Dishoom Dishoom

The Great Reema Youtube-Vaganza!

dishoomdishoom — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:25:20 +0000

Reema is pulling off a Madhuri! She is leaving the film industry and getting all settled down with a nice little doctor in North America. Congratulations to her!

This is, then, a good time to look back at her career.

Reema Khan has been in the Pakistani film “industry” for over 20 years! That’s a massive achievement! Mainstream Heroes can barely do 20 years in the industry, let alone a Heroine. She has been an institution of sorts, always conducting herself with a certain grace and charm. That might seem like a bit fake sometimes, but it is admirable nonetheless. It should be also noted that she hasn’t worked with the “good” directors of the industry; i.e. Javed Sheikh, post-Chooriyaan Syed Noor etc. Also she hasn’t been attached to any of the “big-glamour-projects” over the last decade. Yet she dominates our image of what Pakistani film industry is.

Is she our version of Salman Khan? Nay, even better! She is the modern-day Anjuman! Also, it might be criminal to still look that damn fine, when someone is over 40yo. Damn Woman!

This calls for a big old fashion Reema Youtube Marathon! Oh yeaah brother!!

Lets start off with her debut movie, Bulandi. In 1990, she kicked it off with equally tween looking Shaan. It was just the start a young budding actress needed, and she was suddenly the talk of the town.

Here she is just kicking it up with Shaan in Bulandi, her debut in 1990

She kicked off her epic pairing with Babar Ali after Shaan went all AWOL. Look at their chemistry in this song Tukar Tukar, from Munda Bigra Jaye from 1995

She went epic kitsch in this song “Ship By Ship” from SaRak (1995)

Also, this EPIC song from the movie “Jo Darr Gaya Woh Marr Gaya” – 1995

This song is CLASSIC just because of the number of Animated GIFs one can make out of it!

and…

and….

and…..

Here they are boogying it down from the 1996 movie “Miss Istanbul” – Chaar DinoN ki baat hay

This song is worth the amazing Random-Russian-Gori-Girl-Fierce-Pose-Off at 3:10 mark, from Talismi Jazeera (1996)

Here’s Reema doing her thang on Daanay Pe Daana!

For some Tango with Babar Ali in Moskwa, here’s Aye Thee College Parhnay (AkhiyaaN Lar Gaiyen Aan Chittay Munday De Naal) -1997

Again from 1997, here’s Hum Tumhaare Hain from Hum Tumhaare Hain! This is just worth all the Babar Ali-Reema dance moves!

She turned on the charm in this great song from the movie Nikah – Resham Kay Lehnga Mera. The movie reunited the Shaan-Reema pairing after a long long time!

And she turned on more of THAT chemistry in this really nice song from 1999. Though, easily the best part of the song are its’ two great singers Ghulam Abbas and oh-so-underrated Shabnam Majeed

THIS SONG HAS THE HOLY TRIFECTA OF NARGHIS-SAIMA-REEMA, AND ON AN ABRAR-UL-HAQ SONG… AND THE MOVIE IS CALLED “BILLO 420”! SO MUCH MAGNIFIQUE!

Aaja Nee Baija Cycle Te

Also in 2000, she had a minor role in Shaan’s second directorial venture “Mujhay Caand Chahiye”, where she had an artsy fartsy song routine with Moammar Rana

She really took a back-seat in 2000s, where she only did a handful of films. However, she went into directing and producing movies. Her first directorial venture was “Koi Tujh Sa Kahan”(2005), which did quite well apparently.

In 2006, she featured in this movie (which is creatively titled) “One 2 Ka One”. She is looking mighty fine! So is Saima! Woof! Both are going for Lucky Mr Moammar Rana in this one (I guessing he has a double role as one of the looks of Mr. Rana is all combed out, the other is all scruffy disheveled)

Which leads us to “Love Mein Ghum” (2011), her swansong movie. She directed, produced, and then starred in it. Unlike her first movie, I actually saw this movie, and let me tell you something: It was utter trash. I couldn’t even enjoy it unironically. I might write something about it in the coming weeks, but it was horrible! The movie took itself so seriously, and it didn’t have the goods to back up the claim. Having said that, stylishly speaking, it looked beautiful!

Though, I would like to thank Reema for everything she has done. Kitsch factor apart, she made it through a society which is totally bent towards subjugating women: And she made it through being fabulously awesome! Thank you for the memories, Reema!

Fakers’ Guide to Haseena Atom Bomb – Part 2

dishoomdishoom — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:49:18 +0000

Here is the second part of the three (or four) part saga of Haseena Atom Bomb.

Part 1 is here.

Fakers’ Guide to Haseena Atom Bomb – Part 1

dishoomdishoom — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:49:28 +0000

I had been away from the blogging for a bit now. Im trying to change that, and Im coming back with a blog post format which I enjoyed doing the most, even though it was the most hectic, and the most excruciating thing to pull off. Presenting another edition from the “Faker’s Guide To..” series of … umm… comics.

