10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT DHARMENDRA – PART 1

This guy Dharmendra had me at hello really, and the more I see of him, the more I love him. There are SO many reasons why I love (love love) Dharmendra, but here are the top 10:

1. HE’S GORGEOUS: Duh. This one’s a no-brainer. From the beautifully chiselled features to that fit physique, Dharam-ji is just, simply put, one good-looking specimen of manhood.

This is particularly enjoyable to me because, no offence meant, but for me, there aren’t really a whole lot of really gorgeous leading men in Hindi cinema. Plenty of charismatic, interesting-looking heroes for sure, but I really do feel that the women have always outdone the men in terms of physical beauty. Good looks (in the ‘classic’ sense) aren’t quite as important for the men of Bollywood – what’s more important for them is screen presence, charm and believability – which is why overweight heroes with questionable styling choices have held sway at the box office at various times. Of course, this is probably changing now (which I am actually not sure is a good thing), as the unconventional good looks of Aamir Khan and SRK gives way to the modelesque beauty of the Neils and Ranbirs of the noughties. (All this is purely my opinion, of course – I’m sure plenty of people will disagree.)

Anyway, to get back to the point, Dharmendra has always been a real treat and feast for the eyes for me in terms of his physical beauty. As one of my commenters pointed out a while ago, he was one of the first mainstream leading men in Bollywood to train for his roles – to make sure that his legs were toned and honed in preparation for Dharam Veer and all the other movies in which he proudly showed them off. He was in fantastic physical condition, carrying off very physically challenging roles with great aplomb, well into in his 40s and even his 50s, which is pretty remarkable considering that he also had a well-publicised drinking problem.

It’s often said that Dharam ji’s beauty was at its peak in the 60s, which I tend to agree with – but as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I do tend to prefer his slightly more mature looks in the early-to-mid 70s – for me, he was just irresistible in his early-to-mid thirties.

2. THAT VOICE: I love Dharam’s voice... there’s something so raw, yet noble, strong, and almost pure about it. A little huskiness, but not enough to be menacing. A certain innocence and freshness, but not enough to be girly. Unlike his son Sunny, he wasn’t much of a shouter in his movies – he generally spoke in lower tones, and even when he got really mad, his voice would generally go lower and more menacing, not necessarily louder. But for all its quietness, Dharmendra’s voice has always held authority and projected whatever was need, whether it was anguish, angst, confidence, comfort, laughter, love.... Brilliant dialogue delivery – he always emotes so well with his voice.

And I know this has nothing to do with his voice, but I also think Dharam had fabulous lip-syncing skills – I really love watching him lip-sync to Hemant Kumar’s haunting voice in the beautiful ‘Ya Dil Ki Suno Duniyawalon’ (Anupama), or to Mohammed Rafi’s agonised voice in ‘Hui Shaam Unka Khayal’ (Mere Humdum Mere Dost). Such expressiveness in his features....

3. Speaking of his voice, another thing I love about Dharmendra is his ANGREZI!!: (By the way, I really love that word, Angrezi). Dharmendra’s father was a school headmaster in Ludhiana, but as far as I know, Dharam himself didn’t go to college. When he does speak (often halting) English in interviews etc (which isn’t often – you get the feeling he’s far more comfortable with Hindi), you very much get the sense that he pretty much taught himself the language through practice. I do feel that Dharam places a high premium on education, as seen in the high level of education his children have received, particularly in the UK. But I don’t know that Dharmendra himself enjoyed an advanced level of formal education. He probably finished secondary school and then started working immediately after that to support his family. He married young, became a father at a young age, and was working in movies by the age of 20, so he almost certainly did not go to university. (I would love to know if anyone has more info on his early life – I’ve not found a whole lot on the net)

For all this, Dharmendra has played an incredible number of Angrezi-speaking, highly educated individuals in his career – from a brilliant college student (Ayee Din Bahar Ke), to a novelist (Anupama), to professors (Chupke Chupke, Dillagi), to an engineer (Satyakam), to a doctor (Bandini), to an award-winning scientist (Black Mail), he’s played them all, and very convincingly too. Just as he’s also played loads of street rogues, criminals, etc with little or no English skills (Sholay, Patthar Aur Phool, Ram Balram, Samadhi, etc). And if there’s one thing I enjoy, it’s hearing Dharmendra do his Angrezi dialogues.

Whether he’s playing a highly educated man or an illiterate one ‘murdering’ the English language, there’s just something about it. I can’t put my finger on it, maybe it’s the beautiful accent, or the very precise enunciation or that certain shyness/uncertainty that comes through at times, but it’s just wonderful... it just gets me. Every time. And I’m not the only one – Rum feels the same, as does the lovely Bollywood Deewana – in fact he made this fab little video of Dharam’s English dialogues in Krodhi (which looks like a fabulously camp film – the wig and beard alone are quite amazing – I must watch it!). I just looove this video to bits and watch it whenever I need a pick-me-up. Enjoy.

4. SENSITIVITY: I would love to say that whenever I think about a man with sensitivity, I think about Dharam, but thanks to Ralph Tresvant, all that comes to mind is an R&B song from the 90s (albeit a pretty good one). But back to the topic at hand. There is such a sweetness and sensitivity about Dharmendra that just makes my heart melt. Especially with his leading ladies... in films like Anupama, where he’s gently coaxing a timid girl out of her shell, or Black Mail, where he shyly confesses his feelings to Rakhee’s lovely Asha and then eventually struggles to deal with his crushing disappointment when he feels used by Asha. There is something so sweet about Dharmendra sometimes, you just want to put your arms around him and give him a hug. Manly as he is (and he is very manly indeed), in his best onscreen performances you just get the feeling that he feels things deeply.

5. HUMOUR: Dharmendra has such a great sense of humour onscreen, and fantastic comic timing too. Sometimes he gets really, really wacky (Ghazab, for example – those buck teeth and that whiny act were just something else!); other times it’s more subtle (like the witticisms in Chupke Chupke), but it’s always fun. The great thing about Dharam’s comedy is the way he throws himself into it and isn’t afraid to look silly or undignified. He’ll happily dance like an absolute idiot if required... in fact; you often get the sense that he really enjoys laughing at himself.



Now who could possibly resist that??

And now, this post is getting longer than expected (and why on earth did I not expect it??), so I shall be back with Part 2 of this list later....

EIGHT RANDOM THINGS...

T-Hype tagged me yonks ago… and I’m finally taking up the challenge… this is eight random things about moi, Daddy’s Girl…

1. I love to laugh (and it's really easy to amuse me), but I can't stand the sound of fake laughter. It grates on my nerves. I hate it when people laugh even when they don't find the joke funny… I know it's called "polite laughter", but I think it's actually impolite, because it is always so glaringly obvious that the laughter is forced. I think that laughter is one of those things that's just impossible to fake.

