Help me with Bollywood and Indian cinema in general

Apparently on netflix in the US if you wanna invest in a VPN!

https://letterboxd.com/muktaa_/list/every-movie-referenced-in-om-shanti-om/

Using the filters it seems there is only one film that straight up isn't on any service anywhere: 1977's swashbuckler Jay Vejay, which does look like a lot of fun. 5 logs on letterboxd!

I will say though a lot of Indian movies I've found on streaming seem to have machine generated subtitles, which often end up quite poetic but entirely impossible to use to understand what's happening onscreen.

God, living in Ireland you get fleeced by streaming services left and right. There's so much we don't get, but we pay the same subscription fee. Moan moan, I'll just get a VPN, I guess.

Didn't go to Dunki in the cinema, because it opened four days before Christmas, and I'm not subjecting myself to the city centre at that time of year, not even for you, SRK. Anyway, it'll be on Netflix in a few weeks.

Very much looking forward to Malayalam film Malaikottai Vaaliban next week, based on nothing but the enthusiasm of some people I follow on BlueSky, and this intense trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqDLiObvefA

I saw Dunki at my local cinema. It was... well, it's always enjoyable to watch a Bollywood movie at the cinema, not a big turnout this time though, so less atmosphere. The narrative is kinda bizarre but it def has a heart.

Ah well. At least the songs in it are good.

Hanuman - Telugu superhero film, first installment in a cinematic universe. My LB review:

Pays off the dumb "superheroes are the modern mythology" talking point by having its hero actually be based on local mythology, to the extent that this white boy sometimes had trouble following along (though the sung recaps of the mythological elements were very helpful). The film also takes considerable advantage of its gorgeous rural setting and overall the tone is agreeably goofy, closer to a live action Asterix than anything in the MCU. The one concession to "well that just happened" American-style superheroics is Vennela Kishor's character, whose constant referencing of DC and Marvel properties does grate, though I will say his habit of exclaiming "shazam" at every opportunity and in a variety of emotional registers grew on me. A great time at the movies, looking forward to more in this shared universe!

Got some amused smiles on the way out of the cinema; tube wasn't running so I got on a bus that had a group of lads who asked me if I had enjoyed the film, and then proceeded to slag off the subtitles in Telugu (at least that's what I assume, ENG word "subtitles" in derisive tone only thing I understood obv).

Also gonna try to catch Merry Christmas (romance/mystery, puzzlingly released in January) and Naa Saami Ranga.

Merry Christmas is a must see! Wonderful sensual love story leading into a deliciously silly but emotionally affecting mystery. Reminded me of 50's Hitchcock, equal parts Movie Stars being charming and sexy and intense tension. Set in 60's Bombay, but ofc within the Christian population - noticed the male lead's last name is Pinto, the female lead is Maria, there's an Henriques as well, are all xian converts in India of Portuguese descent?

I watched Jawan last weekend. That was a lot of fun. It felt like 10 movies rolled into one. Insane highway chase setpiece near the end too.

Some of you might be interested in this thread I started over on ILM:

Rolling DESI and SOUTH ASIAN music thread 2024 - Bhangra, Bollywood, Chutney Soca, Baila etc...

Nice. I don't think I've ever posted on a thread on ILM in all my years here.