Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

He really is that stupid.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

We will not go back.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

This fight is for everything.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Jaan Pehechaan Ho

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58Comments

  5. 5.

    Jerzy Russian

    Why is everyone wearing a mask, and is there any significance when a few of them take them off later?

  7. 7.

    Brachiator

    Rent, buy or stream “Ghost World,” the delightful and insightful movie where a bit of this clip showed up, telling you much about the protagonist of the film. And check out Roger Ebert’s review of the film, one of his best, and surprisingly touching and poetic.

  8. 8.

    RossInDetroit

    @Jerzy Russian:

    Why is everyone wearing a mask, and is there any significance when a few of them take them off later?

    I think it’s futile to try to understand this dance. It just is what it is.

  15. 15.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Jerzy Russian: According to the wisdom of the intertoobs, this is what I found. This song is from a movie called Gumnam (nameless) which was an adapted Hindi version of Agatha Christie’s famous novel, And then there were none.
    Does that help?

  20. 20.

    Jerzy Russian

    @schrodinger’s cat: Actually it does help a little. Thanks for the pointers.

    Also too: watching those dancers has made exhausted. I could not keep up that level of activity for more than a few minutes at a time.

  23. 23.

    Brachiator

    @Cheap Jim:

    This is from a Terrence Malick flick, right?

    No, it was used in Ghost World. I don’t think Malick has the sense of humor to use something like this.

    In addition to the Bollywood films, there are a lot of Mexican movies from the era (the 60s) that featured hot sensuous dischoteque style dancing.

    I could easily imagine Ann Margaret doing this number in an Elvis flick.

  26. 26.

    amk

    @Mnemosyne: Not just bollywood, 99.99999% of indian films will have 3-6 songs, storyline, theme and plot be damned. There are movies that ran hundreds of days just for those song & dance routines alone, raking in the moolah for the producers. It’s a successful formula which no producer worth his salt (and wants his money back) will dare tamper with.

  28. 28.

    RossInDetroit

    Ghost World is a surprisingly good film considering the subject matter. It was directed by Terry Zwigoff, who also did Crumb. Steve Buscemi’s character Seymour is a lot like Robert Crumb.

    ETA: Zwigoff also did Bad Santa.

  29. 29.

    Citizen_X

    I love this clip, so I hate to bring depressing reality. But hey! There are actual data on the effects of a concealed-carry law. Out of 240,000 permit holders in North Carolina, more than 2400 were convicted of crimes, with more than 200 of those convicted of felonies, including 10 for murder or manslaughter. Also, “In about half of the felony convictions, the authorities failed to revoke or suspend the holder’s permit, including for cases of murder, rape and kidnapping.”

    So it looks like more guns / = less crime. Shocking, I know!

  34. 34.

    Mino

    @Raven: Ken Russell was my favorite director, starting with Women in Love and all through the 70’s. His stuff in the 80’s wasn’t quite as much to my taste.

  37. 37.

    Quaker in a Basement

    The singer in that clip is the immortal Mohammed Rafi. He appeared in a few films but provided the singing voice for characters in hundreds of Hindi films. As a result, his work is known far and wide in India and the eastern world.

    This song was an unusual departure for Rafi–his style was typically more sedate and sentimental. He shows some awesome moves in this clip.

  38. 38.

    Brachiator

    @Raven:

    Ann and Beans

    That is so wrong in so many right ways. But it does not do her justice as a dancer. For that you need to see some of the clips from, say, “Viva Las Vegas.”

    Ken Russell in his prime was a magnificent terror. He passed away recently and it was sad to learn that he had trouble getting work when he still had some creative juices left. His very controversial “The Devils” may get a re-release soon. And “Women in Love” is still a great film.

  40. 40.

    RossInDetroit

    @Citizen_X:

    I hear you. The worst news is that even if there was a direct strong correlation between legal carriers and violent crime it would have no effect at all on gun control legislation. Because Freedom! that’s why.

  41. 41.

    Cain

    Not one of rafi’s better songs. But great era for Bollywood music. If you want a taste of real rafi then check out O duniya ke rekhwale.

    here

  42. 42.

    Ramiah Ariya

    Bollywood is not Hindi movies; or the Indian film industry. It is a new brand created in the last 10 years. It is not really about movies. I wrote a long post about this here: Bollywood is not about movies.
    India has several regional movie industries. They are in competition with the Bollywood brand. Also Hindi movies prior to the late 90s are not really Bollywood either. It is a specific brand name for corporatised Hindi movies. Although it has been a very successful brand. But the brand has harmed Hindi film industry in terms of art value and even long term sustenance.
    In this song, they are really trying to be exotic in the tune and the dance. In this case the exotic comes from a Western tune and dance form. Indian movies aim for complete entertainment – that is their tradition. It comes from their dramatic roots.

