Bollywood to Hollywood: 5 Must-watch crossovers in movies
updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:15
The two big film industries have their good and bad points but who knew when melded together, they could triumph cinematically?
For the umpteenth time, even though we’re living in the year 2015, where countless strides in cinema have been made, somehow people still manage to come up to me and guffaw, “Bollywood movies have the girl and guy dancing around coconut trees, right? So funny!” First, no, not funny and no, Bollywood movies have long dropped that dance sequence – it’s passe.
Another point to note is that the Bollywood cinema genre majorly falls under semi-musicals and that’s what they’re known for so don’t complain about the singing and dancing – it’s a musical, what did you expect?
However, the billion-dollar industry has also dipped its talented feet into Hollywood. It may still not be the norm to see Bollywood actors crossing countries to appear in prominent Hollywood flicks, other than brief cameos or poorly constructed characters, but that has not stopped filmmakers from creating independent works of art. And while some went horribly downhill with cringe-inducing attempts at displaying the East meets West thematic, others surprised us with their thoughtful storylines and seamless character development.
Typically, these films touch on inter-racial or arranged marriages, conflicting ideals of adapting to a Western culture while still staying grounded to one’s roots and even on racial stereotypes that plague children as they grow up in different environments.
So while a part of Bollywood continues to churn out catchy musical numbers with a tinge of comedic flair, at least we can find solace in the other bit that has managed to seamlessly or so blend two different film worlds.
And don’t worry, most of these films are in English.
Tarandip Kaur
