When Melanie Met Indian Films: A Love Story of Chicago Based Movie Buff

By MMR | 1.4k |

    "zindagi mukhtasar mili thi hamen
    hasraten be-shumar le ke chale" ----Naushad Ali

MyMovieRack(MMR) has been striving to "make entertainment personalized" and in its journey, it seldom runs into spirited beings such as Melanie G whose love for films have transcended boundaries and language barriers. We present to you the first in series of Guftagu: a conversation about love, passion, and movies

A candid moment, Melanie loves to enjoy her life to the fullest!!!

Tell us something about yourself, your family, your interests, and passions.

I’ve been a movie lover my whole life, but Indian cinema is my latest obsession. In the past three years, I’ve seen over 300 Indian films, mostly Hindi but a growing number of Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada and other regional films.

When and how you started developing the interest into movies?

I remember when I was in high school before our family had a VCR I would get up at 4 am to catch a Fred Astaire movie. It's a lifelong passion. The Oscars are like my Superbowl. I watch as many of the nominated movies as I can and throw a huge party where I give out prizes.

How frequently do you watch movies? Aside from Indian films, what other language movies do you follow?

I’m a cultural omnivore. I love mainstream popcorn Hollywood superhero movies. I love foreign films. I love independent cinema. I’ve attended the Sundance Film Festival most years since 2008.
I see three or four movies a week. When I'm at Sundance, it's three or four films a day.
At the January 2016 Sundance premiere of our movie How To Tell You're A Douchebag with my husband, Mark, and director Tahir Jetter

Tell about your journey into Indian Films. Your first movie, how were you introduced to one and your reaction.

My very first Indian film was Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India because it had been nominated for an Oscar, so over 15 years ago. That was back when you only rented DVD's from Netflix, before streaming. I then watched Dil Chahta Hai because it also had Aamir Khan, but because I didn't know Hindi, I didn't have a clue what other films to watch because I couldn't read the titles. It was much harder to search out information.
I started my Bollywood binge by watching Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge on Netflix. (Since I enjoy romantic films, Netflix recommended it for me). Then I watched Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi right after that, and texted my next door neighbor for more suggestions! I'm a huge fan of Shahrukh Khan and I’ve watched over 50 of SRK’s films alone.

We must say, we haven’t found anyone who has been so enthusiastic about films with such a depth of expression, how did you transform to a dedicated movie critic?

I answered a question on Quora about if there were anyone but Indians who love Indian films, and people asked my reactions of various films, so I started a blog of reviews about a year ago. I'm just starting to do video reviews for the Bollyfools Youtube channel.
Melanie and her three sons at theatre to watch Baahubali 2 for Mother's Day weekend.

Films are a very strong medium of communicating ideologies, do you think Indian films can work towards spreading concepts of harmony, women empowerment, and progressive thinking? Or shall they stick to Indian flavored masala films?

Indian Cinema can do all of those things. Some of the more "Indie" films have strong social messages, like Fandry and Aligarh . I love all types, including the Masala films. But even the big blockbusters can have positive messages about women empowerment -- Aamir Khan's दंगल is a great example.

Something you LOVE about Indian films and something that you HATE!!!

I love old Hollywood musicals like Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly films. Hollywood does not make them anymore. I love the singing and the dancing in Indian cinema, but also the earnest love stories are not the kind of films that Hollywood makes either. Rom Coms are becoming rarer and rarer in American films which tend to be more cynical. The emotions in Bollywood films are something that is rare to see in Hollywood or English films. People joke about how much Shahrukh Khan cries in his films, but I really respond to the emotions shown in Indian cinema. Also, the colors on screen! Bhansali’s film Ramleela is an example of this. Indian films just give me things I cannot get from Hollywood or other Western cinema.
Something I hate is when I'm watching an Indian film that is subtitled and the songs are not subtitled. They can be so important to the plot or character development, and I want to catch every word I can.
Melanie with some Indian ladies at the screening of Baahubali 2

Could you tell and describe your favorite Indian films and favorite actor and actresses? If you were to have a day with someone from the Film industry, who would that be?

I am a huge Shahrukh Khan fan. I've watched over fifty of his films, and I own most of them on DVD. He is my obvious choice for the actor I'd love to spend time with. He's so charming and witty! He came to Chicago for his SLAM Tour, and they offered VIP tickets where you got to meet him and take a picture. It was something like $3000, but I was tempted!! He's my favorite Khan, but I've seen many of the films of Aamir and Salman, too. Of the Hindi actresses, I love Kajol, Juhi and Rani. I love Prabhas and fell in love with him from the first Baahubali: The Beginning film which I saw 4 times in the theater alone. I've seen about 10 of his other films, and I love what a goofball comedian he can be in his romantic comedy scenes. I also really like Mahesh Babu from the Telugu industry. For Malayalam films, my favorite is Dulquer Salmaan. I actually saw him first in the Tamil film O Kadhal Kanmani , and he is so charming! He's the whole reason I started watching Malayalam films, because I sought out his earlier films like Bangalore Days and Ustad Hotel. He's great and is showing such growth as an actor. Two of his films from last year, Kali and Kammattipaadam were outstanding. Nivin Pauly and Prithviraj are also two of my favorites in the Malayalam industry, and I'm trying to catch up on classics with Mohanlal.

Have you ever visited India? Do you have aspirations to watch a Hindi film in an Indian theatre full of exuberant audience? What about Indian food and dresses?

I have never visited India, but it's my dream to see DDLJ at the Marathi Mandir. We have quite the South Asian population in my suburb, so I love to go opening weekend to big films with a loud audience. I yelled and whistled right along with them at Baahubali 2: The Conclusion when Prabhas came on screen!
I've been taking a Bollywood Dance class and I love Indian food! My next door neighbor is from India, and last Diwali she made Gol Gappas at her home, and that was my favorite.
Holi celebration in a Chicago suburb : Colors , they make India exciting , don't they?

What is the one feature you like the most about MyMovieRack? What is one feature you wish MyMovieRack had?

I really like the emotion hashtags because sometimes you're in the mood for a silly comedy, and sometimes for a tearjerker. You've already added the import feature which meant I didn't have to type in all 1800 of my movies I'd already rated at Letterboxd, which was great.


You can browse Movie & TV show collection of Melanie at MyMovieRack
Melanie also blogs at moviemavengal.com
If you happen to know other such lively filmy-fans, please do reach out to us at admin@mymovierack.com
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