Introduction to Bollywood - Page 2

Originally posted by: Clochette

There is a reason you entered this forum...maybe you start with that and tell it (what is y o u r cultural background?

Indian movies can touch a viewer on many levels... if you're interested in Indian culture and history then there are ample movies Google will recommend you or Wikipedia or IMDb.

RaniPreityAish's focus are on ShahRukh Khan movies with a great display of emotions (especially the aspect of unconditional love), but is it also yours?

You gave 'male' as gender...do you have a preference in genres? If yes, which one?

I'm a Brazilian man, which interestingly tells something. Brazil and India has no historical connection directly. Maybe indirectly through Portuguese occupation of both countries (Goa, I think?). So I've never had contact with Indian people in real life, like people in the USA, Canada, Australia, UK, France, etc, have. My first contact with an Indian person was in Paris, a street vendor. Very polite guy.

Also, sadly never had the chance of try Indian food living in Brazil, for obvious reasons, while in the US there are hundreds of restaurants.

Today I'm based in Europe, I see much more Indians, immigrants like me. There's also Indian restaurants in the city.

But back to the discussion, as I've stated in my first post, I have no preference of genre, nor decade. I just want to experience Bollywood. Yes, I have my favorite genres: historical, scifi, detective, espionage, fantasy, action, martial arts... but I also watch things beyond that. Maybe I'll appreciate a Bollywood love story much more than a Hollywood one? All I can say is that, regardless of preferences, genres, etc, I just want to experience Bollywood in it's glory.

Originally posted by: DystopicSpark

Wow! Thank you so much for such a complete list! Honestly I have no heard of any of these, but I'm willing to give them all a try if possible. I think the closest to an Indian movie I've watched was actually a 4 episodes series called The Indian Detective, which I believe it's mostly a Canadian production set in Indian (most scenes at least), but I wouldn't be surprised if the cast are Western actors of Indian roots. Yet, that's not what drove me to have an interest in Bollywood. In fact every time I hear of it, I hear of how unique it is and even Hollywood movies like Moulin Rouge were influenced by it. Not to mention the huge cultural influence it has on India itself (please, correct me if I'm wrong).

So I really appreciate the time you had typing all this. Your input is also invaluable. I'll do my best to find those movies (currently I have only Netflix). So, again, thank you!

You're welcome! Yes, Moulin Rouge (a favorite film of mine) was heavily influenced by Bollywood spectacle. In fact, the song Chamma Chamma is frequently used in Moulin Rouge if you remember the finale performance. This below is the original song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMcBxxAARBM

If you only have Netflix, that makes it easier to give you suggestions. From the list I mentioned before, you could watch these. Also since I realized you probably have no idea what these titles mean, I've included English translations as well to give you a better understand of what these movies are about.

• Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Sometimes Things Happen)
• Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness)
• Kal Ho Naa Ho (Tomorrow May Never Come)
• Main Hoon Na (I'm Here For You)
• Om Shanti Om (a peace mantra that is a common Hindu phrase)
• Jodhaa Akbar (names of the Mughal emperor and his empress)

A few more I would add to that list to make it a top ten Netflix list.

Dil Se (meaning From the Heart) is very different from a typical Bollywood movie. It has all the usual Bollywood elements (music, romance, action) but it's not a mainstream film at all. More like an art/indie film but with the production values of a commercial blockbuster. If you're interested in learning about Indian history and culture, this one would be very fulfilling because it's set during the 50th anniversary of Indian independence. Shah Rukh Khan plays a reporter who falls in love with a girl who is actually a terrorist. It explains a lot about lingering tensions that exist in India between different regional groups and the cinematography is absolutely lovely to look at. The director is Mani Ratnam, who is considered one of India's greatest directors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KebHRTGL-X4

Another important point about Dil Se is the song Chaiyya Chaiyya. I'm not sure if you've ever heard it or not but it's one of those Bollywood songs that became mainstream in the west as well. I think when Shah Rukh Khan met Obama, this song was referenced to give you an idea about how well known it is.

