Pasand Apni Apni (1983)

Now that I'm back blogging properly, I'm committed about writing some of my favourite stars whom I've written very little about on here, two of such who are the leads in this enjoyable comedy romance

When Geeta (Rati Agnihotri) a struggling working class girl hitch hikes a ride to work to avoid being late for her drama classes, her boss Sriram (Utpal Dutt) sees it as the perfect opportunity to get funding for his company through Sandeep Anand who owns the car, and whom Geeta claims to know, as a result he promotes Geeta to the leading role

When Sandeep Anand starts receiving bills for clothing which Sriram has been ordering under his name for the cast of his play, he decides on investigating matters which leads him to Sriram-ji and Geeta's press conference where they announce Sandeep Anand as their sponsor, they do all this not knowing Sandeep Anand is amongst the audience

Sandeep goes on disguise and meets Geeta, he claims he's from Sandeep's company and has come to inquire about the clothing bills his boss has been receiving, she's scared and tells him not to tell Sandeep of the bills, he agree's to her plea and they become friends

Geeta and this said employee of Sandeep Anand start spending time together and of course its not long till they start falling for each other, but he never reveals his true identity to her. Geeta too falls for him but seems to have a distinct class belief

When she's called upon by her boss to arrange a meeting with Sundeep Anand, Geeta realises she would not get away with lying

Will Geeta tell the truth? Will she come clean about her lies to Sandeep Anand? Will Sandeep come clean that he is in fact the real Sandeep Anand? Will Geeta forgive him for his lies? For the answers to all these question watch Pasand Apni Apni

Overall a lovely and nicely scripted rom com that sticks to its premise and eliminates unnecessary dross, its not an overtly funny rom com, and although it gets a bit slow in parts, its a good watch, and I'd recommend it for those of you not too keen on 80's bollywood (I love it), this is one of the more restrained movies from that much maligned decade that you might find appealing, the performances as well as Chemistry between the lead pair and Bappi Lahiri's music are good.

Kya Baat hai!! Rati -ji! Gotta Love the cute mole above her Lips

I especially love Rati Agnihotri, there's a certain 'Je ne sais quoi' to her apart from her beauty and gentle manner & charm I love, she's one of my favourite bollywood diva's and I realise I've written very little on her on here, so expect to see more of her in months to come. I wonder what it is about heroines from this decade that makes them not very memorable or easily dismissed by both bollywood fans and critics alike, actresses from this decade (the 80's) are never held up the same way those from other era's (say 50's-70's)are held up. Why is this? (an idea for a future post I think).

Mithun the Great!!

And of course Mithun Chakraborty was great as well, this was a good role for him, what a pity he's always remembered for the Cheese factor of films like Disco dancer or Dance Dance, this man is a fine actor

Bonus Screen cap, I totally loved this cute t-shirt, You dig

Indeed!!! I think i need a T-shirt like that

Lovely soundtrack from Bappi Lahiri and lyrics by Anjaan-Yogesh. My favourites on here include a seductive Asha Bhonsle ballad 'Tum jo mile ho' a lovely disco style track by Sharon Prabhakar 'Dingo! (Bole Gaadhi, ye saanso ki)' a mellow disco tune 'kisi pyar mein' a lovely upbeat number 'gaye kaye ko' my utmost favourite and the one I've chosen to embed is the beautiful 'Aise to socha na tha'(its officially one of my top ten favourite Asha Bhonsle songs)

Paisa Vasool Rating: 6/10

Boxer (1984)

At first i thought this film would be a rip off of Rocky, but this bollywood boxing drama holds its own very well, with a very nice even if somewhat predictable story, the performances were great and its highly enjoyable

Dharma (Danny denzongpa) a reasonably accomplished boxer is promised lots of favours should he win his next fight against Tiger another reputed fighter

A day before the match Dharma has a stomach pain but he ignores it, on the big day Tiger punches him in the stomach and Dharma is rendered weak, Tiger wins the fight

As a result of losing the match he loses money, and all the promised favours plus the doctor tells him to quit boxing as any further matches will be hazardous to his health. As a result of all these calamities Dharma becomes a drunkard

