Sunday, February 7, 2010

My Bollywood Moment....


The secret is out...I love Bollywood movies.

If you don't know what Bollywood is, let me break it down for you. Bollywood refers to the Hindi movie industry in Mumbai, India. Most of the movies are spoken in Urdu with occasional English (I watch with subtitles). They are known for producing movies at some crazy rate per year...like 200 or something. Almost every 2.5 to 3 hour movie includes the following: crazy love story where people fall desperately in love after seeing each other for one second, the lovers are torn apart in some way, crying in the rain, singing in the rain, dancing in the rain, more crying while not in the rain, spontaneous breaking into song and/or dance, beautiful women, hot men, staring longingly, almost kissing but not kissing, running toward each other through fields or over bridges, wind blowing through their hair, someone almost dying, and ridiculously awful American actors. It's a killer combo, really. You can't stop watching once you've started. If you've never seen an Indian movie, I warn you...you will become addicted...enter at your own risk.

Anyway, back to my semi-Bollywood moment. (This is about as Bollywood as DC gets).

Today I walked down to M street to have brunch with Wajh and her sis, Nabila. After that I did some shopping at the stores that were open. It seemed like from the moment I stepped outside this morning everyone was in a bad mood and everyone was rude and mean. Not just to me, but to each other. Everywhere I turned everyone seemed to be acting selfish and grumpy. I even got pelted by the salt truck while I was waiting to cross the street. That was a moment I could have lived without. Ouch! So, needless to say that by the time I walked all the way back up Wisconsin toward my apartment I had seen, heard, and experienced enough negativity for one day.

As I was reaching my building I was walking through the gas station parking lot and I saw a homeless man. Usually I give money to homeless people, but I didn't have any to give which made me feel even more yucky. As I am searching my purse to see if I have anything at all to give I look up and see a guy walk out of his way to walk over and give the homeless man some money. I thought to myself "wow, that was so nice". As I approach the stoplight across the street from my building I find that I am standing behind the man that had just given money to the homeless guy. When the walk light comes on the guy realizes that there is tons of snow and slush and that he is going to have to jump to miss it. So he jumps, then he turns around and sees me standing there. Without a word, and with a friendly smile, he reaches out his hand to help me jump across. Now, normally I would never take some random guys hand and let him help me...for no other reason other than the fact that I like to do things myself and not ask for help. But I did it. So, we were clear of the first hurdle. The guy also had to jump across more slush on the other side of the street, but he waited for me and offered his hand again with a smile. And I took it. After getting safely across the street, I thank him, and am waiting for something weird to happen.....like he hit on me, or ask for my number, or say something stupid. (I live in Georgetown, which is a college town, and I have stupid drunk guys saying gross random things to me and my friends all the time. Can't a girl walk to CVS in peace!?) But he didn't. He just asked if I had much further to walk because it was cold, and I told him that I actually lived right here (picture me pointing at a building). So he smiled and told me he lived a little further up Wisconsin. I thanked him again and turned to walk away. As I was walking away I turned around and then at the exact same time, he turned around. Our eyes met, and we smiled and then dropped our eyes. Then I walked into the building and turned around and we met eyes and smiled at each other one more time. And I then I went inside.

That is an official DC Bollywood moment people.

Now, all that has to happen to make it a total Bollywood story, is that I come to my parents house to find that he and his parents are there to arrange our marriage. But they get into a fight about the dowry and my dad throws them out of the house and refuses to let me marry their son. As the fighting ensues, he and I escape out of the kitchen window and run away...crying....in the rain...so that we can get married anyway. As we are escaping...by train...in the rain...we get separated in the train station. I am on the right train and I look out to see him standing on the platform waiting for the wrong train. I try to get off, but I can't. For some reason I never knew his name and have no idea how to ever find him again...but was totally going to marry him. Years later, I am attending a party and I see him again. The wind blows through my hair as I approach him. We lock eyes at the party and immediately break out dancing and singing. He tells me he is supposed to marry someone he doesn't love and I tell him that I have spent the last few years sitting on park benches in the rain imagining us together...(during these fantasies we are dancing and almost kissing but not kissing...in a field). After that we escape out of the kitchen window and into the snow covered streets. We are running. We reach an intersection and he jumps to avoid the snow and slush....he turns around and reaches his hand out with a smile. I grab his hand and jump.

There....I just wrote a script!

: )


Love,

Katie...the wannabe Indian actress....hogaya!

6 comments:

  1. That is the best Indian movie ever!!!
    Classic, I tell ya.

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  2. I should also mention that the guy today was in fact, Indian. So it was about as close to a real Bollywood moment as I've gotten in a long time. I'm gonna call up Mumbia tomorrow and get working on a movie deal! : )

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  3. Kate, you are not only a poet but a playwrite or movie producer. I love it. Again, an example of how we play things out in our minds. Why don't you just write the story of the things that play out in your mind. It could be a patchwork of short and long stories all woven into a lovely story of romance, song, almost kissing and by darn, kissing full on. The end.
    MOM

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  4. Thank you, MOM!! You are the lucky 13th follower(and not anonymous...thank you)! 13 is my lucky number! I have been tasked by Wajhma to write a short story, but I haven't been able to decide what to write. Maybe what I need to write is all the swirling thoughts I have in my head....maybe, just maybe, all those thoughts are like a puzzle piece. I just need to pour them all out and then start putting them together. Thank you for the inspiration! And for your permission for some full on kissing...I can't wait! : )

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  5. LOVE this! I am so glad you re-posted these! I'm glad to know I am not the only one who daydreams like that ;)

    I have only seen 'Slumdog Millionaire' but I loved it. Any recommendations for other Bollywood movies I need to check out??

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