Dec. 07 : movie suggestions please

kpnuts

I was also impressed by the quality of the images, and how they transfer on to dvd format. I use this dvd to check my quality for any configuration both sound and vision. I have a projector with RGB and this looks and sound great on my 10 foot wide screen and dolby 5.1.
some others films kids enjoyed are
Devdas, Taal, Don, Paheli.

Khandoma

Wichy : Armed with your recommendation and Kpnuts's I am now ready to face 20 mn of disapproving wobbles from Mr.VideoGuy and grab the DVD from him at all costs.

Shashank : argh... Sorry for you mate. Sounds like the screenwriter(s) didn't do their job on this one. At least I know what to expect, and will explore the other recommendations on this page ; this is the kind of film one usually ends up watching in a bus or a late-night cafe, in which conditions the storyline doesn't matter that much anymore. Pity, as the subject matter, 70's movies, would have appealed to me. Do you also call it a "vehicle" in India, those movies just designed to cater to the fans ? Always liked the name as it reminds me of the Indian gods' vehicles. Can you see SRK travelling on that mouse ?

Kpnuts : Is that a roll-down white screen ? With this size you probably wouldn't get much of a resolution with either LCD or plasma. I hear what you say about using Asoka as a balance test for your system, can't get much better in terms of technical recommendations, thanks.

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NeeliAankhen

If Om Shanti Om is still playing (it is as of this moment) , don't miss it -- it's now the biggest grosser of all time in India, and I'd say it deserves it. ETA: I found it extremely funny, both times I saw it, also satisfyingly loud and OTT.

It's a loving parody of the 70s "reincarnation" genre. In part 1, ShahRukh Khan (India's biggest star, you probably know this or will once you hit the ground there) plays a "junior artiste," Hindi movie term for background/walk-on guy -- lives with devoted Maa, and adores a beautiful young lady star.

You see lots of send-ups of Hindi movies of the 70s - I think they'll be funny in Hindi alone, too.

Part 2 he is reincarnated in the present as the son of a giant star, and a star in clearly B movies. The conventions of the reincarnation story call for -- well, justice -- so . . .

The other movie I highly recommend, also Bollywood, is Aaja Nachle. Reviews in India are not great (though the brighter bulbs do like it), but it is so worth seeing - it's the "comeback" of Madhuri Dixit, the Indian actress with the most charisma. Story about putting on a show using local people in order to save a theatre.

Music, dancing, pageantry (the eventual show = story of Laila and Majnoun, Arab story tradition's Romeo and Juliet type tale)-- a grand big screen experience and one for which I'd say lack of Hindi won't be much of a problem.

A 3rd which may have been withdrawn from theatres because of lack of success, but worth seeing, is Saawariya. Again, worth seeing for its visuals and music, and very very followable without language. Worth seeking out as a big screen experience.

(I heard Karan Johar, a successful young director of high quality blockbusters, explain that the contemporary Hindi popular musical movie is explicitly made to have too much going on on the screen for you to take in at one time, a successful method for re-filling the theatres after the advent of vcrs and cable tv.)

Hope you'll let us know what you see.

sonaraj

Mehndi Masala

It opened world wide and even here in Winnipeg!! (A first for a Hindi film). We were lucky enough to see it on opening day, Diwalli, in Mumbai and it has been a huge hit and the soundtrack sales have been great as the music is so 'huge' orchastra, fun, catchy!

My husband (NOT a big bollyfan) sat through the whole thing, laughed, caught enough storyline to 'get it' and like the movie alot EVEN want's to get in on DVD when it comes out so he can get more of the jokes in translation! He speaks no Hindi by the way! And even uses one of the funny catchprhases now.

You can't please everyone and some people just really don't like the fame and popularity of SRK (In Mumbai he really *IS* everywhere on every station, billboard and magazine) I guess they are just sick of him (Personally....I can't even imagine that!!!) But this film pokes HUGE fun at himself and all of Bollywood from the 70's pomp to the stars of today! Watch for the 'awards' where he plays the same part with the same name in every film that he is nominated in, poking fun at the notion that he is always the same character in all his movies. Partially true cause it sells!

You be the judge, or not! If you watch 70's and 80's Bollywood, you will appreciate this film...if it's only a recent fancy, you may be kinda lost on the first half.

My 2 rupees....eh...you get what you pay for!

PS. Ashoka is one of our fav films! Even the husband liked it!

Kim

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Khandoma

Hi Friends,

I'm back and have been doing my best to follow your recommendations. Wanted to say many thanks.

