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Foreign Films...

Posted: Thu May 01, 2003 10:24 pm
by JQ Public
I thought this was pretty neat. Being of indian descent i rarely get to see indian people on tv besides the cabby or apu of the simpsons. But turner classic movies is doing smthg pretty cool. So take a look if you have cable :) Here's an email i got from a friend. Hopefully the movies will be subtitled...and it has storylines anyone can relate to. Oh well...hope ya tune in...variety is the spice of life eh?! I'm excited :) :)

Starting on Thursday June 6th, every Thursday through the end of
>June Turner Classic Movies will be paying tribute to Bollywood. Every
>Thursday night they will be showing 3 Indian movies, the schedule is below.
> Indians are supposed to be the wealthiest ethnic group in America,
>but the only Indian on TV is Appu from the Simpsons and he is a cartoon
>(reference: The Guru). If we have so much money, why don't we have some sort
>of representation on TV?
> Here is our chance. You need to forward this to all of your friends
>and you/they need to watch. If the Indian community can demonstrate the
>ability to support things of interest to us, perhaps we could see a better
>representation on TV. Already, ABC has announced that Deepa Mehta (I think
>she is the one) will be writing/producing a television show that has an
>Indian family as the 'stars'. Let's support this event by giving TCM big
> ratings that night. Then perhaps the ratings will send a message to
>TV Progammers that it pays to cater to the Indian Community.
>
> JUNE 6th
> 8:00 PM
> Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) A young man follows the woman he
>loves to India to stop her arranged marriage. Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Amrish
>Puri.
> D:Aditya Chopra. 181m. LBX
> 11:30 PM
> Bombay (1995) Religious unrest threatens the marriage of a Hindu man
>and a Muslim woman. Arvind Swamy, Manisha Koirala, Nasser. D: Mani Rathnam.
>C 135m. LBX
> 2:00 AM
> Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) Three brothers separated at birth come
>together to track a kidnapper. Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan.
>D: Mammohan Dasai. C 162m.
> JUNE 13th
> 8:00 PM
> Rangeela (1995) A young actress' rise to stardom is
> complicated by conflicting affections for her co-star and her
>childhood sweetheart. Jackie Shroff, Aamir Khan, Urmila Matondkar. D: Ram
>Gopal Varma.
> 143m. LBX
> 10:30 PM
> Dil Chahta Hai (2001) Three friends have their lives transformed by
>love during one marvelous summer. Aamar Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna.
>D:
> Farhan Akhtar. 183m.
> 2:00 AM
> Sholay (1975) A vengeful police chief forces two small-time crooks
>to hunt down the bandit who destroyed his family. Dharmendra, Amitabh
>Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar. D: Ramesh Sippy. 200m.
> JUNE 20th
> 8:00 PM
> Pakeezah (1971) A free-spirited young woman refuses a prince's
>proposal for love of a man she only met once. Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari,
>Raaj Kumar. D:
> Kamal Amrohi. 146m. LBX
> 10:30 PM
> Junglee (1961) Young lovers defy the caste system to fight for
>happiness. Shammi Kapoor, Saira Banu, Helen. D: Subodh Mukherji. 140m.
> 1:00 AM
> Awaara (1951) A bitter young man vows revenge on the two men who
>destroyed his mother's life. Raj Kapoor, Prithvari Kapoor, Nargis. D: Raj
>Kapoor. 171m.
> JUNE 27th
> 8:00 PM
> Mother India (1957) A family struggles to survive the machinations
>of an evil moneylender. Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar. D:Mehboob Khan.
>174m.
> 11:00 PM
> Do Bigha Zamin (1953) Family members risk all in a move to Calcutta
>to raise money and save their land. Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy, Ratan Kumar.
>D: Bimal Roy. 125m.
> 1:30 AM
> Pyaasa (1957) A young poet searches the world for pure love. Guru
>Dutt, Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman. D: Guru Dutt. 141m.

Posted: Thu May 01, 2003 11:38 pm
by streetsoldier
JQ, don't you get HBO? They have shown two excellent Indian-produced movies within the last two months; "Kama Sutra", about the instruction of young courtesans and princesses in ancient India, and an extremely well-crafted version of Hermann Hesse's book "Siddhartha", set in the time of Gautama (Buddha). :wink:

(BTW, I have spent many, many happy hours delving into Vedic literature, inclusive of the "Bhagavad Gita" and "Srimad Bhagavatam", just for personal study; and I dare say we Westerners can learn much from the ancient texts, IMHO.) :D

Posted: Thu May 01, 2003 11:46 pm
by JQ Public
Wow! Actually i have seen "kama Sutra"! Wow what a movie hehe. I haven't seen "Siddhartha" but i have read the book in 10th grade english. Very good! These movies are some of the more popular Hindi Language movies from the past and present. Actually Bollywood (located in bombay) produces more movies than Hollywood! You may be surprised by many of the recent (especially 90's and 2000). Not to mention they are pretty lengthy so you definitly get your moneys worth hehe. Glad you are interested in Indian Culture! Sad to say I am more of a novice than you may think. Its definitly weird growing up in an non-native place (so to speak).

Posted: Fri May 02, 2003 2:08 am
by streetsoldier
My introduction to Vedic literature, as well as the Hindu cultures, came as a result of being awarded a "summer scholarship" when I was 12 to live and study with foreign exchange students at St. Louis University.

One was a Sikh, the son of an Indian general, who was working on his postgraduate degree in neophysics; and, in time, became a lifelong family friend and mentor.

Posted: Fri May 02, 2003 2:33 am
by M2
I've seen both of those movies also and would like to tape them. They are not only colorful, interesting and seeped in cultural mores a half-world away, but the acting is pretty good too. Kama Sutra is interesting also from the point of view that no matter in what culture you live, the issues and worries are exactly the same. Great flick.

Posted: Fri May 02, 2003 8:48 am
by Amanzi
JQ. Coming from Durban in South Africa there is a very large Indian community and they have been an integral part of the development of South Africa. They have a very big Bollywood following and normally in most of the malls at the cinema's they have a latest release from the Indian circut.

http://www.msn.co.za/entertainment/bollywood/

One of my very good friends from school (Prejhanthan) Looks the splitting image of you! I miss him heaps, also his moms cooking. My curry never tastes as good as hers :( even though I get all my spices sent to me from home :)

Posted: Fri May 02, 2003 7:12 pm
by JQ Public
Hahah uh oh bronnie! i have a twin :) I hope thats a good thing. Yes the indian population in Africa used to be even bigger from what i here. It has begun to wane in recent decades i believe. Glad you're so interested in the movies as well.

Yes...m2 the kama sutra movie is very interesting. It definitly shows you a different side of "sex" in the subcontinent. Its amazing to see such provacative stuff coming out a country that is pretty much known to be pretty reserved!

Posted: Fri May 02, 2003 7:24 pm
by breeze
Oh, I absolutely loved reading "Siddhartha" by Herman Hess!
A true classic! Back years ago, when I had the HUGE satellite
dish in the back, I would get a Hindi satellite channel with
classic Indian musicals, and, I watched it, often!

I will tune in, JQ - thanks for the tip!