Every week we bring to you the best movies across genres and languages. This week, we will list some of the most entertaining Hollywood and Bollywood crossovers for you to watch during Unlock 3.
Take a look at these films:
The Darjeeling Limited
This 2007 Wes Anderson classic tells the tale of three brothers, who embark on a journey across India on The Darjeeling Limited train to reconnect. Starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman as the three brothers who haven’t spoken in a year since their father’s funeral. Throughout their “spiritual” journey in the subcontinent, they come across not so spiritual and borderline hilarious situations that help heal their cracked relationship. The film also has appearances by the late Irrfan Khan, Amara Karan, Waris Ahluwalia and some pretty familiar Hollywood faces.
Bombay Dreams
This 2004 Swedish comedy about an adopted girl coming back to India with her best-friend to find her biological mother. Directed by Lena Koppel and starring Gayathri Mudigonda and Nadine Kirschon, the film is equal parts emotional and funny. From dealing with topics like adoption, family, self-realisation to friendship, the film is a great watch with your family during the lockdown to enjoy a hearty laugh and a good cry.
Bollywood/Hollywood
Deepa Mehta’s 2002 comedy starring Rahul Khanna and Lisa Ray is the perfect light-hearted watch for the weekend. When Rahul Seth, a young dotcom millionaire gets pressured by his mother and grandmother to marry a girl “of our community only,” he hires a Spanish bar-worker Sue to pretend to be an Indian woman Sunita Singh. However, not everything goes according to plan when clashes of cultures ensue. An extremely hilarious and satirical depiction of the perfect ‘bahu’ and the nagging mother-in-law, Bollywood/ Hollywood also sees a fresh chemistry between the lead actors. It is also aptly titled as it declares that it is “better than any Bollywood movie.”
The Guru
Helmed by Madeline director Daisy von Scherler Mayer, starring Jimi Misstry, Heather Graham and Marrisa Tomei, The Guru is an absurd amalgamation of Hollywood and Bollywood. Ramu an aspiring dancer and actor goes to New York to become a Hollywood star but due to a series of confusion (and some preconceived notions about Indian people in the west), people mistake him for a sex guru. Once his popularity soars, making him an overnight celebrity with an elite NY clientele, Ramu decides to play along. This film should definitely be seen as a satire. Also there might be many moments which seem like cultural appropriation that must be taken with a grain of salt. Still, it’s quite fun to watch.
Bend It Like Beckham
An inspiration for many ‘desi’ teen girls in India and abroad, Gurinder Chadha’s Bend It Like Beckham is the story of a young Sikh girl who rebels against her orthodox family to play football. While the film is a sports drama with a hint of romantic-comedy, it also deals with many layered issues such as racism, patriarchy, homophobia and clash of cultures. The film was a critical and commercial success starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher and Archie Punjabi among others.
Outsourced
Outsourced is a 2006 film by John Jeffcoat starring Josh Hamilton, Ayesha Dharker and Asif Basra. Todd Anderson, a Seattle call center manager, gets fired as his job gets outsourced to India but is forced to come to the subcontinent to train his own replacement. Not only is this premise difficult for him, but he gets a series of cultural shocks in the foreign land. Once he gives up his ego and gives in to the country, he slowly starts appreciating the new place. He then forms a bond with Asha, his employee. This film inspired the NBC show of the same name starring Ben Rappaport, Anisha Nagrajan, Diedrich Bader and Rizwan Manji.
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