SOORAJ BARJATYA: Music and Melodrama

More involved in distribution than film-making, Sooraj Barjatya has directed only a small handful of films – but several of them were such huge hits that he’s effectively made his mark on Hindi cinema as a director – specifically as a director of a specific type of film – the sentimental, schmaltzy, melodramatic ‘family drama’. Hallmarks of his movies include family celebrations (usually with gorgeous, heart-warming songs) and inter-generational conflict (typically resolved thanks to love, understanding and forgiveness – all done the desi way, of course).

Barjatya’s films always reflect – and even champion – so-called ‘traditional family values’ – values which are often decried as both unrealistic and anachronistic. Several of his films feature ‘arranged marriages’ between characters who, although they have no objections to spending the rest of their lives together, haven’t exactly had the opportunity to make such a life-changing decision with a person of their own choosing, after a reasonable period of discovery. The films also tend to endorse a model of marriage where the girl seems to set aside any aspirations or ambitions she may have had, in order to become the idealized ‘biwi aur bahu’.

In addition, Barjatya often seems to adopt the simplistic view (often seen in Bollywood – and also, by the way, in Nollywood (Nigerian cinema)) that 'Western' values are completely unwholesome and undesirable and worse, are some sort of raging virus out to destroy everything that the Indian family holds dear. This theme pops up in all the Barjatya films I’ve seen – the worst characters are those that try to look and speak ‘Western’ – they are immoral, greedy and uncaring about the needs of others.

I’m not going to weigh in on the debate as to whether there’s anything harmful or misleading in the ‘family values’ model adopted by Barjatya in his films – I think that everyone has a view on that. I will only say that as a lover of Bollywood films, I’ve learned to sift through the messages in various movies and to extract what (if anything) is of value to me, discarding whatever goes against my own worldview. And I will also say that my beliefs, I like to think, are pretty embracing of diverse views, and I sometimes (but by no means always) find that there’s value to be extracted from ideas that may at first go against the grain. And that’s a lot to say from someone who had nothing to say!

Before talking about the Barjatya films I’ve seen so far, I’ll just summarise what I love and (don’t love) about them. I like a formula that works, and his formula works for me – catchy, melodious music + beautiful, charming actors + some conflict + all-conquering love healing all wounds. I like it – it’s simple and it’s fun (for the most part). Let’s break it down.

The music: Barjatya uses music (and lots and lots of it) really well to heighten emotion and tug at those heart-strings, awakening feelings of nostalgia and tenderness. The melodies (usually provided by Raam Laxman) are simple, catchy (really infectious, actually), memorable and even sometimes shamelessly plagiarized (as in ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’). The song picturisations are usually really beautifully done, in my opinion. Schmaltzy and over-the-top as it sometimes is, I think the music is my favourite thing about his films.

The actors: Like every director, Barjatya has his ‘MVPs’ – actors that understand how to effectively capture and demonstrate the family-friendly messages infused through each film. Alok Nath, who’s almost a genius at melodrama in my view, has to be the most valuable Barjatya MVP, but there’s also (among others) the charming Reema Lagoo, Anupam Kher (whom I love), Ajit Vachani, Mohnish Behl, and his favourite ‘hero’, Mr. Salman Khan.

Mr. Barjatya is a bit more adventurous when casting young females, and he sure goes for the gorgeous: Bhagyashree – she of the lamentably underachieved career (‘Maine Pyar Kiya’), Madhuri Dixit and Renuka Shahane (‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!’ – Renuka is another whom I wish had done more), Kareena Kapoor (‘Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon’), Amrita Rao (‘Vivah’), Karisma Kapoor, Tabu and Sonali Bendre (‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’). Barjatya picks beautiful people, and that makes for many beautiful picturisations – from Madhuri and Salman in ‘Joote Dedo’ to Shahid and Amrita in ‘Hamari Shaadi’, to Tabu, Sonali and Lolo in ‘Maiyya Yashoda’, to Bhagyashree and Salman in the Antakshari medley from ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’.

Speaking of great picturisations, India itself is, I believe, a character in Barjatya’s films – the rich culture, the family traditions, the colourful clothing, and the scenic locations spread across the country. All his films that I’ve seen include scenes shot in the beautiful, picturesque, often rural areas of India. That’s another thing I love.

Barjatya is also fond of animals, it seems – from Tuffy the dog in HAHK, who ends up playing a pivotal role in the film, to Handsome the dove in ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’. And he has a distinct affection for the the name 'Prem'!

