You can buy DVDs from the following sites .
UK http://www.indiaplaza.com.. http://www.indiandvdfilms.com
USA http://www.indiaplaza.com..http://www.indiaweekly.com
After the excellent DVD of Hum Saat Saat Hain from Japan, I have more quick peeks of new DVD release. It looks like EROS are in competition.. more on Sunny Audit's page at DVD review page -Sydney or check in Ramli
Barsaat (1995)- Eros/B4U. Authored by Video Group? Starring Bobby Deol and Twinkle Khanna in their screen debuts. 166 minutes. Subtitles on dialogue. 4.0 DD. With this latest release Eros has sunk to a new low in their DVD releases. Video has such a low contrast that it appears out of focus. In distance shots, its difficult to make out the faces of the actors. Audio is in a passable 4.0 DD. Eros' first full-screen transfer of a recent movie that was originally released wide-screen is truly a travesty. Just say no to this DVD or any future ones like it released by Eros/B4U/Video Group.
Chaahat (1996)- Starring Shah Rukh Khan. Now released by Asian Video. 2-sided single-layered DVD with 20 5.1DD Hits on flip side. Now for the first time with subtitles on dialogue, which are on the film print. Video quality on Chaahat is very good. Picture is sharp with few artifacts. Audio's 2-channel DD stereo is fine. Flip side's songs are mostly of excellent video and audio quality, as many songs were apparently licensed and transferred from Superdigital's, Sai Digital and others' original releases. Definitely recommended.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)- Starring Salman, Ajay, and Ash. 188minutes. Released by Video Sound. Now with subtitles on dialogue, for the first time, and with a 20 minute behind-the scenes making-of featurette with the director's comments. HDDCS has also been generously supplied with 29 chapter stops. Video is superb. 5.1 Audio is outstanding. A great award-winnng film. Now an even greater DVD. Highest recommendation.
--Irwin
Released by WEG. Starring Dharmendra, Mumtaz, and Yogita Bali. 151 minutes. Music by R.D. Burman. Playback Singers: Lata, Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar. Subtitles on dialogue. Full Screen.
Video overall is very good with excellent color. The images are sharp and finely detailed, although not without occasional artifacts and some signs of wear (scratches etc.) on the source print. Bit rate is around 5 throughout. Audio is a very clear and pleasant 2-channel mono without any distortion.
JKUP is a familiar, but well done, story of a rich Indian man (Dharmendra) falling in love with a poor, beautiful blind girl (the lovely Mumtaz) over the objections of his upper-class mother. Written by Gulshan Nanda and based on his novel of the same name, JKUP has some well-written and poetic scenes.
Director-producer Bhappi Sonie does a fine job of keeping the story
moving with some nicely picturized songs ("Jheel Ke Us Paar") and scenes
amid the atmospheric, outdoor locales. The excellent cinematography by
Jal Mistry, which won him the Filmfare award of 1973, is interesting and
imaginative.
As usual, music by R.D. Burman is first-rate, and is beautifully sung by
Lata, Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar. Undoubtedly, one of the better DVDS
made by WEG thus far. Definitely recommended.
--Irwin--Visit The UPDATED Indian DVD Ratings List--
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/4639/enter.html
Songs of the Millenium - IV Reg sounds -no subtitles , no extras Picture quality - very good even if most are in that awful widescreen ! Sound -very good -Dolby digital The following 22 according to my favourites - others are also good but not having seen the films and in context they dont have the same effect . Taal -Dil ye - aerobicise -incredible female figures from many nationalities Taal-Dil ye bechan hai Mann- Tink tin tana Badshah - Kahi dup sherabi Sanarsh -pehli pehli baar baliya HDDCS -Limboda Dil kya kare -lagan lagi Taal Ishq bina HDDCS-Ankhin ki gustakhiyan Mann- mera maan Hello Brother -Hota sawan Badshan- ho badshah Sangarsh-naraj ye Mann- Kali nagin mann-Chahe tujko HTPMH - Hum tum pe Dil kya kare-dil kya HTPMH-ja rahe hello brother-hello brother Badshah- Dil kyu dhakMast
Mast -1999 - English subtitles including songs !
Eros - 144mins
Urmilla , Aftab
Picture quality - Excellent -?widescreen
Sound - Perfect Dolby 5.1 -what joy to hear such great sound !
