I don't get this...

Why desi community, in general, watch Indian movies more compared to Hollywood ones?

I mean if you look at the content, direction, special effects, and numerous other things, Hollywood movies are a lot more entertaining than Indian ones generally speaking.

I can understand that with Indian movies they can relate more in terms of language, culture, dance etc. but still you watch a few Hollywood flicks and you don’t want to go back to Indian movies as far as entertainment and movie art is concerned.

Another thing I noticed that desi community parents prohibit their childeren to watch Hollywood movies and will pay special attention to the Rating (PG, R etc) but for Indian movies, nobody cares. The default view is that Indian movies don’t have nudity etc.

A kissing scene is considered to be bad to watch but nobody pays attention to the carmera focus on Indian heroin’s half naked breast, the rainy scene with wet cloths with no bra (ever saw Amrita Singh’s nipples in movie Baytaab? You know that song, ‘badal yooN garajata hai’), and the dancing hip and surrounding area, not to mention songs like ‘choli kay peechay kia hai’. That’s stupid hipocracy and overlook. If you want to control what your teens are watching then pay attention to content in Indian movies as well.

i know, i don't get it either Roman ji.

Najim
Excellent post, I would like to hear from the Indian movie fans, Lets see what they have to say NOW!

..come ON, Roman! I mean even the "raunchiest" India movie (mainstream) is TAME compared to your average episode of Friends--not to mention Baywatch ;)--and so you cannot even compare the two in terms of sexual content. Thus it is no wonder that parents dont mind kids watching Bollywood--although now you are starting to get complaints about how Westernised Indian films are becoming e.g. kissing is now quite common on the lips--although still yet to see proper French kissing in a mainstream Indian film...

:)

I think the reason desis watch Indian movies is because it's the only chance they get to see themselves in a positive light. Only time desis appear on none-desi shows it is generally about failed arranged marriages which can get boring after a while.

You are right about the hypocrisy of desi communities as far as sexual content in films is concerned and already Indian films are becoming more explicit (women in wet clothes, micro-mini skirts etc) but it is generally the romance angle that people watch these films for. American films are great but it is nice to be able to relate to something as well.

I would like to know what other indian movies can one see such scenes as the one in Baytaab.

You understand that I, Fraudia, would not be looking at such movies but would keep that in mind to make sure that young impressionable kids in the family dont see it.

Please send me movie name and the point in movie where such images are present…again just so I know what part to fast forward in the event that someone is watching it and I HAPPEN to be there.

Pir Fraudia

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Roman,
While production value/special effects is generally better in hollywood films, due to higher budgets, that doesn't mean indian films are not as good as hollywood films.

If your looking for action/special effects films, than there is no way Indian films can measure up to The Matrix, Star Wars, or The Replacement Killers.

However, when looking at drama, the best of BOllywood does stack up to the best of hollywood - it may be true that bollywood turns out a greater quality of garbage than hollywood, but it also has produced films like: Lahme, Dilwale Dulanya Lageinge, Pyaasa, Deewar, Kabhi Kabhi, Trishul, Khagez ke Phool, Qayamat se Qayamat Tak, Aadmi, Mughal-e-azm, Sangam. All of which, had stories, direction, and acting that rivals anything hollywood produces.

The biggest complaint I generally hear about Indian films is that there is never anything new, it's the same old stuff being recycled again and again. However, that also applies to hollywood. The star wars saga, is the old 30's swashbuckler pirate films set in space, The Matrix (called one of the most innovative films in years), borrowed a lot from Logan's run and other sci films as well.

While I watch both English & Indian films (probably more English - especially classics), I wouldn't generalize that Hollywood films are necessarily better than Indian films.

The one complaint I have with Indian films is their need to to appeal to the "front row crowd" for the films to be a success. Because of this, good films are marred with cheap comedy by the likes of Johny Lever, or pointless songs. This weakness also accounts for the songs every ten to 20 minutes - regardless on whether or not it serves a purpose or not. However the good directors, like Yash Chopra and Guru Dutt, have always managed to work the songs/dance in to support the story line.

So I wouldn't say that Hollywood films are necessarily better - it just depends on the genre your watching, and with indian films, you generally have to be more selective of what you watch.

Most Indian movies dont have actresses showing their breasts anyway..and parents should be able to tell my the reviews that they read whether the movie is suitable for kids. Same goes for Hollywood. I think it's stupid for desis not to allows their kids to watch movies from Hollywood. I mean, fine dont let your kids watch Basic Instinct or
Poison Ivy..but allow them to watch movies that are more suitable to kids. Remember, Hollywood's main market is still people within the 16-30 age group.



Believe In Angels.


Laterz,
ManiaX.

I saw beytaab a long time ago...when I was a kid. I missed all the details that you guys just brought up. I think I need to rent it again!

ghalib mayube cuz u were not using the slow-mo or the pause button on yer remote to catch all the details..

when ya rent the tape, make a copy and send it to me.

maniax..what was that basic instinct and umm poison ivy..

any other selections? :>

Plenty Fraudia....But cant recommend any..cos bachey kharab ho jain gey.. :)



Believe In Angels.


Laterz,
ManiaX.

fraudiyee:

yaar pause and slow-mo in my VCR don't work anymore.. ;)

hmmmmm because of excessive use?

No, no Asif, I am not complaining, I am curious why people in general don't like Hollywood movies compared to Indian movies aside from cultural aspect.

