Rose Petals! Rain! Rishi!...Chandni (1989)

Maybe there's hope for me and Yash Chopra after all.

There was so much rain in Chandni!

Chandi. Mere Chandi! How skeptical I was about you and how you managed to be just what the doctor ordered after an exhausting (yet fun) day of trekking around town with two bouncy preschool girls...Yash-ji, how did you know that at the end of the day, what I'd really,really need would be a handful of rosepetal showers and a couple of dances in the rain?

It started as everything the DVD jacket claimed it would be: "Softly lyrical, throbbingly beautiful". While I personally wouldn't categorize all Yash Chopra romances that way, the music and imagery were just that. Chandni (Sridevi, rapidly climbing the scales of my heart), meets Rohit (Rishi Kapoor, in some serious sweaters!), and the two fall in love. Rohit worships the ground Chandni walks on, showering her with rose petals and even putting up an almost-shrine to her in his bedroom (See below--In a Lifetime movie, this would be called stalking, but Chandni doesn't seem to mind). You know the drill--it starts off so perfect, something terrible, horrible, tragic is just bound to happen, right?

Of course!

Bollywood Hero or Obsessive Fan?? Oh, right...Bollywood Hero.

But let me point out before going there that, while it sounds like the same ol' song and dance, Rohit and Chandni's romance wasn't nearly as boring and redundant as I expected it to be. In fact, it was pretty gosh darned entertaining, thanks mostly to Sridevi's ability to maneuver from being whimsically playful to full of panache. And though at first I was put off by how much Rishi had aged in the seven years since Yeh Vaada Raha, sooner or later I found him teddy bearishly cute with more than a few traces of chocolate left in his hero box. Apparently Chandni agreed with me--she even made a fat joke to his face!

Gee, Chandni, I know this isn't the most flattering sweater Rishi's ever worn, but...did you really have to call him fat?

Ordinarily, I find fat jokes offensive and rude, and I hate that they're so often used in Hindi films. But for some reason, it didn't bother me here; To me, it showed how comfortable Rohit and Chandni were with one another (and proved Rishi must have had a sense of humor about his weight gain).

Of course, the couple wasn't without their share of problems. For one, Rohit's high class family despised Chandni from the beginning. They felt she wasn't good enough to enter their home as a bride, and told Rohit so without any reservations. The only person in Rohit's family who seemed to understand was his brother in law, Ramesh (Anupam Kher--with hair!).

Maa seems to think choosing a wife should be akin to furniture shopping.

With all this negativity in the air from Rohit's family, you can almost smell disaster in the air. And of course, tragedy does strike. Rohit is left paralyzed, and Chandni powerless to do anything but love him. Of course, the pressures from his family and feelings of inadequacy related to his disability force Rohit to make the unthinkable decision: He must give up Chandni, freeing her from the burden he thinks he's become and allowing him to wallow in
bitterness. He breaks up with her coldly and abruptly (even painting over her photographs!), leaving her heartbroken and leaving me a weepy, mushy, mascara-racooned mess.

In happier times. How COULD you, Rohit?!?

Intermission goes by unannounced, and Chandni tries to be strong and pick up the pieces of her broken heart (she's stronger than I am at this point, because I still haven't stopped crying). She gets a job at a travel agency and guess who her boss is--Vinod Khanna (as Lalit)!! Things are looking better already. Rohit who?

Lalit, as Chandni discovers, comes across all business-like, but is really as soft as a grape on the inside. He's been nursing a broken heart himself, after losing the love of his life, Devika (Juhi Chawla looking deliciously seductive in a rain song--Go on and say it, Bollywood Fan), to some tragic illness we never know the name of. Poor Lalit, every time it rains he is reminded of his beloved, and since it rains a lot in this film, well, you can just imagine.



Meanwhile, it rains over by Rohit and he has a mental breakdown, realizing he has been a fool to let Chandni go (duh). I started crying again. As he washed the paint off Chandni's photographs, it felt like my heart was actually pumping out tears instead of blood, but I was loving every minute of it--yes, folks, this is the sort of emotional roller coaster ride I tune in for!



Soon Lalit (with the coaxing of his maa, Waheeda Rehman!) finds himself attracted to Chandni, and asks for her hand in marriage. Chandni accepts, and BAM!!! Guess who shows up again?

ROHIT!!!



What will Chandni do? I've taken you pretty far in the plot, but don't consider any of this spoiler material since its all spelled out pretty clearly on most DVD jackets (at least the ones I've seen, anyways). The real question remains: Who will Chandni choose? Sensitive, well-established Lalit (bonus: Waheeda as a mother in law who adores Chandni)? Or spontaneous, lively Rohit (evil mother in law included)? Who would you choose? If you haven't seen Chandni you should stop reading now, because I'm now going to reveal her decision:



***SPOILER!!!!!****

Of course, she chooses her true love, the one she's clearly loved from the very beginning of the film. This was all fine and dandy, and I even wanted things to end up this way, but two nagging thoughts kept this from becoming a perfect film for me. One, Rohit NEVER apologizes. Not once. Considering all the heartless things he said to her so stoically when he was dumping her, you'd think he'd have to beg and gravel for forgiveness. Instead, he prances into Chandni's apartment like a king, and gets all defensive and reverses the blame when he finds she's engaged to someone else. Red flags went up all over in my mind.

