Thank you so much for this list! There are a couple of films on your list that I'm also really looking forward to, Heroine and Talaash. Mostly, though, I wam grateful for your mentioing Midnight's Children, reminmding me that i's one of those "why haven't I read this yet?" books, and prompting me to correct that as soon as possible. That way, I'll be in a positrion to see if Mehta can bounce back from the disappointing Water.

Thanks for an excellent review. It really conveyed the essence of the film as it affected you, and was a pleasure to read for that reason. The economics of film-making all but guarantee that small gems like this won't get a cinematic release here or be available on DVD, so enjoying them vicariously through the reactions of bloggers like you is the best that can be hoped for. Thank you!

Thanks for confirming that this film is everything I thought it would be. I'll ave to wait for the DVD of course, but it's nice to know that it will be totally worth it.

Great review, thanks! The striking thing about it is how, at its core, it's similar to many others I've read. Movie-watching is subjective, obviously, but every review I've read, from people whose opinions matter, has summed up the movie similarly to FASC. The upside is that LHDC's contribution is making me rethink my decision to pass on it. Also, re your footnote: AMEN, SISTER! The best of the oldies used to do this, why can't modern films, when there are so many more playback singers available, it seems.

I'm going to be writing about this, but since I watched this film on the strength of your review, I had to say, THANK YOU! I love this film, and can see myself watching it many times. I am going to take my time writing it up though, it's got me thinking about a few things for sure.

Great selection, I look forward to giving them the serious attention they deserve, especially the ones that ask the deep existentialist questions like Choli ke peeche. As for Shabana, I was thinking of you the other day when ordering Shatranj ki Khiladi - the picture of her on the cover is HOT!

I agree that "chemistry" is mostly a function of the script and direction, but perhaps there's something in that performance element. So many of the onscreen couples famous for chemistry consisted of people who allegedly did not get on at all offscreen that maybe there was more effort put into the performance. Animosity may lead to better acting because it actually IS acting, feigning feelings rather than trying to recreate a simulation of them. In the specific case her, though, your last sentence has me wondering - have you not seen Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na? I liked Genelia in that, it would be interesting to know what you thought.

A very fair summary - I like Genelia, and think she's a natural for the cute, fun roles like this. As for Riteish, I keep hearing tht he's strong in comic roles, so I might have to check some of them out. I was interested to see how they went together onscreen, and was happy to see that at least they had more onscreen chemistry than Ajay & Kajol. That's setting the bar very low, I know, since the Devgans seem wooden together (outside of ads that focus on their domnesticity), but all the same, this was a sweet timepass that probably did need the boost given it by the timing of the leads' wedding.

No, you're not missing anything. I tend to reply with "that reminds me" type comments, and reading your remark about his 21st birthday reminded me that I want to watch that conversation without subs, so I said as much. No hidden agenda or particular reason, just a stream-of-consciousness type reaction to what I read here.

Your review has given me an incentive to watch at least part of it again, without subs. In the subs on my copy, Sujata tells Nandini that Brati would have started his 21st year on the day he was killed. Now I need to listen to what she actually said, with relying on the distracting subs! :)

The appeal of Dev has always completely escaped me - in almost every film of his I've seen (except for Jewel Thief), he's been repellent to me, none more so than Guide and Kala Bazaar. BUT, he always got the great songs, and your review of tere ghar ke samne has me thinking about watching it just to see that truly wonderful Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar in context. Your description of the film suggests that it doesn't have the preachy narcissistic egotism that oozes out of him in the films I really dislike, so I might have to bite the bullet and watch this one. Thanks!

Welcome back! Really looking forward to reading about your trip! Not just for its own sake (& for the vicarious pleasure), but to keep me occupied while waiting for the Kahaani DVD to come out so that I can finally read what you and others have been writing about it.

Thanks again for arranging this and extending the invitation. Being at the top of the world seems to have meant that I was first out of the gate, thereby setting the bar REALLY low for everybody else. I'm really looking forward to reading the contributions to this fascinating theme, especially as it seems I am the only current contributor saddled with a Y chromosome?

My next two blog posts are abuot my two favourite actresses, so in this post I see somewhat suspiciously serendipitous synchronicity..

"This isn't Tamil cinema for the heroine to fall for a goonda" LOVE IT, that one line has made this a must-see for me! Thanks so much for the link. I can see me having to squeeze in several Mallu films this year now.

Malamaal Weekly was NOT "loosely based on "Waking Ned Devine", it was a very clear and close copy. This is not a criticism, though. I Saw Ned Devine first and really liked it, but I still actually prefer Malamaal Weekly. Like Salaam-e-Ishq, another very obvious copy (of Love Actually), Malamaal succefully Indianised the story AND added something in the process. In its case, it was in showing more of the negative consequences of the win, it did more to highlight what the windfall did in terms of bringing out the worst in people than Ned Devine did, and I liked it for that. But certainly in tgerms of plot and story, it's closer to frame by frame than "loosely copied"

You're going to India?! YAY for you! And thanks for another excellent review. I think that enough time has passed already for JWM to have proved itself as a, if not the, classic BW romcom of the 2000s so far. I never get tired of this film, and often turn to it when I need a pick-me-up.

I thought of your review when I finally got around to rewatching this today. I think I must have been a very dark place myself when I saw this first, because now I can't for the life of me figure why I didn't absolutely love it. Great songs, a sweet romamce, a gorgeous Saira, and an impressive Shammi. One little thing I particularly liked: In parts of the film, and especially in "kashmir ki kali hoon main" it felt like the film was inverting the “stalking = love” meme of Hindi films. Instead of a man proving his love by simply refusing to go away and being slightly stalkerish, it was the other way around. A nice touch, I thought.

What a great review, thanks. Being one of those few who intensely dislikes the Coward/Caine original, I could have done without the blend (and I wouldn't have objected to the absence of Caine's classic line because he totally owns that). This was a film I wanted to like, the first really BIG Hindi film shot mostly here. But any film in which so many reviewers describe Johnny Lever as the best thing about it is definitely not for me. So, thanks for making it clear that I should avoid this film for my own peace of mind.

Yep, I do appreciate the internet - there are several films coming that I will have to pick up that way, especially ZNMD. On the plus side, Mausam releases just a week after MBKD - so if I do get the weekend off for Mausam, there's a tiny chance I might get to catch TWO at the cinema - the first ones since LRM! :)

I so want to see this film that I am seriously contemplating the 700+km round trip that would entail. Assuming it shows anywhere - no sign of it on the "coming soon" section of the nearerst cinema that occasionally shows Hindi films :(

Now I know what to buy for my first Malayalam film, when I'm caught up on all my unwatched Hindi films. Thanks for a great review that sold me on the film without spoiling the story.

Welcome back, yaar! So good to read one of your reviews again, it's been too long! And this review is making me think I need to rewatch Junglee - I remember not laughing ONCE before the title track, and not often there after. It never occurred to me that his OTT rage, which was very Prithvirajesque, was intended for comic effect. It just annoyed the narak out of me, as did his mother. Now maybe I need to give it another go.

Great interview. Very insightful and nice to see that she can be positive about Indian commercial cinema, even if her assertion that the term Bollywood is only 15 years old was out by a decade or two.

From way up here at the top end of the world, where such treasures will never come, THANK YOU for these great photos. Like Dolce_and_Namak, I'd mentally pictured black shoes too. Could you see any actual evidence of their country of origin? :)