Redhotcurry.com - Films. Bollywood/Hollywood, a film by Deepa Mehta

ABOUT THE STORY

After an unsuccessful attempt two years ago to film Water, the last of her trilogy of films set in India, director Deepa Mehta needed to write a film that would make her laugh. Bollywood/Hollywood fit the bill. "I wanted to make a comedy that not only reflected the Bollywood culture in the West, but also at the same time was subversive in its take on commercial cinema's complexities and idiosyncrasies."

Mehta also wanted to explore the schism between cultures, how one can retain the link to one's homeland, without necessarily compromising one's life in a new land. She decided to look to Canada, her adopted country, for inspiration.

"Bollywood/Hollywood," Mehta says, "has nothing to do with immigrant angst. Canada is a country of immigrants, of people who are very comfortable with their identities as Canadians. Their ties to their original homelands add, if anything, more spice to their existence." Mehta relied on her familiarity of the Indian community to write her screenplay about the Seth family. "The family is from Toronto, and is based largely on the amount of research I've done. This isn't like going to the library to do research; it's about meeting people. The Seths are a well-to-do family, whose lifeline is India. Everybody needs a bit of where they come from, and that defines their behaviour."

Though Bollywood/Hollywood pays homage to the Bollywood genre of films, with their essential singsong and musical numbers, Mehta was also inspired by old and new Hollywood films. Thematically, the Hollywood half of the title is a take off on the Cinderella, Pretty Woman, Hollywood syndrome. The films of Hollywood directors such as Frank Capra and Billy Wilder were another source of inspiration. "And for me, Rahul's character had to be the sort of 50's Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant character. I mean those types of character are very typical in a romantic comedy, so that's also where Hollywood comes into it."

The title "Bollywood/Hollywood" clearly points to her interest in developing a synthesis of the two approaches in moviemaking. "However, disparate the two genres may seem, they have much in common, the classical story line of just being one. It's the synthesis of Bollywood and Hollywood - that is the platform from which this comedy takes off."

INTERESTED IN KNOWING MORE?

Click here to read about The Background to Bollywood/Hollywood.
Click here to read about The Casting of Bollywood/Hollywood.
Click here to read about The Production of Bollywood/Hollywood.
Click here to read about development of The Storyline for Bollywood/Hollywood.
Click here to return to the Bollywood/Hollywood article.

BANANAS OVER BOLLYWOOD?

If you are simply "bananas" over bollywood, then you might like to read the following:

Bollywood In Love - catch it while you can (ends January 2003)

Bollywood Dreams - a digital homage (end May 2003)

Bollywood Homes - Abu Jhani & Sandeep Khosla's interior design benediction. Sadly only the pictures remain now!

Bombay Dreams - A R Rahman's theatrical tribute to the industry is a must see.

The Rough Guide to Bollywood - DJ Ritu's musical guide to the Hindi Film Industry.

Bollywood Books - our selection of some of the best books on the subject.

Bollywood Boy - our review of Justine Hardy's pursuit of Bollywood heart-throb Hrithik Roshan.

Bombay Time - Thrity Umrigar's simply brilliant book about the Mumbai Parsee community. Absolutely nothing to do with Bollywood...but a great novel about the city!

Lagaan - surely you've seen the movie by now? Read our review and see if you agree.

Devdas - Sanjay Bansali's remake of this classic 1917 tale.