SFR: Manmathan theme

The more I rewatch Manmathan, the deeper in love I fall with this track. Simbu looks hot, but I can do without Mandira Bedi.

Aag(1948)

When I first saw this in Nehaflix's "Back in stock" section I wondered, "Why is it $15?" And then I thought, "Oh wait, I can probably get this from Induna for a lot less!" (And I can. And most likely will, once my other order arrives.)

The only reason I have a smidgen of interest in this film is because A) Raj Kapoor was very good-looking in his youth and B) physically, he reminds me of some of my father's male relatives. I don't know what this movie is about, and I don't really care. Nor am I bothered by the possibility that it could very well suck. I'll just act like my father and automatically deem it "good" simply because it was filmed in black and white ;)

I feel like I should acquaint myself with some of Raj Kapoor's other late 40s and early 50s titles, for shallow reasons mainly, and also to have a bit of variety in my viewing habits.

Nenjinile(1999)

Lately, I've been in a Vijay mood, which is why I ordered Sivakasi and Pokiri in spite of not having warm fuzzies about either flick. Will I hate myself in the morning? I hope not. Anyway...

I remember hunting for this movie after reading about it on Wikipedia. At the time, Isha Koppikar was the main reason I wanted to watch it. I'm not a fan but weirdly enough, I was--and still am--curious to see her in a south flick. IIRC, anytamil had only the custom VCD listed, and I was hesitant to shell out $20(which is kind of silly, considering that I've paid nearly that much for some Tamil DVDs). Today, I noticed that it's on a 2-in-1 DVD that may or may not be in stock. I'll take a chance and order it. If it's not available, I might end up walking to the post office to pick up an envelope from Malaysia(unless the mail carrier sticks it in my mailbox, like he/she has done the past few times, bless his/her heart.)

A couple of songs I found on YouTube: "Manasey Manasey" and "Anbe".

Unrelated to this post but still related to Vijay: Love Today and/or Minsara Kanna might be possibilities. I coulda/shoulda gotten the 2-in-1 with Rajavin Parvaiyile, but I didn't wanna pay $11.99. Next time I see it, I'll buy it. (And later curse my luck when I see that the price has been reduced.)

SFR: "Laiyan Laiyan..." from Chooriyan

I watched parts of this on YouTube over a year ago. This review is a lot more descriptive than my faulty memory.

SFR: "Aa Pyaar Dil Main Jaga" from Sangam

I had a feeling of déjà vu from about 0:32 to 0:37, and then I remembered seeing a similar scene in an eighties flick starring Tawny Kitaen. I forget the title, and I'm too lazy to Google, but IIRC, she was a famous singer and one of her fans was a guy who, because of his rare disease, could not have any physical contact with the outside world.

Click here 'cuz it's not embeddable

I have an inexplicable liking for Resham. I wish Inteha were commerically available on VCD at least. (Speaking of which, you can see her in this brief clip of the "Teri Nazar Per Meri Nazar" song.)

TPP: Asin vs Trisha

I like Trisha, but I prefer Asin. I think she's a better actress, and on a shallow note, I find her prettier and more alluring. If we were in grade school, I'd totally want to be besties with her.

Trisha would probably make a good drinking buddy ;) But she would most likely gossip about me once I got out of earshot. Not saying Asin couldn't/wouldn't do the same, but I get more of a "Mean Girl" vibe from Trisha.

Yes, I'm being silly :P (I DO think Asin's a better actress, though.) It's that kind of day. Slap me.

SFR: "Kelamal Kaiyile" from Azhagiya Tamil Magan

If you're interested(or really, really bored), I posted about it here.

This song has been in my head all day. (Which isn't a bad thing, because I like it :))

Short takes, pt.13.

AKA "I FINALLY ordered from Induna!"

This is what I bought:

Abodh(1984) - Madhuri's debut. I didn't quite blog about it here. I wish Gaja Gamini had also been in stock, but it seems to be permanently out of print.

Dev D(2009) - The DVD was out of stock, so I got the VCD. I hope I like it. If not, I can always stare at Kalki Koechlin's lips.

Dil Ki Rani(1947) - Madhubala's first movie. A blogger who watched this wasn't impressed, but that didn't deter me. I usually find something likeable about the films that most people hate.

Kidnap(2009) - I read about it on ajnabi1977's blog, and since it was only $1.67, I thought, "What the heck?"

Yeh To Kamal Ho Gaya(1982) - YAY!!!! FINALLY!!!! I hope the Eagle VCDs don't act up as badly as the DVDs. I posted about it here.

Zara Si Zindagi(1983) - Once again: YAY!!!! FINALLY!!!! Here is my original blog post.

