Piyush Mishra Movies

A middle-class kid from Delhi dreams of the day he will become a big rock star, and experiences an epiphany that prompts him to shake up his comfortable existence. Realizing that no great art comes without intense suffering, aspiring rock god Janardan (Ranbir Kapoor) seeks out Heer Kaul -- the most gorgeous, wealthy, and unattainable girl on campus, with the specific goal of having his heart shattered into a million pieces. Later, Janardan becomes Jordan, a cultural phenomenon who takes the entire world of music by storm. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director Amrit Sagar weaves this remarkable tale of bravery and courage set againstthe backdrop of the Bangladesh War, and following six Indian prisoners of war as they stage a daredevil escape from a Pakistani POW camp. A tribute to all Indian prisoners of war who never returned home from Pakistan, 1971 was inspired by a story told to the director by his father, and stars Manoj Bajpai and Ravi Kishan. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Young Indian filmmaker Manish Jha writes and directs the French-Indian co-production Matrubhoomi (A Nation Without Women). In rural India of the near future, a small village has been reduced to a violent state of barbarianism. Because of the immoral tradition of female infanticide, the town is populated exclusively by brutish men. Nevertheless, wealthy Ramcharan (Sudhir Pandey) still tries to arrange a marriage for his eldest son Rakesh (Pankaj Jha). He manages to purchase the only woman around, Kalki (Tulip Joshi), who ends up serving all five of his sons. The violence only escalates from there. A Nation Without Women was shown at the 2003 Venice Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Mani Rathnam, who has proven with films like Bombay (1995) and Iruvar (1998) that it was possible in India to make quality films that could also be box-office hits, chose the 50th anniversary celebrations of Indian Independence as the backdrop for this film about the clash between love and ideology. Amar Kant Varma is the son of a deceased army officer and he lives with his family in Delhi. As a program executive for All India Radio, he travels all over the country to interview common people to mark the anniversary. On one of these trips, he meets a mysterious girl named Meghna at a train station, but loses sight of her before he can get to know her. He sees her again in another town and reminds her of their meeting. Meghna doesn't seem to recognize him. Although she doesn't really want him, he follows her all the way to Ladakh. After two days together, she leaves him to join a group of insurgents on a mission. Amar is heart-broken and marries a girl of his mother's choice. In the meantime, Meghna is chosen to be the main person on a suicide mission targeting the Republic Day Parade. She finds Amar and their destinies entwine. Director Ratnam uses the two characters as symbols for two distinct parts of India at odds with each other -- the big states on the one hand, and the border areas with minority populations on the other. The latter are angry at the central government for having neglected them, which have resulted in a recession. Dil Se, a good example of the energy and imagination of the "Bollywood" movies (referring to Bombay, the "Hollywood of India") from one of the masters of the genre was screened as part of the International Forum of Young Cinema at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi