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Nearly every year I find myself expanding into a new interest. Sometimes these are just quick experiments with something that feels novel, like a brief run at Gunpla models, other times it becomes a full-scale aspect of life like tabletop gaming or the moped. The lock-down of the past year actually brought a couple of these to light, one being a massive immersion in classic game shows thanks to Buzzr, and the other was Bollywood cinema. In all fairness I’m using Bollywood as a catch-all for India’s massive film industry that encompass more languages and sub-cultures than I can even list. So while my knowledge of their culture is still in its infancy my appreciation for their movies has blossomed. Given what a wide and daunting subject this is I figured I’d share my journey thus far and perhaps encourage some of you pick out a movie to make your own first Indian fling. Hell; if this works out well enough it could even become a recurring thing.
Before we hop into the movies themselves I should probably talk about what makes Indian cinema unique and appealing, or unappealing in some cases. A lot of folks will point out the musical numbers or over-the-top action but for me it comes down to unpredictability. Not even trying to brag but the truth is I’ve likely seen more stuff than most people can even imagine, and with that metric ton of viewing comes the ability to predict a lot of weird shit. Bollywood stuff, much like certain anime or tokusatsu, can be really good at side-stepping expectations or offering twists no sane person would ever predict. Some of this is purely cultural. For instance you’d likely judge any movie that spends twenty minutes of its runtime on a totally unrelated side-plot yet that sort of storytelling is the norm for India. Making stories massive and varied, or bloated as we might call them, is just part of their approach. More than that however is the method in which genres and styles are mixed and matched. With the frequent and sometimes bizarre shifts in style and tone watching an Indian movie can almost feel like an investment. Your experience at the start is nothing like what comes at the middle or end. Stories can change from romance to tragedy and then take a twenty minute detour into action. It can come off as disjointed but holding in for the long-haul can produce some outstanding rewards.
Hopefully having made a case as to what makes these movies so special it’s time to trace my journey thus far. Along the way I’ll offer some quick observations and recommendations.
1920
Long before making a point of diving into this pool I’d dipped my toe in the water way back when writing for a certain horror site that shall remain nameless. The first entry in a franchise of haunting/possession flicks, 1920 is a fair gateway into Bollywood as it stand-steps a lot of the stranger aspects of their cinema. There’s only one musical number, the story is fairly linear save for a like 20 minute flashback. The scares aren’t half-bad either. What stuck out to me as the main issue back then was how this basic horror tale had it come from any other country would likely be 80 minutes long yet here was stretched out to 140. So while it’s not bad the whole experience is a little bland and far too long for how simplistic it feels.
Dhoom
I’d known of the Dhoom I franchise for well over a decade, routinely holding it in mind as a potential first step. It’s often recommended as an entry weight Bollywood flick given an almost reasonable length (just over 2 hours), and cheesy action movie tropes that earn it the reputation of Indian Fast & Furious, which is a bit unfair as I found far more fun. As for the actual quality of the film however… um.
The largest surprise Dhoom held for me was Bollywood’s shifting narrative style. While the poster is clearly selling a motorcycle action flick featuring tough guys and hot chicks the first half-hour is a relationship comedy between a cop, his main suspect and wife. As things move forward the wife fades out while the actual criminals take up more screentime. Then it becomes sort of a buddy-cop take on Point Break with occasional musical number before finally reaching the action movie we were promised. The experience is baffling, oftentimes idiotic, and a lot of fun.
Post viewing I had to wonder how this compared quality wise to other Indian films. The series is very successful and while I giggled like a child on a candy bender it was not what I’d call quality filmmaking. Was I wise enough to change gears for my next experiment? Hell nah, I turned on the sequel.
Dhoom 2
Dhoom 2 is somehow both better and worse than it’s predecessor in nearly every way. First off the film is bigger in every direction. Larger set-pieces, longer runtime, more characters, more plotlines, you name it. It takes all the inheirent silliness of the previous film and ramps it up even further. On one hand this can make it even more fun to watch. At the same time it can become an absolute chore to sit through.
Let’s be clear this movie was not made with subtly nor sensitivity in mind. Emotions are shouted, female characters are introduced via their anatomy, it’s all just noisy junk in both the best and worst way. In that sense it might be an excellent gateway for fans of Michael Bay. For those with more demanding sensibilities this will drive you nuts. If we’re being honest though… I sorta love it.
Fan
By my fourth time at bat I was enjoying the experience but wondered if any of these movies are what we’d actually call good. It was time to branch out with another notable highlight of Indian cinema, possibly the biggest star of them all, SRK. I’ve seen him referred to as Bollyood’s answer to Tom Cruise since he produces massive films where he’ll injure himself doing crazy stunts. Guy even has his own FX company so he can play different ages and heights. There was a lot to chose from however with everything from crime, superheroes, drama, but I went for his weird meta thriller, Fan. The discovery was that yes indeed some of these movies are actually good. Really odd, but good.
