Help me with Bollywood and Indian cinema in general

return of madhuri.

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjYyNTgyMTQw.html priyanka is new old school love in the desert whisper in the ear number

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WlczCe16Ao

parineeti.

what else recent to see?

one of the cinemas here shows a new Bollywood movie every Sunday night, i need to find somebody to go with, this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7xFJVWbMlQ

was on the other week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o66nNnGZ5Rg

i have a thing for alia bhattttt

http://gallery.oneindia.in/ph-big/2013/05/alia-bhatt-shooting-for-highway-aru-valley-kashmir_13689409087.jpg

http://imgur.com/vunNZiD.jpg

http://s4.firstpost.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/alia_highway_380.gif

My recent adventures beyond Bollywood....

Tollywood:

Yamadonga (2007) - Directed by the same guy as RRR and featuring N.T. Rama Rao Junior, who plays one of the leads in that. It is supposedly about a mortal challenging the God of Death, though in true Indian cinema fashion this really only comes into play over an hour into the film. Before that there's a lot of fun action, with N.T. a thief being chased through streets (remember Rajamouli put the Disney Aladdin on his S&S list). Things actually get a bit less exciting once he arrives in the Afterlife - the sets are gorgeous but things get much more talky and dependent on cultural context I don't fully possess. There's an amusing sequence where N.T. mounts a dirty electoral campaign to overtake the God. There's also a scene where he dances with his grandfather, who was also a Tollywood star, and who is revived as a deepfake; Tollywood def ahead of the curve here in 2007. Interesting that the Hindu pantheon seems very close to ancient Greek or Norse gods - fickle, proud, no great claim to moral superiority.

Aditya 369 (1991) - Total banger! Directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, who rules, and featuring Nadamuri Balakrischna, this is like if a rad 90's kid's sci-fi film got crossed with a Hong Kong action thriller, with some Errol Flynn swordplay thrown in. This one too actually got less entertaining for me once the supposedly main entertainment, in this case time travel, kicked in, as again it gets talky and there's lots of in jokes concerning old Telugu court habits and poets. But as soon as Balakrischna introduces the court to 50's Rock & Roll I was back in. There's a quick jump to the future with some Star Wars copyright infringement and then it's back to the present for a big action scene. Ends on a joke and a freeze frame. Hell yeah.

Kollywood:

Michael Madana Kama Rajan (1990) - Also by Singeetam, but working in Tamil as opposed to Telugu. This starts with the director singing a song about the movie and inviting you to watch it, as more films should. There's a lot in here that's just boring static medium shots but then every now and then the director hits you with an action sequence straight out of the silent era, a MGM calibre musical number or a terrifying stunt. The plot is pure farce (quadruplets get separated at birth, all played by Tamil star Kamal Hassan). Last 50 minutes or so are pure screwball heaven as romantic interests confront sundry Kamals they think are "their" Kamal. Also there's a really big dude. Both these Singeetam films are on Amazon Prime in really run down copies and I won't pretend it doesn't make me feel cool and "in the know" to be watching something that's escaped restoration to this extent.

Thinivu (2023) - Saw this in the cinema. Perhaps the least interesting of this batch, though still good entertainment. Starts out as a crime thriller that just twists and twists, had me lost entirely by the intermission. It eventually resolves in a satisfactory manner and then becomes an anti-capitalist screed which hey, I'm always up for. Mostly I just loved the audience reaction at protagonist Ajith Kumar, a fucking STAR of the kind the West doesn't produce anymore. Which lead me to...

Mankhata (2011) - One of A K's defining roles, this was more bitter and cynical than any of the other films mentioned here (though still with plenty of comic relief and musical numbers). Has a very 10's yellow tint that was a bit difficult to get past, too. But Kumar makes for a great anti hero and Raai Laxmi is a smouldering femme fatale. The blood was blotted out in ways that made it seem like weird cosmic portals were being opened by bullet wounds.

There is no non-embarrassing way to reveal that you are a fifty-something white woman who has recently become obsessed with Shah Rukh Khan, so I'm just going to fess up to it here and leave it at that.

Seeing his new one tomorrow! Excited. Also watched his Letterman ep, the interview felt very surface level and unfocused but Khan was super charming and the segments between interviews worked better - Khan and Letterman in the kitchen especially.