One thing I do like about Barjatya’s characters is that they all have distinct and different personalities – some are feisty and forward, others shy and reserved; some are plain-speaking, others diplomatic geniuses; some are bubbling with life, others inwardly seething. They are definitely not the most nuanced and complex characters (although I think some of them end up having a lot more substance than you’d at first think), in fact they are usually very broadly-sketched, but I guess I can forgive that within the context of what he does.

The conflict: There is always one – whether created by human weakness (as in ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’) or by bad advice from creepy friends (as in ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’) or by tragic accident (as in ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!’ and ‘Vivah’). As with real life, the conflict usually comes straight out of nowhere. Unfortunately, sometimes the conflict also comes off a bit contrived and/or unrealistic… but oh well.

All-conquering love: Ah… the all-consuming power of love, be it romantic or filial, able to straighten out every difficulty, obliterate every complication, assuage every human yearning, make people become exactly who the people they love want them to be…. Except, this works only in the movies! It makes for some nice, cathartic emotional resolutions though. It would be nice, I suppose, if a nod was made to the fact that things are never so nicely tied up in real life – but then again, isn’t that why we’ve got the movies?

Now to the Barjatya films I’ve seen so far.

‘HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN…!’: I adore this film. It’s my favourite of the films Sooraj Barjatya has directed and just has a very special place in my heart. I wrote just about everything I have to say about it here.

‘HUM SAATH SAATH HAIN’: I’m one of the few people that actually really liked this film. Yes, it’s very saccharine in many places, but I think it had its heart in the right place. I love the songs from it and enjoyed the performances as well as the issues it tackled. I’ve written about it here and here.

‘MAINE PYAR KIYA’: This is a very sweet, charming film about young love. It’s very ‘typical’ of Bollywood romance – rich boy, poor girl, opposition from parents… but it’s very nicely done. A young, likeable Salman Khan and the adorable Bhagyashree play Prem and Suman, two young people who despite their differing backgrounds, find friendship, and later love, when Suman comes to live at Prem’s house (Suman’s father and Prem’s father are old friends). These two made SUCH a lovely couple, and the film-makers captured some really memorable moments with them.

Unfortunately, as the bond between Prem and Suman develops, the bond between their parents is destroyed by Prem’s father’s pride and elitism. Suman’s father’s pride is awakened in turn, and Prem must then convince him (as the Biblical Jacob had to convince Laban) that he is deserving of his daughter. Throw in the attempts of the greedy, Westernised Ranjeet, Seema and Jeevan (played by Ajit Vachani, Pervin Dastur and Mohnish Behl) to snatch away all that Prem and his family hold dear, and our young hero faces quite a challenge. Will he succeed? Anyone who knows Bollywood knows the answer to this question, but it’s still fun to watch.

The best thing about this film for me was the performances – especially by Bhagyashree and Salman, although they’re nicely backed by the rest of the cast. I do so wish Bhagyashree had built on the success of this film – I think she could have had a great career. The songs in this film are also really sweet (‘Dil Deewana’ is pretty, ‘Tum Ladki Ho’ is fun, and ‘Kabutar ja’ is delightful – I enjoyed the rest as well). Some aspects of the script could I could have done without, such as the strangely intense relationship between our lovers’ fathers (especially on Alok Nath’s side) – very amusing, but weird. Also could have done without the big fight at the end. But all told, this is a really, really sweet and charming love story.

‘VIVAH’: Sooraj Barjatya’s most recent hit, a charming courtship story starring Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao helped Barjatya regain the credibility he had lost with HSSH and ‘Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon’ (which I haven’t seen). It also sparked criticism from many who felt that its themes were obsolete and its female protagonist annoyingly submissive. While I don’t agree with all of it (I particularly disagree with the notion that Poonam’s shyness automatically makes her a mindless coward), I do have problems with some aspects of this film’s storyline.

Shahid Kapoor plays the sweet, sincere Prem, a young man whose father (played by Anupam Kher) apparently gets up one day, and out of nowhere, decides it’s time for his son to get married. Prem has his doubts, but like a good, obedient son, he meekly goes with his father to meet the selected prospective wife, the lovely Poonam (played by Amrita Rao). After only one brief and one-sided conversation, during which Poonam seems to be afraid to look up at Prem's face, she agrees to marry Prem. There is no discussion about her goals, desires and aspirations until after the decision is made. And even then, the ‘discussion’ (such as it is), almost explicitly subjugates her own future accomplishments to the chief role she will soon have as supportive wife and dutiful daughter-in-law. And through it all, Poonam is quietly acquiescent - and somehow it's a little difficult to tell whether it's because she's doing what's expected of her or because she's doing what she wants.

