10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT DHARMENDRA - PART 2

And the list continues....

6. DANCE MOVES: Dustedoff mentioned this in the comments to my last post, and I absolutely agree. There is something so cute, fun, carefree and almost childlike about Dharam’s dancing. And he always looks like he’s enjoying it just as much as we are. He is not a good dancer, not by a long shot, but who needs good dancing when you could have this instead?



Many thanks, Dustedoff, for bringing that one to my attention.





7. LEAN ON ME: It’s tough to put into words, but there’s something very, very comforting, reassuring and... solid about Dharam onscreen. You always feel like you can trust him to be there for you. Perhaps it helped that many of his characters have allowed him to be so caring and protective – whether it was to a love-interest ('Anupama'), a mentee ('Guddi') or a buddy ('Sholay'). You just always feel that here is a guy who would come through for you in a pinch, without even stopping to think about it.



8. HUMILITY: For all his hunkiness, here is something so personable, ‘real’ and down-to-earth about Dharmendra – which I suppose is why he is such a favourite among the ‘aam junta’ – he doesn’t seem to have any airs or graces – and this comes through really well onscreen. He never seemed to let his star power overwhelm his characters the way some of his contemporaries did (*cough* *cough* Rajesh Khanna). And he seems really humble in real life as well... his colleagues in the industry always have such wonderful things to say about working with him. I was quite touched when Amitabh Bachchan recounted how Dharmendra invited him to an event (I think it might have been the music launch of ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’), and even with all the activity around him, Dharam kept calling Amit ji to tell him to take his time and not to leave home too early.


9. GLASS BREAKING: Now this is one of those random things... I really, really like it when Dharam gets all mad, but instead of lashing out, he tries to control the angst as much as he can, until he just loses it and breaks some glass with his bare hands. This I don’t even know why I like – I just do. Probably slightly twisted, but there you go.

10. VERSATILITY: I really like how Dharam tried so many different things onscreen – slapstick comedy, family drama, action thrillers, social commentary, romance... and he did well in every department. The great thing about him is that he’s got something for everyone – a ‘The Burning Train’ for the adrenalin junkies, an ‘Aaya Sawan Jhoom Ke’ for the romantics, a ‘Satyakam’ for the philosophers... and of course a ‘Sholay’ for those of us that like a little bit of everything in our masala mix.

What are some of your favourite things about Dharmendra? I’d love to hear them....

I’ll be back soon with the second instalment of my ‘Questionnaires’ – this time my subjects will be Bobby, Esha and Abhay.

10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT DHARMENDRA – PART 1

This guy Dharmendra had me at hello really, and the more I see of him, the more I love him. There are SO many reasons why I love (love love) Dharmendra, but here are the top 10:

1. HE’S GORGEOUS: Duh. This one’s a no-brainer. From the beautifully chiselled features to that fit physique, Dharam-ji is just, simply put, one good-looking specimen of manhood.

This is particularly enjoyable to me because, no offence meant, but for me, there aren’t really a whole lot of really gorgeous leading men in Hindi cinema. Plenty of charismatic, interesting-looking heroes for sure, but I really do feel that the women have always outdone the men in terms of physical beauty. Good looks (in the ‘classic’ sense) aren’t quite as important for the men of Bollywood – what’s more important for them is screen presence, charm and believability – which is why overweight heroes with questionable styling choices have held sway at the box office at various times. Of course, this is probably changing now (which I am actually not sure is a good thing), as the unconventional good looks of Aamir Khan and SRK gives way to the modelesque beauty of the Neils and Ranbirs of the noughties. (All this is purely my opinion, of course – I’m sure plenty of people will disagree.)

Anyway, to get back to the point, Dharmendra has always been a real treat and feast for the eyes for me in terms of his physical beauty. As one of my commenters pointed out a while ago, he was one of the first mainstream leading men in Bollywood to train for his roles – to make sure that his legs were toned and honed in preparation for Dharam Veer and all the other movies in which he proudly showed them off. He was in fantastic physical condition, carrying off very physically challenging roles with great aplomb, well into in his 40s and even his 50s, which is pretty remarkable considering that he also had a well-publicised drinking problem.

