Bollywood* Beginner Movies 7-9 — Shakespeare, Thrillers, and Modern Life

Part 1 looked at romantic comedies. Part 2 branched out to action,  romance, and myth.

Now we're looking at movies that intersect more with what we'd think of as Western movies. However, these are all distinctively Indian.

SHAKESPEARE

7. Omkara

Othello, Indian-style. Fairly faithful and gorgeous adaptation with gangsters. (My review. Scott and I talk about it here. Hannah and Rose discuss it here.)

• Ram-Leela
  Romeo and Juliet, Bollywood-style. A less faithful but even more gorgeous adaptation but it examines the families in a very Indian way. (My review. Scott and I talk about it here. Hannah and Rose discuss it here.)
  

THRILLERS

8. Kahaani

A 7-month pregnant woman arrives in Kolkata from London to seek her missing husband with nothing to rely on except her memories and a photo. This thriller blew our minds. Hollywood would be proud to make this movie. (My review. Hannah and Rose discuss it here.)

• Fan
  They had me at Shah Rukh Khan playing his own stalker. This is a solid thriller and a real star vehicle for King Khan who proves he can really act. (My review here. Scott and I discuss it here. Hannah and Rose discuss it here.)
  

MODERN LIFE

9. Piku

Piku juggles her life as a successful architect and caring for her 70-year old hypochondriac father. When they take a road trip from Delhi to Calcutta, the owner of the local cab company has no choice but to drive them personally since none of his drivers are willing to endure Piku or her eccentric father. (My review here. Scott and I discuss it here. )

• The Lunchbox
  A mistaken delivery in Mumbai’s famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to a stranger in the dusk of his life. They build a connection through notes in the lunchbox. (My review here.)
  

NEXT

Part 4 will feature comedy-horror, Mollywood, and true history

For my complete list of recommended films, go here. The list begins with what I've seen most recently.

* "Bollywood" as I'm using it is shorthand for Indian movies in general. The Indian movie industry has a lot of different centers that are based on regional languages and storytelling styles. There will be a few recommendations from others as we go, however, generally speaking, Bollywood (Bombay/Mumbai) offers the easiest entry points for Western viewers.

Bollywood* Beginner Movies 1-3 — Romantic Comedies

I recently showed one of my favorite Bollywood movies to my book club, by their request. They enjoyed it so much that during the intermission a list of more movies was requested. 

After consultation with my backup crew (Hannah and Rose from An American's Guide to Bollywood), we came up with a good list of beginner movies in different categories. I'm going to spread them over the next few weeks so they aren't overwhelming. I'll include links to my full reviews, Hannah and Rose's discussions, and to the episodes of A Good Story is Hard to Find where Scott and I talk about them.

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First up, we'll look at the genre that Indian movies are most famous for: romantic comedies. With lots of singing and dancing, of course!

Something to keep in mind is that the movies' beginnings may seem a bit slow. That's so all the "aunties" can come in during that first 20 minutes with their roasted chickpeas, greet their friends, and still be able to tell what's going on in the film. That's kind of useful if you are new to Indian movies. Just let the beginning wash over you and enjoy the ride.

I've got three "must see" movies below, with a few extras. The three groups below each feature one of the three actors who have dominated Bollywood for some time. They share the same surname, though they are not related, and are called the Three Khans.

SHAH RUKH KHAN

1. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
(A Match Made By God)

We'll begin with the movie I showed my book club. 

Mild mannered Surinder winds up in an arranged marriage to the vivacious Taani. When she enters a dance competition, he enters in disguise. Shah Rukh Khan plays a double role as a nerd and an obnoxious "cool" dancer who inadvertently is competing with himself for his wife's love. It's a solid comedy and a funny, sweet look at true love. (My review here, Scott and I discussed it here, Hannah and Rose cover it here.)

• Om Shanti Om
  An aspiring actor from the 1970s is murdered, but is immediately reincarnated into the present day where he attempts to expose the murderer and find Shanti, the love of his previous life. Finally — a movie with reincarnation! Light with tons of singing and dancing. (My review here, Hannah and Rose discuss it here.)
  
  
• Happy New Year
  Six thieves enter a prestigious dance competition as a cover for pulling off a diamond heist. It's like a Bollywood version of Mission Impossible ... with a dance contest, of course! (Hannah and Rose discuss it here.)
  

SALMAN KHAN

2. Bajrangi Bhaijaan

A simple, righteous Indian man helps return a young, lost, mute girl to her home in Pakistan. Pawan is what the girl's parents have prayed for — a "god-sent man" who will protect their daughter. And therein hangs the tale, including a heckuva road trip. Light-hearted and charming. (My review is here. Scott and I discuss it here. Hannah and Rose cover it here.)

• Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
  This movie is a fun, frothy fairy tale loosely based on The Prisoner of Zenda, tweaked to become Indian and, thus, much more family oriented. Salman Khan plays the double role of prince and loyal imposter. He's intelligent, good natured, and sweet. (My review is here. Hannah and Rose cover it here.)
  

AAMIR KHAN

3. PK

A humanoid alien lands in Rajastan naked on a research mission but is stranded when the remote control for his spaceship is stolen. Amazingly charming, this lighthearted view of humans through alien eyes uses India’s religions (which is almost all of them) as a backdrop to finding his way home. (My review is here. Scott and I discuss it here.)

• Lagaan
  This isn't actually a romantic comedy, but more of a romantic historical movie. A small Indian village battles a sadistic British officer in a winner-take-all cricket match. Lots of singing and dancing, and also Aamir Khan. India's pick for the foreign Oscars that year. (My review is here. Scott and I discuss it here. Hannah and Rose cover it here.)

NEXT

Part 2 will feature action, myth, and romance (of course!) 

For my complete list of recommended films, go here. The list begins with what I've seen most recently.

* "Bollywood" as I'm using it is shorthand for Indian movies in general. The Indian movie industry has a lot of different centers that are based on regional languages and storytelling styles. There will be a few recommendations from others as we go, however, generally speaking, Bollywood (Bombay/Mumbai) offers the easiest entry points for Western viewers.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan — a good starting place for trying Bollywood movies

A mute 6-year-old girl from a Pakistani village gets accidentally separated from her mother on their return from a trip to India. Stranded in India, she meets Pawan - an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman - who tries to discover the girl's parents. The obstacles are seemingly insurmountable, beginning with the fact that they are a long way from Pakistan and so no one would ever guess she isn't Indian. However, Pawan is what the girl's parents, unable to get into India to search for her, have prayed for — a "god-sent man" who will protect their daughter. Pawan is simple, innocent, and determined to do the right thing. And therein hangs the tale, including a heckuva road trip.

This was a complete and wonderful surprise. Told with a light touch, this is a heart-warming story that really captivated me. I was especially intrigued by the main puzzle. How does a young child who can't write or talk communicate enough clues to show where she belongs? And, if they can manage to get her back to Pakistan, how do they find her home in a remote mountain village? Each step of the way we were invested in these questions.

We chose it because it was supposed to be Salman Khan's best film and we'd been underwhelmed by his "James Bond" turn in Ek Tha Tiger. In that film he reminded me of a wooden Sylvester Stallone. In this one, he was truly engaging as the honest and direct man who wants to do the task God has given him in helping this child. It could have been a preachy, schmaltzy story but it avoided that route, in part because the whole thing is leavened by solid humor and also the story is more complex than you might expect. My favorite storyline is of a Pakistani freelance reporter who can't get no respect.

In many ways this struck me as a perfect starting point for those who want to try a Bollywood film. Many of the things we have learned from watching a lot of Bollywood movies are touched on briefly here in a way that is easy for newcomers to understand.

• Good song and dance numbers. (Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor dancing like chickens is a memory I will treasure.) 
• Arranged marriage
• Caste
• Common contrasts and conflicts between India's many religions
• Pakistan and India's high level of hostility toward each other
• Unrealistic parental expectations
• India's surprising police approach to interrogations (at least as shown in Indian movies)
• The dark fate of orphans/lost children in India

However, as I mentioned, this is all done with a light touch because they are simply elements of the big story about reuniting a little girl with her family.

It made me happy when I watched it. And again the next day when I was thinking about it.

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

Scott and I discussed this on Episode 201 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.
Hannah and Rose discussed it on An American's Guide to Bollywood.

Omkara — Othello, Indian-style

Half-caste bandit Omkara Shukla abducts his lady love, Dolly Mishra, from her family. Thanks to his cleverness, he gets away with the kidnapping. A conspiracy, however, forms against him when he denies his right-hand man, Langda Tyagi, a promotion. Ultimately, this plot threatens not only his relationship with Dolly, but their lives and those of their associates as well.

This is a simply wonderful Indian film adaptation of Othello as a gangster story. Not only is the film pretty faithful to the story and to the Indian environment in Uttar Pradesh, but the acting, shots and production were arresting. If you've seen it, I'm thinking especially of a particular shot in the rain in front of the train and, of course, the film's last shot. I also loved the use of specific color associations with specific characters. (Hint - in India, the color for marriage is red.)

