Any India "Bollywood" DVD's like Moulin Rouge to recommend? (1 Viewer)

[Sanjay Gupta]

Since the original intent of this thread was to get a few recommendations of films from Bollywood, with the criteria being music and dances, here goes:
In no particular order:
Asoka (Excellent DVD released by Metrodome, UK. Region 0, PAL, Anamorphic OAR, DD5.1)
Dil Se (DVD a mix bag from DEI/Eros. Excellent DD5.1 sound, Non Anamorphic Letterboxed incorrect Aspect Ratio)
Taal (Eros DVD rereleased with Anamorphic OAR, Decent DD5.1)
Dil To Pagal Hai (DVD from YashRaj Films, Non Anamorphic Letterboxed OAR poor quality Video, Decent DD5.1)
Rangeela (DEI version, Non Anamorphic Letterboxed OAR, Remixed DD5.1)
Mast (Eros DVD, Non Anamorphic Letterboxed OAR, Decent DD5.1)
Jeans (DEI/Eros DVD, Non Anamorphic Letterboxed incorrect Aspect Ratio, Very Good DD5.1)
Kaho Na Pyar Hai (DEI DVD, Anamorphic OAR, Good DD5.1)
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (DEI version DVD, Anamorphic OAR, Good DD5.1)
Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (YashRaj Films DVD to be released March 8th, Expected Anamorphic OAR, DD5.1)
Other good films (not neccesarily for the music or dancing)
Monsoon Wedding (DVD not released yet. Currently showing in theaters in the US)
Sholay (DEI/Eros DVD, Non Anamorphic Letterboxed OAR, Dolby Pro Logic)
Satya (DEI/EROS DVD, Non Anamorphic Letterboxed incorrect Aspect Ratio, Good DD5.1)
Dil Chahta Hai (Soven/Spark DVD, Anamorphic OAR, Good DD5.1)
Mughal-E-Azam (Bombino DVD, Full Frame OAR, Mono)
Anand (DEI DVD, Full Screen OAR, Mono)
Roja (DEI DVD, Anamorphic OAR, Mono)
Bombay (DEI/Eros DVD, Non Anamorphic Letterboxed incorrect Aspect Ratio, Mono)
1942 A Love Story (DEI/Eros DVD, Non Anamorphic Letterboxed incorrect Aspect Ratio, Mono)
Mission Kashmir (DVD to be released by Columbia, Expected Anamorphic OAR, DD5.1))
PS: Typically (90%) Indian films are around 2hrs 30 min to 2 hrs 40 min. Only a handful of films are actually longer than 3 hrs. Lagaan actually is the second longest Indian film after 'Mera Naam Joker'.
Sanjay
Member since 1997

 

[Michel_Hafner]

kaho na pyar hai was made purely to introduce te director's son a movie star. waste of time, although the

dvd is among the best in desiland.

Well, different strokes for different folks. It's the DVD

that got me interested in Bollywood films on DVD. If you

look for good song numbers and romance this one is definitely to consider.

Biggest Indian box office hit of 2000.

Michel Hafner

 

[Jim Long]

I'm just gonna put it out there...
Lagaan WILL win the best foreign film oscar...

Wishful thinking. I think India deserves the "nod" on this finally, but with Amelie and No Mans Land being the popular choices I don't expect this to win.
For some of my meager choices:
101 Guide to Asian Cinema
Like many of you I wish the quality of DVD would improve. I have seen some real improvements though in the last 12 months. Along with Lagaan the first international release of quality there are also fairly good releases such as Dil Chahta Hai and Mohabbatein. I'm also looking forward to seeing Monsoon Wedding when it gets a DVD release.
Jim

 

[Brajesh Upadhyay]

Another vote for "Dil Se" -- wonderful cinematography, songs by the talented AR Rahman & dancing. The DD5.1 audio is fantastic! The picture is only okay, with noticeable compression artifacts (worse in later parts of the movie).
"Sholay", considered an Indian classic, is also quite good. It's a good ol' good guys vs. bad guys western-type story.
I also recommend the following culture-clash movies:
- "American Desi" - Two-disc DTS DVD coming later this year
- "Mississippi Masala" - With Denzel Washington & Roshan Seth. On laserdisc & VHS only; no DVD yet
- "Bhaji on the Beach" - Brit-made movie. VHS only; no DVD yet
- "My Beautiful Laundrette" - Brit-made movie w/Daniel Day Lewis. UK DVD only
- "Monsoon Wedding" - Terrific! Now playing in NYC & LA; read my review here

 

[Talal]

While we're on this topic... some of you may want to delve into the realm of tamil films..

I don't understandd the language(thank god for subtitles!), but there are some good movies in this department.

Anything directed by Mani Ratnam is basically good. Plus the DVDs realeased by Ayngaran kick the bollywood dvd market in the butt.

I suggest checking out Alaiy Payuthey if you want a great movie to watch. Songs are amzing, as is the story and overall filmmaking. DVD is good, with anamorphic presentation.

If you want a good, fun, entertaining flick, try Kandukondain Kandukondain. Unfortunately a cropped 1:1.85 image, but a sharp one nonetheless, and great sound. (story is basically same as Sense and Sensibility) also too bad no subtitles on the songs.. they were really good.

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

Monsoon Wedding has been garnering a lot of praise from the critics worldwide. Now that the film has been released in the US, the film is receiving the same kind of praise from the US critics. USA Today review - Tradition, laughter reign in 'Monsoon'!
Ebert & Roper give Monsoon Wedding 2 thumbs up.
Roger Ebert commented that Monsoon Wedding could well be the first Indian cross-over film into western mainstream cinema. Richard Rooper said that "Monsoon Wedding is one of the best films he's seen in the last few years". In conlusion they said that, Non-Indians should take this opportunity to go see different cinema for once, and that Monsoon Wedding would be a wonderful choice, since it is "one of the most entertaining films playing in cinema right now". Roger Ebert's review of MONSOON WEDDING!( *** 1/2 )
Regarding Lagaan, it too continues to gain momentum in its run at the Oscars and also praise from more quarters. USA Today - Hooray for Bollywood, and India's 'Lagaan'!
Sanjay
Member since 1997

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

Monsoon Wedding is now showing accross theaters in the US & Canada. It was released on the 22nd of February in the US on 2 screens and in it's second week of release it expanded to 11 screens. After generating the best per-theater average in North America two weeks running, USA Films' Monsoon Wedding expands into the top fifteen markets in its third week (8th March). The film has grossed over $300,000 from just 11 theaters and is expected to leap into the top 30 this weekend while still playing in limited release. It seems the ditributors are slowly expanding it's release nationwide and therefore if the film is not showing in your area yet, then it probably will soon.

Sanjay

Member since 1997

 

[Enrique B Chamorro]

I just watched Lagaan and loved it!

It reminds me of the fun time I had when I first saw

"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" both films were so much

more than what I expected.

I will check just what menu items show the full dance

routines on the 2nd Mouline Rouge disc. It is currently

lent out and I will get it back in a week, sorry.

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

Glad you enjoyed watching 'Lagaan'. I recommend you should watch 'Monsoon Wedding' now, I am sure you will enjoy it immensely. In my opinion it is an even better film than 'Lagaan' and it should have been the official Indian entry to the oscars. Most experts believe that 'Monsoon Wedding' would have stood a better chance winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, although the way things look now, 'Lagaan' might just end up being the surprise winner.

Sanjay

Member since 1997

 

[Talal]

i don't know about monsson wedding being a better choice than lagaan.

it's too tpyicxal of a mira nair film. typical artsy movie, with the only good thing about it being the wonderful relationship between dubey-ji and alice. those scenes were the only good parts en mi opinion.

 

[Enrique B Chamorro]

I have one question about Lagaan.

During chapter 20 "The Empire's Concern" when Captain

Russell is called before the Majors. You can see subtitles

during the action like the story should have the voice

over narrator. I only hear music, is the voice over missing?

 

[Talal]

about those freaky subtitles...

