33 Films Hansal Mehta Wants Everyone To Watch
"People who do not understand cinematic legacy or the richness of
storytelling are unfortunately condemned to a life of mediocrity at
movies," says director Hansal Mehta. He picks 33 movies that have
influenced his works.
storytelling are unfortunately condemned to a life of mediocrity at
movies," says director Hansal Mehta. He picks 33 movies that have
influenced his works.
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33 titles
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsJuliette BinocheZbigniew ZamachowskiJulie DelpyA woman struggles to find a way to live her life after the death of her husband and child.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsGirish KarnadSmita PatilNaseeruddin ShahA young veterinary surgeon, Dr. Rao, who makes a visit to a village, where he intends to commence a co-operative society dairy for the betterment of the rural people.
- StarsPankaj KapurDeepa SahiAmrish PuriThis TV miniseries ("Darkness" in English) became famous in India in the mid/late 80s for its realistic depiction of the partition of the Indian subcontinent. In 1947, the sub-continent became India, East (now Bangladesh), and West Pakistan (today's Pakistan). The series pretended to keep memories and truths about the partition alive, at a time when many Indians and Pakistanis seemed to be forgetting this historical tragedy. The miniseries became a landmark 297-minute, 35mm film, now shown mostly at Indian Film Festivals. The film is based on the book by Bhisham Sahni, himself a refugee to India from West Punjab, now in Pakistan. Thus fittingly, this epic looks at Partition from an Indian Punjabi perspective, as the fate of Sikh and Hindu families in West Punjab is emphasized. The first part also underscores the Muslim viewpoint: the provocations they suffered from Sikhs and especially Hindus, and their ultimate supremacy in West Punjab, which became the heart of Pakistan. The "Darkness" of those times of religious intolerance and civil war highlights two stories of refugee families, one Sikh and the other Hindu. These victims of hate and their Muslim counterparts had, until 1947, been brothers and co-existed for over a thousand years throughout the Indian subcontinent. With "modern freedom", the lands of this once "one people" was partitioned into Muslim and Hindu republics. Non-Muslim religious groups, however (Sikhs, Christians, and many Muslims - as many as in Pakistan), migrated to the new India. Pakistan became, "de facto", exclusively Muslim.
- DirectorBimal RoyStarsBalraj SahniNirupa RoyRatan KumarIn the hope of earning enough money to pay off his debts and save his land, a poor farmer becomes a rickshaw puller in Calcutta and faces many difficulties.
- DirectorRaj KhoslaStarsDev AnandSuchitra SenJeevan DharBabu and Malik are two inseparable friends who live in a small town in India. One day they decide to play a prank and steal something. They get caught, while Malik's dad come to bail out and stand surety for him, Babu has no one to do so and ends up in the juvenile center. When the two grow up, Malik becomes a Police Inspector, while Babu takes to crime and ends up being sentenced in jail. When he gets discharged, he goes to meet with his partner-in-crime, Bali, and together they start planning the next heist. Malik meets with Babu and tells him to go straight, but Babu had already tried that and ended up being falsely accused of stealing a necklace belonging to his employer's wife. Nevertheless, Babu does inform Bali that he will not be taking part in any crime. Thereafter, Bali and his men are arrested, and blame Babu for ratting on them. Bali is released on bail, Babu meets with him, an argument ensues, leading to a physical fight, with Bali getting killed. A fearful Babu flees from Bombay straight to Jogendranagar in Northern India, where he meets with a man named Bhagat who asks him to masquerade as Kundan, the sole heir of a wealthy man named Shahji. When Babu refuses, Bhagat threatens to notify the Police. Babu becomes Kundan, makes his way into the hearts of Shahji, his wife, Rukmani, and daughter, Maya. Babu gets enough cash to pay off Bhagat in small installments, but Bhagat becomes more and more demanding and wants Babu to steal all the cash and jewelry and abscond. Babu is reluctant to steal from these kind people, and to make matters worse has fallen in love with Maya - his 'sister'. Caught between a rock and a hard place - no matter what move Babu makes - he will surely end up trapping himself - not only with Bhagat, his newfound family, as well as the police - who are now hot on his trail.