Previously “Suha Jora” underwent the same treatment, and you can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Haseena Atom Bomb is considered one of the trashtastic trash masterpiece of trash-normous scale. It was originally released in 1990, in Pashto. It was then re-released, with Urdu dubbing, later on. It starred Musarrat Shaheen and Badar Munir, arguably two of the biggest Pashto movie stars there ever been. A few people have tried to write on the movie,particularly Memsaab blog and @FourDK from twitter

Presenting…. Haseena Atom Bomb!

Part 2 of Haseena Atom Bomb is here

… TO BE CONTINUED….

Bollywood in New York

dishoomdishoom — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 05:23:16 +0000

In an effort to expose some of my New York acquaintances to the wonderful world of Bollywood, I decided to make a list of some of the songs which featured their own bloody city. It is not meant to be an introduction to actual Bollywood, as that is a whole different conversation, and frankly beyond me (FilmiGirl’s Bollywood For Beginners Guide is Excellent, if someone is interested)

Occidentalism Alert!

Note: I am not considering any South Indian movies in this, because I don’t know about it (I know for sure that some parts of the infamous 7 wonders song from Jeans was shot in NYC, as well as some sequences from VTV)

Kal Ho Na Ho from Kal Ho Na Ho (2003)

Location: Brooklyn Bridge; DUMBO/Promenade, Brooklyn; Central Park, Manhattan;

Actor: Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan

Meh; Though its a typical Karan Johar (not my favourite film maker) emotional drabby affair. Though, I kind of like the song and video! Thats all I can say.

Pretty Woman from Kal Ho Na Ho (2003)

Location: Purportedly some Queens Neighbourhoody Neighbourhood

Actors: Shah Rukh Khan, Priety Zinta, Jaya Bachchan

YES! ITS AN INDIAN REMAKE OF “PRETTY WOMAN”, AND ITS FUCKING CRAZY! AND YES! THATS WHAT INDIANS THINK HAPPENS IN THE STATEN ISLAND NEIGHBOURHOODS! SISTAHS SINGING CHOIRS IN THE STREET! FUHGEDABOUTIT! CALL THE FUCKING COPS!

Hey Shona from Tara Rum Pum (2007)

Location: Times Square, Madison Ave, Seaport, NYC; Liberty Park, NJ

Actors: Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee

With this one they went all out to capture the “essence” of two lovers, totally in love with each other, totally aloof of their surroundings. So they managed to shoot in a completely deserted Times Square, a completely deserted Madison Ave et al., but it can be clearly seen from the song that the movie was completely shit!

From the same movie, there is another song, which is supposed to be some Manhattan back alley bloc party (shot in a Mumbai studio ofcourse). Imagine the shock when I, as a Fresh-Off Boat person, went out and look for these parties, late at night! Things were more rapey than I thought.

But come on!!! CHICHA! CHICHA! YOU’RE MY CHICHA GIRL!

Tumhi Dekho Na from Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006) (otherwise known as “oh look everyone is wearing matching clothers” song)

Locations: Philly’s 30th Street Station (SEPTA gave that away), Liberty National Park (NJ), Columbia University (I think)

Actors: Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee

Awww! Everybody is looking so pretty! The song is a culmination of three hours of emotional see-saw, and, apart from being a obvious and much needed relief from the drama, also meant to show some colour-coordinated harmony in their lives after year of agony and heartbreak. Everybody looks so mellow and pretty!

The same movie also had another partially NY shot song, Mitwa

Ajnabi Shehar from Jaan-e-Mann (2006)

Locations: Central Park, Seaport, NYC

Actors: Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Priety Zinta

I like Sirish Kunder work, and even though this was his debut directoral venture, It was a very nice movie (from what I remember). I have to rewatch the film but from the vague memories I have, it was nice. Heres a nice review of the film, by a New Yorker,and apparently the city incorporate some nice Brooklyn Heights neighborhood locales. Though the song sticks to the staple Seaport and Central Park locations.

Here’s another movie from the song, which also well shot, I reckon. Sau Dard

Dil Gira Dafatan from Delhi-6 (2009)

Locations: Old Delhi – Times Square mashup

Actors: Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor

One of the most interesting song sequences to come out of Bollywood, in recent times, I reckon (and it took some time to grow on me, and currently I am going through the same phase somehow). The song/video tries to explore the psychological transformation of a American-born Indian who has moved back to his Old Delhi family home. This video shows how the notion of “home” is in a flux, especially when it involves completely different cultures, both of them which are equally close to one’s heart. LOVE IT!

