Rekha Movies

Love and dreams follow two starry-eyed actors across three decades and two incarnations in this splashy Hindi musical. It's the early Seventies, and Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan) is a young would-be actor who has been playing bit parts in Bollywood musicals while looking for his big break. Om's ambition is to become a film star and win the heart of beautiful screen siren Shantipriya (Deepika Padukone), and his pal Pappu (Shreyas Talpade) and his mother Bela (Kirron Kher) both encourage him not to give up on his dreams. One day, Om meets Shantipriya on a movie set, and he feels as if destiny is finally smiling on him, but when he overhears her having an argument with studio chief Mukesh Mehra (Arjun Rampal), Om senses things are not as they should be. Before Om can decide what to make of his misgivings, the studio burns to the ground, claiming the lives of Om and Shantipriya. Thirty years later, a bit of Om's spirit seems to live on in Om Kapoor (also played by Shah Rukh Khan) a popular film actor with a large ego and a fear of flame who was born the day the old studio burned down. Despite his fame, Om is lonely, at least until he meets Sandhya (also played by Deepika Padukone), a shy but eager would-be actress looking for her chance to become a star. Om Shanti Om was directed and co-written by Farah Khan, who was a top choreographer in the Indian film industry before moving up to the director's chair, and features guest spots from a number of Bollywood's greatest stars, a few appearing in the form of digital recreations taken from films of the Seventies. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhye's beloved novel is brought to the screen in this lavish adaptation, which moves the story to the heady days of 1962 in Calcutta. Lolita (Vidya Balan) is a beautiful young woman who is taken in by her uncle after the tragic death of her parents. She grows up in a household of love and support despite her unfortunate circumstances, and as a child she makes friends with Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan), a boy from the neighborhood. Shekhar wants to be a musician and has plenty of talent, but he lacks the courage to go against the wishes of his father, who wants Shekhar to go into business. Lolita and Shekhar remain close friends and confidantes over the years, but it isn't until Girish (Sanjay Dutt), a wealthy and charismatic man, comes into Lolita's life that Shekhar comes to realize that he's deeply in love with his childhood pal, and wants to have her as his own. Parineeta is the first feature film from director Pradeep Sarkar, who previously earned his reputation directing commercials and music videos. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A scientist (director Rakesh Roshan) invents a computer to send sounds into outer space. Using the sound "Aum," he makes contact with an alien life form, but his fellow scientists laugh at his claims. Despondent, he drives home with his wife (Rekha). A spaceship interrupts their journey, and causes the excited Sanjay to crash. He is killed and his unborn child is injured in the accident. Rohit (Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan) grows up brain-damaged. He's stuck in a class with much younger kids and longs to advance academically, but he continually flunks. On top of that, he and his young friends are frequently bullied by Raj (Rajat Bedi) and his gang of thugs. Then Nisha (Preity Zinta), a beautiful young woman, moves to town. After a couple of comic misunderstandings, Nisha takes an interest in Rohit. Rohit asks Nisha to teach him computers, and they dig up his father's old device, inadvertently sending another message into space. Soon, another ship arrives, and this time, a funny little blue alien is left behind. Rohit takes the little one in, and soon finds himself being magically healed. Suddenly, he can see without his glasses, and soon he develops a quick mind and superhuman strength. Not only that -- he can dance. So he and his friends call the alien "Jadoo." Raj grows jealous of all the time Nisha is spending with Rohit. He finds that now Rohit is strong enough to defend himself. But the authorities are searching for Jadoo, and Rohit is determined to keep his little friend safe, no matter what the cost. Director Rakesh Roshan last directed his son, Hrithik, in Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai, the film that made him a star. The big-budget Koi...Mil Gaya was promoted as the first science fiction film to come out of Bollywood. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

In a fast-paced comedy straight out of the Kamasutra -- a 4th-century Hindu manual on love-making -- a married man learns all the secrets of great sex from an expert courtesan. She is running away from the unwanted attentions of an aristocrat and takes refuge with the married man in the meantime. His newfound sexual expertise benefits his wife, who has reason to be grateful to the courtesan for her timely intervention. The narrative may have enough sub-plots and secondary characters to muddle up the picture, but the humor and sensuality are a balance of sorts -- for audiences open-minded about sexual situations. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The title of this film is actually Kali Yuga, the worst of the four Hindu time periods in which morality and ethics are all but lost, wars and famines abound, and suffering is at its worst. Needless to say, it is our current time period -- due to last for a total of 432,000 years. Against this setting, a widow and her three sons are running a large industrial factory with the help of her brother-in-law, his son, and another top manager. The family starts to separate over business affairs, and then matters turn much worse as murder enters the picture. The underside of business expansion is revealed, with its attendant corruption and loss of ethics -- the kali yuga incarnate. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This Indian film is not quite a musical comedy, neither is it a straightforward lament about the oppression of the working classes. Somehow, it manages to be both. When the middle-class friend of a rich factory owner's son impersonates a factory worker, he begins to see things from the workers' point of view. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide