Bollywood/Hollywood

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Bollywood/Hollywood
Bollywood/Hollywood Promotional Movie Poster
Release date(s)	2002
IMDb profile

Bollywood/Hollywood is a 2002 film by Indo-Canadian director Deepa Mehta. It is a notable movie in that it is lighthearted, humorous, and family-oriented in nature, as opposed to Mehta's other films (most notably her Elements Trilogy of Fire, Earth, and Water), which feature very serious themes and focus on social issues.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film centres around the character of Rahul Seth (Rahul Khanna), a young, rich, Indo-Canadian living in Toronto whose widowed mother (Moushumi Chatterjee) is anxious to get him married after the freak-accidental death of his Caucasian pop singer girlfriend, Kimberly (Jessica Paré). Furthermore, the mother proclaims that the impending wedding of her daughter Twinky (Rishma Malik) will not take place until Rahul has found himself a bride first.

Rahul goes to a bar and there meets Sue (Lisa Ray). Thinking she is a Spanish escort, he hires her to pose as his fiancée. Rahul eventually discovers that Sue is actually Indian (her name is short for Sunita), and despite his initial anger at her lie, the two grow closer -- due in no small part to a confidence boost Sue gave to Rahul's tormented younger brother, Govind, who incorrectly believes that no one cares about his welfare -- and eventually consider one another a fit match. Pleased, Mrs. Seth agrees to sanction Twinky's wedding.

Rahul and Sue grow more intimate, later to share stories about their pasts. It is revealed here that Sue was once offered as a bride to the well-meaning but dim-witted prizefighter known as Killer Khalsa; offended that her parents would even consider such a match, she has been playing mischief in revenge. This mischief is not fully explained, but her liking for it is suggested by her audacity. Sue is quite immune to social norms; she speaks bluntly to all, and openly of the fact that Rahul's driver is a cross-dresser.

The blossoming romance is shaken, however, when Rahul finds out that Sue was not only an escort, but a prostitute as well. He is forced to confess to his family that he never really courted Sue, but merely bribed her to act the part of his fiancee. His mother is forced to withdraw her sponsorship of Twinky's wedding, due to her promise-- but she need not; Twinky's wedding has already taken place, well before the planned date.

Prodded by his understanding, Shakespeare-quoting grandmother (Dina Pathak), Rahul goes after Sue and professes his true opinion of her, and proposes marriage to her as well. Sue enthusiastically accepts.

The film is known for its poking fun at traditional Indian stereotypes, as well as at Bollywood (the film features several Bollywood-style song-and-dance numbers). Bollywood actor Akshaye Khanna (the brother of Rahul Khanna) even makes a special guest appearance in the movie.