The Indian film fraternity has for years furnished us with movies: some celebrated while others quite appalling. With pleasure I put forward my chosen list of the former- my favourite Hindi Movies in chronological order: -
1) Mother India- It is a 1957 film written and directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raj Kumar. The film resembles Mehboob Khan’s earlier film Aurat(1940). The film came close to winning the Academy Award, but eventually lost to Federico Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria by a single vote. The well acclaimed score and soundtrack was composed by Naushad and lyrics penned by Shakeel Badayuni.’Mother India’ depicts rural life in India, post-independence- how the human spirit holds life together despite the tussles against acute poverty, natural calamities, estrangements, accidents(resulting in loss of limbs, deaths in a family) and an unscrupulous money-lending-leech. It is one of the few movies that has depicted the Indian Mother perfectly with her diginity, pride and strength of character and yet an unreflecting, unconditional love towards her children. A true classic!
2) Sholay- **It is a 1975 saga directed by Ramesh Sippy and starring Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan. R. D. Burman composed the music and lyrics were by Anand Bakshi. It tells the tale of two small time crooks called in by a revered village-veteran to fight the tyranny of a brutal dacoit. It tells of a village that realises that non-violence does not mean cowardice as it stands up to terror. We all must have seen Sholay several times and yet aren’t bored- it is the real face of Indian Masala Movies…
3) Mughal-e-Azam- **It is a 1960 epic directed by K. Asif and staring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala and Durga Khote. The marvelous music was composed by Naushad and lyrics penned by Shakeel Badayuni. It is the love chronicle of a commoner Anarkali and Prince Salim, the heir apparent. When his father Emperor Akbar finds out, he is livid and does his best to thwart the romance. Salim however is adamant and rebelliously leads an army against his father. He is defeated in battle and brought before Akbar who sentences him to death. Anarkali agrees to sacrifice her life for Salim to be spared, and after spending the night with him is taken to be entombed alive in a brick wall. It is here where the generous Akbar releases her secretly through the hidden recesses of the palace: keeping the king’s head high and the humanly soul as pure as ever. The greatest ending to an epic…
4) Aanand- **It was written and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and released in 1971. It starred Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. The musical score for the film was composed by Salil Choudhury; lyrics by Gulzar and Yogesh. The film is about a cancer patient who, despite knowing this fact, believes in living life to the fullest. Contrasting him is a sober doctor, upset with life and the dark reality of his nation. The film is a narrative, as the doctor writes in his diary how his friend stared at death and still inspired others to move on, unperturbed by miseries. Tears roll down from my eyes whenever I see this heart-wrenching gem from Hrishi Da…
5) Pyaasa- **It is a 1957 film produced and directed by Guru Dutt. The film tells the story of struggling poet, Vijay(Guru Dutt), trying to make his works known in post-independence India. Gulabo(Waheeda Rehman), a harlot with a heart of gold, eventually helps him get his poems published. The music was composed by S.D. Burman. Solemn but sincere portrayal of a beautiful script…
6) Do Bigha Zameen- **It is 1953 Bollywood film, directed by Bimal Roy and starring the great Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy in lead roles.(Music- Salil Choudhury, Lyrics- Shailendra). It is a story of a pitiable farmer and his family, living in a petite village - happy and content. His land becomes the target of a Zamindar’s ire when it comes in the way of a profitable venture. The farmer leaves for Calcutta where he engages himself as a rickshaw puller and his son as a shoeshiner. All endeavours go in vain when(in the last scene) he helplessly witnesses a factory being constructed on his land. An eye-watering magnum opus…
7) Lagaan- **It is a 2001 film based on an original story by Ashutosh Gowariker, was also directed by him. It was produced by Aamir Khan, who plays the lead role, and stars Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne in supporting roles. The acclaimed soundtrack for the film was composed by A.R.Rahman with lyrics by Javed Akhtar. The unique story is known to all, so I do not want to comment on it. It was nominated for an Oscar and if a Slumdog crap can earn half a dozen Academy Awards then it surely deserved a complete sweep. Anyway, with or without an Oscar it remains a great movie.
8) Do Aankhen Barah Haath- It **is a 1957 Hindi film directed by V.Shantaram, who also starred in the film alongside Sandhya. It is based on morals of Gandhian philosophy. It won a Silver Bear at the 8th Berlin International Film Festival and it was the first Indian film to win a Golden Globe Award.(Music- Vasant Desai, Lyrics- Bharat Vyas). The film questioned the integrity of society which believes in chastising people for criminal offences without offering them a chance. A Jailor takes a batch of hardened criminals, and begins his mission of reintegrating these criminals back into normal world. How he sacrifices his life for their cause which later leads to their redemption is worth a watch…
9) Deewar- It **is a 1975 classic directed by Yash Chopra, written by Salim-Javed, and starring Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor. The Soundtrack of the movie was composed by Rahul Dev Burman, and the lyrics were penned by Sahir Ludhianvi. Reflective of "the tumultuous politics of the early 70s" in India, Deewar tells the story of two impoverished brothers who, after their family is betrayed by the misplaced idealism of their father, struggle to survive on the streets of Mumbai- one becomes a underworld felon while the other a venerated police inspector. The dialogues of this movie are unsurpassed in my books…….
10) Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam- **It is a 1962 movie directed by Abrar Alvi. The film’s music is by Hemant Kumar and lyrics by Shakeel Badayuni. The film stars Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman and Nasir Hussain. The film is based on the Bengali book Shaheb Bibi Golam by Bimal Mitra, and is a look into the tragic fall of the haveli-dom in Bengal during the British-Raj… A landmark for many more scripts that followed this ageless work of genius…
11) Border- **It is a 1997 blockbuster based on the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. J. P. Dutta directed and produced this epic which stars inter alia Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty, Akshay Khanna, Punit Isaar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Pooja Bhatt, Sharbani Mukherjee and Tabu.(Music Director: Anu Malik; Lyricist- Javed Akhtar). The film is an epic, more so for its clear intervention into the hearts of martyrs and forgotten survivors, than the violence portrayed with perfection… A modern day classic!
12) Garam Hawa- It is a 1973 masterpiece directed by M. S. Sathyu, based on an unpublished short story by Ismat Chughtai and adapted for screen by Kaifi Azmi, who also wrote its https://lyrics. The film deals with the plight of a North Indian Muslim family, in the years post partition, as the film’s protagonist deals with this dilemma of whether to move to Pakistan or stay back. The film details the slow disintegration of his family, and is one of the most poignant films ever made on India’s partition.(Cast:- Balraj Sahni, Geeta Siddharth, Farooq Shaikh, Dinanath Zutshi)
CONTINUED IN COMMENTS.