The "Golden" Years of Bollywood.

Recently, on REMIX, a show I watch on Star One, they showed a party where the theme was retro or as they more particularly said "stuff worn in the 70's-80's".

In the recent years, my curiousity for films of this type have been increasing. There have been some gems in these years. Can anyone ever forget "Sholay" ? But I'm shamefaced to say that even though, I've never managed to see some of these films. But, yes, I HAVE seen Sholay. Any Indian will have seen that !

Personally, I agree that these were the best years of Bollywood. Almost, all films were entertaining, some were thought-provoking and the hits would role on for more than 50 weeks !! I've also heard that even films which were not hits, had some good in them. Yeah, anything can be better than DUS !!

Top 5 Movies of 2005

I would really want to scream. I finished a long postup in my blog but lost it due to an internet failure. Man, sometimes I hate computers ! But anyway here I am again to pinpoint 5 films which I believe rocked Bollywood in 2005.

1. Black - One of the most amazing films churned out by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The story of a deaf and blind girl, Michelle McNally(Rani Mukherji) and her quest to be normal with the help of her teacher, Debraj Sahai(Amitabh Bachchan) found the hearts of millions. Awesome performances from Rani and Amitabh and a great story really helped.

2. Paheli - One of the most underlooked films in 2005. A sensitive and gentle love story starring Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji, it was good. Some good performances by Shahrukh and Rani also helped to make the movie good.

3. Page 3 - Page 3 proved that you dont't need huge starcasts, big budgets and good marketing to make a blockbuster. The unique storyline and it's revelations about the 'hi-class society' made the viewers watch it. Also, great performances from character artistes like Konkona Sen Sharma.

4. Sarkar - OK, I may have badmouthed the film, but I do admit, it's a great film. So, who cares if it's an adaptation of "The Godfather" ? Amitabh Bachchan with his eyes conveyed everything, anger, sadness, hapiness. Also, awesome performances from Abhishek Bachchan and Kay Kay were the icing on the cake.

5. Parineeta - Another sensitive love story captured the hearts. The evergreen romance of Shankar(Saif Ali Khan) and his next door neighbour Lolita(Vidya Balan) inspired from Sarat Chandra Chattopadhya's novel was a gentle and captivating love story. And while Saif Ali Khan gave such an subdued performance, Vidya Balan was also awesome.

Other films which I really liked but couldn't put up there :

Waqt - Loved it mainly because of Amitabh Bachchan, Rajpal Yadav and Boman Irani ! Nuff' said !
Bunty Aur Bali - The Abhishek-Rani jodi and their cons were hilarious !
Kaal- I thought it was a pretty suspenseful thriller even though many badmouthed it. Guess it's just me.

Well, there you are. Please give me your comments about my choices. I'd love to hear them.

Rain and Murder Next week...

Hallo guys, my exams start from next week and I'm really hating all this bloody stupid study. But I had to sign in and post some more of my idiotic, stupid musings. BTW, if you're reading this, please please please post a comment. I'd love to hear your opinion and I don't even mind flames. I'm used to flames bcoz I know I'm hopeless...

"Barsaat" and "My Wife's Murder" release next week. Barsaat looks like, well, I'm sorry to say, yet another love triangle concerning Bobby Deol, Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu. Looking at the promos, I find a kind of distinct similarity between Andaaz and Barsaat. I'm sorry, but we've seen loads of these so-called "sublime love stories" and I have absoultely no interest in Barsaat. Even the music, claimed to be "the best ever music by Nadeem-Shravan" is no great shakes either.

Next up, we have another film from RGV's Factory starring Anil Kapoor, Suchitra Krishnamurthy and Nandana Sen. Titled "My Wife's Murder", Anil and Suchitra are husband and wife and Suchitra plays a nagging wife. Anil accidentally kils his wife and then the story starts. Seems like a good film, though I'm not really fully interested to dish out Rs 75 to watch it on the big screen.

I'm not really sure if any other film releases next week. If it does, I'll post my analysis of it a few days later.

Happy Independence Day !!

Not really a full-fledged post, just a small post here to wish all you guys an awesome "Independence Day". Let our spirit of Independence grow stronger by the day !

Just wanted to add that I saw Swades again, today. And as I said before, it is just so fantastic. It seems to get better with more and more viewing. Shahrukh Khan is so natural and Gayatri Joshi, well, awesome.

I'm thinking of putting up a list of the best patriotic movies in Bollywood. I should get around to it sooner or later !

KHPH, KMG and now Krrish.

Mangal Pandey as I predicted earlier, has opened to packed houses nationwide. It's opened to 100% in Mumbai and it's craze is unparalleled. So, I'm pretty sure it's going to be a hit.

Now, I want to talk about Hrithik Roshan now. Both Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan share one thing in common. They both used to sign movies sparingly. Hrithik doesn't have a movie for release this year while Aamir's last release (before Mangal Pandey) was Dil Chahta Hai in 2001. Currently, however, both have a number of films for release. Aamir Khan has "Mangal Pandey", then "Rang De Basanti" and then the untitled film with Kajol. Hrithik has "Dhoom 2" where he plays the villian, "Akbar-Jodha" with Aishwarya and Krrish.

However much, the hype about Hrithik, the fact remains, that he has given only two hits in recent years. Kaho Na Pyar Hai and Koi...Mil Gaya. Of course, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham was a hit, but I'm sure even Hrithik will admit that it wasn't entirely due to him. Koi..Mil Gaya happened in 2003 so I think it's time for Hrithik to deliever. Personally, I believe Hrithik is a fine actor with great timing, stupendous with histronics and of course, those amazing dancing legs ! With some really big projects coming up, hopefully he can show that he can perform in projects outside his projection. Dhoom 2 should really be a big turning point for him.

Mangal, Mangal...

The most awaited film opens this week as "Mangal Pandey- The Rising" opens to audiences worldwide. It certainly is the biggest film this year and most people have gargatuan expectations. Starring Aamir Khan, Rani Mukherji, Amisha Patel and Tobey Stephens, it's the story of the 1857 Rebellion led by Mangal Pandey (played by Aamir Khan). It releases in Hindi and English.

Lots has been said about the movie so I don't have much to say about it. As far as the international reviews go, they haven't been very good. IndiaFM has said it's a good film. Personally, I believe a lot hinges on this movie for Aamir Khan. If this is a hit, it's going to really catapault his career and have him firmly competing with Shah Rukh Khan. If it does internationally, we might see Aamir going west ! Also, it'll really increase the expectations for "Rang De Basanti"...................

Next time, I'll be having a look at Hrithik Roshan. Yep, the guy who made hearts with Kaho Na Pyar Hai and brought sympathy with Koi..Mil Gaya.

Sarkar

Sorry for the delay, guys. There are going to be some delays now with my H, Yearlies (bloody stupid things, they are) starting, but I hope to still update whenever possible.

Well, I am feeling a bit embarrased now. Well, yes after I had admitted that I didn't want to see Sarkar, I did still watch it. And I have to admit, it's a well-made movie. Amitabh Bachchan is so astounding. This is his 2nd best performance after Black (that always takes the icing). Those eyes just expressed it all. And Abhishek was awesome as well. Hopefully in the sequel, it's only he rules. Kay Kay was also briliant. I thought Sarkar was a great film. I thought the ending was a bit rushed but all in all, good movie material.

I guess I have to say something about Mangal Pandey ! Well, I guess it's going to be a hit. I think it's going to be a pretty good hit with the curiousity factor about Aamir, the great promotion and the great music all contributing. Sadly, my appeal for the film is kindly small. Maybe, I'm just stupid...