Rest Day Ruminations: Bollywood Recommendations
A mood for every occasion
Here is this week’s Rest Day Ruminations post. As the About page explains, expect eclectic musings on topics I’m interested in. Books, films, music or games; posts about life, philosophy, my writing career, or my cat. They probably won’t be every week. Ignore any posts you don’t want to read!
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Bollywood Recommendations
Fans of my work may have noted lots of influences in there, from various ideas and cultures. I like variety! For example, recently I've been watching more Danish and Korean TV and films. It's interesting to compare their approaches and plots to the UK/US content that is more readily available.
I've also been watching some Indian films. Their film industry – Bollywood – is huge, and covers every genre of film. I try to promote things that may be worth your time, so I'll give a few recommendations. The titles link to the Wikipedia article about the film for if you want to know more. Note that the films are in no particular order!
Skater Girl (2021)
A feel-good film that also highlights the challenges faced by a girl living at the lower end of a class system. I thought it was a well-done example of a formula, mostly due to the the young actor – Rachel Saanchita Gupta – convincingly playing the main role of Prerna (the figure on the left in the image above). Skateboarding is also a metaphor for the disruptive effects (which can be positive, as here) of introducing things from other cultures into a relatively static system.
Pihu (2018)
I've never seen a film quite like this. The whole film follows the two-year-old Pihu (Myra Vishwakarma) after a situation leaves her at home on her own without any adults realising. The concept could fall flat but it doesn't because Pihu is so natural and mesmerising and the escalation of problems leaves you on the edge of your seat. Truly, this film knows how to create tension within situations that are normally mundane, such as eating a meal. It makes great use of dramatic irony, where the audience understands the implications of something that the character – toddler Pihu – does not. And afterwards it left me thoughtful about what one element of the story implied. Excellent and original film-making.
Lust Stories (2018)
This is actually four short films by different directors, each given free reign to explore a story with any plot and tone, as long as it related to the situations around physical love. As such, no story overstays its welcome, and they cover a range of social issues, moods, and characters.
For me, the first two stories were the best. Both clever, observant, and subtle, with great acting.
In the opening segment Kalindi (Radhika Apte), a college professor, has a one night stand with a student. The rest of that short story explores the aftermath. I thought it was funny and surprising, and even though Kalindi is quite an extreme character, I have known people like her – Radhika Apte plays the part perfectly.
The second story (featured in the photo above) is about the maid Sudha (played by Bhumi Pednekar) and her relationship with the man whose apartment she cares for. There's a huge power differential in wealth, sex and caste, but what really affected me was how cleverly the cinematography and acting puts us into Sudha's perceptions without a word being needed. That's great storytelling. The poignancy of the story really stuck with me.
Ghost Stories (2020)
I'm a big fan of seventies/early eighties series like Tales of the Unexpected, Thriller, and Hammer House of Horror – I have watched every episode of all three series! Anyway, Ghost Stores kind of captured a similar feel (and of some of the Hammer compilation films), even though the setting was often so different.
Ghost Stores used the same pattern as Lust Stories, so four different directors got to tell their own spooky tales. Cue creepy houses, vengeful spirits, decaying minds and family secrets.
Sir (2018)
I don't think this can count as romance because – in common with many of the Indian films I've featured – culture has a heavy hand of inequality in many relationships. However, that makes many of the situations much more impactful because of the stakes involved in terms of reputation and life choices.
Tillotama Shome totally convinces as the maid Ratna, with her hopes for a better life. This film would make a good companion to Lust Stories in how the outcomes to the different stories vary in terms of hopefulness. This is no light rom-com, but nor is it a film without hope, so it is a satisfying story that just does its job with no fuss in a subdued manner, so that form fits theme.
Well, that's my list of recommendations! Have you seen any of them, or do you have recommendations of your own? Are you a fan of cinema from another country?