Bollywood/Hollywood

Last updated
Bollywood/Hollywood
Bollywood-Hollywood, movie poster, 2002.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Deepa Mehta
Written byDeepa Mehta
Produced byDeepa Mehta
Starring Rahul Khanna
Lisa Ray
Moushumi Chatterjee
CinematographyDouglas Koch
Edited byBarry Farrell
Music by Sandeep Chowta
Production
company
IDream Productions
Distributed by Mongrel Media
Release date
  • October 25, 2002 (2002-10-25)(Canada)
Running time
105 minutes
Countries Canada
India
Languages

Bollywood/Hollywood is a 2002 Canadian romantic comedy drama film directed by Deepa Mehta and starring Rahul Khanna and Lisa Ray.

Contents

The film pokes fun at traditional Indian stereotypes, as well as at Indian cinema (it features several Indian film-style song-and-dance numbers). Award-winning actor Akshaye Khanna – a brother of Rahul – makes a cameo appearance in the film.

Plot

Rahul Seth, is a young and rich Indian-Canadian living in Toronto whose widowed mother is eager to get him married after the freak-accidental death of his white pop singer girlfriend, Kimberly. Rahul's mother disapproved of her son's relationship with a non-Indian woman. Furthermore, she has proclaimed that the impending wedding of her daughter Twinky and Bobby will not take place until Rahul has found himself an Indian bride. The pressure mounts on Rahul as he finds out that Twinky must marry soon to preserve the family's reputation because she is pregnant.

Rahul goes to a bar and there meets Sue. Thinking she is a Spanish escort (non-sexual companion), he hires her to pose as his fiancée because she looks Indian. Rahul eventually discovers that Sue is actually Indian (her name is short for Sunita). Despite his initial anger at her lie, the two grow closer—due in no small part to a confidence boost Sue gave to Rahul's tormented younger brother, Govind, who incorrectly believes that no one cares about his welfare. Rahul and Sue eventually consider one another a fit match. Pleased, Mrs. Seth agrees to sanction Twinky's wedding.

Rahul and Sue grow more intimate, sharing stories about their pasts. It is revealed that Sue was once offered as a bride to the well-meaning but dim-witted professional wrestler Killer Khalsa; offended that her parents would even consider such a match, she has been playing mischief in revenge. This mischief is not fully explained, but her liking for it is suggested by her audacity. Sue is quite immune to social norms; she speaks bluntly to all, particularly to Rocky, Rahul's driver, who she knows (but does not reveal to others) is a famous drag queen.

The blossoming romance is shaken, when a drunken friend at Bobby's bachelor party states that Sue is a prostitute, and that he himself has paid her for sex in the past. Rahul is uncertain, causing Sue to be so hurt that he would question her honesty and integrity that she leaves him. He is forced to confess to his family that he never really courted Sue but merely bribed her to act the part of his fiancée. His mother is forced to postpone Twinky's wedding until Rahul can find a new bride, becoming despondent that Twinky's pregnancy will make the family social outcasts, for which Rahul calls her out for being a hypocrite. Twinky enters the room and tells her mother to stop crying, as Twinky and Bobby have eloped. Twinky thanks Rahul for doing so much to help her.

Prodded by Rocky ("Sue ma'am is special. Anyone who can keep a secret deserves the best"), by his insightful, Shakespeare-quoting grandmother and by the ghosts of his father and Kimberly, Rahul goes after Sue. In a balcony scene facilitated by Sue's father and mother, Rahul professes his true love to Sue, who abruptly leaves him standing outside her balcony. Rahul initially leaves in his limo, then tells Rocky to return to Sue's house, only to find that Sue has replaced Rocky in the driver's seat.

Cast

Music

Bollywood Hollywood
Soundtrack album by
Sandeep Chowta
Released
17 March 2009 (India)
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length44:04
Label Times Music
Sandeep Chowta chronology
Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani Bollywood Hollywood Road

The music, which is composed by Sandeep Chowta, received good reviews.

