Lent Day Six: I'm on a slow boat to ...India :)

I have this bad habit of not going to bed until the wee hours of the morning. By wee I really mean 12-1ish usually. Still not a good habit to have if you're a "grown-up" with a full time job.

During Lent however this takes on a whole new meaning. I'm tired when I get home so I usually have to take a nap. The naps I take usually don't last as short as I mean them to. So I lose a lot of "getting stuff done" time and then I'm don't go to bed until oh...12 to 1ish.

It's a vicious cycle.

That said I did study some Spanish tonight and look up a lot of info on the web about different things. I might read up on Mythology in a little bit (one of the many subjects I've always wanted to know more about). I've just got to break out of this cycle.

I wanted to go ahead and start writing some of the reviews of Bollywood that I mentioned earlier. I know, you're probably thinking "Bollywood? Is she serious?"

Absolutely I am.

Bollywood is amazing. For me it started one night when I randomly thought of Aishwarya Rai

http://www.hollywood-celebrity-pictures.com/Celebrities/Aishwarya-Rai/Aishwarya-Rai-2.JPG

I know, it's a big picture right? Her face is BAM there! and you're like "whoa!" If you've ever seen Bride and Prejudice it's a Hollywood version of a Bollywood version of P&P. Not nearly as good as a real Bollywood but still amusing. She's the "Lizzie" character.

Anyway, I found this movie on youtube called Jodhaa Akbar a few months ago. I watched it on a Friday night. Then again on Saturday...and Sunday, and Monday. Then on Tuesday I bought it from Amazon. It is epic and in this reviewers opinion, rivals Hollywood epic movies in scope, cinematography, story, acting, and music.

It's about a Muslim ruler who has an arranged marriage with a Hindu princess. Then they fall in love. Let's just say if I was on a deserted island this would be on my list 5 movies I'd have with me (along with P&P, don't worry). A.R. Rahman does the music (Slumdog Millionaire, another one of my 5) and he is brilliant as usual.

Bollywood is different from Hollywood certainly. Yes, there are song and dance sequences in almost every movie. In the mountains, in the snow, with multiple costume changes. You'll either love it or you'll hate it. I happen to love it. There also isn't any sex and barely any kissing (this can be very hard to accept by many Western viewers, like my friend Niki who was constantly trying to push the actors heads together on screen with her hands). There is a huge importance placed on family and honoring parents, tradition, and religion. Very different from the West.

Anyway, here are a couple of videos of Bollywood song sequences. One is from Dhoom 2, a more Western story about thieves (similar to Entrapment Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones) with Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan (Indian Heartthrob times 10)

Not to shabby hmm? Hrithik Roshan is considered one of if not THE best dancer in Hindi film today. This next one is from the movie Dil Se which I have not seen but my mom has (yep, I got her into Hindi movies as well). I just love the song. It gets in your head! And the word meanings are pretty interesting too. Song of Solomon anyone? It is of course, a more traditional Bollywood sequence.

Anyway, more on Bollywood later and other topics as well. Until then,

Shalom