The film industry in India much like Hollywood itself is a drawing aspect of the country even though it may or may not count as part of tourism for those who are visiting India. Still, India’s films are watched by people even out of India worldwide, even if they are not Indian or of Indian origin. Bollywood is the term used to describe the Indian film industry, the name being a combination of Mumbai’s former name Bombay and Hollywood itself. Bollywood is a combination of romance, song and dance, action, family traditions, positive honour and so much more and actors/actresses and filmmakers in Bollywood are as popular as those in the West with notable examples including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Sunny Deol, Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Sonakshi Sinha, Bipasha Basu, Kriti Sanon, Shraddha Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Preity Zinta, Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor and so many more. Thanks to films like Gandhi (about India’s most famous independence leader Mohandas ‘Karamchand’ Mahatma Gandhi) being directed by English film director Richard Attenborough (August 29th 1923 – August 24th 2014), a few actors in Bollywood have started to work in Hollywood as well. Many actors such as Sunny and Jackie use stage names rather than their real names to often given themselves a screen presence that will make them more interesting, Jackie’s real name for example is Jai Kishan Shroff while Sunny’s real name is Ajay Singh Deol
It is a recurring trend in Bollywood that almost everyone is related to each other and apart from actors being related to each other (and some of whose children have also become actors or actresses such as Sonakshi being the daughter of the equally popular Shatrughan Sinha, Tiger Shroff whose real name is Jai Hemant Shroff being Jackie’s son and Shraddha being the daughter of actor Shakti Kapoor) many film families are a mix of actors and filmmakers. Perhaps one of the most famous film families in Bollywood are the Chopra-Johar family who are represented by three banners, Yash Raj films owned by Yash Chopra (27th September 1932 – 21st October 2012) and now his son Aditya; Vinod Chopra productions owned by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Dharma Productions owned by Karan Johar who is the son of film producer Yash Johar (6th September 1929 – 26th June 2004). They have worked with almost all stars in the industry and have given some of the biggest blockbusters. It is perhaps this film family that I am really taken up by due to the messages that their films spread through romance, relation, determination, viewpoints and positive ambition. Numerous films under their banners are my favourites although there are three that really seem to resonate and I wish to share them with all of you who are interested in Bollywood.
(The Heart Is Crazy)
Directed by Yash Chopra
Written and Produced by Yash Chopra Aditya Chopra, Pamela Chopra and Tanuja Chandra
Music and Lyrics by Uttam Singh and Lata Mangeshkar
Release Date: October 31st 1997
Distributed by Yash Raj Films
Starring
Shah Rukh Khan as Rahul
Karishma Kapoor as Nisha
Madhuri Dixit as Nisha
Akshay Kumar as Ajay
Plot
Rahul is the director of a successful music and dance group and is best friends with Nisha who is part of the group. Secretly, she is madly in love with him although surprisingly despite the various themes of his plays such as a recently announced one, he does not seem to believe in love. Following an injury sustained by Nisha, a new dancer Pooja joins the company to take Nisha’s place and somehow Rahul finds himself falling for her, but she is engaged to Ajay who is the son of the family who raised Pooja following her parents’ death. As preparations for the new show progress, Nisha recovers and returns to the play and by now Rahul is slowly opening up to being in love but he needs to make a choice as to whom he wants to be with
(Tomorrow may or may not come)
Directed by Nikhil Advani
Written and Produced by Yash and Karan Johar (and Niranjan Iyengar)
Music and Lyrics by Shankar-Esan Loy and Javed Akhtar
Release Date: November 27th 2003
Distributed by Dharma Productions
Starring
Shah Rukh Khan as Aman Mathur
Preity Zinta as Naina (Catherine) Kapur
Saif Ali Khan as Rohit Patel
Jaya Bachchan as Jennifer Kapur
Plot
Naina (Catherine) Kapur’s life turns miserable as an NRI (Non-Resident Indian) in New York. Her widowed mother struggles financially, her disabled brother needs care, and her adopted sister Gia faces neglect due to her grandmother’s beliefs. Naina finds comfort in her best friend Rohit from MBA classes as an escape from her stress. Gradually, her life improves with the arrival of a new neighbour, Aman Mathur, who changes their lives and strengthens their bonds. Naina learns to love, choosing Aman over Rohit. However, Aman’s hidden marriage and health condition come to light. He disguises his near-fatal heart disease as being an-already married man and decides to bring Naina and Rohit together before he passes away.
(Brother Munna M.B.B.S.)
Directed by Rajkumar Hirani
Written and Produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani and Abbas Tyrewalla
Music and Lyrics by Sanjay Wandrekar and Annu Malik
Release Date: December 19th 2003
Starring
Sanjay Dutt as Murli Prasad Sharma (Munna Bhai)
Gracy Singh as Suman (Chinky) Asthana
Arshad Warsi as Circuit
Sunil Dutt as Sri Hariprasad Sharma
Rohini Hattangadi as Parvati Sharma
Boman Irani as Dr Jagdish Chandra Asthana
Distributed by Vinod Chopra Productions
Plot
Murli Prasad Sharma, also known as ‘Munna Bhai,’ initially chose a criminal path despite his father’s desire for him to become a doctor. To keep up appearances, he and his friend Circuit disguise their hideout as a hospital whenever Munna’s parents visit. Things change when Munna’s father’s friend, Dr. Jagdish Chandra Asthana, learns of Munna’s fake identity and despite wanting to arrange his daughter Suman aka Chinky’s marriage to Munna with her father, immediately cancels all those plans while humiliating Munna’s parents. To redeem himself, Munna decides to truly become a doctor and joins a medical college, not realizing until later that it is run by Asthana. Munna’s goals shift from revenge to inspiring others with love, friendship, and respect, all while pursuing a doctor who he does not recognize as Chinky. Munna aims to marry her and prove himself at Asthana’s expense.