Nazmia Jamal

Comments

Pakeezah

Pakeezah is a wild ride full of iconic looks (the clothes, the eyes...), improbable plot lines and one of the best selling Bollywood soundtracks of all time. One of the most well known songs, 'Chalte Chalte' has long been claimed as a queer cruising anthem; while Archie Panjabi recreated the opening song 'Inhin Logon Ne' in the chip shop backyard scene in East is East, like so many diaspora kids across the years - including me round the back of Aberdare Coliseum in the 1990s. This film is a masterpiece of longing, melodrama and timeless style.

By Hook or by Crook

The perfect buddy movie. Sexy, funny, heartbreaking and extremely queer.

Born in Flames

Black women, be ready. White women, get ready. Red women, stay ready. Born in Flames remains one of the most energising feminist films around. It also has an impeccable soundtrack.

The Piano

A film that springs to mind every time I find myself on a rainy beach or with a hole in my tights. Two hours of perfect, voluptuous repression and desire.

The Colour of Pomegranates

Heart in mouth beautiful.

MUGHAL-E-AZAM

Visually dazzling in both black and white and colour versions, there is nothing quite like this film. Madhubala defiantly dancing, seen via her reflection in hundreds of tiny mirrors, is just one of the highlights.

Passport to Pimlico

This is such a perfectly satisfying film. An unusually hot London summer, a cost of living crisis (well, rationing) and ordinary people standing up to the government. The border story line is especially interesting viewed post-Brexit. Plus you can never go wrong if Margaret Rutherford is involved.

Further remarks

If I had more choices I would have included at least one big Hollywood musical like Gentleman Prefer Blondes or even Silk Stockings. There are more recent films I would have included too, like The Handmaiden or Hotel Budapest. Plus I didn't even get close to having space for the real classics - Empire Strikes Back, Moana and, ahem, Runaway Bride.