5 Films: That Are Too Bad To Miss

Gunda

The film, when released in 1998, got mixed reactions from the audience. Some found it entertaining, while some found it to be mindlessly violent and explicit. It was even re-released in an edited version which had taken out a few of the objectionable bits. Over the years, the film has gained a cult status, not just among the audience, but even some students and critics. The online debates about this film, where the characters are named Ibu Hatela, Bulla, Pote, Lambu Atta and other unmentionables, have defended, thrashed, glorified and immortalised it. The grotesqueness in portrayal of violence, rapes and even the crass dialogues have made film historic. Love it or hate it, you don’t want to miss it.

Himmatwala

This film could easily be termed as the thesaurus of the 1980s mainstream Hindi cinema. A rich hooligan, a school master who is falsely accused, a son, who will avenge him and a hero’s sister who is vulnerable — this film has it all. There are songs picturised on exotic sets with hundreds of extra dancers dancing while colours explode out of drums and jars and pots. The film is a live example of what was wrong with Indian cinema in the 80s. It is a goblet of crass naive emotions filled to the brim with some spillage. You could take it with a pinch of salt, but that would make it a bit more salty.

Ajooba

Amitabh Bachchan is a crown prince whose father is over thrown by the devil worshipping Vazir. He wears the mask of Zorro, claims a dolphin to be his mother and is an expert in various martial arts. Definitely an ajooba! The film, co-directed by Shashi Kapoor and Gennadi Vasilyev, can be termed as The Thousand and One Nights gone wrong. It comes across as a failed attempt at fantasy, but thanks to Bachchan, has an iconic status. The film, when made, had one of the largest budgets of the period but the graphics and special effects are extremely primitive and hence, it is hard to take the climax, where Vazir’s Faulaadi Shaitan wreaks havoc on the city, seriously. 

Dharam Veer

This Manmohan Desai film was made in the same year as Amar Akbar Anthony, Chacha Bhateeja and Parvarish. The peculiar khoya-paaya theme is omnipresent in all the above films. Dharam Veer, however, crosses the line between implausible and outright bizarre. This Dharmendra-Jeetendra strarrer is a tale of two separated brothers who become friends by chance and later find out that they are blood brothers. The setting is a fabled kingdom where people wear obscure cross cultural costumes and the narrative is driven by loose coincidences. The film was one of the biggest hits of the decade in which it was made but comes across as ridiculous when you watch it today.

Jaani Dushman - Ek Anokhi Kahani

The Icchadhaari Naagin who comes back to avenge the death of her mate is probably one of the most common Indian myths. Jaani Dushman tells a similar tale of Vasundhara (Manisha Koirala), who takes a human form to bring to justice the murderers of her love. The film, intended to be a horror movie, draws laughter at its key moments of intrigue and awe. In a ridiculous wedding night scene, a skeleton more beefed up than Sonu Nigam, who debuted in the film, attacks the couple and kills them. It is as silly as silly gets.



Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on August 17, 2012