Indian

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

August 17, 2009
Lagaan

Champaner, India, 1893, . Waiting anxiously for the monsoon, the peasants of a small village are getting worried about the upcoming tax payment, lagaan, imposed by the British. When the villagers ask the officers for a delay, the arrogant and despicable British officer, Captain Russell, sees an occasion to humiliate the villagers even more and [...]

Read the full article →

Mughal-e-Azam (1960)

August 15, 2009
Thumbnail image for Mughal-e-Azam (1960)

After watching Jodhaa Akbar I couldn’t help but find this Mughal-e-Azam about the tragic love story of Jodhaa and Akbar’s son Salim and where the two have a significant role. Mughal-e-Azam was originally filmed in1960 in black and white but with some scenes being shot in colour. In 2004 it was colourised in its entirety [...]

Read the full article →

Devdas (2002)

August 13, 2009
Devdas

 After enjoying Jodhaa Akbar so much I couldn’t help selecting another movie for the Indian Cinema Week at Lights Camera History and my choice was the 2002 adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1917 book Devdas. Set in the early 1900s, in Bengal, the story focuses on Devdas and Paro (Parvati), childhood friends who haven’t seen [...]

Read the full article →

Jodhaa Akbar (2008)

August 11, 2009
Thumbnail image for Jodhaa Akbar (2008)

Alex has already posted a wonderful review of this movie and it was in fact on her recommendation that I watched it. Now that I did, I can totally understand her and I can’t recommend it enough myself. Just as I mentioned to her after watching it, the movie is an overdose for the senses, [...]

Read the full article →

Historical movies…in India!

August 10, 2009

One of our New Year’s resolutions was to try to watch more (and review!) non-Anglophone period dramas. After some discussion, we decided to organize a special week about historical movies set in India. One of us was already a convert and the other two were ready to try new things and see how they liked [...]

Read the full article →

The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005)

May 15, 2009

India, 1857. The country is ruled by the British East India Company. While fighting in Afghanistan, Indian soldier Mangal Pandey saves the life of a British officer, William Gordon. They immediately become inseparable friends not allowing status or race interfering with their loyalty for each other. The introduction of the Enfield riffle musket in the [...]

Read the full article →