#in his monologue to the quirky female main character on why he loves her and not them

[wereoz]

can ppl stop blaming women for their complicated relationships with food when it’s literally men’s faults okay thank uuuuuuuu

[daisugababy]

Ok so... the similar scenes with Calzona or Tremmet using BASIC romcom tropes is straight culture too? (Including a knocking on the door scene) And what about Jake's film, a romcom with a gay couple that uses the same tropes? I don't get how you see this gesture as "straight"... what would be an appropriate "gay" gesture in your opinion?

And isn't his change all about wanting to express himself more because Levi is a helpless romantic and doing things that he only worked on his head all this time??? This isn't worshipping Levi, it's doing what he said back in season 15, that Nico wanted to learn that from him. And Levi is changed too, because of Nico, he's more confident!

There is just a way you can tell how a queer story is told by straight people. It's not about using basic tropes/gestures, and how (often) you use them.

It starts with the type of characters they both are. The cute, insecure nerd who gets wooed out of nowhere by the new hot guy.

If that sound familiar then you might've read an amount of self-insert fics or books around that trope. Usually from the pov of the girl who's pining for the hot guy from afar until he notices her and falls for her quirkiness. And there's nothing bad about writing or enjoying that type of story. Read/watch what you enjoy.

But for Grey's, a show that prides itself on their amazing diversity, this falls very flat. Yes, I fell for them in season 15 too, like most of us. However, ever since season 15, there was barely any progression. And especially not for Nico.

And that's because Levi is that self-insert of every fic of that trope.

He's the nerd who talks a lot and has no meaningful male friendships. Like, at all. There was Casey when the B-Team still existed, but did they interact a lot? No. He laughed at Levi putting in contacts and hung out with him once at Joe's. Not to say that no gay guy every has only female friends, but you want to tell me that after realizing he's gay, he did not look up anything about gay culture? That he never tried to even once go to an lgbtq+ meetup/hangout thing just to meet and talk to people like him? Or even if it's just online? You want to tell me that after over two years he still does not have another queer friend other than Taryn? That he has not one gay guy beside Nico in his life to talk to about his queer exprience? He's so out there about being gay, he for sure would go to pride at least once. And there he for sure would make some friends.

But then he'll suddenly becomes besties with Jo out of nowhere, because... plot says Jo needs a friend? Gay best friend trope.

Just like Nico is just the hot guy wooing the nerd. That's all there is to his character tbh. Yes, maybe he is a great surgeon who gets job interviews from everywhere out of thin air and he doesn't know how to talk emotions, but that's all we have on him. Oh, and he speaks Korean.

Their lovestory revolves around Levi. It's always about him and how Nico's actions impact him, not why Nico reacted the way he reacted. Nico's whole part in the relationship is worshipping Levi.

Whenever there is conflict either a) Nico suddenly says he agrees with Levi (we don't know why, bc we followed Levi all-episode long) or b) Levi saw a patient conveiniently have the same problem as he did and applies their solution to their relationship. Not once do we follow Nico's flow of thinking. We don't know why he does or doesn't do the things he does.

We do not know why specifically Nico decided he's suddenly capable of saying ily to Levi or what exactly changed. But we always know why Levi does the things he does, because we followed him and saw his pov during the whole episode.

And why did we see his pov? Because he's the main character in their love story. Nico is just the hot piece of meat that talks occasionally. He's the prop to launch the next storyline that relies on him being the bad guy, because no effort is put into him.

That sudden monologue and honesty during the episode? Absolutely out of character and all just to please viewers that are rooting for Levi. This was not about Nico overcoming his potential emotional trauma that had rendered him unable to express his emotions. It was about making Levi happy. If we saw his process, all of this would be a different story, but we didn't. And we won't. You just can't suddenly let this bomb drop that he overcame his fear of emotional openess with no explaination how he did it and expect people to love it.

This wasn't Nico just following up on what he said a year or two ago. There was no gradual growth for him. We went from 0 to 100 out of nowhere. This was Nico suddenly copying Levi's behaviour in hopes it will fix him and their relationship. We know Nico is a cheesy dude, so the candles were fine, but the whole speech was just a little (a lot) cringy, because we didn't see where the development came from.

Neither Nico or Levi are fully developed characters (anymore). They are there to fill the diversity quota.

I know Grey's is a joke on accuracy in general, but they are still riding the train of DIVERSITY and REALISM by dealing with current events and promoting queer couples as 'Look at us, giving you the rep!'. But none of that stuff is dealt with well or realistically. It's catering to the predominately straight female viewership who wants to see the quirky person they see themselves in to end up with the hot guy that worships them. You gotta decide if you want to be realistic or catering to your audience. But you can't have both and Grey's is the best example of it.

I can't list you 'appropriate gay gestures' as you call them. Because romcom gestures/tropes are universially applicable and a lot of fun with both straight and queer couples alike. But for them to be enjoyable, you have to actually put in the effort in writing your characters/storylines. Which is what Grey's lacks bigtime. Which is why it's just so disappointing to watch as a queer person who hoped to see a nice queer storyline on a show as huge as Grey's. But this story isn't revolutionary or representative of anything besides Levi's coming out.

In regards to Tremmet/Calzona. I mean, have you noticed how all queer couples had to deal with negative reactions from their families to their coming out? Same with Schmico. It's like they only know one storyline to write for queer couples and somehow it gets worse every time. So bad, that they even stuffed one of them back into the closet so they can milk the fear of coming out once more.

[sweetgirl-haz]

My Top 10 Kdramas

I was reading @overthinkingkdrama‘s list on her top 10 kdramas thus far and that got me thinking about mine. It’s been a while since I’ve evaluated my favourites and their ranking so thought it’d be interesting to check in. *frantically checks mydramalist completed list*

The problem is that after most dramas, I forget the characters and stories. There are many dramas that I have rated 10/10 right after having watched them many years ago but now I cannot remember what exactly I liked about them. There are some I remember because they’ve been rewatched multiple times. So do I include the ones that I’ve rewatched/are more recent that I remember or the ones from a couple of years ago which I remember enjoying but I’m not really sure why?

Let's start with notable mentions. These are rated 10/10 by me but I couldn’t fit all of them on the list so .....

Notable mention 1: Dear My Friends

Somewhere after the saeguk phase and before the crime thrillers phase, I was in a slice-of-life phase of kdrama watching. I picked this up during then. There aren't many stories that are focused on the lives of older people. They aren't that well represented in dramaland apart from the sweet/mean grandparents. This was such a heart-warming drama that made me laugh and cry. It was slow paced and probably boring for some but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the friendships and the relationships between the characters. Their stories were so touching and heartbreaking at times. This drama was very realistic, calming and meaningful. I definitely want to give this a rewatch some time in the future. 

