got status from the government as a legitimate industry (which means bank loans)>
i think its about time for some entertaining dish.
too much politics can cause cancer, as my parents would say. ;)
ak, AB sr, was the actor of the millenium in the BBC forum. He ruled bollywood, got hurt cuz of bollywood, came cuz of bollywood, became a produer, lost money, and now has beenworking hard. (Kudos to good work). He also tried to secure a spot for his son, Abishekh. His son faced tons of criticism because he's trying to emulate his fatherer. Genetics is such a bad thing. Then there was "Yuva"...
SP
Nahi! Nahi ! Nahi ! Please no hating on Ms Dixit .What's with all you people? First its "Oh we don't do Bollywood, we find Bollywood boring " - then its 95+ comments of hating on Rani and putting Stardust to shame !
Also - sorry to disappoint all you closet Bollywood fans but this may be much ado about nothing
Runa, I really liked Madhuri, it's just a shame that she wasn't given any really meaty roles till perhaps Devdas...and she got away with flashing her famous smile and doing her little ada and that was it.
The one role I had hopes for her in was Mrityudand, but that was so ridiculously full of cliches too, and they just had her do the classic Good Indian Woman Driven to Kali-like Outrage part.
Not to open a new can of worms, but the term home-wrecker (even though I know it was used humorously) makes me cringe a bit - if whassname Chopra chose to end his marriage, or Brad Pitt did, that's their business, they were the ones with commitments to keep or break, not the women who entered their lives.
Back to regular gossipping!
this is the book with the unbearably graphic descriptions of a hirsute lothario and his daring, swinging-from-the-banyan-tree affair with his ex?
shouldn't this thread just be about her delightfully husky voice? which this chopra fellow will now be hearing for the rest of this marriage?
Oh no Camille...I can't speak any languages, cook any of the food, but even I have read that book!
I would revoke it, but being a bleeding heart liberal I hand out brown cards and wads of my parents' money out in the streets to anyone and everyone... Especially welfare moms, homeless people and drug addicts.
Sorry for the politics intrusion on the books/Rani discussion. Every time Manju mentions Monica Lewinsky near my name I get a little turned on...
I think a book club is a great idea as long as we don't read 'One Night At The Call Centre' - ick, ick, ick (said the book snob).
A Suitable Boy was entertaining but not a must-read, if you ask me. Brown cards may now be restored and subcontinental doorstopper fiction assigned to its doorstopping functions.
I liked Love and Longing in Bombay, and yes, the hirsute Lothario is in one of the stories, and he shows up as a protagonist in Sacred Games too!
it's OK , camille - 1400 pages is something that requires quite a commitment. i do, however, more than highly recommend it, unlike SP, i do consider it a must-read - it is, in fact, my favourite book. and not for the desiness, but for his language and narrative style. i've read it once through properly, but have re-read in bits at least 10 times. it's that marvellous.
"A Suitable Boy" obviously looks like a great book (and no, I don't do thousand page books, I just don't), but I found the music of the dialogue a little different than what I am used to.
Case in point - chapter 1, verse 1 :
'You too will marry a boy I choose,' said Mrs Rupa Mehra firmly to her younger daughter.
Now, is that "You too will marry a boy I choose" or is it "You too will marry a boy I choose". It is not clear where the emphasis is. Plus, there are issues of translation of Hindi dialogue into English. I hope this last point will not be contested. Such issues of translation have been known since the fourth century at the very least.
I personally prefer over-the-South authenticity.
the rumor mills spin that rani mukherjee & that smoking ball of fire, govinda, were supposedely embroiled in an affair for quite a while(almost 5 years), estranging him from his wife and family. it then appears that his political aspirations got in the way and the two parted ways.
shankar, this book is more british-indian book (since it takes place on 1954) than a desi one. so most of the dialogue is not in hindi - over the span of the entire book, probably only 50-some instances. as for its non-typicalness, that is the est part - vikram seth has a writing style that is like non other - it's the first time i came to enjoy english prose for not just word-selection, but sentence structure. i could go on and on, so i'll stop here. as for the sentence you mentioned - i'm not sure what the difference is between the two emphases, but it's at the wedding of her sister, who had an arranged marriage, so perhaps that helps you.
as for superstar - he was at his best is basha, i think.
