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).
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Posted in Hindi movies |
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August 22, 2008
Oh such excitement to get my hands on a Wadia Brothers production! Made by Fearless Nadia‘s director (and later husband) Homi Wadia, this film did not disappoint. Special effects courtesy of the master Babubhai Mistry, and a young, really gorgeous Meena Kumari paired with actor Mahipal are hugely entertaining. SN Tripathi and Chitragupta provided the very melodic songs, and it’s an old-tyme treat from start to finish. Although made in 1952, it plays like a film from the thirties which really just adds to the charm.
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Posted in Hindi movies |
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July 28, 2008
As much as the weepy Meena Kumari of the 1960s exasperates me, the sparkling Meena Kumari of the 1950s enchants me. In addition to sparkly Meena, this movie stars Kishore Kumar, Om Prakash and Gemini Ganeshan (Rekha’s father) so I figured it might be fun. And it is: mostly it’s a fluffy love story, with a lost child thread, but the songs by Hemant Kumar are wonderful (and subtitled!) and the performances solid.
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Posted in Hindi movies |
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April 23, 2008
I’m on a Dharmendra or dog co-star kick this week apparently. This movie has both!
It’s oodles of good masala fun, despite the unfortunate presence of a weepy and sanctimonious Meena Kumari. I know she and Dharmendra carried on a real-life affair for awhile, but it’s a thanda jodi onscreen for sure. She was really beautiful and fun in the 50’s; I don’t know how she became so maudlin in the 60’s. However!!! The film is saved by the presence of numerous character actors in all their glory (and occasionally in drag), beautiful songs by Ravi and the aforementioned Dharmendra and Famous Dog Bhairon. Fun for everyone!
I’ve decided that another reason I love Hindi movies is because all the people in them show up over and over for decades and become like family.
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Posted in Hindi movies |
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February 28, 2008
These screenshots show an actress and an actor who play husband and wife in this film. Who are they, and what is the name of the film (hint: the actor plays the title character)?
Our winner is Shweta, with a big assist from v9y and Carla. I thought this was a difficult one, but guess I will need to try harder!
The movie is Halaku (1956). Pran plays Halaku, a Mongol conqueror of Iran, who falls in love with Meena Kumari. This doesn’t go down well with his wife (Veena) or Meena’s beloved (Ajit, in one of his early hero roles, before he became a stock villain). The music by Shankar Jaikishan is beautiful, and Helen and Minoo Mumtaz have a dance together too!
Posted in Hindi movies, Trivia time |
14 Comments »
December 31, 2007
A weepy melodrama starring Meena Kumari at her sacrificial-lamb finest, somehow made bearable by the presence of Guru Dutt and director Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s light touch with what could be (okay, IS) very heavy going.
Here’s our first look at Gauri (Meena Kumari), accompanied by the plaintive wailing of violins:
I steel myself for a soap opera where duty, honor and tradition mean that everybody suffers, especially Gauri.
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Posted in Hindi movies |
18 Comments »
September 27, 2007
I was writing the answer to Trivia question #4, and was going on and on, when I realized that the film should just have a post unto itself. Mem Sahib is one of my favorite Shammi Kapoor movies—he gives a remarkably restrained and subtle performance in it, resisting the hamming that he often displayed at the height of his career. He is charming but not overbearing. And though it is early in his career (what he calls his “male starlet” days), he plays a negative character—long before Shah Rukh “broke tradition” by playing negative characters in Baazigar and Darr.
Meena Kumari is scintillating—a far cry from the teary, self-sacrificing woman I’m used to seeing “The Tragedy Queen” play. She is gorgeous and full of life, a real treat to watch. Kishore Kumar plays Sundar, a naive, sheltered and good-hearted man trying to figure out how to exist in a world completely at odds with what he is used to or expected; the film is peppered with the humor that he is so clever at.
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Posted in Hindi movies, Yahoo! Shammi! |
17 Comments »
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