Yoda-esque Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 I am looking for opinions on the best films made in India. Language ,era and genre don't matter. Please list...
EnterTheVoid Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 My favorites: Bandit Queen Slumdog Millionaire Black Friday
ganeshran Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 (In no particular order) from the movies I have seen Taare Zameen Par Lagaan Mughal - e- Azam Mera Naam Joker Thalapathi (tamil) Nayagan (tamil) Sindhu Bhairavi (Tamil) Black Pithamaghan (Tamil)
The Outsider Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 1. Sholay 2. Deewar Daylight 3. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron 4. Mughal-e-Azam 5. Paar 6. Avishkaar 7. Omkara 8. Masoom 9. Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa 10. Khamoshi (1969) Numbers 3-10 are interchangeable amongst themselves and amongst another 10 or so movies depending on the mood.
bulbul Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 Sholay,Deewar.Kosla ka gosla,DDLJ,DCH, a Wednesday,Roja,Mr India. Most pof the movies watched in 90 s and early 00 .....
Yoda-esque Posted November 2, 2011 Author Posted November 2, 2011 In no particular order : Paather Panchali (Bengali) Sparsh Paar Mirch Masala Masoom Agantuk (Bengali) Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron Apur Sansar(Bengali) Company Sholay
maniac Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 Black Friday,Jaane Bhi do Yaaron,Sadma(Tamil Version),Satya,Geethanjali(Telugu),Udaan,Sagara Sangamam,Swathi Muthyam(Telugu),Lagaan,Deewar,Anand Sholay,Masoom are masterpeces no doubts but they were rip-offs of Hollywood movies.The top 10 I mentioned above are original,classics,Uphold Indian values or are reflection of our society in one way or the other.
maniac Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 Here is an explination why Deewar:all the ingredients of a typical masala associated with bollywood and a trend-setter which spun numerous rip-offs Satya:This is the benchmark for a gangster movie.Can match up with any Mafia movie made by Sorcesse Black Friday:I havent seen too many movies made on real-life events told in a gripping,entertaining and hard-hitting way. Sadma(Tamil Version):Haven't seen a better shock/tragic ending in a movie ever Jaane bhi do yaaron:The benchmark for every satire made that is the reflection of then society. Geethanjali:The best love story ever,No over-the-top drama,beautiful music and great picturisation. Swathi Muthyam:Made 11 years before Forrest Gump...For all non telugu people,this was remade as Eeshwar in Hindi with Anil Kapoor Sagara Sangamam:Movie about Indian Classical dance,great performance by Kamal Hassan,great direction by K.Vishwanath. For people who make fun of Indian classical dancers,please watch this movie. Lagaan:First Indian movie to have a real shot at oscars so qualifies by default I guess.Mother India was nominated too but every one knows Lagaan. Anand:The sweetest movie ever made.Cannot forgive SRK for even trying to do a Rajesh Khanna in Kal ho na ho.
J P K Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 Taare Zameen Par Lagaan 3 Idiots om shanti om slumdog Millionaire rab ne bana di jodi billa (tamil) ghilli (tamil) 2 more yet to come
maniac Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 People Slumdog Millionaire isn't in an Indian movie:poink:
maniac Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 Taare Zameen Par Lagaan 3 Idiots om shanti om slumdog Millionaire rab ne bana di jodi billa (tamil) ghilli (tamil) 2 more yet to come :hysterical:
The Outsider Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 Black Friday,Jaane Bhi do Yaaron,Sadma(Tamil Version),Satya,Geethanjali(Telugu),Udaan,Sagara Sangamam,Swathi Muthyam(Telugu),Lagaan,Deewar,Anand Sholay,Masoom are masterpeces no doubts but they were rip-offs of Hollywood movies.The top 10 I mentioned above are original,classics,Uphold Indian values or are reflection of our society in one way or the other. Good list, but just curious about how Sholay is a rip off - sure it has sequences ripped off from Hollywood, but the basic storyline of an out of job law officer hiring renegades to avenge wrongs is so old that everything can be termed as a rip off on those lines. Even, Masoom - the Delhi feel of the movie is what I am always reminded of. Only Monsson Wedding has captured Delhi to the essence that Masoom did.
Yoda-esque Posted November 2, 2011 Author Posted November 2, 2011 Black Friday,Jaane Bhi do Yaaron,Sadma(Tamil Version),Satya,Geethanjali(Telugu),Udaan,Sagara Sangamam,Swathi Muthyam(Telugu),Lagaan,Deewar,Anand Sholay,Masoom are masterpeces no doubts but they were rip-offs of Hollywood movies.The top 10 I mentioned above are original,classics,Uphold Indian values or are reflection of our society in one way or the other. Sure,These are just opinions. Actually, I had a selfish motive when I created this thread. I am interested in knowing more about regional films that I haven't watched as yet.Theres a good chance that I might have watched all of the Hindi films mentioned but not all the regional films.
