tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post4559961472586596912..comments2024-03-27T14:57:37.031+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Scattered delights in Merchant-Ivory’s Bombay TalkieJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-79049393334795726352011-06-02T11:07:54.710+05:302011-06-02T11:07:54.710+05:30Nice review, thanks.Nice review, thanks.Hans Meierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04675553770565339630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-40193994321524532692009-02-21T11:50:00.000+05:302009-02-21T11:50:00.000+05:30Bombay Talkie is a favorite movie of mine, so I am...Bombay Talkie is a favorite movie of mine, so I am very happy to find your review (someone on the forum at Bollywhat.com posted a link).<BR/><BR/>As many times as I've seen it I forget the plot as a rule, and remember the breathtaking opening, the scenes with Nadira, and Shashi's yellow shoes in the typewriter dance.<BR/><BR/>The dvd extra convo among Merchant, Ivory, and Jhabwala (not an Indian), I think, give you a clue as to what kept it from being better - Merchant loves Bollywood, Ivory's enjoyment is too outsider-ish, and Jhabwala doesn't want to touch it with a stick.VirginiaKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15677214114494881269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-6462811029459156072008-08-09T05:28:00.000+05:302008-08-09T05:28:00.000+05:30Farah Khan has visuals of her entire crew in both ...Farah Khan has visuals of her entire crew in both her films - Main Hoon Na and OSO.<BR/><BR/>Th title theme from the movie is beautiful. Love the beginning with the "tudu"'s. Have heard it many times on repeat since getting the OST for Darjeeling Ltd.ArSENikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09772597502937491090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-62240480362278719412008-08-02T23:48:00.000+05:302008-08-02T23:48:00.000+05:30hey jabberwocky,im a fan.pratibha ray is the autho...hey jabberwocky,im a fan.pratibha ray is the author of yajnaseni.sugar gliderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02477030147084412154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-22136842817839967792008-08-01T20:25:00.000+05:302008-08-01T20:25:00.000+05:30dipali, I do hope you'll watch Shakespeare-Wallah....dipali, I do hope you'll watch <I>Shakespeare-Wallah</I>. I was blown away by it and have since become a somewhat obnoxious evangelist for it, trying to get everyone I know to watch it :)Beth Loves Bollywoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05540154833326987567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-23211051618297936262008-08-01T17:30:00.000+05:302008-08-01T17:30:00.000+05:30Sashi was a treat to watch in that movie.Sashi was a treat to watch in that movie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-61312896171731489912008-07-31T22:04:00.000+05:302008-07-31T22:04:00.000+05:30One film I must see is Shakespearewallah. I must h...One film I must see is Shakespearewallah. I must have heard the soundtrack a million times as a kid as my father had recorded it, and the troupe used to visit our school.<BR/>I still remember them doing some of The Merchant of Venice- long long time ago, in the sixties!dipalihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01070862196307376073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-21427932813079223982008-07-31T11:26:00.000+05:302008-07-31T11:26:00.000+05:30scribina: thanks for the link. Yes, I figured it w...scribina: thanks for the link. Yes, I figured it was a UP folksong.<BR/><BR/>pooja: you mean the English in today's Indian films tends to be more American than British? Yes, quite likely. Though our childhood and adolescent reading (at least till my generation) was very British (from Blyton to Wodehouse via Christie), and of course our textbooks still have the colonial hangover, you can't underestimate the impact of American pop culture - movies, TV - on Indian English today.<BR/><BR/><I>For a minute there I thought I had found the one person (apart from its makers) who loved the movie! Looks like your liking isnt totally unconditional, though.</I><BR/><BR/>bollyviewer: my liking isn't unconditional at all; in fact, I didn't think too highly of the film overall. This wasn't a review in any case, it was merely a collection of the little things that appealed to me.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-29480288005330661702008-07-31T01:31:00.000+05:302008-07-31T01:31:00.000+05:30Hi Jobberwock, I read your blog. your review ab...Hi Jobberwock,<BR/> I read your blog. your review about movies are very informative and interesting. plese carry on your review. your blog is wnderful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-86667157781034656242008-07-30T08:43:00.000+05:302008-07-30T08:43:00.000+05:30For a minute there I thought I had found the one p...For a minute there I thought I had found the one person (apart from its makers) who loved the movie! Looks like your liking isnt totally unconditional, though. As <B>ppcc</B> points out, my review of the movie was a lot harsher than yours. I blame it entirely on the opening few minutes of the movie. It raised my expectations and things moved downhill pretty fast from there. I <I>am</I> interested in 1960s/70s Bollywood, in Kapoor + Kendal, <I>Mere Angne Mein</I> and the numerous glimpses of Bollywood that the movie has to offer but it still didnt work for me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-72158906063329474022008-07-30T03:13:00.000+05:302008-07-30T03:13:00.000+05:30When I saw th emovie I was surprised seeing Usha U...When I saw th emovie I was surprised seeing Usha Uthup, Aparna Sen and Nadira as the few small characters in the movie. Shashi Kapoor is awesome, almost living the character, one would think.