Secondly, what about poor Lalit? His last line in the entire film is just depressing. The least they could have done was killed him off so he could be reunited with Juhi. Geez.

****SPOILER END*****


Despite my qualms discussed in the Spoiler, I really did love this film. The music, the sarees (maybe even better than Sush's in Main Hoon Na) , Sridevi, and yes, the rain! Its definitely put Yash Chopra in my good graces again, though I still remain a bit skeptical about Lamhe and Kabhi Kabhie. Thoughts?

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Okay, That Didn't Feel Like Bollywood, But...Pukar (2000)

Watching Pukar was, for me, a little bit like watching a "pretty good" Hollywood drama from the early 90s or so. The acting was better than decent, there was an all star-cast, and the story unfolded at a reasonable pace. That's not a bad thing, and apparently worked to its advantage; the film walked away with two national film awards and a boatload of other nominations, including Best Actor for Anil Kapoor (right on!) and Best Actress for Madhuri Dixit (yeah!).

It was strange; On the one hand, I found the story of Major Jaidev Rajvansh, a well-respected and admired officer of the Indian army who is horribly betrayed by somebody closest to him, incredibly absorbing and well-portrayed by a strong all-star cast. On the other, I found Pukar sort of dull. Where was the color? Where was the creativity in the song picturizations? My inner masala child desperately wanted to know.



Anil Kapoor, looking dashing in an army suit (quite the change from the Micheal Jackson white-sock look he sported in the last film I saw him in, Mann), plays Jai, an Army officer on a short return visit to his hometown. Madhuri Dixit is Anjali, Jai's childhood friend who also happens to be in love with him, something that is clear to everyone but Jai himself. Or is it? In the beginning of the film, its hard to determine whether Jai is simply ignorant to Anjali's feelings or if he just doesn't give a care.

Either way, the whole town(including Jai's parents) seems to share the same opinion-- Anjali's so gorgeous and such a natural on the dance floor, there's no way she's not going to snag him, right? I mean, it's have to be MISS INDIA walking through the door for Jai to turn his head the other way...



Which, of course, is exactly what happens. Jai meets Pooja(Namrata Shirodkar), a.k.a. the current Miss India, and is instantly hooked. He spends most of his time trying to convince her and her parents, who are adamantly against Princess Pooja marrying an army officer, that the two should be married. The rest of his time is spent dodging Anjali whenever possible, unless she is needed for moral support (or lunch--grrr!).

After an embarrassing encounter between Jai, Pooja, and herself, Anjali is approached by a crooked man who works for a sinister terrorist named Abhrush (played by Danny Denzongpa, scarrry looking!!). In desperation, Anjali strikes a deal with said crooked man and sells her soul to the devil, so to speak, in one of the most messed up betrayals I've ever seen.



But man, it was so satisfying to watch. Things horribly backfire--no spoilers here, I'm sure you could guess that they would, and I've only just taken you into the real story--but its the characters and how their lives are affected by this one event that makes Pukar interesting. As you can see, Jai's far from a likable character in the first half of the film. Which ends up really working to the film's advantage--at first, you're like, yeah, stick it to him, Anjali! But then the second half rolls around and you get to thinking. Poor Jai. Poor unfortunate, circumstantially abused Jai (Did they really have to rip his army uniform to shreds--WHILE HE WAS STILL WEARING IT?!?)!

This is a prime example of another one of the film's strengths--the characters were so human! You loved them, you hated them, you forgave them. Even Pooja showed us Miss India could be one heartless witch!

But, ahh, did I mention how refreshing it was to see Madhuri in a role that gave her not only more to do than dazzle and dance, but also required her actions to be a pivotal piece in the plot?! I was elated! Yes, I know Mads is brimming with awesomeness, and she has to little but flash a smile and float across the dancefloor to show she's the whole package, but...she can also really act!! Note to directors---Use her!! (A moot point, it seems, since she's sort of "retired", and I realize I haven't seen enough of her films to solidify this opinion, but I love her so much to let her talent pass me by without mentioning it).



This was my first Anil/Madhuri film, and I realize, given the story, that it may not have been the most popular choice to start with. Because they were already an established pair in Bollywood, I'm guessing that most of Pukar's initial audiences were invested in Jai and Anjali ending up together from the very beginning. But not me--they had to really sell it to me. Which they did, thanks to their commanding screen presences and oodles of talent (there's a very heated argument/exchange/revelation between the two of them in the second half that literally gave me goose bumps, it was so emotionally charged).

