Bollystalgia!

Soundtracks Only: Aashiqui (1990)

2012-02-20T22:28:00.000-05:00

The iconic poster image. Love the inset pic of Anuradha Paudwal!

Over the years there have been many soundtracks that I adored and yet found the movie to be completely unmemorable. So I decided to share a few of these occasionally via this blog.

I recently heard that there was talk of remaking Aashiqui (1990), which is one of the most ridiculous things EVER. Aashiqui was all about the MUSIC, no one even remembers the movie! Why would you remake it, unless you were planning on re-using the same tracks? Because to change the music would be blasphemy.

The early 90s was all about Nadeem-Shravan's soundtracks, and none of them could compete when it came to the ultra-romantic songs of Aashiqui. This soundtrack sealed the success of singers Kumar Sanu and Anuradha Paudwal, as well as that of the music duo Nadeem-Shravan.

We first heard of Aashiqui when its mysterious poster appeared, showing two figures hidden under a trench coat. Everyone was dying to know who the leading pair was, and finally after months of waiting director Mahesh Bhatt revealed his new stars - Rahul Roy and Anu Agarwal. There was much speculation about the relationship between the two stars of the film soon after its release, which was quickly followed by rumors that they actually hated each other. Not many people remember much about the movie itself, though I remember thinking it was actually quite interesting and similar to Abhimaan with the hero's ego being bruised by the heroine's success.

But really, who cared about the movie? The songs were absolutely gorgeous! My favorite is one of the less popular ones from the film - "Mera Dil Tere Liye" (interestingly, it's the only song that featured Udit Narayan instead of Kumar Sanu).

But my other favorites include "Jaane Jigar Jaaneman", "Saanson Ki Zaroorat" and "Mein Duniya Bhula Doonga", though others preferred "Nazar Ke Samne" or "Dheere Dheere Se".

What was your favorite?

Lullabies for desi babies

2012-01-08T22:14:00.002-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I've been wanting to blog forever and have had a million ideas floating around my head, but I had to take a short hiatus because I just had another baby! My baby girl Tarini was born December 15th, 2011 (10 days ahead of schedule) and it's been a strangely smooth experience so far. It was a quick and easy delivery, she's been a fairly good sleeper, she's nursing well and my older kid has adjusted beautifully ... at least so far. We've also had lots of family and help around, so we'll see what happens when it's back to just us.

Anyway, now that I have a baby girl, I've been able to sing some of my favorite Hindi lullabies, such as:

and

Yeah, I get my lullabies primarily from Waheeda Aunty. But that made me think about other lullabies and of course a list started brewing.

Here's some of the ones that immediately came to mind:

Surmai Ankhiyon Mein from Sadma (and the original - Kanne Kalaimane from Moondram Pirai)

Chanda Hai Tu from Aradhana

Do Naina Aur Ek Kahani from Masoom

So Jaa Mere Raj Dulare from Kathputli

Ahista Ahista from Swades

Aaja Re Aa Nindiya from Do Bigha Zameen

Aaja Aaja Re Nindiya from Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan Series

Also on my most sung lullabies list - Chhote Chhote Taaron Se from Sangeet, which I couldn't find on YouTube, but was only on this slightly shady looking site: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/SkHoM06C1GM/

I almost forgot about this one, which my sister reminded me about -

Chandi Ki Dori from Saajan Ka Ghar

And I can't believe I didn't think of this one right away!

Koi Mat Jariyo from Gopal Krishna

What are your favorite lories/lullabies from Hindi films? And don't tell me "Lalla Lalla Lorie Doodh Ki Katori" because I refuse to put that on my blog! But I'd love some new ideas of songs to sing to the new baby ...

30-Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge - Days 26-30

2011-12-01T11:46:00.000-05:00

And finally!!! The last five songs of my 30-Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge picks!

Day 26 - A song you play when you're happy:

"Panchhi Banoon" from Chori Chori (1956) is THE happiest song ever. Can you seriously listen to it without smiling or wanting to skip through fields and forests?

Day 27 - A song you play when you're sad:

I love a lot of sad songs, but "Tere Bina Zindagi" from Aandhi (1975) is hauntingly beautiful ...

Day 28 - A song that makes you laugh:

"Ek Chatur Nar" from Padosan (1968) is the ultimate ... Mehmood is the KING but Kishore Kumar and Sunil Dutt are awesome as well. What a team and what a fantastic movie!

Day 29 - A song you can relate to:

"Ae Dil Dil Ki Duniya Mein" from Yaadein (2001) is not necessarily a great song, and the picturization is seriously odd (why are people rocking out to this sad, slow song at the club?), but there was a time when I really could relate to the lyrics - particularly the part about 'bahar koi hasta hai, andar koi rota hai' (on the outside they laugh, but on the inside they are crying).

Day 30 - A favorite song that is picturized on the legend that is Amitabh Bachchan:

I love SOOO many Amitabh songs so it was really, really hard to choose one as a favorite, but "Dekha Na Haye Re" from Bombay to Goa (1972) is definitely one of the top ones on my list. And hey, I can really see where Abhishek Bachchan gets his fashion sense from ...

Thanks for sticking with me through this challenge ... I'm looking forward to trying the same with Tamil songs next!

30-Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge - Days 21-25

2011-12-01T11:29:00.001-05:00

More of the Bollywood Soundtrack 30-Day Challenge ...

Day 21 - A difficult song that you wish you could sing:

It was a toss up between "Jhoote Naina" and "Suniyo Ji" from Lekin (1991) - both are gorgeous, difficult classically-based songs. Suniyo Ji is probably more difficult technically, but I absolutely love Jhoote Naina. I'm more of an Asha Bhosle fan than Lata Mangeshkar (though both are phenomenal and unique in their own ways), and I could practice forever and never get those perfect little trills that Asha does in Jhoote Naina!

Day 22 - A song that you know the whole routine and choreography to:

There's a lot of songs that I've memorized the dances to - particularly girl dances by Madhuri Dixit and Aishwariya Rai (think "Piya Ghar Aaya", "Thodasa Pagla" and "Dhola Re Dhola", for example) ... but then I also love to watch the totally random moves of background dancers in songs and memorize a lot of those too. And then there's the aerobic ridiculousness of the Sridevi-Jeetendra routines from the 80s -- "Ek Aankh Marun" from Tohfa (1984) is one of my favorites and yes I do have every single one of these nonsensical moves memorized.

Day 23 - A song that you dedicate to your friends:

"Thodisi Jo Peeli Hai" from Namak Halal (1982) will always remind me of one of the best parties I've ever been to, at which our group of friends actually partied to this song on the dance floor!

Day 24 - A song that no one would expect you to love:

"Zubi Zubi" from Dance Dance (1987) is a pretty random song to love. Amrish Puri is beyond creepy in it too. But I have a remix of it on my iPod and I've been known to put it on repeat on occasion.

Day 25 - A song that reminds you of your childhood:

"O Gopala" from Gopaal Krishna (1979) was choreographed by my mom back in the early 80s for a large group of her students in Canada. I think I was about five or six years old the first time I performed it, and I still remember the entire dance! I love this song.

More to come and sorry the updates have been so spaced out!

30-Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge - Days 16-20

2011-11-16T22:57:00.000-05:00

Here's more of my picks for the 30 Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge!

Day 16 - A song that you would potentially have at your wedding as a first dance:

I actually used a Tamil song for my first dance at my wedding ("Vaseegara" from Minnale) and am 100% satisfied with the song we had, it was perfect for us and is still super meaningful. But let's pretend that any Hindi song would have been in the running for our first dance ... I would have probably chosen the title song from Yeh Vaada Raha (1982). It's just CLASSIC.

Day 17 - A song that you know all the words to:

Honestly, the answer to this would be ALL the songs from ALL the early 90s soundtracks - Maine Pyar Kiya, Baaghi, Aashiqui, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Patthar Ke Phool, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, etc. etc. PLUS many of the older songs my sisters and I used to perform with our band back in the 90s ... but I'll just use "Antakshari" from Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) as a sample ...

Day 18 - Favorite patriotic song:

"Mere Watan Se Achha" from Ladki (1955) is definitely my favorite -- I ADORE Vyjayanthimala (she was my mom's favorite actress and it rubbed off on me) and my mom actually set this up for us one year when we were dancing for India's Independence Day. Lots of fond memories.

Day 19 - A song you love but are embarrassed to admit it:

"Disco Bhangra" from Ganga Jamuna Saraswati (1988) is a complete travesty, I know. The Michael Jackson outfit (complete with glove), the awkward choreography and the clearly out-of-comfort-zone Amitabh are just cringe-inducing. And yet something about this song is catchy!

Day 20 - A song picturized on your favorite yesteryear/current Bollywood star male/female:

"Aa Meri Jaan" from Chandni (1989) isn't necessarily one of my favorite songs but I do love the picturization ... Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor are indeed my absolute favorite actors and can be considered both yesteryear and current! Both started films at a very young age and had huge successes in the 70s and 80s (yesteryear) and both are currently filming various projects. I also think that they both did a tremendous job in this song ... Rishi's vulnerability and sadness is so beautifully subtle, and Sridevi's determination to smile through her tears shows Chandni's unique strength.

More to come! Please do come back and visit soon!

Quick Take: Ooh La La - Tu Hi Meri Fantasy ... the wannabe

2011-11-03T20:43:00.000-04:00

So I listened to the "Ooh La La - Tu Hi Meri Fantasy" track from The Dirty Picture (Silk Smitha biopic starring Vidya Balan) today and at first I really liked what I was hearing. The music perfectly evoked the crazy, glittery feel of the 80s. I was envisioning stacks of matkas, brightly dressed background girls, etc.

But then as the song went on, it sort of went downhill for me. One issue being the lyrics ... I really feel like they could have come up with better than throwing in the word "Fantasy", and the "Ooh La La" just seemed like a cop-out.

And then by the first music interlude, I realized what they had done. They had simply taken an existing song from the 80s and played around with it a little, changed the lyrics, and OUILA!

Here's the original song:

And here's what they did with it:

You see? Come on, guys ... you mean you can't come up with an ORIGINAL song that evokes that time?

30-Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge - Days 11-15

2011-10-28T22:29:00.000-04:00

It's time for more of the 30-Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge ... a fun way to share meaningful songs and your own personal memories with them!

Here are my picks for Days 11-15:

Day 11 - A song that can potentially be used as a chat-up line:

"Aati Kya Khandala" from Ghulam (1998) is my unequivocal pick for this one. I totally LOVE Tapori!Aamir, and when this song came out ALL the 'Roadside Romeos were singing it.

Day 12 - A song to express matters from the heart:

"Main Shayar To Nahin" from Bobby (1973) was the first song that came to mind that fits this category. I love the way that instant, innocent puppy love-at-first-sight Raj feels for Bobby brings out so much raw emotion in him.

Day 13 - A song to express a broken heart:

I have a lot of favorite 'Dard Bhare Geet' songs ... I sometimes like to put them on when I'm cutting onions so I can attempt to do the 'single pretty tear' like Rani Mukherjee. "Ya Rabba" from Salaam-E-Ishq (2007) is my favorite song to listen to when I'm in a melancholy mood.

Day 14 - Your favorite song or the closest thing to it:

"Tujh Mein Kya Hai Deewane" from Bade Dil Wala (1982) was my absolute favorite song when I was six years old. I STILL love it and have it on my iPod, and listen to it pretty often, so I'd say that's the closest thing to an all-time favorite song I've got.

Day 15 - An English song that has been covered by Bollywood:

There are SO many songs in this category, and there's a lot that I love regardless of how ridiculously they've been copied (cough cough, "Oye Oye"). "Aate Jaate" from Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) is sort of iconic for Hindi Film fans, but everyone knows (and doesn't care) that it's shamelessly lifted from "I Just Called To Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder.

Stay tuned for Days 16-20!

30-Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge - Days 6-10

2011-10-27T22:30:00.001-04:00

The 30-Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge is a little game I found on Facebook where for each day you are supposed to list a song that fits a certain category for you. It's fun because it's personal but also makes you think about and remember certain songs.

BollyBloggers like Beth Loves Bollywood, ApunBindaas, Totally Filmi and Dolce and Namak have all been listing their favorites on their blogs or twitter too - be sure to check out their choices!

Here's more of my 30-Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge ... enjoy!

Day 6 - A song you can chill to:

Okay, so this one is admittedly a remix, but I love it! My choice for best song to chill to is "Dil Kya Kare" from Julie (1975)

Day 7 - A song you like dancing to:

My sister actually choreographed the "Spirit of Rangeela" music from Rangeela (1995) back in our college days ... in Bharata Natyam, not the red spandex dance style Urmila does here. But I love the upbeat, funky music combined with totally traditional classical dance moves - it really works somehow.

Day 8 - Favorite item number:

Now I love Munni and Sheila and all, but when it comes to item numbers, no one can beat Helen. My favorite is definitely "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" from Caravan (1971). As my bestie @jb0413 says, it doesn't get any better than a song with a giant birdcage and slide in it.

Day 9 - Favorite song from a Yash Raj movie:

It's hard to choose because I think the most epically romantic songs are all from Yash Raj movies ... but I think I'd have to go with "Nila Aasmaan" from Silsila (1981). Amitabh's voice is just soooo smooth.

Day 10 - Favorite song that is often played at Indian weddings:

Without a doubt, it's "Jhoote Dedo Paise Lelo" from Hum Aapke Hai Koun (1994). Not only is it fun and cute, but it has a specific purpose in Indian weddings -- I've been to so many weddings where they play this song as the bride's side and the groom's side fight & negotiate over the shoes (including one that turned into a full out CHASE on a hillside with people throwing the shoe like a football).

My song choices for Days 11-15 will be up soon!

30-Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge - Days 1-5

2011-10-25T23:09:00.000-04:00

So back in July I discovered the 30-Day Bollywood Soundtrack Challenge on Facebook and it sounded like too much fun so I had to participate. Obviously, I haven't completed this effort in 30 days, since it's now late October and I still haven't finished. But I've been having so much fun thinking of the various songs that I decided to also share them on twitter with the hashtag #30DayBollySongChallenge and was THRILLED when fun, fearless bloggers like Beth Loves Bollywood, ApunBindaas and Totally Filmi as well as tweeters like @dolce_and_namak and @elegnt_hedgehg joined in the fun!

These guys were putting their song choices into blog posts, which I realized was an excellent way to keep record of them for posterity. So I dug way back into my Facebook timeline to find my earliest choices for this challenge, and here they are!

30 DAY BOLLYWOOD SOUNDTRACK CHALLENGE

Day 1: A song that makes you happy:

"Zindagi Milke Bitayenge" is from my all-time favorite movie Satte Pe Satta (1982), and I cannot listen to it without getting a huge cheesy smile on my face.

Day 2: A song that makes you sad:

"Jidhar Dekhoon" sung by Amitabh Bachchan himself from the movie Mahaan (1983) is beautiful and heartwrenching.

*unfortunately there are no embeddable links to this song on YouTube, but click the song title above to link to the song*

Day 3: A song you like driving to:

"O Mere Dil Ke Chain" from Mere Jeevan Saathi (1972) - it's that R.D. Burman bongo beat + Kishore Kumar's voice that gets me.

Day 4 - A song you like walking to:

"Khatooba" from Ali Baba Aur 40 Chor (1980) ... it's pretty random but I have an awesome remix of it on my iPod that it's especially good for when I need to walk fast.

Day 5 - A song that reminds you of someone:

"Mera Laung Gawacha" from Naagmani (1991) will forever remind me of the Jajoo Sisters - three sisters that lived in the Metro Detroit area that were famous for dancing this song back when we were teens.

So there are my first 5 choices. What would you choose? Please feel free to join in the fun either on Facebook, Twitter or on your own blog!

My favorite Amitabh comedy scenes

2011-10-11T11:38:00.000-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMITABH BACHCHAN!!!

In honor of the ultimate superstar's birthday, I've combed through YouTube to find my favorite comedy scenes of his from over the years ... there are far too many to really do justice to his abilities, but these are the ones I always think of and come back to ... enjoy!

Stupid Little Puppy - LAAWAARIS

Angrezi Nahin Aata Hai - KHUDDAR

I Can Walk English - NAMAK HALAL

also the famous 'makhee' scene! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkcaJgjHlx0

Humein Tumhare Soorat Pasand Nahin - SHAHENSHAH

Bahut Khatarnak Machine Hai - YAARANA

Daaru Peene Se Liver Kharaab Ho Jaata Hai - SATTE PE SATTA

Ek Kamra Milega - SHAAN

Two Type Cockroach in World - HUM

Suresh - DO AUR DO PAANCH

Wishing Amit-ji many, many, many happy returns of the day and health and success for years to come!

Song of the Day: COLUMBUS COLUMBUS!

2011-10-10T16:12:00.000-04:00

Happy Columbus Day!!!

From me, Prasanth and Prasanth ...

Columbus from Jeans (1998)

Addendum: Salman is an equal-opportunity dupatta-lover

2011-09-25T22:34:00.001-04:00

So in my last post I theorized that Salman Khan has a 'thing' for green dupattas on the basis of "Jhoote Dedo Paise Lelo" from Hum Aapke Hai Koun (1994) and "O Hare Dupattewali" from Sanam Bewafa (1991).

But after thinking about this a little further, I realized I was unfairly assigning him with a fetish. Because really if you think about, Salman loves all kinds of dupattas:

Lal Dupatta - Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004)

Odhni Odh Ke Nachoon - Tere Naam (2003)

Dupatta Tera Nau Rang Da - Partner (2007)

Chunari Chunari - Biwi No. 1 (1999)

Odh Li Chunariya - Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998)

Lal Chunariya - God Tussi Great Ho (2008)

Teri Chunariya - Hello Brother (1999)

So clearly, Sallu is an equal opportunity lover of dupattas, chunaris, odhnis, etc. of all shades of the rainbow.

Sallu's penchant for Green Dupattas

2011-09-25T10:12:00.000-04:00

The other day I was joking about potential Bollywood Quiz questions in response to CurryBear's fake-out question "What color was Madhuri Dixit's dupatta in ..." and I suggested that it COULD be a real question. Quick - without looking up the video or your DVD cover or any pictures - What color was Madhuri's dupatta in Jhoote Dedo Paise Lelo from Hum Aapke Hai Koun? It does kind of make you think.

But it's sort of an easy question ... I mean he DOES specifically say it in the first line of the song - "Dulhe ki saaliyon oh hare dupattewaliyon."

Which also led me to think of the other song where Salman Khan specifically notices the 'hare dupattewali'. And I just had to share this with everyone!

So here we go - 2 songs in which Salman sings about green dupattas. Fetish?

Jhoote Dedo Paise Lelo - Hum Aapke Hai Koun (1994)

O Hare Dupattewali - Sanam Bewafa (1991)

Quick Takes: What I've seen lately ...

2011-09-09T23:11:00.000-04:00

It's been busy, busy, busy around here lately. End of the summer meant no more school/camp for the kiddo (which means no break for mommy), we moved to the suburbs and are still climbing over boxes and unpacking, etc. Then I spent a week at home in Detroit helping my husband's niece settle in at University of Windsor (Canada). It's been a lot of running around and falling into bed exhausted at the end of the night.

But anyway, that doesn't mean that I haven't been watching movies. I have been. A good amount, actually. Not many count as true 'Bollystalgia' material, since they aren't old or favorite films, but I thought I'd just share what I've seen lately and my quick thoughts on them:

Patiala House (2011)
A pretty solid film, though a touch melodramatic at times. I am not a fan of Akshay Kumar, but I'm beginning to like these films in which he plays a loser - he does it well. Anushka Sharma is cute and charming in her role, though I am not fond of the blue-gray/hazel contacts. Of course, the highlight of the film for me was Rishi Kapoor. I love him so much that it's very, very hard for me to see him as the antagonist, but he is such a beautiful, skilled actor and I am so glad his career is still going strong. Overall, a good film - worth seeing.

Kaavalan (2011)
This film is, as most people know, the Tamil version of the Malayalam film Bodyguard (recently remade in Hindi with Salman Khan - I can't wait to see it!). For the most part it seemed like your typical Vijay stuff - fight scenes, romance, etc. Nothing astounding. The ending had quite a twist though and I was surprised by it. So I'll say the film was memorable compared to most other Vijay films. Asin was the usual - cute but not extraordinary. I'm looking forward to the Hindi one to see what Salman brings to it.

We Are Family (2010)
I know this is unbelievable, but I don't think this movie was as bad as everyone made it out to be. I really liked the original Hollywood movie (Stepmom) and thought it had good material for a Hindi remake - but honestly the casting was just all wrong. I wish KJo had cast Kajol in the Julia Roberts role and chosen a mature woman for the Susan Sarandon role - someone like Madhuri Dixit for example. Anyway, I watched this film expecting to hate Kareena Kapoor, like I always do. I ended up finding her the most tolerable of the three lead actors. I didn't expect much from Arjun Rampal so I wasn't shocked when he didn't perform well, but Kajol was just awful. Unfortunately they stripped away all the complexity of Susan Sarandon's character and made Kajol's character really annoying. And yes, the "Jailhouse Rock" song was indeed a travesty. But the movie as a whole was ... ok. Very, very flawed, but still interesting. I think the standout from the film was Aanchal Munjal as the eldest of the three kids - Aleya. She even looked like Jena Malone!

Seedan (2011)
I saw this film a while ago actually, but I thought I'd throw it in here. I found it interesting and somewhat different from your typical Tamil hero flicks. Ananya plays the lead and I thought she was really cute - though she did remind me quite a bit of Devyani (not one of my favorite actresses). I'm not a fan of Dhanush, but his character was quite special in this - no spoilers but I figured it out as soon as he appeared. The film deals with loss of faith in God after 'love-failure' and how it is restored. Not particularly profound or anything, but I just thought the film was simple and sweet and different, so I enjoyed it. Apparently it was a remake of the Malayalam film Nandanam (starring Prithviraj).

Siruthai (2011)
Don't you just love that picture of Karthi? It makes the film look a lot more rocking than it was. But don't get me wrong, it was fairly good. Masala-goodness with the likeable Karthi in a double-role (which requires the filmi suspension of belief about two totally unrelated people looking exactly alike) and ~~Kareena Kapoor~~ Tamannah taking care of the glamour quotient. The first half was very light-hearted and fun while the second half was heavy handed with fighting and emotional drama. Most memorable was the song 'Chellam Inda Chellam' picturized on the beach.

