India Plaza DVD sales
Pay whatever you have to , but get this DVD. It really shows what is making DVD such an astounding medium of education . Would like Zee TV , Sony ( the excellent Boogie Woogie) and all others to start bringing out all their programmes on DVDs like this . If they charged say $15 for seven hours of materials on 2 double layered DVDs they could mint a fortune .
It has eight segments - different worlds, terra firma , giants , moon , star , atmosphere , life and destiny in fifty minute segments and goes from the early thoughts about planets to the latest Galileo missions . The best pictures are of course of our own spaceship Mother Earth - just look at the one of the Red Sea , so detailed with islands in the middle of it - amazing.
Pictures from the surface of Venus , of volcanoes on Io , only seen two segments so far , but already know more than most professors ( just kidding) .
Write to BBC (bbc.co.uk) to put out all their Horizon programmes Goodness gracious shows , plays , out on mulitple DVDs like , at effectively four dollars an hour , its the biggest bargain , and the background music as in Bollywood movies is excellent and helps one with the concentration.. Refugee
(2000) Released by Yash Raj Films. With Original widescreen,5.1 DD, Subtitles on the dialogue; and best of all- subtitles on the beautiful and poetic lyrics by Javed Akhtar of the melodious songs of Anu Malik.
Video is amazingly clear and life-like; the best I've seen in a Yash Raj DVD. The 5.1 audio is well used; never intrusive, pleasantly balanced for the songs, but active when it counts for the action scenes. Contains interviews with the director and cast.
Plus TV promos, and the star-studded music release launch of the CD. The DVD has a bit rate of around 7, which is good considering the plethora of material included; the movie itself is 207 minutes long, so space was at a premium on this DVD, yet quality appears not to have been compromised.
Inspired cinematography and direction by J.P. Mutta, along with marvellous debuts by Abhishek and especially Kareena, who is quite simply as natural an actress and beauty that Indian cinema has seen in a long time, make this movie a must-see and this DVD a must-have. I recommend it highly..Irwin.
Truly outstanding movie . Dont put it on unless you have three hours spare as you wont want to get up once it starts running .The colors are rich and detailed , the picture sharp and perfect and who else can do that except Superdigital ! Stand up and take a bow !
Btw this DVD has been titled 'not for sale in UK' , probably because Eros will bring out a junk quality DVD with blurred picture so get your hands on the USA copy if you can ( Hindi movies are region free) .
The white salt desert of the Rann of Kutch between India and Pakistan has been beautifully filmed , including some lakes there , and whenver Kareena wears bright colored dresses , the foreground stands out , giving the whole frame a truly outstanding 3D effect . The movie was only released on the big screen four weeks ago and I wanted very much to see it in theater first and was only curious to see the first few minutes of the DVD but really got completely hooked . I am still going to see it on the big screen a couple of times - it is that good .
JP Dutta is a very clever man . Those who know the politics and culture of the subcontinent know that his previous movies 'Border' - and no other movie has moved me as much as the complete version of Border did ( the DVD has the longest song cut out) , and in that movie Dutta pleased the Sikhs but hurt Muslim sentiment and in this movie he has made it up to them . One of the Pakistani characters is shown in a very sympathetic light unlike Pakistani movies where Indians are always bad guys !
There is a fair amount of humor , some of it quite subtle for eg we all know what is going to happen to any Indian caught smuggling people into Pakistan and still watch him being dragged away with morbid anticipation.
Really enjoyed the slightly slower pace than one sees in Bollywood movies , in perfect pitch with the desert setting and the costumes , houses etc. are truly instructive . The only bit I have my doubt are the Masai tribal huts -do they really have them in the Rann of Kutch , and the pink flamingos ? The songs are great , the choreography slow and beautiful . The Sufi song is superb .
Refugee doesnt have the shock emotional impact of Border which left one in tears for weeks but it has its own charm and is one movie that will stay in the memory for a long time .
You can buy this movie for about $25 from www.indiaplaza.com and other web sites and it is one DVD that one absolutely must have .