The supporting cast was strong, including Om Puri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, and Farida Jalal (as maa--yes!!). Most characters were given enough screen time to establish their presence in the film, but there should have been wayy more of Jai's parents, especially given the powerful encounter that follows this screenshot:



But alas, onto the negatives, of which were significant enough to mention. As I said above, there just wasn't enough creativity from a visual aspect. A dash of color or masala madness would have done the trick; After all, music was by A.R. Rahman! Yet most of the good songs seemed wasted against ho-drum deserts and waterfalls (which I normally love, as long as the settings and outfits change during the song picturizations, barely done here). The exception, of course, is "Kay Sera Sera" (Que Sera Sera?), a tune whose brilliance was done justice by Madhuri's vibrant facial expressions and graceful dance moves (along with a cameo by Prabhu Deva).



Since I expected to dislike this film (after I heard someone call it Puke-kar, lol, and you know who you are ;)), I was happily surprised to find it, for the most part, watchable, if a bit bland. Next up in Anil/Mads territory? Beta, a film I know next to nothing about and bought on a whim. Any other recommendations? I'll take 'em!

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There's Just Something About This Movie...Yeh Vaada Raha (1982)

After having a lovely filmi conversation with Anarchivist (and a few cocktails), I decided it was time to step into the Glorious Kingdom of Rishi Sweaters...

I get the feeling that Yeh Vaada Raha, the 1982 Ramesh Behl film starring Rishi Kapoor, Poonam Dillon, and Tina Munim, was an awesome place to start (despite the fact that my subtitles were pretty sparse and all in CAPS--frustrating). Also, there's a lot of screencaps here, but its just that kind of film!

It's love at first sight for Vikram (Rishi Kapoor), who meets Sunita (Poonam Dillon) in a temple and is instantly besotted.



And who wouldn't be? Sunita is gorgeous!



She rejects him, though, despite his efforts. Left with nothing but a cold shoulder, Vikram turns to his friend, Gogi (Rakesh Bedi), a painter, and sings a colorful song describing her beauty.



And--!Voila!...Before Vikram knows it, Gogi has composed a blind portrait of Sunita based on the words of the song (Which, sadly for me, were not translated)!



Sunita turns out to be a singer. She continues to reject Vikram until one night when she is mocked onstage (ironically, due to Vikram's actions--he has Gogi's paintings on Sunita hung all over town in an effort to locate the poor girl).



Vikram comes to the rescue by singing the song for her (and again, it wasn't translated so I don't know what he said, but it worked because Sunita falls for him after this).



Their romance blooms in no time at all, and is filled with lots of lovey-dovey, sunshiny things. Vikram, thankfully, doesn't stop treating Sunita like a queen just because he's won her over. To the contrary, he's quite the teddy bear boyfriend, sending a marching band over to sing to her on her birthday and gifting her with a promise ring. The two discuss marriage.



Of course, its not so easy. While Sunita appears to live modestly as a lounge singer, Vikram comes from a rich family. When Maa comes to town (Played by a witchy Rakhee), trouble begins to brew.



Maa despises Sunita from the start, and after meeting her, leaves in such a huff that she doesn't notice her saree is hanging out of the car door:



Meddling Maa digs up some damaging information about Sunita in an effort to discourage her son from dating her, but Vikram will have no part of it. He doesn't care about Sunita's past--He loves her and vows to marry her. I really appreciated the fact that Vikram didn't give this a second thought; He didn't even bring it up to Sunita. He gathers his beloved and his pal Gogi and the two race off to the temple to elope.

However, tragedy strikes and the three are in a horrible car accident. Though Vikram's badly injured enough to be confined to a hospital bed, its Sunita who suffered most from the collision. Her face is badly disfigured, and her doctor gives this information to none other than Vikram's mother, of course (Why???!!).



Of course, Maa uses this to her advantage and tells Vikram Sunita is dead.



Crushed, Vikram retreats into a mourning period of doing little but talking to Sunita's painting:



Meanwhile, Sunita is shipped off to a plastic surgeon specialist, a kindly doctor played by...What?! Shammi Kapoor!!I had no idea that was him until just now when I looked it up to write this paragraph. I knew he looked familiar--now I like the Good Doc even more!



Sunita undergoes multiple plastic surgeries, "8-10", according to her doctor. It must have been pretty bad--just check out the looks on the doctor and nurses' faces:




Not the most tactful medical staff, are they?

Meanwhile, Vikram continues to grieve for Sunita...




Anyways, after some time, Sunita's face is repaired. However, the doctor never knew what she looked like prior to the accident, so he had to use his imagination and give her a whole new face (Where's Gogi the Painter when you need him?)



