Marma Yogi(1951)

This blog post, along with this online article, stirred my curiosity about this film and prompted me to check anytamil.com to see if at least a custom VCD was available. Lo and behold, it's on a regular VCD--or so I assume. There's a possiblity that it's not currently in stock. I could place an order and find out for certain. **shrug**

A YouTube search turned up only the Telugu version. I'm more interested in the Tamil one, but I might take a gander at the Telugu movie.

Nallavanuku Nallavan(1984)

I became interested in this movie as of an hour ago when I was searching for the original version of the "Vechikkava" song in Silambattam. I prefer the faster tempo of the remix, but the older version has its charms.

The other songs in the movie are equally good. I especially like "Unnaiththaane" and "Muththadhuthe", and "Chittuku Chella Chittuku" is very pretty.

The "rowdy to respectable man" storyline sounds familar, like I've already seen a movie with a similar theme, but I can't recall the title. **shrug** Oh, well. I might give it a look-see. Rajini's not my cup of tea, but in these stills from the film, I think he possesses a certain something-something that I find strangely appealing.

Jawaani(1984)

I just happened to click on Nehaflix's "New on DVD" section and saw this listed. Neelam made her debut in this movie. According to Neelam's Wiki entry, it was a flop. However, the plot sounds like the kind of mess-ocity that I would enjoy watching, so I'll most likely order it. Plus, I think Neelam's cute and I'd like to check out some of her films.

Here's the "Tu Rootha To Main" song on YouTube, and a link to the other songs in the movie.

EK Hasina Do Diwane(1972)

I remember most of Babita's awesomely bad fashions and major wig-age, but not much else, mainly because I watched only the first hour, with a bit of fast-forwarding through the songs(I didn't think they were awful, just a little too long). I could use the back of the DVD box as a cheat sheet, but I'll rely on my faulty brain and say that, in a nutshell, Jeetendra and Babita get married, have a falling out after which Babita leaves him, but returns and pretends they're still together for the sake of Jeetendra's mother. Feel free to correct and/or fill-in-the-blanks because really, this entry is just an excuse for boredom-induced silliness and screencappery.


One word: pointy




Dig those polka-dots!


So pretty!


I kinda get a Hema vibe from this one


Just wait 'til you see the rest of her ensemble:








It's ALL about the ruffles!


"Think. PINK!"[/Bobby Trendy]



No, I won't quote that "Single Ladies" song



She does the pouty, brooding look so well


Getting another Hema vibe



She has a great 3/4(?) profile


My favorite color. (Nice wig, btw.)


More pretty, with crying!

Vinod Khanna is also in this. I was going to post the caps I made of him, but I decided I wanted this entry to be almost completely 'Bita-centric.

Chandni(1989)

My love for Sri was solidified after one viewing of this movie. She made this film. She was Chandni. And her outfits and eye makeup were to die for. I just wish her name had appeared first in the opening credits and that she lived happily ever after with Vinod Khanna instead of Rishi Kapoor. And the running time could've been chopped by a half-hour, at least. But other than that, I felt it was the perfect overly melodramatic, terribly clichéd poor-girl-loves-rich-boy story.

If my bad memory serves me correctly, Rekha was the first choice for the lead. I say "Non." I have nothing anything against Madame R., I just can't see her as the title character. My judgment could be totally clouded, of course, but I don't care. I'm Team Sri all the way :)

A few of the many caps I made a while back. I felt these were among the best of the bunch:

Doli(1969)

I remembered this movie shortly after I posted the previous entry. It's been ages since I last watched it, but here's my imperfect--and very long-winded--recollection: Babita is set to marry Rajesh Khanna but gets ditched at the altar because the dowry her father was going to pay got stolen by Nazima's father so that he could pay her groom's(Prem Chopra) family. Babita's father is shamed and abandons her and her mother. She and her mom move to another place. Meanwhile, Prem goes abroad, learns the evil American ways, and when he returns, he acts like a shithead towards his parents and Nazima. He fixes his eye on Babita, who is his secretary. I think she wanted to get even with Rajesh Khanna who she meets when her bike gets a flat tire. Rajesh doesn't know she's his would've-been wife because her face was concealed during the short-lived wedding ceremony. Prem throws Nazima and her father and her sister out of the house, they live with Babita, who comes up with a plan to reunite Nazima and Prem. Blah, blah, blah, in the end, Prem learns from his mistakes and becomes the model son once more, Babita and Rajesh get together, Babita is reunited with her father(who was disguised and working as a driver), and Nazima's father 'fesses up to stealing the money. Not exactly in that order, of course. And I'm sure I left out a lot, but whatever.

