Bollywood Films and Me

Ever wondered why Mumbai doesn’t sleep? - Because it embraces a thousand thoughts, million dreams and gazillion ideas in its stride; these can’t be wasted and burnt off in nocturnal dormancy. And while many flock to the mayanagri (city of illusions), not all attain the superstardom and glamour which (supposedly) comes complementary with one’s success in one industry – Bollywood.

Such is the charisma of this industry that it lures everyone; of any gender, class, caste, creed, economic status, et al. Ceteris paribus, everyone notices Bollywood – love and hate is a different question altogether, there are numerous ‘Kennedy-Khrushchev’s to fight out that war.

Anyhow, I being a Bollywood fan have opened up this blog to critique and analyse some of my favourite movies which are by-products of the wherewithal of this great industry.

I might look crazy for Bollywood. Diagnose for yourself and read below.

Following the norms of various families here in India, we too spent hours of Sunday mornings and Saturday evenings listening to and watching songs on the television. But this was no mere leisure activity; there used to be a competition. All one had to do was to guess the actor or actress in the video, the film/album of the song, or the music director. Fastest finger first – the quickest to answer got the silent admiration of others while they nodded their heads in accord. There is a reason why I am more conversant with the lives of the old Bollywood megastars than the life stories of some of my elder relatives; and I put the blame on that game.

Curious about everything associated with the Mumbai-based industry, I started off my journey of exploring the lives of the 3Ks of Bollywood (the Kapoors, Khans and Kumars.) I pored over the Filmfare Award winners and nominees, I gorged the balance thirst for Bollywood by reading non-fiction biographical works like “Written by Salim-Javed” by Diptakirti Chaudhuri – the summary of which I narrated to my confused classmates. After all, few 21st century kids (I may be super-duper wrong) care about Bollywood, now that the Avengers have dominated the entertainment scene.

Ever since then, I have got a reputation of a Bollywood know-it-all among my parents and peers. I even create comics based off a Bollywood-powered superhero – BollyMan (just middle-school things.) If this isn't testimony enough, I can also mimic the voice of many famous Bollywood actors.

This is me. Karan Dhall. Your FilmiBoi. Hope you enjoy the content of this blog!

Kabhi alvida na kehna!
                 

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