Lovely as it is, its not Sunita's original face, and here's where Tina Munim steps in. Sunita freaks out, understandably, but eventually is calmed by the Good Doctor and starts imagining her new face and new life with Vikram, to the tune of the very catchy title song:



When Sunita goes to tell Vikram she's all better, she's hit with a crushing bomb--Vikram is engaged to somebody else. Unbeknownst to Sunita, all of this was arranged by Vikram's mother, and agreed to by Vikram only because he thought Sunita was dead.




Of course, Sunita leaves without revealing her identity, and Vikram continues to believe she is dead. She assumes a new name, Kusum, and vows to forget her past. Its not until one day Vikram hears her singing that he recognizes her voice as Sunita's.



I'll leave you here, because there's still the chunk of plot left to unravel, and if I go any further I'll start sobbing like I did while watching the rest of this heartbreaking-yet-lovely tearjerker. Will Sunita reveal her true identity to Vikram? Will Vikram accept Sunita's new face? Will Maa's deception be revealed?

As you can see from my screencap enthusiasm, I really enjoyed this film. It was just so touching and sweet, and I found that I warmed easily to sweater-clad Rishi. The songs were catchy and hummable, and I'll probably bounce over to Itunes to download them after posting this.

While both Sunitas were good, I found that Tina Munim brought more life and vitality to the role. I'd love to see more of her!



That's not to take too much away from Poonam Dhillon, the first Sunita. She was delicately beautiful, reminding me physically of a cross between Bhagyashree and Rekha. But, though I enjoyed her, I found her Sunita to be a little less thrilling than Tina's.

On a final note, I thought it was very considerate of the filmmaker to use the same voice to dub both actresses playing Sunita (since plastic surgery on the face wouldn't change one's voice). And, as I discovered while looking up the year of this film, that voice belonged to none other than Jaya Bachchan!!

Though not very realistic otherwise, this film was so touching that its a new favorite. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly, but warn to keep a box of tissues on hand--I was crying like a baby!

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Bitten By...The Masala Bug??...Amar Akbar Anthony

First of all, let me apologize for abandoning the blog once again...life has been crazy hectic, but rest assured, I've been spending the time accomplishing things that are relevant to Bollyblogging, such as: 1) I attended the 2009 Boston Bollyblitz Meetup and 2) completed all of my classes in the most stressful semester I have ever experienced (so that I can get a good job to support my Bollywood DVD shopping sprees).

But make no mistake--I've still been managing to squeeze in some good ol' movie watching through it all...How else could I make it through the day to day grind without a good dose of this:



Amar Akbar Anthony marks one of my very first attempts to tread the waters of classical masala. And after my personal lackluster reactions to Deewar and Suhaag (Beloved films by many that I promise to retry before my upcoming reviews), I was beginning to think that perhaps, sadly, classical Hindi masala madness just wasn't for me...

But then I popped in Amar Akbar Anthony and--something clicked. I found AAA to be such a wondrous experience--On the one hand, it was so utterly ridiculous that I was laughing out loud. But on the other, it was so gosh darn enjoyable that I lapped it up like sugar in a bowl. And then it hit me--that's the whole point of classical masala, isn't it?

The gorgeous Neetu Singh

Similar to the other masala films I've seen, AAA begins with a poor family. Nirupa Roy plays maa, as she does so well. Pran pays the father, Kishanlal, who, upon his release from prison, comes home to find his wife ill with TB. He goes to visit his rich "friend" Robert for help, but is ridiculed and mocked instead.



A confrontation between Robert and Kishanlal ensues, resulting in Kishanlal's separation with his wife and three sons. I won't go too much into detail here, as this is the brief summary of events, but rest assured most of this is explained much as it needs to be in the film.



The three sons are then separated from each other, and found by three different outside characters. Amar is adopted by a Hindu police officer, Akbar is taken in by a Muslim tailor, and Anthony is raised by a Catholic priest(Can you guess which one will grow up to be Amitabh Bachchan?).

Of course, its Anthony (which I only happened to know from the parody segment in Gol Maal-and the readers who were kind enough to explain it to me!). This was the first (and granted, I haven't seen many) "older" Amitabh film that I really, really liked him in. He was great in Deewar, true, but had sort of an icy and conceited quality that was perhaps necessary in order to portray Vijay. Here, Anthony was funloving, goofy, and even a bit awkward(he loses two fights!). If you've ever heard the "Easter egg song" mentioned, here's the movie it came from (I've included the youtube video below). Quirky and lovable, Amitabh and Parveen make one of the cheesiest songs I've ever seen an instant favorite. Despite all of this, Big B was still smooth enough to make this one of his iconic roles (there's a great mirror scene following the egg song). Clad in an array of assorted colored pleathers and bell bottoms that looked supersoft to the touch, Anthony showed me a glimpse of what made Amitabh Bachchan so special to his fans--After all, who else could pull off all that chest hair? :P



Rishi Kapoor plays Akbar, a.k.a. King of Qawwali, and lives up to his nickname in not one, not two, but three songs(ok, only two of them are really qawwalis, but Rishi gets the most songs in the entire film mostly to himself and I'm definitely not complaining). Quite the cutie pie, Rishi lights up the screen (literally) in every song picturization he has. I've included my favorite one below, in which he romances none other than real life wife Neetu Singh (though I'm not certain on whether or not they were yet together when this film was made).



