It was destiny!
One fine-ish day in Melbourne, on the set of Chak De India, a couple of extras got talking. And the rest is history. In a suitable filmi twist, we could be long lost siblings only we are from different countries , look nothing alike and well, we aren’t related. We love watching films, talking about films, pestering other people to watch films we love. We share a belief that there are few ailments that cannot be cured by a decent dose of Helen, a pair of sparkly pants and a bit of prancing around the living room in high stepping tippy toe ishtyle. Or, failing that, a good snake dance. Sadly, Hindi cinema seems to be neglecting the music and masala that drew us in. Happily, South Indian film makers are producing the kind of big-hearted, all singing, all dancing, machete and moustache strewn films we have grown to love.
So here we are. It was hard to find useful reviews and information on Telugu and Tamil films so we started our blog as a way of capturing what we discover. We hope you enjoy our insights, theories, ramblings, reviews and rants about the cinema we love. Join in! We want to hear what you think, but do respect the opinions of others when you post. If your comments are spammy, they will be deleted.
You can email us at : cinemachaat at gmail dot com, leave a message on the Guestbook or drop by the Cinema Chaat page on Facebook.
Heather & Temple
Update:
The elusive jenni, when not caught up in her administrative and academic duties at the Academy of Applied Filmi Snake Research and Ethics, will publish occasional snippets of her filmi research here at Cinema Chaat. Or not.



Hi guys, great site, we need more SI blogs I think. I started one too. It’s kinda fun isn’t it? I put you on my blog roll, hope you don’t mind.
Jill
Hi,
Good to find your site – like you I’m not 100% sold on recent directions in Bollywood films. Love Helen. Pran is good value. Shammi Kapoor’s moves always entertain. And Disco Dancer leaves me speechless.
Thanks! I do realise I am not the target demographic for Hindi films so am probably quite out of step with what producers will see as a worthwhile investment. Thank heavens for Telugu films is all I can say. They’re not uniformly brilliant, but the spirit is there
And DVDs provide the Helen-y goodness needed for a healthy masala balance. Cheers
Temple
I think we might have been the target audience for films like My Name is Khan and Kites but the assuption in both cases was that Western audiences like their songs toned down.
I really hope they don’t think that! It’s so totally not true.
Otherwise its back to the oldies but goodies for proper masala fun! Heather
I think actually its more that modern Indian audiences see most of the big HW blockbusters which don’t have any songs at all. Sadly it seems to be part of the Hollywood-isation of Hindi cinema. A terrible trend IMO! As Temple said, thank heavens for SI cinema, and for the the smaller budget Hindi films which still appear to try and keep to their roots
Hey cinemachaaters,
Are you going to watch the Tamil and Telegu films at the Indian Film Festival this year? Would love to get some snippets from you for http://www.chaijunction.com http://facebook.com/chaijunction.
Hi Su – There’s only one Telugu film showing, which is a shame as there were so many excellent Telugu releases in 2010. We’ve already reviewed it on the blog (it’s called Prasthanam) and I’m not planning to see it again. Of the Tamil and Malayam films there are a few I might go see if time allows. Keep an eye on this blog as we will post reviews as we see them. You’re more than welcome to use our reviews just so long as you credit/link appropriately. Thanks for dropping by, Temple
Hii Temple, thanks for ur review of 100% love, I worked for the film in direction department, would like to chat up more on that film as the hindi version is on cards, care to contact me via mail?
Hello Heather and Temple,
And I was just thinking it would only be fair, if the users could contribute! Have you considered opening a separate area (page/forum) here, where we could post our wishlists? I’m sure people are already sending them to you via mail or FB, but it’d be more organised and easier for everyone if made available here.
It’s great to see that cinemachaat is so active! It is turning out to be my primary fallback for movies I might have missed out on.
Hi Aditya
I hope we can live up to your praise!
Thanks
We are lucky enough to get some great movie recommendations and tips from readers, and always appreciate hearing about films we may not ever hear about otherwise. This blog really doesn’t have the capacity to operate as a forum, but I agree it would be good to have an area where those ideas could be captured. That’s one of the reasons I set up the FB page as I think that allows for more random and spontaneous messages. You are always welcome to post your film ideas in comments on here, or email us if you prefer. I always seem to have a list a mile long, and add to it all the time, so I can’t promise when or if I’ll get to your suggestions
Temple
Hey Aditya – I’ve given in! We now have a Guestbook page so people can leave general comments or recommendations
Cheers, Temple
i would like to buy the Sagara Sangamam DVD. would you help me.
I suggest you try Bhavani DVD, BoomboxIndia or Induna – links are over to the right of page under the heading ‘Useful stuff’.