After this beginning (which, you can probably tell, I found pretty problematic), the bulk of the film is taken up by Poonam and Prem’s sweet season of courtship. I have to say I was won over at this point by the warmth and sincerity of the characters and the way they slowly establish friendship and intimacy.

I thought Shahid and Amrita had great chemistry, and I liked their characters’ mutual respect and the fact that neither was ‘fronting’ - Prem and Poonam were keeping it real. Their relationship takes time to mature, and both of them have to make an effort - I liked that as well. And it was immensely gratifying to eventually discover that Poonam, despite initial appearances, does, wonder of wonders, actually have a pretty resilient backbone and something even more endearing – maturity and wisdom along with a sense of fun.

I really, really enjoyed ‘Vivah’ – I loved the songs, I loved the romance, I loved the way in which it all unfolded, and I just thought that it was really lovely and sweet. But there is no doubt that unfortunately, I also found some aspects of it unacceptable.

I think that this ambivalent note is a really good one on which to end this post. While I like the fact that Barjatya’s films put family values front and centre, while I love the music and the emotion, and the beautiful people and scenery, and the whole formula; there definitely are aspects to that formula that can be difficult.

But I think that I am probably not the only movie buff that comes to this point with a number of films (whether they be products of Bollywood, Hollywood, or Nollywood) and has learnt to deal with it – extracting, as I said earlier, what works for me and pushing aside what doesn’t (of course, there are times when there’s nothing to extract because none of it goes down well).

I am of course conscious that some will use messages in films to continue to legitimate and reiterate (even if only to themselves) ceretain inequitable viewpoints – and even worse, that some more impressionable viewers may possibly find their viewpoints shaped by what they see on their screens… and of course at this point the whole ‘life imitates art imitates life’ circular argument rears its ugly but compelling head.

Phew… I went a bit deeper with this than I planned… funny how I returned to the same point I tried to avoid at the beginning of this piece. Time to summarise. I remain a fan of Barjatya’s work as a director – and even if he never directs another film, I will always be glad he made the films he did (especially HAHK – I love it so much).

MOHNISH BEHL - Consistent

I think of Mohnish Behl (sometimes credited as Mohnish Bahl) as one of Bollywood’s less prominent, but more consistent, actors. He is definitely not one of the big stars in the industry, and I’ve never seen him play the leading man in a movie (never even really seen him dance apart from some simple, undemanding stuff in ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’) – but his performances are usually well-executed and solid. He always a good complement to a cast and does a good job of supporting the big shots in each movie. I really like that. Mohnish is in his forties now, and he’s the son of the late and great Nutan Behl, a very talented actress from way back. He also happens to be a good singer, as well as an actor. Apparently he’s had more success with TV series than movies – which doesn’t surprise me because he’s usually second (or third, or fourth) banana in his films.

I’ve read somewhere that Mohnish is known for playing the ‘bad guy’, and has basically been pigeon-holed into that role, and I think, maybe, at least part of that is attributable to his ‘dark’ looks – and I’m not referring to skin tone (although he is dark-skinned) – I’m talking about the prominent jet-black eyebrows, the strong nose, the somewhat brooding profile. But when he smiles, a genuine full-on smile, I think he looks as charming, sweet and harmless as a little boy, which is why I quite like him when he plays a nice, serious, sweet, kind-hearted good guy – I think he does rather well with those roles, even better than he does with the stereotypical bad guy.

I’ve seen Mohnish in 9 films so far – 4 in which he was the baddie, and 4 in which he was (basically) a good guy. In the 9th one (‘Astitva’), he was neither bad nor good, at least not in a stereotypical way – he was just a guy who made a big mistake – what he did as a result was definitely wrong (and he really suffers for it), but the real ‘baddie’ in the film turns out to be someone else…

HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN…!: This was my first Mohnish Behl film, which is why I was rather taken aback to find out that he is known for playing baddies. In HAHK, a much younger Mohnish plays Salman Khan’s serious, quiet, responsible, and generally ‘good’ bhaiyya. He and Renuka Shahane (playing Pooja) make a lovely couple in this film – they have two very sweet scenes in particular – the charming ‘ice-breaker’ involving paint spilled on his clothes when he and his brother go to ‘check Pooja out’, and the scene where he helps Pooja put on her necklace before she goes to visit her parents. She asks him if he’ll come with her, and he sweetly says he’ll come and get her at the end of the trip. I love that scene because it shows the real closeness and intimacy between this rather restrained, shy, ‘traditional’ and seemingly very conformist pair. It’s also the last moments he spends with his wife (sorry, spoiler for those who haven't watched HAHK - she dies when she goes to her parents' home), which is really just sad. Although Salman and Madhuri Dixit are the definite frontliners in this film, I love the jodi that Mohnish and Renuka created in just a few scenes together.

