Hooray for Bollywood

Going to the cinema was one of my favorite cultural experiences when I was in India. First of all, being a woman, I got to cut in line. When I walked into the theater, I had a basic understanding of Indian cinema aka Bollywood – it’s the largest film industry in the world producing over 1,000 films a year, all popular music comes from the movies (often accompanied by dance numbers) and there’s NO KISSING on screen (yes, that means no sex either) – but it was still quite the experience. Never mind that the film Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge we saw (selected based on the movie poster at the theater) wasn’t in English, I’m not sure that we would have 100% would have comprehended it anyway. One second there was a gun to some one’s head, and the next thing I knew there was a popular song and dance number with girls in sequin tops running over green hills. It’s not for everyone, but I do love my Bollywood! Here are a few others worth checking out:

P.S. There’s a great article in the Feb issue of PRINT about the handprinted Bollywood posters (sorry the full article is not online).

4 comments

  • girl, I am HOOKED on Bollywood. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better looking woman than Aishwarya Rai. She is breathtaking. Thanks for the roundup of flicks… now I can make my netflix list!

  • I went to India at Christmas and though I was already a big fan of Bollywood, I have gathered a ton of movies since then and had a few Bollywood nights at my house here in Italy!

    I like your list – Devdas and K3G are probably the most traditional Bollywood style movies you listed. Monsoon Wedding isn’t considered Bollywood since it’s so risqué, but it’s one of my all-time favorites.

    I also suggest (some are very recent from my trip there):
    – Dhoom 2
    – Kal Ho Na Ho
    – Om Shanti Om
    – Heyy Babyy

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *