'Devdas,' directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, took the No. 8 spot and was the only Indian film on the list, which was published in May.

'Time' film critic Richard Corliss also picked such films as 'Avatar' (2009), 'The Hurt Locker' (2009), 'Moulin Rouge' (2001), 'The Artist' (2011), and 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (2000).

Corliss described Khan as an "all-world charismatist" and Madhuri as "a hot number who had danced flamenco on men's libidos for a decade or so before appearing in this worldly-wise role."

"'Devdas' is a visual ravishment, with sumptuous sets, fabulous frocks and beautiful people to fill them; it has a grandeur the old Hollywood moguls would have loved," Corliss wrote.

At the time of its release, 'Devdas' was the most expensive Bollywood film ever made. It is an adaptation of the novella of the same name, written in 1917 by Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The novella has been adapted to film 12 times, in various Indian languages, including three Hindi versions.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Kunal Kapoor, Boman Irani, Om Puri

Remakes and sequels are always hard to pull off well. Director/writer Farhan Akhtar did so with aplomb with the remake 'Don: The Chase Begins Again' (2006) and failed miserably with its sequel, 'Don 2.' The remake starred Shahrukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra, who returned for the sequel, but their original pop is not reprised.

Akhtar, who helmed and penned the acclaimed 'Dil Chahta Hai' (2001) and 'Lakshya' (2004), took the 1978 cult classic 'Don' and rivaled the Bond franchise with his result. Akhtar directed no films between the first 'Don' and the second, but branched out into acting—and an excellent actor he is—with 'Rock On!!' (2008), 'Luck By Chance' (2009), 'Karthik Calling Karthik' (2010), and 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' (2011). And perhaps acting is where his passion now lies, because 'Don 2' is such a fiasco it's hard to believe the talented Akhtar is responsible for it.

The title character, played by Khan, is a maniacal mob boss who conquers the Asian underworld in the first installment and turns his attention to Europe in the second with plans to take over the continent's criminal enterprises. Chopra is a revenge-bent cop trying to stop him.

The film's got great action—from the well-choreographed fight scenes to the crash-'em-up car chases. With his skill as a dancer, the nimble Khan makes for a highly believable action hero. But all that's bogged down with exhaustive expository, a nonsensical plot, and clunky dialogue.

Khan is completely off—something of which he's rarely guilty, even in his worst films. He sports some cool looks, which convey badass all the way, but instead of appearing to be a mad mastermind, he just seems weird. Chopra isn't much better. She spends most of the film stomping around in a huff and glaring at Don. When she softens with tenderness and want for the man who killed her brother, she's too easily duped for anyone to care that she's confused and conflicted about it.

The first 'Don' had a shocking twist at the end, so of course, the same is expected here. The problem is, if you know it's coming, you look for it, and here, you can spot what it's going to be right away. And even if you don't pick up on it, it's not that great of a surprise anyway.

'Don 2' is rated Skip.

Starring Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Tusshar Kapoor, Emraan Hashmi

Daring, sexy, savvy, and unapologetic, actress Vidya Balan is a lot like her character in 'The Dirty Picture', 1980s erotic actress Silk Smitha—except, of course, that Balan is so much more. In addition to bold film choices, sensual beauty that defies industry standards, and the smarts to spin a standout image, Balan is immensely talented—arguably among India's finest actors, male or female—and highly regarded; neither of the latter two qualities ever applied to Smitha.

'The Dirty Picture'—a biopic about the soft-core porn star—is driven entirely by Balan's performance. Balan doesn't steal the show, she makes it one, because the story itself is oft-told and nothing special—the rise and fall of a small-town girl who runs away to the big city with big dreams, becomes a star, and meets a tragic end. Balan's achievement here is her latest in setting new standards for and changing perceptions of women actors in a very male-dominated industry.

Balan has reached a level where each new film—particularly one as meta as this one—is viewed in the context of her career. Her filmography is short, but it has breadth. Balan isn't a one-trick pony with an empowered-woman bit. She began her career in Hindi film playing the epitome of passive, an iconic literary character, in 'Parineeta' (2005), with graceful suffering and sweet vulnerability. A few light-hearted comedies later, she made the risky career move, at her young age, of portraying a single mom in 'Paa' (2009)—which could have doomed a lesser actress to mother roles forever. Instead, Balan won awards for it, and she followed it up with a groundbreaking performance in the racy, female-centric 'Ishqiya' (2010).

Balan is not a statuesque stick like many of her peers, but rather, small and ample, proudly voluptuous, and her body confidence makes her very sexy. (It's clear, however, that she deliberately put on considerable weight for her role in 'The Dirty Picture', particularly as her character ages.) Her looks are entirely relevant to the film, as it's a commentary on beauty, youth, and the subsequently short-lived careers of actresses.

The film also critiques the ridiculousness of aging men playing romantic heroes, as is the case with Silk's amour, Surya (played by the magnificent Naseeruddin Shah), a married superstar who's way past his prime. Silk later becomes involved with Surya's younger brother, Rama (Tusshar Kapoor), a screenwriter, and their romance is also doomed, because of his inability to accept her for who she is. Her relationships with the two are respectively icky and tepid. It is her rapport with her arch enemy, arty film director Abraham (Emraan Hashmi), that's molten—they make for hot adversaries. The casting of Hashmi in the film had to have been a given, since the actor is known for his sexual boldness on camera.

Silk was a vamp as well as a victim—of the hypocritical film industry, which sells sex and then disparages those who deliver it. She experienced the rejection of her mother, her lovers, and respectable society. But Balan, as evidenced again in this film, refuses to be reduced to any such single dimensions.

'The Dirty Picture' is rated Must See.

Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri

The nature of love is the theme of director Imtiaz Ali's work, and he explores its universality—in such films as 'Jab We Met' (2007) and 'Love Aaj Kal' (2009)—in unique fashion. The feelings he captures are at once grounded in common experience and as fresh and revelatory as the first time one has them.

The rock band film, an old staple in the West, has translated well in Hindi cinema with such recent films as 'Rock On!!' (2008) and 'London Dreams' (2009), but while that genre revolves around the relationships of bandmates, 'Rockstar' is different in that it is completely a love story. It is a modern-day 'Devdas' of separated lovers who destroy themselves with longing that can never be fulfilled.

The film's music is an intriguing blend of rock and traditional Sufi music, and the title character's look, by the end, is a cool blend of the same. His evolution is reflected in his appearance from a neat, sweater-and-jeans-wearing college student to a grungy, unkempt, Sufi-esque rock star. The music was composed by the legendary, Oscar-winning A.R. Rahman, whose work has always been infused with Sufi influences.

Before he becomes a rock star, Janardhan Jakhar (played by Ranbir Kapoor) is a geeky musician with an easy life, and he wants to experience pain to achieve the depth necessary to be a great artist. Lots of rockers turn to substance abuse, but for J.J., as he's known at school, heartache is his drug of choice.

His classmate, the beautiful Heer (Nargis Fakhri), is sought by every guy at their Delhi college, but she's engaged to be married after graduation. Unattainable right from the start, J.J. pursues her relentlessly, knowing full well that she's going to crush him with rejection. And she does, at first, until they become friends and actually get to know each other. Heer can step down off her pedestal and be herself with him—not the perfect lady everyone expects her to be, but the fun-loving rebel who likes to sneak into porn flicks, get drunk in the middle of the afternoon, and dance at cheesy clubs. He loves her for it, and she loves him.

Her wedding back at her home in Kashmir is imminent, but J.J. and Heer don't run off together, even though she half-jokingly suggests it. What J.J. really wants is a woman he can't have. She moves to Prague with her new husband while J.J. quits school, gets thrown out of his home by his conservative family, and seeks refuge at the shrine of a Sufi saint in Delhi, where he absorbs the traditional music of the devotees there. He is renamed Jordan and his music career takes off, but he doesn't care about success anymore—only the broken heart he nurses. Music merely becomes the outlet for his suffering.

A world tour brings him to Heer in Prague, and they pick up where they left off, only now the stakes are even higher because she's married, and they escalate their affair. The torn, wounded Jordan increasingly lashes out, getting in trouble with the police, his record label and promoters, and Heer's family—all of which brings him publicity and fan adulation. The more outrageous his behavior, the more disdainful he is of attention, the better his music becomes and the more famous he gets.

Jordan's selfishness is colossal—the way only a rock star's can be—and it is Heer who suffers the most.

The success of Ali's previous films had as much to do with his actors as it did with him. His former leading men include Shahid Kapoor ('Jab We Met') and Saif Ali Khan ('Love Aaj Kal'), who both did some of their best work for him. And his leading man in 'Rockstar'—Ranbir Kapoor—is the film's strength. The actor's intensity as a troubled musician is astounding—he's a force of nature.

But Ali's leading lady, the U.S.-born, half-Pakistani Nargis Fakhri (in her film debut), isn't in the same league as the other women who have graced his films—Kareena Kapoor ('Jab We Met') and Deepika Padukone ('Love Aaj Kal'). Fakhri fails woefully to match her co-star and make her character worthy of the consuming passion of his character.

In addition, the film's depressiveness becomes increasingly ponderous, so that, instead of rending hearts, it eventually drags.

'Rockstar' is rated Worth Watching.

Bachchan has been a regular at Cannes—the prestigious, highly-publicized film festival held annually in Cannes, France—for the last decade, beginning in 2002, when her film 'Devdas' was screened at the event and she became the first Indian actress to serve as a Cannes jury member. Her red-carpet appearances at Cannes have caused a sensation—for good and bad—ever since.

Basu will be in attendance to promote her upcoming English-language film 'Singularity,' directed by the Oscar-nominated Roland Joffe. In the film—an Anglo-Indian romantic historical epic/time-travel adventure—Basu makes her Hollywood debut opposite American actor Josh Hartnett. Basu previously attended Cannes in 2007.

Rampal will appear at the event as the ambassador for the liquor brand Chivas, one of the festival's sponsors.

Oprah traveled to India for the first time last January to shoot an episode about India, and the talk-show queen met with Bollywood royalty.

Aishwarya—often referred to as "the most beautiful woman in the world"—was featured in the teaser promo for the episode. The actress was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show twice, first in 2005 and then in 2009 with her husband Abhishek.

The Bachchans' daughter—the first child of their five-year marriage—has been the subject of fascination since her birth last November, but she's been kept largely hidden from the public—with the exception of a glimpse of her leaving the hospital in the arms of her grandfather, Indian film icon Amitabh Bachchan.

The little girl has been dubbed "Beti B" by the media (beti is Hindi for daughter). She is rumored to be named Aaradhya, and an official announcement of her name, which has yet to be made, may come on the show.

The Bachchans have reportedly been offered huge sums for the first photos of Beti B, and the family has refused.

Oprah visited the Bachchan family home during her stay in Mumbai. Wearing an orange sari gifted to her by Aishwarya, Oprah arrived by car with Aishwarya, Abhishek, and Amitabh at a high-profile private party thrown in her honor, which was attended by Bollywood A-listers, including Hrithik Roshan, Anil Kapoor, and Priyanka Chopra.

Oprah also visited Mumbai's slums, the Taj Mahal, the Jaipur Literature Festival, and Delhi.

The festival, now in its 10th year, will screen 33 feature films, documentaries, and shorts from South Asian filmmakers throughout the world, including the U.S., the UK, Canada, Italy, Germany, South Africa, and India.

IFFLA runs from April 10-15 at ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles.

"From the very beginning, our mission was to establish a film festival that would not only pave the way for a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture in the U.S., but also serve as the portal between the two largest entertainment industries in the world—the U.S. and India," IFFLA's founder Christina Marouda said.

Last year's Bollywood release 'Delhi Belly,' produced by Aamir Khan and starring Imran Khan, will be screened on Friday, April 13.

Festival passes are available at www.indianfilmfestival.org.

Starring Kareena Kapoor, Imran Khan

Opposites attract and get married one drunken night in Vegas, and they're horrified by their mistake—until they start to like each other. But this is no remake of 'What Happens in Vegas' (2008), nor any other of the host of Hollywood movies with a similar premise. Rather, 'Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu' is an example of a distinct, delightful Bollywood genre: the coming-of-age romance in which the girl turns the boy into a man. 'Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu''s execution is not as good as others have been—namely another Kareena Kapoor-starrer, 'Jab We Met' (2007)—but her presence in the film saves it.

Predictability gets a bad rap—the outcome of any story is less important than how the story reaches it. Unpredictability for its own sake isn't necessarily satisfying, and here the atypical denouement is not. The strong climax that precedes it, however, is somewhat redeeming.

The central conflict isn't between the hero and heroine, but between the hero and his antagonistic parents. Rahul (Imran Khan) is a young man trying to free himself from the clutches of his critical, controlling mom and dad, played to icy perfection by Ratna Pathak Shah and character actor extraordinaire Boman Irani. The couple crushed Rahul's spirit at an early age, and as a grown man, he is weak-willed and miserable and has no sense of self.

The fun-loving, fearless Riana (Kareena Kapoor) gets Rahul to lighten up and open up and learn to love himself for who he is. She is merely a catalyst for his change, which is a shame, because Kapoor's performance warrants a character capable of change, too. (There's a key point in the film where she has an opportunity to do so, where Rahul challenges her as well, and their exchange is filled with piercing dialogue, but the writers chose to go nowhere with it.) Kapoor hasn't been this good since 'Jab We Met'—in fact, she's better. She's a more mature actress now, her theatricality has become refined, and her character here is more real than her past roles as a spunky, sassy sparkler.

Khan desperately needs to expand beyond the dull, glum, inept characters he repeatedly plays. While called for in 'Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu,' his sad-sack, whoa-is-me routine got old a few films ago. His characters are too depressed to feel passion, including for their love interests. He throws off no sexual vibe; his chemistry with his co-stars is usually nil. Some of it is a function of the writing of the films he chooses, but regardless, he needs to work on convincing audiences that he actually wants his heroines, because he does nothing but mope to get them.

'Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra

A remake of the 1990 action-thriller of the same name, 'Agneepath' is an intense vendetta drama. It's the story of a 12-year-old boy, Vijay, who witnesses the lynching of his noble father at the hands of the town villain, Kancha. Vijay and his pregnant mother flee to Mumbai and the boy dedicates his life to avenging his father's murder.

The original 'Agneepath,' released by late producer Yash Johar, was a box-office flop that became a cult classic. The remake was released by his son, producer Karan Johar—and he has avenged his dad with a smash hit. The film is extremely violent—unusual for a Johar production—and extremely emotional—very typical of a Johar production. The filmmaker is known for his masterful melodramas that revolve around family, but they're usually romances. Here, it's the same fire hose of feeling, just aimed in a different direction.

The younger Johar changed up the story a bit, removing and adding some characters. Interestingly, it was a loverboy—Hrithik Roshan—who was cast in the lead, in place of Bollywood's famous "angry young man," Amitabh Bachchan, who played Vijay in the original.

Roshan is about as beautiful as a human being can be, and the actor uses his extraordinary physicality to the fullest to evince both strength and vulnerability. His character is multilayered, with consuming anger and also torturing pain. His eyes alternately flash with blind rage and deepen with bottomless sorrow. He turns on a dime from ferocious to tender. He plays a man forever tormented by his childhood, and Roshan never lets you forget that his tough-guy character is really a wounded boy.

Next to him, the gorgeous, talented Priyanka Chopra—who plays his love interest, Kaali—is downright dull, saddled with a pancake-flat character. Kaali is completely unnecessary to the story, and Chopra makes it worse by trying too hard to justify her.

It's not Vijay's love for Kaali, but for his sister, Shiksha—a baby that was born in the street and delivered into his hands—that humanizes and saves him, and also endangers him.

Even before his father is killed, Vijay has an angry nature—a trait he didn't inherit from his wise, peace-loving pop, but from his mother, whose grudge against her son is as entrenched as Vijay's grudge against Kancha. Soon after his father's murder, this very messed-up kid kills a policeman for roughing up a neighbor woman—shoots him, stone-cold, in the chest—and his mother cuts him out of her life. Vijay becomes a career criminal with a new parental figure—Rauf Lala, a drug dealer and trafficker of young girls, played by underrated veteran Rishi Kapoor.

Kapoor is an actor with so much vitality he seems about to burst out of his skin. Kapoor can't help but charm, even when he's consummate evil. His captivating, calculating Lala is one of the best devils to appear on screen in a long time.

Kancha, on the other hand, is a repulsive madman, played with maniacal relish by Sanjay Dutt, a beloved actor who hasn't come alive like this in a role in ages. Kancha is Lala's enemy and both are shockingly brutal—their contrasting characters cover the spectrum of wicked and make for a maelstrom that devastates the hero and audience alike.

'Agneepath' is rated Must See.

Raj Kapoor, known as the Great Showman, is regarded as the father of Indian cinema. He was one of the biggest Indian movie stars of the decade following India's independence and also a director and producer. He started his own production company, R.K. Films, in 1948. He was known for his tramp screen persona, and his films explored themes of socialism, patriotism, Indian identity in a globalizing world, and social barriers to love. His films were wildly popular in the former Soviet Union.

Kapoor had a long romantic relationship with his frequent co-star, Nargis, a renowned actress. His performance in 'Awaara' (1951), opposite Nargis, was ranked by Time magazine as one of the "Top 10 performances of all time."

The films to be shown by MoMA include 'Aag' (1948), 'Barsaat' (1949), 'Awaara' (1951), 'Shree 420' (1955), 'Meera Nam Joker' (1970), and 'Bobby' (1973).

Kapoor (1924-1988) was the son of actor Prithviraj Kapoor, and he is the patriarch of a film dynasty that dominates Bollywood to this day—his brothers, Shammi and Shashi; his sons, Rishi, Randhi, and Rajiv; his granddaughters, Karisma and Kareena; and his grandson, Ranbir.

For more information about the film series, visit moma.org or call (212) 708-9400.

Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Manoj Bajpai, Deepika Padukone, Prateik

A dramatized intellectual debate about a hot-button social/political issue—caste-based reservations in education and employment (affirmative action, as it's called in the U.S.)—not an easy project to attempt, but director Prakash Jha turns out a powerful, personalized narrative.

In his best role in years, maybe decades, film legend Amitabh Bachchan plays Prabhakar Anand, a principled college principal caught in the middle of this issue. No one gives thundering speeches better than Bachchan, and he has the floor throughout the film—lecturing the student body, dressing down colleagues, and arguing with his wife and daughter—all about right and wrong.

The film is extremely balanced in its presentation of all viewpoints. There is no question that the reservation system is unfair to some, and in the film, a high-caste student with decent grades fails to get into college because of it. Prabhakar's daughter, Poorbi (Deepika Padukone), a student at the college, and her friend, Sushant, (Prateik), are outraged by it, and they clash with Poorbi's boyfriend, Deepak (Saif Ali Khan), a low-caste student who defends the system, as he himself is an example of how a person with no advantages can excel academically if given the chance.

The film comes to one clear conclusion, however—the reservation system, and its accompanying unfairnesses, would not be necessary if academia were really merit-based. Rich, well-connected students pull strings and even bribe college administrators to get into whatever school they want. At the very least, the wealthy can afford expensive private education coaching—which is very common in India—to give them an advantage. The film's villain, Mithilesh (played by the outstanding Manoj Bajpai), is the vice principal under Prabhakar, and he doesn't regard teaching as a sacred vocation, but as an opportunity to get rich through his private coaching centers.

Prabhakar's only concern is providing all students, regardless of caste, with the best instruction and equal access to academic opportunities, but he believes it's up to high-minded people like him to make the system fair. Unfortunately, his idealism doesn't jibe with reality, and his charitableness is challenged. Charity is a tricky, complicated issue, and the film has some fascinating, difficult things to say about it.

Prabhakar eventually becomes the victim of gross unfairness himself, at the hands of Mithilesh. It's meant to incense the audience about injustice and it does so with galling effect. But more importantly, Prabhakar's downfall is crucial to his evolution. Even as noble as he is, he is not perfect and he has some important lessons to learn—and he's severely tested. The way he reacts—by relinquishing the condescension in his beneficence—makes him truly heroic.

The development of the other characters is also superb. All of them engagingly grow, especially Deepak, the film's other hero. The character is a man coming into his own, his emerging sense of self brushing aside a remnant of tentativeness, portrayed by an actor simultaneously doing the same. Khan impressively holds his own with a giant like Bachchan, but he wisely doesn't try to upstage someone who cannot be upstaged.

The casting of Khan in the role of a low-caste man is brilliant. In real-life, Khan is a 'nawab,' an Indian prince, and seeing a person of royalty suffering the injustices inflicted on someone with no stature is meant to be disorienting to the audience, and it drives home the point that social standing is an accident of birth, not a birthright.

Deepak's romance with Poorbi is a very minor subplot that nonetheless provides the main story with some important connective tissue. As they did in 'Love Aaj Kal' (2009), Khan and Padukone click.

'Aarakshan' is rated Must See.

Starring Katrina Kaif, Imran Khan, Ali Zafar

It seems like Katrina Kaif wandered off the set of a different movie and onto 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.' Her cranked-up comedy was fitting in films like 'Tees Maar Khan' (2010) and 'Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya' (2005), but her act is far too amped for 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.' It's a film with some wackiness, but next to her co-stars Imran Khan and Ali Zafar, whose humor is much more low key, she seems foolishly out of place in a movie in which she is the biggest star.

Kaif is a notoriously inconsistent actress—having delivered both gems and abominations along a career path with no clear trajectory of development—but the blame here can be pinned on poor direction. Debutant director Ali Abbas Zafar (no relation to the actor) simply had to tell her to dial it down to match the tone of his film.

What's more, she's outshined by the performer with the least experience—Ali Zafar, a popular Pakistani singer, who made his film debut in the Indian comedy 'Tere Bin Laden' (2010). He's a well-connected newcomer to Bollywood—his wife is the niece of superstar Aamir Khan and the cousin of Imran Khan. That's gotten him in the door, but it's his abundant natural talent that will take him far.

Zafar's character, Luv, a smarmy, self-centered London transplant, unfortunately has the least screen time in the film, but he lights it up whenever he's on. Zafar makes the in-love-with-himself Luv so endearing that you can't help but love him, too.

Luv has just broken up with his London-born Indian girlfriend, Piyali (played by the forgettable Tara D'Souza). He calls his younger brother, Kush (Khan), in Mumbai and asks him to pick out a bride for him in India because he doesn't trust their parents to make the right choice.

There's nothing distinct or remarkable about Kush, especially compared to Dimple (Kaif), the woman he selects to marry his brother. Kush and Dimple were friends in college, back when Dimple was a miniskirt-wearing rebel and got arrested for holding impromptu rock concerts at the Taj Mahal. She's still a wild child, even though she's agreed to an arranged marriage—she wants a rich husband, she explains, and Luv fits the bill.

Kush and Dimple spend a lot of time together planning the wedding while waiting for Luv to come from London, and they inevitably fall for each other. But they don't run off and elope, and not because it wouldn't be the right thing to do, but because Kush admits he couldn't stand the harsh judgment of others. Instead, they come up with an elaborate scheme to get the bold Luv to do what the wimpy Kush doesn't have the courage to do himself.

'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan' is rated Skip.

Starring Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone

A man who gets phone calls from himself telling him how to live his life—crazy, or is he? That's the mystery central to this psychological thriller—if you can call it that, because unlike the lead character, the film is unquestionably schizophrenic. As a thriller, it fails, because instead of taut, it's just stretched. The suspense is sapped by romance that dominates to such an extent that the film becomes mostly a love story—and a dull one. At times, it seems like the movie is trying to be a realistic study of a man who is the victim of bullying and who also may be mentally ill—which isn't a thrilling tack and a real downer where romance is concerned.

The title character is, however, ironically consistent—and well-portrayed by Farhan Akhtar. The film is a rare miss for the talented actor ('Rock On!!,' 'Luck By Chance,' 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara') and director ('Dil Chahta Hai,' 'Don'), but Akhtar manages to showcase his range as Karthik evolves from pathetic loser to confident winner, while maintaining the character's vulnerable essence throughout.

Karthik is a smart, hard-working guy, who is too meek and insecure to assert himself, and everyone mistreats him—like his boss and co-workers—or ignores him—like the girl of his dreams, Shonali. He's painfully unhappy and lonely, and he sees a psychiatrist about his distress over his inadvertent role in the childhood death of his brother, who bullied him. When he can't take it anymore and decides to kill himself, he gets a nick-of-time phone call—from himself. The sinister-sounding Karthik on the line tells the suicidal Karthik what he needs to do to turn his life around. The advice is all Karthik needs to become the man he always wanted to be. He spruces up his appearance, gets a big promotion at work, and sabotages his married co-worker's affair with Shonali. In no time, Shonali falls for Karthik.

Shonali, played unremarkably by Deepika Padukone, isn't remotely interesting, and we learn little about her except that she has a nasty smoking habit and keeps getting burned in relationships. Their passionless courtship drags on and on, until you nearly forget about Karthik's creepy phone calls. But of course, the calls don't go away, and Karthik tries to rid himself of them. The outcome is not predictable, but not a zinger either, and by the time it rolls around, it feels more like a relief than a resolution.

'Karthik Calling Karthik' is rated Skip.

Starring Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh

'Band Baaja Baaraat' is only Anushka Sharma's third outing and she's already carrying a film on her own—a testament to her talent—with newcomer Ranveer Singh making his debut opposite her. But what starts as a promising story ends up shortchanging the actors in a film important to both their careers. What's more, they make a tepid pair.

Shruti (Anushka Sharma) is a sensible, no-nonsense Delhi girl with loads of ambition and drive. Her parents want to arrange her marriage—and she has no problem with that because she thinks romance is silly—but she wants to fulfill her dream of starting a wedding-planning company first. Bittoo (Ranveer Singh) is a villager who went to college in Delhi to have fun rather than study hard, and as a result, his post-graduation job prospects seem to be limited to returning to the family farm, a fate he is desperate to avoid.

Bittoo hits on Shruti, shrugs off her rejection, and then proposes they become platonic business partners instead. They make a great team—each has unique skills that compliment the other—and their company takes off. They specialize in low-budget, kitschy weddings, but the formerly-aimless Bittoo gets bitten by the aspiration bug and he wants to move up to organizing posh, classy events. Shruti, however, is content to stay true to their roots. Their business direction is just the beginning of their conflicts. After a drunken hookup, Shruti falls in love with him, which terrifies him into ruining their professional partnership.

They are both passionate, fast-talking, pull-no-punches types who live life with zeal, but as a romantic couple, they generate no heat. And their business relationship is far more interesting than their love relationship. Through their work together, Bittoo and Shruti show belief in each other, a new experience for both of them that makes them blossom into their best selves. Their interdependent achievement becomes integral to their developing identities as a man and a woman. All of this is a compelling, complex basis for love and marriage, but as soon as they become romantically entangled, their characters turn into clichés—girl equates sex and love, boy is afraid of commitment, girl makes herself unavailable, boy suddenly must have her. While the film has merit, in the end, it boils down a movie everyone has seen too many times before.

'Band Baaja Baaraat' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Armaan Verma

Superhero action-adventure 'Ra.One'—the most expensive Indian film to date and boasting special effects that are equal to that of any Hollywood production—is a quintessential Indian family film that absorbs sci-fi into its panoply of genre with ease. It's exuberant, goofy, thrilling, and sweetly touching, with a conflict that's not really about the epic struggle between good and evil. The protagonist's mission is personal—he's not out to save the world, but rather a family, specifically a little boy, and he does so more through love than physical heroics. That makes him a different kind of superhero—an incredibly relatable one.

The story is never overwhelmed by the action, even though the action is stupendous, particularly a car chase scene through London with a video-game villain come to life and a runaway train sequence with the hero hopscotching from car to car before crashing into Mumbai's iconic Victoria Terminus.

Sure, 'Ra.One' borrows from a host of other sci-fi movies and the story is far from ingenious—but the same can be said of most sci-fi flicks. The genre isn't exactly brimming with originality.

'Ra.One' is not Indian cinema's first foray into sci-fi—its predecessors notably include last year's outstanding Tamil film 'Robot,' starring Rajinikanth, who makes a cameo in 'Ra.One' as his 'Robot' character for no other reason than to be acknowledged for his groundbreaking role.

Bollywood stars Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt also make cameos, appearing in the film's lush opening video-game dream sequence. The plot then kicks off with a dorky dad, Shekhar, who wants to impress his son, Prateek, a cool kid, by developing a video game in which the villain, Ra.One, can't lose. Ra.One breaks out of the virtual world and into the real one to kill Prateek, the only person who has played the game, and the game's good guy, G.One, comes to the rescue—as best he can against an undefeatable player.

Actress Kareena Kapoor is at her engaging best as Shekhar's adoring wife—she and Khan sparkle together. The sinewy, statuesque Arjun Rampal puts his dramatic bone structure to good use as the sinister title character—although there's not enough tension in his tangles with the hero. The real standout is child actor Armaan Verma, who plays Prateek—he's a scene-stealer, and that's saying something considering his company. And then of course, there's the main draw, Shahrukh Khan, who plays both Shekhar and G.One.

Double roles are extremely common in Bollywood films and most big stars have played them at one time or another, but Khan has done so with more regularity, usually portraying a geek and a stud ('Main Hoon Na,' 'Paheli,' 'Don,' 'Om Shanti Om,' 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'). The two characters tend to bleed into one another—there's always a little bit of the stud in the geek and the geek in the stud. In Khan's case, it's an example of the way in Indian film that the actor is consciously channeled through the character. Khan himself embodies the contradiction of geek and stud. He's a small man, not a beefcake like many of his fellow male stars (although he sure pumped up for 'Ra.One'), handsome but not in a pinup sense, and while he oozes charisma and charm, he has an overriding nervous quality. Off-camera, he revels in his stardom, even hams it up as if he were playing a part, but he always seems like he can't quite believe he's getting away with it. Nonetheless, he is Bollywood's biggest romantic hero, the dreamy fantasy of swooning millions.

On-screen, Khan is nearly always self-reflexive, as is Indian film in general (making Khan the perfect ambassador for his industry). So the preposterousness of sci-fi works beautifully here—as it did in 'Robot.' So far, Indian film hasn't treated sci-fi with dead seriousness the way Hollywood has, and that's what makes it so much fun.

'Ra.One' is rated Must See.

Starring Imran Khan, Vir Das, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Poorna Jagannathan, Shenaz Treasurywala

Bollywood films often include a smattering of English—or Hinglish, a blend common in conversation—but nowhere near as much as in 'Delhi Belly.' It's indicative of the industry increasingly catering to young, educated, urban audiences who speak English, rather than the masses who don't. The divide is about more than language, though. The city multiplex crowd has Western sensibilities, which they want to see in their movies. There again, 'Delhi Belly' delivers.

The film is funny, but to say it's hilarious would be a stretch. It's pioneering in that the humor is racy, as one would guess from the title, a term for digestive problems caused by food poisoning.

The plot is set in motion when Delhiite Nitin (Kunaal Roy Kapur) gets sick from eating street food and must send his stool sample to the doctor. His roommate Arup (Vir Das) agrees to deliver it for him, but accidentally switches it with another package intended for a gangster, who ends up chasing Nitin, Arup, and their other roommate, Tashi (Imran Khan), all over the city to recover his goods. Coincidences and mix-ups abound.

In the meantime, Tashi, a disgruntled journalist, is trying to sort out his personal life. He's reluctantly engaged to Sonia (Shenaz Treasurywala), a flight attendant who unknowingly smuggled the contraband into the country and put it in Tashi's care. But he's got the hots for fellow journalist Menaka (Poorna Jagannathan), who's got personal problems, too—a violent, jealous ex-husband, who also chases Tashi around.

The film's particular brand of raunchy humor and the formulaic caper plot are getting pretty stale in the West, and they're qualities those familiar with Western film likely find tiresome. But they get refreshed somewhat in an Indian context, and the execution is as fine as it can be.

