following on my brief comments on indian art cinema in anothe thread i thought i’d make some recommendations of bollywood films for the benefit of those who might be interested in a somewhat structured experience of the industry. first, a little definitional clarification: “bollywood” refers to the popular bombay hindi film industry. it is not a catch-all term for any indian cinema (as it is often used in american circles) and nor are people like gurinder chadha or mira nair bollywood filmmakers. these people use certain bollywood conventions in some of their films (nair entirely exploitatively/exotically) but they’re no more bollywood than someone like baz luhrman in “moulin rouge”. second clarification: this list, sorted by decade, is restricted to what’s available from netflix. i can expand it to other titles as well if people are interested (i am not sure if netflix is a good indicator of availability) . this is, of course, an idiosyncratic, highly personal list. as it should be. not sure which of these will “translate”–take your chances.
50s:
“aar paar”–guru dutt before he got serious. interesting to think of what is happening with noir in hollywood at the same time (early-mid 50s)
“pyaasa”–guru dutt’s first film as auteur; italian neo-realism meets the bombay aesthetic–brilliant stuff; songs, written by the great urdu poet and lyricist sahir ludhianvi, are unfortunately not subtitled.
“kagaz ke phool”–dutt’s semi-autobiographical reflection on his struggles in the bombay industry; self-indulgent but worth a look.
“mother india”–nationalist ideology, the anti-“pather-panchali”
“chalti ka naam gaadi”–the funniest movie of the 50s; unlike “pyaasa” which casts a very jaundiced eye on the first decade after independence, “chalti ka naam gaadi” is exuberant and all about the possibility of becoming. stars the three kumar brothers–the eldest, ashok, was india’s first film superstar in the 30s; the youngest, kishore, a self-taught singer, composer and actor. despite starring in some great comedies in the late 50s and early 60s he is best remembered as one of the two greatest male playback singers in the industry (the late mohd. rafi being the other).
“c.i.d”–good b movie from india’s gregory peck, dev anand
60s:
“sahib, biwi aur ghulam”–guru dutt again–perhaps his masterpiece; the credits don’t list him as director but it is generally agreed his hands are all over it.
“guide”–netflix has an entertaininly incorrect summary of this iconic film, adapted very loosely from a r.k narayan novel.
“kashmir ki kali”–screwball comedy, shammi kapoor-style
“padosan”–the funniest movie of the 60s; perhaps the most generous comedy ever made anywhere
“aradhna”–the last blast of 60s romanticism
raj kapoor is an important figure in the 50s and 60s but netflix doesn’t have his major films of the period: “awara”, “shree 420”, “sangam”, “teesri kasam”
70s:
“zanjeer” –the film that launched amitabh “one man industry” bachchan’s career, inaugurates an entirely new sensibility, the “angry young man”.
“sholay”–the film that clinched it. for many indians this is the movie. it ran for years, people bought the film on audio tape–i still have most of it memorized. refracts “the seven samurai” via “the magnificent seven”. transcends film–it is a cultural milestone.
“amar, akbar, anthony”–the ultimate masala movie.
“aandhi”–something very different from all of the above.
“deewaar”–the same year as “sholay”–perhaps the definitive bachchan performance.
“gol maal”–perhaps the funniest comedy of the 70s; representative of a parallel bombay cinema of small budgets and social comedies.
“abhimaan”–amitabh in a very different role (netflix lists the wrong year for this); a reworking of “a star is born”.
80s:
“silsila”–a scandalous film with amitabh bachchan playing a man having an affair. his real-life lover (the great rekha) plays his lover, and his real-life wife (the great jaya bhaduri/bachchan) plays his wife.
“umrao jaan”–not exactly a bollywood film but made with bollywood talent. a muzzafar ali film (which means it is beautifully made) starring rekha as the legendary courtesan (the “umrao jaan ada”, by the way, is considered by some to be the first urdu novel). great ghazals on the soundtrack.
“vidhaata”–bollywood take on “the godfather” (well, kind of)–features some great old actors chewing scenery. and also an inept young sanjay dutt barely out of drug rehab (he was to rekindle his career and become a real star in the 90s).
“utsav”–an erotic costume-drama from shashi kapoor. rekha again.
“saagar”–a romantic melodrama with the beauteous dimple kapadia making a return to films. this may have been india’s entry for best foreign film at the oscars that year.
