General Discussion : Recommend me some films from India

[edkrak]

I know almost nothing about Indian cinema and I'd like to discover some of their greatest masterpieces. Only director I know from this country is Satyajit Ray. To be honest I didn't like Pather Panchali that much, but I'll give him another chance in the future. What about other directors? But please only films WITHOUT ANY cheesy bollywood musical numbers, I can't stand it.

[movieboy]

I know almost nothing about Indian cinema and I'd like to discover some of their greatest masterpieces. Only director I know from this country is Satyajit Ray. To be honest I didn't like Pather Panchali that much, but I'll give him another chance in the future.

Let me start out by saying that I have seen only one Satyajit Ray film - "Shatranj Ke Khiladi" - I saw it when I was 10 years old, so I can't really comment on it - I only remember it vaguely.

Very few people in India have seen Satyajit Ray's movie outside of his home state of West Bengal.
The reasons are many
- Most of his movies are in Bengali - most of India's population can neither speak nor understand this language - Shatranj ke Khiladi was an exception (it was in Hindi & Urdu).
(India has tons of languages - these are all individual languages not dialects - they are as different as English & French. Hindi is understood by around 40% of India's population - so Hindi movies are the most popular ones. Mainstream Hindi movies are referred to as Bollywood movies).

- His movies were never mainstream. I don't think they were even popular in his home state before they won awards in the West (Pizza effect)
- He is accused in India of exporting India's poverty & making films for the Western audience rather than the Indian audience.


He has a decent following in Calcutta (city in West Bengal). His following in other places in India is limited to film critics & elite hard core film buffs, but his following isn't really mainstream. If you ask a man on the street, there is a good chance that he has never heard of Satyajit Ray.

What about other directors?
But please only films WITHOUT ANY cheesy bollywood musical numbers, I can't stand it.

Indian musicals aren't similiar to Hollywood Musicals (like Sound of Music etc). For one, they have far less songs than the typical Hollywood musical. A typical Hindi movie would have an average of 5-6 songs (though there may be
movies with a lot more songs say 8-9). And they typically don't have anything to with the rest of the movie - so
you can do what I do - fast forward the songs - 9 out of 10 times, it won't affect your understanding of the movie at all. Only occasionally do I sit through the songs.

That said, these are my favourite mainstream Indian movies in Hindi

1) http://www.criticker.com/film/Sholay/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholay

This is almost universally considered as the best Hindi movie ever made - Considered so by most people who are native Hindi speakers & who were born before this movie was made (I consider it as the best movie ever made, Hindi or otherwise).

Another Indian film maker (Ram Gopal Varma) wrote an article about Sholay recently - http://rgvzoomin.com/aaaging-sholay/

There is a theatre in Bombay where Sholay ran continously for 5 years (3 years in regular shows & 2 more years in matinee). Sholay is heavily inspired by Sergio Leone & Kurosawa.


2) http://www.criticker.com/film/Satya/
Underworld, crime movie (made by the director who wrote the tribute for Sholay above)

3) http://www.criticker.com/film/Company/
Underworld, crime movie (made by the director who wrote the tribute for Sholay above)


4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarfarosh/
About India-Pak cross border issues

5) http://www.criticker.com/film/Ek_Hasina_Thi/
Revenge Movie

6) http://www.criticker.com/film/Johnny_Gaddaar/
Crime & Betrayal movie

7) http://www.criticker.com/film/Gol_Maal/
Comedy

8) http://www.criticker.com/film/Chhoti_Si_Baat/
Comedy

9) http://www.criticker.com/film/Love_Ke_Liye_Kuch_Bhi/
Comedy

10) http://www.criticker.com/film/A_Wednesday/
Drama (about terrorism)

This list is in no particular order, except for Sholay

Caveats
- These are mainstream movies - they aren't made specifically for Western audiences like Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) movies.
- The quality of English subtitling of Mainstream Hindi movies ranges from average to absurd.
- 90% of all other Bollywood movies are rubbish.

[astrakhan]

I haven't seen many but I would recommend Monsoon Wedding, it's a very beautiful film, not cheesy at all. Maybe not one of the country's masterpieces (are there many?) but certainly worth watching.