2. I love heels… the higher the better… I love the way they look, and I love the way they make me feel. I never longed to wear them until I put my feet in my first pair – but from that moment on, a pair of heels has felt like home. I’ve never felt the slightest bit uncomfortable in them, no matter how high (in fact, the first night I wore a pair of stilettos, I ran a mile in them). Nothing against flats, they’re nice and comfy… but heels are just… tres magnifique.

3. I am sometimes really, really amused when I read the stuff that I write… because although I write the way I think, I don’t write the way I speak – at all. On paper, I am very wordy, ridiculously verbose even (summary was my worst part of English class at secondary school). In person, I am actually really quiet… interesting also in view of the profession I am a member (and practitioner) of. It’s one in which the common perception is that you have to be a loudmouth.

4. I love bookstores – I walk into one and I feel completely at home. One of my favourite things to do is just wander around a bookstore, letting that lovely "paper smell" waft into my nostrils, running my hands across the spines of the books, flipping one open at random. Somehow, being around books just gives me pure joy. One of my very many dream jobs is to work in a bookstore.

5. In view of all the gushing I have been known to do on this blog, it might surprise some to know that I don’t do romance – I've been told I am quite 'hard' and 'unfeeling' in this respect. I am not the least bit romantic. I can’t be bothered with ‘I love yous’ and Valentine’s Day and sweet nothings (ugh). Mushy stuff only makes me cringe and roll my eyes. So, no hearts and flowers in my world – I’m heartily unimpressed by all that… I enjoy seeing it in the movies (sometimes), reading about it now and then, and (strangely) I love observing it (and cheering it on) in other people’s lives, but that’s about it. It’s just not for me.

6. I hate food that's mushy, gooey, soft, baby-food-consistency-ish… eeuuww. I love food that's nice and solid and chewable.

7. I like to sleep with loads of stuff on my bed. It’s a funny thing – I feel really comfortable when there’s stuff around me on the bed… a spacious bed and uncluttered bed looks nice and fresh and appealing from afar, but it only really feels familiar and comfy when I dump some books and papers and clothes and stuff on it. This one really drives my mother mad. Wonder what it'll do to the husband (if I ever get hitched)...

8. I’m not very good with faces – I tend to forget people’s faces, their names too (gets me in a whole lot of trouble on a regular basis). But I remember the oddest things about people – their handwriting (I rarely forget a person’s writing after I’ve seen it once), the way they walk, the way they eat and drink…

Ok, all done…

I have so much to talk about on this blog in the days to come... coming up soon are some thoughts on 'Masoom' and 'Kabhi Kabhie', and possibly a little something on the excellent 'Chak de India', which I saw with Uzo on Friday night (if I can get over the hotness and charisma that is SRK long enough to string some coherent thoughts together)...

THE THREES TAG (with a Bollywood twist)

I got tagged by Maja. I've done this tag before, on another blog, but just couldn't resist doing it again. This time, I've tried to make all my answers Bollywood-related.

3 things that scare me

• Amrish Puri in some of his really evil roles
• Rishi Kapoor’s ’80s sweaters (and the fact that no-one told him not to wear them – I mean, whatever happened to the milk of human kindness?)
• Jackie Shroff dancing around in the ocean (in his infamous Speedo) in ‘Rangeela’

3 people who make me laugh

• Dilip Kumar
• Amitabh Bachchan in his some of his older flicks
• Johnny Lever (at least when he’s not being really annoying)

3 things I love

• Watching Bollywood DVDs alone on my laptop with the lights turned down
• Catching a Bollywood movie at the cinema with Uzo
• Kajol’s unibrow, Ajay Devgan’s teeth, SRK’s dancing, Hrishikesh Mukherjee films, Vinod Khanna’s brown eyes, ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ from ‘Don’ (2006), Jaya Bhaduri’s older performances (I know, that’s more than one, lekhin kya karoon?)

3 things I hate

• Poor sub-titling
• When they use ‘wonder dogs’ in Bollywood movies – I don’t know why, but I just can’t shake the feeling that those animals are harmed
• The slightly-pink porridge-consistency fake blood they used in the older Bollywood films

3 things I don't understand

• Hindi (except the odd word here and there)
• The whole revenge theme and why it’s such a big thing in Bollywood cinema
• How Salman got worse (as an actor and dancer) instead of better

3 things on my desk
(I’m writing this in my bedroom, and I don’t have a desk so I’ll do ‘3 things on my bed’)

• Clothes I really should hang up right away (but won’t just yet)
• My laptop
• My workout DVD

3 things I'm doing right now

• Listening to the cheesy-but-good VH1 Divas Live performance of ‘You’ve Got A Friend’
• Hoping and praying we don’t have a power cut tonight so that I can get some sleep
• Wishing there were more hours in a day to do all the things I want to do

3 things I want to do before I die

• Visit India at least 7 times
• Travel to many more countries around the world
• Be in a Bollywood movie (and definitely not as a stereotypical black baddie or African ‘tribal’ dancer) – well, a girl can dream, right?

3 things I can do

• Multi-task compulsively
• Take loads of screencaps while watching a Bollywood DVD
• Collect random facts about Bollywood people

3 things you should listen to

• The songs from ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!’, the songs from ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’, the songs from ‘Aradhana’, the songs from ‘Abhimaan’, the songs from ‘Junglee’, the songs from ‘Don’ (2006) (well, except ‘Yeh Mera Dil’), and the songs from ‘Umrao Jaan’ (the older movie).
• ‘O Saathi Re’ from ‘Muqaddar Ka Sikandar’… and just about anything else sung by Kishore Kumar – just an exquisite, gorgeous voice.
• Amitabh Bachchan’s ultra-expressive voice, Rani Mukherjee’s husky low voice, and Dharmendra’s sexy voice.
  (again, too many, but what’s a girl to do?)

3 things you should never listen to

• That naughty little voice that tells you to order/buy another Bollywood DVD when you know you really can’t afford it (I’m actually getting pretty good at ignoring it now!)
• People who ridicule and put down your interests and hobbies (e.g. Bollywood)
• 'Yeh Mera Dil' from 'Don' (2006)

3 things I want to learn

• A lot more about India’s history and culture
• Hindi (so I can just turn off the subtitles hameesha AND converse with Hindi-speakers in their own language – now wouldn’t that be too cool?) and some other languages
• To dance like Aishwarya Rai or Madhuri Dixit (yeah, right! LOL at just how realistic that is)

3 favourite foods (Indian)
(I have way more than 3, so I’ll just do the places where I’ve been known to eat Indian)

• Food from the Indian restaurant in Hotel Victoria Palace, off Idejo Street in Victoria Island, Lagos (I really want to try their Sunday lunch buffet sometime soon – Uzo, are you game?)
• Food from The Bridge Tandoori Restaurant down the road from Tower Bridge in London (I miss it!)
• Food from Sherlaton Restaurant in Victoria Island (not as good as Victoria Palace, IMO, but good)

3 beverages I drink regularly

• Water
• Water
• Water (love the stuff)

3 childhood (Bollywood-related) TV shows / books

• Can’t remember how, but I stumbled upon a Filmfare magazine sometime in the ’80s. I remember thinking the women were so gorgeous and the guys were so NOT (hey, I was a kid!) The mag was full of pictures of Madhuri Dixit (I thought she was gorgeous) and Pooja Bhatt (I thought she looked like such a baddd girl – she was wearing black leather in all the pictures).
• Mahabharat – at least I think it was (from when we had cable – it was broadcast early on Sunday mornings.
• I can’t think of a third – so I’ll go for a Bollywood movie from my childhood: Mard, starring Amitabh Bachchan – a very weird, but somehow very entertaining kind of film.

