We either laugh or marvel at things that are different. The same is the fate for movies too. Movies that are different either get bombed or awarded, and if nothing else, they get ridiculed by people who claim to know cinema. In either case, every move only keeps the movie in talks, garnering publicity and managing to catch a few onlookers’ attention. Many movies caught mine too and have been in my memory ever since I first heard about or viewed them. I like them not because they are better than others, but because they are different.
Here are 5 such movies Bollywood flicks that moved me then and still impress me now.
1 PUSHPAK
When Pushpak released, I was in school, probably in the 5th standard but went on to watch it only during my adolescence years. What a movie it was and till date remains as one of my all time favorite flicks! The movie had a superb casting, of Kamal Hassan, Amala and Sameer Khakhar and an exciting storyline with its own share of laughs and tears. But what has to be the pivotal point of the entire package is the silence. Pushpak, though a silent production, it communicated with me so well.
2 KAUN
I just love ‘Kaun’, the movie written by Anurag Kashyap and directed by our maverick director Ram Gopal Varma. This 90-minute ride, released in 1999, is quite a silent one too. Perhaps the only sound to reach the ears are of the thunder outside and the television inside, and the occasional meow-meow of the cat and the knock-knock on the door. All these four elements, and Urmlia Matondkar put together makes Kaun a delightful, fun and scary film set over one particular diabolical night!
3 APPU RAJA
Appu Raja is the remake of a Tamil superhit. When the previews of the Hindi remake were doing the rounds in the TV, it soared up the audience’s curiosity around Appu, the dwarfed character. Whether it was a trick of technology or a mind blowing hypnotism no one knew until the director came forward with the secret. And the secret was, Kamal Hassan performed the role of Appu with his legs folded and by wearing special pants and shoes! With this revelation, my sympathy and admiration for Appu grew even more.
4 YAADEIN
I admit I haven’t seen Yaadein but I want to see it someday. Produced and directed by Sunil Dutt, the movie is a piece of art and a really hatke flick that deserves special mention. Yaadein (1964) is the story of a man (Sunil Dutt) who comes home to find that his wife and kid have left him. In an attempt to understand why, he wanders through the house and starts talking to himself and his imaginary personalities! The only other actor shown is Nargis Dutt, that too at the end and in the form of a shadow!
5 LAGAAN
Lagaan to me is that impossible movie made possible by the genius Ashutosh Gowariker. Probably one of the most challenging scripts ever written, Lagaan is the story of a cricket match between Bhuvan’s team (Aamir Khan) and the British officers. I still remember vividly watching this movie that day. Actually, it wasn’t a movie I watched, it was a hair-raising cricket match I witnessed! And like rest of the audience, I was cheering, keeping a tab on the scores, and praying that India wins!
What’s in your list of different beats of Bollywood?
Aandhi, Abhimaan and Black are in my list.
@ Anita – Yes, they are fantastic movies and different from the rest of the lot.