Help! Need the movie title to the following Hindi films...

***I am still working on my Ranbir post, it's taking longer than expected. I am going to participate in Beth's 70s week post :)

As I mentioned before that Hmong people love Bollywood films. A lot of us grew up wathcing them dubbed in either Hmong and/or Thai. We didn't know the original Hindi film title. As we grow older, we want to re-watch them...but we do not know the Hindi title.


You'll be amazed with all the e-mails and questions I get all the time about finding the Hindi film title to so many movies!! I was able to answer many but there are a few I had no idea on!


Special thanks to Bollyviewer who helped me solved one and suggested I blog about the others still pending....

Move #1 - late 70s

I think the one I am looking for involves a king. Thai people say Oong. That's a king in Thai. So it's Oonkg Koriman or something like that in Thai. King Koriman, that is.

The cover should show a guy in striped suits, bearded with fingers on his necklaces, maybe standing over a beautiful lady, holding up a human head or something...? Not sure.

A circus star who killed an escaped lion to prevent harms to the spectators got reprimanded by the circus manager; after a struggle between the two, the star killed the manager. From there, the world turned dark on his face. The sky. The fans. His mom. His girl. They all took him to be a killer. So they all closed their doors on him. He had no place to go. He couldn't live with people anywhere. The dark sky was about to rain and he looked scared and in a very desparate situation. So he just ran off.

The next scene showed him with a total look: fatter, bearded, curly hair--all happy on the mountains with some animals. He has tamed up the animal kingdom and has lived peacefully with the animals and the wild now.

The star continued to despise humans, however. Anyone he saw coming there, he would kill. A snake pipe blower got killed. Some other hunters got killed. Each person that he killed, he would cut off a finger and add to his necklace. He got lots of them...

Then one day his girl came to look for him. In her most beautiful appearance, she sang into the jungle, across the sands and streams...he took her to be another human stranger. So he wanted to kill her. But something reminded him of her, so he didn't. But he refused to go back home with her. He just yelled at her and told her to go back and to leave him alone. She hung onto his leg. But his just dragged her on the sand...hey, beautiful sight.

His mom--old now--came to look for him. He didn't recognize her anymore, so he chased her down with his sword. He raised it and tried to slash off her neck. But he couldn't move his sword. Something had stopped him from moving his sword. So while his sword was raised and him struggling with it, his mom ran away. Suddenly, a shiny figure of Buddha or something on lotus appeared. He chased the figure to kill it, too, but no matter how much he moved his feet they seemed to stay at the same spot. Like walking but not going anywhere.

Now the shinny Buddhist figure told him what to do and soon he bowed down.

At the end, the hero returns home with the heroine. The people threw rocks at them. It's a sad ending.

Movie #2 - late 90s and early 2000s

it started off with a couple, who are rich, just gave birth to a boy. they were driving and got into a car accident where the baby was rolled down a hill into a creek. from that, there's also these two couple, the main guy and his girlfriend who got into some arguments and what nots. the tign is that this main guy he does things that are life risks to get money. anyways, the girlfriend and him had an argument and so the guy went off and gotten himself into a fight? i think. From there, he had goen to the creek to wash off, and that's where he found teh baby boy. He went and grabbed teh baby boy and this is where a song starts. the guy brought him to those indian temple and was about to walk off, but he turned back and took the baby. Since than, he raised the kid by himself. so, some years went by and the kid is all grown up going to school. now the school's principle is the boy's mother, but she doesnt know it until later. Soo enough, the truth came otu tha tthe boy is the principle's biological mother and they went to court with the main guy to get the son back. Ofcourse, sicne teh boy grew up with the main guy, the boy didn't want to go with the new family of his or his real family. after the court, the main guy got into some fight since he had some unsettle bussiness with the person he used to work with. I can't remember if he lost his girlfriend, but i think he did lose his girlfriend in this fight since his girlfriend realize that the main guy's a good man. Once the fight was over, the principle and her family agreed to let the boy stay with the main guy.

Solved!! Movie is Jaanwar (Akshay Kumar, Karisma Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty)- saw it so long ago once and didn't remember the details, you know how it is, hehe. Thanks so much to Yer on Twitter.

