Best Bollywood Moments

Hindi movies have their own language and way of telling a story and there are some necessary elements of every movie - like the - I just realized I was in love fantasy dance sequence.  Here is a list of my favorite moments so far.

• Best product placement:  You may be wondering why this is first. Well, all these movies have paid product placement.  Some of it is really over the top and I've come to love the over the top obviousness  and silliness of the placements. These must be done intentionally to lighten the mood, so, here are two movies that do it particularly well. 
• Chennai Express: where an expensive Nokia Lumina phone is actively and openly discussed as part of the dialogue so that we are given the price, where you can buy it and what sorts of features it has. It is also thrown from a moving train where it lands face up so you can see - it's still working and not broken! And yeah - that's actually a plot point. Torwards the end, during the get your ass kicked for love final battle (and yes, that's a thing), Shahrukh is bloodied and thrown to the ground and his undershirt is completely covered in blood except for one spot near the neck which for some reason has the label of a really expensive shirt maker. This is made all the funnier when he says - don't underestimate the power of the common man. As if a common man could afford that undershirt.
• Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage - this ass kicking for love is brought to you by Coca Cola. 

• Best title dance sequence: Dhoom 2 with Hrithik Roshan 

I also really love Bodyguard's title dance sequence. It's just Salman Khan pec pumping to the beat. And yes, it is supposed to be funny - this movie is a romantic comedy.

• Best – I just fell in love fantasy dance sequence. Perhaps one of the most confusing aspects of bollywood movies is the I just fell in love fantasy dance sequence. Westerners don't always understand why suddenly we are in Kashmir or Paris dancing. It's a fantasy. The character has just realized they are in love and then they have a fantasy of them and their beloved. What they fantasize tells you quite a bit about their character - so it's actually important to character development. To understand what's happening, you have to have some understanding of the movie that the character is imaginging themselves to be the hero or heroine of. One of the best plays on this is Darr De Disco from Om Shanti Om - where the character is a shallow actor who insist his character (who is deaf, mute and without arms and legs) should have a fantasy dance that is a disco number - the pain of disco - it's hysterical). Anyway - I have 3 fantasy dance sequences I love!
• 3 idiots - Kareena Kapoor starts seeing Aamir everywhere and has fantasies of being in a Yash Chopra wedding and of being the heroine in Sawaariya. Which basically means - she's a romantic looking for a love marriage. The song is called Zoobi Doobi
• 
  
• Rowdy Rathore  - Akshay Kumar - a) he's a beautiful dancer. But he's also playing a petty thief. His, I just realized I'm in love fantasy is that he is Amitabh Bachchan in any of his classic movies. So - he imagines himself to be a hero in a romance. When he hits the Amitabh dance move - he totally nails it. This is funny, provides great character development and is a wonderful homage to Amitabh all at the same time.
• Yeh Dillagi again, with Akshay - this is a remake of Sabrina - and the sequence where he realizes he's in love is wonderful - the dancing is great too. Remember, he's fantasizing all of this standing outside her house. It's a great homage to Dancing in the rain as well.

• Best dance in the rain – While we are in the rain - let's look at Sridevi from Mr. India. This pretty much sets the standard for the dancing in a wet sari dance sequences

• Best Song – Saawariya

• Best use of song for exposition? – Om Shanti Om - basically - they are using the music launch for a movie to expose a crime committed - so you get the entire recap of the movie so far in this sequence. It's pretty cool and a great song as well. 

• Best choreography with children? – Aamir Dhoom 3 - can't find a clip - but trust me - Aamir is great when he dances with kids. 

• Best cameo(s)  – Om Shanti Om - pretty much everyone famous in Bollywood at the time is in this - it's supposed to be an after party for an awards night.  Plus - my son loves this song.

• Best end credits – Makkhi - which is about a man who reincarnates as a fly seeking revenge. The best part of this is that the flies do lots of famous dance numbers and moves.

• Best – I can totally kick your ass sequence Rajnikanth in Chandramurkhi. It's what he's good at.

