Nutan mania
I've decided to become a full-fledged promoter of Nutan! Below you'll find pictures of her I've collected since I've started watching films with her. For those who are fed up with her, you can go here (for example!)
Practical Info
About me
I'm a French lover of Indian cinema, but I'm also interested in literature, science, art, and reflection in general. This blog will reflect these tastes more or less!
Categories
- letstalkaboutbollywood (47)
- film reviews (93)
- practical info (1)
- Book reviews (18)
- miscellaneous (3)
- Trip to India (8)
Nutan photos
Bolly blogs I visit
- Greta's Memsaabstory
- Madhulika's Dustedoff
- Bollyviewer's Old is gold
- Sharmi's old films and me
- Bollywooddeewana
- Carla's blog Filmigeek
- Beth loves Bollywood
- A2line's Bollyblog
- Amodini's movie reviews
- Anu's conversations over chai
- Daddy's girl's Dharmendra praise blog
- The fabulous Pitu
- Harvey's blog
- Satyam's blog
- Shweta's Apni EA Company
- Julie and Jenny's Diablog
- Post-punk CC
- Nida's Bitten by Bollywood
- Sanni's So they dance
- Stephen 's Bollywood banter
- Blissful Nirvana
- Maria's Filmiholic
- Philip Lutgendorf 's fil-ums
- Darshit's dunkdaft
- Ajnabi's Paisa Vasool - or not
- Shell's Bollyworld
- The BollywoodFan
- Alan's Bellevue to Bollywood
- Pessimisissimo's Exotic entertainment
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Latest posts
- Their hands can see: Sparsh
- Peepli live: long live the media!
- Subarnarekha, Ritwick Ghatak's ode to Life
- Chhalia, Nutan's contribution to the Indo-pakistani peace process
- Mera Naam Joker: too big? Too much?
- Kanchanjungha, the moment of revelation
- Dhobi ghat, looking for a new centre
- Yeh raate, yeh mausam
- Ram teri Ganga maili, RK's last opus
- Abhijan, a remarkable moral fable
Archives
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Jeudi 22 mai 2008
4
22
/05
/Mai
/2008
22:19
“Oh World, I am a wanderer in your puzzle!” So sings Awaara, Raj the vagabond, as he leaves the prison, and winds his way through village streets and benevolent humanity, his newly found freedom and his good nature hiding the deep wounds of a wrecked childhood. “Don’t sin any more!” the warden had said, as he was sent out of jail. But his tragic fate is fixed: once a thief, always a thief. There’s no way out of crime for him, says Jagga his evil guru. Raj is thrown into the world only to wander from one misery to the next, from one loss to another: why is he thus chosen as God’s toy? He was born with a good heart, but is slave to the torment and horror of evil. Why is there no escape […]
Mercredi 14 mai 2008
3
14
/05
/Mai
/2008
00:29
I’ve been longing to write that LetsTalkAboutBollywood article about Naseeruddin Shah for a long time. He’s one of my favourite Indian actors, if not my favourite. Okay, let’s say he is my favourite actor (alive). I suppose it’s natural to take sides, so there, I prefer the fox to the lion. The lion’s beauty is a treat to watch, you stand straight when you watch him. But the fox’s cunning makes you duck and dodge, to see what’s behind, or inside, and that’s more my style. Everybody will agree that Amitabh is the lion: he’s the old king of Bollywood, as yet uncrowned. But Naseer is Foxy Loxy, the clever charmer, the unassuming jester, the cunning fooler. Naseer can do what he likes, the […]
Dimanche 27 avril 2008
7
27
/04
/Avr
/2008
22:23
Some of you might remember that I had promised to watch Guide, by Vijay Anand, the movie based on R.K. Narayan’s novel which I had reviewed here. I had been encouraged by a number of blog reviews, but I must say that I have been rather disappointed. I had already been slightly critical of the book, and suggested that the end was a little unsatisfactory, because it was ambiguous; but watching the film brought out all the strengths of the novel, and these in turn highlighted the simplified and romanticised defects of the movie. As Mohit Verma from IMDb says, “There are two perspectives you can have about this film: firstly if you're an R.K. Narayan buff and had read "The Guide" before […]
Dimanche 20 avril 2008
7
20
/04
/Avr
/2008
20:07
