Movie Reviews and More ...

Directed by: Hans Herbots & Tom Shankland  Streaming on : Netflix  Cast: Tahar Rahim, Billy Howle, Jenna Coleman, Ellie Bamber, Mathilde Warnier, Tim McInnerny, Amesh Ederaweera, Fabian Frankel, Darshan Zariwala, Aly Khan, Stacy Martin, Pravesh Rana, Baby Meghan Jeremiah & others.  The sensational murderous journey of the notorious serial killer Charles Sobhraj is brilliantly executed in this delightfully directed web series. There have been several documented series and documentaries specially on bbc in the past chronicling Sobhraj’s intriguing crime story and even a forgettable Bollywood movie made five or six years ago but this series takes the cake and how!  In the mid 70s in Bangkok a young backpacker Dutch couple goes mysteriously missing and their charred dead bodies are found days later. A Dutch diplomat gets ethically engrossed in solving the mystery and soon gets entangled in a larger than life(or deadly) crime syndicate controlled by a notorious c...

Passion, romance, unconditional belonging, togetherness, love ! All these beautiful emotions and feelings were evident in yesteryear’s love affairs in Bollywood during the golden era from 50s through 80s where on screen romantic couples defied societal stereotypes and jumped into unconventional romantic liaisons in personal lives. Revisiting some iconic screen couples who dared to fall in love in real life but circumstantial road blocks prevented marriage !!  In the 50s debonair Dev Anand was every girl’s Dil ki dharkan while the singing star Suraiyya was the conventional bride material. Both fell hopelessly in love with each other, Anand even proposed marriage by offering her an engagement ring. Unfortunately the singing star’s conservative mother didn’t approve of the inter faith marriage. So much was the dominant mothers control over Suraiyya’s life that she had to throw away the ring into the sea to put an evidential end to the blooming romance. While Anand moved on and marri...

Today, yesteryear’s diva Saira Bano is a symbol of commitment, ideal wife and someone her admirers look upto and adore  for attending to her ailing husband. But one has been curious about her unbelievable transformation in the 70s, just a curious rewind to that phase.  Saira returned from London and joined Bollywood at 16 and became a top list star with Junglee(1961), throughout the 60s she was typecast as the chirpy, bubbly, innocent little barbie doll mostly clad in countryside frocks or slacks. She was the stereotyped Bollywood girl next door, sexy? Nah never. Even an underwater swimming sequence and the bathtub songs didn’t drag her into the sex symbol category, the sweet little chulbuli effervescent girl image stuck.  Come 1970 and everything changed. Now she was already mrs Dilip Kumar, had just battled a mysteriously guarded illness and emerged survivor, a brief ten month sabbatical over she came back with Purab Aur Paschim(1970) shedding inhibitions and clothes. ...

Like me there are a host of others who are die hard fans of the golden boy of golden era, Goldie aka Vijay Anand. While we grew up watching him play the curious detective Sam Dsilva in the tv series Tehkikaat(1995), he was better known for directing some timeless classics in the retro era of Bollywood when at its classiest best. As a filmmaker he was ahead of his times, progressive, innovative and far sighted. The sensitivity with which he dealt his subjects was evident on screen. Also his keen ear for good music can still be heard from the classic songs from the below five albums. He also made his heroes look as beautiful as his heroines. Revisiting five of his best movies which are my favourites forever.  GUIDE(1965): based on R K Narayan’s classic novel by the same name, this is by far one of the most authentic and beautiful adaptations of a novel, Goldie’s charismatic hold over the complex characters is enviable. The mystical relationship between a neglected wife and a wanderin...

RETRO BOLLYWOOD HALLOWEEN : with Halloween fever round the corner, revisiting five retro horror movies from the Ramsay house that deserve a reviewing.  Guest House (1980): set in a chilling hill station with a spooky guest house at its premise, there’s a chopped hand on a killing spree that keeps the cops on a hot trail. The murder count keeps increasing and the lead hero joins the investigation. Chilling, mysterious and deadly! Ramsay’s in their great form, with veteran Premnath lending his ‘hand’ along with Vijendra Ghatge and the voluptuous Padmini Kapila adding some spark. Bappi Lahiri added some melodious non disco music to the horror proceedings.  Cast/ Vijendra Ghatge, Prem Kishen, Padmini Kapila, Premnath, Madhu Kapoor, Komilla Virk, Narendranath, Neelam Mehra & others.  Hotel (1981): what happens when a group of selfish builders build an hotel on a cemetery? The spirits rise and how ! The hotel gets haunted and the occupants run for their lives, with appari...

GONE WITH THE WIND ? Shailendra Singh  ‘Main shayar to nahi magar aye haseen’ remember this soulful melody from Raj Kapoor’s teenage romantic blockbuster Bobby(1973)? Now we do remember Rishi Kapoor’s chocolatey image in this song but what’s about the distinctly unique vocals of the young singer Shailendra? Forgotten ?  Shailendra turned 68 on 4th October this year, an almost forgotten into oblivion playback singer from the yesteryear’s, one has to really try hard to recollect about him. Shailendra a strapping young aspirant in the early 70’s with dreams of becoming a Bollywood actor had a complete turn of fate when chosen to playback for debutant Rishi Kapoor in Bobby(1973). Getting the golden opportunity to sing for a RK banner was a never seen dream come true for someone who was aspiring to act in front of the camera rather than play ‘back’. In Bobby(1973) he sang hits like Main Shayar To Nahi, Na Maange Sona Chandi, Chaabi Kho Jaae, and others.  Thereafter Shailendra...

SWAMI(1977) revisited  Director: Basu Chatterji  Cast: Girish Karnad, Shabana Azmi, Vikram, Utpal Dutt,  When my favourite library is closed for nearly two months, and I’m too old fashioned to read e-books/ kindle and the likes, what’s the option available? Discovered movies adapted from classic literature and satisfies my hunger for virtual books by watching these retro gems.  Swami is a Bollywood adaptation of a classic tale penned by the great Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. A beautiful tale about a headstrong vivacious young girl Soudamini(Azmi) who is infatuated with her next door handsome neighbour, but due to societal and family pressure gets married into a upper class joint family where her husband(Karnad) is the glorified head. Her inability to accept the new relationships and unspoken attraction to the righteous, principled and far sighted husband dwell deeper into her dilemma.  Basu Chatterji’s fine and inspiring direction makes sure it stays loyal to t...

KASHISH(1990) - revisited YouTube is generously retelecasting retro Doordarshan serials and one such classic is the fresh as a morning daisy Kashish (1991), almost thirty years and still so watchable and heart warming.  Directed by Kaamna Chandra it’s a simple love story actually a love hate story between an eccentric film maker (Sudesh Berry) and his heroine(Malvika Tiwari). With just eight episodes it deals with their bittersweet relationship, egos, unspoken romance and must say the director has handled it with so much tenderness and simplicity. There’s also a lovely ghazal sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy.  Nothing over the top, no sex no violence, yes there is a prospective Saas and her to be Bahu but they are so normal almost unbelievable in today’s context of tv serials! Berry no doubt had an visible Amitabh hangover but he looked dashing and fit that Mills and Boon hero slot in this romance. Malavika looked like a dainty, petite blooming flower, that husky sexy voice and s...