I have seen some of Deepa Mehta’s work as a director. She usually tackles controversy rather than sticking to convention. I rented this film recently, because I was curious to see her attempt to make something lighter. She is the director of two exceptionally controversial films Fire and Earth. I just found out she is FINALLY making Water. Yippee! Bollywood Hollywood is a mix of the Bollywood song and dance love story combined with the Hollywood romantic comedy.
Cast: The film stars Rahul Khanna as Rahul Seth. He does a pretty good job in the film. I do not think he is very handsome, but he is a talented actor. He is great at comedy as well as drama. He played the lead role in this film with much professionalism. Lisa Ray is Sunita ’’Sue’’ Singh. She does and excellent job as a escort girl who tells Rahul she is Spanish rather than give away she is an Indian girl. She acts as well as she dances. She was refreshing to me. Jessica Pare plays a small part as Rahul’s fiancee who dies tragically in an accident while filming her new music video. She was not in the film that long, but there is reference to her throughout. Dina Pathak(Naseerudin Shah’s mother-in-law) plays the feisty grandmother. I loved her performance. She is truly a talented actress. Ranjit Chowdrhy plays Rahul’s driver who is secretly also a drag queen. This guy is such a talent. He has been in other Deepa films. He is quite versatile. There are other supporting characters, but I want to get to the plot.
Plot: The story plays out like a ’’typical’’ Bollywood love story. Rahul is engaged to a girl whom his family does not approve of(in this film she is a gori pop singer). The girl dies tragically. He is distraught. His mother and grandmother think the best way to mend his broken heart is for him to get married. He has to choose a girl as soon as possible or else his sister cannot marry her boyfriend Bobby whom she really loves. He does not want to settle with someone. His heart is broken and never wants to marry. He finds out about a female escort who can be whomever he wants her to be. Also, she says she is Spanish, but could easily pass for an Indian girl. I guess I should not give the rest away, because you should see the film for yourself.
The plot is silly in a way. You can already guess what will happen I think Deepa did and excellent job trying to mold the East/West culture angle and still make it light hearted. Do not watch this movie expecting a thought-provoking plot like in other Deepa films. It will not happen. I feel like she did this to kind of down play all the controversy that usually surrounds her. The music of the film is good. I especially like Akshay Khanna(Rahul’s real brother)doing a cameo at the engagement party of Rahul’s sister. The drag queen sequence was also fun. It was refreshing to see all the players seemingly having a great time making the film. Rent it on a week night after a long day’s work. It will lighten your mood