« This is one of the worst Bollywood films ever made. It tells the sickening story of a 15 year old boy who loves a 26 year old women. Its weird, cos the boy is just so annoying and looks stupid. He spends long hours just spying on her with his telescope. Thats right, 50% of this movie, is the boy spying on her. Who is this film aimed at and what kind of people will enjoy this kind of trap. Its like gazing at a security camera hidden in someones room. With respect i would like to add that if the actress was beautiful and sexy, maybe the film would of had a reason to watch it. Manisha Koirala looks old, scruffy and ugly. There are little scenes of sex which is rare in Bollywood. Even […]
Mercredi 16 avril 2008
3
16
/04
/Avr
/2008
15:28
As soon as one pronounces the name “Akshaye Khanna”, a picture springs up, and one sees that curvy mouth, that dimpled chin, those square jaws and above all, the dark cunning eyes that half-smile, half gauge, as if to make sure the track is clear. Hmm, says one, he must be a warm, interesting fellow! He looks intelligent, reserved, unassuming, and…SEXY! (It’s the half-open, dark eyes that do the trick, they never miss). Then there’s that negligently unbuttoned shirt with lots of bushy hair cropping out… probably for the ladies, or am I wrong? With Akshaye, there’s a style, a very carefully studied mixture of naturalness and sophistication, which works wonders. He’s selected a pose, a […]
Mercredi 2 avril 2008
3
02
/04
/Avr
/2008
23:44
For a long time now I have been wanting to actually speak about Rani Mukherjee: suspicious, no? I had been doing these comments about all these books and films, which have nothing to do with her, and at the back, there had always been that lingering need to bask in that light, the light of her smile. I suppose it’s more than that: it’s really exposing myself in the act of dealing with her, baring my interest in her… Anyway, here goes: what I Reeeeaaallly like about her is that SMILE (and that Voice)! When I think of her, that’s what come to my mind immediately. It’s silly, because I know it’s false, but isn’t she ALWAYS smiling in her movies? (well anyway, she always has that amazing […]
Jeudi 27 mars 2008
4
27
/03
/Mars
/2008
21:35
Satyajit Ray’s 1955 “Song of the little road” is a quiet picture of little big events within a rural Bengali family, where the little happenings of childhood occur, and form that most profound event of any life: growing up. The film is part of a trilogy, the Apu trilogy; but I haven’t (yet) seen the other two films. Still, you can of course see Pather Panchali independently. I hadn’t yet seen anything like it before. It’s a sort of haiku, those short Japanese poems famous for their purity and density. As one watches it, one is struck by the timelessness, the unfathomable simplicity and emptiness of what is shown. The impression is that the action is “so long ago”, in a time when […]
Mardi 11 mars 2008
2
11
/03
/Mars
/2008
13:49
Kaala Patthar (“Black stone”) is a grandiose epic movie by Yash Chopra which is at the same time a political and social weapon against reckless capitalism and the exploitation of workers, a story of redemption and sacrifice, and a suspense-full entertainer, with action, love and fighting. There is in Kaala Patthar a power which comes from the outstanding performances of the great number of star-level actors. Amitabh is leading the list, but Shashi Kapoor, Parveen Babi, Shatrughan Sinha, Neetu Singh, Rakhee Gulzar, Prem Chopra, all have good roles to defend. But I’d say they would be less interesting if it wasn’t for another actor which transcends individual roles, and that’s the […]
Mercredi 5 mars 2008
3
05
/03
/Mars
/2008
23:11
R.K. Narayan’s novel, The Guide, written in 1958, is recognised as one of the author’s best. (It’s selected within a collection of “1000 books to read during your lifetime” collection which some French publishers were selling over Christmas). It tells the story of Raju, whose father was lucky to own a shop near a spot where a railway station was going to be built. Raju was then a boy who enjoyed his life outside, and when the tracks and station were built, the shop in the station was entrusted to his father. The boy soon started helping him, pleased at not having to be sent to school any more. But the father died accidentally, and Raju who must have been 12 or so, took over, and over […]
Dimanche 2 mars 2008
7
02
/03
/Mars
/2008
12:18