CRUSHING ON COUPLES...

I sort of made a resolution to be more serious on this blog this year – and to do fewer silly posts about crushes and the like… but as this, my very first post of the year, is undoubtedly very silly, it’s pretty obvious that the resolution has been chucked out the window (resolutions are made to be broken anyway, right?). The thing is, being silly is so much fun that I just can’t resist it…

When I have a crush on a particular guy I see onscreen, there are certain things I do. It’s really very funny, I entertain myself all the time. I smile goofily at him on the screen, I touch my heart when he makes it beat a little faster, I fan myself with my hand when I feel the ‘temperature rising’, I go ‘awww’ when he does something particularly cute, I blush (or do whatever the equivalent of blushing is for black people) when he does something really sweet and romantic, and I talk to him… like ‘You’re so cute!’ (for when he looks just mega hot), ‘I want to marry you!’ (for certain rare and random things), ‘Go on, just do it!’ (for when he’s stalling, like when he wants to tell a girl he loves her but can’t quite summon up the courage) and ‘That’s my guy!’ (for when he kicks some butt in a very awesomely cool way). Sometimes (when he gets like, unbearably cute or corny), I have to cover my eyes for a second because I just can’t bear to look. I also usually make up a silly and razz name for the fictional character, like ‘Jackostic’ or 'Jackoski' if his name is ‘Jack’ (one of my current TV crushes is named Jack, actually). And of course there are the random moans and gasps of sheer crush-induced delight. I know, I sound like a total nutcase, but I should make it clear that I only do these things when I am either watching alone (which is pretty much all the time) or with someone of similar sensibilities.

I recently discovered that many of the above silly things I do when I have a crush on a guy I’m watching on TV or in a movie; I also do when I am watching certain couples. Because they are just sooo cute. They just make me fall in love with them. I just absolutely adore them… and so I’ve realised that not only do I have crushes on guys, I also have crushes on couples. (Is that bizarre?) And so I’ve given myself an assignment – to do a post on my three most crushed-on couples in the following five categories: Nollywood, Hollywood, Nigerian TV, Other TV and (of course), Bollywood. It should be a lot of fun. I was going to wait till Valentine’s Day, but hey, it shouldn’t be hard to come up with something romantic to write about on Feb. 14 – this IS a Bollywood blog after all –you can’t escape romance in Bollywood, it’ll chase you down (and smother you). But first I have to point out that the couples I’m about to list are only the ones I actually have an honest-to-goodness CRUSH on, not the ones I like or admire in other ways. For example, I love Cliff and Claire Huxtable very much, and they are probably my fave TV couple, but I don’t have a crush on them. And so on to the fun…


NOLLYWOOD

STELLA DAMASUS-ABODERIN & RICHARD MOFE-DAMIJO (RMD): These two actors are probably one of the most successful couples in Nollywood. They have really nice chemistry together, and you can tell that they like and respect each other in real life. These two are so good in all their movies that there have been rumours (untrue) of a real-life romance between the two. An example of their work together is Charles Novia’s ‘The Bridesmaid’, but there are many more. RMD is a great leading man, he does well paired with almost anyone, but I really like him with Stella.




GENEVIEVE NNAJI & RAMSEY NOUAH: These two have done a lot of movies together; unfortunately I can’t remember the name of a single one at the moment (Nollywood movie titles can tend to be forgettable). Just found a picture for one called 'Super Love' - don't think I've seen it, though. Anyway, these two look really good together and act very well together… I like them.

STEPHANIE OKEREKE & ST. OBI: Steph and Saint make a very handsome couple, they’re both tall and striking. And they had great chemistry in the one film I’ve seen them do together – I can’t even remember what it was called but they were fantastic together. Haven’t been able to forget it. They had my aunt in tears in the final scene.


HOLLYWOOD

Okay… this is going to be hard… I can’t possibly do just three in this particular category because there is so much material for this category in ‘old’ movies (which I love) alone… ok, I’m going to bend the rules a bit and do seven.

LESLIE CARON & LOUIS JOURDAN IN ‘GIGI’: Aww, they were so cute. Leslie Caron as ‘Gigi’, the irrepressible tomboy growing into a woman and falling in love at the same time, and Louis Jourdan as ‘Gaston Lachaille’, the playboy finding out that love has been under his nose for years. I love the moment when walks around Paris singing the song ‘Gigi’, he has this wonderful look of exhilaration in his eyes like he’s just coming alive, then at the end of the film, there’s resignation, but also still that passion, as he realises that his life has changed forever – but he likes it. Kinda corny, but beautiful.

TALIA SHIRE & SYLVESTER STALLONE IN ‘ROCKY’: I am a ‘Rocky’ nut – a real junkie. I have all the ‘Rocky’ movies and can’t wait to see ‘Rocky Balboa’. There is just something I love about the movies. In the first movie (which is really the only one which really focuses and zooms in on the romance between this couple – for which reason it’s the least loved of the more macho ‘Rocky’ fans), Talia and Sly play ‘Adrian’ and ‘Rocky’, a couple of neglected, socially inept, lost souls who find a new lease of life in each other. I love their chemistry, and the fact that they don’t need to say much to express their feelings. It’s like they’ve found themselves in each other. I love the moment when they kiss and slide down the wall together. Awesome.

JULIE ANDREWS & CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER IN ‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’: This movie was a big part of my childhood and I still love it. A friend of mine expressed its appeal well – it has everything: music, comedy, thriller elements, war, villains, and of course, romance. I love how Julie Andrews betrays traces of her attraction all through the film, while Christopher Plummer tries desperately to maintain his state of denial. And I especially love the moment in the garden when Maria and Captain von Trapp finally come clean. When I was younger, I used to cover my eyes when watching it ’cos I just thought it was so embarrassingly romantic.

