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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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] robobeatnik 15 years ago

I think that I should clear one thing up: because I've criticized Bollywood does not mean I idolize Hollywood. I actually watch more foreign films: Japanese, French, German, Chinese, etc...than I do Hollywood films. There are TONS of crap films that come out of Hollywood. I would never dispute that.

Anyway, I don't want to comment any further on Bollywood films until I've watched a couple more. At any rate, I will say that my problem with Bollywood has always been the lack of unoriginality - and no, I don't agree with what the poster was saying about all films copying another film at some point. The Departed was a remake and a remake by MARTIN SCORCESE, no less. Martin Scorcese is one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Saying that nothing is original and everything is stolen from something else is a cop-out. Creative minds can always come up with different concepts and ideas. Bollywood just doesn't seem to try. Why do all the other countries of the world not rip films off in the way that India does? Sure, there may be the odd similarity here and there, but directly stealing a plot of a film is not common outside of India.

Incidentally, I'll be attending a lecture by Farah Kahn in February. Perhaps I'll ask him about all this then.

Okay, I've said enough. I'm off to watch movies.

"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

Her, then. Whatever. Not a fan, but I'll see what she has to say.

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

[–] kairulez 15 years ago

@robobeatnik

So, did you watch A Wednesday? Also watch Ab Tak 56, CHak De India, Swades, Rang De Basanti, Lagaan, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, ROck on, Page 3. Please do watch these, this will surely change ur mind abt Bollywood.

I agree with you that 80% of the stuff is crap. People in India, including me, take too much pride in enjoyinh brainless comedies like SIngh is Kinng, Golmaal Returns. Welcome etc..

And people like Akshay Kumar, Anees Bazmi, and other wannabe directors take the advantage of this and make stupid stuff in order to make money.

But time is changing now, we are now seeing some intelligent cinema. It won't be too long when we'll start making movies of high production value and with original scripts.

[–] ramank 15 years ago

There is always some overlapping of ideas in movies and it is inevitable. The difference is in the way the story is told that makes it interesting. Rather than finding movies that are similar to a movie, try to appreciate how the story was told in a different way. It is due to this overlapping of ideas, that many of the Hollywood movies coming out are basically based on a book. Many of the big hit Hollywood films are made from books. Even then, people try to pinpoint areas of commonality with other movies. People just need to chill and appreciate the story-telling ability and not the identify parts of a story which looks similar to others.

[–] saimblah 15 years ago

The problem is that Bollywood really make bad movies. Sure they had some fun movies in the 90's and some good (but long) drama's in the 80's and 70's but since 2000 it's been a long ride with sex fixated movies and bad acting.

The problem with Bollywood is for me at least, that their movies have a bad pacing, some of the actors are good while others are really really really horrible. We often have dance sequences which are unnessisary however I could accept that but sometimes the songs are bad and the dancing is nothing to cheer about you'd really wish the movie would just move on. 3 hours for a romantic movie is long, especially since the story is paper thin. You often watch these movies and think "It wouldn't have been that bad if it was a 1½ hour movie"

Bad acting may come from the stars having to be models nowadays. Models are usually wooden actors to be honest. Other than that people in the bollywood business get to star because of their family ties or whatever. SKR was a great actor in the 90's however since than he has made "Don" and "Ma hoon na" and "Om shanti om" which some may like but really they are bad, really bad.

We have actresses like Kareena Kapoor which is considered the best in india who are mediocre compared to other actresses around the world.

Zinda was a bad movie, they copied Old Boy without understanding Old Boy at all. I mean why not have the ending ? the ending was one of the best parts of old boy. The problem is that the bollywood audience (I may be a tad racist here) aren't searching for a complex movie. They don't want a movie which a overly complex plot. I mean Aamir Khan who is a good actor and a clever person in my book, admitted that he didn't "get" Memento. Often American movies are being copied but the best parts of the movies are left out.