With his title “The dark prince” I am not referring to Ajay’s skin colour of course, even though there are only few among the best-known Bollywood stars that do have a dark skin, but more to his character, what I can guess of it. I’ve always felt in him a sort of broodiness, a mystery, which his marriage to Kajol – pretty much the opposite I would say – hasn’t dispelled. I didn’t know before calling him like that that Amitabh Bachchan had done so before, almost: “the dark horse of Bollywood”! (here) There is something intense and powerful in Ajay’s personality, something commanding, and not without its own charm. This charm is made of a very masculine style, proud chin, strong bones, […]
Jeudi 14 février 2008
4
14
/02
/Fév
/2008
16:14
3 Dewaarein by Nagesh Kukunoor is a very good entertainer. Its construction is very clever, its rhythm flawless, the actors are truly first class, the suspense is exciting, the photography is excellent… One spends a very rewarding 120 minutes. But…it’s only entertainment. Now you’re going to tell me, what more do you expect from films? That’s what they’re for! Yes, but I have been used, at that level of excellence, to find a little bit more than entertainment. Let’s say, a certain amount of moral or social reflection, or a political statement, the director’s commitment to something else, precisely, than pure virtuosity and emotionality. Instead, I have that strange (even if enjoyable!) […]
Lundi 11 février 2008
1
11
/02
/Fév
/2008
00:08
One might say the 21 year old glamgirl called Ayesha Takia is rather young to be commented upon at great depth; one would be wrong, because there is a great deal to be said about and around her. Let’s start with the beginning: a few months ago, I wrote this article about Sex and Bollywood. And two of the photos I found to illustrate what I had to say on the subject were (perhaps a hasty choice?) of Ayesha Takia in very suggestive poses (little voice: nothing hasty there! Lots of preparation). No nudity, mind, but we all know that sexiness goes much beyond skin exposure. In fact, true eroticism needs clothes to suggest what an exposed body can’t do, because it doesn’t hide anything […]
Mercredi 6 février 2008
3
06
/02
/Fév
/2008
00:32
As boy-meets-girl Bollywood stories go, well, I don’t know whether I’ve not seen the best so far (1)… Socha na tha, directed by novice director Imtiaz Ali in 2005 (he’s done Jab we met since), and starring beginners Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia shows that you can walk in among your peers, be influenced only by the good things, and beat them in terms of result! What’s rather nice about this photo-story (it’s still a photo-story) is that it has a good realistic plot, which no absurd coincidences are going to solve, and even if I did tell myself: “they’re bound to find some sort of a solution to extract themselves from the mess they’ve put themselves in”, I actually was pleasantly surprised […]
Samedi 2 février 2008
6
02
/02
/Fév
/2008
10:23
To inattentive spectators this 1956 film starring Raj Kapoor will probably seem a little naïve and perhaps shoddy, for it has enough imperfections to justify a less than perfect opinion about it. Some inconsistencies here, some lengthy bits there, a humour that sometimes annoys, and a rather surprising ending, halfway between reality and fantasy. I must say that I was, and still am, determined to explore films with and by Raj Kapoor, and this one (not directed by him, but by Amit and Sombhu Mitra) did strain my patience at first. Even if Raj Kapoor does a hell of a job. The storyline is very simple: one night, Mohan, a villager, arrives in town in search of work, and he’s thirsty. […]
Mercredi 30 janvier 2008
3
30
/01
/Jan
/2008
00:28
Mulk Raj Anand’s small fiction volume « Untouchable », which dates back to 1935, evokes the life of a young sweeper called Bakha, through the description of a day’s happenings, from the morning when, only half awake, and after a cold night (due to his love of British clothes, he despises ordinary sleeping rags), he has to rush to clean the latrines before anybody can use them, down to the evening throng that he joins in the nearby city, where a rally in support of Gandhi has been organised. In between, we follow him and his thoughts, and we are made to understand the joys and frustrations of his dalit condition. Joys, because he is a young and strong lad, whose lively and gentle nature […]