Bollywood is ruled by the three Khans. I've frequently mentioned Shah Rukh Khan who's in most of the films I recommended so far. The second of the three Khans is Aamir Khan (he's especially popular in China). Dil Chahta Hai (meaning The Heart Wants) is a movie starring him and two other male actors about three buddies of college age and what life deals them. It was considered groundbreaking because of its frank portrayal of youthful adolescents, basically yuppies. And it's a favorite with millennials to this day. Preity Zinta (the lead heroine) and Saif Ali Khan (one of Aamir Khan's buddies in this movie) are also in Kal Ho Naa Ho with Shah Rukh Khan.

The third of the three Khans is Salman Khan. He's the second most famous Khan after Shah Rukh, and maybe the most popular in India where everyone knows him as their brother and he commands a legion of fans who go crazy over his every dance movies, movie lines, and hairstyles. He starred in Hum Aapke Hain Koun (meaning Who Am I to You) with Madhuri Dixit, who was the biggest female star of the 90s (basically India's Julia Roberts).

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is one of those movies I listed before as definitive to Indian cinema and making the romance genre central to the film industry. That's an Amazon Prime movie so you won't be able to watch it, but one year before DDLJ came out, there was Hum Aapke Hain Koun (HAHK). This film was an absolute blockbuster of its time and the highest grossing Indian movie when it came out. This is really the film that made cinema into a family affair because movies from the 80s had been fraught with violence and rape. Films weren't clean for small children to watch but this movie changed all that as it's one 3.5 hour family entertainer.

I have to be honest that it's really not a favorite of mine. It's one of those movies where nothing really happens until the very end. In my experience, people who love it are ones who grew up with it so it's very nostalgic, but I think for someone who hasn't seen it before, they might find it aimless and unendurable. But it should be worth a watch since it'll give you an idea on Indian culture and particularly traditions and customs during weddings. Most Indian wedding celebrations are pretty identical to what's in this movie. If you like dogs, the dog in this movie, Tuffy, is rather iconic and pretty much responsible for keeping the plot in motion.

Last film to recommend is Hum Saath-Saath Hain (meaning We Are All Together). If it looks similar or sounds similar to the previous movie, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, that's because it's from the same director and also stars Salman Khan (as well as Saif Ali Khan who I said earlier is in Kal Ho Naa Ho and Dil Chatha Hai as well). This is another family drama featuring three brothers and their marriages. Most of the extended family cast comes straight from Hum Aapke Hain Koun.

Like that movie, this one doesn't have much of a plot. It's 3 hours of songs and wedding functions. The opening scene introduces about 30 different characters and the first time I saw this, I was so perplexed because new characters kept appearing on the scene before I even understood who the old ones were. This is the 5th most watched Bollywood movie on Netflix and also the most watched Bollywood movie not starring Shah Rukh Khan. It's mega increase in popularity is probably because like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (which I mentioned in my first post is the most watched Bollywood movie on Netflix), it's a family drama and those seem very popular with Indians who live overseas and miss their roots.

I have a better impression of this movie than Hum Aapke Hain Koun. When I first watched it, I hated this movie because it was so sugary and unrealistic in terms of the family dynamic of this perfect happy family who always get along. But now I enjoy it for the same reasons because it can be a laugh riot if you treat it like a comedy. And this is also a film where there isn't really a plot until the last hour when the perfect family suddenly might break apart.

Oh...great One of our family friends is Brazilian, too (living there)...he very much liked Devdas (RaniPreityAish wrote about in her comments) - his entry into Hindi Cinema...it is a very Indian movie (based on a Bengali novel) touching several norms that still exist and made with very Indian ethetics.

I find similarities between Brazilians and Indians...especially the place music has in their life, the importance of family-ties and social status, the quite extreme disparity between wealth and poverty, the practical way to find solutions to problems etc. Some (not really nice one) came with the Portugueses but the more similar traits are indigene ones, I think (like the colourful, dance moves, music rhythms, certain festivities...and much more)

Hindi Cinema has become - increasingly - under the influence of US cinema (in good and bad ways). The damage done through colonisation is non-reversible...not in global times.