Notable mention 2: Tree With Deep Roots

A couple of years ago I went through the saeguk phase. I think a particular mindset is needed to watch a saeguk (or 10). You know it's going to be heavy, with multiple characters and intrinsic details. There won't be many fast forwarding opportunities without missing key plot points. This probably explains why I haven't picked up a saeguk in recent years - I cannot commit to it. This show is far from the romance genre, it is a saeguk about Hangul. I remember it being an incredible story with brilliant characters and mix of fiction and history. And with 24 episodes, never once did it get boring. What a performance by Han Seok Kyu! Jang Hyuk and Shin Se Kyung did a wonderful job too, plus there a short performance by Song Joong Ki. Time for a rewatch?

Notable mention 3: The Princess’ Man

What I vividly remember is me crying whilst watching this drama. I shed too many tears. Too many. The story can be compared to Romeo and Juliet - two people who fall in love in spite of their family's bitter rivalry. I remember it being well written with a balance of romance, drama, action, suspense, friendship, betrayal, war, politics and revenge (the usual mix really). Probably the best work I have seen of Park Si Hoo and Moon Chae Won. They did brilliantly individually and also together. Great chemistry. I wish I remembered more. Writing this list will tempt me to rewatch all of these. Cannot recall specific songs from the OST but I think I have a few in my Spotify Korean OST list.

Notable mention 4: You Who Came From The Stars  

I think I am the most upset about this not being in the top 10. The reason for it not being in the top 10 is because I did rewatch it a year or two ago and it wasn’t as enjoyable as the first time. 

Shall we start right at the beginning, with the intro. I loved that intro and despite being a serial fast forwarder, I made sure to watch it at the beginning of every episode. This was the first show where I thought the female lead was relatable. Jun Ji Hyun was vulnerable, sweet, goofy, not the smartest in the room and she made Song Yi so real to me. I loved her more than Kim Soo Hyun in this show. I loved the internal/external monologues she would have with herself. As a couple, they had incredible chemistry and remain to be one of my favourite on-screen couples. The story was complete and flowed well. I liked the second male lead and the side characters too. 'My Destiny' by Lyn is still one of my most memorable and most listened to OST. I'm not sure why I didn't enjoy it the second time. Writing this is tempting me to rewatch this gem.

Notable mention 5: Her Private Life

I have to agree with Deok Mi: Kim Jae Wook is so annoyingly beautiful. 

The female character was particularly relatable to me. I am a fan girl (not to the extent of the character) and a life outside where people don't really know the extent of my fangirlness. This has to be my favourite (truly) rom-com. There are so many things that I loved here, but what made the drama that enjoying were definitely our main leads Sung Deok Mi and Ryan Gold. Park Min Young and Kim Jae Wook's chemistry was so natural. I loved how mature their relationship was - they sorted out all misunderstandings quickly and acted like adults. There was no pointless drama. The leads tried to understand each other and also give the other space. Ryan Gold seems like the ultimate male lead, he has raised those standards even higher. Side note to appreciate Deok Mi's wardrobe. Those pant suits were gorgeous - I wish I could pull them off. I guess there was a lack of real obstacles and conflict. But I liked that for a change.

10. Queen In Hyun’s Man

The premise was interesting and story was executed really well. A truly romantic drama. The mix of old and modern world was done so well. Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo are absolutely adorable together. Love this show.

9. Bridal Mask

GAKSITAL! I was raving about this drama to everyone who would listen to me. I think this drama is a masterpiece. The amazing storyline with complex characters, excellent actors, epic cliffhangers, and breathtaking music (that loud/epic tune still rings in my head). The storyline was engaging and each episode always left me wanting more. The story is unique and I love how it explores a different part of history. The friendship and conflict between the two male leads Kangto and Shunji is the heart of this show.

8. Rooftop Prince

Every time I think about this show, I'm reminded of the comedic and quirky scenes of the characters adjusting to the modern world (post time travel obviously). I like how the stories in the old and modern world are integrated. There is a shift from romantic, light hearted comedy to sad and melodramatic later in the show. The sad scenes were truly heartbreaking. Enjoyable watch, great acting, wonderful OSTs that I still listen to!

7. My Wife is Having an Affair This Week

Another slice of life drama. I loved how the show explored marriage, relationships, cheating and divorce. It was only 12 episodes so didn't drag at all. The characters are so complex and human and the story is so beautifully written. Song Ji Hyo and Lee Seon Gyun are amazing as the leads, portraying every emotion of a struggling couple from start to finish. You need to go in with an open mind to watch this show.

6. 49 Days

Everyone has that one show, which isn't brilliant but somehow touched your heart and you love it despite its flaws. This is mine. 49 Days has a unique story and I knew I was going to be crying as I come to love these characters. I did cry, lots. I cried each time I rewatched it. I cried because it was sad and it made me so frustrated that life was so unfair to these characters and they're not going to get the happy ending that they deserve... The writer stayed true to their vision. It wasn't all rainbows and balloons at the end with loopholes to give each character their happy ending. I think I love this show because it really pains me to watch these characters and their lives. I really came to love Jung Il Woo and Lee Yo Won. LOVE the OST.

5. Signal 

What a story! And the execution of that story. Amazing from start to finish. I can still hear the sound of the walkie-talkies in my head. One of the best crime thrillers I have seen. Cases were well paced. The mystery would leave me at the edge of my seat every time. A couple of the cases were REAL cases, which was terrifying but brilliant. The music was mellow and fit the scenes so well. This show and the ones below were truly an experience. Loved the actors and the acting.

4. Father is Strange

Ah another phase of my - the family drama/soaps phase. After seeing a couple, I didn't go into this show with high expectations. It has the typical family drama elements: illegitimate son/birth secrets, sick family member, horrible in-laws, evil side character/bully. What made it stand out from the other shows was how the characters dealt with these issues. It wasn't the same as previous shows, the characters were more mature and real and dealt with these issues in a more progressive and refreshing way. The show also touched on issues including parenting, bullying, marriage, career vs pregnancy and societal pressure. I was so invested in everyone's stories and arcs. Lee Yoo Ri though. My favourite character, she made the show for me.

