Bollywood: Ghajini, Dev.D, Jodhaa Akbar

After a significant of time off, I will return to regularly scheduled posts and updates in the coming weeks.

This past month a significant number of Bollywood films have been added to Netflix Watch Instantly.  Some of them mark the return of films that I've posted about in the past, including several films with Shah Rukh Khan.

Ghajini might not be for everyone, but it certainly is a wild ride and it features many of the pleasures and odd contradictions of Hindi popular cinema.  It is actually a Hindi-language remake of a 2005 Tamil language film (by the same director), and it is currently the sixth highest grossing Bollywood film in history.  It is often described as a Bollywood version of Memento, but that description will be misleading to those who are unfamiliar with the mix of tones and genres within many Bollywood films.  Certainly many of the plot elements will be familiar to those familiar with Memento, but Ghajini also features an extreme mix of light whimsical romance and brutal violence that one simply would not see in Hollywood genre filmmaking.  If you are willing to handle some extreme genre mixing within the same film (even more so that the typical Bollywood film), you should give Ghajini a try.

Ghajini (A.R. Murugadoss, India, 2008, 177 minutes)
Netflix: After a vicious attack claims the life of his girlfriend and leaves him with a debilitating case of short-term memory loss, mobile phone mogul Sanjay Singhania sets out on a quest to bring down the perpetrators that have ruined his life. Netflix link.







Here are some other films, perhaps more typical of recent Bollywood output.

Dev.D (Anurag Kashyap, India, 2009, 137 minutes)
Netflix: Because they come from different castes, Dev, the son of a tax collector, and his true love, Paro, are not allowed to marry. After Paro's family sends her to Calcutta, Dev despairs and spirals down into a life of overindulgence. Netflix link.

Jodhaa Akbar (Ashutosh Gowariker, India, 2008, 205 minutes)
Netflix: What begins as a strategic alliance of two cultures becomes a genuine opportunity for true love between a mighty Mughal emperor and a Hindu princess in director Ashutosh Gowariker's epic romance set in 16th-century India. Netflix link.

Bollywood: Kites and Kites: The Remix

This weekend I hope to compare and contrast the two versions of Kites that are available on Netflix Watch Instantly.  The closest we've come to a Bollywood crossover in the U.S. has been Slumdog Millionaire, but those familiar with Bollywood traditions know that Slumdog only gave lip service to the form with the musical number at the end of the film.  The biggest obstacles for Bollywood crossovers have been the lengths of typical films and the seemingly arbitrary musical numbers (no matter what genre the film might be otherwise).  The producers of Kites engaged in an interesting experiment to test the waters for a strategy for an American crossover.  Despite the relatively short running time for the film, they cut the American version from 122 minutes to 92 minutes, and they put Brett Ratner (Rush Hour films, X-Men: The Last Stand) in charge of the American cut.

I'd be particularly interested in comments from readers who also have compared the two versions.  I hope to update this entry when I've had a chance to do so.

Kites (Anurag Basu, India, 2010, 122 minutes)
Netflix: Although Mexican bombshell Natasha and Indian hunk Jay don't speak the same language, they quickly develop an intense, mutual attraction. But after they brazenly run off together, the sexy couple encounters severe danger and trouble with the law.  Netflix link.

Kites: The Remix (Anurag Basu, India, 2010, 92 minutes)
Netflix: Brett Ratner gives his treatment to the original Bollywood version of this story, which centers on two star-crossed lovers, Jay Ray and Natasha, who leave behind their wealthy significant others, to be together.  Netflix link,

Bollywood on You Tube Movies

To change things up a bit, I thought I'd explore the free films at You Tube Movies.  Google has been working on improving feature film availability on You Tube in conjunction with its re-tooling of Google Market and other properties.  You Tube now serves as an aggregate for Crackle (which I will look at in the near future) and other advertisement-supported streaming sources.

So here's some classic films from the popular Indian cinema, starting with one of the most popular films ever produced in Bollywood.  Keep in mind that the overall running times for these films will be longer with the advertisements, but I haven't watched them all the way through on You Tube to know how many ads there are typically.

Hum Aapke Hain Koun...! (Sooraj R. Barjatya, India, 1994, 198 minutes)
You Tube: A huge hit when released in India in 1994, director Sooraj Barjatiya's affecting family drama started a notable trend towards more family friendly fare in a time when violence was the predominant attraction of Bollywood films. As Prem's (Salman Khan) brother prepares for his marriage to Nisha's (Madhuri Dixit) sister, the single siblings slowly fall in love with one another. Following the death of Nisha's sister Pooja, Nisha is obligated to marry Prem's brother Rajesh since Rajesh's child is familiar with Nisha. As Nisha and Rajesh prepare for their wedding, Rajesh finds a note that Nisha has written to Prem and insists that she follow her heart and marry her true love. You Tube link.

