Ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh. I have a secret to tell you. I have found a found an ever-flowing font of information and entertainment. It is called Youtube.com. Do not tell anyone. If you do then people may feel nervous and no longer upload videos.
A few months ago, I wrote that I wanted to watch and review Hindi films that I found on Youtube, provided that they were subtitled. At the time that I wrote that, I thought that I would look for films that I did not see--for whatever reason--in the cinema hall. 3 Idiotswas such a movie. Moreover, I wrote this review at a time when it was overtaken by the drivel known as Chennai Express as the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time.
I thought that I would look also for films that were my favourites, films that I enjoy watching over and over again, films such as Roja, Mohabbatein, Kabhi Alvida na Kehna, Mr. India and others. I have not yet watched them on Youtube (assuming that they are there, in subtitled form) but hope to do so in the near future.
More recently, I thought that I should look for films that are part of particular genres. I watched Krrish 3 (in the cinema hall) partly because I wanted to discuss super-heroes in Indian cinema. I watched Bhagam Bhag (on Youtube) because I wanted to discuss comedy. I also want to discuss horror but have not yet found a noteworthy and relevant film to watch and review.
Lately, when I watch television, I watch the channels that show SAD (song-and-dance) routines from Hindi films. (I am sure that there are other channels that show similar SAD routines in Bengali, Telegu, Tamil and other languages, but I do not pay any attention to them.) About half of these channels specialize in SAD routines from recent films, while the other half shows older films. I usually watch the latter as "they are nice to the ears" as Caroline has always described them.
Two nights ago, I watched a catchy song from a film released in 1970. It was then that I thought that I should watch and review a film from this era.
I watched my first Hindi film in 1993, and in the 20 years since then, I have watched well over 1,000 Hindi films, most of which were forgetable. They were forgetable, in the beginning, because they were on VHS tapes which were almost never subtitled so I had difficulty in understanding the nuances of the film. They were forgetable in the beginning and later on because I often did not know the actors so I had difficulty in relating to them. Also, there was no such thing as Imdb and Wikipedia to help me unterstand the film (both of which I did use to help me prepare watching ABCD: Any Body Can Dance). Later on, I did begin to appreciate the actors and later on, films were available on DVD, most of which were subtitled.
Since my arrival in India almost five years ago, I have noticed a few disturbing (to me) trends in Hindi films:
1) The SAD routines are getting fewer and shorter. The songs are also getting noisier. There are exceptions (see the bottom of Favourite Hindi Songs) but earlier, the average song was more melodious.
2) The films are getting shorter. I remember watching the film Delhi Belly, starring Imran Khan, and just when I thought that it was time to have an intermission, the film ended!
3) As I have written at least once, all good things began with Shahrukh Khan. The films were better produced, and the stories seemed to be more creative when he arrived on the scene. Now, unfortunately, all good things have ended with Shahrukh Khan. With the exception of My Name is Khan, his films have been disappointments. His best film may have been Billu but in that, his appearance was more-or-less just a friendly appearance/cameo. His death-knell was Chennai Express. Although the film was a blockbuster at the box office, there was no story and the songs were dreadful. I do not know what repercussions, if any, this will have on films for the rest of the decade.
For a long time, I have thought that films from the first nine years of this century were technically the best, and the stories and acting were generally superior to those of other decades. More and more films used special effects, which was virtually unheard of prior to this century. Many of the films in my Favourite Movies post belong to this time-frame.
I have also thought that films from the 90s were those of a decade in transition (or maybe it is the very definition of the evolution of films and film-making). It was a time of experimentation, as shown by the directors Mani Ratnam and Karan Johar, and the emergence of the 3 Khans (Shahrukh, Aamir and Salman) who, coincidentally, were born in 1965. The SAD routines shifted from being amongst the trees and moved to more realistic venues.
The overwhelming majority of films that I watched during 1993--2013 were released during 1993--2013. However, I have watched older films. The 80s did seem to be a vacuum, though. Almost all of the big-name actors were gone or neglected. There was only Amitabh Bachchan, and his downfall came in or around 1984, and he did not regain his stature until 16 years later, in 2000, when he co-starred in Mohabbatein (a film inspired by the Hollywood film, Dead Poets' Society) along with Shahrukh Khan. In this void, Mithun Chakraborty, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor and others tried to fill, but they never attained the stature of Amitabh nor of those of previous leading men.
The films of the mid-70s to early-80s did result in many memorable films, including Karz (to which Shahrukh Khan's 2007 film, Om Shanti Om was a paean); Dream Girl (which apparently flopped at the box office, but Hema Malini--the lead actress--was always referred to as "Dream Girl" afterwards); and most notably Sholay (it is impossible to overstate the impact and significance that this film has made in India).
The SAD that I watched on television was, as I said, from a 1970 film. It was kitschy, garish and outlandish--everything that made films from the mid-60s to mid-70s fun to watch. Another reason why I wanted to watch and review such a film was that it has been a very long time since I have watched an old film. I watch SAD routines from this time period, but I have not yet had the opportunity to watch an entire film.
At the same time, I was apprehensive about it. I realized that not every film is on Youtube; recent films may be on Youtube, but older films are probably less likely to be found there. Even if it was found there then it would be extremely unlikely that it was subtitled.
The film was called The Train and it is on Youtube and it is subtitled! At the same time, it is not on Youtube and it is not subtitled! Unlike other films that I have seen, it is not an entire film; it is broken into parts--ten, to be precise. The best way to find and watch these parts is to put The_Movie_of_Nanda_And_Rajesh Khanna_The Train 1970 Part into the search box (you can copy-paste this phrase from here). You will then see ten parts, in no particular order. Find Part 1, click it, watch it, and then do the same for Part 2. (If someone does find the entire film, then please tell me so that I can provide that in this review.) It is also not subtitled or, at least, not in the expected way. Usually, there is a button or message at the bottom of the video that says "Click CC for subtitles". These videos do not have that. However, the subtitles are already on the screen!