Up-and-coming star Imran Khan delivers his best to date (although the film was actually shot three years ago, right after his hit debut 'Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na' and before a spate of spotty follow-up releases). Khan is working hard to cultivate an image of an ironically un-filmy commercial star (much like that of his superstar uncle Aamir Khan, who produced the film), an image his role in 'Delhi Belly' certainly bolsters.

'Delhi Belly' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin

This may be a bachelor party/road trip movie, but 'The Hangover' it is not. The guys here drink plenty, fling with girls, and get into a bar fight that lands them in jail, but they are not the overgrown frat boys, who don't want to give up their wild, juvenile ways and settle down, usually found in this genre. It's a refreshing, realistic story about mature, adult male friendship—made, interestingly, by a woman. You could call it a coming-of-age tale, but these 30-somethings are too old for that. They have some important growing to do, however.

Director Zoya Akhtar is the Sofia Coppola of Indian cinema. Akhtar comes from a film family—she is the daughter of famous screenwriters and the sister of director/actor Farhan Akhtar, who has played leads in both her films. She is a rare female filmmaker in a male-dominated industry, her films have arty sensibilities and commercial appeal, and her subtle style is infused with powerful, understated emotionality.

In 'Zindagi,' Bombayite Kabir (Abhay Deol) has become engaged to Natasha (Kalki Koechlin) after dating for a mere six months. (The two actors were last seen together in the edgy 2009 'Dev.D.') He wants to take a road trip through Spain as an extended bachelor party with his best friends Imran (Farhan Akhtar) and Arjun (Hrithik Roshan)—a trip the three had planned on taking fours years before but canceled because of a falling out between Imran and Arjun. The two have not reconciled and Arjun's anger is undiminished, but they join Kabir in Spain nonetheless.

The trio has agreed ahead of time that each man gets to pick an extreme sport and all three have to do it. Kabir chooses deep sea diving—and Arjun can't swim. Arjun picks skydiving—and Imran is afraid of heights. Imran tops them both with the most dangerous activity of all.

The point of all this risk-taking, they discover, is not to goad your friends into doing things they don't want to do, as they originally thought, but to help them confront and overcome their fears—to realize the sweetness of life in the face of death—and each man has a personal breakthrough as a result.

In the hands of a less skilled filmmaker, the movie could have been hopelessly hokey, with its hit-you-over-the-head symbolism, but Akhtar is an expert storyteller. She delays revealing details to make them more impactful, lingers long in exactly the right spots, and dribbles just enough backstory to give her characters complexity without inundating the plot, and her visual sense is so strong that her best scenes have no dialogue. That's why Hrithik Roshan is the perfect actor for her. He could have been a silent film star—his eyes, his face, his body say it all. He also appeared in her directorial debut, 'Luck By Chance' (2009), and was a standout in the all-star cast despite his minor role.

Roshan's character is the most compelling of the three. Arjun is a securities trader in London, driven to make piles of money to prove his self-worth and nursing a broken heart over a woman who dumped him because of his workaholic ways. He lords his financial success over Imran, a lowly ad copywriter in Delhi. Arjun makes a strong emotional connection with their diving instructor, Laila (Katrina Kaif), who instantly recognizes his airs as defensiveness. Underwater, he has no choice but to accept the vulnerability he fights on land as she teaches him how to do the most elemental of things—breath—and then takes him by the hand and shows him a whole new world. When he emerges from the dive, his eyes stinging with sea salt and tears, he sits silently on the boat deck, aghast and transformed and not ashamed. Laila and his friends give him respectful space while experiencing the unsettling and moving moment with him. It's the kind of scene that's becoming Akhtar's signature—Roshan had a similar one in 'Luck By Chance'—one that encapsulates the whole film.

'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' is rated Must See.

'Mausam' aims to be a refreshing throwback to the exalted love found in romantic classics, but with a contemporary setting, and it has all the elements of a great film—except the most important element, a great story—and on that count, it fails spectacularly.

In its favor, the film boasts an engaging score and dance numbers that pop. The cinematography by award-winning Binod Pradhan, whose work includes the visually-stunning 'Devdas' (2002) and the Sonam Kapoor-starrer 'Delhi-6' (2009), is outstanding.

'Mausam' is the directorial debut of accomplished actor Pankaj Kapur, who cast his son, Bollywood heartthrob Shahid Kapoor, in the lead. Shahid proved long ago that he's more than a pretty boy (although his physical attributes are fully on display here) and he carries the film with his considerable talent and charisma as his character, Harry, evolves from a playful youth infatuated with a girl he barely knows to a mature military pilot who courts her in an adult and dizzyingly romantic fashion, becomes a war hero, and suffers a debilitating injury he struggles to overcome.

The character of Aayat, played by Sonam Kapoor, is much less developed—her role is simply that of tragic, lovelorn object of Harry's adoration. Aayat is the Forrest Gump of religious conflict—unrest in Kashmir drives her from her home to Harry's village in the Punjab, then to Mumbai, where she's affected by the horrific communal riots there in 1993. She has a respite in Scotland for several years, where she and Harry reunite, before he is shipped back to India to fight in the Kargil War against Pakistan in 1999. She then skips over to New York in time for 9/11 and then to Gujarat for the religious massacres that happened there in 2002. No one's luck is this bad.

All this separation deepens their love, but it's repeated to the point of tedium. And there's no logical reason for much of it—all their missed connections, miscommunications, and misunderstandings could have easily been cleared up with a few emails. Instead, the two inexplicably only write letters to each other, which fail to arrive on time or to the right place for a variety of reasons. That's not conflict; that's contrivance. Technology is a reality of the present that makes it pretty hard for lovers to be cut off from one another—and impossible for stories like this to be believable.

'Mausam' is rated Skip.

The magazine called 'Lagaan' "surely the longest and most enthralling underdog-sports movie ever."

'Lagaan' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film—only the third Hindi-language film in history to get an Oscar nod, after 'Mother India' (1957) and 'Salaam Bombay' (1988). The movie introduced many Americans to Bollywood for the first time.

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan starred in and produced the film. It was the debut release of Aamir Khan Productions, which has since developed a reputation for selectivity, producing such well-regarded films as 'Peepli Live' (2010). 'Lagaan' was helmed by Ashutosh Gowariker, who later directed the award-winning 'Swades' (2004) and 'Jodhaa Akbar' (2008).

Richard Corliss of 'Time' wrote of the selection: "'Lagaan' has the capability to win over Bollywood newcomers—to turn snickers into smiles, indulgence to rapture. Writer-director Ashutosh Gowariker finds the spice in a masala mix of melodrama and character comedy, and keeps his cinematic rhythms humid and urgent for the full 3¾-hour running time. Even those who know none of cricket's complicated rules will bounce in their seats to A.R. Rahman's irrepressible tunes; here, one can immediately and fully accept the Bollywood trope of music and dance as an expression of life's deepest, most soaring emotions. As sports film, social document or communal ecstasy, 'Lagaan' is the all-time all-rounder."

The film, a romantic epic about a Kashmiri refugee and a Punjabi Air Force officer, is the directorial debut of acclaimed Indian actor Pankaj Kapoor. It stars Sonam Kapoor and the director's son Shahid Kapoor.

The event, to be held Friday, October 7 at AMC River East 21 (322 E. Illinois St.) in Chicago, headlines the festival's "Spotlight South Asia" program, sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The program is the first of a three-part series that highlights the film culture of a different region of the world each year.

The red carpet arrivals for 'Mausam' begin at 6 pm, followed by the screening at 6:30 pm. An after-party will be held at Privet Nightclub & Lounge, 937 N. Rush St., at 10 pm, featuring Bollywood and Bhangra DJs.

This year's Chicago International Film Festival runs from October 6-20.

Bachchan, who has appeared in 180 films over the last four decades, will play the role of Meyer Wolfsheim, a minor character in the book who is a shady business associate of the main character Jay Gatsby. Wolfsheim was based on the real-life New York crime boss Arnold Rothstein, who fixed the 1919 World Series.

Bachchan will appear in one scene and has declined compensation because he is friends with the director, Baz Luhrmann, the Australian filmmaker of 'Moulin Rouge' (2001) fame. Luhrmann is a long-time fan of Bollywood, and its influences on his work are clear. He has said that his fascination with Hindi cinema began when he saw the Bachchan-starrer 'Sholay' (1975).

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the film as Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as Daisy, and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway.

Filming is underway in Australia. It is set to release in 2012 and will be distributed in 2D and 3D.

Bachchan has downplayed the significance of his Hollywood debut, calling it a "friendly gesture," because he doesn't believe Indian cinema—the largest film industry in the world—needs any validation from Hollywood.

Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan

'Sholay' is one of the most beloved Bollywood films ever and among the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. It was the first "Curry Western"—the Indian version of the Spaghetti Western.

Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) are best friends and partners in crime. They're petty thieves, accomplished at gunslinging and fisticuffs, but good-natured, lovable rogues. It's their free-spirited nature, not wickedness, that makes them what they are.

They've never been committed to anyone—except each other—or tied down to any place—that is, until a former police chief, Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar), hires them to apprehend a bandit, Gabbar (Amjad Khan), who has been terrorizing Thakur's village. The reason Thakur can't do it himself is revealed later.

Bon vivant Veeru and the cool, collected Jai think about stealing the reward money and taking off, but they quickly come to care about the villagers and the injustice done to them. In particular, Veeru takes a strong liking to a bubbly horse-cart driver, Basanti (Hema Malini), and Jai is deeply intrigued by Thakur's noble, widowed daughter-in-law, Radha (Jaya Bhaduri). Gabbar is consummate evil and he spreads tragedy like a virus. He's a formidable foe for Veeru and Jai, who have met their match for the first time, and the twosome can't resist trying to slay this awful dragon.

Because of government censors, the theatrical release had a different ending than the director's cut, which is the one on most DVDs.

The romantic pairs in the film were involved in real life. Malini and the married Dharmendra fell in love during the filming—they married five years later. Bachchan married Bhaduri four months before filming began in 1973 (it took two and a half years to make), and she was pregnant with their first child (daughter Shweta Bachchan) during shooting.

At the time, Bhaduri was a more famous actor than her husband—they had appeared in a few films together prior to 'Sholay,' which helped his then-floundering career take off. Namely, she co-starred with him in 'Zanjeer' (1973)—when no other actresses would—and the hit film established his legendary film persona as an "angry young man." 'Sholay' and another of his films that year, the groundbreaking 'Deewaar,' sent Bachchan skyrocketing into superstardom.

The festival, which screens contemporary American and international films, is introducing a country-specific program this year, beginning with the country that produces more films than any other, India. It includes a mix of feature films—both commercial and arthouse—and documentaries.

"Passport: India brings to Milwaukee audiences legendary actors (Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, and Aamir Khan), show-stopping song and dance, hard-hitting documentaries, and a bold new film from a young director that's shattering all preconceived notions of romance in Indian cinema," said Jonathan Jackson, artistic and executive director of Milwaukee Film.

The selections for "Passport: India" include Aarakshan, Mumbai Diaries, and Robot.

Last year, more than 30,000 attended the festival, which had 26 sold-out screenings.

Tickets go on sale September 8. For more information, visit www.milwaukee-film.org.

Starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar

Pick a superlative and it probably applies to 'Mother India,' the mother of all Hindi classics.

It's a simple enough story, one of horrific hardship. A young woman, Radha (Nargis), is married to a young man, Shamu (Raaj Kumar), and the two are delighted with one another. Radha soon learns that her mother-in-law mortgaged the family farm to pay for the wedding, so Radha starts working excessively hard to ensure the success of the household. But the moneylender takes three-quarters of the crop as interest and the family can't produce enough to make ends meet, much less put a dent in the loan principle. Radha has three sons. Shamu loses his arms in a farming accident and abandons the family out of shame over his helplessness. The mother-in-law dies. A storm wipes out the harvest. Radha's baby dies. But Radha is indomitable, and because of her, the village survives. Her two sons, Birju (Sunil Dutt) and Ramu (Rajendra Kumar), grow up, and that's when the real trouble begins.

Radha is a paragon of Hindu womanhood—a wife and mother who represents both the divine female and the country of India. Interestingly, the actress who played Radha, as well as the director of the film, were Muslim, which many have said makes the movie's nationalism all the more powerful, given India's multi-religious makeup.

The religious symbolism begins with the main character's name. In Hindu mythology, Radha is the lover of Krishna, who leaves her, and she longs for his return. The Radha of the film, likewise, spends the rest of her life devoted to her absent husband. The Radha of the film is not all life-giving, as one would expect of a mother; she is also a destroyer—a role which is also personified by Hindu goddesses—and she kills her own son because she feels she morally must.

'Mother India' was released a decade after India's independence, and its message is that the village is the core unit upon which the country is built, that India's strength lies in its adherence to rural culture and moral values, and that women are the keepers of tradition. Radha's independence and ability to persevere despite incredible challenges mirrors that of the nation's.

Marxist themes also abound: the glorification of the worker, individual sacrifice for the good of the collective (the village), and the struggle of the common person against the evils of capitalism (symbolized by the moneylender). Radha repeatedly poses holding a sickle or other farm implement over her shoulder, her sweaty face held high, while she looks off into the sunset over the fields where she labors.

Radha is an archetype, but she's also rife with ambiguity and all too human in her complexity. She risks the starvation of her two surviving sons rather than have sex with the moneylender, who promises to take care of her and her family if she submits. Her honor, her sense of herself as a woman, is more important to her than the lives of her children. She is a woman first and a mother second. Which is exactly what she says to Birju before she kills him. An interesting concluding statement in a film that ostensibly romanticizes motherhood.

She has endured unbearable suffering raising her kids alone, and when Birju becomes a man and won't obey her, she sees it as ingratitude. When he goes so far as to threaten to take the honor of another woman, she shoots him to protect the reputation of their village—she says—but also to protect her own reputation as his mother and to maintain her power and control over him. It's not exactly a selfless sacrifice on her part—she's the heroine of her family and the village and she wants to keep it that way.

The role of Radha was redemptive for the actress who played her, adding a dimension to the film that crossed over into reality. Nargis was the daughter of a courtesan and the mistress of the married film star Raj Kapoor. Public perception of her transformed as she came to be identified with the idealized woman she portrayed in 'Mother India.' Nargis largely retired from acting after the movie came out—a dramatic exit from the industry at the zenith of her career that preserved her favorable new image forever.

During the shooting of the film, Nargis became trapped by flames during a fire scene, and her co-star Sunil Dutt, who played her son Birju, saved her life. The two fell in love on the set and married a year later. Their son is actor Sanjay Dutt.

'Mother India' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film—the first of only three Hindi films ever be nominated for an Oscar.

Starring Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Omi Vaidya, Tisca Chopra, Shazahn Padamsee, Shruti Haasan, Shraddha Das

Director Madhur Bhandarkar is known for dark, hard-hitting social commentaries about such subjects as imprisonment, prostitution, the underbelly of the modeling industry, and cutthroat celebrity journalism. Nearly all of his films revolve around a female protagonist. So a lighthearted look at the simple lives of three average men trying to find love is pretty far afield for Bhandarkar. His previous work is much more impressive, but he competently makes the type of film this one is intended to be, albeit a little weak in the comedy department.

Naren (Ajay Devgn) is a recently divorced, demoralized dad knocking on the door of 40, and he secretly pines for a bubbly girl at the office, June (Shazahn Padamsee), who's barely out of her teens. They become friends, because he doesn't hit on her like the other sleazy men at work, but he feels hopelessly out of place when hanging out with her young pals.

Naren shares his bachelor pad with two roommates: Milind (Omi Vaidya), an online marriage matchmaker by day and a competitive spoken-word poet by night, and Abhay (Emraan Hashmi), a fitness trainer who mooches off the rich women he seduces at the gym.

Milind is a dorky guy with a heart of gold and he falls in love with an aspiring actress Gungun (Shraddha Das), who moonlights as a radio talk-show host and who takes advantage of Milind's kindness and generosity every chance she gets.

Abhay is an unconscionable casanova who lands a big meal ticket when he charms Anushka (Tisca Chopra), an aging former Miss India with a rich, neglectful husband. Abhay's a kept man and he loves it, until he meets Anushka's stunning stepdaughter, Nikki (Shruti Haasan), a crusading do-gooder who sees right through him.

The three main actors exude their unique brands of charm, and you can't help but cheer for their lovable-loser characters as they learn important lessons about themselves. Just when it seems like their problems are about to be resolved in predictable ways, they're not, and the outcome is much more satisfying.

'Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Bipasha Basu, Anil Kapoor

Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif are among the most entertaining onscreen couples in Bollywood. Their now-famous chemistry took hold right from the beginning in this, their first film pairing. The twosome is at their best when there's substance to Kaif's role, which is the case here and in their second film together 'Namastey London' (2007)—and which is unfortunately not the case in the duo's subsequent four outings ('Welcome,' 'Singh Is Kinng,' 'De Dana Dan,' and 'Tees Maar Khan'). But their strong matchup in 'Humko Deewana Kar Gaye' is the only thing to recommend it, and it's not quite enough to compensate for the weak script.

Kumar and Kaif play two lonely individuals who are engaged to people they don't love. Aditya (Kumar) is an affable guy who works for a car company. His fiance Sonia (Bipasha Basu) is a career-driven fashion designer—a cold beauty who hates the family traditions Aditya loves and who isn't wild about having a family herself. Aditya wants to love her and tries hard to warm to her, but she keeps pushing him away and telling him to grow up. It isn't clear why these two are getting married. When Aditya is transferred to Canada for work, Sonia takes off for Europe to pursue her own professional opportunities.

Aditya soon meets Jia (Kaif), and they accidentally run into each other too many times to be believable. Jia is preparing for her wedding without any help from her rich, successful, workaholic fiance who only wants to marry her to seal a business deal with her father. Aditya and Jia quickly become close friends and struggle to resist their growing love and attraction. They can't be together because Aditya is such a good guy that he can't fathom breaking his engagement—and because Jia's future husband Karan (Anil Kapoor) is a crazy control freak who might be capable of murder. Their longing, sadness, and desperation over being trapped are excellently portrayed.

The inexplicably inconsistent behavior of the supporting characters mucks up the otherwise emotional love story. For example, Karan's secretary Jenny insists Jia must sacrifice her happiness for her own safety as well as the good of her family's fortunes, but then tells her on her wedding day that true love is too important to pass up. Once Sonia reappears in Aditya's life after her work in Europe is finished—and after he is hopelessly in love with Jia—she suddenly develops passionate ardor for the fiance at whom she used to routinely scoff. But it is Karan's about-face out of nowhere that is the most extreme and absurd, resulting in a groan-worthy ending.

'Humko Deewana Kar Gaye' is rated Skip.

Starring Aishwarya Rai, Vivek Oberoi, Amitabh Bachchan

Love and marriage can be a chicken-or-egg kind of thing in India—which comes first matters a great deal to some people. For Diya (Aishwarya Rai), a serious college student, love must precede marriage. Happy-go-lucky Arjun (Vivek Oberoi) wants his parents to pick his bride—although he has no intention of letting love grow from the union. 'Kyun! Ho Gaya Na' negotiates the conflict by arranging their love, so to speak, so they both unwittingly win.

Arjun is an interesting twist on the old commitment-phobic/emotionally unavailable character—it isn't the actual commitment such a person fears, but rather it's the vulnerability that comes with love, and for Arjun, making a loveless marriage is a way to avoid the emotional intimacy he's too immature to handle.

But Arjun's adoring parents want him to love the spouse they choose for him, and Diya's dad wants the same for her, so they concoct a plan for their children to fall for each other, with the intention of arranging their marriage later—but it doesn't exactly work out as hoped.

Diya travels to Mumbai to take a big exam and she stays with Arjun's family. While there, she and Arjun become flirtatious friends, and their developing love story is utterly charming—until the plot abruptly veers halfway through the film with the appearance of Diya's uncle, Raj Chauhan (Amitabh Bachchan), who commandeers the rest of their romance. Her uncle (played by an actor who would someday become Rai's father-in-law) runs an orphanage—Diya works there, Arjun follows—and far too many cute-kid antics ensue.

The casting of the leads is a little far-fetched, given that both actors are considerably older than the characters they play. Oberoi's boyish looks and convincing juvenile act make him a little more believable than Rai, who is three years older than Oberoi and who exudes a sophistication and maturity in both her appearance and demeanor that acting can't overcome.

But the biggest problem with the story is the passivity of the hero, whose development is orchestrated by others right up to the end. At some point, Arjun and Diya should have together resolved the conflict on their own.

The film marks the only on-screen pairing of Rai and Oberoi, who were a real-life couple at the time. Interestingly, after breaking up in 2005, they both went on to become happily settled the same way their characters sought to be—Rai made a love match with actor Abhishek Bachchan in 2007 and Oberoi's marriage was arranged to a prominent politician's daughter, Priyanka Alva, in 2010.

'Kyun! Ho Gaya Na' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Suniel Shetty, Sushmita Sen, Zayed Khan, Amrita Rao

Only Bollywood could seamlessly blend a terrorist thriller and a family melodrama into one heart-wrenching, action-packed entertainer with a comic college setting—while making a strong statement about religious nationalism to boot.

The film's hero, Major Ram Sharma (Shahrukh Khan), tries to mend two broken families—his own and that of his boss, General Bakshi (Kabir Bedi), who is estranged from his daughter, Sanjana (Amrita Rao)—which would be enough story for a film, but this was directed by Farah Khan—her first as a director—whose motto is "more is more." So she puts them all in mortal danger at the hands of a terrorist, Raghavan (Suniel Shetty). Kudos to her for pulling this mashup off with aplomb.

Major Ram Sharma is the illegitimate son of Brigadier Shekhar Sharma (Naseeruddin Shah), and the boy's appearance on his dad's doorstep upon losing his mother at the age of 10 drives Shekhar's wife Madhu (Kirron Kher) to leave home with their infant son Lakshman. Fast-forward 20 years and Shekhar, who has been mortally wounded by Raghavan, begs Ram to reconcile with Madhu and Lakshman (Zayed Khan), who is a student at the same college as Sanjana. Sanjana is in love with Lakshman, and she wants nothing more to do with her father, who was disappointed that she wasn't born a boy.

The names of the two brothers are significant. Ram is a popular Hindu deity whose story is told in the sacred text, the Ramayana, in which Ram, with the help of his brother Lakshman, rescues the goddess Sita from a demon. The razing of a mosque in 1992 on the site of Ram's birthplace in the town of Ayodhya, which triggered riots throughout the country, galvanized the Hindu nationalist movement in India, and Ram is therefore closely associated with it.

The character Ram in the film is a patriotic soldier in the Indian army, with a high-caste Hindu surname, who is committed to peace with Pakistan. Raghavan is a former Indian army officer who murdered several innocent Pakistanis and was dishonorably discharged and who now wants to sabotage a prisoner exchange between India and Pakistan by killing General Bakshi's daughter as an act of terrorism. Ram accepts the undercover assignment to protect Sanjana by posing as a college student and befriending her.

Religion is never specifically mentioned in the movie, but the allusions are obvious and the message of pluralism clear: Ram is not on the side of those who hate; in fact, he seeks to vanquish them like the demon he is known for slaying.

As if that weren't enough to keep him busy, Ram helps Sanjana get over the hurt caused by her father and win the heart of Lakshman. He also befriends Lakshman and his mother without revealing his true identity. And, while attending classes in nerdy disguise, Ram falls in love with one of his professors, Chandni (Sushmita Sen), and can't stop himself from serenading her like a fool every time he sees her.

'Main Hoon Na' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai

Picasso had his Blue Period; Shahrukh Khan had his Sweater Phase. Khan trots them all out in 'Mohabbatein'—cable knits and fine ribs, turtlenecks and crewnecks and v-necks, in every color (although primarily white and pastels), often a second sweater flung over his shoulders. He wears a different sweater in nearly every scene and changes sweaters 10 times during the love song, "Humko Humise Chura Lo." The distinctly Western garment is perhaps as exotic in India, where such clothing is rarely needed, as saris are in the West. Sweaters suit Khan, who is not a big man and could use the heft. It became one of his iconic looks and touched off a fashion craze in India.

Khan needs all these sweaters because he's dancing in the Swiss Alps (while his co-star Aishwarya Rai is presumably freezing in flimsy saris) and walking the bleak grounds of an English manor house that's been inexplicably transplanted to India as a boarding school for boys (it's a Yash Chopra film, so geographical disconnects are to be expected).

Khan was well-established as one of the biggest stars—if not the biggest—in the Bollywood universe when he co-starred in 'Mohabbatein' with Hindi film legend Amitabh Bachchan, who dominated in the 1970s as the "angry young man" of Indian cinema but who floundered in the late 80s and throughout the 90s. 'Mohabbatein' was Bachchan's comeback—which only became possible once Bachchan gave up on the action genre that made him famous—a genre that was vanquished by romance filmmaker Yash Chopra—and gave in to the romances that Chopra had popularized in the 1990s, a genre that belonged to Khan. Bachchan was too old to play romantic leads anymore, but he found a new niche for himself in 'Mohabbatein' and other love stories that he's continued to fill and flourish in ever since—the patriarch.

In 'Mohabbatein,' Bachchan plays Narayan, a stern school headmaster, while Khan plays Raj, a teacher who breaks Narayan's strict rules. Rai plays Megha, Raj's lost love, who inspires Raj to encourage the budding romances of three students—played by newcomers Jugal Hansraj, Uday Chopra, and Jimmy Shergill, opposite debutantes Kim Sharma, Shamita Shetty, and Preeti Jhangiani. None of the six actors are impressive, especially compared to giants like Bachchan, Khan, and Rai—and none went on to have remarkable careers—and their love stories are likewise dull. But watching Khan and Bachchan go toe-to-toe with grandiose speeches about love and fear—emotions that the two actors have embodied professionally—is ample entertainment.

'Mohabbatein' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Prakash Raj, Hema Malini, Raveena Tandon, Sonal Chauhan, Charmy Kaur

Every film industry has its favorites, but no other actor in the world has quite the stature of Amitabh Bachchan, a legend who has loomed large over Hindi film for 40 years. In the last decade, though, the 68-year-old actor has been relegated because of his age to playing solemn, crusty, or wistful characters—usually a patriarch of some kind. In 'Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap,' he's a father once again, and a loving one—but wayward, as angry young men are wont to grow up to be. Bachchan resurrects the cool, tough film persona of his youth with flamboyant, ferocious punch, performed with just the right touch of self-conscious parody.

His son, actor Abhishek Bachchan, produced the film, and it's beginning to look like filmmaking, rather than acting, may be the junior Bachchan's greatest strength. His previous production, 'Paa' (2009), starred both he and his dad, and like 'Bbuddah,' the film honored the elder Bachchan by showcasing his talent—and also by emphasizing his age (and by extension, the length of his career). In 'Paa,' Amitabh plays a young boy who is prematurely becoming an old man; in 'Bbuddah,' he plays an old man who refuses to accept he is no longer young. Abhishek could have played the son in 'Bbuddah,' as he did in 'Paa,' but didn't, which put all the focus on his father.

Instead, the role of son went to actor Sonu Sood, who continues to impress, as he has in other recent supporting roles, including his villainous turn in another retro-masala 'Dabangg' (2010) and as a wronged prince in the historical epic 'Jodhaa Akbar' (2008). His assurance and considerable presence indicate the actor has even more potential yet to be tapped.

Bachchan's age as a theme is a new extension of the Amitabh Bachchan genre—and he is a genre onto himself, which 'Bbuddah' celebrates. The notion of genre is much more complex and multilayered in Indian film than it is in Western cinema. One can find in India the typical Western genres such as romantic comedy and horror—as well as many more unique ones, including hybrids. And while some Hollywood actors—mostly action stars—constitute a genre, the actor-as-genre has far more dimension in India. In the 1970s, Bachchan rose to stardom as an "angry young man," which both resonated with the socially disaffected of that time and channeled ancient anti-hero mythology.

Bollywood has been loving the 70s lately—'Om Shanti Om' (2007) and 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai' (2010), to name a few recent films harkening to that era—but not just because of the fun, garish style of the decade. There's also nostalgia for the unabashed, distinctly Indian filmmaking that flourished then—which is now roaring back.

'Bbuddah' is a raucous good time, but the story could use more meat. Bachchan's character Vijju is an ex-gangster who returns to India after decades in Paris. The reason for his return has to do with a planned mob hit on a good cop, who is trying to win the hand of a girl whose father is opposed to their relationship. Vijju reconnects with his estranged wife, played by Hema Malini, with whom Bachchan frequently co-starred in their 70s heyday, as well as more recently, as a mature couple, in such films as 'Veer-Zaara' (2004) and 'Baabul' (2006). The 62-year-old actress—Bollywood's original "dream girl" who still exudes loveliness—is well-matched with Bachchan.

There are fist fights, gun fights, chase scenes, showy musical numbers, and tears shed, and all the while Bachchan proves once again what everyone already knows—he may age, but he never gets old.

'Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap' is rated Worth Watching.

Hollywood stars Hillary Swank and Cuba Gooding Jr. were presenters at the ceremony. A-list Indian stars, including Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha Basu, Kangana Ranaut, and Shilpa Shetty, performed dance numbers for the sold-out live audience of 22,000. An estimated 700 million television viewers watched the awards gala.

'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai,' about the 1970s Mumbai underworld, had led the field with 12 nominations, including Ajay Devgn for best actor and Emraan Hashmi for best supporting actor, but garnered only one win—Prachi Desai for best supporting actress. 'Dabangg' followed with 11 nominations, including Salman Khan for best actor.

But Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn lost out—along with 'Guzaarish's Hrithik Roshan and 'Raajneeti's Ranbir Kapoor—to Shahrukh Khan for his role in 'My Name is Khan,' a love story set in post-9/11 America. 'My Name is Khan's Karan Johar won best director.

Anushka Sharma claimed the best actress award for her performance in the romantic comedy 'Band Baaja Baaraat.' The best supporting actor award went to Arjun Rampal for his turn in the political thriller 'Raajneeti.'

The IIFA awards ceremony, which honors artistic and technical achievement in the Hindi film industry known as Bollywood, takes place in a different city outside of India every year in an effort to promote Hindi cinema around the world. In past years, it has been held in London, Dubai, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, and Bangkok.

Starring Deepika Padukone, Imran Khan

Director Danish Aslam makes a respectable debut with 'Break Ke Baad,' a stylish rom-com about breaking up. At the outset, the couple is genuinely in love, but already pretty broken. Abhay (Imran Khan) does all the giving, Aaliya (Deepika Padukone) does all the taking—but it isn't her fault Abhay is dependable to a fault and frankly, boring. She wants to spread her wings and fly, but Abhay is content to coast without any purpose excepting loving the increasingly frustrated Aaliya. Call her selfish or smothered, she takes off for Australia and has the time of her life, living at the beach with carefree friends and pursuing her lifelong dream of acting. Long-distance love inevitably doesn't work out and Aaliya breaks up with Abhay—but he shows up in Australia to win her back and unwittingly figures out how to get a life.

The lead actors do a fine job, but their characters are retreads of ones they've done before—and done better. Abhay is similar to Khan's solid, steady Jai in 'Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na' (2008) and Aaliya is a lot like Padukone's independent, commitment-phobic characters in 'Love Aaj Kal' (2009) and 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' (2008). What the characters in 'Break Ke Baad' are largely missing is chemistry with each other. They seem like old pals, which they are—they've known each other since childhood—and when the story opens, their romance is several years old and very stale. They share only one brief, sexy moment—when Abhay dips his hand in henna at his sister's mehendi ceremony and runs his inky hand down Aaliya's arm. The movie needs more subtle scenes like that to show that these characters are more than buddies. Instead, we see lots of tepid embraces.

Maybe if the characters spent less time talking they'd exude more passion. Because boy, do they talk and talk and talk—all about their relationship. It's like spending an endless evening with an annoying friend who won't stop analyzing her love life. At least, the dialogue is snappy.

The lead-up to their break-up is smartly written and completely realistic—everyone has seen or experienced this kind of thing before. But the story founders once they part and become friends. Their respective paths are supposed to indicate growth, but their challenges along the way are negligible.

