Filmi Geek metapost: where can I find these movies?

I am often asked, in email and occasionally in comments, where to get a hold of the movies that I review here on Filmi Geek.  I have been meaning to do a post setting forth some of the legitimate sources I use and know about.  I live in the United States - those of you in other parts of the world may not be able to get DVDs as inexpensively as I can.  I am afraid that I don't know as much about the DVD sources that people outside of the United States prefer; perhaps some of you will contribute that information in the comments. (Those of you in India can probably just go read something else!)

The good news is that DVDs of Indian movies are these days readily available, with English subtitles, from a variety of sources, either for rental or for sale.  Nearly all of the movies that I have reviewed on this blog are available in subtitled DVDs from internet sources.  The even better news is that DVDs of Indian movies - even legitimate, non-pirated DVDs - are very inexpensive.  The slightly less good news is that even many legitimate DVDs are of mediocre quality; poor transfer, poor digitization, occasional skipped subtitles or unsubtitled songs. 

Now on to some sources.

Your local masala shop.  If you live in a major metropolitan area with any sizable South Asian population, chances are there is an Indian specialty grocer you can visit.  I have three within walking distance of my home, not to mention dozens of others elsewhere throughout the city.  Most of these shops carry DVDs for rental or for sale - usually mainstream and/or popular films.  Quality can vary - rental DVDs can be abused in circulation, and some shops might have lower-quality pirates - but you'll usually do fine. 

On-line retailers.  My personal favorite, and the source of more than three-quarters of my collection, is the on-line retailer Nehaflix.  Their prices and selection are very good, especially if you are an oldies fan like me.  Toss in frequent sales and free-shipping deals along with an incredibly fast turnaround - orders are often shipped the same day - and it's easy to see why I tend to turn to Nehaflix first.  All their DVDs are legitimate originals and the quality is as good as can be hoped.  Another on-line retailer I have used is Eros - they are slower and not quite as reliable as Nehaflix, but they also have interesting sales, sometimes offering clearance DVDs for as little as 99 cents.  I have heard good things about India Weekly, but I've not placed an order from them myself.  Although some titles can be found on Amazon, I wouldn't bother ordering from them - all the Indian films in their catalog are actually sold through retail partners like Nehaflix, and you'll do better to eliminate the middleman. 

On-line rental sites.  The internet rental giant Netflix, which rents DVDs by mail, has a decent, and growing, selection of Hindi DVDs.  There's also an all-Indian site, iTalkies, that works the same way as Netflix.  iTalkies has a magnificent selection, and appears to be a good source for hard-to-find films that exist in DVD but are out of print; but I have not used it myself.

Libraries. If you live in a big city or a university town, your library may have a selection of Indian films.  I've not used this resource myself but I know people who have had great success with it.  Also I've been told that some libraries are receptive to purchase suggestions from library users. 

Apart from those means for obtaining DVDs, there are a few other sources from which I regularly watch Indian movies. 

The theater.  If you live in a major metropolitan area with a sizable South Asian population, there may be a theater around that shows Indian films, if not continuously, than at least from time to time. Theatrical releases can be spotty in the US, limited to major releases from the big banner studios.  One way to find out is to go to your local Indian grocer and ask.  Another way, when you know that there is a major new release, is to search the internet for local showtimes for that film.  If you can find out who is the local promoter of South Asian entertainment events, they may have a website announcing upcoming releases - like Aap ka manoranjan here in Boston.

Cable television.  My cable network, Comcast, has two channels that show Indian films.  AZN, which is part of our digital cable package, has a limited selection of South Asian films, many of which are not very good, that occasionally come into the rotation.  ZeeTV, a premium channel, has a more diverse selection and shows about two movies a week.  Other cable suppliers or satellite networks may have other channels that carry Indian films. 

Jaman.  Finally, the Jaman website (for which I am a writer and moderator) has a very good and growing selection of Indian films available for download.  Jaman is a particularly good source of excellent art films - they have a great collection of titles from the NFDC, the Indian government agency that funds many art films - and the video quality is very good. 

I hope that's enough to get you started - again, I apologize for the U.S. focus, and I hope folks in other countries will chime in and help out.

