Three of Indian cinema’s biggest stars—Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Salman Khan—are all turning sixty this year. They are not related to each other, but each is part of an extended family working in the Indian film industry. They have each appeared in more than sixty films over the last four decades of cinema, and their films account for six of the top ten highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time. This summer, the Dryden is plumbing our extensive South Asian cinema collection to bring eleven of the Khans’ most famous and influential films to our screen while celebrating their accomplishments.
Dates and Titles:
July 26 (2 p.m.): Dryden Roundtable: The Khans of Bollywood @ 60
July 31: Om Shanti Om (Farah Khan, India 2007, 162 min., 35mm, Hindi and Urdu with English subtitles)
August 7: Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Aditya Chopra, India 2008, 167 min., 35mm, Hindi with English subtitles)
August 9 (2 p.m.): Ra.One (Anubhav Sinha, India 2011, 156 min., 35mm, Hindi with English subtitles)
August 12: Bodyguard (Siddique, India 2011, 130 min., 35mm, Hindi with English subtitles)
August 16: Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (Ashutoh Gowariker, India/US 2001, 224 min., 35mm, Hindi with English subtitles)
August 19: Dabangg (Abhinav Kashyap, India 2010, 126 min., 35mm, Hindi with English subtitles)
August 20: Mangal Pandey (Ketan Mehta, India 2005, 150 min., 35mm, Hindi and Urdu with English subtitles)
August 23 (2 p.m.): Rang De Basanti (Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, India 2006, 167 min., 35mm, Hindi with English subtitles)
August 23: Kal Ho Naa Ho (Nikkhil Advani, India 2003, 186 min., 35mm, Hindi with English subtitles)
August 30 (2 p.m.): Ek Tha Tiger (Kabir Khan, India 2012, 132 min., 35mm, Hindi with English subtitles)
August 30: Like Stars on Earth (Taare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan, India 2007, 162 min., 35mm, Hindi with English subtitles)
Events in this Series
Dabangg (35mm)
The Khans of Bollywood @ 60 Salman Khan reinvented himself as an action star with Wanted (2009) and this film, which has spawned a series of sequels. Khan is Chulbul Pandey, who has grown up in the shadow of his half-brother, living with his mother and her second husband.
Kal Ho Naa Ho (35mm)
The Khans of Bollywood @ 60 The New York City-based Kapur family is in disorder. The father has died and mother Jenny (Jaya Bachchan) is struggling to keep the family restaurant open. Daughter Naina (Preity Zinta) is studying for an M.B.A. with her friend Rohit (Saif Ali Khan), whom she sees everyday, while tensions exists between mother-in-law Lajjo (Sushma Seth) and her grandchildren — Shiv (Athit Naik), who walks with a brace, and adopted Gia (Jhanak Shukla).
Rang De Basanti (35mm)
The Khans of Bollywood @ 60 | Saturday Matinees! Denied the financing to make a film based on her grandfather’s diary, British filmmaker Sue McKinley (Alice Patten) decides to travel to India to produce it on her own. There she reunites with Sonia (Soha Ali Khan), who just happens to have friends that fit the roles of her film perfectly.
Mangal Pandey (35mm)
The Khans of Bollywood @ 60 Following his success with Lagaan in 2001, Aamir Khan jumped back into the historical epic Mangal Pandey for this true story of a Sepoy (Indian soldier) in the army controlled by the East India Company, which ruled India as an occupying force.
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (35mm)
The Khans of Bollywood @ 60 One of the biggest sensations of modern Indian cinema, Lagaan is an epic tale of love and power (and sports!) set in a small village under British occupation.