Hai Junoon from New York (2009)

Locations: Liberty National Park (NJ), random NYC touristy spots

Actors: John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh

A mediocre song from a seemingly-more-mediocre-since-the-last-viewing “New York” essentially explores the burgeoning friendship between three Muslim, but secular, students from “University of New York” in a pre-9/11 world. Yes, things go a bit pear-shaped in Act 2.

Aas Paas Khuda from Anjaana Anjaani (2010)

Actors: Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra

Locations: Manhattan Bridge, and other random NYC locations

Meh! Though I totally adore Ranbir Kapoor normally…. But one of the reasons I liked the movie was the view from Priyanka Chopra’s Brookyln Apartment is to die for! How could she afford that on a waitress “salary”!!! Happy Endings? But Ranbir Kapoor!!!

And this next one almost didn’t make the list, but my unabashed Ranbir Kapoor fandom made me put it in it. He is so adorable! Ranbir Kapoor in a BUNNY SUIT!

Any lesser-adorable-being would have ruined this thing, but not Ranbir!

Jo Bole So Nihal from Jo Bole So Nihal (2005)

Actors: THE DEOL! THE SUNNY DEOL!

Location: Does it even matter! Sunny Deol is being Sunny Deol in NYC

Sunny Deol is like Chuck Norris multiplied by 10 or something. He took on the Pakistani army in Gadar (2000), and manages to fight off an entire nation and gets his girl back! “Fuck off Pakistan”, he said, and then he is taking on the whitey (presumably). In this (presumably) uber-Punjabi/Sikh-Patriotic-Jingoistic movie, he takes on The Man (Presumably) who did him wrong (presumably). Song is horrible, and THERE ARE HOBOS! YES! HOBOS! YAY! BE FUCKING AFRAID OF UR CABBIES, NYC, BECAUSE THEY MIGHT BE SUNNY DEOL IN DISGUISE!

A Twitter Conversation Regarding “Mera Laung Gawacha”

dishoomdishoom — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:42:26 +0000

Sometimes I LOVE twitter. A conversation regarding what the song “Mera Laung Gawacha” really meant, got initiated after a friend said that it had sexual connotations. First, lets look at Anjuman swinging her booty on Musarrat Nazir

These are the lyrics of the songs (as I understand them to be, which are very different from some of the lyrics I found online, which do not make any sense to me)

Piche piche aaunda meri chal venda aaieN) - 2
Chear Waliya vekhda aaye ve mera laung gawacha
nigah marda aaieN ve mera laung gawacha

Dil de pHariyan kyun maarna ae taanay ve
milan main aayi tenu roti de bahanay ve
roti de bahanay ve) - 2

milna aayi te mil warna rus jaanwaaN gee sada lein
minataaN tu karke manayi ve, mera laung gawacha
niggah mar da aaye ve mera laung gawacha

hoo...aaa...
Kaali kaali aayi si main kaliyaaN de haeth di
kandiya see ghoont maiN awaaz sun Jaeth di
avaaz nu dekhdi - 2
mainue shaq panda main nakh nu phurakh ke dig paiya hoon dungee paieeN ve,  mera laung gawacha
niggaH marda aaye ve mera alung gawacha

Further additions to this conversations/interpretation to the song are highly welcomed.

The conversation/tweets might be altered for clarity purposes

Me: Im in shock! A friend just informed me that the song “Laung Gawacha” is about losing virginity! Mindfuck completed!

@sepoy: hence the role played by laung in wedding ceremonies etc

Me: With respect to the last tweet, the woman is clearly telling the guy to follow her, makes it clear that she made an excuse to be there & he better deliver.

Me: And also emphasizes that she is impatient, coming from a line of impatient people, and he better get down to “looking for it”. Love it!

@kaalakawaa: I don’t believe it. But the “roti de bahaanay vay” line is quite incriminating.

@dotfuz: so “nose stud” is a metaphor for “virginity”? :S

@zakoota: Also the fact that she’s constantly telling him to keep and eye out for her lost..virginity? Nigah maar da aeen vay.

@kalakawa: We’re taking “kaali” in the song as the Punjabi colloquial for impatience right? Fishy indeed.

Me: @kaalakawaa Haha, I dont know. Also “Kaali Kaali Aiee Se Main KaaliyaaN De Haeth Di” is also fishy! I adore it more now, actually!

@sabaimtiaz: what a great song… And I think everyone uses a version of the roti de bahane vey excuse.

@kalakawa: .@dishoompk’s discovery that Laung Gavacha is about the girl losing her virginity has seriously blown my mind. He’s right too. Listen.

@shahidsaeed: @dishoompk so this means we see teenagers and oldies, girls and old ladies, singing the tune of loss of virginity every wedding @kaalakawaa

Me: @shahidsaeed @kaalakawaa Oh we are a raunchy bunch, aren’t we?! We should rediscover our roots. Down with prude middle class social ethics!

