Clik here to view.
Teen Deviyaan (1965)
This post is two weeks late. Late, because it’s a tribute to the actress Kalpana, who passed away on January 4 this year. I didn’t get to know about her death till the 8th, and then – though I did want...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ten Situations, Two Heroes, Twenty Songs
Caution: Long post! It’s been a while now, but last year this blog hosted a Classic Bollywood Quiz. The prize for the runner-up was the chance to dictate a post: a theme for a list, for example. Our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
It’s been a long time since I reviewed a film by one of my favourite directors, so I decided this one merited a rewatch. Like The 39 Steps and Young and Innocent, The Lady Vanishes is one of Alfred...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ten Songs of Heroines ‘Manaao-ing’ Heroes
If you don’t know what manaana means, be patient. I’m getting around to that. First, though, an introductory note on this post. This list of hard-found songs (believe me! I’ve spent months coming up...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Tale of Two Cities (1958)
Happy birthday, Mr Dickens! Yes, Charles Dickens was born exactly 200 years ago today – on February 7, 1812, in Portsea. In his lifetime, he wrote a number of short stories and non-fictional works,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Prem Patra (1962)
I am not – most decidedly not – nuts about red hearts and roses and all that bullshit. Really, if you love someone, you love them. And not just on February 14. But, anyway, here’s my nod to the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ten of my favourite Hindi film ghazals
This is another of my ‘prize posts’, dedicated to one of the people who participated in the Classic Bollywood Quiz I hosted on this blog last year. One of the quiz questions was a toughie that no-one...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The 300 Spartans (1962)
This is the 300th post on this blog. A landmark for me, which I decided to celebrate with a film about 300-something. The 300 Spartans is based on a real-life incident, the Battle of Thermopylae in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ten Bits of Trivia from Classic Hindi cinema
This is another of the prize posts for those who participated in the Classic Bollywood Quiz I hosted on this blog last year. I’ve two awards left to ‘hand out’ – (read ‘two more posts to dedicate to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Mark of Zorro (1920)
The highlight of last week was—no, not an old film that I watched at home, but a new film that I watched in a cinema theatre. The Artist. A couple of friends, both people with excellent taste in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ten of my favourite Ravi songs
This was not what I’d planned as my next post. But I learnt this morning that Ravi – the man who composed some wonderful tunes from the 50s and 60s – is no more. He passed away yesterday, the 7th of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ten of my favourite Joy Mukherji songs
Because my Ravi tribute was swiftly turning into a Joy Mukherji tribute – and because I thought Joy merited a tribute all his own – I decided to do a Joy Mukherji post. My intention had originally been...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Azaad (1955)
After all the unhappiness over the past week or so – first Ravi’s death, and then Joy Mukherji’s – you’d think the last film I’d want to see would be one that starred the ultimate tragedy couple: Dilip...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Harvey (1950)
No prizes for guessing whom this prize post is dedicated to. (For those who’re not in the know: I hosted a Classic Bollywood Quiz last year on this blog, and the prizes for that—one for each...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Crime and the Hindi film song: Ten examples
I attended an interesting Conference on Crime Fiction at St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, last month (for more on that, click here). During a couple of the less-engrossing sessions, I found my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reporter Raju (1962)
A couple of months ago, I got a call from Seventymm (the video rental service I’d subscribed to), letting me know that they were shutting down rentals and becoming retail-only. Since I’d paid up in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Charulata (1964)
… and some random comparisons with Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam. This Satyajit Ray film had been lying in my to-watch pile for a long time. Then, I learnt a few days back that the Indian government had...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Celebrating World Heritage Day: Ten Songs
Today, April 18th, is World Heritage Day. A day to thank God, our ancestors, civilisation—for the richness that surrounds us. Whether it’s in the form of a unique ecosystem, or a beautiful old...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
One of the good things about growing up in a family that loved reading was that even as a child, I was surrounded by books—novels, of course; and treatises on everything from Wordsworth’s poetry...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Waqt (1965)
By some strange oversight, despite the fact that Waqt is one of my favourite masala films, I’ve never reviewed it on this blog. And I’m wishing I didn’t have to end up writing about it on such a sad...
View Article