MEG RYAN AND TOM HANKS IN ‘YOU’VE GOT MAIL’: These two have done a number of movies together, but ‘You’ve Got Mail’ is my fave, which I guess is unusual as most people prefer ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ (‘Sleepless’ was of course inspired by an older classic movie starring another couple I have a crush on – Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr). Anyway, I just love their intelligence as a couple in ‘You’ve Got Mail’, the way they bounce off each other, the way their attraction and connection is so much more than physical – it comes off as way deeper than it should – after all, it’s portrayed in a 90 minute film.

JACK NICHOLSON & DIANE KEATON IN ‘SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE’: Old people in love=cute. I am not a fan of Jack Nicholson, but I have to admit he’s a great actor – and a great (if highly unlikely) leading man. I loved him playing against Helen Hunt in ‘As Good as it Gets’, and Kathy Bates in ‘About Schmidt’ (although they weren’t a couple), but I loved him most of all with the divine Ms. K in ‘Something’s Gotta Give’. They are soooo cute. I love that they made it 100% believable that Diane’s character would leave a hunky young doctor (played by Keanu Reeves) for Jack Nicholson’s aging-Lothario character.

REESE WITHERSPOON & JOAQUIN PHOENIX IN ‘WALK THE LINE’: I love the way these actors portrayed the connection between Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. I love the fact that they showed all the ‘ugliness’ as well as the beauty of the relationship. I love the way they made the friendship between the characters come alive, not just the romance. I just loved them together – my favourite bit is the proposal scene at the end when Johnny stops singing and just stares at June like she’s the most amazing thing he’s ever seen, and she’s staring right back like ‘What? Do I have a wart on my nose?’

CATE BLANCHETT & JEREMY NORTHAM IN ‘AN IDEAL HUSBAND’: I am a Cate Blanchett fan and I really liked the chemistry between her and Jeremy Northam in this film. They play a husband and wife who find out the truth about each other (well actually, it’s more Cate’s character finding out the truth about Jeremy’s). I like the progression in their relationship from utopia to disenchantment to a greater appreciation of and deeper love for each other. I love the way Jeremy Northam says ‘my wife!’ in this film – quite random but I love it. Rupert Everett and Minnie Driver, who play the other couple in this film, are cute too.


NIGERIAN TV

ENE OLOJA & MACARTHUR FOM IN ‘BEHIND THE CLOUDS’: Ene played ‘Efe’, and MacArthur played ‘Nosa’. This was a fantastic couple, they did the whole ‘young love’ thing so well. Efe stayed in love despite the strictures of her father, Mr. Okonzua (we preferred to call him ‘that wicked Mr. Okonzua’), brilliantly played by the great Zack Amata; and Nosa was just a young sweetheart – he was adored by all the Nigerians who were addicted to their weekly dose of ‘Behind the Clouds’ (8pm every Sunday, just before ‘Newsline’). When MacArthur died tragically, Nigeria mourned him, the cast cried onscreen, and the show was never the same.

EGO BOYO & RMD IN ‘CHECKMATE’: Ego as ‘Anne Haatrope’, and RMD as ...can't remember his name ( but he had this cool tic where he ran his finger under his eye) were just a great couple. They had great chemistry, and kept us glued to their characters’ games with each other.

IRETIOLA DOYLE & RMD (AGAIN!!!) IN ‘SOLITAIRE’: Iretiola Doyle is, in my opinion, one of Nigeria’s best actresses. In ‘Solitaire’, she and RMD play the stereotypical Mills & Boon-type couple who ‘hate’ each other but have all this attraction and sexual tension simmering beneath the surface. They work together, and RMD’s character can’t seem to stop baiting Ireti’s character. They have loads of witty repartee to exchange in the script, and it’s a lot of fun.


OTHER TV

Again, I must bend the rules – I’m doing five…

CARLOS BERNARD & REIKO AYLESWORTH IN ‘24’: This is my ‘crush du jour’. Now I just love these two. I don’t know why. I love them to pieces. There is just something about the way their characters, ‘Tony Almeida’ and ‘Michelle Dessler’ really just fancy each other to bits. They are just so cute together, surreptitiously checking each other out while all busy saving ‘millions of lives’. Even in Season 3, when they are playing a married couple, they’re still cuter than high school sweethearts. And in Season 4, even when they’ve split up, they’re still so cute exchanging ‘secret’ glances. I just love their chemistry. When they kissed for the first time in Season 2, I was in raptures. And they are both so cute and so… well-matched. A pity their chapter's closed for good.

JANE LEEVES & DAVID HYDE PIERCE IN FRASIER: These two do a great job of playing ‘Daphne’ (a brassy, blunt, down-to-earth broad from Manchester) & ‘Niles’ (a posh, finicky, drama queen and neat freak), two characters who are different as chalk and cheese. I love them together. Great chemistry. I think I’ve watched the scene when they finally ’fess up to loving each other a million times.

‘GABRIELLE SWANSON’ & ‘TONY CLEMENTE’ IN ‘THE LADY OF THE ROSE’: These are fictional characters from a Mexican telenovela I watched on Nigerian TV in the 90s (yes, I used to watch telenovelas – very cheesy, I know, and I can’t imagine watching them now, but I used to like them). I don’t know what the actors’ real names are, but they were great. They were rarely onscreen together, but everything they went through in the series was about each other… and it was beautiful how they kept trying to hurt each other but finally had to succumb to ‘the love’.

JENNIFER EHLE AND COLIN FIRTH IN ‘PRIDE AND PREJUDICE’: In this BBC TV adaptation of one of my favourite novels ever, Jennifer Ehle plays the witty, independent Elizabeth Bennet, and Colin Firth plays the aloof and haughty Mr. Darcy. The scene in which Elizabeth and Darcy meet unexpectedly at Pemberley is lovely. Jennifer does very well as a girl who thinks she knows it all but finds she is just as prejudiced as she perceives others to be, but Colin Firth completely overwhelms as Darcy. He is just so… so hot, and so believable, and you can really follow the arc of his character’s development. And he does ‘the look’ beautifully. Absolutely brilliant.

ADAM BRODY AND RACHEL BILSON IN ‘THE O.C.’: I have always wished for a fictional version of this fictional show, in which there’d be no Mischa Barton playing ‘Marissa’ (I find her annoying) and no Benjamin McKenzie playing 'Ryan' (although I think he’s very cute, he’d be totally redundant in my fictional version). There would only be ‘Seth’ and ‘Summer’, who I think are just very cute together. Seth makes me laugh, and Summer is sweet. Adam Brody is great, I love him in ‘The O.C.’, but I also really enjoyed his work back when he was on ‘Gilmore Girls’.


