MovieChat Forums > Chandni Chowk to China (2009) Discussion > Bollywood is Crap.

Bollywood is Crap.

posted 15 years ago by robobeatnik
67 replies | jump to latest

Bollywood is crap. The films are way too long and highly unoriginal. There's a new Indian film right now called "Gahjini". It is a complete ripoff of "Memento". Why doesn't India try producing quality films instead of this crap? Try to write a script that is original and most importantly, stop treating Bollywood actors like they actually have talent and can act. They don't and they can't.

Last year I actually went to the Indian International Film Festival. Man. Pretty much everyone there that worked in the film industry was an obnoxious, arrogant *beep* People were completely rude to the filmmakers showing their films, arguing with them from the audience or correcting their pronounciation of French filmmakers names when mentioned. I've never been surrounded by a bigger bunch of less than average talents who really felt they were godlike in their abilities.

I wouldn't mind Bollywood so much if it didn't consistently put out such garbage and then try to convince the rest of the world that it was actually good. Hone your film industry for another decade or so, India. Then try showcasing what you've got to the world.

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

Yeah...or how about "Citizen Kane" or "The Godfather"?

Has Bollywood ever made anything remotely near that level of filmmaking?

I think not.

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] gobblegma 15 years ago

yes they have...haven't you seen zinda? It's unbelievably original

[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

Yeah Zinda...I liked it when it was called "Old Boy".

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] Inmateshardstyle 15 years ago

ok go and watch sadma, lamhe, AWednesday,lagaan, taare zameen par, koshish, and there are many quality hindi films.

[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

Okay. I'm going to go and watch "A Wednesday". I will come back again after I have seen it and tell you my opinion of it.

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] roshan840-1 15 years ago

From your comments I can tell that you haven't watched Ghajini.
You just read somewhere that its a rip-off of your favourite movie and that angered you.
Well,I've watched Ghajini and I can tell you that its not a complete rip-off.
Memento is one of my all time favourites,which is why I gave Ghajini a try.
I've even downloaded the HD version of Memento and watched it again.
I can say that its a 30-40% rip-off of Memento.Only similarities are memory loss and his tatooed body.The story's completely different.

Also,enough with the stereotyping.Every film industry has its share of brilliant movies and crap movies.
Indian cinema isn't just only Bollywood.There are better films in more than 20 regional languages,which the world doesn't know about.
Most of the time,Bollywood remakes these movies and gets the credit for it!

Here's a list of original and brilliant bollywood movies.Some of these movies don't have song n dance,in case you don't like that.
Try watching these,I'm sure it'll change your opinion.

All original scripts,not copied *beep*

1) A Wednesday
2) Taare Zameen Par
3) Lagaan(oscar nominated,92% at rottentomatoes from top critics,a must watch!)
4) Satya
5) Black Friday(Another must watch!)
6) Chak De India
7) 3 Deewarein-The 3 Walls(Bollywood's Shawshank Redemption,mindblowing script,not a copy!)
8) Being Cyrus(its in English,dark comic thriller)
9) Rang De Basanti
10) Swades
11) Dil Chahta Hai(refreshingly different from the usual crap.my fav bollywood film)
12) Salaam Bombay
13) Rock On!!
14) Tahaan
15) The Blue Umbrella
16) Dharm
17) Parzania
18) Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

I guess you haven't heard about Satyajit Ray?India's greatest film maker!
Try watching his movies too.ET was his script,which Speilberg made and didn't acknowledge him as script writer.
Check out the credits for ET if you don't believe me.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083866/fullcredits#cast

[–] EveryoneLuvzCandace 15 years ago

lol... are those real titles????