The number of times I have rolled my eyes in the last six months and said "FFS, Rahul, cop the fuck on."

Good non-SRK Indian film I have seen recently: An Action Hero (now on Netflix). Exciting, funny film about an Indian action hero who gets into serious real-life trouble. It makes some good points about how celebrities are covered in the media as well as being a solid bit of kickpunching. Obviously as an outsider my perspective on politics in India is limited, but I catch a bit of what's going on.

Seeing his new one tomorrow! Excited.

We had opening night IMAX tickets for Dublin, but Irish Rail let us down badly and we missed it. Very annoying.

Coming to Netflix tomorrow!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myG0f2RKizY

Pathaan was good, a very well made version of a kind of film (spy blockbuster) that I don't particularly care for. Much closer to American blockbuster stuff than to what I've seen come out of Tollywood and Kollywood, and so a bit less interesting to me (aware this opens me up to charges of exoticism). Khan was charming of course, and holy shit what a six pack for a 59 year old man! At one point he delivers the line "I'm so sexy" so perfectly - not boasting or joking around, just a gruff calculation that his hotness might be an obstacle. Only two songs boo.

Fascinated by the political balancing act this film does: you can leave the film believing either that it sends a message about how India's actions in Kashmir escalated tensions with Pakistan and were a mistake, or that it's a celebration of India emerging triumphant against anyone who'd criticise these actions. Indian secret agent and Pakistani secret agent fall in love seems to be a mainstay of the franchise, from my wikipedia'ing; I guess Bond had something similar in From Russia With Love. Obviously the star being who he is the islamophobia is kept in check. Ultimately the measure of a person's worth seems to be their loyalty to their nation (whether that be India or Pakistan), and the perfect distillation of the villain's evil is his speech about feeling allegiance to no country, and his country being "wherever he lives" - the dreaded cosmopolite!

Audience seemed uncharacteristically subdued too, was disappointed at the lack of applause. Biggest round actually came at the appearence of a special guest star, whom I won't reveal as spoilers.

Khan's interview alerted me to the chasteness of Bollywood and indeed although there were three occasions where ppl almost kissed, it never ended up actually happening. Not to be an apologist for censorship but maybe they're doing something right, because despite that this movie was way sexier than anything modern Hollywood has going.

Excited for that Netflix thing!

Khan's interview alerted me to the chasteness of Bollywood

Even by the standards of the industry, SRK seems to be pretty prudish, to the extent that it is quite funny to see the lengths he will go to NOT kiss a co-star. I realized that I'd got completely used to this when I watched Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone kissing up a storm in Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela. (They are married to each other now, but they weren't at the time.)

I don't know about the rest of the world, but Netflix in Ireland is telling me that Om Shanti Om will expire on March 31st. It is probably my favourite of all the films I've watched in the last few months. Do I get all the references? No. Maybe ten percent of them. But the songs are fantastic, everyone looks so beautiful, the story is crazy, and it's really funny.

Thinivu (2023) - Saw this in the cinema.

Is it this film? Just turned up on my Netflix recommendations if so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnBZboK17_A

Yeah! I was a bit hard on it in my write-up there, it's well worth seeing. The ending credits song has a line about how even Ghandi had an account with Swiss.

Cool. Added to my list!

Rajinikanth rules. Both films with him I've seen cast him as a blue collar underdog: in Thalapathi he's an orphan who gets involved in organized crime - this is the most single minded and grim I've seen commercial Indian cinema get, there's almost no comic support and while there's plenty of songs they're all very sad. Baasha is more in the line of the wild tonal shifts I've come to expect: our man's a taxi driver who gathers money to give to his colleagues when they need medical assistance or a dowry for a wedding. But he has a mysterious past! Flashbacks keep happening and the action becomes clearer each time, like in Once Upon A Time In The West. Also loved the song where female lead Nagma gets thirsty for Rajinikanth and starts seeing him everywhere, including a group of five Rajinikanths working out at the gym.

