The Bollywood Thread

[chonies]

Mar 30, 2010 13:59:55 GMT -4 MrsCatHead said:

If a friend hasn't seen ANY Bollywood films, what would you suggest showing her? It'll be Girls Night In, if that helps.

Lately I've been recommending Bunty aur Babli--it's modern, upbeat, fast-paced and pretty accessible while still being pretty true to the Bollywood genre. Devdas is good if visuals appeal to her. Jodha-Akbar feels a lot like any historical epic, but Bollywood, and Hrithik is rrrrripped in it, if man-candy appeals. I also have a perennial soft spot for Veer-Zaara, partly because it has such a good cast.

[MrsCatHead]

Thank you! Off to Netflix...

[spycandy]

I'm loving Ani Kapoor on 24. It's surreal to see this guy I've grown up watching in movies suddenly on one of my fave tv shows. And he is doing very well, I think

[Karen]

For a couple of years I've had a hard time getting interested in new Bollywood productions. I don't know what happened, especially since I remember 2007 being such a good year. In 2008 I think I only saw Jodhaa Akbar and Dostana, and nothing in 2009. I can still rewatch the 90s and early/mid-00s stuff, but it feels like for ages no trailer or article managed to make me want to see a new movie, until Mani Ratnam's Raavan with Abhishek and Aishwarya.

I'm not yet quite sure I would call Raavan a good movie, but it caught my attention and kept me thinking about it after I'd seen it. It's a visual feast, I loved the experience, and while parts of the story and occasionally the acting were frustrating (I wanted more resolution at the end), it's so nice to feel excited about something Bollywood again.

[MrsCatHead]

Been trying to catch up on my Bollywood viewing. Recently, my daughter and I watched Eklavya, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and Jodha Akbar. Out of those, I liked "Jodha Akbar" best.

I admit I haven't thought of Hrithik Roshan as sexy before but man, as Akbar...WOW. I loved all the music.

I've put 8 more movies in my Netflix queue thanks to this thread!

ETA: Oh, we also saw Bunty aur Babli, which my daughter loved. It was weird to see that scene with Ash and her FIL, though.

ETAA: We just finished Singh is Kin(n)g on Netflix/Wii. Um, what's with the Snoop Dogg credits? And what does "I'm trying to stack my butter" mean?

We liked the music, though, and there are lots of funny little moments in the film. Needs better editing, though. Whew.

Also, have you guys seen this site[/color]? I have the app for my iPod and LOVE it!

I'm just going to keep adding to my post here.

Did anyone like Jab We Met? I liked one song and that's it. Didn't like the rape joke and how the plot played out. Also, didn't like Chup Chup Ke. The plot was all over the place. And the comedic parts were so tedious.

LOVED Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge!

In Jodhaa Akbar, what was the significance of weighing Akbar on a giant scale? I've been looking online but can't find any answers.

[chonies]

This doesn't really fit into a real category, but I follow Shammi Kapoor on twitter, and he doesn't look so good--I believe he's on dialysis.

That aside, Junglee was the first Bollywood movie I ever saw and I love that Shammi is such a technophile. He had a Kapoor family website up at least ten years ago.

[spycandy]

Had a Bollywood holiday weekend and saw 3 movies:

Dabang - I'm not a Salman Khan fan, but the action sequences were very good. This is a very old fashioned type movie, straight from the 70's. It was entertaining, as long as you don't expect too much.

Break Ke Badd - The polar opposite of Dabang, a modern love story, that was pretty good for it's type. Long, but great screenplay.

Action Replay - a copy of Back to the Future, but great acting by Akshay and Aish. Pretty typical Bollywood. Didn't care for the songs much, but the story was entertaining

[chonies]

I just finished My Name Is Khan. It has its moments, but it also has its Forrest Gump moments and endless list of tropes. The music is nice, and Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol are great--Kajol made me cry, but I think she was working off a different script. Some of the story was sad, some of it was just...surprising.

ETA: Watching Rab ne bana di jodi (a match made in heaven). It has a fabulous montage of love through Bollywood filmic history and is a sweetly uncomfortable love story, typical of Yash Chopra.

[chonies]

For interested parties, Shahrukh Khan signs deal with Netflix. The Bollywood offerings had really slipped off the menu there recently, so this is a thrill. I know it's been available on Google play but I don't use that so often.

[Mutagen]

Pardon my thread resurrection. I wasn't sure whether to put this here, in the conspiracy theories thread, or in the crazy fandoms thread. Is anyone following the aftermath of Sushant Singh Rajput's death? Inside the Online Cult of #Justice for SSR and this article about the BJP's politicization of his death are both fascinating reads.