Short takes, pt. 14.

Or, "What did I order from Induna today?"

Jiban Maran(1939) - Hit "add to cart" on a whim since it was from the 30s, and the plot sounds like the kind of melodramatic pap I usually enjoy.

Kaun? Kaisey?(1983) - I sort of blogged about it here.

Bahu Ki Awaaz(1985) - A film about dowry deaths. IIRC, the movie poster for this was shown briefly during a documentary about bride burning that I watched in college.

Zulm Ka Badla(1985) - The plot sounds female-oriented, and Anita Raj looks very pretty in this song so I thought, "What the hell?"

Anokha Andaaz(1995) - This used to be aired pretty frequently on what was then known as the International Channel. (The name was later changed to AZN. Don't know what it's called now since I no longer get that channel.) Manisha Koirala is absolutely gorgeous in this flick. I've wanted a copy of this film for ages.

I passed on: Sab Choritra Kalponik(I was curious to see Bipasha Basu in a Bengali movie, but decided to hold off for now); Clerk(from what I've read, it's a hot mess, and not in a good way); Prem Qaidi(I decided I didn't want to see Lolo's debut that badly); Dil Ka Sathi Dil(dubbed Hindi version of Madanolsavam. I'd rather have the original); Dekha Pyar Tumhara(maybe later); Masterji(I'd rather watch the original Telugu version--I forget the title--first); Dulari(it sounded like something I might want to watch, but I was afraid it would just end up collecting dust. Maybe next time).

ETA 01/05/10: Thanks to my sudden renewed interest in Madhubala, I ordered three more movies, including Dulari. The other two are Rail Ka Dibba and Singaar. I wanted Tarana as well, but it's out of stock.

Now that I think about it, I should've checked for Neel Kamal--well, I just did, and it's not listed. I found three songs on YouTube, though: "Kal Jamuna Tat Par", "Bhool Jathe Hain", and "Jawani Agar Haae".

ETA 01/21/10: I found Shammi Kapoor so appealing(in spite of the pencil-thin moustache) in Rail Ka Dibba that I ordered An Evening in Paris. As an added bonus, Sharmila Tagore dons a bikini--yay!

I also got Police, starring Madhubala. I thought she looked great in the YouTube vids on this site(scroll down to the "Chale Hum Kahan..." video), so I "had" to get it, just as I "had" to get Ek Saal after skimming this review. I've changed my stance on Madhubala. Before, I thought she was "pretty, but not all that", but now I think she was damn gorgeous. Maybe I should've gotten Badal as well. Perhaps I'll order it when/if Tarana becomes available.

Last, but not least, Teesra Kinara, "a drama packed romantic story that revolves around the love triangle of three persons", according to this site. Raj Babbar gives me the creeps, but Anita Raj is in it, as well as Smita Patil, so I figure it won't be that bad.

I wish Induna carried Tamil films so that I would have a (hopefully) cheaper alternative to Bhavani and Anytamil.

ETA 01/27/10: Got my stuff yesterday. I'm so glad I finally ordered from Induna. Again, if they carried Tamil DVDs and/or VCDs, a miniscule part of my life would be complete.

Watched Zulm Ki Badla this past Saturday. Not bad, and Anita was featured rather prominently. She and Sridevi look great in black. In fact, I was reminded of Sri in Sherni as soon as I spotted Anita in her black get-up.

Bahu Ki Awaaz is very heavy. Watching Swaroop Sampat getting tortured was not fun. I realize it's a "social drama" and all, but still...the older I get, the more lightweight I prefer my viewing and reading material to be.

Jiban Maran was a not-bad viewing experience. I felt ridiculously thrilled to be viewing a film from 1939.

Kaun? Kaisey? was pretty awesome in a "sourced-from-VHS-god-I-love-the-80s" sort of way. Didn't really pay attention to the plot, just enjoyed looking at Anita Raj and watching Mithun(not a fan, but I think he has a larger-than-life screen presence that's interesting to watch). Will have to give it another viewing soon.

ETA 01/28/10: After one viewing of Police I've decided that I'm in love with Madhubala and that I "have" to order ALL of her movies. I probably won't do that, but I certainly feel like it, just so I can see MOAR of her.

And Sharmila Tagore? From the second she appeared onscreen in An Evening in Paris the following line from the song "Venus" popped into my head: "She's got it, yeah baby, she's got it!" Her daughter Soha, however, does NOT have it. Saif might have it, but I think I'm feeling kindly towards him just because he's with Kareena. Anyway...I must do a write-up on An Evening in Paris once I've watched it properly.

P.S. I ordered Vamsi and Desamuduru and hopefully, I'll do posts for those films as well. I've gotten so used to not blogging, but maybe I should get back into the habit, just to keep what's left of my brain active.

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.)

Short takes, pt.12.

AKA "The Madhuri Dixit edition, in 25 words or less."

100 Days(1991) - Her acne was at its worst, but she managed to look pretty in spite of it. Decent timepass.

Anjaam(1994) - I finally got the hype about her looks. Great hair and wonderful smile. Loved the ending.

Beta(1992) - The "Dhak Dhak Dil Karne Laga song was about the only thing I liked, aside from Madz herself.

Dayavan(1988) - I got this only for the smooch scene.

