Bollywood

Re: Bollywood 101

EGonzalez — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 04:12:09 GMT

You can find Veer Zaara, as well as Bollywood Hollywood (Deepa Mehta's interpretation of what Bollywood means) at Blockbuster, ironically enough. The public library also has a few good titles, like Omkara and Lage Raho Munna Bhai, which I would suggest.

Re: Bollywood 101

hfn — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:57:35 GMT

I haven't seen Dhoom 2... but when I was in India (2004-2005) the main song from Dhoom was hands-down the most popular ringtone in the whole country - I heard it on people's cell phones everywhere I went.

You can watch the video here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Pj1uLicYfqk

although it's kind of boringly MTV-ish. A more entertaining version of an MTV-style Bollywood music video is here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=7Hdjp1lEeWU

Re: Bollywood 101

g0dz17la — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:44:40 GMT

Madhuri is soooooooo awesome in Devdas! If you like Hrithik (and his thumbs) check out Dhoom 2. He's got some great dance scenes. :)

Re: Bollywood 101

g0dz17la — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:41:47 GMT

Speaking of older movies, I simply love Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi which stars the beautiful Madhubala who was also in Mughal-E-Azam. In this movie you get to see Madhubala in a playful happy role which is quite a change from Mughal-E-Azam. Unfortunately Spout doesn't seem to have it in their database. Anyway, you can get it via Netflix.

Re: Bollywood 101

g0dz17la — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:36:24 GMT

*gasp* You didn't like Sholay?

Oh well, I guess it isn't the best for someone new to the genre.

Recently I saw Dhoom 2. It's really fun, sexy and I think quite easy to get into. You might wanna check it out.

Re: Bollywood 101

Jymkata — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 02:49:55 GMT

So if you have Netflix I recommend putting it in your queue.

Re: Bollywood 101

Jymkata — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:43:23 GMT

I just saw my new favorite older Bollywood film - Amar Akbar Anthony. I think this would be a much better suggested introduction to Bollywood than Sholay which everyone recommended to me. This comic musical would work as a great litmus test for a person's interest or aversion to the genre's conventions. It's colorful, wacky, and super imaginative (or crazy and cheesy if you can't get into it) with some great catchy songs and a very good cast (the three heroines are gorgeous) and I loved it. I highly recommend it!

Re: Bollywood 101

hfn — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 22:08:48 GMT

Hi!

I posted a list on my profile of a few Bollywood movies I think are a good introduction to the genre. Among them, I especially recommend Devdas (historical, beautiful, classic) and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (the movie that really started the Indians-dealing-with-national-identity-in-a-foreign-country genre. and Bollywood's obsession with Switzerland).

Also I posted a list of Bollywood movies that I just happen to love (whether or not they are "the best").

The last 2 Hindi movies I saw were Parineeta (not bad) and Krrish (pretty lame--but prominently features Hrithik Roshan's third thumb).

Re: Bollywood 101

csprague — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 19:45:38 GMT

Sounds good. Keep me posted about anything else you see that you think is interesting.

Re: Bollywood 101

Jymkata — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 14:31:13 GMT

Yeah I agree that Sholay was disappointing - especially considering how respected it supposedly is. Cheesy was a perfect word for it.

The only way I was able to see Indian movies was through Netflix, they have a pretty good selection. Western audiences have to consider that these movies are almost all epic in scale (running times of about 2 and 1/2 hours and over) and frequently characters break out into songs to explain their thoughts and feelings. The ones I'd recommend are a good mix of rich imagination and interesting songs (I especially like the older Raj Kapoor musicals). These are the ones I'd recommend highest and they are all available through Netflix:

Re: Bollywood 101

csprague — Wed, 30 May 2007 15:45:05 GMT

So, I have a question then. I have watched very little of Bollywood. Its not exactly in stock at Blockbuster. Of what I have watched, it didn't really want to make me want to watch more of it. I think I watch parts from Sholay and Laagan. Sholay seemed a little cheesy, kind of like Lethal Weapon meets John Wayne meets Oklahoma!. But I also watched Laagan and I liked that a lot better, maybe it just reminded me more of straight up Musical Theatre. Anyway, what do you think are some of the things that set Bollywood apart from American Musical films, and also how do you differenciate between Bollywood films as being either good or bad in your opinion?

Re: Bollywood 101

Risselada — Mon, 07 May 2007 18:52:01 GMT

Awesome!

Re: Bollywood 101

g0dz17la — Mon, 07 May 2007 14:26:05 GMT

I'd suggest trying Veer-Zaara or Bunti Aur Babli if you've never seen one. They both have their cheezy moments, but both are pretty entertaining and have a good mix of songs.

Re: Bollywood 101

Risselada — Sat, 05 May 2007 23:48:16 GMT

Which movies would you suggest starting with for novices to the whole Bollywood thing?

Bollywood 101

g0dz17la — Thu, 03 May 2007 17:42:21 GMT

Hey all, sorry I've been so lame and haven't gotten this thing started.

Anyway, let's talk about Bollywood movies. I'm totally addicted to them. Bollywood refers to the film industry that's based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) India. The word Bollywood is a combination of Bombay & Hollywood (but you probably figured that out). In India there are many different film industries throughout the country, Bollywood is just the most famous of them. Bollywood movies generally have the following features:

- The dialog is in a combination of hindi & urdu with a little english thrown in here & there.

- They are musicals. Once in a while there will be a Bollywood movie with no musical number, but that is very rare.

- They are long. Bollywood movies tend to be about 3 hours long. The audience wants their money's worth.

- They have romance, comedy and drama all in one movie.

- There is never any nudity and almost never any sexual situations. In fact kissing is a big deal in Bollywood movies. Most of the time when a happy couple realize their love for each other you just get to see them hug.

From my experience except for speaking different languages these themes are the same in the other Indian movie industries.

I'll start a couple of other topics regarding famous actors/actresses and some regarding movies.

Questions? Comments?