June 5, 2011

Bolly Chandeliers

LAST UPDATED: 06/05/11







I have a thing for Bollywood Chandeliers. Heck I have a thing for all chandeliers, but since 99% of Bollywood movies have these, I play "spot the chandelier" every time I watch a movie. I've decided to share these with you, and will post all chandelier screenshots in this space (see link on side bar of page). Send me a pic if you have a fav bolly chandelier you want to share!


44. Phir Wohi Raat (That Night Again!) (1980)

Festooned and hidden, or alight in all its glory, this chandelier is tons better than the movie was!

43. Parbat Pe Anpa Dera (1944):
A socio-religeous drama from the 40s, the movie itself is typical of the time. However, the screenshots below exhibit, more than the chandelier, the really gorgeous dressing table. The huge floral mirror and its round frame are very fun, and I love the seat before it- its big enough to be a day bed! As for the chandelier, this is my favorite type: old fashioned, with maching votives ensconced on the walls. ovie o
42. Bade Dil Wala (1983): courtesy Amaluu at Bollystalgia (what a great name for a blog!). I had no idea Tina Munim loved chandeliers so much that she would serenade one of them!... 41. I hate luv storys (2010): From supercontributor Beth from Beth Loves Bollywood! I like this chandelier- its so old-time-courtesan-movie-pretty.
40. Wardat (1981): Also from Beth at Beth Loves Bollywood! If you haven't seen this movie, RUN and find a copy- its Mithun as GunmasterG9- it doesn't get any better my lovelies!

39. Anokha Rishta (1986): From Beth at Beth Loves Bollywood! Honestly, I dont like this movie- Rajesh Khanna sleazing it up with Sabiha is torturous enough, and even the chandeliers look- sad. What chandelier likes balloons and streamers tied to it anyway?






38. Indraprastham (1996): from Liz Cook. The movie stars Mammooty and Simran, but also Vikram. I like the gorgeous colors on the chandelier, and I want to see this film!




37. San Francisco (1936)

Image trolled from Getty Images. The movie focuses on the historic San Francisco earthquakes and fire- and as tragic as that is, the view from the chandelier is perfect! It isnt Bollywood, but we thrive on being inclusive :D



36. The Phantom of the Opera (1942)

Image trolled from Getty Images. The phantom is just about to cut the cord that anchors the chandelier- what will happen???!!! :O 35. Easter Parade (1936)

Image trolled from Getty Images. Fred Astaire dancing the light fantastic- under a chandelier!
34. Pappu (2010) From Louella @ the Masalawbigosie blog. Interestingly, this is one of few chandeliers that have shown up onscreen in recent times- films don't seem to feature them anymore! (whyyyy????) 33. Chunaoti (1980) From Beth @ the BethLovesBollywood blog. The 1st chandelier looks beautifully intricate; both pix make me appreciate the power of jewel-colored carpets! 32. Awargi (1990) From Sitaji @ the Bollywood Food Club. I like this movie, specially the theme song, which is a pretty good ghazal. 31. Maha Badmaash (1977) From Beth @ the BethLovesBollywood blog. These cant be merely chandeliers- they look like magic fairy gemstones to me! 30. Vikram w/ chandeliers From Louella @ the Masalawbigosie blog. We agree that they arent from a movie, but any excuses to admire that man are good in my book! The first pic is hotter I think- for both pieces of art. 29. Gharaana Mogudu (1992):








From Louella @ the Masalawbigosie blog. A Chiranjeevi movie where apparently he breaks a chandelier out of sheer misery. A broken chandelier is a sad chandelier!28. Hawas (1974):







Contributed by Memsaab @ the Memsaab blog. A red chandelier, doubtless, would look good anywhere- even improve upon an inverted Anil Dhawan! I'd relly really like to see this movie- nothing beats sex and drugs in 70s Bollywood! 27. Dayawan (1988): As suggested by Beth @ the Beth Loved Bollywood blog. Apparently this movie is full of chandeliers in pain. It is also apparent that these guys are even angrier than the previous screen cap- in their fury, they have renamed the chandelier the telephone :D

