Best Bollywood movie I’ve seen so far this summer: D.

Still looking forward to seeing: Sarkar, The Warrior, and The Rising.

D is a pretty good Mafia drama, very much in the style of Company.

Sarkar is directed by the industry’s most creative director, Ram Gopal Varma (fan site here), who did amazing work in Company and Bhoot. The story is said to be inspired by Coppolla’s The Godfather, transposed onto an Indian politician (said to be loosely based on Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackery) and his son. The “godfather” is played by Bollywood’s greatest actor, Amitabh Bachchan, who was great in “Black”. The son is played by Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh’s actual son, the first time they’ve played father and son on screen. It’s gotten good reviews.

The Warrior is in Hindi, but isn’t technically Bollywood because the production company is British (it won the 2003 BAFTA for best British picture, but is only now being released in the US). It’s the story of a mercenary in ancient Rajasthan. It stars Irfan Khan, who was great in 2004’s best Bollywood picture (in my view), the Macbeth-based mafia flick Maqbool.

The Rising is the first film in four years for Aamir Khan, star of the popular and Oscar-nominated Lagaan. It’s the historical tale of Mangal Pandey, who led the failed Indian uprising against British rule in the 19th century. Last week I was in the Indian shopping district in Jackson Heights, Queens (enjoyed the buffet at the Jackson Diner, as always), and posters for The Rising (Hindi title: Mangal Pandey) were everywhere. Official site here.