Chamko – Fixes all spots
A topical in context of the ongoing IPL spot fixing brouhaha. This is from one of the most fondly remembered scenes from Sai Paranjpye’s very loveable 1981 comedy Chashme Buddoor.…Continue Reading →
Inside the original Bombay Talkies (photograph from 1942)
The 2013 movie Bombay Talkies couldn’t live up to the standards set by the original Bombay Talkies, the film studio…
100 years of Indian cinema: The big Bollywood poster collage
Phata poster, nikle saikro hero (heroine aur villain bhi) If you follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed the…
Bombay Talkies: Only Anurag Kashyap’s Murabba gets the taste right
Wasn’t Bombay Talkies supposed to be a celebration of the 100 years of Indian cinema? Then what was Karan Johar’s Ajeeb Dastaan Hain Yeh doing in there? A mere insertion…Continue Reading →
100 years of Indian cinema: ‘Raja Harishchandra’ unofficial Google doodle
Google doodled Alam Ara, Google doodled Ray and because Google didn’t doodle the 100th anniversary of the release of the…
Cinema century: May 3, 1913 – Raja Harishchandra and the beginnings of a national obsession
(This is an edited version of a post first published on April 21, 2012) In India, cinema isn’t just a…
‘Who is Aamir Khan?’ asked an ad ahead of ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ release
Aamir Khan goes to great lengths to promote his films. This trend might have very well started 25 years ago when a teaser campaign prior to the announcement of Qayamat…Continue Reading →
Sultry Amitabh Bachchan-Smita Patil poster makes ‘Shakti’ (1982) look like a skin flick
Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti (1982) isn’t as much about the Amitabh Bachchan and Smita Patil on-screen romance, as the on-screen histrionics…
Zeenat Aman and Mazhar Khan in Baba Zarda ads
Many on-screen enchantresses have not been lucky in love and the sex-symbol of the 1970s Zeenat Aman is no exception.…
Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s 139-second long Bollywood debut in Sarfarosh (1999)
Mereko kuch nahi pata, mein to kal hi mulk se aaya. Bol na be ~ Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s first lines in Hindi cinema Even a glimpse is enough to know a…Continue Reading →
With due apologies: Naseeruddin Shah in a swimsuit
Naseeruddin Shah fans, please allow me the privilege of ruining your day. Men in drag is not always a pretty…
Yash Chopra – the unofficial Google doodle
RIP Yash Chopra of the Swiss Alps, of chiffon sarees and Deewar.
