Like quite a few other things, AR Rahman’s music is a soulful high of this landmark film. Maahi Ve is the song that captures the true free spirit of the film that was Highway.. seeking love, freedom, companionship and peace in its purest undiluted form…

The Best Film of Imtiaz Ali. The Best Film of Alia Bhatt. Period.

Continue reading “5 Years of Highway – A continued high!” →

#60YearsOfKaagazKePhool   #CelebratingUnboundLove

There couldn’t have been a better title to Guru Dutt‘s melancholic and yet poetic masterpiece Kaagaz ke Phool! Leave the film aside, the title itself is reminiscent of the genius that was Guru Dutt. In three simple words, it exposes the fake intricacies as well as use-how-you-want-and-throw-after-that practices behind the walls of the elusive world of cinema. And at the same time it stands for the most delicate and most fragile saga of love and loss. No wonder, after six decades of its release (yes, the classic completed sixty glorious years of its being), it remains as relevant as ever. How much ever it was trampled and rejected by the audience back then (to the extent that it devastated Dutt to the core), the fragrance of those withered flowers continues to command cinematic awe and celebrate wounds of the heart in equal intensity to this date.

Continue reading “KAAGAZ KE PHOOL : Everlasting Fragrance of Withered Flowers” →

Kamao to Zero! Churao to Hero!!

Almost a template for making a quirky, smart comedy! A decade and still fresh!

“Kyun khel rahi ho apni zindagi se Geet?

Kyunki yeh mera favorite game hai, Zindagi! Jaise logon ka hota hai na Badminton, Cricket, mera bhi hai, zindagi!”

Aditya and Geet, and all that they stand for individually will remain love forever….

Directed by Bimal Roy, Story idea by Ritwick Ghatak and Edited by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the film was a milestone all the away..

And the music by Salil Chowdhury is extremely rich and vibrant, especially how it blends folk into it.. It still rules playlists..

The movie completed glorious 60 years yesterday..

Kabhi kabhi aisa lagta hai jaise yeh sab pichle janam mein hua ho … aur kabhi jaise kal hi…

Hum honge, lights hogi, ek huge audience hogi … aur hogi music jiske har beat mein, har note mein zindagi hogi … zindagi…

#10YearsOfRockOn #FavoriteFilm

“I never imagined that any of my films, especially Pather Panchali, would be seen throughout this country or in other countries. The fact that they have is an indication that, if you’re able to portray universal feelings, universal relations, emotions, and characters, you can cross certain barriers and reach out to others, even non-bengalis” 

– Satyajit Ray

#63YearsOfPatherPanchali #MagicOnScreen

The third part of terror trilogy by Mani Ratnam after Roja and Bombay, Dil Se had technical craftsmanship written all over it… Vibrantly shot across exotic locations, it was a visual treat… And why not, when the leading lady Manisha Koirala was captured at her best backed up with the strongest performance in the film… New entrant Preity Zinta was extremely fresh… Shahrukh Khan could not completely do away with his hamming mannerisms though, but it is still a relatively better performance of his… It is also the first hindi film Ratnam ever made, and though I love the first two movies of the Trilogy a shade more, Dil Se certainly makes for interesting cinema.. It could have been a much better film if the screenplay wasn’t this scattered..

Continue reading “Dil Se – Love in the times of terror” →