In addition to being a fun film in itself, Karz is also fun for Bollywood fans because many will recognize it as the source for many visual ideas in the more recent Shah Rukh Khan film, Om Shanti Om.

Karz (Subhash Ghai, India, 1980, 151 minutes)
You Tube: Sir Juda plans to take over the vast estate of Ranimaa, but finds out that the beneficiary is her son, Ravi Verma. He asks Ravi's girlfriend to marry him, and then have him killed accidentally, which she does. This devastates Ranimaa, and leaves the estate open for Sir Juda to take over. Years later, Monty Oberoi, who is a popular singer, surfaces into this story. He has visions of a murder taking place, and is unable to comprehend the meaning of these visions. His travesl take him to Ranimaa's estate, and it is then that he realizes the reason and motive of his birth. You Tube link.

Dil Se (Mani Ratham, India, 1998, 159 minutes)
You Tube: Mani Rathnam, who has proven with films like Bombay (1995) and Iruvar (1998) that it was possible in India to make quality films that could also be box-office hits, chose the 50th anniversary celebrations of Indian Independence as the backdrop for this film about the clash between love and ideology. Amar Kant Varma is the son of a deceased army officer and he lives with his family in Delhi. As a program executive for All India Radio, he travels all over the country to interview common people to mark the anniversary. On one of these trips, he meets a mysterious girl named Meghna at a train station, but loses sight of her before he can get to know her. He sees her again in another town and reminds her of their meeting. Meghna doesn't seem to recognize him. Although she doesn't really want him, he follows her all the way to Ladakh. After two days together, she leaves him to join a group of insurgents on a mission. Amar is heart-broken and marries a girl of his mother's choice. In the meantime, Meghna is chosen to be the main person on a suicide mission targeting the Republic Day Parade. She finds Amar and their destinies entwine. Director Ratnam uses the two characters as symbols for two distinct parts of India at odds with each other -- the big states on the one hand, and the border areas with minority populations on the other. The latter are angry at the central government for having neglected them, which have resulted in a recession. Dil Se, a good example of the energy and imagination of the "Bollywood" movies (referring to Bombay, the "Hollywood of India") from one of the masters of the genre was screened as part of the International Forum of Young Cinema at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999.  You Tube link.

Spotlight: Dhoom 2 (2006)

One danger of putting work into these entries is that you soon discover that the posts may become outdated quickly as films are removed from Netflix or other streaming sources.  Such is the case with my recent Shah Rukh Khan Quick Picks entry on March 14.  Thanks to InstantWatcher (a very valuable resource) I now realize that many of those SRK films will expire on April 15.  In fact, it appears like many Bollywood films will expire that same day, meaning you should take some time the next two-and-a-half weeks and catch up on these films while they are still available.

From the rest of the soon-to-expire Bollywood list, one film you should check out before April 15 is Dhoom 2.

Dhoom 2 (Sanjay Gadhvi, India, 2006, 145 minutes)
Netflix: Ali (Uday Chopra) and Jai (Abhishek Bachchan) are cops hot on the tail of notorious globetrotting thief Mr. A, who's now eyeing a target in Mumbai. They team up with the lovely Shonali (Bipasha Basu), an expert on Mr. A's methods. Now, each side tries to outwit the other in a race against time. Will Mr. A and his beautiful accomplice, Sunehri, slip away again? Or will the police thwart them and capture them at last? Netflix link.

Now, if you are unfamiliar with Bollywood, I would recommend starting with the SRK films listed above.  But at the same time, I think Dhoom 2 is one of the most shamelessly (in the best sense of the word) entertaining films in recent memory.  Some may be turned off by its mix of tones and genres, as well as its global-pop sensibilities.  Others may also dismiss it as derivative and banal.  But I had an opportunity to see this in a good 35mm print with an enthusiastic audience, and it was a great screening experience.

A little background: Back in 2006, I had just cancelled a class on Bollywood films at the University of North Carolina Wilmington due to under enrollment.  But I had an opportunity to help bring Dhoom 2 to the campus theater.  The response was so strong that I had several students come up and ask me about the class, and I had to tell them it had been cancelled due to lack of interest.  The following semester I offered the class again and had full (and enthusiastic) enrollment, and many of the students were at that Dhoom 2 screening.  That enthusiasm was maintained as we went through the history of Bollywood, from Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt through Amitabh Bachchan and SRK.  Subsequently the class became more integrated into the curriculum.  The lesson learned from the experience is related to why I'm doing this blog: If people knew about a wider range of films, they might develop interests that they didn't even know they had. 