BOLLYWOOD

SHAHRUKH KHAN & KAJOL: I love them together, you can tell they enjoy working together, and I think they bring out the best in each other. They do comedy together very well (the ‘college’ bits in ‘KKHH’), and they do the dramatic moments very well too – like the moment in the rain in ‘KKHH’. I’ve seen only three SRK/Kajol movies – ‘DDLJ’, ‘KKHH’, and ‘3KG’, and I loved them together in all three. ‘3KG’ isn’t one of my favourite movies, but I love the SRK/Kajol bits – in fact, ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’ is my favourite SRK/Kajol picturization. I could (and have) watch it over and over again. And every time I watch it, it makes me happy. Kajol is all graceful and beautiful (love her clothes and make-up), and SRK is… well, SRK is… wet. Watching SRK in all the see-through shirts (and as if their transparency were not enough, they have to be all wet as well – so not fair) in ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’ makes me feel a bit… ummm… voyeur-ish and slightly dirty… I mean, I really do NOT want to see his nipples peeking through the fabric (or do I?) I so cannot believe I am going to publish that last line… but I guess I am.

JAYA BHADURI & AMITABH BACHCHAN: These two are so cute. One all ‘long’ and gangly, the other cute and petite. Both so intense and great to watch. I’ve seen them together in ‘Abhimaan’ (love it when she wakes him up and he grabs her hair and pulls her down), ‘Zanjeer’ (love the bit where they just stand apart and stare at each other for eons, and the bit where he tells her he loves her with the most serious expression ever on his face), ‘Mili’ (love the exchange of letters), and ‘3KG’ (love Jaya getting up on her stool to fix Amit-ji’s tie). I love them.

RANI MUKHERJI & ABHISHEK BACHCHAN (A.K.A. ‘BUNTY AUR BABLI’): Now Bunty aur Babli are just the cutest couple. Yes, they lie, they cheat, they steal, but they are like two kids just having a blast with each other. They are two misfits who suddenly find their ‘fit’. For me, Rani is always great to watch, I’ve seen her do well against several other actors, but I really like her and Abhi causing mayhem and having a big ol’ blast in ‘B&B’. Part of it is that I think they have a similar kind of dynamic to Abhishek’s dad had/has (onscreen) with Jaya. A shame they didn’t hit it off in real life – I don’t find the Abhi/Ash energy quite as appealing (although of course onscreen chemistry is very, very different from real life stuff). Good luck to them though.

MEMORIES… A POST HEAVILY ‘INSPIRED’ (IN TRUE BOLLYWOOD FASHION) BY MAJA

I’ve just been over to Maja’s blog, and she has some wonderful retrospective posts (with, as usual, awesome pictures) about what this year has been like for her, in terms of both Bollywood and blogging.

As it’s the end of the year and I’m feeling a bit warm and fuzzy today (must revel in it while it lasts), and also because I think Maja’s idea is absolutely brilliant (and the best tribute to a good idea is to emm… ‘borrow’ it), I’m going to do a little reminiscing and recapping of my own… although, needless to say, this post will be much more uninteresting and less cool than Maja’s.

2006 is my first year as a blogger, and I’m still fairly new on the block. I’ve been blogging for a few months now, and my last post was my thirtieth on this blog. I’ve really enjoyed blogging, it’s been a lot of fun (and a huge learning experience). I think my Bollywood blog has enhanced my love for and delight in Bollywood movies. I crack myself up, remember things I’ve really loved (or hated) about the movies I’ve seen, talk about my observations with others, and generally just have a lot of fun. Another really cool thing about becoming a ‘Bollyblogger’ has been the opportunity to discover and read brilliant blogs by other Bollywood-lovers.

I had just set up my other blog while, in the course of wandering aimlessly around blogworld, I stumbled upon Akshaye’s girlfriend’s blog. I’d been there before, in its infancy, when Beth had seen only a few Bollywood movies, and was thrilled to see how much it had grown and how much Beth really does love Bollywood. After reading some of her posts, I thought to myself, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be fun to have a Bollywood blog dedicated to your current Bollywood favourite person, Dharmendra?’ So Beth, thanks for the inspiration. (Do I have NO original ideas of my own?)

Beth (via her sidebar) turned me on to other fantastic blogs which have now become frequent pitstops for me: Hrithik’s girlfriend’s blog, Abhishek’s girlfriend’s blog, Jhaji’s blog, Sheetal’s blog, Aparna’s blog and others. From that point, I discovered many other brilliant blogs – see my sidebar for my full (and ever-increasing) list of faves – most recently the-Shabana-Azmi-fan’s fantastic site. It’s been a lot of fun – but I think I’ve said that already. I love reading these bloggers’ news, reviews, views and impressions – both when they are similar to mine (sometimes uncannily so) and when they’re totally different (like: "What? You really don’t like….? I love it/him/her".)

It’s been a big Bollywood year for me – I’ve seen a LOT more Bollywood movies than I did last year, and I’ve learnt a lot more about Bollywood – although I’m still pretty much an ignoramus in many ways. I realise that there’s a lot about Indian film that’s inaccessible to me because of language and cultural differences (although I’ve found some parallels between my culture and Indian culture). While I’m a big fan of the whole ‘so much of our human experience is universal’ idea, I also recognize and enjoy the existence of that wonderful, complex thing called diversity.

Sometimes I wonder if I sound shallow and dumb (and quite possibly irritating) to any ‘authentic’ Bollywood fans (people who see the ‘big picture’ and appreciate all the contextual background stuff) who may stumble upon my blog. It’s something I wonder about now and again – have I become one of those annoying people who try to fit in ‘by force’ (Nigerian-ism for doing something ‘at all costs’, even when it’s not even working), and who then proceed to turn into insufferably arrogant creatures who think they know more about the lay of the land than its inhabitants? (A guy I met during my studies in England who’d spent a year working in Africa, and proceeded to spend over an hour trying to convince me that he knows more about Africa than I do, readily springs to mind…he was such a prat!)

Well, if I have fallen into the trap of becoming an ‘irritee’ on this blog, I guess my only defence is that it was unintentional. The aim of my blog is to express a very particular perspective on Bollywood – that of a Nigerian twenty-something (with certain personal preferences and probably a few unacknowledged prejudices) who just happens to adore Bollywood. I’ve tried to keep things as light-hearted and 'me' as possible, and to own up to my high level of ignorance (I’m just a Bollywood fangirl, enthusiast, aficionado and addict – I’d say I was a ‘buff’ too, except I hate that word. I’m definitely no connoisseur). Anyway, please do forgive (and feel free to correct in future) any slip-ups I may have made in this area.

In her post, Maja put up her 5 favourites ('hall of fame') and 5 least favourite ('hall of shame') Bollywood movies for 2006. I tried to do that, but it was too hard! I was coming up with like 10 movies in each category. So, being a lazy girl today, I’m going to do only one each.

