The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, October 25, 2012 - 3B
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, October 25, 2012 - 3B
"My skirt is made of gorilla hair"
Do Opposites
Attract' for Abdul?
Ai
Bollywo
intentiot
by discu
ing grittj
artistic f
I had col
number
three rea
to preset
to my ed
... and th
I saw the
news tha
Yash Chi
passed a
Chopr
living leg
making.,
to Mumb
rupees (r
the dreat
In additii
like "Dil
"Veer Za
22 filmst
producin
He cat
megastat
Bachcha
- someti
talizing t
history b
a new ge
ing the la
blockbus
He has a
take a ch
well as tt
guarante
Bollywon
Chopr
cinema i
resonate
ers as wit
you've se
at all, ch:
Raj prod
guarante
spent at t
Thefit
film Ieve
Hai" ("T
a milesto
special w
first Boll
Celebrating Chopra
fter two columns detail- an American theater. This was likes of which only social media
ng my inordinate love before I spoke any Hindi, and can produce. But one friend, now
of cheesy, romantic before subtitles were required in working as a reporter in Bolly-
od movies, Ihad every theaters. I didn't understand a wood, responded by completing
n of changing the pace word of "Dil To Pagal Hai" - but the lyric.
sS- I understood everything. "Pyar kar": Fall in love.
Y, I understood Rahul's (Shah- "Pretty much the philosophy
ilms. rukh Khan) inexperience and by which he made his movies,"
umn skepticism when he meets my friend said fondly.
Pooja (Madhuri Dixit) and falls Yashji knew how to tell uni-
ady hopelessly in love with her. I versal stories of love and life that
nt understood Pooja's desire to live transcend language and genre.
itor ina dream world as she hopes He chose actors who personify
en PROMA for those fantasies to come true. human emotion with perfor-
KHOSLA I understood the wonderfully mances we won't forget for a
tt pure friendship between Rahul lifetime. Often referred to as the
opra and Nisha (Karishma Kapoor), real "king of romance," Chopra
way on Sunday. Pooja and Ajay (Akshay Kumar), understood the complexities
'a, who died at 80, was a friendships that Nisha and Ajay of love and friendship far more
gend of Bollywood film- ultimately accept overthe unre- than most storytellers, and he
At barely 20, he moved quited love they feel instead. dedicated his life to sharing
ai with nothing but 200 Also, I was only six years old. those secrets.
roughly five dollars) and In the wake of his death,
m of beinga filmmaker. Chopra's final directorial effort,
ion to beloved romances Fin1 "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" (which hap-
To Pagal Hai" and Falling in love pens to mean "as long as I live")
ara," he directed some ith Yash l take on unprecedented
over the past 50 years, attention when released on Nov.
g more than twice that. Chopra with 13. A Yash Chopra film is a pop
talyzed the careers of culture event in itself, but now
rs such as Amitabh that it's definitively his last it
m and Shahrukh Khan everyfwill be the most unmissable
imes at once - immor- movie of the year. For one last
the former in cinematic time, Yashji will speak to us
y introducing him to "Dil To Pagal Hai" moved through his characters and
neration, and mak- me as deeply when I rewatched through the bonds they form
atter inseparable from it Sunday night as it did when and break over the course of
ting romantic movies. I was six years old, listening to the film.
lways been willing to the soundtrack on cassette as For me, watching the film
ance on young talent as my parents drove me to school. will be an emotional experience
ried-and-true stardom, The themes are timeless and no matter what the content.
Being the longevity of the emotion as immediate as For a brief period of time, my
od for years to come. any Oscar-winning effort - and Bollywood repertoire will be
a's legacy on Indian more than most. bookended by Yash Chopra
s indelible. His name During this sentimental romances. I plan to see "Jab
s as deeply with teenag- rewatch, I couldn't help tweet- Tak Hai Jaan" in theaters just
th senior citizens. If ing quotes and comments about as I saw "Dil To Pagal Hai"
'en a Bollywood movie the film (because that's just almost 15 years ago. Whether
ances are it was a Yash the world we live in). One bor- or not it influences me as pro-
uction, one of the few rowed lyrics to one of the songs. foundly, I expect to see the
es of a wonderful time "Chaand ne kuch kaha, raat same passion that pervades his
the movies. ne kuch suna": The moon said body of work. I will, and fall in
rst Chopra-directed something, something the night love, as always, with the won-
er saw was "Dil To Pagal heard. derful work of Yash Chopra.
semantics, yes, but perhaps this
warrants discussion? File it away
Like in the salons of 17th for a potential debate to spark at
and 18th century France, your next dinner party).
this weekly installment Then Abdul informs us that
she goes to bed early, with Skat
will feature two Daily Arts Kat interrupting to say he par-
writers discussing the finer ties all night. Uh-oh, Paula. This'
points of arts mediums is starting to sound like it might
not be the healthiest relationship.