Movie #3

the couple is married and has a kid. he wants to re-marry someone else so they go on an excursion and he pushes her and she fall's captive to alligators. they think she dies but she survives and gets plastic surgery and becomes a famous singer/actor? then she revealed herself to her exhusband and child. 

Solved!! Movie is Khoon Bhari Maang (Rekha, Kabir Bedi, Sonu Walia) - Thanks so much to Filmizest. Haven't seen but Bollywooddeewana has blogged bout it here.


If anyone could help out, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks sooo much!

Hmong dubbed Bollywood movies

For lapetitediva, just because she asked when I blogged about the Hmong New Years and Bollywood films being sold there.

I thought, why not blog about it?

Hmong people love movies, in general. We love all types of cinema. Whether it's Thai, Korean, Hong Kong, or Bollywood, we watch them all.

But most of the ones I grew up with are dubbed. There are no Hmong subtitles. Sadly, most of the Hmong Americans are not able to read and/or write in Hmong. Therefore, the films are dubbed.

Here are a few Bollywood films that have been dubbed into Hmong.

Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

Hmoov Phem Tau Neej Toxm Nyem
Translation - Unlucky To Have Someone Poor

Om Shanti Om

Nco Koj Txhua Tiam
Translation - I Remember You Every Life Time

Swades

Tus Neeg Zoo
Translation - The Good Person

Vivah

Txoj Hmoo Sib Raug
Translation - Our Luck To Be Together

Salaam-E-Ishq

Yus Tus Tav Thiaj Hlub Tus Tshaj
Translation - Your Soulmate Is The One Who Loves You Most

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Kev Sib Hlub Txheej Tiam No
Translation - The Love This Generation (I think it's saying this generation's love story?)

Andaaz

Tseem Muaj Koj Nyob Hauv Kuv Nraub Piab
Translation - Still Have You In My Heart

Many Hmong dubbed movies are on YouTube. One of them being Tum Mero Ho, which I blogged about before.

Look Bollywood movies being sold at the Hmong New Years

Trying to make this post stick to Indian Cinema theme :)

And sharing some Hmong culture (for those who don't have Facebook)

Wow, this year has really gone by so quickly, hasn't it? Next Thursday is Thanksgiving.

Next thing you know, it'll be Christmas than 2010. It's kinda scary if you think about it. Time is going by so quickly.

I've been preoccupied and lazy. I've started making screencaps on six dvds. Yes, six. Yet, I have not finish even one! Haha.

This past weekend was the Hmong New Years. My parents are in charge of the annual event. My dad says he is going to retire from chairman but will continue to help out with planning.

In the past, I usually attend the Hmong New Years just to play volleyball. However, I'm getting older and need to chill and relax. I promised my hubby I wouldn't play competitively anymore (so that means the New Years too, the injuries lately!). Besides, I could focus more on the other activities at the New Years.

Because I usually miss out the early events, I was able to see the annual ribbon cutting.


My friend's cousins dancing.


Random pics of food vendor. What usually is sold at the New Years is a plate of purple sticky rice with either chicken, fish, ribs, or sausage. You could also buy papaya salad, bubble tea, pho, rice rolls, egg rolls, sesame balls, and more!


Yummy fruits.


Movie vendor.


Let's take a closer look. You see Bollywood? Well, there were more but just took a pic of one. There are more Korean dvds to choose from though. To be fair, I only took a pic of this vendor. A lot of Bollywood films are dubbed in Hmong, but not the one below. The ones that are dub will actually have Hmong titles.


Yep, we, Hmong people, love some Bollywood. And Korean. And Thai. And Hong Kong. We just love movies, in general.

I'm hoping to finish taking screencaps of at least one complete movie soon and by this weekend, have my regular review :)

Hmong-copied/dubbed versions of Bollywood songs & movies - that's how I got into Bollywood

Finally I found the Hmong versions that copied/dubbed/whatever-you-wanna-call-it Bollywood songs.

On this post, I did mention about growing up watching Hmong-dubbed Bollywood films. However, I never given examples or gone into details about the Bollywood inspiration on one Hmong CD I loved growing up.

However, Piyaara tweeted about a Chinese influenced Bollywood song. Then I thought, wow, Hmong people have done that too!

So I went searching for it, I finally found it. I listened to that album growing up. At that time, I never knew it was Bollywood music until my mom told me.

Just wanted to share videos that I found on YouTube uploaded by haezel. User found the right songs that Hmong people copied and put them together. Looks very interesting!! Remember, the Hmong-dubbed versions are only the songs, not videos.

"COG LUS" - SY LIS & LIS VAJ
Cog lus literally means remember when....
Sy Lis & Lis Vaj are both written in Hmong. In English, it would be written as See Lee & Lee Vang


This is the actual video and song
"Kya Hua Tera Vaada" - Hum Kisise Kum Naheen


"YOG MUAJ WB" : LIS VAJ & SY LIS
Yog Muaj Wb literally means if only us


This is the actual video and song
"Kora Kagaz Tha Man Mera" - Aradhana


"TUS UAS YEEJ KUV LUB SIAB" - Lis Vaj
Tus uas yeej kuv lub siab literally means You are the one still in my heart


This is the actual video and song
"Chura Liya Hai" - Yaadon Ki Baraat


This is uploaded by mr3ggroll
"Yuav nrog koj tiv tshav tiv nag"
Yuav nrog koj tiv tshav tiv nag literally means will be with you through sun and rain


This is the actual video and song
"Humko Humise Chura Lo" - Mohabbatein


Of course, I got into Bollywood films because many were dubbed in Hmong. Here's an example of what I've found on YouTube.

Hmong-dubbed Bollywood film, Tum Mero Ho **ing Aamir Khan & Juhi Chawla


All these Hmong dubbed, what about actual Hmong videos and songs? Here goes....

Hmong duet wearing traditional Hmong outfits & Karaoke style
"Nkauj Toj Siab Nraug Hauv Nroog" - Suab Nag & Kos Lis


If you're still clueless about Hmong poeple, try watching Clint Eastwood's movie, Gran Torino. Although I don't think it's a great representation of Hmong people, it'll give some introduction.

Aishwarya's upcoming Tamil movie "Endhiran"

I had no interest in watching Aishwarya Rai's forthcoming Kollywood movie, Robot now titled Endhiran. Just after watching this one movie still, I am now interested. Why? Cause the woman in the picture below with Aish is wearing tribal outfits, related to my Hmong people!!!!

I'm working on my Rock On review, along with another Bollywood re-make I would like to see.

Edited - Whenever I see tribal outfits, I always related it to my Hmong peeps. I never said that the people in the picture are Hmong, just that the outfits look Hmong. Could be the language barrier, I tell you.

Northeast India & Hmong

I know, I haven't posted much since ??? When was it? Okay, I just went and look - it was October 24th - woah, that was nearly almost a full week ago!! Makes sense. Since then, I was busy with one of my friend's annual Halloween Party on Saturday. If you have MySpace or Facebook, I have pictures posted there. I went as a nerd. Some of my friends can't believe I went as one. One of my friends showed up in a beautiful Indian saree - she didn't wrap it up right at all! All she did was wrapped it around her waist with no pleats and safety pinned it. After Halloween party, I did watch more Bollywood movies but just haven't found the time to make screen caps for reviews here. I have to study more. I've been lazy.

So for my friends and readers to know I'm still alive. I decided to just think about something and post. I posted this at Bollywhat a year ago or so. However, I've mentioned it on a few of my posts before - Desamuduru & Chak De India

Occassionally when I see someone who I think is Indian, I'll ask them....then I'll talk to them about how much I love Hindi films and mention I've seen a few Tamil and Telugu films. What amazes me is for the past few times, many of them thought that I was from Northeast India. So...I do some research and I could see why! A lot of Northeast Indian people do look Southeast Asians/PanAsians. I've been told that Hmong outfits look Nepalese. I guess because our outfits are more tribal looking.

I am just fasinated by the last few times Indians think I'm from the Northeast area. I do get where you're coming from though. From the geographic view, Northeast India seems to be isolated in its own area there. I did think about the location and many Southeast Asians/PanAsians migrating there. Of course, by now, many of you know that I am Hmong. If not, do you not read my 411 intro? :D

Northeast Indians

Source

Hmong

Source

Again as I said, I'm very interested in Northeast India cause it reminds me very much of my culture - very tribal and language than all of Thailand. I'm sure the languages in Northeast India is similar to the rest of India. That's how Hmong is compared to Thai and Laos. Thailand and Laos used to be one country - Siam. Similar tones.

