Asha Bhosle (Born on 8th Sep 1933) made her Hindi film debut when she sang the song “Saawan Aaya” for Hansraj Behl‘s Chunariya (1948) but before that she sang her first film song ‘”Chala Chala Nav Bala” for the Marathi film Majha Bal (1943). She had sung over 12,000 songs, she was officially acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded
Asha Bhonsle- The World’s Most Recorded Artist. Read More »
I watched ‘Forrest Gump’ (1994) probably about twenty years ago. It was one of the films that were part of my initiation into Hollywood movies. I was deeply impressed with the concept of a man’s journey in life, through the changing scenes of American history. Many years later, Karan Johar made a film called ‘My
‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ (2022) Review – The Cinemawala Read More »
b. 26 February 1937, Bombay, British Indiad. 1 March 1994, Bombay, India ‘No event of any importance in India is complete without a goof-up’– Ramachandra Guha1 Prologue It is one of the most famous moments in Indian film. Superstar Amitabh Bachchan is in Coolie (1983), pacing through one of the many stylised fight sequences he
the unsettling cinema of Manmohan Desai – Senses of Cinema Read More »
Chandni kuch kaha/raat ne kuch suna. [The moon said something, which the night heard]. Soft blue moonlight enters a room awaft in billowing curtains, the full moon’s face gently pushes aside a sheer covering of clouds, and the camera cuts to a mid-level close-up shot of Pooja (Madhuri Dixit) looking dreamily, knowingly at the moon.
The Hidden Melancholy of Yash Chopra Films – Senses of Cinema Read More »
Violence plays an integral role for post-colonial nations. However, violence is not always as explicit as a revolution or military intervention. Its manifestation can be slower and more ideologically charged. The interwoven politics of the central Government of India (hereby, GoI) and Bollywood, the world’s largest popular cinema industry, epitomises this. Bollywood uses soft power,1
Racialisation of the Northeastern Region – Senses of Cinema Read More »
On April 16, 2022, violence broke out between the Hindu and Muslim communities on the outskirts of the northern Indian city Roorkee. The Hindus claimed that a procession to celebrate their festival Hanuman Jayanti, marking the birth of their deity Hanuman, had been pelted with stones by Muslims.1 The incident was not isolated – throughout
How ‘Social Message’ Films Amplify the Indian Government’s Policies – Senses of Cinema Read More »
When High Caste Trumps Low Class! In a recent Netflix series Decoupled (Hardik Mehta, 2022), high profile, upper class/caste couple Arya Iyer (R. Madhavan), a renowned author, and Shruti (Surveen Chawla) a businesswoman, can’t stand the body odour of their driver Ganesh. On Shruti’s insistence a drunk Arya categorically tells Ganesh that he stinks, and
The Caste Blindness of Bollywood NRI Genre Films – Senses of Cinema Read More »
Love per Square Foot (Anand Tiwari, 2018), “Bollywood’s debut on Netflix”1 , is a romantic film with Mumbai as love object2. The opening credits are a montage of the major landmarks of the city with its famous commuter trains. Sanjay Chaturvedi (Vicky Kaushal) and Karina D’Souza (Angira Dhar) are both employees at a large bank,
Devdas is an epic semi-autobiographical Bengali novella written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The novel was written in 1901, though was not published until 1917 due to Chattopadhyay’s embarrassment over his story1. He published several novels such as Nishkriti, Parineeta and Srikanta, but Devdas remains his most popular novel. Devdas is a tragic love story of
A Devdas For Every Generation – Senses of Cinema Read More »
Anurag Kashyap is Bollywood’s enfant terrible. The release of his first film Paanch (2003) was prevented by the Indian censors owing to its violent content. The film, loosely based on serial killings that happened in the Indian city of Pune, was banned for its explicit portrayal of violence. His second film Black Friday (2004), a
Anurag Kashyap’s Gulaal – Senses of Cinema Read More »
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