You really have to live under a rock to miss Om Shanti Om. I understand Shashank's frustration with the SRK vehicle, but I had fun, along with a 400-seat packed theater.

Went to see Khoya Khoya Chand. I'm a bit disappointed. I enjoyed some aspects, namely the leading actor , and the art direction. But there was very little music and even less dance numbers to spice up a dramatically predictable screenplay. I'm sorry to say that the leading lady, Soha Ali Khan, although the daughter of Sharmila Tagore, displays about as much mystery and charisma as a plain lassi. My neighbours in the movie theater, a group of friends in their thirties, found the film long and boring, and I must admit I could have done without the second part.

Aaja Nachle and Dus Kahaniyaan : They were the ones I really wanted to see, thanks to Wichy and others, but the gods of film schedule were against me. So, I bought the DVDs.

Thanks to you all, and warm thanks to Sonaraj for the kind birthday wishes.

wichy

Sad to say - the same to me. I had so high expectations about the movie - so good soundtrack, excellent director and appropriate casting - but the screenplay is not great really... And yes - art-direction was a pleasure to see. I love the character of Sonia Jehan - she has the real old-cinema charm in her. Anyway - I'm going to see the movie again - with subs.

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shashank.aggarwal

The movie to watch out is Taare Zameen Par..I saw it today and it is so very relevant in today's time..

It has actually changed the way I will ever see children...

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Khandoma

Fear you've missed out on the plot, do you ?

Like you I enjoyed Sonia Jehan's performance very much. Otherwise, I still can't understand why there was so much dialogue and so little song / dance on screen, as if the dance numbers had been edited out. (Well, I know what that would mean in a Western movie : Soha can't dance to save her life. But in India it might be different).

Thanks again for your advice.

the opoponax

No, in a Western movie they'd just make sure to never give a complete shot of both her legs and her face, thus enabling them to replace her with a dance double. One of the reasons I love Bollywood is that they NEVER do that, even if they're only too happy to have voice doubles, and even when the lead actress is no great dancer.

Editing to mention that I'm sublimely qualified to make this comment, seeing as I'm currently lounging around my frigid apartment in tights, leg warmers, and an old sweat shirt, a la Fame.

Mehndi Masala

This may be a bit dry to those with no interest...looooong drawn out bollylist coming up!! Bollywood being the largest movie machine in the world, it also puts out alot of Dogs, so for those here that have no background to Bollywood, here is a nice starter. For those that live in India or are huge fans, they may have a different opinion or a different list. This is good for beginners and NRI.

Ajaa Nachle –Starring Madhuri dixit – Predictable but a wonderful performance by Madhuri. Talented girl runs from home for love, makes life in USA, comes back to ‘make good’ and teaches some villagers their hidden talents, tries to save her old dance school, etc. Cute and enjoyable.

No Smoking – Starring John Abraham – No singin’ or dancing in this one. A dark tale more along the lines of a ‘lite’ (by USA standards) horror story/Sci-fi. Many Indians didn’t hanker for this one…but I thought it was an interesting departure. If you are a horror or Sci-Fi fan, you will appreciate this one…if not…you may want to give it a pass. Personally, I liked it.

Om Shanti Om – Reincarnation tale headed by SRK and newcomer Deepika. Super entertaining masala movie with awsome music. Had the opportunity to enjoy this one on Diwalli on opening day in Mumbai and it was a blast! (just bought the movie yesterday!) One item song features about 30 something of the ‘whos who’ glitterati of Bollywood. My husband speaks no Hindi and enjoyed it. Great production values and if you have any interest in Bolly gossip (like the ‘war’ between SRK and the Big B) this has TONS of in jokes that are still funny even if you don’t follow the gossip rags or entertainment news.

Saawariya – Beautiful to look at, not the best movie with two newcomers. It’s nice, the music is nice, the actor is cute, the starlet is beautiful and elegant. The production budget was huge so the sets are truly beautiful but the writing was somewhat limp and the story is lacking. Two best things about the movie was Rani Mukherjee’s awsome handling of her role as a lady of the evening and Ranbir’s towel song.

Bhool Bhaniyee – funny/horror/mystery. Good songs, very entertaining. Akshay is not my favorite actor, but he does a great job. A newly married couple comes back to the groom’s family home and his wife tries to uncover the family secret of the ghost of the palace they live in from the family’s glory days.


Jab We Met – Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor (no relation)- Disallusioned young man meets a flighty pain-in-the-butt girl, shows him new life but they were not meant to be, etc, etc. Story line is much like many BW movies but the characters do a great job and the comedy is as fresh as a formula masala movie can be. The music is great and it’s a very entertaining little comedy/romance.

