It’s not terribly high in historical accuracy, but Sikandar is wonderful to behold and thoroughly thought-provoking about empire and political virtue from pre-Independence India. Sikandar manages to be completely entertaining while still indulging in lesson-dispensing from Aristotle, who as the film opens is in Persia with Sikandar and […]
It took Bollywood a few years to remake The Godfather, but when it did, HOO BOY. Sicily becomes Afghanistan, the family becomes the nation, there are two sets of costume-coordinated family members, and there’s at least one more musical number featuring scarf-based choreography. At the center […]
If you’re thinking “Hey, didn’t Cultural Gutter already do a piece on a wackadoodle Indian film about eyes starring the handsome and heroic Dharmendra?” you’re perfectly correct. But thanks to a career of over 300 films, producers apparently ran out of different words to use in the title […]
Nothing says epic romance like a timeless wonder of the ancient world! via GIPHY The popular cinemas of India face a unique problem when it comes to the escapism that makes a significant component of their recipes. If your characters need to get away, to dream, where should […]
Elaan may be the most fantastic and under-appreciated movie of 1971. It’s exactly the kind of film I live in fear of running out of someday: loony, exuberant, stylish, exciting, and fun. It might not exactly count as an example of standard Hindi cinema mix of action, comedy, […]
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 […]