Hindi film title of the day

As the deadline's coming closer, I find myself being extremely short of time to even post anything on the blog, which is just sad, because there's still so much to learn!

Well, I'll try my best to at least post something each day.

Today's Hindi film title of the day is-

Deewar (pronounced as a flat 'd-ee-waar'): It means a wall. By the way, it's a very popular Amitabh Bachchan movie from his hey days.

Hindi word of the day!

Writing this particular blog post while on a bus to London. Will update about that one in more detail, but let's get to our Hindi word of the day!

I've decided that once you guys know the basics, it's getting harder and harder to come up with generic words. So I decided to start explaining the names of popular Hindi films.

I guess then from today this feature will be known as Hindi film title of the day. Are you ready?

Today's Hindi film title of the day is-

Sholay (pronounced as 'show-lay'): This means embers. Of coal. Which don't look hot but still are capable of scorching. Of course, this is my interpretation, after watching the movie.

Maybe you can tell me your interpretation when you watch the movie!

Bollywood: Only song and dance?

When I went to speak to Asad Shan, the founder of Iconic Bollywood Productions in London, I knew only a little about his background. The fact that he hosted a Bollywood show on a music channel in India before coming to London and setting up his own acting school gave me the feeling that he was one of the many struggling actors who could not manage to crack the industry and hence came back to impart the wisdom gained whilst trying to make it. But after speaking to him, I realised that he really knew the workings of the industry.

And that is how we got talking about the way the industry is today. He kept saying that the usual song-and-dance fare is what the people want, and the only thing that makes money, so the filmmakers don't want to experiment with anything else. But I think that is changing. Very slowly, yes, but definitely changing. How else do you explain the commercial success of Dev D, a modern-day spin on Devdas, a classic. The movie is all about sex, drugs and alcohol, a look into today's urban India and I think it did very well for itself. The approach to the film was very dark and the topic itself was enough for drawing much criticism. But it's success, mostly among urban audiences, proved everyone wrong. However, a glaring sign of how the industry itself recieved the film is seen in the way it was dealt with in almost all the award functions.

While Filmfare (which is like the Indian Oscars) gave it one nomination in the best film category and one in best music, and in spite of winning in the best music category, the lack of enthusiasm and the usual fanfare related to every other film nominated was clear. And so we saw that even in 2010, the hindi film industry does not look positively upon newer, fresher cinema. But at the risk of sounding foolishly optimistic, I feel that just having such a film nominated is a baby step forward in the new age Bollywood era.

Hindi word of the day!

Hey all! All set for a new word to enrich your Hindi vocabulary? Well, let's get on with it!

Today's hindi word of the day is-

Aankhein (pronounced as aan-khey): This means eyes. Although it might seem a little unusual to teach you guys this word, but as you progress through watching more Bollywood movies, you'll realise that it's used fairly commonly!

Eg: Teri aankhein kehti hai sau kahaniya.

Your eyes tell a hundred stories.

Hindi word of the day!

I'm in a very big rush, so I'm going to make this a short one!

Today, our little class is going to learn a new Hindi word which is-

Namaste (pronounced as, well, na-mas-tey): Which is a greeting, sort of like hello. It's a very respectful greeting too.

Eg: As Shahrukh Khan enters the room, to meet the reporters, he says "Namaste!"

Hindi word of the day!

And this is something that I know you've been waiting for a whole day...your quick guide to Hindi, the Bollywood way!

So, today's Hindi word of the day is-

Dard (pronounced as a flat d-ar-and another flat d): It means pain. I know it's not one of the first few words you want to learn, but once you start watching Hindi movies, you'll be amazed at how common this word is!

Eg: Hum dil ka dard utha te hai.

(I carry the pain of love)

Now you cannot get more filmy than that!

Hindi word of the day!

Hello all! I realise I'm a little late in posting this for today, but I hope this still counts as Monday, because GOD knows my day is far from over!

Moving on, today's word is:

Dil (pronounced as a flat 'd' and 'il'): Well, this word means heart. Again, not something that I'd use in everyday life, just as you wouldn't use the word 'heart' in an everyday sentence.

Eg: Hum ne tum ko dil de diya.

I gave my heart to you.

So there, congratulations folks, you're slowly getting there!