HouseFull (2010)
The first time I tried to watch the movie, I failed miserably ... somewhere around the point where Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh get electrocuted and the vacuum cleaner sucks up Lara Dutta's pet bird. But the second time around I actually surprised myself by enjoying portions of it. It definitely got a few snickers out of me, though I wouldn't go so far as to call it a good movie. It's not even decent. It's silly, slapsticky and nonsensical - which is all great when you're in the right mood for it. But still, the Tamil film Kadhala Kadhala - from which HouseFull borrows many, many scenes and situations - was FAR superior. I mean, Akki and Riteish can never be even close to as hilarious as the combination of Kamal Haasan and Prabhu Deva. Kadhala Kadhala is still one of my favorite Tamil movies to date and is truly hilarious. But HouseFull was brainless fun - and again, loser!Akki works for me.

Vaanam (2011)
I caught this film on Sun TV soon after we moved into our new place (and got Dish Network - woo hoo!) and was almost instantly sucked in. This was one of those films where multiple storylines are all running at the same time until they all converge in the climax. Running around are Simbu, Bharath, Anushka Shetty, Prakash Raaj and several other characters. There's so much going on that you end up a bit overwhelmed but it all comes together neatly at the end. A really, really interesting film and I highly recommend it. Standouts were Anushka Shetty in a somewhat coarser role than I would expect from her, and of course Prakash Raaj (he's so awesome!).

Peranmai (2009)
This film was quite a surprise! Another one I caught on SunTV, I found it very different. Jeyam Ravi, who I've always seen as a 'chocolate hero' TOTALLY buffed himself up for this film. It's unbelievable! And he displays it quite prominently (read: NEKKID) in the beginning of the film. But it also stars a cast of young women who are in training as NCC Cadets - a striking difference from the glamour girls we usually see in Tamil films. Not only are these girls in training for physical combat, but they are also mean, spiteful, spoiled young girls who mistreat Jeyam Ravi's character for being of a tribal cast. Even the one girl we see as having a soft spot for Jeyam Ravi ends up betraying him pretty badly. Luckily for all of us, nothing brings people on opposite sides together like a little national threat - i.e. foreigners trying to sabotage India's fab new satellite launch. Jeyam Ravi is incredible in this - he's acted beautifully and physically transformed himself beyond any of our current, working action heroes. Color me impressed!

Mankatha (2011)
This is the first Indian film I've seen at the theatre in a while and I was super excited to see it! It was quite a whirlwind of a film too. I must say that by the end my head & eyes were actually aching from the furious pace of the editing and effects - it was a bit too much for me. But the stunts and action sequences were great. I also want to mention how pleasing it was to see two solidly middle-aged heroes (Ajith Kumar and Arjun) playing roles that were MEANT to be middle-aged. Ajith's new salt-and-pepper look was actually kind of hot! And 'Action King' Arjun looks slimmer and more fit than before. The film was a bit convoluted but reminded me a bit of Ocean's Eleven, The Fast Five and Sin City at different times. Some of the side characters were particularly compelling (Vaibhav Reddy as Sumanth, for example). Trisha was totally unnecessary in the film but I enjoyed the song sequence where the background kept morphing (I called it the HGTV/Ikea commercial song). I was disturbed by the pairing though - even though he's supposed to be much older than her, they just looked creepy together. Overall though the film was totally entertaining and great action fun, but man, if your eyes can't handle craziness then watch out!

Race (2008)
We ended up watching Race right after we came home from Mankatha because a family friend said that it was along similar lines. We stayed up until 3 a.m. watching it - which I'm still not sure was worth it or not. It was painful waking up the next morning. Anyway, there were definitely things about Race I really enjoyed - the tension between the brothers (Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna), Akshaye as a baddie, EVERYONE as a baddie, Anil Kapoor as the fruit-loving cop, the slickness of it, guessing the twists, etc. But I think I started to lose it at the 3rd or 4th twist. I think it had a ton of potential and was definitely entertaining, but ultimately my favorite bits were ditzy Sameera Reddy and Johny Lever's cameo. Verdict? Fun but not amazing or re-watchable.

Anyway so that's it. I have a couple posts a-brewing and now that the kid is starting school maybe I'll actually find some time to organize my thoughts and write them!

Song of the Day: Blister in the Sun, but BETTER! - Manam Virumbuthe from Nerukku Ner

2011-08-25T21:49:00.000-04:00

The other night I was watching one of those 'hit song hours' on Jaya Max (can I just say how much I LOVE having Tamil channels through Dish Network?), and this song came on. I had almost completely forgotten about how much I love this song! Yes, ok, the lifted part from 'Blister in the Sun' is sort of silly, and the main part is copied from Thyagaraja's Manavyalakim (Carnatic/Classical song), but still - when this song came out EVERYONE was humming it.

Simran (one of my favorite Tamil actresses - ok I know she's not Tamil, but she was by and large, a Tamil film star) looks totally GORGEOUS and super young in it - I love her! And I actually cracked up laughing when Surya walks on-screen ... I had forgotten how absolutely teeny he was in Nerukku Ner (1997). Even if you don't watch the whole song, you HAVE to check out the part at about 1:10 when Surya walks in and strikes a pose.

The sidey girls are kind of hilarious in this too. It's like they purposely sought out the homeliest girls in all of India. It's almost sad when they make them gyrate like that (and a bit frightening too). I'm not sure what the random Kathakali dancers and the Elephant are doing there towards the end of the song, but whatevs.

I LOVE Harini's voice too ... she's so young but her classical touches are so lovely. She sounds really sweet. Githa from Words from a Lotus reminded me that there was an Unnikrishnan version of this song on the album that never made it in the film. Hahaha ... I would have loved to see a Baby Surya version of this!

Enjoy!

We'll never forget you Shammi-ji! - Shammi Kapoor Unplugged

2011-08-15T08:36:00.000-04:00

This weekend Hindi filmdom lost one of it's brightest shining stars - Shammi Kapoor. He finally is at peace as he passed away from renal failure this weekend. As part of Kapoor Khazana, I had created a small tribute to him earlier on this blog - my Dance Like A Kapoor: Shammi Kapoor post!

I also wanted to share a wonderful video series that's available on YouTube - where you can hear about Shammi and his life adventures in his own words.

As his Wikipedia entry notes, "Tall, athletic, lively, fair complexioned, green-eyed and with handsome features, Shammi was a heartthrob, and his good looks and physique complemented his image" ... and yet he was so much more than that. He was a spiritual, positive person with gratitude for the gift of life -- that's something we can all learn from. I also loved that he was one of the few from his generation that truly embraced the internet age, having set up and managed a website dedicated to the Kapoor Family as well as posting regularly on Twitter. One of his recent tweets stated:

SIGH. Shammi-ji will definitely be missed - but never, ever forgotten!

When Rishi went cray-cray ... or DID he? - Badaltey Rishtey (1978)

2011-08-09T11:28:00.000-04:00

Photo credit: desiradio.com

Love triangles and janam-patrikas ... complex stuff indeed. These are some of the main elements thrown out there in Badaltey Rishtey (1978) starring Rishi Kapoor, Reena Roy and Jeetendra. Love triangles are a typical Bollywood plot device, and one that has enraptured audiences for ages. Hell, they even enrapture the youth of America (Twilight, anyone?). But Badaltey Rishtey is a slightly twisted love triangle film, with a twist.

Manohar Dhani (Rishi Kapoor) is a happy-go-lucky orphan who works multiple jobs (among them, doing guided tours of Simla) while pursuing his graduate degree. A chance meeting with Savitri (Reena Roy) at the train station results in love at first sight, at least for Manohar. Savitri requires some woo-ing, and if you know Rishi like I do, woo-ing is what he does best. Manohar, being a crafty, resourceful fellow, poses as a delivery Ande-wallah (egg-seller) to visit Savitri daily until he is able to charm her into meeting him. Savitri, seeing his sweet nature and optimism despite the fact that he is alone in life, falls in love with him. Hurray!

Photo credit: guyanafriends.com

Oh wait. Because Savitri is such a perfect, delicate flower, she also attracts the attention of Sagar (Jeetendra), a wealthy businessman whose family lives in Simla. Savitri, coming from a modest family, teaches music to earn a living. She lives with her aging mother and her brother (Asrani) who works as a painting contractor. One of her students, Prema (Rachna Bhatt), happens to be Sagar's younger sister. Savitri arrives for Prema's lesson just as Sagar has returned home, and literally falls into his arms (she's a klutz! It's so attractive, just like Bella from Twilight!). Then Prema plays a recording of Savitri singing, and Sagar is a goner.

He begins moping around the house, listening to the recording over and over and painting pictures of Savitri. When he attends Savitri's music performance, he insists that she must sing the song for his sake, and gets all googly eyes when she does, not knowing she is singing to Manohar.

His sister-in-law (played by the delightful Shoba Khote) notes what's going on and resolves to get him together with Savitri. Sagar also loans a large sum of money to Savitri's brother, who he seems to vaguely be friends with. Clearly there are ulterior motives for his generosity.

Sagar's sister-in-law approaches Savitri's mother (Dina Pathak) with a proposal, and the mother is absolutely thrilled. She feels that their family astrologer's predictions for them to attain wealth is finally being realized. Savitri refuses the proposal because she is already in love with Manohar, and her mother immediately uses her 'Maa' powers to summon a heart attack and get herself hospitalized to get back at Savitri. The mother's illness had also been predicted by the astrologer, down to the exact date.

Meanwhile on a romantic romp in the snow, Manohar is seriously injured and hospitalized. Savitri is distraught, and her guilt increases when her friend tells her another aspect to her astrological predictions -- Savitri is destined to marry, but her husband will be in grave danger for the first 40 days of their marriage and could possibly die. After that, she will be married and live happily ever after. Dun Dun Dunnnnnnnnnnn!!!!

Photo credit: zulm.net

Unable to bear the thought of causing Manohar's death and succumbing to intense pressure from her ill mother, Savitri agrees to marry Sagar, but only after telling him about her predicted fate. Sagar is so besotted that he decides to take the risk and marry her anyway. Whatta guy! Leaving Manohar alone with his godfather in the hospital, Savitri marries Sagar. As they leave their wedding, Sagar helps a stranded car on the road and gets into a horrible accident. He survives without a scratch, and everyone waxes poetic about how Savitri has brought good luck to Sagar.

When Manohar learns that she has left him, he assumes that she betrayed him and married Sagar for his money. Savitri ends up writing Manohar a letter telling him about the prediction for her future, and says she still loves him and that in 40 days if her husband dies, she will come to him. Whaaaa?

The story then takes a wild turn, with Manohar pursuing Savitri relentlessly, pretending to befriend Sagar so he can kill him and reunite with Savitri. Savitri, seeing Manohar's wild behavior, begins to question her love for him. So which guy will survive? Who will Savitri end up with?

Photo credit: Cindy's BollyBlog

While not an astounding or groundbreaking film by any means, I will say that this film held my interest, particularly as Manohar's character starts his descent into madness in the second part of the film. Rishi Kapoor is absolutely darling as Manohar in the beginning, and then becomes increasingly threatening. I love Rishi so much that I actually struggled with seeing him in a negative role! But the entire idea is that Manohar IS charming and could easily befriend anyone, so his underhanded ways go unnoticed by everyone except Savitri. He's adorable, flashing his 1,000-watt smile all the way to the bittersweet end.

A sweater vest to add to the list of awesome Rishi's Knits!

Reena Roy is beautiful but somewhat vapid as Savitri. She spends much of the film with blank, questioning expressions. I did like the fact that Savitri is NOT a perfect character, despite appearances. She is selfish, a bit shady and seems to relish the role of a victim. She does try to redeem herself towards the end, but her choices are definitely not the smartest or most moral. I mean if someone is trying to poison your husband, you really ought to tell someone (preferably the police).

Jeetendra plays the consummate good guy, albeit a bit stalker-ish in the beginning. He's loyal, friendly, upstanding and patient with Savitri. He's the only character of the three that doesn't represent 'shades of gray' between good and bad. Therefore, he is the character I find most boring. The one sort of funny thing about Sagar is how excited he is to get it on with Savitri. He talks incessantly about their 'Suhaag Raat' (honeymoon night, i.e. pow-chicka-pow-pow time), which has been delayed until he survives the 40 days. Talk about foreplay. Sagar is maybe not all that together in the head either, as he talks to his painting of Savitri about how much he wants to DO her. Savitri is a magnet for the crazies!

Photo credit: octoberzine.blogspot.com's also fab recap of this film!

Asrani, Dina Pathak and Shoba Khote put in good supporting performances, and Rachna Bhatt is quite fresh and lovely as the young sister. The songs were more melancholy in nature, though the title song was quite popular at the time. My favorite of the lot is definitely this one - it's funky and fun, and who doesn't love a romp in the snow with Rishi?

As fellow blogger Cindy mentions in her review of this film, as I re-watched this film, I was reminded of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Woh Saat Din. This film does find a way to make you understand and relate to the 'change of heart' far more successfully than those films do, though it is still problematic. It's not a wholly satisfying conclusion, as Cindy also noted, but it does sit a bit better with me than the other two films do.

Photo credit: random google search

It's a film that's worth the watch if you love Rishi, or if you love late 70s fashion (Reena Roy's geometric print sarees are a joy!). Or for the amusement of subtitles like this:

Ahhh, bromance.

Iconic SPB - some of my favorite Bala songs!

2011-08-08T16:39:00.000-04:00

There is absolutely no way to really represent all that there is to love about S.P. Balasubramaniam. That booming, powerful, distinctive voice really speaks for itself. I've been to three SPB Concerts in my life, and loved every moment of each one. I would totally go to a million more. I remember the first time I was sitting in the auditorium for his concert ... I closed my eyes as he started singing and inexplicably, Salman Khan's face flashed before my eyes. Damn Raamlaxman! Their use of SPB as the 'voice' of Salman in films like Maine Pyar Kiya, Patthar Ke Phool, and Hum Aapke Hai Koun has permanently fixed a Salman=SPB equation in my mind, even though I don't think it actually suits him at all. You'll note that the end of my playlist below is heavy on Salman songs ... I couldn't help it!

So when Githa of Words from a Lotus mentioned that she was doing SPB Day, I immediately started trying to compile my favorite songs. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I am SUCH a fan of his that it was absolutely impossible for me to do so in a day. So many, many days later, here is my humble playlist of favorite SPB songs. This is by no means a comprehensive list, I'm sure there are many more that I've forgotten, but these were definitely the ones that came to mind first!

I've started with Telugu, Tamil and then Hindi - so it's not quite in a 'real' order, just by language. Enjoy the voice of this LEGEND!

My Favorite SPB Songs Playlist:

- Shankara Nada Shareera - Shankarabharanam (1981)
- Nada Vinodamu - Sagara Sangamam (1983)
- Mannil Inda Kadhal - Keladi Kanmani (1990)
- Ilaiyanila - Payanangal Mudivathillai (1982)
- Pani Vizhum Malarvanum - Ninaivellam Nithya (1982)
- Pothi Vecha Malligai- Mannvasanai (1983)
- Punjai Undu Nenjai Undu - Unnal Mudiyam Thambi (1988)
- Kala Kala Magam - Punnagai Mannan (1986)
- Guruvayoorappa - Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal (1989)
- Rathiriyil Poothirikkum - Thanga Magan (1983)
- Priya Priya O Priya- Kattabomman (1993)
- Devi Sri Devi - Vaazhve Mayam (1982)
- Rum Bum Bum - Michael Madana Kamarajan (1990)
- Mettupodu - Duet (1994)
- Madathile - Veera (1994)
- En Veetu Thottathil - Gentleman (1993)
- Oruvan Oruvan - Muthu (1995)
- O Maria - Saagar (1985)
- Dil Deewana - Maine Pyar Kiya (1989)
- Aaja Shaam Hone Aayi - Maine Pyar Kiya (1989)
- Tumse Milne Ki Tamanna Hai - Saajan (1990)
- Tumse Jo Dekhte Hi Pyar Hua - Patthar Ke Phool (1991)
- Sun Beliya - 100 Days (1991)
- Saathiya Tune Kya Kiya - Love (1991)
- Aaja Aaja Give Me A Kiss - Love (1991)
- Pehla Pehla Pyar Hai - Hum Aapke Hai Koun (1994)
- Teri Hi Arzoo - Chandramukhi (1993)

Painting by Venkat Meruvu

Kapoor Khazana: Dance like a Kapoor Playlist! Karishma Kapoor

2011-07-27T01:16:00.000-04:00

Photo credit: http://filmreviews.bizhat.com

Time to do an extended Kapoor Khazana post in honor of Karishma Kapoor!

I have to preface this by saying I'm not really a fan of Karishma. I really made fun of her like crazy over the years for overacting and being generally awkward. But in retrospect, I like Karishma (aka Lolo) FAR more than her sister Kareena (aka Bebo). Kareena is certainly beautiful, but there's just something so annoying about her personality (or whatever we can tell of her personality). And though I never really liked Karishma's acting, there was never a sense that she wasn't a nice person. She seems more down-to-earth and humble than her sister, which makes me like her a hundred times more than Bebo.

My mom always liked her, strangely. I guess because Karishma's acting style was in line with the actresses of the 50s and 60s, when my mom was growing up. She always said Karishma reminded her of Sadhana, who was a friend of my mom's back in Bombay (and is Karishma's aunt). And whenever I watch old Mala Sinha movies, I totally think of Lolo and Bebo. They must have grown up studying the actresses of that era, and that's what they emulate on-screen.

I will give Karishma credit for being a pretty good dancer. I don't think she as fantastic as a lot of other people thought she was -- there's a certain awkwardness to her posture which makes me critical of her dancing. But then again, I am extremely critical of dancers. So regardless of my nit-picking, she certainly deserves her very own Dance Like a Kapoor Playlist!
*not in chronological order, just in order of how I thought of them*
**no commentary either, because really I don't have much to say except she's amusing.

Main Albeli - Zubeidaa

Mein to Raste Mein Jaa Raha Tha - Coolie No. 1

Husn Hai Suhana - Coolie No. 1

Le Gayi Le Gayi - Dil To Pagal Hai

Jhanjhariya - Krishna

Maiyya Yashoda - Hum Saath Saath Hai

Sona Kitna Sona Hai - Hero No. 1

Pucho Zara Pucho - Raja Hindustani

Aankh Milaoongi - Fiza

Oonchi Hai Building - Judwaa

Deewani - Mere Jeevan Saathi

Kapoor Khazana: Rishi Kapoor - The Heroine's Hero!

2011-07-01T00:28:00.000-04:00

There's one thing I find really interesting about Rishi Kapoor's film choices ... his willingness to do heroine-oriented films. Obviously, Bollywood is based in a patriarchal society. Films almost always center around the journey of a HERO - Heroines are often thrown in as just a love interest and not much more. Although Hindi cinema has evolved to a certain point, sadly South Indian films still extremely hero-centric. And since much of Hindi cinema is copied from South Indian cinema (don't take offense, it's been that way for a very long time!), we still see far more films that center on a male protagonist's experiences. In fact, ApunBindaas recently did a very interesting post about Hindi films copied from Hollywood that actually changed the female protagonist into a male one for Indian audiences. It is what it is, and it may take a very long time for the industry at large to change.

But back to Rishi ... if you look over his filmography (particularly as he got older), you will note that Rishi is one actor who has not been afraid to take a male lead role that is primarily just there for the female lead to fall in love with, and the rest of the film centers on her experiences. It's really unusual - I simply can't imagine other leading actors, whether his contemporaries such as Jeetendra, Anil Kapoor or Amitabh Bachchan, or today's heroes like the Khans (SRK, Aamir and Salman), doing films where they weren't the primary focus. But Rishi has done it, time and time again ... and that gives me a strong respect for his confidence in himself and his approach to films.

Here's a list of 10 films that Rishi took a backseat to the heroine - which seriously makes me love him even more!

Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1981)
The bulk of this story focuses on Kanchan (Padmini Kohlapuri), a poor young girl who adopts her sister's son after she and her husband tragically die. Rishi plays the husband's younger brother who searches for his long-lost family and ends up falling in love with Kanchan. There's a wide variety of characters (many of whom share the same name) but the movie really follows the journey of Kanchan more than anyone else!

Nagina (1986)
A snake follows her mate beyond the boundaries of species - when a young boy is bitten by her mate and a snake-charmer uses his powers to have the snake pour his soul back into the boy to revive him, the female snake transforms into a human body (Sridevi) to reclaim her love. This movie wholly and completely belongs to Sridevi and I don't think anyone can deny that!

Chandni (1989)
As the title suggests, this movie is all about Chandni (Sridevi). Rishi plays her primary love interest, Rohit, who gets hurt in an accident and then begins to push her away in a twisted attempt at selflessness. Unfortunately by the time he comes to his senses, he has a rival for Chandni in Lalit (Vinod Khanna). Again, this is a Sridevi show, though Rishi has some wonderful moments to shine in the film, particularly when he is haunted by his memories of Chandni.

Henna (1991)
In the grand tradition of RK Films that are heroine-centric (such as Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Ram Teri Ganga Maili), Henna's story had an amnesia-affected Chander (Rishi Kapoor) crash land in the rustic hills of Pakistan. He is saved and nursed back to health by innocent and lively Henna, played by Zeba Bhaktiar, and they quickly fall in love. Eventually Chander's memory returns to him, and he realizes he has a love interest/fiancee waiting for him back in India. Henna had a typically RK-feel to it, very lush and epic, and it approached Indo-Pak border conflict in a subtle and romantic way long before films like Veer-Zaara. Ultimately Henna's character emerges as the true hero of the film.

Deewana (1993)
Deewana is heralded is Shah Rukh Khan's big debut in Hindi films, but both SRK and Rishi Kapoor's characters were just aspects of Kajal (Divya Bharati)'s story in Deewana. A young woman falls in love with a singing star and marries into his home, but then he is tragically taken from her. Shortly afterward another young man pursues the young widow relentlessly until she finally gives in, only to find out that her husband still lives!

Sahibaan (1993)
I'm not going to pretend this was a good movie. It wasn't. I really wanted it to be, because when the previews came out I was totally charmed by the village setting and Madhuri's outfits and make-up. Unfortunately we ended up laughing out loud throughout the film (yes, at the theatre). But it was definitely Sahibaan (Madhuri)'s story! Rishi once again played the love interest that conveniently disappears and reappears (he has a habit of doing that in films). Sahibaan is about a village belle who captures the eye of a rich, alcoholic, murderous Sanjay Dutt, but her heart already belongs to a simple bansuri-playing villager (Rishi Kapoor).