As far as nudity part is concerned, yeah, I definitely think there is a lot of stuff in Indian movies these days that parents should watch for if they want to control what their children are watching. Actually, forget the nudity, there is even a lot of stuff in Indian movies that insinuating. You don't really have to see a woman's naked body to insinuate anything.

Last year, by chance I watched this Indian movie song on video. Well, the way herion was moving her breasts in tight clothes under the narrow focus of camera was quite 'interesting' to watch. A simple kiss in an Hollywood movie is nothing compared to that one.

I think Jullundari Siddhai's point is quite valid on the romance angle. Hollywood romance involve premarital sex but Indian movies' romance still is contained to the concept of 'Ishq'. And generally our youth is brought up discouraging premarital sex notion. So for them the viable solution is to watch Indian movies.

Khurram,
I won't say that every Hollywood movie is better than every Bollywood movie, and that's exactly I used the expression, 'generally speaking'. True that a lot of Hollywood movies are also remakes of other movies. And the concept of 'Hollywood formula' does exist, but overall, I think it's more predominant in Indian movies than in Hollywood movies. Hollywood movies (again, generally speaking) tend to off at least some sort of different sub-plots in the story.

I personally like a lot of Indian movies. Hey, I can watch Sholay (even though it was copycat work of a Hollywood movie, I forgot it's name) or movies like Satay pay Sata (another copy of the movie 7 brides and 7 bridgrooms), and a lot of movies that were made in 70's and in early 80's anytime over and over again. And I'm sure there are still a lot of newer movie that are really good (The last two good movies that I really liked were 'jo jeeta wohi sikandar' and 'kabhi haaN kabhi naaN') but most of the newer stuff I personally find not desirable. The drama, the emotions, the classic sense of 'qurbani' in the characters and all is too overwhelmingly picturized compared to Hollywood stuff. I don't find it entertainingly realistic.

Another thing I personally noticed that in Hollywood movies, you know what you are getting genre-wise compared to Indian movies. If it's a romantic comedy, well, it's a romantic comedy. If it's action adventure, then yeah, you will get some romance, some jokes but the focus will still remain on the central theme. In Indian movies, you get all of the above in every single movie. I think, in that sense, the Indian Art movies (you know all those good old Naseer-ul-din Shah and Samita Patal etc movies) are very good. But now, it's dominantly commercialized.

One of my Indian friend told me that in India, there is so much population and lesser opportunities of entertainment that even if a movie is bum, it will get its money back since people will watch it at least once with a huge population, it sure is gonna get its money back.

Don't you guys feel my posts are so long winded? At least I do.

o yes roman
you r right about your post yaar iut's
tooooooooooo freaking long yaar . what a waste of time .
Any way that baytab issue is very very very interested because I that long long long time ago when I was a Kid and I missed all these details as well and guess what my pause and slow works just fine dudes and do n't worry I am gonna get youz a copy each .
okay let's come to the point
simple what good a holly wood flick can do if i can n't understand the lingo and which ever way I want to entertain my self I will . No one can dictate me what to do and what not to do .And as far as that sexualkity issue ius concerned then I would say there is a lot more nudidity in hindi moves these days . It took a me ages to find one movie with a demi's love scene (apart from ghost :)fraudiay please recomend any ) but not even a day to get one of Raveena tandoon .
I was watching this indian movie other day the hero say "phat gai kiya" . now thats cheap .
on the other hand or same I should say , holly wood can never make a movie as good as
Vidhata or shart or even :)kama sutra

Roman:

Haan yaar... thoraa kam chorra karoo!

Fraudiye:

You know it!!!!

Roman,
I agree with you that with hollywood films,you can choose a genre, and usually the main story line will stick within the confines of the genre. On the other hand, an Indian film HAS to be a romance and musical, regardless whether it's a gangster film, socio-political, or action.

As far as Sholay goes (one of my favorites as well), it may have been a combination of a couple of westerens (Once upon a time in the west, and the Magnificant seven), but both of the hollywood films were copies of Japaneese films (Mag seven was a copy of Seven Samauri, I forgot what Once upon a time was a copy of).

I enjoy both Indian & hollywood films, and I agree that Indian dance songs in particular are generally suggestive - I tend to skip them, since I tend to prefer the slow Mukesh songs like "kohi tumhara hriday Tod de", than the "choli ke peeche" variety.

I agree that there is a lot of hypocricy with parents allowing kids to watch Indian films, and not hollywood films. I think that one reason is that hollywood films have a definiate rating, while Indian films don't, and while the lack of a rating didn't used to matter (in most films) in the past, nowadays, you never know what your going to get, and as a result, I know some people who don't let their kids watch Indian films either.

I think I should finish off now - my posts are getting to be as long as yours :)

Oh last comment,

A486,
I don't remember a Demi Moore film where there WASN'T nudiy or a love scene!

A few Good Men. She didnt even show off her legs in that

http://www.pak.org/gupshup/frown.gif

A486,
No, like I said before to Asif, I am curious on the question why, not dictating or anything. Your lingo part is also a good point. It’s true that many people don’t understand or get the slang etc in Hollywood movies.

KhurramS,
I don’t even mind the copycat thing on either side, as long as the final product is entertaining and worth watching. And Sholay is definitely an example of that.

Alright, guys, I definitely contained it this time.. now where have you seen such a speedy improvement, huy?

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