‘DON – THE CHASE BEGINS AGAIN’: Seeing ‘Don’ (2006) was the high point of my Bollywood year, NOT because it was the best Bollywood movie I saw this year (it wasn’t – but don’t ask me which was), NOT because it stars one of my favourites (although I do love my SRK), and NOT even because I really, really enjoyed it (although I did – I absolutely loved it – but I enjoyed a few others more). It’s the high point because it marked a number of ‘firsts’ for me. It was the first Bollywood movie I’d ever seen on the big screen, which is a whole different experience from watching DVDs at home. It was the first movie (of any kind) I’d ever seen in a Nigerian cinema, which was long overdue. It was also the first time I met my fellow Nigerian-fan-of-all-things-Indian, which was very cool, because she’s a sweetheart. It was a very memorable afternoon, and I look forward to others like it in 2007.

‘INSANIYAT’: Watching the first 5 minutes of ‘Insaniyat’ (starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sunny Deol and just about everyone else in Bollywood) was pure torture – and hence the low point of my Bollywood year. I just couldn’t watch any more of it… which is very unusual for me, because I HATE to not finish a book or a movie. But after just 5 minutes of watching a tired-looking Amit-ji kicking bad guys’ behinds in ‘Insaniyat’, I completely gave up and NEVER plan to continue. It was that painful. So ‘Insaniyat’ joins ‘Pyaar Kya To Darna Kiya’ on the illustrious list of Bollywood movies I’ve been unable to finish. I usually ‘never say never’, but… NEVER!!!

So, it’s been an interesting, educative, and most of all a FUN, FUN, FUN (till my Daddy takes my T-Bird away) year in Bollywood for me… to sum up:

I’ve seen some really good movies
(And some awful ones)
I’ve ‘met’ lots of cool people
And read lots of cool blogs
I’ve had (more than) my fair share of crushes
And I know this is a very crappy poem so I’ll end it here –
All that’s really left to say is: ‘Bring on 2007!!’

(PS: My copy of ‘Chupke Chupke’ just arrived…yayy!)

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

This post is about some of my favourite Bollywood movers and shakers… and I don’t mean the moguls and power-brokers of the industry – I mean the actors and actresses who know how to move and shake their bodies…

I am a huge fan of dance, and dance in Bollywood movies certainly provides a lot of entertainment. It’s a mixed bag, from the subdued to the extra-extra-EXTRA-OTT, from the traditional to the contemporary, from the solo to the group dances, from the elegant to the wacky, from the talented dancers to the terrible (Rishi Kapoor or Sunny Deol, anyone?) and just about everything in between. There are of course, certain ‘staples’: the ‘item numbers’ (often involving ‘nautch girls’) that show up in a lot of movies, the romantic dances for two in the hills or by fountains, the huge ensemble numbers, the contemplative/introspective numbers that are often used to move the plot along… and so on.

Sometimes I enjoy a particular actor’s dancing because (s)he is simply a good dancer, but this isn’t always true. Sometimes it’s just because the actor is clearly enjoying the number, sometimes it’s the facial expressions, sometimes it’s the emotion, sometimes it’s even the fact that the actor can’t dance to save his/her life (which can be very very amusing).

Anyway, to get to my list… I figure fifteen is a good number – I can probably think of more than fifteen, but I’m just going to put up my very favourite dancers. Also, I think there are going to be, by necessity, waaay more women than men on my list. I’m going to see if I can have at least five males, but it just might be an uphill task.

I should probably also note that choreography is a big factor in a viewer’s perception of a dancer’s skills – in the sense that a really good dancer can’t do very much with really crap choreography, while really good choreography brings the best out of an average dancer.

So, with those caveats, here, in no particular order, are fifteen of my fave Bollywood dancers…

MADHURI DIXIT: Madhuri is a very gifted dancer. Her style is very interpretive and graceful, and she’s very good at using her facial expressions to complement the movements of her body. She can do the more traditional (‘Devdas’) as well as the more contemporary dances (‘Dil to Pagal Hai’) very well. I haven’t seen one of her most famous dances (‘Ek Do Teen’) yet, but I’ve really loved her dancing in just about every one of her movies I’ve seen.

SHAH RUKH KHAN: I think SRK is an excellent dancer. He has such flair for it and seems to look equally good doing just about any type of dance. He also always seems to be enjoying himself. I recently read a Farah Khan interview in which she said that SRK never executes choreography exactly as he’s taught it – he always adds his own style to it and ends up creating a different dance, which the rest of the dancers are then forced to adapt to so that they don’t look out of place dancing with him. I like that.

AISHWARYA RAI: I am not a huge fan of her acting, but Ash can really move. Her dancing is very expressive and elegant, and technically, it’s really hard to fault her. It’s hard to believe that, according to Saroj Khan, Ash was not always a great dancer. She is really good at both traditional (‘Nimbooda’ from ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’) and contemporary (‘Dayya Dayya Dayya Re’ from ‘Dil Ka Rishta’, 'Crazy Kiya Re' from 'Dhoom II') styles, but I personally think she has more of a flair for the more traditional pieces – but maybe that’s just because I always think she looks better in traditional clothing.

AMITABH BACHCHAN: Purists will probably be appalled to find his name on my list, but I LOVE watching Big B dance. It’s not so much the technical ‘correctness’ of his dancing (although I certainly don’t think he’s a bad dancer, he’s definitely not the most flexible or fluid or accurate) – for me, it’s the sheer joy, energy, exhilaration and ‘abandonment’ of his dancing. For him, dancing really is about expression, and he REALLY enjoys expressing himself with his body. It’s palpable when you watch him dance – his energy, his ‘flow’ with the music – I just adore watching it, even when it doesn’t look quite ‘right’. For a really good example of this, two dances from ‘Laawaris’ really stand out in my memory: ‘Jiska Koi Naheen’ in which he really expresses the defiance and anger of his character in his dancing, and another number (the last one in the film, don’t know what it’s called) in which he really lets it rip and does a fun, very enjoyable dance IN DRAG! For anyone who hasn’t seen that dance, it’s well worth a watch.

REKHA: Rekha is a pleasure to watch – I haven’t seen a lot of her work, but she’d make it onto my list purely on the strength of ‘Umrao Jaan’, in which her movements are exquisite and simply beautiful to watch.

HEMA MALINI: While I’m still on the ‘stars from yesteryears’ tip, I should mention Ms. Hema Malini, who is also always a great pleasure to watch. Her dance training is evident in the precision and elegance of her dancing, and I always adore watching her.

HRITHIK ROSHAN: Back to the present day, and here’s one name no-one will be surprised to find on my list. Mr. Roshan is a fantastic dancer – although at first I didn’t get it, I have to say. When, after his debut movie (‘Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai’), Farah Khan went on and on about how great he is and how he should be on Broadway, I was like ‘he dances ok but…’ But watching him dance in ‘Lakshya’ totally convinced me. Hrithik really can move, and his timing is excellent. He says he’s no great dance talent but is just very hard working – I think he’s far too modest, which is rather refreshing, actually.

