Needs some re-casting (Holi Ayee Re)

Harsukh Jagneshwar Bhatt must have been seriously cashstrapped. Or else, why would he squander away a reasonable good script by casting some absolutely unknown faces in his Holi Ayee Re. The best he can manage are some famous character actors who salvage the film from the brink of disaster. But I feel, this 1970 romance-cum-family drama would have done fairly well if we would have had a better and a more formidable cast. Here's how...

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Satisfaction guaranteed! (Aaye Din Bahaar Ke)

I'm always game to watch a film for umpteen times provided it guarantees wholesome entertainment. There might be flaws and redundant inclusions, but after it ends it should leave me happy and satisfied. Sadly, not many films of today deliver such fun. So, I keep going back to the films of yore to extract my daily quota of entertainment. I might know every scene by heart, every dialogue might just rotate in my mind and everything looks all too familiar. But nothing stops me from re-watching them. J Om Prakash's romantic drama Aaye Din Bahar Ke is one of them. Only heaven knows how many times I've watched this Dharmendra-Asha Parekh lovely, but does that mean I'll stop? No way...

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Family feud (Do Raaste)

Let's not get judgemental. For, it's very easy to find faults with the wicked parties in Raj Khosla's Do Raaste.  The director, whose thrillers I feel are a hundred notches better than his family dramas, doesn't put any energies in creating grey characters. He makes the good ones in the film absolutely saccharine and the bad people never do anything good. There is hardly any subtlety in dealing with emotions and every bit of melodrama is retained. Still, in my opinion, Do Raaste is one of the best domestic sagas I've seen. It's engaging, high strung and full of attractive moments. And yes, this 1969 film has solid performances...

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Earth-shatteringly good (Waqt)

I'm experiencing a hangover of fashion. A deluge of it has been sweeping my existence for the past two weeks now. So, while in the mood, I watched a film that not just has a lot of fashion and style in it, but is also a masterpiece that weaves in a lot more. Awesome story, smashing dialogues, handsome males, lovely women, great music, wickedly attractive villains, superb plot, superlative performances, swanky cars, stylish homes and yes, gorgeous clothes...

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Saga of sacrifice (Anuradha)

Anuradha is much ahead of its times. At least in its stark representation of the wrongs doled out to a woman who innocently believed in the enormity of love. The director had the gall to show that not everything is achieved when you marry for love. There is certainly much to life for a wife than silently suffering under the shadow of an idealistic husband. In that Hrishikesh Mukherjee is bang on target. His 1960 President's Gold medal winner deals with such oft-forgotten issues in a subtle yet strong manner.

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Gauri's tale of grit and gumption (Seema)

I'm absolutely convinced. If you have Nutan on the screen, you don't need anyone else. And, if that Nutan is a 19-year-old teenager, the effect is bound to be doubly fresh and scintillating. In Seema, Amiya Chakraborty's touching tale about an honest and brave girl, Nutan shows that she can perform like it's nobody's business...
I read up a bit about Nutan after seeing Seema. Here's a piece of information: this beauty had won the Miss India crown in 1952. Hardly surprising!!

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