The Outsider Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 Bit of a description on my choices : 1. Sholay - The greatest movie ever made, the biggest star cast ever assembled. Salim-Javed at their best. Terrific work by Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan - it takes talent and mastery to push Amitabh Bachchan in the sidelines. 2. Deewar - Classic Yash Chopra where the initial impression of the movie would be you watched a violent movie, but if you rewind you would find only 2 scenes with any explicit violence. The manner in which violence was the undertone of what was essentially a drama was wonderful. Too bad Yash Chopra lost it with Mohabbatein, but good that he realized and quit with Veer Zaara. Daylight 3. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron - A study in cinema for how to make a movie to be appreciated decades later without any sellable stars. The Mahabharata scene is yet to be replicated in any of it's subtleties of humor 3 decades later. 4. Mughal-e-Azam - The classic period drama with some of the most wonderful histrionics from Dilip Kumar and Prithviraj Kapoor, in the days when histrionics wasn't a bad word. The camera angles in the scenes themselves are worth watching this movie again. 5. Paar - A friend asked me once, how can you like a movie where all they show is animals crossing a river. My answer was that it's about how they cross the river. IMO, nothing has captured the essence of rural India more realistically than this movie. 6. Avishkaar - How do you spend the last night before getting divorced? The movie is in essence a conversation between a couple about to get divorced talking about the good and bad times in a marriage over the night. Amongst romantic dramas, it is a masterpiece. 7. Omkara - Aaye aaye tere tashan! Langda tyaagi, Omkara, Kesu are just everyday characters of a western UP village brought to life in this Othello adaptation. Even the songs were adapted from the local dialect to Lucknow when the scene of the movie shifted there. Normally, once would associate an adaptation with a loose storyline, but the manner in which the original storyline was kept taut along with adding regional touched was wonderful! 8. Masoom - Delhi! That's my ringing bell for the movie, not just for the locales but the manner in which a philandering, successful Delhi businessman is portrayed through umpteen doses of reality. 9. Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa - I have seldom seen as natural characters as in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. The last scene where Shahrukh Khan says about shooting stars, "Accha aap ne kabhi nahin dekhe, yahan to roz hi toote rehte hain" or the "Creamroll khao". If ever day to day conversations have been put better in a movie I haven't seen it. 10. Khamoshi (1969) - Waheeda Rehman's masterpiece, but much more than that. A complex romance where you crave, look for, and find, your forgotten lover in someone else only to realize that reality is different I am sure Lurker will like this thread and add on a a few!
ganeshran Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 Taare Zameen Par Lagaan 3 Idiots om shanti om slumdog Millionaire rab ne bana di jodi billa (tamil) ghilli (tamil) 2 more yet to come Really? :hmmmm:
Sir john Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 gadar deewar coolie zanjeer roti Chhailla Babu lagaan border Jaani Dushman Koi... Mil Gaya my list
maniac Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 Good list, but just curious about how Sholay is a rip off - sure it has sequences ripped off from Hollywood, but the basic storyline of an out of job law officer hiring renegades to avenge wrongs is so old that everything can be termed as a rip off on those lines. Even, Masoom - the Delhi feel of the movie is what I am always reminded of. Only Monsson Wedding has captured Delhi to the essence that Masoom did. Well rip-off maybe a strong word that I used but I picked my list on basis of my assumption as to how a non-native speaker would apreciate these movies. For eg;If a western movie critic sees Maasoom or Sholay,he won't be blown away because these themes are nothing special to him as it was for us.I am not even talking about movies like Lagaan which have all the ingredients to cater to the west but show them a Deewar or Anand,I am certain they would be more appreciative of them. An other example I can quote within India is the Telugu movie Pokiri(Wanted in Hindi).It was such a big success that it has been re-made in almost every big regional movie industry in India.It is one of the most entertaining movies I have seen in recent times but will I call that the best Telugu movie ever made? No way because it was a recycled theme just presented differently.
Yoda-esque Posted November 2, 2011 Author Posted November 2, 2011 Well rip-off maybe a strong word that I used but I picked my list on basis of my assumption as to how a non-native speaker would apreciate these movies. For eg;If a western movie critic sees Maasoom or Sholay,he won't be blown away because these themes are nothing special to him as it was for us.I am not even talking about movies like Lagaan which have all the ingredients to cater to the west but show them a Deewar or Anand,I am certain they would be more appreciative of them. An other example I can quote within India is the Telugu movie Pokiri(Wanted in Hindi).It was such a big success that it has been re-made in almost every big regional movie industry in India.It is one of the most entertaining movies I have seen in recent times but will I call that the best Telugu movie ever made? No way because it was a recycled theme just presented differently. I have seen Pokiri..Its a typical Masala film,couldnt even complete it. Sholay might have been inspired from 7-Samurai and the Spaghetti Westerns but it just has that timeless quality and cinematic magic to it like all classics.It has pulled of the Western motif but in a classic Indian way which very few movies can do. The action sequences, the dialogues, the characterizations are all class :hatsoff: And I do not agree that the west would not like it either. Check out IMDB and Amazon reviews for this film.Most of them are in effusive praise of it.
Andrew Peter Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 I have seen Pokiri..Its a typical Masala film,couldnt even complete it. Sholay might have been inspired from 7-Samurai and the Spaghetti Westerns but it just has that timeless quality and cinematic magic to it like all classics. The action sequences, the dialogues, the characterizations are all class :hatsoff: And I do not agree that the west would not like it either. Check out IMDB and Amazon reviews for this film.Most of them are in effusive praise of it. Like Django?
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