People talk trash about Air India, but it has one distinct advantage — if you’re lucky enough to fly to and from India on one of their newer 747s, which are equipped with personal video screens, you have a wealth of Indian TV, movies, and music to entertain yourself with, while eating Chiwda (instead of peanuts) and not-too-bad shrimp curry. (You still have to sit in a cramped little chair for 16-24 hours without losing your mind, but that would be the case on Lufthansa too.)
Our son wasn’t too much trouble on our recent Mumbai-to-Newark flight (he slept through much of it), so I was able to sample a range of subtitled Indian movies in different languages that I otherwise might not see. In some cases, I didn’t watch whole films — sometimes just an hour or so — but it was an interesting experiment to compare a group of films that normally are only seen by members of specific linguistic communities. People sometimes talk about Indian cinema as if the only films worth watching are made in Hindi and produced in Mumbai, but perhaps the folks who are saying that only watch those films?
The most entertaining, and highest production value film I watched was the Tamil film, Sivaji, The Boss, starring Rajnikanth (star of several YouTube “superhits,” including “Little Superman”). I initially enjoyed the sense of Tamil ethno-linguistic pride in the film (Rajnikant’s love interest is named “Tamizhselvi”), though it did start to get old after a little while (I did not see such an obsession with regional identity in the Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, or Punjabi films I sampled on this flight. Is the Tamil-centricness of Sivaji, The Boss unique to this film?).
Rajnikanth’s manic physical comedy and dancing, and the film’s over-the-top sets and situations, are really why someone who is not a long-term Rajnikanth fan watches a film like this. I couldn’t say that the anti-corruption plot made any narrative sense, though there were some powerful “crowd” moments here and there; there’s just a whiff of the rough edges of actual Indian politics. More than anything else, it seemed like Rajnikanth’s mission in this film is to entertain the audience as fast as possible, and continue doing so until every last bit of amusement is squeezed out of every damn frame of the film. (I wish I knew where he gets the energy.)
Incidentally, Sivaji, The Boss was the most expensive Indian film ever made, in any language, as of 2007. It was a super-hit in the South, and successful even dubbed into Hindi. After Sivaji, The Boss, I sampled two Malayalam films. I watched most of a wonderful family comedy called Madhu Chandralekha, starring Jayaram and Urvasi. I have to say I definitely enjoyed the story about how the ordinary, unglamorous wife of a successful singer and composer becomes jealous of a glamorous young woman who comes into their lives. It felt very real and honest, and Urvashi (a regional actress who came out of “retirement” for this film) is convincingly unglamorous, if that expression can be permitted. (We have all seen movies television programs where an obviously incredibly beautiful woman tries to “frump” it as someone bookish and unpopular, but the audience knows it is only a matter of time before the Grand Makeover occurs, and Beauty Emerges Triumphant. Not so here.) Incidentally, here is a song from the film.
Also worth checking out is a Malyalam film called Smart City. Set in Cochi, a quick Google search revealed that this “honest man vs. the corrupt business establishment and gangster cronies” film seems to be based on a real, 2004 proposal in Cochi to build an “Internet City,” where a multinational corporation based in Dubai would develop a whole region of the city as a kind of high-end Internet/IT/Multinational hub. Though it is by no means an art film or a work of political propaganda, Smart City is quite serious in its opposition to this kind of “think big/get a piece of the action” approach to development, and touches on a sensitive and important issue that is much broader than just Kerala (i.e., the controversies over “Special Economic Zones”).
One small observation: both the Tamil film Sivaji and the Malayalam film Madhu Chandralekha had physical comedy about what happens when one eats absurdly spicy food. In Sivaji, Rajnikant coolly eats a plate of hot peppers to impress his love interest and her family, before allowing himself to spazz out in the bathroom. In Madhu Chandralekha, the jealous wife makes wildly spicy food for her husband to try and alienate him, because she doesn’t feel worthy of his love. Comedy of course ensues when the wrong person eats some of the food. Just coincidence, or is there a tradition of comedy over spicy food either in South Indian movies, or even Indian movies in general?