ASTITVA: This is one of my favourite Bollywood films simply because of its subject matter - the fact that it tackles honestly and directly the harsh everyday issues which are usually glossed over or sugar-coated in Bollywood – free will, infidelity, self-determination, marriage, the power imbalances between men and women. It also showcases a wonderful performance by Tabu – the best I’ve ever seen her do. Mohnish plays a romantic, handsome music teacher who falls in love with his student (played by Tabu), who also happens to be a married woman. Tabu is not in love with her teacher, but she is lonely, and aching for the attention and love her too-busy husband deprives her of. So they fall into bed one night – it’s the only time it happens but Tabu gets pregnant. Desperate to protect her marriage, she allows hubby to believe the child is his – but of course, years later, everything starts to unravel. I love Mohnish’s performance here – in many ways he’s just a plot device to move Tabu’s story along, but despite the ‘smallness’ of his part, he gives the role his best shot – he’s restrained, sincere and believable.

That's Mohnish singing away in the background in 'Astitva', while Tabu wonders if she dares to act on her desire for him... nicely shot song by the way.

HUM SAATH SAATH HAIN: I have a special spot in my heart for this film (made by the makers of HAHK) because the music really rocks, it’s very family-oriented, and it tackles some of the real-life issues big families face. Sadly it bombed in India, but I love it. Salman Khan (in a likeable role for once – although he still can’t resist taking off his shirt), Saif Ali Khan (all fun and mischief) and Mohnish all play three close, loving brothers; and Sonali Bendre, Karisma Kapoor and Tabu play the women they love (by the way, they all fall in love with female versions of themselves, which is rather silly but kinda cute in the film).

Mohnish plays the eldest brother – he’s quiet, responsible, wise, and cares very much for his family. He has a disability, for which reason many prospective dulhans have turned him down – until Tabu comes along and falls in love with him and his entire hamdan, and then realises she really wants to be the eldest bahu in this family, and to look after everyone for the rest of her life – I mean she actually takes the entire family on her honeymoon trip – and they go to her in-laws’ village for the honeymoon! No-one in the real world is that nice and adorable and selfless, but it’s kinda sweet – Tabu manages to make it look like it’s all genuine free choice, NOT obligation or convention or tradition, that makes her do this – which I guess is why I liked it. Anyway, things go swimmingly until there’s a family crisis and all the happy-smiliness is challenged.

I love Mohnish and Tabu is this film – they are too cute. There’s the scene in which Tabu comes to tell him she really wants to marry him; and there’s the wedding scene in which he takes out his traumatized hand and she supports it with hers, and he looks all moved and surprised. I love that so much (see photo above). Then there’s also the sweet scene in which she talks to him and Salman about their relationship. Tabu is a stabilising force, a bridge-builder in this film, I like that. I also really liked the natural-ness, genuineness and sweetness (but with the necessary depth) of Mohnish’s performance. He smiles a lot but somehow you believe his character is really happy (or happy in a sad way, as the case may be) and not just faking it – you know?

KOYLA: In this intense, violent and rather ‘different’ (and therefore interesting) Rakesh Roshan film, starring Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, Mohnish has a very small role – his character appears in just one scene. It’s a pivotal scene in some ways, but it’s still just one scene in a 3 hour film. But he does a really great job, and hands in a memorable and moving performance as Madhuri’s brother who comes home to find her in the oppressive custody of the evil chief (played with frightening relish by the late, great Amrish Puri). Mohnish disappears from ‘Koyla’ after that violent, bloody confrontation – but he does strike you when he comes in. Again, a small role, but he does a good job with it.

