zen Posted June 18, 2021 Posted June 18, 2021 (edited) Most Bollywood films have some masala elements to cater to its target market. However, the films mentioned here are usually considered to be in a separate tier (more focused approach, relatively less masala; or displaying unique qualities) than the regular Bollywood masala fare. Examples would include many Dilip Kumar films (this is his territory) such as Devdas, Naya Daur, Madhumati, Mughal-e-Azam, Gunga Jumna (though this can be a borderline case), etc. Raj Kapoor's Sangam (it can be considered as masala as well because it mixes both element well, making it borderline). Dev Anand's Guide. Raj Kumar's Pakeezah. I have not seen many of the films from this category recently (say last 6-12 months) so I am writing mostly from the memory, therefore the list can change. I have ignored arthouse films, which can be good but not necessarily "entertainers". Below is a list of top 10 in the order of release: Naya Daur: Splendid example of the conflict b/w the quest to modernize and preserve the traditional ways. It inspired Lagaan Madhumati: A timeless classic on the reincarnation theme. Inspired many Bollywood films including Om Shanti Om Mughal-e-Azam: An epic capturing the love story of Salim and Anarkali that was against the wishes of the emperor Sangam: Takes you on a journey with three friends. There is love, sacrifice and everything in between Guide: You can make your life meaningful. A film that had to meet various challenges. Showcased that you can be "relatively different" and still successful Anand: While you come to the world crying, you have the option to depart it laughing ... "Babumoshai, Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi" Pakeezah: Walking that path of love can be extremely difficult. Released just before screen legend Meena Kumari's death. Raj Kumar is brilliant and so is the background score Munnabhai: Gandhigiri revisited Rang De Basanti: A group of students fight corrupt politicians much like how the freedom fighters of the past fought the British Dangal: You can achieve your dreams through your kids. Don't give up the pursuit! I can add a few more but limiting it to 10 while trying to include various subjects! Edited June 19, 2021 by zen
zen Posted June 18, 2021 Author Posted June 18, 2021 (edited) PS There are Vishal Bhardwaj directed films like Maqbool (based on Mcbeth) and Haider (based on Hamlet) that I used to like ... Don't know how they hold up in 2021 Edited June 18, 2021 by zen
bharathh Posted June 19, 2021 Posted June 19, 2021 Taare Zameen Par Secret Superstar Iqbal - truly underrated movie Ek Hasina Thi - Urmila at her best Johnny Gaddar - Pity Neil Nitin Mukesh couldn't do better than this 1942 Earth - Heartbreaking esp at the end Uri - Way better than I thought it would be Lagaan - maybe masala but really good movie Monsoon Wedding Udta Punjab neel roy 1
zen Posted June 19, 2021 Author Posted June 19, 2021 (edited) The famous Raaj Kumar scene from Pakeezah ... Poetic ... Nobody's feet ever got so much attention: PS Raj Kumar’s dialogue delivery & the background score work brilliantly together to make the scene memorable! Too bad that we cannot see such actors on screen again Edited June 19, 2021 by zen
zen Posted June 19, 2021 Author Posted June 19, 2021 (edited) Below is an amazing romantic sequence from Mughal-e-Azam (wonderfully acted as you can feel the passion): ^ I can imagine such songs being sung in courts Edited June 19, 2021 by zen Mariyam 1
zen Posted June 20, 2021 Author Posted June 20, 2021 (edited) Rewatched Rang de Basanti (probably after a long time). It remains a knockout and showcases the very best of Bollywood films. The issue of Mig crashes has troubled me. I feel at times that Ind's bravehearts are let down by equipments given to them, therefore it is great to see this topic included in the film. PS below is a nice score (played during the radio station segment): Edited June 20, 2021 by zen
vayuu1 Posted June 21, 2021 Posted June 21, 2021 Pardon me but rdb remains one of the most propoganda oriented films of bollywood plus it was congress that bought mig infact 1200 of it of which 870 crashed in 45-50 yrs,it was bjp that supported tejas. https://myvoice.opindia.com/2020/10/revisit-film-rang-de-basanti/ raki05 and coffee_rules 1 1
vayuu1 Posted June 21, 2021 Posted June 21, 2021 Rdb is nothing but mahimamandan of lol Salam and pinjira tod type people.