Released by Video Sound. Starring Bobby Deol, Rani Mukherjee. Music by Anand Raaj Anand. 162 minutes. 5.1 DD. 1.75 Aspect ratio. Subtitles on dialogue and only on the first few lines of the songs! Apparently, the translator went for a cup of coffee, and then picked up translating after the song was finished!!!
Bichhoo is an entertaining actioner that re-unites Deol and Mukherjee after their previous succesful teaming in "Badal." Here they attempt to repeat the chemistry that made "Badal" so entertaining. Bichhoo has Deol playing a similar role as he acted in "Soldier" and "Badal," as he once again plays a man which fate has turned into a cold-blooded killer, and who eventually falls in love with a persistent female suitor (Rani).
The DVD's picture quality is fine. The digital transfer is sharp and detailed, although grain is noticeable in a number of scenes. Perhaps, the director filmed it this way for effect, or it could be the due to the DVD transfer; the bit rate is only around 5 throughout. Still, video is mostly sharp and pleasing to the eye. Video rating- 8.5 out of 10.
The 5.1 audio is excellent; with the surround soundfield used to great effect even during the non-action scenes. The songs and choreography are quite good. Especially "Tote Tote Ho Gaye" and "Ek Baari Take Le (which features the "Chaiya, Chaiya" dancer from "Dil Se"). The sound effects are numerous and interesting, especially the suspenseful, "swirling blade" sound-effect, which is heard as action is just about to commence on the screen. Audio rating- 9 out of 10.
In closing, Video Sound has produced a fine DVD, that definitely has repeat-viewing value, in spite of their song-subtitling snafu. Overall rating- 8.5 out of 10. Recommended.. Irwin
No subtitles.
Song compilation DVD released by DEI. Starring
Hrithik Roshan & many other stars. 22 songs from DEI's recent releases;
taken from Kaho Naa.. Pyar Hai, Bulandi, Godmother, Krodh, Baaghi and
others. All the songs are in superb 5.1 Dolby Digital. Video quality is
top-of-the-line since most of the selected songs are taken from their
recent anamorphic DVDS.
This is probably the highest quality Indian song compilation disc that has ever been released. Standout selections include: "Ek Pal" from KNPH with its message of living each moment to the fullest as the future is unknown and which features great choreography and dancing by Hrithik. "Ek Kabhi Do Kabhi" from Baaghi as a sexy Manisha struts her stuff for the camera; and "Dil Ne," also from KNPH. Recommended..Irwin
English subtitles except songs and is pretty good .
Picture quality - excellent
Sound -excellent Dolby 5.1
Govinda , Twinkle ,
Fabulous comedy , Bollywood at its best . A rich man has four daughters who refuse to get married and leave the house - one hates men , another is in love with somebody who is in love with a club dancer , the third makes too many conditions and the fourth is Twinkle who looks extremely good in some great dresses , but sexiest in the saree and in the boxing outfit when she beats up Johnny Lever . Govinda is great when he does the Gujarati accent.
Two gorays ( whites) I took to see the movie , thought it was fantastic , the girl said the humour was slapstick like the Hong Kong ones and fighting well choreographed but she loved the songs and dances the best . Video sound have not subtitled the songs and this is silly as these movies wont become popular in the West unless they do that . I will put translation of one of the songs in the next few days here , Its Twinkle doing the ancient classical Indian dance from 50.35 onwards .
You will laugh so hard your stomach muscles will hurt . Get this DVD from www,indiaplaza.com or other places . One only realizes what a wonderful invention DVD is when you see some of these teasing dances Bollywood is so good at . Just look at the number of times Govinda pulls her hair and Twinkle slaps his face or kicks his behind from 49.00-53.00 .
And that classical segment from 50.37 onwards where the music gets faster and faster and they both dance to keep up is truly one of the best ever from Bollywood . If you put the DVD on repeat for that 90 sec section you will see that all the dancers are doing their own thing and Govinda is the best of all , however because Twinkle is dressed in that great traditional Indian outfit the eye just goes back to her all the time . Must have disc..Mo
I hope KNPH breaks all sales records and wakes up the other DVD
companies, who keep producing cheap, no frill DVDS with poor video
quality, and no song subtitling or extras.