26. Dayawan (1988): As suggested by Sitaji @ The Bollywood Food Blog. Nobody should take their anger out on chandeliers, but this was an exception- it was a chande-liar! tsk tsk. 25. Patanga(1971): As suggested by Beth Loves Bollywood. There are chandeliers and then there are chandeliers, but this is a heck of a gorgeous one. 24. Hum Kissi Se Kum Nahin(1977):







As suggested by lvrplfc41. One of the many in a chandelier-filled movie. This is one film I can watch multiple times (and I have), and never be bored- despite Tariq's presence. If you havent indulged in this piece of joy, do so already!









23. Blue(2009): As suggested by Sitaji @ the Bollywood Food Club. The lights in the back are better than the chandelier, in a movie that could have been so much better than it was. Plus in this screen cap he looks like he is announcing the birth of a girl child. 22. Chor Sipahee (1979):







As suggested by Beth @ Beth Loves Bollywood. A truly villainous looking chandelier from the villain's lair, it looks like its made of huge, lighted up hanging bugs- scary! 21. Suhaag (1979): "When Chandeliers Attack!" I do hope that Shashi wasn't too hurt...








20. Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994):







As suggested by lvrplfc41. Its the wedding of the century disguised as a movie, and Salman brings it on an ORANGE chandelier- campy, perfect fun! This movie brought back the Rajshree banner, and injected a huge shot of opulence in Bollywood, and a wedding sequence became a necessity in most movies from mid 90s-early 2000s. 19. Beta (1992): From Hum Chale. 90s Excesses ratcheted up to the max, this was a remake of a southern cinema classic, and personally bored me to tears (must have lost a lot in translation). And yet- it featured the only exploding chandelier I've ever come across!

18. Ram Aur Shyam (1967): From Sitaji at Bollywood Food Club. The scene at the birthday where Pran properly gets his dues from Dilip Kumar, with the ongoings lighted up properly by the beautiful chandelier! Completely satisfying. 17. An Evening in Paris (1967): From Sitaji at Bollywood Food Club. A really beautiful shot from a fabulous, unforgettable movie. 16. Mehbooba (2008): From Sitaji at Bollywood Food Club. Ajay celebrates his happiness by swinging on a chandelier- you mean you don't do that every time you get the giggles as well????! 15. Trishul (1978): From Beth, the scene where Angsty Amitabh meets Sprightly Shashi and Happy Hema at a party. Tension and cuteness all in a bunch, enlightened by tons of chandeliers and lamps. Lurvely. 14. Rang Birangi (1983): From Beth, the scene where Dipti Naval goes to meet Praveen Babi, playing Amol's not-so-ill wife. I really like this shot, where Hrishikesh, known for his simplistic shots, is hinting at glamor and "high" class. And of course one has to love the voyeuristic shot by the director. 13. Koyla (1997): From Sitaji by the Bollywood Food Blog. Shahrukh dancing atop a chandelier in blackface- its actually better than it sounds! 12. Om Shanti Om (2002): As suggested by The Bollywood Fan and Junli. Personally, I think that Shahrukh's chandelier looks like a spaceship- which isn't a bad thing at all. However, I do prefer Arjun's black (or black in appearance) chandelier (2nd screencap)- I need me one of those! 11. Devdas (2002): As suggested by The Bollywood Fan. I have to agree with him that the Maar Dala song especially utterly glows with the use of chandeliers and light. Probably some of the best use of chandeliers ever. 10. The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005): As suggested by The Bollywood Fan. Not the best of screencaps, but Rani mujras away to glory under a pretty fair chandelier. 9. Ram Lakhan (1989): As suggested by Sujoy. Madhuri dreams of Anil and chandeliers while singing a song. Which does she prefer? :D 8. Nagina (1986): As suggested by Sujoy. Who looks prettier w/ the chandelier? as much as I love Sridevi, I have to say its beauty offsets Amreesh's glowering anger brilliantly! 7. Kranti (1981): As suggested by Bollywooddeewana. I have seen tons of swinging with chandeliers to kill villains, but this is the first time I am witnessing a song sung on one. Utterly amazing. But since Praveen does it for Shashi's sake, it is understandable- we'd do anything for him too. 6. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999): As suggested by Darshit. Love at first chandelier- is there anything better? 5. Najma (1943): Veena in the titular role, being romanced by Ashok Kumar- good 'ol nawabi fun. 4. Pakeezah (1972): Meena's swan song, and the poster is lovely! 3. Umrao Jaan (1981): The movie poster shows just one, but the film itself abounds w/ chandeliers, symbolic of mughal opulence. 2. Karma (1986): Not only does Tom Alter join hands with Shakti to become a terrorist (from a unnamed neighboring country- ahem!), he has a preference for funky red phones, a Star of David and a chandelier as decor for their lair. Fun stuff. 1- Insaniyat (1994)- terrible movie, cool chandeliers. Notice that even the villain's lair (bottom left) has floor to ceiling chandeliers!