'Break Ke Baad' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai

Marriage and the lead-up to it, in which Indian families are deeply involved, is the basis of many Bollywood films, but this one has an engaging twist. The hero tries to win the hand of a woman who is already married.

Raj (Abhishek Bachchan) is a content bachelor living in New York. His mother wants him to get married, of course, and he's reluctant to visit India because he knows his relatives there will foist potential brides on him. His cousin tricks him into coming to her wedding in India by telling him that she's being forced into the marriage (when really she's in love with her fiancé). Raj tries to get on the first flight to Mumbai, but he can't get a seat, so he persuades a stranger at the airport, Namrata (Aishwarya Rai), to give him her ticket. Once he arrives, he realizes he was fooled, and just as he expected, the family starts pressuring him to marry.

Namrata turns out to be a family friend (who caught a later flight) and she plays matchmaker for him, arranging one disastrous meeting after another. Eventually, he realizes he wants Namrata—and then learns she's married and has a child and that her husband abandoned her before the baby was born. He's not sure what to do about his feelings and he becomes even more confused when he forges a bond with her young son, who desperately wants a father figure. When Namrata learns how Raj feels, she dismisses the possibility of them being together because she can't conceive of a second chance at marriage and because she's afraid of getting hurt again. But, when she sees how wonderful Raj is to her son and how much the boy needs him, she lets down her guard and opens her heart.

But there's an emotional disconnect between the two. The actors (who married in real-life in 2007) give fine performances, but Rai is hemmed in by the constraints of the writing. Namrata is grateful to Raj—for accepting her and her fatherless child and easing the shame of rejection—but that's the extent of the feelings she expresses for him, which doesn't make for much of a love affair.

What really drags the film down is actor Arbaaz Khan's ham-handed portrayal of her husband, Sanjeev, who reappears to spoil everything. His sinisterness is unintentionally campy.

'Kuch Naa Kaho' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor

'Milenge Milenge,' a remake of the Hollywood film 'Serendipity' (2001), struggled to make it to the big screen. It was shot in 2004 and was supposed to be released in 2005, but because of financial and post-production holdups (including the unavailability of the lead pair, whose careers were taking off and who ended their romantic relationship in 2007), the film was stuck in the can for five years. By the time it released in 2010, it was a hopelessly dated picture.

Had it come out on schedule, it might have been a mediocre entertainer and a harmless blip in the filmography of its stars, Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor. They've both certainly made worse films, including together. But Bollywood has moved on from movies like 'Milenge Milenge'—and so have the actors in question. It's impossible to view the film without this perspective.

Shahid, in particular, has matured as an actor by quantum leaps since he made 'Milenge Milenge.' At the time of shooting, he had only three films to his name. His career spiked in 2007 with 'Jab We Met,' his last film with Kareena. None of the magic they shared in that instant classic is evident here, and to watch them together without it is a huge letdown.

This silly popcorn romance begins with Priya (Kareena), a dim, shallow girl who visits a tarot card reader to learn clues about her future husband. When she meets Immy (Shahid) on a college outing in Bangkok, he matches the description—except he smokes, drinks, and lies, which are the only things she won't tolerate in a man. Only she doesn't know this about him because he's a liar who pretends he doesn't smoke or drink. Thankfully, their ridiculous fling ends quickly when she finds out he's a fraud—at the exact moment he decides he loves her and wants to live up to her standards. He insists it's their destiny to be together, so she asks him to write his phone number on a 50 rupee note, buys a book with the note, and promises to write her number in it and sell it to a used book store—if it's destiny, she says, the note will find its way to her and the book will find its way to him and they'll reunite.

She goes back to her home in Mumbai, he returns to his in Delhi, and three years pass. Her experiment obviously didn't work and they're both engaged to other people they don't love. On the eve of their weddings, they both decide to try to find each other, and the bulk of the movie is devoted to their tedious and predictable search.

'Milenge Milenge' is rated Skip.

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Rana Daggubati, Prateik Babbar, Aditya Pancholi

Goa is India's Rio, its Miami Beach, its Cancun. Its beautiful beaches and hippie party scene attract tourists from around the world. This former Portuguese colony on the Arabian Sea—the idyll and underbelly—is the star of 'Dum Maaro Dum,' which means "take a puff." But the city doesn't hog the show—the characters are prominently defined, with one big exception, and well-acted.

The film is dark and intense, filled with sex, drugs, and violence (including some shocking police brutality). But the conflicts lack pull. Part of the problem is the herky-jerky narrative structure. The separate storylines come together awkwardly, exacerbated by big dollops of backstory. The most important link between the characters is also the most tenuous. Joki (Rana Daggubati), a laidback DJ, is a contrived common denominator. His character never pops—and not because of shortcomings on the actor's part.

Joki decides to help his friend Lorry (Prateik Babbar), a 17-year-old who's in a heap of trouble—but it's never clear how they're friends, to what extent, or why, especially since Joki is obviously older and not on the same college-prep track as Lorry. Lorry has the grades to follow his girlfriend to university in the U.S., but not the money, and feeling demoralized, he starts partying hard, waking up in places he wishes he hadn't and mixing with people he normally wouldn't. He foolishly accepts an offer to smuggle drugs to the U.S. to come up with the tuition money he needs and he gets pinched at the airport. The 24-year-old actor who plays Lorry is impeccable as a scared, stupid teenager—this newcomer, in only his third film, is a star in the making.

Joki becomes Lorry's champion because he lost his girlfriend Zoe (Bipasha Basu), a half-British, half-Indian flower child, to the same fate. Zoe dreamed of becoming a flight attendant and instead ended up a drug mule for a local crime boss, Lorsa (Aditya Pancholi). After she was arrested and Lorsa got her out of jail, she was forced to become his girlfriend, and she traded in her love beads to give her new, loose-cannon lover some much-needed help with his business.

Enter Vishnu Kamath (Abhishek Bachchan), a corrupt police detective who's charged with taking down Lorsa. Bachchan dominates in the role; the actor is more assured than he's ever been.

Joki appeals to both Kamath and Zoe to help Lorry, and he becomes a vigilante on a mission to get Lorsa, which is quite a stretch for a guy who plays raves for a living.

The ending is grim and anti-climactic. It's surprising, but there's no foreshadowing of the surprise, and what's meant to be a clever revelation elicits a feeling of 'that's it?'.

'Dum Maaro Dum' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, Preity Zinta

Directed by Mani Ratnam, one of India's top filmmakers, 'Dil Se' is his third film dealing with love relationships underscored by terrorism. The first two were the award-winning Tamil films 'Roja' (1992) and 'Bombay' (1995). His trilogy is a prime example of Indian cinema's ability and willingness to depict religious and political fanaticism unflinchingly and intimately—but without sympathy—a tricky balance that Hollywood wouldn’t dare attempt.

Terrorists in Indian films are usually not two-dimensional boogeymen—they are evil, yes, but also fully developed. And they are not strange foreigners, but the friends, relatives, neighbors, and even lovers of the innocent. Indian films about the subject typically delve deeply into its complications by exploring how one keeps, loses, and potentially recovers one's humanity in the face of violence—all within the context of relationships with others.

The main character of 'Dil Se,' Amar (played by Shahrukh Khan), is an upstanding person who is genuine and open. He's a journalist for a government-sponsored radio news broadcaster in Delhi and he's sent to Northeast India, a region that's geographically isolated and ethnically distinct from the rest of the country and marked by violent political unrest, led largely by armed separatist insurgents. Amar goes there to interview terrorists leaders about their motivations.

On the way to his destination, Amar meets Meghna (Manisha Koirala), a common rural woman, at an empty train station, and she is as cold and stormy as the night. He pursues her while working on his assignment and she repeatedly rebuffs him, which only spurs him on more. He isn't dissuaded even when her brothers beat him up. He does get frustrated, though, and he becomes too aggressive with her, which causes her to have a psychological breakdown. She is not steely, it turns out, but viciously wounded, perhaps beyond repair. The revelation causes Amar's feelings for her to evolve from want to love.

After Meghna disappears, Amar returns to Delhi and his engagement is arranged to a family friend, Preeti (Preity Zinta), a playful, educated, modern young woman. She has reservations about marrying, but she and Amar hit it off. Their budding relationship is sidetracked when Meghna appears on Amar's doorstep, looking for a job and a place to stay, which Amar gives her, and a terrorist plot to detonate a bomb at the Republic Day parade develops, putting Amar and Meghna in an impossible situation.

Starring Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Mahi Gill

Director Anurag Kashyap, one of India's most exciting experimental filmmakers, flips a classic on its head with his modern adaptation of the 1917 novella 'Devdas.' Over the last century, the novella has been made into a film 12 times, in various Indian languages, including three Hindi versions. Kashyap's is the latest and perhaps the last. He scrubs the story of melodrama so that Dev's dissipation is not romantic, as in past film versions, but strictly pathological. Dev is a self-destructive narcissist, an emotional sadomasochist, a chauvinist with a madonna/whore complex. He can't comprehend the totality of women, and therefore, he's miserable. The novella is a simple story, sparsely written, and Kashyap's narrative style is likewise economical, even as his trippy visuals capture the simultaneously seductive and repellent mash-up of intoxication.

There's no trace of affection between Dev (Abhay Deol) and his childhood sweetheart Paro (Mahi Gill); they don't even seem that attracted to each other, and their failed attempts at sex couldn't be less sexy. No pillow talk here—the insults fly: he calls her ugly more than once and she mocks his manhood (rightly so—he's an ineffectual wimp). Even though he's fooling around behind her back, he dumps her when he hears she's doing the same. He later learns the rumor is false, but does nothing to stop her wedding to a man of her parents' choosing. Once Paro's marriage takes her off the market and restores her to honorability, Dev punishes himself with alcohol for letting her go. (Kashyap also adds drug use to Dev's debauchery.)

When Dev ends up in a romantic relationship with a prostitute, Chanda (Kalki Koechlin), he doesn't have sex with her either. Like Paro, Chanda is a complete person, sexuality and all, which confounds Dev and which Chanda comes to understand about herself over the course of the film. In this version, Chanda is reinterpreted—she's still the cliché hooker with a heart of gold, but here she's unapologetic about her profession. She isn't resigned to her lot; she willingly revels in it. Kashyap invents a backstory for Chanda—why she became a prostitute—a tale of sexual exploration and parental rejection. In this version, Dev offers Chanda something in exchange for the care she gives him—resolution.

In film after film, doomed love drove the forever-flawed Dev to drink himself to death over and over again. He never learned, he never changed. He was a broken record that never stopped resonating with audiences. But for Kashyap, enough was enough. After this definitive version, how could there be another?

'Dev.D' is rated Must See.

'Dabangg,' an homage to old-time masala films, received 11 nominations, including best film and best actor for Salman Khan.

'Raajneeti,' about down-and-dirty local Indian politics; 'My Name is Khan,' a love story set in post-9/11 America; and 'Band Baaja Baaraat,' a romantic comedy about wedding planners, are also up for best film.

The best actor competition also includes Hrithik Roshan in 'Guzaarish,' Shahrukh Khan for 'My Name Is Khan,' and Ranbir Kapoor for 'Raajneeti.'

The best actress field includes Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for 'Guzaarish,' Vidya Balan for 'Ishqiya,' Anushka Sharma in 'Band Baaja Baaraat,' Katrina Kaif in 'Raajneeti,' and Kareena Kapoor for 'Golmaal 3.'

Also in the best supporting actor category are Mithun Chakraborty ('Golmaal 3'), Arshad Warsi ('Ishqiya'), and Manoj Bajpai and Arjun Rampal, both for 'Raajneeti.'

Best supporting actress nominations include Amrita Puri ('Aisha'), Ratna Pathak Shah ('Golmaal 3'), Dimple Kapadia ('Dabangg'), and Shernaz Patel ('Guzaarish').

Sometimes called "Bollywood's Oscars," the IIFA awards ceremony, which honors artistic and technical achievement in the Hindi film industry known as Bollywood, takes place in a different city outside of India every year in an effort to promote Hindi cinema around the world. In past years, it has been held in London, Dubai, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, and Bangkok.

The IIFA awards will take place June 23-25 in Toronto this year, marking the first time the event will be held in a North American city.

The festival, in its 9th year, will include the world premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' Hindi production, 'Zokkomon,' on April 17. The film, a live-action adventure about an ordinary boy who finds the strength to face extraordinary challenges, is set for limited theatrical release in the U.S. on April 22 and stars Darsheel Safary in the lead along with veteran actor Anupam Kher.

Opening the festival is the award-winning 'I Am Kalam,' which marks the feature-film debut of short-film director Nila Madhab Panda. 'I Am Kalam,' the story of a young boy who struggles against the odds to get an education, stars Gulshan Grover.

The red-carpet festivities will take place on April 12 at ArcLight Hollywood, 6360 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles.

The festival is also screening Anurag Kashyap's 'That Girl in Yellow Boots,' Kiran Rao's 'Dhobi Ghat,' the romantic comedy 'Band Bajaa Baaraat,' the sci-fi fantasy 'Robot,' the social satire 'Peepli Live,' and the coming-of-age drama 'Udaan.' The world premiere of the documentary 'Big in Bollywood' is also among the lineup.

For more information on the film schedule and to purchase tickets, visit www.indianfilmfestival.org. The on-site box office opens April 8 at The Cinerama Dome, 6360 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles.

Starring John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani

A compelling, simple story about a community—the South Asians of Southall, an area of London known as "Little India"—a losing football club on the verge of demise, and a conflicted footballer grappling with his ethnic identity, 'Goal' keeps the melodrama—always a big aspect of sports films—to a minimum, for the most part, in favor of low-key realism.

John Abraham, in one of his better roles, plays Sunny—an arrogant athlete and a self-loathing South Asian. Sunny balks at his immigrant father's insistence that he accept his marginalized place in the Western world. Sunny considers himself fully British and is so embarrassed of his origins that he throws a beer bottle through the window of an Indian restaurant (he breaks his nose leaving the scene, which becomes a liability later in a decisive game). He has tons of talent and knows it, but his defensiveness about his background prevents him from being a team player. When he gets a chance to try out for a top football club, he showboats on the field and a player hurls a slur at him. He doesn't make the cut and he assumes it's ethnically motivated. Embittered, he begrudgingly joins Southall's football club, which desperately needs a star player, but he still insists on dominating at the expense of the team—which puts him at odds with the captain, Shaan (Arshad Warsi).

Shaan runs the Indian restaurant Sunny defaced and he's trying valiantly to save the football club from being shuttered (they have no sponsors or spectators because they're terrible). He hires disgraced former Southall player Tony Singh (Boman Irani) to be the coach. His sister Rumana (Bipasha Basu) is the team doctor and she gets involved with Sunny, which is another source of conflict between the two men. Shaan is also a little jealous of Sunny's ability since Shaan used to be the star of the team.

A football commentator with an underhanded agenda lures Sunny away from Southall with a lucrative contract to play for a better team, which shatters his teammates and Rumana and compromises Southall's comeback. In the meantime, Tony has to exorcise his demons from the past and Sunny's father has telling secrets that come to light.

The director, Vivek Agnihotri, has announced there will be a sequel with the same principal cast.

'Goal' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Shahrukh Khan

India's miracle-on-ice analog celebrates girl power while tackling sexism, religious prejudice, and regional rivalry in its portrayal of a fictional Indian women's national field hockey team battling enormous limitations and obstacles to reach the World Cup.

Shahrukh Khan is the only big star in the film, and he dominates it with his considerable presence. His fallen character looking for redemption, Kabir Khan, is the linchpin of the story. The rest of the casting is excellent. The women who play the athletes have little to no acting experience but are spirited performers nonetheless (and importantly, they realistically look like athletes). Their characters have big personalities and a lot to prove.

Kabir was a star field hockey player for the Indian men's national team who blew a World Cup game against Pakistan. Because Kabir is Muslim, there is false public conjecture that he deliberately missed a decisive penalty kick out of sympathy for the opposing team. The shame and harassment force Khan and his mother to leave their family home and the country in disgrace. Kabir returns seven years later to coach the ragtag women's national field hockey team and turn them into unlikely World Cup champions—in order to prove his patriotism and redeem himself in the eyes of his countrymen.

Kabir's players are his biggest challenge. Balbir is a Punjabi bruiser with an anger management problem. Rani and Soimoi are villagers who don't speak the same language as the rest of the team. Mary and Molly are from northeast India and their ethnic appearance makes them stick out. Komal, a sprite scorer, is fighting the objections of her parents to play hockey and she won't pass to her fellow forward, Preeti, who is dating a star cricket player—an arrogant heartthrob who is dismissive and disrespectful of her sports career. Bindia is the team's most experienced player and she has an enormous chip on her shoulder—she expects everyone, including the coach, to kowtow to her. Instead, Kabir benches her and makes Vidya—whose in-laws want her to be a traditional stay-at-home wife—the team captain.

Kabir is not given a love interest—a wise decision, as it would have detracted from the story. It's always refreshing to see, for a change, depictions of relationships between men and women that are not romantic or familial. Kabir works the women hard and makes himself their enemy so they'll stop competing with each other; once he earns their respect, he becomes their friend.

Predictable, yes—all sports movies are. Their enjoyment lies in the character development, as the athletes discover their inner strength, integrity, and bonds with one another in the face of adversity on the way to triumph.

'Chak De! India' is rated Must See.

Starring Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Akshaye Khanna

Don't expect anything groundbreaking from the Queen of Camp, Farah Khan—unless you count what has to be the first-ever in-utero musical number. Yes, 'Tees Maar Khan' actually features a baby dancing with sexy girls in amniotic fluid.

Outlandishness is Farah Khan's trademark, and her latest film certainly delivers on that count: the color, the costumes, the general zaniness. But what's noticeably missing is her muse: actor Shahrukh Khan.

Farah Khan is primarily known as a choreographer—she's worked in that capacity on more than 80 Hindi films and she was nominated for a Tony Award for a Broadway production. She's directed three films; her first two were the box-office hits 'Main Hoon Na' (2004) and 'Om Shanti Om' (2007), both starring Shahrukh Khan. Her style of filmmaking is perfectly suited to his style of performing. The actor doesn't appear in 'Tees Maar Khan,' but he's there in spirit—as the butt of the joke. The two have famously fallen out, and her digs at him seem too personal and mean-spirited to be funny.

Like 'Om Shanti Om,' 'Tees Maar Khan' lampoons the film industry. But 'Om Shanti Om's' good-natured ribbing belies an abiding love of movies, however silly they might be. What's more, the actors in 'Om Shanti Om' make fun of themselves instead of being made fun of by others. In 'Tees Maar Khan,' actor Akshaye Khanna plays a Bollywood star who is clearly supposed to be Shahrukh Khan.

Khanna's character, Aatish Kapoor, is furious that he turned down the chance to be in the Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' (2008). In reality, Shahrukh Khan was offered the role of the game-show host in the film, and when he said no, it went to Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor, who plays himself in 'Tees Maar Khan.' One brief scene with Anil Kapoor celebrating on stage at the Kodak Theater with a bunch of Indian kids hoisting Oscars in the air is hilarious. If Shahrukh Khan had also played himself it might have been similarly funny.

Aatish is approached by a con man, Tees Maar Khan (played by Akshay Kumar), who pretends to be an American director. Tees Maar Khan pitches a film to him that is similar to the real films 'Mangal Pandey: The Rising' (2005) and 'Lagaan' (2001)—which was nominated for an Oscar—both of which starred acclaimed actor and Shahrukh Khan-rival Aamir Khan. Desperate to win an Oscar, Aatish is suckered into the phony production and makes a fool out of himself.

This spoof-on-speed is so manic that Kumar actually dials back his normally frenetic energy, and compared to everything else going on in the film, his delivery seems downright nuanced—a word that's surely never been associated with Kumar before. But his attempt to steady the film is inundated by a tidal wave of dumb wackiness.

'Tees Maar Khan' is rated Skip.

Indian actress Mallika Sherawat also walked the red carpet—in a sequined white Mark Bouwer gown with a dramatic front slit and plunging neckline.

The Bachchans were vacationing in the U.S. and said they received a last-minute invitation to the ceremony. They attended the Vanity Fair Oscar Party later that night.

Aishwarya has appeared in several Hollywood productions. In 2007, she co-starred with this year's Best Actor winner Colin Firth in 'The Last Legion,' along with British actor Ben Kingsley.

Indian composer A.R. Rahman, known as the "Mozart of Madras" and famous for his work in Hindi film, was nominated for two Academy Awards this year, Best Original Score and Best Original Song—the latter a collaboration with British singer Dido—but lost, for his music for director Danny Boyle's film '127 Hours.' Rahman performed with Dido at the ceremony.

Rahman won a host of awards—including two Oscars, two Grammys, a Golden Globe, and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award—for his song "Jai Ho" from the film 'Slumdog Millionaire' (2008), another Boyle film, and for his contributions to the film’s soundtrack.

'127 Hours' was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but struck out in all categories.

Rahman is one of the most popular music directors in Bollywood, though in recent years he has been increasingly focusing on Hollywood projects.

Starring Vidya Balan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt

It's almost unfair to criticize a film for not being as good as the book—because they almost never are. It's simply the nature of adaptation from one medium to another—something has to be sacrificed in order to make it work. But what's sacrificed in the commercially palatable 'Parineeta'—the 2005 film adaptation of the 1914 Bengali novella of the same name by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay—doesn't have to be. What's retained, which is a superb story, nearly makes up for what's lost in the characterizations.

The author's most famous work—and the one most often adapted for film—is 'Devdas.' His romances are fraught with social complications—classic upstairs man/downstairs woman love stories—and his male characters are confounding and frustrating to say the least. They are not heroic, but compelling nonetheless because they are so very familiar. In 'Parineeta,' that man is Shekhar, the spoiled son of a rich businessman, played in the film by Saif Ali Khan. With a dashing leading man like Khan, it was obviously too tempting to turn Shekhar into a traditional romantic hero. While Shekhar behaves deplorably in parts of the film, he's a much more likable guy than he is in the book, and he redeems himself by defying his father (who conveniently dies in the book so Shekhar doesn't have to defy him) and claiming his true love Lolita (played by Vidya Balan in her impressive debut) in a way that's supposed to be dramatic but comes off as silly.

Lolita would have been a more suitable name for Lalita, as she is called in the novella. In the book, she is 13 years old and Shekhar is 25 (the ages were not atypical of couples at the time it was written). In the film, she appears to be only a few years younger than Shekhar. Her extreme youth and innocence in the former dramatically heightens their power imbalance; and her greater maturity, fortitude, and honorability—despite her age—than Shekhar creates a striking contrast between the characters. In the film, it is her relationship with Girish—played by the middle-aged Sanjay Dutt—that seems a bit unseemly. In the book, Lalita is torn between the cruel Shekhar and the kind Girin (his name in the book) over conflicting obligations. In the film, Lolita wants the hot young guy, who represents a challenge, over the dull and doughy Girish—obligations be damned. In the book, the steadfast, upstanding Lalita is the true hero.

'Parineeta' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi

The Wild-West world of 'Ishqiya' is a man's world—dusty, dangerous, full of grimy outlaws—an absurd place out of time, where only the strong survive and the unscrupulous thrive. But at the center of it is a woman—a sly, formidable woman with a secret agenda—who calls the shots and lets the men think otherwise. Debutant director Abhishek Chaubey reinvigorates the curry Western with this inventive comic caper wrapped around a mysterious tragedy.

Khalu (Naseeruddin Shah) and his nephew Babban (Arshad Warsi) are bumbling, two-bit thieves on the run from their nitwit boss, who wants to bury them alive because they ripped him off. Khalu and Babban dig their own graves, literally, more than once, but they manage to slip out of his clutches. They flee to the home of their friend Verma, a local mob boss, to hide. But Verma has been killed in an accidental gas explosion in his home, and there they find only his scarred but lovely widow, Krishna (Vidya Balan), who lets them stay with her until they can figure out how to leave the country.

Krishna immediately deduces what makes them tick—for the sentimental Khalu, it's love; for the sleazy Babban, it's sex—and in no time, she's got Khalu dreaming of happily-ever-after and Babban panting like a dog. To help them get the money they need to pay off their boss, she hatches a plan to kidnap and ransom a rich industrialist—which doesn't go according to plan. But like the hapless Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of 'Hamlet' that the two men could have been modeled after, Khalu and Babban don't realize they're merely playing a part in someone else's melodrama—Krishna's—and they're being used to achieve ends other than their own.

The story is as much of a tease as Krishna is, but the complicated machinations are revealed in due time. The engaging characters and their crackling dialogue are enviable opportunities for the actors, particularly for Balan, since intriguing roles like hers are rare for women. While Balan's dignified portrayal of the wily Krishna dominates the film, Shah, a venerable actor, and Warsi, who's been underrated in the past, have just as much impact.

'Ishqiya' is rated Must See.

Starring Priyanka Chopra, Neil Nitin Mukesh, John Abraham, Irrfan Khan, Aleksandr Dyachenko, Annu Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Vivaan Shah

Director Vishal Bhardwaj—best known for his stellar Shakespeare adaptations 'Maqbool' (2003) and 'Omkara' (2006)—turns to literature once again—this time, Ruskin Bond's short story 'Susanna's Seven Husbands'—for his latest film, '7 Khoon Maaf.' While the basis for his films often comes from elsewhere, Bhardwaj is one of the most original Hindi filmmakers today, and he outdoes himself once again with '7 Khoon Maaf.'

Bhardwaj frequently takes commercial actors and shows audiences a very different, artistic side of them. He consistently brings out the best in his performers. Sometimes, it's merely his inspired casting that makes actors look good. Either way, it would behoove big-time stars to clamor for even small roles in his films. Priyanka Chopra has been his biggest beneficiary. A beauty queen-turned-actress, she could have gone the run-of-the-mill route of so many others like her, but her performances here and in Bhardwaj's previous film 'Kaminey' (2009) have made her the far-and-away standout of Bollywood's 'belles du jour.'

In '7 Khoon Maaf,' Chopra plays Susanna, a Black Widow who's like a cross between Dickens' Miss Havisham and the terrible goddess Kali. Susanna is a wealthy orphan, who lives in a creepy Gothic house with a bunch of creepy loyal servants, and she marries and buries her husbands in an old Catholic church. From the very start, she's odd, as the rich and lonely tend to be, and her eccentricities include keeping venomous snakes as pets. She gets married seven times, killing off each of her husbands. While their deaths appear accidental, the police start to suspect her, but there's no evidence to pin the murders on her—and the local constable has the hots for her.

At its core, the film is a traditional heroine-driven romance: despite disappointments, the plucky Susanna never gives up searching for true love. But every man to whom she gives her heart fails her in spectacular fashion—and that's where the film spins out, darkly, from the formula. The men use her, abuse her, cheat on her, and crush her spirit. One tries to kill her, another begs to be her victim. She doesn't need to kill any of them to escape—she has the means to leave them—but she kills them for purgation. The murders never liberate her, however. More than the serial killings, more than the pain she suffers, it's her stubborn belief in love in the face of all evidence to the contrary that makes her increasingly insane.

Her first marriage is to Major Edwin Rodriques (Neil Nitin Mukesh), a jealous control freak who blinds one of her beloved servants—and therefore must be punished. Next, she marries Jimmy Stetson (John Abraham), a clean-cut choir boy-turned-grungy rocker who ends up addicted to drugs. The comical, campy episode with Jimmy is one of the film's best, as is her marriage to Kashmiri poet Wasiullah Khan (Irrfan Khan). Khan's graceful physicality dominates every frame he's in, and he glides like a skater from suave romantic to brutish deviant. His violence is as measured as his verse. She later marries Russian nuclear scientist Nicolai Vronsky (played by Aleksandr Dyachenko, a James Bond-looking villain if ever there was one), with whom she reenacts her own twisted version of 'Anna Karenina.'

While the first half is episodic, the second half has a much more compelling and unpredictable structure. The story's narrator—Susanna's ward Arun (played by Vivaan Shah, the real-life son of actor Naseeruddin Shah, who plays Susanna's sixth husband)—interestingly emerges from the background as he grows up and he becomes integral to the plot. The unexpected ending is perversely perfect.

'7 Khoon Maaf' is rated Must See.

Starring Hrithik Roshan, Barbara Mori

'Kites' was an unusual experiment in Hindi film: two versions were released—one for Indian audiences and one for international audiences. But the reason for the international version isn't clear, since the original was specifically made to appeal to Western sensibilities, while remaining true to the essence of Hindi cinema. The story is set in the U.S.; the actors speak English as well as Hindi and Spanish; there is only one dance scene; and the plot follows a single sequence of events—all of which help make the film accessible to non-Indian viewers. The original looks like an American film, but it feels like an Indian one. 'The Remix,' on the hand, looks and feels like an American film—which is to say, there isn't much feeling in it.

American filmmaker Brett Ratner—best-known for his films 'Red Dragon,' the 'Rush Hour' series, and 'X-Men: The Last Stand'—edited the international version. Ratner did exactly what he was supposed to do—thoroughly Americanize a Hindi film, and the result is lackluster in comparison. The only thing compelling about it is that it illustrates where Western and Indian filmmaking diverge.

The two key differences between the two versions (and between Hollywood and Bollywood) is length and the way music is used. Like opera, Hindi films are long for a reason: The time commitment heightens the audience's emotional investment in the characters as well as the characters' emotional investment in each other. Ratner edits 'The Remix' down to an hour and a half from the original's running time of 130 minutes. The development of the romance is rushed, important intimate scenes are chopped, and it therefore doesn't make sense why the lead characters risk their lives to be together.

Not that all of his edits are imprudent; he makes sensible trims in several spots, including axing one awkward murder scene. Less is often more where violence and sex are concerned, and while he gets the former right, he renders the film's only love scene less sexy by adding to it.

The film's emotional content is further gutted by Ratner's musical changes. 'The Remix' is almost entirely rescored. The original's haunting musical theme is removed, and with it, the original's powerful melancholic tone. In its place is a flat, generic score that elicits no feeling. The music of the original is crucial to conveying the extreme pain and loneliness of the lead characters and their desperation for the tiniest glimmer of love and happiness. Music is one of Bollywood's trademark qualities and its film application is best left to Indian experts.

Ratner also alters the sound mix so that the action noises are deafening and the voices muted, which requires constant volume adjustments while watching the film—an annoying problem with American movies that seems to be getting worse.

The high emotional stakes vanish in 'The Remix,' which undermines the plot, and the climax fails to devastate. Don't waste your time on 'The Remix' when the original 'Kites' is a must-see.

'Kites: The Remix' is rated Skip.

Starring Vidya Balan, Rani Mukerji

'No One Killed Jessica' relates the true story of the 1999 murder of Jessica Lal, a Delhi model who was bartending at a party at a swanky restaurant when she was shot in the head by Manu Sharma, the son of a powerful politician, for refusing to serve him a drink after last call. There were 300 high-society guests in attendance, but no one would testify to what they'd witnessed—amid evidence they were bribed and threatened—and Sharma was acquitted. Media frenzy surrounded the seven-year trial and the verdict triggered national uproar, including public protests. Because of the intense pressure, the case was eventually reviewed on appeal and Sharma was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The movie is a tepid telling, with cardboard-cutout characters, of a sensational story.

The film stars Vidya Balan as Sabrina, Jessica's dowdy but dogged sister who fights to bring Jessica's killer to justice, and Rani Mukerji as Meera, a foulmouthed TV reporter who takes up the cause. There's an old rule of thumb for actresses: if you want to win awards, go ugly—and the lovely Balan does just that, donning thick glasses and baggy t-shirts for her serious role. The impressive actress doesn't normally need to resort to such tactics, but here we see more of the top of her head than we do of her talent as she spends most of the film stooped and mumbling to convey just how different her character is from the vivacious Jessica and the bold Meera. Mukerji's portrayal of the latter's toughness is awkwardly forced.