I've written and commended DEI for their past good work and will do so
for this one. And I hope others will do the same with their e-mails and
purchasing of their DVDS. If DEI fails to make its mark, the other
companies will continue to do business as usual, and dump inferior
product on the consumers of DVDS.
Here is my Review:
KAHO NAA... PYAR HAI
Released and authored by DEI. Introducing Hrithik Roshan & Amisha Patel.
172 minutes. Subtitles are on the dialogue AND songs in Spanish,
Japanese, Arabic and French. And of course, in English. Also, the Hindi
lyrics are printed on the glossy 20 page booklet that comes with the
DVD.
The main menu graphics are top-notch and the amount of extras provided
are plentiful: 10 very well made TV Promos, the theatrical trailer,
interesting interviews with Hrithik, Amisha, director Rakesh, musical
director Rajesh, and choreographer Khan, reaction from the fans, and
best of all- the complete Filmfare Awards when Hritik spoke about his
father's attempted assassination, and then brought the house down with
his electrifying performances of "Ek Pal" and "Kaho Naa Pyar Hai."
The video quaity is spectacular; the best ever seen for an Indian DVD.
Colors are finely detailed with no signs of artifacts. The stunning and
flawless transfer is probably due from using the original film negative
as the source. Rating 10 out of 10.
Likewise, the audio is dynamic, filling the soundfield with Rajesh
Roshan's superb score. The (lfe) channel features a wicked bass and
there's plenty gong on in the surround channels. Rating 10 out of 10.
In closing, DEI has made a world-class DVD that ranks with any DVD made
anywhere on the planet. Featuring a gorgeous, widescreen
anamorphically-enhanced transfer, song subtitling, an attractive
booklet, and tons of extras. Overall rating 10 out of 10.
The Indian Dvd Ratings List You can buy DVDs from the following sites . UK and USA .. http://www.indiandvdfilms.com USA http://www.indiaplaza.com..http://www.indiaweekly.com
The very first Indian DVD that utilizes a 16X9 Anamorphic Widescreen
transfer is a pleasure to behold. Video is crystal-clear and sharp; the
images displayed on the screen are amazingly life-like. And of course,
since this is anamorphic widescreen, all that was shot on camera is
presented on your tv as intended. 5.1 DD audio is dynamic and very busy
on the surround channels. Also, Krodh has complete subtitling of the
songs and dialogue. Truly, a must-have DVD.
Hera Pheri , 2000 , Videosound , English subtitles though I couldnt
get them to work - how does one do it ?
Akshay , Tabassum , Sunil Shetty , Paresh Rawal
What a genius of a movie !. Every scene is captivating
Beautiful shots mostly from Sun City Hotel in South Africa .
Three poor people living in Bombay but they can still have great songs
and dances in their dreams .
Being very partial to dark haired long limbed beauties , I
would watch any movie of Tabu , and the three men here do extremely
well . Paresh as the myopic landlord has done an outstanding job .
Akhsay in his best performance for a long time .
The three try a get rich quick scheme to pay off their debts .
Om Puri is brilliant as the Punjabi dehati . This movie is still
playing in the theaters so I am going to hide this DVD from my friends
and take them to see the movie on the big screen - the only way to see
these Bollywood movies and appreciate the tremendous hard work and
craft that goes into making them . Must see . Hera Pheeri is a
well-written, well-directed, and superably-acted film. Paresh Rawal plays the almost-blind surrogate father figure
with great aplomb, he literally steals every scene in the movie. Even the two knuckleheads, Sunil Shetty and Aksaye
Kumar, give a better than average performance. I never really liked Tabu, she has the looks of a model, but the voice
of man. It is so monotone and low one can easily lose her in the movie. Her performance was understated (rumor has it
that she and the producer got into a tiff of some kind, thus all of Tabu's performance was left on the cutting room
floor. A godsend for me, anyway) and her relationship with Sunil shetty was quite well-developed. It was nice to see
Gulshan Grover reprising his role as the dastardly villain. He is a one-trick pony to be sure, with his gruff style
of talking, but he was enjoyable. A good film, overall. Not bad, at all..Niraj
Picture quality -excellent , glorious full screen
Bollywood at its best . Superb music by Anand Milind and choreography
by Tharun .
