I love her so much, I'm willing to interrupt my hiatus.

AND break my "text only" rule(which I already broke with the Amar post, but anyway...) Sridevi and Chiranjeevi in Mosagadu. Sadly, this doesn't appear to be available on even VCD(at least not in or to the U.S.). **cries** I'd get it on VHS if I knew of an online retailer that sold Indian movies on tape.


Oh Sri, how I love thee!

Another hiatus.

I've been hit with another wave of laziness and lack of motivation. I hope to start posting again sometime next month.

Amar(1954)

AKA "OMG! A zEros DVD that doesn't skip or freeze!"

Normally, I would keep this a text-only blog and attempt to type something resembling an entry, but I'm feeling lazy, so I thought I'd try something different and post a few of my favorite shots of Madhubala. I may or may not leave these up. It depends on my mood.

Griha Pravesh(1979)

The DVD cover caught my eye, and the plot sounded interesting, so I bought it. At first, I found the pace a little too leisurely, but after a while, I grew to appreciate the movie's "go slowwww" approach. While the "coffee = Mansi, tea = Sapna" symbolism was a bit heavy-handed, it was still interesting to watch, and a nice change from the masala flicks that are usually in my DVD player.

"..You go back to your coffee. And I'll live with my tea." Sapna's(Sarika) words to Amar(Sanjeev Kumar) sum up the entire movie for me. Amar may have turned to Sapna for the intimacy that was missing in his relationship with Mansi(Sharmila Tagore), but in the end, he went back to what was safe and familiar. It was evident that Amar wasn't ready to leave Mansi from the following: his inability to tell her straightaway about his affair with Sapna; his attempt to dissuade Sapna from coming to his house to meet his wife("I feel that you haven't really seen me..if you see me in the house, you might change your opinion about me..."); his refusal to sit and have tea with Sapna and Mansi, and the way he left Sapna to walk home by herself.

The next-to-last shot of Amar, Mansi, and their small son, Babla, sitting at the table, sipping their respective cups of coffee, speaks volumes. It's such a perfect ending. It kinda leaves you hanging, but at the same time, you sense that Amar and Mansi will remain together, even if they're not as close. As Amar says to Mansi earlier in the film, "It happens, Mansi. It happens with everybody. People just stay close to each other while staying together. The togetherness tends to get shortened. You see, Mansi, one day we might be together in the bed. But, we might not be as close. Today's togetherness will get shortened. And then we'll go on the honeymoon. To freshen up our today..."

Annavaram(2006)

Another "Please liberate me from draft hell". This is way shorter than I originally intended, but since I probably won't rewatch it any time soon:

Telugu remake of Thirupachi. I watched about a half-hour before deciding that I prefer the Tamil original. I think that Vijay and Mallika were more believable as siblings than Pawan Kalyan and Sandhya. Also, I'm not feeling Pawan Kalyan. I'll try to give this another watch, but just like Chakram, this one's gonna collect dust for a while.

Nuvve Nuvve(2002)

I'm just freeing this from draft mode. I've got some notes scribbled down that I'll organize later, but for now:

This kinda feels like Bommarillu, only with the genders reversed.

Shriya's got the magic, too--well, at least in this movie. In Enakku 20 Unakku 18, neither she nor Trisha could sell me on Tarun, but here, I could deal with him somewhat. (Aside: I don't hate Tarun, I just think he has a very lackluster screen presence.)

I think I might have to become a Prakash Raj fan, just because he's so damn ubiquitous.

Kala Pani(1958)

Brief, mostly shallow thoughts, for now:

Dev Anand looks suprisingly handsome. I say "suprisingly" because until today, my only exposure to him was during his middle-aged and over years. To say I wasn't impressed would be an understatement. In this movie, however, I am impressed. I thought I would pay only scant attention to him and focus mainly on Madhubala, but they've both received equal amounts of intense eyeballing.

Madhubala reminds me of another Hindi actress(no, not Madhuri) whose name escapes me, as well as a Hollywood actress from around the same time period(Ava Gardner, perhaps?). She is extremely telegenic, and I don't blame Dev's character for looking dumbstruck when he sees her face for the first time. "I want a beautiful file--I want an old file from your office," he stammers. I'm almost tempted to cap that scene and post it, because words just don't do it justice.

As for the movie, it's good. I like what I've viewed so far. At first, I was afraid the disc wouldn't work because it was so scratched up(it came loose while in transit), but thankfully, it plays fine. **breathes a sigh of relief**

I'll post additional blather later.

Kal Hamara Hai(1959)

I haven't watched this, but I'd like to, based on the brief description from Madhubala's Wiki page: "...she was memorable in a double role in the social film Kal Hamara Hai(1959). Madhubala played the cigarette smoking dancer Bella, and her more conventional saintly sister Madhu..." It's available from India Weekly, but I want to first see if the two movies(Mahal and Nirala) I ordered last week will actually play before I buy anything else from that site. I usually try to avoid getting movies from India Weekly, but I didn't see either of those DVDs listed on Nehaflix(until today, when I searched for the titles instead of just Madhubala's name. D'uh!)