When Lagaan was released, there were two versions.

One was the international version, and one was the "Indian" version. For the Indian audience, all of whom would not understand the English being spoken in those scenes, extra narration was added to explain what had just transpired among the British.

The international version didn't have this naration, as people were expected to simply understand the English.

It's a shame though... More of Amitabh Bachan's narration would have been very welcome...

 

[Jason Whyte]

As a slowly starting fan of Indian films and learning more about Bollywood, I'm very impressed to see this thread stay alive for so long and have been interested to check out some of the titles you guys mentioned.
I should be seeing Monsoon Wedding next week. It's playing at the Park theater in Vancouver. Lagaan is also on the list to rent.
If anyone has more information about the R0 release of Asoka, I'd be interested to hear about it. If it looks anything like the R0 of Shaloin Soccer, I'd be tempted to buy.
Jason

 

[Talal]

The region 0 version is actually pretty good... the sound is especially good.

As a note, First Look Pictures will be releasing a version in North America, but the problem is that they have the rights only to the international version, so you won't be getting all the songs.

Also, if you step into an indian video store nowadays, you 'll find a copy of Asoka...

This is a "rip" of the Metrodome version... not the official first look release...

So, you will get the whole movie... with a decent transfer(the metrodome version re-encoded into ntsc), and boomin sound.

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

The Region 0, PAL DVD of 'ASOKA' from Metrodome is one of the best Indian DVDs released so far. By the way the packaging says it is Region 2 but that is incorrect. The DVD is presented in Anamorphic OAR and with DD5.1 sound. Both the picture and sound quality are very good, specially the 5.1 mix.

Sanjay

Member since 1997

 

[Enrique B Chamorro]

I have another question about Lagaan.

Are the voices singing the same voices of the actors?

Hollywood would use a voice dub for the singing parts,

such as Marni Nixon for Westside Story (Natalie Wood),

My Fair Lady (Audrey Hepburn) and The King & I (Deborah Kerr).

You finally got to SEE Marni Nixon as one of the nuns

in The Sound of Music (as Sister Sophia).

 

[Larry Bevil]

The Metrodome release of Asoka sure sounds interesting. But, guess I'll have to wait for the R1 release. I haven't found an Indian store anywhere around here.

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

The voices on the songs are not that of the actors themselves, they have been sung by others. This is how it is in almost all films from Bollywood, the concept is known as 'playback singing'. It is something that has been there for ages in Bollywood films, although in the begining of Indian cinema this was not the case. That could be attributed to the fact that the technology for dubbing did not exist and therefore the actors had to sing while the cameras were rolling and the musicians played the music live on the sets. But ever since technology made it possible, Bollywood figured it was best to let the proffessional singers do the singing while the actors acted on screen. Although once in a while even now you have an actor/actress sing their own songs.

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

Larry, unless playing a PAL DVD is a problem for you, I strongly suggest that you buy the Metrodome version. Because not only are DVDs from First Look Pictures (Region 1 DVD) generally not of very good quality, but also because their version will have three songs cut out of the film.
Therefore as long as you are able to play PAL DVDs you should get the Metrodome version. You should be able to buy it on the net. I myself had it shipped to India from SplashDVD.com They operate out of UK and their shipping charges are quite reasonable. Currently Asoka is priced £14.99/€24.16
Sanjay
Member since 1997

 

[Talal]

As some moght know, the DVD for Blockbuster of a movie, Kabhi Khushi Khabie GHum is out.

The movie is a complete waste of talent and a lot of time.. but people who enjoy HIGH production value( great lighting, glossy finish, huge sets, etc...) will surely go for this flick.

The bare-bones version is out right now... No extras this time, but a "collector's" edition will come out in a couple of months.

The DVD is still not up to hollywood transfers, but it is the best Yash Raj films has done yet... better than both the lacking MOhabbatein, and the atrocious Dilwale DUlhania Le Jayenge.

Decent picture, and decent sound... if ou're a fan, go a head and pick it up.. but keep in mind a 2-discer with extras is coming,