• Best ass kicking for love: Hrithik Roshan in Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage - I don't know if it's the angles he is filmed falling with blood flying in slow motion or what - but I thought this was really funny. 

• Best car crash - Dhoom 3 - it really was a thing of beauty - though the choreographed junkyard cars in Ra-One was good - but it's the only part of Ra-One worth seeing. 

5 Favorite Bollywood Remakes

Bollywood has done some tremendous remakes of western classics. Here are 5 to get you going.

1) An Affair to Remember  - The Bollywood version of this is Mann starring Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala. The story is told a bit differently, and we get more of a back story on the character played by Aamir/Grant – which is really welcome. His transformation from playboy to lover is more moving as a result. The scene where they meet the grandmother on the island is so faithfully recreated you will think they are on the same exact set. On the other hand, the penultimate scene where Aamir/Grant realizes why Manisha/Kerr didn’t show up as planned is less intense in the Indian version. But, because it’s a Hindi film, we do get a wedding scene and the movie wraps up better. If you are a fan of this movie – see the Hindi version.

2) Sabrina  - The Bollywood version of this is called Yeh Dillagi and stars Akshay as Linus, Kajol as Sabrina and Said Ali Khan as the younger brother (except their names are all Hindi names – don’t ask me what they are). This movie translates very well into Bollywood. Because of the added time (Western movies are about 1 ½ hours long – Bollywood closer to 3 hours long), we get to explore these characters motivations more. Akshay’s character has a fabulous “I just realized I’m in love fantasy dance sequence” that is seriously one of my all-time favorite fantasy dance sequences. He’s beautiful to watch. The tension surrounding both men’s desire to marry not only the same girl but a girl of lower class/caste really works well in Indian cinema because even today couples are killed when they do this. Akshay and Kajol are brilliant and Said does a great job in his supporting role.


3) Romeo and Juliet  - probably the best remake of this in India is Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (QSQT) starring Aamir Khan and Juli Chawla (both in their first roles).  Again, because we have added time, we get more of a backstory about why these two families are feuding so that when our young lovers do fall in love and run away together, we understand better why the families care enough to hunt them down. Additionally, there is a caste problem and this is a love marriage. The story works very well as an Indian movie and even in his first role, Aamir is a star.

4) The Shop Around the Corner/You’ve Got Mail – This is one of my favorite stories in all its forms (including the delightful musical She Loves Me). The Indian version of this is Na Tum Jaano Na Hum and stars Hrithik Roshan and Esha Deol. This is a very odd movie, but I still enjoyed it. First, the things I liked. I think the addition of the love triangle was brilliant (the odd man out is Said Ali Khan).  The best moment of the movie is when Hrithik realizes that the girl he arranged for his friend to marry is the girl he is in love with through the letters. It was poignant and beautiful and I was crying. Now for the problems. From that point, they change the story and they really shouldn’t have. I think if they had resolved this movie the way the original stories do, this would have worked brilliantly. Second, the artistic choices made by the director of this movie are a bit ... odd. First, you have Hrithik, one of the best dancers in THE WORLD, and they don’t have him dance. At all. He is relegated to posing pensively. It’s a waste. There is a lot of dancing in this movie. It’s just really strange dancing, with bizarre patent leather costumes and fire with fantasy metaphors that are impossible to work out. And don’t get me started on the choice of playback singer who sounds nothing like Hrithik. It’s jarring. I still recommend this movie because even with its flaws it’s still Shop Around the Corner and I still love it.

5) Stepmom starring Ed Harris, Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon in the west was remade as We are Family in India starring Kareena Kapoor (as the Julia Robert’s character), Kajol (as the Susan Sarandon character) and Arjun Rampal (in Ed Harris’ role).  I realize this is not a remake of a classic movie, but I loved Stepmom and I loved We are Family even more. This is a tearjerker (I am welling up just thinking about the ending) and Kajol and Kareena carry this movie together wonderfully. This is a movie where the women rule and your heart burst with love. Worth watching.