Damini (1993)
This WAS an excellent film, and one that I've recommended over and over. And though Rishi is the romantic hero, and Sunny Deol gave the performance of a lifetime in it, the film is 100% Meenakshi Seshadhri's. And she is stunning and brilliant in it! Damini is the story of a vibrant and honest woman who marries into a wealthy family but doesn't quite find acceptance, though her husband (Rishi Kapoor) sincerely loves her. After witnessing the brutal rape of a maidservant by her brother-in-law and his friends, she decides to testify against him and is consequently tortured by her in-laws, who are trying to cover up the crime. Sunny Deol plays a gruff, drunkard lawyer who is compelled to represent Damini in court and help her find justice.

Saajan Ka Ghar (1994)
This movie was absolutely heartbreaking. Juhi Chawla stars as a sweet, unassuming woman whose mother died giving birth to her, causing her father to turn completely against her. He remarries and her stepmother also abuses her, but her stepbrother becomes her champion. Eventually she marries Rishi Kapoor's character, but finds a similar reception in her mother-in-law. All the poor girl wants is parental love, and she is rejected again and again. This movie totally made me cry. And again Rishi plays the sweet, supportive husband who really doesn't do much for the plot.

Yaarana (1995)
A crazy little romp of a film about Shikha (Madhuri Dixit), a woman fleeing from a creepy rich stalker guy (Raj Babbar), who happens to run across and fall in love with Rishi Kapoor mid-flight. This movie is only remembered for Madhuri's hit song Mera Piya Ghar Aaya, though I thought it was funny. Again, the film is all about Shikha's experiences, and though Rishi's character brings in the opportunity for romance and comedy, it's a Madhuri show through and through.

Prem Granth (1996)
The last of the epic, heroine-centric RK Films, Prem Granth followed the tragic life of Kajri (Madhuri Dixit), yet another RK innocent village belle thrown into horrible circumstances in life. Rishi Kapoor plays the love interest who fades into the background during the worst times and leaves Kajri to suffer alone. Though I think Prem Granth had good intentions, it is perhaps guilty of being a bit too heavy-handed in the tragedy. Kajri's experiences are truly horrific. The message is that love conquers all, but they seriously make that poor girl experience ALL before she can find her happiness.

So these are just a sampling of films in which Rishi took hero roles in female-centric films. I'm sure there are many, many more and I'd love to hear which ones are your favorites or stuck out in your memory. I believe his willingness to take the lead male role in heroine-oriented films makes him a unique hero in the Hindi film industry, and it makes me incredibly proud to be his fan!

To check out more Kapoor Khazana links, click here!

Kapoor Khazana: Woo like Rishi Kapoor!

2011-06-29T23:51:00.000-04:00

I love Rishi Kapoor as a romantic hero! He has this incredible sweetness to him, even at the height of his "sweater uncle" phase. And over the years, he's had some truly CLASSIC romantic numbers in his films, particularly in the early 80s.

Rather than just list my favorite romantic numbers of his, I found myself categorizing them and thought I'd share this mental list with you all. I found some different yet all effective ways that Rishi Kapoor wooed his heroines ...

So here is Rishi Kapoor's Guide to Wooing the Heroine of Your Dreams:

ROMANCE HER IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Tere Chehre Se - Kabhi Kabhie
When you're romping about in the snow, you definitely need Rishi's charm (and sweaterliciousness) to warm you up!

Mitwa - Chandni
Honeymooning in Switzerland with Rishi? Yes, please. Can I have a suitcase full of Sridevi's gorgeous saris too? And luckily Rishi can always lend you a sweater for cool, mountain evenings.

Kaise Jiyunga Mein - Sahibaan
Frolicking in the woods and misty hills! Of course seedhi-saadhi gaonwali Madhuri Dixit fell for him!

FULL-OUT CHASE HER DOWN

Humko To Yaara Teri Yaari - Hum Kisise Kum Nahin
You think a full leather suit would slow our Rishi down? No way! Kaajal Kiran is no match for Rishi's charms!

Rabbi Re Ralli - Yaarana
Ok, so maybe his taste was a little weird in this one since he fell head-over-heels in love with Madhuri's strawberry blonde wig, but he sure wasn't going to let her get away! I want to generally have a discussion with the costume designer for this film, but hey, the song is fun anyway.

DAZZLE HER WITH YOUR ATHLETIC ABILITY

Pakdo Pakdo - Naseeb
Yes! Kabbadi time! How adorable is Rishi in this!

SERENADE HER

Saagar Jaisi Aankhonwali - Saagar
I can't even comment, I'm too busy swooning.

Yeh Vaada Raha - title song
One of the best Hindi love songs of ALL TIME. This one truly stands the test of time. A true classic. And Rishi uses a bit of slow dancing in his romancing with Poonam Dhillon and the great outdoors with Tina Munim ... it never hurts to serenade someone with Kishore Kumar's voice either.

Sochenge Tumhe Pyar - Deewana
I know this is supposed to be about Rishi, whose gaana has clearly charmed Divya Bharati in this song, but I am way too distracted by the background girls and their multitude of props (flags, peacock feather fans, and glittery tassels ... and that's not even counting their mullet wigs).

PLAY HARD-TO-GET

Kahin Na Jaa Aaj Kahin Mat Jaa - Bade Dil Wala
I love this soundtrack so much - all the songs are so fabulous. And this one is quite an earworm for me. Now Tina Munim is trying to keep Rishi from getting arrested in this song, but still she's obviously in love enough to declare it in front of an entire party (all of whom think he's married to her sister Sarika) ... and she really has to keep drawing him back with her song!

Tu Tu Tu Tara - Bol Radha Bol
Ooh I can't stand this song. It is such a poor remake of the fabulous tamil song "Raakamma Kai Thattu" from Thalapathi (Rajnikanth and Shobhana!). But man, does he make gorgeous Juhi Chawla chase!

SEDUCE HER

Jaane Do Naa - Saagar
What can I say? UNF. These kids have grown up since their Bobby days! This song is HOT HOT HOT, as is Dimple in that sari.

Dhak Dhak - Gharana
A little dancing in the rain, that gets the ladies every time. Meenakshi Seshadhri is all a-flutter from Rishi's game.

MAKE HER MAD THEN CHARM HER BACK (ROOTHNA MANANA)

Mein Der Karta Nahin - Henna
If only my husband knew that whenever he was late, all he had to do was sing this song to me as charmingly as Rishi does here, and I'd melt in his arms.

Tere Kasam Mein Hoon Tera Deewana - Prem Granth
This song has always stuck in my mind ... he is so adorably persistent! And not in a creepy stalker way, in a charming Rishi way! How can Madhuri resist?

Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun - Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai
I love love love love this song!!! Shailendra Singh's voice is perfect for Rishi, and he has that 1,000-watt smile on full blast. He is just so winning ... I am completely smitten and have been since I first saw this movie back in the 80s. Also, sorry SRK, but Rishi sang and danced on top of a train first. Ok, so maybe his is a back-projection, but still ... he's soooo cuuuuute. Excuse me as I SWOOOON.

Hope you enjoyed this fun list, which had some of my absolute favorite songs (Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun from ZKDH, The title song of YVR and Kahin Na Jaa from Bade Dil Wala, for example). And if you have determined some categories of Rishi Wooing that I missed, please do share them with me!

The good news is that Kapoor Khazana is extending into July, so there's still hope that I can get to my Karishma, Kareena and Ranbir posts! And I still have lots of Rishi Squeeing to do, so I'm ever so pleased that the lovely Katherine of Totally Filmi decided to continue this blogging event!

Definitely check out all the Kapoor Khazana links so far at this link.

Kapoor Khazana: Kapoors do Qawwalis!

2011-06-26T19:40:00.002-04:00

Okay, so it's a given that I'm the Rishi Kapoor Fangirl #1 and I absolutely love him. One of the things I think he does better than ANY other hero in Filmdom is Qawwalis. Rishi has been featured as the lead in many qawaali numbers, and I think he lends it unparalleled passion and panache.

But as I was playing around with making my Dance Like A Kapoor playlists, I did realize that he's not the only Kapoor with a flair for qawwali performance. So I threw together a quick list of my favorite Kapoor Qawwalis. I don't know of any qawaalis featuring Randhir or Rajeev Kapoor, or the younger set (Karishma, Kareena and Ranbir), so if you DO know of some please let me know! Here's my list of Kapoor-fabulous Qawwalis:

Daag Na Lag Jaye - Mera Naam Joker (1970) - featuring RAJ KAPOOR
I find this song very addictive, musically. It's fun to see the interplay between Padmini and Raj Kapoor in this too.

Chali Chali Kaisi Hawa - Bluffmaster (1963) - featuring SHAMMI KAPOOR
These Kapoor boys love dressing up in drag! Perhaps because they are all so Fair & Lovely. Shammi is impressively graceful and delicate in this.

Tumhe Husn Dekhe - Jab Se Tumhe Dekha Hai (1963) - featuring SHAMMI and SHASHI KAPOOR
Seeing these two Kapoor brothers together on-screen is such a delight! 10+ minutes of pure entertainment, complete with Kapoor Brothers doing the twist together at the end.

Is Ishq Mein Har Aashiq - Mr. Romeo (1972) - featuring SHASHI KAPOOR
Lovely, lavish late 70s sets with chandeliers. Ranjeet tries his darndest to steal the show, but the show is definitely all Shashi's!

Mohabbat Gar Na Hoti - Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath (1962) - featuring SHASHI KAPOOR
A beautiful, sweet and simple qawwali with a super young Shash!

Hum To Jhuk Kar - Fakira (1976) - featuring SHASHI KAPOOR
This time Shashi is joined by the young and dashing Danny Denzongpa and Asrani. They're all dressed up in their finest brocades and fake moustaches.

Tere Chehre Se - Muqaddar (1978) - featuring SHASHI KAPOOR
There's so much to love here ... a large red velvet ballroom, chandeliers, Kishore Kumar's voice, Amjad Khan and a very enthusiastic Shashi! Does anyone else think a bearded, moustached Shashi looks a bit like Mac Mohan?

Hai Agar Dushman - Hum Kisise Kum Nahin (1977) - featuring RISHI KAPOOR
What can I say about this song? Besides being an excellent song in itself, Rishi is SO SO amazing in it. His smiles, his energy, his intensity and fervor are just unbeatable. How do you NOT fall in love with him watching this? And a word about Zeenat Aman ... gorgeous. Just gorgeous, and sparkly and wonderful.

Parda Hai Parda - Amar Akbar Anthony (1979) - featuring RISHI KAPOOR
Again, such great energy! Right from the moment he LEAPS onto the stage. And Neetu Singh's adorable, coy looks make it even more fun to watch.

Eid Ka Din - Deedar E Yaar (1982) - featuring RISHI KAPOOR
It's nice to see Reena Roy here, but when it comes to Qawwali, Rishi steals the show! He's so dedicated and sincere. And wow, Tina Munim looks gorgeous too.

Pari Ho Aasmaani Tum - Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1981) - featuring RISHI KAPOOR
This may be the definitive song that made me fall madly in love with Rishi. I just die for that part at 0:06 where they do the 3-frame close-up on his adorable smirk. SWOON. And the light-up floors and background and the sparkly vest are just icing. Seriously, if you aren't the tiniest bit charmed by Rishi's performance here, you have a bitter, dark soul. I love Shailendra Singh's voice for Rishi too, it just completely suits him. Boy, do I wish a guy would sing a qawwali for me in which light-up hearts make a beeline straight towards me in the middle. That's pyar.

If you find or know of any Kapoor Qawwali gems I've missed, please do share them in the comments! Particularly any Rishi ones!

I'm continuing to work on my Dance Like A Kapoor series (Karishma's up next!) and also have a few other thoughts to share for Kapoor Khazana, but things are certainly hectic in my world so here's hoping that I'll get to them.

In the meanwhile, be sure to check out all the Kapoor Khazana links at this link. Also, pay close attention to Katherine's Totally Filmi blog as there may be some highlights about the Raj Kapoor Retrospective event being held during IIFA weekend in Toronto up on her blog soon!

Don't forget to check out BLOGUE E-Magazine!!!

2011-06-24T20:17:00.003-04:00

The amazing and talented Louella of Masala with Bigosie has kindly added me to the roster of BollyBloggers featured in her new online magazine 'BLOGUE'. Nine is one of my lucky numbers, and so I was honored when Louella asked me to be her 9th cover girl.

Each issue of BLOGUE is dedicated to a specific blogger and has a fun Q & A session with them as well as links to their favorite posts from their own blogs. There's also links to other popular posts in the blogosphere, and a special editorial written by Githa of Words from a Lotus.

It's obviously a labor of love from Louella, whose own blog gets an average of 3,000 views per week and has tons of reviews of South Indian movies (and Hindi too). Louella does this purely to appreciate bloggers and give us an opportunity to get to know each other a little better. Githa too, takes the time to write thoughtful essays for each issue, and Prathna Tiwari of Sakhi Speaks lends her editorial skills to the project.

To check out previous issues, featuring bloggers like ApunBindaas, Beth Loves Bollywood and Filmi Girl, click here!

For my special 9th issue - click here!

Thanks Louella, for taking the time and effort to produce such a fun creation, and for allowing me to be a part of it!

Kapoor Khazana: Dance Like a Kapoor Playlist! RISHI KAPOOR ♥♥♥

2011-06-22T12:01:00.003-04:00

Finally I get around to not only my favorite Kapoor, but my all-time favorite Hindi Movie star - Rishi Kapoor, aka Chintu! I have loved Rishi since I was a tiny little girl ... I just didn't realize it until much later in life. He was probably my first ever crush.

And really, when you see his films from the early 80s, who can blame me? He was ADORABLE - from the curly top to the 1,000-watt smile and the oodles of energy. Rishi is unique in his career arc - he was a leading man for at least two solid decades before seamlessly transitioning into mature supporting/character roles (a fancy way of saying "Uncle" roles).

But this is supposed to be about his dancing - which I am a huge fan of! I absolutely LOVE Rishi's dancing - a lot of which is jumping, bouncing and jogging! He has such style and always looks 100% thrilled when doing it. He's often featured as a stage performer, doing elaborate items with a multitude of instruments. There are so many great, fun, bouncy Rishi songs to dance to -- so here's my 'Dance like a Kapoor' playlist for Rishi Kapoor:

Jhoot Bole Kauwa Kaate - Bobby (1973)
He's SUCH a teeny tiny baby in this, as is Dimple. Just adorable, playful and innocent.

Dil Dena Bhuri Bala Hai - Rafoo Chakkar (1975)
How can one argue w/ Chintu in drag? Especially when accompanied by his beautiful wife, Neetu!

Hamne Tumko Dekha - Khel Khel Mein (1975)
One of my favorite avatars, Rishi the stage performer. Wielding his fab guitar and charming the bellbottomed pants off of all the ladies - and the heart of one special Miss Singh!

Bachna Ae Haseeno - Hum Kisise Kam Nahin (1977)
One of my favorite movies! And really, how can one NOT love Rishi in an all-white, sparkly sequins pants suit with a matching cap and a large plastic heart necklace? This time he swaps out his guitar for a trumpet.

Tayyab Ali Pyar Ka Dushman - Amar Akbar Anthony (1979)
This movie is a favorite on almost everyone's list, and of course we all love Rishi & Neetu together! His energy here is infectious!

Daffliwale Daffli Bajaa - Sargam (1979)
One of the MOST famous Hindi songs ever, and the one that launched Jaya Prada to stardom in Hindi films (apparently sans her eyebrows). But would she have anything to dance to without Rishi skillfully playing that daffli? The boy's got rhythm. Speaking of, I miss dafflis. We need more in Hindi song picturizations.

Om Shanti Om - Karz (1980)
Oh Rishi - so adorably sparkly. So discofabulous. Hopping, skipping and jogging along on the spinning record ... no one else could have made this song the iconic song that it is!

Rang Jamake - Naseeb (1981)
Rishi does Charlie Chaplin ... perhaps in a tribute to Raj Kapoor? I also love Shatrughan Sinha's dancing in this ... hee hee.

Pucho Na Yaar Kya Hua - Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1981)
This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and a lot of that love is specifically because I thought Rishi was so adorable in this. And this song captures so much of what I love about 80s Bollywood ... sparkly decorations, light-up dance floors, and disco! This entire movie's soundtrack is fabulous! Those disco-dancing kids are pretty fab too.

Dil Lena Khel Hai - Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1981)
Had to add another one from this movie because I love StagePerformer!Rishi so much and this movie had an abundance of light up dance floors - which I can't resist. Also because he really dances his heart out in this one.

Ishq Mera Bandagi Hai - Yeh Vaada Raha (1982)
Another movie in which I was in love with Rishi. And I actually got to do a dance to this song with a local dance prodigy and my sister when I was 7 years old ... I played the Tina Munim role. And again, it features StagePerformer!Rishi and he's so into it ... I just love it. Another amazing soundtrack (R.D. Burman FTW!). And another sparkly jacket. Kapoor Bonus: Shammi Kapoor played the kind doctor who escorts Tina Munim to Rishi's performance!

Kaho Kaise Rasta Bhool Pade - Bade Dil Wala (1983)
I LOVE this song, this soundtrack and this Rishi! He's so joyous - just totally enjoying being out there dancing with Aruna Irani. I particularly like the bit at about 2:03 when he's holding her foot and running around in a circle. He just looks so happy! I also like when they do the Filipino Tinikling dance and then sit up on the poles and make everyone else carry them around.

Aaya Sanam Aaya Deewana Tera - Bade Dil Wala (1983)
Pshaw. Like gun shots could stop a sparkly-shirted Rishi from performing for a crowd! More amazing disco sets too!

Lambuji Lambuji - Coolie (1983)
It's costumes galore in this fun Rishitabh song! I love Rishi dressed as the brahmin priest up on stilts. And for some reason, Rishi has never reminded me of his dear old Dad MORE than in this song.

Parbhat Se Kaali Ghata Takraayi - Chandni (1989)
Rishi was quickly descending into "Sweater Uncle" phase, but I still found him loveable and charming as Rohit in Chandni. And though we all know that this song belongs to the ravishing Sridevi, Rishi still gave his best moves to make it amazing.

Main Matti Ka Gudda - Ajooba (1991)
Well into his "Sweater Uncle" phase now, it was definitely bothersome to see Rishi play opposite the teenaged Sonam in Ajooba. Still, he has this sweetness and innocence to him that made this song fun.

Desh Badalte Hai - Banjaran (1991)
A movie that had a similar feel to Nagina, but with a Banjaran theme. Sridevi rules here, again, but Rishi comes in towards the end and shows that he's still got it, despite being at the end of his days as a hero.

Payaliya - Deewana (1992)
Again, well past hero phase but still giving even the most ridiculous choreography his all. I love Rishi, and I love this song! I had to choose it over the StagePerformer!Rishi song from this movie, "Sochenge Tumhe Pyar" (which I highly recommend watching for the multitude of props wielded by the background dancers).

Jaipur Se Nikli Gadi - Gurudev (1993)
Oh poor Rishi. Did they HAVE to put him in those shorts? And despite the ridiculous get-up, he's still rocking it out and seems to be genuinely having fun with Sridevi. Great, peppy song though.

Dil Dene Ki Ruth Aayi - Prem Granth (1996)
A Rishi-Madhuri pairing was definitely a bad idea, but this song is beautiful and I STILL find him charming, even this deep into his "sweater uncle" phase. There's a certain style to his little head tosses that I really love!

Dil Se Judi - Kaun Sacha Kaun Jhoota (1997)
The last film that had Rishi-Sridevi paired together! And this song is a terrible rip-off of an amazing Gipsy Kings song, but still ... he IS dancing and giving joy and fun to the stupid choreography. And Sridevi is stunning as always.

Baaja Bajeya - Do Dooni Chaar (2010)
Full out into his booming career as a character actor/father/uncle, and he won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for this film. I can't think of a more deserving person. He knocked it out of the park with this one ... just so beautifully acted, such nuances, such sweetness. I absolutely LOVE the moment where he heads out onto the dance floor with real-life wife Neetu Singh and starts doing the stereotypical "Uncle Dance" ... just love love love.

This only scratches the surface of Rishi fabulousness and Kapoor Khazana is quickly coming to an end. But I definitely wanted to share these as some of my favorite Rishi Dance songs.

Many more great film reviews and analysis posts for Kapoor Khazana are available here. Check it out!

Kapoor Khazana: Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985)

2011-06-11T00:29:00.000-04:00

Oh wow. This movie. Raj Kapoor's last directorial venture. The studio's last real hit. The movie famous for completely, openly showcasing Mandakini's ... ahem ... assets.

And yet Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985) is brilliant, in its own unique way. It is the essence of RK Cinema - a rich, layered saga with mythological, political and social commentary elements all blended together to create a true epic. Yes, I can overlook the gratuitous skin show that earned Raj Kapoor the sarcastic re-imagining of his title as the greatest 'SHOW' man of Indian cinema. Because Ram Teri Ganga Maili is a film that tries its darndest to remind us all to be better human beings.

The story opens with a political rally to promote environmental efforts to cleanse the holy river Ganges. Calcutta-based party leader Chaudhary (Raza Murad) urges the crowd to honor the Ganges and fight against pollution -- perfectly in line with the real-life initiative by Rajiv Gandhi, the notorious 'Ganga Action Plan' that began in 1985. However it is revealed that Chaudhary is simply using the hot issue to gain power, and he's really in cahoots with shameless polluter and business tycoon Sahai (Kulbhushan Karbandha).

Sahai's son Naren (Rajeev 'Chimpoo' Kapoor) is an idealistic young admirer of Vivekananda. He resists his father's "screw the little people" ways and longs for a more righteous and fulfilling life. His family, including his RIDICULOUSLY BEAUTIFUL AND YOUNG LOOKING grandmother (Sushma Seth), want him to marry Chaudhary's daughter Radha (Divya Rana). Though Naren has a comfortable, albeit slightly imbalanced friendship with Radha, his heart isn't in the union. And when he finds out how corrupt his father and Chaudhary are (by eavesdropping, naughty naughty!), he feels a need to cleanse himself of his father's sins.

He asks to go on a school trip to Gangotri to visit the source of the Ganges, and though his father refuses, eventually his grandmother and off-beat, notorious and slightly shady uncle (Saeed Jaffrey) help him convince his parents to let him go. Before he leaves, the grandmother requests that he bring back the sacred water in a small silver jug for her so that she can purify herself. The uncle also gives him some parting gifts ... a Raj Kapoor costume!