Track list
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Rang Rang" Sonu Nigam, Alisha Chinoy 4:03
2."Sooni Hawa (Male)"Sonu Nigam4:58
3."Dil Kabootar Khana Hai"Sonu Nigam3:47
4."Krishna Hare (Female)" Sowmya Raoh 4:32
5."Sona Sona Roop Hai"Sonu Nigam, Alisha Chinoy4:54
6."If the Shoe Fits"Sunita Sarathy4:19
7."Sooni Hawa (Female)"Sowmya Raoh4:58
8."Chin Chin Choo"Sanjiv Wadhawani3:51
9."Krishna Hare (Male)" Rajesh 4:31
10."Salsa"Instrumental3:11

Reception

Critical response

Bollywood/Hollywood was met with "mixed reviews", [2] and has a rating of 41% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 46 reviews. [3]

Accolades

At the 23rd Genie Awards, presented in February 2003, the film received five nominations: Best Motion Picture, Best Original Screenplay (Deepa Mehta), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ranjit Chowdhry), and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Dina Pathak) and (Moushmi Chatterji). [4] Mehta won the Genie for Best Original Screenplay. [2]

Bollywood/Hollywood also won the Student Jury Award at the Newport International Film Festival, the Audience Award (Best Comedy) at the Sarasota Film Festival, and the Best Director (Canadian Film) at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deepa Mehta</span> Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter

Deepa Mehta, is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996), Earth (1998), and Water (2005).

<i>Taal</i> (film) 1999 film by Subhash Ghai

Taal (transl. Rhythm) is a 1999 Indian Hindi language musical romantic drama film co written, edited, produced and directed by Subhash Ghai. The film stars Aishwarya Rai, Akshaye Khanna and Anil Kapoor in lead roles, while Amrish Puri and Alok Nath feature in supporting roles. It was also dubbed in Tamil as Thaalam. Taal was premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival, the "official selection" at the 2005 Ebertfest: Roger Ebert's Film Festival, and retrospectively at the 45th IFFI in the Celebrating Dance in Indian cinema section.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akshaye Khanna</span> Indian actor (born 1975)

Akshaye Khanna is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi films. Born to actor Vinod Khanna, Khanna is a recipient of numerous accolades including two Filmfare Awards. He made his acting debut in 1997 with the film Himalay Putra. His next release, J. P. Dutta's war drama Border (1997) emerged as a critical and commercial success, earning him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut.

<i>Earth</i> (1998 film) 1998 Canadian film

Earth is a 1999 Indo-Canadian period romance drama film directed by Deepa Mehta. It is based upon Bapsi Sidhwa's novel, Cracking India, set during the 1947 partition of India. Earth is the second instalment of Mehta's Elements trilogy, preceded by Fire (1996) and followed by Water (2005). It was India's entry for the 1999 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Dina Pathak was an Indian actress and director of Gujarati theatre and also a film actor. She was an activist and President of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW).

<i>Salaam-e-Ishq</i> 2007 film by Nikkhil Advani

Salaam-e-Ishq also known as Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love, is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Nikkhil Advani, marking his second directorial venture after Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003). An unofficial remake of Love Actually (2003), the film features an ensemble cast of Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Salman Khan, Juhi Chawla, Akshaye Khanna, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan, Sohail Khan, Isha Koppikar, Ayesha Takia and Shannon Esra. It weaves six love stories together and follows the relationships of the people within it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahul Khanna</span> Indian actor

Rahul Khanna is an Indian actor, VJ and writer who works in Bollywood. He is the elder son of actor Vinod Khanna and the elder brother of Akshaye Khanna.

<i>Jhankaar Beats</i> 2003 Indian film

Jhankaar Beats is a 2003 Indian musical comedy film written and directed by Sujoy Ghosh in his feature directorial debut and produced by Pritish Nandy Communications. It stars Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Suri, Rahul Bose, debutant Shayan Munshi, Rinke Khanna and Riya Sen. This film is a story about love, friendship, and music and pays tribute to music of R. D. Burman.

<i>36 China Town</i> 2006 Indian film

36 China Town is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller comedy film directed by Abbas-Mustan and produced by Subhash Ghai. It is an official adaption of the 1992 American film Once upon a Crime.

<i>Aap Ki Khatir</i> (2006 film) 2006 Indian film

Aap Ki Khatir is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Dharmesh Darshan, starring Akshaye Khanna and Priyanka Chopra along with Ameesha Patel, Dino Morea, Sunil Shetty and Anupam Kher. An unofficial remake of the 2005 American film The Wedding Date, it was released on 25 August 2006 and became a disaster at the box office as well as Darshan's final film as a director.

