#dev anand

[barbaadiyon-ka-jashn]

me explaining to my non-indian friends why this toffee features in 70% of my childhood memories:

[the-always-enjoying-wali-ladki]

ये कैसा रिश्ता है? ये कैसे सपने हैं?

बेगाने हो कर भी क्यूँ लगते अपने हैं?

[waheedarehman]

Waheeda Rehman/Dev Anand, GUIDE (1965)

dir. Vijay Anand, cinematography by Fali Mistry, costumes by Bhanu Athaiya

[emaadsidiki]

Gamble box of memories 🎰📽️

[nuthingness]

Dev - Waheeda ❤️

[starsfromanothersky]

As published on my Substack

I have a soft spot for movies set in the cold, dank snow. Cinematically, the vast, stark, sparkling white-scape of snowy mountains leaves a distinctive, memorable imprint. Just last week I watched four films where the winter landscape served as a frosty foreground for wildly different stories to play out, and that’s not even counting the ones I watched while researching for today’s article.

The week kicked off with me finally catching Black Phone 2 in a cinema hall. The only show playing nearby was a 10:20 am show, but I got seats immediately because I’d been really looking forward to this one. It’s set in this forbidding winter camp deep in Colorado’s snow-capped wilderness. The next day, I settled in for a matinee of The Age of Innocence on Netflix. The film’s late 19th century New York snow scenes hit a different kind of chill after being stuck indoors, I was in Delhi last week and stepping outside in the 390 AQI felt hazardous.

One night I curled up with a bowl of ramen for a night-time viewing of the Korean-French film Winter in Sokcho. It didn’t inspire me as much as the first two, but the wintry landscapes and cozy food shots were screenshot worthy. Finally, I watched Netflix’s disappointing take on Frankenstein, where the nature-vs-nurture drama unfolds on the icy, shattered terrain of the Arctic Ocean.

I noticed a pattern. Against those bleached vistas the characters stand out, and not just as silhouettes but as full-fledged people. Their clothes, each deep, meaningful hue, really pops against the white.

In Hindi cinema, the mist-shrouded hills of Shimla and Darjeeling or even the Alps have always been a favourite haunt of film-makers, a stage where stories unfold, like a romantic escape in An Evening in Paris, tragic love triangle in Humraaz, thriller-ish meet-cute in Blackmail, suspense-adventure like Chailla Babu, or family melodrama like Aa Gale Lag Jaa. The blank canvas of snow-capped mountains lets almost anything shine against its pristine whiteness.

A lot of these films have song-and-dance sequences where the actors prance across snowy dunes, tumble down them with wild joy, and embrace each other as their feet sink into that thick, styrofoam-like landscape. It makes me wonder- shooting in the cold must have been brutal, especially in the ‘50s and ‘60s when equipment was heavy and amenities were scarce.

I stumbled upon a 1960 Filmfare article written by Nadira which gives a solid glimpse into the massive effort of shooting on snowy locations. Before I drop some excerpts from her candid tell-all article where she shares “her impressions of outdoor shooting in Shimla,” a quick peek into her story. Nadira, born in Baghdad, started acting when she was just ten or eleven and quickly became a legend, known for her fierce screen presence and bold choices. And, fun fact, she was one of the first Indian actresses to roll around in a Rolls-Royce.

I loved these bits from the article where Nadira gets all real about shooting in the snow in freezing temperatures,

When we went on location, we were swathed in leggings, socks, warm vests, a few sweaters, muffler, head-gear, gloves, boots and overcoats. Some time later, the sun would condescend to shine. Off would come our warm garments, and we’d breathe easy until after lunch. Then the cold winds would start blowing and we’d proceed to don our woolies all over again. You should have seen us. We looked like over-stuffed sausages…. Shooting outdoors in Simla is a pleasant chore for only one reason. Make-up does not need to be retouched. The pores are securely blocked up. There is no sweat, no grease. And nature’s No. 31 powder comes flying to the face all the time. I remember, my colleague Sheri Mohan once decided to sport rosy cheeks. He rubbed ice on his face and was horrified when it started bleeding. At one stage of our outdoor session we were at Kufri. since “kufri” means “blasphemy,” we decided that “Kufri” could rightly be termed “Lady Blasphemy.” The snow was very deep here. As it was, with those awful 15-lb boots, you had to lift your leg, balance it in the air and throw it down, just to take a step. By the time you had taken your first step you were buried to the waist in the snow. It happened to me. Some Galahad in the unit came to pull me out. I warned him to be careful. He wasn’t. Out I came. But he was in! It was as if there was a hidden see-saw underneath the snow.

Now that we’ve covered the behind-the-scenes bit, let’s dive into this dream mood board that I’ve put together which is freezing, cozy chic all at once. It’s just a bunch of screen grabs from a mixed bag of movies and magazine clippings of winter wear that made me wishful, looks I would love to wear in an alternate universe. In my current reality these looks aren’t really my style; I’m more into minimalist, abstract silhouettes in low-key shades. Still I can’t help admiring the ponchos, cable-knits, cloaks, furry collars, leopard prints and leather jacket, there is this understated flamboyance to them.