3. Reply 1988

This is such a nostalgic, true-to-life trip from start to finish.  Reply 1988 exceeded my expectations, after Reply 1997 it was hard not to. What made it stand out from the previous Reply series was the focus on family and friendship instead of the romance. This meant we got to know EACH and every character and feel what they were feeling. The story isn’t fast paced with big ups and downs. It depicts the true day-to-day life, which made it feel even more real. I didn’t expect to cry as much as I did in this drama. And it wasn’t because someone was dying. They were the small acts, unsaid things that truly touched my heart. Junghwan’s and Jung bong’s terrace scene watching stars, Jung bong in the hospital, Bora leaving to go to the hostel, Dong ryong wanted to spend time with his mum, Sun woo’s wedding invitation to Taek’s dad, Bora and Bora’s Dads letters to each other, etc etc. I truly felt like a part of the Ssangmungdong community. Even though I didn’t enjoy the ending, this would be one of my favourite dramas ever. The length of the episodes and the ending has stopped me from rewatching it but every once in a while, I think about how beautiful this drama was.

Also, as an epilogue to the show, everybody should watch Youth Over Flowers: Africa.

2. Healer

Ji Chang Wook. That's it. Do we need to say anything else. Solid romance, great story, brilliant action scenes, gripping, wonderful OST, good acting and JI CHANG WOOK. Love this show. Ji Chang Wook. Watch it for him.

1. Age of Youth

This is such a precious show. I have rewatched it and am planning to watch it again for the nth time. This show really defines slice-of-life. I am sure everyone watching this drama could relate to one of the girls or even just a situation faced by the girls. I was able to relate to different situations and aspects of many of the girls personally and also have seen other friends/family facing similar situations. I was really glad that the plot focused on the girls the most and not the boys. It didn't take a detour. It was consistent. This show touched my heart in the way no other show probably will (for now atleast). The relationships were realistic. The casting was perfect - Age of Youth 2 was great but changing the actor changed the dynamic for me. The music was beautiful - I still loop 'Butterfly' by Sogyumo Acacia Band. I have no complaints or flaws for this show apart from it being too short.

Just realised I've left Forest of Secrets/Stranger out of this list. EURGH let's add that in somewhere.

If Be Melodramatic carries on the way it doing, it's going to be in my top 10.

[clumsybookworm18]

I really like your blog and I was wondering what your favourite books are or if you had any book recommendations? ♥️

Awww you’re too nice! Thank you ☺️💕

You made my night! Asking for book recs while letting me gush over my favorite books at the same time? Hell yes!!!

Ok ok so my absolute favorites are:

A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J Mass

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin--one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin--and his world--forever.

Anyone who’s been following me for a while knows how much I love this series, especially the second book, A Court of Mist and Fury. The first book is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast (one of my favorite tropes) and surprisingly I found it so boring that I almost didn’t finish it BUT after getting to the second half I was completely hooked. Getting through ACOTAR was so worth it because I got to read ACOMAF, which had more of a Hades and Persephone vibe (++A). ACOMAF is my ultimate comfort book, I love it so much that I own it physically, on my kindle and on audiobook. It may be cliche and the writing can be ridiculously funny sometimes but I still love it!

The Winner’s Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski

They were never meant to be together. As a general's daughter, seventeen-year-old Kestrel enjoys an extravagant and privileged life. Arin has nothing but the clothes on his back. Then Kestrel makes an impulsive decision that binds Arin to her. Though they try to fight it, they can't help but fall in love. In order to be together, they must betray their people . . . but to be loyal to their country, they must betray each other. Set in a new world, The Winner's Curse is a story of rebellion, duels, ballroom dances, wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

These books hold a special place in my heart. They got me out of a HUGE reading slump and reminded me why I fell in love with books in the first place! This trilogy has everything- beautiful writing, fantastic world building, clever plot twists, forbidden romance, and most importantly, ANGST. The main female character, Kestrel, is one of my favorite heroines ever; she is a badass and doesn’t need a sword or fists to fight given that her greatest weapon is her mind (unlike most YA heroines nowadays).

Hope and Red (Empire of Storms series) by Jon Skovron

Hope's old life ended the night her entire village was massacred by the emperor's forces. Now, trained in secret by a master warrior, her new life is centered on only one goal: vengeance.

Red lives by the skin of his teeth and sharpness of his wit. An expert thief and a brilliant con artist, he cares for only one thing: a good time. But when the empire's soldiers start to encroach on his territory, taking down his friends with it, he may have to re-prioritize.

Together, they will take down an empire.

A fantasy trilogy that is so UNDERRATED. It’s has amazing characters, diversity, action, wit, PIRATES! It has a unique storyline, the characters and dialogue are so funny, and the female characters are amazingly badass. I stumbled upon this book so randomly while I was at Cotsco and it looked interesting so I bought it (mostly because I thought the cover was cool 😂) but never gave it much thought. One day boredom got the best of me so I started reading it. Next thing I knew it was 3am and I was freaking the fuck out cause I had read this amazing book in one sitting that ended with a cliffhanger and I needed more pronto! Much to my delight, I discovered there were 2 more books and ordered them immediately.

Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith.A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

A team formed of 6 very different but compelling characters that go on a heist. *chef’s kiss* Also Squad Goals. Needless to say I REALLY enjoyed these books.

Best Kind of Broken by Chelsea Fine

Pixie and Levi haven't spoken in nearly a year when they find themselves working―and living―at the same inn in the middle of nowhere. Once upon a time, they were childhood friends. But that was before everything went to hell. And now things are... awkward. All they want to do is avoid each other, and their past, for as long as possible. But now that they're forced to share a bathroom, and therefore a shower, keeping their distance from one another becomes less difficult than keeping their hands off each other. Welcome to the hallway of awkward tension and sexual frustration, folks. Get comfy. It’s going to be a long summer.

I don’t like NA a lot so I went into this thinking it was gonna be another NA cliché read so believe me when I say I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. I fell in love with Pixie and Levi’s relationship. I loved their banter, their complicated history, the angst, the love-hate and UST. The author’s writing style is so good and quirky, and the inner monologues are hilarious. She does a great job managing humor and drama! The side characters are great too. She wrote 2 more books with some of the side characters (which sadly I haven’t got the chance to read yet) but this could also be read as a stand-alone. I listened to the whole audiobook on YouTube (100% recommend!).

Honorary Mentions:

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

The Witchlands Series by Susan Dennard

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

[stina-is-a-punk-rocker]

to all the boys i’ve loved before: the good, the bad & the ugly

THE GOOD

I live my life with the belief, not in any religion, but in several other truths: pineapple topping on pizza is a crime against humanity. FOUR is the superior One Direction album. The book will always be superior to the movie based off of it.

