Films

Mughal-E-Azam - bw version (Monday 10.10., 17:00) Director: K. Asif Info: 35 mm, urdu, 1960, 173 minuttes Set in 16th century Mughal India, the film brings to life a tragic story of love between the heir to the Emperor´s throne Salim and Anarkali, a beautiful court dancer.

Veer - Zaara (Monday 10.10., 20:30) Director: Yash Chopra Info: DVD (urdu and hindi), 2004, 192 minuttes When Indian squadron leader Veer Pratap Singh saves Zara, a beautiful Pakistani girl determined to fullfill her grandmother's wish to have her ashes scattered in India, his life is changed forever. A cross border love story, Veer- Zaara is a powerful metaphor for a more hopeful period in Pakistan-India relations.

Pakeezah (Pure of Heart) (Tuesday 11.10., 17:30) Director: Kamal Amrohi Info: 35 mm (urdu), 1972, 146 minuttes Pakeezah is a lavish treatment of a courtesan's turbulent story as she struggles to break free of the prejudice associated with her art.

Devdas (Tuesday 11.10., 20:30) Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali Info: 35 mm (hindi a bengali), 2002, 182 minuttes In true "Romeo and Juliet" fashion, childhood sweethearts Devdas and Paro are lovers whose marriage plans are thwarted by their parents, causing a rift between the two families and leaving Paro to be married off to a rich older man. Devdas finds solace in the company of Chandramukhi, a courtesan, and alcohol.

Mohra (The Pawn) (Wednesday 12. 10., 17:30 ) Director: Rajiv Rai Info: 35 mm (hindi), 1994, 177 minuttes Vishal Agnihotri is unjustly sentenced to life imprisonment for killing four college students responsible for the death of his wife Priya. All hell breaks loose when Roma, a young journalist begins to investigate his case.

Mr. India (Wednesday 12.10., 20:30) Director: Shekhar Kapur Info: 35 mm (hindi), 1987, 179 minuttes This entertaining film imaginatively parodies a medley of Bombay and Western hits - including, in the latter case, James Bond thrillers, Superman, Disneyesque fantasies like Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, and, of course, The Invisible Man. A huge hit, it helped launch two careers; Anil Kapoor's as a hero, and Shekhar Kapur's as the director who would go on to craft the international artfilm Bandit Queen, and the Western historical Elizabeth.

Bunti Aur Babli (Bunti and Babli) (Thursday 13.10., 17:00) Director: Shaad Ali Info: DVD (hindi), 2005, 170 minuttes Rakesh alias Bunty and Vimmi alias Babli are two people who don´t want to work. They decide to travel around from city to city to con unsuspecting victims with their imaginative, funny schemes and make heaps of money at the same time.

Munnabhai M.B.B.S. (Munnabhai M.D.) (Thursday 13.10., 20:15) Director: Rajkumar Hirani Info: DVD (hindi), 2003 'Laughter is the best medicine!' Munnabhai is a cheerful Bombay-based gangster, whose conservative parents believe he runs hospital in the city. Every year, when his parents arrive, Munna and his gang bathe, shave, don white coats and stethoscopes and pretend to be diligent doctors. This year, however, the clever charade begins to fall apart....

Zanjeer (The Chain) (Friday 14.10., 17:30) Director: Prakash Mehra Info: 35 mm (hindi and urdu), 1973, 145 minuttes Zanjeer added a whole new twist to an established genre of Hindi cinema, the 'revenge film'. It was also pivotal film that first portrayed the actor Amitabh Bachchan as 'the angry young man', and started him on his phenomenal, enduring rise to super stardom.

Dhoom (The Hit) (Friday 14.10., 20:30) Director: Sanjay Gadhvi Info: DVD (hindi), 2005, 129 minuttes The tale begins in Bombay where a sophisticated gang of robbers is giving nightmares to the Police department. The high point of these robberies is always the getaway of the robbers on their bikes - the slickest, swiftest, meanest, riding machines on the roads. When police officer Jai Dixit is drafted in to solve the mysterious robberies he doesn't really know who or what he's up against.

Shree 420 (Mr. Fraud) (Saturday 15.10., 14:00) Director: Raj Kapoor Info: 35 mm (hindi), 1955, 168 minuttes Set in post colonial India, Shree 420 pits knowledge embodied by Vidya, the woman he loves, against Maya, the lure of pleasure and desire, through the eyes of Raj, a young man struggling to 'make it' in Bombay.

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (I Already Gave My Heart Away) (Saturday 15.10., 15:00) Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali Info: 35 mm (hindi), 1999, 188 minuttes Nandini falls in love with Sameer, a boy of Indo-Italian parentage who wishes to grasp the essence of Hindustani Music when he comes to study with her father, a famous singer. When their love is discovered, Sameer is banished and Nandini´s parents get her married to Vanraj, a well settled lawyer. When Vanraj finds out about Sameer, he takes Nandini to Italy (filmed in Hungary) to find him.

Gulabi Aaina (Pink Mirror) (Saturday 15.10., 17:30) Director: Sridhar Rangayan Info: DVD (hindi), 2003, 40 minuttes This is one of the first films from India to focus on homosexuality in a realistic way neither glorifying, nor denigrating gay characters. As director, Sridhar Rangayan explains: "Drag queens love camp humour, dance and drama and they love Bollywood films. That is why I set the film (...) format with song and dance routines. It uses same clichés but inverts the genre".

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Something Is Happening) (Saturday 15.10., 18:30) Director: Karan Johar Info: DVD (hindi), 1998, 177 minuttes This film is "pure escapist cinema at its best". The story opens with Rahul at his wife Tina's funeral. Tina has died during childbirth, leaving eight letters to be given to their daughter Anjali on each of her first eight birthdays. In the eighth letter, Tina reveals what she really wants her daughter to do...

Kaagaz Ke Phool (Paper Flowers) (Sunday 16.10., 14:00 Director: Guru Dutt Info: 35 mm (hindi), 1959, 148 minuttes Guru Dutt's commercially unsuccessful, critically acclaimed cinematic masterpiece tells the story of Suresh Sinha a famous film director who dies as a lonely and fogotten man.

Page 3 (Sunday 16.10., 15:30) Director: Madhur Bhandarkar Info: DVD (hindi), 2005, 139 minuttes The director of Chandni Bar (2001) takes a merciless look at Bombay's glitz and glam through the eyes of Madhavi Sharma, a young female journalist. Big-time scandals -- ranging from disturbed families, depression leading to suicide, cheating spouses, wife-swapping, drug peddling, child prostitution and casting couches -- unfold here. Taboos like homosexuality and bisexuality come out in the open. This is not a film to miss!

Vishwa Thulasi (Sunday 16.10., 17:00) Director: Sumathy Ram Info: 35 mm (tamil), 2004, 114 minuttes When Thulasi returns to her village after two decades to take up the post of a dance teacher at the local school, memories of her love for Vishwa return to haunt her. When she sets eyes on him she realises that time has not reduced his passion for her either, but they remain haunted by what happened in the past.

Black (Sunday 16.10., 18:30) Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali Info: DVD (english and hindi), 2005, 122 minuttes Black is a present-day, Sanjay Leela Bhansali interpretation of Helen Keller's exceptional life and the role Annie Sullivan played in her life. A timely film that pushes the boundaries of what we define as Hindi commercial cinema.