ParagDesh Reviews

Intezar (1973)

A hidden gem

[7/10 · 31 August 2020]

Simple but touching story. A rich brother and sister. Brother's friend (Satyen) visits them and romance is just about to burgeon. But the girl has some psychological issues, her mom was abused by the drunk father. So she does not reciprocate. There is also a nice housemaid girl who gets impregnated by the lecher brother. The brother refuses to take any responsibility. A somewhat slow Bholu, a servant in the house bravely marries the maid to make the society happy. The brother leaves the town.

Satyen is determined to see to it that the maid gets her legitimate status. He confronts the brother.

After some friction and misunderstandings, everything gets sorted out. Everyone except Bholu, the guy who was big hearted to play the husband goes back to being the servant.

A very nice Kishore Kumar song "chanda ki kiranon se lipti hawayen". I S Johar's comedy is hilarious and also profound at times. It's not just slapstick comedy. This actor was really talented.

Other actors are somewhat obscure and not mainstream but they do a decent job in my opinion.

Humkadam (1980)

Simple but very touching story!

[10/10 · 1 August 2020]

It looks like this is based on Satyajit Ray's Bengali movie. Very simple but interesting story. A wife starts working at the behest of her husband because her in-laws and sister-in-law have moved into their home. They need to augment their income so reluctantly, the wife agrees to work. Slowly, she becomes good at her job and starts earning a decent salary. But the father-in-law, being old-fashioned does not like his now working daughter-in-law. He believes that women should stay home. Later, the husband loses his job. He and his father get even more upset and frustrated and start picking on the lady. Things become bad but soon a small climax happens and everything is sorted out. This prejudice against woman working vanishes and everyone is happy. Direction is amazing. A very simple, middle-class dwelling, simple family. Their attire, language, furniture in the house perfectly reflects a middle-class family. Actors are just amazing. Rakhee is the best. Parikshit Sahni, A. K. Hangal and Deena Pathak are great too. Madan Puri shines in his small role. Biswajit and Helen play roles which are different from their usual mold. The movie is entertaining, interesting. Gives a powerful message. Perfectly made. That's why it gets 10/10 from me!

Contract (2008)

Really pathetic. Bakwas!

[3 December 2019]

Actors are bad. Story is weak. Dialogues are dull and boring. Not very convincing plot. Gang war, don, hero losing wife and kid in a blast, infiltrator, love affair etc. You get the gist pretty quickly. The loud mouth guy who owns a posh yacht is a totally misplaced character.He keeps making noise about being the king of Mumbai. Keeps sending some dud assassins to kill his rivals and always fails. How can such a guy be worth anything? And then the hero comes and kills him like killing a fly. No conflict, no fight, nothing! A very pathetic subplot. The usual ugly, bearded, scary looking terrorists are shown as dumb as a doorknob. Ram Gopal Verma should stop making movies and find something else to do. Extremely weak and predictable plot. In order to show the hero to be tha master, they shown the rest of crew to be so stupid that the whole story becomes laughable. There is one encounter man. Without establishing him as anyone worthy, they have shown him running around naked, being chased by the hero, then grabbing a saree from a mannequin and trying to put it on. All very poorly done. Stay away from this movie.

Takkar (1980)

Pretty disappointing movie

[3/10 · 25 October 2019]