Purchase from www.indiaplaza.com or www.indiaweekly.com
Truly superb movie . You wont be able to stop watching it once you put it on . Forgive it for being widescreen as they use the black bit for excellent literal subtitling . Great music -very western sounding but still great . Background music is also superb . Pity I missed it on the big screen a month ago .
Story of a fan obsessed ( in a nice way ) with a film star maybe its a bit like 'Woman in Red' but the settings are Indian . Must see and must own DVD .
I think the makers should send samples to Blockbusters and other video stores as the subtitling also of the songs is complete -repeating verses are omitted and thats fine . 'The winds announce the fragarance of her arrival ' sounds good in any language . Much of the filming has been done in Namibia .
They should have 'English subtitles' prominently displayed on the front cover . If it becomes a big hit in DVD sales then all the Bollywood movies should be rereleased on DVD with literal subtitling of the whole movie including the songs .
Would be interesting to hear from Irwin and other non South Asians what they think of this DVD and put them in the alt.media.dvd ng too .
Ali Ikram has given this movie a good review at http://www.indolink.com/bollywood/mvierevs.html
I am sure beginning to trust his judgement ! Dont read his review until after seeing the movie for yourself and letting the film unfold .
The music once again is superb . Must see .
You can buy these on the net at www.indiaplaza,com ( USA and Europe) www.indiaweekly.com -USA
What a pity they didnt subtitle this DVD . I recently lent my spare DVD player to my secretary (non asian) and she and her son watched a few movies but said they enjoyed the songs the most .
If they want to increase their market share they must subtitle the songs accurately and as close to the original as possible . All these DVDs are from previous movies released be DEI so picture and sound quality are superb unlike the non DEI Eros ones .
The top song of the decade on this DVD is of course NFAK's 'Cheez hai mast mast' but all the others are extremely good so I will just list them . If anybody hasnt got the 'Jhanak jhanak payal 'DVD yet -do get them as it is I think just about the best musical Bollywood movie of all time and most of the songs were translated in this ng -search www.dejanews.com for 'jhanak, jhanak' . Also dont forget to attach leads from the DVD to your stereo even if its a small boom box next to the TV -you will enjoy it much more . And remember to use the repeat function on the DVD to watch some of the steps again . Not quite sure why , but the sound on the movie DVDs seems a tad better than on the compilation .
I cant quite understand why they keep bringing out the 'best of ' , understandable with a DVD devoted to dancing songs as this one , but in general how many people buy 'best of '.. CDs and how many buy the CD of all the songs of a movie . I would guess the latter outnumber the former 9 to 1.
So I would suggest to the makers bring out DVDs with say all the songs of two or three movies and give them good literal subtitling and in as many languages as possible and watch the sales go through the roof .
The ones I reallly liked are marked *
1Chamma chamma-Chinagage * 2. Sona sona -Major Saab * 3. Meri life - HADRH * 4. Columbus -Jeans 5. Chaiya -Dil Se * 6. Yeh pyar kya hai - Gupt 7 Deewana Dil -Pardes 8. Chapa chapa -Machis * 9Kale kjale baal - -Ziddi * 10. Bale bale - Soldier * 11. Mehbboba -Sholay* 12. Choli ke peechay -Khalnayak * 13. Koi jaye - Ghatak * 14. Joote de do -HAHK 15. Bale bale -Bandhan 16 Hamma hamma- Bombay * 17 Yeh kaali kaali ankhen -Bazigar 18. Tu cheez-Mohra * 19. Oye oye- Tridev 20 O yara dil lagana 21 Husan hai suhana -Coolie no. 1 * 22 Hai Jadu - Loafer Must have DVD ..
More details on www.yashrajfilms.com
Finally all the Internet pressure has started paying
dividends and the makers have started subtitling the songs
too- in fact the songs are easier to do and wisely they have
decided to subtitle the repeating verses only once .
The subtitling is pretty accurate too although one can
always quarrel at points . Once again leave it literal .
There are also extra features on this DVD - a theaterical trailor which is a good idea but often the picture quality of the trailer is so poor that it puts people off . Another is the poem Kabi kabi sung by the famous poet Sahir Ludhianvi and finally there is an interview of Yash Chopra by Karan Johar the director of KKHH , I refused to watch that one .