“mr india”–a piece of crap that is nonetheless worth seeing if for no other reason than it features the next iconic villain after “sholay’s” gabbar singh: amrish puri’s mogambo. also features the most annoying top bollywood star of all time: sridevi. thank god madhuri dixit showed up just a few years later. (directed by shekhar kapur, by the way)
“nayagan”–okay, so this isn’t bollywood–a tamil film by the great mani ratnam (who has made some of the best bollywood films of the last 10 years) and stars the amazing kamalhasan. this is a searing crime drama based on the life of a real-life crime-lord. there is some controversy over english subtitles in the version netflix carries–they also have the later, inferior bollywood hindi remake “dayavan”
“qayamat se qayamat tak”–the young aamir khan (close to his first movie) and recent miss india, juhi chawla. a romance–yet another bollywood take on the lovers from warring families narrative. a crucial film for those coming of age in the late 80s. great songs.
“parinda”–a visual tour de force and a great noir that also features a crackerjack performance by nana patekar as a crime-lord; the director vidhu vinod chopra and some of the major crew are graduates of pune’s film institute, better known for producing most of india’s major post-70s art film-makers
“tridev”–netflix doesn’t have the superior “tezaab” in which madhuri dixit arrived but this masala multi-starrer is fun too.
unfortunately netflix doesn’t carry the two funniest films of the 80s, “jaane bhi do yaaron” (which many contend is the funniest hindi film ever made) and “chashme buddoor”. nor do they carry the great bachchan starrers “namak halal” and “shakti” or mahesh bhatt’s masterpiece “arth” or his “saaransh”–they do carry his lighter 90s romantic dramas though.
will add a 90s update later.
Thanks for going to the trouble of writing all this Arnab. I still don’t really know where to start, but will see if any of my video stores have “The Guide” which I remember reading years ago and liking a lot. And “Sholay.”
mark, just go to any indian grocery store near you. they’ll have all this and more–very cheap rental rates too.
That’s an excellent idea. An India Sweets & Spices opened in Atwater Village last year, and they have a vast grocery and movie rental place there. Fine samosas too.
why do you americans start talking about food the minute anything indian is mentioned? do i recommend the packets of cheetos and snickers when you talk about going to video stores?
Hey – it’s your people that sell DVDs out of a grocery store. I’m happy that I can buy my proper Heinz Baked Beans, a Voilet Crumble bar, some spinach paneer and rent some singin/dancin Bollywood spectacle in one quick stop.
What else could we talk about when anything Indian is mentioned? Gandhi? Untouchables? That weirdness concerning cows?
I am curious about films from the last ten years or so (particularly artsy-fartsy non-mainstream titles). You know when I got married, my wife (who grew up in northern England and went to London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies) made me promise I would develop a taste for Indian curry. At the time I thought a curry was something you unearthed (like a carrot or a potato). Gives you an idea where my head was nine years ago.
jeff, none of the artsy-fartsy, non-mainstream stuff from the last 10 years is readily available. but why ask about it here in the crassly commercial thread when there’s a whole other discussion going on about regional/art cinema? where’s your head at now?
but get “company” from netflix. it is technically a bollywood movie but not your standard bollywood movie. see if they have “raincoat” as well. or aparna sen’s “mr. and mrs. iyer”. these are sort of serious films made using bollywood actors etc. sort of a middle cinema.
All three are available thru Netflix (Raincoat has a “very long wait” attached) and so I’m going to check them out over the summer. Have you seen a film called English, August? What about Devdas?
assuming you’re talking about the recent shahrukh khan version, do not touch “devdas” with a 1000 ft. pole. netflix has “english, august”? if so, read the book first, then rent it.
Arnab, or anyone,
Do you know where I can get CDs of Geeta Dutt? I especially want the song “Meera Naam chin chin choo” from Howrath Bridge. (Do you know which of her CDs it’s on?) I tried searching on Amazon but they haven’t heard of her. Thanks.
i have most of her songs. have gio email me your address and something might miraculously appear in your mailbox that you may find not dipleasing in relation to your search for geeta dutt songs (and indeed with particular attention to the track you cite).
and it is “howrah” bridge, not “howrath” bridge. colonialist scum.
What’s wrong with SRK’s Devdas? I haven’t seen the original, but is it really that superior?
I was really moved almost to tears by Aishwarya Rai’s mother’s (I forget her name) reaction to her betrayal by Devdas’s mother.
Also, the dance sequence pairing Aishwarya with Madhuri Dixit was spellbinding — it’s my favorite Madhuri Dixit dance since Tezaab.
P.S. If you want a shorter history of Bollywood conventions (50’s through 80’s), just watch the “Wo Ladki Hai Kahan” sequence in Dil Chahta Hai.
what is wrong with devdas is that it is terrible. not by comparison to the original (which is also no amazing film) but just generally. it has been a while so i can’t get more specific than to say that it is terrible but this is a point which even hardcore shahrukh khan fans seem to concede.
Hey Arnab, do you know if Rakeysh Mehra’s Rang de Basanti (Color Me Saffron) can be obtained on DVD? Have you seen it?
it can be obtained on dvd but in the same sense that a root canal can be obtained without novocaine.