Experiencing Bollywood

Although cinema is now a priority, some feel as if cinema is no longer the cinema when it was first established. Movies no longer have that special feeling like viewers once had. Today, films are not only shared within a theater, if one pleases they could always have the same experience elsewhere. Moreover, with technology expanding, it takes away the importance cinema once had. “The

During the spring break, I watched Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One at the Balboa Theater, a long-standing independent cinema that first opened its doors in 1926. Given the theater’s decor and screening of Hollywood blockbusters and indie films, I think the viewing of Ready Player One, a delightful mashup of 80’s pop culture, was enhanced quite well by the cinema’s atmosphere. The theatre appears antique, moreso like a theater that holds plays and musicals, but one that appeals to a film buff or younger, hipper generation. This is in part due to its brown floral styled carpet, old arcade games, outdated photobooth, and classic film posters spread on the wall. Everything was fresh and new to me, as I never attend independent theaters.

The most favorite pass time of any Indian is watching a TV set or catching up the show of their desired interest in the local cinema hall. As people are investing a major chunk of their time in the reel world it is, but natural to affect their real world. But does it always happen that way? “Cinema has only been around for a 100 years; men have been treating women badly for much longer than that,” argues filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan. “So how can one blame cinema for what is going wrong in our country today?”

Films and movies hold much than we can guess, they reveal a lot of vices and rots that are happening in society. Others give a history of a particular society, its beliefs, culture and their standard of living in the society. Films are used to disclose the social responsibilities in a given season and customs, moral values, societal worries and other cultural practices.

For those who frequently watch movies, it is only an unsaid fact that they develop a strong liking for a particular genre or genres of films. And once this bond is structured in one’s mind with a specific type of movie, one often expects to get the same kind of emotional fruit from the movie apart from being entertained in general, obviously. But it can be hard when a movie is chosen and it does not exactly delivers up to one’s expectations in terms of an emotional ride.

When television critics write their think pieces about Aziz Ansari’s brilliant new Netflix series Master of None, they will most likely focus on ethnic identity. In the provocative episode “Indians on Television”, the Indian-American Ansari depicts Hollywood’s insensitive treatment of Indians throughout the years, and depressingly points out that little progress has been made in the struggle for fair representation. This episode feels like a game-changer, as if, for the first time, a blindspot has been exposed. Ansari reminds us that television may be more diverse than cinema, but despite the progress, Indian-Americans still struggle to break through the entertainment industry.

Bollywood is the film industry mainly found and produced in India. Bollywood is also known as Hindi cinema. The term Bollywood sounds similar to the United States film industry ‘Hollywood’ and while they can have some similarities and differences, the titles of the film cultures are not related. Bollywood has been affected in several ways by the Hindi culture. Gender roles play a large part in the countries standards, and these gender roles are also represented in the film industry. The censorship in films enforced by the Central Board of Film Certification has also created laws for the cinema to follow because of the conservative nature of Hindi culture in India regarding women and the conduct that the culture follows. By looking at specifically the effect gender norms have on Hindi cinema and the censorship in India is clear that it causes Bollywood films to appeal strongly to the Hindi culture and conservative rules,

As seen in most third transnational films from Asia countries, “popular cultural products criss-cross cultural borders everyday” therefore these cultures remain circulating in transnational cinema (Aquilia 2006). The power of transnational cinema could not be ignored as global screen reflects a transnational cultural exchange (Aquilia 2006). My clip shows that those sections of films we studied consisting crossover boundaries of actors and actresses, overseas settings and different cultures portrayed. Athique also argues that non-Indians and people with little Indian history background found enjoyment in the mixture of Bombay films (Athique 2008). Thus, transnational cinema in both ways depicted the cultural identity audiences can relate to, as well as transnational culture exchange among the globe.

Intro: The discourse of film is a questionable field of study in its own respect. To say whether a film is influence or not by another medium is a problematic area as there are many factors to account for which can influence an artist’s project. In Philip Lutgendorf’s article, Is There An Indian Way of Filmmaking? (2006), he attempts to suggest how texts from the Indian cultural heritage could be used for the discourse of both Indian cinema as well as to the study of cinema itself, which justifies discussion. This essay will attempt to challenge Lutgendorf’s ideas within his article through Hayao Miyazaki’s film, Spirited Away (2001) through the discussion of manga/animae origin, Japanese mythology, and genre hybridity.

Bollywood took the world by storm several years ago. Among the most viewed theater releases to date, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge struck a fancy with many movie goers as a feel-good feature enticing them to “Come…fall in love”. Musically, Dilwale contains a nearly wall-to-wall score with purposely written lyrics to help relay the story. Following the subtitles proved a bit daunting and the lyrics did not always seem to “fit” with the musical notation, but there was definite expertise in moving the story along with each number. Moreover, the cinematography allowed for indulgence in panoramic

The Indian Film Industry has been one of the oldest segments of the Indian entertainment industry. The Lumiere Brothers brought motion pictures to India in 1896, and since then there has been no looking back. Today, India has the world's biggest movie industry that churns out around one thousand movies each year. The Indian Film Industry is witnessing mark improvements on all spheres - from the technology used in making films to the themes of the movies, exhibition, finance and marketing and even in its business environment. There is no doubt that the Indian Film Industry is finally getting corporatized in that sense. 2005 was a watershed year for the industry. Indian Film Producers are also looking

Cinema is among the most popular term in this world. Isn’t the reason obvious? It is the most preferred mode of entertainment in the human life. Be it children, teenagers, parents or senior citizens, everyone has some personal connection with the contemporary cinema. Though, it is quite known to all of us, but in the strict sense it is referred as the production of films as an art or industry.

The BBFC has commissioned me to undertake research as part of a project to ascertain to what degree films can be regarded as powerful within contemporary society. In this assignment, I will comprehensively explain the relationship between audiences and films with well explained examples. I refer to the different sectors relating to the topic that include the following:

There are many important concepts for understanding Bollywood cinema but I would like to distinguish the following three: influence of Mahabharata and Ramayana on all Indian films, adherence to dharmik laws, and prevalence of music and dance in cinema.

Cue fully deserved standing ovation. If you find that the plot of Partner is remotely similar to that of Hitch, or that Phir Hera Pheri is identical to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels then you, my friend, are clearly mistaken. I want you to stare at the mirror long and hard and think about where your life is headed. Oh, and you also reek of anti-nationalism. All events in the movies are fictitious and any resemblance, however compelling, to any Hollywood movie is purely coincidental and accidental. The rate at which Bollywood standards have fallen, and continuously kept plummeting, would easily put the 1929 Great Depression to shame. That is a feat in itself, and thus deserves applause. Thus, we dedicate this article to all those bright souls who over the years have played a huge part in this country’s collective mental degeneration. Where we as a society would have strayed without their relentless guidance is anyone’s guess. It simultaneously sickens and saddens me to discover that the present generation derives immense pleasure from this utter dross that is churned out week after week. But then, who am I to question the absolute behemoth of public approval that is the Indian Film Industry. I am a mere mortal who has no right to pelt small stones at this greatly revered sleeping giant. Well, even if I do, there obviously won’t be any effect. As long as the immensely rational people of our country keep devouring these frankly demeaning offerings, the