Actually, maybe we have to reconsider that last one.

I first watched To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before expecting a slightly polished version of a Disney channel original. I was- to my surprise, and delight- proven wrong. Sure, the premise is a bit flimsy (why, in god’s name, would Lara Jean put her letters in envelopes and address them if she had no intention of mailing them?); there’s a multitude of cliché YA tropes (naïve, introverted MC meets floppy-haired white boy ft. some reincarnation of Regina George who happens to be his ex with a vendetta against the poor, innocent MC; the GBF); I’ve got several concerns about the casting (the Covey girls are supposed to half-Korean. The actors playing them don’t even have the same ethnicity? Nor do they look like they could pass for siblings?); and the soundtrack is- well. They could’ve done better.

BUT. And that’s a big ‘but’, which is why it’s in all caps. There were so many things I loved about the movie, so much more than the ones that bothered me. My little Asian heart always bursts in joy whenever I see a positive representation of someone like me in media- I don’t care if they’re South Asian or East Asian or SEA or Middle Eastern or anywhere else from the Asian continent. For so long, the only representation in Western media- if any; having Asian characters is a rarity- were perpetuating stereotypes; Lara Jean and her sisters are such a breath of fresh air. Noah Centineo’s… well, a lot of people find him cute, and he’s got a charming smile. Kitty is my spirit animal. And the aesthetics are so cute- Lara Jean’s wardrobe is a dream, and her room even more so. I loved the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before movie, and I will go to my grave defending it.

Since I loved the movie so much, surely, the book would be better! Right?

… Sigh.

THE BAD

The cover’s very cute, I’ll give it that. Arty font, reminiscent of something you’d find in a love letter, good call. The color scheme’s adorable. The girl on the cover is very pretty. And, um… that’s about it.

Right off the bat, Lara Jean’s monologue made me go, oh. It’s that kind of protagonist. The one who spends way too much time telling and not enough showing (blame all the writing advice videos I watched on YouTube. It never used to bother me before, but it’s all I can see now).

(Also, “After I write my letter, I’m no longer consumed by my all-consuming love.” You’re proud of that, aren’t you, Miss Jenny Han?)

And, see, I wouldn’t mind (I probably would) if Lara Jean’s thoughts were particularly riveting. Mildly entertaining, at the very least- that’s all I’m asking for.

Lara Jean is uninteresting; almost painfully so. Film-LJ’s quirkiness barely translates to the pages. Sure, Lara Jean likes romance… and baking… and antiques… and writing letters to boys who are supposedly out of her league and who could never fall for little old her. And she’s a bad driver. She idolizes her older sister. Decent character traits for a YA protagonist. And, as far as I recall, no internalized misogyny that comes in the form of slut-shaming, which is a rarity for the genre of YA. Great.

And yet there’s something about book-LJ that feels so… contrived. A little Mary Sue-ish, if you will. Papery.

Which can be said about almost every other character (except Chris and Kitty. Margot, to an extent, but I don’t like her).

There are loads of useless info-dumps strewn throughout the story, which makes me wonder if it wasn’t edited. The writing’s just… bad. It’s more like a Wattpad story (when did ‘Wattpad story’ become the paragon of bad YA? Honestly speaking, though, all the popular Wattpad books give the website a bad name. There are some incredibly well-written works on it- yes, even Harry Styles fanfiction. Not every Wattpad story is going to be *bleh* After or The Kissing Booth. But I digress). Lara Jean goes into too much detail about her outfits and the trivial details of… everything, really. And, well, no one gives a fuck.

Which brings me to: the love triangle. Beloved of all YA clichés, pretty much a staple in the genre at this point. Always with the female main character choosing between two men, both conventionally attractive in a very Eurocentric way. Usually, it’s painfully obvious who gets the girl; “Emma Notlikeothergirls has to choose between the handsome, confident, gorgeous, athletic, strapping Ashton Dreamboat and that rando who lives next door, Billy Whatsisname. Whoever will she choose?”

I’ll give credit where credit is due. The book makes both Peter and Josh (unrelated, but why are the boys’ names so standard Hoosier boy-ish? You’ve got girls named Genevieve and Margot, and the boys are pretty much the twelve apostles) pretty evenly matched. Josh has the whole boy-next-door, childhood friends, I-have-always-loved-you cliché going for him, while Peter’s the popular boy, the jock, the guy every girl wants to be with and every guy wants to be.

And yet they’re both complete dicks.

I’m supposed to be rooting for one of them. Team Peter or Team Josh; either Peter-Jane or Lara-Josh. Either the guy who’s got nothing but his looks going for him, or the guy who slept with her sister and kissed her without her consent. hOwEvEr WiLL sHe ChOOsE???

And I was never really convinced that Peter actually developed feelings for Lara Jean, ever. Maybe I’m just oblivious, but they seemed more like friends instead of lovers. I was lowkey shipping Lara Jean x Chris, even though I knew that was plain wishful thinking; I already got my Asian MC, this won’t be getting too diverse.

Other clichés I’m tired of seeing but were unfortunately present: Lucas, the token Gay Best Friend (I was annoyed with the movie for making him the Rafiki to Lara Jean’s Simba and nothing else, but rereading the book made me realize that they didn’t have much to work with in the first place); Margot, the Bitchy Sister (I never forgave her for lying to their dad about Lara Jean having sex. Seriously, how low can you get? JOSH kissed LARA JEAN, not the other way around! Margot’s supposed to be the same age I am, I think, so I believe I have the ability to call her out on her bullshit); Genevieve, the Bitch Queen Extraordinaire; Kitty, the Annoying Younger Sibling (but I love and cherish her so I don’t mind it).

“The sibling dynamic was surprisingly better written than a solid 75% of the book,” says me, an only child.

Also, a final complaint: is having sex that big of a deal? I get Lara Jean being (rightfully) horrified at the accusations, and Peter Kavinskydick deserves a decent roundhouse kick (the movie did a better job of making Peter’s actions forgivable), but why does everyone else care? Seriously, do you have that little fodder for gossip?

THE UGLY

Am I going to complain about the sequel to the movie based off of the sequel to the book that I can’t remember anything of besides the fact that John Ambrose was ten times the man Peter Kavinsky was? You bet I am.

In all honesty, I can’t remember much of the book version of P.S. I Still Love You. Rest assured that I was Team John Ambrose all the way, both while reading the book and watching the movie. I don’t want to make myself suffer through the book again, so I’ll resort to bashing the movie sequel.