The whole thing mesmerizes me, from the song itself to Rishi's colorful attitude (and outfit), and Neetu's striking beauty alongside that red rose and black veil...

Amar is played by Vinod Khanna, and what a hottie he turned out to be! Though there were times I swore he was wearing blush...



As a police officer, Vinod has one of the more serious roles in the film, but ironically enough, during the title song he's given the most comical disguise of the three brothers.

While its obvious from the beginning that Akbar's girlfriend will be played by Neetu Singh, the other two women were welcome surprises (since I'd purposely read very little about this film before viewing it).

Anthony ends up falling for a Christian girl named Jenny, played by the lovely Parveen Babi...

Dizzy with images of Parveen Babi! A nice place for anyone to be.

Parveen's such a beauty to begin with, but she brought the same golden-hearted cheer to her role that Anthony did to his, making them a funloving addition to the already likable Neetu and Rishi coupling. And while Jenny seems rather softspoken and meek in the beginning, we get to see she's got much more of a backbone in later scenes. And, as in Deewar, poor Parveen always seems to get attacked in her own home. But look at the way she books it in a pair of high heels!



And, also, where can I find a hat like this? I used to have one similar, but can't seem to find it!



Amar's romance begins on the wrong foot with a seemingly fiesty yet misunderstood young woman named Laxmi played by none other than Shabana Azmi!



One of the only disheartening things I found in this film was the under-use of Amar and Laxmi. Much of the romantic screentime in the film was granted to Parveen and Amitabh, and while Neetu and Rishi still had their songs, Vinod and Shabana were left with little to do. After the two warm up to one another in their first segment, we see only a glimpse of their life together as Laxmi hangs Vinod's clothes to dry while he rests in a hammock.

I wanted more of these two!

Another disappointment I had with the film once again involves Amar. In the end, when the three brothers are reunited (and you know they will be, so I'm not going to post a spoiler alert), we miss out on Amar and Anthony's reunion. This would have been neat to see, especially after their fight in Anthonyville, yet its skimmed over with nary a dialouge.

Still, Amar Akbar Anthony is more than just the delightful tale of three long lost brothers. One of the best jodis in the entire film was the hilarious long term rivalry between Robert (played by Jeevan) and Kishenlal (played by Pran).



These two enemies were pure masala entertainment in each and every scene they shared, equipped with stolen boxes of gold, bullet proof vests, and midnight kidnappings!



And it wasn't just the songs in AAA that were brilliant (and they all were--my favorites were "Parda Hai Parda" and the title song); the background music was just as memorable and fun. When Anthony and Amar fight, we're treated to a flamingo-eqse tune to keep the mood upbeat. When Anthony first spots Jenny in the church, he chases her to a catchy tune that echoes the Western image of their characters.

I feel like this is one film I could sit down and watch again and again--and notice something different every time. While laugh-out-loud ridiculous at times, it was such a delight from start to finish that I'm left feeling like I need to see more of classical masala. Needless to say, this film was perfect for a group watchalong at our Boston Bollyblitz Meetup. Our playful banter made for a hilarious rewatching experience, and I think I'll always remember our comments every time I watch this. What a great film to toast new friendships!

Before "Chaiya Chaiya" there was Neetu and Rishi!

Here are some burning questions we came up with (all in jest, of course):

*What ever happened to Maa's TB? Was it magically cured or swapped for blindness?

*Did somebody actually misspell Anthony's sign and was too lazy to make a new one or was this just another glimpse of Manmohan Desai's brilliant humor?

*Did Maa actually think delivering flowers to Akbar would be a legitimate reason to stop a surgical procedure?

*How could Robert and Zebesko think that by listening to Jenny's pulse, Dr. Salma could tell she was pregnant?

*In the beginning, when little Amar buries a pistol in the dirt (to "hide it from Anthony", no less), his father seems more concerned with why he is doing so instead of why he had the gun in the first place!!

There are many, many more--and, of course, these unanswered gems are part of what make this film so great. Can you come up with any? :)

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Preity Zinta Scores, Deepa Mehta Bores; Videsh (Heaven On Earth)

(Contains some slight spoilers, but don't let that discourage you from reading; You may have a better experience with Videsh if you know what to expect, and when I discuss the ending, I'll let you know)

There's good news and there's bad news. First, the good news, which can be summed up in two words: Preity Zinta. Just like she did in The Last Lear, Preity proves all those who thought she was only good for "bubbly, Westernized" roles wrong. Dare I say that I saw shades of Tabu in The Namesake in Preity's performance? She obviously worked very hard on this, and it all paid off--her character was the beating heart of Videsh.