The Marathi film Bakula Namdeo Ghotale was much smaller in terms of production values or professionalism than either of the Malayalam films or the Tamil film I watched, but it was still entertaining, if not exactly Cannes Film Festival material. First, Bakula Namdeo Ghotale features actors in starring roles who look convincingly rural (i.e., the male stars all have “bad” teeth, and are not conventionally good-looking; see what I mean in this song from the film). The plot is nothing too exciting (a conniving Sarpanch falls in love with the wife of the village idiot; the wife fends off his advances and protects her witless husband), but, again, the actors held my attention because they seemed “real” to me.
I watched a little of the Punjabi film Ek Jind Ek Jaan, but quickly got bored and quit. What struck me here, by comparison to the Malayalam and Tamil films in particular, was just how low-budget and uninspired the film looked, even with an “over the hill” Bollywood star as the leading man (Raj Babbar). I should point out that there are some higher-end and more ambitious Punjabi films out there, so this is not a comment on the Punjabi film industry in general, so much as Air India’s particular selection. (That said, I have never seen a film that had Raj Babbar in a major role that I found watchable. Shaheed Uddham Singh, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, and LOC Kargil were all nauseatingly bad.)
I also watched a few minutes of a Gujarati film, but neglected to write down the title, and so can’t say anything about it. Like the Punjabi films Air India was showing, it looked rather cheap and conventional.
While most of the other regional films being shown by Air India have been released in the past two years, their two Bengali selections were both “classics,” from the 1970s and 80s. The one I watched on this flight was Aparna Sen’s 1984 art film, Parama, about a housewife who has a flirtation with a young, avant-garde photographer. It was very well done; with the photography theme, it reminded me a little of Antonioni’s Blow-Up, but with a nostalgic, Bengali high culture sensibility. The young actor Mukul Sharma, who played the photographer in the film, opposite Rakhee Gulzar, reminded me a little of Dustin Hoffmann in the 1970s.
Needless to say, making even half-assed comparisons between different regional cinemas would have been easier if Air India had been showing films comparable in scale and status. There would really be no point in comparing Aparna Sen’s Parama to something like Sivaji, The Boss.
Still, here are some sketchy thoughts: though it makes a big fuss out of adhering to Traditional Tamil Culture, Sivaji, The Boss is as over-the-top and glossy as any big, loud, Bollywood movie. This is not terribly surprising; there is a regular exchange of ideas and talent between the Hindi and Tamil movie industries, and watching this film I felt as if I were watching a Bollywood film that happened to be in the Tamil language. The only major difference might be the presence of Rajnikanth himself, with his utterly unique style and an iconic status that has no equivalent anywhere else.
The Malayalam films I sampled were smaller and less ambitious, but the trade-off is that they both had an honesty to them that I liked, even with dramatically different themes (married life/relationships on the one hand, and corruption/multi-national development on the other).
The other regional films I sampled were less compelling, though between the Gujarati, Punjabi, and Marathi films on offer, the only one I found watchable was the spirited Marathi film Bakula Namdeo Ghotale. I do not know if the naturalistic appearance of the actors or village settings is common in Marathi films; if so, it would have to be a reaction against the artificial sleekness and hyper-cosmopolitanism of Bollywood cinema — and ironic, given that Mumbai is actually in the state of Maharashtra. And because not much is written about Marathi films in English (most of the links that turn up in Google are simply various options for illegal downloading), I have no idea whether this film is typical or not.
Are there other recent films in regional language readers would recommend? Also, any recommendations for off-beat, “multiplex” oriented Hindi films? (I have had my fill of Bachchans and Khans for now.)
I thought the film was ridiculing the Tamil ethno-linguistic pride. There was a Tamil teacher character used as a comedian.
Aah I miss the 80’s-early 90’s , when I watched sub-titled regional language films on Sunday Afternoon on the only TV channel _ doordarshan right after the “news for the hearing impaired” and news in Sanskrit (Varthaha)mainly because it was too hot to play cricket and I would watch anything on TV, guess Air India is what you take to relive that experience 🙂 but DD played mostly artsy ones, I have watched entire sequences of people finishing a meal where not a word is spoken or close up and pan back from someone’s armpit while they cleared was from their ears – aa art cinema!