SP - do you mean sartaj? yes, i was glad that he chose that particular character from his short stories to expand into a full-time book.
rani - not a big fan. i feel most hindi actresses tend to overact or just not get it right, save two or three. since i'm not into her acting, i pay more attention to her clothes, which, unfortunately, tend to be hit or miss these days.
cool blogs
shankar, this book is more british-indian book (since it takes place on 1954) than a desi one. so most of the dialogue is not in hindi - over the span of the entire book, probably only 50-some instances.
According to you, then, the dialogues in the book are not Hindi dialogues translated into English, but in fact, just Indians speaking in English? Then, if it is supposed to be a vignette of India from 1954, it is one that has been carefully edited to not have any dialogues in Hindi (I mean - how bizarre is that!?), then how good a vigneette is it? ("Maximum City" may not have this problem. Hint, hint :) ).
as for the sentence you mentioned - i'm not sure what the difference is between the two emphases, but it's at the wedding of her sister, who had an arranged marriage, so perhaps that helps you.
In the first, there is a note of insistence on the part of the speaker. In the second, there isn't.
May I suggest a Movie Club? I am thinking movies like Pather Panchali and Manthan. (This could be in addition to the Book Club.) There are some movies that I want to have watched, but somehow can't actually make it through in one sitting. At least, if I know that it is for the Movie Club, I will make sure not to fall asleep watching Satyajit Ray :P
shankar, it is a good vignette, but perhaps not a vignette of what you wish it to be. the language is english - and like most novels written by desi authors writing in english, the bulk of the book is in english - even if the characters in real life would be speaking in hindi or another desi language. in that sense, parts are indians speaking in english, and parts are people speaking in hindi which have been translated for the english reader (with a sparse scattering of transliterated phrases). i think it's actually more bizarre to judge desi literature written in english based on its use of transliterated phrases and label it inauthentic if it lacks them. if you really want to read something involving hindi, why would you choose any book where the hindi is transliterated into english - why not just read a hindi book, in devanagiri script? i don't think you can compare maximum city, since that is not fiction. and the settings are very different - much of a suitable boy takes place in an academic/literray setting, right after the british quit - surely you will agree that the british influence was more pronounced in this era and setting? conversely, maximum city focuses on bombay - so there has to more hindi or marathi. by your logic, though, perhaps even maximum city missed the beat by not being written in hindi? but i wouldn't say that, because india is 'like that only' - so multi-faceted that oftentimes it is hard to completely separate the english from the indian languages.
then it is the former. if nothing else, mrs. rupa mehra is all about insistence, and indignation.
ak,
I am not arguing with you here. I suspect we are saying the same things but in different terms.
why not just read a hindi book, in devanagiri script?
A fine idea. Is there a Project Gutenberg for Hindi out there? Does anyone know where I can find, say, Premchand's "Shatranj ke Khiladi"?
no. 88
Hate to admit it but I have a mad crush on him. Can't tell you why. Can't stand his acting - which is hammy and cheesy - except when he is forced to calm down as in Swades. He makes his mediocrity sound like a virtue. He claims that his modesty prevents him from getting involved in big charitable undertakings (i.e. he is a modest guy so he only does small things here and there). He will endorse anything as long as the money is right. He has no artistic integrity and he seems quite proud of it. So, why the hell do all of us have such a thing for him? Damn! There's just something about him. If you watch koffee with Kiran, it appears all the actresses (young and old) have a thing for him too. I bet if Rani had a chance with SRK, there would be no Aditya in the picture.
I read Maximum city over a 4 day period during x-mas. I had to read it for my bookclub- that's why I was able to read it so quickly. Fantastic book. Still can't stop thinking about it. The last part is very haunting (I won't say what it is and be a spoiler).
I started Suitable Boy and really liked it, but figured life was too short for a 1200 page book. I just got the audio book last week from the library and am going to try it out. I've never "read" fiction with audiobooks since I love words and rereading too much, but it seems like that's the only realistic way for me to do Suitable Boy. I really enjoyed his Golden Gate when I read it a while ago.