It’s often said that Dharam ji’s beauty was at its peak in the 60s, which I tend to agree with – but as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I do tend to prefer his slightly more mature looks in the early-to-mid 70s – for me, he was just irresistible in his early-to-mid thirties.

2. THAT VOICE: I love Dharam’s voice... there’s something so raw, yet noble, strong, and almost pure about it. A little huskiness, but not enough to be menacing. A certain innocence and freshness, but not enough to be girly. Unlike his son Sunny, he wasn’t much of a shouter in his movies – he generally spoke in lower tones, and even when he got really mad, his voice would generally go lower and more menacing, not necessarily louder. But for all its quietness, Dharmendra’s voice has always held authority and projected whatever was need, whether it was anguish, angst, confidence, comfort, laughter, love.... Brilliant dialogue delivery – he always emotes so well with his voice.

And I know this has nothing to do with his voice, but I also think Dharam had fabulous lip-syncing skills – I really love watching him lip-sync to Hemant Kumar’s haunting voice in the beautiful ‘Ya Dil Ki Suno Duniyawalon’ (Anupama), or to Mohammed Rafi’s agonised voice in ‘Hui Shaam Unka Khayal’ (Mere Humdum Mere Dost). Such expressiveness in his features....

3. Speaking of his voice, another thing I love about Dharmendra is his ANGREZI!!: (By the way, I really love that word, Angrezi). Dharmendra’s father was a school headmaster in Ludhiana, but as far as I know, Dharam himself didn’t go to college. When he does speak (often halting) English in interviews etc (which isn’t often – you get the feeling he’s far more comfortable with Hindi), you very much get the sense that he pretty much taught himself the language through practice. I do feel that Dharam places a high premium on education, as seen in the high level of education his children have received, particularly in the UK. But I don’t know that Dharmendra himself enjoyed an advanced level of formal education. He probably finished secondary school and then started working immediately after that to support his family. He married young, became a father at a young age, and was working in movies by the age of 20, so he almost certainly did not go to university. (I would love to know if anyone has more info on his early life – I’ve not found a whole lot on the net)

For all this, Dharmendra has played an incredible number of Angrezi-speaking, highly educated individuals in his career – from a brilliant college student (Ayee Din Bahar Ke), to a novelist (Anupama), to professors (Chupke Chupke, Dillagi), to an engineer (Satyakam), to a doctor (Bandini), to an award-winning scientist (Black Mail), he’s played them all, and very convincingly too. Just as he’s also played loads of street rogues, criminals, etc with little or no English skills (Sholay, Patthar Aur Phool, Ram Balram, Samadhi, etc). And if there’s one thing I enjoy, it’s hearing Dharmendra do his Angrezi dialogues.

Whether he’s playing a highly educated man or an illiterate one ‘murdering’ the English language, there’s just something about it. I can’t put my finger on it, maybe it’s the beautiful accent, or the very precise enunciation or that certain shyness/uncertainty that comes through at times, but it’s just wonderful... it just gets me. Every time. And I’m not the only one – Rum feels the same, as does the lovely Bollywood Deewana – in fact he made this fab little video of Dharam’s English dialogues in Krodhi (which looks like a fabulously camp film – the wig and beard alone are quite amazing – I must watch it!). I just looove this video to bits and watch it whenever I need a pick-me-up. Enjoy.

