['fi(ə)m]

Bollywood

Shakti [1982] ::7:: I judged this one rather harshly at first. The first Bollywood film I watched, I’d have enjoyed it more if I’d taken an intermission and let my mind wrap around it.

Kuch Naa Kaho [2003] ::9.25:: I loved this movie instantly. The songs are fun and Abhishek Bachchan has great chemistry with Aishwarya Rai.

Umrao Jaan [2006] ::9.5:: Everything about this was wonderful. The sets and cast are perfect. I’d already fallen in love with Abhishek and Aishwarya, then I was introduced to Suniel Shetty. Worth watching just for the songs.

Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai [2003] ::8:: Cute movie. Om Puri is fantastic. Okay music. Didn’t stick with me much.

One Two Three [2008] ::8.75:: I wanted to like this less. I tried to like it less. I had a lot of fun watching it though and it never became dull for me. Suniel Shetty is hilarious! Introduced to Tusshar Kapoor… yes, please… more! I love the soundtrack.

Drona [2008] ::8.5:: Fantasy/mythology story. The villain is awesome. Abhishek comes across as a 35 year old first year Harry Potter, which is a little weird. Fortunately, that part of the movie is fairly brief and he gets better. Nice soundtrack.

Chalo Ishq Ladaaye [2002] ::6.5:: Overly silly. Watch if for the grandma. I loved her. Soundtrack no good.

Pyare Mohan [2006] ::9.5:: I loved this movie more than I should have probably, but I had a good time from beginning to end. The soundtrack was great. Introduced to Vivek Oberoi, who was fun without being overly silly. Similar stories have certainly been done before, but to me it felt brand new.

I – Proud to Be an Indian [2004] ::8:: ‘I’ is a fascinating story of racism in London. The cast really does a nice job in this film. The songs are mediocre, but a more elaborate and choreographed soundtrack would have felt out of place.

Bas Yun Hi [2002] ::6:: A little slow. The story is interesting though. Feels like a daytime drama. Good effort, but the songs aren’t very good.

Ladies Tailor [2006] ::4.5:: This weird little movie was saved by casting Rajpal Yadav in the lead. Aside from him, nothing pleasurable happened here.

Gunaah (‘Crimes’) [2002] ::8.5:: These leads sure are pretty to look at. I liked this movie about a female cop and a male fugitive falling for each other quite a bit. It was frustrating that the guy didn’t speak for so long into the movie. The music is beautiful and I was really impressed by the supporting cast (Irrfan Kahn, the Indian Gary Sinise is pretty good)

Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamaana [2006] ::8.5:: I can see what bothered people in India about this, but I wasn’t offended by the obvious boob shot. My first Rekha movie. She was amazing! While I loved the music to begin with, it has grown on my past that and I can’t seem to stop listening to this soundtrack. Great movie.

Jai Jagannath [2007] ::8:: Mythology film. Sarat Pujari seems to be genuinely enjoying himself in this one. A tad too silly, but otherwise nice. I wasn’t familiar with the stories so it was nice to learn something. I liked the soundtrack, but can’t seem to find it.

Sandwich ::7:: [2006] Silly silliness. Govinda plays a man with two separate wives and kids. While this was semi-enjoyable, Govinda gets to me a little bit. Soundtrack is unmemorable.

Being Cyrus [2006] ::8.25:: Saif Ali Khan is excellent. This was such a nicely done movie, if a little gritty… which is a content issue. Well executed! Not a musical, so no songs to mention.

Mr. and Mrs. 55 [1955] ::8.5:: I loved this fun movie. The feminist aunt antagonist is so funny to me! I’d have thought this was worth buying if only the song “Thandi Hawa Kali Ghata” had played. The young ladies dancing and singing with their umbrellas made for a surreal experience to watch. Film quality was poor, but that might be the version I got. I’m going to try replacing it.

Yeh Tera Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar [2001] ::8.5:: Suniel Shetty is so much fun to watch. I really cannot get enough of him. I love that he always has his umbrella with him like a security blanket, which makes for a great moment near the end. The music is pretty good, but not worth seeking out by itself. Supporting cast is a lot of fun.

Asambhav [2004] ::8.5:: Introduced to Arjun Rampal. I can’t really remember his acting as much as I remember him being pretty. Well-paced action movie with excellent songs.

Mr. White Mr. Black [2008] ::8.75:: I thought I’d hate this, but I can’t hate Suniel Shetty movies aparently! He’s amazing again… and has a prop once again, this time a staff. He plays this role so well that Suniel melted away and it was only during songs that I even realized it was him again. Fun music!

Chota Jadugar [2003] ::7.25:: This movie had a promising start, but as it was originally a 3D movie, the director spent far too much time focusing on interesting 3D elements and not enough on keeping the story interesting. And why was there no option to watch it in 3D on DVD? Songs are boring.

Ek Aur Ek Gyarah [2003] ::7:: I’m tired of Govinda. This was kinda cute, but I’m tired of Govinda. For having such a small role, Rajpal Yadav delivers a memorable performace again… but I’m tired of Govinda. The music here was fairly lame. Did I mention that I’m tired of Govinda?