I'm not saying that all Hollywood movies are great, america are making more remakes these days than original movies. Most of the movies from 2008 were unwatchable.
However if you watch some old american movies (which few bother with because "they're old") or European movies they have a certain charm to them. They have some kind of magic to them. Because in a lot of old movies from europe and america the movies aren't completly spelled out for you. There's often things that aren't said or explained with flashbacks which make them better. In Bollywood we have to know every little detail, if it's clever they WILL explain it with a damn Flashback or similar. This is cheap and it is also a way of underminding the audience.

Indian needs more subtle moments in their movie.

Also take background music in Bollywood movies. We have the typical "ahhh ahh ah ah ahhhh" in the background with some corny and often reused Bollywood music.
Music is a important factor in movies, and sure you have your songs in Bollywood but they don't make build tension or make much out of a scene by having the movies theme song pop up all the time during the movie.

I know a lot of people here most likely haven't seen Chinatown, but Chinatown is a perfect example of things which Bollywood will never have in a movie. It has subtle sub plots, a fitting score and words which are spoken in silence.

I sure did rant there. However as said before the bollywood audience to not wish these kinds of movies. I don't know if it's because they don't like to analyse or whatever but it's true. I mean Singh is King is the largest grossing movie of 2008!

I'm sorry that my english is horrible, but I haven't sleep for 30 hours however I just felt that I had to make a comment on the board.

[–] minkymonky 15 years ago

......Why do all the other countries of the world not rip films off in the way that India does?

(extreme cheesy)DEFENSE:

India makes thousands of movies yearly,you can NOT expect writers to be this creative,they cant simply create thousands of scripts daily,its simply impossible,that been said,it doesnt mean they SHOULD copy an already existing movie and pass it as theirs,which in turn will have massive impact on the masses.It is also EASY way to make fast money.

Also there is this concept of ESCAPISM which means:to create movies for the poor,so that they can 'escape' from their harsh reality,but they UNDERESTIMATE the masses' ability to enjoy nice well written drama flick.

( not so cheesy probably corny)Complaint:

I too want to complain the FACT that there are a lot of actors/actresses who are part of the film industry DUE to their family's connection and CANT act nor dance NOR have an appeal,they are simply ANNOYING.I just hope,the industry gives more chance to unknown/new people...WE ARE TIRED OF SAME STUFF COMING FROM SAME PEOPLE..

Peace&prosperity!

[–] shekhargupta469 15 years ago

Yaeh scholar bollywood is crap..... then dont post on this board because this for hardcore bollywood fans... if you really want to see good hindi movies then be a member of our censor board which as banned Anurag Kashyap's Paanch a great thriller.

[–] rabksaj 15 years ago

i agree with you they rip off films and most of time make a mess of it. however there has been an improvement in action sequences and special effects in last few years but i still have not seen anything original to date to come out of india as yet. the only film i enjoyed so much was satya which i recently saw and i really was fascinated with it. later i found this to be a rip off also from bankok dangerous.

[–] Inmateshardstyle 15 years ago

lol there are hundreds of original hindi films.

[–] sidyaqub 15 years ago

Well there are both types of good movies from Bollywood - and rubbish at the same time. You have decent 'remakes' of other movies - Sholay (Seven Samurai, Spaghetti Westerns), Omkara (A re-telling of Shakespeare's Othello), Black (The Miracle Worker), Kaash (Kramer vs Kramer), Sarkar and Dharmaatma (The Godfather), Devdas (remake of Old Devdas and inspired by the novel). Then there are those that make good quality Bollywood movies which have an original concept - Dil Chahta Hai, Parinda, Rang De Basanti, Munnabhai MBBS, 1942: A love Story, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Taare Zameen Par, Ram Lakhan, Khal Naayak, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Mission Kashmir, Rock On, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Earth, Fire, Water, Lagaan, and many others that some have never heard of.

Masaala films are not always so bad, back in the days of Manmohan Desai and Prakaash Mehra - they used to make amazing masaala movies. Because thats what they aimed for - Laawaris, Amar Akbar Anthony, Coolie, Zanjeer, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Dharam Veer etc.....