<BR/><BR/>The english is pretty good too, very English, fewer slangs etc. as compared to the Indian english movies today. Probably more american than british?Poojahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01062703433938457058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-76722799559773035252008-07-29T16:49:00.000+05:302008-07-29T16:49:00.000+05:30dear jabberwock,continue your good work.i think th...dear jabberwock,continue your good work.i think this is one of the best blogs in india.wish you all the bestAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-90579685459699930872008-07-29T11:57:00.000+05:302008-07-29T11:57:00.000+05:30Hi, I enjoy your reviews immensely! Keep them comi...Hi, I enjoy your reviews immensely! Keep them coming. By the way, Farah Khan dedicated a whole song "Ye Fizaen" in "Main Hoon Na" to closing credits. I thought it was nice.rajkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04473706252786535841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-93234242476435162008-07-29T02:14:00.000+05:302008-07-29T02:14:00.000+05:30As Beth mentioned, your review is much more forgiv...As Beth mentioned, your review is much more forgiving than the ones I've read so far - <A HREF="http://bollyviewer-oldisgold.blogspot.com/2008/04/bombay-talkie-1970.html" REL="nofollow">Old is Gold's</A> and <A HREF="http://www.filmigeek.net/2006/11/bombay_talkie_1.html" REL="nofollow">FilmiGeek's</A> - though they seem to be in agreement that the opening credits are lovely. For this, and for the Shashi-Jennifer meta, industry meta, and possible <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_dolce_vita" REL="nofollow">La Dolce Vita</A> vibe, I figure I'll give this a shot sooner or later.<BR/><BR/>Apropos of meta Shashi films, just watched <A HREF="http://p-pcc.blogspot.com/2008/07/vijeta-1982.html" REL="nofollow">Vijeta</A> which had some striking moments in it, such as when a pater familias Shashi rages that he makes "low-grade films" to feed his family, and he doesn't want his son (played by real-life son Kunal) to starve on the footpath.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-44373537230293731092008-07-28T22:57:00.000+05:302008-07-28T22:57:00.000+05:30I havent seen the film, but since you mentioned th...I havent seen the film, but since you mentioned the lawaris song.. just bringing this to your attn. <BR/>AB recently wrote in his blog about how the song came about. <BR/>http://blogs.bigadda.com/ab/2008/07/16/day-84/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-88338053476702222172008-07-28T20:17:00.000+05:302008-07-28T20:17:00.000+05:30Rathchakra: the closing titles had the same tune, ...Rathchakra: the closing titles had the same tune, but played to an English song - the lyrics went "Good times/We had good times..." or something such. I wondered if it was an older tune. Sounded like one of those Vera-Lynn numbers from the Second World War.<BR/><BR/>Beth: yes, am a big fan of Kendal too - very natural screen actress, given that she learnt her trade with a theatrical troupe.<BR/><BR/>Oxymoronic: a film that comments on the movie-making process, at least partially breaking down the fourth wall between the viewer and the onscreen action. With a few self-referential touches.<BR/><BR/>Radhika: I don't think the phrase is decidedly derogatory. Either way, I didn't mean it that way.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-91503741718232585032008-07-28T20:01:00.000+05:302008-07-28T20:01:00.000+05:30Oops..sorry for flooding your comments box!Oops..sorry for flooding your comments box!Phoenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01447597898792549814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-3049765754763592432008-07-28T20:00:00.000+05:302008-07-28T20:00:00.000+05:30decidedly, even!decidedly, even!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-10895790380646443612008-07-28T19:56:00.000+05:302008-07-28T19:56:00.000+05:30And I'm not sure you want to say ''the likes of Sh...And I'm not sure you want to say ''the likes of Shyam Benegal''..''the likes of'' is dedidedly derogatory..I think :PPhoenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01447597898792549814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-88629948608560151472008-07-28T19:55:00.000+05:302008-07-28T19:55:00.000+05:30I remember watching it with my movie crazy mom whe...I remember watching it with my movie crazy mom when I was in early 10s and later in late 10s when my father was in charge of cinema hall at Air Force Station Palam. <BR/><BR/>I used to enact Shashi (the only one I liked apart from Rishi) in the whole Kapoor clan till Kareena came and made me her bhakt for life. <BR/><BR/>Btw, Whats 'meta-film'?Veehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13543217536330822671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-53904292912693245442008-07-28T19:48:00.000+05:302008-07-28T19:48:00.000+05:30Not trying to be anything else but curious..is ''s...Not trying to be anything else but curious..is ''side-profile'' correct? I have always thought ''profile'' includes ''side'', which makes the ''side'' redundant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-41398048981583605852008-07-28T19:25:00.000+05:302008-07-28T19:25:00.000+05:30Yours is the least negative review I've ever read ...Yours is the least negative review I've ever read about this movie, yet I still can't wait to see it (just watched <I>Heat and Dust</I> over the weekend) - though perhaps things do not bode well, as each subsequent Merchant/Ivory/Shashi Kapoor movie I watch has less impact than the one before it. <BR/><BR/>Watching Jennifer Kendal is a rare treat. I thought she was super in <I>Junoon</I> and more than held her own against people with a lot more screen experience.Beth Loves Bollywoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05540154833326987567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-83202763242845244952008-07-28T19:23:00.000+05:302008-07-28T19:23:00.000+05:30YES.....it was used in Wes Anderson's "The Darjeel...YES.....it was used in Wes Anderson's "The Darjeeling Limited". Ohh what would we do w/o Google!! I can sleep peacefully now.rathchakrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11881486194606181380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-53132522739988210152008-07-28T19:21:00.000+05:302008-07-28T19:21:00.000+05:30Great to know that there is someone else out there...Great to know that there is someone else out there who watched this movie. Good post, I was also mesmerized by the opening sequence. The tune, the setting, the camera - it's very poetic. I am trying to remember, that SJ tune from the opening sequence was used recently in some other movie. Aargh...I am not going to bed until I find out.rathchakrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11881486194606181380noreply@blogger.com