Change Your Image
mnalgirkar
Reviews
The Kite Runner (2007)
Made me want to learn more about Afghanistan!
What an amazing movie this is. The lead characters -- Amir, Hassan, Baba, Rahim Khan, and others -- are such decent and honorable people, although not without their flaws of course.
The pride, honor and righteousness of the Afghan people has been part of the lore in classic cinema from India too, where I grew up. The 1961 classic Kabuliwala based on Tagore's novel comes to mind -- Balraj Sahani as the Afghan Pathan is simply superb in that movie.
Coming back to The Kite Runner, it is sad to see the transformation from a vibrant, happy Afghanistan to the latter (current?) day devastation. The film-maker has done a great job of depicting that stark contrast very effectively. This hopeful story from Afghanistan provides a welcome characterization of Afghanistan, the Afghan people and culture. Must-see cinema from Marc Fortster and his team!
Khushboo (1975)
Gulzar at his finest...
This is such a sensitive portrayal of a simple story from simpler times. The rural India, the characters, and the plot depicted in this movie might now seem to be from a totally different era; however, it is easy to relate to the human drama unfolding in this movie in the context of the value system of the time.
Jitendra is restrained but dignified in his portrayal of the doctor who is one of the two central characters in this movie. Hema Malini is simply superb as Kusum; watch this movie to see what a fine actress she was even relatively early in her career, but you can also understand her "Dream Girl" status in Hindi cinema.
Master Raju is hands-down the best child actor in Hindi cinema in my opinion, and you cannot help but be charmed by his role in this film. Fareeda Jalal is probably one of the most underrated actresses of Indian cinema, and together with Hema Malini, she simply shines in this movie. Asrani has a relatively small role, but as always, what would Hindi cinema of the 70's be without the rich supporting character roles played by this superb actor?
Throw the musical geniuses of R.D. Burman, Lata, and Kishore in the mix to render the beautiful poetry of Gulzar, and you end up with a complete masterpiece!
Om Shanti Om (2007)
Enjoyable popcorn flick!
Growing up in the 70's and having thoroughly enjoyed Hindi (not yet Bollywood) movies from that decade, I was intrigued when I read reviews about the 70's references in this movie. I wasn't disappointed. The first half of the movie uses some interesting special effects, characterization of stars from that era, and also some very subtle references to stars and film-makers to depict that decade. The cameos of prominent stars throughout the movie adds to the fun factor of the movie.
The movie offers light-hearted entertainment, several enjoyable songs, and some good performances; especially from Shahrukh Khan and the débutante Deepika. Although the movie plot and several key segments are something you have seen before in other movies, OSO's format is irreverent, goofy and enjoyable. Watch this movie for nostalgia, and an overall good time!
Jinnah (1998)
A courageous human biopic that deserves to be seen...
This is a high-quality biopic on the life of Jinnah, and an excellent film in general. It is a great character portrayal of a key figure in the history of the Indian subcontinent, and it peels away layers of Jinnah's life in the context of the events that shaped the independence struggle and the partition into India and Pakistan. The pace of the movie is unhurried and yet engaging; all the key actors have done a superb job of portraying their characters well and lent them credibility and depth. Lee, Fox, Kapoor, and Lintern were especially notable.
Being from India, I especially appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the life and persona of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who no doubt was among the most important historic figures of the time that shaped the history of the two countries. I liked the form of the film where Jinnah is challenged and questioned on many of the events in his personal life and on his political ideology. I feel that the film does an honest job of addressing and delving into those issues from his perspective and taking the viewer on an intimate journey into his motivations.
The partition is a sensitive, politically charged, and often divisive issue for the people of India and Pakistan; the scars on either side are deep and not too distant. However, films like Jinnah and also Gandhi to some extent offer a critical glimpse into the human aspects of the leaders of those times and what made them Quaid-e-Azam or Mahatma for the people then and also for the generations that followed.
A Mighty Heart (2007)
Powerful docudrama...
I came back truly saddened by this movie. Although you know how things are going to turn out in the end, the movie does a very good job of chronicling the search, the anguish, and the uncertainty following Pearl's disappearance.
I do believe that the story is told objectively and apolitically; you get to know Mariane's "team" well and witness their efforts, hopes, fears and frustrations closely as they help search for Pearl. I could identify with the central characters of the movie; I especially liked the performances of Jolie and Irrfan Khan. Irrfan Khan would be familiar to those who have seen The Namesake.
A significant part of the movie was shot in Pune, India, which doubled for Karachi, Pakistan. The arrival of Brad and Angelina in Pune was highly publicized, and there were many stories in local press during the filming that included Brad & Angelina riding an auto rickshaw, about their bodyguards manhandling some members of the British press, and so on. I was curious to catch glimpses of Pune in the movie since I am from Pune; however, it was hard to tell any key Pune locations in the movie.
Amar Prem (1972)
Another great from Bengali Literature...
I don't claim to be an expert in Bengali literature (far from it), but I have always found stories coming out of Bengal to be a class apart. The characterization, the depth of the plot, the sincerity of the human emotion in those stories are the among the finest to be found anywhere. Kabuliwala is another such great movie to be based on a Bengali story.
Sharmila Tagore is superb, Vinod Mehra plays the grown up Nandu with great sincerity. Rajesh Khanna lends a lot of credibility to Anand-babu despite having turned a major superstar during the making of this movie. Om Prakash is always a pleasure to watch although his role is very small. R.D.Burman and Kishore Kumar top it all off with the great music!
Anupama (1966)
First-rate cinema but could have been a little shorter...
I believe that calling this movie a tear-jerker does not do justice to it -- this is world class cinema at its finest that sensitively portrays a range of human emotions. Certainly the interaction between father and daughter towards the end comprise the most poignant scenes in this movie, and they have been both written and picturized in a manner that is deeply touching.
Although the movie takes its own time to develop the characters thoroughly and although you wouldn't expect anything less from Hrishikesh Mukherjee in that regard, I did feel that the movie could have been shortened a little bit. Also, Shashikala's role seemed a little exaggerated.
In general, the movie is a gem and I wish viewers all over the world could be introduced to such Hindi classics for a true appreciation of the range of "Bollywood" movies over the years.
Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)
Truly original Hindi comedy after a long while?
As someone who yearns for light-hearted quality Hindi cinema of the 70's from the likes of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee and others, I am sure that I am not alone in having been disenchanted with Bollywood for quite some time for what seemed like a lack of creativity and blatant imitation of Hollywood under the excuse of "inspiration". I am happy to report that Lage Raho Munnabhai will turn people like me into believers again. This is an indigenous, intelligent effort driven by some great out of the box creative thinking by the film-makers. Congratulations to the film-makers and we should certainly hope that we'll get to see more of such intelligent, original, world-class cinema from the world's largest film industry!