Dahek [2007] ::8:: Well done movie about some unfortunate people. The police officer in this movie really bothered me with his brutality, which is held up as almost honorable. Reflecting on the movie makes me more sad than the movie did at the time. The songs were fine, I guess.

Speed [2007] ::8.75:: I almost feel bad for liking this movie. It is almost exactly the same movie as the Hollywood film “Cellular.” I liked it better though. I really liked the actress who played the Indian Prime Minister. Pretty good soundtrack as well.

Mughal-E-Azam [1960] ::10:: Perfect. Every scene is excellent. The message is from a different time and culture, but that is easy to get past. Madhubala’s performace was so good, I failed to recognize her from ‘Mr. & Mrs. 55.’ Everyone should see this amazing movie. Initially, I didn’t like that it was colorized, but I loved it too much to care about that. The music is great and fits into the film flawlessly. Most definitely one of my all time favorite films! Go buy it now.

C Kkompany [2008] ::9:: As silly comedies go, this is fantastic! Tusshar Kapoor & Rajpal Yadav continue to be excellent. Fun, fun, fun! This story felt really new, even though it was pretty recycled. There are a few amazing songs on the soundtrack… although, there are a couple of duds as well.

Hota Hai Dil Pyaar Mein Paagal [2006] ::4:: I’d have forgiven this movie its terribly boring soundtrack for an interesting storyline. I don’t know who caused this to fail, but the best part of the movie was when I finally hit eject as the credits started.

Ramji Londonwaley [2005] ::8.75:: This story is so well executed. R. Madhaven delivers an incredibly honest and warm performance of a man from a small village marooned in London. This is the first movie I’ve seen of his and I’m quite impressed. I am not at all ashamed to admit that Amitabh Bachchan’s guest appearance made me cry. Excellent music & very fitting to the film.

Sunday [2008] ::8.25:: I feel like I’d seen this one before… as an American movie, but I can’t place it. I really enjoyed this movie. I thought Ajay Devgan was a lot of fun. While the dialogue didn’t get overly silly mostly, the character who squeaked and made odd sounds rather than speaking was a bit too much, as were the random silly sound effects. I loved the music.

Namastey London [2007] ::7.25:: Weirdly, this was loaned to me seemingly because the owner did not like it. I thought it was decent, but really didn’t care much for any of the characters who all seem either spineless or disrespectful of one another. I still was interested to find out how it ended, which says something. Can Ashkay Kumar act? I have more of his movies to watch, so I really hope he does a better job at those. Soundtrack was boring to me.

Baharon Ke Sapne [1967] ::9.25:: This is a great older movie! I was particularly impressed with Rajesh Khanna’s performace. The story is a sort of “Norma Rae” union story. The one bizarre part was that a single song in the middle of the movie was colorized (I assume this was original). The entire rest of the film is black & white.

Home Delivery [2005] ::9:: I was fully expected a silly comedy, but this one turned out to be a more emotional story about where home is. Vivek Oberoi is fantastic, but the true star of this film is Boman Irani. I really appreciated the cameos of Abhishek Bachchan & Suniel Shetty, even if they were brief.

Aladin [2009] ::9.5:: You can almost forget Aladin! This movie is all about Amitabh Bachchan’s performance as the genie Genius. Most of the film is interesting, but I felt like the storyline was a bit hard to follow. I couldn’t tell which story the director really wanted to tell. Obviously, giving Amitabh more face-time was important, but trying to make a full story out of him as Genius while trying to follow the more familiar Aladin & Jasmine story made for an overstuffed film. Perhaps ‘Genius’ would have made a nice companion movie or prequel and given each story the time it deserved. Still, I felt like it was a fantastic film. The music was good, but not my favorite.

Om Shanti Om [2007] ::9.75:: I’d refused to read anything about this movie before seeing it. I’d learned a few things through other sources, but nothing of the plot. I’m glad I waited. I did not know what to expect and it was such a surprise. This was my first Shahrukh Khan film and I’m officially a fan. I like when an actor hooks me with one performance (as Rekha did previously – her cameo in this film was awesome!). The sets are great, the cast nearly perfect, and the songs are some of my favorite Bollywood songs so far. I’m not really sure if the end tied everything up, but it was fine by me. Best musical moments: ‘Deewangi Deewangi’ & ‘Dard-E-Disco.’ This is the film I’ll be recommending to people new to Bollywood.

Chocolate [2005] ::8:: Deep dark secrets indeed! I knew something was wrong from the beginning, but I did not have it figured out like I so often do with Hollywood mysteries. And yes, I thought I did. Suniel Shetty is good as always, as is Irrfan. Surprisingly good music.

Run [2004] ::7.75:: This was okay. It got a lot of points for Abhishek Bachchan being in it. The story is rather pedestrian. Still, Bachchan gives a solid performance. The songs were fair, not terribly memorable. I’d like to see the Tamil original starring Madhaven.