#India Loves Film

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

The Indian Tomb (Fritz Lang, 1959)

[alaska-16]

The thing I like about Laapaata Ladies is about the girl, Phool, yeah that even though Dadi said Phool that your husband will not come, he left you, he took all your money, your jewellery, why would he return to you? And, you know, seeing Dadi doing it for herself and her husband left her and she's doing it all alone, you know. But Phool always, even after she got that money from Dadi, she said that I will do something, unke kaam me hath bataungi she will help her husband. So, the thing is, that even when the surroundings were all negative about her husband returning, she hoped that he will return. She knew that he will return, that he's finding her, she believed him, she had trust in him. Like in arranged marriages, how?, you don't know right, that she is out there and he took all her jewellery and and it's an arranged marriage, typical arranged marriage in that setting. All these things used to happen in that time that the guy will leave her, but she had trust in him, all because he was actually finding her, he was actually praying for her return, he started loving her when he said, ki English, full English mein bol ke dikhau and he said, I love you. He actually meant it. He was praying for Phool's return. That's why the faith and trust in Phool for her husband never died. And I love this.

[itskaitsart]

this movie is gonna be my personality for the foreseeable future

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Monkey Man and why I loved the heck out of it

At it's core, it's a Bollywood flick presented to the West with familiar nods to previous action films - I definitely picked up hints of Tony Jaa's influence on Asian action flicks throughout.

It's heavily focused on police corruption, something commented a lot about in India, and here, more importantly, Indian films. Just like America has its love affair with mobster flicks, Bollywood has a long history featuring films that showcase police corruption, sometimes tied into political extremism, fanatical or greedy religious leaders, and Monkey Man comments on all this as well and pays nods to that commonality. We've got televangelists and religious leaders in the states funnelling money, preaching prosperity gospel, and using it to influence politics and fund lavish lifestyles here.

Monkey Man shows this happening in India, and is filled with Indian culture and symbolism through out. The focus on Hanuman, the god and one worshiped by the strong, chaste, wrestlers, champions, and fighters. It's a common thing to have a household deity if you will. Some families might choose to focus worship on Ganesh, others Hanuman, some might do Mata Rani or Lakshmi. Here, it's the divine Vanara (monkey people race) - one of the Chiranjivi - immortals/forever-lived.

Hanuman. Themes of rebirth, common in South Asian history and mythology are present from Kid being a ringer, beat up fighter getting whooped for money to being reborn and facing his trauma through a ritual/meditate process that I don't want to get too much into to not spoil the movie. Post that, he begins his own self alchemy to really become the true Monkey Man. Nods to Ramayama, and an unapologetically Indian story featuring dialogues throughout in Hindi - don't worry, there are subtitles.

And of course a love for action flicks before it, all the way back to Bruce Lee. A beautiful use tbh of an autorickshaw (and you might know them as tuk-tuks in Thailand) which are popular in India with an added kick...I swear, that thing had to be modified with a hayabusa motor. Which is an actual thing people do - modding those dinky rickshaws with motorcycle engines, and considering they weigh nothing at all, they can REALLY FLY once you do that.

Monkey Man brings to the big screen other elements of India people might not know about, such as the gender non conforming and trans community that has a long history in India, presenting them as action stars as they go up against a system of corrupt elites oppressing part of the city, marginalized communities, and minority voices as depicted in the film. I'm not sure if people are going to get all of that without having the context, but I love that it does it without holding anyone's hands.

It's a fun action flick to see in the age of superhero films, and I say that as an obvious superhero/sff nerd. Also loved that Dev included a little bit about Hanuman's own story in the film, and the loss of his powers - almost mirrored by Kid's own loss of self/skills, strength until he confronts his trauma and is reborn, and in fact, remade (not necessarily the same). Also, the use of music was brilliant, including one scene with a tabla (the paired hand drums of south asia) - and Indian music is central to Indian stories.

This is a culture with evidence going back to the Paleolithic with cave murals showing art of Indian dance nearly 30,000 years ago. Yeah, that far back. As well as Mesolithic period art depicting musical instruments such as gongs, lyres, and more.

