Chalo Dilli which was cute
and Hisss (that should count) which was a very good mix of US horror and Bollywood sensibilities
None, but I watched Mr & Mrs Iyer (2002) recently.
Have things progressed any?
@Dennis thanks for replying….Chalo Dilli imo was not that great you should’ve seen Mumbai Dairies..
and Hiss honestly don’t have guts to see it…if you know what i mean…
@Robert Progressed in ? ..Thanks for replying …
big Jenifer Lynch fan
plus the movie is free on youtube
Mr & Mrs Iyer reminded me of Deepa Mehta’s approach, which started in the 90s.
That is lots of themes and easily identifiable tropes.
In this case, it is Romeo and Juliet/ the eduction of provincial by the worldly with contemporary political subplots.
i.e. lots of narrative additions vs formalist advancements
I saw Desi Boyz…and it was the worst film I’ve seen this year so far. Damn!
I really would like to know other people who have seen it, and what they thought.
@Robert w peabody… thanks for replying… …Personally sometimes i prefer Aparna Sen over Deepa mehta..but both are very talented but one thing is sure both are better then Mira Nair…
@Dennis oh i didn’t knew that it was free on youtube..I might watch it now…
@Celeryfc…Sorry have not seen Desi Boyz….But in case if you are looking for recommendation then you can see Dhobi Ghat and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara…
seeing Don 2 today
“No One Killed Jessica” has been amazing, a powerful depiction of legal injustice in Delhi. I also liked “That Girl in Yellow Boots”.
I’ve not seen much from India this year; the most recent, which i enjoyed, being a short The Backwaters by Karthick, but that’s from Kerala. Otherwise, older stuff like Raj Kapoor (Shree 420), and 3 which were slightly disappointing- Dil Se by Ratnam, 36 Chowringhee Lane, and Mr and Mrs Iyer (my expectations of Aparna Sen being highest). I don’t keep a record of when i watch films, i may have seen a couple by Satyajit Ray this year, albeit Bengali- Kanchenjungha was excellent. I received Roy’s 1955 version of Devdas by mail rental but there was a fault. I wonder if the 1935 Barua version may be the best. Being half Indian i should watch a lot more
A major event was the death earlier this month of Dev Anand. I’m not really up on this year’s releases, would be interested to know which have been hits and also critically acclaimed.
I actually really disliked No One Killed Jessica, its sensationalist, gallery-playing, and mostly insensitive (barring a good performance from Balan) treatment of an event that had been under intense public scrutiny left a bad taste in my mouth. I’m looking forward to seeing That Girl in Yellow Boots; Kashyap has become more popular for some of his recent films like Dev D — which is a great thing, as he had problems with the Censor board and other authorities even getting his first two films released — but I still think those two films (Paanch and Black Friday) are his best. The latter in particular is essential viewing, it works as an excellent companion piece to Battle of Algiers (acknowledged as an influence by the director). I haven’t seen many Hindi films from this year (and to be honest, I’m in no hurry), but I think there was another thread (100 years of Indian cinema) which mentioned some of the better ones of the last decade.
You’re right there was some sensationalism involved, but for most parts I found it to be a well-made and compassionate drama about the plea for justice which also recounts the power of the people.
As for Kenji’s request, Abu, Son of Adam (a Malayalam film) won the Special Jury Award of the International Film Festival of India and has been selected to represent India at the Foreign Film Oscars in 2012. I’m planning to watch it one of these days and will post my opinion on it. Among the other acclaimed films this year there were Ribhu Dasgupta’s Michael, Sanjib Sabhapandit’s “From the Shadow of Silence”, V K Prakash’s “Karmyogi”, Sanjoy Nag’s Memories in March, Rituparno Ghosh’s Nouka Dubi, Aparna Sen’s An Unfinished Letter, "Spandan Banerjee’s “You Don’t Belong”, Santosh Sivan’s “Urumi”, Shyamaprasad’s “Electra” and Premlal’s “Athmakatha”,
I saw The Bengali Detective, which is the definition of average.
Thanks, Apu, i’ll add some of those to my little list.
Saw Ra-One. Loved it, lots of fun.
—DiB
Ra-One will be playing at a Bollywood Film Festival at the Honolulu Academy of Arts in January. Would you or anyone else recommend it?
Here’s a list of some of the other films. If there are one or two films that any of you would highly recommend, please let me know. Mahalo!
Nouka Dubi i see gets a good rating at imdb but only 1 star here (maybe not many votes).
Big in Bollywood is okay, if it is the newish one I am thinking of
I would hit up all the Godzilla flicks
Important Marathi language films in the year 2011:
Taryanche Bait
Balgandharva
Mi Sindhutai Sapkal
Deool
Jazz:
Loved it, lots of fun.
I wouldn’t make any claims to it being any good. Also, I saw it with Indians, and they went wild at things that went totally over my head and they had to explain afterward. So there’s that.
—PolarisDiB
I’ve seen : I Am Kalam, The Girl in the Yellow Boots, Ra.One, and Bol (not Hindi or Bollywood).
I should get my wife to reply…she watches 2-3 Bollywood movies a week.
Abu, Son of Adam: The last film I watched in 2011, definitely worth checking out. A quiet and saddening tale about an extremely faithful man who tries to live his life by the words of Allah and never does anyone harm, but whose greatest wish to once in his life visit Mekka is impeded by his moral concerns about taking money offers from other people.
An Unfinished Letter: The best Indian film I’ve seen made in recent years, and every bit as wonderful as Benegal’s “Bhumika: The Role”. Yet another spellbinding film about the life of an actress told through a complex series of flashbacks and focussing on the joys and tragedies she experienced. I think that even if Kenji was disappointed by Aparna Sen’s previous films he might enjoy this one, her most accomplished work as far as I’m concerned.
An Unfinished Letter (trailer)
Saat Khoon Maaf and Rockstar were both really interesting works. I also enjoyed Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
rishi goswami
What movies of 2011 you saw this year from Hindi Cinema or Bollywood…?