Comments

[Daddy's Girl]

I have a few suggestions for readers living in the UK, which is where I really built up my Hindi movie DVD collection. I built it up at online stores, as I somehow never got round to physically visiting shops where they were sold. My favourite site in those days was www.play.com, which has a good 'Bollywood' selection (from classic black-and-white films of the 50s to the latest releases). Their prices are really, really reasonable (for the UK), and there are always lots of special discounts on offer - and all the prices include shipping, which is great. Although prices for Hindi DVDs on www.amazon.com are (in my opinion) atrocious (I've checked them out several times), I've often found really good deals on the site's UK counterpart - www.amazon.co.uk. There are often special offers, and it also pays to check out the Marketplace for even better prices (watch out for the shipping charges though). Hmv.co.uk is another good site - not as cheap as Play.com, and not as much variety, but they do have really good sales from time to time. And finally, for those who use eBay, I found A LOT of great deals on Hindi DVDs at www.ebay.co.uk.

[Smithie09]

I want to echo the others who have said not to use amazon...you will almost never get the best deal there. For example, when I was shopping around and price comparing HAHK, it was $45 on amazon, and $6 on nehaflix (my primary source for DVDs). I also have gotten pirated DVDs from the authorized sellers...really, only use amazon as a last resort.

I have used India Weekly and was pleased with the experience. They have many cheep DVDs and frequent 50% off sales (I got DDLJ there on sale for $10...$20 is the normal price). Shipping is slower than nehaflix, but still fairly timely.

Also, don't just check the public library, look into your local college library as well. My school has a huge selection of Indian films while the public library has virtually none. Most colleges will give library cards to local residents.

[maajhi]

Warning about NetFlix: there are some miscreants (gangs?) out there scratching the endings off Indian movies. I've had 3-4 recent rental DVDs stop playing completely when they reach the final few chapters. If you find a broken DVD, report it so they can track down the last owners, find a pattern and maybe catch the haters.

[yves]

Hi Carla,
Thanks for this update on how to get the movies, very useful, although thanks to you, I am now a staunch supporter of Nehaflix (speedy, reliable, cheap) and of course Jaman, where you can discover good movies, no, excellent movies for really good money, rental or purchase, by downloading them on your computer overnight.

For French bloggers: le meilleur endroit que je connaisse se trouve à Paris, dans les boutiques Hindi des alentours des Gares du Nord et de l'Est, rue du Faubourg St Denis, notamment. On trouve des films de bonne qualité (1 film par DVD), ou des complils sympa: 2, 3, voire 4 films par DVD. La qualité est alors assez moyenne (voir ce que dit Carla), mais ils sont au même prix que les autres, et en général les magasins les vendent 4 pour 10€.

[carla]

Thanks for the comments and additional information, everyone.

Maajhi: Even if there isn't intentional malice against Netflix disks (how horrible!), rental disks generally just have a hard life and won't always play. Netflix is pretty good about replacing bad disks quickly when you report it. The first time I tried to watch *Ankur* the disk actually came from Netflix in two pieces!

Yves: Thanks for commenting in French; it's nice to know I can still read some French. :) Do the disks that have more than movie per disk often lack subtitles on one or more of the films?

[Maajhi]

Carlaji, main abhi abhi cdi dekh kar aa rahaa hoon. meri salaah maniye aur chak de india zuroor dekhiye. main bhi aap hi ki tarah srk ko itna pasand nahin karta hoon, magar iss picture mein usne achchha kaam kiya hai aur ye film vakayi dekhne layak hai, khaas karke jab aapko hindi aati hai to aap ko ye zyada achchhi lagegi..film dekh kar ekdum achchha lag rahaa hai :-) aapko bhi zuroor dekhni chahiye.

[carla]

Maajhi - I've heard a lot of enthusiastic comments about *Chak de India* - I'm glad that people are enjoying it, and I'm sure it's very good. But the universe of very good movies and the universe of movies I want to make time to see aren't completely coincident - all the great reviews in the world don't change the fact that CDI is a sports movie with Shah Rukh Khan... not for me.

[maxqnz]

Interesting post, Carla. I can testify that up here in Zild, the situation is slowly changing for the better. Thanks to Indians being the fastest-growing group of immigrants, even mainstream DVD rental outlets are stocking more, and the (almost unwatchably bad) modern drek like JBJ are in cinemas in the two largest cities within weeks of their release in India. Of course, if one's tastes pretty much stop with the 70s then the only recourse available way up here at the top of the world, other than shoddy pirated copies, is to buy online and get gouged on shipping. Kinda like Amitabh's character in Deewaar, except my tattoo reads "मेरे दवदवाले चोर हैं"

[Maajhi]

Carla, I'm far from a fan of SRK. I absolutely can't stand his head-twittering, teary-eyed hang-dog looks or other TM mannerisms. But he gives an admirably restrained performance in this one. In fact, he isn't even "SRK The Star" in the movie.

From all I've read of your reviews, I think you will have a blast with this one. It's a full-on masala entertainer and I wouldn't want you to miss it on the big screen. Trust me, I went with quaking SRK-fear and have ended up seeing it twice already, it's that good.

[Maajhi]

maxqnz, surely you mean मेरे डीवीडीवाले :)

[Maajhi]

Also, the movie has a very strong feminist slant, the premise is a good metaphor for India at 60, and the movie leaves you entertained all at the same time. I'd even go so far as to say that it's the LRM of 2007 :).

[माझी]

कार्लाजी अगर आप नहीं देखना चाहतीं तो कोई फ़ोर्स तो नहीं कर सकता :). बस इतना ज़ुरूर कहूँगा कि फ़िल्म है बहुत अच्छी और इस फ़िल्म पर लिखे गए आपके अनमोल विचार मैं पढ़ने के लिये बेचैन हूँ इसी लिये थोड़ीसी ज़िद कर रहा हूँ - बुरा मत मानियेगा।

[maxqnz]

Thanks, maajhi. Whenever I transliterate English, I almost always use the wrong consonants, going for dental over retroflex. And when I transliterate the vowels, it's worse, since I often transliterate the Kiwi vowels! :-)

[carla]

maajhi ji, flattery is definitely the way to go! :) Thanks for the kind words. It's difficult to ignore such a forceful recommendation and others have praised the film very highly as well, even those who did not expect to like it. I won't be able to make time to go to the theater on a weeknight but if the film is still playing here through the weekend I will see what I can do ...

[amodini]

Maajhi,
Head-twittering ? LOL. What a perfect description for SRK :-) . I'm no great fan of the man either, but must say he oozes charisma. I did like Chak De quite a bit - reviewed it on my blog too.

Carla,
To add to the discussion, I'm US based also, and have rented desi films from Blockbuster online (they have a far wider selection online than in a physical store).

[Maajhi]

Saw ख़ामोश पानी (Silent Waters) yesterday. Couldn't sleep. Very moving. Worth adding to your queue. Like Pinjer but better.

[Maajhi]

Amodini, wow, you have one of my favorites in your favorites list: Shool! A black comedy like JBDY. I'm going to be reading more of your blog.

[Amodini]

Maajhi,
Shool was fantastic, although it seems to not have been appreciated much. Unlike JBDY - JBDY is like the "favorite-est" comedy of everybody I know. And very rightly, too - what a film !

[maxqnz]

Just a plug for http://www.babadigital.com/ I have no vested interest in this New Jersey firm, except as a satisfied customer. They seem to specialise in VERY old films that are sometimes not even at nehaflix. Their prices are good and their shipping is more reasonable than nehaflix. It was thanks to them that I'v seen both Jhanak Jhanak Payal Bhaje and Jal Bin Machhli, both of which are must watch for their dancing, imo.

could try at www.induna.com nice selection nice price

[FilmiDiva]

I had to chime in as there was this great debate about where to watch Indian movies. Have any of you checked out www.TinselVision.com? Fairly new web based company that offers movies at reasonable prices. For TV watchers almost all the TV stuff is free.

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[r]

Nice one. I normally use to see another site where all Indian regional movies are posted. We can watch them online. The quility is also good. Give it a try at:-

http://movies.TajTube.com

Hope this helps

[Jo Pattabiraman]

Hi Carla,

MoovieShoovie ( http://www.moovieshoovie.com) is a streaming film site where you can get a growing and legal selection of good Indian movies for $3 or less. They are DVD quality and subtitled. Once you purchase a ticket to watch the movie, it's yours for 7 days. You can also gift movies, often at a discount, to others.

I'm the founder and CEO, so more than a little biased. Let me know what you think.

Jo