There's nothing wrong with focusing on these particular characters and telling the story from their perspectives, but not when it's at the expense of developing the victim and killer in any sense. All we learn about Jessica is that she was beautiful and loved. All we learn about Manu is that he has a rich, well-connected father. The depiction of the murder itself is bizarrely stilted. It wouldn't have taken much to flesh out Manu, in particular, with his spoiled, self-entitled, petulant brattiness. Even one brief but penetrating scene with his father could have revealed oodles about what made him a monster—important because it was his incomprehensible behavior that made this case so shocking. He's loathsome, but the audience could have been made to hate him even more.

'No One Killed Jessica' is a missed opportunity to make what could have been a fantastic film.

'No One Killed Jessica' is rated Skip.

Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Raakhee Gulzar, Shashi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Waheeda Rehman

Say what you will about filmmaker Yash Chopra—Bollywood's evergreen romantic—but over the course of his long career as a director and producer, he hasn't flinched from exploring difficult matters of the heart—and few relationship issues are more challenging than emotional infidelity, the subject of his 'Kabhi Kabhie.'

There are nine characters, spanning two generations and including four couples and three interconnected love triangles—you need a playbill to keep it straight—all of which reflects a complicated topic that has insidiously far-reaching effects. But Chopra lingers long on the principals and stretches out their pile-up of pain and selfishness so the story doesn't feel muddled, and the measured pace never feels slow.

The title means "sometimes"—as opposed to "always," which is what love is supposed to be, but the characters aren't fully committed in their relationships because they love people from their pasts and they keep secrets in the present that prevent true intimacy with their current partners.

Amit (Amitabh Bachchan) is a poet who falls in love with his college classmate Pooja (Raakhee Gulzar). Pooja's parents arrange her marriage to Vijay (Shashi Kapoor) and neither Pooja nor Amit has the courage to defy her family, so they part ways, heartbroken. Pooja's new husband is a jovial man who's crazy about her, and she quickly becomes fond of him. Vijay happens to love Amit's poetry and doesn't know about his new wife's connection to the poet. He wonders aloud about the woman who inspired such beautiful verse and he asks Pooja to sing Amit's poetry to him on their wedding night. For the rest of his life, he remembers that night as wonderfully romantic when actually she was thinking about her former lover the whole time. They have a son, Vicky (Rishi Kapoor), a bon vivant just like his father.

Amit is less fortunate than Pooja. His heartache bankrupts him emotionally. He stops writing poetry and joins his father's construction company. He marries Anjali (Waheeda Rehman) and they have a daughter, Sweety, whom he adores—at the expense of loving his wife—and as a result, the spoiled Sweety is a complete brat.

Vicky, now a young man, falls in love with Pinky (Neetu Singh), the daughter of his father's doctor, R.P. Kapoor, and the couple gets engaged. Dr. Kapoor and his wife Shobha reveal to Pinky that she is adopted and she runs off to find her birth mother. Vicky follows Pinky, against her wishes, and he cruelly flirts with Pinky's half-sister, who is smitten with him.

None of the characters cheat sexually, but their emotional betrayal and deception are even more damaging, and these all-too-realistically flawed characters are, to varying degrees, unable to see the harm they've caused even though they themselves have been hurt.

Starring Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

No doubt about it, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali makes beautiful movies—among the most beautiful ever made. He's helmed six films; his second, 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' (1999), established his reputation for visual magnificence. The films that followed—the shimmering 'Devdas' (2002), the high-contrast 'Black' (2005), the icy blue 'Saawariya' (2007)—are aesthetically stunning. 'Saawariya' was the only critical and commercial failure, lacking, as it did, the emotional force of its predecessors. 'Guzaarish' looks just as good as the others in Bhansali's filmography, and it tries just as hard to strike an intense chord, but like 'Saawariya,' it fails mightily to stir feeling.

The film reunites Bhansali and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan—she memorably starred in 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' and 'Devdas'—and Rai and Hrithik Roshan—who set off fireworks together in 'Dhoom 2' (2006) and 'Jodhaa Akbar' (2008). 'Guzaarish' is set in Goa, a city on India's west coast that was colonized by the Portuguese. Goa has strong European influences, and many of its people are Catholic and have Portuguese names, as do the film's lead characters, Ethan Mascarenhas (Roshan) and Sofia D'Souza (Rai). The story takes place largely in a decrepit, colonial European home, and Sofia dresses like a 19th-century Portuguese woman.

The old-fashioned setting contrasts disjointedly with the contemporary legal wrangling and moral debate over euthanasia that forms the plot. The live-life-to-the-fullest theme is likewise illogical. Ethan was a famous magician who was paralyzed from the neck down during a magic trick many years before. After writing an inspirational book about overcoming his disability and hosting an uplifting radio talk show, he decides to seek legal permission to kill himself on medical grounds. His nurse, Sofia, is devastated by his shocking decision. He continues going on and on about embracing life throughout the film, when he's resolved to do anything but.

The court battle is dull; the romance between Ethan and Sofia only slightly more interesting. The biggest problem there is there's no risk in their relationship. Sofia is the abused wife of another man, so she slavishly devotes herself to someone who is incapable of beating her. While her husband has treated her as unworthy of respect, she proves her worthiness to Ethan by taking care of his every need, and he has no choice but to appreciate it. Her love for Ethan isn't tragic; it couldn't be a safer bet. But to him, their love is incomplete, and therefore unbearable, because it can never be physical. He talks about missing sex; he half-jokingly begs Sofia to show him her legs (she doesn't); he moans when she massages him even though he can't feel a thing.

It's easy to understand his torment, but he doesn't make much of a case for mercy killing when he keeps insisting life is so beautiful. And the beauty of the film doesn't redeem its incongruity.

'Guzaarish' is rated Skip.

Starring Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Ritesh Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Arjun Rampal, Boman Irani, Jiah Khan, Malaika Arora

It's hard to take slapstick as a genre seriously—it is, after all, purposely ridiculous. But going for the easy laugh is far from easy, and doing it well is certainly an art form—one that stretches from Shakespeare to the Three Stooges to the Farrelly Brothers. Actor Akshay Kumar is a modern-day Indian practitioner of it and a reminder of just how funny oft-dismissed low-brow comedy can be. Kumar's 'Housefull' is a fine example of that staple of Bollywood, the multi-star entertainer—in this case, a comedy of errors.

Aarush (Kumar) is so cursed with bad luck that his girlfriend Puja (Malaika Arora) turns down his marriage proposal on her brother's insistence. The crushed Aarush quits his job in Macau and returns to London to visit his only friend Bob (Ritesh Deshmukh). Bob and his wife Hetal (Lara Dutta) are randy not-so-newlyweds who don't appreciate their uninvited house guest. But they have a soft spot for the hapless Aarush and they manage to unload him soon enough anyway by arranging his marriage to a wealthy casino owner's daughter, Devika (Jiah Khan). Devika dumps him on their honeymoon in Italy, revealing that she had a boyfriend all along and only married Aarush to access her conditional trust fund. Aarush tries to drown himself in the Mediterranean, but is rescued by Sandy (Deepika Padukone), and the two quickly fall in love. The worried Bob and Hetal join the new couple in Italy to sort out what happened, and the foursome return to London together, where Hetal must convince her estranged father, Batuk (Boman Irani), who is visiting from India, that her blackjack-dealer husband is really a millionaire businessman, and Sandy must convince her brother, Indian military intelligence agent Major Krishna Rao (Arjun Rampal), that her unemployed, soon-to-be-divorced boyfriend is also rich and respectable. Their ruse becomes increasingly complicated as the misunderstandings and coincidences mount and they dig themselves a deeper and deeper hole of lies.

Kumar's match-up with Padukone lacks the magic he shares with his frequent comedy co-star Katrina Kaif in such films as 'Namastey London' (2007), 'Welcome' (2007), and 'Singh is Kinng' (2008). His pairing with Padukone will not be repeated in the sequel, 'Housefull 2,' said to be in the works, in which Kumar will reportedly star opposite actress Asin. Rampal will not be reprising his role either. He plays one heck of a haughty bad guy here—see also his villainous roles in 'Om Shanti Om' (2007), 'Raajneeti' (2010), and the upcoming 'Ra.One'—good as he is at it, he might be worrying about typecasting.

'Housefull' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne

Many Indian films these days try to cater to Western sensibilities in order to gain critical acclaim abroad and boost foreign box office—and these attempts usually fail. Why, then, did an unabashedly Bollywood film like 'Lagaan'—with its effusive melodrama, six musical numbers, and nearly four-hour running time—successfully capture the attention of the West and even snag an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film?

Many Americans, including this reviewer, had never even heard of Bollywood until 'Lagaan' came along. It's only the third Hindi-language film in history to get an Oscar nod—'Mother India' (1957) and 'Salaam Bombay' (1988) being the other two. 'Lagaan' was helmed by the talented Ashutosh Gowariker, who later directed the award-winning 'Swades' (2004) and 'Jodhaa Akbar' (2008), but 'Lagaan' is known as Aamir Khan's baby. The Bollywood superstar, whose acting career dates back to the mid-1980s, starred in it and produced it. It was the debut film of Aamir Khan Productions, which was since developed a reputation for selectivity, producing such well-regarded films as 'Peepli Live' (2010).

One of the reasons 'Lagaan' was appreciated in the West is—Hindi filmmakers listen up—it simply did what Bollywood does best. It is a flawlessly executed, extremely entertaining, unapologetic Bollywood-style film. However, certain factors helped make it accessible to Americans. It's set in colonial India—the period of Indian history with which Americans are most familiar. The film's theme of challenging British authority over unfair taxes is reminiscent of America's own colonial history. It takes place in a quaint rural village and its tight-knit community life smacks of small-town Americana. There are Western characters in the film, who speak lots of English, including one sympathetic British woman who acts as a kind of insert-self-here, Western-audience surrogate. But perhaps the biggest reason 'Lagaan' made a splash in the U.S. is because it's a sports-underdog story, and that is one of the few film genres in which Americans not only accept melodrama but also expect it. While sports movies are common and beloved in the U.S., they're very rare in India, making it a unique film, and it's one that sets the stakes much higher than its Hollywood counterparts—the heroes here are playing for their literal survival.

The word "lagaan" means "land tax"—although the movie is nothing as boringly political as the title suggests. It takes place in 1893 in a village somewhere in the interior of India. A British cantonment nearby, commanded by Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne), demands what amounts to protection money from the local rajas, who in turn charge villagers a land tax, or a cut of their crops, in order to pay off the British. The wicked Captain Russell capriciously decides to double the 'lagaan' in a year of prolonged drought. When Bhuvan (Khan)—a villager who provokes British soldiers whenever possible—makes fun of the game of cricket, Russell challenges him to a bet: if he and the other villagers beat the soldiers at cricket, he'll cancel the 'lagaan' for three years, but if the soldiers win, then the villagers must pay triple the amount. The villagers are furious with Bhuvan for accepting the bet, but if he hadn't, they would have been ruined by the double 'lagaan' anyway. Bhuvan has three months to rally them to play, learn the game, and train for it. Russell's sister Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley) is outraged by her brother's actions, falls in love with the studly Bhuvan, and teaches the villagers the rules of cricket on the sly. A local girl, Gauri (Gracy Singh), is also in love with Bhuvan, but another villager, Lakha, loves Gauri and tries to undermine Bhuvan's efforts to win. While preparing for the game, the villagers' pride is awakened as Bhuvan dares them to dream of freedom from enslavement to the grinding burden of 'lagaan.'

While most moviegoers in the U.S. aren't familiar with cricket, it isn't at all difficult to follow what happens in the dramatic David-and-Goliath showdown—and there isn't a red-blooded American who wouldn't get choked up over it.

'Lagaan' is rated Must See.

The 45-year-old Rahman was nominated for Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song—the latter a collaboration with British singer Dido.

The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony will take place on February 27.

Rahman won a host of awards—including two Oscars, two Grammys, a Golden Globe, and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award—for his song "Jai Ho" from the film 'Slumdog Millionaire' and for his contributions to the film's soundtrack.

At the 81st Academy Awards ceremony in 2009, 'Slumdog Millionaire,' another Boyle film, won in eight categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. Three of the awards went to Indians, including Rahman.

The film '127 Hours' tells the true story of a U.S. rock climber who cut off his own arm after being trapped under a boulder in a canyon for five days. The movie was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Rahman is one of the most popular music directors in Bollywood, though in recent years he has been increasingly focusing on foreign projects.

Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Rekha, Shashi Kapoor

'Silsila' ranks with Ingmar Bergman's 'Scenes from a Marriage' (1973) and Woody Allen's 'Husbands and Wives' (1992) as the most uncomfortably voyeuristic, claustrophobically intimate, and emotionally absorbing depictions of marital infidelity ever made. But 'Silsila' goes a titillating step further than the other two—the husband, wife, and mistress in the film were also husband, wife, and mistress in real-life, and everyone concerned knew about the affair.

Imagine if Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, and Angelina Jolie were cast in a movie about a love triangle, with Aniston playing the wronged wife and Jolie as the other woman. Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, and Rekha were their 1970s Indian equivalents. Amitabh was the biggest Bollywood star of the day, and Jaya, also a famous actress, was his wife of many years. The two had appeared in numerous films together early in their relationship, but Jaya took a break from film after having their two children (their son Abhishek Bachchan is a major Bollywood actor today). During Jaya's hiatus, Amitabh co-starred with actress Rekha in several films—and had a rumored affair with her, which was widely reported in the media.

One can only imagine why the three of them decided to make a film together—any film, but this film in particular, with a premise that so closely resembles what was supposedly going on in their real lives. Perhaps they wanted to have the final word on all the speculation, however intensely difficult it must have been for them to do. If that's the case, both women succeed at portraying themselves sympathetically. The wife, Shobha, claims the moral right to her husband, although it's highly doubtful she really loves him, and the mistress, Chandni, pleads that she's a hapless victim of love, and the intensity of her feelings for him are perfectly clear. They share few scenes together; one is the most powerful of the film—a dramatic (and likely cathartic) confrontation.

Amitabh, on the other hand, reveals nothing about himself—or perhaps everything. His character—who has the same name—never takes shape; he merely adopts various roles—like an actor (in fact, the character is a playwright). More precisely, he embodies a series of changing, superficial, singular qualities. When he meets Shobha, his brother's fiance, Amit is goofy. When he meets Chandni, he's gallant. When his brother dies and he breaks up with Chandni to marry the pregnant Shobha, he's dutiful. When she miscarries, he's attentive. When he grows bored with his marriage, he's perfunctory. When he starts hounding his former girlfriend, the now-married Chandni, he's sleazy. When they consummate their love, he's selfish. When he gets caught, he's indignant. And in the end, he becomes heroic—to both women no less.

But his final avatar is obviously disingenuous—Amit says as much. Before you knock the neat resolution and the nod to Indian family values, remember that, just before the decisive climax and after he finally leaves his wife, he suddenly cares what other people think of him and he fantasizes about marrying Shobha. Chandni has second thoughts, too. Doing the right thing, for this inconstant man, is an easy way to get out of something he didn't really want after all.

The alleged affair between Amitabh and Rekha reportedly ended with the film, and they never worked together again.

Starring Aamir Khan, Monica Dogra, Prateik, Kriti Malhotra

While the West often wrongly fancies itself classless, India tends to honestly acknowledge the reality of social strata, however harmful, and so, a serious film about class disparity by an Indian filmmaker has rich potential for insight. But what we get from 'Dhobi Ghat'—an arty, indie-feel film directed by debutante Kiran Rao, the wife of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, who stars in the movie—is a story about two privileged individuals who are exploitatively slumming—and there's not a shred of condemnation in it.

The affluent, vacuous Shai (Monica Dogra) and Arun (Khan) subscribe to the offensive notion that authenticity belongs to the noble poor who are pure in spirit, which is exactly what they find in the sweet, simple caricatures of Munna (Prateik) and Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra)—and they feed off their discoveries like vampires.

Shai is a rich American of Indian origin, an investment banker from New York City, taking a leisurely sabbatical in Mumbai. She is that all-too-common creature: the perfectly congenial and utterly self-absorbed young person. Her obliviousness is only slightly more loathsome than her sense of entitlement. She would be banal if she weren't so dangerous to those beneath her.

She thinks she's an enlightened Westerner, who is willing to dive into Mumbai's seediness armed with a camera, and she pats herself on the back for her egalitarianism when she befriends the penniless man who does her laundry. But Shai is nothing but a poverty tourist, and her snapshots are ruin porn. People like her surely don't hang out with the hired help back home in New York City, nor do they frequent Manhattan's dodgy neighborhoods, but her hypocrisy never occurs to her.

Arun is a celebrated Mumbai artist and just as high-brow as the rich patrons who come to his shows—his class is evident in his paint-splattered designer t-shirts and his crisp Queen's English. He has a one-night stand with Shai and rudely blows her off the next morning. It's implied that he's a tortured recluse, but he comes off as an immature jerk. He moves into a run-down apartment and discovers videotaped messages made by the prior tenant, Yasmin, an unhappy newlywed from the countryside who desperately misses her family. Arun's voyeuristic interest in Yasmin and his invasion of her privacy are perverse as he mines this woman's sad little life for selfish artistic inspiration.

Munna is a 'dhobi,' a man who washes other people's clothes—including Arun's and Shai's—along the ghats near the water, but he dreams of becoming a movie star and works hard at sculpting his magnificent muscles. Shai takes photos of him for his portfolio, partially undressing him for her own viewing pleasure, and in exchange, Munna lets her photograph him at work—however reluctantly, because he's embarrassed of his lowly occupation. Shai doesn't care one bit that her request humiliates him. Munna is not accustomed to bold friendliness from a woman, much less one of such a higher station, and he falls in love with her. But she merely toys with him like a plaything and then throws him away when she's had enough.

Munna and Yasmin are objects of pity, an insulting emotion that overrides the film. The melancholic musical score conveys that the intersection of these four people is supposed to be wistfully romantic, when really it's despicable.

'Dhobi Ghat' is rated Skip.

In her first international project, Basu will play a Maratha warrior and the love interest of Hartnett's character, a British soldier. The film is an epic time-travel romance set in both 18th-century colonial India and the present day.

'Singularity' also stars former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko and Star Trek star Chris Pine.

The project has been in the works for more than a decade and Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai and Vivek Oberoi as well as Hollywood actor Brendan Fraser were previously rumored to be connected with the film.

Joffe has directed such films as 'The Killing Fields' (1984), about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, and 'City of Joy' (1992), about Kolkata's slums, which starred Indian actors Shabana Azmi and Om Puri and American actor Patrick Swayze.

Reportedly, musical numbers will be eliminated and melodrama tempered for the version shown to moviegoers outside India.

'Don 2' is directed by Farhan Akhtar, who also helmed the first installment 'Don: The Chase Begins Again' (2006), a box-office hit and a remake the 1978 Hindi cult classic 'Don,' starring Amitabh Bachchan.

In the upcoming sequel, the main character Don, an Indian mob boss, sets out to take control of the European underworld. The film was shot in Berlin, Germany.

Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, and Om Puri will reprise their roles from the 2006 film; Lara Dutta and Kunal Kapoor will play new characters; Hrithik Roshan will make a cameo appearance.

'Don 2' will compete globally with the fourth installment of the 'Mission Impossible' series, which releases one week before 'Don 2.' Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor plays a villain in the Tom Cruise-starrer.

International versions of Bollywood movies are not new. An English version of the Hrithik Roshan-starrer 'Kites,' which released in May 2010, was edited for Western audiences by American filmmaker Brett Ratner. 'Kites' garnered rare praise for a Hindi film from Western critics and it cracked the North American box-office top 10 during its opening weekend.

Khan's upcoming superhero film 'Ra.One,' also starring Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal, will release in October 2011. The release of two Khan films so close together is unusual for the actor, who has, in recent years, released only one film a year. 'Ra.One' was originally scheduled to hit theaters in June 2011, but was pushed back because of extensive post-production work.

Khan will play the villain Van Adder in the as-yet-untitled 'Spider-Man' film, which is expected to release in July 2012. In 'Life of Pi,' which is about a boy adrift in a lifeboat with a tiger, Khan will play the main character Pi as an adult. French actor Gerard Depardieu has been cast in 'Life of Pi' as Chef; Bollywood actress Tabu is in talks to play Pi's mother.

In his two decades in Bollywood, Khan has established himself as a character actor par excellence, and in recent years, he has quietly become the most successful Bollywood actor to crossover to the West with appearances in the English-language films 'The Namesake' (2006), 'A Mighty Heart' (2007), 'The Darjeeling Limited' (2007), 'Slumdog Millionaire' (2008), and 'New York I Love You' (2009). Khan recently appeared in the American HBO series 'In Treatment.'

Starring Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Director Ashutosh Gowariker—who helmed the Oscar-nominated 'Lagaan' (2001)—transports audiences to another world—a world of courtly romance, legendary battles, and palace intrigue—the 16th-century world of one of history's most fascinating figures, the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great. But 'Jodhaa Akbar' is more than a lavish period piece with sumptuous sets and rich costumes and more than a love story between captivating characters. Its focus is the Muslim emperor's noble goal of religious tolerance—which was the impetus for his conquest of the Indian subcontinent and his marriage to the Hindu princess Jodhaa.

Akbar the Great was one of the most progressive leaders the world has ever known, and under him, Indian culture flourished. His marriage to Jodhaa—an important political alliance—is an historical fact, but her actual name is a matter of dispute and the details of their relationship are unknown. It's unlikely that they actually shared a great love, as the film purports, given that Akbar had hundreds of wives and concubines and Jodhaa was not even the first among them—a reality the film completely ignores. But no matter—the film's message that differences can be transcended by respect is a powerful one, sadly all too relevant today, and their marriage, loveless or not, was an important first step in making religious solidarity his public policy.

The early years of Akbar's reign are the subject of the film. Akbar (played by Hrithik Roshan) is a young man who has been king since he was a child. He dismisses his regent and assumes control of the government, but he's unsure of himself. While praying, Akbar has an epiphany about how to unite the religious factions in his empire and he makes the controversial decision to marry a Hindu princess. Jodhaa (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) is resistant to the idea, but she agrees to the marriage because he's going to let her keep her religion.

Akbar is soon besotted with his feisty, willful bride, but Jodhaa doesn't feel the same way and she keeps him out of her bedroom. He tries to coax her into consummating their marriage by patiently earning her trust and—the film isn't all earnest idealism—by showing off his incredible body. Meanwhile, palace insiders, who would like the country to remain religiously divided, keep trying to drive them apart.

The later years of Akbar's reign—and his contentious relationship with his son Salim—are the subject of the Bollywood classic 'Mughal-E-Azam' (1960), starring Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Prithviraj Kapoor.

'Jodhaa Akbar' is rated Must See.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit

At the time of its release, 'Devdas' was the most expensive Bollywood film ever made—and every rupee shows. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali—whose prior film 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' (1999) and later project 'Saawariya' (2007) were equally lavish productions—spared no detail here, from the costumes to the choreography. The sumptuous sets literally shimmer, enhanced by artful cinematography.

But what's most engaging about the film is its wrenching story of separated lovers. Not a new story, to be sure, but a magnificent melodrama all the same and one that's more emotionally complicated than most stories about parental opposition to love.

The novella 'Devdas' was written in 1917 by esteemed Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, and it's so beloved by Indians it has been made into a film 12 times, in various Indian languages, including three Hindi versions. This adaptation features Shahrukh Khan as the doomed Devdas, Aishwarya Rai as his childhood sweetheart Paro, and Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi, a courtesan with a heart of gold.

Devdas is a young man who returns home to Bengal after spending 10 years in London completing his education. He has the self-assurance, even arrogance, that comes with privilege, a quality that turns into attitude around his stern father. His mother can't wait to fuss over him, but he rebuffs her by seeking out Paro the minute he gets back. Their decade apart has turned their fondness into ardor, but they play coy. Their withholding is even a little cruel, which forms the basis of their romance: they love the pain they cause each other, which started with their separation and escalates over time into devastating, life-wasting tragedy that is, despite their parents, largely their own doing.

Paro's mother, Sumitra, has always dreamed of her daughter marrying Devdas, but his family would never consider it because Paro is beneath their social rank. When Sumitra makes her wishes known to his family, his mother humiliates her in public with her rejection, and Sumitra vows to marry Paro to someone who is far richer than they are. Paro goes to Devdas in the middle of the night, assuming he'll find a way for them to be together, but he's uncomfortable with her bold, honor-jeopardizing move. His father catches them together and insults her. Devdas leaves home in a fit of anger, leaving Paro behind. He writes her a letter, ending their relationship, but soon regrets it and returns to her home on her wedding day to another man, swearing he'll convince his father to let them marry. She rejects him to punish him for what he did and marries a wealthy aristocrat, a widower with grown children who plans to stay faithful to his dead wife.

The anguished Devdas proceeds to drink himself to death in a brothel, where Chandramukhi, a prostitute who loves him, takes care of him with no hope of ever being loved in return. Paro befriends her and tries to help Devdas to no avail. Things get worse when Paro's despicable son-in-law, who frequents the same brothel, decides to cause trouble for the three of them, estranging the love triangle. The ensuing suffering is exquisite.

'Devdas' is rated Must See.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, Salman Khan

Ah, guilty pleasures—filmmaker Karan Johar is the master of them. KKHH, as it came to be called, was the first of several Johar films, also known by acronyms, that sucked in audiences, often despite themselves, with gobs of sappy love.

The film reunited popular onscreen couple Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, who had created a sensation with their previous pairing in 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' (1995) and later co-starred in two more of Johar’s films, 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' (2001) and 'My Name Is Khan' (2010). Kajol's cousin, Rani Mukerji—who was somewhat new to the industry at the time and later became a big star, often appearing opposite Shahrukh Khan—had a supporting role in KKHH, along with heavyweight Salman Khan. Johar's directorial debut is the only film he's helmed that's set entirely in India.

The story involves two overlapping love triangles—first between tomboy Anjali (Kajol), big-man-on-campus Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) and the dean's sophisticated daughter Tina (Mukerji), and then between Rahul, Anjali, and Anjali's fiancé Aman (Salman Khan).

Anjali and Rahul are best friends in college. They play sports together and good-naturedly give each other a hard time. Anjali teases him about all the ridiculous girls who flirt with him—she sees herself as better than them. She doesn't realize that she loves Rahul until Tina arrives on campus from London and captures Rahul's attention in a way the other girls at school haven't. Tina is feminine, polished, and hard to get. Not too hard, though, for Rahul, who's a catch himself. Knowing she can't compete with Tina, Anjali leaves school without ever confessing her feelings to Rahul, and Rahul and Tina later marry and have a baby.

Tina dies shortly after childbirth, but not before naming her daughter Anjali—after Rahul's long-lost friend—and leaving letters behind instructing her daughter to find her namesake and reunite her with Rahul, who will be in need of her love. Rahul is a wonderful father to the young Anjali, who grows up to become an adorable eight-year-old on a matchmaking mission. Rahul has had opportunities to marry over the years, but turned them all down. However, little Anjali refuses to fail her dead mother—even though the adult Anjali is no longer available.

The characters are searingly memorable, and Johar's signature style is set right from the beginning with a film that swept the major awards and became a cult classic.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher

'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,' or DDLJ as it's known, is the longest-running Indian film in history—it released in 1995 and it's been continuously playing ever since (one theater in Mumbai still has daily showings). The title has an old-fashioned ring to it—it means "The Brave-Hearted Will Take the Bride"—but it's about reconciling the past with the future. It captures a moment in time—the mid-1990s—when India liberalized its economy and opened its doors to the world, and with it came tremendous social and cultural change as Indian tradition clashed with Western modernity. Suddenly, Indians weren't just Indians, but world citizens like never before. The reason the film's appeal is so enduring is because India is still negotiating those changes and the film's main character, Raj, resolves those issues of identity within himself.

Actor Shahrukh Khan's portrayal of Raj catapulted him to superstardom—where he remains to this day—arguably the most famous actor in the world. When the film released, Khan had been in the business for three years and already had more than a dozen decent films to his name, but he was known primarily for his villainous roles. DDLJ not only made him a star, it also turned him into the quintessential romantic hero. His character became an archetype for future Bollywood heroes—brash, hip, and Westernized, but also upstanding and distinctly Indian. Gone was Hindi cinema's street-tough, angry young man of old—the new hero was cosmopolitan, privileged, and proud of his roots.

Khan was paired with actress Kajol—for the second time (the first was in their 1993 hit 'Baazigar'), but this outing made them a legendary onscreen couple, and they went on to co-star in the hits 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' (1998), 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' (2001), and 'My Name Is Khan' (2010).

DDLJ was a film of firsts. Aditya Chopra, the son of filmmaker Yash Chopra, made his directorial debut with DDLJ—at the age of 23. The movie also firmly established a new and important audience for Hindi cinema: non-resident Indians, NRIs as they're called, Indians who live outside of India. Today, many Bollywood films are specifically made and marketed with this audience in mind.

The main characters, Raj and Simran (Kajol), are NRIs living in London. Raj wears a leather jacket, drinks beer, drives sports cars and motorcycles. He's a terrible student, a great athlete (at Western sports), a bad boy with a good heart. His rich dad loves him to pieces and spoils him rotten. Simran is more traditional, a sweet and sensible girl from a middle-class family. For the most part, she obeys her strict parents, who plan to ship her off to the Punjab to marry the son of a family friend, even though she dreams of romance.

Raj and Simran meet while vacationing with their friends in Switzerland—a literal and symbolic escape from the strictures of family, where they break loose and indulge in some fantasies. Theirs is not a new story—boy falls in love with girl who is about to be unwillingly married to another. But Raj refuses to do anything as deceptive as elope—the love of a virtuous Indian woman makes an honorable man out of him. The action moves to India in the second half, where Raj sets out to win the approval of Simran's family—and her stern father couldn't be a tougher nut to crack. The couple believes that old and new ways can co-exist—by choosing each other and then earning their parents' blessing. Raj and Simran become different people, better people, because of it.

Starring Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kohli, Luke Kenny

Movies about rock bands are old fare in the West, and they follow a predictable formula that mirrors the reality of many rock bands: struggle, success, conflict, breakup, downfall, redemption. 'Rock On!!' is a movie in the same vein, but it's unusual for an Indian film, and it has a freshness and innocence that comes with its rarity.

It's an unlikely film because the movie and music industries in India are essentially one and the same. Commercial music in India is dominated by pop songs produced for films. Rock truly is alternative music in India, whereas in the U.S., it's mainstream, even though in the 1990s, when this film is set, it was called alternative. This Bollywood production criticizes so-called filmy music, and the pressure to become filmy in order to succeed is central to the conflict.

Unfortunately, the music in the film isn't great, by rock or filmy standards. Far from edgy, it has a strong pop quality—kind of rock-lite. But it's a minor detraction, given that the film gets everything else about a band movie right, from the requisite broken-dream trajectory to the authentic look of the grungy scene.

But the film's biggest strength is Arjun Rampal as the band's lead guitarist, Joe. Tall, lanky Rampal, with his soulful eyes and tousled mane, could have strolled off set and onto a stage at Lollapalooza. His character is sensitive, brooding, explosive—the heart of the band—and Rampal snagged a National Film Award for his emotional performance.

Joe's best friend, the band's frontman and leader, Aditya (Farhan Akhtar), is the opposite of Joe—he's pragmatic, calculating, and driven. Akhtar is the acclaimed director of such films as 'Dil Chahta Hai' (2001) and 'Don: The Chase Begins Again' (2006), and here, he makes an impressive acting debut.

The story begins 10 years after the band has broken up. Aditya is now a rich investment banker—and cold to his lonely, pregnant wife Sakshi (Prachi Desai). Joe is a poor music teacher, unhappy in his marriage to Debbie (Shahana Goswami), a bitter fishmonger struggling to take care of her failure of a husband and their young son. The other bandmates, K.D. (Purab Kohli), who runs his family's jewelry business, and Rob (Luke Kenny), who composes ad jingles, are wistful about what might have been.

