For my Hindi pick, Paheli is certainly not one of SRK’s biggest films but I love it. Fantasy films seem to be unusual in Hindi cinema, and in this film Shahrukh Khan plays a number counting merchant husband, and a Ghost or spirit (sort of a genie, really) who takes his place. Rani Mukerji is the bride who captivates the Ghost, with Amitabh as a wise shepherd in a cameo. It’s a fable that is also about women’s empowerment, and the scene where SRK tells Rani he’s a ghost is one of my all-time favorites.
And the soundtrack!!
My Tamil pick is Mani Ratman’s 2015 film OK Kanmani, with music by A. R. Rahman. A young couple (the charming Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menon) wants to live together because they are cynical about marriage. They learn about true love from an older married couple. Prakash Raj (who we’re used to see as a villain in Hindi films) plays a devoted husband to his wife with Alzheimer’s. If you live in the US, it is on Netflix streaming, and I highly recommend this wonderful film. I sought out this film after hearing the song Mental Manadhil at an A. R. Rahman concert. So glad I did!
Dulquer Salmaan from OK Kanmani is usually in Malayalam films, and that’s what brought me to watch the Malayalam film Bangalore Days. This is my number one pick of Malayalam films I’ve seen so far. It’s a wonderful coming of age tale about three cousins and has a great ensemble of young Malayalam actors in it. Ohm Shanti Oshana is also a great woman centered film (with the same lead actress above), but Bangalore Days, Bangalore Days, Bangalore Days!
For Telugu films, there can be only one — Baahubali! I was so blown away by this film, I watched it four times in the theater! This film is available dubbed in Hindi, but you can readily rent the Telugu version on Youtube. Prabhas plays a dual role, Shivuvu and Baahubali. It is EPIC. It’s a fantasy with stunning visuals. S. S. Rajamouli cannot be matched for his imagination in film (have you seen Eega where the hero is a FLY?) The battle scenes rival films like Gladiator, and there are several kick-ass women characters. Mirchi is my second favorite Telugu film I’ve seen so far, also starring Prabhas with Sathyaraj (Kattappa in Baahubali). It’s so long to wait till 2017 for part 2 of Baahubali!!
A few weeks ago, I answered a question on Quora, “Does anyone besides Indians watch Indian movies?” This post is adapted from the answer I gave. At first I gave a brief answer, but then people commented and wanted to know WHY? Why would a non-Indian love Indian films? Many commenters were at first incredulous, but then thanked me for showing them an outsider’s view of their cinema. As of this writing, the answer has garnered over 170,000 views, and made me a Most Viewed Writer about Bollywood on Quora. (Which still blows my mind.)
Netflix in the US has over 80 Hindi films at anyone time. Because of the kind of films I enjoy, Netflix recommended I watch Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge about 2 years ago. Since I fell in love with Bollywood, I’ve seen over 200 Indian films. I’m lucky that in my area new release films play in a few local theaters. I was able to see Kapoor and Sons just last night and I absolutely loved it.
I’m not the only non-Desi in America to love Bollywood movies, but I wouldn’t say it’s very common.
My father’s church has a monthly movie night, and he asked me to show a Bollywood movie last week. I chose Dil Se, and showed it to 15 people, including my parents, who had never before seen a Bollywood film. They all loved it!
Editing to add my answer from the comments below, WHY I love Indian films:
I also love old Hollywood musicals like Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly films. Hollywood does not make them anymore. I love the singing and the dancing in Indian cinema, but also the earnest love stories are not the kind of films that Hollywood makes either. Rom Coms are becoming rarer and rarer in American films which tend to be more cynical. The emotions in Bollywood films are something that is rare to see in Hollywood or English films. People joke about how much Shahrukh Khan cries in his films, but I really respond to the emotions shown in Indian cinema. Also, the colors on screen! Bhansali’s film Ram-Leela is an example of this.
I listen to Bollywood music all the time, as well.
Indian films just give me things I cannot get from Hollywood or other Western cinema. Plus Shahrukh Khan. I’ve watched 47 of his films alone (which doesn’t count the countless times I’ve watched DDLJ.) 🙂
I do love South Indian films as well, and I have seen a little over 30 South Indian films. I fell in love with Prabhas after watching Baahubali last year (four times in the theater!). I now own many of his Telugu films on DVD.
Recently, I’ve been watching quite a few Malayalam films, especially recent ones with Nivin Pauly and Dulquer Salmaan. I have watched fewer Tamil films, but I asked my neighbor to bring me back some DVD’s from her recent trip to Chennai, and have been working through the dozen films she brought me. Last week, I watched Raja Rani, and liked it.
