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Metropolis (1927)
As Samir pointed out in a comment on my last post, Pyaasa was one of the films (in fact, the only Hindi film) to find a place on Time Magazine’s all-time 100 best films list. That’s something Pyaasa...
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Der Tiger von Eschnapur (1959)
… and its sequel, Das Indische Grabmal, also 1959. Fritz Lang made the visually stunning Metropolis in 1927. Over thirty years later, freed from the constraints of black and white and silence, he made...
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Kohinoor (1960)
Der Tiger von Eschnapur and Das Indische Grabmal were, as Anu called them, ‘raja-rani’ (‘king-and-queen’) films, no matter how warped they may have been as examples of that genre. In line with my last...
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Prince of Foxes (1949)
The last film I reviewed, Kohinoor, was part swashbuckler, part romance and part political intrigue. So is Prince of Foxes (though this has none of the comedy that makes Kohinoor such an endearing...
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Humayun (1945)
One of the main characters in Prince of Foxes was a man who actually existed in history: Cesare Borgia (1475 (?) – 1507 AD). This post is about a film that features one of Cesare Borgia’s...
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Rajkumar (1964)
My blog has featured Shammi Kapoor now and then – with reviews of some of his films, in my list of classic Hindi cinema’s handsomest men (which he topped, by a very long margin), and in various lists...
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Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957)
If Rajkumar is the trademark ‘Shammi Kapoor at his peak’ film, then Tumsa Nahin Dekha is an equally – if not more – important film, because this is the one that made Shammi Kapoor into the icon he was...
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Mere Sanam
Nasir Hussain may have made his Tumsa Nahin Dekha story into four separate – and equally successful – films, but did that induce others to be original? On the contrary. Narinder Bedi, at least,...
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Rustom-e-Hind (1965)
Mumtaz, as I mentioned in my last post, was one of the best things that happened to Mere Sanam. She may not have had much screen time in the film, but she certainly left her mark – more than she’d been...
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Aan (1953)
I’ve seen this film – a ‘raja-rani’ film, like Rustom-e-Hind – several times, but the most memorable viewing of it was at my parents’ home a couple of years ago. My parents live in Meerut, about two...
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My Family and Other Film Fanatics
…with due apologies to Gerald Durrell. Since my review of Aan consisted to a large extent of my family’s almost constant commentary on the film, I figured it was time to introduce you to them – and...
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Introducing ‘Kumar Sahib’
After having waxed so long and eloquent about my parents, my sister, my cousin, and a couple of other relatives (not to mention servants!) in the context of our love for cinema – it’s time to focus on...
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Mahal (1949)
Since my last post was about my uncle, the guitarist David Vernon Kumar, it seemed appropriate to devote this post to one of the films for which he played. Mahal, made when my uncle was about 20 years...
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How about a ‘Classic Bollywood’ quiz?
To begin with: don’t bother with this quiz; it isn’t valid any more (see my next post for the quiz that’s now THE quiz). You can scroll down to the end of this post to see the answers to most of the...
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… And a revised quiz
All right, we had some hiccups with the original ‘Classic Bollywood’ quiz, because some readers got confused about how to submit answers. Never mind. I always have more trivia up my sleeve! So, an...
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Announcing the Answers – and the Winners!
Ever since I announced the classic Hindi cinema quiz last week, though I’ve published no new posts, I’ve had a lot of traffic on my blog – and a large amount of it to the quiz post. Thank you,...
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Edwina: A Short Biography (Part 1)
A few months back, I got an e-mail from Tom Daniel, the man who’s been the brains, the initiative and most of the work behind some of the most wonderful song compilations I’ve come across, ever. Tom...
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Edwina (Part 2): A Cast of Characters
Continuing from where we left off in the last post: the second instalment of the four-part guest posts by Tom Daniel and Edwina Lyons about Edwina’s life in the Hindi film industry of the late 50s and...
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Edwina (Part 3): Her Fellow Dancers
Tom and Edwina’s fabulous guest posts on Edwina’s career as a dancer in the Hindi film industry of the 50s and 60s: part 3, about the people whom Edwina danced with. If you haven’t already read the...
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Edwina (Part 4): Dancing
Sadly, all good things must come to an end. So, with a heavy heart, I’m having to publish this post: the last of the four-part guest posts on Edwina Lyons, written by Edwina, along with Tom Daniel. If...
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