Since I've been really interested in Northeast India, I bought a travel guide to India which divides India in 5 main regions. I love it. Me, personally, I have a lot of similarities with the Northeast Indians because my ethnicity is Hmong which is a tribal group in north Thailand and speaks a different language. Coincidently, the past few monthly Desi magazines and newsletter I get in the mail talked about Northeast India.

The Seven Sisters of India are the seven relatively unexplored and isolated Indian states -- Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh -- which for many years was closed to foreigners. This land, better known to the world as the North-Eastern region of India, borders China, Tibet, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. India's remote northeast, the area comprising the seven states stretching from Tibet in the north to Myanmar (Burma) in the south, among them Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Assam. In this area, rarely visited by foreigners, peoples scarcely known to the Western world continue a way of life steeped in ancient ritual... Read more here

From Rivaaj magazine, May 2007, that I get in the mail about Dastkari Haat Samiti - Craft Maps of India

North-East India

Combines the seven stages of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. Each state is depcted through the typical handlookm weave or woven bamboo pattern of each state. Sitt Nyein Aye of Burma has replicated the textures of cloth and bamboo and shares the cultural traditions of north-east India.

And Khabar - June 2007 (no link, I'm typing this)

Major Project to Map India's Many Languages
India's National Security Language Initiative (NSLI), launched in April this year, is a massive undertaking that wont' be completed till 2017. No other nation at any time has embarked on such an ambitious project involving its languages. Makes sense because India's linguistic diversity remains unmatched. More than 10,000 experts across 44 institutions are involved and the detailed report is expected to cost $100million. NSLI will take on 114 languages in the first five years alone, leaving the other languages for the second half of the decade-long project. There are 22 official languages, but as per Ethnologue, of the 428 languages listed for India, 415 are still spoken. "A reasonable lexicon and grammatical sketch for each languages" will become available, according to Outlook magazine, and the survey has also been desigend to help research in genetics, physcal and cultural anthropology, sociology, and psychology." Art from linguistic atlases, charats, and graphs, NSLI will also come out with online programs and audiovisual products. An earlier linguistic survey of India was much less sophisticated, given the times, and didn't include large portions of southern India.

North east India's official languages in each state

Arunachal Pradesh - Nepali (according to article) but correct language should be English (thanks AGy)

Assam - Assamese

Manipur - Manipuri

Meghalaya - Khasi & Jaintia

Mizoram - Bengali (according to article) but correct language should be Mizo (thanks Lucy)

Nagaland - Konyak

Tripura - Bengali

The book is here on Amazon but my cover is different. I have the most recent version (I bought mine in June 2007) since the cover to that book is 2002.The travel book has the chapter listed as Assam & The Northeast - places to visit in Northeast India. After typing all of this – I just have to visit India. I need a country wide tour. I haven't scanned anything yet but wanted to type what is highlighted in the travel book and found links to go with it. It did take a lot of time for me to type and find links but it was fun! I couldn’t find good links to some though. I bolded the cities and typed in some descriptions (not all). I looooovvve this book cause it gives out details about traveling along with history, culture, customs, traditions, festivals, what foods are eaten in the area, clothing, dances. I hope you have a great time reading and clicking on the links. I did take me a while but it was well worth it.

Guwahati - capital of Assam and gateway to Northeast India

Kamakhya Temple - a major centre of pilgrimage for Hindus

Navagraha Temple - believed to mark the site of the ancient city of Pragyotishpur, Guwahati's old name, which was famous as a centre of astronomy

Umananda Temple - 16th century temple dedicated to Shiva's wife

State Museum - comprehensive collection of local handigrafts and gallery of medieval stone and bronze sculptures which were excavatated from Ambari, an archaeological site in the heart of the city

Zoo & Botanical Gardens - white tiger, clouded leopards, hornbills, native one-horned rhinors can be seen in spacious, moated exclusures

Vashishtha Temple - said to be the site of the ashram of the sage Vashishtha, a character in the Ramayana

Brahmaputra River – Name after the son of Brahman, the creator of the Universe. The only Indian river to have a male name

Tezpur – “City of Blood” gory name is derived from the legendary past of the capital of the Hindu demon kings, the Asuras, said to have been vanquished here by Lord Krishna in a blood battle. More recently, in 1962, Tezpur was close to another bloodbath when the invading Chinese army reached its outskirts before suddently declaring a ceasefire

