Sooryavansham (1999)

Oh Amitabh, Amitabh, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…1…2. What’s that? Thou art portraying two roles? That of the father and son? Oh, just A father and son. Right, I’m cool with that. And…as the son…we’re expected to believe you’re in your early thirties, I presume? Well…erm…okay, I suppose for you…I can extend my suspension of disbelief to a phenomenal level never before seen in this or any universe…

Chhoti Si Baat (1975)

The dvd cover is…patchy. The contrast leans too far towards white, and basically it seems like the picture is incredibly faded. This very reason made me want to steer clear of this movie…making me wonder whether I’d be able to see anything at all, or it would be a choppy and blinding film…I’m sure glad I decided to watch this movie anyway. Surprisingly enough, it’s one of the best preserved movies from the 70’s I’ve ever seen (the sort of movie that astonishes you when you find out how old it is.) The main reason I rented this was for Amol Palekar…you know…the guy who directed and helped write Paheli? Yeah. That’s the one.

Yeh Vaada Raha (1982)

The credits roll over bright pink silk with a cheery tune in the background. Immediately you might wonder: is this a drama or a light-hearted romantic comedy? Furthermore, the credits last about 5 seconds before the real movie begins…and we see Vikram (Rishi Kapoor) at the temple praying. He catches sight of Sunita (Poonam Dhillon) and watches her leave. He follows.

Karan Arjun (1995)

I know a trend for SRK movies is becoming obvious in my reviews, but what can I say? I’m a huge fan of Shahrukh Khan, and am always anxious to see any movies with him in them. Anyway, if you want to really enjoy this movie…I would advise fast-forwarding all action scenes, aside from the murder bit in the beginning. The fighting in this film is long, drawn-out, and really brings the quality of the movie down. The music is great though, and the dancing (though I may have a few snide remarks later as far as artistic choices go…)

Jab We Met (2007)

The camera work in this movie is unique, and definitely something to watch for. If you’re a fan of technical work in a film production, ’Jab We Met’ has a few goodies. I really resisted seeing this movie because it had so many recommendations (when people really set up a movie for you, it tends to be a let-down) but when I finally did manage to see it, I was glad I did.

Ram Aur Shyam (1967)

This is a good Dilip Kumar film to start with, and is certainly one of his more popular flicks. With enough comic moments to keep the pace going, and some really sappy melodrama in between…from beginning to end, you won’t have time to get bored.

Don (1978)

A red car pulls into a field. Don (Amitabh Bachchan) steps out, confronting three thugs. They ask him if he’s brought the gold, and he pulls out his suitcase. The first thing that stood out to me (other than his bow tie and bright blue undershirt) were his huge yellow sunglasses. The sort of glasses you’d see in an old photo of one of your more eccentric great uncles.

Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978)

SSS won 2 awards, while it was nominated for others at the Filmfare awards. At the time it came out, it was considered both controversial and risqué. Zeenat Aman was practically nude at one point, after all. The general message in SSS is that beauty is on the inside.

Amar, Akbar, Anthony (1977)

It should first be said that Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi sang for this film. At the time, they were just about the most famous male film singers in Bollywood. So immediately one thinks this will make the songs great, right?

Paheli (2005)

The film is aesthetically breathtaking. The music is soft and enjoyable for those of us who don’t like our songs too loud (so dancey without the dance.) Paheli is based on a classic Indian folktale, and is wonderfully adapted for this 140 minute film. Not to mention the delicious Shahrukh Khan.