37 comments:

memsaab said...

Ooh, I love Bolly chandeliers too. They are usually spectacular. I will dig around and see which ones I may have captured :-D

Nicki said...

Interesting! Now, I would like to see what the other bloggers have suggested to you.

dunkdaft said...

Hum dil de chuke.. Has The Best chndeliar moment till date. Chek out filmi-girl's post for lovely pic.

bollywooddeewana said...

In Kranti there's a lovely chandelier Parveen Babi even hangs off it. You can see it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZcAFdunDh0

Sujoy said...

Who doesn't love Bolly chandeliers:
The first thing that comes in my mind is : Main Teri Dushman(Nagina) with Sridevi dancing in the white dress. A huge chandelier in that mansion of a house.

Secondly, O Ramjee ( Ram Lakhan)-Madhuri Dixit is such a charm in that song. And yes, bling bling chands!!

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Memsaab: I remember ur bolly things post- I know you love em too! Such fun.

Nicki: heeh- my idiosyncrasies are finally becoming apparent :)

Darshit: I think I know the image you meant... so posted it, without checking out Filmi Girl's- was it a good guess?

Bollywooddeewana: OMG- that is fabulousness! screencapped and posted. Truly brilliant find- thank you!

Sujoy: Got both- love the one from nagina! not sure I really like the Ram lakhan chandeliers, but there are so many of them in the song that its only appropriate I pay homage :D Thanks so much!

Bollywood said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
NidaMarie said...

Yes!! The scene from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam is one of my faves ever...

Bhargav Saikia said...

The one from HDDCS has to be the most popular chandelier in Hindi cinema!

Bollywood said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Bollyfan: thanks! salman's next sounds gr8- we should try that Artesia theater- its so 1980s and so beat up- love it!

Anonymous said...

Shweta!
I LOVE this post! I think the only thing that surpasses the chandeliers in Bollywood for me are the huge, ornate central staircases! What a wonderful post here. I especially like the chandelier in Koyla. Remember that? That also plays a big part in the film, but don't they always? Like in Madhumati (1958), which directly inspired the Om Shanti Om scene I believe. Anyway recall in Koyla how SRK does that great dance scene the culminates with him swinging from the chandelier, and then from that vantage point sees Madhuri, who needs rescuing?
Here's a link to that scene and song "Ghunghte mein chanda":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTUBcFBHe_w&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch%3Frlz%3D1C1GGLS_enUS319US320%26sourceid%3Dchrome%26q%3Dkoyla%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF-8%26ei%3Dgj05SvivDpCUManDhIQN%26sa%3DX%26&feature=player_embedded

Maybe I like this because it has the chandelier AND the central staircase. I suppose they often go together. :)

All the best,
Sita-ji

Beth Loves Bollywood said...

Oh Shweta. Oh my darling. This is GLORIOUS! I will be trolling my archives all weekend in support of this worthy project! Clealry Shashi chandeliers are necessary.

Anonymous said...