One thing that gets my goat is these young directors like Karan Johar who make their living from Hindi films and yet cant speak the language . It would be OK is they were speaking English to explain things to a wider audience but to display it as a mark of their superiority to the rest of Indians is unacceptable .
The movie itslef looks like a good one with good Shairi and of course the best feature is the subtitling of the whole movie which should make it popular rental at Blockbusters and other places . Now they must bring out DVDs with complete subtitling of the newer movies and make it literal and accurate as on this one and in many languages .
Amitabh , Rakhee ,Shashi Kapoor .
Havent watched the movie yet but the subtitling seems very
accurate and good . Irwin who is a fan of Amitabh might want
to add a few things.
This movie got a 10 out of 10 from Ali Ikram one of our
finest young reviewers at
http://www.indolink.com/bollywood/mvierevs.html
Picture quality-not good
Sound -Perfect
Maker -? Pirate
Just watched a few minutes of it and it is a gruesome gangster movie -the first scene has a politician who wont be bought being stabbed by the gangsters , then they see his foot move and stab him again and again in the right side not realizing the heart is on the left !
The best feaure of this DVD is the superb sound . Its taken raw from the print and it makes one seem in the movie theater itself . Most legit DVD makers overprocess the sound and make it flat and lifeless , this is one is true to source and will make your ears and whole body vibrate as they have left the extreme high and low frequencies in . Before arguing with me Sunny listen to it . Must have DVD for the sound .Shool is a truly excellent movie . Make sure you have three hours spare because you simply will not be able to get up for the whole time .
I am not sure if it doesnt send the wrong message that these gangster politicians are just too powerful . Manoj Bajpai as the easy to anger incorruptible police officeer deserves the best actor award . Together with Satya - how can anyone act any better ? The villain in this one is a real baddy which means he is very good in his role .
About half way into the DVD the sound goes out of synch with the picture but one hardly notices since the movie itself is so good . A must have DVD when they get round to making it legit but leave the sound in 5.1 - or see it on the big screen . Its not a glamor movie and is more reflective of life in India . The politicians cant be all bad if they dont censor movies like these.
The dialog in this movie as always in Bo movies is excellent . Point and counterpoint rising to a high pitch between Manoj and the corrupt police officers both trying to win the arguement and with his wife . If the subtitling is done literally these movies can acquire a big following and market in the West as they really do stimulate the brain.
Ho movies in contrast have very understated dialog - maybe western audiences are very bright and dont need everything or spelt out or maybe since its mostly teens who see these movies they wont appreciate them .
Its not a typical Bo movie as there is only one glamor dance but its a movie that will stay in your mind like Satya for a very long time .
This movie illustrates the Bollywood formula . Some people who should know decry it , but I find it quite fascinating and Bollywood's success in being perhaps the only foreign one holding out against Hollywood speaks for itself .
One of the elements of that formula is that they take a regional setting and faithfully copy the mannerisms and language of the people there and if they keep making so much money in the West will soon start doing it to the Irish . Scots , Welsh , Italians etc .
In this movie the Bihari setting is great - the prevalent use of the royal 'we' etc. Another great feature about Bollywood movies is the backgound score , here by Sandeep Chowta , even the Sanskrit prayer sequence has been incorporated well when the policeman decides on his course of action . The last 20mins are absolutely brilliant. See it on the big screen if you can.
Nearly every Bollywood movie I have seen takes a particular culture and mimics the accents and mannerisms -=Punjabi , Tamil , Bombay , Gujju . Shool does the Biharis brilliantly..
Could be VCD copied on to DVD hence the blurred picture but good sound . A pity as some of the tracks are really good and the colors OK .It is also in glorious fullscreen using every inch of the TV screen . Also has Alisha's -Made in India track One could always listen to the stereo without turning the TV on . With 22 tracks it would be a lot cheaper than buying CDs. They really should put subtitles in many languages on these pop videos , I mean just how difficult are the lyrics to translate - it aint shairi ! ..
