tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post6713320469937143509..comments2024-03-27T14:57:37.031+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: The pros and cons of being a movie-star with very little egoJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-64152487646662874812013-06-12T00:36:16.596+05:302013-06-12T00:36:16.596+05:30In terms of being ego-less on screen, I think Shas...In terms of being ego-less on screen, I think Shashi Kapoor is also an interesting case...Pessimist Foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06057153008708242962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-36841201277994627602013-06-09T18:16:43.351+05:302013-06-09T18:16:43.351+05:30Don't have the time yet to reply to comments i...Don't have the time yet to reply to comments in detail, but quickly: Shrikanth, I agree about Bogart (and also agree that it seems a strange, counter-intuitive observation to make). I think Hawks in particular used him wonderfully well, and one of the great, energising things about mid-1940s Hollywood was the way Bogart let himself be the foil to the insolent, much younger Bacall in <i>To Have and Have Not</i> and <i>The Big Sleep</i>.<br /><br />Coincidentally I just finished reading David Thomson's monograph on Bogart, part of the Great Stars series, and there are some sharp observations there about his screen personality.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-64841679163374800792013-06-09T17:54:51.908+05:302013-06-09T17:54:51.908+05:30whoever wrote this has no idea of the average Indi...<i>whoever wrote this has no idea of the average Indian male, and has made a very shallow point</i><br /><br />No offence meant. By Indian male, I meant an authentic male product of Indian culture and society. Now the males who probably read this blog are a far cry from Manoj Kumar because they are from a different culture - Public school culture - the culture of Eton and Harrow, DPS and KV, which is not the veritable Indian culture that Manoj Kumar represents.<br /><br />Apologize for the latitude in my generalization in the line you quoted. I probably over-simplified the Indian male a wee bit to make a point.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-61635102653207170162013-06-09T17:06:37.576+05:302013-06-09T17:06:37.576+05:30I still don't get why Manoj Kumar is so loathe...<i>I still don't get why Manoj Kumar is so loathed by the present movie audience</i><br /><br />One doesn't hate him. One finds him very interesting because he is so very typical of the Indian male. One doesn't get as much insight into how Indian male minds work by watching say an AB or a Dharmendra.<br /><br />But with this man you realize he is just your regular Indian guy (warts and all). He represents all that is right and wrong with Indian culture. No wonder he was called Mr.Bharat.<br /><br />He is as much a cultural archetype of the Indian male as Jimmy Stewart is of the pre-WWII American male or George Sanders was of the upper class British male.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-15692186958445528552013-06-09T16:08:47.378+05:302013-06-09T16:08:47.378+05:30"symbolic representation of the Indian male -..."symbolic representation of the Indian male - conceited, immoral, self-righteous, oversexed and blissfully lacking a moral compass"<br /><br /><br />whoever wrote this has no idea of the average Indian male, and has made a very shallow point. Want to read about him? Read "The Ugliness of the Indian Male and other propositions" by Mukul Kesavan.A movie lovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-11056318361641478512013-06-09T02:55:14.893+05:302013-06-09T02:55:14.893+05:30I still don't get why Manoj Kumar is so loathe...I still don't get why Manoj Kumar is so loathed by the present movie audience. I wasn't enamoured by him at any time, but am fine with watching him in a film I enjoy such as Woh Kaun Thi. And he was very handsome-a 6-ft photogenic hero is a rarity even in the vain world of Bwood. <br />As for Dharam, I enjoyed him in certain films but I don't share your enthusiasm for him. But then, I don't have any excess zeal for Amitabh either-and I seem to be in the barely-noticable minority. Nice post!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04321102826131570114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-38795779955462449402013-06-08T20:31:28.650+05:302013-06-08T20:31:28.650+05:30I remember reading an article about how Ameen Saya...I remember reading an article about how Ameen Sayani introduced the heroes in a Filmfare awards function - Amitabh was "Naujawano kay hero " , Rajesh Khanna was "Schooli laRkiyon kay hero" - and Dharmendra was .."Heroino kay hero" :)<br />Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-30854758490122908212013-06-08T18:39:49.964+05:302013-06-08T18:39:49.964+05:30the young Manoj Kumar’s painfully evident knowledg...<i>the young Manoj Kumar’s painfully evident knowledge that his handsomeness was too much for any Eastman Color processor to bear</i><br /><br />Amusing. I could relate to this having watched 3-4 of his films lately. I saw two of his very early efforts - <i>Phoolon ki Sej</i> and <i>Dr Vidya</i> - in both films Manoj Kumar plays a very very evil and immoral man but his own screen ego is such that he is simply not conscious of the evil in him throughout! Also Manoj Kumar on the screen exudes not just his own ego and lack of self awareness but is in many ways a symbolic representation of the Indian male - conceited, immoral, self-righteous, oversexed and blissfully lacking a moral compass.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-87193415926311102013-06-08T11:10:10.701+05:302013-06-08T11:10:10.701+05:30I may sound silly here. But I find Bogart to be ge...I may sound silly here. But I find Bogart to be generally bereft of a screen ego. Remarkable because he is probably the biggest talking picture movie star ever. Watch him in movies like <i>Beat the Devil</i>, <i>Barefoot Contessa</i> and marvel at his absolute lack of airs and total comfort exuded in front of the camera. Unusual in such a major star.<br /><br />Among Indian actors I find a lot of them are remarkably natural and unselfconscious early on in their careers before they become big stars. Rajendra Kumar for instance is someone regarded as a somewhat self-absorbed actor. But watch him in his relatively low budget efforts like <i>Gharana</i>, <i>Aas ka Panchhi</i> and <i>Zindagi</i> and you realize what a fine actor he could be when he wasn't trying too hard to put on the "sacrificing hero" act.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-65227806866367726922013-06-07T21:36:44.492+05:302013-06-07T21:36:44.492+05:301975... has to have a VVS significance in Hindi ci...1975... has to have a VVS significance in Hindi cinema. Maybe you should do a post on it?<br /><br />Coming back to the topic, I see a great admiration here... I had too, growing up, when as a 8 year old kid, even in 1978 ( when AB started to dominate ), I would beg my parents to take me to Paaji's movies.<br />I think he was an unassuming actor, and the impression I got is that he knew his limitations.<br /><br />And yes, *any* Dharam movie of 80's (on TV) is always better than an 80's movie of Rajesh/Jeetu/Mithun ( even Amitabh to an extent).<br />---- Thus spoke AlcoholicAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-7066213488364184762013-06-07T18:52:34.497+05:302013-06-07T18:52:34.497+05:30Your Dharam love shines through. :) Am not going t...Your Dharam love shines through. :) Am not going to venture into YPD2, but part 1 made me weep for a guy I loved in Bandini, Anupama, Satyakam, Guddi, Sholay and Chupke Chupke. Fortunately I avoided the kutte-kameene phase for most part, but it was too much to see this affable guy parody himself so horribly. Perhaps he's doing it for his sons. Or senility has struck in a bad way...Deepa Deosthaleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02741557385292430129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-72312733554387559922013-06-07T15:11:07.862+05:302013-06-07T15:11:07.862+05:30Jai, i was doing the exact same thing abt 30mins a...Jai, i was doing the exact same thing abt 30mins ago .. watching "mein jat yamla pagla dewaana" orignal song on youtube :-)<br /><br />And you are so correct, that Dharamendra when good was always so natural. I mean you watch this song where he's so exuberant, climbing poles and his jeep .. and so damn handsome. No other actor can do this.Gaurav Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06287081493809886070noreply@blogger.com