10 Silly but still wondefully enjoyable Bollywood movies.

Having just published a list of 10 great Bollywood movies. I thought I should also publish a list of 10 Silly but still wonderful Bollywood films. My feeling on films is that they are first and foremost entertainment. If I am entertained, the movie was good. So here is my list. (Note: technically, these are not all Bollywood movies. (There are Telegu and Tamil language movies in this list).

10 Silly But Still Worth Watching Movies

1) Rowdy Rathore – low brow kick ass movie starring Akshay – he’s brilliant. This is a self-aware comedy that is beautifully done with a tad bit of sadism at the end that makes it not kid friendly – but it’s necessary for plot development so deal with it.

2) Makkhi - a story about a man who is murdered reincarnating as a fly and taking revenge. Sooooo satisfying. And yes, Masala - the only downside is that Rani dies pretty early on and so we only get one hunky guy soaking wet dance sequence. He is delightful. Stay for the credits where the flies do a bollywood dance number that includes chitta chitta from Rowdy Rathore.

3) Fruit and Nut – Doofus bumbles through an underworld plot to take over the city. Includes a great transvestite dance sequence and an old man evil old guy dance sequence that is really worth watching. It’s so funny. Just give yourself over to it.

4) Chandramukhi –Here’s what you need to know. Rajnikath is investigating a haunted house. That’s pretty much sums it up. Once you watch this you will understand why Rajnikanth is the most popular actor in all of India.

5) Koi Mil Gaya – Hrithiki plays a mentally challenged young man who meets an alien in this Bollywood remake of ET – brilliant and silly and it spawned a series of superhero movie sequels.

6) Baasdhah – Shahrukh in a comedy of errors. Delightful – this is what SRK is good at. To understand Shahrukh’s appeal – you need to see this movie.

7) Oh My God – Akshay as Lord Krishna in a movie about an atheist who sues God – based on a true story (well, not the Lord Krishna part). Delightfully done. Krishna is a Humanist, as it turns out.

8)  Hisss – angry snake god takes on a sexy human form and goes on a rampage.

9) Jajantaram Mamantaram – Bollywood remake of Gulliver’s Travels involving mermaids and giant demons. Delightful. This is a children’s movie.

10) Bodyguard – starring Salman Khan – worth watching for the choreographed dance sequence that consists solely of peck pumping to the music. The whole movie is really fun and really enjoyable. It’s basically a movie where Salman makes fun of the kick ass characters he normally plays.

Again - these are not award winning films. But they are highly enjoyable. So give yourself over to them and enjoy. 

10 Great Bollywood Movies

Interested in Bollywood, but don't know where to start? I was asked by my mom to put together a top 10 list of movies I recommend. Here they are.

10 Great Bollywood Movies:

1) Veer Zaara - great movie - horrid acting at the start - stick with it, it's worth it.

2) Barfi! won 11 awards in 2013 - earned every one plus some it didn't. Wonderfully acted. Homages to Charlie Chaplin and Ranbir Kapoor's grandfather.

3) Jodhaa Akbar - epic period piece - has massive battles with camels and elephants and centers around an inter-religious love story and religious tolerance.  Beautifully done. Not masala - meaning - no dancing - but there are some musical montages. Gotta have a montage.

4) Lagaan - my hubby's first Bollywood movie - he loved it - centers around a love triangle and a cricket match and unfair taxes.

5) Ghajini - murder mystery love story. You ain't seen deep pathos until you see this film - basically a remake of Memento but WAY better.

6) Kites - mystery - they kiss - something bad has to happen. Set in Mexico - stars Hrithik and a famous Mexican actress. Don't see Kites Remixed - it sucks.

7) Swades - based on a true story - NASA scientist returns to India decides to stay - love story - dealing with corruption, masala. Shahrukh - wonderful movie.

8) Faana - first half=romantic comedy musical. 2nd half = Cape Fear with the occasional musical number thrown in for good measure. Seriously - this one is so well done and the moral dilemma so well done that you will mull on it for days.It is chilling.

9) Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham - family/father/son relationship movie with arranged marriages and adoption providing the plot. Don't watch this unless you have lots of tissues and make sure to hydrate yourself. I ran out of tears about 15 minutes before the end and it was really painful because I still had a lot of crying to do.

10) Dhobi Ghat - drama - no music. Really good thought provoking movie.

This list includes movies by all the great actors working today. Shahrukh, Hrithik, Aamir, Amitabh, Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Kukerji and more.  See these and you will have a good idea of who the famous actors are and why they are famous as well as a good understanding of the wide variety of types of movies that are being made in India.

Enjoy.

Cash - Bollywood Review - Skip to the End

Finally made it through the  movie Cash. It's a bollywood movie. Honestly, I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Too many characters, who were cartooned and when I eventually figured out who they all were, the movie ended. It's a heist movie.

The only reason I am even posting a review here is because even though I wouldn't recommend the film, the end credits, were super cool.  It's all done in one shot and it's well staged and the song is ok but I really enjoyed it.

So, don't bother sitting through this one.  Just check out the end clip here.

Rowdy Rathore movie review - thoroughly enjoyable

Do you love Bollywood movies? Do you love over the top Bollywood song and dance sequences? Ready for a rowdy romp? Rowdy Rathore is the movie for you!

I have become obsessed with Bollywood movies. I pretty much have lost all interest in western films at this point. I only watch western movies for my son and husband's sake. My preference is to watch Bollywood movies.


I watched Rowdy Rathore the other night straight through, which is saying something because it is 2 hrs and 38 minutes long. It was delightful from start to finish which is amazing because it is an over the top self aware comedy and those rarely deliver so consistently throughout a movie, let alone a 2 1/2 hour movie.

When I say this is a comedy, it is more accurate to say it is a comedy/action/romance/musical/thriller.The characters are delightful and have depth to them that isn't normally found in a comedy or action movie. The choreography was some of the best I've seen. the songs were catchy and fun and seriously, there is nothing not to like in this Bollywood movie.  Which is astonishing because self aware comedies don't always work and certainly not all the time. This one hits all the right notes at all the right times. Seamlessly moving from drama to over the top action to romance and to bawdy romance at that.

I've seen lead actor Ashkay Kumar in other movies, but this is the first time I've really understood what a talent he is. His dancing is amazing. And again, it's unexpected considering how big he is. He seems like he should be more awkward, but he is delightful to see dance and he really stands out against the back up dancers. He's better then all the rest and it is easy to see why he is the lead. He is a joy to watch and he nailed the "Amitabh" signature dance move perfectly during the gratuitous romance in a field near a river dance sequence which was a send up of classic Amitabh dance sequences from movies like Silsila . And again, the self aware comedy adds to the sequence and doesn't detract from it. They got the balance just right.

As for the music. I LOVED it. It was everything you want in a bollywood song or a bollywood dance sequence. They don't allow the videos from this movie to be embedded - so I am linking to Chinta Ta Ta Chita here.

What Ashkay manages to do acting wise in this movie is really hard to do. He nails every scene. And again, it's self aware comedy. He dances well. And the dancing is over the top silly yet beautiful at the same time. They somehow managed to get that balance right. He sings well. Acts well (comedy, drama and romance were all required in this movie). In short. He is now one of my favorite actors.

The story line and plot are also engaging. I can't go into it here because a) it would spoil the movie and b) it's too convoluted to explain (as most Bollywood movies are). Suffice it to say, the plot is a good one so the comedy isn't just comedy for the sake of comedy, it is leading somewhere.

My only complaint is that the violence and gore was over the top too and it isn't a movie I would want my son to see. The romance part was fine, the comedy was fine. Most of the action sequences are fine. There is just a lot of gore and sadism near the end. Yes, it is needed for the plot, but it's just not appropriate for younger audiences.

If you are looking for a delightful romp that is action packed, bawdily romantic and fun with a tiny bit of a sadistic thriller thrown in for good measure towards the end. You won't go wrong with this film. I'm curious to see what others think about it. So if you've seen this movie, please let me know what you thought of it. I really liked it.