KARISMA KAPOOR: Karisma is a really skilled dancer – she’s particularly good to watch in more energetic numbers. I really enjoyed her work in ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ (the number in which she and Madhuri do a dance-off is fantastic to watch) and ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’, and have also liked her dancing in several other films.

AAMIR KHAN: I’m kind of ambivalent about this choice, actually, because I don’t really look forward to Aamir’s dancing in the same way as I look forward to other guys on this list – I’m more interested in his acting. Having said that, though, he is a good dancer, technically-speaking, and I guess I do like watching him dance (just not quite as much as I like watching others). What I really like to see him do is gentler, more 'story-telling' numbers, not 'busy' or frenetic ones - he's a very expressive actor so it's good to see him emote through dance. So for that reason, and also because I’m kinda short of menfolk to add to the list (I'm tempted to add Mr. Mithun Chakravarty but he's soooo 80s!), Mr. Khan stays.

HELEN: The actress who’s often regarded as the greatest movie ‘nautch-girl’ ever, Salman Khan’s stepmother (thanks, Carla!), really had the moves in her heyday. She’s great to watch. My favourite Helen numbers so far are ‘Yeh Mera Dil’ (‘Don’) and ‘Mehbooba Mehbooba’ from ‘Sholay’.

RANI MUKHERJEE: Rani is a little bundle of energy, and I think she really does best in energetic, fast-moving numbers. I always enjoy watching her dance.

TABU: Tabu is on my list because she does elegant and graceful very well, and also manages to do totally wacky (I’ve seen her do very very silly numbers in ‘Vijaypath’ and ‘Hera Pheri’) very well too. Very entertaining.

KAJOL: Okay, I guess at this point it looks like I’m just putting my favourite actors on the list – but I guess that’s because I love watching their dancing just as much as their acting. Kajol’s style is less about technical precision and more about interpretation and emotion. Young and funky, dramatic and poignant, she does it all well. I love watching her dance.

SAIF ALI KHAN: I always enjoy watching him dance, he has really nice energy although he isn't great technically-speaking – really enjoyed his dancing in films like ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’, ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ and even (I wasn’t too keen on the choreography) ‘Salaam Namaste’.

So I managed to get my self-imposed minimum of five guys onto my list – which means I am free to have a person of either gender as the fifteenth person on my list.

I choose: Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu (yup, a tie). I chose Juhi Chawla earlier and then realised that I must've been on something when I made that choice, because much as I love Ms. Chawla and think she's the cutest woman ever, she cannot dance at all. So Priyanka and Bipasha win the day - Priyanka for her dancing in films like 'Salaam e Ishq', 'Don', 'Krrish', 'Dosti', 'Waqt' and 'Bluffmaster'; Bipasha for 'Beedi Jaila Le' from 'Omkara' (that performance alone is enough to get her on this list) and for other performances like those in 'Dhoom 2' and 'No Entry'.

So that’s my list… which of your favourite dancers have I missed out? I’m sure I haven’t seen enough Bollywood movies to be able to add some of the best dancers… I’ve heard Govinda is a great dancer, but I’ve never seen a Govinda movie. Same goes for Sridevi.. never seen her dance. I also like other actors’ dancing (examples are Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi, Sushmita Sen and Sonali Bendre), but haven’t yet seen quite enough of their dancing to add them to my list. And while I haven’t seen Vinod Khanna dance a whole lot, I quite like his showmanship (as in, “look at me, I’m so cool and groovy. I'm not a great dancer but I'm so cool anyway”) in the few numbers I have seen him do. I think I’ve seen quite a bit of Preity Zinta’s dancing, and, while I think she’s good, I don’t REALLY look forward to watching her dance. That might well change though, because I can recall that until I watched her performance in ‘Chori Chori Chupke Chupke’, I didn’t particularly enjoy her acting, either. Of course, some may protest the absence of Urmila Matondkar from my list, but, while I liked her dancing in ‘Rangeela’ (not so hot on the choreography, though), I haven’t seen her in much else.

So, suggestions please! I’m particularly interested in suggestions of really good dancers among the male actors, as well as among older generations of actors (whose films I may have not yet seen).

You know, as I’m typing this, I’m also re-watching (more like listening to) ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!’, a film I really love. And (a much younger) Salman dances excellently (IMO) in this film. He also dances well in ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’. But I’ve so hated his dancing in other films (‘Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam’, for example, and ‘Pyaar Kya To Darna Kiya' – in which he made he stop watching ten minutes into the film thanks to one dance number), that I can’t bring myself to add his name to my list…

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.

ON HRISHIKESH MUKHERJEE, JAYA BHADURI AND BEING ‘CHARMING’

'Charming'… it’s such an old-fashioned word. And one that’s slightly tainted by association for me, because of the old pervy man who told me I was ‘charming’ in the library and then tried to kiss me behind the shelves when no-one was looking when I was 13.

Nevertheless, ‘charming’ is the only word that comes to mind when I think of Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies. Comparatively speaking (for Bollywood), Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who passed away a couple of months ago, didn’t make a whole lot of movies. IMDb lists 42 movies directed by him. But a number of his movies are classics which will continue to stand the test of time. Probably his most famous is ‘Anand’, starring Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. I haven’t seen it yet, but I have seen 3 HM movies, and they’re what this post is about.

The 3 HM movies I’ve seen are all simple, they are character films, with no flashy sets (in fact the sets were a bit dodgy), expensive costuming or bizarre storylines. No guns, no gore, and few musical numbers. They’re not even long by Bollywood standards – each one is about 2 hours long. But they are really good movies. I love the way HM made these films – they are simple, they are heartfelt, they are honest, they are about the actors, and they are about ‘ordinary’ people. He captures something about the ‘middle class’ that resonates with the viewer in a very real and engaging way. HM had a way of shooting a scene in a way that made you wonder if the simplicity you were perceiving was real or just a front for something far deeper and richer. I personally tend towards the latter view.

The 3 HM films I’ve seen all featured Jaya Bhaduri, Amitabh Bachchan and G. Asrani. In one of them, though, Bachchan never appears on screen – he’s the narrator. In another one, G. Asrani only makes a brief guest appearance. And the same guy who plays a respected older musician in one of the 3 movies also plays a doctor in another of the movies. HM obviously enjoyed working with these actors, and he knew how to bring out the best in them… especially Ms. Jaya Bhaduri (a.k.a Mrs. Jaya Bachchan).

JAYA BHADURI! I simply LOVE this woman as an actress. She can do passionate and repressed, boisterous and reserved, energetic and passive, spunky and meek… and she makes it all look easy. She has a very minimalist style of acting, but it just sucks you in. All it takes is a small motion with her hands, an arch of the eyebrows, and you completely just GET (or become intrigued by) what her character is expressing. Beautiful. When I’m watching a Jaya B performance, it’s almost like she’s got me glued to the screen with just her sheer energy and spirit. She’s a great actress. As an aside, I also love the fact that she once said she would let no-one, not even Big B, the Baadshah of Bollywood, dictate the course of her career (or words to that effect). I just love strong independent women (and the men who go after them - but that's another story).

