Bollywood

Bollywood treats its cricketers with reverence, without eradicating human frailties, giving them life and vibrancy, palpating exuberance informs every scene, seizing the viewer’s attention from commencement to conclusion; director Kabir khan, focuses on the 1983 World Cup and India’s gut-wrenching march to grasp an almost unattainable victory; the “march” is worthy of every moment, every second of “83’s” compelling quest. ... Read More »

For the near future our lives will be pandemically scripted; at the bountiful mercy of the internet we can see classic, vintage, contemporary films, cemented in the confines of our domiciles. As a craver of the genre, after daily duties, I delve into the myriad of streaming choices available, my odds-on favorites: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Brit Box, Hulu, or Roku ... Read More »

Abashedly, I have neglected Bollywood in this era of pandemic trouncing, but director Rohena Gera’s 2018 “Sir”, has awakened my longing for the scents and enchantments of multi-faceted India: murky, mystical, poignant pollution seizes with its ineluctable tentacles, as one exits the airport, slipping into the blackest of night’s moments; if open to its charismatic, beguiling caprices, a part of ... Read More »

The Bollywood genre is an acquired taste for many Westerners; I have been hooked, captivated, numbed by its magical realism for over twenty years: “Lagaan”, “Dil Chahta Hai”, “Like Stars on Earth”, “3 Idiots”, “Mr. and Mrs. Iyer”, “Mangal Pandey”; dominated by the unrelated Khan’s (Salman, Aamir, Shah Rukh) I can testify that I have studied their varied performances for ... Read More »

Anyone who has ever experienced the hair-raising, cacophonous symphony conducted on the streets, alleys, highways of a tireless India metropolis, will empathize completely with the skill of the conductors, drivers of any vehicle, be it rickshaw, car, bus or truck; “Balram” (Adarsh Gourav, genuinely puissant) from a lower caste, splays his rise as an entrepreneur in a series of flashbacks. ... Read More »

Bollywood by “Peneflix” has been shamefully neglected since the commencement of the pandemic; if you suffer to the conclusion of this most recent selection, there are more than worthy, India productions, to sink one’s temporal lobes into. The sport of cricket has been featured in a myriad of Bollywood films, my favorites include: “Lagaan” (2001), “Iqual” (2005), “Patiala House” (2011), ... Read More »

Shamefully, I have taken too long of a hiatus from my Bollywood Buddies; here are two series guaranteed to keep you in comfortable confinement; performances are creatively captivating (superior casting); detectives of both genders, imbue their roles with intelligence, ingenuity, intuitive integrity. “Paatal Lok” features a long ignored, unpromoted police inspector, “Hathiram Chaudhary” (stellar, Jaideep Ahlawat) who serendipitously gets a life-altering case when four people ... Read More »

“FORCE 2” is a limpid, crystalline, imitation of potent “Force One”; a second chance for hunky, handsome John Abraham to recreate his role of outlier, law enforcement officer, “Yash”, teamed with Captain KK (Sonakshi Sinha) to excavate a mole in India’s Budapest Embassy. Glorious glitz saves director Abhinay Deo’s film from placid anonymity; the action scenes fall into the “Kill ... Read More »

Prayerfully, there will not be a 4th; director Ahmed Khan’s latest action-saturated, thrill-seeker, is just that, all action and zero substance; Tiger Shroff (Jackie’s son) splendidly buffed, monopolizes every aerial, aerobic moment, ad nauseam; a handsomer model of his father, at thirty, he has time to cultivate his acting acuity, instead of spending countless days and hours in the gym. ... Read More »

India is a study of contrasts, contradictions, consolidating archival directives and contemporary norms; it is a patriarchal society where women perpetually soar, bamboozle gender expectations; warriors, doctors, scientists, judges even a Prime Minister (Indira Gandhi), they dominate in any field they tackle. But lurking, tainting myriads of marriages, whether “arranged” or “love” is the subservient, submissive role a woman is ... Read More »