I wasn't aware that Bollywood had made its own version of a Superman movie. It did, in 1980. Here's how IMDb sums up the plot:
This is the South Indian version of Superman. The hero, Babu, witnesses the murder of his parents by - get this - Cowboys. He vows revenge, and spends the rest of the 2 hours and 15 minutes of the flick getting his revenge. Throw in some dance numbers, bad hairdos, outrageous acting, and you have yourself a classic of Indian Cinema few have ever seen. The actor, who plays Superman, Rama Rao Taraka Nandamuri, looks like a fat Elvis impersonator, complete with a Giant H on his chest (it stands for Hanuman the monkey god). In his over 50-year career in cinema, he made over 300 movies, and was a founder of his own political party!
The film features some of the worst acting I've ever seen (fortunately, I can't understand what the actors are saying, but just seeing them is bad enough!). Here's the climactic (?) fight scene from the movie.
Horrible, isn't it? If you want to see the entire movie (although I can't imagine why), it's available on YouTube.
Peter
I hope realize it was a crime against humanity posting the clip, much less telling people they can get the movie on You Tube.
ReplyDeleteYou do realize that American cinema has conventions just as absurd as anything in Indian Cinema? Maybe more absurd, because we pretend that films are realistic, and it seem that the Indians don't.
ReplyDeleteI mean, why NOT put dance numbers in the middle of AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON? Would it be any sillier? And I like that film.
Tangent; some day somebody with some expertise should write a book about the connection between dance choreography and fight choreography. I'm sure there have been lots of connections over the years, I can see some of them (sort of), but don't know enough about what I'm looking at.
Wow, THAT is the definition of 'bad' acting... or is it even acting??? And the clothes!!!
ReplyDeleteSo bad it's actually really good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the belly laugh. Looks like "Superman" is still around, though as you may see in this photo, he no longer has the hair.
ReplyDeletehttps://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/463259042953973760/Xeio27Ry.jpeg
C S P Schofield - if you watch the Indian dancing girls, the vast majority of the movements are martial arts based. It is a bit like Tai Chi - normal moves slowed down.
ReplyDeleteThere are theories and discussions that martial arts originated and were developed in India about 2500 BC and spread out to the rest of Asia over time. Watching some of the traditional dance styles certainly seems to bear this out.
However, for the film clip under discussion, I was becoming strangely interested in the vamp with her "Brunhilda from Bochum" Valkyrie type costume and head dress (I'm sure old Adolf with his love of Wagnerian operas and Teutonic legends would be horrified) and her over dramatic acting and facial expressions. I gotta get out a bit more at night, eh?
The Zombie thing was a bit odd (to say the least) and its martial arts moves absolutely crap. Even my dog could have dodged that lot and "done it in". So why SuperSingh couldn't have dealt with it in the first 2 seconds is beyond me. But, hey! I'm not an Indian movie fan or expert!
Phil B
Oddly, it was entertaining!
ReplyDeleteAre there any actual *GOOD* Bollywood movies?
ReplyDeleteJust curious.