Pathaan has finally hit the small screen. I am unfeasibly excited, but I'm being good and waiting for the husband so we can both watch it. We watched Raees the other night -- husband definitely prefers action SRK to romance SRK.

saw Pathaan at a local cinema a month ago - great fun, not an empty seat, big vibe

I'm trying to branch out a bit from the action, What If A Guy Was Awesome? side of Indian cinema.

Watched Andhadhun yesterday. The first hour or so of it reminded me of 80's Hong Kong cinema (I know I go to this comparison a lot) in that the general aesthetic (in this case, prestige pop starbucks millenial shit) would be unbearable for me in a Western film but somehow once it gets filtered through another culture it becomes almost unbearably stylish and awesome. Loved how twisted things got at one point. That being said, once Tabu poisons the guy to actually go blind, I felt the twists started coming off as forced, and the main relationship I was invested in got sidelined. I also suspect the stuff with the auto driver and his wife is casteist in that way that you could easily miss as an outside viewer but that becomes obvious once you've been alerted to it.

Def looking forward to the Azanavour Combo's concert in Main Square, Somewhere in Europe tho!

did you see Queen? good fun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_(2013_film)

Added to my letterboxd watchlist, I like the idea of a reverse Eat Pray Love.

I'm trying to branch out a bit from the action, What If A Guy Was Awesome? side of Indian cinema.

This is a very good description.

Pathaan was great. The only thing I would've liked is a couple more songs. Amazing the personal training regime you can keep up when you spend two years in a Russian prison.

Like, I feel that if I captured Pathaan (see my upcoming three-part adventure on An Archive of Our Own), the first thing I would do is stop him from training all the time. The man's a menace.

the after credits scene was my favourite

Our household is now fully invested in the YRF Spy universe (I guess everyone has to pick a team), so last night we watched Tiger Zinda Hai. Then we watched the train scene from Pathaan again. It made me realize that one of the sliiiiightly disappointing things about Pathaan is that so much of it is clearly greenscreen and CGI, whereas in Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai, it's the immediacy of the real, practical stunts and effects that gives the film its impact. Ah well, I guess that's COVID for you. And also I guess it's harder to crash a real train than an oil truck.

Has anyone seen MISS LOVELY?

No, I have it bookmarked to watch, but I haven't seen it yet.

Just finished. Will sleep on it and report tomorrow.

Latest viewing I've had is Agneepath (1990). Amitabh Bachchan's protagonist is like a mix of Tony Montana and Boris Karloff. Very over the top even by standards of the genre. Not my fave Indian gangster epic but as usual with these running times you get some good stuff in there - the musical number in Mauritius, incorporating local sounds and what I think was a Bachchan impersonator, was a highlight, and Mithun Chakraborty very good as salt-of-the-earth comic relief friend.

Yeah, I didn't like that one particularly. I found it all very ugly and unpleasant and a bit dull.

Yesterday we watched Bajirao Mastani (2018), starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. It was good stuff. Excellent songs, sumptuous costumes and sets, everybody looking magnificent, lot of doomed love going on, yes please.

MISS LOVELY was great. Excellent period look.

Story is ultimately maybe pretty conventional but the way it twisted and turned as it played out was always interesting.

I'm annoyed that I forgot to add that to my Mubi list, because the search function on Mubi is terrible and now I can't find it. I assume it's still there.

Some recent Netflix films:
Mersal (2017) - not Hindi, but Tamil. An overlong and formulaic but nevertheless entertaining social-issue masala film starring huge Tamil star Vijay. Annoyingly, the songs are not subtitled in English. Written and directed by Atless, this gets a bit preachy, but the action is good and it all looks gorgeous, even the really stark bits. And while Vijay doesn't have the instant appeal of SRK to an old white lady like me, his hero-ness grows on you.

Shimla Mirchi (2020) - starring Rajkummar Rao, Rakul Preet Singh and Hema Malini (who you may remember from Sholay). This is based on a French comedy and it shows. Didn't get great reviews when it came out, and it's definitely way too long, but the leads are all lovely and, sure, it's harmless enough.

Yeh Jawaani hai Deewani (2013) - I gather from social media that this is a bit of a modern classic for those who love Bollywood college-based romances. And who does not love Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone? Certainly nobody in my house. Anyway, yes, this is one of those and very good at it.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016) - written and directed by Karan Johar (who pulled in a lot of "friends" for friendly appearances for this), and starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, this starts out really charming with two winning leads, but falls into the trap of thinking that the leading man's pain is more important than anything else, which just gets kind of annoying after a while. Also there are som questionable hair and makeup choices.

