This & That in the Rains

Since Bollywood is taking a breather before (and after) 'Race 3', also because the monsoon has arrived on schedule, this is the perfect time for another installment of 'this and that'.

•     Isn’t Rajinikanth tired of playing god and gangster? His latest, 'Kaala', also gives him nothing new to do.
   
•     Kareena Kapoor Khan says something to the effect that she is a feminist but a good kind. Somebody please send her some real feminist books.
   
•     As far as Bollywood feminism is concerned, Mallika Sherawat cornered the market a while back.
   
•     Kareena and Saif Ali Khan want their son Taimur to have a normal upbringing; when every move out of the house is photographed and he has a spoofy column in a newpaper, is that even possible?
   
•     The credit for the success of 'Veere Di Wedding' should actually go to the costume designers. Copies of the outfits will be all over the place soon, if they aren’t already.
   
•     If there’s something to celebrate it is that a girl gang – however silly – beat a superhero and gun-toting bandits at the box-office.
   
•     How or why did Sonam Kapoor agree to have a toilet seat put around her neck in 'Sanju'?
   
•     Deepika Padukone is all set to play a female superhero (superheroine?) in a forthcoming film. Now if she makes it work, it will send all but one Bollywood superhero diving for cover.
   
•   Anyway, the ones who made giant steps towards female empowerment this year were Meghna Gulzar and Alia Bhatt.
   
•  Alia Bhatt, daughter of Bollywood’s biggest rebel, is sweetly conservative in that she does not believe in live-in relationships.
   
•     Kangana Ranaut reportedly plays a voice-over artiste in her next film. Just try to remember who played this in his last film.
   
•     Manav Kaul, Sumeet Vyas and now Priyanshu Painyuli, Mumbai’s theatre guys are making major inroads into Bollywood mainstream cinema.
   
•     Love the way actors extol the advantages of web series when they run short of film offers.
   
•     These days with camera in every pocket, it is foolish of stars to deny their relationships... some busybody always posts photos wherever they may go – like Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani’s holiday pictures.
   
•     Priyanka Chopra is getting the flak for an episode of her serial 'Quantico' in which Indian nationalists plan to blow up Manhattan so that they can blame Pakistan. Instead of getting offended, Indians should be laughing at the absurdity of it.
   
•     It's a good thing nobody listens to carefully, or understands, the lyrics of these Punjabi rap songs, or there would be protests in the streets.
   
•     Somebody on Twitter asked a very valid question: If an actress was involved with drugs, guns and 300 boyfriends, would Bollywood be making a film on her “many lives”?