Pote tin Kyriaki (1960)

December 28, 2016, 7:36 pm

≫ Next: The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)

≪ Previous: A Christmas Carol (1938)

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Or, in English, Never on Sunday. In one telling little scene in Pote tin Kyriaki, Greek prostitute Ilia (Melina Mercouri) tells earnest American Grecophile Homer Thrace (Jules Dassin, who also wrote and directed the film) that she is very, very … Continue reading →

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The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)

January 1, 2017, 11:58 pm

≫ Next: Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960)

≪ Previous: Pote tin Kyriaki (1960)

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Happy New Year, Happy New Year, Happy New Year. That’s what’s been flooding my timeline on Facebook, that’s what’s coming my way on text messages, in e-mails from family, friends, even banks and online stores. And yes, don’t we all … Continue reading →

Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960)

January 7, 2017, 8:25 pm

≫ Next: Restaurant Review: Mr Choy

≪ Previous: The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)

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There was a point, when I was watching Meghe Dhaka Tara, that I was reminded of another much-acclaimed Indian classic, Pyaasa. A man, an artiste (a singer, not a poet, as in Pyaasa) wanders along on a grassy patch of … Continue reading →

Restaurant Review: Mr Choy

January 11, 2017, 8:16 am

≫ Next: Ten of my favourite non-romantic male-female duets

≪ Previous: Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960)

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What’s better than going to a restaurant for the first time and finding that it’s worth revisiting? Going with somebody with whom you share a lot in common. Someone who pretty much likes the same things as you: the same … Continue reading →

Ten of my favourite non-romantic male-female duets

January 14, 2017, 6:09 pm

≫ Next: Nartakee (1963)

≪ Previous: Restaurant Review: Mr Choy

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Whew. That’s a long title for a song list. But at least it covers the basics for what this list is all about. I listen to a lot of old Hindi film music. Even when I’m not listening to one … Continue reading →

Nartakee (1963)

January 20, 2017, 9:13 am

≫ Next: Maengjinsadaek Gyeongsa (1962)

≪ Previous: Ten of my favourite non-romantic male-female duets

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I remember watching Padosan as a child, and I remember my sister saying, “How could someone so handsome consent to be made up as someone like Bhola? And to act so silly?” I already liked Sunil Dutt a good deal, … Continue reading →

Maengjinsadaek Gyeongsa (1962)

January 27, 2017, 1:48 am

≫ Next: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

≪ Previous: Nartakee (1963)

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Some definitions that came to my mind, having—over the course of a little over thirty years—watched three versions of the same story: Nostalgia. A feeling of deep, intense longing for a film you saw in your childhood, and of which … Continue reading →

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

February 2, 2017, 7:11 pm

≫ Next: Blogging: Ten Tips

≪ Previous: Maengjinsadaek Gyeongsa (1962)

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The very first English language film I remember watching was a war film (a farcical comedy called Our Miss Fred, which I’ve never managed to get hold of since). Over the years, and especially during my teens—thanks to a local … Continue reading →

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Blogging: Ten Tips

February 7, 2017, 12:17 am

≫ Next: Book Review: Akshay Manwani’s Music Masti Modernity: The Cinema of Nasir Husain

≪ Previous: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

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Every once in a while, someone (invariably a newbie blogger) sends me a mail, asking me what they should do to be a successful blogger. I have usually responded to such queries with whatever tips came to mind. But then, … Continue reading →

Book Review: Akshay Manwani’s Music Masti Modernity: The Cinema of Nasir Husain

February 10, 2017, 7:41 am

≫ Next: My favourites: Ten answers to the ‘Kaun Aaya’ question

≪ Previous: Blogging: Ten Tips

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If there’s one film maker whose films tend to feature fairly prominently on this blog, it’s Nasir Husain. Of all the films he wrote and/or directed in the 50s and 60s, only two—Paying Guest and Anarkali, both of which he … Continue reading →

