Albela

Albela
(translation: Unique)
2001
3/5 stars

Wealthy Sonia (Aishwarya Rai) hires tour guide Tony (Govinda) to help her find her mother's grave.  He is instantly smitten with her, but knows that she is out of his reach. Tony's best friend and neighbor, Neena (Namrata Shirodkar), has been in love with him for some time, but has never been bold enough to let him know.  Sonia, too, has an unhappy romance behind her, with Prem (Jackie Shroff), of whom her father (Saeed Jaffrey) disapproves.  How can all three of these love stories have a happy ending?

Govinda is cute and charming as ever, giving a good humorous performance.  Rai is not fully convincing, and she and Shroff do not have much chemistry.  Shirodkar, however, is believable, and she and Govinda work well with each other.  The music is average, with the choreography below average.   The plot of this film, while predictable, is enjoyable and entertaining.   This isn't a stellar movie, but it is fun to watch, especially for Govinda fans.

Rai and Govinda

This movie is available on YouTube.

Dil Se. . .

Dil Se. . . 
(translates as "from the heart")
1998
5/5 stars

Amar (Shah Rukh Khan) meets a young woman (Manisha Koirala as Meghna) on a train platform and is instantly smitten.  This infatuation turns to obsession, as he tries first to trace her, then to convince her to love him.  As his passion slowly consumes his reason, he becomes entangled in a terrorism plot designed to bring attention to the insurrection in Northeast India.

This thriller is riveting, intense, and, for the most part, realistic.  Khan and Koirala have good chemistry and are convincing in their roles.  With her infectious smile, Priety Zinta makes a debut that is most natural. The music is unique, and quite good, and some of the choreography most impressive.  Not typical of Bollywood, the film work is gritty and is appropriate for the feel of the film.  This gripping, emotional drama comes highly recommended.

Malaika Arora features in the item number "Chaiyya Chaiyya"

Kuch Naa Kaho

Kuch Naa Kaho
(translates as "don't say anything")
2003
4/5 stars

I think that the less one knows about this film, the better the viewing experience.  So, in short: Namrata (Aishwarya Rai), an abandoned wife, finds another chance at love with Raj (Abhishek Bachchan) but her past will make happiness impossible.

Cast also incudes Arbaaz Khan, Parth Dave, Satish Shah, Suhasini Mulay, Jaspal Bhatti, and Himani Shivpuri, among others.

This is an enjoyable romantic-comedy-drama, with a mostly well-written plot.  The music is average and less, with the exception of the title song.  Choreography is simplistic, due, I'm sure, to the fact that Bachchan is not the best dancer.  Rai is vivacious, sassy, and credible.  Bachchan is charming, funny, and believable.  Arbaaz Khan, in his negative role, is excellent.  Child actor Parth Dave is convincing, as well, and manages important scenes professionally.  The only problem with this film is that the ending is too quick and neat, lessening the impact of the overall drama. It's still one I would recommend, and will probably re-watch.

Bachchan and Rai

 

Dil Dhadakne Do

Dil Dhadakne Do
(Translates as: Let the Heart Beat)
2015
5/5 stars

 Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra) and Kabir (Ranveer Singh) join friends and family on a cruise to celebrate the 30th wedding anniversary of their parents Kamal (Anil Kapoor ) and Neelam (Shefali Shah). Kamal is overbearing, and both parents are strictly traditional, as well as worrying about what others think of their family.  In addition, their marriage is less than successful. During the voyage, the siblings both go against their parents wishes in matters of love, creating more discord in their family.

This is not a lighthearted movie, though it does contain some humor and romance.  It is, instead, a serious drama about family dynamics, expectations, and acceptance.  The plot is rich and well-written.  The music and choreography are average.  Kapoor gives a stellar performance as the tightly-strung, controlling father. I had previously only seen Chopra in the rom-com setting, and was pleasantly surprised by her ability to play a deeper role.  Both Singh and Shah are also convincing in their roles. Rahul Bose plays Ayesha's husband, and does a fine job with varying emotions. The movie also stars Anushka Sharma and Farhan Akhtar, and both give credible performances.   I was impressed by this underrated film and found it to be just about perfect--near enough to round up to five stars.  This is one I certainly recommend.

Cast also includes Aamir Khan, Zarina Wahab, Vikrant Massey and Ridhima Sud, among others.

This movie is available with Amazon Prime.

Shah, Singh, Kapoor, Chopra

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
(translates as "O heart, it is difficult")
2016
3/5 stars


After a chance meeting, Aryan (Ranbir Kapoor) and Alizeh (Anushka Sharma) become best friends. After a while, Aryan falls in love with Alizeh, but she remains in love with her ex-boyfriend. After an emotional split between the two friends, Aryan meets sophisticated poet Saba (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan). They begin a relationship, but Aryan has not gotten over Alizeh.

This story of unrequited love has a generally well-written, mostly credible plot.  It has the feel, though, of a Western film, much more than a Bollywood movie.  It is not a family film, as it contains adult situations.  Kapoor acted well, and Sharma was charming and natural; Bachchan was a little stiff at times.  The music was okay, though I don't have an opinion about the lyrics as the version I watched didn't have subtitles for the songs.  This could have been a excellent emotional drama, but unfortunately the last chapter (so to speak) was neither moving nor convincing and made the overall movie ultimately unsatisfying.

Cast also includes Fawad Khan, Lisa Hayden, and cameos by Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt.

This movie is available with Amazon Prime.

Mohabbatein

Mohabbatein
("Love Stories")
2000
4/5 stars

Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan) is the headmaster of an elite and prestigious boys school, Gurukul.  Shankar believes in honor, tradition, and discipline, and disapproves of anything that would take a students mind off of his work--especially love.  Into this atmosphere comes Raj Aryan (Shah Rukh Khan), the new music teacher, who believes in the power of love, and encourages his students to break Gurukul's traditions.  Three of the students, Sameer (Jugal Hansraj), Vicky (Uday Chopra), and Karan (Jimmy Sheirgill) fall in love and, as a result, risk expulsion.

The love intersts are played by Kim Sharma, Shamita Shetty, and Preeti Jhangiani.  The cast also includes Aishwarya Rai, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher, Archana Puran Singh, Shefali Shah, and Helen.

While being mostly predictable, this is a fully entertaining film.  Bachchan and Khan give strong performances, for which both received awards.  The six young people were credible and mature in their roles.  The music was good and the choreography, though not exceptional, was enjoyable to watch.  The girls' costumes, however, were mostly sports bras and super-short minis, an outfit not attractive for any of them.  One other negative point was having to watch Khan fake playing the violin--it was painful to see at times.  Other than that, this is a feel-good movie that was a pleasure to experience.

This movie is available with Amazon Prime.

Rai and Khan

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein
(translates as "Girl... In Your Love")
2013
3/5 stars

While reminiscing about his ex-girlfriend Dia (Kareena Kapoor), Sriram (Imran Khan) realizes that he is still in love with her.  They are polar opposites who separated over what social worker Dia saw as a lack of moral fiber in Sriram.  He locates her living in a small village and trying to get a bridge built for them.  To prove to Dia that he has changed and is worth her love, Sriram becomes involved.

The best thing about this movie is Khan: he is charming and natural, and fits the role perfectly.  Kapoor gives an average performance, appearing too stern at times.  The music, with the exception of two simply terrible songs, is average as well.  The story begins with much promise, but the character development and plot resolution was not convincing.  Overall, it's one that was mostly enjoyable, but nothing will be missed by not watching it.

This movie is available with Amazon Prime.

Kapoor and Khan