zen Posted June 21, 2021 Author Posted June 21, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, vayuu1 said: Pardon me but rdb remains one of the most propoganda oriented films of bollywood plus it was congress that bought mig infact 1200 of it of which 870 crashed in 45-50 yrs,it was bjp that supported tejas. https://myvoice.opindia.com/2020/10/revisit-film-rang-de-basanti/ I do not care for politics … I know about Migs and I care when they crash irrespective of political party in power (I imagine almost all politicians to be corrupt) … I am not the target audience for political discussions related to parties PS note the thread on films so let’s stick to films! Edited June 21, 2021 by zen Bigg Brother and Mariyam 2
coffee_rules Posted June 21, 2021 Posted June 21, 2021 2 hours ago, vayuu1 said: Rdb is nothing but mahimamandan of lol Salam and pinjira tod type people. https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/revisiting-the-radio-station-in-rang-de-basanti-a-case-study-in-bollywood-communist-propaganda “At the outset, Sue’s filmmaking endeavor is straight off the hot communist press – of using literature, art, drama and cinema as propaganda vehicles to stoke revolution and overthrow constitutionally elected governments. The full implication of this will chill us when we recall the fact that throughout its blood-soaked history, not a single communist regime has come to power through free and fair elections. From Russia to the entire (former) Eastern European bloc to Cuba, communists have literally seized power through prolific violence against their own countrymen and once in power, have committed industrial scale genocide, again, against their own countrymen. Remember this when—and if—you watch Rang de Basanti.” vayuu1 and raki05 2
zen Posted June 21, 2021 Author Posted June 21, 2021 (edited) Talking more about Rang De Basanti, its narrative structure of actors undergoing a change due to the characters that they play is probably inspired by the film Jesus of Montreal: Btw, if this is a new trailer (I had not seen it before) of RDB, it is excellent: Edited June 21, 2021 by zen
coffee_rules Posted June 21, 2021 Posted June 21, 2021 I have to agree to a movie's content politically to appreciate. If a movie is propagating propaganda material, no matter how technically good it is, it falls flat. So, many political movies are campy. Glorifying them will normalize the propaganda. In non-masala type movies, I like movies that are not pretentious about their intent, Just like RDB, Munnabhai is anti-science and anti-medical profession propaganda movie packaged in popular entertainment like PK. Rubbish. - A lot of them saw propaganda in Newton, but I liked it for its content and how the main chars were characterized. We can see everyday humans in them without any political leanings. - Similarly, the slightly woke movie - Court - was super good in the treatment of chars much better than RDB could muster - Similarly with a movie called - Tithi. - Masaan too was superb Naya Daur, Sangam are typical masala movies with a classy presentation of acting etd, I wouldn't consider them here Among the popular, here's my top ten in HFI. Although other language movies are much better in this dept than HFI, we can leave that discussion for another thread: - Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam (Great story, picturization, chars, songs and mature cinema that can be compared to any other quality movies of the west - Teesri Kasam (typical RK style acting when he is not directing, superb story, acting and songs) - Ganga Jamuna - Dilip Kumar's great acting, great story and songs, much better than Mother India as a comparison. - Satyakam (Dharmendra-Hrishida) - Not seen recently, but the concept of idealism in the times. - Anand - timeless movie - great in every dept. HrishikeshM - Garam Hawa (MS Sathyu's best , with great acting by Balraj Sahni, sad story of partition that rivals with TV serials like Buniyaad) - Achanak - Gulzar/Vinod Khanna - kind of a liberal movie about death penalty, good char development, I would consider best from Gulzar - Ardh Satya - Govind Nihalani's best movie, acting, chars, you name it, was perfect and great to watch as well. - Nayakkan - started a great trend of colorful chars , OTT and grand standing without any formula elements - memorable movie - Satya - although people rate company better, but Satya in Gangster movies is like the GFather of all such movies in Indian context
zen Posted June 21, 2021 Author Posted June 21, 2021 8 minutes ago, coffee_rules said: - Nayakkan - started a great trend of colorful chars , OTT and grand standing without any formula elements - memorable movie That is not a Bollywood film!
zen Posted June 21, 2021 Author Posted June 21, 2021 (edited) Moving to some of the other films on the list, I was able to reconnect with Raj Kapoor's Awara, Shree 420 and Sangam when Criterion Channel showcased them (probably the films are leaving in June). The quality of these films is amazing, only if Criterion takes the initiative to restore them esp. if their original prints are still preserved. I usually rate Raj Kapoor's acting in songs as the best and below is an example from Sangam: These greats make me proud of Bollywood! Edited June 21, 2021 by zen
coffee_rules Posted June 21, 2021 Posted June 21, 2021 13 minutes ago, zen said: That is not a Bollywood film! So what? it is dubbed and better than any HFI movie in quality . You should watch some regional language movies to appreciate how much better they are compared to HFI (don’t call it Bollywood)
zen Posted June 21, 2021 Author Posted June 21, 2021 7 minutes ago, coffee_rules said: So what? it is dubbed and better than any HFI movie in quality . You should watch some regional language movies to appreciate how much better they are compared to HFI (don’t call it Bollywood) Note that we are talking about original films (English films have been dubbed in Hindi too) ... I have watched Nayakan. It is good but I am not sure if has aged as well as I would have liked (similarly Dayavan, the Bollywood version)
zen Posted June 21, 2021 Author Posted June 21, 2021 (edited) In Sangam, Rajendra Kumar's role is also nicely written. He does a great job, giving a well measured performance ... One thing that I appreciate about filmmakers like Raj Kapoor, Feroz Khan, etc., is that they do not try to reduce roles of other actors unless the film demands (many times, other characters have better scenes as well like Rajendra Kumar and Vinod Khanna at the end in Sangam and Qurbani, which is on the "masala" thread, respectively) ... In Sangam, Raj Kapoor's character only begins to make a serious impact in the later stages of the film (after he reads the letter), then RK takes his acting to the next level too Edited June 21, 2021 by zen
I6MTW Posted June 21, 2021 Posted June 21, 2021 What about Pyaasa? No mention of that here? Mariyam 1
coffee_rules Posted June 21, 2021 Posted June 21, 2021 25 minutes ago, I6MTW said: What about Pyaasa? No mention of that here? Totally forgot about it. Definitely be on my top10
coffee_rules Posted June 21, 2021 Posted June 21, 2021 59 minutes ago, zen said: Note that we are talking about original films (English films have been dubbed in Hindi too) ... I have watched Nayakan. It is good but I am not sure if has aged as well as I would have liked (similarly Dayavan, the Bollywood version) Don't bring Dayavan , every time we talk about Nayakkan. They are not even in the same scale to compare. I wouldn't even compare FK as an actor/director in the same sentence as RK/MR
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