Purists may dismiss Sooryavansham as one of Amitabh Bachchan’s mediocre offerings, but over two decades later, this sappy family drama has found itself a diverse and an ever-growing fandom: Some watch it for cheap thrills, some out of habit. The movie’s perpetual telecast has inspired legions of jokes and memes. In Hindi cinema, “kheer” has
UK Asian Film Festival – the world’s longest running South Asian film festival – has unveiled its programme for its 25th anniversary edition. Running at venues across London, Leicester and Glasgow from Thursday 4th – Sunday 14th May, UK Asian Film Festival is presented by Tongues on Fire. The ‘Celebrating Our Stories’ theme of the festival’s silver jubilee year will present a curation of film
My third-hand impression of Pasand Apni Apni had been that it was 1) a comedy 2) based on Happy Go Lovely. That was enough to recommend the film to me (someone who periodically rewatches only the flashback chunks of Ghajini to form a charming, if abruptly concluded romance). It turns out I was missing a
Pasand Apni Apni (1983) – Rekha’s Sousaphone Read More »
Shatru in Ab Kya Hoga, or me on Ab Kya Hoga? Having just finished Naalayak, I felt frustrated. The film had such little substance that I despaired of properly writing about it, even in a negative tone. Yet it is also a less-remembered production about which minimal information is available on the internet. My stop-gap
Hall of Disappointments – Rekha’s Sousaphone Read More »
A confection that may not suit all palates. Although my own was initially satisfied, it was frustrating to discern the outlines of a near-classic here, restrained from real excellence by a few peculiarities of storytelling style plus a poorly handled heroine. Faryal is done no favors here. As soon as one thinks up a better
Biradari (1966) – Rekha’s Sousaphone Read More »
What a sweet film! When I accidentally deleted my notes (sigh) after seeing it the first time, I watched it over again near-immediately without any decrease in enjoyment. This script feels unusually thoroughly crafted, perhaps because it was adapted from P. L. Deshpande’s play Sunder Mi Honar. (Though my Marathi Googling skills were insufficient to
Aaj Aur Kal (1963) Read More »
ZEE5 Global, the world’s largest streaming platform for South Asian content, is all set to end the year on a delightful note as it unveiled a power-packed content slate of 10 big-ticket originals along with much-awaited movies for the global Bengali diaspora starting 2023. Expanding its premium content offerings, ZEE5 Global confirmed that it will eventually release a
Readers will be unsurprised to learn that Rekha’s birthday is something of an annual holiday in my household. Elaan was the entertainment on offer during this past year’s festivities. I found it a freewheeling, pleasantly louche delight for the senses—untidy, perhaps, but supremely enjoyable. Though it drags in the middle, to complain about such a
Elaan (1971) – Rekha’s Sousaphone Read More »
Feuding families opposed to love birds is one of Bollywood’s oldest and most minted formulas. There are multiple Romeo Juliet-inspired stories of love blossoming between the wards of sworn enemies, young lovers rebelling against parental opposition, or jumping hoops to convince them. Here are some the most well-known films about defiant lovers and their warring
Bollywood and ‘mohabbat ke dushman gharwaale’ trope – Flashback Bollywood Read More »
A ’70s Hindi film called Do Bachche Dus Haath with a poster that looks like this, and a ‘For the first time, Junior Mehmood as James Bond’ sales pitch. What do you do? Watch it, of course. Its kitschiness and kookiness aside, the film makes an impression for a whole different reason altogether. But more
Of James Bond and other vintage foreign spy films – Flashback Bollywood Read More »
Get notified about new articles