The shipping and handling charge was $20.93 for $7.93 worth of movies BUT, at least I was able to get four movies I've been really, really wanting to see for the longest. And if the shipping is super fast, that's another bonus. Plus, I would like an alternative to Nehaflix and the occasional Amazon seller for Hindi movies, particularly ones that aren't yet available on DVD. So, I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that I will be pleased enough to make more purchases from Induna in the future.

ETA 11/23/09: My movies arrived today. Celebrate me! All of my discs were nicely packaged. I hope they play okay. I'm already thinking of other titles I'd like to order.

ETA2 11/23/09: I tried all but the Dev D and Abodh discs and they play fine, even the Eagle VCDs. Quick and/or shallow thoughts:

Zara Si Zindagi - It's not a bad viewing experience, as long as I remember to not compare it to the original, Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu.

Yeh To Kamal Ho Gaya - Hannah Mitchell is not quite as beautiful as I initially thought, and her acting sucked; still, I'll take her over that seemingly stoned French chick in Sattam En Kayil.

Kidnap - Minissha I'm-too-lazy-to-Google-her-last-name is bearable only when she's wearing skimpy clothes. I don't know how old she's supposed to be in real life, but playing a 17 year old? Ha! More like "17 going on 29 or 30". Her Britney Spears circa 1999 number was amusing for about a minute, then I had to hit the "skip chapter" button. Imraan Khan looked good. I want him to kidnap me. I bet we'd have all kinds of fun together. **shifts eyes**

Dil Ki Rani - I found it watchable enough, probably because I had zero expectations and didn't concentrate too hard. I have a feeling it will make frequent appearances in my DVD player. (Aside: It seems like the type of film my dad would enjoy.)

ETA 11/24/09: I looked up whatsherface on Wikipedia and she was allegedly born in 1985. Maybe she really is 24 but to me, she doesn't look a day under 30. From the neck down, she's fine, but her face makes me wish Hansika Motwani had been cast instead, simply because she's actually a teenager, even if she doesn't look it. Anyhoo...

Imran...mmmmmmm. I'm not a fan but I find him pretty hot in Kidnap. Isn't he in Luck with Shruti Haasan and FILF co-star Sanjay Dutt? Yeah, I think so. Not that I want to see that movie, but I just remembered.

From what I've seen so far, it seems like a decent Saturday night timepass, the kind of flick you watch when there's nothing else on the tube. And it was under $2 so it's not like I wasted a bunch of money on it.

I gave the 2nd disc of Dev D about twenty minutes of my time. I liked what I saw but the soundtrack gave me a headache, as did the commercials at the beginning of the disc(luckily, I was able to skip through them). I hope the DVD comes back in stock soon so that I won't have to always get up to change discs.

Naan Kadavul(2009)

I rewatched Aalwar over the weekend and thought of this movie whenever Ajith uttered the words, "Kadavul. Naan kadavul." (Given the lack of intensity in his voice, he might as well have said, "Milkshake. Strawberry. Milkshake." But I'm digressing.) Actually, Ajith was supposed to play the lead, but due to his "call sheet problems", he backed out of the project. That was a wise move because I think he would've been horribly miscast.

Anyway...I've scrolled past this title numerous times while surfing bhavanidvd, but never felt compelled to buy it, not even after discovering that Pooja Umashankar is in it. Today, however, with the "Naan kadavul" line still fresh in my brain, I gave the product description another look-see. I wasn't totally convinced I should get it, though, so I watched the trailer. And I continue to feel uncertain. On one hand, it looks "different" enough that I might actually enjoy it, but at the same time I'm like, "This looks like one of those movies that seems like a good idea when you first watch it, but after a while, you get bored." I don't need any more buyer's regret. I already have a ton of crap I'm trying to will the universe to take out of my possession.

Watching it online may be my best bet. I often forget that I'm living in the 21st century and don't necessarily have to purchase stuff sight unseen.

SFR: Jaganmohini(2009) trailer

I am seriously sad that this movie isn't airing on late-night cable right now. The "special effects" alone are laughable enough to bring me out of my funk. And the little of Namitha's "acting" I saw appeared equally as hilarious.

Nila, the second heroine, was apparently upset that some of her scenes were cut. I say that's a good thing, but I guess she feels sorta like that Catskills joke.



I kind of want to watch the 1978 version now, just to confirm my belief that it's not nearly as cringe-worthy. Plus, I finally remember Jayamalini from Ram Lakshman and Guru(1980). I think I have another movie she was in, but I can't recall the title.

TPP: Divya & Surya

Old pics from the audio release of Varanam Aayiram.

