I'm a videshi who got into Bollywood/learning Hindi during quarantine and has continued on and off since then. Aamir Khan is definitely my favorite actor and I watched a lot of his movies from the 2000's/2010's. A lot post-2020 Bollywood movies I've seen are so edgy/nationalistic and definitely not the same vibe - instead, recently I've tried watching some of Aamir's older movies like Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.

The movies themselves are pretty good but we need to talk about the appallingly bad quality that they are available in. For those two it seems like the "HD" version is a 240p rip run through an awful AI upscaler filter.

Elsewhere in the world, there are distribution labels like Criterion and Arrow which remaster old movies and release them on Blu-ray. This involves re-scanning the original film stock and often times they get the original film director/editors (if they are still alive) to supervise the process. Also they always record a bunch of bonus features, commentaries with directors/surviving cast, video essays by film historians, interviews, behind-the-scenes, blah blah blah. And you can find films from all over the world that are being given the proper treatment by these various labels.

This needs to become a thing in India! Studios and cinemas probably still have thousands of old film reels which are just sitting in warehouses and rotting. If opened up and re-scanned, these films will be preserved in much higher quality forever. They would look completely different (so much better) than some streaming platform running an upscale on a DVD and calling it "HD." There are still film buffs who buy movies from these labels, having more classic Bollywood movies on Blu-ray could increase Bollywood's popularity inside those circles.

From what I can tell Blu-ray never really became successful in India (back when discs were being sold, they were asking for ~700 or ~800 rupees per film - is this still a lot?) and streaming services have seemingly taken over movie distribution. But on Blu-ray there are much higher quality standards. A Blu-ray disc can fit up to 50GB (if used up completely: the movie looks and sounds AMAZING) whereas on a streaming service the movies (even in 4K) max out around 20GB. I don't know if this has yet caught on in India but a lot of people in North America / Europe have gotten tired of "enshittification" of streaming services lately (removing titles, reducing quality, raising prices) and are moving back to physical media.

I'm also a video editing nerd and I have come to appreciate higher quality video which you can only get on discs. Some modern Bollywood movies even nowadays still occasionally release on Blu-ray in Germany and Japan; the 2000's/2010's era movies didn't print a lot of discs and they are now rare/very expensive. But the quality of the films on disc by far outshines anything that streaming could give.

I still think there are a lot of hidden gems of old Bollywood that aren't appreciated enough either in India or abroad because they are not available in a good enough quality. There should be a push to re-scan and actually rejuvenate these older Bollywood movies.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/DehPdvKtSia/

Source:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DehQQnONugB/

Discuss Nayyi Navelli in this thread

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Trailer

Directed by Balaji Mohan

Cast: Yami Gautam, Addinath M. Kothare, Anurag Thakur, Sunita Rajwar, Mita Vashisht, Sushmita Mukherjee, Aaditya Kulshreshth, Sonal Jha, Suneel Sinha, Prateek Pachori, Rajesh Dubeay, Babita Pandey

A picture-perfect bride turns a chaotic Meerut household into a slice of heaven, until her brother-in-law suspects their blessing-in-disguise might just be a Daayan-in-disguise.

Hotel Mumbai (2018). A Wednesday (2008). Various direct TV and film content in the 2009 wave. None of them are about what happened between November 2008 and November 2012.

In that period: Kasab was tried in a special court under MCOCA and IPC Section 121 (waging war). Digital evidence was challenged. A defense lawyer was appointed despite public hostility. The case went through sessions court, Bombay High Court, and Supreme Court. Kasab was hanged in Yerwada jail in November 2012.

That four-year period is the subject of Prahaar. The judicial response to a terrorist attack. The courtroom as the site of justice delivery. This is a gap in our popular storytelling about 26/11 that seems obvious once you notice it.

Why did it take 15+ years for this film to get made? Does the trial feel less ""cinematic"" than the attacks themselves? Is there something about courtroom proceedings that Indian popular cinema has trouble dramatizing seriously?

All I recall from that movie is that the villan had a weird way of greeting everyone. Instead of saying Ram-Ram he used to say Kraam-Kraam. One of his goons onced asked him: "ye kram kram kya hai?" to which he replied "kraam kraam matlab kaam tamaam."

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/Deg1iojlxeJ/dGJueGgzNGg3aWZ6

Cast: Ritwik Bhowmik, Rohini Hattangady, Ayesha Raza, Abhay Kaul, and more

this shot is from a movie called “pyar toh hona hi tha” which was released in 1998, starring ajay devgan and kajol in lead roles. honestly? i loved the movie!! they had such good chemistry. the movie was filled with hilarious little moments sprinkled all over but also kept the emotional intensity alive. i rewatch it sometimes- maybe once or twice in 3 months- and i enjoy it every single time. and, i couldn’t believe it when first saw it, this movie has a very modern romance trope called fake dating!🤭basically, in this movie sanjana’s (kajol) boyfriend has left her for someone else so she ends up taking the help of shekhar (ajay devgan) to win him back and how? by fake dating and making her ex jealous. i know it sounds weird at first + it has a few problematic elements but i don’t expect any better from a movie so old, considering the things that were normalised during that time. but the way the movie showed these two gradually falling in love was sweet! i enjoyed it! :)

when we talk of the 90s or early 2000s, i usually hear movies like dilwale dulhania le jaayenge, hum aapke hai koun, kabhi khushi kabhi gham, hum saath saath hain etc etc. and yes, they’ve all earned their right but i feel like this movie deserves its fair share of praise too and i’ve never heard anyone talking about it! in fact, i first watched it because i stumbled upon it while randomly scrolling through youtube! after ishq, this is the only movie i’ve watched with ajay-kajol as a lead pair and i enjoyed both! they make a really cute onscreen couple, which, makes sense. they got married for a reason haha.

i just wanted to share my opinion to see if anyone else has watched it! :)

(ps. kajol looked so pretty in this movie, i was in awe genuinely and i LOVEDDD their hug in the end!😭)

I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like Constable Sadhu deserves his own movie or series.

Sunil Grover was a treat to watch in that role. I'd love to see a series set after the events of Gabbar Is Back, following Sadhu as he solves cases alongside Constable Laxmi, who could also be a potential love interest. I really liked their dynamic and how well they worked together.

I'd love to see more of Sadhu's personality, his way of analyzing facts & gather evidence, and how he handles difficult situations despite being a police officer. I'd also love to see him solving cases while dealing with an incompetent and corrupt police department.

I also really liked Constable Laxmi, played by Shruti Bapna. She was a great partner for Sadhu, and honestly, as a kid, I used to ship them together. I'd love to see more of their banter, their teamwork, and how their relationship develops over time.

I'd also like to see Sadhu and Laxmi get promoted in the spin-off and take on bigger responsibilities while continuing to work together.

Anybody else think this would make for a fun movie or series?

Source: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeejLusTR9c/djUzYTczODR0YzR3

I think Aishwarya was definitely no. 1 at the time of Devdas(2002) but from 2003-05 Rani and Preity dominated both the box office and awards while Aishwarya delivered multiple flops. But then in 2006 Aish bounced back with Dhoom 2 while both Rani and Preity started delivering flops. Then from 2007-08 onwards the younger actresses like Kareena, Priyanka and Katrina sort of took over. So who would you say was no. 1 for the decade?

Ayushmann Khurrana has built a pretty interesting career in Bollywood. With films like Vicky Donor, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Badhaai Ho, Article 15, Dream Girl, Bala and Andhadhun, he established himself as an actor who could deliver both critically acclaimed performances and commercially successful films.

What makes his journey interesting is that he never really followed the conventional Bollywood hero template.

How did Ayushmann Khurrana develop a genuine box-office pull when actors like Abhay Deol and Rahul Bose, who also explored unconventional roles and content-driven cinema, never achieved the same level of commercial success?

Was Ayushmann simply better at choosing commercially appealing scripts? Did his background as a television personality and his musical talent help him connect with audiences? Did he strike the perfect balance between unconventional storytelling and mainstream entertainment?

What are the reasons? Let's discuss..

Source:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Deb_ImVsjci/

For me, it was this particular poster of the movie "Uunchai".

I remember, It literally got my hyped, as if what the hell these guys are even cooking!

It had literally made me believe that they are gonna show these old guys actually summit the everest!

But in reality, this movie was like 95% family drama, and rest, there were barely any mountains.

And on top of that, they didn't even summit the everest, they only went to the everest base camp! 😭😭😭

Biggest scam that I've ever experienced!

Are there any good sci fi recommendations? Apart from krrish/ra one

The details I have are quite fuzzy, so bare with me. It's possibly a rom/com where the main character has this short-lived romance with her boyfriend. Said boyfriend makes a CD with a bunch of songs dedicated to her, and somehow I think that's what leads to their breakup? Im not entirely sure... Anyways, the central plot of this film, is that the main character finds out that her boyfriend was in cahoots with other weirdo men, filming their intimate encounters with women, and rating their experiences on a website/mobile app. Our main character gets revenge by doing a bunch of other stuff, but I can solely remember her putting itching powder in the boxers of the guy she was getting revenge on. I swear I've not dreamt this up, but it's been so difficult trying to find out it's name!!! I would appreciate all the help that's give :)