Play it again

Or not.
Have watched Don. And am listening to the songs of new Umrao Jaan.
Much angst.
Why would people take superlative movies and remake them? Sholay, people!
But Farhan Akhtar - why? What could make you think that SRK could play anybody but himself - a scary, ruthless Don for instance?
Here's my take
Hero of the movie: The grey shirt SRK wears for Khaike
Istar : Arjun Rampal - YUMMYYY - and can act
Disaster: SRK in necktie-cum-shirt (WHAT were they thinking?)
Clear Winner: Malaysia - where on earth was the climax shot - I want to go there (How savvy these tourism boards are getting)
OH NOoooo: Can the earth open up and suck in Kareena Kapoor - it is too excrutiating to watch her attempt to do a ... (can't mention the other person's name - it would be sullying it)
Greatly Missed: Farah Khan, what you could have done with those songs
Wasted: Om Puri
OTT: Boman Irani post-interval
ETC: Isha Koppikar, keep track of your legs; Priyanka, where was your 'role'
And Farhan 'sigh' Face off, Con Air and Matrix? Not to mention 'Blah'

I shudder at the thought of Umrao Jaan - I shall not watch any more remakes.

how to buy your house in the hills. Or Tuscany

WHEN Julie Hampton was a graduate student, she decided that she wanted to buy a small house in a remote Italian village about a 90-minute drive northwest of Florence. But she didn’t have the more than $80,000 she needed, so she came up with a plan.

She went to the local office of the Small Business Administration and told a volunteer adviser that she wanted to finance the purchase largely by persuading 60 people to pay $1,000 each in exchange for three weeks at the villa.
The rest here