This movie sucked balls. Not on the level of Sierra Burgess is a Loser or Swiped or The Kissing Booth or- yikes- The Kissing Booth 2, but it was still pretty bad. It’s pretty obvious that the two movies weren’t directed by the same person. For all its plot-related shortcomings, the first film was charming and pretty widely well-received. The second film takes all that charm and cuteness and fluff and flushes it down the toilet, along with the tiniest bit of affection I had for the character of Peter Kavinsky. Lara Jean, too, to an extent.

At least Peter and Josh were evenly matched. John Ambrose is lightyears ahead of Peter. And yet Lara Jean chooses Peter because… the first dick is the best dick? Make it make sense!

She’s leading John Ambrose on during the entire film, and I normally hate using that term because it’s such an incel way of putting things. But she doesn’t tell John Ambrose about Peter and her dating, even though she’s had the opportunity to do so countless times. She gets mad at Peter for being close to Genevieve, and yet? Hypocrite much? Not to mention she kisses John Ambrose, right before she’s like, “whoops haha guess I don’t like you that much after all :/ lol my bad”.

John Ambrose deserved better, and that is the hill I will die on.

[thetypedwriter]

Love & Gelato Book Review

                                  Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch is one of those books where you are immediately drawn to the cover and yet hesitant of the story because quite honestly the synopsis sounds so basic and rudimentary that I’d rather get a root canal at the dentist than spend a few hours of my life reading it. Overall, I wouldn’t say it was root canal status, but more like a cavity.

You can ignore the pain for the most part, but as soon as you eat something hot or cold the pain is immense and immediate. Tooth allegories aside, Love & Gelato had both good and bad aspects that turned it into an enjoyable, yet forgettable and problematic read.

So synopsis: teenage girls goes to Italy, falls madly in love, and encapsulates almost all Mary-Sue like qualities except for two things: having curly hair and liking to eat. I’m sorry Ms. Welch but having a main character that enjoys eating gallons of gelato in Italy is not quirky, it’s realistic. I don’t think I ate anything else while I was in Italy two summers ago. Also, why does curly hair always have to equal crazy in books? Not everyone with curly hair thinks their strands have a mind of their own, some people enjoy, even relish I dare say, having curls. So there’s that.

In addition, the main character’s name is Lina because of course it is. Reading about a character with a normal female name in young adult literature is like winning the lottery-a one-in-one-millionth chance.

While Lina was alright to have as a narrator the other characters seemed to intensely sway into the “saint” or “pure evil” categories. Example one: Howard. Saint-like man that adopts the daughter of the woman he once loved but broke his heart into a million pieces, pays for all of her food and clothing, wants to keep her in his life like a surrogate step-daughter, and doesn’t seem to mind too much that he was gipped out of an entire domestic life with his one true love. Wow. And then there’s people like Matteo: abusive, arrogant, predatory, delusional, and violent. Okay.

What I mean to get at here is that Love & Gelato borders on the highly unrealistic for several reasons, the large part of which revolve around the characters. While enjoyable to sometimes read about, the characters were definitely two-dimensional and lacked the proper depth that makes you want to keep reading and devour a book. It felt like Jenna Welch tried really hard to create characters that were awesome, but seemed to fall as flat as Italian pizza apparently is.

Going along with the characters were the dialogue and the inner monologues. Two things nearly made this book unbearable for me: the colloquial lingo and the attempt at relatable humor. There is nothing that teenagers hate more than people trying to assume what they like and how they talk (trust me I would know-I’m a high school teacher). So when you have a book with a narrator that says “literally” every other page and answers “totally so cool” to something like the sight of the Duomo in Italy-a massive work of architectural genius and artistic design-then yes, I get a bit annoyed.

I know what Ms. Welch is trying to accomplish-relatibility! Comparison! Connection! Instead, it comes across like that try-too-hard uncle that wants to be in on the what the young people are doing and saying but just ends up being pathetic and laughed at. Sorry Jenna.

The last negative I’ll mention is the falling in love aspect of course. It’s ridiculous. Most love stories I can get into, but it was obvious to any person with any remnant of a brain cell that Lina was into Ren and not Thomas. The fact that it took Lina almost 300 pages to figure out the same thing was annoying and tedious. She is the epitome of the Oblivious Narrator to aggravating extremes.

Take into the account that the whole plot would have collapsed and died if Lina had just read her mom’s journal in one go gives you the same feeling of pointlessness you get when you eat directly after getting your teeth cleaned (every time). Add in the fact that they were saying “I love you” after only FIVE DAYS and you’ll find that you’ll develop a tooth ache as well.

So the negatives summed up: totally two-dimensional characters, so totally collapsible plot, totally annoying thinking, and totally not so cool dialogue that slapped you in the face with its juvenility. I’m sure you can see what other bit was problematic.    

On to the positives! Reading about Italy and all the places Lina traveled was actually very cool. As always, it is much appreciated when an author takes research or their own life experiences and utilizes it in their writing to make it lively and credible. I liked learning about the different flavors of gelato, tourist attractions, Italian phrases, and the stereotypical aggressively bad taxi drivers.

Second, it was an easy read. Sometimes you don’t want to be analyzing The Scarlet Letter or breaking your brain over something Vonnegut wrote, you just want cheap and easy entertainment: like watching The Bachelor (yes, I watch that show. It makes for an incredible drinking game). Love & Gelato delivers on that. It’s a simple love story about a girl in Italy and makes you as a reader fall in love with the idea of love and traveling.

Third, I actually liked the reasoning behind Lina going to Italy. Instead of a baffling or arbitrary motive like, “Italy is just so romantic!” she actually had a solid intention based on grief and loss. I can relate to that. I was definitely the most profound aspect of the book. Lina’s loss and her attempt to grapple with it gave the book a much needed layer that made it emotional as it was heartening. Although I think Jenna Welch could have focused on it more to add a few more layers to her book, it was something I appreciated seeing in YA.

Recommendation: If you feel like going to Italy but can’t afford it, you can live vicariously through this book and experience loss, love, and gelato if you can get around the millions of “totally’s” and “literally’s” that are littered throughout.