JAANWAR: This is a funny little action thriller starring Akshay Kumar and Karisma Kapoor. Actually, it’s not trying to be funny, it’s dead serious – but it’s so OTT and silly in parts that you can’t help but laugh. I think it’s good fun though. Here Mohnish plays the father of a son who was lost in an accident, and who after several years has been forced to accept that his missing son is probably no longer alive. Shilpa Shetty plays Mohnish’s grieving wife, who refuses to accept that her son is dead. Unbeknownst to the couple, their son was found by Akshay’s character, a reformed criminal, and is alive and well. How they get him back is another story – Mohnish makes some mistakes, but he eventually sees the error of his ways, and all comes right in the end. Mohnish is good in this film, not spectacular or anything, but one of his scenes with Akshay in his son’s bedroom sticks out in my mind – he really manages to express the frustration, grief and desperation of his confused character effectively.
From 'Ek Rishtaa' - Mohnish is the guy in red right at the edge of the screencap - he was all bruised and banged-up and stuff so I didn't really want him in my screencap at the time...

EK RISHTAA (THE BOND OF LOVE): Here Mohnish plays the bad guy – a really bad guy who pretends to be good in order to weasel his way into the affections of Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, and their picture-perfect little ‘ek raja hai, ek rani hai’ family. He wins the heart of the patriarch first, then wins over and marries the sweet, unsuspecting daughter, played by Juhi Chawla; and then proceeds to drive a wedge between AB and his son (played by Akshay Kumar). He does a good job in this film – he really is very, very evil. But I still think he does good better than he does bad…

BOL RADHA BOL: I just saw this terrible, abysmal David Dhawan film over the weekend – it is really, truly awful. It stars Rishi Kapoor, who is actually not bad acting-wise (despite the awful garish sweaters he favoured at the time, the awful dancing, and his repeated use of the word ‘bugger’) and Juhi Chawla (who smiles and opens her eyes very wide and generally plays the cute card waaay too much, and only really acts in like 2 scenes, in which she’s actually good, which just makes you wonder why she didn’t act right through – and who by the way is not a good dancer AT ALL – I must remove her name from the list of good Bollywood dancers I did a while ago – but I digress). There’s also a ‘wonder dog’ called Sheru/Moti – I don’t like the use of 'wonder dogs' in Bollywood films at all, it creeps me out – especially in a film like this, in which there’s a scene with the characters laughing and cheering while two dogs fight. Awful. The scripting is really bad, the story is silly and the film is poorly shot, and… not good. Anyway, Mohnish is again the bad guy, with his hair all slicked back to make him look evil. He does look evil, and he does ok with the part, but it’s not a memorable performance.

RAJA HINDUSTANI: Again, Mohnish plays the cartoon-ish stereotypical bad guy – he laughs at poor village-y Aamir Khan (in the title role) and tries to make him look stupid, because he lacks all the social graces the man who marries Aarti (played by Karisma Kapoor) should have. Again, Mohnish does ok, he does the whole snide horrid thing well, but it’s nothing special.

KAHO NAA… PYAAR HAI: We all know and remember this film as Hrithik’s ticket to Bollywood superstardom, and to be honest I can’t remember too much about Mohnish’s performance – except that he played a dirty cop who connived with the bad guys to get rid of our hero. I think he played it well… but it was probably not very demanding.

So, as far as Mohnish Behl is concerned, for me:
When he is good, he is very very good
And when he is bad, he’s umm… not bad…

YOU ROCK MY WORLD, YOU KNOW YOU DO…

This post is a tribute to great Bollywood soundtracks. My cousin, who watches a bit of Bollywood now and then, always skips the songs. She says they are time-wasters, make the films unnecessarily long and mess with the storyline. Oh I so disagree. If it were not for the music, I honestly would not love Bollywood half as much as I do. I love, love, absolutely love, the music.

Sure, the music is not always perfectly done. Sometimes you find that the soundtrack just does not fit the movie – they are out of sync somehow. They are on totally different pages – hate when that happens. Sometimes the music is decent but the movie is so bad that it distracts you from enjoying the songs. Sometimes the music is just so forgettable, it sounds like a million things you’ve heard before. Sometimes, it’s not the music but the choreography and movement that fails – and it just doesn’t flow (hate that as well, but love it when it works). Sometimes it’s just plain ol’ flat-out bad music. Which can be a shame, ’cos even a good movie can be semi-sabotaged by bad songs.

BUT WHEN IT’S HOT, IT’S HOT… and I absolutely LOVE it. When the music rocks, and is right for the movie, it’s a beautiful thing. Here are some of my favourite Bollywood soundtracks. I’ve put 25 of my favourites (in no particular order) here. This is just 25 of my favourites off the top of my head, so I’m sure some of my faves haven’t made it on here just because they’ve skipped my mind at the moment. Still love them, though, whatever they are (I'm sure I will be hitting myself for skipping some of my favourites later).

