nairtejas

CID is a must-watch for any Bollywood fan just for the music but it's the plot that made me fall in love with it. Such a perfect thriller film despite you knowing who the criminal is. Just like Bambai Ka Babu (1960), here also Raj Khosla subverts popular genres and I'm still amazed (I watched the film yesterday) at how CID blends all top genres include romance and crime. More than anything, it's looking at Bombay of the 50s that melted my heart, superbly supported by Johnny Walker who is a treat a watch. Waheeda Rahman's definitely got the charm and I can see how her negative role may have still played in her defense to her potential stardom. CID is a classic and rightly so.

(Watched during Raj Khosla's centenary celebration in Mumbai.)

Bambai Ka Babu (The Bombay Man) is a film that subverts the classic romance story of a wayward city guy meeting a coy, village girl. The tonal shift in the film - where it takes place both in city and village in parts - gives for a very good storytelling. Babu (Dev Anand) flees to north India from Bombay after an incident, only to be embraced by a world new to him. He's unable to mend his ways when received by a peculiar man (Rashid Khan) with ulterior motives and the story follows his jaunts as he gets closer to the villagers. Although I'm not a fan of the music here, I was amazed by the storytelling, performances, and the story in itself.

(Watched during Raj Khosla's centenary celebration in Mumbai.)

I didn't know I need more of Ishtiyak Khan in my life. The guy is such an effortless comedian that he's part of the reason Bhool Chuk Maaf (Sorry for My Errors) works. Of course, Rajjkumar Rao leads the film with his unique ability to play rural boy characters. But what really works in the film is the loop plot. Whatever you may have seen in the trailer is just that: a trailer. I'm glad the makers have left a lot of substance in the film without giving it all away in the trailer, which elevates the experience. I had a fun time watching this with my wife and parents and it's been a while all four of us had the same opinion on a film. Bhool Chuk Maaf needs more love.