[.ca] Bollywood/Hollywood

Amazon.ca:
Pour son sixième long métrage, la réalisatrice indo-canadienne Deepa Mehta plonge dans l'univers kitsch et coloré de la communauté indienne de Toronto. Tourné en 30 jours dans la ville reine, Bollywood/Hollywood s'amuse à faire découvrir au public occidental les grandes traditions chantantes et dansantes de la deuxième industrie cinématographique mondiale : Bollywood. Lorsque sa petite amie Kimberly meurt dans un accident d'avion, le jeune millionnaire d'origine indienne Rahul Seth est dévasté. Mais afin de calmer sa mère, bien décidée à le remettre sur le droit chemin en le mariant à une bonne jeune femme indienne, il ira jusqu'à engager une escorte, qu'il croit espagnole, pour jouer le rôle de la future mariée. Jouant avec les quiproquos dans une ambiance délirante et parfois même onirique, Bollywood/Hollywood est une comédie sentimentale sympathique, faite de couleurs vives, de bons sentiments, de fleurs et de chansons. L'ensemble rappelle parfois de façon peu subtile les schémas hollywoodiens déjà utilisés dans Pretty Woman, et les coups de griffes assenés au système de castes et aux traditions indiennes sont assez inoffensifs. Mais la sauce Bollywood à laquelle elle est apprêtée rend cette oeuvre romantique et proprette plutôt rafraîchissante. --Helen Faradji

From Amazon.com:
Bollywood Hollywood is a delightful, cross-cultural parody of both India's and America's musical film traditions. Directed by Deepa Mehta (Earth), Bollywood Hollywood concerns the desperate effort of wealthy businessman Rahul (Rahul Khanna) to get his mother and grandmother off his back when it comes to his romantic life. In love with a white pop-star girlfriend (Jessica Paré), Rahul's fortunes change when she dies. Still grieving, he is told by his mother that Rahul's only sister won't be allowed to marry until he finds a nice Indian girl to wed. The solution: hire a beautiful, dark-skinned, allegedly Spanish escort named Sue (Lisa Ray) to pose as his Indian fiancée. With tongue firmly planted in cheek, Mehta pokes fun at a number of Bollywood cinema clichés, especially that familiar mix of modern luxury and old world traditions, melodramas involving the saddest of character backstories, and spontaneous musical numbers that remind one as much of Hollywood's Golden Age as Bollywood's current one. --Tom Keogh

a gem:
I'm not one to bother with romantic movies but this movie captivated me. Sumptuous for the eye, charming, and fun. I wish I'd seen it at the movie theatre. It was worth every penny I paid for the dvd. I hope Deepa Mehta makes more movies of this kind. Rahul Khanna is gorgeous as well as endearing in his role - mad about the man! What a screen presence.

Better than I would have believed!!!:
This DVD combines the eclectic mix of Bollywood and Canadian filmmaking. Once you embrace the origins of the movie, you can begin to enjoy the sudden dance and song numbers that dot it. This is a perfect characature of Indian NRI life. The family members personalities are exageratted, but that just makes them more fun to watch. Arranged introductions, modern Indian women, and family traditions, this movie has it all.

lighthearted flick from Deepa Mehta:
OK, so Deepa Mehta has made films like Earth/Fire/Water with a strong social undertone. Bollywood/Hollywood is just another- but lighthearted and fun, especially to Indians living in Toronto! I say that because the humour is only appreciated if you're Indian originally or have seen tons of Bollywood films- it's a parody of that. So having sorted out THAT- the story is about an Indian family now living in Ontario (yours to discover). Rahul has to get married, which means finding himself a good Indian girl or else be happy with the one Mummy chooses. He decides on the former, and promptly decides to hire a suitable girl. What ensues is Lisa Ray portraying a convincingly indian girl of good values and morals also living in Ontario, being introduced to Rahul's family amid some singing Bollywood style (ofcourse). This film touches on double standards (you've got to find out exactly what), some beautiful poetry and romance. Torontonians will have fun trying to recognise and pinpoint different locations/venues filmed. Highly recommended- along with Monsoon Wedding.