scorecardresearch
Thursday, June 19, 2025
TopicOld movie

Topic: old movie

Amitabh Bachchan learned a trick from Meena Kumari. It became a style statement in ‘Sharaabi’

Bachchan’s characterisation of Vicky Kapoor, the spoiled child of a wealthy businessman who becomes a raging alcoholic—but without a mean streak—cemented his cult status.

A courtesan without shame or guilt—1966 film ‘Amrapali’ gave us a proud, powerful heroine

Every tawaif is said to be a corpse in ‘Pakeezah’. In ‘Amrapali’, however, the heroine fights for her status as a ‘nagarvadhu’ and takes pride in it.

Manoranjan—1974 film defied moral police. Zeenat Aman played an independent sex worker

Bright outfits, exaggerated comic scenes, and the lack of long-drawn emotional moments make Manoranjan entertaining. But it was a box office failure.

An Evening in Paris marked an iconic moment. Showed Indians the Parisian life in desi flavour

Sharmila Tagore’s winged liner, little black dress, sarees paired with knotted blouses to her bikini and puffed hairstyle, everything was on point. Even Shammi Kapoor’s tailored suits, or his colourful shirts were tasteful.

Yash Chopra tackled Partition and Hindu fundamentalism in Dharmputra, long before Garm Hava

Romantic heartthrob Shashi Kapoor and King of Romance Yash Chopra's first collaboration in 1961 sensitively handled Hindu-Muslim differences and religious bigotry.

Sahir Ludhianvi’s hard-hitting, haunting words make ‘Phir Subah Hogi’ relevant even today

This 1958 Raj Kapoor and Mala Sinha-starrer was all about criticising the government, talking about cruel realities and helping the disadvantaged.

‘Arth’ may have been based on Mahesh Bhatt’s life, but Jagjit Singh played a starring role

Jagjit Singh's haunting ghazals compel listeners to question the meaning of love, loss, life and identity.

Smita Patil’s portrayal of a flawed, messy actor in ‘Bhumika’ is fascinating and powerful

Based on memoir of Marathi actor Hansa Wadkar, Smita Patil's Bhumika, a film by Shyam Benegal, is a brutal & unflinching look at the life of a female movie star in Bombay.

‘Koshish’—the nuanced 1972 film portrayed disability as just another aspect of life

The Gulzar-directed film won Sanjeev Kumar his second National Award and remains a landmark in both their careers.

‘Dhool Ka Phool’—Nehruvian secularism of Yash Chopra’s first movie is worth remembering today

The story of a Muslim man raising a Hindu child born out of wedlock is not only a plea for communal peace, but also questions the sexist mores of the times.

On Camera

One Nation, One Development model won’t work for Lakshadweep, Sunderbans, says Jairam Ramesh

Our ecosystems—other than forests that cover some 22 per cent of the country’s geographical area—are under serious threat. Wetlands, so very essential for maintaining ecological balance, are one example.

More salaried than self-employed Indians earning less than Rs 25k a month face borrower stress—study

Think360.ai, a firm that helps banks & financial institutions make credit decisions, based its analysis on 20k borrowers. 

No more monopoly: High-stakes contest for 5th-gen fighter begins, private players to take on HAL

Duration of contract for development to certification of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) shall not exceed eight years.

India-Pakistan terms of engagement: H-word, M-word & the Trump hyphenation

Return to hyphenation is dreaded because our successive govts have laboured for three decades to rid us of what we see as the equivalence big powers used to draw between us and Pakistan. Three things follow.