Originally posted by: Clochette

Oh...great One of our family friends is Brazilian, too (living there)...he very much liked Devdas (RaniPreityAish wrote about in her comments) - his entry into Hindi Cinema...it is a very Indian movie (based on a Bengali novel) touching several norms that still exist and made with very Indian ethetics.

I find similarities between Brazilians and Indians...especially the place music has in their life, the importance of family-ties and social status, the quite extreme disparity between wealth and poverty, the practical way to find solutions to problems etc. Some (not really nice one) came with the Portugueses but the more similar traits are indigene ones, I think (like the colourful, dance moves, music rhythms, certain festivities...and much more)

Hindi Cinema has become - increasingly - under the influence of US cinema (in good and bad ways). The damage done through colonisation is non-reversible...not in global times.

I think your observation about similarities between Brazilian and Indian culture is very accurate, actually never thought about it like this, and honestly, I feel it has been on my subconscient the whole time.

Well, Brazilian music, like samba, axé, etc, is deeply influenced by African rhythms (I believe Brazil was the country with most enslaved Africans shipped to, back in colonial times, sadly). Culturally I would say we are a mix of the Indigenous peoples, European settlers and African slaves. So, for example, there are many cities with Indigenous names. If you've ever heard of the Brazilian dish feijoada, it started with the Africans brought to the colony (later Empire).

But yes, the economical disparity is a huge similarity! I've been thinking about it for a while now. Isn't Mumbai the Asian city with most billionaires?

I'll stop here because I don't want to go off-topic. Apologies.

Just noticed that RPA recommended Dil Se...it had been the second movie our Brazilian friend watched...a completely other chapter of India (one of the sad chapters in a book still not finished) ...

I also would recommend the latest movie of ShahRukh Khan (Jawan)...it has many of the ingredients you will like (I'm sure of that) and also tell you something about issues in Indian life still existing. It is also a blend between Hindi Cinema and South Indian Cinema (truly pan-Indian) and was a big success.

Originally posted by: DystopicSpark

I'm a Brazilian man, which interestingly tells something. Brazil and India has no historical connection directly. Maybe indirectly through Portuguese occupation of both countries (Goa, I think?). So I've never had contact with Indian people in real life, like people in the USA, Canada, Australia, UK, France, etc, have. My first contact with an Indian person was in Paris, a street vendor. Very polite guy.

Also, sadly never had the chance of try Indian food living in Brazil, for obvious reasons, while in the US there are hundreds of restaurants.

Today I'm based in Europe, I see much more Indians, immigrants like me. There's also Indian restaurants in the city.

But back to the discussion, as I've stated in my first post, I have no preference of genre, nor decade. I just want to experience Bollywood. Yes, I have my favorite genres: historical, scifi, detective, espionage, fantasy, action, martial arts... but I also watch things beyond that. Maybe I'll appreciate a Bollywood love story much more than a Hollywood one? All I can say is that, regardless of preferences, genres, etc, I just want to experience Bollywood in it's glory.

That's neat that you're from Brazil. I had a friend who lived there for many years. He said it was beautiful and the people very lively and friendly.

Yeah, I think Goa is the only connection Brazil sorta has with India through the Portuguese occupation of Goa. I wasn't aware of that history myself until I saw the movie Josh starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. That film is entirely set in Goa and the opening explained the Portuguese occupation. Goa is also a major location in the movie Dil Chahta Hai, which I recommended above. It's a popular beach tourist area especially for foreigners who visit India.

Even in America (where I live), we do have Indian restaurants but they're not really that common, especially compared to England. For example, Asian food in America is considered Chinese food. Chinese takeout is our default. In England, Asian food is automatically Indian food and England's takeout food is always Indian food. Chinese and Mexican are the most popular foreign cuisines in America.

