Reviews

A very silly, bright and brash comic book of a film that highlights Indias significant corruption problems but still entertains. Despite starring the old and hairy Anil Kapoor and the awful Johnny Lever in an irritating first ten minutes this film is bursting with vibrant colour, grand song sequences and energy. Rani is as stunning as ever in her occasional appearances as the love interest and sports a rare (but very welcome!) cute village girl look.

Old Anil does surprisingly well as the journalist who turns Ramboesque Chief Minister for a day. He immediately sets about sorting out India single-handed saving dying kids, cutting out corruption, kicking ass and defusing bombs. The highlight being a cheeky Matrix influenced fight scene! The lowpoint being Rani kissing his fat hairy stomach.. gross! The plot is simple, far stretched and a bit of boys superhero fantasy. It won't trouble any brain cells but the three hours whizz by.. a real old school entertainer.

Truth, godliness and beauty. An unconventional Hindi film about inner beauty. Zeenat Aman's character Rupa is a village outcast having burnt one side of her face leaving her disfigured. She lives life in the shadows of others hiding her scars by veiling one side of her face. Enter the vain Shashi Kapoor as Ranjeev who falls madly in love with Rupa after hearing her angelic singing at the temple but remains unaware of her disfigurement. Rupa then literally leads two lives in order to maintain his love.

When released in India it caused much controversy over the mix of religion, the semi-clad Zeenat Aman and erotic symbolism in some sequences. True, no chance is wasted in showing as much of Zeenats inch perfect body as possible. For many this compromises the message of the film however it is never vulgar. The portrayal of her own self-loathing and sense of worthlessness tugs at the heart strings. There is a small minus in Shashi Kapoors total miscasting as the big engineer he looks continually bemused and his sudden conversion doesn't quite ring true.

The film is beautifully shot and the sunrise colour schemes give it a surreal and dream like quality. The dialogues are well done and complimented by some great songs. Highly recommended.

This film should have everything going for it - directed by Kamal Amrohi, lavish palace sets, costume design and loosely based on an true story from the era of the Turkish sultanates in India. Razia trained in combat by her Ethiopian slave Yakoot (who suspiciously looks like a blacked up Dharmendra!) proves herself a more worthy heir than her brothers. After the death of her father Razia assumes control of the sultanate to become the first female Muslim leader in South Asia. But Turkish nobility enraged at her relationship with a black man start a power struggle for the throne.

The Turkish sultanate era is nicely brought to life but despite having topics such as gender, politics, history and race on offer the film has a major problem - its coma inducing lack of pace. I can watch a slow film but this takes some effort. Although made in the eighties it tries very hard to recreate the feel of the old epics so there's a lot of silence, overacting and shouting which grates after a while.

However... the whole film is saved by the truly beautiful song 'Ay Dil-e-Nadaan' (My Innocent Heart). With a video to match we see Hema Malini, looking every inch the Turkish princess, wandering through the desert at sunset lonely and frustrated at her inability to express her love for Yakoot.

Worth a watch if you're into slow romantic epics, the history or the girl power angle but you could just read up on real story of Razia Sultan and save yourself three hours. Perhaps ripe for a serious remake?

There's plenty of silly Bollywood films out there but this is the best of the lot! At times its hard to believe its not some genius spoof. There are some real 'I cant believe that just happened!' moments... whats the midget wedding all about!? Our hero Jimmy avenges his mothers humiliation by badman Oberoi by becoming a disco dancing star. On the way he sees off rival disco dancer who happens to be Oberois son, kung-fu kicks Oberois goons, ruins Oberois business and not only that he bags his daughter.. what a guy!

If you have a stupid sense of humour and can appreciate the early 80s naffness it'll put a big fat silly smile on your face. The music isn't so great when compared to other disco films like Star or Qurbani but makes up for in the bonkers department. Having said all that its not a bad little film underneath and Mithun puts in a great performance as Jimmy. The end climax is just classic. Sing Jimmy, sing!!

A brilliant but sad film in which we follow abandoned Krishna on his quest to make enough money to return to his village. Along the way we meet the street kids, prostitutes, pimps and dealers he shares everyday life with.

An amazing aspect is that all the child actors in the film are real street kids picked after attending workshops run by Nair and friends. In particular the central performances of Krishna, Manju and Coalpiece (his songs!) are superb. Despite their hardships there are some great moments when you see glimpses of the playful kids within.

The film never wanders into over-sentimentality and at times its hard to believe you're not watching a documentary. Hindi-film music and escapism seeps into everyday life, actors mingle with ordinary people and the whole film is shot in real locations around Mumbai that just drip with atmosphere. This sadly includes the chiller room which was filmed as they found it along with the soul-crushing 'Flowers that never bloom' prayer.

The story wanders and can be slow but this only serves to draw you into their world and leave you sad and angry at the end - at the loss of childhood for these kids and countless others. Still relevant today.