bollywood talk

Very quickly after I had started watching Bollywood movies, I started crying, often at the end, and I felt somehow justified in my crying, pleased in my crying. I can’t even remember when I last cried, or if I ever cried, after having watched an occidental...

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I have always liked Saif Ali Khan, ever since Kal ho Na ho, in which I first saw him squint and sidle towards the camera, like an Indian Mafioso, with his Italian airs, his raspy voice. He was a welcome difference from the Salmans, the Shahruhks, and...

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When I think of Kareena Kapoor, what comes to mind first is her strength, her instinct, her femininity. She strikes me as unabashedly feminine, pleased with her sex, proud of her sex. Her physique is very feminine, and first those amazing lips of hers,...

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Have you visited this website ? It’s got this quote : « for most people money becomes the end in itself. People want money for the sake of having money. For me it’s a means to an end. I want to work hard and make a lot of money.” What do you think? Materialistic?...

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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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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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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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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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