A beauty pageant for OiG’s second birthday!

Yes, Old is Gold is exactly two years old, today. I’ve had so much fun in blogland that in the last two years, time just flew past! While the first year was the Year of Discovery (of all the great film-lovers and writers), the last year has been the Year of Fun! I’ve had a ball, discussing movies with all of you who stop by here, and at all my favorite blogs. The highlight of last year was getting to know all of you and meeting some of my favorite bloggers in person. Bolly-blogging zindaabad!!!

An occasion like this calls for a celebration of some sort. Cakes and champagne are so passé. No, I want a party, a BIG one, with lots of beautiful people. How about a beauty pageant? That would be fun, and there would be a parade of beautiful people. Its come to OiG’s attention that there are shocking gender inequalities in the eye-candy department. An injustice that we female bloggers have been doing our best to redress. But its not enough! For true gender equality, male beauty MUST be celebrated more openly, and men MUST be given more credit for their unsung contribution to eye-candy. A beauty pageant for beautiful actors - that is the obvious place to start. So lets have a beauty pageant that rewards beauty and brawn, instead of beauty and brains.

Since this is Old is Gold, we will naturally look to actors of yore. And since the 70s had the biggest compliment of hunks, thats where we'll focus our attention. The panel of judges for this competition is ALL OF YOU! I’ve listed the candidates in my order of preference, and the poll in the right sidebar allows you to pick your own Mr. Bollywood! So lets see who is walking the ramp tonight:

The glorious 70: a decade of Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Dil hai chhota sa chhoti si asha (the heart is small, it has a small desire) could have been written for the characters of Hrishida’s movies! They live in a small world, bounded by their domestic concerns. Their lives are lit up by the small joys of everyday living – a raise at work, a smile from a pretty colleague, India defeating Pakistan in a hotly contested cricket match… They have no large bungalows in London, no plushy revolving beds or shiny Mercedes convertibles. And yet, they have fun, there is laughter and joy in their lives, and more importantly, we have fun watching them go about their filmi lives.

If I had to describe the hallmark of all Hrishida’s movies in one sentence, I’d say that they make you happy. When you spend a couple of hours laughing and crying with one of his movies, you leave with a smile on your face and a firm conviction that the world is a lot better place than you imagined it to be! The optimism and the sheer joy of living that all his characters embrace - that is what makes his films so special.

My favorite filmi Mr. Rights!

The Valentine spirit is everywhere. From heart-shaped, diamond-studded pendants on special offer, to heart-shaped candy in heart-shaped boxes, and long-stemmed red roses - its hard to escape the “romantic” season. Naturally, that made me think of my filmi Valentine. An exhaustive search down memory lane turned up rather less material than I had hoped for! Most Bollywood heroes are too busy fighting bad guys and making up to their dost and/or Maa, to do more than sing the requisite “eve-teasing” number and romantic duet with their heroines. Any cherishing of the beloved, done in Hindi films, is usually done by the woman. Fortunately for us women, Hindi Cinema does bring us some men of substance and beauty, who take time off from saving the world (and/or bromancing their buddies) to pay attention to their lady-loves. Needless to say, thats where I looked for my filmi Mr. Right. And here they are – all top ten of them, in no particular order:

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).