Bollywood thread

[The Delfonics]

Has anyone seen anything out of Bollywood? Ive seen tons of them for sale on Ebay and have heard some weird things about them. So really whats up with them.

[ColinM]

Unless Monsoon Wedding (8/10) counts, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't, I've only recently seen my first Bollywood film, Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (9/10), and I loved it. I still maintain that if a movie can be nearly four hours long, almost half of which is one big match of a game I knew little about before (cricket), and it still doesn't bore me, then that's a pretty amazing accomplisment.

I'm very much interested in seeing more Bollywood movies now, and I'm hoping I could get some recommendations.

[ColinM]

So...nobody, huh?

[The Delfonics]

Not a big Bollywood fan base here Colin, I was hoping to learn something myself.

[platanero79]

well I seen Mira Nair Salaam Bombay! does that count 9/10 and Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love 7.5/10

I may check out Monsoon Wedding one day soon

[RavenBlade]

Slight spoilers......

The only Bollywood movie I can reccomend is Salaam Bombay. I wasn't particularly interested in watching it, but my friend, who happens to be from India, put it on the television, and for some reason, I was enthralled by it. I mean I rarely cry at movies anymore, but when Chillum breaks down, from not being able to score his next hit, (I assume it was marijuanna) it just struck me hard. Chapiu, the young protaganist, was awesome, and managed to convey what any child would, if they were left behind, working for money, even if it wasn't that much. The acting is far superior to half of American releases, with the exception of the little girl Manju.
But, she pulled a 360 on me, when she was taken to a juvy hall.
I never ever thought I could get wrapped up in a Bollywood movie, but this one here, just left me feeling sad at the end. The banter and bickering between Chapiu, and his cohorts was as real as it could get.

While not really a cohesive review, just know, that you won't be dissapointed upon watching it. It is a movie, that I plan on buying. 10/10

Raven

[platanero79]

Originally posted by RavenBlade
Slight spoilers......

The only Bollywood movie I can reccomend is Salaam Bombay. I wasn't particularly interested in watching it, but my friend, who happens to be from India, put it on the television, and for some reason, I was enthralled by it. I mean I rarely cry at movies anymore, but when Chillum breaks down, from not being able to score his next hit, (I assume it was marijuanna) it just struck me hard. Chapiu, the young protaganist, was awesome, and managed to convey what any child would, if they were left behind, working for money, even if it wasn't that much. The acting is far superior to half of American releases, with the exception of the little girl Manju.
But, she pulled a 360 on me, when she was taken to a juvy hall.
I never ever thought I could get wrapped up in a Bollywood movie, but this one here, just left me feeling sad at the end. The banter and bickering between Chapiu, and his cohorts was as real as it could get.

While not really a cohesive review, just know, that you won't be dissapointed upon watching it. It is a movie, that I plan on buying. 10/10

Raven
gald u like it not many Schmoes talk about Salaam Bombay in this message broad guess we are the only ones who had seen it 9/10

[LondonBoy]

It's not quite Bollywood but in many directors' opinions the best director to come out of India is Satyajit Ray. Indeed, Akira Kurasawa once remarked "Not to have seen the cinema of Ray would mean existing in the world without seeing the sun and the moon". He was the first Indian Director to be featured in the West when his movies were shown in London at the BFI (British Film Institute) on South Bank in the 1950s.

Do yourself a favour and see just one of his movies. I recommend the first of his Apu Trilogy called "Pather Panchali".

You won't regret it. (11/10)...:)

[James Logan]

Originally posted by ColinM
Unless Monsoon Wedding (8/10) counts, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't, I've only recently seen my first Bollywood film, Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (9/10), and I loved it.


I've seen those two and loved 'em too, both 9s for me. Saw SALAAM BOMBAY too, another 9. I never was really interested in these flicks, but the new girlfriend is a HUGE fan of Indian movies, so she's introducing me to 'em. If I see anything else worth checking out, I'll be sure to recommend it here.

[phelonious]

DEVDAS by Sanjay Leela Bhansali

This is the proverbial "If you see one Bollywood film in your life, this is it!" Basically it's Romeo and Juillet meets ... Grease. The production values rival most hollywood productions. Lots of energy, lots of singing and dancing (what the hell, it's a musical) and it doesn't hurt that the actresses are drop dead gorgeous. If I ever come across this in a video store, I'm going to snap it up immediately.