When the bandmates cross paths again, the story of their heyday as up-and-coming rockers is told in flashback as they struggle in the present to reconcile the past.

'Rock On!!' is rated Worth Watching.

Kapoor will reportedly play a significant role in 'Mission Impossible 4'—likely to be the last of the action franchise—which is expected to release in December 2011. Cruise will be reprising his character from the previous installments.

Kapoor played the game-show host in 'Slumdog Millionaire' alongside fellow Bollywood star Irrfan Khan and newcomers Freida Pinto and Dev Patel. The Danny Boyle-directed film won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Kapoor played a fictional Middle-Eastern leader in the final season of the action-drama '24,' which starred Kiefer Sutherland and concluded in 2010.

Kapoor, 50, has been an award-winning film actor in India for decades. He made his debut in 1979. He was arguably the hottest star in Bollywood in the late 80s and early 90s. His most recent Hindi hits include 'Race' (2008) and 'Welcome' (2007).

Starring Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Danny Denzongpa

Romantic fantasy, epic quests, the clash between good and evil, outlandish costumes—what took Indian cinema so long to do science fiction? The two make perfect sense together. 'Robot'—the most expensive Indian film ever made—is a glorious step into the future of sci-fi reinterpreted.

It's not the first Indian science-fiction film, but there haven't been many—and mostly of the alien and superhero varieties. 'Robot,' on the other hand, focuses on the most elemental sci-fi fixture, which is fitting, given that the film is sort of a first of its kind. Why not begin where the genre began—with a scientist trying to make a human out of a machine, a story that goes all the way back to Frankenstein?

'Robot' was nearly a decade in the making. Award-winning Tamil director Shankar, known for big-budget films, announced the project back in 2001, but it took years to put together the massive financing needed for it. Which was probably for the best, since it allowed time for special effects to develop. There's been some disastrous CGI in Indian movies in the past, but the effects in 'Robot' are polished like a gem.

Bollywood stars Preity Zinta and Shahrukh Khan were, at different times over the last 10 years, reportedly signed on for lead roles in the film. Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra, and Deepika Padukone were also reportedly considered for the leads. By the time shooting began in 2008, Shankar had settled on Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan—both actors with which he'd previously worked—and he couldn't have chosen better.

Rajinikanth is a superstar in Tamil cinema—which is distinct from Bollywood. The Tamil-language film industry, sometimes referred to as Kollywood, is based in the Kodambakkam district of the city of Chennai. Bollywood films are made in Hindi by the film industry in Mumbai. This particular film was released as 'Enthiran' in Tamil and 'Robot' in Hindi. The wildly popular, 60-year-old Rajinikanth plays a double role as a science professor and his robot—a triple role really, since the robot has two personas—a "version 2.0" that emerges later.

Bollywood's Bachchan plays a few different versions of herself as well, or rather overplays them. But overdone is a virtue in a film like this. Here, she is alternately a put-upon girlfriend, a bubbly college student, a sex kitten, and a damsel in distress—and she shape-shifts from one to the next almost like a computer-generated figure. For good or bad, Bachchan's appearance is always part of her performance—and if anyone could make a machine feel love, it would be her.

The art direction is retro-futuristic. There's a subtle 1960s Jetsons aesthetic, a hint of British-mod innocence, a feeling of Eisenhower Eden—back when little boys imagined wearing jet packs someday and the American president talked of going to the moon. The robot, named Chitti, even sports an Elvis bouffant and beatnik turtlenecks.

Everything about Chitti is cool. He can cook, dance, fight bad guys, save lives from burning buildings, even deliver babies. He knows the answer to every question and his literal understanding of human speech, which gets him into trouble, makes him funny. Even though he's completely stiff, he's utterly endearing—a testament to Rajinikanth's charisma. Chitti is a much better companion to Sana (Bachchan) than her boring, neglectful boyfriend, Chitti's creator, Dr. Vaseegaran. After Dr. Vaseegaran programs Chitti with the capacity to feel emotions, the suddenly smitten robot competes with his maker for Sana's affections. Meanwhile, the professor's jealous mentor Bohra (Danny Denzongpa) wants to steal Chitti's technology to develop his own robots for evil purposes.

What follows is a visually spellbinding, adrenalin-overloaded man-versus-machine showdown. But it isn't all technical spectacle. Great sci-fi is really about human nature, and 'Robot' has plenty of heart.

'Robot' is rated Must See.

Starring Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Rishi Kapoor, Upen Patel, Javed Sheikh, Clive Standen

Their first film together—'Humko Deewana Kar Gaye' (2006)—was a disappointment, but Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif sparkled in 'Namastey London'—her first major hit and his first of four hits in 2007, including another with Kaif later that year, 'Welcome.' They co-starred in the blockbuster 'Singh is Kinng' the following year. But 'Namastey London' remains their best outing together—and one of Kaif's best films.

In only her fifth Hindi movie, Kaif's still a little green, but her promise starts to show here. She plays Jasmeet, who goes by the nickname "Jazz," a London-born girl with India-born parents. With her mother's encouragement and to her father's dismay, she's thoroughly British—in the way she thinks, dresses, and socializes. The role was likely not a stretch for Kaif, who is half-British herself and was raised in the West.

Actor Rishi Kapoor as Jasmeet's father, Manmohan, nearly steals the show. He's no stern villain who only sees his daughter as a reflection of his own honor. Rather, he's like most dads—caring, concerned, struggling to let go of his adult child, worried she's making the wrong choices (which she is), and completely at a loss about what to do about it. Sick of dragging his drunk daughter out of clubs and horrified that she's engaged to her thrice-divorced boss, Charlie (Clive Standen), Manmohan tricks Jazz into going on a family vacation to India with the intention of marrying her off to an Indian while they're there. He thinks he's doing what's best for her when he betroths her to a rural rube, Arjun (Akshay Kumar).

Back home, Jasmeet's friend Imran (Upen Patel) is disowned by his Pakistani father, Parvez (Javed Sheikh), for moving in with his girlfriend Susan. When Imran gets a desperate call from Jazz in India, he advises her to go along with the wedding—because God only knows what her brutish fiancé might do to her if she refuses—return to London, and point out to everyone that the marriage isn't legal in the UK, and then no one can force her to do anything. Which is exactly what she does—and then proceeds with her wedding plans to Charlie.

But it turns out that Arjun is a good guy who really loves her and he sets out to win her heart by letting her go and being her friend, with the hope that she'll pick him once she gets to know him. Charlie is such a jerk that even his own father tries to warn her off and Arjun cherishes her so honorably that it's hard to understand what takes her so long to make up her mind.

'Namastey London' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Imran Khan, Sonam Kapoor

'I Hate Luv Storys' is a story about story—the process of story, why stories matter, the truth about life found in them. It's a defense of love stories, even as it pokes fun at their corniness. But this love story is a pale, muted version of the great Bollywood love stories of old, and while it aims to romanticize, it ultimately disparages.

Jay (Imran Khan) hates love stories. He wants to be a film director and he's working as an assistant to a big-time Bollywood director, Veer (Samir Soni), who is famous for his love stories. Jay hates his job, but he needs to pay the bills and pad his resume. Since his heart's not in it, he's always screwing up and on the verge of getting fired. Jay also hates love in general—he doesn't believe in relationships and he sleeps around.

Simran (Sonam Kapoor) loves love stories. She's an art director working on the same movie as Jay. She loves her job and is quite good at it. She has a picture-perfect relationship with her lovey-dovey boyfriend, Raj (Sameer Dattani), a button-cute investment banker, although there's clearly no real physical passion or emotional intimacy between them.

Obviously, Jay and Simran do not get along. Their respective professions inform their characters and their viewpoints on love. As an art director, Simran is concerned with the appearance of love, its beauty, the enchanting surface of it. As a hopeful director, Jay objects to love and love stories because he sees them as predictable plots. Likewise, Jay criticizes Simran's relationship with Raj because it's boring—there's no challenge, no conflict, no risk—none of the things that make a good story, or for that matter, a meaningful life. Of course, they represent all of those things to each other without realizing it. They're both fixated on the outcome of love stories, with different feelings about it, instead of what it takes to get there. They're both scared of what real love demands and they're trying to avoid it in different ways. Their love story has a promising start and could have appropriately ended halfway through the movie—instead it drags tediously through the pointless second half.

The film is filled with actual clips from romantic classics, recreated scenes from romantic classics, and songs and lines from romantic classics—to the point of overkill—as if these alone could carry the film. The irony is that 'I Hate Luv Storys' was produced by Karan Johar, who has been involved as a producer, director, writer, and actor in many of those same classics. He's helped define the film conventions that make Bollywood love stories so loved. But here, those conventions are reduced to a list of clichés—a literal list that one character checks off as the film progresses. Has Johar finally internalized what his detractors have been saying all along? Or is he not a romantic at all, but rather, a jaded wizard behind the curtain? 'I Hate Luv Storys' is as disillusioning as it is dull.

'I Hate Luv Storys' is rated Skip.

Starring Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Mugdha Godse, Arjan Bajwa, Samir Soni, Ashwin Mushran, Kitu Gidwani, Arbaaz Khan

It's an old story—a small-town girl with big dreams of supermodel stardom. And it's no revelation that there's a dark side to fashion. Sexually-degraded, drug-addled models have been depicted in film plenty—but not so much in India. The 2008 release of 'Fashion'—an exposé-like cautionary tale about the industry there—was well-timed. Indian models have been emerging on the world stage as never before—globally, they've become de rigueur on catwalks and commercials in recent years. And the two leads in 'Fashion'—actresses Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut—produce forceful, renewed insight into just how ugly the beauty industry is with performances that swept all the major film awards.

The director Madhur Bhandarkar is known for hard-hitting realism and gritty topics. Marginalized figures, such as women and gay men, populate his films, and in fact, most of his stories are told from the perspective of a female protagonist. The main character in 'Fashion' is Meghna, played by Chopra, a middle-class girl who quickly compromises her middle-class values as soon as she lands in Mumbai with a chaste, cheesy portfolio that gets her nowhere. She's no wide-eyed wimp—she was tough enough to tell off her unsupportive parents and leave home, and it's her aggressive confidence that gets her attention—but she's not comfortable when she has to get risqué to get ahead. Nor does it sit well with her when she has no choice but to move in with a male roommate, fellow struggling model Manav (Arjan Bajwa). He's a true friend, though, and they end up in love.

Meghna's also got an aspiring fashion designer, Rohit (Ashwin Mushran), in her corner, along with another wannabe model, Janet (Mugdha Godse). Janet doesn't have what it takes to make it big, but she has a big heart, and when her kind, gay college buddy, Rahul (Samir Soni), a top fashion designer, asks her to marry him for appearances, she accepts the comfortable life he offers.

Meghna aligns herself with the wrong people, however—Anisha (Kitu Gidwani) and Sarin (Arbaaz Khan), who head a top modeling agency. As Meghna starts rising to the top, she plants the seeds of her eventual fall—sleeping with her married boss, drinking heavily, becoming cruel and cocky, burning bridges left and right.

Chopra's deft emotional handling of a character on an identity roller-coaster ride is matched only by Ranaut's explosive portrayal of Shonali, a supermodel already on her way out and an unbearable, abrasive drug addict in an abusive relationship. Ranaut has made a name for herself playing trainwrecks—in 'Gangster' (2006) and 'Life in a…Metro' (2007), for example. Ranaut does unhinged with such skill that she's in danger of becoming typecast. For the purposes of this movie—in which she plays an unstable showstopper—she is the showstopper.

'Fashion' is rated Must See.

The film is a black comedy about a debt-ridden farmer who creates a media frenzy when he announces that he will commit suicide so that his family can receive government assistance. The film is the debut of director Anusha Rizvi, a former journalist. There are no big-name stars in it.

If nominated, 'Peepli Live' will compete in the Best Foreign Language Film category—and it won't be the first Khan film to do so. Khan's first film as a producer, 'Lagaan' (2001), in which he starred, was nominated for an Academy Award—it was only the third Indian film in history to get an Oscar nod.

'Peepli Live' beat out such short-listed Bollywood films as 'Paa,' 'Raajneeti,' 'My Name is Khan,' and 'Three Idiots' to become the official entry.

'Peepli Live' was screened earlier this year at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Sundance Film Festival. It released worldwide in August.

Starring Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal

A broken family, a dying mom, cute kids, and buckets of tears—you'd think a remake of the American film 'Stepmom' (1998), starring Susan Sarandon, Julia Roberts, and Ed Harris, would be right in the wheelhouse of filmmaker Karan Johar. But not so.

Johar's known for making wonderfully maudlin films about family, and his movies are usually set in the West. In addition to directing his own films, he frequently produces the films of debutant directors—as was the case with 'We Are Family'—and his influence on his fledglings is always abundantly evident.

'We Are Family' is set in Sydney, Australia, but the location has no relevance to the story, and the Western locale makes it even more similar to the original than it already it is. In fact, it's close to being an exact copy—so what's the point of doing a remake? And where it diverges is disastrous. Worst of all, the emotion you expect in a Johar film is missing. The characters' actions are perfunctory, not heartfelt. And even though everyone here is supposed to be so noble—with all their sacrifices for others—their behavior is shockingly irresponsible, especially because there are kids involved. While the characters in 'Stepmom' are forgivably flawed, the ones in 'We Are Family' are thoughtlessly selfish.

For starters, the father, Aman (Arjun Rampal), makes the insensitive decision to introduce his girlfriend Shreya (Kareena Kapoor) to his three children, with no warning to them, at his young daughter's birthday party, thereby ruining it. Then, he saddles Shreya with looking after the kids when they barely know her. When his ex-wife Maya (Kajol) tells Aman she has cancer, he dumps Shreya, without telling her why, and moves back in with Maya, without telling their children why—cruelly leading them to believe their parents have reunited as a couple. When they finally come clean with the kids, Aman promises them that Maya won't die, even though the doctors say otherwise. Shreya re-enters their lives when Maya realizes she would be a good replacement for her after she's gone, and Shreya bribes the kids into liking her with toys, sweets, and privileges.

The gender dynamics here are completely reactionary. While children are, of course, better off with a mother than without, these kids do have a father and the pervading assumption throughout the film that he can't possibly take care of his own kids without the help of a woman is insulting. Not that Aman cares—he's firmly entrenched in his retro-role of domestically useless male. Even though Maya is dying and he moves into her home ostensibly to take care of her, she continues to handle all the chores and child-rearing. Aman doesn't lift a finger around the house, except to hand her a glass of water to wash down her pills.

That scene, however, is the film's best moment. On Aman's first night back, Maya gets into bed and arranges the pillow next her, unsure if Aman will be joining her there—and she's somewhat both apprehensive and hopeful. When he comes to her side and gives her the medication, she grabs his hand—in gratitude for his return and also, perhaps, in tentative invitation. He squeezes back, perceiving as only a spouse can, but lets go. The painful ambiguity lingers long after the scene is over.

Where Aman ends up sleeping is never shown, even after Shreya moves into their home for parenting boot camp, with Maya as the impossible-to-please drill sergeant. The weird living arrangement, and the even weirder training of a mom-replacement, is unsettling and morbid.

These children don't need a mother; they need a therapist.

'We Are Family' is rated Skip.

Starring Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Sonu Sood, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia

If you ever wondered about the appeal of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan—and for some, it is a matter of wonder—'Dabangg' makes it loud and clear why he's had a fanatical following for more than two decades.

While most actors strive to challenge themselves with diverse and difficult roles, many get pigeonholed nonetheless by audience expectations and/or their own limitations. While the latter doesn't apply to Khan, the former certainly does. He's made a career out of playing simple, macho, and usually shirtless heroes—and the masses love his shtick for the fun, lowbrow entertainment that it is. We've seen, at times, an intriguingly complicated Khan on-screen—more like his real-life persona—but unfortunately, he usually gets punished for it at the box office. Now middle-aged, Khan seems to have resigned himself to his lot and wholeheartedly embraced what made him famous.

His character in 'Dabangg,' Chulbul Pandey, is a cop in dusty, rural India. He's corrupt, but he only steals from bad guys—his brand of justice, you might say—and he gives them a thrashing to boot. His overriding quality is likeability. He's always good for a laugh, even when he's kicking butt. Khan doesn't overplay the character; he revels in it. He's never visibly enjoyed a role more. And watching him pour himself into the part is a hoot.

The film borders on spoof; parts are purposely ridiculous and cartoonish. But mostly, it's a celebration of old-time masala—that heady, over-the-top mix of action, romance, comedy, and melodrama for which Bollywood is best known, but a style that has become tempered in recent years.

The fight scenes are the film's best moments—as tightly, pleasingly choreographed as the musical numbers—even more so. 'Dabangg' is otherwise marred by a paper-thin plot, the best jokes are overdone, and the romance is hindered by the unimpressive debut of actress Sonakshi Sinha, who frowns her way through her performance.

The other actors deliver a mixed bag. Dimple Kapadia and Vinod Khanna are underwhelming as Chulbul's beloved mother and hated stepfather, as is Anupam Kher in a throwaway role as a local politician. Arbaaz Khan, Salman's real-life younger brother and the producer of the film (the first for his new production company), plays Pandey's half-brother with an affecting meekness that gives the film, and the nuanced conflict between the brothers, some much-needed feeling. Sonu Sood, who plays the chief villain, is convincingly threatening, but while he physically towers over Khan, he and the rest of the cast remain in the shadow of the colossal, common man's man at its center.

'Dabangg' is rated Worth Watching.

'Do Dooni Chaar,' a family drama, will mark the first time in nearly three decades that the Kapoors, a popular onscreen pair in the 1970s, will star opposite one another. (They made a brief appearance together in 2009's 'Love Aaj Kal.') Their son Ranbir Kapoor is a rising Bollywood star.

Disney previously released a Hindi animated film, 'Roadside Romeo,' co-produced with Bollywood's Yash Raj Films, in 2008. The film featured the voices of Rishi Kapoor's niece, Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor, and her real-life significant other, actor Saif Ali Khan. It failed at the box office.

Disney is working on another Hindi live-action film, 'Zokkomon,' a superhero adventure starring child actor Darsheel Safary and acclaimed Bollywood actor Anupam Kher. The film was due out in May, but has been delayed.

Disney is also making a Telugu-language fantasy-adventure film, 'Anaganaga - O - Dheerudu,' which will release in January 2011.

"I feel very confident about our selections, as they represent a balanced view of what filmmakers want to showcase about South Asian culture, and they cover a variety of genres through features, shorts and documentaries. We chose these films based on the stories that are being told, the performances, and overall production value. For our first year, I think we have a great lineup," said Mileen Patel, the festival's programming director. "As we begin the first of many festivals to come, we invite all of Chicago to join us in celebrating our culture, and in celebrating that which brings us all closer—our community."

Kicking off the festival is the Chicago premiere and directorial debut of Deepti Naval's 'Two Paise for Sunshine Four Aanas for Rain,' starring Manisha Koirala, Rajit Kapoor, and Sanaj Naval. The red carpet event will be held on Friday, October 1 at the Chicago Cultural Center. The film's cast along with many other prominent South Asian and Bollywood celebrities will attend.

Making its U.S. premiere at the festival is Chicago native Ajay Naidu's directorial debut 'Ashes,' starring himself, Faran Tahir, Heather Burns, Piper Perabo, and Firdous Bamji. "I feel deeply honored to have my film picked for the first South Asian film fest of Chicago. I originally wanted to shoot this film on [Chicago's] Devon Avenue but couldn't make it happen. It is a very sweet homecoming for this story," Naidu said. "People should see it to know that the South Asian community is not just producing tinkerbell movies about cultural confusion but rather viable powerful stories about social issues. Ashes was very difficult to make and even more difficult to finish. I would like to share that effort with the people who are trying to tell stories through cinema. I want people to see it because it may help people get past their own guilt in the face of loss."

Screenings on October 2 and 3 will take place at Columbia College Chicago's Film Row Cinema. Select films will also be screened for free at the Chicago Cultural Center on October 2. Organizers expect about 2,000 to attend the festival.

For more information, including how to purchase tickets and festival passes, visit www.csaff.org.

Starring Deepika Padukone, Neil Nitin Mukesh

He boxes blindfolded, she's a blind dancer. He teaches her to see, she teaches him to feel—at least, that's what the movie tries, and fails, to convey. In fact, there's no feeling at all in this latest glossy romance to come out of the Yash Raj production house.

The problems begin with the casting. The elegant Deepika Padukone was perfect as the dream girl in 'Om Shanti Om' (2007) and a chic urbanite in 'Love Aaj Kal' (2009), but here she's too polished and put-together to pull off a rough-around-the-edges, working-class girl. And Neil Nitin Mukesh—who was gripping as a scared-witless college student in the terrorist thriller 'New York' (2009)—looks more like Bambi than a boxer.

That's not to say that Mukesh's dewy doe eyes and flawless bone structure doom him to play innocent boys-next-door. He's done gritty before and done it well—as a thief in the film noir 'Johnny Gaddaar' (2007) and as a tortured prisoner in 'Jail' (2009). In fact, those roles were likely deliberate moves on his part to prove he can play tough despite his appearance.

But the Yash Raj lens emphasizes Mukesh's sweet, squeaky-clean qualities—as it tends to do with everything else. The Yash Raj world is a rosy place—the colors are brighter, life more festive, and the people more charming than they are in reality. That isn't necessarily a bad thing—it can be great entertainment, which the studio has proven with many movies over the years—but when you're doing a film set in Mumbai's rough-and-tumble back streets, it feels phony. And it's a missed opportunity to capture the nuances of that microcosm.

It's a challenge to connect to such unlikely characters in a superficial setting, as evidenced by the fact that the characters don't connect to each other. The actors flounder with their static parts, and even they seem bored with the plot. Mukesh spends as much time blankly staring off into space as his co-star does.

"One Shot" Nandu (Mukesh) is a street punk in a motorcycle gang who boxes for a local crime boss. He's blindfolded in every fight and takes plenty of blows, blood gushing from his nose and mouth, before knocking out his opponents with a single punch. (Afterward, amazingly, there are barely any marks marring his pretty face.) While running errands for his boss, he accidently hits Pinky (Padukone) with his car and flees the scene. She's blinded by the accident—but that doesn't stop her for a second from pursuing her dream of getting on the TV show "India's Got Talent" with her roller-skating dance routine. Wracked with guilt but unable to confess he's the culprit, Nandu helps her adjust to blindness and becomes her dance partner. Meanwhile, Nandu's boss lords the secret over him and a dogged cop tries to find the perpetrator of the hit-and-run.

The climax is utterly predictable, but even so, the neat resolution manages to stretch plausibility.

'Lafangey Parindey' is rated Skip.

The first annual Chicago South Asian Film Festival, showcasing filmmakers of South Asian descent as well as films that represent the perspective of the diaspora, will be held October 1-3. The festival will screen 15 films, including feature-length movies, documentaries, and short films, in a variety of genres. Organizers expect about 2,000 to attend.

The festival kicks off Friday, October 1 at the Chicago Cultural Center with a red-carpet media event, followed by the opening-night film, a question-and-answer session with the director and lead actors, and an exclusive VIP gala. Screenings on October 2 and 3 will take place at Columbia College Chicago's Film Row Cinema. Select films will also be screened for free at the Chicago Cultural Center on October 2.

For a film schedule and ticket and venue information, visit www.csaff.org.

Starring Omkar Das Manikpuri, Raghubir Yadav, Shalini Vatsa, Malaika Shenoy, Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Many will say that 'Peepli Live' is not your typical Bollywood film—it is and it isn't. It shows a side of India that's grinding instead of glamorous, it's a small film rather than a larger-than-life one, and there are no big-name stars in it. But one very big Bollywood name produced it—Aamir Khan—and it is still fundamentally a Bollywood film.

The selective Aamir Khan Productions has produced less than a handful of films since its formation nearly a decade ago, including one—the company's first, 'Lagaan' (2001)—that was nominated for an Academy Award (only the third Indian film in history to get an Oscar nod), and there's a good chance 'Peepli Live' could be the next Indian film to wind up in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Oscar loves social commentaries, even if he isn't partial to comedies. 'Peepli Live' is both.

It's a darkly humorous satire about a debt-ridden farmer who creates a media circus when he announces that he will commit suicide so that his family can receive government assistance. A comedy about suicide is a tough stretch, but reaching in disparate directions is Hindi cinema's forte. In fact, this isn't even Aamir Khan's first comedy about the topic—he starred in the critically praised blockbuster '3 Idiots' (2009), a coming-of-age film about college students cracking under intense social pressure to succeed. The extreme measures of both struggling students and failing farmers are real problems (scores of farmers have killed themselves for government aid in recent years), and while '3 Idiots' takes higher education to task, 'Peepli Live' indicts politicians and the media for preying on the poor, while also making a larger statement about the callous self-interest of human beings.

The story takes place in the fictional village of Peepli (many of the actors are, in fact, amateurs from a small village in the region where the film is set). Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) is a simpleton who is about to lose his farm in foreclosure. He has a wife, three kids, an older brother—who's a good-for-nothing bachelor, presumably because of his penchant for pot-smoking—and a bedridden elderly mother—whose ranting and insults are the funniest parts of the movie. This is not a loving family and their village is not an idyllic community. The people here are nasty. When Natha turns to the local crime boss for help, the mobster jokingly suggests that Natha kill himself for the money and his brother Budhia (Raghubir Yadav) convinces him to do it. Natha's perpetually angry, suffering wife thinks it's a stupid idea—because she thinks everything Natha does is stupid. No one cares if he dies, not even his kids. And yet, this man doesn't really want to die, even though he has little reason to live. After a local reporter catches wind of his plans, the story goes national, and journalists and politicians descend on Peepli like vultures. The situation turns into a ridiculous feeding frenzy with the not-yet-dead Natha offered up for public consumption. With the whole country waiting for him to die, Natha is afraid to back out.

If you don't laugh at life—the old saying goes—you'll cry. And true to Bollywood tradition, 'Peepli Live' makes sure we do both.

'Peepli Live' is rated Must See.

The film will be directed by Canadian director Robert Lieberman, who helmed Disney's 'The Mighty Ducks 3' (1996), and stars Canadian actors Vinay Virmani and Emily VanCamp, who appears on the American TV show 'Brothers and Sisters.' Virmani, an ice hockey player, studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Kumar will not appear in the film.

Kumar has long-standing ties to Canada. He was recently named Canada's tourism ambassador to India and he will be promoting Canada as a tourist destination for Indians. He was India's ambassador to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and he carried the Olympic Torch in Toronto as part of the torch relay. In 2008, Kumar received an honorary degree from the University of Windsor for his contribution to the global growth of Indian cinema. Several of his films—including 'Bewafaa' (2005), 'Humko Deewana Kar Gaye' (2006), '8x10 Tasveer' (2009), and his upcoming picture 'Thank You'—were shot in Canada.

The parade, put on for the last 30 years by the Federation of Indian Associations, is the largest of its kind outside India. Past years' grand marshals include Shilpa Shetty, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Amisha Patel, Anil Kapoor, A.R. Rahman, and Shahrukh Khan.

Zinta made her acting debut in 'Dil Se' in 1998 and won a Filmfare Best Actress Award for 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' in 2003. Her hits include 'Koi...Mil Gaya' (2003), 'Salaam Namaste' (2005), and 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' (2006). Recently, she has ventured into art film, appearing in 'The Last Lear,' which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007. She won the Best Actress award at the 2008 Chicago International Film Festival for her role in the Canadian film, 'Heaven on Earth.' She is a part-owner of the professional Indian cricket team, the Kings XI Punjab.

The India Independence Day Parade will take place on August 15 from 1 pm to 3:30 pm on Madison Avenue from 38th St. to 28th St. An Indian cultural festival will be held the same day from 11 am to 6 pm on Madison Avenue from 26th St. to 24th St.

The Empire State Building will be lit up with the colors of the Indian flag on August 14 and 15.

India's Independence Day commemorates India's independence from British rule and its birth as a nation on August 15, 1947. It is a national holiday in India.

Starring Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol

'Aisha' is a Bollywood adaptation of English novelist Jane Austen's timeless classic 'Emma,' done in the modern spirit of 'Clueless' (1995), the Hollywood adaptation of the same, with a dash of 'Sex and the City.' The romantic narrative template crafted by Austen—a pioneering writer of women-centric stories, which are still, to this day, too rare—is now, with 'Aisha,' used in cinema the world over.

This version of 'Emma' is set in modern-day Delhi's high society. But the depiction is too generic. It reveals nothing about the interesting idiosyncrasies of Delhi's elite, of which there are surely many. Without that fascinating color (which you find in the original 'Emma,' about the upper-class of 19th-century England, and in 'Clueless,' about the upper-class of 20th-century Beverly Hills), the rich are vapid. All we learn from 'Aisha' about wealthy Delhiites is that they're fabulously well-dressed.

That's not to knock the fashion in the film. The radiant Sonam Kapoor in the title role gives Carrie Bradshaw a run for her money with an unrestrained display of gorgeous Western and Indian styles. But that's about all the film has to offer.

Kapoor is relatively new to the industry—'Aisha' is her fourth film—and her record isn't great so far—not because she isn't competent, but because she's been in weak films, including her debut 'Saawariya' (2007), followed by 'Delhi-6' (2009) and 'I Hate Luv Storys' (2010). In 'Aisha,' she gives her best performance to date, easily occupying the role of privileged princess and indulged daddy's girl. As the real-life daughter of Bollywood star Anil Kapoor, she likely relates to the character. Her 'Aisha' co-star Abhay Deol also belongs to a Bollywood family dynasty (he is the nephew of famed actor Dharmendra and the cousin of actors Sunny, Bobby, and Esha Deol) and also still cutting his teeth. But Deol has taken a different track than Kapoor, appearing mostly in off-beat, critically-praised films, and his career trajectory spiked in 2009 as the lead in the groundbreaking 'Dev.D.' 'Aisha' is his first outing in a mainstream commercial flick as a conventional romantic hero—and it doesn't suit him anymore than Aisha suits his character, Arjun.

Aisha and Arjun are supposed to dislike each other, as the story goes, until they realize that they actually love each other. But here, they are so entrenched in antipathy—for good reason: she's selfish and shallow, he's judgmental and self-important, and there's not a redeemable quality between them—that their changes of heart are inexplicable. There's no basis for their attraction other than jealousy of each other's respective love interests, Dhruv and Aarti (played by actors sexy enough to make anyone jealous). Aisha and Arjun deserve each other—as punishment, not reward.

'Aisha' is rated Skip.

'That Girl in Yellow Boots,' starring Kalki Koechlin and Naseeruddin Shah, is about a desperate young Mumbai masseuse searching for a father she hardly knows. The screenplay was co-written by Kashyap and Koechlin.

Kashyap's past films include the award-winning 'Black Friday' (2004), about the 1993 Mumbai bombings, 'No Smoking' (2007), an adaptation of Stephen King's short story 'Quitters Inc.,' and 'Dev.D' (2009), a modern twist on the classic Bengali novella 'Devdas.' He co-wrote the screenplays for the award-winning mob film 'Satya' (1998) and the Oscar-nominated Canadian film 'Water' (2005).

Kashyap's 'Dev.D' and 'Gulaal' (2009) were screened at last year's Venice Film Festival, along with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's 'Delhi 6.'

This year, the Venice Film Festival runs from September 1-11 and the Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 9-19.

Starring Ajay Devgan, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Prachi Desai

On the surface, 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai' is a mob fable, but at its essence, it's a story about a boy figuring out how to be a man—a man who happens to become one of the most wanted criminals in the world.

A court-ordered disclaimer at the beginning of the film says the story is not based on the life of the late Haji Mastan, a 1970s Mumbai smuggler. Mastan's family tried and failed to stop the release of the film, but the obvious allusions to Mastan aren't exactly unfavorable. The character, Sultan Mirza (played by Ajay Devgan), is an admirably bootstrapping, rags-to-riches Robin Hood who helps people the government ignores—to consolidate his power, of course, but he also has altruistic motives.

