Review : Jaane bhi do yaaron

Posted on March 8, 2005 by amodini

jbdy3 Rating : Excellent (5/5)
Genre : Comedy
 Year : 1983
Running Time : 2 hours 23 minutes
Cast : Naseerunddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Bhakti Barve (Inamdaar), Satish Shah, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapoor, Satish Kaushik, Neena Gupta
Director : Kundan Shah
Music : Vanraj Bhatia

Definitely the funniest hindi movie I’ve seen, this is the story of two friends, (Vinod – Naseeruddin Shah and Sudhir – Ravi Baswani) attempting to start-up their own photo studio. Business is very slow, but prospects look good when they are approached by Shobha (Barve) editor of “Khabardaar” newspaper. Shobha, feeding the simple-minded duo a spiel about righteousness and honesty, assigns them the job of spying/photographing the shady dealings between Police commisioner D’Mello (Satish Shah) and property builder Tarneja (Pankaj Kapoor). The two, on assignment come across corruption and bribery to win the tender for building a flyover. The main players in this are D’Mello, Tarneja and his rival Ahuja (Om Puri).

While spying on the nefarious three, Sudhir and Vinod get a whiff of a murder, but do not know who the killer is. They manage to retrieve the corpse as proof, but subsequently lose it. What follows, and is pretty much the rest of the movie, is a long, extended chase (and what a chase – meanders into the oddest of places) with the bad guys (Tarneja, and Co.) and the good guys (Vinod and Sudhir) chasing the corpse.

Jaane Bhi Do YaaroThis is a short, slickly directed film, and has a cast of excellent actors. Baswani and Shah with their comic timing and bumbling escapades make this a riot. Pankaj Kapoor, Satish shah and Om Puri adequately represent the bad guys, with Kapoor and Puri responsible for some great comic scenes. Bhakti Barve turns in a sharp performance as the shrewd Shobaji. And Neena Gupta (as Priya) and Satish Kaushik (as Ashok) as Tarneja’s sidekicks are very good. The movie doesn’t have songs, except for maybe the hummable “Hum honge kaamyaab”. No heroine either, forthat matter.

This film was made in 1983, and to-date there is no better hindi comedy than this. Kundan Shah’s later efforts are no match for this classic film.

Posted in bollywood, comedy, drama, family-friendly, humor, outstanding, rating-PG, recommended | Tagged | 9 Comments

Review : Swades

Posted on March 8, 2005 by amodini

Rating : Very Good (4.5/5)
Genre : All-in-one
Year : 2004
Running time : 3hrs and 14 minutes
Cast : Shahrukh Khan, Gayatri Joshi, Kishori Balal, Rajesh Vivek, Dayashankar Pandey
Director : Ashutosh Gowarikar
Music : A.R. Rehman

SWADES : Subtle but true to roots

Swades is a subtly nationalistic film. Its a find yourself, your roots, your country film. It is not sophisticated or glamorous, so if you want the breathtaking locales of Switzerland (don’t get me wrong ; I like those too) this film is not for you. What it is, is earthy , smacking resoundingly of that indescribable thing I call quality.

The movie plot is basic and simple, but the director enlarges it effectively to deal with the issues of communal and societal ills. It is the story of Mohan Bhargava (SRK) an engineer at NASA, who comes to India to find his childhood nanny Kaveriamma (Kishori Balal). He traces her to a village and stays with her some weeks trying to persuade her to come back with him to the States. Kaveriamma lives with Gita (Gayatri Joshi), a principled young schoolteacher and her younger brother, and she won’t budge until Gita is married off and settled. Gita’s school building is about to be usurped by the village Panchayat unless she gets new students to enroll. So Mohan’s problems are twofold – to get new students for Geeta’s school and find a good “boy” for her. In resolving these two problems, Mohan meanders through life at the village getting to know the people, their problems, and their beliefs.