Da Parbatia Temple – represent the earliest example of sculptural art in Assam. All that is left of the temple are some sculptures and an exquisitely carved door frame, with images of the river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna on either side

Cole Park – beautifully landcaped garden near a lake. It is embellished with 9th and 10th centry colonial church stands behind the Tourist Lodge

Bhalukpong – marks the border of Assam and Arunchal Pradesh

Nameri Sanctuary – deciduous forest which are home to clouded leopards, mithuns (Indian biosn) and rare white winged wood duck. Can be explored on elephant back. Has water rafting and maheer fishing trips for visitors

Orang Wildlife Sanctuary – often described as a mini Kaziranga since it has similar landscape of marshes, streams, and grassland, the favored habitat of the one-horned rhino. Home to Asiatic wild buffalo and the Hoolock gibbon

Bomdila – headquarters of Arunachal’s West Kameng district. Has Buddhist monasteries surrounded by apple orchards, which views of snowcapped peaks, terraced paddy fields and waterfalls

Crafts Centre – famous for its carpet weaving

Tawang Monastery – largest Buddhist monastery in India

Sela Pass – second higheste motorable pass in the world. There’s a memorial to a valiant Indian soldier who held up the the advancing Chinese army during the India-China conflict of 1962

Bramdungchung Nunnery – road to the monastery which can be reached by jeep, reveals a stunning alpine landscape of snow peaks

Kaziranga National Park – Assam’s magnificent park declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the home of the Indian one-horned rhino

Sibsagar – heart of Assam’s tea and oil producing region and the state’s most historic city

Sibsagar Lake – three temples on its banks

Shivadol Temple – high gilded spire built by an Ahom queen in 1734, one of the world’s tallest Shiva temples

Karen Ghar & Talatal Ghar – both are seven storeys high and have three underground floors and a warren of secret tunnels

Majuli River Island – largest inhabited river island in the world

Itanagar – capital of Arunachal Pradesh. It is a settlement of the Nishi tribe, one of the largest among the 26 major tribes that inhabit the state

Nehru Museum – offers a comprehensive look at the arts and crafts of all the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, with some lovely jewelry, textiles, cane and bamboo artifacts

Ziro – better known as Apatani Plateau is the home of the prosperious Apatani tribe who practiced a unique system of cultivation that combined rice growing with pisciculture

Namdapha National Park – the only reserve in India where all the four big cats of the Himalayas – the tiger, leopard, cluded leopard, and the rare snow leopard are found – declared a Tiger Reserve in 1983

Shillong – capital of the tiny state of Meghalaya. Has mist-shrouded hills, pine forests, lakes, waterfalls and sometimes called the “Scotland of the East.”

Bara Bazaar – market offers a vivid glimpse of Khasi tribal society

Museum of Entomology – small private museum situated north of Bara Bazaar

Ward Lake & Lady Hydari Park – centre of town, the horseshoe-shaped Ward Lake has pleasant promenade paths around it, paddle boats for hire and a café. A short distance to its south is Lady Hydari park, with a pretty Japanese garden and a mini zoo which includes fauna native to Meghalaya’s forests, such as hornbills, leopard cats, and the aptly named slow loris, a ferret-like creature that crawls around as though heavily drugged

Lake Bishop & Beadon Falls – Both cascade down the same escarpment into a deep valley, the mass of water dissolving into misty sparks

Umiam Lake – large artificial reservoir set among forested hills

Elephant Falls – 12 km outside of the city the mountain stream descends through two successive falls set in dells of fern covered rocks

Mawphlang (this is a very good website about Shillong) – good place to see some of Meghalaya’s rare species of orchids in their natural habitant

Shillong Peak - 10kms away from the city, this is the highest point (1965mtrs), which offers a panoramic view of the countryside

Nohkalikai Falls and another beautiful link telling about the tale of the name

Mawsmai Caves – some of the limestone caves run more than 4 km (2 miles) deep

Nohsngithiang Falls – on a clear day, there is a fine view of the plains of Bangladesh from these impressive falls, also known as the Seven Sisters Falls