  Score: 6/10

[thesffcorner]

Emergency Contact

Emergency Contact is a contemporary novel written by Mary H K Choi. It follows 2 characters: Penny, a freshman at UTC who wants to be a writer, and Sam, a boy who works and lives in a coffee shop nearby and wants to be a documentarian. The two meet by accident, but when Sam has a panic attack that he mistakes for a heart attack, Penny helps him, and they become each other's emergency contacts. Soon however, both realize their relationship might be deeper than that. This was an odd novel: it started off pretty engaging, but lost a lot of the steam towards the middle, and though the ending picked up pace, the actual climax left me somewhat dissatisfied. However, even though my reading experience wasn’t great, there were still elements of this book I enjoyed a lot. It seems the book is pretty polarizing, and I think there are two main reasons for it, so without further ado, let’s talk about them. 

Writing: Writing is subjective, and as such I tend to avoid talking about it, unless it’s noteworthy. Well, here it’s definitely noteworthy. It’s what I like to call ‘quirky, modern prose’; think mumblecore in films, but in novel form. The characters are up to date with modern slang, jargon and internet culture, and as such they speak in a very exaggerated manner; when they text they use a lot of shortcuts, barely any punctuation, their thought process is very ‘raw’ and sometimes more than a little iffy with the jokes, and just in general it’s a style that I don’t think many people will like. It’s hard to explain without examples, so here are 2: “Okay, they weren’t full on frontal - bless. Mark was still sixteen, and Penny didn’t need the FBI landing at her college dorm for kiddie porn. They were risque though. Each went slightly beyond the treasure trail. [...] Penny was even sure he Facetuned at least one, which was a quality she simply could not respect in a man.” (pg. 14) “Oh my God, Penny. Stop being so emo. Are you going to make us talk about feelings?” asked Mallory “Seriously, you are so homeschooled sometimes” (pg 296) I dare you to show that to someone over the age of 40 and expect them understand any of it. There are several problems with this. First, I like a book that’s about teenagers, and sounds like what teenagers actually speak like. I’ve heard from people younger than me, who’ve read this book, and didn’t like it because of the way it’s written; they thought it didn’t sound authentic, and tried too hard. I personally didn’t find this to be an issue; I thought both Penny and Sam, as well as the rest of the characters for the most part spoke like people do today, but keep in mind I’m 24, and have been out of college for at least a couple of years. Second, and what actually bothered me, is that this style of writing was exhausting to read. On the one hand, seeing as we are trapped inside the heads of two incredibly anxious, over-thinkers, it made sense that their internal monologues were likewise overwritten and exhausting, but it made for a really unappealing reading experience. I shouldn’t feel like I’ve been run over by a tractor every time I read more than 2 paragraphs of a contemporary romance; a lot of the time it almost felt like Choi was writing on a dare to show someone how hip with the times she was. Which is fine, but I’d like to actually get to know Penny and Sam, without having to waddle through endless apathy and jargon. The third thing, which even I had some issues with, were the risque jokes. Look, I was a teen. I know how it was; you’d say whatever offensive thing comes to mind to get a reaction; it’s basically part of the universal adolescent experience. Except a) Penny is 18 and in college, and Sam is 21; and b) they are still risque jokes even if they are said ironically. It’s a catch 22; you want to subvert tropes and make fun of stereotypes, but you still have to write those tropes and stereotypes. So I completely understand why you’d be turned off by jokes about underage porn, calling men who cry ‘pussies’, calling people who are awkward ‘homeschooled’ or making racist and xenophobic jokes. It’s authentic, but it’s not fun to read. Characters: My last point about the writing, leads nicely into what I know a lot of people had issues with (and at points I did too) which were the characters. Let’s start with Penny. Penny is both very funny and infuriating to read from. At times she reminded me of myself when I was her age; constantly anxious, judgmental, with a superiority complex stemming from being the smartest and most read person in class, someone who doesn’t fit in and purposefully isolates herself even more to cope. To top it off, she has a strained relationship with her mother, an unpleasant experience with men, and generally prefers communication over text. There were so many things that she did and said that I just couldn’t stand, and a lot of them, were things I would’ve done and said when I was her age. As such, while I didn’t like Penny, I can’t say she isn’t a well written, well rounded, authentic character. This could lead into a bigger debate about protagonists, but in my opinion, the protagonist needs to be fully fleshed out and well written, more than they need to be likable, and this is especially true of female protagonists, since they are rarely allowed to be flawed. My issues with Penny were more that I didn’t feel like she changed by the end of the novel, and a lot of her flaws were never even addressed, let alone resolved, as well as some of her truly bad behavior. Like I said Penny is often judgmental, and the book implicitly sides with her, even though lots of times she’s blatantly wrong and draws conclusions based on stereotypes. A good example is the scene where she arrives at UTC, and a girl asks about her lipstick; I’m sorry, but when are we going to stop demonizing girls for enjoying make up? The girl is friendly and nice to her, and Penny still concludes she’s vapid and dumb because she asks about PENNY’S LIPSTICK. There’s a scene later on where she decides to meet Sam without the lipstick on, because I guess ‘that’s her authentic self’ and like fuck off. Wearing makeup doesn’t make you inauthentic or dumb, and you just KNOW, that if Penny were a boy, or a boy asked about her lipstick, y’all would be praising this book about how progressive it was. Then, there’s the whole subplot with Jude and Mallory. Mallory was equally as judgmental and annoying as Penny, so their rivalry was understandable, but Jude was nothing but nice and kind to Penny the whole book, and Penny repays her by hiding and lying to her about the one thing Jude asked her not to do. Jude calls her out on her behavior, and gets rightfully pissed, but then she still forgives both Penny and Sam so easily, even though they treat her like shit for the whole book. Moreover, I didn’t even get the sense that Penny was genuinely sorry to cause Jude pain, or felt bad for lying; she was just scared that Jude wouldn’t talk to her anymore, which was incredibly shitty and selfish, and the book never makes her face any real consequences for it. The same can be said about her relationship with her mother. All of her monologues, internal and otherwise, about how terrible her mother was just because she was hot, young, and flirts a lot were exhausting. I get that Penny was angry at her mother for trying to be her friend instead of parent, but you know what might help you solve that Penny? TALKING TO HER. This woman pays for your education, lets you choose exactly what you want to do, which is not something many people have the privilege of, clearly loves and cares about you, and has genuinely done nothing wrong, for you to hate her as much as you do. Especially, in comparison to Sam’s mother who is an actual monster. The fact that she drives to the hospital, and then doesn’t see her mother, constantly brushes off her calls and texts, doesn’t go to her ACTUAL BIRTHDAY was just ridiculously shitty behavior, and again, she never really gets called out on it, or suffers any consequences, even in the end when they have their big make up scene! The only thing I liked about that scene was Celeste calling out Penny’s behavior towards her peers; that she doesn’t have friends not because everyone hates her, but because she considers everyone beneath her because they don’t match up to her ridiculously high standards she holds everyone to. I wish someone told me that when I was her age, but man, was her character hard to read from. But honestly, Penny was a gem compared to Sam, who I wanted to punch multiple times. Beware, some SPOILERS about Sam inbound. First off, Sam is possibly the most unfortunate character I have ever read about in books; his backstory is so sad, so beyond dramatic, it was like he walked straight of the set for Days of Our Lives. He has an alcoholic and a hoarder mother, grew up perpetually poor, is constantly starving, is himself a borderline alcoholic and is still in love with a manipulative, abusive ex-girlfriend. There’s also false pregnancies, him failing out of community college to protect a Dreamer and panic attacks. That’s… waaay too much drama for one person. And to make matters worse, a lot of the issues Sam has, are self-inflicted, and it’s very hard to root for and sympathise with someone who consistently makes the wrong decision about everything. First off, Sam works in a coffee shop, and lives rent free in the attic of said coffee shop. The owner even pays him more than minimum wage, and lets him eat and drink coffee at the shop. And yet, Sam is constantly broke and starving, because he forgets to eat, doesn’t feel like it, has no money because he spent it on alcohol (even though he’s sober) or expensive dates with Lorraine. How am I supposed to root for him? He saves enough money to enroll in a documentary film-making class at a community college, and instead of using this as an opportunity to truly make a good documentary, get it to play at student festivals, and local film fests and connect with other artists in the area (since y’know, they live in AUSTIN), he shoots at the last minute, doesn’t get realizes until the ABSOLUTE last minute, and realizes that his subject and his mother are unregistered Dreamers. Are you telling me, that someone who was a FILM MAJOR doesn’t understand how releases work, and didn’t bother to check what the university’s policy on authorial rights are before he enrolled in the class? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? So he fails the class because he refuses to submit the film. He doesn’t DO anything with the film; we don’t find out if he intends to submit it to festivals, screen it, or anything of the sort he just fails the class because he’s either the stupidest director ever or the most noble guy in Austin. Then there’s Lorraine. Oh boy. Firstly, Sam’s absolute obsession with Lorraine was infuriating. I don’t find it fun or engaging to read about someone who is so naive and thoroughly manipulated, and I am forced to watch them endure an abusive, self-destructive relationship for chapters on end. Sam doesn’t love Lorraine; he’s obsessed with her. It’s not ‘love’ to know absolutely everything about the other person, and expect them to do the same; it’s not love to be completely codependent on the other person. As much as Lorraine was a bad person, so was Sam because he refused to see how destructive his behavior and their relationship was to him. Then, there’s the pregnancy. Why was it in the book? It’s fake, so there are no real consequences. Abortion is immediately dismissed as an adoption, even though objectively neither of the two are capable of being parents, with Lorraine refusing to go to an OBGYN, drinking though she might be pregnant and generally acting like the spoiled brat she is, and Sam having 17 dollars to his name, no real job, no prospects and no sense of responsibility. Sam could’ve easily realized his relationship to Lorraine was toxic without involving a potential child, and honestly his belief that a) Lorraine would somehow change or want him back, or won’t cheat on him just because of the baby and b) that her ridiculously rich and prejudiced family would allow him anywhere near that baby were borderline delusional. But the thing that pissed me off the most about Sam, was that he doesn’t get any resolution! We never find out what he does about his alcoholic mother, or the massive debt she had incurred in his name, there’s no comment on the fact that because of that he’d never be able to get a credit card, lease an apartment or buy a car; since he fails his course we never find out what he wants to do next or if he still wants to be a filmmaker, we never find out what happens with the documentary. All we get is that he’s now dating Penny. Yay. Some Good Things: I did gives this book 3 starts, so here are some good things. I liked Penny’s writing class and her professor, as well as what we see from their class discussions about who gets to write whose story. I also enjoyed Penny’s Anima story and the Korean couple; I thought the connection between the virtual baby and her phone being a metonymy for Sam was great. Andy was also cool, and I liked the banter he has with Penny; he was smart and funny, and I appreciated that we actually got some female-male friendships in this book. Jude and Mallory were also great; I especially liked Mallory’s speech about cows and mothers, and that she was presented as a confident if a bit overbearing person. Bastian was also cool, as were his mother and buddies. I enjoyed the fact that he was this boy trying to prove he was a man, but he was also a talented artist. I honestly wish the book had more to do with him and Sam, than Sam’s actual main plot. Speaking of Sam, I did like that he cried, was vulnerable and had hobbies that aren’t stereotypically male, while also being very much a man. He has tattoos and they are shown to be cool instead of ‘edgy’; I think the last time I saw that was probably Divergent. Yikes. Conclusion: Again, I find myself only half-recommending a book. There are good things in here; it’s just that the reading experience wasn’t great, and some of the character drama went a bit too far for it to be believable. If you think you’d have issue with any of the things I mentioned then skip this book; but if you don’t mind any of it, then you very well might love this. It’s a polarizing novel for a reason.

