Posts tagged ‘Anoop Kumar’

January 7, 2010

Ek Se Badhkar Ek (1976)

Over the years, without realizing it, I have seen a great many films made by director-producer Brij. Mostly this is due to the fact that he made Excellent Use of Helen in most of them, and as many of you know Helen was one of my first obsessions-within-the-obsession for Hindi cinema. I have even written about six Brij movies on this blog, although my favorite ones (Yakeen and Night In London) haven’t made it yet, and except for Chori Mera Kaam I find that my reviews here have ranged from tepid approval to rather scathing disapproval.

I think at this point I am qualified to say this about Brij: he made films which have super-sweet potential and cracktastic detail (and Helen!) but often become just plain bewildering by the end, when he drives the plot off a cliff to its explosive death, or—to use a phrase coined by Todd and Beth—Death By WTF. It can be really disappointing. So I am very happy to report that he actually held this one together pretty well, and it is highly entertaining—you just have to pay close attention!

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June 27, 2008

Junglee (1961)

This is the movie that propelled me into helpless and undying Shammi infatuation. I did go willingly! It’s a lovely romantic story set largely in the beauty of Kashmir, with songs to match by Shankar Jaikishan (including the completely fabulous Helen number “Suku Suku”). Shammi is so engaging as a stern, unhappy man who is transformed by love. He is very ably supported by Lalita Pawar, Shashikala, Anoop Kumar and others—and Saira Banu in her debut film.

Warning: this is a long post with many screen shots, because I can’t talk enough about this film (and I can’t seem to stop taking Shammi screen caps)!

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November 10, 2007

Ansoo Ban Gaye Phool (1969)

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Despite the DVD cover showing Deb Mukherjee and Alka looking young and beautiful, their romance is only half of the plot. The other half revolves around Ashok Kumar’s character, the principal of a college named Vidyanand. This is not a bad thing! it’s a nice drama about keeping one’s integrity and lofty ideals intact even in the face of injustice. There’s also a rich-vs-poor subtext which starts out strong but doesn’t really go anywhere. The very very best things about the film are the marvelous songs by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, including two Helen numbers, and—Deb Mukherjee! I did not see that coming, I confess.

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