My favourites: Ten answers to the ‘Kaun Aaya’ question

February 14, 2017, 8:02 pm

≫ Next: Signpost to Murder (1964)

≪ Previous: Book Review: Akshay Manwani’s Music Masti Modernity: The Cinema of Nasir Husain

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Just a few weeks back, Anu published a delightful blog post which listed ten songs on the theme of ‘Kaun Aaya’: who is this who comes? A lover, a hope, the much-anticipated partner of one’s life. I commented on that … Continue reading →

Signpost to Murder (1964)

February 20, 2017, 7:18 pm

≫ Next: Ek Hi Raasta (1956)

≪ Previous: My favourites: Ten answers to the ‘Kaun Aaya’ question

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This film has been on my radar for a long time now—since I discovered that one of my favourite Hindi films, Ittefaq, was based on Signpost to Murder. The other day, I was again reminded of that, and this time … Continue reading →

Ek Hi Raasta (1956)

February 27, 2017, 7:48 am

≫ Next: Kahin Din Kahin Raat (1968)

≪ Previous: Signpost to Murder (1964)

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BR Chopra is one director for whom I have a lot of respect: he was one of the most versatile film makers of his time, a man whose films could not easily be dumped together into one broad category. Look … Continue reading →

Kahin Din Kahin Raat (1968)

March 3, 2017, 8:33 pm

≫ Next: The Women (1939)

≪ Previous: Ek Hi Raasta (1956)

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Let’s say you’re a film maker in the Hindi cinema of the late 1960s. You’ve set your heart on making a thriller. You have some money, but not enough to be able to hope to churn out something with Shammi … Continue reading →

The Women (1939)

March 7, 2017, 6:47 pm

≫ Next: Ten of my favourite songs featuring colours

≪ Previous: Kahin Din Kahin Raat (1968)

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Much is made of International Women’s Day, and I find myself inundated with messages relating to that, beginning a week in advance of March 8. Promotions from online retailers, newspaper ads, flyers offering discounts on everything from spa treatments to … Continue reading →

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Ten of my favourite songs featuring colours

March 12, 2017, 9:57 pm

≫ Next: Guest Post: Rajinder Singh Bedi – My Uncle as I remember him

≪ Previous: The Women (1939)

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Happy Holi! I don’t celebrate Holi—ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had a horror of being wet and dirty, and come Holi, I used to insist on locking myself in. I was in good company; though my father … Continue reading →

Guest Post: Rajinder Singh Bedi – My Uncle as I remember him

March 18, 2017, 5:39 am

≫ Next: Dastak (1970)

≪ Previous: Ten of my favourite songs featuring colours

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It is sad that among the people responsible for making cinema what it is, the spotlight is invariably only on the ones whom the audience sees and hears. Actors, singers. Composers and directors, by dint of their work being most … Continue reading →

Dastak (1970)

March 24, 2017, 7:33 pm

≫ Next: Afrita Hanem (1949)

≪ Previous: Guest Post: Rajinder Singh Bedi – My Uncle as I remember him

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In Rajinder Singh Bedi’s Dastak, there is a scene well into the film which offers a glimpse of both what this film is about and what its tone is like, how it conveys its messages. Hamid Ahmed (Sanjeev Kumar) is … Continue reading →

Afrita Hanem (1949)

March 30, 2017, 6:39 pm

≫ Next: Under Capricorn (1949)

≪ Previous: Dastak (1970)

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Aka Little Miss Devil. This is a first for my blog: an Egyptian film. I have known about classic Egyptian cinema for a while now (the very first recommendation that came my way was from fellow blogger Richard, who had … Continue reading →

Under Capricorn (1949)

April 5, 2017, 1:07 am

≫ Next: Ten of my favourite ‘not-quite-duet’ songs

≪ Previous: Afrita Hanem (1949)

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Alfred Hitchcock is, for me, the cinematic equivalent of writers like PG Wodehouse or Georgette Heyer or Agatha Christie: I see their names on a work, and I know that this is something I can read (or watch, in Hitchcock’s … Continue reading →