Bollywood

Bollywood is a big deal.

And going to the movies here is quite an event.

In Jaipur, I went to one of the biggest and best theaters in the country. The lobby was amazingly decorated and an attraction in itself. Seats were purchased and assigned ahead of time. There were three tiers - much like going to a theater on Broadway. I bought box seats for R91 (~$2.25), and had a luxury box avoiding some of the chaos. Even though this theater only had one screen, it probably held 2,500 people. Here is a photo of the lobby.


The movie we saw was called Partner. Not uncommon for Bollywood films, it was based on an American film - in this cash Hitch. Same plot, similar jokes, even down to the fact that the main characters worked for a newspaper.

What was different though was the song and dance routines. Every 20 minutes or so, there was a huge song and dance routine, with elaborate costumes and choreography. These routines are quite common, and most movies feature around 8 major song-dance routines. Popular songs often show up on MTV India as videos, taken largely directly from the movies.

And the crowd gets into it. Whenever a star appears on screen, everyone yells. People sing and clap along with the songs. They scream and laugh and talk throughout and are as much of the entertainment as the movie itself.

This NYT article discusses Hollywood's latest efforts to capture some of the Indian cinema pie.

I also saw the Simpsons movie in Bangalore. Another very nice theater, though this was a 10 screen multiplex that could just as easily have been in suburban America (except for the assigned seats and talkative crowd). This theater was much smaller than Jaipur though, maybe since the movie was in english (ticket prices are also higher for english movies).

Finally, the story of Sanjay Dutt, arguably India's biggest movie star is quite amazing and quite current.

India just went through its equivalent of the OJ trial. Sanjay is one of Bollywood's biggest stars. He was arrested after the 1993 Mumbai bombings and charged (along with a few hundred others) with arms trafficking. He spent a year and a half in prison from 1994-95 but was then released on bond while awaiting trial.

His trial just concluded, 14 years later (Indian courts don't move fast). He was found guilty and (quite surprisingly to the public and the Bollywood community) sentenced to six years in prison. The three movies that he is in the middle of filming right now have all been shelved. The "Bollywood fraternity is mourning" (though public reaction seems mixed). But the Sanjay story is definitely all over the news. We know everything from Sanjay's prison sleeping schedule to what type food he is served to the cleanliness of the toilets in his cell block.

Nobody though seems to discuss whether he actually committed a crime. Maybe this was settled long ago, I am not sure. I have asked a few people about it but nobody seemed comfortable talking about it - I think (understandably) the bombings are still a sensitive topic. He is currently appealing to the Supreme Court but will remain in prison at least until it decides whether they will consider his case and allow him out on bail again. I will post further updates as new developments unfold.