SRK plays a duel role as a movie star (big stretch) and his biggest fan who’s a total dead ringer. In an effort to meet his idol the fan impersonates the star, goes way out of line, and is then rejected by his idol. This shifts the narrative into a revenge thriller with the fan waging war against his nearly identical idol.
As always there are some weird moments throughout this film like the exaggerated action scenes that almost seem at odds with the otherwise realistic drama. Still the movie is surprising, well-made, and SRK is damn good at both roles. If my past three experiments hadn’t done it, I was now officially hooked.
Baaghi
My spirit renewed I felt it was time to check out another star. This one is still fairly fresh but has been largely dominating the action genre for years; Tiger Shroff. Dude won me over real quick. Baaghi is a pretty simplistic flick with a martial-arts love triangle. It’s the slow build from romance to action that makes it so much fun though. The early goings are the young stars making eyes at each-other and dancing in the rain whereas the ending stretch is Tiger and his lady kicking any ass that gets in their path. Add in some corny training montages and a henchman with ridiculous hair and you’ve got a solid night of entertainment.
Tumbbad
Having played around in different genres it was now time to check out my favorite kind of flick and see how India tackles horror. Man did I ever luck out cause Tumbbad is a damn fine scary story. The story is a little slower and dramatic, very much in the vein stuff like Hereditery or The Lighthouse if they weren’t terrible. I say that because here we have solid, not hysterical, proformances supported by consistent themes and interesting twists. The tale is unique as is the supernatural threat. Plus the production and camerawork are top notch and the runtime is less than two hours with no musical numbers to be found making this an easy sell for anyone wherry of such topics. Probably the best Indian flick I’ve seen so far, but not my personal favorite.
Purana Mandir
Seeing as all this experience had been made up of films from this century it was time to step back into the past while sticking to the horror wheelhouse. This one comes from the Ramsay brothers who are seemingly the kings of Indian horror. Talk about a total treat. There’s martial arts mixed with demons, romance, a comedic bandit subplot, and a crazy ear-worm of a score. It felt a little like Italian horror flicks from the 1970s and 80s only not so mean spirited. Feel head over heals for this one but obviously I only recommend it to those who like their movies on the crazy side.
Purani Haveli
Something of a follow-up yet Nowhere near the wonders of Purana Mandir, Purani Haveli uses the same setting and music as its predecessor. Unfortunately the damn thing simply lacks the spirit that made the previous Ramsay flick so much fun. I suppose that paints this as the first disappointment of my quest.
Dhoom 3
After a long break it was time to get back in touch with my boys in their currently final adventure, Dhoom 3. This one gets weird. A decent amount of it was filmed in Chicago and the movie makes great pains to show off the city which feels so odd for a Great Lakes person cause seriously, it’s just Chicago. With the shift in location comes an attempt at telling a more focused and emotional story, that takes three hours of our lives. There’s a major push at making a more high-end quality production but the trade off is the loose of some of that stupid Dhoom appeal and spirit. It’s almost like trying to follow up Point Break with Heat while still maintaining an air of silliness.
While nowhere near as entertaining as the first two it reminded me why I enjoy these movies so much when it took a plot twist I’d guessed in advance only to add an extra twist to that one that I’d never have expected. Let’s put it this way. There is a vital plot point involving the emotional manipulation of a mentally handicapped man at Six Flags. You can’t see it coming because normally polite society would never allow such madness. Glad I watched it but my sincere hope is that any potential follow-up returns to the outrageous nature of the first two. Should note this one has the most extravagant musical sequence I’ve encountered so far.
Baazigar
Remember when I said you should treat Bollywood movies as a long-term investment? Few movies are a better example than this early 1990s SRK outing. You may not be satisfied with the light romantic antics of the first hour that are only lightly colored by a hint of menace. Once you reach the hour and maybe ten minute mark the film changes completely to a violent thriller. And the ending... should I spoil it and say karate bloodbath? To think I nearly gave up on it after far too many love songs and poorly done comedy scenes about deranged servants. Glad I stuck it out cause the ending is absolutely nuts.
And those are my adventures thus far in the wild wold of Indian cinema. There’s still so much to take in from big classics like Sholay and Anand to major modern blockbusters like War and Saaho along with plenty more SRK projects. It actually feels a little overwhelming at times when struggling to decide which massive movie to turn on next but that’s a good problem to have. My hope then is that those of you feeling a little blue about might benefit from my experiences and find your new Saturday night thing.
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