His son Shankar (Mithun Chakraborty) starts stealing, Dharma also starts resenting his son for not wanting to follow in his footsteps by becoming a boxer

Shankar meets Rajni (Rati Agnihotri) and they both fall in love with each other over time


Their love is threatened after Shankar is revealed as a thief at her birthday party by her father's friend whom Shankar had stolen from

Shankar goes to Jail , upon coming out he promises his mother Savitri (Tanuja) he won't steal anymore, he also reunites with his girlfriend Rajni


Boxing trainer Tony Braganza (Parikshat Sahni) had helped Raghuraj (Sharat Saxena) to the top but Raghuraj betrayed him and caused him to go to Jail


Following his release from Jail, Tony is on the hunt for a new boxer who would surpass Raghuraj's so he chooses Shankar whom he had met in Jail, although Shankar had turned him down at first when he falls on hard times he comes to Tony for 50,000 Rupees

Tony decides to give him if he would fight Raghuraj and then whether he loses or win he would be able to keep the money

Thus Tony starts training Shankar for the big fight


On the day of the big fight Shankar loses and his right eye is seriously injured


The doctor tells him any more hits to the eye and he'll be blind, his wife Rajni makes him promise not to box again

His father is Unhappy as Dharma had seen Shankar taking up boxing as an opportunity to show the world there is a champion in his blood

One day Shankar's younger brother Sonu gets injured and 2 lakhs is required to treat him, simultaneously a new boxng deal is offered to Shankar where he'll be able to earn 2 lakhs if he fights once more with Raghuraj

Will Shankar take up the opportunity? Will he risk going blind for boxing? Watch Boxer to find out

Overall i enjoyed watching Boxer, its an entertaining drama with all round great performances, even though a bit predictable in parts, it held my attention and in an era that was so replete with love stories here and there boxer is quite refreshing even though it had the atypical triumph through tragedy sports theme. The boxing scenes were well filmed and researched and it feels like you're watching an actual boxing match on Tv

Gotta love that big golden eagle on the floor of the boxing ring

The performances are great all around and it was nice seeing Danny in a sympathetic role as opposed to the usual villain fare

I also loved Rati Agnihotri in these, i loved her style, she is one of my favourute beauties from '80's bollywood

I'm a big Mithun fan but unfortunately he isn't seen by many to be a great performer which i guess was down to his choice in cheesy commercial flicks like Disco Dancer, Dance Dance etc. i liked him here just as much, he wasn't over melodramatic

Great music too from R.D. Burman from the disco sounds of 'Dekho Idhar' to the sweet romantic sounds of 'tere dil mein kuch kuch' my favourite has to be 'Shaadmani' where we see a joyful exuberant Danny singing and dancing


Total score: 7/10 (Entertaining boxing drama)

Here's a nice list of sports related bollywood movies

Bollywood Loves Michael Jackson

As a kid two things were my obsession Michael Jackson

Aged 6 in my Michael Jackson Bad T- Shirt
and Bollywood, although i later fell away from Bollywood due to lack of accessibility, i was only reunited with my childhood passion about a year ago and ever since my bollywood deewana (craze) began all over again. Michael Jackson, the man, the music, the celebrity however, has always been a passion of mine, at the height of his success almost everyone wanted to be him and bollywood also had a love affair with the man. Looking back at a number of films from the '80's Michael Jackson presence could clearly be felt in some bollywood music and style, below are some examples

Mithun Chakraborty in Kasam Paida Karne wale ki (1984)
He is dressed in Michael Jackson style Thriller Jacket and red pants, the video also shares a strong resemblance to Michael Jackson's Thriller video and even the song appears to have ripped off Billie Jean

Amitabh Bachchan in Disco Bhangra from Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswati (1989) Amitabh plus his shiny gloves and Michael Jackson style clothes as seen in his Bad Video, this hilarious song was the major highlight for me in this silly movie





Jo Hona Hai from Pyar Hi To Hona Hi Tha (1998) This highly hilarious song from pyar hi to Hona hi tha features a Michale Jackson Impersonator
Munna Bhai MBBS (2003) features a hilarious Michael Jackson Impersonator see it in the video below at about 3.53

Your influence and legacy reached far and wide, Rest in Peace Michael Jackson