In Gangotri, he encounters an innocent, beautiful maiden named (da da daaaaa!) Ganga (Mandakini) who immediately captures his heart with her giggles, wit and strange habit of cupping her cheek with her hand. I mean really, who does that? Ganga too is smitten by this young, handsome and equally innocent youth. It is a simple formula for them to fall in love ... guy saves girl from bad guy + girl sings a siren song while INFAMOUSLY bathing in a waterfall wearing ~~nothing~~ a sheer white sari + girl's elder brother (Tom Alter! In brownface!) wants her to marry some local loser = LOVE. Also they are helped along by the absolutely gorgeous scenery (lush greenery, flowing streams and waterfalls, mountain backdrops!).

Lucky for them that local customs dictate during the convenient full moon festival the girls can choose their husbands. Ganga publicly chooses Naren in my absolute favorite song from this film, Sun Saiba Sun. The local loser she rejected is furious and tries to demand that she is rightfully his, but Ganga's brother Karan Singh immediately defends his sister's choice and fights off local loser and his band of goons. As Naren and Ganga consumate their 'union' (Another shocker! Love scene! And I got a bit squirmy watching it even now ... can't imagine how I reacted at age 8), Karan Singh gets to dishoom-dishoom with the goons, and loses his life in the scuffle.

Now of course this was still 1985 and so obviously that one steamy 'union' will result in a child, but first, Naren must head back to Calcutta. He promises to get his grandmother's blessings and return to Gangotri to bring Ganga back to his home as his bride. Both are unaware that Ganga is now completely alone, as her brother died defending her and Naren's pow-chick-pow-pow time.

When Naren arrives back in Calcutta, the preparations are all underway for his engagement to Radha. Stricken, Naren takes his grandmother aside to tell her that he's already in love with Ganga and has married her. Of course, in classic overdramatic Maa style, the grandmother immediately collapses with a heart attack. Naren is besides himself with guilt, grief and fear. She wakes up briefly to tell him to bring her 'bahu' Ganga to her, and then expires. Papa Sahai totally freaks out, and beats the crap out of Naren saying that he did something to kill her. Heartbroken but determined to fulfill his grandmother's wishes and his promise to Ganga, Naren tries to run away to Gangotri. Papa Sahai employs his industrialist power and Chaudhary give his political power to have the police apprehend Naren and lock him up until his marriage to Radha.

Time passes swiftly as Naren is kept a prisoner (you'd think they'd rush the wedding, but they decide to wait a convenient nine months or so), and Ganga gives birth to a baby boy (because we HAVE to justify their 'union' with both consequences and redemption - a boy child! An heir!). Ganga's only support system is a mountain neighbor woman and the sweet old postman. The postman had brought her an old letter addressed to Naren many months earlier. The letter was written by Radha and details their engagement plans. When he fails to return after the birth of her child, Ganga reads the letter and assumes that Naren has abandoned her for Radha. Despite her heartbreak, she decides that she must go to him in Calcutta to deliver "his" son to him (the film continually refers to the child as "his" child, which is annoying). And go Ganga embarks on a perilous journey, from the pure source in Gangotri, and follows the path of the Ganges River all the way to the polluted banks of Calcutta.

Ganga's journey, like that of the actual Ganges River, is filled with the pollution of society - corrupt people that prey on the innocent and selfish people that turn their backs on those in need. A poor woman holding a baby tries to trap Ganga into a life of prostitution, a sleazy priest tries to attack her, and a man pretending to be blind tries to trick her into life as a courtesan. Everywhere she goes, her pleas for help are futile. Like the River Ganges, the sweet, pure Ganga is tainted more and more by the selfishness and greed of her fellow man.

Naren also sends his uncle to search for Ganga, and he unfortunately is unable to locate her. Naren's mother pleads with the uncle to convince Naren to marry Radha, and he finally tells Naren that she perished and he must move on. Meanwhile Ganga is trapped at a high-end home for courtesans and forced to sing and dance for wealthy men. Ganga fights back the best way she can, with an acid tongue, sarcasm, wit and fiery glares. She captures the notice of none other than Choudhary, who immediately purchases her with plans to "share" her with Papa Sahai as soon as his daughter Radha is married off.

Naren's uncle happens to be a regular customer of courtesans (this is the source of his notoriety), and comes across Ganga at the Calcutta home Choudhary has installed her in. When he realizes that she is the very same Ganga Naren continues to pine for, and that she has "his" child with her, he sets off to fix everything. Ganga is brought to perform at Naren and Radha's wedding, where the truth is revealed and Ganga attempts to leave her child in Naren and Radha's hands and escape. Ultimately Naren must step forward, throw off his weak, ineffectual tendencies and stand up for the woman he loves and against the corruption of his family.

This film is terribly complicated and tragic. The story itself is laden with mythological references and themes. This beautifully written analysis of the film by Professor Philip Lutendorf of the University of Iowa film department suggested that the story is inspired by the ancient tale of Shakuntala -- the story of the daughter of the Apsara Menaka, raised in a hermitage by the Sage Kanwa. Shakuntala falls deeply in love with the brave King Dushyanta and marries him in the moonlight according to ancient customs, only to have him completely forget her existence because of a curse. Eventually they are reunited and their child, the Prince Bharata, is named heir to the throne.

Though I'm extremely familiar with the story of Shakuntala (having played the role of a forest animal in a Bharatanatyam dance drama created for Canadian Television back in 1986, and then doing the title role of 'Shakuntala' as part of a Srimad Bhagvatam dance drama in 1992 ... not to mention obsessively reading the Amar Chitra Katha version over and over), I would have never connected it to Ram Teri Ganga Maili. But strangely, it DOES make sense. Even the imagery of the beautiful young maiden dressed simply in white garments seems to fit with both stories!

That particular image - the maiden dressed in sheer white garments -- has become an iconic image that represents RK Films from Satyam Shivam Sundaram onwards. The innocent, white-clad female, pure and vulnerable and yet completely free and bold. Yes it disturbs me and I do feel that it was exploitative and overly graphic, but also beautiful and artistic in a way. The controversy surrounding Mandakini's famous waterfall scene surrounded Raj Kapoor's ability to get away with things that should clearly have been censored. When it comes to this scene, I always think in my head that it was blown out of proportion and perhaps people just sensationalized it. But then I watched the movie again and was truly flabbergasted. I mean, really. There wasn't a need to push the envelope THAT far ... it is disturbing to see THAT much. No matter how "artistically" it was done, there's no need to showcase nipples so blatantly in a Hindi movie. But does it ruin the movie? No. Boobs definitely seem to be the obsession with this movie though - there are a number of notorious breastfeeding scenes as well. Those don't bother me as much because it's just such a normal part of life with a baby. I suppose what's disturbing is that people have the capacity to be titillated by it.

But to focus on those things is to miss the socio-political messages and elements of fantasy/mythology. Here we have the physical journey of a young woman and the corruption and abuse she faces mirroring the actual descent of the Ganges River from its pure and pristine source in the mountains down to it's most polluted locations in Varanasi and Calcutta.

There's also a wonderfully complicated cast of characters. Again we see a set of wealthy, selfish parents ... seems to be a theme with Raj Kapoor. Daddy issues? Here the father is corrupt and vicious, but he also seems to have some Mommy issues himself. He clearly resents his son's close relationship with the grandmother, and goes beserk on him when she passes away. The mother is mostly ineffectual, though she does emotionally blackmail her brother (Naren's Uncle) into convincing Naren to marry Radha.

Saeed Jaffrey's character of the uncle is an interesting one ... he's not quite a typical 'good guy' - he's prone to spending time in the company of courtesans, or tawaifs. He has a notorious reputation and is quite cavalier about it. He makes no claims to be a good guy, and almost seems to enjoy his rebellious status, but also has a stronger moral compass than Papa Sahai. And ultimately he is the one that champions Ganga's cause and urges Naren to stand up for her and do what is right.

Divya Rana is effective enough as Radha - her face certainly has a vulnerability to it and she has that girl-next-door quality. Sushma Seth plays the grand matriarch perfectly, and it was fun to see Tom Alter in a role that actually has some motivations. Raza Murad is great as the lecherous baddie.

Mandakini is considered the real 'hero' of this movie. Personally, I wasn't all that charmed by her performance. She is very, very raw and her early scenes are actually quite irritating (with the cheesy laying the hand on the cheek and all). I will give her that as the movie continues she does seem to improve a bit, and her later scenes - particularly when she bitterly challenges Chaudhary - do have a little bit of fire to them.

And as for Rajeev 'Chimpoo' Kapoor - I couldn't help but feel as I watched the movie this time around that he had been written off a bit unfairly. Sure, he's not the most handsome of the Kapoors, and he is definitely not effortless in his acting. But his portrayal of Naren does come off as sweet and earnest. Naren is a weak character, and Chimpoo makes him a bit more sympathetic. There are moments - flashes or glimpses, really - where he slightly resembles Shammi Kapoor. I think he did have some potential, but perhaps never really got the chance to work and improve. He's not brilliant, mind you. But he's not as awful as I remember everyone said he was.

There's tons more to say here but I have to cut this short as I'm flying to London tomorrow early morning, it's almost midnight here in Boston and I still haven't packed! But I hope that others will also check out this film and share their thoughts. There's a lot of political messaging going on here that I probably barely scratched the surface of, knowing very little of Indian politics myself. But there's also environmental sentiment, social commentary and a bit of a finger wag at the irony of a people who worship Goddesses as the Mother of the Universe, and then try to bespoil innocent women.

I'm sad to be heading out during Kapoor Khazana because I have SO VERY MANY ideas for posts that I want to do. I hope that when I get back at the end of June I will be able to churn some of these out, because still in the works are my Dance like a Kapoor series for Rishi, Karishma, Kareena and Ranbir Kapoor, and much more! And definitely check out the links list for Kapoor Khazana - there's lots of fabulous posts to enjoy!

Kapoor Khazana: Dance Like a Kapoor Playlist! Shashi Kapoor

2011-06-06T00:49:00.001-04:00

The sweet-smiling youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor is known for being one of the greatest romantic heroes of Hindi cinema from the 60s all the way through to the 80s! Balbir Raj Kapoor, aka Shashi Kapoor, started out as a child actor, best known for playing the young version of Raj Kapoor in films like Aag and Awara. But starting in 1961, he became a hero in his own right, stealing the hearts of millions with his signature grin. He also has the distinction of being the one Kapoor to truly straddle both commercial and art house cinema successfully.

I hate to admit it, but Shashi-centric films were never really ones that I sought out. I liked him well-enough, particularly as one half of my favorite filmi bromance duo - Shashitabh (Shashi Kapoor + Amitabh Bachchan) - in films like Shaan, Do Aur Do Paanch and Namak Halal. But I never quite considered myself a part of his die-hard fanbase. Which means that I am woefully ignorant of many of his best films and songs.

But I did try to come up with as many fun, spirited, dance-y numbers featuring Shashi as I could off the top of my head - so here's Dance Like a Kapoor Part III - SHASHI KAPOOR ... now I originally thought that I'd mostly be thinking of numbers where Shashi jogs around trees and acts charming -- but there are some really good ones that allow him to showcase what he's got! And what he's got ... we just adore, don't we?

Le Jayenge Le Jayenge - Chor Machaye Shor (1974)
I feel like this is such a quintessential Shashi song, and it's such a great song to dance to. I mean you can't hear it and NOT dance! And though we are mostly treated to large arm flourishes, Shashi gets to do a teeny bit of bhangra and shows that he has excellent rhythm and energy. Honestly speaking, he reminds me of Shah Rukh Khan in this, or should I say vice-versa? I mean to say, I don't think SRK is the dancer that let's say Hrithik Roshan or Shahid Kapoor are, but he is so full of energy and dedication that you just don't care. I think Shashi has that quality here.

Kehne Ki Nahin Baat - Pyar Kiye Jaa (1966)
I always loved this video, because I felt like it was one time when Shashi channeled his inner Shammi. But after another re-watch, I feel like Shashi really took this one and ran! I mean, the energy, the jumping, the choreography, the TWIST! This is such a fun video, and Shashi rocks it. I'll even go so far as to say that sometimes I feel like the heroes of the 60s had it much harder than the ones of today. I mean, their choreography, though not perhaps as complicated as the hip-hop based stuff of today, really required a ton of energy! The stuff of today is pretty good, but the editing style has advanced to the stage that there's rarely a few seconds of dance before we're cutting to something else. These guys had to do set choreography and jump like crazy without breaks. I know it's difficult to really compare, but when you think of how many takes Shashi probably had to jump like that ... well, I get exhausted just thinking about it. And this video gets the Beth Loves Bollywood stamp of approval.

Yamma Yamma - Shaan (1980)
Shashitabh! A Bad Guy's Lair! Tambourines and Hand Scarves! Helen! What's not to love about this song? This is one of my favorite dance songs of all-time. My eldest sister choreographed this for a large group of my mom's students back in 1981 and they made their costumes out of black garbage bags to imitate the leather vests that Shashitabh are wearing in this. I was always SO jealous. I wanted to be in this dance SO VERY BADLY (of course, I was four so it really would have been hazardous to have me underfoot). I totally wanted to re-create it in the early 90s when we finally had boyfriends that 1) could dance and 2) were uber-Amitabh fans and would have totally done it. Unfortunately we never got around to it. Oh well, I can always put my husband in a black garbage bag vest and dance around the living room.

Raat Baaki - Namak Halal (1982)
This may be a weird choice because he mostly stands around and watches Parveen Babi shimmy around in it, but I really do think this is a GREAT disco song. Our band used to play it at parties and it always got people on the dance floor! And towards the end when Shashi does his verse, he does do some disco-ey grooving. He's super cute doing it.

Hey Mujhe Dil De Nahin Toh - Mr. Romeo (1974)
Yes!!! Shashi can BOOGIE! The strobe lighting is a little annoying, but he is totally working it in this - it's not just jogging and arm flourishing! And while juggling multiple women no less!

O Meri Sharmilee - Sharmilee (1971)
Ok so this is more of the jogging and arm flourishing variety, but it's such a fantastic song and he's so wonderfully vibrant in it, so I had to include it. I also remember a few remixes of it floating around about 6-7 years ago, so it's totally danceable.

Tum Jo Ho So Ho Lekin Khuda To Nahin - Biradari (1966)
This song was on one of those old song compilations VHS tapes my mom had back in the day, and I always remembered it because 1) Shashi was SO YOUNG, 2) Shashi + Mehmood! WOW! and 3) Shashi does some rocking thumkas. But he really gets a chance to DANCE in this one, and he's quite good. Mehmood is awesome too, of course.

Humko Tumpe Pyar Aaya - Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965)
More of the jogging variety, but he does do some pretty cool moves dancing through the wheat fields as well. And again, such amazing energy! Affoo Khuda!

Na Na Karte Pyar - Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965)
I dare you to listen to this song and not shake your shoulders or hips. Seriously. It's impossible. And Shashi shows some excellent versatility in this one -- from bhangra to the twist. Love it!

Kahiye Kahan Se - Heeralal Pannalal (1978)
Admittedly in this song most of the dancing is left up to the fabulous girls (Zeenat Aman and Neetu Singh), but it's still fun to see Shashi and his nephew Randhir dancing together (and dare I say, Shashi looks way younger than his nephew despite being nine years older)!

Wada Karo - Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973)
Here we have 'Skate like a Kapoor' vs. 'Dance like a Kapoor' - but I had to add it because it's one of my favorite Shashi Kapoor songs and because of the fun costumes and HELLO? Roller skates!

At this point I couldn't think of any more off the top of my head, so I had to call in for reinforcements because I couldn't shake the sense that I was forgetting some ESSENTIAL Shashi songs. So of course, I hit up the Shashi-love-encyclopedia-extraordinaire, Beth Loves Bollywood. And she came through with some spectacular suggestions!

Nain Mile Kar Chain Churana - Aamne Samne (1967)

Pada Tumhare Kabhi Bijliyon Ki - Ganga Aur Suraj (1980)

Suno Suno - Haseena Maan Jayegi (1968)

Dilbar Dilbar - Haseena Maan Jayegi (1968)

LOVE IT!!! Thanks Beth!

The next installment of 'Dance like a Kapoor' is going to be extremely difficult for me because it's my favorite Kapoor and I think he has an extensive list of amazing dance songs! But I'll do my best to give the wonderful, adorable Rishi Kapoor his due justice.

Keep yourself updated on all the fun Kapoor Khazana posts by visiting Katherine of Totally Filmi's links!

Kapoor Khazana: The origins of those crazy nicknames!

2011-06-05T22:36:00.000-04:00

This is sort of a mini-post, because I don't want to comment too heavily on these videos except to say how FREAKING ADORABLE they are and HOW MUCH I LOVE THESE GUYS and HOW CUTE IS NEETU??? But this episode of our favorite show to love/hate on, Koffee with Karan, features the three sons of Raj Kapoor - Randhir, Rishi (♥) and Rajeev. We get a lovely bonus of having the beautiful Neetu Singh also join them, along with the rarely seen sister of these guys, Reema.

There's a pretty good discussion of where all the silly Kapoor nicknames (Daboo, Chintu, Chimpoo, Lolo, Bebo, etc.) come from, which is worth checking out. I think Ranbir needs one of these crazy nicknames, despite Rishi's protests. Anyone got a good one for him? Perhaps 'Nangoo' - in tribute to his little naked dance in Saawariya? But mostly I like this episode because it's like hanging out with three drunk Punjabi uncles ... which I've been known to do occasionally. Hee Hee!

FYI, Daboo is hilarious!

Kapoor Khazana: "I'm Bobby. Mujhse Dosti Karoge?" - Bobby (1973)

2011-06-04T01:26:00.000-04:00

Quite a tricked out poster RK!

I don't know quite how to sum up Raj Kapoor's Bobby (1973). There's been plenty of discussion about the celebration of youth, the boldness of fighting class and religious differences and the spirit of innocence that marks Bobby as an important film in the evolution of commercial Hindi cinema. And when it released, it certainly caused a ruckus between the ideas it presented and the skimpy outfits Dimple Kapadia wore in the film. But I can't help but feel like there's more to Bobby than that.

The basic summary: Bobby is the story of Raju Nath (played by the incredibly young and baby-faced Rishi Kapoor). Born to wealthy, status-obsessed parents who essentially ignore him, young Raju finds himself thrust into a world of pushy, self-important adults. When he (literally) bites back, his parents (Pran and Sonia Sahni) immediately blame his loving ayya (governess, if you will) Mrs. Braganza (Durga Khote) and fire her. Soon after, Raju is sent away to boarding school. When he returns, his parents continue to be too busy for him. Then at his birthday party, he lays eyes on Bobby (played by an adolescent, adorable Dimple Kapadia), who had stopped by the house with her grandmother Mrs. Braganza to drop off Raju's favorite cake from his younger days. Raju falls in love at first sight. When he finds the cake and goes to find Mrs. Braganza, he is shocked and delighted to find the girl of his dreams there. The two teenagers develop a sweet and innocent friendship which quickly turns to a mutual fascination and love. Neither pay any attention to the cavernous class difference between them - he being a wealthy industrialist's son, she being the daughter of a simple fisherman.

When Raju decides to introduce Bobby and her father to his family, things fall apart. Mr. Nath is convinced that Mr. Jack Braganza (Prem Nath) has plotted to capture their money by making Bobby pursue Raju. He insults Jack and drives him from the house. Jack is furious and refuses to let a dubious Raju and Bobby continue seeing each other. Meanwhile Mr. Nath and his apathetic wife decide to arrange a marriage between Raju and a business associate, whose daughter (Farida Jalal) happens to be mentally disturbed. A socialite, dancer and friend of the family (Aruna Irani) sees all the underhanded arrangements happening within the family and takes pity on young Raju. She encourages him to run away from the claustrophobic and false life he has at home and take Bobby with him.

Creepy doll alert!

Seeing his parents' absolute indifference to his feelings, Raju runs away and tries to find Bobby. Jack has sent Bobby and her grandmother to their home in Goa. Raju heads to Goa but finds a new obstacle -- Mrs. Braganza. Feeling guilty that Raju has left his family and afraid of the consequences, Mrs. Braganza prevents the two young lovers from fleeing together, locking them up separately. Meanwhile Mr. Nath has confronted Jack Braganza with the police, accusing him of kidnapping his son. Both parties head to Goa to find their children, only to find that Raju and Bobby have managed to escape from the house. Jack now turns on Mr. Nath, insisting that Bobby is only sixteen years old and therefore it is Raju who has kidnapped a minor.

*SPOILERS*
As their fathers chase after them with the police, Raju and Bobby fall into the hands of a rogue gang led by Prem (Prem Chopra). Jack finds them in the hands of the gang and fights them to the best of his abilities, but then Raju is taken hostage. Jack pleads with them to spare Raju's life, and when Mr. Nath hears this, he realizes the folly of his ways (GOD, I LOVE when I get a chance to use that phrase!) and steps in with the police to apprehend the goons and save both his son and Bobby. However in the scuffle, Raju and Bobby run away and jump from a cliff into the churning waters below. The final scenes have the fathers saving each others' children and leave us with an ambiguous sense of a happy ending.

Now obviously, Bobby became a sensation for being so completely fresh, youthful and optimistic. As Shah Rukh Khan is quoted as saying, "Before Bobby, Indian cinema was about men and women, but after Bobby, it became about boys and girls." Bobby titillated crowds with both it's daring approval of relationship between such a young pair despite a deep class and cultural divide, and it's display of Dimple's skin. But really now, love between the rich boy and the poor girl, or vice-versa, was that really new in Indian cinema? Not at all!

So what is it about Bobby that sticks with us? I just re-watched the film, and stepped away with a brand new view of the film entirely. This isn't a film about young love. It's not a film about the young girl Bobby Braganza, as the title suggests. This film is really essentially about a disillusioned boy, neglected and hurt, who throws himself wholeheartedly into something (and someone) he can believe in. The title Bobby itself suggests that her character would be the more prominent one, but I don't find this to be the case. So for me, the title Bobby indicates that Raju has taken his life of loneliness and abandonment and found his release from it all in his love. Bobby is his rebellion, his flight, and his salvation.

In this re-watch I felt Raju's plight more than ever before. I found myself particularly touched by Rishi Kapoor's innocence and bewilderment throughout the film. His inability to understand how his parents could treat him the way they did was beautifully rendered. I could practically hear him saying "Aren't parents supposed to love you? Aren't they supposed to only want your happiness? Why don't they love me?" and I just bled for him. The small bit of warmth he finds in Mrs. Braganza is ripped away from him at a very young age, and the tender moments where they find each other again really resonated. This is a boy that wants desperately to be loved, and when he finds it, he cannot bear to let it go.

