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.

'YEH VAADA RAHA' ('The Promise') (or joining the ranks of my fellow Nigerians)

So finally I qualify as a true Naija ‘born, bred and buttered’ pikin. Yep, I recently saw ‘Yeh Vaada Raha’ (also known as ‘The Promise). Perhaps I should explain. ‘Yeh Vaada Raha’ is arguably one of the most well-known Bollywood movies in Nigeria – definitely one of the top 5 anyway (I blogged about this before, here). I’m sure I was in primary school when I first heard the theme song for the movie and saw people doing the ‘clap-slap’ thing that Vikky and Sunita do in the movie. And I kept hearing about the movie right from primary school in the 80’s, through secondary school and university in the ‘90s, and even today. Nigerians love this movie – and a whole LOT of Nigerians have watched it. If there was to be a poll of Indian movies Nigerians like, it’d be in the top 3 – fo’ sho’.

'Ooh, come here, you little oochie coochie coo'. Vikram and Sunita in the theme song.

Anyway, somehow, I never saw ‘Yeh Vaada Raha’ as a kid. I knew the whole story though, I had been ‘gisted’ about it many times by a lot of my friends. I knew the theme song and the other song (which I like to call ‘La la la la la la la la laaa’) from the movie. I knew the clap-slap thing. I knew all about how Vikky and Sunita fall in love, then Sunita loses her face in an accident and gets a totally new one (I’ve blogged about fake-pretend cures before here – wonder if the people that did ‘Yakeen’ – which I reviewed here – saw ‘Yeh Vaada Raha’ and used it for inspiration. Probably not, I have a feeling the ‘new face’ thing’s been done to death).

'Ji, Sunita, not only has the doctor given you a new face, he's tweezed your eyebrows for you while at it'.

So what do I think about ‘Yeh Vaada Raha’? It is good fun, really. Yes, the story sometimes makes no sense and the plot has more holes in it than a king-sized colander, but for all its silliness, it’s a good film. The acting is good: Rakhee gets to terrify me again as the strict mother – saw her in the more recent ‘Dil Ka Rishta’ and ‘Baadshah’, but liked her more in ‘Yeh Vaada Raha’. The man who plays the miracle-working plastic surgeon is deliciously larger-than-life, and Rishi Kapoor does a very decent job as the romantic lead, Vikram (‘Vikky’) – I really liked him here. The music in the film is lovely, really sweet.

Terrifying, nasty and mean, yet somehow likeable - Rakhee in 'Yeh Vaada Raha'.

As for Sunita, I liked ‘old Sunita’ (Poonam Dhillon) much more than ‘new Sunita’ (Tina Munim) because new Sunita sometimes behaved like a diva chick doing fash-pa in secondary school (that statement can only be totally understood by someone who went to a Nigerian boarding house, anyone else, I could tell you that fash-pa is short for ‘fashion parade’ but you still wouldn’t quite get it, sorry). Despite my very marked preference for Sunita 1 over Sunita 2, both ladies did very well. If Sunita 2’s behaviour was a bit stupid (‘I will give up my love for Vicky so he can get loads of money and enjoy it with his new wife’ – very very slightly romantic maybe, but rather daft), that’s noone’s fault but the scriptwriter’s.

Sunita 1 (Poonam Dhillon) - liked her better than Sunita 2

The flaws in ‘Yeh Vaada Raha’ are many (about a gazillion), but that’s not important. Get into the spirit of this and you'll love it. The oh-so-warm feeling you get from the movie makes up for the fact that, for example, Sunita’s speaking voice changes completely after the accident (although her singing voice – provided by Asha Bhosle - remains the same).

Unlike ‘Teri Meherbaniyan’ (which I reviewed a while ago here - also starring Poonam Dhillion, by the way - and as a random addition, she's also in Sanjay Dutt's '80s classsic, 'Naam'); I totally understand why this film is popular in Nigeria. It’s the ‘Love Nwantinti’ in the film – we dig that kinda stuff. I wish I could interpret ‘Love Nwantinti’ properly (for any non-Nig person reading this)… have to think of another way to express that.

Sunita and Vikky in 'Love Nwantinti'

YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING TOO MUCH BOLLYWOOD WHEN...

Naked Guitar Earl Klugh!!!
Originally uploaded by lancebowski.

...you're at a wonderful jazz concert (on Saturday night, featuring the awesome Lagbaja and the sublime Earl Klugh), and you have to physically restrain yourself from lifting your hand, shaking your head, and going 'Vaah! Vaah!', after each amazing performance.

I think I just might need a break from Bollywood...

‘UMRAO JAAN’ (1981)

In view of the release of the new ‘Umrao Jaan’ film, I finally got round to watching my 'Umrao Jaan' DVD. Produced and directed by Muzaffar Ali, and released in 1981, the original film stars Rekha in a performance that is seen as the defining role of her career.


The new ‘Umrao Jaan’ stars Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan. According a review I read on the radiosargam website, the new movie is a poorly-directed disappointment. The review also says Ash looks beautiful (the reviewer even compares her beauty to Rekha’s, as though that has anything to do with anything) but that her performance isn’t great, and that Abhishek was woefully miscast, although he and Ash have great chemistry in their scenes together. Guess I’ll have to wait awhile to find out if I agree.

After seeing the original ‘Umrao Jaan’, though, I wonder why they’re doing a remake. I guess they just couldn’t resist putting Ash in ornate costumes and jewelry (I always think Ash is at her most gorgeous dressed in traditional Indian outfits); and showcasing her dancing skills. I can’t really think of any other reasons to remake this movie without updating it (as was done with ‘Don’) or trying to put a new spin on it. Having said that, I guess Ash is the natural choice for this character. The only other person I can see in this role (although she would never be given it) is Madhuri Dixit.

Anyway, to the old movie. ‘Umrao Jaan’ is the story of a courtesan of the same name. The movie is set in the 19th century, and is based on a famous Urdu novel (which I now badly want to read). Umrao (then known as Amiraan) is kidnapped from her parents as a child by a man who holds a grudge against her father. He intends to kill her, but later decides to sell her to the madam of a brothel in Lucknow. The madam changes her name to ‘Umrao’. She is raised in the dysfunctional family that exists in the brothel, and learns to sing and dance beautifully – no, exquisitely. She also becomes an accomplished poet in her own right.

The courtesan is a familiar figure in Indian cinema. Watch a few movies and you’re bound to meet one. Tainted, loved, lusted after, reviled, envied, despised, praised, used, adored, hated, worshipped… she is usually presented as a doomed woman – one who has no option but to continue to entertain strangers, because she can never be anything more. She is also often presented as a woman with a goddess-like ability to love and forgive unconditionally. More often than not, I get the sense that the courtesan is used as an object (albeit one that arouses extremely ambivalent and complex feelings), a relic, not a person.


I loved this movie. The script is excellent, the movie is beautifully shot (great directing), and the music is out of this world – fantastic songs. It's not perfect - there are some glaring continuity errors, and the fake-pretend instrumentalists accompanying Umrao's songs are a bit jarring. But, altogether, it's a very good movie and everyone involved did very well. Supported by a very good cast, however, this movie belongs to Rekha. Rekha is absolutely stunning in this movie – she infuses so much life into her character with every look, every movement, and every word. She really becomes ‘Umrao Jaan’, and I think Aishwarya must be very brave (or unwise) to take on a role that was so wonderfully inhabited in the original film.

Rekha makes Umrao, despite her exquisite beauty and elegance, a woman I could instantly relate to. Without ever really letting go of the reserve, mystery and ‘stature’ of the character, she lets you see that at heart, Umrao is just another woman desperate to be loved and accepted. She is vulnerable, in need of affirmation and support. She is just another woman torn between loyalty to the people to have raised (and used) her, and the desire to be someone else. In a way, Umrao is a very mundane character. There are thousands of Umraos - they can be found in every city and village in the world. Rekha makes her elusive and mysterious, but also very (and tragically) real. Not an object, not a religious relic, but a person.

At the end of the film, when Umrao comes full circle, she is told that it would have better if she had died. It’s an interesting (though appalling) comment, considering the fact that she was to have been killed at the beginning, and was only spared because of greed – and her kidnapper probably congratulated himself later on his humanity in selling her rather than killing her. Umrao’s choice at the very end (I’m trying hard not to spoil) makes total sense to me – what are her options?

The script raises many issues surrounding the traditions of the brothel. They apply just as much to every city in the world as they do to Lucknow. Thankfully, the film doesn’t attempt to answer the questions it raises – that would have ruined it. It shows you how complex the relationship is between the madam who makes a killing from the girls in her brothel, while effectively enslaving them; and the girls who can’t help but love her, although they hate her. The opening scene, showing Umrao being adorned almost as a bride (something she can never be) is very moving. ‘Umrao Jaan’ shows you how the activities in the brothel affect families outside it. And, particularly at the heartrending end of the movie, it shows you the overwhelming hypocrisy of society in condemning women who live in the world of the brothel.

Umrao’s story, she is once told, is her ‘fate’ (which I think is hogwash). She disagrees. She thinks she is simply a victim of cruel circumstance. Although I disagree, her opinion seems to makes sense, because as she finds out, a simple circumstance (which, interestingly, had to do with the shade of her skin) could have changed the path of her life completely. But she was powerless, and left to the mercy of others’ choices. Like so many other things in life, at the end of the day, it comes down to one question – who holds the power? And what do they do with it?

Nobody mentions the huge role that human weakness, greed, pettiness, selfishness, cowardice and just sheer cruelty play in Umrao's story, but the great thing about this film is that nobody has to – it’s glaring. The characters in the brothel even try to exculpate themselves by saying that Umrao’s fate would have been worse if she had been bought by a wealthy woman to act as a maid – which turns out to be oh-soooo-very-ironic.

This film leaves the viewer with so many questions – but it’s not depressing, although it's desperately sad. In a way, it’s actually inspiring and thought-provoking, because it shows both the bad and the good (and the huge gray area in between) that exists in each one of us. The great thing about this story, to me, is that it’s very much an everyday story, despite its appears larger-than-life presentation. I once read on someone's blog that the new 'Umrao Jaan' might not succeed because people don't understand the old traditions of the courtesan anymore; but knowing next-to-nothing about those traditions did not at all prevent me from enjoying this film and thinking about the issues it raises.

I’ve seen Rekha in two other films. She played another courtesan, 'Zohrabai', in ‘Muqaddar ka Sikandar’, also starring Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna – a very good performance. I’ve also seen her in ‘Ghazab’, with Dharmendra, in which she was also very good. But in ‘Umrao Jaan’ she is simply spellbinding.

PS Just read on Maja's blog that the new 'Umrao Jaan' isn't a remake but a new treatment of the classic novel. Unfortunately too lazy to edit my post!

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...