All of this makes me seriously appreciate the grind behind these movies. I’ve never actually walked through a field thickly blanketed with snow, feeling my feet freeze beneath it- and maybe that’s why I am so fascinated with these frosty settings. But I’m not going to be fooled by the dreamy and romantic look of these getaways; I simply can’t stand the cold. I’d rather watch snow on screen than deal with it in real life 🥶

[suvarnarekha]

holy trinity of gorgeous hindi movies being ahead of their times. sob, smile, and feel your soul getting uplifted—hard smashes.

[dosai-maavu]

been on an old bollywood spiral recently, and here’s what i’ve watched so far and my thoughts.

1. Disco Dancer (1982) - 10/10 viewing experience. who needs cocaine when you have this movie. ICONIC music.

2. Boxer (1984)- 7/10, enjoyable sports drama, even if it gets melodramatic towards the end. pretty realistic injuries by 80’s standards.

3. Pyaar Jhukta Nahi (1985) - 6/10. enjoyable first half, decent chemistry, but i was mad at how they let the dad off the hook so easily at the end.

4. Agneepath (1990) - 2/10. idc if this is a classic, mithun’s character annoyed the shit out of me. his tamil was atrocious.

5. Prem Vivaah (1979) - 5/10. i actually really liked the first half. second half was a big letdown.

6. Hum Paanch (1980) - 6.5/10. interesting concept, but gets rushed towards the end. really liked the songs.

7. Hum Intezaar Karenge (1989) - 5/10. not bad, not good. a solid meh.

8. C.I.D (1956) - 4/10. whoever advertised this to me as a crime thriller is a big, fat liar. dev anand does actual investigative work for maybe 10 minutes. iconic songs though. waheeda rehman was also great.

9. Paying Guest (1957) - 6/10. all over the place like C.I.D, but i kinda liked it. liked dev anand’s comic timing. didn’t like his stalker-ish tendencies.

10. Taxi Driver (1954) - 5/10. kalpana kartik is a gem and has mad chemistry with her husband. pacing was weird. wished the second female lead had more screentime.

11. Nau Do Gyarah (1957) - 6/10. really, really liked the idea (i think it would make an interesting thriller even today). as usual, let down by execution. second movie i saw in which kalpana kartik dresses up as a boy.

12. Tamasha (1952) - 7/10. enjoyed this one, even if the ending was rushed. shout out to kishore kumar - he was in the movie just to be an agent of chaos.

13. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) - 8.5/10. i really, really liked this movie. cohesive story, fleshed-out characters, good score - this one had it all. madhubala is so charming and props to kishore kumar for matching her energy. if i had to choose one movie to remake, it would be this one.

14. Mr. and Mrs. 55 (1955) - 3/10. this was problematic af. weakest guru dutt movie i’ve seen so far for sure, and makes me really not like him if this was his worldview. also, he was completely outshined by madhubala, who again, was a treat.

15. Pyaasa (1957) - 6/10. this was hyped up so much so i did have some expectations…some which were met and some which were not. the main lead just came across as a misanthrope to me. i did feel bad for him at times but i was also like “dude just get a job”. his treatment of women is confusing. the ending is also confusing - i wasn’t sure if they were going to just run away together or if they were both going to k*ll themselves. the movie is beautifully shot for its time though, and has some really nice poetry sequences. idk i have a lot of thoughts about this one - it could spawn a whole other post.

additional observations (mostly about the 50’s and 60’s):

1. women’s roles were painfully one-dimensional. they’re almost always there as props for the main leads. also, i found it interesting that quite a few muslims (madhubala, meena kumari, johnny walker) changed their original muslim names. don’t really know why this was a thing.

2. on a positive side, there was a lot more diversity amongst female actresses with respect to body types. there was suraiya and meena kumari who were curvy, kalpana kartik who was skinny and madhubala who was somewhere in the middle. however, fat women and dark-skinned women have been painfully underrepresented. dev anand literally uses “buffalo-like, black woman” as an insult. sad that current bollywood is also still like this.

3. movies back then were sooo damn slowww. i’m not just talking about runtimes (which are honestly not better or worse than now) but the pacing of these movies is just awful. there are multiple movies which start off slow and then rush their climaxes. but yk, i’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. maybe this generation is just too inattentive.

4. there was a surprising lack of mythological/historical fiction movies. the only one i’ve heard of so far is mirza ghalib. this was pretty surprising to me because early tamil cinema (which i grew up with) has many of these (karnan, maya bazaar, tenali raman etc.) bollywood was making a lot more movies about society at the time. this seems to have changed now, with there being barely any mythical tamil movies (yeah ik PS exists but it’s an outlier), while bollywood is obsessed with re-telling the ramayana in 50 different forms.

5. while the technology has no doubt improved, there’s a sweet charm with these movies. bombay is captured beautifully in both. C.I.D and Taxi Driver. Pyaasa is beautifully shot. vintage music also sounds refreshing. if there’s something i can’t complain about, it’s this.