Story of a princess who falls in love with a commoner , who not
knowing who she is, treats very off handedly which makes her love him
even more ( joking) . Two songs 'Pinjre se ud gayo maina' - the bird
has flown from the cage - when the princess escapes Jodhpur palace and
Kore kagaz pe anghuta lagwale -sign a blank cheque - where she is
teasing him unmercifully -some UN agency has recognized Bollywood
teasing dances as an art form -are truly wonderful .
Only Indian musical instruments in these two songs , none of the
screeching synthesizers which should be banned by the UN cultural
affairs committee and Tabu wears absolutey eye catching dresses , has
never looked so beautiful .
She is great even in the rain dance with western classical music in
the background . This is a must see movie , wish I had seen it on full
screen , some scenes I think are shot in Norway in summertime .
If Bollywood wants to make billions it should release one and a half
hour movies with all the songs from three movies , including ones
they might have ommitted in the official release eg Raveena's erotic
dance in Mohra and subtitle them in English .
I think they would be wildly succesful , even more so on Imax..
Sylvester , Sandra Bullock,
Of course the sound is not dubbed so as in Hollywood movies one has to
strain to listen . I also dislike the two color only rule in Hollywood
, the green one seems disabled to give a futuristic blue and red look
to the movie - an eye strain and totally unnecessary . Bollywood
movies in contrast are beautiful to look at as they are shot in good
light and rich colors .In fact I have to put on a Bo movie like Dulhe
Raja to make sure its not my tube which has gone wrong.
The sex scenes with no bodily fluid exchanges permitted are very funny
. . On the whole the dialog is quite good . A movie set in 2040 where
some criminals frozen are revived . Society has been sanitized ,
Hispanics driven underground with no burritos ( American kebabs) being
allowed to be sold , swearing punished as it should be .
What I like about sci fi movies is the thinking element - the gadgets
, cars , clothes and since they are set in the future the imagination
has to be active . Wish Bollywood would try its hand at it . Book
sized color computer , gull wing cars , and much more which Indians
being so high in high tech areas could easily think of - maybe make
Asimov's foundation trilogy for the big screen but with songs and
dances set in the black inkiness of space .
Juhi , SRK
Eros and B4U should stick to film distribution and get out of the DVD
business . They are buying the rights of all the excellent movies and
just ruining them .Are these guys blind ? Cant they compare their bad
discs with what superdigital and videosound and DEI put out as long as
two years ago .
I always put on a song DVD from superdigital eg Gharwali to readjust
all the colors after watching junk from Eros .
The songs are OK , its the rest of the movie which has a shimmering
effect due to i think running the movie through telecine to put on the
subtitles .You cant tell the picture is bad because you cant read the
titles at the end .I was eager to know who that beauty with such
express face was who plays SRK's girlfriend in pink -Shalini - but
couldnt read at the end . I think she may be the one who hosted a Zee
cinema show .
some of the red blue look of the movie was on the film screen as well
, so it may just be the camerman monkeying about with color filters .
The GOI must insist on looking at a master copy of all DVDs to make
sure customers are not ripped off . Its a kind of export quality
control .
My recommendation would be not to buy any DVD from Eros /B4U untl
they change their makers to DEI or Superdigital and subtitle the
songs. All must go to the Eros and B4U sites and send them nasty
email and tell them to start mastering DVDs properly. They have had enough
chances and dont give a damn . Even many of their 'original' VHS tapes I found to be
atrocious ...Mo
Bobby Deol , Rani
One of the must have DVDs, along with KNPH and Mast for those who
dont understand Hindi as they will really enjoy the subtitled songs . Showing
DVDs to some girls who didnt understand Hindi I found that they were
immersed in them till the non subtitled songs came up and then lost
interest .
So if other DVD makers are reading this , then do the subtitling
accurately and of the songs too . Generally the subtitiling is
extremely good with some minor quibbles - for example the priest says
'Even God cant stand in the way of the obsessed' is instead translated
as even God cant help the obsessed . The second is less punchier .
Enjoyed the comedy scenes of Johnny Lever and his new wife who prefers
to look at hunks rather than him .
The Mumbai mafia has made it
difficult for movie makers to show gangsters in a bad light so its
back to the politicians and policemen.
