FLASHBACKS AND GRATITUDE... and Random Screencaps

Yay, my 100th post!

It's about time... back in 2006 when I started this blog, it was so great to have a space in which to indulge my fledgling love for Dharmendra and growing love for Bollywood... I 'attacked' this blog with such gusto, pouring forth my thoughts in words that now seem slightly childish (but sweet! LOL), unenlightened and over-eager to me... and I loved it. I loved writing about these movies and people I was growing to love so much, and most of all, I loved hearing from Dharmendra-fans and Bollywood-fans from all over the world. I really treasure the lovely emails and comments I've received from people who are passionate about Hindi cinema and their (and my) favourite hero. What a joy!

Back then, my blog posts were fairly regular, and that continued for most of 2007 as well. In 2008 though, I posted much less frequently, and that trend has continued into this year. While I'm not sure I'll ever get back to the heady, exciting days of '06 and '07, when I just couldn't wait to put my thoughts down after watching a Bollywood film, I'm not quite ready to hang my Bollyblogging boots up, either.

I still love this little spot, and I still love writing about Bollywood and Dharmendra. And even when I'm not actively blogging, I'm constantly keeping up to date on my favourite Bollyblogs, and it's great to see that many of the Bollybloggers who inspired me to start writing about Bollywood are still blogging with as much gusto and enthusiasm as ever. It's also pretty great to see so many awesome new bloggers join the ranks. The best thing about Bollyblogging for me is definitely the sense of sharing and community.

So I'd like to say a special 'Dhanyavaad' to everyone who's stopped by here... thank you SO MUCH for sharing this experience with me, for your comments (always so delightful - enlightening, funny, challenging, inspiring, fun, informative), your emails, and just for taking the time...

... here's to my next 100 (and let's hope it doesn't take almost 3 years to crank 'em out!)

And now to an idea I borrowed from Veracious, whose cool and fabulous blog ...So They Dance, is one of my faves... this young Finnish blogger is smart, witty, insightful and always fun to read... she once did a really cool post with random Bollywood-related pictures from her computer... so I thought it might be fun to share some of my thousands of screencaps and say a little bit about them... so here they are, selected by the highly scientific method of eenie-meenie-manie-mo....

Neetu Singh in 'Chorni' (recommended by Memsaab Story)... I love Neetu... she is so gorgeous - I love her eyes, and she is always so watchable. She is really great at comedy, and this is why 'Chorni' is such a great watch. It's a shame her career was so short-lived, but I'm glad she left behind gems like this one. She still looks rather fabulous these days, when, as opposed to talking about her acting talent, everyone's talking about her thinly-veiled comments on Deepika Padukone's unsuitability for her darling Ranbir....

The beautiful Bipasha Basu in 'Aetbaar'... now this was such a horrendously bad film... everyone in it sucked (yes, even the Big B) - don't even get me started on John Abraham's awfulness in this film (bloodshot eyes, sweatiness and forced trembling do not an obsessed villain make). Bipasha was totally and hopelessly miscast (and I see she is yet to learn her lesson - why oh why did she ever think that doing 'Aa Dekhen Zara' opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh (talk about a match made in... the other place) was a good career choice??) I do love Bipasha, she's gorgeous and so charismatic, but I really wish she picked better roles - roles that suit her dusky, exotic looks and her bold, in-your-face persona (as in 'Corporate' and 'Omkara' - and to a significant extent, even 'Bachna Ae Haseeno')... but then again, perhaps the pickings are slim....

The stunning Shabana Azmi in 'Arth'... what a great performance! She owned her role in this film and grabbed my attention from start to finish with a gutsy, visceral turn... there's only one Ms Azmi.... Filmi Geek, the ultimate Shabana fan, recommended this movie, and I love it....

Shashi Kapoor, in his bhaiyya Raj's film 'Awaara'... how cute was he? I wonder if he ever thought back then that he would become a movie star in his own right? I love 'Awaara'... Raj and Nargis were tremendous... I need to watch it again soon.

Abhishek Bachchan, looking too cool for school in 'Bluffmaster'... I love this film - Abhishek and Riteish are fabulous. Boman is pretty good too... and Piggy Chops, well... she doesn't ruin the movie or anything. Abhishek is so great at comedy... love him in fun films like this one and 'Bunty Aur Babli'....

Umm, who is this? in 'Chori Chori Chupke Chupke'... I honestly don't know who she is, but she looks gorgeous, doesn't she? Hence the screencap. Anyway, if I remember correctly, she played the dulhan, Rani's friend, at the wedding where Rani and Sallu Chacha meet for the first time at the start of the movie... and sparks fly! I remember the fabulous song 'No 1 Punjabi' from this wedding as well... I had to find it and listen to it again after watching the film. 'Chori Chori Chupke Chupke' is a weird film - I thought the storyline was ridiculous and disturbing, and I'm not sure I could watch it again, but I also think Rani, Preity and Salman all did a pretty good job in it... if I recall correctly, Preity even scored a couple of awards....

Madhuri Dixit proving she still had 'it' in spades in 'Dil To Pagal Hai'... I adore Madhuri - she is an absolutely divine dancer, such a professional, smart, articulate, and stunning to boot! I LOVE her. Anyway, here she is with one of her landmark roles of the 90s... while I think she did a very good job with her rather straitlaced (and actually quite boring) character in this film, for me the real star of DTPH was an energetic, fiery and determined Karisma Kapoor... Lolo heated up the screen for me... even Madhuri couldn't keep up (although that dance-off was FIERCE - both Madz and Lolo won, in my opinion)... and SRK was the weakest of the trio (I love him, but he was).

Another of my all-time favourites, Jaya Bhaduri, in the oh-so-charming 'Guddi'... 'Guddi' is one of those films that it's impossible for a Dharam fan not to love, but it really is Jaya's film from start to finish. I love this woman's acting so much, and I could watch her all day... I loved her in this scene - the lively young girl subdued, awkward, on the cusp of something strange and new....

And finally...

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'... back when Ash and Sallu were still on speaking terms... if you haven't read Filmi Girl's fantastic two-part write-up on HDDCS (first part here), you're missing out on something wonderful... it reminded me of all the good things about this movie, and one of them is Sanjay Leela Bhansali's really lush, luxurious, gorgeous aesthetic... I want a bedroom just like this one!

This was fun... I might do it again sometime - I have an almost embarrassing number of screencaps and these aren't particularly the ones I love best... which one of the above was your favourite?