As for the rest of the film, let's just say I'm still trying to figure it out.

Videsh starts out promising enough. Chand's family arranges a marriage for her to a man named Rocky, a NRI who lives in Canada. It's a full house; Rocky lives with his parents, his sister, his sister's husband, and their two children. While things are a bit crowded, the family is welcoming enough to Chand and she dutifully accepts her new life. But Rocky's mother is jealous of his new wife, and it doesn't take long for her to put a guilt trip on Rocky that provokes him to treat Chand like dirt. Tension escalates and Chand finds herself in an abusive relationship she is powerless to escape.

The film's gray, gritty photography and simple dialogue made it feel very realistic, but it was a bit slow. Still, I was glued to the screen; After all, it was a Deepa Mehta film. I knew I could expect each scene to get increasingly potent as the film progressed, and at the end it would all erupt in a dramatic climax...Right?



Wrong. What the heck happened? I'm still trying to figure it out. Somewhere along the way, this drama that was only engaging because of its raw performances and in-your-face realistic approach to a messed up situation (as most Deepa Mehta films I've seen) fell off the track and ended up in la-la land. The film lost me when it tried to go all Paheli-ish and actually expected me to believe a cobra had taken on the form of Chand's husband. I'm not kidding.

Chand's coworker, a well-meaning Jamaican woman named Roza, advises her to grind a piece of ginger root and place it in Rocky's drink as a black magic tactic that would cause him to fall madly in love with her. The abuse would stop shortly after. None of this was the problem--I actually felt like Roza's character was detrimental to the story, like she honestly cared for Chand and would save her from this hellhole after her home remedy suggestion proved unsuccessful. But that's not the direction the film chose to take--Instead, after one failed attempt, Chand's black magic went arwy and !Voila! a cobra ended up in her backyard.
This cobra would eventually take up the form of Chand's husband Rocky and provide her aching heart with the love and affection it craved.

If the above paragraph made absolutely no sense to you, imagine how I felt when watching the film.

I love fantasy in film, but when it is well placed! I thoroughly enjoyed Paheli and Pan's Labyrinth. BUT it just didn't fit here! If this was a fantasy film, then it was an incredibly boring one. There was no color, no excitement. And the stage had not been set for something like this to happen!

After doing some reading on Wikipedia I found out that this curve in the storyline was based on an Indian fable. So perhaps I just didn't "get" it, and I don't mean to sound authoritative about a subject I know very little about (such as Indian folklore).

It's very possible that I'm misinterpreting this, and Mehta intended the snake's metamorphosis to be a figment of Chand's imagination, a coping mechanism related to her physically abused state. I'd be willing to buy this, and perhaps it would have even made the film all the more effective. But that still doesn't explain why a cobra ended up in the Ontario, Canada!

All of that being said, Videsh wasn't a disaster, either. The entire cast was amazing, but of course it was Preity I was rooting for. Newcomer Vansh Bhardwaj made me jump in fear every time he looked like he was going to hit Chand. In fact, I wish Mehta would have scrapped the cobra and just used the "real" Rocky more. We could have seen more of the depths of his character, the different mood changes that an abuser can often take. We never saw Rocky's good side, and perhaps if we had we could have empathized with Chand's predicament even more. We could have felt just as torn and heartbroken as she was, and that would have made an effective film. Bhardwaj would have been more than competent to pull it off.


(***SPOILER ALERT***)
The climax wasn't a complete loss, either. Despite the ridiculous circumstance, my eyes were wide open as I watched Chand reach into the snake pit.

I do feel, however, that the ending left more unanswered questions. Was Chand really going to be safe from Rocky? And if it was that easy to pack up and go, why didn't she leave sooner? I'm a nursing student, so I know that abused women often have to wait until they feel safe to leave a dangerous relationship, but still...this wasn't explained clearly enough in the film.

(***SPOILER END****)

Watch Videsh for Preity--she makes it all worthwhile. Rent it, download it, do whatever you have to do, but please, please don't pay more than $3 for it.

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A Much-Needed Indulgence...Maine Pyar Kiya

Oh, what to do when you have five papers due and two exams to study for?

Pop in Maine Pyar Kiya, of course!



After all, what could be a better stress reliever than a babyfaced Salman and a ravishing Bhagyashree surrounded by an '80s infused Bollywood?

The answer is nothing, except maybe some chocolate...But watching Maine Pyar Kiya was similiar to that, too. It was like binge-eating a box of chocolate covered cherries--the bursts of syrupy sweetness just kept coming, and I kept shoveling 'em in with a big ol' smile on my face.

Bhagyashree reenacts the Like A Virgin video.

