A.K. Hangal Movies
A son hoping to renew his relationship with his father discovers it may be too late in this drama. Sunil (Rajit Kapoor) was born in India, but after completing his education, he moved to the United States as part of his job with a large multinational corporation. Sunil made a token effort to keep in touch with his father while living in America, but when he stops getting answers to his periodic letters, he decides to pay his dad a visit, thinking he'll bring him back to America with him if the old man is having trouble taking care of himself. But when he arrives in Calcutta for the first time in a decade and a half, the city looks strange and unfamiliar to him, and he learns that his father moved away from his home a few years earlier. Sunil finds himself travelling from one city to another, following an increasingly fuzzy trail as he tries to find out what's become of his father, and realizing -- to his horror -- just how neglectful he's been. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rajit Kapoor, Anjan Srivastava, (more)
- 1987
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An embittered policeman pushed far beyond the brink of tolerance, Officer Kapil (Naseeruddin Shah) grows not simply disgusted with the Indian drug trade (and the burgeoning problem of drug abuse in Indian society) but hell-bent on cleaning it up, as a one-man vigilante. So begins Pankaj Prasar's ultra-violent action opus Jalwa (1987). Kapil hits the inner city, arsenal in tow, and vows to exterminate the one drug lord whom he pinpoints as responsible for the slew of recreational drugs plaguing the Indian streets. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This hard-hitting political drama was hit equally hard by Indian distributors and television, who declined to run the film. The controversial storyline features a newspaper editor who uncovers corruption, murder, and bribery in high office. When a politician is killed, an journalist discovers that a member of parliament had the man assassinated. What's more, the same member of parliament is an underworld gangster. As the editor digs deeper, the complicity of higher-placed politicians comes to the surface, which leads to riots in one town and an attempt to suppress his story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, (more)
In this Hindi drama Amitabh Bachchan portrays an ambitious young entrepreneur who strikes up a romance with an heiress Maushami Chatterjee. In order to impress the girl and her parents, he establishes a façade of material wealth. When the woman's father uncovers the ruse, the man must come to terms with his materialist ideals. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amitabh Bachchan, Moushumi Chatterjee, (more)
- 1973
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
This is an early film in the career of the multitalented Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan. Bachchan plays Subeer, a pop singer who dominates India's music scene. He meets Uma (Jaya Bhaduri), a country girl with a beautiful singing voice. Subeer brings Uma back to the city and makes her a star. However, tensions grow as Uma's career begins to overshadow that of Subeer. The film supplies plenty of the melodrama and music that are popular with Indian audiences. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- 2001
- NR
- Add Lagaan: Once Upon a Time In India to QueueAdd Lagaan: Once Upon a Time In India to top of Queue
One of the most expensive films ever to come out of Bollywood, Lagaan tells the tale of the Indian village Champaner, beset by drought and British colonialism in the year 1893. Without a drop of rain in months, the worried villagers of Champaner decide to ask the local authorities for a temporary repeal of their taxes -- the hated lagaan. Led by the heroic Bhuvan (Indian superstar Aamir Khan) they bring their plight to the military governor, Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne). But the sadistic Russell threatens to raise the lagaan threefold, unless the villagers can beat his men at a game of cricket, in which case he'll lift taxes on the entire province for a period of three years. Bhuvan accepts the challenge, but there's a problem -- no one in Champaner knows how to play cricket. A band of misfits come to the rescue, coached by Russell's soft-hearted sister Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), and the race is on to be ready in three months' time. An epic reworking of Victory with eye-popping song-and-dance routines, Lagaan was a major cinematic event in India upon its release. ~ Connor McMadden, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, (more)
