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Bollywood Movie Reviews and Ratings

Salaam namaste! Mere naam Draper hai. I am an American of Irish and English descent with absolutely no cultural or ethnic ties to India. However, I like to think that I am capable of enjoying certain things which are objectively rich and beautiful whether I am “supposed” to like them or not. Growing up I watched a fair number of movies, and while going through the offerings at my local public library’s video collection, I found a film called Lagaan. That was my first Bollywood movie. I will admit that I laughed during the opening musical number in which the entire village breaks into song and dance in anticipation of coming rain clouds, but the movie was well-made and the story was very good, and by the end I determined that it was “OK”.

Two years later I borrowed the same film again from the library, and this time I had a decidedly different opinion. This wasn’t simply “OK”, this was really great! I should try to see more movies like this. As it happens, the online movie rental service Netflix had just recentlly become popular so I was one of the first people I knew to sign up. So I searched for other Bollywood movies (I am not sure that I knew what “Bollywood” was then, but I looked for movies made in India). I soon came across a film called Swades. Wow! I thought to myself. If all Indian films are like this, I think I found my new favorite genre. A few Bollywood films later, and I came across Kal Ho Naa Ho. That absolutely solidified my new-found love of Bollywood. I don’t think I had ever seen a Hollywood movie with a story as amazing as Kal Ho Naa Ho.

I began to search for movies specifically with the actors from Kal Ho Naa Ho, Shahrukh Kahn, Priety Zinta, or Saif Ali Khan. I soon felt like I had uncovered the greatest secret treasure in the history of mankind. So many great films, and such great music, and no one I knew had ever heard about any of it. I than became an apostle for Bollywood making recommendations and trying to initiate others into the secret knowledge of Indian cinema. I soon realized that while I had very little difficulty jumping over the cultural divide, many of my friends did not seem capable of appreciating this treasure on their first attempt. That initial reaction I had had to laugh was magnified in them to the point where they didn’t get past their initial reactions and were not able to perceive the beauty. Thus, by some trial and error, I attempted to form a list of acclimation. Which Boolywood films would an American audience be most able to appreciate, and which ones had to be saved until they had gained an appreciate for the genre and some working knowledge of Indian culture?

Within a couple of years, I had seen over 100 films and was keeping a record of each one making notes as I went. I soon realized that the music industry in India was based on these films in a way that American music is not, so I acquired some soundtracks, and soon learned to appreciate the music of Bollywood in a way distinct from the movies themselves, but grew to appreciate the full force of the visual and audio combination (even if the images were stored in the memory and recalled while listening to the songs). The recalled emotions from the films colored the music in such a way that I soon put aside most American or European music in favor of listening to Bollywood a majority of the time.

As a serious Catholic, one of the things I appreciated most about Bollywood was the sense of public decency that in contrast to the standards of Hollywood were so high. I saw no nudity, cursing, sex scenes, or extremely graphic violence in Bollywood which was much appreciated. Aside from the pure sensory issues, there was a set of values that came across which has been lacking in Hollywood for about 50 years. I realize that Bollywood isn’t perfect in this regard, and in recent years (after about 2004), those standards seem to be in extreme decline.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I decided to create a website to basically make my recommendations available to my friends and family, and whomever else might be interested.