Big stars, Sanjiv Kumar, Jeetendra, Zeenat Aman, Vinod Mehra, Ashok Kumar. But not much story. Not at all convincing. A golden statue is being loaded in the train in its luggage car. After loading one statue, for some unconvincing reason, the priest in charge of the statues decides to carry a huge statue of Ram with him. Sanjiv Kumar and Zeenat Aman are passengers in the same train in the same car (of course!). It turns out that Sanjiv Kumar is in fact a bad guy. Other bad guys show up and hijack the train compartment somehow and try to steal the statues. The hapless priest is killed. Then SanjivK has a change of heart. He and ZeenatM manage to rescue the passengers and the statue in a mini bus. But soon they are chased by the bad guys and the statues are again back to the bad guys. Very flimsy and shoddy direction. Then Zeenat Aman is advised by now good guy Sanjiv K to talk to the police and go back home. SanjivK, being a wanted criminal runs away and ends up at a huge estate owned by his long lost family. Then there is some sentimental drama with his father (Ashok Kumar) who is now an alcoholic because he lost his son. Jeetendra is a bad guy who is Ashok Kumar's other son and by the way, they also have a sister Bindiya Goswami! There is some half-hearted comedy by Asrani and Mukri. Ashok Kumar after some senty dialogues, decides to hire SanjivK as a manager. Then somehow, SanjivK gets blamed for a theft which was committed by another bad guy. He is jailed, then he escapes. Then the bad guys kidnap the sister, There is a big fight and some stupid suspense about who is the real bad guy. The climax is where the heroes and the villains sing a song about how a statue of Ganesha is in fact hiding a huge treasure inside its body. Pretty sorry affair! Then the immersion of the huge Ganesh idol followed by re-hoisting with a crane on a ship. A big fight on the ship and then eventually, bad guys lose and good guys win!

Not much of a story, not much of direction. R D Burman has managed to create a very mediocre music for this movie. Sanjiv Kumar is not good, Jeetendra, Ashok Kumar, Vinod Mehra, all are so so. Jayaprada and Zeenat Aman look great. But again, not much role other than to look glamorous. The location is really good. Somewhere in the south. Very lush green with fog and great landscapes. But that's the only good thing about the movie!

Sankoch (1976)

Loved it!

[8/10 · 29 June 2018]

This is not a high budget drama with spectacular scenes or with lots of actions But it's a very good family drama. A very realistic portrayal of relations between people from middle class and how it can take a very dramatic turn.

A man and a woman who grew up in the same neighborhood and were friendly to each other have tender feelings for each other. But due to the reticence or shyness, they never express their feelings. The mostly platonic relationship undergoes a rollercoaster ride. It could have easily ended as a tragedy but the director chose not to do it.

I really loved Sulakshana Pandit in this movie. The innocence, loyalty in love and sorrow, all expressed very powerfully by this actress and she is beautiful! A song sung by her "Bandhi re kahe preet" is very melodious and apt. Jeetendra, Vikram, A. K. Hangal, Om Shivpuri acted fine. Somewhat melancholy story but worth watching.

Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Dobara (2013)

Bad, very bad!

[1/10 · 19 October 2017]

The story does not seem to move. Akshay Kumar is pathetic as a gangster who pretty much rules the whole city of Mumbai. Not at all convincing.

Imran Khan is annoying and fake. He can't speak like a tapori guy who grew up on the streets of Mumbai would. Very lame.

Sonakshi Sinha appears mentally challenged! She is supposed to be from Kashmir but does not have any Kashmiri accent whatsoever. She is supposed to be someone who does not know much English and there is too much pathetic humor about the word intercourse. Why does this poor-English-person not own a dictionary? Is that too much to expect? Also, she seems to be visiting most seedy places frequented by most notorious scoundrels and their henchman all by herself! Does her mom have no concerns for the safety of her oh-so-so-innocent daughter? Her pretentious innocence is a real torture to watch. Not worth it. Just stay away from it!

Manzil Manzil (1984)

Dull and boring. Nasir Husain disappointed me

[3/10 · 30 December 2016]

I respect the name Nasir Husain when it comes to entertainment. Starting with Tumsa Nahin Dekha, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Teesri Manzil, Pyar Ka Mausam, Caravan, Yadon Ki Baraat, it's a big list of great movies directed and written by him. But this movie despite being directed by the maestro, is very disappointing. The story is not very gripping or convincing, acting is bad. Sunny Deol and Dimple are really bad. Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Danny, Tariq are also very so-so. The songs are not up to the mark. Nasir Husain movies were legendary for the amazing music but not this. Talented RD Burman failed to make any impact here.

