Bollywood Films for Beginners page 2/3Here's the first five bollywood films I recommend for newbies. There are many more great films, but these are some classics that will get you started. First Bollywood Films List #1: Kal Ho Na HoOk, well this movie is going to get its own page anyway, it’s so well done. It’s pretty much at the top of every list and is the movie I show newbies to Bollywood first most often. (I showed my Dad Main Hoon Na first as he was in the Army so it depends, I guess. If you cannot handle a bit of emotional intensity, you may need to start somewhere else, but if you like your laughter with the odd tear, there is no better place to start than Kal Ho Na Ho. Set in modern day New York, it has three of my favorite actors in it also—Shah Rukh Khan of course, plus Preity Zinta, whose work I love and Saif Ali Khan, Bollywood brat packer made good.Here’s one of the songs from the movie to give you a taste:
First Bollywood Films List #2: ParineetaParineeta translates as ‘The Married Woman’. Set in the very hip 1960’s Calcutta,this film delivers on all fronts, from the cinematography (I'm a sucker for a gorgeous haveli!), artistic use of light and shadow, stunning performances--especially from Saif Ali Khan who in the role of Shekhar looks like he has finally grown up. Vidya Balan's eye-work is also very well done and a key motif throughout. Several melodies from the songs have lodged in my brain and will not let go, they are like the film beautiful, engaging and ultimately soul-satisfying.
First Bollywood Films List #3: Veer ZaaraI think I’ve mentioned elsewhere that this movie started at the bottom of my list and climbs higher every time I watch it. The only downside is the very cheesy start—it doesn’t stay for long so bear with it, you’ll be back to reality in no time. In the context of the whole film it’s easy to understand the juxtaposition of this opening song with the opening dialogue, but for Westerners who’ve never seen a Bolly, it’s a very syrupy start. It’s the story (again) of an Indian Hindu man and a Muslim girl from Pakistan who meet in extreme circumstances...I’ve put this song here because it wasn’t actually in the version of Veer Zaara that I bought in Australia—so it’s like a bonus! Full trailer follows… Full trailer:Here’s my very brief summary (my Hindi is not that great yet!) of what Rani is saying in the trailer: My name is Saamir Sadikhi. I am a Pakastani lawyer. And the client in my first case… is an Indian. His name is Veer Pratap Singh.Veer’s love…Veer’s very life…belongs to a Pakistani girl. Her name is Zaara Hayat Khan.But it was destined that their names were never said in the same breath.But it was my intention to ensure that they were not kept apart forever...
First Bollywood Films List #4: Khabi Khushie Khabi GhamThis movie roughly translates as “Sometimes Happy Sometimes Sad”. Saying it’s a family drama doesn’t give it enough credit. It’s well done from the direction to the dialogue and the costumes are great. I don’t want to tell you the plot ‘cos it’s more fun watching the movie. It also stars Kajol and Rani Mukherjee. (Oh, there’s a scene I need to tell you about, where Rani’s character sings “Happy Birthday to You”, Marilyn Monroe style, at an older man, which seems a little off to the Western viewer, but as I see it, it’s completely innocent, there is no hint of any untoward relationship between those two characters, she’s grown up close to this man’s family and is practically like their daughter. I had a friend ask me about this once, so I thought I should mention it.
First Bollywood Films List #5: Main Hoon NaOn a completely different plane from Devdas, Main Hoon Na is quite Western in style and a true marsala movie (ie. it has a bit of everything for everyone). It has a background of India-Pakistani tensions with a terrorist sub-plot, but nothing too gory, certainly no worse than your average Hollywood movie (I have a low tolerance for gory stuff). But in the foreground is a purely fun story of a military man who goes undercover (badly) as a student to play bodyguard to his boss’ daughter. The music is great and this movie contains two of my all-time favorite bollywood film songs. The title roughly translates as “I’m here now”. There is only one word for this movie: Blockbuster.You can see the trailer here—first you’ll see screenshots, just hit the ‘Clip’ tab:
Main Hoon Na Official Trailer (new)
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