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What do Gunday, Action Replayy, Barfi! have in common?

Last updated on: February 18, 2014 18:46 IST
Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra in Gunday

The 1960s may be considered Hindi films' golden age but Bollywood's storytellers have long been fascinated with the roaring 1970s, as the recurrent use of that era in films shows.

During a deeply intimate and thought-provoking exchange between Joaquin Phoenix's Theodore Twombly and his Operating System Samantha in Spike Jonze's Her, Samantha reflects, 'The past is a story we keep telling ourselves.'

Nostalgia trips are everybody's favourite, more so when amplified on the 70 mm screen.

Storytellers in Bollywood have had a long-standing fascination with the 1970s representation of Hindi films, a recent example of which we saw in Ali Abbas Zafar's Gunday.

While the film didn't get good reviews, some of its nostalgic tribute to the 1970s has been commended.

Here then, is a look at earlier movies that centred on stories from that era.

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Barfi!

Last updated on: February 18, 2014 18:46 IST
Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra in Barfi!

In Anurag Basu's delightful Barfi!, Ranbir Kapoor found another dimension to his acting talent as well as his career's first Rs 100-crore film.

Set in the 1970s Darjeeling, the film's attention to detail of that era and its titular character's heartwarming performance was widely lauded upon its release in 2012.

Action Replayy

Last updated on: February 18, 2014 18:46 IST
Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai in Action Replayy

Director-producer Vipul Shah's 2010 romantic comedy starring Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai in lead roles revisits the age-old template of time travel.

The film's lead characters are shown travelling back in time of their youth, which was the 1970s in this case, to retrace their steps from the starting point of their romance.

However, the film's interesting star cast and a few fun songs failed to salvage the film.

Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai

Last updated on: February 18, 2014 18:46 IST
Emraan Hashmi in Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai

Milan Luthria's super successful film chronicled the rise of gangster Shoaib Khan (inspired from Dawood Ibrahim) in the Mumbai of 1970s.

Oversized collars, big polka prints, bouffant hair and bell-bottoms featured prominently in this well-received film.

Om Shanti Om

Last updated on: February 18, 2014 18:46 IST
Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om

Farah Khan's love affair with the sexy seventies carried on from her debut film Main Hoon Na to Om Shanti Om.

While Main Hoon Na merely featured some clothes and remix of old songs from the said era, Om Shanti Om dealt with the age-old reincarnation theme with a story that first takes off in the 1970s.

1971

Last updated on: February 18, 2014 18:46 IST
A scene from 1971

Based on a true story of prisoners of war and the aftermath of the Indo-Pak war of 1971, this Manoj Bajpayee starrer went on to win the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Written by director Amrit Sagar and Piyush Mishra, the film narrates the story of six Indian army soldiers and how they escape after being held captive by the Pakistani army.

Border

Last updated on: February 18, 2014 18:46 IST
A scene from Border

JP Dutta's 1997 multistarrer too tells the story from the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

The movie traces real life events that happened at the Battle of Longewala, fought in Rajasthan during the war.

Starring Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty and Akshay Khanna in pivotal roles, the film, a commercial as well as a critical success, also came to be known for its melodious songs.

Hindustan Ki Kasam

Last updated on: February 18, 2014 18:46 IST
Movie poster of Hindustan Ki Kasam

Chetan Anand's war movie, released in 1973, was based on Operation Cactus Lily in the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

Starring Raj Kumar, Priya Rajvansh and Balraj Sahni, the film didn't do well at the box office despite its well-written script -- there were detailed descriptions of Indian Air Force's role in the western sector of the war.