As always, Devgan oozes cool and his delivery is brilliantly understated. His every subtle gesture—the nod of his head, the crook of his finger, and of course, his famous smoldering stare—is power-packed. He's played this role before—that of a criminal leader with a rebellious underling—in 'Company' (2002). But here, he's less intense, more self-conscious—effectively so.

But the story isn't really about Sultan, it's about his protege gone wrong—Shoaib Khan (played by Emraan Hashmi), a two-bit thief who rises in the ranks of Sultan's organization and decides to usurp him. And there's no disclaimer about the inspiration for this character—Dawood Ibrahim, the notorious leader of the Mumbai underworld who once worked for Mastan and later orchestrated the 1993 terrorist attacks on the city.

The film deals with Shoaib's early days as an arrogant, insolent young man with an explosive temper and no sense of morality. His father is an honest (and therefore, poor) police officer and a weak, ineffectual man who tries to slap his son into submission to no avail. Hashmi, an Indian Colin Farrell who's stepping into the big leagues, nails the role of boyish bully with his baby-face good looks and smirking machismo.

Much of the movie focuses on male potency—namely, Sultan's—or the lack thereof—in Shoaib's father and by extension, the government. Shoaib's hero-worship of the former and contempt for the latter shape his developing sense of manhood. This theme is partly illustrated in Sultan's relationship with Bollywood starlet Rihana (Kangana Ranaut), whom he effortlessly woos and happily loves, contrasted with Shoaib's inept attempts to win over a simple girl, Mumtaz (Prachi Desai). He manages to seduce her eventually—revealingly, by dressing her like an actress in a hit film and then undressing her. Sultan is Shoaib's real fantasy and he's only romantically successful by pretending to be him.

But Shoaib and Mumtaz are never the perfect couple that Sultan and Rihana are, which frustrates Shoaib and makes Mumtaz miserable. Shoaib's floundering is much more interesting than Sultan's smooth sailing, and too much of the first half of the film is devoted to Sultan's boringly conflict-free courtship of Rihana.

The plot is aptly simple and peppered with smart, snappy, and often humorous dialogue. The film captures every detail of the time period—the clothes, the cars, the hairstyles—even the musical score and camera work harken from that era, and it's authentic, not campy. A little trimming of Ranaut's pointless screen time would have gone a long way.

'Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai' is rated Worth Watching.

The musical was first produced in Sydney, Australia in 2005 and has since had successful runs in Europe and Asia. It has been seen by more than two million people worldwide.

It is set to music by the Bollywood brother-duo known as Salim-Sulaiman, who have composed for such films as 'Aaja Nachle' (2007), 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' (2008), and 'Kurbaan' (2009).

The story is inspired by the life of Vaibhavi Merchant, the musical's choreographer, using her conflict with her grandfather as the basis for the plot, which also relates the history of the Hindi film industry.

'The Merchants of Bollywood' will make its U.S. premiere on October 1 at Roosevelt University's Auditorium Theater in Chicago, with a second show there on October 2. The production then moves to Newark, New Jersey for performances on October 14 and 15 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Prudential Hall.

Tickets for the Chicago show cost $45 to $75 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787 starting July 30 at 9 am CT. For more information, visit www.merchantsofbollywood.com.

Starring Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Kunal Kapoor, Anupam Kher

Kashmir is the most beautiful place on earth, many say, and the most dangerous. Its heaven/hell dichotomy—from soaring snowcapped mountains and serene valley waters to barbed-wire coils and bombed-out buildings—is captured with moving effect in 'Lamhaa' by the cinematography of James Fowlds.

'Lamhaa' is unusual in that it was even shot in Kashmir. Once a common setting for romantic musical numbers, the picturesque locale was largely abandoned by Bollywood two decades ago because of unrest—and lovers trysted in the Swiss Alps instead. Not that Bollywood has ignored Kashmir's troubles—it's been the subject of many films, such as 'Roja' (1992) and 'Fanaa' (2006)—but both were shot elsewhere.

In 'Lamhaa,' the images say more than the story; the extras more than the leads. Such small-minded violence amidst such natural grandeur; so many children and nearly as many women fill the frames while men are notably absent—they're either dead or plotting in the shadows.

Kashmir is a region that's been disputed by India, Pakistan, and China since Partition in 1947, and there's also a separatist movement within it. India and Pakistan have fought three wars over it (in 1947, 1965, and 1999) and an armed insurgency has existed there since 1989. It's like every other hot spot in the world—the leaders on all sides don't really want peace because the conflict is the source of their power, and the people caught in the middle are endlessly manipulated and victimized.

Which is the point of 'Lamhaa'—the film doesn't take sides, but merely shows the utter corruption and hopelessness of it all. But realism doesn't always make for much of a story. There's no real conflict in the narrative, other than the overarching conflict of the situation, and even though bullets are flying and bombs exploding, there's no tension or suspense.

'Lamhaa' is so balanced that even the blatantly bad guys veer toward sympathetic. Tremendous character actor Anupam Kher plays Haji, a firebrand separatist leader, with such sincerity that he almost seems reasonable.

Bipasha Basu as Haji's adopted daughter Aziza is no bombshell per usual, but a burqa-wearing Lara Croft. Fierce has always been Basu's forte, but even when she's reduced to a whimpering weakling later on, she steps up to the emotional demands of the role.

Kunal Kapoor plays Aatif, a former insurgent turned political candidate. He's earnest, idealistic—and so milquetoast it's impossible to believe he was ever a militant. He doesn't make for much of a peaceful leader either—inspirational he is not.

Sanjay Dutt plays Vikram, an undercover military intelligence agent who must stop an impending terrorist attack. The story is told from the perspective of this impervious bear of a man. He is the outsider; he is us, the audience, looking in on the mess, disturbed by it, but not a part of it.

'Lamhaa' is Worth Watching.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani, Arjun Rampal, Isha Koppikar

Shahrukh Khan once said he wanted to be the first Indian James Bond. But what need now—Don is way cooler. The film has all the fun hallmarks of a Bond flick—exotic locations (Paris and Kuala Lumpur), beautiful women, criminal masterminds, high-tech gadgets, fantastic fight scenes, and glamorous parties—but it is not a take-off of the 007 franchise. Rather, it's a remake of the 1978 Bollywood cult classic 'Don,' which starred Amitabh Bachchan in the title role. The character is not ambiguous like Bond, but a bad, bad man—and Khan makes him his own.

Don is in charge of the Malaysian operations of a global crime syndicate run by Singhania (Rajesh Khattar), and Don has designs on ousting his boss and taking over the whole organization. Police inspector D'Silva (Boman Irani) is trying to catch Don, Singhania, and another mysterious mobster, Vardhaan. When Don kills Ramesh (Diwakar Pundir), an underling who tries to go straight, Ramesh's fiance Kamini (Kareena Kapoor) goes undercover and tries to seduce Don. But he dispatches Kamini as well. So Ramesh's sister Roma (Priyanka Chopra) worms her way into Don's gang—with much more success. D'Silva has his own mole—Vijay, a Don look-alike (also played by Khan). D'Silva secretly captures Don and puts Vijay in his place, and the good-hearted goof feigns temporary amnesia until he learns to play the part of the utterly smooth, outrageously arrogant sociopath. Roma and Vijay don't know they're on the same side, and Don's girlfriend Anita (Isha Koppikar) is jealous of the sparks between them. There's a suspenseful, complicating subplot involving the lost boy Vijay cares for, Deepu (played by Tanay Chheda, one of the child actors in the 2008 'Slumdog Millionaire'), and Deepu's estranged father Jasjit (Arjun Rampal), which ramps up the emotional stakes.

'Don' marks a career turning point for Rampal. The former model went from so-so to solid as Deepu's desperate dad (and his trajectory continued with a memorable role in the 2007 'Om Shanti Om,' a National Film Award for his performance in the 2008 'Rock On!!,' and critical acclaim for his turn in the 2010 'Raajneeti').

Farhan Akhtar, the talented director of the coming-of-age film 'Dil Chahta Hai' (2001) and the military drama 'Lakshya' (2004), shows off his versatility with this stylish action thriller that's full of surprises. (The original 'Don' was co-written by his father, Javed Akhtar.) He's also directing the sequel, 'Don 2: The Chase Continues,' which is expected to release at the end of 2011. Khan, Chopra, Irani, Koppikar, Rampal, and Chheda will be reprising their roles. Lara Dutta will join the cast.

'Don' is rated Must See.

Santaolalla won Academy Awards for best original score for 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005) and 'Babel' (2006). In June, Khan hosted a star-studded party in Mumbai with Santaolalla as the guest of honor.

Khan has also reportedly convinced the family of the late acclaimed filmmaker Bimal Roy to lend him a song from Roy's 1958 classic 'Madhumati,' which starred Bollywood great Dilip Kumar. According to news reports, Khan has acquired the rights to use the hit song, "Dil Tadap Tadap Ke Kaha Raha Hai Aa Bhi Jaa," in 'Dhobi Ghaat.'

The American film industry is slated to release about 75 remakes in 2010, and while that number is unusually high, remakes are nothing new in Hollywood. Some are outstanding films—'Cape Fear' (1991), for example. And some are painfully bad—such as 'Planet of the Apes' (2001).

Moviegoers love to bemoan remakes—never as good as the original, they say—but they still turn out in droves to see them. Take Steven Spielberg's 2005 adaptation of Orson Welles' 'War of the Worlds'—the Tom Cruise-starrer earned $592 million worldwide. The 2007 Will Smith film 'I Am Legend'—a remake of the 1971 Charlton Heston-starrer 'The Omega Man'—took in $583 million. Tim Burton's 2005 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' with Johnny Depp—a remake of the 1971 Gene Wilder film—made $475 million.

We've seen many other remakes in recent years—'King Kong' (2005), 'Bewitched' (2005), 'Miami Vice' (2006), 'The Pink Panther' (2006)—the list goes on and on.

So why does Bollywood get such a bad rap for remaking Hollywood films when Hollywood is guilty of the same thing? Is it because Bollywood is raiding another country's cinema for story ideas? Stop right there, because Hollywood has a long tradition of pilfering European cinema, particularly French, and no one raises any eyebrows about it.

Hollywood remakes of French films include 'Three Men and a Baby' ('Trois Hommes Et Un Couffin'), '12 Monkeys' ('La Jetée'), 'True Lies' ('La Totale'), 'The Birdcage' ('La Cage Aux Folles'), and 'Down and Out in Beverly Hills' ('Boudu Saved from Drowning'). The 2001 film 'Vanilla Sky,' starring Tom Cruise, is a remake of the Spanish film 'Abre Los Ojos.' The 2009 film 'Brothers,' with Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal, is a remake of a Danish film by the same name. The 1960 film 'The Magnificent Seven' is a remake of the 1954 Japanese film 'The Seven Samurai' (and some people have the gall to call the 1975 Bollywood classic 'Sholay' a rip-off of 'The Magnificent Seven' when it's a rip-off itself!).

Hollywood doesn't stop at borrowing from its own and others' films. It helps itself to Broadway musicals—'West Side Story' (1961), 'My Fair Lady' (1964), 'The Sound of Music' (1965), 'Chicago' (2002), 'Phantom of the Opera' (2004), 'The Producers' (2005)—as well as books—from 'Gone with the Wind' (1939) to the James Bond series to 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. In fact, more than 1,250 novels, short stories, and plays have been made into feature films in the U.S. since 1980 alone. Other notables include 'Out of Africa' (1985), 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' (1990), 'Age of Innocence' (1993), 'Great Expectations' (1998), 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005), 'Beowulf' (2007), and 'Alice in Wonderland' (2010).

So why then is Bollywood castigated for turning Hollywood's 'Hitch' (2005) into 'Partner' (2007), 'Memento' (2000) into 'Ghajini' (2005), and 'Bruce Almighty' (2003) into 'God Tussi Great Ho' (2008)? Western critics and journalists hurl insults like "copycat" and "knock-off" at the Hindi film industry when no sees anything wrong with Hollywood doing it.

Radical redos

The biggest problem with the argument that Bollywood rips off Hollywood is that Hollywood movies don't do well in India. American films capture as small a market share in India as foreign films do in the U.S.—a fact Hollywood would love to change, given the size of the Indian market, but it hasn't yet figured out how to do it. Even 'Avatar' (2009), which broke box-office records for an American film in India, still grossed much less in India than the Bollywood film '3 Idiots' (2009), which released around the same time. So why would Bollywood filmmakers even want to remake films that Indian audiences don't want to see? The truth is, they don't.

So-called Hindi remakes of Hollywood films aren't really remakes. They diverge vastly from the original in order to appeal to Indian audiences that weren't interested in the original in the first place. The end result is often a barely recognizable Indian version. More often than not, Hindi filmmakers merely borrow bits and pieces from Hollywood films—a loose premise, a powerful scene, a memorable character, a witty line of dialogue—and that's it. And it's not uncommon for Hindi filmmakers to include elements from multiple Hollywood films in one movie. 'Koi Mil Gaya' (2003) is said to be inspired by 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' (1982), 'Rain Man' (1988), and 'Forrest Gump' (1994). 'Dhoom' (2004) has been criticized for copying 'The Fast and the Furious' (2001) and 'Point Break' (1991), and the ending is similar to that of 'Thelma and Louise' (1991). 'Kites' (2010) was also criticized for its 'Thelma and Louise' ending, while others found it to be more reminiscent of 'Romeo and Juliet.'

You can't really say that 'Thelma and Louise' had an original ending, though, and therefore, it can't be copied per se. 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969) ends the same way. There's nothing novel about the idea that criminals would rather die by their own hand than get caught. It happens all the time in real life. Therefore, it's a natural conclusion for stories about criminals on the run.

And what exactly constitutes a remake anyway? The Hindi film 'Jism' (2003) has been called a remake of 'Body Heat' (1981), which is a remake of 'Double Indemnity' (1944), which is based on a true story. So, is 'Jism' really a remake or is it based on the true story, too?

Story origins

Let's face it, on a basic level, stories are almost always retellings of other stories. The Western tradition has long held that there are only three essential stories—man versus man, man versus nature, and man versus himself—and all stories are variations of those three. That's a very Western viewpoint, though. Western stories tend to focus on an individual hero—usually male—and his lone quest. Indian stories, on the other hand, take a broader view and include sprawling casts of characters (men and women figure prominently) that span generations; heroes are not isolated but defined by their relationships to others. Additionally, Indian story archetypes aren't just vague concepts—they come in the form of two vibrant, ancient epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Both are sacred Hindu texts, and even though they are thousands of years old, they are a central to Indian consciousness to this day.

The Mahabharata is the longest composition in the history of the world—it is eight times longer than 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey' combined. (The Bhagavad Gita, which many Westerners are familiar with, is merely one section of the Mahabharata.) It is the story of two related clans, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, and the power struggle within their family, which culminates in a cataclysmic battle. The Ramayana is the story of Lord Rama and his wife Sita, who is kidnapped by a demon king. There is much, much more to both stories, but those are the central conflicts. Both are gripping and challenging, unflinchingly honest about human nature, and neither have happy endings. You don't have to be Hindu to appreciate these amazing narratives.

The Mahabharata states: "What is found here may be found elsewhere. What is not found here will not be found elsewhere." I can't disagree. When reading it, it's impossible not to see the ambiguous characters in your own life and in the world at large, and their self-created drama rings painfully true to experience on every level. It's like holding up a mirror to humanity—and mirrors don't miss a thing.

(For those looking for English translations, I recommend R.K. Narayan's shortened prose versions of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and Stephen Mitchell's beautiful translation of the Bhagavad Gita.)

Naturally, both stories strongly influence Indian cinema and traces of them can be found in nearly every Hindi film—there's certainly an endless amount of material to draw from—while the vast majority of Hindi films contain no Hollywood references whatsoever. If Bollywood is "copying" anything, it's not Hollywood.

Two recent Bollywood releases, 'Raavan' (2010) and 'Raajneeti' (2010), are full-blown modern adaptations of the Ramayana and Mahabharata respectively. 'Raajneeti' also borrows one character and certain scenes from the American film classic 'The Godfather' (1972), and they fit so neatly into the film's Mahabharata plot line, it eerily reinforces the epic's claim of all-inclusiveness.

Legal rights

In all fairness, one of the biggest reasons Bollywood catches flak about its Hollywood remakes is because Hindi filmmakers, in the past, didn't purchase the rights to them. And Hollywood has started cracking down. In 2008, 20th Century Fox accepted a settlement from the producer of the forthcoming 'Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai,' which Fox accused of copying the 1992 Oscar-winning comedy 'My Cousin Vinny.' In 2009, Warner Bros. took out public notices in 'The Times of India' warning Bollywood against plans to remake 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' (2008). A notice was also issued by Warner Bros. regarding 'The Departed' (2006).

So Bollywood is now paying for authorized remakes, as it should. A Bollywood production company recently obtained the rights from Paramount to remake 'The Italian Job' (2003). And Indian filmmaker Karan Johar, head of Dharma Productions, is set to release an authorized remake of Sony's 'Stepmom' (1998), titled 'We Are Family' and starring Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, and Arjun Rampal, this fall.

It was only a matter of time before Hollywood started remaking Bollywood films as well. In May, Indian entertainment conglomerate Reliance sold remake rights to the 2007 Bollywood hit 'Johnny Gaddaar' to a U.S. producer.

To borrow a line from the Hebrew book of Ecclesiastes—a line famously borrowed by Shakespeare—there's nothing new under the sun.

Starring Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Premnath, Nimmi

Raj Kapoor, one of the biggest stars of the decade following India's independence, started his own production company, R.K. Films, in 1948, and 'Barsaat' was the studio's second film and its first success. The movie poster for 'Barsaat'—which shows Kapoor holding his famous leading lady Nargis in his arms—became the iconic image of the studio. 'Barsaat' exemplifies Kapoor's filmmaking in its focus on social barriers to love and its sexualized portrayal of women.

Postmodern in theme and style, the film de-emphasizes plot and debates moral relativism. The title means "Monsoon," and rain, with its association with fertility, is a common cue in Bollywood for sex. Monsoons are also dark, intense, and violent, as is the mood of this film.

Pran (Kapoor) and his friend Gopal (Kapoor's brother-in-law Premnath) are privileged men with the trappings of a modern lifestyle, including Western attire and a fancy American car. Pran plays Western instruments—the piano and the violin. He is a poet, melancholic and full of florid language, who believes in the virtue of love. Gopal is an unapologetic hedonist, who believes in sex for its own sake. The two men defend their positions throughout the film—each believing the other's got it all wrong. Gopal is callously using a villager, Neela (Nimmi), who's madly in love with him. Pran, too, is involved with a rustic girl, Reshma (Nargis), and he loves her with a pure heart.

But the manner in which Nargis is filmed reveals otherwise—the shots of her are profoundly sensual, and Pran is rough with her—on the pretext of playfulness—and he even pulls her hair. Kapoor's films are highly voyeuristic—the implied spectator is always male and the object of desire always female—and almost uncomfortably pornographic. Since there's no nudity in Bollywood films, Kapoor was left with only the face to eroticize, making Nargis—an unconventional beauty with heavy-lidded eyes and a slack, always parted mouth—his perfect muse. The married Kapoor's publicized affair with Nargis, a courtesan's daughter who was pressured by her mother into the then-unseemly profession of acting at a young age, made their onscreen pairings even more titillating.

For all of Pran's poetry and high-mindedness, he desires Reshma, who is sexual property that only her father can give away and that a tribal brute threatens to take by force. While Gopal has an eleventh-hour change of heart, harsh reality seems to settle the ongoing argument and neither man is the winner. Emotion has no place in the modern world, Gopal says at the beginning of film, but perhaps it's a luxury that belongs nowhere else.

Starring Sanjay Dutt, Shilpa Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Zayed Khan, Suniel Shetty, Esha Deol

Sometimes confusing movies are good—'The Usual Suspects' (1995), for example. But just because a movie is confusing doesn't mean it's good, contrary to conventional wisdom in Hollywood. In fact, the success of 'The Usual Suspects' may be to blame for the spate of American films in the last 15 years that don't make a lick of sense and were lauded to the moon (think 2005's 'Syriana'). Unfortunately, Bollywood fell victim to this trend with 'Dus'—not a remake of 'The Usual Suspects,' but it has the same premise.

The latter is the kind of movie that can only work once—because the ending can only be a surprise once. And the brilliance of 'The Usual Suspects' lies in the fact that the surprise clears up the confusion. Not so in 'Dus.'

An anti-terrorism government agency in India—that is inexplicably about to be closed in today's day and age—must stop an attack that will kill tens of thousands of people. In the meantime, a bunch of unexplained characters commit various crimes. Obviously, it's all related, but the climactic explanation is as hard to follow as the events leading up to it. Unbelievable coincidences and inconsistencies abound. The choice of Canada as both a haven and target of terrorists is odd—and why are all these beefy rednecks in cahoots with the bad guys? Why does the worried-sick head agent send two bickering bozos to Canada to catch the terrorists instead of alerting Canadian authorities? Why do said bozos allow an unstable Canadian cop to join them? Why is there all this we-can't-be-together tension between the love interests when there's nothing stopping them from being together? And why, oh why, is girl-next-door actress Esha Deol playing a villainous vamp again? (See 2004's 'Dhoom' for another egregious example of her miscasting.)

At least, Sanjay Dutt and Shilpa Shetty are styling as head agent Siddhant and his underling Aditi. The very feminine Shetty looks cool and ironic in riot gear, cargo pants, and neckties, as does the uber-macho Dutt in sleek designer duds. Dutt gives the role his troubled, anxious, wrenching all. There are some great action shots, and the countdown-to-explosion ending is suspenseful as well as unpredictable—but mostly because you know anything can happen in this mess of a film.

'Dus' is rated Skip.

Kumar has ties to Canada. He was India's ambassador to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and he carried the Olympic Torch in Toronto as part of the torch relay. In 2008, Kumar received an honorary degree from the University of Windsor for his contribution to the global growth of Indian cinema. Several of his films—including 'Bewafaa' (2005), 'Humko Deewana Kar Gaye' (2006), '8x10 Tasveer' (2009), and his upcoming picture 'Thank You'—were shot in Canada.

Vancouver and Toronto have large South Asian communities. Toronto is set to become the first North American city to host one of Bollywood's major awards ceremonies, the International Indian Film Academy Awards, from June 16-19, 2011.

Canada isn't the first country to try to attract Indian Bollywood fans. Foreign locations are a staple of Indian cinema and growing numbers of Indians—more than 12 million in 2009—take foreign vacations, often venturing to the places seen in their favorite movies. Switzerland—long featured in Hindi films—has been appealing to Indian travelers with ad campaigns and Bollywood-themed tours that visit the shooting locations of films such as 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' (1995) and 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' (2008). Switzerland also encourages the Hindi film industry to shoot movies there by offering filmmakers expense-paid scouting trips. Over the last several decades, more than 200 Bollywood films have been shot, at least in part, in Switzerland.

Starring Farhan Aktar, Konkona Sen Sharma, Dimple Kapadia, Isha Sharvani, Hrithik Roshan, Rishi Kapoor, Juhi Chawla

Everything clicks in Zoya Akhtar's smart directorial debut—setting a standard in a film industry it comes close to lampooning. The ridicule is good-natured, though, even accepting of the way things work in Bollywood, and while the characters represent showbiz clichés, they are subtly rendered—for the most part. And the ones that aren't are ridiculously fun.

Talent runs in Akhtar's family—she's the daughter and granddaughter of poets and screenwriters. She's also the twin sister of filmmaker Farhan Aktar, who had an equally impressive directorial debut with the acclaimed 'Dil Chahta Hai' (2001), which he helmed at the tender age of 27. She cast her brother as the lead in 'Luck By Chance' (on the heels of his promising acting debut in 2008 in the award-winning 'Rock On!!')—and he serves her well here as Vikram, an aspiring actor in Mumbai.

Vikram hardly struggles while pursuing his dream—he lives with his wealthy aunt who lends him money when the allowance he gets from his father isn't enough. His new friend Sona (Konkona Sen Sharma), on the other hand, is on her own. She ran away to become an actress, and she's established a toehold in the business with bit parts. Her big break is imminent, she's convinced, because her married-with-kids director-boyfriend keeps promising her so. Vikram and Sona are surrounded by others at the bottom of the entertainment food chain—a bitter stage actor, a flamboyant gossip columnist, and ambitious production assistants—all green with jealousy over their friends' tiny successes.

Akhtar casts her sharp, critical eye on the top of the hierarchy as well. Even though she and her brother are the beneficiaries of nepotism, that doesn't stop her from poking at fun at how rampant it is in Bollywood. Pretty, vacuous Nikki (Isha Sharvani), the spoiled daughter of famous actress Neena (played by famous actress Dimple Kapadia, whose real-life daughter is actress Twinkle Khanna) is making her debut opposite superstar Zaffar Khan (played by superstar Hrithik Roshan). But Zaffar backs out of the film, to the consternation of the director Rommy Rolly and his wife Minty (played with campy relish by Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla). The film is also full of cameo appearances by actors playing themselves, including Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan, Akshaye Khanna, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukerji, Dia Mirza, Ranbir Kapoor, and Kareena Kapoor.

Through a sheer accident of fate, Vikram replaces Zaffar in the film—while Sona's hopes of a movie career are dashed.

It's ironic that Sharma, one of the most talented young actresses in Indian cinema today—and a somewhat unlikely rising star—plays someone who can't break into the business because she has neither connections nor luck. The casting itself makes the strongest comment of all.

'Luck By Chance' is rated Must See.

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram, Govinda

In every Bollywood film, there's a kernel of the 'Ramayana,' the ancient Hindu epic about Lord Rama and his wife Sita, who was kidnapped by Raavan, a 10-headed demon king. It's a sacred text and also a great story—a sprawling, action-packed tale of good and evil, love and hate, heroism and suffering. The influence of this foundational narrative on Indian cinema cannot be underestimated. Director Mani Ratnam's latest, 'Raavan,' is a full-blown adaptation of the 'Ramayana.' The story has been modernized—including different names for the characters—and stripped down to its skeleton with powerful effect.

The art direction and cinematography are visually stunning, and the music, by A.R. Rahman (the Oscar-winning composer for 'Slumdog Millionaire'), is spectacular. And who better to put at the center of this feast for the senses than actress Aishwarya Rai? Even muddy and bloody, she is breathtaking. As the film's antagonist puts it, gold tested in fire glows brighter.

Those tests reveal the actress and her character to be more than a pretty face, though—giving depth and dimension to the archetypal figure of the good wife Sita.

Rai plays Ragini, a dance teacher married to a policeman, Dev (played by Vikram, a star in India's Tamil-language film industry). They move to a small town in northern India controlled by a criminal tribal leader, Beera (played by Rai's real-life husband Abhishek Bachchan), and Dev is charged with taking Beera down. Beera kidnaps Ragini and holds her prisoner in a cold forest—mythic in atmosphere—full of mountains, mist, and waterfalls. Dev doggedly tries to rescue her, while she relentlessly fights back and tries to escape. During her captivity, she and Beera become furiously intimate—although not physically. (In one key, sexually-charged scene, Beera explicitly refrains from touching her.)

Beera and Dev are not the black-and-white characters of the Ramayana. Bachchan gives an over-the-top performance befitting the crazed Beera, who can't bring himself to kill Ragini—although he doesn't hesitate to kill anyone else—and it's not because of her beauty or her fiery inner strength. It's because the same pain that makes him a demon also makes him human. Vikram's Dev is strong and remote—as a god should be—but far from righteous. Neither man changes much during the course of the story; it's our perception of them that does.

Among the supporting actors, Govinda stands out as a forest guard who helps Dev find Ragini. His is a Puck-like character and a stand-in for Rama's monkey sidekick, Hanuman.

Like the 'Ramayana,' 'Raavan' is no fairy tale, and both the epic and the adaptation are in parts challenging and surprising.

'Raavan' is rated Must See.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor

When monsters become monks, it's usually the stuff of legends. But Asoka—a bloodthirsty emperor who later renounced violence—was a real person. The 2001 film 'Asoka,' about his early life, captures in mesmerizing fashion how such an unlikely conversion could take place.

Asoka was the favorite grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, the emperor of the kingdom of Magadha in the third century BC. Chandragupta beat back the armies of Alexander the Great, conquered most of the Indian subcontinent, and then adopted the Jain religion, renounced his throne, and died from fasting. The empire fell to his son Bindusara, whose heir apparent was Asoka's eldest brother Susima.

And that's where the film begins. There's no trace of the Asoka who would one day convert to Buddhism and become one of the world's first great humanitarians, a man who made nonviolence the law of his vast land. Shahrukh Khan plays the young Asoka, a skilled and merciless warrior with ruthless political ambition, a role perfectly suited to Khan, who always shines as an antihero. Asoka is an animal in a kill-or-be-killed courtly world, but when he's temporarily exiled and gets mixed up with a woman on the run, Kaurwaki (Kareena Kapoor), his love for her humanizes him—and Khan and Kapoor make a scorching pair. When Asoka is falsely told she's dead, he's shattered, marries another—a Buddhist named Devi (Hrishita Bhatt)—violently assumes the throne, and becomes even more brutal than before. The story is bolstered by striking art direction, tight editing, and fantastic performances by supporting actors.

The lavish final battle scene—which included 6,000 extras—is refreshingly low-tech and all the more realistic as a result. The aftermath is gory and moving as Asoka searches among the corpses for his lost love. (According to historical records, Asoka was horrified by the magnitude of death he'd caused at the Battle of Kalinga.)

There are a couple of detracting elements that break the film's powerful spell. The use of comedy is a distraction rather than a relief. That's not an indictment of masala (Bollywood's traditional blending of genres), but in this case, it doesn't work. The drama is too captivating to downshift out of it. Also, the songs seem too contemporary for a historical pic.

Finally, the film was criticized for its historical inaccuracies (Devi was actually Asoka's first wife; he married Kaurwaki later). The criticism is unfair to some degree given that it's necessary to take liberties with true stories in order to create a narrative arc, but since the film's explanation of Asoka's profound change doesn't jibe with the facts, his confounding transformation remains, unsatisfyingly, a mystery.

'Asoka' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan

On the heels of their award-winning performances as an abusive thug and his suffering wife in 'Yuva' (2004), Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukerji are paired again, this time in lighter fare—a romantic comedy—playing a hen-pecked con artist and his vivacious partner in crime—and their delivery is just as strong.

Amitabh Bachchan appears with his son Abhishek for the first time in this film—and they went on to memorable onscreen collaborations in 'Sarkar' (2005), 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' (2006), 'Sarkar Raj' (2008), and 'Paa' (2009). Here, the senior Bachchan—a jack of all genres—plays Dashrath, a cool, crusty police detective, and he hams it up to the fullest in bomber jacket and aviator sunglasses while hot on the trail of two notorious small-town kids on a crime spree. His interaction with his son's character, Rakesh, is a riot.

Director Shaad Ali's previous film 'Saathiya' (2002), which also starred Mukerji, was a serious story also about impulsive young lovers who strike out on their own, and here again, Ali creates vivid working-class characters, and his signature metaphor of train travel figures largely.

Rakesh meets Vimmi (Mukerji) in a train station after both have run away from home. They're dreamers who want more out of life than their parents imagine for them, and they're frustrated with the limitations of their upbringings. Believing they're destined for bigger and better things—Vimmi wants to be Miss India and Rakesh is an entrepreneur—and delighted to discover a kindred spirit, they hit the road together. When their plans are a bust, they start scamming for money—and they have so much fun doing it, they don't want to stop. They hilariously impersonate government officials, spiritual gurus, gangsters, and business partners to trick people into giving them free meals, hotel rooms, cars, and cash. They adopt the names Bunty and Babli and leave their initials at every crime scene as they crisscross North India at a frenetic pace and gain fame as a crime duo. Finally, they're successful and important, as they always hoped to be.

While they start out as pals, this reckless, passionate pair inevitably falls in love. After all, they argued like an old married couple from day one—so they make it official. But once hitched, everything changes. Suddenly, Vimmi has different priorities, and they have to find a way to be true to themselves while taking responsibility for each other. But that's not an easy thing to do with Dashrath always one step behind them.

