vjeet_a

Aakrosh is perhaps the only movie after Sholey in which everything just is perfect. All actors are completely immersed in their roles. Unfortunately, in bollywood such movies don't get recognized and are often forgotten quickly. Although, Aakrosh managed to get 6 awards in film fare but that was it. TO my understanding Aakrosh is brilliantly directed movie. Naseeruddin's acting was in particular very impressive, but I do not discount other minor/major actors-they were are all perfect. Watch a distrust in the law at a tribal's face (Om Puri), watch a frustration of young idealist lawyer (Naseer), watch a confidence on seasoned lawyer (Ambrish Puri), watch a pain on destitute father and a sister. The movie ends in a very realistic manner and with a great message: in the land of law the truth is only what can be supported by evidence--rest are all lies or just words. Aakrosh has a only three songs and see the real street corner nautanki dance (Tu Aisa Mard...)--brilliantly done. A must watch movie and a text book for those who are learning to act or direct.

Bazaar is an excellent movie made in 1982. Sarju and Shabnam are in love but their love story end with such a tragedy that makes you think that socially acceptable and institutional ways of defining and allowing human relationship very often end up destroying the meaning of relationship itself.

Set up of the movie is typical lower class Indian society. Najma and Salim are also in platonic relationship. Salim is a writer and a thinker while Najma is a beautiful and young woman from a withered Nawab family. Due to bad financial situation her mother is asking her to trade her body to feed the family. Najma, who doesn't accept that, runs away with another man (Akhter) to Bombay. But her mental situation is never still since she loves her family but is not ready to sacrifice her youth for them. Although is a good man and he is also interested in marrying her and but his middle aged boss wants Najma and Akhter to look for a bride for him. In order to save his job and apartment Akhter persuades Najma to do something that leads to destruction of Sarju and Shabnam's love story.

Scenes from Hyderabad city in which poor parents are ready to do anything to get their daughter married are very impressive and well. All actors are very good, script, songs and costumes are fabulous. This movie was very advanced in its time of release. Even after 23 years since it release a large section of Indian society has not got the message of the movie. Western societies despite their own disadvantages are much much better systems in the perspective of this movie. Even today, girl child is seen as a burden in Indian society. Concept of single moms and even single parent is just not acceptable. Girls are identified either from the father's name or her husband's name. There is no third way. She doesn't have an identity on her own.

Najma, in the end, after a discussion with Salim, realizes that she has to have her own identity which doesn't have to come from either Akhter (her potential husband) or her parents (who want to sell her body to live!). So, she say goodbye to Akhter and goes with Salim, perhaps to find her ways to wash off her part of sins she committed in order to gain identity from Akhter.

A must see movie, If you want to understand worst part of Indian society and its solid institutional ways of doing things which are so fragile and delicate that they often get crushed.

A bunch of 7 melodious songs will haunt you forever.

I don't even think myself as someone who could write comment on Satyajit Ray's movie. But I have to tell people what I feel about this movie Pathar Panchali. Let me ask you a simple question have you ever been 'moved' emotionally? Well! If you have! Then you know what I am talking about, but you haven't been then I am sure you want try that out. Watch this movie and then you will know.

Pathar Panchali is a very different movie and is not about romance, wealth, beautiful faces, relationships, cars, computers and cellphones. Not about bombs, wars, jails, science, space and fiction or whatever. The movie is the first one in famous Apu Trilogy and is about a poor brahmin family in West Bengal (India). It is an story of a girl in this family, how she grew up among in a poverty stricken family and never had a chance to all things (garland of fake pearls, dolls, candies, bi-scope and hair oil) a girl kid deserves. She grew up a very good girl despite the fact she never went to school. Her brother was born when she was about 5-6 and she loved him a lot. Her plays with her villages girls were very well done. The scenes when one of her friend got married were wonderful and show that how mature she was in her thinking that she is never going to get married was more than a reality. The story captures real moments (hard to describe here!) from a typical poor family in India when (1955) it was not even a decade since India got independence. Poverty was a real issue in India during 1955 and it was Ray's vision to capture it in his movies for generations to see after hundreds of years later what India has come out of today when Bollywood makes $10bn budget movies and they fail to even break-even on box office.

Its amazing that Ray had a vision of making such movies when rest of the country was struggling to survive. These movies are really really low cost movies and are example of pure intellectual work. When I was one of the Italian movie "La Strada" then I thought that perhaps it is the only movie which comes close to Pathar Panchali.

I would say all three movies in Apu Trilogy (Pathar Panchali, Aparajito and Apu Sansar) are great jewels in Indian cinema and they will continue to amaze people for hundreds of years. If you haven't watch them then you will never know what a true will looks likes. It moves you! No kidding! Pathar Panchali is really a best human document ever produced.