This new focus made me enjoy the film in a completely different way. The young lovers separated by rich, mean parents is a story we've seen time and time again. Echoes of it exist in so many popular films - Love Story, Maine Pyar Kiya, etc. But a film about a young boy being abused -- because really, neglecting a child IS abuse to me -- and left yearning for love is something far more gripping for me.

We're all raised to believe that our parents love us, that they'll do anything for us, that if they do hurt us it's inadvertent and they only want what's best for us. But sometimes it doesn't work that way. Sometimes parents are selfish, or just plain checked out. It's interesting to see how Bobby is fresh not only in its portrayal of romance, but also in depicting shades of grey with parents. It doesn't follow the tropes of the perfect Sati-Savitri Maa or the Devoted, Heroic, Martyr Father. These parents pretty much suck. Mr. Nath is so consumed with his wealth and status that he's not really paying attention to his wife or child.

Poor Raju! His 'friend' just made him realize that his parents don't love him!

Mrs. Nath is an interesting character to me -- she's the "checked out" parent. She seems to have some latent maternal instincts buried deep underneath her resentment of her husband, her bitterness towards her role in 'entertaining' his business clientele, and her unwillingness to break free of the life of wealth and social status. She seems to have become complacent about her role, and whatever emotions she might have towards her son, she clearly stifles them and blames her husband, claiming he hasn't "given her the opportunity to be a mother" because of her obligations as a socialite first. I don't have much sympathy for her though, even when she does lash out at her husband after Raju runs away from his impending engagement. She leaves Raju to suffer through his young life alone, and then offers no support when he seeks out happiness for himself. Her small bursts of support seem like too little too late.

Honestly, it's easy to see why Raju would rush headfirst into his friendship and romance with Bobby. She is everything his world isn't -- sweet, innocent, honest, open, etc. Right from the moment he lays eyes on her, he can see that she doesn't belong in his world. I think it is this that draws him to her more than anything else -- that she's different! That she isn't one of the society that pulls his parents from him. She isn't part of the wealth, status and socializing that he associates with his parents, who have disappointed him so deeply.

You! You're my ticket outta this hell hole!

Mrs. Braganza is also an interesting figure for Raju. She is the closest thing he has to a mother in his life, and she supports their relationship through most of the film. But then suddenly when Raju turns up in Goa, having finally broken away from his unhappy life with his parents, she fears for their future and tries to harden her heart against him. I can understand being worried for Raju and Bobby, being that they are so freaking young! But to pull away support from a boy like Raju, just when he needs it most ... really, I don't know how she had the heart to do it!

Jack Braganza is a great character! He's jolly and good-hearted but can be tough and curmudgeonly when the situation requires it. It is incredibly ironic that Mr. Nath accuses him of 'selling' his daughter to trap his son, when Nath himself pretty much tries to 'sell' his son to his business associate by marrying him to the disturbed (and creepy) Farida Jalal. But Jack Braganza does end up being one of the most sympathetic characters in the film. You can clearly see how much he loves his daughter and how much it hurts him to see her so devastated. His motivations in trying to protect her are evident. And really, what parent would WANT to send their innocent child to be a daughter-in-law in a household like that, with people like that? His pride is endearing, and his ultimate kindness in wanting to save Raju makes him a real hero in this film.


In case you didn't notice, the Braganzas are Christian.

And then there's Bobby herself -- who to me is actually the weakest character of the film. Dimple Kapadia is certainly young, fresh and cute, but beyond that I felt very little to Bobby's character. She calls herself a 21st century woman and has a streak of pride (that I suspect she inherited from Jack), but really is just a child! She doesn't show any real conviction, and it's difficult to believe that what she's experiencing is really love. I mean there's a scene where the parents send the kids up to Raju's room so they can talk, and the kids actually start playing 'Blind Man's Bluff' or whatever you call that game. They are truly KIDS. So I actually kind of appreciate the ambiguous ending RK gives us here, because we can imagine that she went on to college and maybe remained good friends with Raju, but possibly didn't marry him. Bobby just seems to get carried along with the flow of everything, and while she of course cares for Raju, her life experience seems so limited that I don't know that she can develop the same kind of attachments that the scarred and vulnerable Raju can. Or perhaps it's just because Dimple, being only 16 years old during the filming of this movie, wasn't able to really ACT yet.

I should definitely also mention Aruna Irani's role as the socialite/dancer friend who supports Raju and convinces him to run away. I've always liked Aruna Irani and found her to be a really lovely actress, and she is wonderful in her role! Also - I love the scene where she first meets Raju ... she bursts into his room and catches him literally butt nekkid. There are shades of this scene in the first meeting between Prem and Suman in Maine Pyar Kiya. It also reminds me of Rishi's son Ranbir Kapoor's famous towel dance from Saawariya.

A few side notes about the movie - because everyone loves anecdotes. I think almost everyone knows this story, but it's worth mentioning because of how personal it feels! The scene where Raju first visits the Braganza house and Bobby unknowingly wipes besan batter in hair, whining "Jaldi bolo, mera tel jal raha hai!" is based on the real life moment when Raj Kapoor first went to meet Nargis at her house. Very sweet.

Also Rishi Kapoor apparently chose his own wardrobe for this film -- which is delightful! I love his style in this film! Particularly the dark rose velour pant suit he wears in 'Hum Tum Ik Kamre Mein Bandh Ho'!

One final piece of gossip about this movie is that Dimple up and got married to Rajesh Khanna during the filming of this movie -- there's a particular scene in 'Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai' in which she is wearing mehndi on her hands. She was also supposedly pregnant with Twinkle during the shooting of this song. I love this song, it is just so evocative of teenagers in love!! It reminds me of first love and those phone calls where you each keep saying "you hang up first" "no YOU hang up first!"

And since the soundtrack of this film is so popular and has remained in the hearts of filmi fans for decades -- I have to post the two other major hit songs from this film:

It's also interesting to note that it seems like most people who have seen Bobby more recently dislike the film, or just fail to connect with it. I'm not sure if Bobby only worked within the context of the timeframe it was released. Perhaps fans who grew up with the film and the songs simply feel a strong sense of nostalgia when it comes to it. But I actually really enjoyed it as a film on it's own in this most recent re-watch. There were whole new layers to analyzing Raju's character, perhaps influenced by my own love for Harry Potter and sympathizing with the neglected young boy. But I definitely still liked it! I'm also curious if these same folks who disliked Bobby would feel the same way watching Maine Pyar Kiya, which has a strong late 80s early 90s vibe to it. Or if they would feel differently if Raj Kapoor had stuck with his original plan of having Raju and Bobby die tragically at the end?

Ultimately I'm glad RK decided to give the film an optimistic ending. Perhaps he had learned from the failure of Mera Naam Joker and sought to provide the commercial 'happy ending'. But I believe he did far more than create just a 'teenage love story' ... he told a sad, bittersweet but hopeful story of a young boy that was searching for love.

Aaaaand Dimple pic-spam! For fun and fashion!

For more blog posts about the illustrious Kapoor Clan, be sure to visit Katherine of Totally Filmi's KAPOOR KHAZANA links!

Kapoor Khazana: Dance Like a Kapoor Playlist! Shammi Kapoor

2011-06-03T00:00:00.002-04:00

Part II of my 'Dance Like a Kapoor' Playlist is dedicated to the one and only Shammi Kapoor! Born Shamsher Raj Kapoor, Shammi is the 2nd born son of Raj Kapoor. Throughout the 50s and 60s, Shammi was one of the most desirable heroes in Hindi Films. The combination of Shammi's classically handsome features, unique style, charisma and the magic of Mohammed Rafi's voice as his most consistent playback singer packed a powerful punch.

Shammi is incredibly special. You cannot help but fall in love with him -- especially when you watch him dance and smoulder (Yes, I think Shammi smoulders better than Shashi)! And his most popular songs are STILL hits -- they can still get the older generation (and a fair amount of the younger generation too - if they're cool enough to get into the retro stuff) on the dance floor!

Here are some of my favorites:

*I am going to refrain from commenting on each song because really, how many times and different ways can I say how handsome and charming he is?*

Aaja Aaja Mein Hoon Pyar Tera - Teesri Manzil (1966)

O Hasina Zulfonwali - Teesri Manzil (1966)

Dil Tera Deewana Hai Sanam - Dil Tera Deewana (1962)

An Evening In Paris - An Evening in Paris (1967)

Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe - Junglee (1961)

Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar Mein Charche - Brahmachari (1968)

Govinda Aala Re - Bluff Master (1963)

Sar Par Topi - Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957)

Baar Baar Dekho - Chinatown (1962)

Suku Suku - Junglee (1961)

And a little bonus feature - for anyone who grew up with Hindi Films in the 80s - there's a huge gap obviously between the songs above and this one, but of all the songs Shammi was featured in after he began taking 'elder' and 'supporting' roles (going into his phase of being one of my two favorite 'cuddly uncles' - the other being the fabulous Amjad Khan), this one sticks out the most in my memory! There's a lot of subtext going on in this song, but I'll let you figure it out on your own! Enjoy this fun song featuring Shammi and Padmini Kohlapuri.

Saat Saheliya - Vidhaata (1982)

Next up in my 'Dance Like a Kapoor' series ... Shashi Kapoor or 'The Shash' as I like to refer to him! Also in the line-up, an onslaught of Rishi Kapoor pyar!

To keep up with all the exciting posts from fun and talented bloggers from all over the world participating in KAPOOR KHAZANA, be sure and visit Kay of Totally Filmi's Kapoor Khazana Links!

Kapoor Khazana: Dance Like a Kapoor Playlist! Raj and Randhir Kapoor

2011-06-02T00:01:00.001-04:00

It's JUNE and that means it's time to celebrate KAPOOR KHAZANA! The wonderful and gracious Katherine of Totally Filmi has organized a month-long celebration of the illustrious Kapoor Clan - the Hindi Film Fraternity's Royal Family, if you will. If by chance you aren't familiar with the Kapoors, then I'd definitely recommend checking out what Wikipedia has to say -- *NOTE, their post includes a Family Tree! Fabulous!

Now because I'm a dancer and think foremost about dance before anything else - I decided to start my celebration with a playlist of dance songs! However my list became so unmanageable for one post that I decided to split it off into a series of posts, beginning with the earlier generations and ending with Kareena and Ranbir.

Sadly, I am not too familiar with the works of our grand patriarch, Prithviraj Kapoor. Besides the grand-scale Mughal-E-Azam, I don't know that I've seen any of his film work (which I really must rectify). And in thinking of Mughal-E-Azam songs, I had to conclude that none really featured him enough to be considered as part of this list (though I do love watching him look all apoplectic in "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya").

So I will begin my 'Dance Like a Kapoor' playlist with the fun and frolicking songs of Raj and Randhir Kapoor! Since their films rarely featured them dancing, nor were they the dancing sensations that Shammi and Rishi were, I have put this father-son team together in my list-making frenzy. I'm sure I have missed plenty of wonderful songs, so please do share ones that I have forgotten or may not be aware of!

Here we go! (in random order)

Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya - Shree 420 (1955)
Ok, admittedly Raj Kapoor doesn't dance in this - the dancing is mostly by the fabulous Sheila Vaz (also featured in the song "Leke Pehla Pehla Pyar" from CID). But this song is just so joyous and fun. There's been much speculation about the lyrics (the 1st line is apparently a Telugu folk song). I was particularly tickled by some online commenter's suggestion that the 2nd line ("Maine dil tujhko diya") also fits with the Telugu theme in that it discusses heart transplants and everyone knows that all Telugu people become cardiologists. Hahaha!

Nineteen Fifty Six - Anari (1959)
Before there was "Disco '84" and "Disco '82", there was "Nineteen Fifty-Six"! And seriously, if ANYONE can get Raj Kapoor to dance, it's gotta be HELEN!

Laga Chunari Mein Daag - Dil Hi To Hai (1963)
Again, not an active participant in the dancing, but Raj Kapoor certainly creates quite the character in this song! The dancer is apparently a featured performer from Telugu movies of the time, Padmini Priyadarshini. But definitely a CLASSIC song, particularly for dancers that enjoy classically-based filmi music (HOLLA!)

Budda Mil Gaya - Sangam (1964)
Again the trend of being an observer rather than active participant in the dancing, but still I love this song! It's so fun! It has costume changes! Vyjayanthimala dancing about and being silly! Raj Kapoor making his cute, irritated faces! And when my sisters and I had a band back in the day, ladies used to always request this song to dedicate to their husbands on their birthdays (meanies). And then they used to dance to it. Yep, rocking out on the dance floor to "Budda Mil Gaya". It was awesome.

Daag Na Lag Jaye - Mera Naam Joker (1970)
I MUCH prefer Raj Kapoor when he's having fun to him angsting. He just looks like he's having a blast in this qawaali with Padmini. And man, do these Kapoors know how to qawaali! Obvs, I love Rishi Kapoor's qawaalis the most, but it's clear where he gets his passion from.

Jaane Jaan Dhoondtha Phir Raha - Jawani Diwani (1972)
Finding dance songs for Randhir Kapoor is just as difficult as finding them for his dear old dad. And granted, this song isn't exactly a dance-dance song. But it IS one of Randhir's best songs, if not THE best song. And personally, I'D dance to this song. I loooove the smooth 70s beat and the addictive tune. I feel like wearing a sari and a bouffant hairdo and shimmying about. And there ARE some pretty good remixes of this song floating around out there. R.D. Burman music seriously rocks my world. Side note: that doll that Jaya Bhaduri is carrying scares me.

Koi Mane Ya Na Mane - Chacha Bhatija (1977)
Okay, it's VERY rare that Dharmendra doesn't outshine whoever he's on-screen with. But I really think that Randhir holds his own in this one. His expressions are fantastic! And for what it's worth, Dharam actually makes him look like a pretty good dancer (we all love Dharam but really, he's not a dancer. He's so adorable we don't care, but still). I never realized how much Randhir and Rishi Kapoor resemble each other! I never thought there WAS a resemblance, but wow, do I see it now!

Aap Yahan Aaye Kis Liye - Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971)
This is a movie I HAVE TO SEE. I can't believe I haven't seen this. Come on, it stars three generations of Kapoors - Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor. It also stars Babita, Randhir's ex-wife and mother of Karishma and Kareena Kapoor. This song was also featured in the extremely long medley in the movie Mujhse Dosti Karoge (which starred Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee and Hrithik Roshan). The song also features the famous 'RK black umbrella' which Kay from Totally Filmi recently blogged about.

Mukh Pe Jo Chidka Paani - Dharam Karam (1975)
Finally some real dancing! Go Randhir Go! But I am very confused as to why his elders (including real-life Daddy Raj Kapoor) are looking on this display so indulgently ... it really sort of borders on overtly racy. Particularly with all the attempts to pull of Rekha's clothing.

Waqt Se Pehle - Biwi O Biwi (1981)
I can't think of a stranger pairing than Randhir Kapoor and Poonam Dhillon, but there it is. Something about the picturization of this song brings to mind the oddness of "Sochenge Tumhe Pyar" from Deewana. There's also some nice chandeliers that Shweta from Apni East India Company would appreciate.

Dhola Dhola - Kachcha Chor (1977)
Randhir is only an audience member in this one, but I HAD to include a dance-off between Rekha and Helen! I mean, come ON! And aren't the colors of those outfits so reminiscent of another song from that same year?

Bachke Rehna Re Baba - Pukar (1983)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song! It is so fun, so peppy, and just so dancey! Both Zeenat and Tina Munim look so fresh and pretty, and Randhir seems to be having a blast out there.

Stay tuned for the next set of Kapoor dance songs - SHAMMI KAPOOR!

Song of the Day: Big B + Sri = Happy Me - Main Aisi Cheez Nahin from Khuda Gawah (1992)

2011-05-25T14:39:00.000-04:00

Today's 'Song of the Day' is in response to the ongoing (and confirmed) reports of Sridevi and Amitabh Bachchan coming together once again on-screen in Balki's next film.

When I think of Amitabh & Sridevi, the first thing I think of is the 80s movie Inquilaab and the song 'Bichhu Lad Gaya' ... but then I can't forget the EPIC-ness of 1992's Khuda Gawah. This movie was the ultimate for me -- the pairing of these two was practically spiritual in my world.

Khuda Gawah is a tale that carries you from Afghanistan to India and back again -- detailing the lives of a larger-than-life Pathan named Baadshah Khan (Amitabh Bachchan). He falls in love with the bewitching Benazir (Sridevi), but they are separated due to complicated circumstances and Baadshah Khan is jailed in India.

In their many years of separation a daughter is born to them, named Mehndi (Sridevi, again). Baadshah Khan also befriends the jailer in India, who names his own daughter Henna (Shilpa Shirodkar). The corrupt inspector of Baadshah Khan's jail ends up getting killed and Baadshah gets the blame -- leading the inspector's son Raja (Nagarjuna) to grow up hating Baadshah and wanting revenge. Mehndi grows up under the care of Baadshah Khan's best friend Khuda Baksh (Danny Denzongpa) as her mother becomes mentally disturbed when she is told that Baadshah Khan is dead (he isn't, he just wants her to move on since he's stuck in jail indefinitely).

When she hears what happened to her father, she sets out to India to find him and bring him home. Mehndi and Raja end up meeting and falling in love. But then both Benazir and Khuda Baksh are kidnapped by the very rival that framed Baadshah Khan, which leads to a final showdown with all our players in the deserts of Afghanistan.

Yes it sounds like a crazy mess but I seriously LOVED this movie. You cannot help but love Baadshah Khan and you root for him all the way. And the songs in this movie are phenomenal! My favorite was always 'Mere Watan Main' - a duet between Sridevi and Nagarjuna (I wonder if they spoke Telugu to each other on set?), but because we're talking about Sri and Big B, I have to go with 'Main Aisi Cheez Nahin' -- a challenge of sorts between Baadshah Khan and Benazir that comes very early in the film. I ADORE this song and love the fiery chemistry between the leading two. Sridevi is FIERCE and Amitabh is so distinguished. And Danny! I love Danny!

So here's 'Main Aisi Cheez Nahin' from Khuda Gawah, sung by Mohammed Aziz and Kavita Krishnamurthy

Madhuri Mania: My favorite Madhuri Dixit songs ...

2011-05-14T12:54:00.000-04:00

May 15 is the janam din of the one and only lovely dancing queen Madhuri Dixit, and Gaja Gamini of Bollywood-ish Blog has organized a full week of celebrating! Of course, I couldn't get myself together this week, plus there was that issue with Blogger as well. So I'm late in getting my shizz together to do a fitting tribute for Madhuri, the Queen of the 90s.

What I DID have time to do was throw together a YouTube playlist of my favorite Madhuri songs ... not necessarily her most popular ones (note: "Choli Ke Peeche" is not on the list), but just my personal favorites. I loved developing this list because there's so many songs and movies I had forgotten about! I want to really thank Gaja Gamini for creating Madhuri Week so I had the opportunity to revisit so many of my old favorites.

So without further adieu, enjoy the graceful stylings, the stunning smile and the myriad expressions of the lovely Madhuri!

My Madhuri Mania List

1. Mujhe Neendh Na Aaye - Dil
This goes down on my list of classic love songs, ones that will never leave the public imagination. I would put it on a list of romantic songs along with Sau Saal Pehle, Jo Vaada Kiya, Kora Kagaz Tha, Kabhi Kabhie, Dekha Ek Khwab, etc. Madhuri is SO young here (not to mention the prepubescent looking Aamir), and the hair/clothes are so quintessentially 90s.

2. Aap Ko Dekh Ke - Kishen Kanhaiya
I think this is one of my absolute favorite Madhuri songs. If I had to pick only one, this might be it. It's so upbeat and dancey! I can't believe people have forgotten this song ... I totally love it. And Anil-Madhuri is definitely one of my favorite jodis.

3. Sun Beliya - 100 Days
SPB's voice is so powerful!!! And Madhuri is super-duper gorgeous, innocent, free and perfectly lovely. I love her steps in this ... and this song is also one of those forgotten ones from the early 90s that I adored. It sucks for Jackie Shroff that he only got to wear 1 shirt (which is horribly inappropriate for the beach) while Madhuri dons 3 outfits (I love the one in the bullock cart scene). Also props to Mads for being fearless and rolling about on the beach while wild horses stomp past.

4. Tu Shayar Hai - Saajan
Classic. Also Saajan was the 2nd hindi movie I saw at the theatre. Lots of memories. I love her 2nd outfit (the blue one). Her 1st outfit is questionable though. And the poor sideys ... their outfits (mostly frocks) are totally fugly.

5. Koyal Si Teri Boli - Beta
Gorgeous, sweet song. Love it and love this movie! And this video is chock full of joyous Madhuri dancing around.

6. I Love You Pyar Karoon Choon - Mahasangraam
Also in my top 3 favorite Madhuri songs with "Aap Ko Dekh Ke". One of the best rain songs ever! And her steps are so fabulous. I'm also crazy about the original Marathi song, Dholkara.

7. Ek Do Teen - Tezaab
Mohini Mohini Mohini Mohini Mo Mo Mo Mo Mo Mo Mo Mo!!!!!!!!! She is so animated and fabulous. And I have to give credit for the many people that learned to count in Hindi thanks to this song, the corporation for public broadcasting, and viewers like you.

8. Mein Teri Mohabbat Mein - Tridev
Lucky Madhuri got to have this dream date song w/ Sunny Deol! Such a beautiful, haunting song.

9. Deewana Mujhsa Nahin - Deewana Mujhsa Nahin
I found this movie totally disturbing because we were supposed to sympathize with and root for the TOTAL STALKER! Although I guess when your stalkers looks 5 years old, you can't be too much of a hater. Love Aamir's energy in this. It's like part two of "Khambe Jaise Khadi Hai" from Dil.

10. Humko Aaj Kal Hai - Sailaab
Needs no explanation. She's perfection in it!

11. Tamma Tamma Loge - Thanedaar
I can't watch this song without cracking up. It's a total mulletfest first of all, and then they've appropriated the steps from Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation. But this was the JAM back then.

12. Tum Bansi Bajate Ho - Khilaaf
Terrible movie, but had some lovely songs. I love any opportunity to show off her dancing ability! And WOOT! An Apsara costume!

13. Dil To Dil Hai - Zindagi Ek Juaa
My favorite performance of Madhuri's acting-wise. Her portrayal of the descent into drug addiction was fantastic. And I think this song is perfect - sexy and romantic.