[Asokan]

I'm a native speaker in Tamil and so I've seen countless Tamil-language films from South India, also known as Kollywood.

It's pretty much like Bollywood, only that the languages and the respective stars differ. The films are sometimes shot for Hindi AND Tamil audiences (something Manirathnam does a lot). Kollywood films are made for a smaller market, so they could be described as cheap versions of their Hindi counterparts.

However, lately I broke the first time into Bollywood through LAGAAN (2001), which to this day is not only my favourite Bollywood picture, but also surpasses almost every Kollywood feature (which are quite hard to get, I could imagine, for people outside of Tamil communities, still the films are widely spread on VHS, DVD etc. and some even run in local cinemas for local Tamil communities, which is the case over here in Germany.)

First of all, MONSOON WEDDING, SALAAM BOMBAY and films by Ray are definitely not Bollywood. It's social realism with light moments and maybe music, but far away from the high-concept, cheesy gloss of Bollywood kitsch.

Alas, LAGAAN is the most perfect example of a Bollywood film, i.e. a naive, uplifting musical with many songs, simple good-vs.-evil-story, cute romance, silly comedy and lots of high melodrama. It's the best film to start with, when approaching Bollywood. Magnificent visuals, superb cast and the intoxicating music from A.R. Rahman, who rose to prominence as a Kollywood composer.

Other films:
KABHI KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM (2001)... is one of those star-studded Megablockbusters with pacing problems and many narrative flaws. Still, it has great music and some irresisteble sequences. Not really recommended (4 hours of predictable, heavy-handed family melodrama are not everyone's cup of tea), but nevertheless watchable. I simply love actress Kajol!

DIL CHAHTA HAI (2001)...was one of the most beloved films of that year in India, but to me was rather boring and highly clichéd (the story of three friends who go individual paths). Nothing remarkable about it, except for Amir Khan who was the hero of LAGAAN. The music has some fine tunes, but this is just silly.

TALAASH (2003)... a really stupid revenge action movie with horrendous acting and awful comedic relief. Hated it. Don't even go there.

DEVDAS (2002)... the most talked-about flick of that year, it went even to the Cannes Film Festival (out-of-competition, though). Great art direction, boring, pretentious story and highly uneven cast makes this one a visual assault with no depth whatsoever.


So far, Bollywood to me isn't much different from Kollywood, only with higher production costs. LAGAAN is a must-see and you may even fall in love with the guilty pleasure KABHI KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM... (as I certainly have), but the rest is still weak Indian exploitation with too long running times and not enough depths. The music, though, is nearly always splendid.

[nu_aggression]

Hi ppl this is my first post ever ........so plz dont be too hard on me

Indian movies till recently were generally meant for a non urban audience and thus were not something that might appeal to an international audience.........thus also the image of Indian movies that they are all abt siging and dancing and nothing more. Well the song and dance do serve a purpose here but may be i will write abt it later . Now i want to present a list of Indian movies that might be appealing to the international audience.

My aim is to correct the perception a lot of ppl have abt Indian cinema and I hope with ur help i succeed.

In this post i write abt movies directed by Ram Gopal Varma.
May be one of the best film makers in India today.
"Satya" and "Company" :
Both these movies are abt the Bombay underworld. While Satya is a dark and raw look into the life of a pawn in the game ....Company is abt the big bosses who run the game. Satya is raw and disturbing at times while Company has got the feel of a very slick movie at times. I mention both together because it is believed that they might be the first two of a triology that Ram Gopal Varma is making.But ofcourse these two r not related to eachother story wise. I suggest that you see Satya before Company.

"Bhoot ":
This is a horror movie. It scares not by showing u visuals but by playing with ur head,scarers you with the sound effects thus seeing it alone on a good sound system is essential ........released in 2003. This is Ram Gopal Varma at his best in this genre of cinema. AND THERE ARE NO SONGS !!!!

There are a few other movies by RGV but then they are in regional languages of India if any one is interested in knowing about them plz mail me........ rock_beats@yahoo.com and mntion JoBlo in subject plz helps distinguish from spam.