.. then the conversation drifted towards a gang of transvestite serial killers, Meera Jee and her WAG status.

Addendum: The original source adds, “The first lyric, mera laung gawacha, why is there so much fuss over just laung, right? Another name for laung is “nath”. In slang when a girl loses her virginity, it is said that her “nath” is removed.

Why is the girl telling the guy with “impeccable hair style” to look at her gait. Why? because she is a woman now, her gait has changed. She is no longer a girl with an awkward waddle but a woman with grace.”

Please contribute to this great conversation!

We are all gearing up for one thing!

dishoomdishoom — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:55:35 +0000

Desi Mixtape 5: Cheesy Kiya?

dishoomdishoom — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 08:43:06 +0000

Well, the mixtapes are back, and they are going to the craptastic! I am still trying to figure out a more desirable pacing of the mixtape, or what songs go well together – hence this experiment has been more interesting than I thought I would be.

Listen from here or Download from here

Feel free to recommend songs for the next mixtape.

1. Brooklyn Qawwali Party – Mast Mast

These guys are based out of… take a wild guess… go on! Essentially a group of musicians that came together and reworked some of the greatest hits of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on jazz instruments! And I love the results. You can see the video of the band performing Mast Mast here

2. Overload – Amjad Khan

Sadly, the band is no more, the form it was that made us love them when they released their last album Pichal Pairee. Meesha Shafi, combined with the boys, created the magic that the album was. Meesha and her husband have now left the band. In that honor, I’m adding “Amjad Khan” track to this mixtape. I have a sneaky feeling that the future mixtapes might feature of Overload’s work

3. Sabri Brothers – Tishnagi Ko Jhinjor Detay Hain

This qawwali is a bit longer (as all qawwalis are), but this must be the funkiest qawwali you might have ever heard. Win

4. Darling – Aa Khushi Se Khudkushi Kar Le (Remix)

Pritam and Sunidi Chauhan combine to give such a craptastic song, that it is still on my playlist, 4 years after the soundtrack was released. Its cheesy, and I love it! And the makers of the song know this, as the video only includes an immense number of pelvic thrusts! And not some ordinary pelvic thrusts: those were Jiah Khan pelvic thrusts.

5. DJ Dev – Ole Ole Remix

No comments! Just enjoy the Sakshay love!

6. Bumbu Sauce – Bunaayn(za)

Originally, it is one of the classic poems by Anwar Masood.

The Punkjabi boys have punked it up. This is brilliant, and I also have a sneaky feeling that more of their work might be featured on the future mixtapes.

90s Pakistani-Pop Fluff Dhamaka

This was bound to happen. I grew up in the 90s, and had only terrestrial TV to keep myself amused. Hence, I have fan of the fluffy Pakistani Pop of the 1990s.

7. Haroon – Yaara

….. and this song will never make another appearance on any other mixtape. But those guitar riffs! Hayeee!

8. Ali Haider – Zaalim Nazron Se (Jadu Album Remix)

Before the current bout of madness, our reputed ex-friend-of-the-Dorothy Ali Haider had another bout of madness in the late twentieth century. Apparently, impressed by some drug fueled club experiences he had in the UK, he came out with his own trashy house music album in 2000, called Jadu! It was CRAPTASTIC! I think I might be the only person in the world that enjoys this album (and certain members of my family… “Banere Uttay Aa.. Banare Uttay Aa”…

However, he remixed some of his previous hits; in what he thought was good house music. I still adore his remix of Zaalim Nazron Se

9. Hadiqa Kiyani – Dupatta (Remix)

YES! “Dupatta Mera Malmal Kaaaaaaa! Karooun Kiya Is Chanchal Kaaaaaaa”

Rock Music, according to Bollywood

dishoomdishoom — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 11:37:21 +0000

MEANWHILE……..

AND IF DISHOOM MAKES ANY MOVIE, EVER HE WOULD DO THE SAME…..

P.S. I reserved some seriously mean spirited comments about Farhan’s acting abilities. You can make your own mean statement about it. Cheerios!

Tumblr Me Softy..

dishoomdishoom — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:52:13 +0000

So, given the banal nature of my everyday cultural exploration, I thought that Tumblr is a good platform for day to day sharing. (Twitter feeds get lost, for me atleast)

My Tumblr is http://dishoomdishoom.tumblr.com

Be Kind, Rewind

WTF video of the week: Is your plan more Awesomer than Jiggy? [Updated]

dishoomdishoom — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 03:27:38 +0000

I really don’t know much about this guy or whether it is a spoof or not, but I’ll say, it is epic! I don’t know if it is making rounds or not, I had to share this!

And I will add more information about it later! But Enjoy

UPDATE

My bad! Apparently, it is a part of viral marketing for ~~Mobilink~~ Zong mobile services in Pakistan. They had a couple of more similar videos, which are also very funny.

Kudos!