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Re: Bollywood 101 
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g0dz17la
g0dz17la
Posts 9
5/3/2007 1:42 PM
posted awhile ago

Bollywood 101



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?



     
            
Risselada
Risselada
Posts 1349
5/5/2007 7:48 PM
posted awhile ago

Re: Bollywood 101



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

     
            
g0dz17la
g0dz17la
Posts 9
5/7/2007 10:26 AM
posted awhile ago

Re: Bollywood 101



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.

     
Under discussion:

Veer-Zaara  (2004)

Bunty aur Babli  (2005)
            
Risselada
Risselada
Posts 1349
5/7/2007 2:52 PM
posted awhile ago

Re: Bollywood 101



Awesome!

     
            
csprague
csprague
Posts 162
5/30/2007 11:45 AM
posted awhile ago

Re: Bollywood 101



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?

     
            
Jymkata
Jymkata
Posts 141
6/5/2007 10:31 AM
posted awhile ago

Re: Bollywood 101



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:

Mughal-E-Azam

Pyaasa

Shree 420

Awara

 



     
Under discussion:

Awara  (1951)

Sholay  (1975)

Pyaasa  (1957)

Mughal-E-Azam  (1960)

Shree 420  (1955)
            
csprague
csprague
Posts 162
6/6/2007 3:45 PM
posted awhile ago

Re: Bollywood 101



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

     
            
hfn
hfn
Posts 2
6/6/2007 6:08 PM
posted awhile ago

Re: Bollywood 101



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).



     
            
Jymkata
Jymkata
Posts 141
6/10/2007 5:43 PM
posted awhile ago

Re: Bollywood 101



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!

     
Under discussion:

Sholay  (1975)

Amar Akbar Anthony  (1977)
            
Jymkata
Jymkata
Posts 141
6/11/2007 10:49 PM
posted awhile ago

Re: Bollywood 101



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

     
            
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