An old friend Gautam (Danny) of Malhotra (KulbhushanK) helps him to start a factory and mysteriously vanishes. And then Malhotra is weeping for his long lost friend. However, how come Gautam has no relatives? How come when Malhotra publishes ads after ads in newspapers, Gautam's wife and son don't see those ads? There is no explanation for any of this. How does Das (Prem Chopra), a big villain, wanted by cops become friends with a shrewd businessman like Malhotra? No explanation. Comic relief is pathetic. It's no wonder that this movie flopped at the box office.

NH 10 (2015)

Intense and gripping

[9/10 · 27 November 2016]

After a first few minutes, it felt like a typical modern romantic movie but it quickly changes into an intense, action-filled and quite realistic thriller.

Based on the concept of honor killings in rural areas of Haryana. Here the people are willing to kill their own kin if they dare to cross the caste lines to protect the "honor" of their caste. The village, the language spoken by the locals, the surrounding vegetation looks very authentic. One of the police officers succinctly points out the differences between the rural mindset and the urban mindset which are physically separated by just a few miles.

The end is somewhat less credible. But the movie is a great experience. More similar to a Hollywood movie than a typical Bollywood flick.

I loved it. All the characters seem quite authentic.

Hats off to the director!

Fox (I) (2009)

Really bad movie!

[1/10 · 23 October 2016]

Everything about the movie is sloppy. To establish the credentials of the main character, they show a case where he proves that the murdered lady was a person of low character and that the sex was consensual. The argument is so lackluster that it fails to impress. It does not make Arjun Rampal appear as a brilliant lawyer. At least they could have added some legal terminology to his dialogues, they could have made the case slightly tricky to underscore the skills of the defense lawyer. Arjun Rampal was bad as a lawyer, not very convincing. His language or body language does not convince me that he is a lawyer. He might as well have been a cop or paid assassin or even a model!

When he goes to Goa, he meets the author of Fix the Fox, a book that is supposed to be a masterpiece! First of all, the name is ridiculous! I could not even figure out why this title? And every character that picks up the book or the manuscript always praises the title! Sagarika Ghatge is slightly OK. The other lady is pathetic! She is supposed to be the owner of a publisher house, she appears to be an item song girl or some such pathetic profession! No effort is made to make her look like a publisher.

Sunny Deol is awful. He does not suit the role of a police officer with a Marathi name.

Direction is bad. The story does not move very fast. I miss the days when brilliant directors like Goldie Anand used to make people sit on the edge of their seat throughout the movie.

The climax is awful and unconvincing, just like the rest of the movie! I hope the movie flopped at the box office.

Do Yaar (1972)

Mediocre B grade movie

[3/10 · 17 October 2015]

A very cheesy revenge drama. One guy (Vinod Khanna) who is mad for revenge becomes close friends with the very person he is hoping to kill Shatrughan! How plausible is that! Only in Hindi movies. As usual his sister ends up in a brothel (as was customary in those days, hero's sister only had three options: either get raped, have a kid out of wedlock or be a courtesan at a brothel!).

Rekha is conveniently in a sister-like relation with Shatrughan becomes Vinod Khanna's lover. There is the usual bad rich guy after poor but honorable slum dwellers. And of course our hero duo comes to the rescue!

Generally, if you can leave your thinking cap at home you maybe able to enjoy this flick. But there is nothing great about it. Songs are so- so. Action is pretty fake. Even Rekha is pretty bad. Only Shatrughan Sinha does OK.

The basic premise on which the movie is based is so fake and hollow that there is not much one can do about it.

Man Mandir (1971)

A decent tearjerker from the 70s

[7/10 · 5 October 2015]

A poor but honest taxi driver Deepak is the main character. To establish his honesty credential, he destroys a gambling game in progress and then proceeds to lecture his friend on ills of gambling. Pretty quickly he gets married to Krishna (Waheeda Rehman). Another parallel story is that of a jeweler who is rich but honest played by David. His well covered wife who is the butt of all weighty jokes and her clown, loafer brother who does not miss an opportunity to address his bro-in-law as Taklu (baldy) or saale!

One fine day the honest rich guy forgets his bag filled with Rs 10000 in the honest poor guy's taxi. The rest is pretty decent. Lots of sadness. Some comedy. Decent collection of songs. I liked it.

Jeet (1972)

Fun movie with several holes in the story

[6/10 · 23 August 2015]

A brother sacrifices his career for raising his sister. Right from childhood, he becomes a horse carriage driver (tangewala). Marries her sister into a nice family. But what a coincidence! The family's head was allegedly murdered by hero's dad. So the nice family kicks the sister out and she is pregnant, what a shame!

The brother goes berserk and starts beating up folks. Gets jailed for 6 months, what a coincidence! Runs into his father. After realizing that his father was falsely convicted due to a plot conducted by bad guys, the son swears revenge to cure the injustice.

Very flimsy plot to trap the bad guys and make them confess and then everything returns back to normal. Bad guys punished, good guys rewarded, everyone happy.

Randhir Kapoor as tangewala is not very convincing, does not look poor, Babita as nomadic (banjaran), please! Too fake. But the story moves fast. Rajendranath acts his usual stupid self. A few songs are good. The action scenes are OK.

Family values, comedy, action, music, dances, everything is there. Not an outstanding movie but a typical 70s movie. That's when heroes did not touch alcohol, only villains did! Wife from decent home does not divorce even after getting kicked out of the house, she meekly touches her mom-in-law's feet and leaves the house.

If you like stuff like that, then worth watching once.

Samadhi (1972)

Very nice 70s movie

[8/10 · 1 July 2014]

I won't repeat the story as other reviewers have described it well. Samadhi signifies the monument constructed by Dharmendra Sr. in memory of his beloved wife.

Dharmendra has acted well as a dacoit turned into a hard working yet unlucky man. The young, modern, dashing Dharmendra is also equally convincing. A very touching story focused on the senior Dharmendra.

Songs are beautiful. Kaata laga, jab tak rahen, jaan-e-jaanaa are all very melodious songs composed by RD. Overall, definitely worth watching once. Asha Parekh, Jaya Bhaduri have done a good job. Villain Madan Puri is passable.

Overall, it's a typical 70s movie. With action, songs, some comedy.

Suddenly (2013)

Bad direction

[2/10 · 14 February 2014]

I loved the situation. A small town, frustrated ex-military cop. But then the movie goes downhill pretty quickly. Story does not move at all. The end seems to be rushed. Climax is really tepid. Predictable and flat dialogs, the characters, especially the villains are not described in enough details. It feels like the director gave up halfway through the movie.

I loved the situation, a small, sleepy, snowy town. But the rest was totally so-so. The story had a great potential. It is sad to see it being wasted like this. The 1954 original was much better.

The actors also did not do justice. Liotta was just OK not very convincing. Erin Karpluk was good. Pidge and his grandpa were better. The rest of the actors were bad.

Mela (2000)

Really awful!

[1/10 · 8 January 2014]

Acting (including Aamir Khan) is either bad or loud or both. The story is not very gripping. Twinkle Khanna sealed her fate as a failed actor with this movie. She has an amazing complexion. But the rest is plain bad. Despite having superstar parents, she does not have any talent as actor. Faizal Khan is boring. Just showing off muscles does not amount to acting. The villains are unreal and ugly. Blatantly plagiarizing the scene from Dumb and Dumber was done badly (I never thought this was possible!). The mela title song is tooooooo long and repetitive. I wonder what was the director thinking?

The whole movie is a waste of time. Not worth watching.