Anyway, enough gushing (I can't help it though, I'm a gusher). Time to talk about the 3 H. Mukherjee movies I’ve seen.


1. ‘Bawarchi’ (1972): ‘Bawarchi’ is a sweet little film. It’s about the Sharma family, an extended family who all live together in a house called ‘Shanti Niwas’. Despite the name of the house, it’s anything but peaceful inside. There’s quarrelling, envy, degradation, addiction, illness, and a general lack of understanding. The atmosphere is so toxic that the family is always looking for a new ‘bawarchi’ (cook). All this changes when Rajesh Khanna’s character, a ‘special’ new bawarchi, comes along. He changes everything, of course. And it’s beautiful to see.


My favourite scene from 'Bawarchi' - the fantasy number about a bride

Jaya is great in this film. The rest of the cast is pretty good too, although I felt Asrani was slightly miscast, or maybe he just didn’t really get into his role... or I just missed something. But I didn’t enjoy this movie as much as I could have, mostly because I didn’t really ‘get’ the lead role, played by Rajesh Khanna. Part of me feels that Khanna could have played it better, the other part says maybe I just missed some kind of subtext (as I'm sure I always do, not understanding the language). Anyway, I wasn’t sure I liked Khanna’s character much, he just felt like such a meddler – a busybody. So for that reason I’m slightly ambivalent about ‘Bawarchi’.

2. ‘Abhimaan’ (1973): ‘Abhimaan’! ‘Abhimaan’! I really love this movie. It’s just brilliant. It stars Amit-Ji as a famous singer who marries a simple shy young girl (played by Jaya B). Interestingly, Jaya’s character turns out to be a talented singer as well. One day, she records a song with her hubby (it was all his idea), and everything changes. Suddenly, hubby is playing second fiddle to wifey. Things get ugly – all I’ll say here is that someone eventually ‘turns into a stone’ (whatever that means).

Jaya and Amit-Ji are simply wonderful in this movie, and it’s been called their best performance together. I have to agree: they were great in ‘Sholay’, and in ‘Zanjeer’ (there was that awesome stare moment in ‘Zanjeer’ – whoa! And the way AB finally tells Jaya he loves her, with his face as hard as granite and nary a hint of a smile – awesome!). They were also lovely in ‘Mili’, which I’ll be discussing next, and even more recently in K3G. I’m sure they were also great in their other performances together (must find out what they are), but I doubt that any of them works as well as ‘Abhimaan’ does.

Jaya acts her socks off in this movie – and the amazing thing is that she says very little in the film. It’s in the look in her eyes, the movement of her head, the little gestures – and it’s powerful. Amit-Ji also does a very good job – the character he’s playing is an absolute TOAD, but Amitabh strips him down and plays him honestly, and it ends up being very appealing (didn’t really care for the lip-touching thing, though – it got a bit much). It’s an honest performance.

Jaya and Amit-Ji’s chemistry in this movie is amazing. Really, it is. They just heat up the screen. And when the power balance changes (ie when Jaya starts to get some individuality in the marriage), it’s also very striking the way it instantly affects their relationship. This is one thing I like about Bollywood – intimacy does not necessarily have to be about getting naked. The intimacy and passion portrayed by this couple is very real – and maybe that’s particularly because ‘Abhimaan’ was made in the same year this real-life couple got married!

3. ‘Mili’ (1975): This is my most recent Hrishikesh Mukherjee movie, and wow! It’s beautiful. Again, simple, and about ‘ordinary’ people, but so warmly and genuinely done. ‘Mili’, played by Jaya is a happy-go-lucky, caring young woman, and also an infirm one. Into her life comes ‘Shekhar’, a traumatized young man who’s turned to alcohol after a scandal affecting his parents. This film appears to be just a regular melodrama on the surface of it, but it’s actually deeper than that, thanks to a good script by Bimal Dutta, who also wrote 'Anand'. It’s also a film about the father-daughter bond (which OF COURSE really appealed to me), about the bond between a child and the woman who raised her, about family, about love, about pain and loss, and about life. And a lot of it felt very real and true to me.

Amit-Ji tries to swallow Jaya alive...

...but hey, she gets her own back later on.

Jaya as 'Mili', with the 'girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes'... and one orange sash to match Jaya's sari.

The acting in this film is what makes it rise above the average melodrama. Jaya’s performance is never self-indulgent, it’s kinda disciplined actually. She draws you into her character’s life without ever patronising you or getting schmaltzy or maudlin. From the moment she appears onscreen, I just couldn’t look away. Just a great performance. Amit-Ji is also good in this film – although his character experiences a rather unlikely change of heart, he makes you believe it’s possible. And the scene where he tells Jaya something like ‘why would I marry one else when I love you’?? Just carry me away now!

Amitabh Bachchan all dark and cute

It’s difficult to pick the best performance in this film, as Jaya and Amitabh are so strong (Jaya more so than AB, I think), but if I had to, I would pick Ashok Kumar (who plays Mili’s father). He is absolutely wonderful in this film. The way he expresses emotion is so real and honest, it just tugs at your heartstrings. It’s beautiful. The scenes with him and Jaya? Awesome. The last scene in the film with the look on his face? His body language? My favourite scene – so raw, so evocative… so heartbreaking yet inspiring.

Great acting from Ashok Kumar... loved this scene too.

For me, this was the film's most moving scene... and so well shot.

A bit of an obvious device really, but I still like.

The imagery in ‘Mili’ is also worth mentioning. The use of height (very effective), the use of flying, as signified by the plane scenes. Death represented by the dying flowers, but the flowers also represent life – something being born in the lives of the lead characters who fall in love over flowers and notes (an awesome sequence, by the way). The use of writing, of letters (both of the alphabet and the kind you write to someone you love). I could go on, but I won’t. Anyway, I love ‘Mili’ – it’s the kind of film that makes you feel, but it also makes you think. If I had to give it a tagline, it would be ‘Melodrama done right’! I think part of the reason I like this film so much is that due to recent events in my life, I can REALLY relate to the story – but that’s a good thing. I like a story I can ‘feel’.

It's a bird, it's a plane... no actually, it's a plane.

Now, I’m going to get ‘Chupke Chupke’ (which has already been recommended by Beth), also directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and starring my dear Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore, whom I also love. Can’t wait!

But for now, I'm getting more 'Mili-licious' on here.

Amitabh all unshaven and bothered...

I like this shot because of the sculpture on the wall glaring at Amit's head... plus he looks Abhishek-y here.

I understand, Aunty, you're trying to get me to overdose on drugs... thanks.

This little girl's mama was so very excited about her daughter's two scenes in this film... that she went a bit overboard on the kajal and lipstick... and jewelry... and clothes...