Aur ek dost:
http://bollywoodfoodclub.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/mehbooba-2008-2-brothers-1-woman-a-chandelier-and-lots-of-balloons-slaps-and-johnny-walker/
All the best!
Sita-ji
:)

Anonymous said...

Yes!

One of my favorite chandeliers is from Beta, just because Anil throws someone into it during the climax.
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj256/humchale/beta/boom.jpg?t=1257282423

Anonymous said...

I am a huge Indian movies chandeliers fan. I adore the swinging ones especially. Thanks for this post!!

Anonymous said...

My favorite chandelier has Salman hanging from it in the song Didi Tera Devar Deewana from HAHK.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for keeping this list updated! Unlike you, I loved Beta, but how could I have forgotten the exploding chandelier in it!?! And in that An Evening in Paris shot, you may notice that there's a bottle of Johnnie Walker on the table, which is extra credit!

All the best!
Sita-ji

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Sitaji:

You know, I actually wanted to buy a bottle of Johnny Walker from a store for filmi emo reasons, but for some reason, hubby ddint support the idea. I think I will eventually- not to drink, but to revere and reminence by :D

Anonymous said...

I was reading your comment on getting a bottle of Johnny Walker and thought I'd share a story about a bottle. A subcontractor that does some work for me gave me a bottle of Johnnie Walker last Christmas. Now I don't drink after my partial nephrectomy so I asked him why he would buy me a bottle of whiskey? His reply was last week I overheard you say how much you love Johnnie Walker, I was trying to figure out when I said that and then realized I was talking to a friend about Johnny Walker after I sent her the video of Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan from C.I.D.
I kept the bottle to remind me of how funny life can be sometimes.

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Lvrplfcl41: That is so funny!!!! im going to remember and quote that story- :D

harvey said...

Chandeliers, chandeliers!
Beautiful!
I think they overdo it a quite in hindi films, but that is what makes them so unique!

"From Beth, the scene where Dipti Naval goes to meet Praveen Babi, playing Sanjeev's not-so-ill wife."

You mean Amol Palekar, I think!

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Harvey: You hit it on the nail- they represent excess AND are excessive in some movies- but always fun, even if the movie itself sucks. And much thanks- am making the correction on Amol- Sanjeev did a similar movie, which always makes me think of him.

mimi said...

Best post ever! :D Provided much relief from the stress of studies which I have to sadly get back to. :(

<3

memsaab said...

Shweta---there's a chandelier ss for you in my latest post :)

Banno said...

Saw a scary chandelier, in 'Gumnaam' the other day. :)

Hey, have tagged you. Please go look.

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Banno: thanks for the tag- itll take tons of thinking to write something approaching the standard u have set! AND which scene in Gumnam???ill find the chandelier if u point me to it...:)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for updating only! :)
All the best!
Sita-ji

dustdevil liz said...

I finally figure out how to take screencaps with one keystroke, and was going crazy trying it out when I was watching the Telugu movie Sivamani (w/Nagarjuna). I was sorting the caps out, and found this: http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1290/sivamani3.png
I must have picked it subliminally because it had the chandelier!

Mette said...

Certainly a big collection of filmi chandeliers!

PS: I added you to my blogroll, like your blog very much! :=)

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Thanks Lime(tte)- will check out your blog too!

BollyKonnection said...

This post is so awesome! I Think Bollywood should do a remake of Phantom of The Opera it would be full of Masala awsomeness :D

dustdevil liz said...

I have a few more to send you, from Nayagan, which is the original Tamil version of Chandeliers in Pain that Beth posted.

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Dustdevil liz: Thanks Dustedvil! Ah yes, the original of the Hindi Dayawan! I really need to watch more movies and post more- after tax season, I must.

Unknown said...

Very, very good post! Thanks for letting us get to know these classics of Indian cinema. Visit my blog at: http://cinema-indiano-bollywood.blogspot.com/

Cinderella said...

i really like your blog having pics of chandeliers from old and some new movies.
Bollywood Movies

coleen said...

wow i never knew how many chandeliers there were on movie sets!