30 Days of Film - Day 30.

30. Your favorite movie of all time

I've never really had a favourite that was the favourite - the one that stands above all the rest. After all, favourites are all pretty equal in my eyes, I tend to like them for different reasons, and often the only common thing all my favourites have is that I like them. Simple as that.

But for the purposes of this meme, I thought about which film I've rewatched and enjoyed the most as of late, and one that very quickly rose among the absolute favourites list and straight to the top, and also one that I think I will continue enjoying throughout the years to come - and the answer was 3 Idiots.

Again, no film is perfect, but 3 Idiots gets close - I love the characters, the friendships, the romance, the philosophy that underscores the plot, and the twists the story takes. There are weaker portions, but overall it is just such a strong film, and such a feel-good film to boot. 

Thanks for following this 30-day meme that temporarily took over my blog. Regular posts will continue in July, August etc. I've got tons of posts lined up and some still to type up and post. Project Consistency is going quite well, all things considered. 

You can find all the posts of this meme here.

30 Days of Film - Day 29.

29. A movie from your childhood

When you begin watching Indian films aged 16, it's largely debatable whether you can have a childhood favourite. A teenage favourite?

Regardless, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was maybe the third or fourth Hindi film I watched and probably the first one I properly fell in love with. I've waxed poetic about the film, and how it may not be that same magical experience for everybody, but on me it certainly worked like a charm. I can certainly see the film's flaws and problems, but it remains a film I'll gladly rewatch. The chemistry works, the story works, and even if the soundtrack is not the most amazing Jatin-Lalit soundtrack out there, that works splendidly on me as well.

30 Days of Film - Day 28.

28. Favorite movie from your favorite director

It's got to be Anniyan. I paused for a while to consider who my favourite director might be, after all, I've really got a couple whose films I always anticipate and generally tend to like. I suppose in a way I might like films of somebody other than S. Shankar more, but there's something about his absolutely bizarre, overflowingly visual style of film-making that just makes me so enamoured I'll watch even the not-so-good films by him. And Anniyan was my first, and it's the one I've rewatched the most, and I can't think of a single thing I'd change about it. It's just so entertaining and big and loud and out there, and perfect as such.

30 Days of Film - Days 25, 26 & 27.

25. The most hilarious movie you’ve ever seen

Even if I was doing this about all films I've seen, not just the Indian ones, Andaz Apna Apna would be a strong contender. I think it'd be a tough decision between it and my other absolute favourite comedy, This Is Spinal Tap, but luckily for this meme, I'm not forced to make a decision.

I realise AAA is very much a Your Mileage May Vary type of comedy, as I suppose all comedy is. It combines a standard plot line with absolutely hilarious foolish character, who have their moments of extraordinary wit as well. It's a loud slapstick comedy that also parodies Hindi films rather cleverly and successfully at times. It's over-the-top, yet the main cast of characters are all believable characters, stuck in this madcap universe. I was glad to see the director Rajkumar Santosh re-visit this kind of comedy in his 2009 film Ajab Prem  Ki Ghazab Kahani, which also wasn't universally popular but which I really enjoyed.

Even with the unofficial "continuation" (in style, not in plot) the film got in APKGK,  AAA stands in a league of its own.

26. A movie that you love but everyone else hates

This was nearly impossible to pick because while I might dislike some generally well-loved films, I normally don't love films that are universally loathed. In the end I settled for Darna Mana Hai, a silly 2003 "horror" ensemble film that is essentially just a loosely tied collection of "scary stories" that wouldn't scare a bunch of five year-olds at a camp site, much less a theater full of grown ups. Essentially it's nothing special, mostly remembered for its ridiculousness (the screencap here is from the story in which Shilpa Shetty plays a woman with a problematic relationship with .. you guessed it, apples!). 

But I have a soft spot for it regardless. Silly film with a silly premise, and a ridiculous "twist" of an ending in the frame story. Still, for all those features, it's got some pretty interesting little things going for it - Nana Patekar is as good as he always is, and the Saif Ali Khan - Boman Irani story is black comedy at its core, and hilarious at that. I've rewatched this film more times than I care to admit, though I'm sure most viewers aren't all that fond of it, because if its aim is to frighten you, it fails spectacularly. However, I wouldn't call it "hated" by any stretch, so this might be a bit of a miscategorization on my part, I just couldn't think of a better film to place in this category..