4. SENSITIVITY: I would love to say that whenever I think about a man with sensitivity, I think about Dharam, but thanks to Ralph Tresvant, all that comes to mind is an R&B song from the 90s (albeit a pretty good one). But back to the topic at hand. There is such a sweetness and sensitivity about Dharmendra that just makes my heart melt. Especially with his leading ladies... in films like Anupama, where he’s gently coaxing a timid girl out of her shell, or Black Mail, where he shyly confesses his feelings to Rakhee’s lovely Asha and then eventually struggles to deal with his crushing disappointment when he feels used by Asha. There is something so sweet about Dharmendra sometimes, you just want to put your arms around him and give him a hug. Manly as he is (and he is very manly indeed), in his best onscreen performances you just get the feeling that he feels things deeply.

5. HUMOUR: Dharmendra has such a great sense of humour onscreen, and fantastic comic timing too. Sometimes he gets really, really wacky (Ghazab, for example – those buck teeth and that whiny act were just something else!); other times it’s more subtle (like the witticisms in Chupke Chupke), but it’s always fun. The great thing about Dharam’s comedy is the way he throws himself into it and isn’t afraid to look silly or undignified. He’ll happily dance like an absolute idiot if required... in fact; you often get the sense that he really enjoys laughing at himself.



Now who could possibly resist that??

And now, this post is getting longer than expected (and why on earth did I not expect it??), so I shall be back with Part 2 of this list later....

Questionnaires – Part 1 (Dharmendra and Sunny)

I have a very good Bollywood-watching friend, and one of the many fun Bollywood-related things we do in our free time is make each other fill out questionnaires about actors and actresses… so I’m kicking off my Deol Dhamaka posts with questionnaires on the Deols and their careers… obviously (given the name of this blog) I am starting with Dharmendra!

My favourite thing about Dharmendra is: His drop-dead gorgeous looks

My least favourite thing about Dharmendra is: Nothing really, acting-wise. On a personal note, I hate reading unpleasant stories about him, e.g. that he once hit a female journalist

My 3 favourite Dharmendra movies are: Chupke Chupke, The Burning Train, Anupama (and Satyakam, Jeevan Mrityu, Black Mail, Sholay … oops, sorry, I forgot you only asked for 3)

My 3 least favourite Dharmendra movies are: Anpadh, Naukar Biwi Ka, Ayee Milan Ki Bela (I have purposely avoided many of his 80s and 90s films, otherwise I’m sure more of them would be listed here)

I wish Dharmendra had: Done more movies with Sharmila Tagore

I wish Dharmendra had not: Made so many gross, tacky movies in the (mid-to-late) 80s and 90s

Dharmendra’s best career move was: Doing a good mix of movies – romance, bromance, drama, action, comedy

Dharmendra’s worst career move was: Doing so many forgettable (and sometimes outrightly bad) movies in the 80s and 90s – no-one remembers him (positively) for them now

What distinguishes Dharmendra as an actor: His smooth blend of manliness, sweetness and accessibility. He was a pin-up, an everyman, and a he-man all at the same time. And I think he was a wonderful actor – definitely one of the most under-rated in Bollywood

My advice to Dharmendra is: Enjoy your golden years, keep doing movies with your kids every now and then, and just… enjoy. Oh, and mwahhhh!!

And now to my dear Sunny D, whom I have a soft spot for:

My favourite thing about Sunny Deol is: His childlike quality and sincerity as an actor – he got it from his dad but I think he has it to a greater degree

My least favourite thing about Sunny Deol is: The lack of nuance/complexity in his acting. He can get very hammy very quickly

My 3 favourite Sunny Deol movies are: Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Ghatak: Lethal, Apne (I really need to see a lot more of Sunny’s films – especially Ghayal and Damini)

My 3 least favourite Sunny Deol movies are: the absolutely horrendous Insaniyat is the only one that comes to mind, but then I really haven't seen many Sunny Deol films - maybe just 5 or 6 in total

I wish Sunny Deol had: Done more varied films – experimented more – at the start of his career

I wish Sunny Deol had not: Done Darr!

Sunny Deol’s best career move was: Focusing on his strengths and becoming an action hero

Sunny Deol’s worst career move was: Perhaps not venturing beyond his comfort zone in the indsutry, but then again, maybe it’s a good thing he stuck to what he’s good at….

