Totally Filmi

Kai Po Che (dir. Abhishek Kapoor, 2013)

katherine@totallyfilmi.com (Katherine Matthews) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:42:14 PST

There must be some irony in the fact that I attended the screening of Abhishek Kapoor’s latest film, Kai Po Che, with two female blogging pals, Dolce and Larissa – in fact, we discussed the fact that Indian cinema is overdue for a female version of the friends bonding/coming of age film. And no, Aisha doesn’t count. The fact that Kai Po Che’s English tagline is “Brothers for Life” announces in no uncertain terms that the film is following in the tradition of films like Dil Chahta Hai and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Fortunately, though, Kai Po Che doesn’t attempt...

Hindi Films of 2012

katherine@totallyfilmi.com (Katherine Matthews) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:08:57 PST

It was kind of an interesting surprise to go through my list of films I'd watched in 2012 to discover that I'd seen 48 Hindi language films (or 49, if you count one Indian film shot in English, which I'll include in this list): Players (dir. Abbas-Mustan, 2012) Good Night, Good Morning (dir. Sudish Kamath, 2012) Agneepath (dir. Karan Malhotra, 2012) Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (dir. Shakun Batra, 2012) Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya (dir. Mandeep Kumar, 2012) Jodi Breakers (dir. Ashwini Chaudary, 2012) London, Paris, New York (dir. Anu Menon, 2012) Kahaani (dir. Sujoy Ghosh, 2012) Chaurahen (dir....

Delhi Safari (dir. Nikhil Advani, 2012)

katherine@totallyfilmi.com (Katherine Matthews) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 08:57:19 PST

In director Nikhil Advani’s latest film, Delhi Safari (his foray into animation), a group of wild animals find themselves under threat from a housing development that begins destroying their jungle habitat. When the leopard Sultan is shot trying to protect his cub, Yuvi, the animals decide to leave and find a new place to live. But Yuvi has other plans. He convinces Bagga (a bear) and Bajrangi (a monkey) to help him kidnap Alex, a parakeet living in comfort in the home of his owner (a Bollywood director). Alex, it seems, is the one animal who has the ability to...

MouchoPrema: Sometimes the Universe Hands it to You on a Platter

katherine@totallyfilmi.com (Katherine Matthews) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 07:33:13 PST

I was mulling over what I would possibly contribute to MouchoPrema -- I had made a few notes of things in various films, but couldn't find where I'd put the screencaps I'd made. Then I just happened to watch the Malayalam film Mayamohini, which I'd been meaning to get around to watching for a while now, and I hit MouchoPrema gold! In the film, Balakrishnan (Biju Menon) and his friend Lakshmi (Baburaj) go to Mumbai to work out a deal with rich businessman Patella. There, they meet Patella's daughter, Maya, with whom Balakrishnan becomes smitten. This, of course, leads to...

The Bright Day (dir. Mohit Takalkar, 2012)

katherine@totallyfilmi.com (Katherine Matthews) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 18:00:19 PDT

“Isn’t it unfortunate that you still don’t know where your heart lies?” says Shiv’s father to him. Shiv’s parents are worried about him. At twenty-three he is coddled and a little cocky, and totally aimless. But Shiv agrees with his father, so it’s perhaps not surprising that he sets off on what turns into a very personal and spiritual journey, a journey that shows the progress of his soul as he tries to figure out what his life means and what it is worth. It’s a drastic step, and one that has consequences, both for Shiv (Sarang Sathaye), and for...

Talaash Trailer! With English Subtitles! Woohoo!

katherine@totallyfilmi.com (Katherine Matthews) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:57:45 PDT

I know, I know, who has time to think about this in the middle of TIFF2012? But! Talaash! English subtitles!

Miss Lovely (dir. Ashim Ashluwalia, 2012)

katherine@totallyfilmi.com (Katherine Matthews) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 07:12:01 PDT

Documentary filmmaker Ashim Ashluwalia makes his transition to feature films with this story of the two brothers, Sonu (Nawazuddin Sidiqqui) and Vicky (Anil George) who work making lurid and sleezy (and highly illegal, given the censorship and repression of the times) schlock horror and porn films in 1980s Bombay. Vicky is the ambitious one of the pair, working out deals with gangsters when he isn’t trying to sidestep their hold on the distribution of his product. Sonu is the more hapless, almost dimwitted, and decidedly passive brother, who harbours a dream to create something different, a romantic film that he...

Peddlers (dir. Vasan Bala, 2012)

katherine@totallyfilmi.com (Katherine Matthews) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 18:35:13 PDT

Vasan Bala’s first feature film, Peddlers, follows the lives of three unrelated individuals whose lives gradually intersect: Mac (Siddharth Menon), a streetwise orphan who deals drugs and does odd jobs; Bilkis (Kriti Malhotra), a young former chemistry teacher with cancer who comes to Mumbai to work as a drug mule, and eventually gets work in the factory where the drugs are manufactured; and a cop, Ranjit,(Gulshan Devaiah) with a reputation as a seducer, but whose impotence drives him to sudden outbursts of rage. Mac meets and falls for Bilkis, and the two of them begin to develop a tentative relationship....

English Vinglish (dir. Gauri Shinde, 2012)

katherine@totallyfilmi.com (Katherine Matthews) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 08:16:59 PDT

Note: this is my personal blog, these are my views. If you don't want to know anything about English Vinglish before the film comes out, then I suggest you don't read any further, and just wait for the film to come out. Also, don't watch the trailer. Almost everything I say here is in the trailer, so if knowing even that much upsets you, don't watch it. Early morning. A family chats around the breakfast table. The conversation touches on the typical day-to-day stuff familiar to any family, but as the scene unfolds, we notice one difference: much of the...

Gangs of Wasseypur (Part 2, with some reference to Part 1, dir. Anurag Kashyap, 2012)

katherine@totallyfilmi.com (Katherine Matthews) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 07:50:59 PDT

Part 1 of director Anurag Kashyap’s sprawling family saga of power and revenge did two very important things: it introduced the character of Faizal Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), and it left me with a definite appetite to see Part 2. I had the chance to do just that a screening held in advance of the presentation of both parts at TIFF 2012. Part 2 begins where Part 1 left off, with the death of Sardar Khan (Manoj Bajpai). Part 2 sees his eldest son, Danish (Vineet Kumar), begin to take over the reins, and exact punishment for his father’s assassination, but...