**deep breath**

Babita looked so groovy in that late sixties way. It was hard to get decent caps, though :( The picture quality was crap, as you can see.








I got carried away while making these caps. For some reason, Babita's lips brought to mind Dev D's Kalki Koechlin. Plus, she's a near-xerox of the early nineties version of her oldest daughter, Karishma, particularly in the next to last cap. (Although, in the fourth cap, I think she sorta resembles Kareena.)










Overall, I found it to be OTT and heavy-handed, but still a not-bad timepass. My advice would be to watch with an empty mind and a high tolerance for melodrama.

Abhinetri(1970)

Last night, I was tempted to order this simply because Hema looks so pretty on the DVD cover and in the "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" song, as well as in "Oh Ghaata Savre" and "Sajna More Sajna"(aside: from 0:30 to 0:35, Shashi Kapoor immediately reminded me of Anthony Perkins). But then I read this review and thought, "Um, no." However, if a free copy of this movie were to fall in my lap, I'd probably watch it on mute and just admire Hema's beauty, 'cause I'm visually inclined like that.

Amaravathi(1993)

To buy or not to buy? I'm leaning towards "buy" because Ajith looks so young and cute. According to Wikipedia, this movie is notable for "featuring a humiliated hero". That could be interesting.

I think Ajith may very well be the heir apparent to Kamal Hassan in the sense that I'm so obsessed, I watch or order just about everything he's in. As with Kamal, I want to see as many of Ajith's early films as I can. (BTW, I did end up getting Thodarum. I will have to edit my original post when/if I remember.)

Aval Varuvaala(1998)

In spite of my laziness**, I'm tempted to order the VCD simply because of the "Selaiyilla" song. I'm partial to 2:11 - 2:32 because Simran looks like a dream in white, and Ajith's efforts to get a kiss from her brings to mind Kamal Hassan. And the "sourced from VHS" quality makes me long for that old-fashioned feeling of popping a tape into the VCR and having to rewind or fast-forward to my favorite scenes. Plus, this movie sounds like something I'd enjoy watching, particularly since it's female-oriented. Also, I "need" more films for the Ajith Kumar fest I've been having lately. But, I'm afraid if I buy it, it'll get released on DVD a few months later. (**waves to Aishwarya, Ganda Hendathi, and Sathyavan Savithri**)


**VCDs are delivered via air mail from India, and 98% of the time, the mail carrier comes when I'm not at home, so I have to make a 20 minute trek down to the post office to sign for them. If I lived across the street from the post office, I wouldn't mind, but I'm lazy, so...

Mugavari(2000)

The scene I most identify with is the one where Sridhar's(Ajith) sister shows him a stack of the diaries he's kept for past eight years and teases him about how in each one, he wrote that he would one day become a famous music director. While I've never harbored dreams of becoming a music director, I do know the feeling of never reaching your goals, even after many years of trying. However, unlike Ajith's character, my dreams far outstripped my efforts, so I don't get a pep talk about a man who, if he had dug just two more feet, would've found the gold that someone else came along and discovered.

It's a shame Mugavari wasn't a commercial success, because I feel Ajith is better-suited for "soft-hearted lover" roles than the "action-packed, stunt hero" roles he vowed to do in this old interview. I'd rather watch him "musing with roja flower" than bashing up bad guys. But, those parts don't pay the bills, I guess, and a man's gotta eat, so...**shrug**

Mugavari isn't perfect; things like the fighting scene, Ajith getting hazed by a producer's drunk relatives, and him singing in the rain could've been either left out or toned down. But overall, it's a nice movie. I especially liked the cute romance between Ajith and Jyothika. They share great chemistry in the "Oh Nenjey Nenjey" and "Poo Virinjachu" songs. And this scene is one of my favorites: