Cinema... Marte Dum Tak

Cinema... Marte Dum Tak, as publicised, is a reincarnation of Indian Pulp. Will it be successful in reincarnating the genre in itself? I am not sure but this has surely started a conversation and personally for me turned out to be a surprisingly informative documentary. A well researched one which is also witty and entertaining.

Going into the show I had very low expectations as is the case generally with other Indian documentaries. The general idea in my head was that the quality tends to be inferior when it comes to Indian Docu-series compared to the western counterparts. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this well maid. Not only it feels natural and not-forced but it also portrays the viewpoints of these four directors involved, sincerely and honestly.

There is drama, comedy and yes boldness which are the necessary ingredients for an entertaining show but this show shines the brightest when it is at its rawest form. When people share their deepest insecurities and failures with camera or when they just throw a witty one liner directed towards one of the crews extemporarily, that's when this show achieves its goals for me.

Speaking of the content, we all perhaps know that this world existed and what ultimately happened to it but I don't think so anyone would have tried to think about the ordeals one might had to go through to be part of this industry. This show initiates that conversation. And for that this show should be commended and celebrated.

Hopefully the makers continue this job and bring more such documentaries which reveal seemingly quirky but also beautifully ordinary human stories to us.

This show is a must watch.

Cinema Marte Dum Tak (2023) : Series Review -

Have you seen any "C-grade" film in your life? Why am I even asking it? Naturally, we have all seen such films in our lives at least once. I don't know where this idea came from for Cinema Marte Dum and Amazon Prime's team, but I just want to step back for a moment, think, and clap for them. Cinema Marte Dum Tak will introduce you to the faces who made those films in the late 80s and 90s and earned a cult following in some rural parts of India that are unknown to the media and other audiences. It's a hilarious docuseries. You'll have at least a couple of dozen loud gags and go gaga over the nostalgia that you now hate but once enjoyed before you started to understand quality cinema. That isn't a p*#n for sure, that's some adult stuff made with utter honesty forced by the circumstances of filmmaking: low budget, box office pressure, and personal life.

Cinema Marte Dum Tak starts with a quirky song that has lusty lyrics. "Pseudo Saiyan vodo Saiyan camera ka piche, thermocol ki vaadiyo me juice ke cheeten.. juice.. juice ke cheete." I mean, who writes such lyrics? The next lines are even more hilarious, and I'm not going to spoil your excitement. So, the docuseries takes us to old footage from C grade cinema, which you usually laugh at as utter nonsense. Then you meet the legends behind those masterpieces: Vinod Talwar, Dilip Gulati Kishan Shah, and J. Neelam. They start narrating their struggle, mindset, and efforts behind making those films, and you start believing every word they say because it's so 'humanly true'. The four directors are given a chance to make their last film, and they are delighted. The films' names are "Shanti Basera," "Blood Suckers," "Sauten Bani Chudail," and "Jungle Girl". Yes, you are supposed to laugh, and please don't feel awkward because those four are open hearted and too bindass to tolerate your shyness.

Created by maverick filmmaker Vasan Bala (who recently delivered a fantastic murder mystery called "Monica Oh My Darling), the six-episode reality docuseries is a first-ever peek into the dazzling and independent ecosystem of the 90s B and C grade pulp cinema industry. Co-directed by Disha Rindani, Xulfee and Kulish Kant Thakur, Cinema Marte Dum also features interviews of Raza Murad, Mukesh Rishi, Harish Patel, Pahlaj Nihlani, Kanti Shah and Rakhi Sawant, amongst others, who share insights on this lesser-known chapter of Indian cinema. The young Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor also makes an appearance as a host in the final episode, where he makes those four directors speak their hearts out and share some emotional segments.

Luckily, I saw the first two episodes in a packed theatre with the cast and media-a group that understands cinema. I had a riot, to say the least. Claps, hoots, painful cheeks and stomach, and tears in eyes out of loud laughter. That's how I reached home and then saw the rest of the episode. The next two episodes also had me bursting into laughter. It's so much fun-chaotic fun, outright blasting fun fest-oh my my, how can I explain it. Then, the last two episodes. (4th and 5th) are sucked out of comedy as the Dracula/Vampire from "Blood Suckers" has sucked all the fun instead of blood. The 4th and 5th episodes are more dramatic and emotional-sort of debatable too-but that's what you owe them (the directors). All those rape scenes, ugly and obscene faces from low-budget horror flicks, juicy bikini scenes, bed scenes, bath scenes, and cheap dialogues from old B and C-grade films are there to make you giggle, but with a "bits" of extra (portion) nostalgia. "Haath me leke khada kar, chote ko bada kar." You'll also get adult entertainment as such.

Cinema Marte Dum Tak is a unique concept for a documentary genre, and it's unfiltered, unrated, and uncut, which makes it more hard hitting and real. You have to have some knowledge of that kind of cinema and the media headlines surrounding it to connect deeply with the narrative. But the main essence of Cinema Marte Dum Tak is paying homage to the people who were lost in the midst of stardom, PR, and front page material. The movies were dumb, but the directors weren't. They just had a specific mindset to make those films for a certain section of audience in certain districts of India that are far away from our modernization and urbanisation. Cinema Marte Dum Tak gives them a platform to speak up and open our eyes about whatever image we had created of them. As a whole, it puts you on a map of cinema to show the right path about where we were and where we are headed. Cinema is a medium for people, and people aren't bound to one category. Today we have multiplexes and Hollywood films doing higher business than our own domestic films, but there's a section of the audience who still want to watch the steamy stuff online. Back then, there was no internet, no memes, no Facebook, no tik-tok, and no Instagram reels, so they had to fulfil their thirst with these so-called "B" and "C" grade films. Prime Video has more subscribers in urban centres, but I hope Cinema Marte Dum Tak reaches those people who used to watch these low grade films in theatres and that their legends, ie. The four directors, get enough recognition for the work they have done. Let them meet their Rajkumar Hirani, Neeraj Pandey, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, SS Rajamouli, Aishwarya Rai, and Sridevi.

RATING - 6/10*

My oh myyyy..... How do I define my experience watching this cringe worthy , quirky , totally ENTERTAINING docu series !

Out of the box ...I applaud the think tanks who explored this forgotten, infamous ,titillating genre of the 90s Mind blowing ,surreal and absolutely RAW ; IN YOUR FACE !

Every line spoken by the yesteryear B grade directors hit you and thrill you.

Unabashed , dark side of glamour is showcased with impunity.

You just can't keep your eyes off the screen , it grips you at every level and transports you to world lessor known to a layman .

Special mention for the starlets who came for the auditions !

Cheers cheers cheers.

What a beautifully crafted series and kudos to all the directors and the actors. Their straight from the heart talk kept me glued in throughout.

Most of us born in the 70s and 80s may have heard of or seen some of the movies, but to take a look at the people behind these was something else.

At some moments it made me emotional too to see and feel their pain. Very happy that Amazon thought of such a series and executed it flawlessly.

All of the directors and actors have a human angle behind the mask and the layers were peeled beautifully. The series did a great job of not just giving them the perfect platform but also making some of their wishes come true.

Cinema marte dum tak is a documentary series directed by vasan bala.

The interior of 90s bollywood was full-on masala, so is this series. The b-grade compartment really flourished in that decade, holding the able hands of j neelam, kishan shah, dilip gulati and co. This series presents a very enjoyable and pulpy side to a docu series. This not only throws facts at you but also narrates it through a spicy lens, mostly due to the eccentric quartet of director.

It talks about giving a status to the lesser known smutty side of bollywood but also recognized the problems. The public enjoyed it, it earned loads of bucks but no denying the fact that young girls who did not have an iota of what they are doing were forced in it. This is a harsh reality. There is a fine line between heroic and glorify. This series does show the quartet as heroes but never glorifies them, it celebrates them, their work but never undermine the flaws. And this is what makes it a brilliant piece of work. Hats off to vasan bala, the true lover of every kind of cinema.

I rate it 10.