Movies and posts on this blog

Latest on Masala Punch

Monday, January 19, 2009

Fairy Godmother came calling (partII): My favorite brawny, brainy, beauties of Bollywood

Having decided on my most-coveted physical characteristics, its now time to decide what I’d like to be in terms of brains and brawn. So here’s the second part of my wish list.
The courage of Madhuri in Mrityudand and Smita in Mirch Masala.
Smita Patil
Madhuri Dixit
For sheer guts, its a toss-up between Phoolva in Mrityudand and Sonbai in Mirch Masala. They were both willing to go up against patriarchal diktats and bullies to fight for their rights. I wish for their courage and their belief in the rightness of their cause.
The single-mindedness of Kiron Kher in Sardari Begum.
kiron
Sardari knows what she wants (to sing) and pursues her goals with single-minded zeal. I would be content with a fraction of her goal-oriented focus!



Aishwarya’s undimmed quest for life in Chokher Bali.
Aishwarya Rai
Binodini isnt content to stay in the pigeon-hole circumstances and social pressures have put her in, and is willing to brave social censure in her quest for more. Yes, she does more harm than good, and does not even find the happiness she is seeking, but she tries. I wish for her lust for life and her courage to go against conventions.
Hema’s spunk in Seeta Aur Geeta.
Hema Malini
Her Geeta’s a woman who’d take no nonsense from anybody and isnt afraid to kick-ass! And while you’re about it, FGm, how 'bout throwing in her acrobat-cum-dance skills as well.
Shilpa Shetty’s fighting spirit in Phir Milenge.
Shilpa Shetty
Tamanna contracted AIDS, lost her love, and then, her job as well. But instead of giving in to depression, she came up fighting! I want that fighting spirit, that refusal to submit to injustice.
The ability to lie like Rekha in Jhoothi, or Kulraj Randhawa in Kareena Kareena.
Kulraj Randhawa
rekha
You may laugh, but the ability to lie, and lie convincingly, isnt given to all of us. Sure “honesty is the best policy”, but I think its also indicative of laziness. And a lie in time saves well… a lot of trouble, too! Most of us would rather tell the truth than make the effort to come up with a convincing (and more interesting) lie. I want to be able to cook up convincing lies at the spur of the moment, like Kalpana in Jhoothi or even better, like Kareena in Kareena Kareena.
Saira Banu’s reformist zeal in Junglee.
Saira Banu
Wish I could fast-forward the evolutionary clock to turn an “ape” into a “human-being-with-a-dil” as fast as she did for Shammi’s Chandra Shekhar in Junglee! And with such a great sense of humor, too!
Tanuja’s safe-breaking skills in Do Chor.
Tanuja
Aah FGm, you’ve never been locked out of your apartment on a cooold (brrr!!!) day in Canada’s Arctic winter, so you dont realise how useful a skill this is. I really wish I could open locked doors with the same ease as Bob/Sandhya does in Do Chor.
Madhubala’s ability to admit a fault in Kala Paani.
madhubala
She wasnt afraid to admit it when she was in the wrong, and boy, could she apologise! Here’s cinematic proof. Wish I could admit my fault so readily, and apologise so spectacularly!
Rani’s colorful imagination in Chori Chori.
Rani Mukherjee
Wish I had as vivid and colorful an imagination as Khushi’s. There would be no need for me to watch movies or read books! With all the money I’d save, who knows, I might even become RICH.
So that completes my wish lists for the moment. What characteristics do you wish for? Go ahead and draw up your own lists. Its always good to be prepared, in case Fairy Godmother comes calling!

10 comments:

  1. LOL about Tanuja's safe-breaking skills. I can sooo sympathize after getting locked out of my Seattle apartment--much further south than yours. Yikes!

    I think I would love to have Khushi's imagination too. She was the ultimate daydream-weaver.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awwww...I'm so glad you included my favorite ever Hindi film Chori Chori (the Rani one). And Phir Milenge too which I also loved and thought very underrated :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've just realised what a lot of films I've yet to see....from your list, I only remember seeing Seeta aur Geeta, Mirch Masala, Kaala Paani, Do Chor and Junglee. Yikes - got a lot of catching up to do.

    Awesome list - and I love the very wide range of characteristics you've managed to come up with. If only your FGm would be sweet enough to bestow some of these on me too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cool. You are leaving nothing to chance. Great list.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Another list to steal off you! I love the Phir Milenge and Chori Chori choices, Phir Milenge may have been the only movie i liked with Shilpa Shetty! And i totally need Tanuja's safe-breaking skills as i got locked out the day after my prom outside my building, lying on the bench in the courtyard and finally getting in after my sister recognized i wasn't an overdressed hobo!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. ajnabi, I think schools should offer lock-picking courses in highschool. Its such a useful skill to have.

    memsaab, Chori Chori is one of my favorites, too. Phir Milenge was surprisingly good - Revathy can direct as well as she can act!

    dustedoff, start compiling your list and I will try to sweet-talk FGm into wish-fulfillment! The yet-to-see list always way bigger than the already-seen category - isnt it great to have so much to look forward to?

    Banno, thanks! Am trying to cover all my bases at once. :-D

    Rum, I hope it was a hot summer day! And I think Phir Milenge was the only good/substantial role poor Shilpa has done pre Big Brother. Even Abhishek's acting was great there - Revathy should definitely direct more.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for the wonderful, interesting list! I've seen half of the films but am curious to see the other half.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Glad to see you back in action, Nicki. I was wondering if you could compile a similar list just based on Bipasha alone and from your latest post it looks like you are getting there! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi,
    Ha, what a nice list!! I was thinking, in your selection of "brainy brawny beauties", why not add Konkona sen sharma in Amu for example? Or perhaps, why not, Manisha Koirala in Dil se?
    There would be so many, though, come to think of it!!
    cheers
    yves

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks, Yves. I'd emulate Konkona in almost any movie (OK, not 16 Park Avenue!) but Amu is one that I still havent seen. And though I have no objection to Manisha Koirala, I wouldnt want to be stalked by SRK - thats the stuff of nightmares! ;-)

    ReplyDelete