Hindi Movies
Excitement is in the air for Hindi movie lovers in Florida with the announcement of the IIFA Awards coming to Tampa next year. Quite likely, your non-desi friends and colleagues have been asking you questions about Bollywood films. If you want to recommend recent movies for them to watch, “Kahaani” and “Barfi” are great choices, both of which swept many of the awards for 2013.
You will want to follow Khaas Baat to keep up with movies likely to make the rounds on next year’s awards circuit. This year a variety of genres have been successful. Here are my recommendations for some of the must see movies so far this year.
“Kai Po Che” - Based on a novel by Chetan Bhagat, three friends pursue their cricket-centered dreams amidst political turmoil.
“Special 26” - Anupam Kher and Akshay Kumar are fabulous in this heist drama based on actual events from the 1980s.
“Jolly LLB” - Courtroom satire featuring Booman Irani and Arshad Warsi on opposing sides of a fatal hit and run case.
“Bombay Talkies” - An anthology of four unique short films from acclaimed modern directors as homage to 100 years of Hindi cinema.
“Raanjhanaa” - Dhanush makes a delightful Hindi debut in this love story set in Banaras with music by the maestro, A. R. Rahman
“Lootera” - Tragic romance set in the 1950s with sensitive performances by Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh.
“Bhaag Milkha Bhag”- The inspiring story about an Indian Olympic runner by director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.
“D-Day” - An engaging action thriller about a fictitious mission to capture India’s most wanted terrorist with superb acting by Irfan Khan, Ajun Rampal and Rishi Kapoor.
HINDI MOVIE RELEASES EXPECTED THIS MONTH
“Chennai Express” Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Sathyaraj, Priyamani, Nikitin Dheer, Lekh Tandon, Kamini Kaushal; directed by Rohit Shetty; music by Vishal-Shekhar.
After directing “Golmaal,” “Singham” and “Bol Bachchan,” Rohit Shetty teams up for the first time with Shah Rukh Khan in this action comedy masala entertainer. Shah Rukh Khan plays who else but Rahul, a 40-year-old bachelor from Mumbai who lives with his grandparents, played by Lekh Tandon and Kamini Kaushal. He didn’t marry when younger because his possessive grandfather couldn’t live without him. He is en route to Rameshwaram to fulfill his grandfather wishes and winds up on an unexpected journey where he realizes the importance and power of love, relationships and sacrifice. Joining him on this hilarious ride is Meena, a South Indian, played by Deepika Padukone, who lives in Komban village with her large family and is fondly referred to as Meenamma. She lost her mother when she was a child and her father is very protective of her. Sathyaraj plays Durgeshwara, Meenamma’s father, who is a well-known periyatalay or leader of their village. The trailers refer to him as a don. Catchy soundtrack by Vishal Shekhar is climbing the charts.
“Madras Cafe” Starring John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, Rashi Khanna; directed by Shoojit Sircar; music by Shantanu Moitra.
After “Yahaan” and last year’s hit “Vicky Donor,” director Shoojit Sircar brings us a spy thriller set against the backdrop of the Sri Lankan civil wars of the 1990s. John Abraham is one of the film’s producers and stars as an Indian Intelligence agent who travels to a war ravaged coastal island. His intention is to disrupt a determined rebel group. He skillfully uses his resources to make significant advances, against an unknown enemy. The only instruction given to him is “don't get caught.” At various points, he meets a passionate international journalist, played by Nargis Fakhri, whose pursuit is to reveal the truth behind the civil war. While on this quest, a deep conspiracy by a faceless enemy of India is unearthed. Reportedly, Abraham lost a lot of weight to have more of a common man look for this part. Having made her debut in “Rockstar,” director Sircar has said this role will re-launch Nargis Fakri, who has performed her own action scenes in this entertainer.