Aamra-i Mohun Bagan

I have been raving about this movie, and tripping on this song for a while… it isn’t a masterpiece or anything, but to a born Mohun Bagan boy (a baganboy, i.e.) this is like the nineth symphony.

Hiralal Mukherjee; Bhuti Sukul, Rev. Sudhir Chatterjee, Manomohan Mukherjee, Rajen Sengupta, Nilmadhav Bhattacharya, Kanu Roy, Habul Sarkar, Abhilash Ghosh, Bijoydas Bhaduri, Sibdas Bhaduri (c)…….

Thank you.

Aamrai Mohun Bagan

Amader surjyo Maroon
Nadhir taan shobuj ghashey
Amader khunj-le pabey
Sona-y lekha itihas-ey

Amader surjo Maroon…

Amader roktey khela
Khelar chholey biplobee besh
Aamra-i kokhono mukh
Kokhono dol kokhono desh..

Jonmechi mathaye niye
Khelowaari porowaana
buker ei koljey boley
Lorai koro, haar na maana

Jonmechi mathaye niye…

Dekho oi orhe nishaan
khela-r akaash cho’war sopan
Aamra-i Mohun Bagan…. Mohun Bagan.

Beparowa khelar sahosh
Khelar bibek khelar nobab
Aamrai bhin-deshi’der
Birudh-dhey ei desher jobab

Jonmecchi….

The Rushmore 5 – Okay, let’s go all Awwal Number then…

Awwal Number movies are not bad movies, because if they were, Victory (the Hurmaan Baweja starrer) would surely have been in. And there have been a lot of movies far worse that the ones in the Rushmore. In fact, a criteria is that the movie should be watchable (why, HHH is indeed better than watchable, it’s a nice movie) …. alternately Chain Khuli Ki Main Khuli is an honest attempt, but you cannot sit through the full movie. So what, then, are Awwal number movies? Awwal Number movies are basically …. hmm, ahem…… Awwal Number movies. Nope, cannot explain. Need to watch it to get it.

All Rounder, Patiala House , Hip Hip Hurray , Dil Bole Hadippa.

There you go.

Awwal Number is not even among the Rushmore of Awwal Number movies.
Poor Aamir.

The Purest of Emotions…

You know the greatness of the scene? It is pure…. and that’s what football does to you, it gets your purest, rawest emotions out.

Did Arshavin’s moment , day-before-yesterday*, come close? It came close, yes. But it was not the same thing.

We, the long-suffering Arsenal fans need another Anfield 1989 moment…

Maybe this is the time…

* For future reference.

The Rushmore 3 – Hindi (Bollywood) movies on Sports

And no, we won’t go all Awwal Number here, I promise. Or rather, I would not go all Awwal Number on you yet ….

So here’s the list:

Iqbal. Chak De! India. Lagaan. Saaheb.

Iqbal – is like a postcard from a faraway land. A beautiful, magical movie. And indeed, if Zaheer can, if Irfan Can, then Iqbal Khan. Heartwarming, joyous. This is Kukunoor’s zenith.

Chak De! India – The mother of all feel-good movies. And the mother of most Bollywood masala movies. And done without any sleaze or soap. Just taut, sharp storytelling. Shahrukh, in one of his best performances, is in his elements here; and the girls are excellent.

Lagaan: Once upon a time in India – If Shahrukh can, how can Aamir not? Chop an hour off the movie, chop two songs off, and this would be in everyone’s top three Bollywood movies of all time. Even as-is, it still is a super, super movie. I remember, in a movie hall in Bangalore a long long time back, half the hall was standing up an screaming ‘Maar Kachra, maar!’. That’s the magic of movies. That’s the magic of cricket.

Saaheb – Old-world Anil Kapoor movie about a footballer (a goalkeeper. How can you make a tragic movie on football with the protagonist being anything but a goalkeeper?) Beautiful songs (some standardfare Amrita Singh song-and-dance routines notwithstanding)… Kya khabar kya pata, one of Kishore Kumar’s best songs, if from this movie. And emotes well all through. However, like in all of her movies, Raakhi speaks in bangla for all her dialogues in this one as well.

What’s your list?

ps: idea inspired from an old facebook status message of Ayan’s.

Of world champions and movies

Doesn’t one just know that one day, there will be a big-budget, super star-cast movie on Mike Tyson’s life?