The Hunting Party (2007)

Just OK

[2/10 · 13 April 2013]

I am not familiar with the history of Serbia and neighboring countries but both the historic aspect and cinematic aspect seem to be poorly handled in this movie. Maybe the producer has some agenda here.

Three people hunting for a dangerous criminal in a dangerous place. Without any planning whatsoever!

Hunt's friend who has pretty much moved on suddenly decides to throw away his career and join Hunt in this wild goose chase! Not at all convincing.

Very weak story. Also portraying Muslims of Bosnia as good folks and Serbians as bloodthirsty scums seems unfair. It's unlikely that in a war things could be so black and white.

Gaddaar (1973)

Worth watching

[8/10 · 15 November 2012]

Solid cast. Pran, Iftekar, Anwar Hussain, Madan Puri, Vinod Khanna, Ranjit all are good. The plot is good. Probably based on some English crime novel. Unlike a typical Hindi movie, there are no clear heroes and villains. There are shades of gray which is unusual and makes the movie worth watching. Also, every character seems to have something special in him in spite of so many of them. Snowy locations are rare in Hindi movies and are spectacular in this.

They have blatantly plagiarized the title music of For a Few Dollars and used it a lot. I am not sure if they gave credit to the original music director. But that shows lack of originality. Although the music suits the movie quite well.

The plot is not easy to guess and makes the movie interesting.

Jahan Pyar Miley (1969)

Beautiful Hema, smart Shashi!

[6/10 · 5 August 2012]

The movie is about a young guy who has amnesia. He has trouble finding his identity, his religion, even his name. So he starts following all the religions, uses different name for each too! And then everyone gets angry with him. Because he is not loyal to them!

The director has used amnesia in a very interesting way. He makes the hero teach the philosophy of tolerance using his amnesia. Very imaginative.

Shashi Kapoor has done a good job. He speaks Urdu when he is a Muslim and a different Hindi when he is a Hindu. Very nicely played.

The story has the usual twists and turns and some conflict. Nothing too spectacular. It's a typical 70s family story. Rich people bad, poor people good stuff.

Hema Malini looks really beautiful. One of her early movies. She has played her role well.

One thing is very confusing. As though it is a law, every Christian character in the movie speaks bad Hindi. "hum kaam karane ko nahi sakta" instead of the correct version. Why? Do Christians really speak bad Hindi? Is this really necessary? Why stereotype them so much?

Nasir Hussain, Nadira, even Narendar Nath are OK too.

Songs are decent.

Chalte Chalte (1976)

Superb songs, so-so movie

[4/10 · 5 August 2012]

Bhappi Lahiri's music is great. "Kabhi alvida na kahna", "Pyaar me kabhi kabhi", "Jaana kaha hai" and a few others are great. Bhappi Lahiri was a budding music director in those days and he has produced unforgettable compositions for this movie.

But the movie itself is so-so. The hero of the film is pretty mediocre. Naazneen looks good (especially in the green bikini!) but otherwise pretty tepid acting. Simi Garewal is slightly better.

The direction is bad. The story had enough strength to make a powerful, suspense movie but the director failed. The secret on which the movie is based is revealed in a very plain way. The movie becomes very predictable and the end is disappointing.

Surprisingly, there is no comic relief other than a servant saying "haaloooooooooooo" while answering phone! Really annoying!

Mere Huzoor (1968)

OK. Disappointing end

[5/10 · 5 August 2012]

Has a fairly good depiction of Lucknow's Muslim culture. The dialogs, costumes do appear authentic Urdu. Jeetendra, Mala Sinha, Raj Kumar are good at delivering dialogs and acting.

The story is a love triangle with Raj Kumar playing the role of humble loser.

The first half of the movie is interesting. But later it just loses its grip.

Jeetendra's sudden downfall is somewhat puzzling and abrupt. There is no explanation on why he falls for a tawayaf and why does not repent and return back to his normal life.

Johnny Walker is OK as a comic relief. I only liked one song, the title song.

Mala Sinha looks somewhat old.