For the uninitiated, I’m sure looking through the wealth of titles available today is a daunting task indeed. As a service to the people, allow me to recommend three good places to start:
Munnabhai MBBS - “No tension… apun hai na!”
I really like Sanjay Dutt, who stars in this drama/comedy about a local crime boss, Munnabhai, who pretends to be a doctor when his parents come to visit, setting up an elaborate scheme using all his friends and connections to create a fake hospital with fake nurses, fake doctors, and a fake staff. This elaborate ruse falls through when his father, proud of his son, meets and old friend who happens to also be a doctor and wonders why he’s never heard of Munnabahi. The father’s friend looks into it and discovers the lie, and then reveals it to the father, who is crushed. This crushes Munnabhai, and everyone else involved. Our hero is determined to prove he can be a doctor too, so he goes to medical school and meets his childhood friend Suman, who happens to be the hot sexy daughter of the father’s friend, who happens to be the dean of the medical academy. All hell breaks loose. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. A wonderful movie all around.
Main Hoon Na - “Avoid, man!”
Bollywood heartthrob Shahrukh Khan stars in this awesomely mixed-genre movie. Part drama, part comedy, and part action movie, Kal Ho Naa Ho follows Major Ram Prasad Sharma in his mission to see that a peace gesture between India and Pakistan follows through, ending long standing tension between the two nations. Enter Raghavan, the ruthless bad guy who will stop at nothing to see this doesn’t follow through. Raghavan attacks the head of the military during an interview, and Ram’s father, a brigadier general, takes a bullet for him. The Chief General asks Ram to protect his daughter who is at University, but Ram naturally wants to track down his father’s killer. The twist, however, is that also at this University is Ram’s long lost brother, so he decided to go, posing as a student. Hijinks ensue and lots of action follows as Ram protects his new friends from the bad guys as well as dodges spit from a professor who sprays it, not says it. Musical numbers abound in this fun film.
Kal Ho Naa Ho - “I LOVE YOU, pretty woman!”
That hunk Shahrukh stars this time along side upcoming Bollywood heartthrob Saif Ali Khan in this great story about the value of life. This one takes place in New York and has some of the best musical sequences I’ve ever seen. I won’t begin to try and explain them here, but Shahrukh plays a man who wanders into Naina’s family’s life and turns everything around by bringing happiness to all. Naina who rejects him at first ends up falling madly in love with him, and he, her, but Shahrukh claims to be married already, crushing Naina’s dreams. On the side is Rohit, Naina’s long time friend, who, after Naina finds she can be a happy person, falls in love with her suddenly. Love triangle ensues and then super twist, lots of drama, lots of tears. Great movie, definitely highly recommended.
That’s about it for now. All these movies are available on Netflix, which has what must be the best Bollywood selection available to mass audiences. However you want to do it, check out these selections if you’re interested in seeing what the genre has to offer!
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