Posts tagged ‘Sanjay Khan’

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July 17, 2013

New films!

Two more updates on the Edu Productions page: another Pakistani Noor Jehan film called Neend (1959) and a Hindi film called Milan Ki Raat (1967) starring Sanjay Khan and Sharmila Tagore. There are links to download the dvd version of each, or if you prefer, also to watch them on YouTube. Many many thanks due again to Tom, Muz and Pacifist for their hard work and devotion! Here is a Helen song from Milan Ki Raat which I love:

As for me—I’m not dead, I’m resting! A number of people have been emailing or messaging me out of concern for my well-being and asking about my prolonged absence from here, which warms the cockles of my black, sticky heart of tar. I don’t plan to stop blogging, but I am equally unsure when the desire to take it up again will strike. Since I left off my regular posting I have gained a third dog named Bandit, lost 30 pounds! (13.5 kg) that I didn’t need to be carrying around, improved my knitting skills, seen old friends at a college reunion, and planned my next trip to India (hooray!!!!).

whatimdoing

Family and job have kept me busy too, and I have just not had the time or energy to watch many films and then write them up, although I recently watched the epic Rajput (1982) with my bahen Suhan and had a lot to say about it. So you never know.

In the meantime, enjoy these two new additions to the Edu Productions catalog and let the team feel the love!

Posted in Hindi movies, The Memdogs | 28 Comments »

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January 15, 2012

Nagin (1976)

Fate has conspired to push snake movies at me from all angles this month; so be it. Until Doodh Ka Karz came along this was my topmost favorite of the genre and it is at least still tied for first. I love it for the ridiculous special effects, the Seventies style, the star-crammed cast and the shape-shifting, vengeful ichchadhari nagin Reena Roy. These things more than make up for the heavy-handed (at times) preaching on a wide number of subjects: marriage, wifely duty, religion, sacrifice, revenge, redemption. I was only planning to mine this for screenshots for my “Nahiin! Face Gallery” (coming soon), but I couldn’t stop watching once I began. There are lots of Nahiin! Face moments, but there are some surprisingly sensitive ones too. All in all it’s an odd mixture of things, almost none of them boring.

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Posted in Hindi movies | 55 Comments »

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December 18, 2011

Mini-review: Dharkan (1972)

With a hero like this, who even needs a villain?

Posted in Hindi movies | 43 Comments »

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August 6, 2011

Dhund (1973)

My mother, bless her, likes to watch Indian movies with me. Dhund has been on my short list to watch for some time now, and given our mutual love of mysteries it seemed a good pick—and so it was! We both really enjoyed it, and were mystified as to how it would end right up to the end. Based on an Agatha Christie play called “The Unexpected Guest”, it’s an atmospheric ensemble piece where everyone involved gets to shine (as much as the pervading fog will allow). Besides the main whodunit plot, there is also a charming and unusual effort to portray the police as competent and not-corrupt, one of whom is Madan Puri of all people.

Plus: a new/old mystery hotel!

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Posted in Hindi movies | 109 Comments »

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September 17, 2010

My fifteen favorite Mumtaz songs

Mumtaz simply cannot be contained in a list of ten songs only: she had the good fortune to work in an era—and in films—with such great music, that I just find it impossible. Not only that, but because she was often the heroine (first mostly in so-called B-movies of the sixties, then as an A-list star in the seventies) she usually had three or four songs per film, unlike women who were confined mostly to dances or small supporting roles.

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Posted in Hindi movies, Memsaab's lists | 150 Comments »

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July 8, 2010

Chingari (1971)

Apparently this film only released in 1989, but it was made in 1971 and clearly looks it so that’s what I’m going with. It’s a pretty entertaining potboiler, but even if it weren’t there is one compelling reason to see it: a scene with uber-villain Tiwari in a bright pink and white lace negligee admitting that he gets his kicks from cross-dressing. Yes, really. And it has nothing to do with the plot, either. The story itself is in service to a criminal reform message which probably didn’t play as well in the late eighties as it might have in the early seventies. It is weak in places, but there is a plethora of lovely songs (by Ravi, with lyrics by Sahir) and an assortment of fine character actors with lashings of clever humor (no annoying CSP!). Leena Chandavarkar, a feisty heroine I always love, is paired with Sanjay Khan and backed by Pran and Rehman as lifelong foes on either side of the law.

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Posted in Hindi movies | 44 Comments »

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November 4, 2009

Intaquam (1969)

intaquam_helen

Ah, what a film this is. If you have a hankering for something that careens wildly along, going from completely loony, to sweetly touching, to dumb and illogical, and back to loony again, look no further. I wouldn’t call it technically a good film, but it is highly entertaining. And I loved it! With features like Excellent Use of Helen, a zealous and melodramatic murderer named Snaky, a disfiguring cake, useful little white mice, lost and found family members, fantabulous songs (Azad in blackface!), plus Memsaab favorites Ashok Kumar and Rehman as friends-turned-bitter-foes, how could I not?

I have been longing to see this with subtitles, but didn’t think it was available except on an unsubtitled (and unplayable after ten minutes) VCD. Many thanks to Tom D (the most banned-from-YouTube-person-on-earth) (my opinion only, not backed up by anything resembling actual facts) (but still: I think it’s because he does what Indian DVD manufacturers can’t be bothered to do, which is to clean up the picture and sound quality, remove their intrusive and gaudy logos, and add subtitles, thereby making them look bad—as they deserve to—so they complain and he gets suspended, over and over again). Anyway, thank you my friend! for supplying me with this particular ginormous rock of crack.

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Posted in Excellent Use of Helen, Hindi movies | 52 Comments »

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March 2, 2009

Dus Lakh (1966)

dus_lakh

I usually approach comedies with some trepidation: humor doesn’t always translate well (literally or figuratively), and slapstick wears me down after a while. However, my Sanjay Khan experience has been sadly lacking and this film also offers up Pran and Helen—and Kashmir!—which I can never resist. And lucky me! Dus Lakh turned out to be a lot of fun. It’s an ensemble film which mostly revolves around Om Prakash, Pran and Manorama; the Sanjay-Babita (in her debut) jodi is almost a side plot. The trio at the center are hilarious, though, and it’s also chock-full of excellent songs by one of my favorites, Ravi. Solid support from Helen, Ramesh Deo (who has way more charisma than Sanjay Khan), Seema Deo and Brahmchari add to the delight.

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Posted in Excellent Use of Helen, Hindi movies | 40 Comments »

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