BOLLYWOOD/HOLLYWOOD Rating: (out of 5 stars) Director: Deepha Mehta Producer: David Hamilton Writer: Deepha Mehta Director of Photography: Doug Koch Cast: Rahul Khanna, Lisa Ray Visit the IMDB page for full cast and crew

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Review by: Warren Curry
10/1/03

Bollywood/Hollywood (released in Canada in 2002) is a film that's perhaps slightly overdue at this point. It seems that every other weekend a Bollywood film is being released in the U.S., but normally they only play in heavily Indian populated communities and are marketed specifically to that demographic. But with the success in this country of movies like Monsoon Wedding and Bend It Like Beckham, Indian culture doesn't seem like such a foreign cinematic topic anymore, and Bollywood/Hollywood is geared toward promoting that crossover. Along with being a culturally relevant artifact, Bollywood/Hollywood is generously sprinkled with moments of breezy entertainment, although it occasionally meanders into the world of the light and insignificant. Director Deepha Mehta's goal was to balance elements of Bollywood and Hollywood filmmaking, and the result is mostly fun and amusing, albeit laced with predictability.

Set in Canada, Rahul Seth (Rahul Khanna) can boast of a few things that would make many men green with envy -- namely, he's a young millionaire who's also dating a beautiful Brittany Spears-like pop star named Kimberly Stewart (Jessica Par). The problem is that Kimberly's Caucasian and therefore not welcomed by Rahul's very traditional mother (Moushumi Chatterjee). But tragedy strikes when Kimberly dies in a bizarre accident, and while Rahul attempts to cope, his unyielding mother demands that he find an Indian woman to be his life partner. If he is unable to satisfy his mother's wishes, she will prevent Rahul's sister, Twinky (Rishma Malik), from getting married.

While stewing alone in misery at a bar, Rahul is approached by the beautiful Sue (Lisa Ray). Sue, it turns out, is an escort, who Rahul believes is Spanish. But her dark hair and complexion make it possible for Sue to pass as Indian, so Rahul invests some of his resources into hiring the woman to pose as his new partner. This plan is all well and good until…yup, you guessed it…their feelings get in the way. The mandatory complications ensue…

The Bollywood films I've seen thus far (minute in number) contain an odd inclination to waver back and forth between farcical moments that alternately come off as self-aware and completely unintentional. The scene in which Kimberly dies during a Yoga accident, which is captured on videotape and broadcast on the news (this is how Rahul learns of his girlfriend's death), plays as lighthearted comedy with no hints of the tragic realities of this incident. I'll freely admit to not understanding the humor here.

The requisite song and dance numbers are relatively infrequent and staged rather conservatively. Mehta's bright color scheme keeps your eyes fixated on the screen, and the story's simplicity, while not leaving much to the imagination, increases the accessibility of the film. The absolutely stunning Lisa Ray (a supermodel in India) is also another strong argument in favor of seeing this movie.

I would assume that Bollywood/Hollywood can probably be described as "Bollywood-lite," and with the exception of a few elements (like Rahul's bodyguard, Rocky, a man with an amusingly checkered past), it won't seem overly peculiar to American audiences. Heck, the movie shares more than a little in common with Pretty Woman and given that musicals have made something of comeback recently, the film shouldn't seem alienating. And unlike the nearly four-hour epic, Lagaan, which Sony Pictures Classics released into U.S. arthouses last year, Bollywood/Hollywood wraps itself up in less than two.

Bollywood/Hollywood exudes a playful sense of fun and that energetic spirit is infectious enough to make you dismiss the fact that the movie is really only about surface level enjoyment. Sometimes that suffices in getting the job done.

(A Magnolia Pictures release. Opens in Los Angeles on October 3, 2003. Opened in New York on September 26, 2003. Expands to more cities at later dates.)