Posts tagged ‘Bollywood fashion parade’

December 16, 2007

Ajanabee (1974)

Here was the third clue that I was really going to enjoy at least something about this film:

ajanabee_fashionparade.jpg

—the first two clues being that it was directed by Shakti Samanta and that it was made in 1974.

Rajesh Khanna hasn’t been one of my favorites, partly because his characters are often chest-beating male chauvinist types. Here too he portrays a struggling young man who is attracted to and marries a strong-willed, high-spirited heiress, only to resent her for missing the comforts of her former life and wishing for some success of her own. This ends in tears and recriminations, of course. But the film is saved by the nuances of the relationship between the two (a Samanta specialty). Khanna’s performance is very good—he is convincing as a man torn between his inborn values and the woman he adores, and Zeenat Aman as his wife Rashmi is no martyred push-over! And the songs by RD Burman are just brilliant; they include two “tribal” dances and several lovely romantic songs.

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August 11, 2007

Chhupa Rustam (1973)

A visual feast of a movie—another Vijay Anand fun-filled frolic, with beautiful scenery, fabulous fashions and an engaging plot that moves along at a good clip. It has Hema Malini at her gorgeous best, Dev Anand as smooth as ever, and—best of all—Vijay himself in a role he clearly relished. Bad guys Ajit, Prem Chopra and Premnath are as baaaad as only they can be. It’s obvious that a good time was had by all in the making of this film.

It was filmed in Himachal Pradesh, and the landscapes are breathtaking:

cr_scenery.jpg

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June 28, 2007

Rajnigandha (1974)

First off —- aaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhhh! Hindi movie subtitles make me crazy sometimes, the way they randomly appear and disappear just when you need them most. In this case, the *most important line* of the film was lost to me. I have no clue what happened at the end (or more accurately, WHY what happened at the end happened). All I know is that Deepa was happy and there were subtitles:

deepa happy

Then she became sad and disturbed, and the subtitles were gone:

sad deepa

I do know that on the way there I enjoyed sumptuous 1970’s era fashions and general grooviness*…

navin_glasses.jpg

and nostalgic views of Bombay and Delhi. Amol Palekar was sweet, Vidya Sinha and Ranjita Thakur very beautiful (in spite of it being the 70s, and who among us can say that)…and the story slow as molasses. I don’t know why, but I just need more action in my films. But it was a trip back in time for sure.

And if anyone reading this can explain the end to me, I will be most grateful.

*Sunglasses so huge they would completely engulf poor little Nicole Ritchie’s head

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