All in Indian
Subhash Ghai's "KAANCHI"
Every now and then I find it enjoyable to see things done in bright colors and with well-drawn characters or personalities with motivations (good or bad) that are unmistakable.
Nina Paley's SITA SINGS THE BLUES
I was mesmerized and entertained by this animated film. Paley intertwines the classic Ramayana with a modern love story, old blues songs, and lively comments on Indian culture by talking shadow puppets.
Farah Khan's “OM SHANTI OM”
This is the most entertaining movie I have seen since Andrew Stanton’s WALL-E.
Halfway through I thought about stopping but I’ve decided to give this movie another chance after reading the Netflix reviews.
This non-political story about a young terrorist-in-training takes place in a series of backwoods training camps in India, culminating in the travel and preparation of a young teenage female to blow up herself, and a target official selected by her mentors, in a crowded public place.
John Mathew Matthan's “SHIKHAR”
This is a very disappointing perils-of-greed morality tale.
Some multi generational films try to cram in too much and end up being disjointed and episodic. This film, based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel of the same name, is anything but.
Farhan Akhtar's DIL CHAHTA HAI
This refreshing Indian movie, released in 2001, follows three college buddies through love and career experiences in India and Australia. Along they way they fall in love, experience despair and loss, travel constantly by air and by car, experience the delights of carefree youth, have arguments, wear trendy clothes and hairstyles, and do a lot of (delightful) singing and dancing.
Santosh Sivan's “ASOKA”
This epic film by Santosh Sivan (The Terrorist) follows the historic emperor Asoka as he brutally unites ancient India through warfare, then recants and proselytizes Buddhist philosophy after seeing the errors of his power hungry ways. His road is littered with broken hearts, family infighting, murder, massive battles, and tragedy.
Ashutosh Gowariker's “LAGAAN: ONE UPON A TIME IN INDIA”
This 3-hour-plus historical-drama-cum-sports-extravaganza has something for everybody:
* Little guy against big guy
* Noble farmers vs. evil foreign conquerors
* The Big Game at the end where everything is decided
* Girl From The Country competes with Girl From The City for the same dashing hero
* Pleas for religious and social tolerance
* An intermission (!)
Vidhu Vinod Chopra's “MISSION KASHMIR”
I rented this film because I was reading a book (Maximum City) by one of the screenwriters (Suketu Mehta) and because, let’s face it, I crave a Bollywood fix from time to time. I was not disappointed. This is now one of my favorites.
Thoroughly undistinguished music aside, Yuva is an engrossing melodrama that combines politics with brutality, intellectualism, social activism, soap opera, and young love.
The theme of this movie is religious intolerance. What starts out as “forbidden love” between a small-town Hindu boy and Muslim girl becomes a horror story as they take their “forbidden love” to the big city, Bombay. There they land right in the middle of the vicious religious cultural riots of 1992-1993.
Ram Gopal Varma's COMPANY
That the life of crime can be portrayed as glamorous, dangerous, brutal, and ultimately as pointless is something we in the West have grown accustomed to. We have films like THE GODFATHER and GOODFELLAS that reinforce that as they simultaneously attract and repel us.
Mani Ratnam's DIL SE
First I popped in the DVD and selected the “play all songs” options. Wow. I have never seen a song-and-dance production number like the one that takes place on the top of the moving train (“Chaiyya Chaiyya”). My daughter wondered, “How many people died making this?” The rest of the musical numbers are quite interesting, a mix of romance and action, including one sequence with plentiful fire and explosions.