Writer/director Deepa Mehta was forced to shelve the last instalment of her signature film trilogy, "Water" (following "Earth" and "Fire"), when Hindu fundamentalists vandalised the sets and issued death threats against her and the cast.
Understandably down-in-the-dumps, she wanted to lighten things up a bit, so came up with the airy-fairytale/love story "Bollywood/Hollywood".
Told against that funky Bollywood beat, the story centres around dotcom millionaire Rahul Seth (Rahul Khanna), who is forced to get hitched simply to pacify his family. In desperation, he hires Spanish escort Sue (Lisa Ray) to pose as his fiancé.
It's a predictable yarn following Sue's efforts to endear herself, first to Rahul's mother (Moushumi Chatterjee) and grandmother (Dina Pathak), and also to the man himself.
Despite cramming in numerous clichés, Mehta still manages to put a fresh and funny spin on the proceedings.
Try this: Rahul's mother and grandmother 'interview' his white girlfriend in a fantasy courtroom scene. The grandmother is juror, the mother plays translator, while Rahul and his girlfriend are in the witness box.
Dina Pathak has all the right questions but pretends not to understand English. Why? To rattle the girl.
The film really belongs to the veterans: Grandma Dina Pathak - seen in her final performance; the versatile comedienne Moushumi Chatterjee; andKulbhushan Kharbanda, who plays Sue's drunken father.
The cinematography is slick, the music average, and the choreography rather unimpressive. But if you're just looking for a hearty laugh, then "Bollywood/Hollywood" should fit the bill.
Bollywood/Hollywood (2003)
