Bollywood

Bullets galore infuse this Bollywood tale of vengeance, loyalty, retribution and conflict between untoward government officials, the crime syndicate and vigilantes; never obfuscating or blurring the boundaries between the nefarious and the worthy, “Bullett Raja” is thick with assassinations, assignations, tipping the scales in melodrama and mayhem. Saif Ali Khan, the least charismatic of the unrelated Khan’s is “Raja”; muscled, …

After seeing hundreds of Bollywood films; I recognize that they have a monopoly on “flirtation”;  no studio can best them; they have taken the act of flirting, crystallizing it into an art form; a causal glance, a swirl of a sari, a sinuous dance, blossoms into a potent promise of intimacy more compelling, titillating than all the prurient, pulsating, instant …

Father and son, director Rakesh Roshan, actor Hrithik Roshan bring the Bollywood version of the “masked man” to audiences who craved the long anticipated third chapter of an Indian messiah, destined to cleanse the Eastern world of plagues, airplane disasters, and nefarious two-legged villains whose mission is to recreate the world in their own vile image. In any science fiction …

Rambir Kapoor, descendant of the Kapoor dynasty,  plays a nice nitwit, “Babli” with a Robin Hood aesthetic, he steals from the insured wealthy to bequeath to dire dallits or those bereft of financial resources; another Bollywood fairy tale that the India populace seems to crave; imbued with terrific, scintillating dance numbers; blindingly colorful costumes, and a plot reminiscent of a …

Quintessential Bollywood, fanciful fluff, rises above the benign; is pleasantly entertaining because the leading actors are so adorable: Shahid Kapoor and Ileana D’Cruz as “Vishwas” and “Kajal” sing, and with liquid elasticity, dance to some of the most innovative choreography (Caesar Gonsalves, Bosco Martis) spewing from the contemporary fountain of Bollywood ingenuity. The soundtrack, by innovative Pritam Chakraborty, and lyrics …

For Western audiences there is nothing unusual about a scenario revolving around crippled commitment; a huge percentage of couples live together without the shackles of a marriage certificate, it is recognized; a state, previously shunned, now monumentally practiced. But in India, with a tradition, going back to the Vedic period (1500-500 BC, and the iconic “Sita/Ram” fable) of “arranged marriages” …

Shah Rukh Khan, the 47-year-old, engagingly talented,  Indian icon (affectionately referred to as “Baadshah of Bollywood”/ “King Khan”) starring in over 75 films, garnishing a myriad of awards; hopefully optimistic, wishing for the Western success of this movie, as it has championed the box office in the East. Unfortunately, the first half is preposterously,  irritatingly silly, topping the scale at …

Major, movie- attendee alert: do NOT see this film if this is your first taste of Bollywood fare; its preposterous scenario will leave you bereft of any desire to imbibe again; I have experienced worse but this tedious, torturous rendition of a bank robber slowly, creepily losing his memory, including the whereabouts of the absconded loot, is rivetingly boring, painfully …

Sitting alone in a cavernous theatre, feeling a lot like the sole survivor of the apocalypse; questioning why I fervently hope to ignite the Western audience to the Bollywood genre; possibly, it is time to give up the battle that has not even brushed the pyrrhic stage. “Kai Po Che” (A reference to kite flying; a winner “cuts” the string …

It is serendipitous that this is my final review before embarking on my sixth excursion to India; intoxicating, enchanting, addictive India whose tentacles have enchained my heart, refusing to unleash me from the exotic lure of its compelling, mysterious, engaging ancient culture; I have relinquished the struggle, always returning;  exiting altered, rejuvenated. India is a classroom, unearthing possibilities, long dormant, …