Beth Loves Bollywood

Over on Filmi Geek's post on Suhaag, a reader asked the following question that I just could not resist:
Who has the Ur-list of Amitabh-Shashi movies, in order of watchability and rewardingness?Not thinking about it too much, just going with my gut, I jumped right in with the following list,* going from best Shashitabhiness to least good (I won't say bad because Shashitabh has yet to disappoint me entirely). Note that this is not the same order I'd put these movies in for quality or watchability or rewardingness overall OR for quality of individual performances from either of them. This is all about making ultimate use of the ultimate jodi.
1.Do aur Do Paanch (1980)
2. TIE: Kaalaa Patthar (1979) and Imaan Dharam(1977)
4. Suhaag (1979)
5. Namak Halaal (1982)
6. Roti Kapada aur Makaan (1974)
7. Deewaar (1975)
8. Trishul (1978)
9. Silsila (1981)
10. Kabhi Kabhie (1976)
11. Shaan (1980)

This will be a much longer post someday, but for now, how would you rank them?

* There are still two fil…

There are only five major characters in Rang Birangi, but OH MY the convoluted things they get up to! Anita (Deepti Naval) and Jeet (Farooq Shaikh) are a cute young couple who haven't quite gotten around to getting married yet.

(They're not really major characters, but I have to show you Om Prakash and Chhaya Devi as the Bannerjees,

Anita's adorable friends and the movie's compass for good sense.) Anita is the secretary of Ajay (Amol Palekar), who is so absored by his work that he has all but forgotten his charming wife Nirmala (Parveen Babi).

Her brother Ravi (Deven Verma) returns after an extended stay abroad to find Nirmala so upset about Ravi's neglect that he decides to set up a scheme to turn his attentions back to her (his "play," he calls it). Under the banner of needing to spice up his life, Ravi encourages Ajay to copy the plot of a recent Hindi film in which a boss woos his secretary by pretending he has a miserable home life. Ajay at first finds …

The lovely crew at Filmfare's twitter have declared today's #starsaturday tag to be about Shashi! So if you tweet, use the tag and tell them your favorite Shashi films or songs. #starsaturday is always fun - every week they name a different star and people tweet in favorites and general discussion.

(And great for the rest of us too.)

Meet Rakesh (Shashi Kapoor), a self-sabotaging philosopher/gambler who just wants to be understood and accepted for who he is. Although he does gamble with cash, his biggest risks are with his ethics and sense of self.

Because the film opens with him staring off into the sea as boats bob and waves crash before wandering distractedly towards the camera, we know he's got a lot on his mind and perhaps even feels a little lost and overwhelmed by the currents of life. But that's not all - the story quickly tells us a lot more about our hero. In the first five minutes, Rakesh helps out a friend in poverty (Renu - not sure of the actor) (and doesn't fight back when attacked by her distraught drunk father), admits heartache to a buddy on the street, knocks back a few, totters into a nightclub, and joins in the twist.

That is, while he may be melancholy, we also know he's also got a little bit of bounce and spark left (he is Shashi, after al…

Outlook has published a set of interesting articles on various filmi topics. My favorites:
Dibakar Banerjee, the director of my favorite film of 2008, wonders whether non-filmi love could ever make it on to the big screen.
Nandini Ramnath summarizes and ranks heroes from the last 40 years. (No Shashi. BOOOO. But Vinod! Yaaaay!) Naman Ramahcandran lists some of the other kinds of love to hit the big screen.Sudhir Mishra investigates the appeal of Devdas - and it ends happily, Dev.D. style.
Thanks to Indie Quill for the tip!

Who loves ya, baby?

Feroz Khan does! But only if you're wearing a neckerchief, a lace-up shirt, or both. Seriously. Look how many scarves and lace-up shirts there are in this movie! I lost track after I realized Feroz had at least four of the shirts. His 'n' hers shirt/accessory combos: lace-up shirt and big orange-y scarf.

His 'n' hers entire outfits: lace-up belted tunic-length sweater!


Or just one or the other. Even the baaaaad girl gets one!



When in doubt, pair with a fringed jacket.

Anyway. The Moserbaer/Bombino DVD from Netflix didn't have subtitles, and even with Memsaab's valiant attempts to fill me in on the dialogue, I know I missed a lot. Fortunately the movie has plenty to discuss that isn't based on words, and I'll display some samples of its fabulous look in a minute. But one thing I could tell for sure, even sans subtitles, was that Apradh has two very distinct halves that don't really interrelate, complete with two sets of occupations…