Like my students who had some doors opened by the film, this film led me to explore new things as well.  In part inspired by the film, I ended up going to the Chicago stop of The Unbelievable Tour, which featured two Dhoom 2 cast members, Abhishek Bachchan and his wife Aishwarya Rai.  (More importantly, I got to see Abhishek's father, Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan as well.)

For me, the key to the film is that is just fun, without being self-conscious.  The colors are vibrant, the stars are gorgeous, and the dance sequences are energetic (even if they are not always to my taste).  But when it comes down to it, you're not going to watch the film because of anything I say here.  You'll know if it is for you after the opening sequence, so here it is:



Dhoom2 Part1 by kakkuk


If you end up watching the film before it expires and you want to share your thoughts, love it or hate it, please do so in the comments below.  

Shah Rukh Khan: DDLJ, Veer-Zaara, Chak De! India

This week I'm returning the Quick Picks closer to their original inspiration: less talk, more titles and links.

Shah Rukh Khan (sometimes credited as Shahrukh Khan, and popularly called just SRK) is a legendary Bollywood star, and if you don't like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, then you probably won't like most of the rest of his films.  But if you don't like DDLJ, as it is affectionately called, then you should probably stop reading this blog, too.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Aditya Chopra, India, 1995, 181 minutes)
Netflix: Raj (Shahrukh Khan) is blessed with charm, good looks and money, and when he meets working-class beauty Simran (Kajol) on a train, he's instantly smitten. She feels the same, but she has already promised her father that she'll marry a man she's never met. Raj isn't about to give up and follows Simran from London to India to win her over. This epic redefined romance for young Indians, and ranks among the biggest Bollywood hits of all time. Netflix link.

Veer-Zaara (Yash Chopra, India, 2004, 184 minutes)
Netflix: Squadron leader Veer Pratap Singh (Shahrukh Khan) is a rescue pilot with the Indian Air Force. One day, on duty, he comes across Zaara (Preity Zinta), a stranded girl from Pakistan. Veer saves her life -- and his life is never the same again. But he goes on to languish in a Pakistan jail cell for 22 years, not speaking to anyone all the while, but he will be joined with Zaara once again in Yash Chopra's epic love tale, which spans two decades. Netflix link.

Swades (Ashutosh Gowariker, India, 2004, 187 minutes)
Netflix: Composer A.R. Rahman's music forms the backdrop for this film by Ashutosh Gowariker. Mohan Bhargava (Shah Rukh Khan), an Americanized NASA scientist, returns to his native India on a business trip and takes the opportunity to get back in touch with his roots by finding the nanny who helped raise him. His mission forces him to examine his ways and all the changes he's been through while pursuing what he defines as success. Netflix link.

Chak De! India (Shimit Amin, India, 2007, 142 minutes)
Netflix: Years after facing humiliating defeat on the field, former hockey star Kabir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) returns to the game as coach of the Indian women's national hockey team, striving to shape a ragtag bunch of female athletes into a playing force to be reckoned with. But the team's problem isn't a lack of talent; it's the fact that the girls have never played with pure passion and have yet to embrace a true love of the sport. Netflix link.  






The following more recent SRK films are in my queue and I look forward to seeing them.  I should point out, however, that despite being box office hits both of these have received mixed reviews, in part because they seem to signal a transition in Bollywood conventions and traditions.  Interestingly, SRK won two very diverse acting awards for My Name is Khan: The Filmfare award for Best Actor, and the Golden Kela award (the equivalent of the Razzies) for Worst Actor.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Aditya Chopra, India, 2008, 157 minutes)
Netflix: An unlikely romance between a 40-year-old man, Suri Sahni (Shahrukh Khan), and a small-town Punjab teenage girl, Taani (Anushka Sharma), presents some difficult challenges in this touching Bollywood musical. But all is not as it seems with the couple's unorthodox relationship. The film, which marks the much-awaited return of popular writer-director Aditya Chopra (Mohabbatein), co-stars Vinay Pathak. Netflix link.

My Name is Khan (Karan Johar, India, 2010, 161 minutes)
Netflix: Rizwan Khan (Shahrukh Khan), a Muslim man with Asperger syndrome, lives happily with his wife, Mandira (Kajol), in San Francisco until a tragedy drives her away after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Now he is on a quest to recapture the heart of the woman he loves. Traveling across America, Rizwan faces prejudice because of his religion and unusual behavior, but he also inspires the people he meets with his unique outlook on life. Netflix link.




As always, let me know what you think about these in the comments section below.   --JLK