The Unforgettable Tour again - now with fewer words!

My story for Tehelka about the Unforgettable Tour has been published here. Please know that I did not make up that title. While I've heard many Indians and Indian-Americans use "Amreeka" in jest, I am certainly in no place to tease anyone about pronunciation.

But anyway - yay Tehelka! I just wish I'd been able to blow the lid off some scandal at the concert...Aspi and I brainstormed a few fake-pretend concert-related corruption stories (young Unforgettables' Yaarana-style jackets not solar powered! firework showers blind front-row patrons! Chicago show marred by Capone connections!), but none of them would have stuck.

Comments

Kanan said…
Nice write up yet again, Beth. :) You're very honest and say things very nicely.

The blog title reads: "Beth isn't quite sure about the 'stache and the shades but still Loves Bollywood" where Big B has cute mustache and Shashi with those binocular shades... priceless! :D I love these title photos.
Unknown said…
Everyone: now that Beth has written for Tehelka and covered herself with fame and glory, I will be calling her Sensationalista.
Awesome! Congrats on the pub!

And jest schmest, Amreeka is how it's spelled in Devenagari. Similarly for pliz, my fave word.
Anonymous said…
Hi Beth I am Bill and it is a wonderful site. I know nothing about Bollywood and got your site from lurple.com. I see you made an index of your posts as well and thanks for that. I am in the process of doing the same thing and it more work than it appears and I am half the way done only and have not as many posts as you do.

I will come back and learn something and hopefully I can find some of these on DVD as I am very curious.

Bill
Anonymous said…
beth, read your article on Tehelka. I thought it was well written. I have been to one these bollywood shows circa 2001. I thought it as boring as a baseball game. But then we go there to see the stars don't we ?
Btw, just curious. Do you understand hindi ?

-Punit
Anonymous said…
Beth,

You are a very talented writer. I'm an awe of your ability to change the tone of this writeup from the one on your blog post, knowing that they are written for two different audiences. You a review that summarizes the one on your blog, yet manage to phrase it in such a way that it remained fresh and interesting.

I also love the way you give your reviews with such respect and humility. Even when you didn't enjoy something all the way, you admit that there may be something you're missing since you didn't grow up with exposure to the culture and films.

Congratulations, Beth! You deserve it!:)
Silent Melody said…
Hey Beth, great write-up about the tour...Love the way you write..Was the Chicago show a sold-out one? Too many conflicting statements in the Indian Media regarding the success of the Unforgettabe tour.
Anonymous said…
I think the Chicago show is the one where the promoters used Madhuri (on posters etc.) to help sell tickets although she didn't actually appear there? That seemed to make a lot of people quite angry...

Nice writeup :-) Goris represent!
Kanan - Thank you! :) That's a very meaningful compliment for me. As for the pictures, as you can see I'm a little bit addicted to making them...in fact, I think I might need some new ones, don't you? :)

Aspi - I can only hope to live up to such a name. I think I'll need a new wardrobe.

PPCC - Thanks! And is it really?!? I had no idea. I'm lunging for my Oxford Hindi-English dictionary right minute.

Uranium Willy - Thank you! I looked at your site via lurple too, and I was delighted by your category "bad movies to avoid." I think I need something like that. Let me know if I can offer any shopping suggestions - PPCC has a post on that, actually, though neither PPCC nor I are well-versed in the horror/gore types of things, if that's what you're hankering for.

Punit - Thank you for commenting! Who was in the show you saw? I guess I should add that I actually like watching baseball live, though not enough to go very often :) And re: Hindi, no, not really. I've taken a few lessons and have begun working through a "teach yourself" book, but I think I've learned as much from watching films as I have from more formal training. I hope to rectify that, though.

Nida - Aww, thank you! That means a lot. But you should see the article I wrote at 3 in the morning immediately after the show! :) I'm not at all knowledgeable about Tehelka's audience, so I hope they enjoy it.

Silent Melody - Thank you! I did see some empty seats in the Chicago show, though not as many as the I saw in the arena the Heat tour played in in 2006. I have heard that some of the North America stops were sold out, but I don't think Chicago was (maybe certain price levels were?).

memsaab - Yes, definitely. And thank you! Do we need t-shirts that say that ;)
Pessimisissimo said…
Beth, congratulations on your article! Will you now become Tehelka's Midwestern correspondent...?
Anonymous said…
BETH OF MIDWEST!!!
Pessimissimo - Ooooh! Dare to dream! As long as I get a microphone with one of those boxy things on the handle with a logo showing my media affiliation, I'm happy. Or a press pass. I think I could photoshop a GREAT fake Indian press pass :)

PPCC - Well played!
Unknown said…
Ok, those last two words from Memsaab were pretty funny. I need to figure out an equivalent term for me and use it everywhere :)
I really want a t-shirt. But Memsaab should have...I don't know, a drum major uniform or something. She is the ultimate in goris representin'.
I want tshirt too... plis
tci, you of all people shall certainly have one!
Anonymous said…
I just read it. Extremely well written. Although I am not a fan of bollywood or bollystars, your writing kept me hooked. :)
roop rai - Thank you! That's a lovely compliment :)

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