Tag Archives: Delhi-6

Streaming Video News: September 26, 2022

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with links to teasers for all of the titles featured in last weekend’s Tudum event. You can watch recaps of all of the global Tudum events on Netflix itself (India’s segment is hosted by Anil Kapoor), or you can watch a video of the full Netflix India event hosted by Prajakta Koli and Zakir Khan on Netflix India’s YouTube page.

Unfortunately, no release dates were announced at the Tudum event. While every other show or movie got a new official teaser, Monica, O My Darling got a music video. If I had to bet, that’s the one I’d pick as next to release. Here are all of the shows that got new promo material:

In other Netflix news, @CinemaRareIN on Twitter found a bunch of other UTV titles set to expire from Netflix on October 1 beyond the initial list I posted on September 2. The new batch makes a total of 28 titles on their way out in the next week. Update your watch priorities accordingly.

Here are all the additional titles expiring from Netflix October 1, with titles I’ve reviewed at the top followed by other titles in alphabetical order:

Streaming Video News: October 1, 2018

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with more than fifty Indian titles that are now available for streaming. Most of the new films are in Hindi (23 titles), Punjabi (22), or Tamil (7), with one new addition each in Marathi and Bengali (as well as one Urdu movie from Pakistan). The full list of titles is available in the “Newly Added” section at the top of my Netflix page. Here are all of the Bollywood films that were just added:

Supposedly, Soorma is scheduled to join Netflix in India on October 20, with Sanju set to join the catalog this month as well, so we’ll keep an eye on that. For everything else new on Netflix — Bollywood or not — check Instant Watcher.

I also update my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with one new addition to the streaming catalog: the road trip movie Karwaan, which hit in theaters back on August 3, 2018. The July, 2018 theatrical release Dhadak comes to Prime in India on October 4, so hopefully we’ll get it here in the US as well.

Update: Thanks to my Twitter pal Gaurav for letting me know that Fanney Khan debuts on Amazon Prime on October 12, and Sanju hits Netflix on October 15.

Best Bollywood Movies of 2009

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Despite losing a couple of months of releases because of a dispute with theater owners, Indian filmmakers released a number of terrific Hindi movies in 2009. (Click on the title of each movie to read my original review.)

Dramas Kurbaan and New York addressed terrorism with boldness and honesty, examining the reasons ordinary people become extremists. Delhi-6 dealt with religious differences in a manner both compelling and accessible. American audiences will enjoy the soundtrack by Oscar-winning composer A. R. Rahman.

A live-action version of Aladin was a novel update of the classic tale, appealing to adults and kids alike.

Romance was, as always, a popular theme. Amusing romantic comedies like Dil Bole Hadippa! and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani took a light take on love. Luck By Chance and Wake Up Sid, both of which starred talented actress Konkona Sen Sharma, took a more serious approach, addressing the challenges of pursuing career goals while maintaining a healthy relationship.

The best of this year’s romances was Love Aaj Kal. Telling love stories from two different time periods, the movie embraced traditional Bollywood romance conventions while showcasing contemporary relationship issues as well. The entertaining dance numbers will make American viewers feel like they’re getting a real Bollywood experience within a Westernized story structure. The modern relationships showcased in Love Aaj Kal, Luck By Chance and Wake Up Sid represent an important advance for Indian movie makers courting success abroad.

But the Best Bollywood Movie of 2009 has to be 3 Idiots. It’s a great comedy about friendship — with just a hint of romance — that features nuanced performances by Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi. The jokes are funny whether you’re listening to them in Hindi or reading them in English subtitles.

More importantly, 3 Idiots represents a step forward for Indian comedies. Most Hindi comedies released in recent years (excluding romantic comedies) have relied on slapstick humor: childish sound effects, comic violence and chase scenes that defy logic. There’s certainly a place for slapstick in modern cinema, but I don’t think this type of humor plays well in the international markets that Hindi filmmakers are looking to break into.

3 Idiots has its share of silliness, but it’s shown in a more subdued, realistic way that makes the characters relatable. It’s easier for the audience to cheer for the guys in 3 Idiots than for the farcical nincompoops in a movie like Do Knot Disturb (my Worst Bollywood Movie of 2009), because in 3 Idiots they seem like real people. When they succeed, despite being a bit goofy, it gives hope to the rest of us goofballs.

Previous Best Movies List

Opening March 6: 13B and Dhoondte Reh Jaoge

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For the weekend starting Friday, March 6, the AMC South Barrington 30 is the place for all things Bollywood in the Chicago area. The theater is carrying over Billu Barber and Delhi-6 as well as bringing in two new movies, 13B and Dhoondte Reh Jaoge. The AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville will carry over Delhi-6.

13B is a thriller about a family terrorized by their television set. Fortunately the TV set deals in psychological terror, not the appliances-come-to-life kind of terror from Maximum Overdrive.

Dhoondte Reh Jaoge is about a couple of guys who try to cash in by making a film guaranteed to flop. The plot sounds a lot like the movie The Producers, and the zany look of the film’s website concerns me — filmmakers sometimes mistake “zany” for “funny”.

In Theaters: February 27

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In the Chicago area this weekend, the AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville and the AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington are both showing Billu Barber and Delhi-6. The AMC Loews Pipers Alley 4 in Chicago is also carrying Delhi-6 over for a second week.

According to box office returns for the weekend of February 20-22, Delhi-6 earned $602,850 in its opening week in U.S. theaters. Billu Barber earned a total of $698,910 during its first two weeks of release, while Luck By Chance (my favorite of the three movies) has earned only $355,492 after four weeks in theaters. Dev D, which did not open in the Chicago area, has earned a total of only $18,613 after three weeks in theaters. 

Movie Review: Delhi-6 (2009)

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delhi63 Stars (out of 4)

Buy the DVD at Amazon
Buy the soundtrack at Amazon

Fans of Slumdog Millionaire who’ve never seen a movie put out by the Indian film industry should check out Delhi-6. By including some of the same elements as the 2008 Best Picture Oscar winner — shots of crowded Indian streets and a pulsing soundtrack by A. R. Rahman — Delhi-6 is a great introduction to Bollywood.

Abhishek Bachchan plays American-born Roshan, who travels to India with his dying grandmother, so that she can spend her remaining days at her home in the Chandni Chowk neighborhood of Delhi. Roshan immerses himself in the unfamiliar culture of Chandni Chowk, where pregnant cows cause traffic jams and holy men are called in to catch criminals.

Just as Roshan starts to fall in love with Delhi (and a girl who lives there), he gets caught up in a series of misunderstandings that inflame previously dormant religious tensions between the neighborhood’s Hindus and Muslims.

Delhi-6 takes its time without ever feeling slow. Roshan’s position as an outsider makes him the perfect travel guide to his grandmother’s neighborhood, his ever-present camera phone proof that he’s an American. The movie doesn’t have any typical Bollywood dance numbers, but music permeates the film.

The Indian committee that selects the country’s official entry in the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar category would be wise to consider nominating Delhi-6 for next year’s Academy Awards.

Opening February 20: Delhi-6

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Abhishek Bachchan’s latest film, Delhi-6, opens in theaters this Friday, February 20. Bachchan plays an American who gets swept up in romance and riots when he brings his ailing grandmother back to India.

In the Chicago area, Delhi-6 will open at the AMC Loews Pipers Alley 4 in Chicago, the AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington and the AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville. The South Barrington 30 and Cantera 30 are also carrying over Billu Barber for a second week.