Madison Film Forum: Bollywood Films at AMC Star Fitchburg 12

This week I had the opportunity to write an Isthmus article about the Bollywood films that have been playing at AMC Star Fitchburg 18, mostly without significant local media attention, for over a year now.

You can find the article, "Bollywood in Fitchburg," at The Daily Page, or Madison readers can pick up a copy of Isthmus this week.

Someday I might write a "meta-article" about how difficult it was to get information for the article because AMC Theaters have entered a "quiet period" leading up to their IPO. But given that, I was grateful that they could give me enough nuggets of information to get the word out about the films. The most interesting piece of information, however, was confirmed by simply looking at the foreign language titles that have played in Madison commercial theaters from June to November 1. I encourage you to read the article and see how Star's foreign language lineup compares to Sundance...I think you'll be surprised.

What wasn't clear at press time was whether Krrish 3 would play for another week at AMC Star Fitchburg 18.  I can now confirm that it will play for another week, and that I had as much fun at it as I have had at any recent superhero franchise film. Madison readers should check it out if they have the opportunity (and bring friends).

Meanwhile, I thought it would be useful to post some links for those interested in trying out a few Bollywood films at home before venturing to AMC Star Fitchburg 18.  First, I'll mention some previous posts that have useful links.

Back in March, 2011, I did a "Quick Picks" collection of Shah Rukh Khan titles that were then streaming on Netflix, including a title I recommend as a good starting point in the Isthmus article, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.  As with all of these older posts, the links to films no longer streaming will still take you to that title's Netflix DVD page. If you want to watch the recent Shah Rukh Khan film that played at AMC Star Fitchburg 18, Chennai Express is now streaming on Netflix.

In the article I make a brief mention of the two versions of the 2010 film, Kites.  Back in October, 2011, I posted links to both Kites (122 minutes) and Kites: The Remix (98 minutes), the later of which was re-edited by Hollywood director Brett Ratner.  The original film is still streaming on Netflix.  For streaming options for Kites: The Remix, consult GoWatchIt, where you'll find options to rent it on iTunes, Vudu and other resources (beware: the Amazon Instant Video link sends you to a completely different film).

In the near future, I hope to put together a post about classic Bollywood, films starring Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Amitabh Bachchan, and more. I've had trouble finding good streaming sources for them, however, so for now just search these names on the internet and you'll find good starting places for classic Bollywood.

Finally, getting back to films at Star, I recommend that people watch Dhoom 2 (2006) on Netflix View Instant in preparation for the release of Dhoom 3 in December.  The original Dhoom (2004) is also available to stream on Netflix, but Dhoom 2 is a much better test to find out if you will want to see Dhoom 3 on the big screen.

Posters and Synopses from The Movie Database

Chennai Express (Rohit Shetty, India, 2013, 141 minutes)

Chennai Express follows man's journey from Mumbai to Rameshwaram and what happens along the way after he falls in love with the daughter of a don.

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Dhoom 2 (Sanjay Gadhvi, India, 2006, 147 minutes)

In the second installment of the Dhoom series, Jai and Ali are back as the buddy cops on their toughest job so far. "Mr.A" is an international thief who has planned to steal a priceless artifact in Mumbai and the police have got to nab him. But Mr.A manages to steal the artifact and elude the police. He finds his match in Sunehri and they form a partnership. They move on to Rio for their next job, with Jai and Ali hot on their trail. Mr.A whose actual name is Aryan, and Sunehri are drawn towards each other but little does Aryan know of Sunehri's little secret.

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Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Aditya Chopra, India, 1995, 190 minutes)

Raj is a rich, carefree, happy-go-lucky second generation NRI. Simran is the daughter of Chaudhary Baldev Singh, who in spite of being an NRI is very strict about adherence to Indian values. Simran has left for India to be married to her childhood fiancé. Raj leaves for India with a mission at his hands, to claim his lady love under the noses of her whole family. Thus begins a saga.

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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.

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