Have only seen an hour of it but its seems like a very good movie .I
still prefer Superdigital picture , maybe they have turned the
contrast up a bit to make it sharper.
On the whole the subtitling is very commendable . It should be left
literal for example where the hero is told 'if you dont do this you
will repent ' the correct translation is 'if you dont do this ,you
will shed tears of blood' . The two best songs 'Red Skirt' with the
very sexy Minke Singh and 'Jugni jugni ' are well done but the
translator has made a bit of a mess with the second song .
A lot of Punjabi . Loved Johnny Lever as the Sardar although I am not
sure why sardars have not taken to the streets in protest ! -they must
be getting broadminded! for eg when the Policeman asks 'Sardarji what
have you come to town for ? Honeymoon or rioting ?'
Another line I liked was 'Wives are no different from cars . Cars run
into trouble . Wives get bored and start troubles' .
Its really a hugely enjoyable movie and the three hours fly by..
Bollywood's use of background music to arouse emotions is well
illustrated in that scene where the girl ties a bandage as a Rakhee
around Bobby Deol's wrist and makes him , her brother who will
protect her just after he has been up all those who molested her .
Later on one of the terrorists remarks that India is a funny country
where men will kill themselves for a relationship based on a 'piece of
a thread' , translated as' foster sisters'
Dil hi dil mein
Will put a review on this one later . The music by AR Rehman is so
bad I had to stop the DVD . Even the Gujarati Gharba song and dance is
the most unispiring insipid piece ever heard on Bollywood screens .
ARR should go and learn the rudiments of Indian music before ruining
films.
Hot Pix 2000 Esquire Hong Kong no subtitles
Picture quality -Variable , too much shimmer ,so probably transfer from video This one has 33 songs from recent movies - a bit of overkill
! It has all the songs of Kaho Na Pyar Hai and most from
others
KNPH - 6 songs And by not putting in the English and Hindi and Urdu subtitles -
songs are the easiest to do as the lyrics keep repeating ,
they just missed an extra million in sales . And they can
make these DVDs irrestible if they add in the ommitted song
eg Asha one from KNPH , and as is done in Mohra There is an alarming ten second break when you press the
chapter forward for the next song , when the TV screen goes
completely blank .
http://indiandvdreviews.cjb.net
Irwin
External links
Page 8-Krantiveer, Barsat ,Chahat ,HDDCS,Jhil ke us par,Songs of the Millenium,Mast,Dance Dhamaka,Kabhi kabhi
KRODH (DEI)
Indian Dvd Ratings List-- http://indiandvdreviews.cjb.net
Hera Pheri
Picture quality -perfect
Sound -perfect 5.1
Usually Bollywood movies are more about style over substance, but this movie breaks this mold.
Pehla Pehla Pyar 1994 Media Digital , no subs
Sound -Dolby AC-3 2channels
Tabassum , Rishi , Anupam
From www.indiaplaza and indiaweekly.com
Demolition Man - 1990s - Hollywood
Picture quality -washed out colors
Sound -Perfect
Phir bi dil hai Hindustani -1999 , Eros , B4U
English subtitltes -not songs
Picture quality -poor
Sound-5.1 excellent .
You've echoed my sentiments about the picture quality on this DVD. The
pirated version that I had initially seen for this movie had better picture
quality and the correct aspect ratio. I couldn't believe the shimmering in
the picture. I sincerely hope that Eros gets their act together...here's
hoping that Vishwatma and Naukar Biwi Ka DVDs that are in the mail are of
good quality..Bloodhound
Badal - 2000 - DEI
Picture quality - good , excellent in songs
Sound -Dolby 5.1 , Perfect
English subtitles including songs.
Hot pics 2000
Sound -Excellent , Dolby 5.1 surround
PBDHH-5
Pukar - 4
Badal-5
Jaanwar-3
Bulandi-4 including the excellent Teri meri ik jindadi with
who else ? Raveena
Khubsoorat-3 , but missing the excellent -Ae Shivani sung by
Sanjay Dutt
Mela-3
A pity there are all jumbled up . Why ? Each movie should
have all the songs in sequence . The print of Bulandi is
excellent , KHNH - not so .