Movies on movies

With The Dirty Picture being a hit, everyone is raving about the new found boldness of Vidya Balan, and how she is a Khan, although paid lower than Katrina and Kareena. Mahesh Bhatt cites examples of his own two actresses from Arth to say how actresses, who are not happy to be decorations get paid well lesser than the others - like Hemaji and Rekha, according to him. There are jokes galore (which are another indicator of a film hitting jackpot) - supporting actor nomination for Vidya's bra!

What I found interesting (or annoying) was the lack of factual journalism (again, you say!?) on history of "these" kind of movies. By that I mean, movies made on movies. One journo went home to write that the only movie made on filmdom worth mentioning is Rangeela - cringe!!! So I decided to mark my return to the world of blog, with a few reminders for "those" kind of movies - definitely not a complete list, but most of them well known, and some my favorites.

The oldest movie in this category that I can think of goes back to the '50s - Kagaz ke Phool, Guru Dutt's magnum opus. Very watchable, highly artistic. If any of our current directors can come up with a script partly as original as that one, they should probably be given the lifetime achievement award, immediately!
The next one that comes to mind is Guddi. A different take on the glamorous world, Hrishikesh Mukherji showed us how a Dharmendra can be "not-so-hero-like" all the time! He went to the music department of the movie industry with Abhimaan, using the playback singing as a backdrop for marital feuds. There are recent talks of re-making this classic with Aby's Baby and Bahu, but guys...please spare us the expressionless now Hausfrau Ash trying to pull off a Jaya Bhaduri. As for Abhishek, lets not even go there.
Another movie on movies, which I personally find very endearing is Bhumika. Smita Patil and Amol Palekar under Shyam Benegal's direction - high point of parallel cinema in the 70's.
Another one from the 70's that is probably best forgotten is Chala Murari Hero Banne . The hero was Asrani trying to make it in bollywood, and I leave it at that.
Then there was Rangeela, creating a new star in Urmila, and a big fight between Aamir Khan and RGV. As a director, he tried his hand in this category again with Mast, and as a producer with Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon. Needless to say the latter people dont really remember. Last seen Antara Mali (the wannabe Madhuri) was seen in a youtube semi-porn movie.
Apart from this the two other notable movies in this genre are Om Shanti Om and Luck by Chance, the second being my favorite Konkona movie. It was a role that seems all to easy I guess, but the way she goes through the motion, especially in the last 30 mins of the movie, its just amazing. As for OSO, well it remains one of the highest grossers. Farah Khan decided to try her luck in the movies on movies category again with Tees Maar Khan, but not a surprise that it didnt work - despite "Sheila ki - flaunting - jawani".

That brings us to The Dirty Picture. (K)Ekta Kapoor left her "K"-fixation to the telly world, and started churning out hits - Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, for starters. I think her latest (k)superstition is to have English titles. Whatever the case maybe, she had promised Vidya Balan a National Award for her bold role, and it sure seems that she is getting there without her supporting actor(s).
All eyes are now on Heroine, from the "oh-I-am-so-important" Bhandarkar and "oh-I-am-so-expensive" Kareena. Given that Vidya Balan is now a Khan, because of her new-found "running a movie without a Khan" status, lets see what Kareena will be if Heroine does well? Hit or miss, one thing is for sure, Kareena is on her path to become a Khan in her own right - thanks to a Mr. Saif Ali.