A year of blogging – a journey down memory lane

Exactly one year ago, today, I published my first blog post. Yes, Old is Gold is a year old today! I think the occasion calls for a story - the story of a film-buff’s journey in the blogging world.

Once upon a time, long ago (just 18 months in calendar years but centuries in terms of experience), there lived a bollyviewer who was completely ignorant of blogs and blog-writing. Yes doston, I am talking about ME! While still in this world of ignorance, I decided to look for old movies online. My search for old Shashi Kapoor films kept turning up one blog so often that I gave in and read it. And stayed to read, and read, and read…

Yes, it was the excellent Beth Loves Bollywood, whose love of Bollywood is legendary and finds expression in very thoughtful, well-written and very, very enjoyable film critiques. I read Beth’s reviews and was hooked on reading blogs! When I wasnt cracking up at her playful musings, Beth made me think hard, with her insightful commentaries.

From Beth’s blog, I discovered The Post Punk Cinema Club. “Their” thought-provoking and irreverently humorous film reviews and projects had me chuckling, and waiting for more! I’ve learnt about world cinema from “them” and continue to have a lot of fun doing so!

My next discovery was Memsaab Story – my personal filmi heaven! Memsaab not only loves old Hindi movies more than I do, she’s a walking encyclopedia of Bollywood trivia (especially of the vintage Bollywood variety) and I cant wait for her to review “new” oldies!

Carla’s Filmi Geek was another delightful discovery in blogland. Her thoughtful and beautifully written film reviews of Hindi movies, both old and new, had me wanting to revisit old favorites and watch some new ones, too!

Apni East India Company How can one resist a name like that? But that isnt all. Shweta’s East India Company brings you the most exotic of old and new movies, and her hilarious commentaries will even tempt you to watch really, REALLY, bad movies!

All these awesome blogs had me hooked on to reading and commenting on filmi-topics. From there, the next step - writing my own filmi-blog - was inevitable. So, bhaaiyon aur behno, thats how OiG came into exisetence. But that was just the beginning, not THE END. In the past year, I’ve discovered so many other great blogs.

Dusted Off – Cinema the way used to be - This lovely blog really does chronicle cinema the way it used to be – both Hollywood and Bollywood style. And the icing on the cake is Dustedoff’s superb taste in hunks! Its my favorite place to hang-out online, whenever I need a dose of some nice oldies. :-D

Banno, Dhanno and Teja - a filmi blog by a real-life film maker. Needles to say, the reviews, the art, and the writing are all superb and I learn new things everytime I visit!

Paisa Vasool (Or Not) – Ajnabi not only writes the most delightful film reviews, she also writes film-scripts. Yes really! Check out her latest release - its totally paisa vasool.

Antarra’s Ramblings – She doesnt post often (not as often as I’d like!) but her reviews are worth the wait. She has a way with story-telling and her captions for the screencaps are hilarious. Check her Aadmi post for an excellent example of how even Dilip Kumar in full-blown tragedian mode can raise a few laughs!

Filmi-Girl Falling for Bollywood! – With her around, we dont need Filmfare or Stardust to keep abreast of the latest in Bollywood! :-D I also love her awesome podcasts on filmi-music and her fun reviews.

Roti Kapda Aur Rum – the founder of Masala Pradesh has done years worth of research in her very young life. Rum’s fun blog is the last stop for any masala query, the Ask Jeeves for Bollywood-masala. From facial hair, to blobbiness, BollyHollyMusicalitis to Anil indoctrination – if its masala, Rum HAS IT!

theBollywoodFan wears many hats – Lagaan ambassador in North America, translator extraordinaire, music lover and [my favorite, this] a lover of Hindi oldies! I love reading his refreshing views on my favorite vintage movies and good new ones.

Bitten By Bollywood – Nida really has been bitten by the Bollywood bug and the result is a blog full of delightful, well-written and beautifully illustrated film reviews. I love reading her thoughtful insights, peppered with her fun comments, on movies old and new.

Dances On The Foot Path – I’ve spent many delightful hours on Richard’s blog, getting acquainted with lovely old songs from 40s-60s, and getting re-acquainted with some forgotten favorites. He has a knack for digging up the best and (sometimes) obscure songs and dance numbers from the B/W era, and I’ve learnt a lot about dancer-actresses (especially Padmini and Kamala) from his great blog.

Hmong Chick Who Loves Indian Cinema – Nicki’s colorful and marvelously illustrated (there are sooooo many beautiful screencaps) blog brings the 80s to the blogging world – and this time round, it even sounds like fun! And did I mention that this blog’s other name should be Eye-Candy Central? :-D

So the journey continues… with discovery of more great blogs, more filmi-writing and lots more filmi-discussions yet to come. Its been a great filmi-fun filled year and also a big learning experience. I’ve begun to notice set-designs and costumes in movies. I’ve even started taking notice of extras/actors in tiny parts (I can recognise some faces in back-up dancers from the 60s!) – all thanks to you fellow-bloggers! And I’ve had fun discussing films with all you film-buffs (bloggers as well as non-blogging commenters).

Thanks a lot for reading and commenting on OiG. Here’s to more filmi-fun in the coming year!