Through Mohan’s eyes, Gowarikar potrays the state of present day India, its poverty, its caste system, its child-labor and illiteracy. And lest you think he’s being one-sided he evens out the scale by beating up on NRIs (“Non-returning Indians”). Common sense rules though, and the dialogue between Mohan and the villagers on development, exemplifies that. Gowarikar also borrows from Dilip D’Souza’s writing, so if you are a fan of D’Souza’s work, this movie is for you. Go see it , you’ll know why .

Situations are real, and the inherent humor is well-developed, a definite relief from the slapstick comedy of other movies. The music is truly melodious, and the songs fit. I’m not an AR Rehman groupie, but hey, with this film, he’s elevated himself to the genius-level category. The title track which he has also sung, is an astounding number, and pretty patriotic. Sort of makes me want to be good and do better. All actors have done a fine job, although I could have done without SRK’s incessant eyebrow twitching. One of Sharukh’s better performances though. The movie is well-developed, flows smoothly, the forays into village (and metaphorically the country’s) problems, which are well-set into the story. The film is long, but holds your interest. I did not find it preachy, although it does embody the spirit of activism.

It is a rare film, which can string together many issues into a single storyline and still get you to feel for each one. Indeed, it is a very rare film, which can weave into its storyline subtly patriotic threads, to expose the enemy within. Admittedly, the treatment of some solutions in the movie is simplistic. Life never is that easy. But when the director’s intentions are honest, its gotta shine through. In Swades it does, and how.

Posted in bollywood, drama, family-friendly, outstanding, rating-PG, recommended | Tagged | 4 Comments

Review : Yuva

Posted on March 4, 2005 by amodini

Rating : Good (4/5)
Genre : Drama
Running time : 160 minutes
Cast : Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi, Abishek Bachhan, Rani Mukherjee, Kareena Kapoor,
Om Puri, Esha Deol
Director : Mani Rathnam

Yuva tells the tale of three young men, Michael Mukherjee (Ajay Devgan), Arjun Balakrishnan (Vivek Oberoi) and Lallan (Abhishek Bachhan), and the story that ensues when their lives entangle in one dramatic well-shot scene. Michael is a brilliant student, who refuses opportunities to study abroad, in favor of cleaning up the corruption he sees around him. He and his friends face a conniving, two-faced adversary in the form of the corrupt neta Om Puri . Arjun is an upper-class youth, dreaming of studying in the USA, until he meets Michael. Lallan, is a thug, drawn to easy money, yet striving to walk the straight and narrow.
Each of these men have a love interest. Michael finds a soul-mate in Radhika (Esha Deol), who’s a language teacher, but ready to help Michael in his quest. Arjun meets Mira (Kareena Kapoor), the girl of his dreams, whom he is busy serenading, when he witnesses the life-changing incident on the Hooghly Bridge. Lallan marries Sashi, when she comes away with him, against her family’s wishes. Sashi loves him, and tries to reform his nefarious ways.
Ajay Devgan is miscast – he no longer fits the bill for a “young” student anymore, but turns in a good performance nevertheless. Vivek Oberoi gives a good performance as the happy-go-lucky Arjun. But the one to watch is Abhishek Bachchan, who turns in an impressive, smouldering performance, as the unpredictable and moody thug Lallan, who on one hand wants to reform for Sashi’s sake, but on the other, has a hard time suppressing the devil inside.
The women do reasonably, considering that their roles are small. Rani does a great job as Sashi, loving Lallan inspite of the flaws she sees in his character. Kareena is adequate as Mira, and Esha displays her minimal acting skills in the few scenes she has.
The film has been shot well, with Rathnam exploring a narrative structure which is quite unusual for Hindi movies. The story of each of the characters is told in episodic fashion, i.e.; first we are introduced to Lallan and Sashi and their life, then we see Michael on his mission, and then Arjun and his undecidedness. The rest of the movie is a depiction of the events that follow, when these lives, hitherto independent, entwine. The film is a classic good against evil tale, set in contemporary Kolkata, told imaginatively, and focussing on the youth as protagonists for a better future.