Gone from MUBI US and I assume from other MUBI as well.

Balls.

Good work on getting the thread title changed trishyb

Watched Queen yesterday - charming as hell! Part of me was perversely hoping for some sort of reverse Eat Pray Love ("the Dutch are a very spiritual people"), and tbf there were some inverted travel clichés ("the French eat fish heads??"), but mostly I found it a surprisingly affecting portrait of someone overcoming what is only slowly shown to be an emotionally abusive relationship. The stuff about every little thing leading her to hyperfixate on some tenous link between the thing and her ex I felt very relateable. And of course Kangana Ranaut is cute as a button in it! Perhaps I am a bit too molded by the letterboxd reviews, but was there some sapphhic subtext happening with Vijayalakshmi? The way Rani stares at her in the Eiffel tower scene... anyway plenty of progressive text in this as well, in terms of gender relations, sex work, multiculturalism, etc.

The songs I have to say were mostly awful, though I loved the opening number with its shout out to Southall.

Shame about the songs, but otherwise that sounds top notch. I might watch it tonight.

In the end we watched a couple more historical epics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c64I9HNpiOY

Padmaavat, a Sanjay Leela Bansali film starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor. I'm not convinced by Shahid Kapoor. I find him a bit wishy-washy. And this was, um, a little questionable? Nasty, bloodthirsty Northern warlord becomes obsessed with civilized, genteel, Southern queen and all hell breaks loose. Good songs, but I do find these days that a lot of greenscreen just gives me a headache, and I get a bit fed up with Deepika just standing around under a ton weight of jewellery and not really doing a whole lot.

Then we watched Ponniyin Selvan, Part One. This is a massive Tamil historical epic centred on the Chola/Pandya/Chera conflicts in southern India and Sri Lanka in the 10th century (about which, you won't be shocked to hear, I knew nothing until I read about them on Wikipedia after watching this film). I struggled a bit with the names and relationships in the beginning, but eventually got the hang of who was who, and it all looks absolutely luscious. So much outside! So many incredible forts! A comedy horse that steals people's pants! Fantastic soundtrack, really appealing performances, an all round good time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjlpAGs2piE

Watched Queen yesterday - charming as hell!

Totally agree, although I did like the songs. Loved everyone (except stupid Vijay, fuck that guy) by the end of this and wanted only good things for all concerned. Very funny, looked lovely, excellent performances. Highly recommend. Would suit your friend who does not like Bollywood.

I've seen Rajkummar Rao in a few films now, and I really don't know much about him beyond the fact that he often appears to be willing to play against the "what if a guy was awesome" type. So many of his characters are kind of unpleasant people.

although I did like the songs

Even the one with the "California Dreamin" interpolation?

I mean, I'm not saying I've added it to a playlist or anything...

Annamalai - Equal parts goofy comedy and soap opera, only occasionally an action film. I checked this out because it's a Rajinikanth vehicle, and that dude is fast becoming one of my all time favourite movie stars - he always plays these working class heroes. In this one he's a milkman, and there's a whole musical number in praise of cows. Also one where his love interest, due to a series of shenanigans, is unsure whether he's a prince, a robber or a milkman, and thus cosplays fantasy scenarios with him in each role. He befriends a rich guy and when things go sour decides to become a businessman himself, so a lot of the Revenge plot is done in the boardroom, not with fists, and you get an interesting glimpse into tamil yuppie aesthetics. Gotta say I was struggling through the last hour of family drama but the action finale does pay off, you know you're in good hands when the villain's catchphrase is "I am a bad man". So far I'd say Thalapathi is the most high quality Rajinikanth joint I've seen, and Baasha the most fun. Will keep investigating.

Big scandal over new blockbuster Adipurush. Insufficiently reverentia towards Hinduism apparently, though none of the news items I read cite the specific passages (perhaps out of fear of being accused of blasphemy themselves?). Director under policd protection, has agreed to change the offending lines. As always I give my disclaimers of being a white outsider but this sure seems like some religious right fuckery to me.

