We live in an era where Bollywood movies are all around us, and now they are more accessible than ever. I am going to try something new here: every month, I’ll pick one Bollywood movie available via Netflix that I think is worth watching– check out some of my suggestions for you to help buff up on your Bollywood.
The first pick is a film by freshman director Punit Malhotra, July 2010’s I Hate Luv Storys. The film stars Imran Khan, nephew of the lauded Aamir Khan, and Sonam Kapoor, daughter of Anil Kapoor from Slumdog Millionaire.
The story is very modern, and an Indian rendition of a romantic comedy. In fact, the whole movie is poking fun of the sappy, overly pretentious world of Bollywood love stories. There are some references of ultra cheesy Bollywood classics from the 90’s added in that you might miss if you are not a Bollywood fan, but its a great look at the formula and style of making a romantic Hindi film.
The film centers are ‘J’ (not Jay!) who is working as an assistant director to one of the industries most famous directors known for his love stories, even though he despises cheesy love stories and doesn’t even really believe in true love himself. On the opposite end, Simran relishes the opportunity to work on the latest love story hit in the making, as a set designer, and her whole life not only revolves around Bollywood fairytale love stories, but actually is one.
Eventually while working for the relentless director, and equally cheesy film, the two become best of friends, and a romance starts to take root between Simran and J. Unfortunately, those feelings were not mutual, and J was not going to give up his playboy lifestyle to settle down for love.
As J re-evaluates his decision, the signs all around him seem to point out that he has made a major mistake, and perhaps he should have been paying attention to all of those love sagas, as he has been missing the signs for years. When his friends prove to him that he is as helpless in love as any of the cliched heroes in any Bollywood love story, J has to make a decision.
The soundtrack of this film was exceptional, and the single “Bahara” become a breakout hit, and a personal favorite. Although the film’s pacing tends to slump towards the middle and climax, you can’t help but root for the mischievous scoundrel that J is, and the story picks up in cuteness factor towards the end.
The average Netflix rating was 3/5 stars, but I gave it 4/5 for its fresh approach and ability to poke fun of the industry, while maintaining a realistic dialogue on behalf of modern day Indians.
Add it to your queue here (available for Instant Streaming / also available in Bluray HD) and tell me what you think!
- Excited
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Disgusted
- Sad
- Angry