It is, as the film says, an adaptation, but often there were lines that seemed almost lifted directly from the original. This line, in particular, was key to this production.

Shakespeare/Desdemona's father: "Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has deceived her father and may thee."

Omkara/Dolly's father: "The girl who can betray her own father, how can she be trusted by anyone else."

We were especially interested to see Saif Ali Khan's take on Iago since he first came to our attention as a lovable rogue in Tashan. Khan gave an impressive portrayal of a man consumed by envy and evil. He's truly versatile.

It's Bollywood so of course there are a couple of song and dance numbers but they are worked in realistically as Kesu's (Cassio's) girlfriend is an entertainer whose performances provide key moments for the story's action.

Vishal Bhardwa is a director I will be looking for more from. I'm especially eager to see his adaptations of Macbeth and Hamlet.

Rating — for advanced viewers. (You've got to be willing to let this one wash over you, enjoying the ride for what it is ... and that means you've got to have seen enough other Indian movies to not worry about some dead space or romantic side trips. Or gangster shootings ... )

Scott and I discuss Omkara on A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. 

Hannah and Rose talk about it on episode 42 of An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast.

Ridiculously Entertaining: Tashan and Dhoom 3

I was going to stop talking about Bollywood movies unless I came across something that I thought would be good entryway films.

And then this weekend I came across two such movies. These are both by director/screenwriter Vijay Krishna Acharya. That is completely coincidental but it did wind up leaving me with my first Indian director to keep an eye out for. Both these movies were on the top 100 Bollywood movies list that Rose is working from for guidance in exploration. Dhoom 3 has the added advantage of starring Aamir Khan who is a favorite of ours.

At any rate, both these combine recognizable Western styles with Bollywood filmmaking. It makes for extremely entertaining viewing.

Jeetendra Kumar Makwana is employed full-time at a Call Center and works part-time teaching English. He is recruited by an attractive young woman, Pooja, to teach her Hinglish-speaking boss, Bhaiyaji, English. Jeetendra agrees to do so, falls in love with Pooja, and joins forces with her to steal a bag containing 25 Crore Rupees in cash. He will soon find out that Bhaiyaji is a hoodlum and extortionist known to the Police as Lakhan Singh. And that spells big trouble for everyone.

Tashan means style and this picture has it in spades. It is ridiculously fun Tarantino style action (without the gore because it is Bollywood not Hollywood) with big song and dance numbers (Bollywood not Hollywood). Indian reviews wavered on giving approval but American reviews all raved, as did we. This director obviously has a way with movies that appeals to American sensibilities.

My favorite character was the hit man sent to retrieve the two thieves. The "Jackie Chan of India" he played a character who turned into a lovable oaf (much like Jayne on Firefly) and won my heart. My favorite number was the Hollywood film one, which got so many tiny Hollywood things wrong (in a charmingly Indian way) but still worked most amusingly. It also gave me a new Khan to keep an eye out for — Saif Ali Khan — whose charming twinkle reminded us all strongly of Bradley Cooper.

This was a milestone for us in several ways because we got an in-joke about Indian movies, recognized posters for other movies on city streets, and recognized two of the stars from other movies we'd seen. Baby steps. But fun.

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

Hannah and Rose talk about Tashan at An American's Guide to Bollywood.

To avenge his father’s death, a circus entertainer trained in magic and acrobatics turns thief to take down a corrupt bank in Chicago. Two cops from Mumbai are assigned to the case.

Another ridiculously entertaining film from Vijay Krishna Acharya, starring Aamir Khan who carries the film on his broad, capable shoulders. It is part of the Dhoom buddy-cop franchise only in a minor way, with Jai and Ali's part being a subplot rather than the main action. And that works. In case we we were wondering who the movie is about, three of the four musical numbers are Aamir's, while the fourth is the female lead's audition for the Great Indian Circus — danced for Aamir. Aamir is the film's ostensible villain but by the time the film ends, we were wondering why policeman Jai gives a spech about the evil bank. (I guess that told us who the real villain is.) Anyway Aamir Khan's character is what this movie is about and Our household approved all the way.

This movie was set in Chicago which made us even more interested to see it and, as with Tashan, there were some endearing misunderstandings of America. My favorites were a newsstand which clearly looked Indian and the fact that the flashbacks were costumed as if they were from the 1920s instead of the 1990s. We could only figure that the filmmakers wanted to be sure we got a sense of "long ago" and couldn't find enough obvious differences between the clothing of 2013 and that of 20 years before. Regardless, it was extremely entertaining and those little missteps only added to the charm for us.

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