Music by A.R. Rehman, is average, with a few hummable songs.

All in all, an excellent film, well worth your time. Enjoy !

Posted in bollywood, drama, recommended | 3 Comments

Movie Rating Guide

Posted on March 4, 2005 by amodini

This site is a ** SPOILER-FREE ZONE ** . Which means that I will give you a review without spilling the beans. So, my reviews will pique your curiousity, but they will never reveal important details (like who the real killer is).

Movies are rated out of a total score of 5, the highest being 5, and the lowest being a negative number (like -13, oh yeah, and I’ve seen some of those !).

5 points : The film is fantastic, excellent, great, fabulous. Definitely see (in a theatre preferably).

4 points : The film is good. Worth your time and money .

3 points : The film is average. Maybe see once. Wait for DVD/VHS release.

2 points : Poor. Definitely wait for DVD/VHS release, if you want to see this one.

1 point : Bad. Do not see. There are better things to do.

Negative number : Worse than I imagined.

Note that I do not review all films, since I do not see all of them. Also, I do not use great formulas of science to review films, and do not profess to be a cinema critic or an expert. I review films because I like watching them. And if you’ve read my previous posts and like my choice of films, you’ll find this blog pretty useful.

Posted in bollywood | Comments Off on Movie Rating Guide

Directors to watch out for

Posted on March 3, 2005 by amodini

dir

A good director is one who makes a movie, which will keep you from falling asleep. Well …….. ,not really. Yes, I need my Zs but not that badly, and definitely not when I’m watching a movie. Although, to look at some Hindi films, you’d think that’s what the director was aiming for – my health. “Ah,” he/she thinks, “Let’s give the poor hardworking sod/female sod some well-earned sleep-time.” The movie had better keep you awake (at a minimum) and entertained, and engrossed, and enchanted, and ……… you get the picture.

So, nowdays when I look for a good Hindi movie, I look for the director’s name. If it is any of the below, you’re generally guaranteed a good film (although there are exceptions). OK then, here’s a list of directors who are making some of the good stuff, the stuff which keeps you wide awake, way past your you-know-what.

1. Farhan Akhtar : Son of Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he’s made 2 films todate. Both films are about urban young men, and their lives.

2. Sanjay Leela Bhansali : No famous backgroud I think, apparently very attached to his mom (that’s where he gets the “Leela”), and has made the following movies. I may not like all of them, but each one features some scenes, which are nothing but poetry in motion.

    • Khamoshi-a musical
    • Hum dil de chuke sanam
    • Devdas
    • Black
3. Ashutosh Gowariker : He’s acted in a few films (never in a lead role though), and has directed the fantastic “Swades”. No ethereal poetry here; the films are set on rock-solid earth, and are prominently about “doing the right thing”.

4. Ram Gopal Verma : He’s been making films awhile now, and directed the absolutely fantabulous “Company”. He’s made his mark in gangster films (Saathiya, Company), and suspense thrillers (Kaun,PTKK,Road,Jungle). Generally addicted to his leading ladies, first Urmila Matondkar, and now Antara Mali. He also directed the regrettable film “Daud”.

    5. E. Nivas : In his early twenties. The only movie of his that I’m aware of is

      • Shool (a fantastic film)

    6. Gulzar : aka Sampooran singh; he needs no introduction. He has directed many films, mostly in Hindi, and is writer-composer-director extraordinaire.

      • Maachis
      • Mere Apne
      • Mausam
      • Hu-tu-tu
      • Aandhi
      • Khushboo
      • Kitaab
      • Kinara
      • Meera
      • Namkeen
      • Koshish
      • Ijaazat
      • Angoor
      • Lekin
      • Parichay


    7. Mani Rathnam     : A movie-making legend of sorts, he’s made many South-Indian films (I saw Mauna-Ragam with subtitles), and some hindi blockusters.

