In Hindi cinema, the early 90s had a lot of staple giants in the field, and many of the names that would go on to become major forces in Hindi films and music in the following two decades, started off in this era. The 1994 film Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa was an important juncture for…
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In 1996, Sunil Shetty had more than half a dozen film releases. They were all likely action/revenge/angry-young-man pot-boilers of various kinds, and Shastra was one of them. I’ve never seen the film, from what I can remember, and it is difficult to remember because so many of these very similar products were released in the…
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The reason the Indian film industry, as a collection of all its many regional language industries, has been the most prolific producer of cinema for a large chunk of film history, is because it is a very deep creature. There are the popular blockbuster films staring big-name stars and top-flight talent, but the vast majority…
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Heroes and heroines dancing between trees has been an oft repeated cliché for the tropes of Hindi film songs. Like all clichés, it has some basis in fact, even if not as iconic as it has come to be portrayed. At some point, dancing between the trees started as a simple walk between the trees,…
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As a director, Manmohan Desai will always be known as the one who took the Hindi masala movie to its pinnacle from the 1960s to the early 1980s. He had a dream run of mostly successful films, all depending on a cornucopia of drama, a focus on mass entertainment above all other considerations, and a…
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Jo haal dil ka is a very strange song. It’s strange only in the context in which it is presented. After all, heroines in wet, clingy clothes, mouthing sensual songs near waterfalls and other convenient water features is hardly strange for a Hindi film; It’s par for the course, but this song has no attempt…
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Hindi films have always been very fond of having songs which have a hidden meaning to the audience and some of the players on screen, but seem perfectly innocent to everyone else. I’ve spoken before of the typical Hindi film party song, with words that do everything from profess love to mock the antagonist of…
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As a singer, KK is one of those hidden gems. Not that he is unknown by any means, but over more than a decade, he’s sung some of the most iconic songs of Hindi cinema, while always remaining a fairly low profile character. His singing has a versatility and a certain heart-wrenching quality that none…
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Chhoti Si Baat is one of my favourite romantic comedies, if not one of my favourite films of any kind in any language. So, it is inevitable that the songs of the film also hold a special place in my heart. Na jaane kyun hota hai yeh zindagi ke saath, the closest thing the film…
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In the mid 90s, shortly after the economic liberalisation of India and the influx of new things like satellite television and international brands of fizzy drink, we had a fairly vibrant pop-music scene for a while. Players new and old broke on to the scene with modern music, slick music videos and experiments in both…
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