She's back!

Last night I drove down to Little India to see the much anticipated Fanaa, with Aamir Khan and Kajol, starring in her first film in five years.

I really enjoyed the movie. It's incredibly flawed, and there were serious moments which actually had me laughing out loud, but it was an amazing way to spend a few hours. And this is what I love about Bollywood--it's ability to manipulate me and allow me to enjoy the fantasy of it all. I usually don't allow myself to be that vulnerable. But when I watch Bollywood, I am.

Kajol is brilliant as Zooni, a blind Kashmiri girl, moving effortlessly from an innocent and opaque young woman to a confident but enigmatically wise woman. It's a role, as Aamir has admitted, that no other actress could pull off. You watch Zooni, and your heart is entranced. When she hurts, you do to. When she's angry, so are you. When she's elated, you can't help but be too. She handles the role with such an inexplicable mixture of delicacy, fierceness, and honesty, you forget you're watching an actress performing a role.

Aamir is equally outstanding as the conflicted Rehan. But this is what we've come to expect from the obsessively anal megastar. His ability to move between comedy, romance, and serious drama is greater than any actor I know. It's easy to understand why Zooni falls for him and continues to love him in spite of the things he's done.

I can't say much more without spoiling the film--not that any of you will actually see the movie. But Fanaa moved me. I had to take a deep breath after the intensity of the first act, and I left the theater teary-eyed, but feeling incredibly happy too.

As for Kajol and Aamir's chemistry...

Preparing for Departure #1

I ran into a friend I haven't seen in three years last night. She had heard that I was about to move abroad and was asking me where I was going, what I was going to do, how long was I going to be there, etc.--the questions people always ask me. We eventually made our way to a table and sat down. Then she asked: Are you excited to leave? Without hesitation, I excitedly said, "Yes! It can't get here fast enough."

See, I know I'm going to be sad to leave. I know I'm going to get to China and crave the comfort of home and the accessibility of my family and friends. But right now, I feel like everything about my current situation is trivial. And it isn't because I'm doing something extraordinary. I don't think I am. But it's hard to get excited with my friends who are settling down in life, who are trying to plant permanent roots. It's just not where I'm at right now. I'm finding it difficult to relate to the people in my life, and conversely, I don't think they're able to relate to me. It certainly isn't what I envisioned my last six weeks would be like. There's a lot of talk about reverse culture shock after returning from living abroad, but no one's really talked about pre-departure culture shock.

Molly Malone, it could have been lovely.

I finally got my lazy self motivated to drive out to Molly Malone's, a pub in L.A., to see Reeve Carney perform (a few of my friends have been raving about him). Just as we arrive, it occurs to me that I don't have a single form of identification on me. But I'm not close to 21 anymore, so there's a good chance they won't card me, right? And they didn't card the couple in front of me (though they clearly weren't spring chickens). Doorman from Alabama asks for my I.D., and that was the end of my night. Hey, it was a nice drive to and from L.A. though. Reeve will have to wait for me until next week.

Blogging Abroad

I've been doing some reading, and it looks like I won't be able to access Blogger from China. I'm thinking about doing my China blogging on Live Journal, which means that you'd have to set up a LJ account to read my blog. It sucks, I know. I'm exploring other options.

China's pretty much taking all my energy right now. Well, that and I'm beginning a new, short-term job this week, while juggling the Bux and my Chinese class. I seem to have less and less time each day. Maybe that's what adulthood is about.

Stay tuned. I'll try to write something more substantial later.