What distinguishes Sunny Deol as an actor: Muscle and brawn nicely underlaid with that sweetness and sincerity

My advice to Sunny Deol is: Keep doing what you’re doing… I like your recent choices (really want to see Yamla Pagla Deewana!) and I think they work for you… but step it up and do more!

YAYY!! IT'S MARCH!!!

... and March means DEOL DHAMAKA!!!

Deol Dhamaka is a month-long celebration of the Deol family: Dharam, Sunny, Bobby, Esha and Abhay... I haven't been very active on this blog lately, but I could write about Dharam endlessly - and I do have lots to say about the other Deols as well... so my first Deol Dhamaka post will be up soon. Please check out Shahrukh Is Love and Bollystalgia for more details.... and you can find all the Deol Dhamaka posts HERE.

Faces... and more faces....

... and this was my final gift to Amreena... a slideshow of her favourites....

MAD FOR MADHURI

As my Filmi Secret Santa recipient is a Madhuri Dixit fan, I also made her a few collages of Madhuri...

... young and adorable in 'Dil'...

... fierce and defiant in 'Beta'...

... warm and elegant in 'Devdas'...

Who Said What? - Bollywood Quotes

The wonderful Beth once more graciously organized a 'Filmi Secret Santa' process during the recent festive season, and I had such a blast putting together presents for my recipient, Amreena. My first gift to Amreena was a slideshow of quotes by her favourite actors and actresses... some fun, some insightful, some very sweet....

BRING ON THE WOMEN!!

Rajkumar Santoshi’s ‘Lajja’ (2001) is one of those movies that I find frustrating.... Let me start by stating my opinion of the film - which is that overall, it’s not a good film. The script is often clumsy, clunky or corny (and sometimes all three), and the directing and editing are pretty shoddy sometimes. There are elements to the story that are either superfluous or actually detract from the power of the film (e.g. the presence of Ajay Devgan’s character, Bhulwa).

But what frustrates me about ‘Lajja’ is the flashes of radiance in it, the elements that do work, the things that could have made for a really good movie if they hadn’t been overshadowed by the sucky stuff. I really like Rekha’s earthy performance, for example... but I think my favorite thing about ‘Lajja’ is the relationships between the female characters...

... especially the relationship between Vaidehi (Manisha Koirala) and Jhanki (Madhuri Dixit):

Looking over my collection of Vaidehi/Jhanki screencaps got me thinking about girlfriends (the platonic kind) in Hindi films. ‘Bromance’ is a central feature of a lot of Bollywood movies, and has been for decades. Alas, the same certainly cannot be said for relationships between women. I love my girlfriends – I’ve always had great relationships with funny, smart, strong, compassionate women... and I love reading about female relationships. I also love watching vibrant, interesting female relationships on the big and small screens, but that doesn’t happen nearly enough when it comes to Hindi films. Relationships between women are generally skimmed over and sidelined.

Yup, onscreen relationships between women are almost always peripheral in Bollywood – there were really no female equivalents of the two-hero movies that Amitabh Bachchan starred in alongside Shashi Kapoor/Dharmendra/Vinod Khanna/Rishi Kapoor/ Pran in the 70s and 80s. Neither are there female counterparts to contemporary, mainstream movies about male friendship, like ‘Rock On!’, ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ and ‘3 Idiots’. There are plenty of films in which there’s real affection and friendship portrayed between sisters, cousins, or women related by marriage, although again, this is usually peripheral – forming the backdrop to the central story (which is often dominated by a man or two).

But, in stark contradistinction with the many films about friendships between men who aren’t biologically related, there just aren’t many films with similar stories involving women. Probably because the consensus is that such movies won’t do brisk box-office business, and perhaps there’s a little of the whole ‘women can’t stand to share the spotlight with each other’ stereotype in the mix as well. But I figure profitability is probably the key issue.

