It’s hard to write about this movie. Attempts are usually defeated by a combination of dissolving into squees, dance breaks, and the weird contradiction of knowing absolutely nothing about it while simultaneously notating an ever-growing list of why it’s so good. In brief, James Bond 777 (1971, directed […]
Bombay Talkies, released in 2013 to mark the centennial of Indian feature filmmaking, is not just another film about the film industry. This anthology project keeps its focus on the power of cinema for audiences. The four contributing directors represent different vibes, maybe even genres, within the current […]
If you like alien princesses, dance routines in bike shorts, and murder by picnic baskets, this is the film for you! The late 1980s and early 1990s were a terrible time in Hindi cinema. The explanation I’ve heard is that more and more people owned VCRs and bought […]
“Boy meets girl, boy chases after girl, girl says no, boy keeps pursuing girl, boy might get to save girl from villain, and girl eventually says yes” is a ubiquitous plot in mainstream Indian cinema. Even when the hero isn’t twice the age of his love object, it’s […]
I’d like to introduce you to one of India’s greatest movie superstars. Active from around 1950 to 1980, Uttam Kumar is still the biggest name in the popular cinema made in Calcutta. The term “matinee idol” doesn’t imply enough scope or staying power to describe his career, and […]
In the real world, I generally think vigilante justice and conceptually literal revenge are a bad idea. So why does Khoon Bhari Maang, a 1988 Bollywood remake of (and improvement on) the 1983 Australian miniseries Return to Eden, make me abandon my own moral code? Why is it so fun […]
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The Cultural Gutter 