April 14, 2009

2nd Anniversary!

This past weekend (April 11) was this blog's second anniversary! I thought it was a good thing it was falling alongside the Abhay-fest- very appropriate. Every film festival has little asides, and this can be one of those :)
I've always liked watching movies- but not necessarily Bollywood. And it amazes me how far I've come, introducing myself to the pleasure of Indian movies, so far away from home.
And it is really a relatively recent occurrence.

I grew up watching Jackie Chan, British movies and Hollywood, interspersed with whatever Bollywood offering my mom chose to throw into the video player on a lazy Saturday. This was routine through high school, and I would barely watch 4 movies a month, if that, with 1 of 4 being Bollywood.

Then came moving to Delhi and between work and school and the boyfriend and partying, I had barely time to do laundry, forget visiting the theatre. Since I was living alone and on my own earnings (which were almost nil), couldn't watch movies online (who could afford getting a Internet connection?! me??? hah!) either.

I had the brainwave of taking a sabbatical of 6 months between graduation and work, during which time I flew back to Delhi, lazed, read, travelled and watched zillions of movies.

And I'm really not sure what happened then- the crazier the movie, the better it felt, which made the 60s and 70s my favorite Bollywood period. And they all came rushing back- Shashi, Joy, Feroz, KN Singh, Dev- along with the ladies- Praveen, Dipti, Rekha, Sri- how could I have stayed away from them this long? Why had I not missed them in the interim? I jumped headlong into watching more and more of them, and never looked back.

Much as I loved watching Bollywood, I also had a need to analyse what I was watching- blame it on too many years of analyzing agreements. Plus my only point of reference at the time were the screamingly awful Times of India reviews, which I abhor to this day. Hence the blog.

Two years on, this blog is a blessing that seems to keep on giving. It has meant knowing the amazing people whose blogs I love to read (they're on the blogroll! and those that aren't there are on my favorites!) and who are really fabulous individuals. It has meant watchalongs full of intelligent, witty companionship. It has meant a slight improvement in my communication style, which has always tended towards being blah-wordy.

So here's to another great year, featuring tons of reading and writing!

13 comments:

NidaMarie said...

Cheers to Apni East India Company!

Great writeup, Shweta! I loved reading about your reacquaintance and love for Hindi films :)

I've noticed myself craving a lot of the good stuff from the 60s and 70s lately. This seems to happen to most bloggers, doesn't it? :)Here's to exploring all the more from that fabulous era--as well as the anticipation for the new stuff for 2009!:)

Anonymous said...

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.


Betty

http://laptopprocessor.info

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Nida: thanks! the 60s are v v addictive! I am all over the place with the diff decades, and no wonder- its impossible to stick to a time period for too long, with so much to choose from :)

Betty: thank u so much for ur kind and encouraging words. I look forward to further visits!

dunkdaft said...

Congratulations !!
Let me tell you this, yours is 'the most unique 'n interesting' name of a blog, I have ever came across. And the name is suitable too. Keep up the good work. Hope you will not hit the snooze button for long :P

eliza bennet said...

Congrats :)

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Darshit: You are very kind and complementary- thank you. I shall strive to improve :)

Eliza: Thank you!

Filmi Girl said...

Happy second birthday!! The world of Bolly Blogs have become my second home on the Internet. :)

ajnabi said...

Two years--and one awesome blog to show for them! Way to go, Shweta!

bollywooddeewana said...

Congratulations on your second year and i wish you many more happy blogging years to come, i recently started mine only about two months ago, i hope i'll be able to last 2 years ...Lol

Bhargav Saikia said...

Congratulations Shweta! :) It's always a joy to read your posts. Looking forward to a great blogging year ahead and some good times at the movies! Good luck :)

bollyviewer said...

Happy second birthday! Here's hoping there will be years more of filmi fun (and Abhay) on AEIC! :-)

And I am with you on your choice of 60s and 70s as the best Bolly-years EVER for zany masala!

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Filmi Girl: Thanks! Absolutely- find u all here has been the most unexpected bonus of blogging!

Ajnabi: Thank u Ajnabi- mustering through :)

Bollywoddeewana: Thank you- hang in there buddy...

Bhargav: Thanks Bhargav! Hopefully my love for movies will hold through :)

Bollyviewer: Thank you Ira! Its been a treat w/ u guys here!

Bollywood said...
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