Raaj Mahal (1982) – swashbuckling masala fun!

I chose this one with my usual meticulous care and eye for a good movie. In other words, I took one look at Vinod Khanna+Neetu Singh on the DVD cover, gave a fan-girl squee and rushed to buy it, not bothering about the synopsis or other cast members. In the event, my hope that Vinod+Neetu would make up for every deficiency in the film wasnt quite fulfilled. There werent that many deficiencies to overcome! Its a fast paced swashbuckler, full of beautiful people, lovely songs, thrilling twists, and of course, tons of swordfights.

I am still around!

Those of you wondering whether I’ve taken a trip in my favorite time-machine and gotten trapped in the past, needn't wonder any more. I did go back to  the 70s and 80s briefly, but for the most part I’ve been very much stuck in the present - working and traveling! I have managed to get some serious movie watching done in the past few weeks and will resume posting soon. In the meantime, here’s a sneak-peek at my next post:

Dhund (1973) – murder in the mist

I had vague memories of watching this murder mystery years ago and enjoying it. But my memories hadnt prepared me for the dramatic fog (Dhund) of mystery that envelopes the film, or for all the stunningly beautiful people with homicidal tendencies that inhabit the fog-ridden world of this film!

Onward with the story… On a misty mountain road, a car meets with an accident and the driver, Shekhar (Navin Nischol), knocks on the door of the nearest house to get help. He finds the door unlocked and decides to walk in. Inside, he discovers the murdered master of the house - Ranjit Singh (Danny Denzongpa) - and the murderer holding the proverbial smoking gun. This is how good murder mysteries should begin. :-D When the camera moves to show the murderer, I’m not surprised that ‘he’ is a gorgeous woman – the script requires it! To make matters even more interesting, the gorgeous woman turns out to be none other than Ranjit Singh’s long-suffering wife Rani (Zeenat Aman).

Kali Ghata (1980) – Masala-Thriller

A murder mystery + a couple of good songs + Shashi Kapoor + Rekha x2 = great fun! I can wax eloquent about all the pretty in the movie or rant about the Shemaroo people who take to scissors a lot more efficiently than the Indian Censor Board, but will desist and tell you about the movie instead!

The opening sequence - a cold-blooded murder – sets the tone for the rest of the film. A man is shot dead in a hotel room by an unseen assailant. We learn later that he is Seth Satpal Singh, whose look-alike daughters Rekha (Rekha) and Rashmi (also Rekha) are also in deadly danger.