Ten of my favourite ‘not-quite-duet’ songs

April 11, 2017, 9:41 am

≫ Next: Brilliantovaya Ruka (1969)

≪ Previous: Under Capricorn (1949)

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Sometime back, blog reader Anup remarked that some songs had a major singer not really doing much singing. Duets, he pointed out, where one singer does almost all the singing, while the other one just does a supportive ‘la-la-la-la’, or … Continue reading →

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Brilliantovaya Ruka (1969)

April 17, 2017, 8:56 pm

≫ Next: Naukri (1954)

≪ Previous: Ten of my favourite ‘not-quite-duet’ songs

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Some of my favourite films are those that cleverly combine crime with humour. Hitchcock’s The Trouble with Harry, for instance, a witty story about a man whom everybody seems to have been wanting to get rid of. Or—one of my … Continue reading →

Naukri (1954)

April 21, 2017, 10:33 pm

≫ Next: In Tribute: Vinod Khanna (1946-2017)

≪ Previous: Brilliantovaya Ruka (1969)

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I have a confession to make: I am not especially fond of Kishore Kumar as an actor. He’s a brilliant singer, and he can be pretty funny in films like Chalti ka Naam Gaadi or Pyaar Kiye Jaa or Padosan—but … Continue reading →

In Tribute: Vinod Khanna (1946-2017)

April 27, 2017, 8:55 am

≫ Next: Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971)

≪ Previous: Naukri (1954)

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This post may come as a surprise to those who are familiar with my blog, and with its chronological area of interest: Vinod Khanna, after all, debuted in a film that released in 1969, and this blog focuses on cinema … Continue reading →

Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971)

May 2, 2017, 8:33 pm

≫ Next: Lucky Star (1929)

≪ Previous: In Tribute: Vinod Khanna (1946-2017)

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This blog focuses almost exclusively on films from before the 1970s. Very occasionally, though, I make exceptions. For films that are pretty much on the cusp, and which evoke more a sense of 60s cinema than 70s, which were made … Continue reading →

Lucky Star (1929)

May 9, 2017, 6:46 am

≫ Next: Hanyo (1960)

≪ Previous: Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971)

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Lucky Star is a movie of moments. A moment when a man, washing down the head of a young girl who’s grubby as can be, happens to ask her how old she is, and realizes, with a start of embarrassment, … Continue reading →

Hanyo (1960)

May 18, 2017, 8:27 am

≫ Next: Homes and Houses: Ten songs

≪ Previous: Lucky Star (1929)

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Which, in English, is translated as The Housemaid, though it would perhaps have been more aptly titled Rats! I Got Me a New House. Not just because the catastrophe that swiftly unfurls in this film has its roots in the … Continue reading →

Homes and Houses: Ten songs

May 23, 2017, 6:49 am

≫ Next: Ek Phool Chaar Kaante (1960)

≪ Previous: Hanyo (1960)

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Some context, first, for this post. I had recently been on a hiatus for a while because I shifted home. I’ve lived in Delhi for 32 years now, and for various reasons, my husband and I realized it would make … Continue reading →

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Ek Phool Chaar Kaante (1960)

May 30, 2017, 8:15 am

≫ Next: Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957)

≪ Previous: Homes and Houses: Ten songs

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Sunil Dutt and Waheeda Rehman. The two names themselves conjure up a mix of everything from Pyaasa to Mother India, from Gumraah to Kaagaz ke Phool. Sunil Dutt, whom I tend to associate either with suspense films (Humraaz, Mera Saaya) … Continue reading →

Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957)

June 6, 2017, 11:09 pm

≫ Next: Baadal (1966)

≪ Previous: Ek Phool Chaar Kaante (1960)

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A hundred years, ago, on June 7, 1917, in Ohio was born Dino Paul Crocetti, the son of an Italian immigrant and his wife, also of Italian origin. Dino spoke nothing but Italian until he was five years old—and didn’t … Continue reading →

Baadal (1966)

June 12, 2017, 9:03 am

≫ Next: The Outrage (1964)

≪ Previous: Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957)