14. Na Hai Zameen Na Aasmaan - Khel
This movie was HILARIOUS. And this song is one I often get stuck in my head, even though I know it's totally lifted from "Sending All My Love" by Linear (it was also copied in "Neendh Churaye Meri" from Ishq). I love the cheesy sets and the way the beats completely change in the verses, allowing Anil Kapoor to do his typical steps.

15. Jo Geet Nahin Janma - Sangeet
This was a really sweet movie, and gave ample opportunity for Madhuri to showcase her Kathak training. The soundtrack was truly gorgeous, with lots of classically-based music.

16. Kaise Jiyunga Mein - Sahibaan
I was obsessed with this song when I was 14. I thought it was ultimately romantic! Unfortunately the movie was so bad that we laughed through the whole thing. But Madhuri was gorgeous in her village belle outfits.

17. Palki Pe Hoke Sawar - Khal Nayak
Another favorite role - Madhuri's Ganga was feisty, bold and fun! I loved the way she held her own with the whole gang of baddies in this movie.

18. Dil Tera Aashiq - Dil Tera Aashiq
Another hilarious song and movie. Her expressions are SO FUNNY in this. Also love how Sallu is wearing pants he borrowed from Claudia from the Baby Sitters Club. But they are BOTH soooo cute in this. And they look like they were having a blast!

19. Channe Ke Khet - Anjaam
Another classic Madhuri song. Whenever I think of signature moves from Bolly songs, most of them are from Madhuri songs. Remember when EVERY girl was doing this dance with the 'Channe Ke Khet' step? But no one could ever do it like Madhuri.

20. Maye Ni Maye - Hum Aapke Hai Koun
She. is. stunning. I love her mango coloured outfit. But can someone please explain what Salman is wearing?

21. Ankhiyan Milaon - Raja
Ok, admittedly I don't love this song, but it is definitely a Madhuri classic. And you can't help but smile watching Madhuri do her thang.

22. Dil Loye Loye - Yaarana
I don't know why but I LOVE this song. I know it's a copy and the original Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan song is much, much better, but I love Madhuri's expressions!! And god, could they have dressed up those sidey girls any worse? What the heck.

23. Baajubandh - Prem Granth
Such a gorgeous, gorgeous song! Madhuri is flawless, and I got a big huge grin on my face when Rishi Kapoor started dancing. Tragic, tragic movie though.

24. Badan Juda Hote Hai - Koyla
I find this song really eerie and addictive (even though I know that Koyla theme music is totally copied from Vangelis' "Conquest of Paradise") ... but yay! Madhuri dancing!

25. Aaja Aaja O Aaja Aanewale - Rajkumar
I actually hate the preceding song "O Mere Rajkumar" ... but the subsequent qawaali featuring the Sabri Brothers is excellent and Madhuri gets to do a great angry dance! The qawaali starts at about 2:25.

26. Arre Re Arre - Dil To Pagal Hai
This was always my favorite song from this movie ...

27. Don't Break My Heart - Mohabbat
Honestly, I mostly love to make fun of this song for being so totally silly. And I love Madhuri to death, but she looks hilarious in this one. Clearly this is not her style.

28. Que Sera Sera - Pukar
So the story is that Madhuri was really nervous about working with Prabhu Deva, who is an amazing dancer and choreographer. And apparently she knocked his socks off in the creation of this number. Excellent choreography by Prabhz and lovely execution by Madhuri.

29. Badi Mushkil - Lajja
Even dressed so simply, Madhuri just shines! And poor Manisha Koirala ... she's a horrible dancer, and then they made her try to dance next to Madhuri??

30. Kahe Chhed Mohe - Devdas
Amazingness. Choreographed by the great Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji - the BEST use of Madhuri's skills in her entire career. And love the little insertion of her doing the spoken word part herself!

31. Aaja Nachle - Aaja Nachle
This song is pure celebration - of MADHURI!!! There will never be another Madhuri in Bollywood. Happy Birthday Madhuri!!! Wishing you all the best!

Bollystalgia's 1st anniversary post - My favorite movie of all-time, SATTE PE SATTA (1982)

2011-05-07T22:06:00.000-04:00

For the 1-year celebration of my venture into BollyBlogging, I thought it was time to make an attempt to review my absolute, unequivocal, all-time favorite movie (in ANY language) ... Satte Pe Satta (1982). I don't even think I will be able to sum up how much I adore this movie, which is why I'm hesitant to blog about it. There's a lot of nostalgia associated with this movie, which is one I watched over and over with my sisters. But in itself, I find the film to still have a certain quality that sets it apart from your average Bollywood fare. Of course, this was a time when original concepts still existed in Bollywood. Recently they announced the decision to remake this film with Sanjay Dutt in the lead role, and I cannot proclaim enough how HEINOUS this idea is. To remake this film is BLASPHEMY. BLASPHEMY I TELL YOU!

Anyhoo ... about Satte Pe Satta ...

*SPOILERS!!!!*

Loosely based on the Hollywood musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Satte Pe Satta tells the story of Ravi (Amitabh Bachchan) and his six brothers:

Som (Sudhir) - high-blood pressure type, yells a lot
Mangal (Shakti Kapoor) - stutters, seems a bit ... special
Budh (Paintal) - short, goofy, often jokingly called "Buddhu" by Ravi
Guru (Kanwaljit Singh) - giant-sized but boring
Shukhar (Vikram Sahu or Indrajeet - found both names online and don't know which is accurate, but he's a snoozefest anyway so who cares?)
Shani aka Sunny (Sachin Pilgaonkar) - the youngest, cutest, sweetest and most charming/sensitive

The brothers all live on a remote farm and are completely uncivilized -- they detest bathing and eat and behave like the animals they live amongst.

(NOTE: I also don't want to compare it to the Seven Brides for Seven Brothers original, because though it takes the basic premise and many choreographic elements from it, it veers off to become it's own story completely)

(ANOTHER NOTE: If you don't have a strong stomach to handle lots of visuals of paunchy, hairy men in their underwear, you may not want to watch this movie)

Initially the brothers are completely under the dictatorship of their eldest brother Ravi, who calmly sits in a swing and relaxes while his brothers do all of the chores around the house. He also claims the largest portions of their meals and leaves little for his six brothers. All of this changes however, when the brothers, irked by Ravi's preference for their youngest brother Sunny, plan a little prank.

They tell Sunny that Ravi has issued a challenge for all of them, and the winner will be awarded a week's holiday from chores. He'll have nothing to do but lie around and drink milk and eat sweet fruits. He won't have to bathe or change his clothes. This is INCENTIVE, peoples.

All they have to do is tame the unbroken horse that Ravi has corralled on their farm. Sunny is charmed by the idea of a full week of relaxation and all the food he can eat. He falls for their trick and goes off into the corral, only to find that the horse is incredibly wild and strong. The horse attacks and almost stomps the heck out of Sunny, but then Ravi comes running in slow motion, as only Amitabh can do! He leaps over the fence and saves Sunny from the horse!

Afterwards the brothers feel terrible about their prank, especially since Sunny is still apparently unconscious. Ravi lashes out at all of them and threatens to leave the farm with Sunny since they hate their youngest brother so much.

Sunny suddenly pops up and says that he just wanted to see how much Ravi actually cares for them, and claims that beneath his steely exterior, Ravi has a soft heart when it comes to his brothers.

The other brothers also get emotional and claim that Ravi doesn't love them, and Ravi gives them a BIG GROUP HUG because, yes, of course he loves all his brothers. They are one soul in many (unwashed) bodies!

Sometime later, Ravi finds out that his friend Shekhar (Vijayendra Ghatge) is heartbroken over his former girlfriend, Sheila (Sarika). Ravi immediately storms over to the hospital where Sheila works as a nurse. He accosts the first nurse he sees and starts raging at her, saying that Shekhar can't live without her and all he talks about is "Sheila meri zindagi hai, Sheila Sheila Sheila!" (this by the way is ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT whenever anyone talks about "Sheila Ki Jawani" from Tees Maar Khan).

Unfortunately for Ravi, he's not talking to Sheila. The feisty nurse he's chosen to attack is Indu (Hema Malini), who slaps him across the face and walks away. Sheila has overheard the entire episode though, and she tells Ravi that she's changed her mind about Shekhar and asks where to find him.

Ravi's all in a daze though, because Indu's slapped LOOOOWE into his heart. He tries to apologize to her and win her heart by sending her a watermelon, because these guys know squat about wooing. He also tries low-level stalking, but Indu sends her gurkha after him.

He even fakes injuries to get her to come to the farmhouse, which confuses the brothers ... but Ravi tells them that if he gets married that his wife will be like a maid for all of them (EW Ravi. NO). Eventually, Ravi figures out what he has to do ... and WOW, does he clean up well! It only takes one song to sucker her in ...

Sucks to be you Indu. Too bad you thought Ravi only had one younger brother. After their registered marriage (at which the clerk gives Ravi a Nirodh!!! When I was little the elders in my house tried to tell me it was soap. I totally KNEW it wasn't.)

Ravi brings Indu to their farmhouse, where they walk right into a gigantic, messy fight between all the brothers.

Indu is taken aback, but she's a tough cookie. She takes one look at the state of the farmhouse and gets right to work. Okay, even as a little girl I was always a bit disturbed that the GIRL is immediately put in charge of the kitchen and cooking. But ok, I know, it was different times and Indian culture is still primarily patriarchal. It's not okay in my books though, so I inwardly rage a bit when Indu starts cooking and cleaning on her freaking wedding day.

It doesn't go so well when dinner is served though. The boys attack the food as they normally do and Indu is horrified by their animal-like behavior. She freaks out, and the brothers turn to Ravi and say "I thought you said you were bringing a maid home for us?" ... UH OH. Indu is PISSED.

Ravi tries to calm her down but she goes off on him, saying how she quit her job and left the city for him, and this is how he repays her? Ravi tells her how they've all grown up without their parents, so they have never learned social skills or right from wrong. All the brothers eventually go and apologize, using Sunny's sincere and charming power of speech to win Indu over. She ends up forgiving all of them and even Ravi for lying to her, which sort of sucks. Ugh, why am I finding things I don't like about this movie that I LOVE BEYOND WORDS? I hate when that happens.

Let's talk instead about how Hema Malini delivers her absolute worst performance of all time in this scene. Her sobbing and delivery of the lines "Tumne achcha nahin kiya Ravi! Tumne mujhe dhoka diya. Mera dil thoda!" are sooo bad, it's one of my favorite dialogues to mimic. But my god, does she ever look gorgeous delivering them, so who cares!

Soooo ... after everyone is all nicey-nicey again, Indu becomes the new Commander-in-Chief of the house. She steals all of their clothes to wash them, makes the boys bathe, and they plan a picnic. She even wears a khaki uniform and inspects all of them. Last minute, Ravi fakes the stomachache to end all stomachaches so that he and Indu can FINALLY get some farmhouse to themselves (pow-chicka-pow-pow).

Enjoy this hilarious scene where the brothers wake up to find their clothes missing, and Hema Malini comes and forces them to come out and bathe. Love the music and the various items the guys use to hide their chaddis:

The boys go off to the beach for their picnic, where they encounter ...

GIRLS! Seven girls to be exact. No you read that right. There's an extra girl who happens to be a wealthy heiress. Her name is Seema (Ranjeeta Kaur), and she's confined to a wheelchair. Her friends are Asha (Asha Sachdev), Aradhana (Aradhana), Prema (Prema Narayan), Madhu (Madhu Malhotra), Shobini (Shobini Singh) and Rajini (Rajini). They are hired by Seema's loving, caring uncle Ranjit Singh (Amjad Khan! WOOT!) to protect her and entertain her. Seema has her own harem! Unfortunately the girls were a bit busy frolicking at the beach to stop Mac Mohan from almost running Seema over with a boulder. Our six brothers save Seema from the attack, and they all become friends.

But sooooomeone is trying to kill Seema! Who could it be? Well there's no mystery there - you learn immediately that it's Seema's Uncle Ranjit Singh that's trying to kill her to get access to her moolah. He indulges in your typical villanous behavior by thrashing Mac Mohan, drinking, smoking and getting massages from Kalpana Iyer.

So anyway, the girls invited the boys to a Red Cross Fundraiser dance when they all met at the beach, and they're all WOO HOO! But Indu isn't having it. She says she can't send them to the Red Cross party with their current behavior the way it is and embarrass herself. So the boys (with all their charm) ask her to teach them how to act with the girls they like, bringing on the faaaaabulous number "Jhukake Sar Ko Pucho" in which Hema ROCKS THE HOUSE:

This is immediately followed by what is in my opinion the COOLEST PARTY EVER. Seriously, I want to be at this party SO BAD. Yes, lots of the choreography bits are copied directly from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, but it's adapted so well into this crazy, campy scene that I don't care. Seema seems to feel the same. She launches into a dream sequence in which she is prancing about all by herself. Seema is weird.

So the boys are all mooning over the girls one night, unable to sleep. They're crazy in luuuuurve. Ravi decides the best thing to do to get them to concentrate again is to kidnap the girls at night and bring them to the farmhouse. Brilliant idea, Ravi. However, it does lead to one of the most brilliant songs in R.D. Burman's repertoire - a cult classic!

So now Seema and all the girls are at the farmhouse - which Indu has re-colonized and she decides to play Dorm Mother to all of them until they can safely return to Seema's house. The girls are rather enjoying being there though ... they get to flirt with their boyfriends!

Seema's Uncle Ranjit is still plotting away though ... and he's enlisting the help of one eeeeevil dude who just out of jail. Eeeeeevil dude's name is Babu (Amitabh Bachchan), and he just so happens to look exactly like Ravi, except for his gray/blue eyes! Babu gets his own theme music which I used to sing to my friend Chirag whenever he wore blue contacts.

Ranjit invites Ravi over to his place one day for drinks in order to find out everything he can about his life, his brothers and the farmhouse. This results in one of my favorite Amitabh scenes EVER - the "Daaru Peene Se Liver Kharab Ho Jaata Hai" scene:

As Ravi leaves, he is assaulted by the evil henchmen. In fact, he's driving home and ends up surrounded by cars and a truck. I get really nervous whenever I'm surrounded by trucks on the road because of this scene. I call it "having a Satte Pe Satta moment" ... the henchman take Ravi to Seema's Uncle's villain's lair (HOLLA!) in a cave and hold him hostage there so Babu can put on brown contacts and take his place at home. Of course this gives us the creepy scene where Amitabh has one brown and one blue contact one, which they totally tried to copy in Baazigar but was nowhere NEAR as awesome!

So Babu takes his place at the farmhouse, where he is nervous and uncomfortable amongst the affectionate members of Ravi's family. Also, this is an eeeeevil villain with morals ... he refuses to touch Ravi's wife Indu, particularly when he finds out that she's got a bun in the oven.

But Babu's got a job to do -- murdering Seema! The day he decides to go for it, Seema screams to see him coming after her with a knife. Indu and the girls hear her screaming and come to her aid, and Seema runs into Indu's arms. Read that again. Seema RUNS INTO INDU'S ARMS. Yes, she was so afraid that she overcame her inability to walk and ran! It was a psychological block! The brothers, who also heard the screaming, come and tell Indu that Ravi must have used the knife to scare Seema into using her legs.

Ravi/Babu is a HERO. They all decide to celebrate in this fashion:

Finally on Karva Chauth, Babu decides he cannot deceive the people that have called him a saint, hero and angel anymore. He tells them all the truth, and resolves to help them reunite with Ravi.

That means it's time for all the guys to head for Seema's Uncle's mountain lair.

There will be lots of dishoom-dishoom, and lots of chants from the brothers and Babu while Ravi goes postal on the bad guys!!!

Things I unconditionally love about this movie:

THE SONGS!!!! OMG, the songs are amazing! The 80s bongos, R.D. Burman's throaty touches in "Pyar Humen Kis Mod Pe" and "Jhukake Sar Ko", Asha Bhosle's dulcet tones, Kishore Kumar's crooning ... Ahhh! So many memories and just CLASSIC tunes.

The way the brothers (and their girlfriends) are color-coded!

Som = Yellow
Mangal = Bronze/Gold
Budh = Green
Guru = Pink or Purple
Shukhar = Blue
Sunny = Red

The small moments of humour and directorial insertions

Som's screaminess
Mangal's stutter
Budh's one-liners, i.e. "Ab ghoomo chaddi mein!"

Budh trying to hit Som w/ the mandolin in Jhukake Sar Ko Poocho

Sunny's expressions and inflections
Sunny causing all that havoc in the bar fight scene to get doodh

EPIC dialogues that will always be firmly placed in my brain

♥♥♥ SUNNY!!!! Sachin Pilgaonkar is adorable and charming and amazing! ♥♥♥

The way poor Som just can't get it right in Jhukake Sar Ko Poocho

The nonsense chant CHAIN KULIKI MEIN KULIKI CHAAAAIIIIN!

Everything Amitabh! His slo-mo rescue of Sunny and holding back the wild horse, his dreamy, debonair look in Dilbar Mere, his expressions in Pariyon Ka Mela Hai, his lanky awkwardness, how much he reminded me of Abhishek!!! Or is the other way around?

Hema Malini's Indu - she's very no-nonsense, take no prisoners, awesome. Except for the cleaning and cooking thing ... but at least she cooks w/ BAMF cookware like this!

Why is it that I can never hate Amjad, even when he's the bad guy? He's my favorite cuddly uncle!

Okay admittedly not funny, but when I was little I thought it was hilarious that Budh was too small to carry his girl when they were kidnapping them, so he had to drag her by the hair.

The way they hint at a Babu-Seema romance! LOL!

The multiple choice of couples for my sister and I to choose from when we "enacted" scenes and songs from this movie, which we were wont to do. I usually was Rajni and paired myself with Sunny. Originally my sister chose Aradhana and paired herself with Som. Then she later switched herself to Prema Narayan.

There's so much more that I cannot capture in words about this film. I will NEVER stop loving this film to bits and pieces. And I feel that I can never do it justice by blogging about it, because I'm completely unable to even convey my love for it properly. I think it's always difficult to sum up your favorite film, but it's even more so when a particular movie has been your favorite since you first saw it at age 5. Just imagine me doing the heart symbol in reference to my feelings for this movie ... it's the best I can do to express how I feel.

Bob's Your Uncle!: My fave scene featuring Bob Christo

2011-04-24T23:09:00.001-04:00

The lovely Beth of everyone's favorite blog Beth Loves Bollywood has organized a 1-day celebration in honor of the one and only late Bob Christo. Who is Bob Christo, you ask? Well if the phrase "Nahin Bajrang Bali, Nahin Bajrang Bali, Mera Bajrang Bali ..." doesn't ring a bell, then hop on over to Beth's list of links about the fabulous firang gentleman himself.

As for me, I can't say I've followed his career all that closely, but I DO remember him, and appreciate his fine work in getting beat up by our many heroes over the years. And though the Bajrang Bali scene from Mr. India is the one that most people remember him for ... MY Favorite scene starring Mr. Christo is from the wacky Jaani Dost. I've already stated my total adoration for this movie, warts and all. Yes, I know it's absolutely ridiculous. But I still love it, and mostly because of scenes like this.

Here we have the two heroes and their lovely heroines, being attacked by the terrible goondas (enter Bob Christo!! APPLAUSE!). A typical scene, and yet in this film it's given a fun, whimsical sort of feel. From Dharmendra dancing to tabla rhythms atop the bad guys to a conversation about "where the relationship is going" being staged in between fighting, this entire sequence is lighthearted and entertaining beyond the dishooms. And come on, Sridevi beating up the bad guys as Karate Rani Shalu? Priceless.

I particularly like the moment at about 3:59 where Parveen Babi tries to beat up Bob Christo ... his reactions are just amazing. Also, how fun is it that BOTH Bob Christo and Tom Alter played goons together in this movie?

Enjoy this scene - with subtitles!

Song of the Day: Happy Easter from Big B!

2011-04-24T13:03:00.000-04:00

Needs no explanation ... the best Easter song ever:

Happy Birthday Rampwalk Remo!

2011-04-18T14:30:00.001-04:00

ARGH. So I totally suggested to all my BollyBlogging friends that we should do Vikram-posts on Sunday April 17th in honor of his 45th birthday. And then in the midst of traveling home to visit my mom in Michigan, I wasn't able to do a post yesterday. There were some fabulous tributes to the brooding, masculine, sexy Vikram yesterday which you should definitely check out:

My friends, I failed you all yesterday. And it's not from any lack of Vikram ~~lust~~ love. I absolutely adore Vikram ... as evidenced by my earlier Primer on Chiyaan Vikram. In it I describe my favorite Vikram movies, and a little about his incredible appeal.

Since there's no time to do a full movie recap or anything very deep or profound (Mom's household means non-stop guests and dance classes going on), I will leave you all with this intense moment from Kadhal Sadugudu which I ALWAYS think of when I think of Vikram ... mmmm ... (how jealous am I of Priyanka Trivedi???):

Happy birthday John Kennedy Vinod Raj aka VIKRAM aka RAMPWALK REMO aka RAINBOW REMO, you sexy beast you!

Picspam time!

He's even hot in drag! (from Kandhasaamy)

Song of the Day: Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram (Bolly Style)

2011-04-12T10:15:00.001-04:00

Happy Rama Navami! On this day Hindus celebrate the birth of Lord Shree Rama - the 7th incarnation or Avatar (not the blue CGI kind, although I guess some could be blue ...) of Lord Mahavishnu, the Preserver. Rama was born on Earth to destroy the wicked King Raavana of Sri Lanka, which he did with the assistance of his brother Lakshmana and the monkey God Hanuman. Want to know more? The Ramayana Epic is available in the Kindle Store at Amazon.com, or you could watch one of the fabulous mythological movies of India (my personal favorite was the one where Jaya Prada played young Princess Sita). If you are really dedicated, you can watch the entire detailed series by Ramanand Sagar in which Arun Govil plays Rama.

Anyway, I was singing some bhajans (Hindu hymns) this morning and then I started laughing to myself thinking of this song from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1999), which is really a tragedy when you consider how beautiful the original bhajan is, but it's still kind of funny. Especially the little cameo by maestro singer Shankar Mahadevan himself as an annoying hippie singing in Shah Rukh Khan's ear.

Incidentally, there is also a great, soulful, moving version of this song + "Vaishnava Janato" in the movie Gandhi (1982) that was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Beautiful!

Have a great Rama Navami all!

Stylish Blogger Award - Because mein sab kuch karti hoon Shaan Se!

