13 Comments
Jan 4Liked by Gareth Bradwick, Raj Menon

I did not know the history of Bollywood, found this article quite informative.

While I'm not an avid Bollywood film consumer, one thing I would credit them for is teaching me Hindi, alongside my Delhi-born husband. I can even formulate some sentences now, albeit shyly.

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Yes, that’s the best way to learn Hindi. As a South Indian we don’t speak Hindi at home and although Hindi was taught in school as a second language, it didn’t help build my confidence to speak it until I started watching the Bollywood movies.

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Thanks for sharing Andee, that’s really interesting.

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Nov 28, 2023Liked by Gareth Bradwick, Raj Menon

This is just great. I had no idea about the enormity and evolution of Bollywood, fantastic piece.

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Glad you liked the post Jon. Yeah it was until I did the research for this that I realized it as well.

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Dhanush not being Bollywood, I have to stand and do a little rah rah here for south Indian cinema. I'm starting a campaign right now for Part two of this - Malayalam and Tamil cinema please! Tamil for the *best* song and dance routines and music; Malayalam movies for the deep and meaningfuls. And some truly outstanding recent movies.

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lol. You know it. Dhanush was my plug in for the South embracing Bollywood and Hollywood. So when my wife reviewed this (and did the voiceover) she pointed that discrepancy of sorts. I said let’s leave it in there coz I wanted to highlight a South Indian star taking Bollywood and Hollywood by storm. I’m a Malayalee so yes to what you said about a part 2. Maybe we can

collaborate.

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Really appreciated this piece. @ReidsonFilm has been going on for almost a year and we've yet to review a Bollywood film. Needs to be rectified. I have seen RRR, but not sure that counts as Bollywood

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I would be first in line to read that review for sure. Pick a classic. RRR doesn’t count as Bollywood. There’s a movie called “Sholay” which is a good one to pick.

Reviews: 8.1/10 IMDb, 93% Rotten Tomatoes

Director: Ramesh Sippy

Release date: August 15, 1975 (India)

Nominations: Filmfare Award for Best Actor, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, More

Running time: 3h 24m

Budget: 30 million INR, 20 million INR

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Very interesting. What if, any, role do you think politics/big money and covert influence/crime plays in dictating what and how the stories are told and what emotional layers are added? I have been reading about the origins of US music industry/movie and it seems the ties are ties that bind a bit.

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Thanks Alicia. I suppose all films need sponsors. If a particular political movement sees a film in development that fits their agenda it would make sense to finance it. I can’t remember the name, but I remember seeing one Bollywood film that promoted sanitary cleanliness and the use of toilets as it’s a big push in the country. I’m not sure about crime though. That would be a fascinating topic.

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I think that movie you are referring to is “Pad Man”.

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I knew I could count on you, Raj!

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