'Bunty Aur Babli' is rated Must See.

Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani, Jackie Shroff

Take a brooding hero, a meek heroine, a tyrannical father, a mad sister and an old servant, put them in a medieval castle and have them contend with a family secret and the looming threat of violence, and you've got a classic gothic. 'Eklavya' has all the hallmarks of the genre—which is not foreign to Bollywood—but it's weak on two key gothic elements: terror and romance. While engagingly gorgeous and moody, the film could use more tension.

Eklavya (Amitabh Bachchan) is an aging royal guard—still an expert marksman but losing his eyesight—who is unfailing loyal to his powerless king, a feudal relic in post-Independence India. Physically virile but emotionally crushed by melancholy, Eklavya clings to his ideals of service to an irrelevant and unworthy monarch, without which his life means nothing. His sadness is compounded by the fact that he is the biological father of the king's children, and he can never love them, or be loved in return, as their father.

When the queen (Sharmila Tagore) is stricken with illness, she cries out for Eklavya from her sickbed, and the king, Rana (Boman Irani), strangles her in a jealous rage in front of their mentally disturbed daughter Nandini (Raima Sen). Nandini's twin brother Harsh (Saif Ali Khan) reluctantly returns from London—time warps in a way—landing in a helicopter on the grounds of his magnificent ancestral home in rural Rajasthan, where he quickly finds out Rana killed his mother and Eklavya is his real father, making him even more conflicted about his princely identity than he already was.

While the morose Harsh mopes around the castle and his infatuated childhood friend Rajjo (Vidya Balan) dotes on him, the hysterical Rana plots to kill Eklavya with the help of his sinister brother Jyoti (Jackie Shroff) and Jyoti's son Udai (Jimmy Shergill). But really Jyoti and Udai want to kill Rana and pin it on Eklavya.

Rajjo's father—Rana's chauffeur—gets shot during the assassination, and Harsh impulsively asks him for his daughter's hand before he dies. Rajjo tries to let Harsh out of his promise because she doesn't want him to marry her out of obligation or pity, but he reassures her he loves her, pretty unconvincingly.

Police officer Panna (Sanjay Dutt) investigates the murders, but since he hero-worships Eklavya and hates the royal family, Eklavya isn't ever in danger of going down for the crime.

The real conflict comes when Eklavya is faced with avenging the king's death, as he is duty-bound to do, and he must decide if the honor that defines him is worth the selfless sacrifices that come with it.

'Eklavya' is rated Worth Watching.

The blockbuster, starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor, is the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time. It released last December.

Many big stars stayed away from the event—one of Bollywood's major awards ceremonies—including Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, and Amitabh Bachchan, who is the brand ambassador for IIFA. Tamil groups in India protested the ceremony because of Sri Lanka's treatment of the Tamil minority in that country. Bachchan's son and daughter-in-law Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai, whose upcoming film 'Raavan' releases in Hindi and Tamil on June 18, also did not attend.

Best Actress winner Kareena Kapoor was present to accept her award, which she shared with Vidya Balan for her performance in 'Paa.' Amitabh Bachchan won Best Actor for his role in 'Paa.'

Toronto, Canada will become the first North American city to host the IIFA awards ceremony in June 2011.

The event takes place in a different city outside of India every year in an effort to promote Hindi cinema around the world. In past years, it has been held in London, Dubai, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, and Bangkok.

Starring Ajay Devgan, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Naseeruddin Shah, Sarah Thompson

The Hindu epic 'Mahabharata' and the American film classic 'The Godfather'—both gripping stories about corrupt family dynasties and the power struggles within them—are the basis for 'Raajneeti,' a thriller about down-and-dirty regional Indian politics. The film is not about political views or agendas, but rather, behind-the-scenes jockeying for control of a political party. And oh, is it cynical. While the film succeeds at turning something as plodding as political maneuverings—even lurid ones—into a dramatic epic, the characters are largely too despicable and unsympathetic for audiences to care who wins. The actors make them riveting villains at least.

The story follows the Pratap family and begins with Bharti, a high-ranking mainstream politician's daughter, who joins a leftist group led by Bhaskar Sanyal (played by Naseeruddin Shah), with whom she has an affair. After Bhaskar vanishes, she gives birth to his son, Sooraj, who is taken from her by her brother Brij Gopal (Nana Patekar). Bharti marries into the Pratap family and has two more sons: Prithvi (Arjun Rampal) and Samar (Ranbir Kapoor). Unbeknownst to anyone, Sooraj is raised by none other than the Pratap family's chauffeur. Once he reaches adulthood, Sooraj (Ajay Devgan) challenges the Prataps for leadership while their party is in disarray, going up against Prithvi and taking sides with Prithvi's wronged cousin Veerendra (Manoj Bajpai).

If anyone thought Rampal's impressive performance in 'Rock On' (2008), which earned the model-turned-actor a prestigious National Film Award, was a fluke, his turn here as the ruthless Prithvi puts those claims to rest. Prithvi is the dashing and explosive foil to his younger brother Samar, a Michael Corleone-type character who has just finished his dissertation on Victorian poetry at an American university. Samar's sweet, innocent girlfriend Sarah (played by American actress Sarah Thompson) follows him to India, where he turns into a lethal political operative for Prithvi following the murder of their father. But we don't get a rehash of Pacino's cold, calculating performance—Kapoor's character maintains the façade of his former self—a gentle, bespectacled student—while he murders opponents and lies to two women he doesn't love—Sarah and his childhood friend, Indu (Katrina Kaif). We only see the real Samar when he's alone, dragging on crackling cigarettes with the smoke swirling in his evil eyes.

Indu is the most challenging character Kaif has tackled to date, and she convincingly pulls off Indu's compelling development from silly girl to scorned lover, reluctant bride to devoted wife, and finally into a noble widow who finds her life's purpose. (Although the director Prakash Jha has denied that Kaif's character was inspired by Sonia Gandhi, Indu is strikingly similar to the Congress party president nonetheless.) Indu is the only character who remains uncompromised, and in fact, her climb to power makes her more righteous, not less. While she's ultimately the redeemer of the fallen Pratap family, and thus the hero of the story, she's relegated to the background for too much of it.

'Raajneeti' is rated Worth Watching.

The Venice Film Festival, the oldest film festival in the world, will be held this year from September 1-11 and will include a screening of Ratnam's upcoming film 'Raavan,' starring husband and wife Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The film is being released in Hindi and Tamil and both versions will be screened at the festival. 'Raavan' releases in theaters worldwide on June 18.

Ratnam has been making films in various Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada, since 1983, including two acclaimed Bollywood pictures, 'Yuva' (2004) and 'Guru' (2007), both starring Abhishek Bachchan.

'Raavan' is said to be an adaptation of the 'Ramayana,' a Hindu epic about the god Rama and his wife Sita, who is kidnapped by a demon king. Oscar and Grammy winner A.R. Rahman composed the film's soundtrack.

Past winners of the Glory to the Filmmaker prize have gone to American actor and filmmaker Sylvester Stallone, French director Agnes Varda, Italian director and screenwriter Abbas Kiarostami, and Japanese filmmaker and actor Takeshi Kitano. The prize honors those who have significantly impacted contemporary cinema.

Last year, three Indian movies were screened at the Venice Film Festival: Anurag Kashyap's 'Dev D' and 'Gulaal' and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's 'Delhi 6.'

Starring Hrithik Roshan, Barbara Mori

Kites was specifically made to appeal to Western sensibilities—it's not the first Bollywood film to try to crossover, but it is the first to succeed at it, and it does so while remaining true to the essence of Hindi cinema. 'Kites' looks like an American film, but it feels like an Indian one.

It's not the best Bollywood movie—not by a long shot—but by stripping itself of the typical trappings of Hindi films (and making itself stylistically familiar to Westerners), it reveals the heart of Bollywood—a beating, bleeding operatic heart. Hindi cinema is ultimately not about language or culture or musical numbers; it's about exalted melodrama that draws you in despite yourself and affects you with life's corniness and agony.

The story is set in Las Vegas; the actors speak a combination of Hindi, English, and Spanish; there is only one dance scene; and the plot follows a single sequence of events—all of which help make the film accessible to non-Indian audiences. Director Anurag Basu was the perfect choice for this project as his style naturally lends itself to the objective. Had his previous film, 'Life in a…Metro' (2007), been marketed abroad as aggressively as 'Kites' has been, it would have garnered the same critical praise in the U.S that his latest film has. Cinematographer Ayananka Bose produces sharp, gorgeous shots of the glitz of Las Vegas, the desolation of the desert, and the beauty of the leads, Indian superstar Hrithik Roshan and Mexican actress Barbara Mori.

Roshan and Mori play struggling immigrant hustlers Jay and Linda, who are about to marry into money—they are engaged to sister and brother Gina (Kangana Ranaut) and Tony (Nick Brown), the children of a ruthless crime boss/casino owner (Kabir Bedi). The night before Linda's wedding to Tony, she and Jay stay up until dawn drinking champagne, sharing their tales of woe in a broken hodgepodge of languages, and dancing in the rain. And after one brief, trembling, feel-it-in-your-toes, forbidden kiss, they foolishly, nobly chuck their gold-digging schemes for each other.

Even in love scenes devoid of explicit sex, Roshan is expert at appearing to teeter on the edge of control, and his precarious desire is hotter than bared skin could ever be (see his performances in 'Dhoom 2' and 'Jodhaa Akbar' for more examples)—although bare his skin he does—at least, his eye-popping torso—in between exciting stunts and car chases, as the lovers flee Tony, who's hell-bent on murderous revenge, and adorably struggle to communicate along the way.

'Kites' proves it is possible to fall in love—with people or films—even when you can't understand their language.

'Kites' is rated Must See.

'Kites,' which released last Friday, opened at No. 5 at the UK box office, and in India, it had the second-biggest opening day ever (behind '3 Idiots,' the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time, which released last December).

The film—an intercultural love story about two hustlers on the run in the U.S. Southwest—has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from American critics:

Jeanette Catsoulis of 'The New York Times' wrote: "On the whole, American audiences remain stubbornly immune to the charms of the Bollywood romance, a fact that 'Kites' is determined to change. A carefully calibrated assault on resistant international markets, the movie harnesses English, Hindi and Hispanic talent to an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink plot, replaces dancing with explosions, and choreographers with stunt specialists. The result is a lovers-on-the-lam blast of pure pulp escapism, so devoted to diversion that you probably won't even notice the corn."

Kevin Thomas of 'The Los Angeles Times': "The film is free of both subtlety and irony, and it demands of its charismatic stars, Hrithik Roshan and Bárbara Mori, that they act their hearts out with the utmost sincerity. The result is an exhilarating escapist entertainment that plays out like a violent and floridly poetic allegory."

Lisa Tsering of 'The Hollywood Reporter': "What makes the movie pop is a standout performance by Roshan, one of Indian cinema's treasures. Blessed with near-divine good looks and a chiseled form… Roshan anchors the film with a solid, believable performance and a palpable chemistry with his co-star that will remind audiences just how hot a good Bollywood romance can be."

David Chute of 'The Village Voice': "Roshan is a master at low-keying his enormous charm and shrugging off his blinding handsomeness."

'San Francisco Chronicle' movie critic Mick LaSalle: "This is opera. This is the big stuff, folks. This is a choir, a drum machine, a synthesizer, a 17-piece orchestra and an echo chamber all screaming 'Love! Love! Love!' Go in smirking, but by the time it's over, you'll believe."

'Kites' was directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Hrithik's father, Rakesh Roshan, who made the unusual decision to release the film in two languages in order to broaden its global reach. On May 28, an English version of the film will release in select U.S. cities. American filmmaker Brett Ratner—best-known for his films 'Red Dragon,' the 'Rush Hour' series, and 'X-Men: The Last Stand'—edited the English version to appeal to Western audiences.

Starring Rani Mukerji, Vivek Oberoi

'Saathiya' is a perfect example of what Bollywood does best—a realistic romantic drama about two impulsive kids who fall in love against the odds and have no idea what they're getting into. That's right, Bollywood naysayers—all you who mistakenly think Hindi films are escapistic candyfloss—realistic. No contrivances or extravagances—Saathiya is a fresh, charming, honest story about sweet, thrilling, ordinary young love. The project was a convergence of masters—written by esteemed Tamil filmmaker Mani Ratnam, music by legendary composer A.R. Rahman, starring actors Rani Mukerji and Vivek Oberoi at their best, and released by heavyweight Yash Raj Films.

Suhani (Mukerji) is a hard-working med student from a working-class family. Aditya, the good-natured son of a rich father, is bagging law school to start his own computer company. They meet briefly at the wedding of mutual friends and then see each other repeatedly on passing commuter trains. The coming and going of trains is a metaphor throughout the film for the couple's missed connections. The story periodically cuts to scenes two years in the future of an anxious Aditya waiting for Suhani at a train station, and the foreshadowing effectively heightens the drama of their courtship—the emotional stakes aren't high in the beginning, but you know they will be.

Aditya tracks her down and with some difficulty wins her over. He broaches marriage far too early in their relationship, their parents object, she breaks up with him and goes away on a medical internship, he chases after her, and they elope and decide to keep their marriage a secret until she's finished with school and he gets his business off the ground. Their unconsummated union, spent separately in their parents' homes with only fleeting moments in public together, is maddeningly tense, and their unbearable longing for each other utterly romantic—all wonderfully expressed in the kind of stylistically classic song-and-dance numbers that you don't see enough of anymore. Eventually, the truth comes out and their parents disown them. Finally together as husband and wife, they're poor, happy, and reveling in conjugal life—for a while anyway. Novelty wears off, routine sets in, problems crop up, he becomes neglectful, she turns into a nag, and before they know it, their marriage is a mess.

Superstars Shahrukh Khan and Tabu make cameo appearances in a climactic plot twist that resolves the conflict too neatly, but it's a forgivable shortcoming in an otherwise flawlessly entertaining film.

'Saathiya' is rated Must See.

Starring Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Vir Das, Meiyang Chang

Yash Raj Films—one of India's biggest production companies—has been criticized in recent years for the conservative cultural and family values in its films. But at the same time, it's been intriguingly progressive in its characterization of women, and its new release 'Badmaash Company' is the latest example.

One key scene in Badmaash says it all: While the main female character—an aspiring model named Bulbul (played by Anushka Sharma)—is making out with the male lead—a con artist named Karan (Shahid Kapoor)—in his car, she stops and says, "This isn't serious, okay?" Surprised, he replies, "That's my line."

Women have been taking the hero's lines in a lot of Yash Raj's movies lately. Sharma made her debut in one—'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' (2008)—in which she played a traditional girl who's true to her heart, and it's she, not her misguided husband, who has the climactic epiphany. Kapoor also starred in one—'Dil Bole Hadippa' (2009)—in which he was sidelined by a cross-dressing, cricket-playing heroine who stole the show. In 'Badmaash,' Sharma plays a sharp, sexy woman who makes no apologies for her boldness—exemplified when a modeling agent propositions her and she stabs him in the thigh with a pair of scissors to teach him a lesson.

The film is set in 1994—before India liberalized its economy and removed enormous taxes on imported goods. Back then, foreign merchandise cost a fortune and black marketeers profited handsomely from low supply and high demand. Karan—who comes from a precariously middle-class family—enlists Bulbul and his friends Zing (Meiyang Chang) and Chandu (Vir Das) in a cunning con to evade import taxes and get rich quick. They get away with it and make a bundle, but the government abolishes the high tariffs, putting an end to their swindle. So they move to the U.S. and pull off a similar but less clever con in New York City.

And that's where the film stops being a caper and focuses on the moral conflict, which is the heart of Hindi cinema. The now-rich gang goes to Las Vegas and descends into decadence in the West's Sodom and Gomorrah. Zing, who was a functional alcoholic before, becomes a raging, out-of-control drunk who abuses his new girlfriend, a Vegas showgirl. Chandu, who was a harmless horn-dog in the past, starts banging hookers two at a time in casino restroom stalls. And Karan, who was merely a cocky punk at the outset, develops some serious delusions of grandeur. Bulbul, on the other hand, regains her moral bearings as she's horrified by her friends' behavior.

Karan's comeuppance is a given, but the manner of his redemption is not. Once he's alienated from everyone, it's the knight, not the damsel, who's in distress, and Bulbul saves him by reconnecting him to what he's lost, including himself.

'Badmaash Company' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Aamir Khan, Kajol

Because of their length, Bollywood films almost always have an intermission, and the intermission is usually preceded by a surprising cliffhanger to keep audiences interested in returning for the second half. Introducing a cliffhanger in the middle of a film is extremely effective in bolstering the narrative (many Western films that sag halfway through could use one). 'Fanaa' has one of the best intermission cliffhangers ever—making it difficult to review the film without ruining the surprise. However, you'll find no spoilers here—'Fanaa' is too good to give away.

The story begins in Kashmir—a territory disputed by India, Pakistan, and China—and a place as beautiful as it is troubled by periodic war and terrorism. (In fact, the film was shot in wintry, mountainous areas of Poland because of unrest in the region.) Zooni (Kajol) is a blind, young Kashmiri woman who has been invited, along with her female classmates, to travel to Delhi and perform a song and dance in the capital for Republic Day. Her parents (played by Rishi Kapoor and Kirron Kher) are reluctant to let her go, but they also want to encourage her to be independent, so they relent.

Their reservations are warranted, however, because the girls' tour guide in Delhi is a flirtatious rogue named Rehan (Aamir Khan). As soon as Rehan lays eyes on Zooni, he comes on strong and doesn't let up. Even though he's clearly trouble and her friends try to warn her off, Zooni falls for this charmer, partly because she loves all his sweet-talking attention and partly because he doesn't treat her like a child the way everyone else does. She may be sweet and innocent, but she's also a capable woman, and Rehan challenges her to think and act for herself.

'Fanaa' is the first—and to date, only—time the two leads have been paired, and they have a remarkable connection. The initial sparks between their characters turn into fireworks when they end up in bed together the night before she's supposed to return to Kashmir. Of course, as their feelings for each other deepen, Rehan gets scared and tries to push her away, however unsuccessfully. But if you think this is a conventional romance about a man who can't commit, think again. What happens next comes out of left field—and it completely works. The story not only changes direction, it changes genre, but the emotional thread from the first half of the film provides the necessary continuity into the second half, so while the shift is abrupt and unpredictable, it's still congruent and believable.

'Fanaa' marked Kajol's successful comeback to film after a five-year hiatus (she took time off to start a family). She won her fourth Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance as Zooni.

'Fanaa' is rated Must See.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla, Suniel Shetty, Anupam Kher

There aren't too many places in the world more fantastic—in the truest sense of the word—than Rajasthan. The sandswept beauty, the rich culture—it's like nowhere else. The colors there alone seem too vibrant to be real. And it stands to reason that fairy-tale lands would produce wonderful fairy tales. 'Paheli' is a delightful story from Rajasthani folklore about a neglected wife who finds the man of her dreams in the form of an amorous ghost.

Lachchi (Rani Mukerji) is married to a man she doesn't know and sent away from her home and family to live in his village. She's sad to leave, but excited about her new life as the wife of a wealthy merchant. To her great disappointment, her husband, Kishan (Shahrukh Khan), turns out to be a plodding bore who's only interested in running the family business. He finds his vivacious, sensual bride distasteful and refuses to bed her on their wedding night, despite her prodding. The very next morning, he sets off to start a business venture in a faraway city, where he plans to stay for five years, leaving his distraught wife behind. There's a history of abandonment in Kishan's family—his older brother (Suniel Shetty) did the same thing to his wife (Juhi Chawla). A ghost (also played by Khan) falls in love with Lachchi and assumes a human form that looks just like Kishan, and he shows up at the family mansion, pretending to be the runaway groom.

It's an interesting double role for Khan, and he has fun with the characters—the ghost, in particular, who relishes every aspect of life as a human—the splash of water in the bath, a mother's tender touch on his cheek, and especially the love of the irresistible Lachchi. The ghost doesn't lie to her about who he is, and while she's torn about being unfaithful to her husband, she gives in to the attentive and passionate ghost because he's everything she wants. Everyone else believes he's Kishan, and maintaining the charade, as evidence to the contrary mounts, is the source of conflict, culminating in Kishan's inevitable return. By that time, we learn that Kishan isn't such a bad guy—just desperate to please his father (Aunupam Kher) with profits—and he starts to long for Lachchi during his exile. He has a right to be upset because he is, after all, being cuckolded by someone who stole his identity. Why the filmmakers cultivate this sympathy for Kishan, when the ghost is the hero of the story, is confusing.

A no-nonsense shepherd (Amitabh Bachchan) offers a solution to the dilemma, and it's resolved—as is often the case in fairy tales—all too conveniently.

'Paheli' is rated Worth Watching.

'Raavan' is said to be an adaptation of the 'Ramayana,' a Hindu epic about the god Rama and his wife Sita, who is kidnapped by a demon king. Oscar and Grammy winner A.R. Rahman composed the film's soundtrack. 'Raavan' is expected to release in theaters worldwide on June 18.

Ratnam, a distinguished director of Hindi and Tamil films, previously directed Abhishek in 'Yuva' (2004) and both the Bachchans in 'Guru' (2007). Ratnam and the Bachchans are expected to attend Raavan's screening in France.

Another Indian star—who has never worked in Indian cinema—will also grace the red carpet at Cannes this year—'Slumdog Millionaire's' Freida Pinto. Pinto is expected to attend with the cast of the upcoming Woody Allen film 'You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger,' in which she co-stars with Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, and Bollywood actor Anupam Kher. The film is premiering at the festival.

Pinto's name was recently floated as a possible Bond girl for the next installment of the 007 franchise, which prompted a flurry of discussion as to why Bollywood's leading lady, Aishwarya Rai, wasn't in contention. The as-yet-untitled Bond film, to be directed by Sam Mendes, is rumored to be set in Afghanistan, and the word is the film's producers have been scouting locations in geographically similar parts of India. (The last Bond film shot in India was 'Octopussy' in 1983.) Pinto has denied that she's been offered the role.

The 63rd Cannes Film Festival runs from May 12 to May 23.

Starring Aamir Khan, Toby Stephens, Rani Mukerji, Amisha Patel, Kirron Kher

The saga of the 1857 Indian uprising against the British East India Company—called the Sepoy Mutiny by the British and the First War of Independence by Indians—is extremely complex. The tangled history leading up to it, the numerous groups and prominent figures involved, and the myriad reasons behind the revolt aren't conducive to the telling of a condensed narrative. But this film succeeds at doing exactly that by tightly focusing on the issue that finally lit the tinderbox—the deployment of new rifle cartridges greased with cow and pig fat that outraged Hindu and Muslim soldiers in the British army—and the man at the center of it all—a sepoy named Mangal Pandey, who fired the first shot of the rebellion.

Acting great Aamir Khan gives one of his best performances as Pandey, a high-caste Hindu who goes through a painful process of realizing how the British have manipulated him and Indians like him, culminating in his redemptive solidarity with Indians of all castes and religions. His self-discovery comes about through his friendship with a British soldier, William Gordon (played by British actor Toby Stephens), and their conflicted relationship is the crux of the story. Stephens is reason alone to give the film a ringing endorsement. Western actors in Bollywood films are usually dreadful, and it's a pleasure to watch one who does an excellent job for once. Stephens is an accomplished film, television, and stage actor, best known for playing the villain in the James Bond film 'Die Another Day' (2002), and his ability to deliver in Hindi is impressive. The other British actors aren't bad either, although their characters are rather two-dimensional and stereotypical (haughty men, permissive women).

The matter of language is handled deftly in the film, which can't be said of all Hindi movies with Western characters. The British officers logically speak Hindi to Indian soldiers and English to each other. To get around the need for excessive subtitling for Hindi audiences, voice-over narration (by actor Om Puri) is smoothly employed to explain what the English speakers are saying.

Despite its strengths, the film lacks emotional punch. The musical numbers are decent, but they fail to elicit much feeling, which is precisely the purpose they're supposed to serve in Hindi cinema. Romantic subplots are tossed in like an afterthought to please the audience (an all-too-common flaw in Western film). The respective love interests of Pandey and Gordon—an indignant courtesan (Rani Mukerji) and a young widow saved from her husband's funeral pyre (Amisha Patel)—add nothing to the main story, but they're sidelined enough that they don't detract from it either—and what an otherwise well-told story it is.

'Mangal Pandey' is rated Must See.

Since June of last year, Twitter users outside the U.S. have grown from less than 45% of all accounts to 63%. The number of new Twitter accounts in India has nearly doubled since the beginning of this year.

This month on Twitter's official blog, the company's lead engineer Matt Sanford credited Bollywood actors—and avid Twitterers—Priyanka Chopra (277,000 followers), Shahrukh Khan (273,000), and Abhishek Bachchan (139,000) with attracting new people to the site. The other famous Bachchan actors—Abhishek's wife Aishwarya Rai and his father Amitabh—are also on Twitter.

Superstar Salman Khan joined in April and enlisted more than 18,000 followers within 24 hours of his first post.

Filmmaker Karan Johar recently asked his Twitter followers—all 158,000 of them—to help him choose a name for his upcoming movie, a remake of the Hollywood film 'Stepmom' (1998), which starred Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Harris. The Bollywood version stars Kareena Kapoor, Kajol, and Arjun Rampal.

Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat visited Twitter's California headquarters last summer as she was one of the first Indian stars to garner a large following (currently more than 55,000). She has since been eclipsed, though, by the likes of Shahid Kapoor (139,000 followers) and Deepika Padukone (117,000).

Starring Vivek Oberoi, Nandana Sen, Neeru Singh, Aruna Shields, Sanjay Kapoor, Dalip Tahil

'Prince' starts out as a stylistic pastiche of great Hollywood action/sci-fi flicks—particularly 'The Matrix' and James Bond series—and while blatant and slapdash, it's not entirely objectionable. What is objectionable is the awful dialogue and overdone CGI. The film's saving grace, though, is a tried-and-true Hollywood action-thriller plot device: the MacGuffin, as Alfred Hitchcock termed it. The MacGuffin is simply a coveted object, the pursuit of which is the central conflict and source of suspense. In 'North By Northwest' (1959), the MacGuffin is a microfilm containing government secrets. In 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981), it's the Ark of the Covenant. In 'Prince,' the MacGuffin is a gold coin with a microchip inside that can erase human memory and replace it with another version. Although it's counterintuitive, the less detail given about the MacGuffin the more believable it is. In 'Prince,' however, there's far too much detracting explanation of the powers of the gold coin.

The choice of the MacGuffin—a gold coin—and the name of the main character—Prince—are nice mythic touches in an otherwise slickly modern movie. Prince (Vivek Oberoi) is a high-tech thief who wakes up one morning in his gorgeous home in South Africa with a gunshot wound and amnesia—but he still has his butt-kicking muscle memory. The premise is less similar to 'The Bourne Identity' (2002) than it sounds. Prince's butler tells him he works for a mobster named Sarang, played by a model-turned-actor known as Isaiah, who has tremendous presence, despite having little to do in the film expect look cool and dangerous. Prince also learns he has a girlfriend named Maya and he encounters three women claiming to be her (Neeru Singh, Nandana Sen, and Aruna Shields), each with a different story about who he is, and he's not sure which one to believe. Sarang and two Indian government agents, Colonel Khanna (Dalip Tahil) and Officer Khan (Sanjay Kapoor), are after Prince because they believe he's in possession of the gold coin, which he must find himself since he doesn't remember what he did with it.

Oberoi isn't in top form here. Instead of appearing confused by memory loss, he just seems tired. Perhaps he was weary of his female co-stars, who are nowhere near good enough to appear opposite him, even when he's subpar (Singh is the only one who does a decent job). But as the story progresses, Oberoi settles into his character and finds his groove, and the film, likewise, gels in the second half, helped by the strong (and very sexy) musical number, "Tere Liye."

'Prince' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Ritesh Deshmukh, Nana Patekar, Boman Irani

'Bluffmaster' has a little romance, a little comedy, a little tragedy—call it masala-lite. It's taut and low-key, but still funny and heartfelt, making it particularly appealing to the film sensibilities of Americans, who aren't used to the emotional rollercoaster of full-blown masala. But regardless of your preferences, 'Bluffmaster' is a highly entertaining film with vivid characters and a smart script.

Abhishek Bachchan plays Roy, a con artist. He's a charming, lovable bad boy, who cheats people out of their money because it's fun and he's good at it. He eschews violence, making his criminal nature a little easier to swallow. The story opens with Roy conning a film producer: he sets the man up to intercept a fake money drop to the mob and then poses as a cop to get a bribe out of him. But his scam comes back to haunt him when the film producer turns out to be a family friend of his fiancé, Simmi (Priyanka Chopra). The producer recognizes Roy at their engagement party and tells Simmi and her parents the truth about him. Simmi dumps him on the spot—and that's when their relationship gets interesting.

Bachchan and Chopra aren't the best onscreen pairing. In this and other films in which they've co-starred ('Drona,' 'Dostana'), there's no heat between them. They come off as pals, not lovers. Perhaps that's why their characters are most convincing as a couple when they're not a couple—when he's the lovelorn swain and she's the indignant ex. They're only passionate when he's pursuing her and she's reluctantly rejecting him—which is the case for most of the film as he tries to win her back by convincing her that he's changed.

But he hasn't changed. He befriends a less-skilled con artist named Dittu (Ritesh Deshmukh) and becomes his mentor. In the interest of education, they pull off a couple humorous scams together. Deshmukh always makes an amusing sidekick who appropriately doesn't overshadow his partner.

However, the lead is overshadowed by two other supporting actors in the film, Boman Irani and Nana Patekar—two of Bollywood's best. Irani plays Dr. Bhalerao, who diagnoses Roy with a fatal brain tumor and becomes a father figure to his misguided patient. But there's no melodrama in this terminal-disease subplot. Roy decides to use what little time he has left to help Dittu get revenge on the man who ruined his father. They plan one last big con to take down Chandra, a dangerous sociopath played by Patekar, who delightfully dominates the second half of the film. Even an accomplished crook like Roy can't predict how this scam turns out.

'Bluffmaster' is rated Must See.

The festival, which showcases Indian-related films from around the world, runs from April 20 to April 25 at ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. This year, the festival will screen 33 films from 5 countries, including 4 world premieres and 7 U.S. premieres.

"This is a true celebration of the art and business of Indian film and culture as well as an opportunity to connect with the game changers and emerging filmmakers of Indian-themed content," said Christina Marouda, IFFLA's executive director.

'3 Idiots,' a coming-of-age comedy directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and starring Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, R. Madhavan, and Sharman Joshi, is the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, collecting more than $80 million worldwide, including a decent take from the U.S. market—$6.5 million—also a box-office record. The screening will be held Friday, April 23.

'Kaminey's' director Vishal Bhardwaj—best known for his electrifying film adaptations of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' ('Maqbool') and 'Othello' ('Omkara')—broke new ground in Bollywood with his latest creation: a violent, convoluted, Tarantino-esque trip through the mean streets of Mumbai. The Bard's influence is apparent in 'Kaminey,' particularly in the double role played by Shahid Kapoor, that of twins—a symbol of fragmented identity as common in Indian cinema as it is in Shakespeare's plays. The film will be screened Thursday, April 22.

Kicking off the festival is debutante director Dilip Mehta's 'Cooking With Stella,' a comedy starring Seema Biswas, Lisa Ray, and Don McKellar. The red carpet event will be held on Tuesday, April 20.

Other feature films to be screened at the festival include:

'Raakh' (1989), English Title - 'Ashes to Ashes': The film, about a man who seeks revenge for the rape of his girlfriend, helped launch the careers of several high-profile actors, including Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan. The film was re-mastered for its 20th anniversary.

'Road, Movie' (2009): The U.S. premiere of a film about a young man who makes an unforgettable journey across the Rajasthani desert, starring Abhay Deol, Satish Kaushik, and Tannishtha Chatterjee.