I saw it was on netflix but the words "extended cut" gave me pause, I had a blast with the theatrical but one thing I didn't think was "this could stand to be a bit longer".

It's only a few minutes longer. You would barely notice the difference.

btw, what are the essentials I should watch before Om Shanti Om? I realise there's no way I'll get ALL the references, but would like to have at least a few "aha, I get it" moments.

I don't really know. It was the second SRK movie I ever watched, so apart from recognising Hrithik in the extended "Deewangi Deewangi" number, I was very much in the "I assume this is some hilarious Bollywood reference I don't get" camp. Having seen it since I've learned more, I do at least understand that they make jokes about SRK being a notoriously bad timekeeper and always being on fire, but otherwise I think a lot of the older films they specifically reference are not that easy to come by - at least, outside India.

For example, I saw this musical number on Youtube the other week, which comes from Amrapali, a classic film that is referenced in Om Shanti Om. You can't get it anywhere, as far as I can see. Not streaming, and no DVDs available on eBay or other outlets.

Apparently on netflix in the US if you wanna invest in a VPN!

https://letterboxd.com/muktaa_/list/every-movie-referenced-in-om-shanti-om/

Using the filters it seems there is only one film that straight up isn't on any service anywhere: 1977's swashbuckler Jay Vejay, which does look like a lot of fun. 5 logs on letterboxd!

I will say though a lot of Indian movies I've found on streaming seem to have machine generated subtitles, which often end up quite poetic but entirely impossible to use to understand what's happening onscreen.

God, living in Ireland you get fleeced by streaming services left and right. There's so much we don't get, but we pay the same subscription fee. Moan moan, I'll just get a VPN, I guess.

Didn't go to Dunki in the cinema, because it opened four days before Christmas, and I'm not subjecting myself to the city centre at that time of year, not even for you, SRK. Anyway, it'll be on Netflix in a few weeks.

Very much looking forward to Malayalam film Malaikottai Vaaliban next week, based on nothing but the enthusiasm of some people I follow on BlueSky, and this intense trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqDLiObvefA

I saw Dunki at my local cinema. It was... well, it's always enjoyable to watch a Bollywood movie at the cinema, not a big turnout this time though, so less atmosphere. The narrative is kinda bizarre but it def has a heart.

Ah well. At least the songs in it are good.

Hanuman - Telugu superhero film, first installment in a cinematic universe. My LB review:

Pays off the dumb "superheroes are the modern mythology" talking point by having its hero actually be based on local mythology, to the extent that this white boy sometimes had trouble following along (though the sung recaps of the mythological elements were very helpful). The film also takes considerable advantage of its gorgeous rural setting and overall the tone is agreeably goofy, closer to a live action Asterix than anything in the MCU. The one concession to "well that just happened" American-style superheroics is Vennela Kishor's character, whose constant referencing of DC and Marvel properties does grate, though I will say his habit of exclaiming "shazam" at every opportunity and in a variety of emotional registers grew on me. A great time at the movies, looking forward to more in this shared universe!

Got some amused smiles on the way out of the cinema; tube wasn't running so I got on a bus that had a group of lads who asked me if I had enjoyed the film, and then proceeded to slag off the subtitles in Telugu (at least that's what I assume, ENG word "subtitles" in derisive tone only thing I understood obv).

Also gonna try to catch Merry Christmas (romance/mystery, puzzlingly released in January) and Naa Saami Ranga.

Merry Christmas is a must see! Wonderful sensual love story leading into a deliciously silly but emotionally affecting mystery. Reminded me of 50's Hitchcock, equal parts Movie Stars being charming and sexy and intense tension. Set in 60's Bombay, but ofc within the Christian population - noticed the male lead's last name is Pinto, the female lead is Maria, there's an Henriques as well, are all xian converts in India of Portuguese descent?

I watched Jawan last weekend. That was a lot of fun. It felt like 10 movies rolled into one. Insane highway chase setpiece near the end too.

Some of you might be interested in this thread I started over on ILM:

Rolling DESI and SOUTH ASIAN music thread 2024 - Bhangra, Bollywood, Chutney Soca, Baila etc...

Nice. I don't think I've ever posted on a thread on ILM in all my years here.