I asked for commenters to recommend their favorite Indian films — and oh boy, did they. I’ve created a Letterboxd list now of all the films recommended there in the comments that I have not already seen. Now up to 372 (!!) films in several Indian languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, etc. The question now is will I live long enough to watch even half of them!
My first Bollywood film ever was Lagaan, back almost 15 years ago when it was nominated for the Foreign language Oscar. That was back when you could only rent Netflix movies via DVD in the mail. I then watched Dil Chahta Hai, because that also had Aamir Khan. But it was not so easy back then for a non-Hindi speaker to find out about other Bollywood films. The internet has helped so much, and Netflix’s recommendation engine is the reason I fell in love with Bollywood 2 years ago. DDLJ was recommended to me, then I was able to watch Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi right after that. I texted my Indian next door neighbor for other suggestions, and she loves Hrithik Roshan and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was also streaming on Netflix and I was off to the races with my new obsession.
I have been mentored by two other non-Desi lovers of Bollywood who then suggested many other films for me to try, and in some cases pushed the DVD’s into my hand saying, “YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS!”
The first thing you need to know is that I find Arjun Kapoor adorable in just about anything. And I’m one of those people who enjoyed Tevar. Still love Superman!
I had big hopes for Ki & Ka. We haven’t seen Arjun in a film for over a year. But Ki & Ka, while it had some enjoyable moments, was a disappointment.
I liked the chemistry between Arjun and Kareena, and am glad she broke her “no kissing” pledge. I feel like this is a film that had an interesting concept, but the script still needed work. And maybe a woman’s perspective on the script.
Kareena is Kia, a very ambitious marketing executive. She meets Arjun’s Kabir on a plane when he is sobbing over his late mother’s birthday. They go out for a drink after the flight and he stuns her during a date by telling her he wants to be a housewife just like his mother. His father is a very wealthy builder, and Kabir has been a “topper” in an MBA program, but has no interest in the rat race.
He proposes they marry after a very brief courtship. He’ll create the home she’s never had (her single mother sent her to boarding schools), and she can pursue her career with no barriers.
Arjun’s character is just tooperfect. There was really no comedy of him dealing with learning to manage the house. He’s a master chef. He redecorates (with model trains!!). He manages Kia’s mothers sugar levels by cooking healthy food. Kia gets home late, and rather than complain, he just massages her feet and covers her with a blanket. The conflicts are pretty predictable in their marriage, and are resolved very quickly.
Maybe it’s the Indian cinema thing about having a hero be perfect with no flaws. While advantageous in a crime fighting supercop, in a domestic drama it’s not quite as interesting.
This movie is not helped by the fact that I’ve just seen Kapoor and Sons twice. Now THAT is a domestic family drama where everyone is complex and has flaws.
The couple also don’t have children by the end of the movie. That’s the kind of thing that could have provided comedy by upsetting his perfect routine. There is a pregnancy scare, and you can see Kareena added layers to her reaction that were probably not in the original script. Kudos to her for trying to add depth. But once the scare is over, the issue is never dealt with again. Yet another missed opportunity. So many directions this plot could have taken, that were just left hanging. Balki, the writer/director is evidently known for these high concept films, but not great follow through. Having more subplots and side characters would have helped this film, too.
That said, Kareena and Arjun give it their all, and I did like their chemistry. It was a pleasant timepass, but not the deep social commentary it was preaching to us about. The cameo by Amitabh and Jay Bachchan, though, was a delight!
I do enjoy this song! But the rest of the soundtrack was just okay.
Kathy Gibson of AccessBollywood.net and I saw the film at the same showing. She really hated it. Margaret of DontCallItBollywood.com goes in depth into the missed opportunities in the film. And gives a full summary here comparing it to a sitcom!
Sometimes there are movies you have been anticipating for months and you do a little prayer before it starts that it lives up to your hopes for it. This is a movie that not only exceeded my every expectation – it blew me away it was so excellent. I’ve seen the movie twice now.
I don’t want to spoiler this movie, because I really enjoyed going into it guessing what might happen in this intense family drama, but not knowing. I laughed, I cried, I gasped in shock at more than one point. This film puts you through the emotional wringer. I really cried at more than one moment in the film.
This is an incredible ensemble of actors. Rishi Kapoor was a hoot as a fun loving 90 year old grandfather whose sudden heart attack brings home the two brothers, played by Siddarth Malhotra and Fawad Khan. There are tensions and secrets that burst out over the family coming together again. The trailer plays up the romantic angle with Alia Bhatt’s character, but that’s just a small part of the drama.
