Ghanchakkar (Dir. Raj Kumar Gupta, 2013)

(Rated 4.5/5 on letterboxd in Nov 2018)

Emraan Hashmi's seriously amnesiac thief and the helplessness of people around him create some great absurdist comedy and a surprisingly taut suspense thriller. Amit Trivedi's pulsating background music make this even more delectable.
Oh and who acted in Ghajni, again? That one moment of collective amnesia is just priceless. 

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (Dir. Karan Johar, 2016)

(Reviewed 3.5/5 on letterboxd.com in Feb 2018)


No Mr. Johar, not every Bollywood fan aspires to live out scenes and songs from Chopra and Johar films. Despite the self congratulatory tone of the film, it exceeds expectations mainly through the performances of Kapoor and Sharma. Also towards the end when I was almost certain Johar was getting into Kal Ho Na Ho territory , he surprised me once again with that ending. An extra half star just for that Channa Mereya song sequence at the wedding; no Kapoor has channeled his inner Chaplin better than in that scene.

Rajnigandha (Dir. Basu Chatterjee, 1974)

(Reviewed 4/5 on letterboxd.com in Feb 2018)


A film about the desires and fantasies of a young bourgeois woman, trying to decide between the two loves of her life. Quite ahead of its time, even though it tries its best not to appear completely blasphemous to the contemporary Indian society of the 70's. I think Vidya Sinha's conservative and dreamy (bordering on dumb) character definitely helps in that regard.

Dawn Patrol (Dir. Howard Hawks, 1930)

(Reviewed 4.5/5 on letterboxd.com in Jan 2018)

Richard Barthelmess carrying a full grown man on his shoulder and then almost carrying off a mission single handedly as a squadron commander. I can believe almost anything this guy ever did onscreen.