BTW, Vivek (rajni’s sidekick in sivaji) has some very sophisticated self referential comedy that I guess did not sub-title well, probably why you were taken by Rajni’s physical antics. Remember Rajni is liked by millions(?) kids who appreciate this more.
I thought the film was ridiculing the Tamil ethno-linguistic pride.
I was thinking of all the stuff about how he wants a traditional “cultured, Tamil girl.” His love interest has a degree in Tamil literature, he first sees her at a Mandir, etc. etc.
I was thinking of all the stuff about how he wants a traditional “cultured, Tamil girl.” His love interest has a degree in Tamil literature, he first sees her at a Mandir, etc. etc.
Hmm.. I thought even the Bollywood wanted “cultured” boys and girls (Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Pardes ?? ). Nothing specifically Tamil about it.
Actually this film ridicules “Tamil pride” by having the Tamil teacher as a comedian with his two daughters with “pure Tamizh” names, called angavai / sangavai. That comedy is sick and demeaning to the dark skinned who account for a substantial percentage of the Tamil population. But a lot of such things pass off as jokes in the Tamil film world like ridiculing dark skinned / handicapped etc…
If you’re looking for Malayalam films, then last year’s Arabikatha (Arabian Story) and Ore Kadal (One Ocean) and Blessy’s Thanmathra (about early on-set Alzheimer’s) are good options. I mostly watch the “fun” films in Tamil….Minnale is one of my personal favourites. And Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muthamittal (it’s on netflix instant watch) and Alai Payuthey are also really good. Also, Pithamagan got the National Award.
And Manichitrathazhu (remade in Hindi as Bhool Bhulaiyya) is one of the best Malayalam films of all time.
Somewhat urbane Sillunu Oru Kaadhal..I like this song from the and the picturisation from the movie – New York Nagaram
Actually this film ridicules “Tamil pride” by having the Tamil teacher as a comedian with his two daughters with “pure Tamizh” names, called angavai / sangavai. That comedy is sick and demeaning to the dark skinned who account for a substantial percentage of the Tamil population. But a lot of such things pass off as jokes in the Tamil film world like ridiculing dark skinned / handicapped etc…
I didn’t pick up on the idea that the two daughters’ names were supposed to be comic (blame it on too much chiwda, not enough sleep, and not knowing enough about Tamil culture). I thought the fact that Rajni is in love with a girl named Tamilselvi made her kind of a metaphor (technically a metonym) for everything that is good and desirable about Tamil-ness. But again, I might be over-reading.
And yes, the blatant humor at the expense of the teacher’s dark-skinned daughters was pretty disheartening. That said, Rajni’s “uncle” had a great moment when he challenged Tamilselvi on her rejection of Rajni based on darker skin. (“There are only two things you can’t talk about in Tamilnadu, skin color and chastity!”)
The logic on skin color in the movie seems to be: you can righteously dismiss color-ism when someone puts you down for being dark (what is this nonsense about skin tone?), but you can always make fun of someone darker than yourself as being too dark.
Btw talking abt Tamil-ethno linguistic pride – I came to know recently that Rajni is actually a Maharashtrian who was a bus conductor in Bangalore and shifted to Madras when he got break in the Tamil film !
Amardeep, Marathi films are seeing slightly better days. Film makers, both mainstream and non are trying new ideas. The results are mixed, but still a move in good direction. Check out Valu. It’s a charming little film. Realistic (relatively speaking) without art house pretensions. Bonus: Legendary stage/film actor Dilip Prbhavalkar (Bapu in Munnabhai) in a very unGandhilike roll.
I’m sure you probably know about Maqbool and Omkara — both very good Hindi films that are not big blow-out productions. Chameli was good too. Split Wide Open (English and Hindi) was a film I liked, kind of interesting to compare to Slumdog Millionaire, but may be hard to find.
And Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muthamittal (it’s on netflix instant watch) and Alai Payuthey are also really good.
I watched Kannathil Muthamittal a few years ago, and really liked it. In fact, I liked it so much I wrote a review of it here.
I’m sure you probably know about Maqbool and Omkara — both very good Hindi films that are not big blow-out productions. Chameli was good too. Split Wide Open (English and Hindi) was a film I liked, kind of interesting to compare to Slumdog Millionaire, but may be hard to find.