goodreads

[latestnews2018-blog]

Mahira Khan and Co. talk ‘7 Din Mohabbat In’

New Post has been published on https://latestnews2018.com/mahira-khan-and-co-talk-7-din-mohabbat-in/

Mahira Khan and Co. talk ‘7 Din Mohabbat In’

The popular Pakistani actors, including Mahira, Sheheryar Munawwar, Mira Sethi and Amna Ilyas, star in the movie that follows a young man on a quest to find his true love

Mahira Khan, Sheheryar Munawwar, Mira Sethi and Amna Ilyas are an irrepressible bunch. Every time they come together, be it on a shoot or a promotional event, they create a stir with their easy camaraderie and animated stories.

It is this very positive energy that these popular Pakistani actors are expected to bring to the cinema screens in their latest feature, 7 Din Mohabbat In [Love in 7 Days], which follows a young man on a quest to find his true love.

Gulf News tabloid! sits down with the four stars for a freewheeling interview. Here are excerpts:

What was your first reaction when you heard the film’s title?

Mira Sethi: I thought it could’ve been better. Period.

Amna Ilyas: I had mixed feelings. Firstly, I thought it’s a very familiar title so it might work, but I was also worried that it could be criticised. Today, though, I’m confident that it sounds sweet and kind of grows on you.

Mahira Khan: I had mixed feelings, too. I fought for it for a very long time. In fact, we all did. We were, like, “Hum dharna daal dein ge!” (we will stage a protest). In the beginning, whenever I got asked about the film, I’d say, “Oh, it’s still untitled!”

