Bollywood primer, with videos

Mother Jones's "Bollywood for Beginners" special features clips from ten must-see Bollywood movies along with commentary. A fine way to spend an hour or two in a clicktrance...

3) Sholay (1975): They call this a Curry Western. Take one part John Wayne, two parts bromance, stir in the subaltern heros of the 1970s and the star power of Amitabh Bachchan, and you have Sholay, the most watched Bollywood movie of all time.
Synopsis: Jay (Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra) are a couple of small-time crooks whose cunning and moral uprightness win them a special place in the heart of Thakur Baldev Singh, a local lawman who wants revenge against a gangster so mean, his name is still synonomys with evil.
Bonus: It's a tie, between Bollywood's most evil villian, Gabar Singh, and the loveable buddiness of Jay and Veeru, who were bromancing thirty years before it was an MTV show.

Video: Bollywood for Beginners (via Beyond the Beyond)

Previously:

Discussion

Take a look at this

#1 posted by Johnny Cat, June 15, 2009 10:42 PM

Aww, no Lagaan? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liYN22ANJ9Q

#2 posted by Coxswain, June 15, 2009 10:55 PM

I loved Lagaan! watched it in my AP calculus AB class in high school; best couple of class periods ever.

This is pretty good too, but Lagaan is in a league of its own as far as bollywood goes.

#3 posted by NotACat, June 16, 2009 1:29 AM

I'm not a fan of Bollywood much, but I want to watch Lagaan sometime if only to see "Harry Dresden" playing cricket :-P (and getting trounced IIRC): does he have to sing and dance as well?

#4 posted by airshowfan, June 16, 2009 9:12 AM

This is perfect. I know nothing about Bollywood, but for a while I have been interested in learning about it, maybe watching some of the most representative/classic/influential/popular movies and reading about the conventions of Indian cinema. This seems like a nice place to start.

#5 posted by Coxswain, June 16, 2009 9:18 AM

Notacat @ 3, I don't remember him doing so, but it's been years since I've seen it last. He did speak horribly stilted lines in either hindi or bhojpuri, I don't remember which.

#6 posted by invisibelle, June 16, 2009 1:22 PM

I agree with all the movies listed, but the list of "also try"s seems a bit random.

I also find lists like this difficult because Hindi movies are so varied, just like movies in any other language - someone who likes Deewaar might not like Chak De! India and vice-versa. It's a bit like suggesting Die Hard 2 and Sleepless in Seattle to the same person.