I think Divya and Surya look hot together. If he weren't already taken, I wouldn't mind seeing him with Divya in real life. (Don't kill me, Jo. I got nothin' but love for you and Sur.)

Surya is very handsome. I wish I were more into him. Maybe the recently ordered Nanda will be the tipping point. If not, I can still rewatch it for Laila. **shrug** (ETA 01/27/10: He's good-looking, yes, but I'll never be a fan. He just doesn't get my motor running the way Ajith and Mahesh and the late 70s/early 80s version of Kamal Hassan do. However, his presence in a film wouldn't discourage me from watching it. I quite liked him in Ghajini and Unnai Ninaithu(even if his character was a pushover).)

SFR: Hazel Crowney

In the "Dil Kalaase" song from Kick. This is the edited version. The full version with the dialogues is here.

I think she should forget about Bollywood and do Telugu movies. For whatever reason(s), I can easily picture her mouthing dubbed lines opposite a 20-something hero in a Tollywood flick. Which is weird, because when I first noticed her a couple of years ago, I felt she was too "foreign"(read: white) looking to make it in Hindi films. Yet, I think she might do okay in Hyderabad. Go figure. Anyway...

SFR: Sridevi in Mawaali

Yet another "watched long enough to make these caps" casualty. The pic quality, as you can see, is crap, but not even the "sourced from a oft-viewed cassette" look can detract from Sridevi's beauty.

TPP: Shriya Saran

A few pics from last year's hunger strike by Tamil film stars over the Hogenakkal water issue. She looks so good, I'm willing to forgive her for the hour and forty-five minutes I wasted watching Mogudu - Pellam O Dongodu.

I think pics #4 and #7 are duplicates, but I don't care enough to delete one of them :D

Kinara(1977)

This is not the month to be me. First the dubbed Tamil version of Prema Pustakam was aired a few days ago on Vijay TV(which I don't have), and now, thanks to a post in this thread, I develop an interest in Kinara only to discover that it's not available on even VCD. As soon as I started watching this video, I didn't care what it was about, I just wanted to hunt down a copy. (BTW, a YouTube poster explained that the plot revolves around "...a [dancer] who maintains her craft despite being blind...") Apparently, it is--or rather, was--available on home video(I say "was" because I didn't see it listed in Bombino's VHS section). And I don't have Zee TV, either, so there's no chance of catching it during a re-air. **sigh**

More YouTube vids: "Jaane Kya Sochkar Nahin Guzra"(I'm guessing it was sourced from a Shemaroo compilation disc), "Meethe Bol Bole", "Koi Nahin Hai Kahin"

P.S. I even checked Induna and Moserbaer and came up with nada.

NFR: Aishwarya Rai

Unveiling the new issue of Filmfare.

I'm not a fan, but the older I get, the less I allow her to annoy me. And to be honest, I've always found her attractive, even when I would frequently snark on her "Most Beautiful Indian Woman in the World" title. (That honor belongs to Sridevi, btw, with Shriya Saran a close second ;))

The dress is kind of awful, but the color is nice. And I love whatever shade of L'Oreal she's sporting on her tresses. (Is she still shilling for them? I'm too lazy to Google.) Plus, she looks visibly older, and in a good way. Her face is fuller and less "Indian Barbie"-ish.

P.S. It should read "Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan", but I prefer to use her unhyphenated name.

Thoranai(2009), part zwei.

AKA "Why did I buy this again? Oh yeah, I felt like spending money."

Previous post is here.

To tell the truth, I didn't really watch this so much as I put the disc into my DVD player twice and let it run in the background while I did other things. I remember Vishal seeing someone get hurt in broad daylight, and then he spent the next hour or so chasing Shriya Saran. She's hot, yeah, but damn, what about the injured guy?

Vishal looked good, so much better minus the thick 'tache and helmet hair he was sporting in Satyam. Shriya was her usual gorgeous self. If only I could trade faces with her.

Prakash Raj had a bit of free time in his schedule, so he signed up for this flick. I've decided that I want to be his mistress. (I'm kidding, sort of.) I believe I read somewhere that Lakshmi Rai did concubine duty for him, but maybe I'm falsely remembering stuff. I do that sometimes.

For some reason, the first minute and change of this song reminds me of Shriya's item number in Munna. Apropos of nothing, I'm sad that Marmayogi got shelved. I'm sure Kamal would've tried to kiss her, and/or had her wearing the skimpiest outfits possible for that time period. Anyway...

There was a kiss, but it was brief, and played for laughs.

Even though I gave this film the barest sliver of my attention, I can see why it flopped. But I'll most likely attempt to "rewatch" it all the way to the end, just to get my $9.99 worth.