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The Three Musketeers meets Hamlet meets Azaad meets general swashbuckling mayhem. I will admit I watched this film mainly for two reasons: for Sanjeev Kumar, who is deliciously handsome in his early roles; and for the song Nain bedaardi chhalia … Continue reading →

The Outrage (1964)

June 17, 2017, 11:16 pm

≫ Next: Doctor, Doctor: Ten songs about medical problems

≪ Previous: Baadal (1966)

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Rashōmon, set in the Wild West. I hadn’t heard about this film, let alone seen it, till a few weeks back, when blog reader Hurdy Gurdy Man, commenting on my review of Rashōmon, mentioned it. Rashōmon—and the Rashōmon Effect—fascinates me, … Continue reading →

Doctor, Doctor: Ten songs about medical problems

June 23, 2017, 8:47 am

≫ Next: Kasauli: Kissed by Clouds

≪ Previous: The Outrage (1964)

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It’s often struck me that there are a number of Hindi film songs that could well be interpreted to refer to medical problems. The omnipresent theme of romantic love in itself has enough substance for everything from insomnia to palpitations … Continue reading →

Kasauli: Kissed by Clouds

June 28, 2017, 10:17 pm

≫ Next: Baadal (1951)

≪ Previous: Doctor, Doctor: Ten songs about medical problems

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I have often said that I am a pahaari at heart. I don’t have—as far as I know—any ancestors who belonged to the hills, but there is nothing that rejuvenates me as much as going to the hills. Remember Wordsworth … Continue reading →

Baadal (1951)

July 4, 2017, 8:47 am

≫ Next: Jhinder Bondi (1961)

≪ Previous: Kasauli: Kissed by Clouds

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The last Hindi film I’d reviewed was the Sanjeev Kumar swashbuckler Baadal. When I’ d begun watching that, I wondered briefly if it would be a remake of the Premnath Baadal, a film I’d seen too long back to remember much … Continue reading →

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Jhinder Bondi (1961)

July 11, 2017, 2:21 am

≫ Next: Fanfan la Tulipe (1952)

≪ Previous: Baadal (1951)

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Considering I’ve recently reviewed two Hindi swashbucklers (Baadal and Baadal), both obviously—in one case even with credit accorded—inspired by European sources, I thought it appropriate to continue in the genre for another film. Also a swashbuckler, also inspired by a … Continue reading →

Fanfan la Tulipe (1952)

July 18, 2017, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Ten songs picturized in famous gardens

≪ Previous: Jhinder Bondi (1961)

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I’ve been on a swashbuckler spree these past few weeks, what with a couple of Hindi films and then the Bengali film, Jhinder Bondi. Before I drift off into another genre, I decided I may as well finally watch a … Continue reading →

Ten songs picturized in famous gardens

July 24, 2017, 8:33 am

≫ Next: Ten of my favourite Mumtaz songs

≪ Previous: Fanfan la Tulipe (1952)

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Not too long back, I went on a trip to Kasauli, in Himachal Pradesh. It was a brief, pleasant little jaunt, and on the way back, I suggested that we stop—since it was on the way, in any case—at Pinjore … Continue reading →

Ten of my favourite Mumtaz songs

July 30, 2017, 9:11 pm

≫ Next: Pursued (1947)

≪ Previous: Ten songs picturized in famous gardens

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Happy 70th birthday, Mumtaz! I have gone through phases when I’ve been very fond of a certain actor, only to later start disliking them. Or vice-versa. Dev Anand, for a while, I could watch in anything (until I discovered his … Continue reading →

Pursued (1947)

August 5, 2017, 11:22 pm

≫ Next: Apna Ghar Apni Kahaani (aka Pyaas, 1968)

≪ Previous: Ten of my favourite Mumtaz songs

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Exactly a week back, this blog was celebrating the birthday of a favourite of mine: the gorgeous Mumtaz turned 70. Today, Dusted Off celebrates the birth anniversary—the centenary, in fact—of another favourite of mine: Robert Mitchum. Born on August 6, … Continue reading →