2011-04-11T16:00:00.000-04:00

The ever so fabulous and sweet Mette of Lime Reviews has kindly added me to the list of *STYLISH BLOGGERS* floating around the net - which I'm completely grateful for as I'm fairly new to the BollyBlogging scene and I am constantly amazed by the graciousness with which I've been embraced. This is just a great network of passionate and fun-loving people who GET the ridiculous jokes that were always floating in my head when things in life got ... ahem, FILMY. Unfortunately the ABCDs that generally comprised my IRL friends in college never understood, and the "FOB" (though I hate that term, really) friends I had in my years as a young, working professional just shake their head at me and say, "I can't believe how INDIAN you are when you were raised here!" -- just imagine what they would say to my countless friends of every which race and geographical location if they knew the depths of their filmi knowledge!

Anyway, the fun thing about this award is that we are to state 7 Facts about ourselves, and then pass along the torch to 7 other bloggers.

So here we go!

1. I am absolutely 100% terrified of ghosts. I don't think they are going to do anything to me, I am just afraid of seeing one. I couldn't sleep for 3 nights after seeing The Sixth Sense. I am also afraid of loud noises - so I hate fireworks and balloons popping. If there's a balloon in the room I will be extremely tense, waiting for it to pop. And I always cover my ears during fireworks.

2. I love to dance, but came to the horrible realization several years ago that I'm really not that good at the thing I love most in the world. I have all the tools to be a great dancer, but simply never pushed myself to excel, and now after all these years my body lacks the precision and athleticism it should have. And those that cannot do, teach. So I have come to love teaching.

3. Anytime everyone seems to be obsessed or in love with a single person, I automatically develop an aversion to them. This has been the case since elementary school.

4. I am a magnet for people who want to tell me over and over how beautiful and talented they are and how many people are in love with them. Gag.

5. I used to want to be a dance choreographer for Bollywood movies, but after college I re-discovered classical dance (Bharata Natyam) and how amazing it is, and after that Bollywood stuff just felt like empty calories. It's still fun and all that, and I don't mind doing a light dance for a friend's wedding or something like that, but the idea of choreographing and/or performing a filmi dance for a stage is not as happy-making as doing a Thillana or a Varnam.

6. I absolutely hate talking on the phone and avoid answering my phone as much as possible. However people can always reach me via email or facebook/twitter. Or texting.

7. I actually hate any and all nicknames that people call me by and really wish people would call me by my name (Anandini. Ah-nun-the-knee. Anandini. Is it really THAT hard?). There is no cute or sweet-sounding nickname for my name. Who wants to be called "Nun" or "Nandi"? Not me.

Now the second part of this fun award is naming 7 other blogs that you admire! It's incredibly tough to narrow down my favorite blogs (there are SO MANY), and most of my favorites have already received this award from other bloggers. But nevertheless, here are 7 blogs that I truly admire:

My Year of Prakash Raj
Bollywood Deewana
A Fairy Filmi Ending
Minai's Cinema Nritya Gharana
Cinema Pichi Pilla
In Praise of All Things Dharmendra-Related
Memsaab Story

I also need to mention that it was the amazing and talented Beth Loves Bollywood that drew me into the world of BollyBlogging (and she is probably on everyone's list of favorite bloggers, which means she's been nominated for this award many, many times!). Also the fun-loving, inclusive and amazingly creative Kay of Totally Filmi, Ness from Shahrukh is Love and Kara from Filmi Girl! are writers that I consider my BollyBlogging Gurus and inspiration! And of course, you must check out Mette's Lime Reviews: Confessions of a Bollywood Addict -- it's wonderful!

Me trying to be all Stylish and Bollywood!

What's in a Name?

2011-04-08T01:34:00.001-04:00

Since I was walking around singing "My Name is Sheila" from Tees Maar Khan all week, I started thinking about songs that reference names and all of a sudden a list started developing in my mind (because I am insane and these are the things I think about). And so of course as the list in my head grew and grew, I realized a blog post was a-brewing.

So here's my list of Hindi movie songs that either state "My Name is ..." or "Naam Mera ..." or "Mera Naam ..." or the like:

1. My Name is Sheila - Tees Maar Khan (2010)
My obvious starting off point. This started my entire thought process because I was wondering why this girl can't freaking remember her own name. Katrina Kaif is not my favorite working actress, and this video is an example of why. She just is so ... awkward and lifeless. Not a natural dancer at all, and I can practically see her counting in her head. And her expression always drops in transitions. Still, she obviously worked really hard, so I'll give her credit for that. I hate the English parts of this song, but the rest is so damn catchy.

2. Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo - Howrah Bridge (1958)
One of my favorites! Helen is so fabulous, and the song is so super fun. We have a picture of my mom performing this onstage in 1950s Bombay -- before stage performances of Bollywood dances were a popular thing. Also when my sisters and I had a band in the early 90s, this was always one of our biggest hits on the dance floor! (I love the sudden, magical costume changes in the 2nd verse! And isn't Ashok Kumar so devastatingly handsome and brooding?)

3. Naam hai mera Fonseca - Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992)
Augghh! I used to HATE this song from JJWS - especially cause I thought Pooja Bedi was so annoying (and tranny looking, honestly)! But then her "Sorry old dear" verse used to get stuck in my head too. Deepak Tijori is awesome though. I'm bummed that I didn't go to a college like Model that had these kinds of competitions. The CLOTHES are reason enough to watch this video (which I couldn't find on YouTube, but here it is in some language I don't recognize!).

4. My Name is Anthony Gonsalves - Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)
All I have to say is "The coefficient of the linear ... is juxtapositioned ... by the hemoglobin in the atmospheric pressure of the country!!!!"

5. Naam Kya Hai Pyar Ka Mara - Yeh Dillagi (1994)
I was obsessed with this mid-90s Bollywoodized version of Sabrina starring Kajol and the very mullety pair of Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. I could still watch this movie a million times. And it's one of the few movies where I could actually tolerate Akki. But anyway, Kajol's frilly sleeves and poofy skirt are wonderful. This was back when Saif was seriously a TERRIBLE actor too. He has crazy improved!

6. My Name is Lakhan - Ram Lakhan (1989)
What can I say about this song? It's so much more than a song. It's an ANTHEM. Songs like this make me want to be a guy so I can THROW DOWN and do this kind of robust, joyful dancing without trying to be pretty and graceful. Anil Kapoor is ADORABLE as Lakhan, and check out the super young Madhuri too!

7. Mera Naam Hai Jamila - Night in London (1967)
This is one of my more recent discoveries. Helen is fabulous, as always, doing her cabaret thing. Biswajeet and Johnny Walker sure seem to appreciate Jamila! I'm trying to figure out if her shirtless backup dancers are in ~~black~~brownface or not. Anyway, Jamila is everything Sheila WISHES she could be. Helen is so expressive!

8. Naam Mera Premkali - Chaalbaaz (1989)
I always kind of hated this song although I loved the movie. Sridevi is practically dressed as Michael Jackson. I mean really, they went a little crazy on the Soul Glo here. And then she turns into Linda Ronstadt or something. I don't even think they were trying to make the picturization suit the song. Because nothing suits the disco-light-up-dance-floor like a giant tulle ballet skirt! Still with all the craziness, Sri is so uber-cute! And she always works it, no matter what they throw at her!

9. Naam Mera Mango Dolly - Quick Gun Murugan (2009)
I have no idea what is going on here, but clearly I need to see this mess. And Rambha honey? Blonde is not your color.

10. I am Krishnan Iyer MA - Agneepath (1990)
I still can't believe they are going to try and remake this movie. What the heck. Can you remake awesomeness like this??? It's not possible! Mithun is too amazing, and I love Neelam! Also, this is what people used to sing to me when I told them I was South Indian. I also miss SPB's voice.

11. Main Hoon Jhumroo - Jhumroo (1961)
I love this song soooo much. We used to perform it with our band and there was a guy who sang EXACTLY like Kishore Kumar. It was uncanny. And he was a great yodeler too.

12. Main Hoon Khushrang Henna - Henna (1991)
Such a lovely song sung by Lata. I haven't seen this movie since 1991, because it was so sad and traumatic for me at 14 years old, but this song has always stuck in my head, along with many others from this soundtrack. Gorgeous. Whatever happened to Zeba Bhaktiar and Ashwini Bhave anyway?

13. Ya Ali Ya Ali Mera Naam Hai Ali - Ajooba (1991)
Oh, Shashi Kapoor's directorial venture ... poor dear. But I liked the Rishitabh bromance in this movie!

14. Naam Abdul Hai Mera - Shaan (1980)
I love this song. Mazhar Khan is just so joyful rolling around town with his back projection. And the subtitles on our VHS copy of Shaan was awesome: "My name is Abdul What? Oh, my name is Abdul, I keep news on everything!"

15. Mera Naam Hai Chameli - Raja aur Runk (1968)
This adorable number by Kumkum is definitely memorable, but always reminds me of the medley from Mr. India ("Mera Naam Hai Calendar ...")

16. Romeo Naam Mera - Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993)
Ah another expensive flop! It had some great moments that are totally not PC in retrospect ("Chini Mini Ching Chong") but that we loved at the time. This song was Anil Kapoor's chance to show off. Sridevi also had a solo item "Mein Hoon Roop Ki Rani" ...

So I'm going to stop here because that's all I could think of off of the top of my head! And these endless song lists have got to be annoying. I just LIVE for making song lists. Seriously. It's a weird obsession to have, I know. But really, my themed mix tapes were famous.

Did I miss any fabulous iconic ones? Or just one of your favorites? Let me know!!!

Deol Dhamaka!: Melodrama overload: Apne (2007)

2011-03-31T23:30:00.001-04:00

Everyone loves to pretend that the know celebrities personally. We read about their likes, dislikes, wishes, dreams, fears, hopes, etc. and develop a relationship with them from afar. And when celebrities draw you in to their inner circle by making you feel like a part of their family, the feeling of knowing them only increases. We start to feel personally invested in these people, in their successes and failures. We start to care about not only the individual stars, but their offspring too. It's kind of messed up, actually.

So when news of the film Apne started hitting the rounds, I was very excited. Seeing Dharmendra and his two sons together on-screen? Of course I wanted to see that! It was the first time we were going to see all three Deol men together, playing family members. You could tell from the early promos that it was going to be a sappy-sweet family drama, which did make me a bit apprehensive about it (I feared another K3G), so I didn't quite go rushing out to the theatres. In fact, I didn't get around to it at all until January 2011. And it certainly was a melodrama-fest, but not as god-awful as K3G ... perhaps thanks to the fact that most of the cast (excluding Booby Deol and Katrina Kaif) can actually act.

Running toward each other in slow motion! No, not the romantic couple. The two sons running toward their father!

The story is fairly simple -- Dharmendra plays Baldev, an ex-boxing champ who was accused of cheating at the height of his career and suspended from the league. He has never gotten over the loss of his career and broods about it constantly. Before the start of the film, he had tried to train his son, Angad (Sunny Deol), to bring glory back to his family by winning the boxing championship. Though initially successful, Angad eventually quits boxing because of financial strain in the family. Baldev has never forgiven Angad for quitting on him, and their relationship is basically non-existent. A secondary strain on their relationship exists because Angad is responsible for his younger brother Karan (Booby Deol)'s disability. Karan was injured when Angad, in trying to defend his mother against goons demanding money from her, accidentally causes debris to fall on him.

They can never resist using Dharam's glamour shots in his films today. He's sooo dreamy!

Despite Karan's injury, he is a budding rock star and romantically involved with a young doctor named Nandini (Katrina Kaif). Angad is also married to the lovely and spirited Simran (Shilpa Shetty) and has a young son. Baldev's wife Raavi (Kirron Kher) and Simran constantly try to hold the damaged, fraying family together, but Baldev's bitterness affects them all deeply.

The one-handed dance!

Unable to bear Baldev's unhappiness, Karan decides to forget his dreams of stardom and bring honor and dignity back to the family by taking up boxing. His girlfriend Nandini helps him through a medical procedure for "magic hand fix" (too bad this wasn't around for Mohnish Behl's character in Hum Saath Saath Hai), and he trains hard, eventually reaching the championship level in U.S.A.

HAHAHA! Katrina's ACTING you guys!

He is pitted against reigning champion Luca Gracia, and does quite well until Luca cheats. Karan is seriously injured (again! This guy has worse luck than a V.C. Andrews heroine) and hospitalized, and Baldev is devastated to see what his ambition has caused.

Hair sweat flying in slow-mo!

When Angad realizes what happened to Karan, he challenges Luca to fight him. Baldev, already brokenhearted, tries to tell Angad not to do it. He says there is no way he can train in time for the match, but Angad refuses to listen to anyone. He trains hard and funnels all of his rage and frustration into his boxing. Will he win the championship and restore Baldev to glory? Will Karan survive and marry Nandini? And WTH, they have a sister (Divya Dutta)?

THOUGHTS WHILE WATCHING APNE

I can't believe Apne was Katrina Kaif's 9th film. She is horrendously bad. She was so bad in this film that I had to actually LAUGH at her expressions. Especially her close-ups when Booby's getting the crap beat outta him.

LOL. Seriously. I was cracking up at her "acting" ...

Booby Deol is not much better. I actually thought his acting was miserably bad in this movie.

For some reason everyone in Apne has red-tinted hair. What was that all about? Are they the Weasleys?

Watching Katrina try to dance in this song is hilarious, because she almost falls over:

Booby Deol's fight scenes are excruciating to watch. He has MOOBS. And they jiggle, in slow motion.

Divya Dutta is criminally underused. She is one "over-actress" that I actually enjoy.
Sunny's character is a total masochist. Kind of like Akshay Kumar's character in Dhadkan.

But then he transforms into CRAZYEYES!Sunny and it is awesome. Particularly when he's dropping gratuitous f-bombs. Except he doesn't quite get it right. I don't think you want to yell "I'LL F*CK YOU!" over and over to your enemy.

This is a little beyond CRAZY EYES, Sunny ...

Besides the red, Dharam also develops a streak in his hair like Rogue from X-Men.

Sunny and Shilpa's kid in this movie seems very ... "special" ...

Dharam's character is one selfish baaaaastaaaard for the way he treats his entire family -- all for the sake of Eternal Glory. This ain't the Triwizard Tournament, Baldev. Interesting how in both this film and Yamla Pagla Deewana, Dharam plays a total selfish jerk that both his sons worship. Particularly Sunny, who is his punching bag in both films. Thankfully, he doesn't seem to be that guy in real life. Also, I did sincerely appreciate his acting in this film. He did indeed seem devastated; a shell of himself. And despite how selfish his character is, you do find yourself rooting for him.

Ultimately Sunny's character Angad is the one I sympathized with the most. He is so sweet and humble, so saddened by his father's rejection of him, and so noble. His scenes of training also provide an AWESOMELY bad song.

All in all, despite making fun of it throughout the watching experience, I'll say I enjoyed the movie. It was heartwarming, tearjerking goodness - a shameless melodrama fest. The story itself was interesting enough in how it unfolded, and they added in little bits that I didn't expect (like Luca having his own motivations and weaknesses). Solid performances from Dharam, Sunny, Kirron and Shilpa outweighed the lackluster performances of Booby and Katrina. And ultimately, it's a celebration of family!

Thank you again to all the great friends and colleagues that made DEOL DHAMAKA such a blast. I can't believe we have over 100 links for Deol Dhamaka! Please be sure to visit the links list and check out all the fun and creativity that Deol Dhamaka inspired this month.

And I definitely have to give the renowned title of MISS DEOL DHAMAKA to one of my favorite BollyBloggers, Ness of Shahrukh is Love. Ness created a blog post for literally EVERY SINGLE DAY of Deol Dhamaka, and I think they are all brilliant and hilarious.

And much love to all the fabulous participants, all talented bloggers in their own right! The blogs below have far more to offer than just Deol Dhamaka fare, so I definitely recommend that you follow them!

*if I have missed anyone inadvertently, please, please let me know!

A Deol Dhamaka Sidebar: Hema the Knife

2011-03-31T00:15:00.001-04:00

Deol Dhamaka is ending ... and I had SO many more films that I wanted to share as a part of this month-long celebration. Alas, time flies when you are having fun and I wasn't able to get to everything.

I had initially not considered Hema Malini to be a valid part of Deol Dhamaka -- somehow I felt Hema could potentially be deserving of a blogging week of her own at some point. But several of our friends have included her, and I had two Hema songs as ear worms today so I thought I would share them as a Deol Dhamaka sidebar.

Interestingly enough, both songs feature Hema skillfully wielding knives! Danger! It's not just her nasheeli nainon that you must be wary of! As soon as I realized I had Knife-brandishing Hema songs on the brain, I knew a post was brewing. I had to juxtapose! A lovely bonus to this is that both songs are from films that feature handsome hubby Dharmendra as Hema's hero. Score!

Now we all know Hema's no stranger to knives. After all, she had knife-throwing roles in both Sapnon Ka Saudagar and Seeta aur Geeta. Even Katrina Kaif is apparently seeking knife-throwing lessons from Hemaji (read the article here).

First, from one of the earliest Hindi films I remember seeing - "Qayamat Qayamat" from Ali Baba aur Chalis Chor (1980) - one of the films I had REALLY hoped to blog about during Deol Dhamaka (I am definitely still going to blog about it at some point - it features prominently in my Bollystalgia). This film was an Indo-Soviet co-production ... something I seriously did NOT know as a child. The cast includes Dharmendra as the title role of Ali Baba, Hema Malini as Marjeena, Zeenat Aman as Fatima, and a host of both Indian and Soviet actors as the 40 thieves (Aww Mac Mohan!). A classic fairy tale obviously based on one of the most popular tales from the Arabian Nights, but spiced up with some fabulous R.D. Burman numbers! And Dharam as Ali Baba? Come on! Who wouldn't love this?

So here's Hema doing her knife wielding thing in Ali Baba ...

The 2nd song is actually from a few years earlier, and is my favorite Dharam + Hema movie - Dream Girl (1977)! I loved this movie as a child, but I must admit, I haven't seen the full movie in many, many years. We had all of the songs recorded on a VHS tape and that is what I remember most, but I do vaguely remember the storyline that featured Dharam as the rich young playboy looking for love, and Hema and Asrani as con-artists with heart (they steal to provide for their home-based orphanage - and one of their orphans is a little Padmini Kohlapuri! Also among the orphans, lovely dancer Komal from Payal Ki Jhankaar). I had hoped to also do this movie for Deol Dhamaka, but ran out of time. I remember it being fun and having a crazy climax with some killer stunts by Dharam, and also having some great comedic moments (Hema dressed as a Sanyasi, anyone?). The songs were a joy to watch, especially the title song (check out my Song of the Day post about it), "Chupa Chupi Khele Aao", and the Disneyland song. But I digress ... here is Hema in Banjaran-costume, brandishing her trusty knife in "O Raja Babu":

I sense that I am going to have some strong Deol Dhamaka Hangover, so there may be some residual posts that still make it on to the blog. But I cannot thank all the fabulous bloggers who participated in Deol Dhamaka enough! We have over 100 posts on our Deol Dhamaka links list, so I highly recommend you visit and check out some of the writings. There are some excellent write-ups that go well beyond the "OMG he's soooo hot" fare that we thought we'd have. :-)

This has been an exciting project and I am so thrilled with the participation! And stay with us ... there's still one more day in March and who knows what might happen?

Song of the Day: Abuse of Classical Dance - Yeh Pyar Kya Hai from Gupt (1997)

2011-03-29T00:32:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I'm not the biggest Booby Deol fan around. I can't even count myself as a fan, though I'm not a hater either. But I did really love the movie Gupt when it came out in 1997. I had enjoyed the previous Rajiv Rai fare like Tridev, Vishwatma and Mohra, but none of them quite threw me for a loop like Gupt.

Gupt, which starred Booby Deol (I know, it's Bobby, but you know - ever since Stardust made that typo, I can't call him anything else), Kajol and Manisha Koirala, was a surprising murder-mystery that in a time saturated with repetitive storylines was incredibly exciting and refreshing. Booby plays Sahil, who is in love with his childhood sweetheart, Isha, played by Kajol. Sahil has a complicated and problem-laden relationship with his stepfather (Raj Babbar), who wants him to marry Sheetal (Manisha Koirala). When his stepfather surprises him by announcing Sahil's engagement to Sheetal at a party, he goes ballistic on him and threatens to kill him in front of the entire crowd. The next day, his stepfather is found dead, and Sahil is the prime suspect. From there spins a wild web of murder and suspense with Sahil on the trail to find the real killer.

Booby wasn't a revelation or anything, but the ladies made this film fun to watch (Kajol was good, but I particularly liked Manisha's character, who was calm, collected and mature about the fact that the boy she loved was in love with someone else). It's a bit difficult to watch it today because of the amazing 90s styling, but it certainly stuck in my memory all these years - though that is clearly because of the amazing soundtrack by Viju Shah. I mean come on, the guy came up with gems like "Saat Samundar" from Vishwatma, "Tip Tip Barsa Paani" from Mohra and "Aankh Maare" from Tere Mere Sapne!

I adored the soundtrack of Gupt long before the movie came out, particularly "Mere Khwabon Mein Tu" and "Mushkil Bada Yeh Pyar Hai" -- but by FAR my favorite song was "Yeh Pyar Kya Hai" which uses the beautiful flute intro from "Yashomati Maiyya" (Satyam Shivam Sundaram) set to a techno-ish beat. It works. I love it.

What I DON'T love and what drives me crazy about this song's picturization is the total rape and abuse of classical dance. They have a full stage set of dancers in four of the traditional classical dance costumes of India - Kathakali, Manipuri, Kathak and Bharata Natyam. While they are wearing the costumes, the dancing they are doing is anything BUT. I will go so far as to say the dancing is atrocious and an absolute insult to the costumes they are wearing. The Kathakali dancers might use an actual move or two from the dance style, but they are performed so awkwardly that I was cringing. The Kathak and Manipuri dancers are just flailing about, but I am most disturbed by the Bharata Natyam dancers - since I AM a Bharata Natyam dancer, obviously.

First, their costumes are the versions wore by little girls that don't have bosoms yet. Adolescent dancers and older always wear an additional piece called the dhaavani or melaakku across the torso. Seeing adults not wearing that piece is basically vulgar in my eyes. And then the dancing ... oh god, it's awful. Their feet are yards apart, there's absolutely no technique, it's just SO bad. And I just can't understand why people insult the costume, thinking that it just looks cool to wear it and you don't have to have any respect for the actual art itself.