  45. 45.

    Gin & Tonic

    I’ll use this open thread to express my sadness at the passing of Sam Rivers, a hugely influential jazz musician and bandleader, who for some years also ran a noncommercial performance space in NY. I had the pleasure to attend some very fine performances there.

  47. 47.

    Ronnie Pudding

    I’m guessing the Terence Malick comment above was a joke.

    Another vote in favor of Ghost World, which uses this video to great effect in its opening.

  48. 48.

    Mnemosyne

    G and I caught a really amazing cult film on TCM a few weeks ago called Ganja and Hess. If you want to know what Terrence Malick’s movies might have looked like if Malick was black, working with a black cast, and examining class fissures and addiction through a vampire story (though they never use the “V” word), this is the one. It’s odd, and non-linear, and very hypnotic.

    ETA: This review is also interesting, especially for the lead actress’s quote about how critics didn’t get the movie because of their preconception that black filmmakers make straightforward films.

  50. 50.

    Brachiator

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I’ll use this open thread to express my sadness at the passing of Sam Rivers, a hugely influential jazz musician and bandleader

    Oh no. This is very sad. One of the most revelatory concerts I ever attended was a Rivers performance in New Haven, Connecticut.

    This news really stings. But thanks for alerting me to this. There’s an old CD I have to dig out….

  51. 51.

    YellowJournalism

    Best doesn’t-belong musical number I’ve ever seen so far in a Bollywood film would be in a remake of The Gift where it is revealed through a very trashy musical number just how bad the murderer was.

  52. 52.

    Cain

    @Ramiah Ariya:

    It is a specific brand name for corporatised Hindi movies. Although it has been a very successful brand. But the brand has harmed Hindi film industry in terms of art value and even long term sustenance.

    I’m not sure I agree with you there. 80s hindi movies were unimaginative, lacklustre filled with ageing actors acting like they are still in their 20s. People were stuck in particular roles, and played them regularly (like the Chinese actors here) Older film stars were relegated to playing grandma or grandfather roles even though they can act much better than that.

    The 90s changed a lot of that, and even Bollywood movies even an ageing star can still be a sex symbols (eg Dimple Kapadia in Dil Chahta Hai) Older actors were able to do more things.

    The golden age though was really the 70s where there was a lot of interesting movies, until the censor board decided that things were moving in the wrong direction and changed things, added hindu/muslim unity propaganda etc. Meh. 60s – 70s was avante garde.

  53. 53.

    Paul in KY

    @Cain: I just had a young Indian gentleman watch the song/dance number. He was surprised it was so old (1965). He was also surprised by the touchy/feelyness of it, as it seemed somewhat more risque than the usual Hindi movie.

  54. 54.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cain:

    I don’t know much about Indian cinema (which is a bit shameful since I have two film degrees) but I know the American censorship regime was extremely harmful to us as a society, so I’m not surprised a censorship crackdown could cause a steep dip in quality.

  55. 55.

    schrodinger's cat

    What are now known as Bollywood movies were previously known as masala movies or popular Hindi cinema as it is known in more high brow circles. The name Bollywood is relatively new, more prevalent since the 90’s. Masala movies were formulaic, had several song and dance sequences, dealt with simple truisms had little subtlety.
    In the early decades after Indian independence the movies tend to be more idealistic, espouse socialist ideals and are in general optimistic and hopeful, Naya Daur is a good example of this ethos, also see any of Raj Kapoor’s early movies. In the 70’s things start to change a little and the popular cinema is not so optimistic anymore, it sees the rise of the antihero, the angry young man, Amitabh Bachan, who takes on the corrupt establishment all by himself, Zanjeer is a good example of this genre. In the 80’s movies are more grim, dealing with weightier subjects like corrupt law enforcement officials, see Ardh Satya, for example.
    The last two decades have seen several movies on expat Indians, Indian diaspora, example would be Dil Wale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and on political violence, see Dil Se. All in all I would say that Hindi popular cinema is a good mirror of the Indian condition.

  56. 56.

    SFAW

    For all of that guy’s singing about Don Ho, shouldn’t the back-up band be using ukuleles instead of gee-tars?

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