Another quite famous one is the epic romance Devdas (2002 version), but at 3 hours I found it a bit too long to say I liked it.

[movieboy]

I haven't seen many but I would recommend Monsoon Wedding, it's a very beautiful film, not cheesy at all. Maybe not one of the country's masterpieces (are there many?) but certainly worth watching.

Made for Western Audience, so it's a good probability, that OP may like it

Another quite famous one is the epic romance Devdas (2002 version), but at 3 hours I found it a bit too long to say I liked it.

Super cheesy, typical Bollywood crap.

Devdas is based on an old book which has been made into movies many times over the years.

The only one I found sort of interesting was DevD.
http://www.criticker.com/film/DevD/
This is Devdas adapted to a modern setting. The first half is bold & surprising. The second half meanders.

[ShogunRua]

I have tried to get into Indian film many times, to no avail. They're just not very good, on the whole.

As for "Monsoon Wedding", I thought it was mediocre at best. Definitely not recommended.

[iceblox]

@edkrak, what would be your source for procuring these movies even if you get recommendations? I see you are in Poland and I have no idea what would be the availability of Indian movies there. Note that usually the better movies out of India are non-Bollywood, but unless you have access to some private trackers they are pretty much out of reach. Mainstream Bollywood trackers contain predominantly Bollywood movies.

If you only would have access to Bollywood movies, have a look at my collection Hindi/Bollywood Offbeat Movies and see which ones I've rated high. These are movies which are not typical song & dance Bollywood.

[JooJoo]

Having only seen 8 Satyajit Ray flicks, I can safely say you shouldn't call it on him yet after one (despite it being the most renown). He has many different styles and moods. I'm sure others could offer even better help.

I'd recommend Devi for its piercing examination of religious fanaticism or Teen Kanye is you're in the mood for some light play with subtle, emotive drama.

[edkrak]

Movieboy I really appreciate your post and I probably check few films recommended by you (especially those crime/thrillers), but I see that I have to clear some things. I'm not really searching for popular, mainstream Indian films known and enjoyed by most of the country population. There's no problem if you recommend something that average people don't recognize. For example my favourite polish directors (Has, Szulkin) are not very popular in my country. I'd rather see something thought-provoking or controversial, not fun and cheerful. And about skipping musical numbers - if I have to skip anything I don't regard such a film as a good one. I want something that I can appreciate in all it's artistic integrity.

[edkrak]

@edkrak, what would be your source for procuring these movies even if you get recommendations? I see you are in Poland and I have no idea what would be the availability of Indian movies there. Note that usually the better movies out of India are non-Bollywood, but unless you have access to some private trackers they are pretty much out of reach. Mainstream Bollywood trackers contain predominantly Bollywood movies.

If you only would have access to Bollywood movies, have a look at my collection Hindi/Bollywood Offbeat Movies and see which ones I've rated high. These are movies which are not typical song & dance Bollywood.

Only some mainstream romance/musical Indian films are available in Poland, so my source has to be internet. Are those private trackers hard to get in/invite only or what?

[iceblox]

@edkrak, what would be your source for procuring these movies even if you get recommendations? I see you are in Poland and I have no idea what would be the availability of Indian movies there. Note that usually the better movies out of India are non-Bollywood, but unless you have access to some private trackers they are pretty much out of reach. Mainstream Bollywood trackers contain predominantly Bollywood movies.

If you only would have access to Bollywood movies, have a look at my collection Hindi/Bollywood Offbeat Movies and see which ones I've rated high. These are movies which are not typical song & dance Bollywood.

Only some mainstream romance/musical Indian films are available in Poland, so my source has to be internet. Are those private trackers hard to get in/invite only or what?

Yes. But try http://www.bwtorrents.com (I don't know what's the latest criteria for getting in - I haven't gone there in ages). It has some good stuff. I'd also recommend the ones movieboy recommended (they are still Bollywood mind you, but better than the usual stuff), except 'Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega', which IIRC is song & dance nonsense. BwTorrents should have all of them.