Chaowa-Pawa (1959)

April 19, 2013, 9:40 am

≫ Next: Songs for all times: Celebrating 100 years of Hindi film music

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Serendipity: noun. plural: serendipities. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident; the occurrence of such a discovery. Coined by Horace Walpole in 1754, based on a fairy tale called The Three Princes of Serendib (‘Serendib’ being present-day Sri Lanka)—the … Continue reading →

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Songs for all times: Celebrating 100 years of Hindi film music

April 24, 2013, 12:01 am

≫ Next: Shamshad Begum: A Tribute

≪ Previous: Chaowa-Pawa (1959)

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Late last year, an editor from ForbesLife India wrote to me, telling me they’d be doing special ‘100 years of Indian cinema’ editions this year. Would I be interested in contributing an article? That was a no-brainer (or so it … Continue reading →

Shamshad Begum: A Tribute

April 26, 2013, 8:43 pm

≫ Next: Mai Baap (1957)

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When I began April 2013 on my blog, I’d promised this month would be dedicated to celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema—not merely Hindi cinema, as I tend to do, but regional language cinema as well. Apart from a review … Continue reading →

Mai Baap (1957)

May 1, 2013, 1:18 am

≫ Next: Plein Soleil (1960)

≪ Previous: Shamshad Begum: A Tribute

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Today is the 100th birth anniversary of one of my favourite Hindi film actors, the extremely talented, very versatile Balraj Sahni. Born on May 1, 1913 (an interesting coincidence, considering he went on to become the first president of the … Continue reading →

Plein Soleil (1960)

May 8, 2013, 10:08 pm

≫ Next: Kalpana (1960)

≪ Previous: Mai Baap (1957)

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I’ve spent the past month—and more—focussing solely on Indian cinema. Time for a change, I thought. This, therefore. Director René Clément’s Plein Soleil (literally, ‘Full Sun’, but known as Purple Noon) is a French adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented … Continue reading →

Kalpana (1960)

May 15, 2013, 9:23 pm

≫ Next: Bahurani (1963)

≪ Previous: Plein Soleil (1960)

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Though I’d heard of this film – and loved one of its songs (As-salaam-aaleikum babu) – I’d not been too keen on watching it. Firstly, Ashok Kumar is not really my idea of a dashing leading man. Secondly, I’m not … Continue reading →

Bahurani (1963)

May 23, 2013, 6:24 am

≫ Next: Andha Naal (1954)

≪ Previous: Kalpana (1960)

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Inspirations to watch (and review) films come to me from all over. Friends and relatives are occasionally badgered to suggest genres; blog readers’ requests and recommendations (some of them, alas, long-pending) are taken into consideration. And, sometimes, I get inspired … Continue reading →

Andha Naal (1954)

May 30, 2013, 2:48 am

≫ Next: Ten of my favourite Shyama songs

≪ Previous: Bahurani (1963)

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Last week, chatting with a group of friends (equally mad about old cinema) on Facebook, I was stumped by a quiz question posted by one of them. Which was the first Indian language feature film to be made without any … Continue reading →

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Ten of my favourite Shyama songs

June 6, 2013, 10:07 pm

≫ Next: The Long Ships (1964)

≪ Previous: Andha Naal (1954)

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Happy birthday, Shyama! Today is the 78th birthday of one of my favourite actresses, the gorgeous Shyama. Born in Lahore on June 7, 1935, Shyama debuted at the tender age of 9, when she appeared onscreen as one of the … Continue reading →

The Long Ships (1964)

June 13, 2013, 6:23 am

≫ Next: College Girl (1960)

≪ Previous: Ten of my favourite Shyama songs

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On a stormy night, a Viking longship battles the elements. Waves sweep over, tossing the ship; rocks loom. The men aboard the ship yell in fear and try to hold on to the masts, to each other—to anything—in an effort … Continue reading →

College Girl (1960)

June 22, 2013, 5:55 am

≫ Next: Ten Memorable Rain Scenes

≪ Previous: The Long Ships (1964)

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Look what I found! [To make that clearer to those not in the know: I am a die-hard Shammi Kapoor fan, especially of the Shammi Kapoor between 1957 and 1966. I have watched most of his films from that period, … Continue reading →

Ten Memorable Rain Scenes

June 28, 2013, 3:50 am

≫ Next: 36 Hours (1965)

≪ Previous: College Girl (1960)

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A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by Nina Hilger, who works with Dzintars Cers of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Nina said she’d read my list of ten favourite monsoon songs, had been inspired to rent the films in … Continue reading →

36 Hours (1965)

July 4, 2013, 4:29 am

≫ Next: Saajan (1969)

≪ Previous: Ten Memorable Rain Scenes

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It is May 31, 1944. In London, the plans for D-Day have been finalized. The Allied invasion of Europe—and, hopefully, the subsequent collapse of the Axis—cannot be far. Things are looking bright. Perhaps a bit too bright? Perhaps the Allied … Continue reading →

Saajan (1969)

July 11, 2013, 6:46 am

≫ Next: Pran: In Memoriam

≪ Previous: 36 Hours (1965)

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The other day, a fellow blogger, mentioning her distaste for Manoj Kumar’s films said that while she has “nothing against the man himself”, she really hates his films. I know what she meant (at least I think I do): I … Continue reading →

Pran: In Memoriam

July 13, 2013, 12:17 am

≫ Next: Halaku (1956)

≪ Previous: Saajan (1969)

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You could say Pran played, in a way, an important role in shaping my early film-watching days. My parents tell me that when Majboor (1974) was released, I—then a toddler—completely fell in love with one of its songs. My rendition … Continue reading →

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Halaku (1956)

July 22, 2013, 4:31 am

≫ Next: Genghis Khan (1965)

≪ Previous: Pran: In Memoriam

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Bunny Reuben’s biography of Pran, as many Pran fans would know, is called …and Pran: A Biography, a nod to the hundreds of credit sequences in which Pran—invariably one of the most prominent artistes in whichever film he was in—was … Continue reading →

Genghis Khan (1965)

July 28, 2013, 11:16 pm

≫ Next: Love in Bombay (2013)

≪ Previous: Halaku (1956)

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Considering the last film I reviewed—about Genghis Khan’s grandson, Halaku (Hulegu Khan)—it seemed to me about time that I watched this one. What strengthened my resolve was that I happened to watch the Julie Andrews-Omar Sharif starrer The Tamarind Seed … Continue reading →

Love in Bombay (2013)

August 5, 2013, 12:03 am

≫ Next: Ten of my favourite “I am -” songs

≪ Previous: Genghis Khan (1965)

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Or 1971, if you go by the year the film was made, not the year the film was released. Or 1974, which was when the censor certificate dates from. I came to know of Love in Bombay a few months … Continue reading →

Ten of my favourite “I am -” songs

August 8, 2013, 10:47 pm

≫ Next: Random thoughts on historical films

≪ Previous: Love in Bombay (2013)

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I’d been thinking, for the past few months, of doing a post on songs that a person uses to introduce himself or herself in Hindi cinema. Not the “Awaara hoon” or “Main rangeela pyaar ka raahi” type, which actually use … Continue reading →

Random thoughts on historical films

August 18, 2013, 9:01 am

≫ Next: Shikast (1953)

≪ Previous: Ten of my favourite “I am -” songs

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A couple of weeks back, I reviewed Genghis Khan (1965). Before that I’d reviewed Halaku (1956). In the nearly five years this blog’s been in existence, I’ve watched and reviewed dozens of historical films in various languages—from La Grande Guerra … Continue reading →