In what I'm convinced must have been one of Salman Khan's most adorable roles ever, MPK was yet another "forbidden" young love story of its era, one that I to keep wanting to lump together with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. It's interesting that the big breakthrough films of the 3 Khans had similar plots, particularly this one and QSQT. You know the cliche...two young lovers kept apart by their disapproving families...Sound familiar? One would think at least one of these would have been tossed aside as a copycat of the others, yet from someone who's seen all three, I can honestly say each one holds their very own and is well deserving of their individual successes as Hindi cinema classics.

Prem has posters of Micheal Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna!

The film was directed by Sooraj Barjatya, and if you disliked HAHK and hated Vivah (or vice versa), don't let that deter you from watching Maine Pyar Kiya. Unlike those two films, MPK is easy to follow and engaging from the very beginning. Also, its super enjoyable--think all the best elements of an 80s teen love story with Bollywood fairy dust sprinkled on top.

An accent from the 80s I still love--lipstick prints!!

It wouldn't be an 80s film without a party scene...

...Or Seema's bad perm!

Suman (Bhagyashree) and her father, Karan(Alok Nath) live in a modest country home. One day, Karan is offered a job abroad, and sends his daughter to live with his beloved friend, Kishan (Rajeev Verma), whom he has not seen or spoke to in years. Because of the depth of this friendship, however, Karan entrusts Suman's well-being to Kishan and sends her to live with his family without a second thought-he's convinced they will treat her like royalty.

While the family is nice enough to Suman, its Kishan's son Prem (Salman Khan) who goes out of his way to make her feel welcome, and the two become fast friends. Here's the first thing I liked about this movie--I felt like Prem was genuinely interested in being Suman's friend and not just trying to get with her. He was drawn to her because he could tell she was a kindred spirit, respecting her and showing her he cared before the romance began.

Of course, since Suman is a breathtaking beauty with a heart of gold, Prem eventually falls head over heels. And once he does, he's committed to being with her. The sacrifices Prem makes for Suman throughout the film made me love Salman Khan's character!



Sure, one could argue that Prem had his crabby moments--For example, after a fight at a party, Prem tells Suman to fix him a plate rather curtly, which she gladly does in submission. This attitude may be frustrating to some who hate this Hindi film cliche, and while I don't embrace it myself, for some reason I didn't sweat it in this film. You see, it was clear to me that Prem respected Suman so much--and that she treated him with honor because she wanted to, not because she was a woman and he was a man.

Hands down, this performance marked one of my favorites from Salman Khan (the others being HAHK and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam). He was so adorable here!Mostly for the reasons I've listed above. And...wait...in his final scene alone with Alok Nath and Bhagyashree, he proves he can really and truly act! And here I thought he was the worst overacter ever...



Bhagyashree. Do I need to say anymore than that(except maybe COME BACK BHAGYASHREE!!!)? She was awesome! First of all, her name even sounds cool, as most one-part movie star names do. Bhagyashree. Dharmendra. Kajol. Nargis. I've decided that if I ever make it big in Bollywood I'm going to go with a one-part name, and its not going to sound too feminine, either. But getting back to Bhagyashree...how can I describe her? She was something like Nargis--Grace, class, poise, and sensuality all wrapped into one. At times, her facial expressions even reminded me of Marilyn Monroe!

That's a wall covered in Salman Khan photographs, just so you know.

The film is NOT just sugarpie romance scenes like Vivah was, for the most part. There's a twist to this happy tale--You see, Kishan is a very sucessful businessman. In a quest to gain a part of Kishan's empire, his business partner devises a plan to get Prem to marry his daughter Seema. Along with Seema's brother, Jeevan (played by Mohnish Behl), the three make up a trio of scheming villains that bring out every trick in the book to try and keep Prem and Suman apart.

Though all three are far from nice, Mohnish Behl surprised me with his sleaziness as Jeevan. This guy played one of the nicest characters in HAHK and here he was, picking on poor Bhagyashree? But alas, he was perfect for the part, deliciously good at being bad. His dashing handsomeness made him seem all the more dangerous!



Other key players are Alok Nath as the loving father he can portray so well and Reema Lagoo (yay!) as Prem's mother. Rajeev Verma plays Kishan and Laximikant Berde has a small but non-irritating comedic supporting role. AND...

In true Barjatya fashion, there's a crucial animal in the film--a white pigeon that also wants Prem and Suman to be together. And let me tell you, HAHK's little dog Tuffy is no patch on this butt-kicking bird. He even plays a critical role in the climax that will have you LAUGHING OUT LOUD(I sure did!).



As far as the music is concerned, let's just put it this way--My favorite song in the film revolves around a pigeon and a love letter.Doesn't that just sound like a fairy tale? The pigeon carries the letter away to the handsome prince while the princess sings a melody in her nightgown. And the tune was super catchy, too! I've included the Youtube Video for those who want to reminisce BUT if you haven't seen the film, please, please wait! Its the surprising little details like these in MPK that won my heart because I didn't know they were coming.