Cherrapunji – one of the wettest places on earth, established a world record of an incredible 2,621 cm (1,032 in) of rain in 1861 – continues to record an average rainfall of 1,143 cm (450 in) in the monsoon months of July to September

Mylliem – number of rare species of orchids grow around t his traditional Khasi blacksmiths’ village, where agricultural tools are made

Agartala – capital of Tripura, a former princely state bordered by Bangladesh

Ujjayanta Palace – built in 1901 in Indo-Saracenic style. Now, the State Legislature, the palace’s opulent interior includes a titled Chinese Room with a magnificent ceiling crafted by Chinese artisans

Neermahal Water Palace – was the summer home of the former maharajas of Tripura. Built I white marble and red sandstone, this fairy-tale palace has a profusion of pavilions, balconies, turrets and bridges, and part of it is open to public

Udaipur – “Venice of the east” – city of lakes

Tripurasundari Temple – has distinctive Bengal-style curved roof and one of the holiest Hindu shrines

Aizawal – Mizoram’s capital and home of the Mizo tribes

Weaving Centre – visitors could see puans (long, narrow skirts) being woven

Imphal – capital of Mainipur (the Jewelled Land)

Ima Keithel – (mothers’ market) more than 3,000 women congregate daily to sell fresh produce, fish, grain, canework, and handicrafts, including the elegant striped textiles worn by the Meitei women

Govindaji Temple – Imphal’s main temple where festivals associated with Lord Krishna and the graceful Manipuri dance is performed

Commonweath War Graves Cemeteries – buried here are the men who died fighting the Japanese during the invasion of Manipur in World War II

Orchidarium – displaying various indigenous species

Moirang – ancient temple to the pre-Hindu god, Thangjing, is the spiritual home of the Meiteis, who celebrate Lai Haraob here with great fanfare. During World War II, Moirang was the headquarters of the Indian National Army (INA), led by Cubhash Chandra Bose, w hich fought against the Allies

Loktak Lake – one of the most enchanting places in the northeast. Almost two-thirds of this huge expanse of freshwater is covered by unique floating saucer-shaped locally called phumdi, which are home to a community of fisherman

Keibul Lamjao National Park – where endangered Manipur browantlered deer called sangai are located

Sendra Island – heart of the park which provides a magnificent view of the l ake, its islands and its rich birdlife

Kohima – capital of Nagaland. Famous in World War II history for the decisive battle fought on the tennis court of the British deputy commissioer’s house that finally stopped the Japanese advance into India in April 1944

War Cemetery – those who fell in the battle are buried in the beautifully kept War Cemetery covering a terraced hillside. A poignant inscription at the base of one of the two large crosses here reads. “When you go home tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow we gave our today.”

Cathedral of Reconciliation – overlooks the cemetery was built in 1995 and partly funded by the Japanese government

State Museum – has an excellent anthroplogical collection of Naga masks, textiles, jewelry and totem pillars from all the 16 Nga tribes

Bara Basti – original village of Kohima is a settlement of the Angami Naga trbiel located on a hill overlooking the town which is modernized now

Khonoma – less modernized village. The villagers are renowned for their agricultural skills – terraced paddy fields cover the hillside, growing some 20 varieties of rice, and an intricate system of bamboo pipes irrigates the fields

Dimapur – this bustling town in the plains functions as a gateway to the rest of Nagaland

Ruzaphema Bazaar – displays a fascinating range of tribal handicrafts on the road to Kohima

And since I was talking about Hmong people, I just have to mention this. Clint Eastwood is coming out with Gran Torino in December! This movie actually have amateur Hmong people in the movie which deals with some Hmong people too! I'm excited for that.

If you don't know about Gran Torino, this is from imdb.

Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possesion: his 1972 Gran Torino

ETA - I'm so freaking happy about Eastwood using REAL Hmong people to play in his movie. Especially since there are not a lot of noteable Hmong stars at all (with exception of Brenda Song). When Grey's Anatomy did a feature on Hmong people, they hired Korean stars instead. Here is the YouTube link for that episode. Tidbit - the very traditional Hmong religon is Shaman. Another tidbit, my friends' relatives are in the movie. Gran Torino was filmed in Michigan.

