Rediff recommends

A classic comedy. A hopeless singer and drummer bump into each other after being banished from their respective kingdoms. They meet a magician who presents them with a pair of magic slippers. What follows next is their adventures in the land of Shundi. The fantasy was inspired by a story written by the filmmaker's grandfather, Upendrakisore Ray. A delightful laugh-raiser for all ages.

A cinematic achievement! Inspired from the story of Marathi actress Hansa Wadkar's life and loves -- four (Amol Palekar, Anant Nag, Amrish Puri and Naseeruddin Shah) to be precise -- Bhoomika has Smita Patil in the lead role. Patil played an emotionally, physically, and financially exploited woman with such startling authenticity and conviction that it is impossible to picture any other actress in her place. If you care for rich cinema, watch Bhoomika.

A Japanese gangster takes on the Italian mafiosi. What do you expect? There's plenty of blood, gore, and the dry, deadly wit characteristic of Takeshi Kitano, in Brother. The tale of a Yakuza gangster who is exiled to LA and tries to take on the drug trade with his half-brother may be seen as Kitano selling his soul to the Americans, but there's beauty and unpredictability and, ultimately, it is a story about honour and friendship. What more do you need?

There is theatre, romance, theft, and high emotion in this ensemble film of six protagonists. This movie uses the play-within-a-play technique to great effect. An Italian troupe visits Paris to perform an 18th century farce. It has six characters to indulge in mix-ups, flirtations, and crimes. Va Savoir also has six characters that engage in mix-ups, flirtations, and crime. A fine French comedy, one to be savoured with a chilled glass of vintage red wine.

Inconceivable! Sounds familiar? No? Then you probably haven't seen The Princess Bride. Not only was this movie a huge hit in the US, it's one of the most loved family entertainers. It is a fairy tale with a lovely princess, a handsome peasant, enchanted characters, swashbuckling fights, golden-hearted giants, ugly witches, and a cruel king. If you are looking for a feel-good drama, your search ends with The Princess Bride.

With Shrek 2 breaking records at the box office, the adorable green ogre is back to making music. Let's rewind a bit. One of the interesting aspects of Shrek was its soundtrack, which was a cool mix of foot-tapping and mellow melodies. Prominently featuring are: All Star and I am a believer from Smash Mouth; Like wow! by Leslie Carter; and I am on my way from The Proclaimers. For those who like soft numbers, there is Eel's My beloved monster, Jason Wade's You belong to me, Dana Glover's It is you (I have loved), and Rufus Wainwright's Hallelujah.

Surreal, soothing and sublime are some of the adjectives that come to mind to sum up this album. The entire soundtrack touches a chord somewhere. Inspiring lyrics, sensational guitar play, and Chris Martin's easygoing rendition make Parachutes a must-buy. Don't panic, Shiver, Yellow, Spies and Parachutes stand out.

The Pakistani band is out with their new album, Dhaani. But Durr remains their claim to fame. A trendy mix of rock and pop, Durr makes for enjoyable hearing any hour of the day. Sar kiye yeh pahar, Durr, Dekha tujhe are some of the more popular songs in this album.

The third of the great Shakti recordings and veritably some of the earliest fusion on record, Natural Elements combines the magical genius of John McLaughlin (acoustic guitar), Lakshminarayana Shankar (violin), Ustad Zakir Hussain (tabla) and T H (Vikku) Vinayakram (ghatam). It's hard to pin down the most sublime tracks on this album, but our picks would be Mind ecology, Face to face, Get down and sruti, and Bridge of sighs. Shakti's mantra was 'creative intelligence, beauty and power', all of which abound in this album.