This is a tribute to the great, super-talented and super-creative composers, lyricists, instrumentalists and playback singers of Bollywood (who I know will never read this). I love you all (really – I’m not just saying that), your music makes me happy (or sad, but in a good way). You rock my world (even though a lot of the time I don’t know what you’re talking about – I always love it when they remember to subtitle the songs – wish they would always do that!).

VEER ZAARA: A rich, beautiful and evocative soundtrack that completely and perfectly complements the movie. My personal favourites are ‘Do Pal’ and ‘Tere Liye’, but I would happily listen to the entire album over and over again without skipping a single track.

UMRAO JAAN: The poetry is beautiful. The music is beautiful. Asha Bhonsle (thanks, Carla) sings like an angel (albeit a very seductive one). Nothing else to ask for, really.

MERA SAAYA: One of those soundtracks when you really only remember one song from it, but somehow it’s enough. I love the theme song ‘Mera Saaya’, and honestly can’t remember the other ones, but… it’s still on my hot list. The song ‘Mera Saaya’ is haunting, mysterious, and somehow a bit quirky – perfect for a ‘60s mystery movie. Love it.

MUQADDAR KA SIKANDAR: Three words: ‘O Saathi Re’. Again, I love this soundtrack just for one song – ‘O Saathi Re’ is just beautiful to me and is amazingly sung (by Kishore Kumar, I think). It’s just terrific. I could listen to this for hours.



THE BURNING TRAIN: Three songs from this soundtrack make me love it – ‘Teri Hai Zameen, Tera Asmaan’, ‘Pal Do Pal Ka’ and my personal favourite ‘Pehli Nazar Mein Humne’. ‘Teri Hai Zameen…’ is kinda cheesy, but sweet and even inspiring, ‘Pal Do Pal Ka’ is a 15-minute orgy of music that just makes you feel happy; and I just have a special place in my heart for ‘Pahli Nazar…’. ‘Wada Haan Ji Wada’ and ‘Meri Nazar Hai Tujhpe’ are also very good songs.

BLUFFMASTER: A great soundtrack, just perfect for the film and guaranteed to make you wanna dance. ‘Bure Bure’, Sabse Bada Rupaiyya’ and ‘Say Na Say Na’ are my favourites. Very memorable.

LAAWARIS: Another fun soundtrack from one of Amitabh Bachchan’s earlier movies. ‘Jis Ka Koi Naheen’ is almost deliriously defiant and brilliant, and the other songs are delicious and indulgent.

SHOLAY: Another soundtrack that was perfect for the film. Great songs all around, I like the folksy, off-kilter ‘Mehbooba Mehbooba’ (Helen rocked it out in the movie); but ‘Yeh Dosti’ has to be my favourite.

KABHI KHUSHIE KABHIE GHAM: A number of good songs are on this soundtrack, but I never get tired of watching the video for ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’ and listening to the song. Love it! ‘Shava Shava’ is fun and ‘Bole Chudiyan’ is even more fun. And the title song is sweet.

DUSHMAN: You wouldn’t expect a thriller about a serial rapist-murderer to have such a great soundtrack. It’s surprising, and therefore brilliant. I particularly love ‘Awaz Do Humko’, but ‘Pyar Ko Ho Jane De’ is good too. The one where they go ‘kabhi nahin, kabhi nahin’ is nice too.

MAIN HOON NA: Ah, ‘Main Hoon Na’. Great music. I love the title song, but I think my favourites are ‘Chale Jaise Hawaein’ and ‘Tumse Milke Dil Ka’ (particularly the latter). ‘Gori Gori’ is fun too.

HUM SAATH SAATH HAIN: The major reason I love the Bharatya (I'm not sure I spelt that right) family musicals, like this movie and HAHK, is the music. It’s just awesome. This is a great soundtrack, from the title song to ‘Maiyya Yashoda’, to ‘Mhare Hiwda’, to ‘Yeh To Sach Hai Ki Bhagwan Hai’, to ‘Sunoji Dulhan Ek Baat Sunoji’. Even the cheesy-oh-so-cheesy ‘ABCDEFGHI’ song gets my thumbs up.

DEVDAS: ‘Devdas’ as a movie was (for me) visual overload, so the songs had to live up to that. I think they succeeded. My favourites are ‘Silsila Yeh Chaahat Ka’, ‘Hamesha Tumko Chaha’ and ‘Dola Re Dola’.

DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE: I’m sentimental about this film so it just had to be on this list. But the songs really are great - absolutely delectable music. I particularly love ‘Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam’ (I'm sure I didn't spell that right), ‘Mehndi’ and ‘Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko To Pyar Sajna’.

HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN: Another Bharatya film with a fantastic soundtrack. Love the title song, so sweet. Love ‘Waah Waah Ramji’, ‘Joote Dedo’, and Dhiktana Dhiktana’. Even ‘Chocolate Lime Juice’ which is a bit silly, sounds good.

BUNTY AUR BABLI: A fun soundtrack with a few cringe-y moments. Overall, it’s very very good. I love ‘Dhadak Dhadak’ most of all, it always makes me feel good, but I also like ‘Kajra Re’ (Ash rocked it out), ‘Nach Baliye’, ‘Chup Chup Ke’ and even (aww shucks), the title song.

KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI: Whenever I hear that unmistakable ‘Tum Pas Aiye’, my body involuntarily starts to move. When I was watching ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge’ and this song came up in the medley, I was singing like a madwoman. This is a great soundtrack, infectious, instantly recognizable, and perfect for the film. Other highlights for me are: ‘Koi Mil Gaya’, ‘Ladki Badi Anjani Hai’, ‘Raghupati Ragav Raja Ram’ and ‘Tujhe Yaad Na Meri’.

YES BOSS: This is a chilled out, goofy movie – and the soundtrack is equally chilled-out and goofy. Some of the songs are duds, I have to say, but I think ‘Main Koi Aisa Geeta Gaoon’, and a few of the other numbers, make up for them.

DIL TO PAGAL HAI: This is a really nice film (with Madhuri Dixit totally killing it when everyone thought her career was over – go Madhuri!! – and SRK and Karisma doing a great job too), but I think I loved the songs even more than the movie. My favourite is ‘Koi Ladki Hai’ (so catchy, and I love the kids’ voices on it). Other good picks are ‘Dholna’, ‘Are Re Are’, ‘Le Gayi’, ‘Pyar Kar’, ‘Bholi Si Surat’, and of course, the excellent title song. This is a really lovely soundtrack.

SATYAM SHIVAM SUNDARAM: Again, the title song would be enough for this movie to make my list. Perfect for the film - haunting, mysterious, melodious, beautifully sung. The other songs are great too - very... interesting and 'different' - for a 'different' film.


MAIN TULSI TERE AANGAN KI: Who woulda thought you could make such a great title song out of such a long title? It works, it absolutely works. To hear this song is to love it, and it’s mostly in the way it was sung (can’t remember if it was Lata or Asha who did the honours). Whichever of the sisters did it, it was beautifully done.

ARADHANA: This is a romantic movie to the core, and they gave it an appropriately romantic soundtrack. The songs are great – from ‘Main Sapnoon Rani Kab Aaegi’ (Kishore Kumar always rocks), to ‘Gun Guna Rahe Hain Bhavre’ (my personal fave), to the sexy ‘Roop Tera Mastana’, to ‘Baghon Mein Bahaar Hai’ (‘Ha Hai!’)

JUNGLEE: ‘Yahoo!’ I absolutely love this soundtrack. The title track is totally right for the film, and I also love ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’ and the oh-so-sweet song that has ‘Tumse Mohabbat Hoge Hum Mujhe’ in it (can’t remember the title but it’s my favourite song from the film). The soundtrack complements the film beautifully.

THE RISING – THE BALLAD OF MANGAL PANDEY: I love the way this soundtrack was done. It’s very creative and moving, it tells a story, it conveys the feeling and tone of the film, and I just think it rocks.

For number 25, it’s a tie between DIL and YEH VAADA RAHA: which I guess is kinda appropriate because they are both romantic films (which, I must admit, I love). I guess the right thing to do would be to make the list a list of 26; but I don’t really like that number so I’ll keep it this way. For me, ‘Dil’ had a great soundtrack – young, catchy, passionate and just right for the movie. Same goes for ‘Yeh Vaada Raha’. Nuff said.

My second foray into the wonderful world of Bollywood (or, how I fell in love love love with Dharmendra - Part 2)

Okay, make I continue... so I left Nigeria for the UK in 2004 to go to grad school. In December of that year, I was in the US for my brother's wedding. One night, my sister-in-law called me and was like 'You have to see this movie'. The movie was 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' (DDLJ), starring probably the most successful Bollywood movie couple ever (Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol). I love DDLJ, it's a great movie. The music, the dialogues, the acting... fantastic. Incidentally, DDLJ is the longest-running movie in Indian cinema history and has been playing non-stop in the cinemas for well over 10 years.