BUT!! Then there is a lot of processed garbage produced in this day and age which is overshadowing decent Indian cinema - Singh Is King (Awful, stupid and brainless - surprised that Punjabis never took offence to it), Dhoom 2 (Biggest vanity project ever made from YRF), Dostana (A lame rip off of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry), KANK (What was the point of this film about? It's now okay to cheat on your wife/husband?), Golmaal Returns (Not as good as the first), Every other Priyadarshan comedy, Kismat Konnection (a remake of Just My Luck), 36 Chinatown, Fool N Final, Yuvraaj, Kisna and most of the mainstream cinema just makes it look as if Bollywood makes crap movies (which it does from time to time) but also a lot of good ones at the same time.

Now just to clarify a few things, Star Wars was inspired by Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, and The Departed was a remake of Infernal Affairs - a Hong Kong movie, NOT Japanese.

[–] Sahil_Madan 15 years ago

Kungfu Hustle, Kungfu Panda meets kill bill :)

Ask the retarded bollywood fans so will they say Chondni Chowk to Chiiinaaa

[–] jackthehack 15 years ago

hey rabskraj, moron satya was made 3 yrs before bangkok dangerous how can it be a copy? get ur facts str8.

[–] king_of_hearts890 15 years ago

you are dumb. go eat something. get some sleep. and i'm glad you gave me your opinion. it is dumb... but anyways. good job my friend. where are you in canada? i'll come and pay you a little visit my friend. and we will share the interests of napoleon dynamite, superbad, christmas with the kranks, earthquake, chicken little, cat in the hat, high school musical, high school musical 2, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL (and it keeps going...), the unborn, dodgeball, white chicks and such. myself... i like many hollywood movies... in fact i like them better than some bollywood movies... so gimme a call at 416-YOU-ARE-DUMB... and we will discuss you liking bollywood movies further. thank you... and have a nice year. and if you think someone is in your closet tonight trying to kill you. that isn't me. i prefer to enter from basement windows. thank you.

[–] sidyaqub 15 years ago

wow, get a date. You sound like a lonely teenager hahaha.

[–] Jag85 15 years ago

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959) yet. That is quite easily among the greatest films of all time, and it has frequently appeared on many all-time greatest film lists, including TIME's "All-Time 100 Best Movies", Sight & Sound's "Top Ten Critics' Poll" (ranked #6), The Village Voice's Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" (tied at #12 with The Godfather), etc.

There were also many other amazing Indian films produced from the late 1940s to the 1970s, usually considered the 'Golden Age' of Indian cinema. Besides The Apu Trilogy, a few other internationally-acclaimed Indian classics from that era include:

Lowly City (1946) - won the Grand Prize at the first Cannes Film Festival
Awaara (1951) - nominated for the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival
Two Acres of Land (1953) - won the International Prize at the Cannes Film Festival
Boot Polish (1954) - one of the first films to be nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival
Mother India (1957) - nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars
Pyaasa (1957) - one of TIME's "All-Time 100 Best Movies"
Bari Theke Paliye (1958) - considered similar to the French New Wave classic The 400 Blows (1959)
Devi (1960) - nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival
Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
The Cloud-Capped Star (1960)
Kapurush (1965) - nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival
Nayak: The Hero (1966) - won two awards at the Berlin International Film Festival
Mrinal Sen's Calcutta Trilogy (1971-1973)
Satyajit Ray's Calcutta Trilogy (1971-1976)
Distant Thunder (1973) - won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival
A River Named Titas (1973)
Deewaar (1975) - inspired Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Sholay (1975) - voted the most popular Indian film by the British Film Institute
The Chess Players (1977) - nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM???!!!!!"

[–] netsirk_6 14 years ago

You're just a jerk that wants a reaction.
Every movie industry has great movies and terrible movies.
Screw your head on straight and stop being ignorant and immature because you just look like a racist moron.