[–] abhishekrulez 15 years ago

lmao ahaha this is exactly the racist kinda attitude that indians abroad have to face it and we deal with it pretty well thnk u......r u tellin us that the garbage that hwood comes with like innumerable slasher flicks and useless sequels are awardworthy lolz ahaha

[–] shortyrags 15 years ago

Look every film industry has its so called crap films or films made just to get a lot of money. Look at half of the summer flicks that come out of Hollywood each year...some Bollywood films are actually pretty good. I agree that the majority can be pretty bad and some people don't like the songs and such...but most of Bollywood does not aspire to create some incredible-"artsy" film that you desire. Bollywood is for the most part, a consumer-driven industry and filmmakers will make films that the Indian audiences will like. A couple basic concepts in Ghajini were taken from Memento but the overall scheme in which the story is told is completely different from Memento's unique style. My guess is that audiences would not react well to such a creative storytelling device. But honestly, there are quite a few films that the audience likes but are at the same time, very good movies. A couple posters above me offered some pretty good movies.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

lmao ahaha this is exactly the racist kinda attitude that indians abroad have to face it and we deal with it pretty well thnk u......r u tellin us that the garbage that hwood comes with like innumerable slasher flicks and useless sequels are awardworthy lolz ahaha

Calling crappy movies crappy is racist? No, sorry that's not racist. What is racist however, is having someone on a train in India tell me to "Go back to my own country" because I wasn't moving fast enough for them. Or how about at the Indian International Film Festival when I was at the front of the line for beer and an Indian "professional" in the film industry leaned over my shoulder and told the man serving beer than he should be "serving Indians first".

How's that for racist?

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] onandonandon92 15 years ago

Also Aamir and the writer of the Tamil script both fully acknowledge that the inspiration caem from writing Momento, it's not like they are pretending otherwise.

<i>Yeh world hai na world isme do tarah ke log hotey hai... </i>

[–] Sahil_Madan 15 years ago

Hollywood makes 70% good movies.

Bollywood makes about 7% good movies.

[–] Inmateshardstyle 15 years ago

American's are known for their racial hatred of many communities, look at what they did in the slavery times, I prefer the canadian people, they are lovely and much more kind.

[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

I am Canadian.

The only difference between Canadians and Americans are their political and health care systems.

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] abhishekrulez 15 years ago

and a racist one as well...loz ahaha

[–] abhishekrulez 15 years ago

IM SORRY FOR INDIANS IN CANADA THEY HAVE TO PUT UP THIS KIND OF TERRIBLE BEHAVIOUR

[–] Inmateshardstyle 15 years ago

Oh well out one big nice Canadaian population, a one racist is born, such a shame, hope all those Black Canadians, Indians, Pakistani's, Chinese Kick your ass back there.

[–] abhishekrulez 15 years ago

SMASHED IT ACMILANBRO!

[–] Inmateshardstyle 15 years ago

Guys this idiot saying Bollywood is ripping off, what about scene to scene copy of the film Quarantine from Spanish film REC, or Departed from a Japanese film, idiots, this film should not of gotten an OSCAR, it shud been awarded to the original film, Americans have also copied many european films.

[–] abhishekrulez 15 years ago

HES NOT EVEN AMERICAN AHAHAHA LOLZ HEZ CANADIAN DO THEY EVEN HAVE A FILM INDUSTRY??LMAO AHAHAHA WHY DOESNT HE GO WATCH CANADIAN MOVIE AHAHAHA

[–] ambush_xx 15 years ago

i Agree. Bollywood is crap. But no one putting a gun to your head.

The reason for this i feel is nepotism. Atlest 90% of people who work in the industry are from a few families. These kapoors and the yashraj clans are a disgrace to india. They not only put out crap movies but doesnt allow other people to come up.

That being said, i dont think its fair to generalize indian movies with bollywood . There are other indian fims especially south indian movies (from the 80's and 90's) that are really good. Its not like there are no talented fimlmaker in india.

[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

Thanks for a rational and literate response, Ambush xx.

I agree that I can't generalize all Indian movies with Bollywood. Like I said earlier, I am going to watch A Wednesday and see what I think. There's no dancing in that one, right?

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] shortyrags 15 years ago

Lol, there is no dancing in A Wednesday. And yeah...just always keep a lookout for the few precious gems in the industry and keep a wide lookout for all Indian films. Several of these are pretty unrecognized and under appreciated.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] roshan840-1 15 years ago

robobeatnik,there's no song n dance in A Wednesday.And the runtime is only 100 minutes.
I watched a brilliant film called Dharm today.That one too doesn't have song n dance and you can't call it a bollywood film.
I can't believe they sent bollycrap called Ekalavya for Oscars instead of Dharm!
Now I know why the director of Dharm was so pissed off and took the matter to court.
Refer my list in my earlier post.
Here are some films from that list which don't have song and dance.Some are based on true events that took place in India.

Black Friday
Parzania
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi
Chak De India
Salaam Bombay
Monsoon Wedding(by Mira Nair,Golden Lion winner at Venice,most parts of the film are in English)
3 Deewarein-3 Walls

Also,do watch the other films I've mentioned,especially Lagaan.

[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

Okay, I will give them a try. Thanks for the list.

Actually, I love Mira Nair. She gets a lot of funding from Canada. I saw Monsoon Wedding and I also saw Water. Very intelligent filmmaker, she is.

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] roshan840-1 15 years ago

You're welcome,robobeatnik.
Water is Deepa Mehta's film.I think it was sent by Canada for the Oscars in the foreign language category.
She is another great director.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] sugreev2001-1 15 years ago

I absolutely agree with you.So many overrated people are actually categorized as
"good actors" in India,it's not even funny.Infact,i would call it an insult to the profession to call them actors.
And stop Calling "Chak De" original.It's a copy of almost every Hollywood sports movie."Hoosiers" is pretty similar to it,and countless others.

"What the world needs is more geniuses with humility, there are so few of us left."

[–] roshan840-1 15 years ago

sugreev2001-1,get your facts right!Chak De is not a copy of any film!
Its based on the life of some former hockey coach called Rajeev Negi.Google it or look it up in Wiki.
And the inspiration for the movie was the women's hockey team's performance in the common wealth games 2002.
When it comes to sports movies there are bound to be similarities.
Doesn't the underdog usually win in sports movies?Remember Lagaan?

[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

If you like Mira Nair see the Namesake

Actually, I own the Namesake on DVD. I like it, but I like the book better.

Roshan840-1: You're right, Deepa Mehta made Water. Sorry about that. I really liked that film.

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] bharadwajharish 15 years ago

Hey Ram
Nayakan
Satya
Ardh Satya

Dont try any of the Khan's except Aamir , they are just sh..t..

[–] jax1492 15 years ago

ok lets put things in prospective .... bollywood is not hollywood let get that straight. bollywood is what is, i don't go into any hindi film looking for ironman like quality, so stop trying to compare it for that. I agree they need more original scripts, some of the best movies that are bollywood originals. you also have to see that india is not america mosy indians never see any of the movies that are copied so they have no idea.

[–] minkymonky 15 years ago

Listen deary,just because a movie contains songs doesnt mean the movie HAS to be bad or fake,it is simply NOT meant for those who got preconceived notions about movies such as these,there are millions of 40s,50s,60s,70s,80s,90s great movies that are made in INDIA under different languages like: Tamil,Malayalam,Telegu,Hindi,Punjabi,Bengali etc.Your comments are also tainted by hatred/annoyance/irritation toward specific entities who YOU met,I am sorry to say this,but Americans are known to be intolerant of other people's culture/languages/religions/race etc.Thus,when you make such threads many Asians will see this as 'ATTACK' on their race/culture/religions etc.So beware of that.

Again it is really weird and unbecoming to keep on watching movies that come from an industry you dont appreciate/approve of,so what is the deal here?If one doesnt like specific thing,they should keep away right?What is the point of complaining about it?
Peace&prosperity!

[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

Listen deary,just because a movie contains songs doesnt mean the movie HAS to be bad or fake,it is simply NOT meant for those who got preconceived notions about movies such as these

The Sound of Music is one of my favourite films of all time. I also love Sing'in in the Rain and I own both The Sound of Music and Guys and Dolls on DVD. So I have no problem with musicals.

I am sorry to say this,but Americans are known to be intolerant of other people's culture/languages/religions/race etc.

Once again, I'm not American, I'm Canadian. But really it makes no difference where I was born. I've also probably lived in and seen more of the world than most people, so I am certainly not intolerant of anyone's culture - except for what passes as culture in my own country as well as the USA. That's a different thread altogether though.

