Films on India

Films recommended by Nita Kumar, Anjoo Upadyaya, and others for US students learning about India:

Rab Ne bana Di Jodi written and directed by Aditya Chopra. (I watched this Bollywood film on the flight back to the US--see "The Longest Day" July 18.)

http://www.yashrajfilms.com/microsites/rnbdjmicro/rnbdj.html

Om Shanti Om, the Bollywood blockbuster of the year for 2007. The title translates to "Guy Woman Guy."

http://omshantiom.erosentertainment.com/

99, a 2009 Indian film with good gender messages. See the New York Times review.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/movies/15nine.html

Mahabharata, the Peter Brooks 1989 adaptation of the longest epic in the world. The epic was written down c. 1000 BCE by Vyasa.

http://www.miracosta.cc.ca.us/home/gfloren/mahabfilm.htm

Ramayana, also covering events c. 1000 BCE, a shorter, animated film, based on Sri Rama Charita Manasa, a Hindi translation of the Mahabharata.

http://www.animationinsider.net/article.php?articleID=1850