I know I'm getting unnecessarily upset about this, but it's just so representative of how our own people treat classical dance, and traditional arts in general. Why dedicate yourself to 8-10 years of training and discipline? Just throw on a cool looking costume and shake your hips! It's what I see at all these college and community so-called cultural shows, and it pisses me off. Kids think that doing a Bollywood/Hip Hop/Fusion dance means they are in touch with their culture. There's usually 20 of those items, and then one token "classical" dance that usually has very little classical content to it - and everyone applauds them for making classical dance "interesting" by doing it to Western or Bollywood music or doing a few basic classical dance steps (not even truly doing one style, but mixing moves from Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi) and then waving their arms around all over the place.

END RANT.

That aside, I love the song. I LOVE the crazy, totally 90s dance moves Booby, Kajol and Manisha are trying so hard to do. I dig the weird hairstyle on Manisha and I really want to know if Kajol's wig is attached to the beret. I love how Manisha can't dance to save her life (can you say HOT MESS?) and Booby almost falls over doing some of these moves in his tight jeans, while Kajol just looks awkward and uncomfortable but is still trying to rock it out (you go girl).

And I do give credit for the concept! If they had REAL classical dancers doing ACTUAL dance steps, I think I would have found it quite beautiful and interesting. The classical dance costumes are incredibly fascinating (particularly Kathakali, with those elaborate masks, makeup, crowns and dresses) and the idea of all the classical dances presented on one stage is very exciting. If they had just taken the time and effort to hire real dancers and choreographers, I would have absolutely loved the final effect.

Image of Kathakali costuming by Rahul Sadagopan

All in all and my personal issues aside, it's a great song from a movie I really enjoyed when I saw it!

For more Deol Dhamaka goodness, visit our links!

Deol Dhamaka: Happy Holi from Gharam Dharam!

2011-03-18T22:27:00.011-04:00

Because it's time to celebrate Holi - I thought what better way to celebrate it than with Dharamji???

Holi Ke Din - Sholay

Piya Sang Kheloon - Phagun

Layi Hai Hazaaron Rang - Phool aur Patthar

Bhagi Re Bhagi Re - Rajput

Kar Gayi Mast Mujhe - Dillagi

HAPPY HOLI!!!!

Deol Dhamaka: Na Tum Jaano Na Hum (2002) ... Esha got the shaft

2011-03-17T00:40:00.002-04:00

Since Esha Deol has largely been ignored in the blogosphere's celebration of DEOL DHAMAKA (except for Ness's delightful review of Yuva), I decided to throw her a bone and check out one of her films. And I'm pretty pleased that I did, honestly.

Na Tum Jaano Na Hum takes it's title from the popular song from Kaho Naa Pyar Hai, capitalizing on the success of Hrithik Roshan's debut film. Unfortunately it did not work in the case of this film, which was pretty much a flop. However I think the failure of this film has more to do with the timing of it's release. Though not a wildly original concept, this film's formula was a fairly successful one in the late 90s. Someone on the YouTube comments suggested that unfortunately by the time Na Tum Jaano Na Hum released, audiences had already seen the likes of Dil Chahta Hai and Lagaan, and a different type of film was emerging - something that embraced new cinematography and modern, exciting lifestyles. Still, I found the storyline to be remarkably close to Mujhse Dosti Karoge which released only a few months later and did okay.

Anyway, I found the movie to be surprisingly cute, albeit saccharine. Esha Deol plays a sweet, simple young girl named (surprise, surprise) Esha who finds a love poem in a college textbook. She falls in love with the writer of the note, and dedicates a song to him on the radio. The writer of the note, Rahul (~~SRK~~ Hrithik Roshan) happens to hear the same radio show and also calls in to say a message to her. They begin corresponding via P.O. Boxes and fall in love through their letters.

We also meet Rahul's best friend Akshay (Saif Ali Khan), a wealthy playboy who serial dates and cannot understand Rahul's romantic notions. Akshay's parents want him to settle down and get married asap.

As luck would have it, Esha and her grandfather hire Rahul as a photographer for their business, and though Rahul initially declines to come to their hometown of Dehradun, he eventually calls back and accepts the job. Esha has a large, warm family and they welcome Rahul into their fold immediately. Rahul and Esha share several adventures together and become friends, but Esha is still in love with her anonymous penpal. Meanwhile her family is working hard to convince her to agree to marry a family friend's son -- who turns out to be (dun dun dunnnnn) Akshay! Esha finds out that Rahul only agreed to the job and befriended her to "scope her out" for his best friend! Akshay, who is extremely hesitant about marriage, has finally been convinced that this girl is perfect for him by his best friend. And when he meets her, he is instantly charmed and falls in love.

Esha and Rahul's friendship cools off, but she is still waiting for her penpal lover. She sends him her favorite childhood stuffed toy, a little Paddington Bear. He, in exchange, sends her his favorite toy plane. I sort of throw up at the cutesyness, but it's still kind of adorable. They finally decide to meet -- on the day of Esha's engagement to Akshay! Hidden in the shadows, Rahul spies Esha and realizes that his penpal lover is marrying his best friend!

Your classic love triangle with the bromance thrown in for extra melodrama - but it's still an enjoyable film. It's a family-friendly, chaste, romantic film with lovely moments and cringeworthy ones too. Nothing spectacular or awe-inspiring, but your average cheesy Bollywood extravaganza -- with one saving grace. The friendship between Rahul and Akshay. Somehow the interaction between these two was something I really had fun watching. Their playful jibes and open affection was really sweet. The scenes between them really made the film a tad better than just ok for me.

Hrithik does his usual earnest performance. I usually find him a bit prone to overacting, but for some reason I didn't mind it as much in this film. I credit the director, Arjun Sablok, for giving him so many subtle moments that allowed me to truly appreciate him for once. I'm not a person who finds Hrithik "hot" ... he's ok but there's something about him that I find a bit plastic usually. I thought he put in a good performance here and didn't get as annoyed with him as I did in Mujhse Dosti Karoge or Yaadein, or especially Kabhi Nonsense Kabhi Dumb.

Saif Ali Khan did a great job with his role. I think he got typecast as a player for a long time, but in this case he's mostly a good guy, he just wasn't ready to get married. He's definitely an awkward dancer, but it certainly seems that he worked really hard on his steps in "Leke Pyar Ki Chunariya" ... it's kind of sad, actually. But he has this moment towards the end of the film, the moment where he realizes that his best friend was in love with his fiancee and sacrificed his love for him -- it's really lovely! I was moved ... and you could see glimmers of the brilliance he shows in later films like Parineeta and Omkara.

And now for Esha Deol ... oh, how do I sum this up? I want to say that I think the industry has unfairly written Esha off. She's really not THAT bad. I mean, she's not that GOOD either, but I really strongly feel that she's no worse than the other popular actresses of today. I would definitely put her on par with Sonam Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone. Especially Deepika, who I think Esha resembles quite a bit at times. The issue with Esha is that she sometimes tends to go a bit blank in the eyes - she looks a bit vacuous.

Hello??? Anyone home???

She also has a tendency to look slightly grumpy, getting a little bit of the Sourpuss-Jaya-Bachchan face. But, in her defense, I think it's just how her lips are, and I would NOT want her to go do something stupid like plumping her lips. But in terms of acting talent, she's no worse than the those ladies who are getting plum roles in Bollywood today. So why did Esha get the shaft? It doesn't seem quite fair. She had a bit of a revival after her glam makeover in Dhoom, but honestly I really liked her as she was in this movie. She was simple and pretty. Although the girl playing her younger sister TOTALLY outshone her -- that girl was awesome. Why isn't she a heroine now?? I don't know who that girl was but I feel like I should.

This girl should be a STAR

Anyway, yeah, Esha. I don't think she's terrible. There are certain shots that she looks so glazed over it's almost creepy, but then, she had some cute moments too.

I had to giggle when Esha had a special scene where she danced around to Dharmendra's popular song "Mein Jatt Yamla Pagla Deewana" from Pratigya. It was really, really cute!

And she does resemble her super gorgeous mother at times, at certain angles or with certain expressions. And they had a really cute montage of real shots of young Esha in the beginning. It was really fun to see how totally NORMAL she looked as a kid and young teen!

It was also nice to see yesteryear actresses like Moushmi Chatterjee and Rati Agnihotri make an appearance. Rati, in particular, looked absolutely stunning.

In all, it's not a movie for the weak-stomached ... if you can't handle sappy romances then this isn't going to be your cup of tea. But if you like an occasional Yash Raj film, you might like this one - it's in the same vein. And I thought it was worth watching for the Hrithik-Saif bromance. And I don't think Esha is THAT bad. I have hopes for her, I really do!

To check out all of our DEOL DHAMAKA madness, visit our links!

DEOL DHAMAKA: Aap to Antaryaami hai ... Dushman Devta (1991)

2011-03-16T01:23:00.000-04:00

Dushman Devta (1991) is set in a small, defenseless village plagued by bandit attacks. We're introduced to the sweet, innocent residents by a singing village belle, played by Dimple Kapadia (who is of course, gorgeous, but just past the age where she can pull off this type of character). She's not the only belle in town though ... a scantily-clad Sonam is also prancing around town shooting sheep and horses with her tranquilizer darts and aggressively pursuing town hunk Suraj (Aditya Panscholi). It's a good thing too because "animals" (Ahem! Dacoits in bad gorilla costumes) are apparently also terrorizing the villagers. Sadashiv Amrapurkar and Gulshan Grover are around doing their usual shady dealings as the local corrupt thakur Raja and his Number Two.

Enter Dharmendra as surly, rogue-ish Shiva! He arrives near the village with Master Dina Nath (Dr. Shreeram Lagoo), who tells him about his sad past. He tells Shiva that he considers him to be like his son and wants him to help protect their village. Suddenly Dina Nath is shot by Number Two (Gulshan Grover). Shiva goes to take the body back to his family, and Dina Nath's wife - who had gone pagal after her son was killed - receives him enthusiastically as her son. Unfortunately Suraj and gang come along and believing Shiva to be Dina Nath's murderer, attack him. The villagers all argue that he couldn't be the killer, and try to revive Shiva. In a series of events, the villagers come to believe that Shiva is a living incarnation of Lord Shiva and fall at his feet, swearing their undying devotion. Dharmendra has a past of his own he needs to escape, and reluctantly agrees to stay in the village. This is where things get fun!

While this certainly isn't highbrow cinematic art and is guilty of the 80-90s cliches of rapeyness and gaudy costuming, this movie stuck in my memory for being unapologetically silly and fun. It doesn't seem like anyone was really trying all that hard in this film, except for maybe a few of the background extras.

Dharamji's Shiva is a gruff, embittered drunkard who is ultimately inspired to protect the village that constantly chants to him "Aap to Antaryaami hai!" (the line that cracked me and my sisters up while watching this). He's absolutely hilarious and gets to show off his dry humour. This is pretty late in his career as a hero, but it works well for the character. He reminds me quite a bit of Sunny today. Or I guess I should say Sunny reminds me of him? Anyway, their father-son resemblance never struck me as much as it did in this movie.

Dimple as either Gori or Gouri (I never figured out which one) is feisty and loudmouthed. She may be a bit too mature to play the village belle, but she still gets some wonderful scope here to angrily rile up the sheep-minded villagers.

And speaking of sheep (or shooting them with darts) -- Sonam is one tough cookie too. Her tranquilizer darts come in very handy when she flips the damsel-in-distress situation to save her man, and later towards the climax too. Sonam is an interesting actress to me. She's obviously not a GOOD actress, so I'm not sure why I like watching her in films (I also loved her in Tridev, Chor Pe Mor and Ajooba). There's something strangely admirable about her lazy approach to acting, something irreverent ... it just doesn't seem like she cares very much about acting and is just doing it for a lark. And I think she was only 15 when she did Tridev, so she was probably around 16 in this. It shows. She's mostly in this movie for skin show, but I thought she was sort of kickass.

Aditya Panscholi is ehhh to me. As he usually is.

The soundtrack is cute and mostly forgettable, except for two numbers that completely STUCK in my head for YEARS (I haven't seen this movie since 1992). One is the obviously lifted tune "Hojaye Hoja" (a villain's lair dance!) that I've had pop into my head now and then but had forgotten that it was from this movie. The other is the completely awesome Usha Uthup number "Udi Udi Baba" picturized on Sonam and Aditya. It's completely random and weird and my sisters and I fell in love with it when we saw it on a song compilation video. It's the reason we rented the movie and watched it. You can watch it here (scan to about 1:50 in):

This is by no means a must-see film, but it IS sort of funny and decent timepass. It certainly stuck in MY memory all these years!

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Deol Dhamaka: Heyyyyy Johnny Gaddaar! (2007)

2011-03-14T22:59:00.000-04:00

Considered to be inspired by Film Noir, Sriram Raghavan's Johnny Gaddaar was a gritty, slick and dark thriller that Neil Nitin Mukesh (son of playback singer Nitin Mukesh) was lucky to get his break in! I heard a lot about Johnny Gaddaar before I saw it, and I can't believe I delayed watching it as long as I did. Right from the start I was drawn in by the funky title sequence, the nods to Amitabh's Parwana and director Vijay Anand's Johnny Mera Naam. Writer James Hadley Chase is also an inspiration, as noted at the start of the film and seen in the overall style of the film.

The film starts with its climax, and then reverts to a flashback which is the bulk of the film. Flashbacks within the flashback are also used skillfully. The main storyline is that a group of men running a gambling den together, who also engage in some drug smuggling deals. Vikram (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is the youngest member of the group. He's secretly having an affair with the wife (Rimi Sen) of one of the most volatile members of their gang, Shardul (Zakir Hussain - no, not the tabla player!).

The other members of the gang are their unofficial leader Seshadri (WOOT! Dharmendra), Prakash (Vinay Pathak), and Shiva (Dayanand Shetty).

Sheshadri's friend and 'inside man' with the police, Kalyan (Govind Namdeo, who always manages to terrify me), sets up a deal for the entire gang provided they each put in 50 lakhs to purchase goods they can sell at a higher rate for a large profit. Vikram sees this as the perfect opporturnity to nab all the money and make a run for it with his lover. He sets up an elaborate alibi for himself of being in Goa, and plans to disguise himself and rob Shiva as he heads to exchange the money for goods via train. Vikram being young, nervous and inexperienced, obviously botches the job.

He returns to Seshadri, visibly shaken by the experience. Seshadri seems to be a father-figure and mentor to all the members of the gang, so Vikram clearly feels guilt-ridden and fearful in his presence. Seshadri is the MAN. He quickly figures out Vikram's role in the entire scheme, and calls him out. This scene is particularly gripping because of Dharmendra's incredible acting. He is deeply disappointed that one of his own men could betray him, and yet you feel his resistance to attack because he does care for Vikram. Unfortunately, that hesitation costs him dearly. Vikram escapes yet again, digging his hole deeper and deeper.

Meanwhile Prakash and Shardul, who are often at loggerheads, fall into another argument over Prakash's gambling debts. Prakash has borrowed a significant sum from his wife's beauty salon business to cover his gambling. His wife, Varsha (Ashwini Khalsekar), is extremely suspicious of his business dealings and worries constantly about the money being drawn from her salon. Prakash promises her that he will never risk her salon. Their relationship is portrayed with a realism we rarely see in Bollywood films, and Ashwini truly shines in her role. She is excitable, hot-tempered and passionate.

Prakash loses another large sum and asks for Vikram and Shardul to cover his losses. Shardul is infuriated, but eventually agrees. In the exchange of money, a certain amount is determined to be counterfeit (put in by Prakash, who had fallen short of his 50 lakh contribution in the group deal). Prakash takes the resurfacing of these counterfeit notes as proof that Shardul is the thief. Shardul meanwhile suspects Prakash, neither of them considering that Vikram is the actual culprit. Prakash reveals his suspicions (confirmation, in his eyes) about Shardul to Varsha and to Vikram. Vikram panics once again, and finds himself completely in over his head.

Vikram is breaking down slowly, but now Shardul is his only obstacle. Shardul eventually realizes that Vikram is behind all of the madness, not Prakash. He mentions his plans to "get" Vikram for what he's done to his wife, Mini, who freaks out thinking that he knows about their affair. She desperately tries to get a hold of Vikram to warn him that Shardul is coming for him, and their showdown leads to the final scenes (which we saw at the beginning of the film). Who survives? Who deals the final blow? Well I have tried my best to remain spoiler-free in this recap, so I won't answer those questions ...

I really enjoyed this film. The cinematography, the editing, the nods to Film Noir and 70s Hindi Cinema, the crime drama and the suspense all came together beautifully. Vikram's desperate attempts to fix the situation simply spiral him further and further into the mess he's created. Despite Neil Nitin Mukesh's somewhat wooden and amateur performance, the other elements definitely create the sense of urgency needed to draw you in to the story. Still, Vikram's character is problematic. He's an anti-hero ... flawed and guilty. Though it's Vikram that carries you through the story, you never quite root for him.

"You thought I could act!"

Dharmendra was a delight! His character, Seshadri, had so much depth, right from his opening scenes. Despite being the tough leader of this underworld gang, he is often shown sitting alone in his home, listening to an audio cassette of his late wife singing 'Mera Gora Rang Lai Le' (a song from Dharamji's 1963 film Bandini). Seshadri is sentimental and romantic - constantly mourning his lost love. He's also warm and fatherly towards the members of his gang, as shown in a scene where he meets Shiva's girlfriend at the hospital where Shiva's mother is being treated. Vikram's betrayal of Seshadri is the deepest and most moving one in the entire film. He was definitely the character I felt the most sympathetic towards.

Of the other members of the gang, I also felt sympathy for Prakash's character, particularly because of the interaction between him and his wife Varsha, played by Ashwini Khalsekar. I first noted Ashwini in Khakee where she played a sweet, simple Marathi wife ... there are notes of the same here but with a lot more fire. I find her riveting when she's on screen. She just breathes passion and emotion! I would love to see more of her. And Vinay Pathak's Prakash is just so endearing and sincere. You know that he's a crook and yet you can't help but feel sorry for him. The chemistry between Prakash and Varsha is far more convincing than that of the main couple of the film, Vikram and Mini. Theirs is the relationship that you root for.

Zakhir Hussain plays the sleazy, explosive Shardul perfectly. Everything from the loud, colorful clothing and the dark, dangerous way he approaches his wife was spot-on. You could understand exactly why his wife hated him and ran into the arms of Vikram. Rimi Sen did just an ok job as Mini, bordering on overacting whenever she shared screenspace with Zakhir and lacking any real chemistry with Neil Nitin Mukesh (who looks like her beta). Unfortunately Shiva is just the throwaway character to me, although they gave him a very sympathetic situation with his ailing mother and nurse girlfriend.

Well, wouldn't EVERY girl be thrilled to have this guy as her pati-parameshwar?

I don't know if I was put off by their chemistry or her hair ...

All in all, Johnny Gaddaar is an excellent film. It's gripping, well-written, and one of the best "thriller" films I've seen in a long time. The groovy soundtrack is just icing. I DEFINITELY recommend this film!

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Awww yeah Dharamji!

Deol Dhamaka: Sunny in a playful mood!

2011-03-05T20:48:00.000-05:00

And the DEOL DHAMAKA fun continues!

Unfortunately I haven't been able to post as much as I'd hoped between the vacation I just came back from (Jamaica was AMAZING! I highly recommend The Grand Palladium Jamaica, where we stayed - a fabulous all-inclusive and really stunning property) and sending my laptop in for repair ... so I'm doing these quicker posts to stay a part of the fun. I have already screencapped several films that I hope to do a full review of as soon as possible. In the meantime, I have these song lists that kept popping into my head and I wanted to share them.

Now that we've all seen the softer side of Sunny, let's take a look now at his playful side! There are several songs that pop into my head when I think of fun times with Sunny ...

Mera Dil Le Gayi - Ziddi (1997)
I LOVE Sunny in this one. He always seems on the verge of laughing. It just seems like he's letting go of his fear of dancing and having fun with it! Oh they really pushed him to dance in this one, and it just looks like he worked so hard to get those steps. But then he flashes that blinding smile and who cares about the steps! This just looks like fun!
*I choreographed this song for a couple of kids for their community Diwali show once ... it's still one of my favorite filmi dances I've set up. I had to borrow that walking forward step.

Dhola Dhol Manjira - Joshilaay (1989)
This is definitely a Sridevi show all the way. She's rocking it, and her hip-shaking moves are out of this world. But I get a huge grin on my face from the moment Sunny jumps into the screen (causing Sri to hilariously roll her eyes). They're playing off each other, and it is so fun to watch. I don't care if he's mostly walking around while Sri dances away, he's still part of the fun!

Na Jane Kahan Se Aayi Hai - Chaalbaaz (1989)
Classic. Again, this is a Sridevi show (I WANT her rain slicker), but from the moment Sunny rolls up on his motorcycle the fun level goes up ... Sridevi's best when she has someone to play off of, and Sunny provides that - he's the kind of co-star that best allows her to shine and doesn't compete with her for the lions share of attention (the way I sometimes feel Anil Kapoor does). Somehow he reminds me more of his dad in this song than he usually does. Maybe it's the jovial attitude.

Mein Nikla Gaddi Leke - Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001)
I like Sunny in this enough to ignore Amisha Patel, who really grates on my nerves. She's like the modern day Vijeyta Pandit. But Sunny is so cute and earnest in this one (even with the excessive kajal in his eyes). I unfortunately haven't seen the movie (I'd really have to battle my Amisha dislike), but it was quite a hit. And I don't think I've ever seen Sunny so smiley. It makes me smile.

Ang Se Ang Lagana - Darr (1993)
I love me some Darr. And though this song is definitely more Anupam Kher's than anyone else's, Sunny's part comes in at about 3:05 and is quite fun. I mean it's Holi after all. Unfortunately I'm a bit scared of Holi after the combination of this (creepy stalker SRK) and the terrifying Holi scene in Damini, but I digress. Can anyone explain to me why the spoken word part starting at 4:08 goes on for SO FREAKING LONG???

Jano Janam Jaaneman - Sultanat (1986)
I too would like to frolick in a kiddie pool on the Arabian Nights set with Sheikh!Sunny. And clearly a guy that will CosPlay with you has got to be good fun. And he even made a giant sand heart stage to dance on with Sridevi.

If anyone else finds any fun/playful Sunny Deol gems on YouTube, I'd love to see them! And for all the fun Deol Dhamaka posts from my BollyBlogging friends, be sure to check out the links here - so many great films being recapped!