I do love Siddarth, but he is the lesser actor of this stellar cast. The stand out, by far, is Fawad Khan. This Pakistani actor had his Bollywood debut in Khoobsurat in 2014, and I’ll admit it, I caught Fawad Fever. I watched his entire Pakistani soap Humsafar (on Watch Bollywood Movies Online – Eros Now), and this guy can ACT. He’s also incredibly generous with the actors sharing the screen with him. What a choice of a sophomore Bollywood role. It has felt like it’s been forever since Khoobsurat came out, but this film was so worth the wait. When the movie was over I wanted to watch it all over again!
I have attended Sundance since 2008, but this year we were able to attend the entire festival, so we saw quite a few films. I saw 22 feature length films, and several shorts.
This year was special because our friend Tahir Jetter‘s How To Tell You’re A Douchebag, his first feature, premiered at the fest. It’s a romantic comedy set in Brooklyn.
I’m biased, but for a very limited budget, I thought it was great. Here’s a balanced review from The Guardian.
It’s difficult for me to name just one film as my favorite from this year, because there were several standouts for me. For my full list with reviews, here is my Letterboxd list for Sundance 2016
CFday25-580.jpg
Captain Fantastic — “Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father (Viggo Mortensen) devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and re-enter society, beginning a journey that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent.” Viggo is AMAZING in this film as an extreme home schooling dad, in probably my favorite film. I can’t think of anyone else more perfect for this role. The young actor who plays the oldest son is also incredible. A ★★★★½ review of Captain Fantastic (2016)
2. Manchester By The Sea – Kenneth Lonnergan’s film stars Casey Affleck and Michelle Wiliams. Affleck has to return to his home town Manchester By The Sea when a family member suddenly dies. You gradually learn why he is so reluctant to be the guardian for his 16 year old nephew. Searing film that we will be seeing come Oscar time, to be sure. Five stars!! Lucas Hedges is great as the young nephew, but Casey Affleck’s melancholy superb acting had me sobbing — not just tears down my face but holding my hand over my mouth to keep quiet in the theater sobbing. This is a masterful movie about real people and their grief. A ★★★★★ review of Manchester by the Sea (2016)
3. The Birth Of A Nation – Nate Parker’s slave drama about Nat Turner’s revolt in 1831 deservedly was the most talked about film at the festival. It won the audience and grand jury prize. I expect it to win Best Picture at the Oscars. Just an incredible film. Nate Parker choked up with tears at our screening talking about how hard it was to get his film made, and it received standing ovation after standing ovation at the fest. A ★★★★★ review of The Birth of a Nation (2016)
4. Ali and Nino – I LOVED this sweeping romantic epic set in WWI era Azerbaijan. Ali is a Muslim prince who falls for the aristocratic Christian Nino. Mandy Patinkin plays Nino’s father. The director, Asif Kapadia, just won the Oscar for his documentary film Amy, and I loved previous Sundance doc Senna. So glad to see a new narrative feature from him. A ★★★★★ review of Ali & Nino (2016)
5. Hunt for The WilderpeopleA hilarious comic romp by director Taika Waititi. (I have great hopes for the next Thor movie after seeing this movie, and laughing through Taika MCing the Sundance award night.) Sam Neill is more curmudgeonly than ever, and has a fantastic reluctant relationship with his foster son played by newcomer Julian Dennison. The film is out in New Zealand already, so you can see for yourself in the trailer below:
6. Other People – A gay writer son comes home to help take care of his mother when she is diagnosed with cancer. Molly Shannon is the mother, and you’ve never seen her like this. She’s fantastic.
7. Green Room – Patrick Stewart as the villainous owner of a Neo-Nazi punk rock club. I don’t need to say anything more. Anton Yelchin and his punk band have to escape a green room at the club after they witness a murder. There’s a trailer already for this incredibly intense thriller.
Now we get down in the list to films that were good, but not my favorites.
8. Belgica – Two brothers run a hip nightclub in Belgium. Predictable what happens, but the music was particularly good on the soundtrack. Many parallels to the refugee crisis.
9. Morris From America – Craig Robinson and his son, played by Markees Christmas are the only black people in their entire German town. Markees young 13 year old character loves rap and is incredibly sweet.
10. Southside With You – This is the story of Barack Obama and Michelle’s first date when she was his mentor at his summer job at the law firm, Sidley Austin in Chicago (my husband’s firm.) I really liked this film, even if you couldn’t even tell it was filmed in Chicago.
