Bollywood Blockbuster
We made it out of Leh before the snow covered the passes and blocked us in for the winter. Ok, we flew. There was never any danger. We immediately left Delhi and headed to Agra for the required Taj Mahal viewing. It was appropriately beautiful and even worth the whopping $16.50 admission charge. This in a country where a cup of tea costs 11 cents. For Indians, it only costs 44 cents to see the Taj. It's like a sanctioned version of the autorickshaw's "special tourist price."
We then headed to Jaipur, where the autorickshaw drivers are relentless in selling you on a day long tour. The drivers, the vendors, and the oppressive 100 degree heat drove us to seek refuge in the movie theater. Now THAT was $3.00 well spent!
Going to the movies in India is quite an experience. It helps that the Raj Mandir cinema in Jaipur is reportedly one of the nicest in India. Right from the start it's different than in the U.S. -- you get an assigned seat. We splurged for the "diamond" level box seats, which are just the balcony with a fancy name. You enter the building and it's like going to the live theater in the U.S. They let you in the lobby/conssessions area first so you can mill about, buy food and drinks, admire the building (pretty nice), and talk to the foriegn tourists (in our case, be talked to like you're a celebrity). 20 minutes later, you are allowed into the theater. The screen at the Raj Mandir is bigger than any, save the IMAX, that I have seen in the U.S. And it's covered with a red velvet curtain before the show starts. As if they are hiding the inner workings of the movie screen from you.
The curtain went up, the previews showed (no change there), and our movie, "Dhoom", came on. What a fantastic piece of pulp entertainment this was. Dhoom is the latest Bollywoood action flick, sort of an Indian The Fast and the Furious, but on motorcycles and involving a casino heist. Oh, and including the required five song-and-dance numbers required of all Bollywood films. You can imagine how well that fits in an action movie.
Dhoom stars the Indian version of Jeff Goldblum as a cop out to find Indian Antonio Banderas, a motorcycle punk behind an armored car robbery. Indian Jeff Goldblum finds a motorcycle street racer played by Indian Tony Danza to help him in his search. After some fighting, some motorcycle races, and some song and dance the intermission, another required piece of Bollywood films, comes. We stretched our feet, had some samosas, and wondered why you need an intermission in a 2 hour movie. 15 minutes later, the curtain comes up and it's another song and dance. During this one, Indian Tony Danza falls for Indian Beyonce, who works with the bad guys, and has a falling out with Indian Jeff Goldblum. There's more fighting, fast motorcycles, slapstick comedy, another song, the casino heist, and in the end everything works out.
I have to say, after seeing the film, I can see why the song and dance part is so loved. I loved it. The rest of the film looks shoddy -- the fights are poorly choreographed with punches that clearly miss their marks, the acting is subpar, shots are not framed quite right, the guns look like plastic toys and the guys shooting them look like kids playing with said plastic toys (this is not my imagination -- I read that a Bollywood actor is working on 12 movies at a time on average. Clearly quality must suffer.) But the song and dance, that's where the money is spent. Despite the fact that the actors can't dance or sing (the dance moves make Jessica Simpson look like Baryshnikov and the singing is dubbed), it entertains. Everyone in the theater seemed to love it and even applauded after some of the numbers. It was great. You can check it out here.
Next on to Pushkar, then across Rajasthan to Jodhpur and Jaisalmar. I'll have that "Dhoom machale" song in my head the whole way . . .
By the way, more pictures are up: fderekf.dotphoto.com.
We then headed to Jaipur, where the autorickshaw drivers are relentless in selling you on a day long tour. The drivers, the vendors, and the oppressive 100 degree heat drove us to seek refuge in the movie theater. Now THAT was $3.00 well spent!
Going to the movies in India is quite an experience. It helps that the Raj Mandir cinema in Jaipur is reportedly one of the nicest in India. Right from the start it's different than in the U.S. -- you get an assigned seat. We splurged for the "diamond" level box seats, which are just the balcony with a fancy name. You enter the building and it's like going to the live theater in the U.S. They let you in the lobby/conssessions area first so you can mill about, buy food and drinks, admire the building (pretty nice), and talk to the foriegn tourists (in our case, be talked to like you're a celebrity). 20 minutes later, you are allowed into the theater. The screen at the Raj Mandir is bigger than any, save the IMAX, that I have seen in the U.S. And it's covered with a red velvet curtain before the show starts. As if they are hiding the inner workings of the movie screen from you.
The curtain went up, the previews showed (no change there), and our movie, "Dhoom", came on. What a fantastic piece of pulp entertainment this was. Dhoom is the latest Bollywoood action flick, sort of an Indian The Fast and the Furious, but on motorcycles and involving a casino heist. Oh, and including the required five song-and-dance numbers required of all Bollywood films. You can imagine how well that fits in an action movie.
Dhoom stars the Indian version of Jeff Goldblum as a cop out to find Indian Antonio Banderas, a motorcycle punk behind an armored car robbery. Indian Jeff Goldblum finds a motorcycle street racer played by Indian Tony Danza to help him in his search. After some fighting, some motorcycle races, and some song and dance the intermission, another required piece of Bollywood films, comes. We stretched our feet, had some samosas, and wondered why you need an intermission in a 2 hour movie. 15 minutes later, the curtain comes up and it's another song and dance. During this one, Indian Tony Danza falls for Indian Beyonce, who works with the bad guys, and has a falling out with Indian Jeff Goldblum. There's more fighting, fast motorcycles, slapstick comedy, another song, the casino heist, and in the end everything works out.
I have to say, after seeing the film, I can see why the song and dance part is so loved. I loved it. The rest of the film looks shoddy -- the fights are poorly choreographed with punches that clearly miss their marks, the acting is subpar, shots are not framed quite right, the guns look like plastic toys and the guys shooting them look like kids playing with said plastic toys (this is not my imagination -- I read that a Bollywood actor is working on 12 movies at a time on average. Clearly quality must suffer.) But the song and dance, that's where the money is spent. Despite the fact that the actors can't dance or sing (the dance moves make Jessica Simpson look like Baryshnikov and the singing is dubbed), it entertains. Everyone in the theater seemed to love it and even applauded after some of the numbers. It was great. You can check it out here.
Next on to Pushkar, then across Rajasthan to Jodhpur and Jaisalmar. I'll have that "Dhoom machale" song in my head the whole way . . .
By the way, more pictures are up: fderekf.dotphoto.com.
posted by Derek at 11:18 PM
2 Comments:
That was fun to read but now I need to hear the Dhoom machale tune! I tried to find it in the movie review link but no luck) and the review was fun too.(vocabulary lapses today). The fact that we can share all these experiences with you still amazes me! I love it! Seeing you both in pictures keeps you closer. (no comments from the 'younger generation please). Can't wait to talk with you tonight. Love, Mom/Carol, (the one with less computer know how)
I just want to clarify that the movie was entirely in Hindi...no English subtitles. However, given that it was an action movie, it was quite easy to follw. Granted, we didn't get a lot of Indian Tony Danza's jokes. There were a surprising number of English phrases in the movie.
Also, in Bollywood films, the actors are not allowed to kiss the actresses. Apparently they are allowed to spray them with a water hose while they are wearing a white blouse. The woman in this particular dance number then removed all her clothes (showing nothing riskee) and finished the song/dance number in a skimpy towel. Another dance number convenietly took place in the pouring rains. Also, all the women in the movie were dressed like prostitutes in the early 90's... a far cry for the conservative salwar kameez.
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