      • Roja
      • Bombay
      • Yuva (superb)
      • Dil se
      • Guru (OK, Ratnam over-extends himself)

    8.Vidhu Vinod Chopra :A director known for his ease with the camera, and for such notable films as :

      • 1942, a love story – A beautifully told, poetic love-story set during India’s independence struggle.
      • Khamosh – The best who-dun-it of the 1980-2000 era.
      • Murder Monkey Hill – earned him a National award and acclaim at international film festivals
      • An encounter with faces – this was nominated for the Oscars, and swept awards at international film festivals.
      • Parinda – A huge commercial success, this was the pioneering Indian gangster movie, and India’s official entry for the Oscars.
      • Munnabhai MBBS
      • Mission Kashmir
      • Kareeb
      • Lage raho Munnabhai


    9. Priyadarshan     : He’s a director from the South again, and Virasat is stunning, although he’s been lately turning to making crappy comedies.

    10. Tigmanshu Dhulia : Relative newcomer on the directing scene.

    11. Parvathi Balagopalan : Her one and only film to-date (and probably the most romantic film of present-day) :

    12. John Mathew Mathan : His one and only film

      • Sarfarosh

    13. Dr. Chandra Prakash Dwivedi : He made the TV serial “Chanakya” , and his one and only film has won him accolades.

      • Pinjar

    14. Mansoor Khan : Aamir Khan’s cousin and director of a few good films

      • Jo jeeta wohi sikandar
      • Qayamat se qayamat tak
      • Josh
      • Akele hum akele tum

    15. Aziz Mirza : Maker of many TV serials (remember Nukkad, Circus?) , he’s made some nice earthy, human films. His older films were better I thought.

      • Raju ban gaya gentleman
      • Yes Boss
      • Chalte-chalte

    16. Sriram Raghavan : Passionate about films, he’s made 2 so far.

      • Raman Raghav
      • Ek hasina thi

    17. Rajat Kapoor : I believe he’s made only one film to-date; his other forays into the film world being as an actor (remember Prieti’s uncle in DCH ?)

      • Raghu Romeo

    18. Rajat Mukherjee :

      • Road
      • Pyar tune kya kiya
      • Love in Nepal

    19. Shaad Ali Sahgal :

    20. Amol Palekar : One of the most talented actors of yesteryear cinema, Palekar has also directed a few films. Known for his attachment to theatre, and his flair for comedy (as an actor), Palekar’s directorial ventures are :

      • Aakriet
      • Ankahee
      • Bangarwadi
      • Kairee
      • Anaahat
      • Daayraa
      • Paheli

    21. Mahesh Manjrekar : He’s made several movies, and not all good, so I put him
    on this list with some trepidation. However, the ones he’s gotten right far outs
    hine the ones he’s gotten wrong, and I always like to hope for the better, see ?
    So here goes :

    22. Dibakar Banerjee : He just has one film to-date, but he did such a fantastic job on that one that I had to put him up on this list :

    23. Kabeer Kaushik : Also only film that I’m aware of, but what a marvellous film it it :

    24. Vishal Bhardwaj : A true genius, he’s made these (and all of them excellent) :

    25. Nagesh Kukunoor : He’s a relative newcomer, but manages to make good films on shoe-string budgets :

    26. Karan Johar : I squirm putting this guy’s name down on this list, because frankly I am no fan of his, and most of his films appear to me to be squishy-squashy over-dramatic glossed-over blobs of emotion. Still, I must mention that inspite of the above negative traits, his films are slickly done, and are visually appealling – lots of glitz, glamour, chic personas, and designer clothing.

    27. Shimit Amin : He’s not very well-know, and as far as I know has only 2 directorial ventures to his credit.

    28. Anurag Basu : Basu has a couple of films to his credit, and he seems to be going from OK to absolutely wonderful. Gangster wasn’t bad, but Metro was very, very good…

    Posted in bollywood, recommended | 12 Comments

    Best Hindi movies by genre

    Posted on March 2, 2005 by amodini

    ! THIS POST IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED !

    FOR THE LATEST MOVIES BY GENRE, GO TO :

    Best Hindi Movies by Genre



     


     


     


     


     


     

    There are many genres or categories in films. But for Hindi films, am going to limit myself to a few. There’s drama, comedy, suspense/action, romance, experimental, and then there’s the all-in-one. So 6 categories in all. I’m sure most of you are familiar with the above, but let me explain the “experimental” category a bit more. Note, that I mean experimental as in experimental for hindi films, a film which breaks away from the usual sing-and-dance routine, and tries to do something new. And which films truly fall in this category ? Very few. “Black” is one. Raghu Romeo is another. I have actually included in this category, some films which veer away from the song-dance-histrionics although they may not be truly avant-garde. These might be short films, but do tell interesting stories well.

    A lot of hindi films are either dramas or romances with very similar plots, but the ones I am trying to list here have original storylines. Comedy is most hindi films is of the slapstick variety, or the double entendre one, both which make me cringe. Movies in my comedy listings are neither of the above, and as such are few (I’m having trouble nailing down 10, and have had to dip into my oldies list). I club suspense, action, thriller in one category because I’m unable to think of any really good Hindi action films .

    Below is a list of best films by genre. You can also see a list of the best hindi films by year, browse reviews by alphabetical order or view Recommended films.

    So, here are the top 10 films in each genre. Note that these are in descending order (1st is best) :

    ALL-IN-ONE :

      1. Dil chahta hai (2001) 
      2. Swades (2004) 
      3. Delhi-6 (2009) 
      4. Paheli (2005) 
      5. Rang de basanti (2006) 
      6. Rab ne bana di jodi (2008) 
      7. Chak de India ! (2007) 
      8. Lagaan (2001) 
      9. Parineeta (2005) 
      10. Kabhi alvida na kehna (2006)

    DRAMA :

      1. Company (2002) 
      2. Shool 
      3. Maqbool (2004) 
      4. Omkaara (2006) 
      5. Kaminey (2009) 
      6. Sehar (2005) 
      7. Mithya (2008) 
      8. A Wednesday (2008) 
      9. Yuva (2005) 
      10. Life in a metro (2007)

    COMEDY :

      1. Jaane bhi do yaaron (1982) 
      2. Khosla ka ghosla (2006) 
      3. Sankat City (2009) 
      4. Hera Pheri (2000) 
      5. Yeh tera ghar,yeh mera ghar (2001) 
      6. Chashm-e-buddoor (1981) 
      7. Chameli ki shaadi (1986) 
      8. Maalamal Weekly (2006) 
      9. Bheja Fry (2007) 
      10. Lage raho Munna bhai (2006)

    SUSPENSE / CRIME / THRILLER :

      1. Kaun 
      2. Johnny Gaddar (2007) 
      3. Manorama six feet under (2007) 
      4. Ek Hasina thi (2004) 
      5. Road (2002) 
      6. Pyar tune kya kiya (2001) 
      7. Darna mana hai (2003) 
      8. Dum (2003) 
      9. Taxi Number 9211 (2006) 
      10. Being Cyrus (2006)

    ROMANCE :

      1. Saathiya (2002) 
      2. Rules (2003) 
      3. Cheeni Kum (2007) 
      4. Jab we met (2007) 
      5. Lamhe (1992) 
      6. Socha na tha (2005) 
      7. Love Aaj Kal (2009) 
      8. Pyar ke side effects (2006) 
      9. Jaane tu ya jaane na (2008) 
      10. Prem rog (1982)

    EXPERIMENTAL :

      1. Earth-1947 (1998) 
      2. Main meri patni aur woh (2005) 
      3. Astitva (2000) 
      4. Hari Bhari 
      5. Chandni Bar (2001) 
      6. Page Three (2005) 
      7. Zubeida (2005) 
      8. Mr. & Mrs. Iyer (2003) 
      9. Dor (2006) 
      10. Hazaaron khwaishen aisi (2005)

    Posted in Best hindi movies, bollywood, recommended, Top 10 | 38 Comments