Wow List- Bollywood Movies

Brenton has been a regular reader of the blog and usually leaves the sweetest comments. He sent me a email a few days ago and asked me if I could make a list of my favourite Indian music and movies that could be an introduction to someone who would want to know more about it. I don't think I am the right person to be introducing India to anyone. Most of my friends at work used to make fun my Hindi and Punjabi which they said had a weird accent to it. Anyways as this is my blog and I get to choose it's contents I am going to try to make a list from my dear friend in Australia and I thought it would be good to share it on the blog for others to have a look.
I am not someone who is too much into artsy and intellectual cinema and my taste for music too is rather eclectic and strange. But nevertheless I am going to try to make a list of my favourites.

Indian movies that I'd recommend:

1. Black by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Sanjay is known for his rather extravagant sets and use of colours in movies like Devdas , Khamoshi and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. But Black has been the complete opposite. Very dark and understated and my pick as the best Indian movie ever.
2. Raincoat by Rituparno Ghosh not your usual Bollywood movie. There is no running behind trees singing songs. Very mature cinema and very dark.
3. Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna by Karan Johar. Karan has been accused of making movies catering to the non resident Indian community with lots of style but little substance. This movie challenges the concept of marriage and love as Indians would believe and I think was a very brave concept to make a Bollywood movie on. He received wide spread criticism for it. His other hits have been Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi khushi Kabhi Gham.
4. Omkara by Vishal Bhardwaj. Vishal has been making music for movies for long and has directed 4 movies. Two have been children movies and the other two have been based on Shakespeare's plays , Omkara based on Othello and Maqbool based on Macbeth.
5. Veer Zaara by Yash Chopra. Yash has been known for his romantic movies shot in beautiful locations. Veer Zaara is a story of lovers separated by borders the girl being from Pakistan and the guy from India. His other notable work is Lamhe and Chandni among others.
6. Dil se by Mani Ratnam. Mani is also a accomplished director from South India who has made some great Hindi movies like Bombay and Guru.
7. Umrao Jaan by Muzaffar Ali. Muzaffar Ali is one of the most talented personality in India and one of my favourite. Umrao Jaan is a glimpse into the past of India through the eyes of a Ali who is also a descendant of one of the ruling houses of the yesteryears. This movie has been remade by J.P Dutta and the new one was a disaster. Make sure you get the old one staring Rekha - The Diva.
8. Lage Raho Munnabhai by Rajkumar Hirani. It's the sequel to the massive hit Munna Bhai MBBS and tries to bring back the teaching of Gandhi to the present times.
   
9. Kamasutra by Mira Nair. Once again a beautifully shot movie with the regalia of th epast on display. Other movies by her are Namesake, Salaam Bombay and Monsoon wedding - a peek into the madness that is a Punjabi wedding ceremony. Then there is also the trilogy Earth, Fire and Water by Deepa Mehta.
10. 1942 A love story by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Parineeta, Rang De Basanti by Om Parkash Mehra, Kal Ho Na Ho, Lagaan by Ashutosh Gowariker, Maachis and Masoom by Gulzar to round it all up. Satyajit Ray is the only Indian to win an Oscar but I haven't seen any of his movies. My Brother Nikhil is one of the few sensible movies made on homosexuality and AIDS in India.

The list of musicians would follow in the next post.