Deewana Mujh Sa Nahin(1990) - In this day and age, she would've filed a restraining order instead of marrying her stalker ardent fan. The first song is cute and bouncy.

Devdas(2002) - Pretty to behold, but too melodramatic for even overly melodramatic me. Watched it only for Madz.

Hum Aapke Hain Kaun!(1994) - I didn't make it past the first half-hour but IIRC, Madz made an entrance on roller skates.

Kanoon Apna Apna(1989) - I remember thinking how skinny her legs were in this song. I also remember **ahem** a couple of other things.

Khal Nayak(1993) - To be honest, I watched only the "Choli Ke Peeche" song. My Shemaroo disc refuses to let me cap it.

Koyla(1997) - SRK's mullet = love, Madhuri = gorgeous. Best of all, my Video Sound DVD didn't skip OR freeze. How often does that happen?

Phool(1993) - Flashes of certain scenes are dancing in my head but overall, I'm drawing a blank. Pic quality on Baba disc sucked.

Prem Pratigyaa(1989) - I remember thinking it was pretty good, but that's it.

Raja(1995) - Madhuri's presence made this very mediocre film watchable.

Sangeet(1992) - This number was an eye-opener. I recall thinking Madhuri was good in her dual role, but not much else.

Tezaab(1988) - The "Ek Do Teen" song is catchy. Too bad my (Video Sound) disc froze at chapter eight.

Endrendrum Kaadhal(1999)

"Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." But in this movie, not only do they meet, they also marry. (Quelle suprise!)

I loveloveLOVE Rambha. I had to stop myself from making too many caps of her.



Rambha so cute! I think she looks like a hybrid
of Britney Spears, Sridevi, and Divya Bharati



I am slowly falling in love with the 90s version of Vijay







Never pass up the opportunity to lecture a complete
stranger on how to be a proper Indian woman


"Oh, wow! What a great guy!"
"I know, right?"


"So what if we aren't married? You sleep on one
side of the bed and I sleep on the other!"

My favorite scene:


















Click here to watch it on YouTube.


I should iconize this.

Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen(1998)

The only reason I got this is because Ajith has an extended cameo. So far, I've watched just the scenes in which he appears. I have no idea what the rest of the movie is like, but I already know that Roja ends up with Karthik. I figured that out after reading the plot summary. (Go, me!) One day, I'll watch this in its entirety.

(Aside: Does anyone have any Nagma recommendations? Preferably Tamil or Telugu as I'm not keen on seeing any of her Hindi films. Citizen and Dheena have triggered an interest in her. Kadhalan is a possibility.)

Topic: Roja was very pretty. I sometimes get her and Meena confused. Ajith looked smart and handsome. Karthik reminded me that I need to eventually watch Rojavanam and Nee Pathi Naan Pathi.

I used to have screencaps, but I deleted them because I figured I would never get around to watching the entire movie and posting about it. I'm too lazy to make new ones. Oh, well. **shrug**

Sanam Harjai(1995)

Simran's Hindi debut, which is why I bought it. I have this "thing" about hunting down and watching the first onscreen appearances of my favorite actors. Anyway, I enjoyed the utter badness of this flick. It felt like a 2 1/2 hour paternity test episode of the Maury show, but with songs and


***SPOILERS***

not one, not two, but FOUR murders! Long story, shorter version: Raj(Himanshu), alias Sunny, approaches lawyer KK Verma(Sadashiv Amrapurkar) for advice on how to rape a woman without getting convicted, as all of Verma's clients in rape cases have gotten off scot-free. Raj then uses Verma's tips to impregnate Verma's two daughters, Nillu(Saadhika) and Tina(Simran), as revenge for Verma getting Raj's sister pregnant, then killing both her and his mother when they threatened to expose his dirty deeds. All of this is revealed at a suprise party Raj throws for Verma, who is shocked to discover that the father of Nillu and Tina's respective children is the same guy he was going to represent. Verma attempts to kill Raj but Nillu steps in front of him and takes the bullet instead, staying alive long enough to blame Verma for Raj's misdeeds before firing several rounds into him.

Jump to the present and Raj's adoptive mother(Reema Lagoo) lights into him for ruining the lives of two innocent girls and tells him to man up and take responsibility for the son Tina left on their doorstep a few...weeks? months? earlier. He agrees to this, of course, and accepts both Tina and their son and everyone lives happily ever after.

I think the suprise element would've been greater if Raj's intent hadn't been made evident early in the film. The scene with him asking Verma for pointers on how to get away with raping a girl, as well as the one where Verma successfully defends one of his clients, should've been shown during the flashback episode at the party. And the...two? scenes with Verma receiving a flower bouquet with a "6-6-76" card attached should've been left out, because it was obvious(to me, anyway) that Raj was the one who sent them.

Speaking of Raj, I wish he had been played by someone other than Himanshu. I wasn't feeling him, to put it mildly.

Saadhika was lovely, and at times she sorta resembled Divya Bharati. I think it was the hair and bitchy-but-cute facial expressions.

I had a love-hate relationship with Simran's wig. On one hand, I enjoyed staring at it, but on the other hand, I was like, "Why is she wearing a wig? What was wrong with her natural hair?"

Screencappies:

Saadhika











Simran