Dus Kahaniyaan – Music = flop. 10 separate stories. Most are actually not bad. All are unrelated ‘slice of life’ . Some are suprising, some beat you over the head with the ‘moral’, most are very well performed and produced. But overall….fine if your bored. Don’t loose too much sleep if you miss this one.

Heyy Babyy – Cute. It’s three men and a baby, done Indian style. Couple of pretty good songs. If 3 goofballs trying to deal with a cute baby and all the predictable mayhem that ensues is your cup of chai, you’ll enjoy this mindless fun distraction. Leave brain in neutral.

Don- Huge hit! Remake of the original by Amitabh Bachchan starring SRK. Action and awesome tunes all the way through! Many people see this one again and again and when you see it you’ll know why!

Dhoom and Dhoom 2 – Cop and robber with great music! Bad guy mastermind in 1 is John Abraham and mastermind in 2 is Hrithik Roshan. You will even hear the tunes from these movies referenced in other movies! Uday Chopra and Abhishek Bachchan have reoccurring starring roles in both.


OLDER/MUST SEE:

Devdas – Costume starrer with awsome songs, phenonminal performances, and jaw dropping sets! Beautiful to look at and watch. It is a remake of the original Devdas and is romantic and tragic and a great watch all the way through. The grandure is to be seen both in the costumes and the sets. Bring the kleenex. Awsome movie, block buster overseas

Lagaan – A well acted if somewhat predictable movie about a man who takes a rag tag bunch of villagers and stands up to the British brutes and challenge them to a game of cricket. Great little guy story, great performances, good music and again…a period piece. Great movie, blockbuster

Asoka – period piece again with pretty good tunes, some great examples of ancient (dramitized of course) Indian martial arts and weaponry as well as romance, loss and is loosly (and I do mean loosly) based on a real king and his rise to power. Flopped in India but has HUGE following overseas….my husband actually liked this one….so did I!

These are great for little ‘tid bits’ of Indian fashion and tradition, albeit some is glorified, old and/or no longer real for today but is beautiful and interesting.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G), and Dilwale Dulhanial Le Jayenge (DDLJ) are so well known and seen that they are often refered to by only the initials. Both are awsome ‘must be seen’s (imho)

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge – Also known as DDLJ is still running in Mumbai after over 600 weeks! (you heard me!) This is a real Bollywood classic and the music is great fun and still played on the radio on occasion! Over 10 years since it’s release, and it still has magic!

EVEN OLDER: Most people who are not real familiar with BW may not want to get too much older even tho there are some awsome classics out there. But a must see would be Sholay!

I have TONS more, but will leave it at this for now. I did teach Bollywood 101, Indian Cinema for Beginners at a Las Vegas henna conference once! I still have an older list of movies if anyone is interested, they can PM me.

Kim

Shaktipalooza

I'll parrot the Om Shanti Om recommendation. We saw it when it opened at there theater here in stumptown. Since then a friend acquired a bootleg dvd and we've seen it many times over, the soundtrack is excellent and plays constantly in our home.

The actress who plays Shanti (Deepika Padukone) is HOT.

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anar

khandoma, did you get to see 'laga chunri mein daag'?? you started off this thread saying you had made a note of it...it's probably not showing in a cinema anymore (what happened to the days when films were screened for months, even years?! 'sholay' comes to mind) so try and get it on dvd with subtitles - it has some of the finest actors in bollywood - rani mukerji is the best actress in indian cinema today (i can't imagine anyone arguing with that).

Khandoma

Hi Anar,

You're right, I forgot to mention this particular one. No, unfortunately I didn't get to see it. Just checked my scrapbook to see whether I overlooked it but I didn't, it wasn't listed anymore in The Hindu when I got to Mumbai, so I'm assuming it wasn't playing anymore. Like you I have the nostalgia of the time when films stayed longer on screen, but then there were not so many of them. Hope the DVD comes out soon in Europe. Thank you for mentioning it again.

Also looking very much forward to Taare Zameen Par, which Shashank praises highly.

Thank you Kim for the list !

Scandojazzbuff

Khandoma,

Most of the movies mentioned in this thread are commercial Bollywood productions. They are what they are, some more enjoyable than others. However, there is the art film category that doesn't usually enjoy the box office success but provides world class cinema. Some of these films are:

A Peck On The Cheek
Vanaprastham
The Namesake-(enjoyed box office success)
Water (all the Deepa Mehta films are worth seeing)
Black
The Valley of Flowers
Samsara

There are many more but these are off the top of my head.