|
- Discovering
Bollywood - A Series
- Vivek
Smells Good! or, Drama on the Sets of Kisna
- Vivek's
accident, his phone calls with a mysterious lady love, and some
stiff competition from a man in drag -- Kaya, a journalist and
BollyWHAT? forum member, vividly describes her experiences as
the stunt-double for Antonia Bernath on the sets of Kisna.
I Met Shahrukh Today- Kaya's
encounter with King Khan on the sets of a Pepsi commercial.
Notes from the Set of The Rising- Kaya's
fascinating, spoiler-free description of Aamir Khan at work
on an upcoming film.
-
A Song No Bollywood Starlet Will Ever Croon
- Sick of
hearing the same old lyrics about a hero who enters women's
dreams and steals away their peace? Bored with heroines constantly
promising to hide guys in their eyelashes? Javed, Gulzar and
Mehboob, move over -- there's a new set of lyrics in town...
- 40
Signs That You're a Bollywood Addict
- Does your
video store owner ask you for film recommendations? Wondering
who this "Leonardo" fellow is? If you thought you
were alone in your obsession, find out how crowded the boat
actually is -- and whether you qualify to board.
- Bitten
By the Blurb: The DVD Film Synopsis as Comedy Routine
- If you
thought Govinda was the kitschiest thing about Bollywood, then
you haven't been reading the DVD blurbs very closely. BollyWHAT?
offers some highlights to get you started.
Did
They or Didn't They? A Brief Ramble on Devdas- A close
analysis of two songs from Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas (2003)
may yield the answer to this tantalizing question: how far did
Dev and Paro really go on that riverbank?
Dil
Ka Rishta: Fixing the Scales of Justice- Dil Ka
Rishta's happy ending left a lot of us feeling ill. Find out
what can go wrong when the Bollywood formula is placed in the
hands of a moral relativist. (Note: this ramble contains spoilers)
Hollywood
FAQs - Forget
the Bollywood FAQs! Far harder to find are answers to those
burning questions you've got about the strange, kitschy, and
quirky cinema of Hollywood.
How to Pronounce Film Titles: the Sure-fire Guide- Or, more
truthfully, why there can be no sure-fire guide when it comes
to pronouncing transliterations of Hindi -- but some helpful
tips nonetheless.
I
Khan't Keep Track! A Brief Ramble on Bollywood's Many Khans- Shahrukh,
Aamir, Feroze, Suzanne -- they aren't all related, but that
doesn't mean that none of them are. Here's a primer to clear
up your Khan-fusion.
Married
to the Mob: the Bollywood-Mafia Nexus- It might
be the only film industry in the world where movie stars are
regularly targeted for assassination. A closer look at who,
what, when and why.
Masculinity,
Bollywood-Ishtyle- Tight
pants, see-through shirts, dancing around trees and loving your
mother never looked so macho. How do Bollywood heroes make it
work?
|
WELCOME
TO THE BOLLYWORLD...
The
sudden materialization of backup dancers -- the long glance
which, all on its own, gives rise to a genuine, lasting love
-- the family dog as divine messenger in a last minute deus
ex machina -- learning to accept such events isn't easy, especially
for a viewer accustomed to realist cinema. But once one charts
the landscape of Bollywood, one discovers a world full of other,
more pressing puzzles.
For
instance: how is it that heroes who break every taboo of Western
masculinity manage to out-oomph the studliest heroes of Hollywood?
And how does a cinema that embraces films as morality tales
produce the "happy ending" in DIL KA RISHTA?
If
you're a Bollywood fan who likes to parse the logic of Hindi
cinema, then this is the place for you. While you're here, browse
through our growing collection of reviews, contributed by BollyWHATers
with a passion for popular Hindi cinema.
If
your own passion spilleth over, send your reviews and rambles,
along with a brief biography, to BollyWHAT?.
Writing guidelines for reviews can be found here.
(We
all work for free, but the cause is just.)
|
