Some fools, if you asked them to conceive of a Super Hit, would try to sell you a story about some guy who has spider powers or space ships coming to Earth and blowing things up. Sure, that stuff is fun, but Super Hit? I don't think so.

What do you think Inspector?



Me? I'll try to stop bullying... Oh wait, you're talking about GEETA! Kaun Geeta? Only the leading lady in MY conception of a Super Hit! ( Geeta is extremely tough, so be careful what you say to her! )

In conclusion, Sadhana knows how to make an entertaining pot boiler of a movie.

Talash tells the story of two best friends, Rajendra Kumar (hero) and O.P. Ralhan (comic relief). There were so many wonderful things about this film that I watched it twice yesterday. TWICE!

First a quick plot run-down - Raj Kumar is a spoiled college graduate. He wants to become a wealthy man more than anything else. (O.P. just wants to chase ladies around.) ( Every film needs a nice romance... )
This is merely the skeleton from which Talash is built, but it's a strong one. The story hits a number of things that I like and are kind of unusual as far as 60s films go. For one thing, the woman is the agressor in the main story. She spots him, sees the potential, and then sets the hoops he has to jump through for him to earn her as his life partner. She always has the upper hand. He is totally at her mercy, but he doesn't come across as less than masculine for being so. He's manly, but not macho. It's a nice combination. Plus, Sharmila and Rajendra have very good chemistry. ( And here are the two best Sharmila/Rajendra scenes, in my opinion... )



The female as agressor motif was also used in the beginning as a horde of women - can someone help identify all of them - chase after Raj when they mistake his name (Raj Kumar) for his title and think he is a prince. ( One of the ladies is Nadira and I think Daisy Irani is another... )
Along with the Sharmila/Rajendra scenes of wonderful romantic angst, O.P. Ralhan won my heart forever with his Helen subplot. ( How many screencaps of Helen could I possibly have, you ask? Ek lakh? Ek crore? )

O.P.'s Helen subplot had a sub-sub-plot involving O.P.'s father trying to set him up in an arranged marriage. ( Does it get better than this? )

Talash had so many of the things I adore in films, from the money can't buy happiness plots to hilarious sight gags. O.P. Ralhan focuses on what is important and glosses over the rest - in the finest masala tradition. Raj's business career is gloriously undefined. We don't find out what the company does nor does it matter. His rise through the ranks takes place in about 3 minutes complete with something like 5 star wipes to move things along. The sub-sub plot regarding O.P.'s arranged marriage, on the other hand, has a hugely detailed set-up. Priorities are important!

The one complaint I had was with the subtitles.



The subtitler must be a frequent txt messager because "U" was constantly substituted for "you" and "Ur" for "your." That got very old very fast.

After the wonderfulness of Phool aur Patthar and Talash, I've got Hulchul and Pappi coming from Netflix in the next week or so. I cannot wait!

Hum Dono could have been much better than it actually was. I'm a big fan of Goldie's screenplays in general and I love double roles - "How could this possibly be bad?" I thought.



Two Dev Anands, but only one moustache and pompadour between them.

( More Dev Anand and Dev Anand shenanigans inside here! )

Madhumati opens with Dilip Kumar taking shelter in an old abandoned mansion during a thunderstorm. He hears a haunting melody and his past life comes rushing back to him; the rest of the film is all flashback to Dilip Kumar's previous life.

I like thinking about this story as being a memory. It's a lot more poetic that way. ( Spoilers for a movie from 1958. )

Watching Madhumati you certainly get a sense of where current Bollywood ghost stories are coming from. I could see shades of Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Om Shanti Om. Although, if OSO had taken Madhumati's ending, it might have had a more interesting second act!

The only nice thing about being home sick is having all afternoon to sit on the couch with the cat and watch my backlog of movies - which today included .... An Evening in Paris!

Starring a Shammi Kapoor who looked as disheveled and puffy as I felt today and a perky Sharmila Tagore, An Evening in Paris is uneven but ultimately entertaining.



( Ye Spoilery Review Ahead )

Stalkers do win, once in a while. Also, Sharmila is not a great dancer and Pran looks really funny in a blond wig and apparently Bengali accents are hilarious to certain segments of the population.