Even on Netflix, there are Bollywood movies that cater towards pretty much all those genres you mentioned. I think martial arts is the only one that's not really a thing. The current trend in Bollywood is action films, like espionage/spy films so there's plenty of those although the major ones are on Amazon Prime. I find modern-day Hollywood romances very predictable and boring. I think the lack of any starpower these days is also an issue, so when it comes to romance films, I prefer old Hollywood movies or Bollywood ones. Bollywood movies often tend to be remakes of Hollywood movies so if you watch a lot of Hollywood films, there's a good chance some favorites of yours have been remade in India.

There are a few cases where a Hollywood film is a remake of a Bollywood one. If you've seen Me Before You (starring Emilia Clarke from Game of Thrones and Sam Claflin from The Hunger Games), that's actually a remake of a Bollywood movie called Guzaarish (meaning request kinda like a last request) which stars Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan who are also the leads of Jodhaa Akbar.

Similarly if you ever saw or heard of CODA on Apple TV (it won the Oscar for Best Picture a couple years back), that's basically a remake of a 90s Indian film called Khamoshi (meaning silence). Interestingly enough, both Khamoshi and Guzaarish are movies that deal with disabled people and the Christian population in India. Both were directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali (he also made Devdas, one of the films I mentioned in my first post).

Guzaarish used to be on Netflix but isn't anymore and Khamoshi has never been on there. But there is another Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie dealing with the Christian population and disabilities that is on Netflix and it's called Black. This one was basically a remake of an old Hollywood film called The Miracle Worker which was a biopic on young Helen Keller and her teacher. It starred Anne Bancroft (best known as Mrs. Robinson from The Graduate) and Patty Duke and they both won Oscars for the film. Black is similar as it features a young girl, who like Helen Keller, is blind and deaf. And how she has a teacher who helps her escape from her world of "black" to find some meaning.

This film swept the Filmfare Awards, which is the Indian equivalent of the Oscars. Including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress. The male actor is Amitabh Bachchan who is considered maybe the biggest superstar of all time in India, on the same level as Shah Rukh Khan, if not higher. During his prime, in the 70s/80s, he had an accident and he almost died. To give you an idea of his stardom, the entire country shut down and went into mourning, as everyone was praying that he would live. There are even some temples in India where he's worshipped. He's in his 80s now but still going strong as an actor.

So Black is on Netflix and I would heartily recommend it.

Originally posted by: DystopicSpark

I think your observation about similarities between Brazilian and Indian culture is very accurate, actually never thought about it like this, and honestly, I feel it has been on my subconscient the whole time.

Well, Brazilian music, like samba, axé, etc, is deeply influenced by African rhythms (I believe Brazil was the country with most enslaved Africans shipped to, back in colonial times, sadly). Culturally I would say we are a mix of the Indigenous peoples, European settlers and African slaves. So, for example, there are many cities with Indigenous names. If you've ever heard of the Brazilian dish feijoada, it started with the Africans brought to the colony (later Empire).

But yes, the economical disparity is a huge similarity! I've been thinking about it for a while now. Isn't Mumbai the Asian city with most billionaires?

I'll stop here because I don't want to go off-topic. Apologies.

I've noticed this about Latin American cultures in general that most of them tend to be very similar to Desi (Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi) cultures. A lot of emphasis on food, family, and festivities. And like you said, there's a huge disparity between the poor and the rich in India and Brazil both (although I do feel that's becoming an issue in most countries now). My friend who lived in Brazil also said that the rich were filthy rich there but there was so much poverty too. And unfortunately racism and colorism are prevalent in these countries because of their unique histories, but this is something I also feel is getting worse all over the world.

Threads on here tend to go off-topic quite often, so you don't need to be worried about that.

Since you mentioned being an immigrant in Europe and bonding with other immigrants, then a movie I would also recommend from Netflix is Dunki. It sounds like donkey and that's because it's a slang term for "donkey flight" which is a form of illegal immigration. This was Shah Rukh Khan's most recent movie dealing the issues of immigration and how poor, impressionable people in India, who often aren't well-educated, dream of going abroad for better opportunities and making money. When they can't get visas, some of them resort to these "dunkis" to illegally cross through many countries to get to England. And those who survive that journey often find that life in England for an immigrant isn't all that it's made out to be.