I have been thinking hard, trying to remember Bollywood movies I’ve seen that have platonic female relationships at their core (with the exclusion of relationships between biological sisters), and I’m not coming up with a whole lot. Apart from ‘Lajja’, there’s the lovely ‘Dor’, of course, with Ayesha Takia and Gul Panag playing two women thrown together by a combination of tragedy and serendipity....

... and there's the gorgeous 'Fire', with Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das burning up the screen in a compelling (and controversial) story about love, sex and self-fulfilment...

And of course this year, there was ‘We Are Family’, which I haven’t seen (and don’t really want to)....

... but there aren’t many more, which is why I’m really looking forward to Vidya Balan and Rani Mukherjee in ‘No One Killed Jessica’ (I know it’s not really about the women’s relationship, but at least it’s a theme), and to Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra’s rumoured two-heroine film.... I really hope these movies do well and open the door to other films with women and their relationships at their centre. I would love to see more –for example, I would love to see something with Madhuri Dixit opposite Aishwarya Rai again – but this time, not converging in concern over a childish drunk à la Devdas, but in a smart film about women balancing (and/or failing to balance) career, romance and family. Or I would love to see Vidya Balan and Mahie Gill star in a good old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness buddy romp with a sparklingly witty script. Or maybe Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi in a movie about two older women rediscovering themselves through their friendship.... And one of my most enduring dream movies is a remake of ‘All About Eve’, starring Shabana Azmi, Konkona Sen Sharma and Aamir Khan. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

... Anyway, I’d love to hear about the Hindi movies you’ve seen that featured interesting female friendships... am I exaggerating their scarcity? Which ones would you recommend? And who would you like to see in your dream Bollywood movie about female friendship?

'YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA' & 'KOFFEE WITH KARAN'

Well, it certainly has been a while!!

It's been over 6 months since my last post... certainly not by design though - my laptop gave up the ghost shortly after my last post, and I've only just been able to acquire a new one. I have kept up with all the developments in Bollyblogland, though - from Khanna-o-Rama to Sridevipalooza (and lots more besides). As usual, there's been lots and lots of fun stuff going on.

I remember when 'Apne' was about to come out in 2007 - I was super-excited at the prospect of seeing Dharmendra onscreen with his sons... when the movie eventually came out, I naturally traipsed off to the cinema to see it - and I really enjoyed it. Not because it's a great movie (it's certainly not), but because it was OTT, and fun, and emotional, and very silly in parts, and just total paisa vasool for me at that point in time. I haven't bothered to see it again since that day, and I don't think it would stand up to a second viewing, but I really enjoyed it at the time. In my post on the movie, I remarked that I would love to see Dharam, Bobby and Sunny do another movie... but I didn't think it was likely.

I was obviously totally wrong! Here's the trailer for 'Yamla Pagla Deewana', scheduled to debut in 2011:



Now I don't understand about 90% of what was said in that trailer (ze subtitles, zey are my friends!!), and it looks like the film will probably have a lot of cultural references that I won't really 'get', but it does look like a lot of fun - colourful, entertaining and just fun. The trailer is actually generating some nice positive buzz for the movie. Can't wait till it comes out... hope it makes it to one of my local cinemas, and I hope it's received well.

Another fun recent development, of course, has been the return, after a loooonnng hiatus, of 'Koffee with Karan', Karan Johar's irreverent and quite frankly, nosey, chat show. It's already stirred up the pot quite nicely with Deepika Padukone allegedly making bitchy comments about Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, and Ranbir himself pretty much 'fessing up to the world that he's a little bit of a player - an adorable one to be sure, but a 'playa-playa' nonetheless. I love how Karan Johar is not afraid to go after the salacious details on this show, and how he manages to get the celebs to say stuff they probably would not say on a 'regular' day. It's also great that he manages to get just about everyone who's anyone in Bollywood to do the show.

I really enjoyed the first 2 seasons of KWK - in fact, I raved about it on this blog early in 2007, and it made it to my list of favourite Bollywood-related things of 2007, although for me the formula got a bit stale and irritating by the latter part of the second season. The show started to lose its freshness and became a bit of a vanity thing, especially for people with new movies coming out. I was quite glad when Karan called it quits, really.

But I guess a good long break was just what the show needed to give it back its 'kick', and I think one can safely predict that the third season will give us quite a few memorable moments. Just some of the people I'd personally love to see on KWK this season: newlyweds Konkona Sen Sharma and Ranvir Shorey, Vivek Oberoi (not with his wife, though - maybe with Sushmita Sen or Ajay Devgn), Amrita Rao, Shahana Goswami, Sridevi, Akki & Dimple, Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan... and of course K-Jo's 'usual suspects' - like SRK, Kajol, Bebo.... The ultimate coup for Karan, of course, would be to get the 3 Khans - Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman in the studio on the same day and for the same show... but I think we all know that's not going to happen. It's fun to imagine though - things would probably get pretty heated!

Anyway, just wanted to check in... will be back soon with some Dharam-centric posts and maybe some other non-Dharam-related observations... one thing's for sure, it definitely won't be another 6 months before my next post!

DHARMENDRA: THE ROMANTIC POET

I am working on a few new posts, including the next instalment of the Decades of Dharam series... but in the meantime I would like to share this Dharmendra interview from 2007, in which Dharam talks to Tina Ambani about poetry, patriotism, parenthood, prayer... and pyaar....

Excerpts:

Do you prefer Dharam, the lover, over the action hero?
Love is also action, Tina! I am driven by love. Love should never be demanding; it must be unconditional. Love is an exquisite pain and in that pain lies intoxication. And if your lover shares that pain, the intoxication reaches another level altogether. I have been privileged enough to share such a love for over 25 years and it is amazing.

And all the female actors still rave about your good looks. How do you stay so handsome?
Whatever is in your heart and soul shows in your face. For the past few years, I have been practising pranayama [yogic breathing exercises] every day. It has transformed my life. I find it intoxicating — it has the same effect on me that alcohol used to. I used to drink a lot but I stopped about five years ago.

How do you get along with your own children?
Wonderfully. My girls, Esha and Ahana, are more open with me, though. I guess daughters have that kind of bond with their fathers. Sunny and Bobby are a little shy. Sunny is also a bit of an introvert.


The full interview is quite a treat for a Dharam fan. I always enjoy reading Dharmendra's more recent interviews (the good ones, at least) because there's something very consistent about them - both in the things he says and the way he says them, and always underneath it all... a poignant, human touch of vulnerability.

DISTINCTIVE BEAUTY...

This post was inspired by Sanket, who writes a beautiful blog here... he got me thinking about distinctive facial features when he commented on these famous eyebrows:

which of course belong to this gorgeous woman:

Sanket is not a fan of Kajol's bushy brows, as he feels they distract from the beauty of her eyes. My views are completely opposite - I LOVE Kajol's unibrow! I realise that mine is a minority opinion, but I think the bushy brows add to her striking, unconventional beauty and lend her face more character and distinction... as always, diff'rent strokes...

... but speaking of distinction, as I said, this all got me thinking... about facial features that are truly distinctive... so much so that when you see them, you immediately realise whose face you're looking at. Below are 5 features that I consider truly distinctive, taken from pictures of Bollywood stars. I won't supply their names... I'll leave that to you. No prizes for guessing right though, as these features are so unique, and the faces they belong to so well-known, that the answers are easy-peasy!

First up is another set of eyebrows... but unlike Kajol's, these brows are distinctive because of their shape, not because they very rarely come into contact with grooming instruments!

Next... these gorgeous, huge eyes...

And next, lips curved in a smile that could light up an entire building...

And another pair of striking eyes....

Finally, a mouth as unique as its owner....

I'd love to know about some of the features you consider most distinctive in the faces of your favourite Bollywood stars!