Ranjit Chowdhry was an Indian character actor, known for his roles in television, movies, and theatre. He appeared in two episodes of The Office, as Vikram, a telemarketer who worked with Michael, and was briefly hired for The Michael Scott Paper Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smita Jaykar</span> Indian actress (born 1964)

Smita Jaykar is an Indian actress known for playing supporting roles in Hindi movies and TV shows. She is currently working on a theatrical adaptation of Devdas with Ashvin Gidwani Productions.

<i>Doli Saja Ke Rakhna</i> 1998 Indian film directed by Priyadarshan

Doli Saja Ke Rakhna is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Priyadarshan, with Akshaye Khanna and Jyothika in lead roles. The movie an adaption of the 1997 Malayalam film Aniyathipraavu. A. R. Rahman composed the music. This is Jyothika's debut film.

<i>Deewangee</i> 2002 film by Anees Bazmee

Deewangee (transl. Madness) is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language psychological thriller film directed by Anees Bazmee and produced by Nitin Manmohan. The film stars Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna, and Urmila Matondkar. The music was composed by Ismail Darbar, with lyrics by Salim Bijnori and Nusrat Badr. This was Devgn's first negative role for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Villain.

<i>Heaven on Earth</i> (2008 film) 2008 Canadian film

Heaven on Earth a.k.a. Videsh is a 2008 Canadian film directed and written by Deepa Mehta. Preity Zinta plays the leading role of Chand, a young Indian Punjabi woman who finds herself in an abusive arranged marriage with an Indo-Canadian man, played by theatre actor Vansh Bhardwaj. The film released in India dubbed into Hindi under the title Videsh. Zinta received unanimous acclaim for her performance in both Canada and India.

<i>Himalay Putra</i> 1997 Indian film

Himalay Putra is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Pankaj Parashar, starring Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini, Johnny Lever, Satish Shah, Danny Denzongpa, Amrish Puri and Rocky Grover. It introduced Akshaye Khanna, Anjala Zaveri and Shazia Malik. It was the only time Vinod Khanna and his son Akshaye Khanna appeared in a film together.

<i>Kapoor & Sons</i> 2016 film by Shakun Batra

Kapoor & Sons, also known as Kapoor & Sons , is a 2016 Indian Hindi language family-drama film directed by Shakun Batra and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar and Apoorva Mehta under Dharma Productions, with Fox Star Studios serving as distributor and co-producer. Exploring themes of a dysfunctional family, the film stars Rishi Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Fawad Khan, Alia Bhatt, Ratna Pathak Shah and Rajat Kapoor. Marking the second collaboration between Malhotra and Bhatt after their debut together in Student of the Year (2012), the film follows two estranged brothers who return to their dysfunctional family after their grandfather suffers a cardiac arrest.

<i>The Accidental Prime Minister</i> (film) 2019 Indian film

The Accidental Prime Minister is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language political film directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte and written by Mayank Tewari, based on the 2014 memoir of the same name by Sanjaya Baru. It was produced by the Bohra Bros under Rudra Production (UK), in association with Jayantilal Gada under the banner of Pen India Limited. It stars Anupam Kher as Dr. Manmohan Singh, the 13th Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014 under the United Progressive Alliance.

<i>Section 375</i> 2019 Indian film directed by Ajay Bahl

Section 375: Marzi Ya Zabardasti?, better known simply as Section 375, is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language legal drama film directed by Ajay Bahl, written by Manish Gupta and produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak. It is based on Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code laws in India. The film stars Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadda, Meera Chopra and Rahul Bhat. Principal photography of the film began in January 2019.

References

  1. ↑ BOLLYWOOD/HOLLYWOOD - BBFC Archived 2014-10-17 at the Wayback Machine . BBFC. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Deepa Metha". Canadian Encyclopedia . Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  3. ↑ "Bollywood/Hollywood". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  4. ↑ Bollywood Hollywood gets 5 Genie nominations Archived 2023-11-19 at the Wayback Machine Times of India , January 3, 2003.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.