Sethi: Mahira actually has a good story about an alternative title.

Khan : Should I tell it? OK, so, at one point while we were doing a scene, there’s a very funny dialogue that a character in the film says, “Main ne kaha tha, bhabi chalu hai!” [I told you, the sister-in-law was a sly one]. It instantly hit me as a potential title for our film — ‘Bhabi Chalu Hai’!

Wouldn’t that be derogatory?

Sethi: Chalu doesn’t mean anything offensive, does it?

Sheheryar Munawwar: Honestly, my reaction was also mixed. But then I thought the marketing people must have had their reasons for coming up with this one Mahira Khan and Co. talk ‘7 Din Mohabbat In’, so I’d better do my job and let them do theirs.

Ilyas: Also, Sherry [Shehreyar], it [the title] goes with the story.

Can anyone reveal the film’s genre — is it a rom-com or supernatural thriller? It’s rather hard to tell from the trailers.

Sethi: Magical realism.

Munawwar: Really? I’d say it’s a quirky comedy.

Khan: It’s a comedy, but to categorise it would be tough for us. Let’s say it’s a comedy of errors. Saat din mein mohabbat karni hai [We must fall in love in 7 days]. As intriguing as this challenge is, it triggers a series of comic situations, beginning with Tipu [Munawar’s character] venturing out to find love, and how Mira comes in, and then Amna comes in, and so on.

Ilyas: I’d say it’s a situational comedy, with some funny characterisations. You won’t find any slapstick here.

Mahira, you’ve done light stuff before in your films Ho Mann Jahan and Bin Roye. But here you are clearly stepping out of your comfort zone. Is it fair to say your character Neeli is a departure for you?

Khan: I hope so. And I hope so for all of us. Because, you see, a good film, or a good script, helps everybody. When Humsafar did well, every single person associated with it shined. Its DoP [Director of Photography], Shehzad Kashmiri, went on to become a huge director. So, a good and successful project just blesses everybody. I hope that the same happens with all of us.

Comedy is a difficult genre. Did you have to improvise a lot?

Ilyas: Meenu [Gaur] and Farjad [Nabi] are the kind of directors who welcome suggestions with an open mind.

Khan : Yeah, they’re very open to improvisations. I’ll tell you another thing, which I realised when I did Khalilur Rehman Qamar’s play, Sadqay Tumharay.

Munawwar: I was going to quote exactly what you’re going to say just now. I remember you telling me to never add or subtract from the script.

Khan : Yeah. So, I learnt this from Khalilur Rehman Qamar. I hope that one day everybody gets to do a script by him. I remember when I read the script [of Sadqay Tumharay], it was so tough; there were long monologues, my character had her own little way of speaking, which was difficult to adopt. So I asked him if I could make it easier for myself. And he told me, “A script is like [a religious text]; you can’t admit any changes to it.”

And once I began to enact my scenes, I realised that if I had changed a single word or pause, I’d have changed the soul of it. So, you should never attempt it; you don’t know what the writer is doing with it.

Sethi: Ultimately, the script is a baby in the heart of the writer. If we are too far from it, then it’s being mean to him.

For their first film, ‘Zinda Bhaag’, Meenu-Farjad dug into the subculture of Lahore’s neighbourhood. ‘7 Din…’, on the other hand, seems to offer more of Karachi, in terms of native humour, slang, and even music (Sindhi folk, Sufi etc). Do you agree?

Khan: Well, it’s set in Karachi. But Karachi is so cosmopolitan. In Mira’s character, you’ll get a little bit of Punjabi, as well as a British Asian.

Munawwar: I’d say, the setting is neutral, because they [Meenu-Farjad] insisted that we don’t put on big accents.

Sheheryar, there’s this small, behind-the-scenes video on your twitter profile where you and Mahira are seen making a strange sound. Were you doing a voice exercise?

Munawwar: No, no, we were just having fun on the set. (To Mahira) You remember we played cats and dogs? One of us was the dog, the other the cat, and we had to chase each other.

Khan: Really? When was that?

Actors are known to perform animal exercises.

Ilyas: Yeah, I know about this.

Sethi: As for my character, I didn’t do any such thing but when I’d go home, I used to keep talking like her [Princess Sonu], who’s a desi from Bradford, and speaks in heavily accented Punjabi.

Khan: I haven’t seen much of Mira’s work in the film, just two things, and I remember I was standing in the dubbing studio begging the directors to put those in the trailer, and they were, like, “No, this is our punchline.”

Sheheryar, your look in the film is perhaps the most prominently different. Who designed it?

Munawwar: We did a look test, and tried out different things — with moustache, without moustache etc.

Do you guys have any combined scenes?

Ilyas: There’s one actually, but it has no dialogue. We’re just there, all of us, in that scene.

Sheheryar, what was it like being the only male protagonist in a female-led cast?

Munawwar: Yes, it’s a female-led film, but because we had rehearsed before, what I really liked was that nobody felt inhibited. There was a very healthy culture on the sets.

Sethi: See, when you’re working with big actors, there’s a certain hesitation, so to say; with Sherry it was all so cool. For instance, in one scene, he was supposed to twirl me; I am not a very good twirler, so he taught me how to do it. He was very sweet and told me to just block out everyone present on the set, in my own mind. He’s genuinely a wonderful costar.

Khan: Sherry makes you very comfortable.

Ilyas: Well, he was not comfortable with me.

Munawwar: I’ll tell you why. On our first shoot together, Amna walks in on the set… and then she comes up to me and goes, “What are you doing?” I say, “Nothing.” The next minute she’s asked me to come for a walk with her, and I can’t stop wondering why. Anyway, she begins to narrate an incident from the past where she bashed up a friend of hers, and how she punched him hard in the ribs. All this, on the very first day of our shoot!

Who’s your all-time favourite comedy actor?

Sethi: I love Robin Williams’s work. From among women, it’d be Bushra Ansari.

Ilyas: I like Beo. Internationally, I’d say, Jim Carrey.

Khan: Jerry Lewis, and Bushra Ansari. This lady is just so amazing. The funny bone in her is specially carved for sure.

Munawwar: I really like Woody Allen.

What is your one important takeaway from this film?

Sethi: My takeaway is that I should probably do more comedy than serious.

Munawwar: Does it have to be a personal thing?

Ilyas: The fact that I made some great friends.

Khan: A sense of happiness.

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Don’t miss it!

‘7 Din Mohabbat In’ is out in the UAE from June 14.