Here’s a big one: a rundown of some of the best Bollywood comedies of all time. From timeless classics such as Padosan (1968) that have stood the test of time to modern gems like Oye Lucky Lucky Oye (2008), these films not only leave you in stitches but also serve as a mirror reflecting the ...
From DDLJ (1995) to Swades (2004), here are the most iconic Shah Rukh Khan movies/performances. A recent viral tweet from a fan read, “Bollywood didn’t make him famous. He made Bollywood famous.” That pretty much sums up the influence India’s biggest star wields both on his homeground and overseas. In 2004, he was the third Indian ...
With Bollywood screenwriters giving a new lease of life to the ordinary man on screen, megastars from Amitabh Bachchan (Piku, Gulabo Sitabo) to Shahrukh Khan (Zero) have jumped on the bandwagon, eschewing larger-than-life, crowd-pleasing roles to ‘play’ common men. But even some of the most realistic depictions of these characters come off as pretentious and, dare I ...
In the history of Indian cinema Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s despairing tale of ill-fated romance, Devdas, written in 1917, has been the only literary text that has been produced 11 times in six languages by filmmakers as diverse as Naresh Maitra and Anurag Kashyap. But the overall popularity of Bimal Roy’s cinematic version, across the ages, ...
Over the course of the past decade, Indian cinema has indelibly morphed into a novel beast. Despite still being distinguishable, the line separating ‘mainstream’ from ‘arthouse’ has experienced a paradigm shift. Many factors are at play here. In large part, this is a product of the meteoric rise of OTT platforms; it is simple economics: competition forces an increase in quality. Accompanied by rising public demand and appreciation for nuanced regional content, it is evident that the country’s filmmaker-audience dynamic has mutated. As a result of these interactions, ...
Over the years, Bollywood has evolved to the extent where almost every movie starring a who’s who of the industry would gain sufficient attention, which would then lead to box office sales depending on the quality of the movie. But in the past few decades, there were some absolute classics, movies which are regarded as milestones ...
(Updated: March 8, 2021) Hotstar may not be focusing on original content but there are a decent number of good Hindi films streaming on the online platform. From Mukti Bhavan (2017) to Maqbool (2003), here are the best Bollywood movies on Hotstar, playing as of March 8, 2021: Recommended: 16 New Bollywood Movies We’re ...
In trying times, films can provide us the perfect escape. Here are some feel good movies to lift your spirits and help you look away, if only for a few hours. These Bollywood movies will leave you with a smile while endear you to their heartwarming characters and stories. 1. Dum Laga Ke Haisha ...
Ayushmann Khurrana is at the top of his game right now. And when I say top, I don’t mean an actor with a few hits alone in his arsenal. He’s one of the ‘consistent’ few, who’s wisely worked his way up prioritising scripts — meaningful, clutter-breaking and his love for celluloid over everything else. The actor ...
Bollywood has reams of stories to tell. But the stories behind the creation of these stories often go unheard. Here are interesting facts/anecdotes/trivia around your some of the classic Bollywood films. Guide (1965) was Dev Anand’s first colour movie. Two versions of the movie were made separately — one in English and one in Hindi. Dilip ...
Mera Naam Joker is a coming-of-age tale, a bildungsroman, a tragedy and a romance all blended together. What makes a classic a classic? A question that has stumped filmmakers and moviegoers alike for as long as the medium has existed. What enduring quality does an art form possess to transcend all boundaries and become immortal? ...
The turn of the century, particularly the last decade, saw a significant shift in the storytelling style. While popular Hindi cinema continues to grow its appeal among audiences, both on the homeground and overseas, there are films on the other end of the spectrum that are challenging conventions with their evolved cinematic vocabulary, both in ...
Guru Dutt — the man beyond his time, the weaver of timeless melodrama — is an icon who perhaps claims the lion’s share in sculpting the magnificent marvel that is Indian cinema. Born as Vasanth Kumar Shivshankar Padukone in Bangalore, Guru Dutt adopted the latter name after living in Kolkata for some time where he ...
I’m a fan of the action genre, as are most cinephiles. Most Bollywood action movies involving clichéd story arcs are usually written off, because we’ve seen those kinds of movies a gazillion times. And don’t get me started with the action sequences. Bollywood movies, most of them anyway, have terrible sequences. The storylines seem so awfully trite. But ...
Rafi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is a struggling street photographer who works round the clock to pay off old debts. Miloni (Sanya Malhotra), is young, demure, educated and further up the so-called social ladder, though restricted by family expectations. There are approximately 18 million people in Mumbai. Ritesh Batra’s Photograph brings Rafi and Miloni together out of the ...
Dipankar Sarkar
