Despite extremely busy times at work and home, of course I've been shopping for and watching movies. Here are some; a mixed back of good, bad and ugly.
Title: Kambakht IshqYear: 2009
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor
Calling it tripe would be disrespecting the food product. Akshay is a stuntman and Kareena a doctor/model in LA (why give my city a bad name? why???). They meet, pull ugly faces at each other, and annoy us and themselves thoroughly. In the end, they drive off on the PCH. Worse rubbish can be conceived, I'm certain, but this is among the worst of Bollywood ever.
Verdict: Bad, bad stuff. Stay far away.
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Title: Chupke ChupkeYear: 1975
Cast: Dharamendra, Sharmila, Amitabh, Jaya, Om Prakash, Asrani
Surprised you must be. Exclaim you might, "Shweta, you haven't seen this pehle???"
Let me reassure you, this was only the nth time of my rewatching this movie. It is an old and extreme favorite. Dhramendra and Amitabh are professors; Dharam marries Sharmila, but decides to pose as a servant in her brother-in-law (Om Prakash)'s house, in lieu of an elaborate prank that lasts through the major portion of the movie. Mayhem ensues, during which Amitabh, in on of his best roles ever (I believe), pretends to be a professor of botany (rather than literature, which his character indeed teaches) and woos Jaya. Both Amitabh and Dharam realize their full comic potential, and truly play their characters, not themselves, which is what makes this movie. If you still haven't seen this, don't wait a second longer.
Verdict: Good- among the best.
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Title: AnariYear: 1975
Cast: Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila, Moushmi, Kabir Bedi
Seen before, and documented in these hallowed net pages here. But this time, watched and thereby enriched with Beth. Shashi at his beautiful best, with lots of crazy fashions and angst. The movie suffers from editing, continuity and over moralising issues, but the fashions, Kabir and Shash make up for it- almost.
Verdict: Mostly bad- can be fast forwarded through.
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Title: KajalYear: 1965
Cast: Meena Kumari, Raj Kumar, Dharamendra, Padmini, Mehmood
I'd like to say good things about it. Because I like Dharam, and I like Meena. Nevertheless, the movie is a pain to sit through, and you can easily guess why: Dharam is handsome and heck, and the local landlord. Meena's dad worked as their accountant, and since her parents died, Dharam's mom has bought up Meena and her brother as her own. Soon, Meena's bro drowns to his death and Meena's eternal tears begin to flow, and Dharam offers her his brotherly support, whereby she moves int his house. He meanwhile has been romancing a cow-like Padmini, and marries her. Padmini is jealous of Meena, and entertains us with classical dance on her own wedding anniversary. Dharam marries off Meena to Raj Kumar, who turns out to be the true heir AND a ass and drunk. Meena almost dies, Raj comes around, and everyone lives in happy tears every after.
Verdict: Very exhausting- bad.
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Title: BharosaYear: 1963
Cast: Guru Dutt, Asha Parekh, Om Prakash, Mehmood
Want to see Guru Dutt dancing (he was classically trained dancer) ? For that alone, and (personally) nothing else, Bharosa is worth a watch. He and Asha share little chemistry, and he barely gets enough screen time in this ponderous venture. A wealthy merchant goes off on a journey, leaving his child and his property with his servant- the servant usurps the property, and makes the child his servant. The child of course grows up into Guru Dutt, and how he meets up with his father and regains his property forms the rest of the movie. Ho-hum stuff, but love of the man kept me glued to the screen for the duration. Keep in mind that this was one if his last movies- his mental state may have much to do with the quality of the product.
Verdict: Strictly for Guru Dutt lovers, who can overlook its shortcomings.
Update 10/31/2009
Here are GD's dancing songs in Bharosa, by popular demand. Enjoy!
5 comments:
Oh, Chupke Chupke can almost be watched everyday.
Must see Bharosa. Guru Dutt and Asha Parekh, that's a strange pair.
Pooor guru, I'm doing a film essay on him and RK and some his choices at the end of his career are very questionable, but I had such love for him that I watched Bahurani where he played the mad guy! Bechara Guru
Love the oldie posters. And Guru Dutt dancing? Probably won't spend my money on it but I'll make an effort youtube-searching for the songs, definitely.
I echo Veracious - I am totally intrigued to see him dance! I love Asha too, so I'd definitely watch it if it crossed my path.
Bano: It was definitely a strange pair- Asha shines though, but it really isn't the type of movie to showcase GD's talents. I had fun though :)
Rum: I actually feel rather angry with him for throwing away everything at his prime- your paper sounds fabulous!
Veracious: Love old posters, yes! I added the dance you-tube videos. He is so adorable there :)
Beth: He is a fun dancer I think- though that is probably the most of his talents highlighted in this movie. Asha and Shubha carry the movie pretty much, and its certainly tolerable :)
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