Taal

Subhash Ghai's 1999 Indian film tells a love triangle built on class. Mansi is the daughter of a folk musician in a hill town and wants to be a singer. The relationship that begins between her and Manav, the son of a wealthy city family, turns into humiliation when the families meet. Vikrant, the music producer who discovers her, offers a career instead, and the balance among the three shapes the rest of the film. Ghai brings the music industry itself into the story: how a song is packaged, how a stage is designed and how it is promoted are all visible. A. R. Rahman's songs drew great attention apart from the film, and the video aesthetic was new for the period. Who it's for: viewers who like Indian popular cinema and musical melodrama. Who it's not for: anyone looking for something short; it runs close to three hours.