I've been aware of Madhubala, but I never felt moved to check out any of her films until I saw some screen caps from, I believe, Tarana in someone else's blog. While I'm still not convinced of her "most beautiful woman in Indian cinema" tag, I thought she was pretty and telegenic enough to buy five of her movies, including the two I mentioned above. **grin** Hopefully, Kal Hamara Hai will be número seis and by then, I should have my fill of Madhubala.

Here are some Kal Hamara Hai songs I found on YouTube:

Aa Aa Meri Taal Pe

Ye Sach Hai Aae Jahan Walo

Aaj Apna Ho Na Ho Par

Nenunnanu(2004)

The pace of this film is agonizingly slow. I'm not sure of the running time, but it certainly feels as if it's as long as Gone With the Wind. I wish the director had trimmed 2 or 3 songs, some of the fights and comedy, and all of the inconsequential scenes. Repeat viewings are more enjoyable when you don't have to fast-forward past a bunch of crap that only bogs down an otherwise entertaining bit of sentimental fluff.

The plot: Venu(Nagarjuna), a port contractor and an orphan since childhood, takes in Anu(Shriya Saran), a clasical music singer after she is abandonned by both her family and Arun(Subbaraju), the guy she tried to elope with. Venu protects Anu from the goons JP, Arun's father, hired to kill her. Unexpressed love blossoms. Fights, fights, and more fights ensue. Near-tragedy strikes. Oh, and there's the added angle of Anu's best friend, Sruthi(Aarti Agarwal), who also loves Venu.

Favorite scenes:

• Venu using the flat side of a hot iron to make dosas for Anu. Seeing that reminded me of a scene from an HBO special about Riker's Island where a couple of female inmates demonstrated how they made grilled cheese sandwiches using a paper bag and a hot iron.


• Venu saying to Anu, "If death were the only solution to problems, do you know how many times I would've died by now?" shortly after her failed suicide attempt.


• Venu asking Anu not to leave when he sees her packing a bag and she tells him she's only gathering clothes that need to be washed.


• Anu throwing a suprise birthday celebration for Venu and giving him his birth certificate as a present.


• Venu kicking open the door at the exact moment Anu calls him on a cell phone, and bashing up the rowdies who were harrassing her.


• Venu beating up JP's men while Anu participates in a singing competition.


• Venu rushing to Anu's hospital bed and telling her, "You must live. You must live for me. I'll become an orphan again if you die."

Best songs(IMO, of course): "E Shwasalo" and "Nee Kosam"

Why I don't regret buying this, even though I had to put up with a lot of extraneous shit: I really enjoyed watching the three leads. Shriya looked like a dream in those saris, Aarti was cute, "gas cylinder" frame and all, and I've developed a soft spot for Nagarjuna.

Nuvvu Naaku Nachav(2001)

Why does Prakash Raj look like FILF material in this movie? How can I derive any satisfaction from my "hai, it's Prakash Raj, again" sightings if I'm torn between wanting to do him and wishing that he were my daddy? I'm ashamed to admit that I found it difficult to concentrate on the rest of the film because I was too busy drooling over him. Damn you and your unexpected hotness, Prakash Raj!

The movie itself was okay. I had zero expectations, so I wasn't disappointed, just a bit underwhelmed. It was slow to start, and dragged in places, and I thought Venkatesh appeared more like Aarti's older brother than her love interest. But he was likeable, and I think he has a charming screen presence. Aarti--the sole reason I bought this flick--looked good, especially in the "Vunna Maata Cheppalevu", "Okkasari Cheppaleva", and "Naa Chupe Ninu" songs.

Just for a change of pace, I would like to see a movie where the soon-to-be-wed heroine doesn't develop feelings for the wastrel-with-a-heart-of-gold hero. Instead, his attraction remains one-sided and at the end, he's left to wallow in the pain of his unrequited love while she marries the intended groom. That type of ending might not go over too well with some audiences, but for me, it would be totally relatable, if a tad depressing. I have a feeling that such a film exists**, but I've yet to stumble upon it.


**Mungaru Male comes close, but again, I'm thinking more along the lines of, "He's in love. She's indifferent. Cordial, but distant. He realizes he'll never the scale the wall she's put up, so he suffers silently", blah blah blah.

Vaali(1999)

This post has been in "draft" mode for several days and I'm anxious to set it free. Since I have writer's block at the moment, I will make a(n admittedly lame) bulleted list in lieu of an actual entry:

• Ajith plays a dual role as identical twin brothers, Shiva and Deva. Deva, the oldest, is also deaf and mute.


• They are both attracted to the same woman, Priya(Simran), but Shiva is the one who eventually marries her, and that makes Deva angry and jealous.


• Deva continues to secretly and then not-so-secretly lust after Priya.


• When Priya realizes what Deva is up to, she tries to tell Shiva, but he doesn't believe her.


• Finally, Shiva comes to know of Deva's intentions.


• Jyothika has a small role as Sona, Shiva's make-believe former flame.


• The songs are excellent. I love the picturisation of "Vaanil Kaayuthae" because Simran looks so amazingly, unbelievably hot.


• This was later remade in Hindi as Sheesha - Some Mirrors Lie with Neha Dhupia and Sonu Sood.

I'd like to elaborate further, because I really like this movie, but my brain refuses to work. Supposedly, the cure for writer's block is to write, but that isn't working for me so far.