Indian music is some of the earliest we can find that has high developed beat and rhythm structures such as 5, 7, 9 and now the extremely common and known 4/4 and 3/4 - which so much of Western music is built upon. The foundations and experimentation of/in Jazz. John Coltrane and John Cage were heavily inspired by Indian music and incorporated a lot from it into their works. And Monkey Man blends Eastern and Western music through the narrative as comfortably as it does an Indian story in a very familiar Western accessible structure.

Dev did a wonderful job. And thanks to Jordan Peele for bringing it to screens.

[terijugni]

Umar naazuk hai aur waqt kam. Sambhal jaayein? Ya kahin door nikal jaayein?

[maibearcore]

Sunshine𓃢 & Sunshine protector𓃠

I want what they have, my lord 🥺😭

[demigod-of-the-agni]

I think it'd be really funny that when Pavitr and Gayatri attend college they meet Meera, Gayatri's "long time best friend". It's funnier later on when Pavitr gets a crush on Meera and is sweating buckets trying to figure out how he should tell Gayatri that he likes a girl other than his girlfriend. And not just any girl, her best friend.

He's rounding a corner, hyping himself up to tell her the truth and envisioning a million possible wrong scenarios, when he turns and sees Gayatri and Meera kissing passionately in front of him.

Meera: Pavitr I can explain! Pavitr: You're in love with Meera too?! Gayatri: Too?!? You had a crush on my girlfriend!? Pavitr: You're my girlfriend!! Meera: [crying in bisexual]

They form a polycule btw

[fancyschmancyopinions]

INDIA AMARTEIFIO at the 2023 British Independent Film Festival on December 3rd 2023 in London wearing ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

[gregor-samsung]

The Lunchbox (Ritesh Batra  - 2013)

[dramatic-long-coats]

I think about the 90s

When the future was a testament

To something beautiful and shiny, now

We're only counting down the time that's left

~The 90s, Finneas

[musingsunderstarlight]

So this might be another controversial take but I feel like men should just not direct or write movies about women's issues (I'm talking specifically about dramas not documentaries).

Like I just came across an article about the movie The Shameless about the lives of two impoverished women in India and the dangers and abuse that they face. As I was reading about it I was thinking wow this is so interesting and sounds like such a feminist movie. The author begins by telling how it opens with the protagonist, Rena, in a brothel having just killed her client who was a policeman. Then I keep reading:

On the run from the police, Rena flees to a small community in northern India where she can turn tricks, but also befriends (some would say grooms), a beautiful teenaged girl Devika (Omara Shetty) in the neighborhood whose mother is preparing to sell her virginity to the highest bidder.

I notice how it says she "grooms" her so I'm like, ok, I guess this isn't the female solidarity and friendship movie I thought it was going to be but ok let me keep reading (bolding mine).

Their unlikely friendship turns into love, but Rena lures Devika into her world of drugs, sex and crime. And although that reality is unstintingly bleak, Devika gets no protection from her own mother and grandmother. A devastating scene of her virginity being sold, and the violent rape that ensues under the auspices of her family, makes clear that Devika has no safe harbor anywhere in this world. 

First, I don't think there's any justification for rape scenes. If a man can jack off to it, don't film it. I get that it's not a fairytale, it's supposed to be a cautionary tale, a tragedy. But a tragedy is supposed to be cathartic. The director of this movie, Konstantin Bojanov, is neither a woman, nor Indian, so maybe I need more information but you cannot seriously tell me that this movie was meant to be cathartic for him. What else does a man gain from the tragedy of women's pain other than entertainment?

I'm just really, really, sick of men creating "art" from our pain. You will never understand it. You gain all the pleasure, and then you seek to commodify it and take all the glory for creating something "revolutionary." Enough.

[dhhscene]

Okay, M-Zee Bella is a classic example of PASSION. When he raps, his eyes speak poetry. I mean, also paradox, damn this guy, and last but not the least, gravity! Brother, gravity vanishes when Gravity enters the scene. Some music mentioned below a few tracks of these brilliant passionate artists, which I feel, elevated the scene:

Let me know what you think below in the comments ❤️

[dykesynthezoid]

Was v lucky to get to see a screening of a new documentary about casteism and brahmanical patriarchy in India but also I’m supposed to be discussing it in class later and if I’m being honest the fact that the last ten minutes of the film were basically one big advertisement for Hindus to convert to Buddhism means I’m like hmm well I do have some stuff I could say about this but I don’t want to overreach

[maibearcore]

My two pookies 🎀☺️