I can't get into YouTube but you can watch the following trailers below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9teLeXZ3XMU

http://www.thegrantorino.com/

http://www.filmjunk.com/2008/10/24/clint-eastwoods-gran-torino-trailer/

Desamuduru - it's official I want to have Allu Arjun's babies

Please note - all my Allu Arjun videos have been removed from YouTube. Read more about it when I blogged about it here and here.



Bala Govind (Allu Arjun) is a young crime reporter who works for MAA TV. His heart is always in the right place and fights for justice which gets him into trouble. It happens that one day he saved a man from getting beaten up from a gang of goons. Little did he know, the guy he severely hurt is Murugan (Subbaraju), son of Tambidurai (Pradeep Rawat). MAA TV fears for Bala Govind's life since Tambidurai is a known smuggler and sends Bala Govind to shoot a travel program in Kulu Manali. He meets and fall in love with Vaishali (Hansika Motwani), a sanyasin. Will he get his love? Will he return back to Hyderabad? Will Tambidurai and his goons ever find Bala Govind?



First of all, I have never made so many screen caps for any movies yet . I just went screen-cap crazy. There's so much of this movie I want to share - this may be the longest post ever too. Not only cause Allu Arjun is so freaking hot - his best look, IMO - but the location of Kulu Manali is so beautiful! Allu Arjun impresses, yet again, with his amazing dancing skills and shows off his six-pack abs.



Even though I went screen-cap crazy, the movie's script is weak. The beginning half of love-struck Bala Govind was border-line stalkerish. Since I don't know if I can find a hot guy telling me that he loves me when he first meet me - yeah, no love at first sight but I do think it happens. Although I wouldn't mind if he was stalking me, LOL, I didn't feel their love was genuine and Vaisali didn't love him. I believe she liked the feeling of being in love and Bala Govind taking care of her. Perhaps I was annoyed with her not showing any real emotions and suddenly she just wanted to be with him. Nevertheless the beginning half that was focused on their love story dragged a bit. If it wasn't for the songs, beautiful location, action scenes, and Allu Arjun's mesmorizing charm and dancing abilities, I would've fast forwarded most of the beginning.



The second half takes a different turn when Bala Govind finds out who Vaishali really is and Tambidurai and his goons looking for him. The action scenes were great. Allu Arjun's movies introduced me to Telugu cinema but I still haven't watched as many Telugu films as I want to. Later I learn that in Tollywood, there are a lot of OTT action moments.



Bala Govind - a young, hot, sexy crime reporter fights justice. Not realizing he messed with the wrong people ends up filming in Kulu Manali and falling in love with Vaishali. One cute part of the beginning is Bala Govind's intro. Radio Mirchi was asking people on the street who their favorite action star is and everyone was giving his/her opinions. Since I'm not that familiar with the names of Tollywood stars, I can not repeat it here. There's one name I do know - Mahesh Babu. A guy told them that a regular, tough guy comes out of no where and fights justice, who can be a great action hero but he has no idea of the identity of this unknown man. Then you see the strong, muscular Bala Govind.



I'm sure by now anyone who has been following my blogs and know me - I'm in love with Allu Arjun. Do I need to repeat myself and say that I just fall in love with his charm in his films? And the fact that he may not be the best actor but as long as he entertains me like he does in Aarya, Bunny, and Happy, that's all that matters? Oh yeah, I just did.



Vaishali, the sanyasin, who Bala Govind falls in love with. I think Hansika is cute and reminds me of Bhoomika Chawla. Although she is a child actress, she needs to work on her acting. She was one of the little girls in Koi Mil Gaya. Can you believe she's only 16 years old in this movie?!? Sometimes she does look 16 and other times she looks 26. She's also the leading actress opposite Himish Reshamiya in Aap Ka Surror.



Murugan (Subbaraju) - the guy who gets severely beaten up by Bala Govind.



Tambidurai (Pradeep Rawat) - Murugan's father and a known smuggler who everyone is afraid of, even the cops.



The man (Raja Ravindra) who Bala Govind saves and tells him who Vishali's past.



Mata Shivani - a sariyasin who helps Bala Govind get his love.



Ramaprabha - head of the sariyasins



Swami - the news crew meets him and wants to film a documentary on him. He tells them his journey into becoming a Swami. His story seems is very funny and adds humor but it was unnecessary. You'll realize later why his story was significant.



One part of his story is showing the struggles he went through. The martial arts pose is very funny.



