Sarfarosh

After his brother is killed and father severely injured by terrorists, a young med student quits his studies to join the Indian Police Service to wipe out the terrorists.

This one's hard to sum up without spoiling it. It managed to combine serious content with true thriller and romance entertainment.

I liked Tom's summary from Facebook:

This 1999 action drama checked all the Bollywood boxes. A hero on a mission, a romance, gun runners from Pakistan. But the story ramped up to be quite gripping with a fabulous confrontation of good and evil. (Good had the best monologue.)

Last Bollywood checkbox, 4 song and dance numbers. 3 choreographed by our favorite Farah Khan. (Yes... we have a favorite Bollywood choreographer.)

Of course we have a favorite Bollywood choreographer. What are we, barbarians?

This is a dance that shows what the romantic couple is thinking after about 30 seconds in. Yes, they're at a birthday party but check out the passion bubbling below the surface!




Rating — for viewers with medium Indian film experience. (It's not rocket science, but without any cultural background at all you might feel kind of lost. Just let the movie flow over you.)

ALSO
An American's Guide to Bollywood discusses Sarfarosh here.

Om Shanti Om

An aspiring actor from the 1970s is murdered, but is immediately reincarnated into the present day. He attempts to discover the mystery of his demise and find Shanti, the love of his previous life.

As you can tell from the poster, Om Shanti Om is supremely entertaining. Everyone seems to be having a great time, giving it their all, the songs and dances are huge productions, and the director obviously loves movies because it is both an homage and a spoof in many ways.

This is a movie we didn't know enough to fully appreciate when we first saw it. Our first exposure to film star Shah Rukh Khan and director Farah Khan (no relation), we laughed, caught some of the secondary jokes, and enjoyed the singing and dancing. After seeing many more Bollywood movies we realized what a treasure Om Shanti Om really was.

Watching it for a second time with family members who are just joining us in our Bollywood exploration we could appreciate the skill and love that went into this piece of sheer entertainment. It also made me realized how much I love Farah Khan, not only for her choreography but for her sense of humor and the way she moves the story.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast discusses it here.