Let's talk about Bollywood!

I’m sure you BW fans in the four corners of the world have had a similar experience: uneasy admittance of that shameful addiction: Bollywood obsession! You know, it starts like a dream, a nice dinner party with friends at your place, or at the restaurant,...

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This hasn’t got much to do with Indian culture, but… I don’t know whether many of you were really interested about the “little quiz” which I had posted at the beginning of May. Well, anyway here’s the answer; the text in Gujarati was from the Pater Noster...

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It came to me as a big surprise to learn that a large fraction of the Indian cinema goers do not appreciate Mani Ratnam. I was reading this article by Anita Nair , which sums up the criticism: - All his movies have been hyped excessively - His movies...

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And does she get the reviews she deserves? Looking through them, it seems to me she’s either derided for being too bland, too superficial, or she gets the surprised concessions of people who think she’s “in fact a good actress” – obviously her merits...

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I've seen Khamoshi: a musical. Watching it has been like a revelation. Everything it says, everything it hints at, everything it suggests, because it cannot be said, I have avidly drunk as one drinks from a familiar well, knowing that the effect is exactly...

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Like many of you, I have noticed this film has broken the record of length (600 weeks) in that cinema hall in Mumbai (link) , and I had already been alerted some time ago by its 500 weeks’ record, so I too felt the urge to give my point of view. What’s...

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It’s been some time I’ve wanted to speak about the delight to be found in Bollywood cinema. I have already spoken about its optimism, its positive attitude towards life and humanity, but this time I want to focus more especially about this dimension of...

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Hi everyone, This is a little quiz, which doesn't have a direct relationship with Bollywood, but with Hindi! Do you know what this text reads, and where it can be seen?

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A good way to get to know about Preity Zinta is to read what she says about certain problems facing Indian women and the life of actors here . The reactions of readers are also instructive, because they point to the good and bad sides of the exercise....

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I had a good laugh yesterday reading in BollyWhat? about all those BW fans giving their reasons why they « hated » Kabhi khushi khabi gham, that 1999 Karan Johar family saga which, it says, “is all about loving your parents”. Here’s the link for those...

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I have already slightly touched upon this question (see article “What I like about Bollywood”), but I would like to come back to it because it is in fact quite an important question, and I think I now have a somewhat different perspective. The other day,...

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Hmm… Difficult ! The very fact of writing about « Big A » is daunting. Not only is the actor so impressive, but the person seems to demand respect, and of course the sheer length and scope of his career as a professional is amazing. I’ve seen films with...

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Okay, here we go : an article on « King » Khan. He’s of course inescapable in today’s Bollywood… perhaps a little too predictable, a little too much himself? But we’ll see him put to good use, in fact very good use, and also often not so good. On the...

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Rani’s got (almost) everything. She’s not yet an internationally known actress, but in terms of Bollywood, I’d bet on her for the title of Best Actress (Amitabh is still the best Actor…) Let’s have a look: Black, Veer-Zaara , Yuva, Chalte chalte , Kabhi...

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In the Bollywood cinema that I know, the Masala type, it seems there are two (main) types of films: the social/historical and the comedy/escapist. Of course, there are films that belong to the two types (and they are some of the best) such as Dil se or...

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