Before Bharat beckoned (Banarasi thug)

When Manoj Kumar started toying with the idea of portraying severely patriotic roles, someone should have held him by the ears, sat him down and given him a thorough brainwash. For, he not only skewed his own career prospects and popularity doing those utterly inane portrayals, but also fobbed us off with those nonsense characters uselessly steeped in excess doses of nationality. Before the Bharat mania gripped him, he was every bit the hero that girls would fall for, romancing pretty ladies, singing some lovely songs and doing pretty charming and naughty things, too. With a handsome face, an attractive smile and tall debonair looks, he really could have done a whole lot for himself if he had not succumbed to the patriotic fever! What a loss...

Read more »

Love... Set in Paradise (Arzoo)

How important is it to have a romantic ambience to make hearts flutter in love? If you take into consideration that Usha flips for Sarju (the man she found quite irksome inside a aeroplane in Delhi) while at the beautiful valley of Srinagar, you'd seriously think that the spectacular surrounding induces the tender feelings in her. With the verdant valley, the colourful flowers, the brilliantly azure sky and the breathtaking mountains to uplight her senses, it is but a matter of time when the young lovers will serenade in Kashmir. Not to forget the blissful Dal Lake and its magical power that makes every soul see stars in their eyes. Yes, I think there is something about Kashmir that is therapeutic in terms of falling in love. And I speak because I know what Kashmir and its awesomeness can do to you...

Read more »

Toying with melodrama (Khilona)

There are times when I'm game for a film where I wouldn't have to put in much thought and reasoning. I'd only have to go with the flow of the story, the ups, downs, drama, melodrama, songs, sequences and inanities. These are the times when I am lazy, tired or rather bored. These are times when one can surely watch the film Khilona. Yes, I did too. There's nothing much to say about the film except that Mumtaz looked lovely and Sanjeev Kumar was so different from his other celebral roles. But somehow, I cannot say that I did not like Khilona. There is something very dramatic about this movie that sat well with me!

Read more »

But for Shammi and Sadhana (Budtameez)

Trust the invincible Shammi Kapoor to make even the very usual film exciting. Though the plot of Manmohan Desai's romantic comedy Budtameez has been oft-repeated, it becomes a jolly good ride for this flamboyant Kapoor's antics. And bolstered by Sadhana's natural charm, it is quite a watch. Only if Shankar Jaikishan's music had more juice and the director had obliterated the buffoon Devdas (Kamal Mehra)...

Read more »