Like in all Allu Arjun's movies, there has to great songs and dancing. Admittedly, the songs could've been avoided but then the movie wouldn't be the same without seeing Allu Arjun show off his six-pack abs and dance moves. Yes, I'm obsess, uploaded on YouTube with English subs. His dancing just melts my heart and I'm hypnotized by him everytime.

A lot of Telugu videos on YouTube do not have English subs so I uploaded them on YouTube with English subs. YouTube quality isn't the best but at least you will definitely see Allu Arjun's charm and dancing skills.

Sadly, this isn't the case anymore since my YouTube videos were taken down but I have replaced them...why were my videos targeted? Whatever! I wasn't able to find all the videos from the movie though.



Song #1 - "Satte Satte"
Bala Govind and the crew goes to Kulu Mananli









Watch Below



Song #2 - "Gola Gola"
Bala Govind thinks Vaishali is hot and sees her not as a sanyasina











Watch Below



Song #3 - "Ninne Ninne"
Bala Govind finds out Vaishali is Telugu and believes that she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life being a sanyasina







Watch Below



Song #4 - "Gilli Gilli"
Bala Govind and Vaishali together at last









Watch Below



Song #5 - "Manasuley"
Bala Govind and Vaishali imagine being together











Watch Below

Song #6 - "Attanthode"
Thambidurai and his goons are looking for Bala Govind. Bala Govind joins in a random celebration. Song features Rambha (she reminds me of the late Divya Bharti, RIP)









Watch Below



The beginning half of Desamuduru was filmed in Kulu Manali, as seen in the beautiful, mountain parts of Jab We Met in the "Yeh Ishq Hai" song where Geet and Aditya take their road trip. However, we get to see more of the beautiful Kulu Manali in Desamuduru. In my Jab We Met review, I talked about the outfits reminding me of Hmong clothing, my ethnicity. For some reason, this always amazes me since I rarely see any Indian movies film in the mountains showing tribal regions. Since Kulu Manali is in Northern India, there are a lot of hillside tribes which Hmong people are. Most of the captures below are from the songs - "Satte Satte" and "Ninne Ninne"











Since I mentioned about Hmong clothing, here are some pictures of Hmong people. Although we do not have a country, we are a tribal group that stays in the northern part of other countries such as Thailand, Laos, Burma, and Vietnam. Sadly not that many people have heard about us.









More pictures of the beautiful Kulu Manali. I've been living in the USA since I was a baby - 6 months old - I'm basically an American. I've never gone back to visit - nor have I visited outside of the USA. Sad, I know - I'm a spoiled American.













Filming in Kulu Manali, you expect to see a lot of tribal groups. Not only did Desamuduru featured that but also showed sariyasins. When I saw movie stills of Desamuduru, I immediately thought about the Bollywood movie, Paap. Even though Paap focused on Buddhist elements and monks instead of sariyasins, the scenery and outfits are similar to me.









Movie stills from Bollywood movie Paap, starring John Abraham and Udita Goswami







In all of Allu Arjun's movies - Aarya, Bunny, and Happy - he's known as an action hero who falls in love. I love the fight scenes the most in Desamuduru. Most of it is martial-arts influence, which I love!





Not only was it martial arts influence, another action scene is taken from Ong Bak, a famous Thai movie of Tony Jaa. Bala Govind runs away from the goons and flips over cars and people



Stills from Ong Bak, Tony Jaa's debut film to stardom, even in Hollywood. Here's a video with Tony Jaa jumping over a car. I've watched his live demos and he really can jump. Watch him perform at the Lakers game, it's towards the end.



Another inspired scene is taken from the Thai action superstar Tony Jaa's other movie, The Protector. (Yeah, I watch way too many films and notice these similarities and remakes) This scene shows Bala Govind surrounded by fire and using two fire-flamed weapons.





Still from The Protector. The Thai title for this movie is called Tom Yum Goong.





Again, since I'm in love with Allu Arjun...more caps since I went screen-cap crazy. His look in Desamuduru is my favorite. I love the hair and scrubs - it suits him. Arjun, if you're ever reading this, it's official, I am really in love with you. And I really do want to have your babies.





















And I couldn't resist that six-pack abs and muscular body (there goes my shallowness again), I kept talking about. Well, since he worked out very hard for the film, I'm showing it here too.