India

  • Mani Ratnam – Bombay (1995)

    Mani Ratnam1991-2000AsianDramaIndia
    Bombay (1995)
    Bombay (1995)

    Based on true incidents, a south Indian Hindu man falls in love with a Muslim woman–taboo in the small village from which they hail. They marry against family wishes and move to Mumbai, where he works as a reporter for a large daily newspaper. Eventually, the couple has twin boys. The rest of the film is set during the December 1992-January 1993 period when the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid controversy raised religious tension in Mumbai and other parts of India, which sparked rioting and violence. The couple is separated from their children, and the fathers of both parents are killed when their home is burned by rioters. A reporter is shown interviewing politicians from both factions as well as the police. An underlying moral of thinking of oneself as an Indian rather than a Hindu or a Muslim is prevalent throughout the latter part of the film. The family is finally reunited after much searching through hospitals, morgues, and shelters. But the violence has left indelible impressions in the minds of the children.Read More »

  • Ketan Mehta & V. Menon – Hero Hiralal (1988)

    Ketan Mehta1981-1990ActionComedyIndiaV. Menon
    Hero Hiralal (1988)
    Hero Hiralal (1988)

    Hiralal, a rickshaw driver, falls in love with a starlet, Roopa. He follows her to Bombay with the intention of marrying her. But her family forces her to reject him and concentrate on her career.Read More »

  • Mohammed Hussain – Khoon Khoon (1973)

    1971-1980CrimeIndiaMohammed HussainMystery
    Khoon Khoon (1973)
    Khoon Khoon (1973)

    A Bombay cop tries to track down a serial killer who snipes at random victims.Read More »

  • Asit Sen – Mamta (1966)

    Asit Sen1961-1970IndiaMusicalRomance
    Mamta (1966)
    Mamta (1966)

    Monish Rai comes from a wealthy family, and is in love with Deviyani, who is poor. Monish has to travel abroad to further his education in law, but promises to stay in touch with Deviyani. After his departure, financial problems surround Deviyani and her dad. She approaches Monish’s mom for assistance, but is refused. In desperation, her father gets her married to a much older man, who is also alcoholic and frequents courtesans. Deviyani gets pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl, Suparna. Unhappy with her marriage and her circumstances, she runs away. She approaches a nun, Mother Mary, in a monastery and leaves Suparna in her care and disappears forever. When Monish returns he runs into Deviyani, but is told that the person he has seen is a Lucknow based prostitute, Pannabai. Is Deviyani still alive? Who is Pannabai? What happened to Suparna?
    —rAjOoRead More »

  • Ramesh Talwar – Sawaal (1982)

    1981-1990DramaIndiaRamesh Talwar
    Sawaal (1982)
    Sawaal (1982)

    Sawaal is a powerful confrontation of life’s greatest motivating forces – self against selfishness, love against power, good against evil.Read More »

  • S. Shankar – Kadhalan (1994)

    S. Shankar1991-2000ActionDramaIndia
    Kaadhalan (1994)
    Kaadhalan (1994)

    Prabhu, a college student, falls in love with Shruthi, a governor’s daughter. On knowing about their love affair, her father imprisons Prabhu and forbids him to meet Shruthi.Read More »

  • Kamal Swaroop – Pushkar Puran (2017)

    Kamal Swaroop2011-2020DocumentaryIndia
    Pushkar Puran (2017)
    Pushkar Puran (2017)

    Three decades after his cult film Om Dar-Ba-Dar(1988), Kamal Swaroop returns to his cinematic home in Rajasthan to direct Pushkar Puran. An attempt to engage with the historical, mythical and the contemporary worlds of the city of Pushkar.Read More »

  • Kamal Swaroop – Rangbhoomi (2013)

    Kamal Swaroop2011-2020DocumentaryExperimentalIndia
    Rangbhoomi (2013)
    Rangbhoomi (2013)

    Rangbhoomi follows the filmmaker as he attempts to trace Dadasaheb Phalke’s life in Varanasi, where Phalke withdrew, disillusioned with the world of cinema, and decided to take up theatre. During his life there, Phalke wrote a semi-autobiographical play titled Rangbhoomi, which forms the core of this film.Read More »

  • Kamal Swaroop – Samudra Manthan AKA The Churning of the Ocean (2019)

    2011-2020DocumentaryIndiaKamal Swaroop
    Samudra Manthan (2019)
    Samudra Manthan (2019)

    At Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest congregation of religious pilgrims, a troupe of theatre actors stage a play based on the origin myth of Hinduism – the churning of the cosmic ocean. The legend tells of an epic battle between the gods and the demons for an elixir of immortality. The mela (or fair) is celebrated at the site where the elixir was believed to have fallen. Today, millions of Hindu pilgrims gather there to bathe in the holy river over a two-month period.Read More »

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