October 15, 2008
While writing my list of favorite Helen songs recently, I was reminded to look for this film and to my great joy I found it—yay, eBay! I have long loved Kalyanji-Anandji’s music from it; with a substantial part for Helen as well, and lovely Mumtaz starring, how could it possibly go wrong? Well, it doesn’t—and it does. It’s a very enjoyable film through the first half, but then it runs off the rails (more on that later). But the music is sublime, Mumtaz and Jeetendra are cute together and Helen gets to play a benevolent benefactor instead of her usual vampy bad-girl roles. There’s even an attempt to give a woman’s viewpoint its due! Ooh-la-la.
read more »
Posted in Excellent Use of Helen, Hindi movies |
20 Comments »
October 14, 2008
I had long ago decided that two or three 1980s-era Hindi disco movies was probably enough for me. But in the interests of a well-rounded filmi education, I needed to see a Kumar Gaurav movie; after all, he is Rajendra Kumar’s son and Sanjay Dutt’s brother-in-law. So I braved this one, and was surprised to find it quite sweet and very watchable.
Largely this was thanks to the afore-mentioned star son himself: he is just as cute as a button, making his character one you can really root for. Especially when he suffers under a Ma who really should have thought twice before she brought children into the world and Saeed Jaffrey (love him!) as the villain of the piece. I even actually liked the songs (by Biddu), although Indian disco is not usually my cup of tea.
read more »
Posted in Hindi movies |
36 Comments »
October 12, 2008
I’m reading reviews of Hello (which are pretty much universally dismissive) and it occurs to me that it sounds like Bollywood has made a call-center film which indulges in what I was afraid this one might: namely, cultural cliches and glib stereotypes.
Fortunately, this film avoids that. Although told from a definite American point of view, it is very equal-handed on the outsourcing issue, and, most importantly, affectionate and accurate in presenting the Indian characters and culture. It’s a sweet, funny film and everyone should see it. It also made me homesick for India, if that’s possible when you are a gori mem from the U.S.
read more »
Posted in Everything else |
31 Comments »
October 11, 2008
Can anyone tell me who this actress is? Hint: She has appeared on my blog before, and her sister is a very famous actress.
Here’s another screen shot (I couldn’t find a time when she wasn’t making faces).
read more »
Posted in Hindi movies, Trivia time |
21 Comments »
October 8, 2008
In 1973, the BBC documentary series Man Alive aired an episode about the then-reigning superstar of Hindi cinema, Rajesh Khanna, called “Bombay Superstar.” Thanks to my friend and fellow Rajesh fan Asli Jat (who also wrote a helpful synopsis of it for me) I managed to finally get a rare look at it: a copy of a VHS tape digitally converted several times, so quality is not optimal, but it’s easily interesting enough to make it worth seeing.
Reporter Jack Pizzey went to India and managed to interview the reclusive star, along with directors Hrishikesh Mukherjee and J. Om Prakash, actors Mumtaz and Shashi Kapoor, and others. Footage includes his surprise wedding to Dimple Kapadia, the Kashmir location shoot of Aap Ki Kasam and the film premiere of Daag. Besides being a profile of Rajesh, it’s also a fascinating look at the politics and power plays inside the industry, and the struggle it takes to stay at the top.
I’ve included some audio clips so that you can have the pleasure of hearing these legendary film personalities speak, along with some (very poor) screen shots of the program.
read more »
Posted in Hindi film history, Hindi movies |
84 Comments »
October 6, 2008
Somewhere on the world wide web it says: “Coolie was the biggest grocer of 1983!” Heh heh. That is probably due to the fact that its star Amitabh Bachchan was seriously injured on the sets and almost died—everyone knows that story by now. Many people write the film off now as the same old hackneyed Manmohan Desai story with an aging Big B who was no longer hero material, but I really liked it. Sure, it has now-familiar Desai themes, and it is predictable. Predictably good!!!
Plus, this film is a little less crazed than some of his others. It sticks mostly with the main story, weaving in the side plots more neatly than usual. It’s also a bit lighter on the religious symbolism (most of the characters are Muslim, and secularism is waved at only in passing) and on the usual heavy-handed preaching and long-winded speeches.
read more »
Posted in Hindi movies |
34 Comments »
October 4, 2008
First of all, many many thanks to Suhan for sending this to me! I love films with a village setting, and Mumtaz, and Rajesh Khanna, and this has all three. Plus, it has quite an interesting premise, Meena Kumari in one of her last roles and Kumari Naaz, and I really wanted to see it.
In the end though, I had mixed feelings about Dushmun. I genuinely enjoyed a lot (even most) of it, but some of it I found troubling (that was intentional on the part of the makers), and some aspects were just irritating (not intentional) (and not Meena! she was actually very good and not at all weepy despite playing a put-upon widow).
read more »
Posted in Hindi movies |
34 Comments »
October 2, 2008
This movie made me want to stick needles in my eyes. Every emotional excess was indulged in, and the only enjoyment to be had were the songs by Ravi and a Helen dance. Tragedy piled upon misery piled upon desperation made it difficult to watch for more than 20 to 30 minutes at a time, so it took a week (and a lot of grit and determination) for me to get through it. Why did I feel the need to get through it? I have no idea. Probably I need therapy.
read more »
Posted in Hindi movies |
27 Comments »
October 1, 2008
Vidhu Vinod Chopra wrote, directed and produced this intriguing murder mystery, which takes place in northeast India on location with a Hindi film unit. Shabana Azmi, Amol Palekar and Soni Razdan all play themselves, and there is much gentle poking-of-fun at the Hindi movie world—changes to the script midstream, casting couch propositions, artist rivalries and insecurities. The “filmi insider” ambiance adds a whole new dimension to this stylish whodunit.
As the murders pile up, the twists and turns of the story are surprising, and everyone becomes a suspect. I love murder mysteries, especially of the British-village variety, and this feels just like that, only with a setting that I find even more engaging, and characters who are also real people. So much fun!
read more »
Posted in Hindi movies |
27 Comments »
MemsaabStory 