27. A movie that you wish you’d seen in theaters

Perhaps the over-filtered visual acid trip that was Kanthasamy would have been too much to handle on the big screen, but I still think I would've enjoyed the experience. If for nothing else, than the bizarreness of it all. I can't help but wonder what kind of an effect a film like this leaves on a viewer when witnessed on the big screen.

30 Days of Film: Day 24.

24. Favorite movie from your favorite actress

Rani Mukherjii is just one of my favourite actresses, but there's a special something that makes her rise above the rest. Perhaps it's the fact she impresses in mediocre films as well as really superb ones, or the fact she's just classy and so very likable in just about everything she does. Hum Tum I picked because not only is it one of my most rewatched films and an utter favourite in the romantic comedy genre, it's also just a solid, very adult performance from Rani and it's the film that made her a favourite. Before Hum Tum, I thought there was a reason why she played second fiddle to Kajol in Karan Johar films. After Hum Tum, I realised she was equal to her cousin Kajol in beauty and in acting skills. 

30 Days of Film - Day 23.

23. A movie you'd like to re-cast

Original category for this day was "favorite animation" but considering how little of those I've seen in Indian cinema and how little I liked what I've seen, I felt this would be a more fitting category.

I'm not the biggest fan of Ajay Devgan (sorry, Devgn, was it?) but I think he's an effective actor all the same. Put in the right roles, he performs well, and even though I personally don't see him as the most versatile of actors, I recognise other people may be of different opinions and love the hell out of the recent Golmaal films. More power to you!

However, I was always annoyed he was put in the role as the "youth leader" in Yuva. Other things annoyed me about Yuva as well - the film just felt way too long for the story it was trying to tell, and though there was the good (Abhishek, Rani), there was a lot of "meh" in between all the good. Ajay was always unfit for the role in my eyes, because he's at his best when his roles are allowed a little world-weariness. He can have humour, he can be a complete badass - but what I think Ajay's best roles have always had, even when he was quite young himself, was a certain steady maturity. To buy him as an aspiring campus politician, I don't know, it just never quite worked for me.

I was never one to be too harsh on Esha - given how much I liked her parents, I always wanted to see her blossom, eventually. Yet that never really quite happened, and she remained rather mediocre until she largely stopped working.  So if we're going to re-cast Ajay, we'll have to recast his opposite as well. 

So who to replace them? Tough.Yuva was filmed at a time when Shahid hadn't shown his Serious Acting chops yet (or his Acting chops altogether, really) and a lot of other younger stars hadn't really debuted. (And no, we're not casting Zayed Khan in this!) But does that really matter in fantasy casting? Let's put him, and Vidya (who was working in 2003 but not in Hindi films) opposite each other, and maybe in this alternate universe, Kismet Konnection was actually a good film? 

Then there are Kareena and Vivek - both harmless, both occasionally interesting and even cute in this film. However, for better examples of the same roles, you only have to look at the film's Tamil version, where Siddharth and Genelia, despite both being quite fresh at the whole "acting" thing, did well in the roles. Bonus? They both speak Hindi, so no problems there.

30 Days of Film: Days 21, 22.

21. Favorite action movie

Yeah, Salman looks tired and those less bulky Southie youngsters can dance him under the table. Even so, I think as a remake, Wanted just works superbly well with balancing intrigue, action, romance and all the rest of it, and it's one of those absolute gems that never fail to entertain me, no matter how many times I find myself rewatching the film.

It has a charm and the great cast (Ayesha Takia is so good in this and enough can't be said about Prakash Raaj's Prakash Bad role!) under Prabhudeva's competent direction just heightens the whole thing.

22. Favorite movie from your least favorite actor

(Originally "favorite documentary" - feel free to change if you like.)

Try as I might, I don't like Priyanka Chopra. My dislike for her has never had anything to do with the rumours I hear about here these days - it's more a lukewarm feeling about performances that moved into active dislike when I saw how she was in a lot of films, and supposedly very appreciated for her acting and I just didn't see it at all. If anything, I found her grating on-screen. I thought Fashion was an okay-made film that sent a bunch of horrible messages, and all of her other performances ranged from inoffensive to just model-acting. She wasn't painful to watch or anything, but she was just so overrated I began to get annoyed.  At least Kareena had to put in some really solid, good performances to truly become A-list.

But I can honestly say I love her character and performance in Kaminey. If anything, this was the National Award-worthy performance, not Fashion; well-written role about a young woman who made her own choices and stuck by them, hell or high water, and who seemed like a very grounded, real character the whole time.