from at least 10 years ago. No one wants a guy who's out all
night, slinking around alleys with
the riff-raff (have you seen Skat
More often than not, mixing Kat's crew? There's no way Taboo
animation with live action yields isn't a drug dealer).
amazing results: the early 2000s "Our friends are sayin' / We
classic Disney show "Lizzie ain't gonna last / Cuz I move
McGuire," the Amy Adams rom- slowly / And baby I'm fast."
com "Enchanted" and of course, OK, we're definitely not talk-
one of my favorite films of the ing about dancing, right? Move
'90s, "Space Jam." at your own pace, Paula! Don't let
Perhaps pop star Paula Abdul Skat Kat pressure you.
had this magical formula in mind As the song continues, it's very
when concocting the concept clear that Abdul and Skat Kat
for the music video that would aren't just lovers with a few dif-
accompany her chart-topping ferences - they are completely
dance-pop single "Opposites wrong for each other. She likes
Attract" from her debut album quiet, he likes noise. She's neat,
Forever Your Girl. he's a mess. She has money, he's
The music video reeks of '80s always broke. She hates ciga-
cheese, featuring MC Skat Kat, a rettes, and he always smokes!
rapping cartoon cat inspired by a Enough is enough. Perhaps the
scene from Gene Kelly's "Anchors reason why some women go crazy
Aweigh" in which Kelly dances for the bad-boy types like Don
with Jerry of the dynamic ani- Draper and Jeff Winger is Paula
mated duo Tom and Jerry. Abdul's destructive and depraved
Now, I'm all about vapid pop relationship with that dastardly
and cheeseball spectacle, two animated cat.
things Abdul certainly mastered -KAYLA UPADHYAYA
during her brief-but-loud pres-
ence in the pop world. And I'm ***
definitely pro-rapping-cats (Who
isn't?!). But a close inspection Paula Abdul is many things
of "Opposites Attracts" 's lyrics to many people: singer, chore-
reveal that something is ... not ographer, Lakers cheerleader,
quite right. "American Idol" judge. But long
And I'm not just talking about before she ever took her seat next
the implied beastiality going on to Randy and Simon as an origi-
in this video. In fact, let's just toss nal "Idol" judge, she was danc-
that aside. ing a duet with MC Skat Kat, and
At the video's start, Abdul proving that opposites do, in fact,
muses "Baby seems we never ever attract.
agree /You like the movies /And You know what I'm talking
I like TV." about. You've seen it on VH1's "I
Alright, this sounds like a pret- Love the '80s." You've probably
ty normal and harmless thing to even gone frame by frame, paus-
disagree about with a romantic ing the YouTube video to memo-
partner (though are movies real- rize the routine they perform on
ly the opposite of TV? ... I might the ledge of a roof.
be unnecessarily caught up in "Opposites Attract" por-
trays the inexplicable attraction
between Abdul and Skat Kat, who
was dubbed "the greatest rap-
ping animated cat in the history
of pop music," by Rolling Stone.
The two are head-over-heels for
each other, but they couldn't be
more different. "You like the mov-
ies and I like TV," Abdul croons.
"But when we get together it just
all works out,"the two sing inuni-
son. Call it some kind of lesson in
love.
Though it has been more than
20 years since Abdul and Skat Kat
first introduced viewers to their
dysfunctional relationship, the
Grammy-winning music video
still resonates due to its distinct
flavor of ingredients - what can
go wrong when you combine an
animated rapping cat, synthe-
sized '80s beats and a tap number
worthy of Gregory Hines or Savi-
on Glover (long before a penguin
named Mumble tapped his way
into our hearts, I might add)?
There are, of course, the nay-
sayers, critics who will tell you
that this tender relationship is
farfetched, too unrealistic to ever
actually exist in the real world.
"She 'moves slowly' and 'likes it
quiet' whereas he 'moves fast' and
'likes to shout,' " they might say.
"It'll never work out." Yet look
at Democratic and Republican
political pundits James Carville
and Mary Matalin: The couple is
happily married and as "opposite"
as can be.
What I'm trying to say is that
"Opposites Attract" exempli-
fies a crucial aspect of modern
relationships: the fact that two
individuals from different walks
of life can still make each other
happy. At times, this can be easy
to forget. After all, in an age
when names such as Brangelina,
Bennifer and Jelena fill tabloid
headlines, it can feel as though
you're prescribed to find your
significant other within your
cohort. But according to Abdul
and Skat Kat, romance is found
in the unlikeliest of places, a
message of hope for lovers every-
where.
-JACOB AXELRAD
he Heart is Crazy"),
ne made even more
vhen it became the
ywood filmI saw in
The response to these intro-
ductory lyrics was overwhelm-
ing, coming from my closest
friends as well as strangers the
Khosla is in mourning.
To share the burden, e-mail
pkhosla@umich.edu.
YOU KNOW YOU WANT ONE
STOP BY 420 MAYNARD STREET TO PICK UP A COPY
0