So I returned to London eager to watch more Bollywood. I intended to buy a couple of DVDs on my new best friends (friends to my book and movie-loving heart but enemies to my bank balance), eBay and Amazon; but shall we say I was overtaken by faaaaaar more significant events... which are beyond the scope of this blog.

So Bollywood took a back seat for a while... until around April 2005, when I visited my cousin Samirah in Dundee, and she borrowed a Hindi movie from a friend. It was 'Kyun! Ho Gaya Na', starring Aishwarya Rai and Vivek Oberoi. The movie was not terrible, but it dragged on for too long and bored me silly. Amitabh Bachchan was in it too, in a bizarre role... he kept saying 'Come on, Charlie'. I was like, Nna Bros, you be Indian abi you be Ghanaian? Didn't quite put me off Bollywood, though.

Around the end of my Master's degree exams, I finally got round to buying a couple of DVDs, and also got to break out my new (and first-ever) laptop which had a DVD drive. I was so excited! The movies I got, based on internet recommendations (I always do my due diligence on Amazon, Bollywhat, ApunkaChoice, the IMDb and a few other sites, before I spend my hard-earned cash on a movie) were: Kal Ho Naa Ho (KHNH), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH), Hum Saath Saath Hain (HSSH), and Hum Aapke Hain Koun...! (HAHK). Thanks to my excellent homework, these turned out to be the perfect choices to kick off my Bollywood craze!

KHNH (see picture above) was my least favourite of the above 4 movies. It was a nice story and made me laugh, but I wasn't moved by Preity Zinta's acting. This was one of her less-accomplished performances. I loved the chemistry between the two male leads, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) and Saif Ali Khan (they play friends in the movie), though. And the famous death scene, popularly known as 'the scene where SRK refuses to die' actually made me cry the first time I saw it. So all in all, KHNH is not a bad movie, it just wasn't the best of the lot.

The other 3 movies I am probably equally fond of... I love them all and have re-watched (and re-watched and re-watched) them all. KKHH (see picture above) is just adorable... classic Bollywood. SRK and Kajol, the perfect couple, are just awesome in this one. Rani Mukherjee, Johnny Lever (clown), and the rest of the supporting cast, are great too. There's a cute story at the heart of the movie (who can resist the old cliche about a little girl finding a new wife for her widowed daddy?), and the movie is also about second chances and friendship. Pure Bollywood FANTASY (as with many other Bollywood movies, there's not much about KKHH that is realistic. The music is to die for (and I mean, TO DIE FOR), the direction great, and I even managed to tolerate Salman Khan in this one. It's just a great movie.

HSSH (see picture above) is great too, and showcases an ensemble cast with Tabu (great as usual), Mohnish Behl (loved him in this movie), Karisma Kapoor (this was the movie that showed me that the girl can dance!), Saif Ali Khan (plays mischievious very well in this film), Salman Khan (again, could manage him here although he just HAD to take off his shirt) and Sonali Bendre (small role but she looked lovely). I like the message of this movie about love, loyalty and family values. Now this movie is realistic, even if very over-simplified and stereotypical. A lot of the messages resonated with Nigerian society. The music in this movie is absolutely wonderful, and the dance sequences are great too. Yes, it's cheesy, but it's Bollywood!

HAHK (see picture above) is another lovely movie. It is full of great song-and-dance sequences (in fact, most of it is one great song after another for most of this 3 hour - most Bollywood movies are about 3 hours long - movie). Although it seems pointless at first, the film really does have a story, and when they finally get to it, it's really moving (let's just say you'll need a hanky). I love Madhuri Dixit in this film, she just sparkles. Salman Khan is tolerable in this film too - it's one of his earlier movies - except when he says 'painting, bhaiyya painting' which is actually kinda funny. Mohnish Behl is cool in this movie, and so is the lovely Renuka Shahane, who plays his wife, Pooja.

So, I started off my re-introduction to Bollywood with 5 great movies - DDLJ, KKHH, KHNH, HSSH and HAHK. Kyun...Ho Gaya Na was barely watchable.

Check out their IMDb entries to find out more about the 6 movies I've mentioned in this post:

Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110076/
Hum Saath Saath Hain: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0216817/
Kal Ho Naa Ho: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347304/
Kyun! Ho Gaya Na: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349703/
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0172684/
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112870/

Come back later, and I'll finally get to the Dharmendra part - promise!