- DirectorVijay AnandStarsDev AnandMumtaz AskariMahesh KaulDr. Anand Kumar attains his degree in medicine and re-locates to a small village to assist the local doctors there. Upon arrival, he is met by the ailing Dr. Prasad and his wife, and hired on a salary of Rs.250/- per month. He meets with the other doctors namely Dr. Kothari, an alcoholic, and Dr. Bhutani, a dentist. Anand finds that he is saddled with all of Kothari's work as well his own due to the reason that Kothari is drunk every night. He nevertheless carries on, aided by the local school-teacher, Nisha Patel, who he eventually marries. Then one day a proud father, Phoolchand, gives a baksheesh to Anand for the safe delivery of his first-born. This does not auger well with Mrs. Prasad and she fires Anand. Anand and Nisha re-locate to Bombay, and after sometime Anand establishes himself as a leading doctor, is honored for his thesis, and gets to be the personal doctor of a leading Bollywood actress Maltimala. When Dr. Kothari and Dr. Bhutani go to visit them, they find while Nisha is still the same good-natured woman, who is expecting a child, Dr. Anand is a changed individual, who has no time for friends, personal life, or even his wife, and is not even aware that she is pregnant. The two return home disappointed, followed by Nisha, who has decided to separate from Anand. Alone now Anand has time on his hands to decide if he can divorce Nisha and marry the most sought-after actress in India.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiMaggie CheungSiu Ping-LamTwo neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsPilar PadillaAdrien BrodyElpidia CarrilloTwo Latina sisters work as cleaners in a downtown office building, and fight for the right to unionize.
- DirectorMat WhitecrossMichael WinterbottomStarsRiz AhmedFarhad HarunWaqar SiddiquiPart drama, part documentary, The Road to Guantánamo focuses on the Tipton Three, a trio of British Muslims who were held in Guantanamo Bay for two years until they were released without charge.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsAnthony HopkinsJoan AllenPowers BootheA biographical story of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, from his days as a young boy, to his eventual Presidency, which ended in shame.
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsJohn TravoltaKaren Lynn GorneyBarry MillerAnxious about his future after high school, a 19-year-old Italian-American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
- DirectorMahesh BhattStarsAnupam KherRohini HattangadiSoni RazdanAn old couple lend a room on rent after recent death of the bread earner of the family, their only son. A budding actress starts living with them, who is in love with a local politician's only son. The movie shows what later ensues.
- DirectorGuru DuttStarsGuru DuttWaheeda RehmanMala SinhaVijay, a talented but indigent poet, struggles for love and recognition in this selfish world.
- DirectorSudhir MishraStarsKay Kay MenonShiney AhujaChitrangda SinghSet in the backdrop of Indian Emergency 1975, the story revolves around 3 friends whose lives changes drastically after the turn of events.
- DirectorRitwik GhatakStarsSupriya ChoudhuryAnil ChatterjeeGyanesh MukherjeeA selfless young woman (Supriya Choudhury) sacrifices her own happiness for her unappreciative family.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn CazalePenelope AllenThree amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsNaseeruddin ShahShabana AzmiJugal HansrajA happy family goes through turbulent times because of a big mistake by one of the family members.
- StarsArtur BarcisOlgierd LukaszewiczOlaf LubaszenkoTen television drama films, each one based on one of the Ten Commandments.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJeanne MoreauOskar WernerHenri SerreDecades of a love triangle concerning two friends and an impulsive woman.
- DirectorKetan MehtaStarsSmita PatilNaseeruddin ShahOm PuriIn colonial India, subedars (tax collectors) went from village to village with soldiers, often demanding more than taxes. A subedar commands Sonbai, a beautiful and confident woman whose husband is away in the city, to sleep with him. She slaps him and flees for safety to a spice factory where women grind chillies into fine powder. The aged factory guard, Abu Mian, locks the door behind her, refusing to open it to the soldiers, to the cowardly village men led by the mayor, and to the subedar himself. The town's teacher, who follows Gandhi, and a few women, led by the mayor's wife, protest ineffectually against this village-approved rape. The stage is set for a final confrontation.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoKim Sang-kyungKim Roe-haIn a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsOmar SharifJulie ChristieGeraldine ChaplinThe life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution.
- DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsJohn LoneJoan ChenPeter O'TooleBernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsChow Yun-FatMichelle YeohZiyi ZhangA young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.