I thought it was a heartwarming movie and my favorite of Shah Rukh's latest movies. The topic of immigration is one that I find more important to focus on now more than ever, especially because of how polarizing it's become in both America and Europe. Here in America, it's such a political issue where people seem to view immigrants not as people but as mere numbers and that's the best case scenario.

This movie shares some facts and statistics at the very end, revealing that modern-day manmade borders are only 150 years old. That really stunned me because it made me realize that for most of humanity's existence, there was no such thing as border checks or anything like that. If a bird can fly from one country to another without being stopped for a green card, then why do humans impose these restrictions on themselves?

Dunki was somewhat polarizing though because I saw a lot of people with more conservative takes who didn't agree with this film's message that we're all human and should treat each other as such. They saw the film as advocating for open borders and basically encouraging crime and terrorism, which I think completely misses the point of the movie if that's all they can see when they look at an immigrant.

Originally posted by: Clochette

Just noticed that RPA recommended Dil Se...it had been the second movie our Brazilian friend watched...a completely other chapter of India (one of the sad chapters in a book still not finished) ...

I also would recommend the latest movie of ShahRukh Khan (Jawan)...it has many of the ingredients you will like (I'm sure of that) and also tell you something about issues in Indian life still existing. It is also a blend between Hindi Cinema and South Indian Cinema (truly pan-Indian) and was a big success.

It's one of those movies I didn't like as a child but I enjoy it so much more now.

Yes, after hearing about our Brazilian friend's film tastes, I would second Jawan (meaning Soldier) since it's also on Netflix. It's an action/revenge thriller to the core but also a feminist social drama as well, pointing out the injustices in Indian society imposed by the government and bureaucracy. How deeply seeded corruption is in all aspects of life and how women are usually the ones who take the brunt of it. A lot like Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani except that film leaned towards comedy while Jawan leans towards action and the emphasis on women.

Jawan is currently one of the highest grossing movies of all time in India.

I'm actually impressed with how much you know about Bollywood and apparently, movies in general. I wonder if you work in the movie industry or it's just a passion? My main hobbies are music and literature. Recently thanks streaming services, I've been having an interest in cinema (more specifically, non-Hollywood) and TV (also mostly foreigner stuff). I would say my current focus is Asian cinema. I love Chinese wuxia and Japanese historical films, althought I'm not really an expert. And now I'm finally getting into Bollywood.

Originally posted by: DystopicSpark

I'm actually impressed with how much you know about Bollywood and apparently, movies in general. I wonder if you work in the movie industry or it's just a passion? My main hobbies are music and literature. Recently thanks streaming services, I've been having an interest in cinema (more specifically, non-Hollywood) and TV (also mostly foreigner stuff). I would say my current focus is Asian cinema. I love Chinese wuxia and Japanese historical films, althought I'm not really an expert. And now I'm finally getting into Bollywood.

Thank you, movies are just a passion for me. I also love literature (and the two tend to overlap, although that's not always a good thing sadly).

I tend to watch a lot of foreign films as well, usually French films. Gina Lollobrigida is one of my favorite actresses (interestingly enough, a famous Bollywood actress got her nickname from Gina) so I've seen lots of her Italian films from the 50s/60s. Several with Sophia Loren as well. I enjoy Pedro Almodóvar's Spanish movies with Penelope Cruz. From Chinese films, I love Gong Li so I've seen many of her films.

Chinese wuxia films I've seen include Hero, The Promise, House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower, and of course Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I haven't really seen any live-action Japanese films but I've seen lots of anime movies including the Studio Ghibli movies plus new classics like Your Name and Weathering with You. From Korea, I've only seen the major stuff that gets popular in the west like Parasite and Squid Game.

1. Jawan

2. Bajirao mastani

3. Padmavaat

4. Ram leela

5. Kuch kuch hota hai

6. Chennai express

7. Kabhi khushi kabhi gham

8. Om shanti om

9. Chak de India

10. Taare zameen par

Some movies from south region of India

1. Kalki 2898 AD

2. Baahubali: The Beginning

3. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion