Our next movie will be

Kal Ho Na Ho

Monday, Aug. 29

at 5:30 p.m. 

in Seminary Hall 231, 

You can see this for free! It has a moving story and lots of great musical numbers--

you'll love it!

Our next movie will be
Hala Bol

Monday, November 8, 2010

5:30 PM

Seminary Hall 231

As always, the movie and snacks that usually appear at the screening are all free and everyone is welcome. This is a movie with a strong message to get involved in fighting injustice. The title translates to "Raise Your Voice!" There is some violence, so we'll call this one a PG-rated film. As usual, it is in Hindi with English subtitles.

Our next movie will be Billu Barber

Monday, September 13, 2010

5:30 PM

Seminary Hall 231

This is a movie with a lot of good laughs and a sweet message. Wacky dance numbers feature Shah Rukh Kahn and various hot Bollywood "item girls." The story revolves around a rumor getting loose in a small village that the humble barber there knows a famous Bollywood actor. When that actor comes to town to film, the locals go crazy and make the modest barber's life difficult. Very amusing and G-rated.

Aaja Nachle

Monday, August 23, 2010

5:30 PM

Seminary Hall 231

free movie, free pizza

Here's what we said about this movie when we saw it for the first time this summer:

Brian Cowlishaw

This is a wonderful, sweet movie with lots of great musical numbers. Best of all is the show the townspeople present at the end; it goes about 30 minutes uninterrupted and is nicely done!

39 minutes ago ·

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

A very fun movie! Believable performances, good music, a delightful winning-people-over story. This would be a good first-time Bollywood movie for a beginner. It reminds me of the let's-put-on-a-show Hollywood musicals of the 30's.

6 minutes ago· ·

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

And I must add: a strong woman over the age of 30 is the main character. Yea!

Here's a lovely clip from the movie:

Delhi 6

Brian Cowlishaw

We loved this when we watched it last fall, and we love it even more now. I have a new appreciation for the cool soundtrack too. Watch it! Download the songs!

28 minutes ago ·

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

It's going to help if you know something more about about Indian culture than the food is spicy before watching though. Knowing a little something about the Ramayana and the history of Hindu-Muslim relations in Deli will make this easier to understand.

Pyaar Ishq aur Mohabbat

Brian Cowlishaw

Odd little film that grew on us as we watched. It felt like old-school Bollywood, for good and ill. I prefer Sunil Shetty as a villain.

33 minutes ago ·

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

Strange to see a movie with such clunky blocking: everyone standing in a line facing the camera like a high school play. It's a B movie for sure, but fairly enjoyable nonetheless.

Guru

Brian Cowlishaw

Kind of like a Bollywood version of Godfather 2. Really interesting, deeply ambiguous main character--ambitious in both good and bad ways; disadvantaged at the beginning but corrupt later, and explaining away his corruption as a kind of nationalism.

25 minutes ago ·

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

Very slick production, sophisticated use of image and sound. Not a morality tale, like most movies we see these stars in. There are a lot of conflicted Indian loyalty issues here. I think, in the end, it's an examination of what happens if a poor man works the system hellbent on winning. He's no more corrupt than the system. His personal relationships are kind, his business relationships are calculated--as interestingly shown in his changing relationship with his wife.

Raavan

This movie just opened June 18 and we went to see it at Tulsa's AMC Southgate 20. It would be difficult to appreciate this movie without knowing the traditional tellings of the Ramayana well -- not just the story but also the iconography because Bachchan is playing with the images of Raavan as the mad demon in his performance. It could read as weirdly over-the-top without keeping in mind the village performances of the Ramayana and Diwali celebrations in which the ten-headed Raavan is burned in effigy. If you think about these while watching (which is probably the only way Indians can watch it), it's a fascinating artistic endeavor. If you go to it thinking of Hollywood action movies, it's going to be a strange experience. In any event, it is a gritty and grimy experience in which both the hero and the villain are morally ambiguous.

You do need to have a stomach for violence to enjoy this experience. Maybe Indians go to see it like many American Christians go to see The Passion of the Christ, not seeing it as a gore-fest, but as the telling of an important story. (I can't judge because I find both unpleasant to watch.)

Still, it is visually spectacular though it could have been cut down to a 90-minute film without loosing much besides interesting camera work. We get a couple of wild dance numbers that feel reasonably integrated and natural. They will seem less contrived if you come to the film with some experience watching Bollywood films. -Bridget Cowlishaw

Kuch Naa Kaho

Brian Cowlishaw

Very sweet film. Lots of great song-and-dance numbers. Aishwarya Rai is always great dancing, but Abhishek Bachchan was especially good here too.

27 minutes ago ·

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

Sweet movie.

Black

• 

  Hide

  Brian Cowlishaw 5/5 stars. This movie has incredibly beautiful and metaphorically expressive art direction, and very impressive acting by Amiji, Rani, and the young girl (Ayesha something). One of the best Hindi films we've seen!

  Ayesha Kapoor is AMAZING in this film!

  

  Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

  This was visually stunning. Amitab was brilliant, Rani was charming. A very sophisticated film.

Veer Zaara

Brian Cowlishaw

What a great movie! We definitely want to show this one this fall for the OK Bollywood Club.

36 minutes ago

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

Real Bollywood melodrama with lovely messages about human fraternity -- and sorority!

Eklavya

Brian Cowlishaw

Interesting but not great. We expected a bit more with so many big stars involved.

May 9 at 10:28am

Tashan

Brian Cowlishaw

As Bridget remarked, we're just now experienced enough with Bollywood to get a lot of this movie. It's a wacky one!

May 18 at 9:31am

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

The over-the-top action sequences grew boring, but I'll say this movie has more laugh-out-loud moments than any movie I've seen lately.

May 18 at 11:48am ·

Brian Cowlishaw

This one is great for that, as are Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Bunty aur Babli (two films we showed the OK Bollywood Club this spring).

May 18 at 3:18pm

Brian Cowlishaw

All these are available at Netflix--that's where we get them.

May 18 at 3:18pm

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

Tashan is the funniest.

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

Brian Cowlishaw

Nice "old-fashioned" (Amitabh-era-style) Bollywood melodrama. Beautiful costumes, great music, and gorgeous Budapest pretending to be Italy.

May 22 at 12:29pm

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

A singing and dancing examination of the difference between falling in love as a girl and falling in love as a woman.

May 22 at 12:34pm ·

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

And I just have to say: Salman Kahn is annoying.

May 22 at 12:34pm ·

Brian Cowlishaw

He is pretty annoying, it's true.

Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam

Brian Cowlishaw

Eh. 'Sokay. Even the music wasn't that great, and I've had about enough of Salman Khan.

May 25 at 11:44am

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

I don't know if it's my love for SRK talking but, I was more in sympathy with his character than the wife's--which is clearly where the movie wants the audience to sympathize. Maybe it was Salman Kahn's perfection as the annoying guy who never goes away that made me want SRK to smack him...I don't know.

God Tussi Great Ho

Brian Cowlishaw

Call it 3.5. This is a Bollywood remake of Bruce Almighty. Not bad, but as other reviews noted, it takes a long time to get rolling.

Friday at 1:50pm

Brian Cowlishaw

By the way, my hero Amiji makes a great God.

Friday at 1:51pm

Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw

Salman Kahn is still annoying.

Friday at 3:08pm ·

Brian Cowlishaw

You got that right.