Posts tagged ‘Memsaab’s favorites’

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August 2, 2009

Sita Sings The Blues (2008)

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Reviews of this masterpiece abound on the world wide web, almost universally in a chorus along the lines of: “this is a delightful and original piece of filmmaking blah blah blah…” Well, it is. I do not disagree in the slightest, which would normally mean I wouldn’t bother adding my voice to the chorus (I don’t sing that well)—but I can’t resist giving those of you who may not have seen it a glimpse of its fabulousness. And, by the way, if you haven’t seen it, there’s no excuse! The creative force behind the film, Nina Paley, is giving it away for free. You can even download a DVD version (which I prefer to watching it online).

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Posted in Hindi movies | 88 Comments »

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July 6, 2009

Solva Saal (1958)

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Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night has inspired more than a few Hindi remakes, three of which I’ve seen: Raj Kapoor’s Chori Chori, Shammi’s Basant, Aamir Khan’s Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin. This one is now my favorite by far. The camera work and lighting is as lushly beautiful as Guru Dutt’s pictures always were; there’s no need for any color here! Add the sheer gorgeousness of (and chemistry between! and performances by!) Waheeda Rehman and Dev Anand, SD Burman’s sublime songs, and Raj Khosla’s brisk direction and it’s a classic (I like it even better than Capra’s original, and that is saying something).

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Posted in Hindi movies | 84 Comments »

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June 18, 2009

Ek Raaz (1963)

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What a delightful story this is! And so well done too, on every level—direction, writing, acting, cinematography. It’s a tightly plotted comedy, romance, mystery and lost-and-found tale all in one, starring Kishore Kumar and Pran, and a heroine who sticks up for herself (in 1963!). Even Lalita Pawar (how I love her) is smiley and beautiful in it, and the songs by Chitragupta are lovely, too. All in all it’s a treat for anyone who appreciates good solid entertainment—a total winner!

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Posted in Hindi movies | 35 Comments »

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May 22, 2009

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)

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Ah, the ’90s: swelling orchestral music, wind machines, flowing chiffons, campy sound effects, foreign song locales, palatial mansions, excess on every front. How I love excess! Especially when it includes Shah Rukh’s twisty almost-crying face. Why is it that he can make that face and I don’t want to toss things at the screen? Why is it that I love this film so very very much? It should annoy me, but it doesn’t. It’s corny and cartoony and shamelessly manipulative, but it tugs at my every heartstring. I always end up awash in tears—and loving every minute of it.

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Posted in Hindi movies | 69 Comments »

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March 20, 2009

Waqt (1965)

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Beth and I rewatched this the other night in honor of her Shashi Week 2009 (everyone should have his or her own week, I think, at least once a year). To be honest, Beth rewatched it; I thought I had seen it before, but if so all memory of it had been crowded out by something else—Dara Singh trivia maybe, who knows? I can’t see how I wouldn’t remember it though. It’s a really really good movie.

To use Beth’s turn of phrase, it is completely proto-masala in that it has a family separated by circumstance and all the attendant near-misses, filmi irony, etc. along with fabulous sixties (and occasionally fifties) style. The screenplay choreographs the events as smoothly as the film’s title would imply; and what a cast! Balraj Sahni, Achala Sachdev, Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Sadhana, Shashikala, Madan Puri. Wah! At least I retained memory of the songs, since they are composed by one of my favorite (underrated) music directors, Ravi, with lyrics by Sahir; they are just gorgeous.

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Posted in Hindi movies | 70 Comments »

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March 17, 2009

Char Dervesh (1964)

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When a film’s credits list Homi Wadia as director and producer; JBH Wadia as screenplay writer; John Cawas (Nadia’s frequent co-star) as assistant director; Babubhai Mistry as art director; and a cast which includes Feroz Khan, Kumari Naaz, and Dog Romer—I am guaranteed to love it. When Todd reviewed it over at D4k I felt actual despair at not having it myself. Luckily I have since fixed that, and this weekend was able to wallow in the sumptuous, colorful, cracktastic goodness that is Char Dervesh.

Feroz looks like he is about 18 years old, and he is faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles: a two-headed monster, a lecherous sorcerer, greedy brothers and a lazy genie (with full support from the Genie’s Union), among others. He is aided by the love of two beautiful princesses, a diminutive sidekick and his clever canine in a rollicking, humorous Arabian Nights tale with really lovely songs by GS Kohli throughout.

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Posted in Hindi movies | 18 Comments »

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February 5, 2009

Desh Premee (1982)

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I would be hard-pressed to choose my favorite Manmohan Desai film were I ever forced to. But Desh Premee would be near the top of the list. I loved this film; once again the great director has given us a sprawling and complex story encompassing themes of compassion, unity, justice, patriotism, faith and love. He uses leprosy both as a metaphor for the corruption eating away at his country, and as a message of non-exclusion, and the unwavering courage and integrity of Masterji both destroys his happiness and saves his loved ones at the end. There are many moments of humor and silliness, of course, but the movie’s overall tone is quite serious as compared to some of his other work.

I think I’ve finally put my finger on why I love Desai’s films so much. Like me he has a cynic’s view of the world; and also like me, a romantic soul underlying that cynicism. That juxtaposition between often harsh reality and what we wish were real instead is present in all his work, and he always lets the “wishing” side win. Even when the ending is somewhat sad (like Roti) we are still left with a sense of hope. Plus, his imagery and plots are just so FAB.

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Posted in Hindi movies, Yahoo! Shammi! | 43 Comments »

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January 13, 2009

My fifteen favorite AR Rahman songs

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In honor of India’s own Golden Globe winner Allah Rakha Rahman!

Since Slumdog Millionaire has been finding its feet here and people I know have seen it, I’ve been asked a lot about AR Rahman’s work (ha! all of a sudden I don’t seem so crazy to them!). As I said on my last post (in the comments) I have promised some that I’ll put together a CD of his work. I am pretty unfamiliar with his Tamil film music, so forgive the under-representation of it here; many of you have left recommendations in the comment thread of my last post and I will be looking into them (anyone reading this because they want to know more, should definitely check them out too!). I first heard his music early on in my “Bollywood” career with Lagaan, which I still consider one of his best soundtracks. I loved it so much that I went and got other movies (Taal, Roja, Kandukondain Kandukondain) solely on the basis of his having done the music.

So here is my hastily cobbled-together list (true confession: all my favorites lists are fairly hastily cobbled-together, it seems more honest that way) of my fifteen favorite songs by India’s genius composer (it started as a top ten list, but felt too incomplete and simply was not possible to stop there). And I did have to give myself one rule: only one song to represent each film, although I cheated a bit with #10.

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Posted in Hindi movies, Memsaab's lists | 116 Comments »

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December 28, 2008

My ten favorite Rajesh Khanna songs

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Tomorrow (today already in India) is Rajesh Khanna’s birthday. The PR fiasco that his latest film has become notwithstanding, I think that Rajesh in his prime (i.e. during the 1970s) was more fun to watch enacting songs than most actors. He had a knack for music; he collaborated closely with music directors and with Kishore, who is of course “the voice” of Rajesh, and in almost all his films from that period that I have seen the music is really special. 

I haven’t included songs from films I haven’t seen, or songs that have appeared in other lists already (like “Rimjhim Rimjhim Dekho” from Shehzada, which would definitely be here otherwise!). Interestingly (to me anyway!) all the songs that made it here are written by either Laxmikant-Pyarelal, or by RD Burman.

Here are my ten favorite Rajesh Khanna songs—to listen to, to watch, to swoon over (although not all of them are romantic)! And janamdin ki badhai, Rajesh! Thanks for all the hours of viewing pleasure you’ve given me and all your fans!

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Posted in Hindi movies, Memsaab's lists | 81 Comments »

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December 22, 2008

Ranjeet: the hot villain

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When I drool over Ranjeet, most people say: “Are you out of your mind?” He is, after all, not a guy you’d take home to mom; but while I never care much for his onscreen deeds, I do love his style—and I think he is really handsome. Although hampered (as all of us were, who were wearing clothes then) by the gaudy fashions of the 70s (and the even more gaudy costumes of masala-heyday Bollywood!), he always manages to loom charismatically large. And what a career! He is in many many many of my favorite films from that era (and beyond), and they are always enhanced by his presence. When I see his name in the credits, I admit it: I let out a fan-girly squeeee.

Sleepy, sleepy bedroom eyes! Black curly hair! I mean, he looks good in pale yellow velour! Accessorized with a black scarf! Not just anybody could pull that off as a bad guy outfit, but Ranjeet does.

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Posted in Hindi film history, Hindi movies | 106 Comments »

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