Director: Guru Dutt (1957, Hindi, 146 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (8.4), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: depressing, romance.
Summary: Pyaasa is a depressing but soulfully romantic movie by Guru Dutt. Great acting by all three characters: Guru Dutt, Mala Sinha and Waheeda Rehman. The word Pyaasa means thirsty in Hindi. The movie is about unrequited love.
The story revolves around Vijay, an unsuccessful poet. The role was played by Guru Dutt himself. Throughout his life, Vijay feels unloved and unappreciated. In his college days, his sweetheart dumps him because he has no secure future as a poet. She marries a rich newspaper owner instead. Later, a prostitute falls in love with him, primarily for his poetry. She remains devoted to him but Vijay is not interested in her. Soon, Vijay does acquire fame and money. At that time, his relatives take advantage of his fame to make money for themselves.
Despite being a depressing movie, Pyaasa is worth watching for its romantic moments, awesome songs and great acting.
Songs: Jaane Kya Tune Kahi — Jane Wo Kaise Log The Jinke Pyar Ko Pyar Mila — Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye To Kya Hai — Hum Aapki Aankhon Mein — Sar Jo Tera Chakraaye — Aaj Sajan Mohe Ang Laga Lo.
Director: Vijay Anand (1965, Hindi, 120 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (96%), IMDB (8.4), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: romance.
Summary: Guide reminds me of Valmiki and Angulimala, both of whom were robbers and killers before they turned spiritual. The main character in Guide is Raju, a former tourist guide who is in jail for signature forgery. Upon his release from jail, he wanders off on foot. One day, when he wakes up, he finds a saffron robe on himself. Somebody had left the robe on him to shield him from cold. Seeing Raju's robe, villagers start believing that he's a renunciate, a 'sadhu' (saint). Bemused, Raju starts acting like one!
Most of the movie is a flashback which shows Raju's previous life as a skillful tourist guide who is blessed with the gift of gab. He falls in love with the neglected wife of a wealthy man and helps her realize her lifelong dream of becoming an accomplished dancer. As the two of them become rich and famous, they also drift apart. Raju starts drinking and gambling. Out of jealousy, he commits signature forgery, a crime that lands him in jail.
The last half hour of the movie is inspiring. A severe drought is ravaging the countryside. By a quirk of fate, Raju finds himself pressurized into a 12-day fast without food and water (!) The villagers believe that Raju's fast will appease the gods. As his fast progresses, Raju undergoes great internal conflict and even hallucinates. Two dialogues caught my attention:
- Villagers from afar come to see Raju and pay their respects. Raju realizes that his fast is transforming people by reminding them of a power greater than themselves. He introspects, "Why am I struggling? Why not become a mere observer, an instrument in the hands of the higher power, to just be and to see how things unfold instead of trying to control them?" These thoughts strengthen Raju's resolve to continue fasting.
- In another scene, there are two versions of Raju engaged in a conversation: a worldly Raju and a saintly Raju. The worldly Raju is suffocating and begs the saintly Raju for relief by breaking the fast. The saintly Raju recognizes the worldly Raju as his ego or Ahaṃkāra. As Raju relinquishes his ego and breathes his last, he experiences great peace and joy (no tension, only calmness in his dying moments). At the same time, there is a downpour.
On the whole, the movie is well done. It is fast paced, with many plots interwoven nicely. Most characters are shades of black and white. An important theme in the movie is the emancipation of Rosie (Waheeda Rehman), a neglected wife of a wealthy man. Rosie flourishes in the company of Raju. She realizes her dream of becoming an accomplished dancer. In 1965, the idea of an Indian woman getting divorced from her husband and successfully pursuing her dreams was ahead of its times.
Songs are very good! My favorite song is Tere Mere Sapne, Ab Ek Rang Hain - beautiful lyrics:
तेरे मेरे सपने अब एक रंग हैं
हो... जहाँ भी ले जाएं राहें, हम संग हैंतेरे मेरे दिल का, तय था इक दिन मिलना
जैसे बहार आने पर, तय है फूल का खिलना
ओ मेरे जीवन साथी...तेरे दुख अब मेरे, मेरे सुख अब तेरे
तेरे ये दो नैना, चांद और सूरज मेरे
ओ मेरे जीवन साथी...लाख मना ले दुनिया, साथ न ये छूटेगा
आ के मेरे हाथों में, हाथ न ये छूटेगा
ओ मेरे जीवन साथी...
Director: Jyoti Swaroop (1968, Hindi, 157 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (87%), IMDB (8.1), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube, YouTube, Amazon Prime.
Similar movies: comedy, romance.
Director: Mrinal Sen (1969, Hindi, 96 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (11%), IMDB (7.0), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube, YouTube.
Similar movies: comedy, joyful, old age, village life.
Summary: A cute movie with a simple story. Utpal Dutt is cast in a semi-comical role. He is a grumpy, 50-year old widower and a strict disciplinarian. He takes a break from his city life to spend some time in a village. He is hosted by a family of two: a father and his recently married daughter. The innocence and joyfulness of the daughter ("Gauri", played by Suhasini Mulay) transforms him. The movie is worth watching for her playfulness and her big smiles :) The soundtrack has good classical music.
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee (1973, Hindi, 124 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (7.9), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: Amazon Prime.