11. Sand Storm – set in a Bedouin village in Israel. Everything changes when the father in this family drama decides to marry a second wife. Really compelling story, with a debut Israeli director. This clip shows the moment the first wife must welcome the second bride:
12. Halal Love – Four tragicomic interconnected stories about how devoted Muslim men and women are trying to manage their love life and desires without breaking any religious rules. This film set in Lebanon was really entertaining and super interesting. I did not know before this film about “temporary” halal marriages.
13. Brahman NamanA raunchy sex comedy set in the ’80s in Bangalore. The film is in English and is sort of an Indian American Pie. Naman and his friends are all on their college quiz team, which evidently was a huge thing. Was not expecting an Indian movie where the opening scene has Naman masturbating in the door of a fridge!
14. Mapplethorpe: Look At the PicturesThis fascinating documentary just started airing on HBO this week. I really didn’t know that much about him, other than remembering Jesse Helms ranting about him in the ’80s.
15. Holy Hell was an amazing documentary filmed inside a cult. The director was the official videographer of the cult for years, and had incredible footage. The Q&A with several former members of the cult who were in the documentary was particularly powerful.
16. Life Animated – moving documentary about a family with an autistic son, who they finally are able to reach through his love of Disney animated movies.
And now the disappointing films on the list.
17. Love and Friendship – Based on an unfinished novel by Jane Austen. Had some really hilarious zinger lines, and it was very fun to see Chloe Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale in this movie. But it dragged and could have used tighter editing. Hopefully they tightened it up for theatrical release.
18. Certain Women – Three stories of women in the modern AmericanWest. Performances were great, especially the acting of the Native American lonely rancher (Lily Gladstone). But oh, my, god was this movie like watching grass grow. So slow.
19. Yoga Hosers – Midnight movie starring Kevin Smith and Johnny Depp’s daughters as clerks of a Canadian convenience store. It was worth seeing just to see Kevin Smith choke up talking about coming back to Sundance with this movie. It was amusing and silly, but Brat Nazis? Really?
20. Jaqueline (Argentine) – decidedly quirky doc film within a film. I fell asleep during it to be honest.
21. Swiss Army Man – I have NEVER seen so many people walk out of a movie at Sundance! People in the 4th row walked out 1/2 an hour in! This was my 23 year old son’s favorite movie, and my husband hated it. But it’s like a train wreck that you can’t help but watch. Daniel Radcliffe is a farting corpse that Paul Dano rides like a jet ski to escape a deserted island. And that’s just the first 10 minutes. The trailer just came out, so you can see for yourself with this truly bizarre film. I shouted “WHAT?!!!” when “The Daniels” won the jury prize for directing at Sundance.
But Swiss Army Man is a screening I will NEVER forget. It was worth it just to say I was there!
22. Christine – Rebecca Hall plays Christine Chubbock, a Tampa TV reporter who committed suicide on air. The acting was very good, but again, the tempo of the film was slow for me.
Overall, a very strong year at Sundance. Again, here’s my full list with reviews, here is my Letterboxd list for Sundance 2016, including the shorts.
Kali in an incredible film with fantastic performances by Dulquer Salmaan and Sai Pallavi. Siddarth is a hot head. Siddu and Anjali marry against her father’s wishes. We see Siddu struggle to find a job, and quell his natural temper. Everything seems to set him off, and working in customer service at a bank doesn’t help matters. The first half of the film shows the struggle of their marriage, and Siddu’s attempt at changing. After a huge blowup, Siddu drives Anjali late at night to a family get together some distance away. Along they way, they are almost run off the road by a truck driver. Anjali begs Siddu not to go after the truck driver.
Interval.
Then the movie completely changes. It becomes a taught thriller. They stop at a road side restaurant, and the situation becomes incredibly tense and dangerous. I was gripping my seat with the tension. We have gotten to know this couple. We know that the moment of tension comes after they are both reeling emotionally. They aren’t sharp to see the warning signs. And then things go south in a major way. We know that Siddu is full of bottled rage, and we wait for the moment he will boil over. But will it be enough to save Anjali — and himself. I have never seen Dulquer like this. This is not the easy going charmer of Bangalore Days or OK Kanmani. He has come into his own. I’ve never seen him do action sequences like this either. Sai was exceptional. She shows that wistfulness. She loves Siddu, but she doesn’t know if she can live with him and his rage.
I admire the script and how the director kept me on the edge of my seat. I did not know what would happen next at any given moment. I felt that anything could happen. And I loved that about this movie!
Pardesi Reviews 