Tunak -Daler Mehndi (dm) Ho jaye bale-dm Dardi rab rab-dm patte chak deyandge-dm dil mera nal nal-dm sadade dil te chhuriyan-dm jogiya-Bhupi halla gulla -suchitra tu-sonu chand sa - Ali Haider Aha-suchitra ke mein jhoot bolya-baba sehgal deewan to - shweta mehndi ki rat-models baarish-anu malo krishna-colonial cousins m,ade in india -alisha boom boom-nazia hassan dum tara-suchitra q-funk-shweta roop tera -stylebhai
A very good action /comedy/romance with great dialog . The kind of dilemma faced by every girl -should see marry her gangster boyfriend -an ex Professor or a rich doctor ?
What excuse does WEG have of putting out a new good movie with no subtitles and such poor picture quality ? The disc says made in USA and not for sale in India -shouldnt be on sale anywhere . Dont buy it and rent it only if you feel sorry for your local video store . Really is time that the govt set minimum standards for DVD picture and sound quality otherwise the consumers will keep getting ripped off ..
21 great songs from the 50s films . I much prefer them to recent remixes . Its also great to connect the DVD to the stereo and just switch the TV off and listen to good music like this. In those days recordings were live so if anyone made a mistake they had to do the whole song all over again.
Its a pity the name of the singers is not given - mostly young Lata and her magical voice but also many others . Baba should add more info on each song , subtitles in many languages , a commentary from a musical expert for each song.
In one cobra dance Sandhya sways on the ground from side to side mimicking it very well , she also has green hair , very unsual in an Indian although genetic throwbacks are always possible .
The song from Sehra is good too . A friend of mine was telling me that his father actually took part in the making of that movie in Rajasthan -a bit part at the start where the tribes throw their flags and claim the ground for camping and start their eternal feuds and just that one scene took all day -so much of a perfectionist was Shantaram.
In that movie also Sandhya jumps on to a camel in a running leap from behind and its not a camera trick . What will you say is so good about that ? Well the camel was standing ! The best are the ones where Sandhya is telling the kids to laugh and smile through all difficulties and the one at the end . Another must have DVD
..*fav Tum mere - Navrang Mere Aye dil-Jhanal * Tum to -Shera* Chand ki-Parchain Kaira laga-jal bin machli aa ja jaane- geet gaya tak tak -do ankhen* basant hai-stree ye kon -boond jo apni aada-teen batti aa dil se dil -navrang kaisi hai mohabbat-jhanak jo dil pe guzrati-dahej o mitva-jal bin takdi ka phasana-sehra ankhian- boond teekhalayon me -geet gaya are ja natkhat -navrang sainya jao-jhanak* hum hein nashe-sehra teen deep aur -Teen batti*
A great movie . Rani Mukherjee's first and best one . Story of a rich young man (son of Gabbar Khan from Sholay) who rapes a girl and has to choose between marrying her or facing a 7 year prison sentence . He determines to make her life a real misery not realising that her adopted father is a Sardarji .
8 great songs - the Bhangra one which Rani does very well - Rab da hu banda , rab yaar hai mera , and the wedding one are both extremely good . Very good costumes in the second one too .
The trouble with having a DVD is one keeps tweaking the contrast and brightness and color buttons in the hope of clearing the picture but when it has not been recorded properly as in this case you cant get the perfect picture . The makers should stick to Superdigital or DEI or Baba or Media International .
The chapter searches follow the songs and of course one should always attach the DVD player to the stereo system to get the best sound .
Another V Shantaram classic . Good music and dances . At 68mins look at the huge earth going round the sun . Not a camera trick -they must have built the solid ball model -bigger than a person -and will give kids instant understanding of how the earth rotates and revolves rounds the sun .
Since the earth is over 25,000 miles in circumference and a day lasts 24 hours it is spinning at a mind boggling supersonic speed of over 1000miles an hour -breaking the sound barrier . The centrifugal force is so immense that the heavy material at the equator tends to be flung out so that its a few miles wider so the earth is really oval and not round . The difference is too small to be seen with the naked eye but is more obvious with mighty Jupiter and Saturn both hundreds of times bigger than the earth .
Another set has a huge 20ft across drum banging which must have made the whole tribal village vibrate ! The story is of a commoner woman dancer falling in love with a prince .
Anarkali -1940s - Parag -no subtiltes -black and white
Picture quality -poor
Sound-not good
An immortal story of the doomed love affair between Prince
Salim and dancer Anarkali , Superb Rafi songs The makers
Parag logo annoyingly stays on for the whole movie . Really
need to redo this from original print ..