Speaking of Indian English, I didn't think Namesake really had that for Ashoke, except at one point where he calls Ashima from Cincinatti and says, "Do me one thing.". Did anybody notice that? (I am not a fan of Jhumpa Lahiri. I finally read Namesake a month ago because everybody I knew insisted I should, and while I could relate to some incidents in the book, she pulled off the same feat she did in Interpreter of Maladies of being both overwrought and clinical at the same time. Every description is as detailed as it can be and then some, but it seems like the work of an especially erudite and articulate fly on the wall who couldn't really care about what happened to the characters.)
ak, the novel that really threw me for a loop vis-a-vis sentence structure was White Jazz. I think I was stuck on the first 10 pages for a week, but once I got used to it, boy, did it fit the novel like a glove (or a book jacket?). The cryptic headline like structure becomes more and more intense as the action progresses, and very effectively captures the sense of urgency.
As for sooperstar, I saw Sivaji on opening weekend. It was everything that I'd expected from the combination of Shankar and Rajni. I highly recommend it. I'll write up something more later.
Hmm.. surprisingly, SRK has an avid female following who are not sympathetic to my dismissal of his independently mobile lower lip! Who woulda thunk? :)
female following that is not sympathetic. This is what I get for editing in the fly, and mocking SRK.
I am not a fan of Jhumpa Lahiri.
And here I thought I was the only one...
editing ON the fly (please don't think dirty thoughts). Alright, I apologize. SRK is the greatest.
i think it's great that there is so much indian literature in english - it's able to reach a far larger audience than if written in a single indian language. but, yes, i think indian language literature has suffered, if only slightly, because of this. not that it would help me - my hindi/tamil reading is painfully slow...
rahul, i am not a big fan of namesake, either. or jhumpa lahiri. i first read the short story in the new yorker, which is just about gigol (author and name), and then read the namesake for the same reasons as you, and did not like it at all. the short story got it right, but the extension into a full story felt like she was pushing her luck. and this is a terrible thing to say of any author, but irfan khan in the movie conveyed the character much better than she did.
i beseech you to read a suitable boy, rather than hear it. maybe you will hear it and then want to read it - but it's one of those rare books where the words jump at you. plus, sometimes those audiobooks spoil it with their delivery. btw thanks for the suggestion - i was thinking of reading black dahlia, but perhaps i will try this first.
Less SRK, more Irfan Khan. That's really what the world needs. :)
which is just about gogol
I remember reading sometime back about an alleged affair between the 2 (rani and Adi) and that she was the reason for a possible split in the home.
So others found sacred games and loved it too! I am deep in it right now and like it so far. Only problem, I keep remembering all the cuss words at inappropriate times of the day. I think they are permanently stuck in my brain. But Sartaj is a personal favorite.
Love Audiobooks for a long drive.
Rahul: I love it - "his independently mobile lower lip!" As you can see, not a fan (emphatic that)! And then this - "As for Rani, she has a voice that sounds like it's been subject to decades of Marlboros (Wills?) and Bud Lights, run over by a car, and then hung out to dry." You nail em well! Ever thought about writing pro?
We need more from Arbaaz Khan...................................................'s wife.
As for sooperstar, I saw Sivaji on opening weekend.
Haven't seen it yet, but I heard that it was sort of not the typical thalaivar movie. Also, what's up with Rajni in the blond wig in the trailer?
Alright, maybe I should just man up and read Suitable Boy. Between that and Sacred Games, my backlog is going to pile up faster than the bad guys at a Rajnikanth fight.
munimma, the description of Rani (at least the part about being run over, if I remember) is my approximation of a sentence from a Tom Waits profile I read years ago. So, maybe it was a little Kaavya'esque of me to have used it. As for wanting to write pro, me and 3 million others. But, as HMF always points out, we Indian men suffer from the hard bigotry of high expectations. :)
Well, if the pro writing thing doesn't work out, there's always stand up. You could be the anti-Russell Peters.
ak,
my hindi/tamil reading
Not another trilingual? :)
I think Jhumpa Lahiri's compact style is better suited for the short story. "The interpreter of maladies" was better as a book although "Namesake", the book, I thought, was finely detailed and quite affectionate too.
I am getting more pro-"Suitable Boy" by the minute. Vikram Seth is really the master of the language. (I haven't read "A Suitable Boy", but I read "Golden Gate" about ten years ago). It looks like he might have pulled off the difficult job of doing Hindi dialogue in English.
hema, yes, there was a blond wig involved. Among other things. No more shall be said.
Also, what's up with Rajni in the blond wig in the trailer?
I just had to check it.
A blond wig AND dreadlocks? Wow.
That's not the half of it.