Don't you just love the climax of this song with Bhagyashree's thick shiny black hair blowing in the wind and the city lights in the background?
There's nothing more I can say about this film except that I loved every minute of it. After my recent viewing of Aa Gale Lag Ja, I seem to be on a streak of guilty pleasures in Indian cinema that have me overusing my exclamation point key. But I'm not complaining, and I apologize if I sound like I'm overdoing it. I just can't help it--I really get that excited about this stuff (hence the blog)!



Would I be a glutton for punishment if I said I loved Maine Pyar Kiya more than Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge? Because guess what...I sure did!

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I've Got To See More Films Like This One...Aa Gale Lag Jaa

My dil is smiling right now. It just is.

How could it not be after watching Aa Gale Lag Jaa, the 1973 film starring Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore(along with a really cute kid)? Aside from two bothersome scenes (We'll discuss them later), the movie is just a bag full of goodies. I was grinning from ear to ear from start to finish...Take a peek at some of this stuff:

You know you're in for a real treat when the first line in the entire film is this:



Surely if I was going to star in a movie, this would be my opening line of choice as well!

We have Shashi on roller skates:



Sharmila looking stunning in every scene (I'm convinced she's the type of gal who can wear anything and make it look classy)...






A smitten Shashi...



Shashi's a single dad(How often do we see this in Bollywood?)!



...And Sharmila's a doctor!



Letter Mix ups!





The song that inspired the title for Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na!





A cute little kid that melted my heart every time he smiled (Or frowned, for that matter)!



Ice Cream!



Musical Chairs (I love musical chairs! I want to go to a grown-up party where this game is played--Wouldn't that be fun?)



Long-lashed Shashi pines for his love in this woeful-yet-touching song (Don't worry, Sharmila--its YOU he's singing about!)




Even the "villain" in this film joins in on the happiness when all's said and done!



As you can see, Aa Gale Lag Ja was brimming with goodness. Yet it was also more--a snappy little love story with misunderstandings and mishaps keeping our hero and heroine apart. You know, one of those stories that has you screaming at the tv, because only you,the viewer, know the real truth. Luckily (and surprisingly, because this is Bollywood), the film doesn't drag any of this out past much more than what it needs to---everything unravels at just the right time.



As if you needed any other reason to watch this, allow me to give you one more. The music! The songs in Aa Gale Lag Jaa are delightfully catchy and sweet, every single one. Like most of my Bollywood faves, every time I listen to this soundtrack it warms my heart as I reminisce about the corresponding scene from the film. Ahh, I can't say it enough--I'm so glad I found Bollywood!



I browsed through some of the other reviews on Aa Gale Lag Jaa and found that many listed all the film's ambrosial elements (Pony rides!Elephants!Shashi!Sharmila!)as I have. I certainly didn't mean to be redundant--but its just that its hard not to do exactly that when describing this film. Its truly a bag of treats, one I know I'll keep reaching in for more! (I know, I've used wayyy too many exclamation points in this review)...

(***WARNING***Slight spoilers ahead, but nothing that would prevent you from enjoying the film if you read***)

Which brings me to the bad news. Yes, believe it or not, I do have something negative to say about Aa Gale Lag Jaa. Two things, in fact. First (and if you've seen the film, I'm sure you knew this was coming) was the fact that Preeti (Sharmila's character) became pregnant after Prem (Shashi's character) slept next to her, saving her life (After a sudden accident that left her hypothermic) by transferring his body heat onto her. What?? Did I miss something??? Perhaps I was being naive, but I really assumed directly after watching this scene that Prem and Preeti merely slept next to each other in the nude (Strictly for medical purposes, of course). Now I was supposed to believe that...oh, never mind. Okay. It's Bollywood. You just have to take some things with a grain of salt, na?

The second thing that disturbed me was the scene where Preeti's fiance (because you know there's always a fiance lingering around keeping our protagonists apart), who also happens to be a doctor, starts whipping Prem's son (the kid from above photographs). Now, as I said, this little guy's as cute as a button--and also happens to be disabled. Who would want to watch him get hurt? Definitely not me! It helped a little that the doctor was actually doing this as a legitimate part of the boy's treatment, but...it still stung nonetheless.

(****END of slight spoilers*****)

Those two things aside, it wasn't hard to love this film. Heck, I'd probably say its found a spot on my Favorites List--at least for now. If you need a dose of sunshine in your life, pop this in--you'll be grinning by film's end!



Finally, I'd like to thank all of you that are hanging in there and still visiting/reading/commenting on my blog. School's been crazzzyy...I've had very little time for recreational things such as writing and Bollywatching. But--have no fear! I've got quite the pile of films to dig into, and school's almost out in 3 weeks...Stay tuned!:)

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