Please read Part 2 of this film review to find my thoughts and reactions to this specific film.
I thought that I would look also for films that were my favourites, films that I enjoy watching over and over again, films such as Roja, Mohabbatein, Kabhi Alvida na Kehna, Mr. India and others. I have not yet watched them on Youtube (assuming that they are there, in subtitled form) but hope to do so in the near future.
More recently, I thought that I should look for films that are part of particular genres. I watched Krrish 3 (in the cinema hall) partly because I wanted to discuss super-heroes in Indian cinema. I watched Bhagam Bhag (on Youtube) because I wanted to discuss comedy. I also want to discuss horror but have not yet found a noteworthy and relevant film to watch and review.
Lately, when I watch television, I watch the channels that show SAD (song-and-dance) routines from Hindi films. (I am sure that there are other channels that show similar SAD routines in Bengali, Telegu, Tamil and other languages, but I do not pay any attention to them.) About half of these channels specialize in SAD routines from recent films, while the other half shows older films. I usually watch the latter as "they are nice to the ears" as Caroline has always described them.
Two nights ago, I watched a catchy song from a film released in 1970. It was then that I thought that I should watch and review a film from this era.
I watched my first Hindi film in 1993, and in the 20 years since then, I have watched well over 1,000 Hindi films, most of which were forgetable. They were forgetable, in the beginning, because they were on VHS tapes which were almost never subtitled so I had difficulty in understanding the nuances of the film. They were forgetable in the beginning and later on because I often did not know the actors so I had difficulty in relating to them. Also, there was no such thing as Imdb and Wikipedia to help me unterstand the film (both of which I did use to help me prepare watching ABCD: Any Body Can Dance). Later on, I did begin to appreciate the actors and later on, films were available on DVD, most of which were subtitled.
Since my arrival in India almost five years ago, I have noticed a few disturbing (to me) trends in Hindi films:
1) The SAD routines are getting fewer and shorter. The songs are also getting noisier. There are exceptions (see the bottom of Favourite Hindi Songs) but earlier, the average song was more melodious.
2) The films are getting shorter. I remember watching the film Delhi Belly, starring Imran Khan, and just when I thought that it was time to have an intermission, the film ended!
3) As I have written at least once, all good things began with Shahrukh Khan. The films were better produced, and the stories seemed to be more creative when he arrived on the scene. Now, unfortunately, all good things have ended with Shahrukh Khan. With the exception of My Name is Khan, his films have been disappointments. His best film may have been Billu but in that, his appearance was more-or-less just a friendly appearance/cameo. His death-knell was Chennai Express. Although the film was a blockbuster at the box office, there was no story and the songs were dreadful. I do not know what repercussions, if any, this will have on films for the rest of the decade.
For a long time, I have thought that films from the first nine years of this century were technically the best, and the stories and acting were generally superior to those of other decades. More and more films used special effects, which was virtually unheard of prior to this century. Many of the films in my Favourite Movies post belong to this time-frame.
I have also thought that films from the 90s were those of a decade in transition (or maybe it is the very definition of the evolution of films and film-making). It was a time of experimentation, as shown by the directors Mani Ratnam and Karan Johar, and the emergence of the 3 Khans (Shahrukh, Aamir and Salman) who, coincidentally, were born in 1965. The SAD routines shifted from being amongst the trees and moved to more realistic venues.
The overwhelming majority of films that I watched during 1993--2013 were released during 1993--2013. However, I have watched older films. The 80s did seem to be a vacuum, though. Almost all of the big-name actors were gone or neglected. There was only Amitabh Bachchan, and his downfall came in or around 1984, and he did not regain his stature until 16 years later, in 2000, when he co-starred in Mohabbatein (a film inspired by the Hollywood film, Dead Poets' Society) along with Shahrukh Khan. In this void, Mithun Chakraborty, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor and others tried to fill, but they never attained the stature of Amitabh nor of those of previous leading men.
The films of the mid-70s to early-80s did result in many memorable films, including Karz (to which Shahrukh Khan's 2007 film, Om Shanti Om was a paean); Dream Girl (which apparently flopped at the box office, but Hema Malini--the lead actress--was always referred to as "Dream Girl" afterwards); and most notably Sholay (it is impossible to overstate the impact and significance that this film has made in India).
The SAD that I watched on television was, as I said, from a 1970 film. It was kitschy, garish and outlandish--everything that made films from the mid-60s to mid-70s fun to watch. Another reason why I wanted to watch and review such a film was that it has been a very long time since I have watched an old film. I watch SAD routines from this time period, but I have not yet had the opportunity to watch an entire film.
At the same time, I was apprehensive about it. I realized that not every film is on Youtube; recent films may be on Youtube, but older films are probably less likely to be found there. Even if it was found there then it would be extremely unlikely that it was subtitled.
The film was called The Train and it is on Youtube and it is subtitled! At the same time, it is not on Youtube and it is not subtitled! Unlike other films that I have seen, it is not an entire film; it is broken into parts--ten, to be precise. The best way to find and watch these parts is to put The_Movie_of_Nanda_And_Rajesh Khanna_The Train 1970 Part into the search box (you can copy-paste this phrase from here). You will then see ten parts, in no particular order. Find Part 1, click it, watch it, and then do the same for Part 2. (If someone does find the entire film, then please tell me so that I can provide that in this review.) It is also not subtitled or, at least, not in the expected way. Usually, there is a button or message at the bottom of the video that says "Click CC for subtitles". These videos do not have that. However, the subtitles are already on the screen!
Please read Part 2 of this film review to find my thoughts and reactions to this specific film.