Similar movies: romance.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Shyam Benegal (1974, Hindi, 131 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (7.9), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube.
Similar movies: village life.
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee (1975, Hindi, 150 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (85%), IMDB (7.6), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube, YouTube.
Similar movies: illness, romance.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee (1975, Hindi, 127 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (8.4), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube, YouTube.
Similar movies: comedy, romance.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Basu Chatterjee (1975, Hindi, 123 mins)
Reviews: IMDB (8.3), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: romance.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Ramesh Sippy (1975, Hindi, 162 mins)
Reviews: IMDB (8.3), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: comedy.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Shyam Benegal (1976, Hindi, 134 mins)
Reviews: IMDB (7.5), Wikipedia.
Similar movies: biopic, true story.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee (1979, Hindi, 144 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (8.5), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube.
Similar movies: comedy.
Director: Govind Nihalani (1980, Hindi, 144 mins)
Reviews: IMDB (7.6), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube.
Similar movies: intense.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Sai Paranjape (1981, Hindi, 149 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (98%), IMDB (8.4), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: romance.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Gulzar (1982, Hindi, 135 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (88%), IMDB (8.3), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube.
Similar movies: comedy.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: S S Gulzar (1987, Hindi, 137 mins)
Reviews: IMDB (7.8), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube.
Similar movies: separation.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: S S Gulzar (1996, Hindi, 160 mins)
Reviews: IMDB (7.9), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube.
Similar movies: family.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Rajkumar Hirani (2003, Hindi, 156 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (8.5), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: comedy, illness.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Faiza Ahmad Khan (2008, Hindi, 69 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (7.9), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube.
Similar movies: city life, documentary, true story.
Summary: Supermen of Malegaon is an offbeat, award-winning documentary by Faiza Ahmad Khan. It narrates the passionate journey of Shaik Nasir, a low budget film maker. Shaik Nasir is a resident of Malegaon, a small town in Nashik district in Maharashtra, India. He makes comical spoofs of popular Hollywood and Bollywood movies, tailored for residents of Malegaon. While the documentary is being shot, Shaik Nasir is making a spoof of Superman. The short film by Shaik Nasir is also called Supermen of Malegaon (YouTube, with English sub-titles) — it is only 8 minutes long. I'd recommend watching the original short film after watching the documentary.
The passion of Shaik Nasir, his crew and the artists is amazing. They all belong to the middle-class in a small Indian town. The depiction of their day to day lives, their aspirations, and their acceptance of life is touching and enriching. What I love the most about Supermen of Malegaon is that nobody is acting — everybody speaks honestly from their heart.
Director: Shyam Benegal (2009, Hindi, 144 mins)
Reviews: IMDB (7.2), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: comedy, family, village life.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Abhinay Deo & Akshat Verma (2011, Hindi, 103 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (91%), IMDB (7.6), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: comedy.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Sujoy Ghosh (2012, Hindi, 122 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (8.1), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: crime, suspense.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Gauri Shinde (2012, Hindi, 134 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (7.8), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: .
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Shoojit Sircar (2012, Hindi, 126 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (7.9), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: comedy, joyful.
Summary: Yet to write.
Director: Rajat Kapoor (2013, Hindi, 107 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (8.1), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Watch online: YouTube.
Similar movies: comedy, old age.
Summary: Ankhon Dekhi an engaging movie that made me smile and laugh many times. It follows the journey of a man who decides to believe only his own personal experience, not something that he has heard of second hand. The movie won the 2014 Filmfare Best Movie Award (Critics). Those who liked The Lunchbox are likely to like Ankhon Dekhi.
The movie features Kaise Sukh Soyein (2:42), a beautiful Hindustani classical piece sung by Ronkini Gupta.
Director: Ritesh Batra (2013, Hindi, 104 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (94%), IMDB (8.0), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: city life, loneliness, old age, romance, separation.
Summary: Nicely done! A good review at Boston Globe.
Director: Sharat Katariya (2015, Hindi, 110 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (7.5), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: city life, family, romance.
Summary: A beautiful movie that shows how a couple comes together after serious conflicts from the first day of marriage.
Director: Gauri Shinde (2016, Hindi, 151 mins)
Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (7.7), Wikipedia, Amazon.
Similar movies: .
Summary: Dear Zindagi aims to increase awareness of mental health issues in India, especially the concept of counseling.
Using Attachment Theory terminology, Alia Bhat showcases the 'Avoidant' attachment style arising out of her 'fear of abandonment'. Luckily for her, she has conscious memories of her parents abandoning her quite explicitly when she was 5. The only dot that she has to connect is that this fear of abandonment is playing out in her adult relationships which she repeatedly sabotages.
Does the movie help you understand Attachment Theory or fear of abandonment as it manifests in our lives? Not really. From that standpoint, the storyline, the situations and the dialogues are shallow and amateurish. "Good Will Hunting" is far more powerful and closer to reality.
Few people know that about 50% of the adult population is 'Stable', about 30% is 'Anxious' and about 20% is 'Avoidant'. A common tragi-comic love story centers around the Anxious and the Avoidant falling for each other. This scenario is so common that I wish many more movies were made to bring about awareness. Dear Zindagi is a good first step.
gurmeet@gmail.com