Thus,when you make such threads many Asians will see this as 'ATTACK' on their race/culture/religions etc.So beware of that.

Maybe many Asians should chill out and relax? Take an honest look at what is being criticized and rather than go for the all too easy racial card, consider what is being said? People can say whatever they want about Canada or Canadians to me. I couldn't care less. All I ask is that they've actually been to Canada before making claims about it. And yes, before you write back and ask, I have been to India.

Peace and prosperity be upon you as well.

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Christ_is_of_Faith 15 years ago

Yuo fcking idiots. Bollywood has made great contributions to world cinema, like Grthjsth, Mrstbhrsh nrhth hujytur, Ltsebhsrht, Aghnryjn, Yb srthb rtshsr and my personal favorite, Bthyumjntyu

So do your homework before complaining!

Muntadar al-Zeidi: thank you

[–] dell_freak 15 years ago

Yuo fcking idiots. Bollywood has made great contributions to world cinema, like Grthjsth, Mrstbhrsh nrhth hujytur, Ltsebhsrht, Aghnryjn, Yb srthb rtshsr and my personal favorite, Bthyumjntyu

So do your homework before complaining!

Yeah... that was corny.

Back to topic, with one or two exceptions every year, most Hindi films ("Bollywood") are crap. The best Indian films are usually non-Hindi films like Bengali and Malayalam art movies. There's a reason why Satyajit Ray is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th centry and Sanjay Bhansali types are not.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

Dude, all of Canada is multicultural. And to be honest, judging people's ability to comprehend culture based solely on their geographical origin, i.e.:

Depending on the part of Canada that you were born in,(Like in Saskatchewan or something), I can understand why you wouldn't like Bollywood. I'm in Toronto, so having grown up around a much more multi-cultural society

is just as bad if not as worse a generalization as saying Bollywood sucks and having only seen a couple of Bollywood films. Like I said, I've lived in and travelled to far more countries in the world than the average person has - how often have you left Canada, for instance? - so no, world perspective has ZERO bearing on my ability to enjoy Bollywood films.

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] abhishekrulez 15 years ago

this robobeatnik dude is putting canadians to shame with his digraceful attitude! btw brown princz great post!

[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

I don't represent Canada, I represent myself. If I represented Canada, I'd come on here and tell you all how amazing hockey and Tim Hortons were. I don't give two *beep* about Canada.

"Do you really think it's cool to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?"

[–] Inmateshardstyle 15 years ago

There are 100s of quality great films coming out of bollywood that go unoticed simply because of the likes of Yashraj, Johar and masala hungry directors have overtaken the industry, to see great actors and good movies, watch films of NaseerUdin Shah, or some ajay devgan films from the past and many more.

[–] gareth-36 15 years ago

I agree. Like most countries India suffers from a lack of distribution because the American's have the market swamped.

Best,

Falfa
www.cinemasoapbox.com
www.mobiletechaddicts.com

[–] minkymonky 15 years ago

The Sound of Music is one of my favourite films of all time. I also love Sing'in in the Rain and I own both The Sound of Music and Guys and Dolls on DVD. So I have no problem with musicals.

Those are NOT Indian made movies,thus my previous point STANDS!

Maybe many Asians should chill out and relax? Take an honest look at what is being criticized and rather than go for the all too easy racial card, consider what is being said? People can say whatever they want about Canada or Canadians to me. I couldn't care less. All I ask is that they've actually been to Canada before making claims about it. And yes, before you write back and ask, I have been to India.

True,Asians should chill out,but when you type things like: BOLLYWOOD IS CRAP,when you know the Industry is known to make great movies and also ridiculous ones,but SINCE your comments were already biased/tainted by the people you met,thus insulting the whole industry based on what specific people said or done in front of you,you cant really expect people to chill out!I for one dont judge an entire filmi people based on ONE specific entity!..I hope you understand where I am coming from,And I am not Indian or from any other south Asian countries,thus whether you EVER WENT TO INDIA or not,is simply irrelevant for me:P..Cheers

Peace&prosperity!