How to Watch a Bollywood Movie

Bollywood films are hours-long extravaganzas of dancing, singing and melodramatic plot lines. With literally hundreds of thousands of films in circulation, Bollywood (a compound of "Bombay" and "Hollywood") is an entertainment factory. Watching a Bollywood movie is an experience of its own kind so follow these steps to dive into the diverse world of Indian cinema and watch a Bollywood movie.

Instructions

1. Find a source of movies. If there's one thing you can say about Bollywood movies is that they aren't hard to come by. You can find some of the more successful and popular Indian flicks at your local video store. If you're not interested in paying to watch a film, check out one of the many free internet Bollywood movie sites such as Movie Desi where you can watch Bollywood films for free.

2. Check out the film's reviews. Bollywood movies are often three hours long, so you want to be sure that the film you choose is a good one. Before you commit to a given movie, check out a trailer and review of the film. You can find Bollywood movie trailers at Bollywood World. Reviews are available Glamsham and Planet Bollywoo.

3. Understand the plot before the film. Usually, it's best to avoid reading about the plot of a movie before you watch it. With Bollywood films, however, the opposite is true. Get a solid understanding of the movie's plot before you watch it so that difficult cultural references, translation issues and frequent dance scenes don't get you confused about what's going on.

4. Learn the actors. In India, actors like Akshay Khanna and Tara Sharma are stars surrounded by the same glitz and glamour that surround Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the United States. Learning the names and faces of India's stars and starlets makes Bollywood movies exciting, especially when you see one of India's most prominent actors burst into a ten minute long song and dance sequence. Check out the Bollywood-Stars site for an introduction to Bollywood's familiar faces.