30 Days of Film - Days 19 & 20.

19. Favorite period film

 In the original meme, this was "Favorite movie based on a book/comic/etc" but since again, Indian films either don't do those enough (I could think of around 6 films that I've seen that are adaptations of novels, and I didn't feel like that was a big enough pool to choose a favourite from), I decided to alter this category a bit. As always, if you feel like doing this meme and changing it back to its original, feel free.

There's been many decent period films done in Hindi films, as well as Tamil and Telugu films (though again, my experience with the latter is limited). For a moment I considered picking Jodhaa-Akbar, because for all its flaws, I remember the good bits the best - the epic scale, the fantastic songs, the strong performances and chemistry between the two leads. But then I remembered Lagaan, the director's previous period epic. I rewatched Lagaan not too long ago and it is just such a well-made film. No matter how many times I've seen it, I still find the story gripping and enjoyable. The songs are an absolute delight, the performances are well-rounded.. It is truly a modern classic, and I'm sure I'll continue to enjoy it in the coming years.

20. Favorite movie from your favorite actor

'Chiyaan' Vikram is synonymous with great, varied performances, so you must be thinking, "She could've picked Pithamagan, or Deiva Thirumagal, or Anniyan or Raavanan, or Kasi, or.." and yes, I know full-well I could've. But rather than the best performance, this meme calls for a favourite film, and as far as favourites go, it's nigh-impossible to find something I love more than Dhool.

It was the film that introduced me to Tamil masala and to Vikram, Jothika, Vivek - all these people I'd come soon to consider favourites. I realise in retrospect that to some it might be a solid masala but nothing special, and endless rewatches have shown me that the plot does wear thin on you. What remain entertaining, though, are the performances, the comedy, the songs, and the film's ability to build really good masala out of a plot that is fairly standard (one brave villager against corrupt police and corrupt politicians).

And Vikram here looks great and acts great (whether in comedy, romance or action!). If I needed to introduce somebody to Vikram, I doubt I'd go wrong in picking this film. It's just that good.

30 Days of Film: Days 17 & 18.

17. A movie that disappointed me most

This was a hard choice for me, because typically I either enter a film with moderate expectations or then high expectations but don't come out of it that disappointed (ie when a film is good and favourite for many people but doesn't quite make it among my favourites, I don't consider that a grave disappointment). There just hasn't been that many a time when I've had to dismiss a film as a complete disappointment - a lot of bad films, or films I did not enjoy at all, I probably saw the badness coming.

Naseeb ended up a disappointment purely on the basis that it just didn't really grab me, and ended up being a mediocre film experience, despite so many things going for it; the star-studded cast, the guest appearances, a film maker whose style I normally love (Manmohan Desai). The story motifs were familiar from other Manmohan Desai films, so no problems there. The DVD I had was a pretty bland print in terms of colour vivacity but other than that, I can't figure out why this film was just so dull for me. It had songs, action, cutesy romance - what precisely was lacking here? I just have no clue. But maybe it's the puzzlement that adds to the disappointment..

18. A movie that I wish more people would see

A dark and hopeless story about a group of disabled beggars and the man who abandons his family to join a  rather extreme ascetic sect of Hinduism, whose rituals include drugs and even consuming the dead? Yep, not your usual fare, perhaps. 

Never the less, Naan Kadavul is one of those haunting, incredible films that I could probably never sit through again, but still ponder every now and then. Tamil director Bala always manages to carve strange stories out of the people on the outskirts of mainstream society, and this is one film where he really goes to some extremes. The experience is as horrible as it is mesmerizing. And did I mention the title means "I am god"?

Yep, I definitely wish more people would see this film.

30 Days of Film: Day 16

16. A movie you used to love but now hate

Kal Ho Naa Ho. By far. Easily. (I'm sorry.)

The first time I saw KHNH, I fell in love with Saif, and the songs so much I kind of forgot any problems I had with the plot. This was early days for me as an Indian cinema aficionado, so I was easily swept off my feet by an entertaining film that just gave you everything from big emotions to funny comedy, good songs to glamorous sets. 

And then I rewatched it. And rewatched. And rewatched it. And with each rewatch, the manipulativeness of Shahrukh's character on the second half, the ridiculousness of the plot overall, all of these problems added to each other until it was to the point where I could no longer enjoy the things I used to enjoy so much on the first watch. 

Perhaps my mistake was rewatching it in the first place, but then, when you really enjoy a film on the first watch, you don't tend to think the experience will turn sour on the second.