Welcome to Filmi Geek, where the Geek of All Trades takes on Hindi films. There are a number of different ways you can navigate Filmi Geek. This post is your guide.
First, there is an Alphabetical Index of all films featured on Filmi Geek. Here you can find the films listed alphabetically by the English transliteration of their titles.
Next, there is an Actor/Actress index, where the films are sorted by the names of their stars. A film with more than one star will be listed under all stars' names.
Finally, there are the Filmi Geek categories, which you can select over on the top right-hand side of the page. Many films will fall into more than one of these categories. There is a category for each decade from the 1950s to today, as well as some thematic categories. Here's a brief explanation of each of the thematic categories:
Art films. This category contains the art-house films, sometimes called "parallel cinema." These films tend toward heavier and more politically-charged subject matter than mainstream Hindi films. They often lack the song-and-dance element that characterizes Bollywood films, and so may be more palatable to western filmgoers, or those new to Indian cinema who don't quite know what to make of the tropes of mainstream Indian film. India truly excels in the art-house, claiming such luminaries as Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, and Aparna Sen.
Commercial hits in India. This category includes films that were super-hits or better in India at the time of their release (according to the Box Office India website). Although I love Hindi films, I am not Indian. So films that struck a particular chord with their home audience are of special interest to me as pop culture bellwethers, windows providing at least a little insight into Indian society.
Execrable. This category gathers the movies that I just hate - the ones where I wished to have the time back after watching. These are the movies that don't even rise to the level of "timepass." Of course it's just my opinion, colored by any number of factors - some of these movies are quite well loved by others, and I respect differences of opinion, but what I don't like, I don't like. And, there are judgment calls here that can shift or change - a movie I might call "execrable" one day might squeak by as a timepass in a different mood.
Films in English. This self-explanatory category is home to the films for which most GOAT readers will not require subtitles. It includes a couple of films that are not Indian, as well as some films made by Indians but aimed predominantly at western audiences, and films about the Indian diaspora that are in English because that is the language its characters would speak in real life.
GOAT's favorites. This category includes the films that I love the most. They are not necessarily the best films, and not necessarily films I would recommend without reservation, but they are the ones I come back to again and again, the ones that are closest to my heart. It is not a top-ten or a top-twenty list; it's a collection without limit, so if it is a film I adore, it will not be excluded.
Good films (but not favorites). This category contains the films that I really enjoyed, but that for whatever reason I don't count among my favorites. Maybe they have a weakness in pacing or plotting, a couple of lackluster songs, or an actor I don't love - or maybe they just didn't grab me the right way for no particular reason. They are still very good films, better than a mere timepass, and can be considered recommended.
Good introductions. If you are new to Indian movies, some aspects of them can be puzzling; mainstream Hindi films in particular can be a bit of an acquired taste for westerners. This category tells you which films I think would be a good place to start exploring. This category is limited to more mainstream Bollywood fare - art films are generally more accessible to a western viewer, and so particular introductory recommendations are less necessary.
Great naach-gaana. "Naach-gaana" means song and dance - Bollywood is all about its song and dance, and this category identifies the films I find outstanding in that area, even if they are lacking in other areas. These are the films that frequently find their way into my DVD player for repeat viewing of the song sequences, and whose soundtracks are in regular rotation on my iPod.
Masala films. Some Bollywood films try to be all things to all viewers - romance, intrigue, action, drama - a little of everything. This time-honored popular genre is known as masala, which means "mix." These films tend toward the long side, with sweeping or rambling plots, and can be hugely entertaining once your are prepared for the masala experience. This category identifies the masala films in the Filmi Geek archive.
Regional films. "Regional" film is a term sometimes used to describe Indian films that are not in Hindi. The Hindi film industry - "Bollywood" - is perhaps the best known in the west, but other parts of India produce hundreds of films a year as well, in such languages as Bengali (from the eastern state of Bengal, where Calcutta is), Telugu (the south-central Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, whose capital is Hyderabad), and Tamil (from the southern state of Tamil Nadu). As of Filmi Geek's launch, I haven't seen very many of these regional films, but there are many wonderful films coming from all over India, and so this category may grow some day.
Shabana's films. Although her films can readily be found in the Actor/Actress index, I could not resist creating a special category for my favorite Hindi film star, Shabana Azmi. Shabana ji is the one that started it all for me, and I've seen more of her films than anyone else's. She is a beautiful woman with a first-class mind, a gifted actor, and a tireless and principled crusader for the ideals she believes in. She is simply awesome, and she's very, very close to my heart - so she gets her own category (and even her own blog).
Timepass. Movies that are entertaining enough while they are happening, but aren't particularly memorable after the fact. These are the films that may have a couple of redeeming features, but that may not be worth chasing down unless they feature an actor or actress that you particularly like.
WTF? This category captures those movies that are just plain bizarre - sometimes for better, and sometimes, well, not.
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