Clare — thanks — I’ve seen them all, except Chameli. I wrote blog reviews of Maqbool and Omkara on my personal blog (back before I was on SM).
If I’m remembering it correctly, Split Wide Open dealt with the Bombay water problem in a really provocative way.
You should try “Mouna Ragam”, one of Mani Ratnam’s early movies.
even though it’s been remade with added commercial “appeal” in kannada, tamil, and hindi (i.e. aaptamitra, chandramuki, and bhul bhulaiyya), the original manichitrathazhu in malayalam is really worth watching. there have also been several malayalam movies that have been remade in tamil recently, and one of these that that i loved was vellithirai (originally udayananu tharam in malayalam)- it has several aspects reminiscent of the story in pyaasa, and tremendously good acting by the lead actor, even if there were some flaws to the movie otherwise. also in tamil cinema, the director cheran has been making several good movies, most notably autograph and raman thediya seethai. for a pretty good tamil thriller, vettaiyaadu vilaiyadu with kamal hassan, as well as kaakka kaakka.
in hindi, i highly recommend khosla ka ghosla. the same director just came out with oye lucky… a wednesday has also gotten great reviews, though i have not yet seen it.
could it not just be a reaction to nothing? i don’t think it’s necessarily so that a director has bollywood on his/her mind when deciding that a story needs actors with a certain non-glamourous appearance. non-hindi indian cinema has had a long tradition of relatively higher number of movies set in non-urban settings, so i think the idea of giving characters an appearance that is realistic to the story has been around for a very a long time in this type of cinema, well before bollywood went all hyper-cosmo on its films.
What’s an absolute travesty about Air India, though, is that it doesn’t offer Telugu films, which the air hostess had no explanation for on my flight to India this past summer (and that’s why Telugu is absent from your list). Anyone know why? It is one of the biggest film industries within India, after all.
Sorry to nitpick, but I think you meant 777 amardeep.
I can understand. It is difficult for some one from outside to grasp the nuances. Tamil names are an important part in the Dravidian movement. The goal is to get rid of the Sanskrit influences, and some names are called “pure Tamil” names like the angavai and sangavai. It is kind of rare that people keep those names. As you noted, the joke from the uncle (about the two things) is again an indirect puncturing of ‘Tamizh pride’. It’s great that you remember the subtitles too. You have amazing memory. I can only recollect Shreya being hot and sexy, not her name in the movie.
That “logic” is seen among most if not all desis. Including right here.
Even the recent Indian/Hollywood flick Slumdog Millionaire has a scene related to mirch and comedy related to spices… So probably not just a Southie thing.
Aamir (hindi movie, released a few months ago) is a good flick.
Of course Punjabi movies and Gujarati movies suck. They are completely overshadowed by Bollywood. Punjabis as well as Gujaratis, especially the younger generation, have no problem understanding Hindi, and in fact are among the core audience for Hindi films (especially in the diaspora but even back in India due to their higher disposable incomes). South Indians on the other hand do not really understand Hindi that well and most would have trouble with a Hindi film for that reason…therefore they have focused on their own film industries based on their own languages. It’s cultural forces as well as market forces. People like Harbhajan Mann have tried hard to revitalise Punjabi films, but with mixed results, and essentially sticking quite close to the Bollywood format. Pakistan used to have a pretty vibrant (but again not always good quality) Punjabi film industry (Lollywood) but I think the last 10 yrs have been pretty poor there too. Part of that again is the overwhelming dominance and popularity of Bollywood.
Shyam Benegal’s ‘Kalyug”, a retelling of the Mahabharata in a corporate setting is eminently watchable.
In general, anything starring Abhay Deol. Especially, “Ek Chalis Ki Last Local”, “Manorama Six Feet Under” etc. Also, see Arshad Warsi in “Waisa Bhi Hota Hai, part II”, there is no Part 1. The film is a Shashanka Ghosh’s tribute to the Coen bros and Tarantino. “Black Friday” by Anurag Kashyap. All are available with Netflix.
A good website/blog to pick out indy Hindi cinema is “Passion for Cinema“. It is a colla blog of directors/writers etc. Check out Anurag Kashyap’s blogs on the making of ‘Black Friday’ in the above link.
Amardeep – These movies aren’t very new, but are great. Both Tamil:
Kutti : http://www.rajshri.com/tamil/movies/Kutti.asp
Paruthi Veeran: http://www.bharatmovies.com/tamil/video/Paruthi_Veeran.htm
Paruthi Veeran is set in rural Tamil Nadu and is pretty authentic (reminded me a lot of a old Bharathiraja movies)
Incidently the actor Mukul Sharma you mention is Aparna Sens then-husband and Konkana Sen Sharma father. He is more famous for his column for the Times of India on puzzles called “Mindsport/e4”. I cant access his website(also called Mindsport) now so I will leave you a link to one of his articles.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3737799.cms
I always wonder how he straddles (or straddled anyways) two different worlds at one time.
Quizman,
Excellent recommendations for the movies and the website, the only I have seen from your list is Manorama Six Feet Under. I think there is also a version of Devdas called Dev D starring Abhay Deol that is being made by Anurag Kashyap.
Some more mainstream Malayalam films worth watching are Kasthooriman, Perumazhakalam (Dor was adapted from it), Gramaphone (about Kochi Jews), and Nandanam. All of those are female-centric films. If you’re looking for more artsy stuff, take a look at Vanaprastham, Akale (adapted from The Glass Menagerie), Padam Onnu: Oru Vilapam (about child marriage in the Malabar Muslim community), and Kaliyattam (adapted from Othello).
I don’t know if you have time to watch all the movie suggestions. That depends on your taste. My advice: avoid Malayalam art movies. Watching those art movies in the 80s (no other choice on a Sunday afternoon through state run Doordarshan) left a deep scar with me. In school we used to get a lot of jokes around the sunday afternoon movies and Tuesday evening Tamil dramas.
You’d see a camera zooming in on a person walking slowly on the farthest end of the road and he’ll walk slowly for 5 minutes. Just when you think finally he came closer to the camera, he’d make a turn and the camera will again show him walking now in a different direction away from the camera for 5 more minutes.
25 · quizman said
waisa bhi hota hai-II is actually contains I and III part or you can say flash back… also u r right about abhay deol as he is doing most sensible movies some more are including Oye Lucky…
There was a time, maybe 10-15 years ago, when Tamil film’s dubbed into Hindi used to be huge. The only one I can recall off the top is a movie about this little girl titled Anjali. I’ve been out of the hindi movie scene for a while now so i don’t know if this still continues today.
Ponniyan Selvan,
I’ve seen the art films and they aren’t any “watching people think” shots in the ones I mentioned, but I know what you’re talking about. My dad won’t watch art films because of the 80’s films where someone climbs on a tree and sits there thinking and we’re supposed to figure out what they’re thinking. To be fair, “art” films everywhere are like that, not just in India. Also, another mainstream Malayalam film I’d really recommend is Achuvinte Amma, about a single mother and her daughter.
Well, the general public’s viewing is so much Bollywood centric that we often miss several regional as well as international gems. I’ve had an opportunity to view a few wonderful international movies in Finnish, Korean and such.
And nowadays, Marathi movies too have improved. Instead of the old Tamasha song-dance movies or the ribald comedy movies of Dada Kondke, we now have some good story-line modern outlook movies like ‘Dombivali Fast’, ‘Valu’, ‘Kadachit’ by Ashwini Bhave, ‘Man Pakhru Pakhru’ and ‘Amhi Saatpute’ a remake of Amitabh’s Sattey Pe Satta.
The problem with viewing regional movies is that many are without sub-titles. And ofcourse the nuances of each language is lost in translation.
I watched Vanaprastham, with Suhasini and Mohanlal. It is a wonderful movie. Boothakannadi is good.
Most of Suhasini’s tamil movies are good. Her Kannada ones are family-ishtyle tear-jerkers. Her husband, Mani Rathnam makes great movies. If you really enjoy movies then go back to the Hamsa Geethe, Gejje Pooje in Kannada period and 16 Vayadinile and most of BharatiRaja(director)movies in Tamil. Just wonderful. Rajani was a villain.
We used to watch all these kinds of movies on DDD and with the exception of Malayalam, Bengali and Tamil, most were low budget with terrible camera work :-(.
decent movies i can recall…
Johnny Gaddaar Lets Enjoy A Wednesday No Smoking mumbai matinee mungaru male(kannada)
Check out Rangan for some good reviews/opinions/thoughts regarding movies.
Here is a list of recommendations for Indian films Beyond Bollywood
Waris Shah, in Punjabi (and Urdu too, I think) was excellent.
Amardeep, here’s the best movie ever: Quick Gun Murugun: The Movie.
Mind it.
Few Multiplex hindi movies i found decent in last 6 months:
A Wednesday: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1280558/ Aamir: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1241195/ Mumbai Meri Jaan: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1266583/ Oye Lucky Lucky Oye: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1292703/ Dasvidaniya:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1288638/ Dil Kabddi: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1218345/
There are several others which were not typical mainstream Hindi movies like Sorry Bhai. Hindi movies have started to explore different themes in last few years.
vivek fan – you took me back to the old days. thanks for refreshing the memories. my exact experience even the sanskrit news 😉
In Malayalam, the movies are generally about ordinary people who does not have any super power. That trend has been changing in the last 10 years with some of the super star movies. I really like art movies from Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan. My all time favourite is ‘Elipattayam’ (Rat Trap). Among pop movies I like all movies from Srinivasan. Udayananu Tharam is really worth spending time. Some of the Mohanlal(my favourites Kireedam, Bharatam ) and Mammootty(my favourites Amaram,Thaniyavarthanam) are very good, when they dont have any special powers.
I liked like Cheran in Tamil. His autograph is really nice. Mani ratnam movies usually do not disappoint.
I know this may cause furious dissent, but I find Tamil movies have a certain campy self-referential humor that Hindi movies simply do not. Whether this nuance survives the usually atrocious subtitle translations, I can’t really say…
Too bad a history of Marathi cinema is not readily available online. It would be a fascinating story to tell starting from Bhatavdekar (who imported the first camera) to Prabhat Studios (V. Shantaram) to Dada Kondke to Jabbar Patel/Vijay Tendulkar/Amol Palekar artsy high-culture cinema with caustic social comment and observation to Lakshmikant Berde-Ashok Saraf-Maherchi Saadi type atrocities to more “middle-road” (between artsy and commercial) cinema (Gajendra Ahire etc.). The movie that you saw, Amardeep, is probably a B-grade commercial one: minimal budgets, aimed at the rural/small-town sector etc.
With a vibrant literay and theatrical tradition, it is a pity that Marathi cinema hasnt produced more excellent films. These days there are, needless to say, many types of Marathi films being made, from the type you saw to the more artsy variey. Some of the ones I’d recommend are:
All of Amol Palekar’s films, particularly “Akriet”, “Anaahat”, “Dhyaasparva”, “Kairee” (technically in Hindi) Sumitra Bhave-Sunil Sukhtankar’s films – “Vaastupurush”, “Doghi” both highly recommended, “Nital”, “Devrai” (my least fav), “Dahavi F” I didnt care much for Shwaas but it became India’s OScar entry a few years ago.
“Tingya”, “Valu”, “Kadachit”, “Bayo”, “Dombivli Fast” are on my to-see list. Chitra Palekar made a film based on a Mahashweta Devi story, which is allegedly good, but its name escapes me.
From the older ones I’d recommend Jabbar Patel’s “Umbartha” (Smita Patil in a great role), “Simhasan” (political thriller with Shriram Lagoo and Nilu Phule), “22 June 1897” the story of Chapekar brothers who killed a British general set in Pune…
I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Telugu film industry! That list could go on forever… Some of my favorites that were made in the last decade: Okkadu Nuvvosthanante Nennodantana Bommarillu Godavari Happy Days
As far as new ones – they’re mostly “mass” films, ie filled with lots of violence and a cookie cutter story line. I did see one called Sasirekha Parinayam, more “class” which I thought was pretty good.
There are some really great older Telugu movies that I can list too if you are interested.
oops just saw comment #19 by mala. I agree! What a travesty to not include Telugu films…
The best malayalam movies are Chemmeen,Oru Penninde kadha,Thulabharam(60’s films)with strong female characters.
Nothing profound to offer, but I took either American or Continental – can’t remember – the last time I went out, this past summer, and whichever airline it was did feature a number of Indian movies. That’s all I can report, because incidentally I ended up watching some Chinese cinema (hey, that’s something) and some American & British films I’d been meaning to see anyway; so, I can’t tell you about the number, range or quality of Indian films they offered, let alone how such a selection would compare to Air India’s, which I would assume might be at least be more attuned to that kind of thing. But my point simply is that on these flights, they know their demographics (to some degree) and feature films from the country they’re flying to.
Ammayi, Good ones@46.
Some more recent and decent Telugu movies:
Athadu (Mahesh Babu and Trisha; remade in Tamil as Nandhu)- director Trivikram Srinivas packs quite a punch in this ‘hollywood-style filming meets Tollywood characters’ blockbuster)
Pokiri also starring Mahesh Babu and the beautiful goan girl Ileana D’Cris.
Gamyam (a Telugu take on Motorcycle Diaries)
Aithe (a thriller)
Anand (Director Sekhar Kammula’s first commercial success; he followed it up with the recent big hit – Happy Days)
There are many Chiranjeevi (the actor who entered politics recently) classics that are comparable to the Rajni style movies..just stop any Telugu on the road and ask..he/she can rattle off those names.You mentioned ‘energy’ while talking about Rajni..Chiru will boggle you with his energy !
IMO, Sankar (director of Sivaji) is probably the biggest commercial director in India right now.His name carries as much box office value as any big star.In this aspect, he is bigger than the Karan Johars and Aditya Chopras.Probably because Sankar’s market is primarily multi-lingual..all his films are made simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu.After the success of Ghajini in Hindi, its director Murugadoss will also hit big time.The Amir Khan starrer has already grossed Rs.200 crore, and broke Sivaji’s records for an Indian film.
Telugu and Tamil old classics – that’s a different matter altogether ! I have always wondered why the 1950’s was such a golden era for films every where..just take this song from Maya Bazaar an an example of comedy
Or the musical genius of Ghantasala and versatality of NTR in this song..
I would be amiss not quoting anything from Kannada films..so, checkout this song from last year’s superhit Mungaru male..the singer is Sonu Nigam (yes!) and the music director Mano Murthy is a successful techie from San Jose who returned to India to pursue music.
Finally, if you like off-beat, indie stuff..checkout Morning Raga
I was blown away by the number of movies available on a recent Jet Airways flight from London to Delhi. I think they covered 5 regional languages with at least 2-3 movies each – including punjabi. The Hindi selection was equally amazing, with newer hits plus countless (well, I think I counted 40) classics like Muhgal-e Azam.
6 · Ponniyin Selvan said
amardeep, i actually also loved the exact same thing about the air india flight and used it catch up with sivaji. especially as i wanted to experience watching a superstar movie to see if i get the appeal that arajinikanth movie has for my tamil SO and his friends. unlike ponniyin selvan, he agreed that agreed that the movie contained a fair bit of explict Tamil ethno-linguistic pride (which was my observation, just as it was yours; i also agree that other regional movies didn’t demonstrate any explicit cultural pride): the rejection of the “modern,” supposedly sexually liberated girls that sivaji’s uncle brings for him; sivaji insists his parents find a cultured tamil girl; sivaji and his uncle go to temples because that’s where nice tamil girls are to be found; shriya’s character’s name is tamilselvi; the fact that she sells carnatic musical instruments. she pretty much embodies ideal tamil womanhood. it’s true that in DDLJ the female heroine’s appeal lay in her connection to tradition, but it wasn’t really a conception of ideal punjabi womanhood as such. rather, it was characterized as “bharatiya,” a bland, deregionalized ideal indian everywoman. for instance, amrish puri says something to the effect of: “in a corner of london, i have preserved a piece of india,” as the camera pans to kajol (presumably india is prserved in her “pure” character). incidentally, i picked up on the jovial neighbor naming his daughters “angavai/sangavai.” and i did wonder about how the audience would feel about the rididcule of dark skin. but i think it’s one of those indian humor staples which is ubiquitous in bollywood films also. nationwide, people love to ham up accents and regional idiosyncrasies.