'Harishchandrachi Factory' (2009): A feature film about the making of India's first feature film, 'Raja Harishchandra,' in 1913 (which predated Hollywood's first feature film by one year). The movie was India's official submission to the 2010 Academy Awards.

The festival's venue, ArcLight Hollywood, is located at 6360 W. Sunset Blvd., between Vine and Ivar. Tickets can be purchased at www.arclightcinemas.com and at the ArcLight Hollywood Box Office. For more information, visit www.indianfilmfestival.org.

Starring Shahid Kapoor, Genelia D'Souza

If you want to swoon like a schoolgirl, 'Chance Pe Dance'—a showcase for Shahid Kapoor's gorgeous physique and dancing prowess—delivers. But if you're looking for a compelling story that isn't utterly predictable, it doesn't.

Kapoor plays Sameer, an aspiring actor in Mumbai. In Bollywood, dancing ability is nearly as important as acting ability, and Kapoor is exceptional at both, but we only see his character's dancing expertise. In fact, Sameer is so good on the dance floor that he doesn't make a convincing underdog. Someone who looks and moves like him has the odds stacked in his favor, and his dream is hardly a long shot. In fact, that's the very premise of the story—that everyone is born with certain gifts that destine them to do certain things, and Sameer has been told his whole life by everyone he meets that he's sure to be a star. But after three years of struggling, he still hasn't made it because he lacks showbiz connections. That's certainly more of a factor in Bollywood, where nepotism is rampant, than it is in Hollywood—in fact, it undoubtedly helped Kapoor's own career, as both his parents are actors. But Kapoor's superstar quality bursts through his character to such a degree that it's impossible to buy him as a dejected failure, no matter how sad his puppy-dog eyes are.

The film fails to follow basic rules of good storytelling. For starters, heroes can't be passive—they must succeed through their own doing—but Sameer's success, or lack thereof, is simply a matter of dumb luck. Second, characters must change as the story unfolds. Sameer is immensely talented and convinced of it right from the beginning, and he simply must endure rejection until the world acknowledges his talent in the end. The only thing he learns from the experience is that he was right about himself all along.

His love interest, Tina (Genelia D’Souza), is likewise a static character. She's a film choreographer, who oddly barely dances in the film, and from what little she does, it's obvious why it was kept to a minimum. She meets Sameer at an audition, and with his first sexy dance move, she's hooked, as any woman with a pulse would be. After that, he reels her in with little effort. She believes in him from the start and her faith is unsurprisingly vindicated.

Halfway through the film, the story starts to go in an interesting direction when the broke Sameer reluctantly takes a job teaching dance classes at an elementary school, but the subplot turns out to be a pointless detour on his path to inevitable stardom.

'Chance Pe Dance' is rated Skip.

Starring Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Prithviraj Kapoor, Durga Khote

'Mughal-E-Azam' is a history-making Indian film about some of the most fascinating figures in Indian history: the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great, who ruled India in the 16th century, his eldest son Salim, and Salim's lover Anarkali.

The legend of Anarkali is a beloved tale in India and the subject of paintings, literature, and films. Given the disputable history of her existence, there are different versions of her life story. Many believe she was Akbar's concubine and possibly even the mother of his youngest son, Daniyal. As the story goes, Salim, the future Emperor Jahangir, fell in love with Anarkali, the couple had a scandalous affair, and the outraged Akbar buried her alive behind a palace wall.

The purported liaison aside, there's no question that Akbar and Salim had a highly contentious relationship. Salim was born to Akbar after years of childlessness and beseeching prayer, and the boy gave his father nothing but trouble thereafter. Salim struggled with alcoholism his whole life and openly rebelled against Akbar, even once leading a military revolt. But Akbar forgave him and named him his heir.

The actor who played Salim in 'Mughal-E-Azam' is Dilip Kumar—a legend himself—one of the greatest actors of all time. Anarkali was played by Kumar's real-life lover, Madhubala—an Indian actress of world-renown who was sought by Hollywood filmmakers during her heyday. She died of a heart defect at the age of 36—and was already suffering from the condition during the making of 'Mughal-E-Azam'—one of many associated with the film who died prematurely, including the director, K. Asif, who only completed two films before his death. 'Mughal-E-Azam' was 15 years in the making—partly because the first male lead died and was replaced by Kumar and partly because of the unprecedented lavishness of the production. Part of the film was shot in color—new technology at the time. In 2004, it was entirely colorized and became the first colorized feature film in the world to be re-released in theaters. At the time of its original release, the film set a box-office record that wasn't broken until 1975 by the blockbuster Amitabh Bachchan-starrer 'Sholay.'

In this film version of the story of Anarkali, she is not Akbar's concubine, but a humble maidservant in his harem. She and Salim share passionate stolen moments in the palace's pleasure gardens—until Akbar finds out that his son is inappropriately dallying with a woman beneath his rank. The emperor throws her in prison when Salim insists on marrying her. The standoff between the two men escalates into full-scale war. Kumar's smoldering Salim and Madhubala's enamored Anarkali burn up the screen.

The early years of Akbar's reign are the subject of a recent Bollywood film, 'Jodhaa Akbar' (2008), starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai.

Starring Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Mala Sinha

Guru Dutt—an Indian actor, director, and producer from the golden age of Hindi cinema in the 1950s—was a matinee idol who became one of the greatest filmmakers in history. A luminary artist in the commercial industry of Bollywood, he's often called "the Orson Welles of India." He's revered in his home country and has a huge cult following among film buffs around the world. His masterpiece 'Pyaasa,' which he directed and starred in, was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 best films of all time.

The title means "thirst," and it's one of many allusions in the film to the crucifixion of Christ—the story's overarching metaphor—a dramatically grandiose one and certainly unusual in a Hindi film. Dutt's character, Vijay, a starving poet, is the persecuted martyr and art is his religion. He's tormented by his detractors—the lover who dumped him, the publisher who rejects him, his brothers who resent him, the husband who's jealous of him—but he's the source of his greatest anguish as he capitulates to an existential crisis so profound there's no recovering from it. The character is enigmatically complex—a sensitive genius whose suffering is noble, but also a self-pitying, misogynistic narcissist.

The two women who love him—Meena (Mala Sinha) and Gulabo (Waheeda Rehman)—agonize over him. Through them, Dutt the filmmaker reveals his feminist understanding of the psychic pain caused by male sexism, even as his character is the one inflicting it. Meena is Vijay's first love. She's enthralled with him for the man he is, but he adores her only as an abstraction of love. In one telling musical number, he daydreams about her instead of paying attention to her while she's sitting right next to him. Understandably hurt and sick of being ignored, she leaves him, and perhaps believing no man is capable of meeting her emotional needs, she settles for marrying a wealthy man. Vijay later lashes out at her for "selling love for comfort." He stops short of calling her a whore, but her husband says it for him when he discovers her alone with him. In the very next scene, Vijay saves the actual prostitute in his life, Gulabo, from being arrested by tenderly embracing her and telling the cop she's his wife. Gulabo understands and appreciates his talent, and unlike Meena, she asks nothing of him (because she doesn't have a shred of self-respect). That makes her, in his eyes, virtuous. All three yearn for their humanity to be recognized, but Vijay is the only one incapable of reciprocating.

Dutt was a troubled artist himself, but he made this tribute to the tortured poet in his soul after a successful commercial career, and 'Pyaasa' likewise was a box-office hit. For Dutt, ignominious failure came later, with his next film, the ominously autobiographical 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' (1959)—a flop and a creative achievement second only to 'Pyaasa.'

Starring Irrfan Khan, Lara Dutta, Shahrukh Khan

'Billu' is a commentary on fame, brought to you by the most famous movie star in the world, Shahrukh Khan. The actor essentially plays himself—a mega-wattage celebrity—whose name is Sahir Khan. Sahir is supposedly the long-lost friend of a humble village barber named Billu, played by character actor par excellence Irrfan Khan. Billu's business is failing because a fancy new hair salon across the street has taken all his customers, who don't want to frequent his dilapidated shop, which he can't afford to fix up, and his young son and daughter are going to get kicked out of school if he doesn't come up with the tuition he's behind on paying. Sahir shoots some scenes for his upcoming movie in Billu's village, rumors spread that Billu knows Sahir, and suddenly Billu becomes a local celebrity, which he reluctantly accepts since his business picks up and his wife (played by Lara Dutta) can hold her head high again. The problem is he can't get past Sahir's security to meet him, and the villagers, including his family, start to doubt if even he knows the star—and they turn on him. Such is the tenuous nature of fame. There's an intentionally sharp contrast between Billu's simple, authentic world and Sahir's glitzy, artificial one, but the contrast is so sharp that it's jarring, and it's exacerbated by the disorienting item numbers.

Some critics of Bollywood (usually Western) mistakenly believe that item numbers (as suggestive dance scenes are called in Bollywood) are superfluous, when in fact they're integral to the movie, but not in the manner that Westerners are used to seeing in Broadway-style musicals. Like nearly all Bollywood musical numbers, item numbers exist not to advance the plot but to express emotion—in this case, bawdy desire. They're a sexy element in films that otherwise don't depict any sex. The lead dancer, called an "item girl," usually doesn't appear in the film otherwise. (Thankfully, we're starting to see more "item boys" these days as well.) That way, the audience can indulge in a little fantasy without thinking less of the heroine (or hero) for being so overtly sexual. The problem with Billu is that the item numbers truly are superfluous because they're item numbers for another film—the film Sahir is making within the film. Therefore, they're confusing interruptions from the story. Which is too bad because at face value, they're examples of spectacular Bollywood item numbers at their best—and loaded with star power no less, with actresses Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor appearing as item girls.

'Billu' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi, Manisha Koirala, Antara Mali

Indians love mob movies as much as Americans do—partly because both of our countries unfortunately have a history of thriving organized crime—to the point where stories about the mob have become a kind of mythology, and Bollywood's robust gangster genre is the one that bears the most similarity to Hollywood. In both countries, those films are made in the same gritty style.

There are some key differences, however. Musical numbers, for one. Although they're rare in Bollywood mob movies, they do pop up sometimes, in a surprisingly fitting way. But perhaps that isn't such a difference after all—musical sequences are prominent in many American mob movies, from 'The Godfather' (1972) to 'The Departed' (2006).

Another crucial variation comes from the slang used to describe criminal syndicates. In the U.S., they're often called "families" or "gangs," words that signify personal connections. There's a little bit of that in India—'bhai,' which means "brother," is a euphemism for criminals, but their illegal enterprises are often called "companies." (India's most notorious was known as "D-Company.") The American naming convention is perversely romantic while the Indian word choice is much more accurate—the mob has a corporate-like hierarchy and operates for the sole purpose of making money—and this reality is more starkly reflected in Indian mob movies.

The notion of the separation of business and personal is the theme of 'Company,' a film that belongs on any list of best mob movies of all time. It's directed by Ram Gopal Varma—the Martin Scorsese of India. While many of Varma's films are highly stylized, his approach here has a documentary quality. Actor Ajay Devgan turns in one of the best performances of his career as Malik, a smart, smooth mid-level gangster. Vivek Oberoi makes a brilliant film debut as Chandu, a cocky, small-time hood. Malik outsources low-level thuggery to contract workers like Chandu, who thinks his freelance status exempts him from being told how to do his job, much to the consternation of the company's impotent upper management. Malik sees an opportunity for advancement in this discord and he takes Chandu under his wing. Together, they pull off a hostile takeover through violence and savvy. The two men are perfect foils—Chandu is all heart, Malik is all brain—and they become friends. Or do they merely bond over their mutual self-interests? Neither man is sure as they consolidate their power and move headquarters to Hong Kong to escape prosecution in India. Mistrust inevitably seeps in and cracks the company wide open. Whatever Chandu and Malik once were to each other, they're enemies now—and there's no question that their enmity is deeply personal.

While their complicated relationship is the crux of the story, their romantic entanglements are equally engrossing. The only thing that warms Malik's cold blood is his girlfriend, Saroja (Manisha Koirala), a vaguely self-loathing woman, conflicted about her lover, whom she half-jokingly calls a devil and a monster. Chandu's abiding love for his devoted and fearless wife Kanu (Antara Mali) makes him a happy husband with a lot to lose. Both actresses, but Mali in particular, hold their own next to their outstanding co-stars.

'Company' is rated Must See.

Starring Hrithik Roshan, Amisha Patel

Some movies stand the test of time, and some don't. 'Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai' was a box-office hit, generally liked by critics, and it cleaned up at the Filmfare Awards—Best Actor and Best Debut went to Hrithik Roshan and Best Movie and Best Director went to his father, veteran filmmaker Rakesh Roshan. It's evident in this, his first film, that the junior Roshan, now a superstar, is a natural-born actor as he skillfully assumes a dual role and gives each of his characters distinct personalities. The movie itself is mildly entertaining, but a disappointment in retrospect, given its strong initial reception. Bollywood has changed so much in the last decade (for good or bad is a matter of debate for some) that it's amazing how dated a 10-year-old Hindi film can be.

Hrithik plays Rohit—a car salesman by day and a struggling musician by night. Rohit and his much younger brother Amit are orphans (although it's never explained what exactly happened to their parents) and they live with an older couple (it's never made clear if these two are related to the boys or merely renting a room to them). Rich daddy's girl Sonia Saxena is played by Amisha Patel, also in her film debut, but unlike Hrithik, she went on to have a middling career.

Sonia's father (Anupam Kher) buys her a car from Rohit, who delivers it to her personally. Rohit then crashes her birthday party and sings at it. They take a fancy to each other and go on a cruise together with all their friends. Sonia gets drunk on champagne, Rohit joins her, and they pass out in a lifeboat that breaks away from the cruise ship. They end up on a deserted island, but these goody-two-shoes don't fool around. Sonia's father suspects otherwise, however, and when he rescues the pair, he decides to keep them apart. Mr. Saxena is involved in some shady dealings, and when Rohit accidentally witnesses his associates shooting a police officer, the bad guys chase him down on his motorcycle and run him off a bridge. He drowns in the water below, but his body is never recovered.

Mr. Saxena sends the grieving Sonia to live with her uncle in New Zealand, and she meets Raj (also played by Hrithik), who looks exactly like Rohit (except Raj is edgier than her cloying first love). Raj pursues her, even though she literally runs away from him, haunted as she is by memories of Rohit. Raj follows her back to India, where Rohit's enemies target Raj, thinking they didn't finish the job the first time.

Raj does not turn out to be the amnesia-stricken Rohit or his long-lost twin, and kudos to the film for not going in either of those predictable directions. However, there's no explanation for why Raj is identical to Rohit. Even some symbolic reason would have sufficed, but none is given.

There's a lot going on in this movie, and plenty of high drama, and yet, it's not terribly engaging.

'Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai' is rated Skip.

Starring Ajay Devgan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Paresh Rawal

As all fans of foreign film know, jokes don't always translate across cultures and comedies from other countries are often hard to appreciate. So much of humor is imbedded in the way language is used, and comedic dialogue also tends to be rapid fire, so even keeping up with subtitles can be tough. Cultural references, which in the case of Indian comedies are very unfamiliar to most Westerners, are also comedically employed. But forgoing Hindi comedy—a bastion of hilarious farce and biting social satire—for any reason would be a mistake. And you can't go wrong with anything that stars Indian actor Paresh Rawal, who transcends cultural barriers with delivery that's so funny you almost don't need to understand what's going on. 'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?' is not Rawal's best comedy, but the show is all his.

The film is accessible for another reason. Discomfiting comedy is popular in the West, and this movie is as painful as anything Larry David or Ricky Gervais can dish out. Rawal plays Chachaji, a villager and self-anointed cultural cop, who shows up on the doorstep of his nephew, Puneet (Ajay Devgan), a screenwriter living in suburban Mumbai with his wife, Munmun (Konkona Sen Sharma), and their adorable six-year-old son. There's a saying in India, "The guest is God," and hospitality, especially toward family, is a moral imperative. Puneet and Munmun have no choice but to welcome him into their home and play host to him during his long, indefinite stay. Not only do his traditional ways clash with their modern lifestyle, but he's also an obnoxious boor, who intrudes on their privacy and makes unreasonable demands of their time.

Devgan started his career as an action hero and later evolved into one of the best tragedians in cinema. He's been in numerous comedies, but it's always surprising to see that he has such light and enjoyable comedic flair. Sharma, a normally impressive actress, unfortunately doesn't get the chance to do much more than sigh and complain in the film.

There's one particularly hilarious song in the film that requires explanation. "Jyoti Jalale," is a spoof of the song "Beedi," a sexy number from the 2006 film 'Omkara' (in which, incidentally, Devgan and Sharma star as brother and sister)—the words are changed to be worshipful and Rawal takes the place of actress Bipasha Basu, who performed it originally.

The film's premise is a hoot for the first half hour, and then it becomes unbearable. And it's meant to. It creates the exact same feelings of intense annoyance—and guilt over feeling annoyed—in the audience that the characters are enduring. Chachaji is oblivious to the fact that he's maddeningly irritating. He's a lonely man, liked by no one, but he likes them. In fact, he becomes a doting uncle to their little boy, brings old customs into their home, and reminds this nuclear unit that, for good or bad, extended family is indispensable.

'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?' is rated Worth Watching.

The Grammy-nominated singer will join the ranks of other Western music artists who've contributed to Bollywood films in recent years. American rapper Snoop Dogg performed on the title track of 'Singh is Kinng' in 2008 and Australian pop star Kylie Minogue performed a song in 'Blue' in 2009.

In 'Ra.One,' Khan plays a software engineer who becomes a video-game hero and combats a virtual monster he created. Indian actors Kareena Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi also star in the film.

Students must audition for the 16-week program, which costs C$9,000 for Canadians and C$13,000 for international students. The program is approved by Ontario's Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities, and its first students will graduate in April. Graduates are guaranteed membership in the Senior Artists Association, a film trade union in Mumbai.

The program director, Lucky Sanda, is a former child actor who appeared in several Bollywood films, including 'Do Anjaane' (1976) and 'Mein Tulsi Tere Angan Ki' (1978), before moving to Canada in 1992.

The Canadian Institute of Management and Technology also offers diplomas in business and technology programs. The college is located in Mississauga, part of the greater Toronto area.

About 300,000 Indians live in Toronto—about 12 percent of the population—making them the largest minority ethnic group in the city.

Toronto is set to become the first North American city to host one of Bollywood's major awards ceremonies, the International Indian Film Academy Awards, from June 16-19, 2011. The event, which honors artistic and technical achievement in the Hindi film industry, takes place in a different city outside of India every year in an effort to promote Hindi cinema around the world.

For more information about CIMT's Bollywood acting program, visit www.bollywoodacting.com or email bollywoodacting@cimtcollege.com.

Chopra's most recent picture, '3 Idiots,' a coming-of-age comedy starring Aamir Khan that released last December, is the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, collecting more than $80 million worldwide, including a decent take from the U.S. market—$6.5 million—also a box-office record.

Chopra, 53, said he learned English as a teenager by watching Hollywood films. Shortly after leaving film school, he made a short documentary, 'An Encounter with Faces,' about impoverished children in India, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1979. He made his first feature film in 1981, 'Sazaye Maut,' a crime thriller. His most lauded films include '1942: A Love Story' (1993), 'Mission Kashmir' (2000), and 'Munna Bhai MBBS' (2003).

Ajay (Devgan) and Piya (Kajol) are an older married couple. She has Alzheimer's disease and can't remember her husband, so he approaches her as a stranger and tells her their love story, which unfolds in flashback, without her realizing that it's about the two of them. In 'The Notebook,' different actors play the characters at different ages, but here, the leads play the characters throughout, so there's no mystery about what's going on—you know right from the start that Piya can't remember her past. Their story, which isn't romantic in the least, begins on a cruise ship, when they're both young and carefree—she's a cocktail waitress and he's a passenger traveling with two couples—Vicky and Natasha, who are happily married, and Reena and Nikhil, who are unhappily married (none of them serve any purpose in the story). The audience is told that Ajay is a cool and charming guy, but he doesn't seem very impressive at all. The first time Piya meets him he gets wasted and makes a fool out of himself. Then, he sneaks into her room and reads her diary in order to use the personal information to woo her. He lies about liking all the same things she does—chocolates, Paris, salsa dancing, Labradors—and wins her heart. She finds out he's lying, forgives him, and marries him. Gee, what a catch. Not long after, she's diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's.

I have family members with this disease and I was affected by the film's depiction of it. While it's far from completely accurate, it's much more realistic than 'The Notebook.' Alzheimer's patients are often terror-stricken, or at the very least, extremely anxious about their confusion, and the film does a fine job of capturing that relentless panic as well as the frustration and helplessness of loved ones. It also shows the teasing, bittersweet moments of lucidity that a person with dementia can have, when they fleetingly become their old selves and just as quickly disappear again.

But the film's representation of these aspects of the disease is part of the problem with it. The second half, in which Piya rapidly deteriorates, goes on and on and on with no reprieve—much like Alzheimer's—leaving the audience as frazzled as the characters.

'U Me Aur Hum' is rated Skip.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan, Jaya Bachchan

The American dream isn't always everything it's cracked up to be. There may be lots of opportunities in the U.S., but success and happiness are still hard to come by here. 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' is a story of three Indians living in exciting New York City, struggling personally, and stuck in an impossible love triangle.

Naina (Preity Zinta) is a young woman working on her MBA and dealing with problems at home. She's depressed over her father's suicide and worried about her stressed-out mother, Jenny (Jaya Bachchan), who's trying to raise her much-younger brother, Shiv, and sister, Gia, while working to keep the failing family restaurant afloat. Jenny's mother-in-law, Dadi, lives with them, and she cruelly blames Jenny for her son's death and ignores Gia because she's adopted. Dadi is also pressuring Naina to agree to an arranged marriage, but Naina is incapable of giving her heart to anyone.

Naina has one bright spot in her life—her friend Rohit (Saif Ali Khan), who attends business school with her. Rohit is a nice, good-looking, wealthy guy, who's constantly hitting on women, and for some inexplicable reason, he keeps striking out. He doesn't find the drab and doleful Naina attractive—nor is she interested in him—but they enjoy each other's company.

Things get so bad at Naina's house that the family prays for an angel to rescue them—and one arrives when Aman (Shahrukh Khan) moves into the neighborhood. He immediately endears himself to everyone he meets—except Naina, who finds his forwardness off-putting—and he starts solving all their problems, including Naina's, because he loves her. He eventually inspires her to smile again, and she begins to love him back, but they can't be together, for reasons revealed later in the film. Rohit sees the new, lively Naina differently—as more than a friend.

The film was helmed by debutant director Nikhil Advani (who went on to direct 'Salaam-E-Ishq' in 2007 and 'Chandni Chowk to China' in 2009), but it was co-written and produced by Karan Johar, who's known for directing romantic dramas set in Western countries, such as 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' (2001) and 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' (2006), and Johar's earmarks are all over 'Kal Ho Naa Ho.' His signature themes and style—ranging from parent worship to gay innuendo—make the film sing. And the Naina-Aman-Rohit love triangle gets straightened out in typical Johar fashion—with an emotional bulldozer.

'Kal Ho Naa Ho' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, the movie is about a Muslim Indian with Asperger syndrome who moves to San Francisco and marries a Hindu, but after the World Trade Center is attacked and his family becomes the victim of religious bigotry and violence, his marriage falls apart, and he embarks on a cross-country journey to meet the U.S. president and win back his wife.

The film, which released February 12, breaks the previous U.S. opening-weekend record for a Bollywood film set by the coming-of-age comedy, '3 Idiots,' starring Aamir Khan, which collected nearly $2.2 million in the U.S. during its opening weekend last December. '3 Idiots' went on to make $70 million worldwide—also a box-office record for an Indian movie and one that 'My Name Is Khan' could break.

'My Name Is Khan' was reportedly sold to Fox Star Studios last July for $21 million—the highest price ever paid by a distributor for a Bollywood film. Under the deal, Fox Star Studios—a joint venture between American film studio 20th Century Fox and India's Star Group—acquired the worldwide marketing and distribution rights to the film. It was released in North America by Fox Searchlight Pictures, a division of 20th Century Fox.

Starring Shahrukh Khan, Kajol

'My Name Is Khan' is the third major Bollywood film in the last year to deal with religious discrimination in the U.S., but while the other two—'Kurbaan' and 'New York'—are terrorist thrillers, 'My Name Is Khan' is a love story with 9/11 as the backdrop. It reunites famous screen pair Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, who haven't appeared in a film together in nine years.

Despite the self-reference in the title, Khan doesn't play a cartoonish version of himself as he has in recent films ('Billu,' 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi,' 'Om Shanti Om'). Instead, he stretches and wonderfully succeeds at portraying a man with a mild form of autism. The character, Rizvan Khan, is a Muslim Indian, who moves to San Francisco, where he sells beauty products to hair salons, woos a Hindu divorcée, Mandira (Kajol), and endears himself to her young son with his good-heartedness. After the World Trade Center is attacked and his family becomes the victim of religious bigotry and violence, his marriage falls apart.

The director, Karan Johar, is an emotional maestro, who previously helmed the hit romantic dramas 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' (2001) and 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' (2006), and he specializes in the soaring heights of love and its devastating landings. When his lens is trained on relationships, all that melodrama is intensely pleasurable, but when he broadens his perspective to include the social landscape of post-9/11 America, it's painfully hokey. Khan's cross-country journey to meet the U.S. president and tell him he's not a terrorist is over-the-top, especially when he ends up in a hurricane-hit Georgia town. A film that cautions about stereotyping Muslims should be more careful about stereotyping other groups, and its dated caricature of Southern Blacks is inappropriate.

Still, the film's message of religious tolerance is sorely needed in both the U.S. and India, as evidenced by Shahrukh Khan's own recent experiences. The Muslim actor was detained and questioned by immigration officials last August at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, which made headlines worldwide and outraged many Indians. Then, days before the release of 'My Name Is Khan,' Mumbai's Hindu nationalist political party, Shiv Sena, threatened to disrupt the film's premiere because Khan, who owns a professional Indian cricket team, said Pakistani players should have been included in the league's recent draft. Scores of police guarded the city's theaters, protesters were arrested, and the film opened to packed houses—a testament not only to Khan's star power but also to the number of moviegoers who share the film's liberal sentiments. Too bad it fails to deliver a better story.

'My Name Is Khan' is rated Skip.

Starring Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Arshad Warsi, Tania Zaetta

Nick (Saif Ali Khan) and Ambar (Preity Zinta)—hip, young Indians living in Melbourne, Australia—do everything out of the usual order. First, they move in together. Then, they fall into bed together. Then, they fall in love. Next thing, Ambar's pregnant. But marriage doesn't automatically follow.

It certainly isn't the best way to go about romance—bypassing all the fun of courtship and plunging right into the difficult adjustments and compromises that come with living together. But they dig each other all the same. And how could they not? They're an engaging couple—and so, the atypical trajectory of their relationship is engaging, too.

Ambar is a bubbly med student moonlighting as a host for a morning radio show called "Salaam Namaste" (which means "hello" in Urdu and Hindi). Before moving Down Under, she rejected all the suitors her parents picked out for her because her sister's harried married life scared her out of wanting to wed. Nick came to Australia to study architecture, per his father's wishes, but ended up pursuing his love of cooking and is now the head chef at a trendy restaurant. Nick is supposed to be interviewed on Ambar's show, but he oversleeps and never arrives, so she slams him and his restaurant on the air. They meet later at a beach wedding—she's a bridesmaid and he's the caterer—and they bond over their mutual distaste for marriage and their bewilderment over the spur-of-the-moment wedding of their friends, Ron and Cathy (Arshad Warsi and Tania Zaetta). They get over their initial friction and he goes after her ardently. But she doesn't have time for a relationship, and she points out, neither does he. So he proposes they move in together—strictly as roommates with separate bedrooms—so they can get to know each and see if it's worth pursuing. It's a crazy idea, but he makes a convincing argument—plus, he promises to do all the cooking (what woman would turn down that offer?). Two blissful months later, she's expecting a baby. He vehemently doesn't want it, and she decides she does, which changes her feelings about marriage, too. The impasse puts an end to their romance, and they have to figure out how to do the very first thing they skipped over—be friends.

This is the third time Khan and Zinta have been paired in a film, and it shows in their easy rapport. Aside from some excessive silliness, especially involving the minor characters, the film is well-written, and the crisp dialogue between the leads is well-delivered. The film's biggest flaw is there's too much effort to make everyone look cool—and it ends up having an opposite, cheesy effect.

'Salaam Namaste' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Imran Khan, Genelia D'Souza

There's little physical resemblance between fledgling actor Imran Khan and his uncle, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, but the young man has obviously inherited the same acting gene. The senior Khan made the right decision in producing this, his nephew's debut film, because it went on to become a box-office hit. Actress Genelia D'Souza also makes her debut here and shows promise as a spunky leading lady.

But other than solid performances by the two leads, the film has little else to recommend it. It's a cute, lighthearted romantic comedy about an uncomplicated, congenial, and somewhat boring couple. The story is run-of-the-mill, and while the characters are college graduates, they emotionally seem more like adolescents.

Jai (Khan) and Aditi (D'Souza) are best friends who can't admit to themselves or each other that they're in love. Their story is told in flashback by their unremarkable friends—an unnecessary and annoying narration contrivance. For some reason, these adorable soul mates, who make each other completely happy, have never considered dating. They're shocked when Aditi's parents suggest they get married, and they balk at the idea. Her parents warn them that if they end up with different romantic partners, their close friendship might not survive.

Predictably, when Jai starts dating someone, Aditi feels neglected and jealous. So she agrees to an arranged marriage and gets engaged to a jerk. Jai's new girlfriend turns out to be a head case. They're both miserable and missing each other, but too hurt and angry to rectify the problem.

In the meantime, Jai keeps having a dream about a man with a sword on horseback, and he thinks it's his deceased father. His mother is horrified about the dream because, she tells him, his father was committed to nonviolence and was killed breaking up a fight. Which is a lie—his father died participating in a fight. We know this because Jai's mom talks to a picture of her late husband—and his picture talks back. The dead man is worried that his wife has turned their son into a wimp, but really, Jai is too smart to get hurt and too cool for anyone to hate and he easily talks his way out of fights, which drives Aditi crazy, because she likes manly guys who stand up for themselves (grow up, girl!). His father predicts that one day Jai's fiery family pride will flare up and he'll be a hero. Take a wild guess what happens.

'Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na' is rated Worth Watching.

"This is insane, God is great again," Rahman said as he accepted his second Grammy.

The 'Slumdog Millionaire' soundtrack has earned Rahman two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award.

At the 81st Academy Awards ceremony in 2009, 'Slumdog Millionaire' won in eight categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. Three of the awards went to Indians, including Rahman.

Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sudeep, Ritesh Deshmukh, Paresh Rawal

While American media is floundering amid the wreckage of Internet-shattered business models and lowest-common-denominator content, the media in India is thriving. 'The Times of India' now has the highest circulation of any English-language newspaper in the world (more than three million read it every day), major Indian cities often have several local newspapers, and television news is proliferating there. In fact, some U.S. journalism jobs are being outsourced to India. As Indian media gains in influence and has the potential to reap even greater profits, it's confronting many of the same issues of power that the U.S. media has—namely, reconciling its public-service role as the essential Fourth Estate in any successful democracy and its need (or temptation, depending on your perspective) to make money as a business.

Director Ram Gopal Varma tackles this conflict in 'Rann.' He's best known for his mob movies, including 'Satya' (1998), 'Company' (2002), and 'Sarkar' (2005)—although he's also dabbled in horror, suspense, and psychological thrillers. Moral corruption tends to be his theme—and Rann is no exception, even though the subject—cable news—is a departure from his past work. What Varma gives us is not a media movie in the Hollywood tradition, like 'All The President's Men' (1976), 'The Paper' (1994), and 'Frost/Nixon' (2008), with scrappy reporters gumshoeing to get the scoop. Rather, 'Rann' is a dark allegory, a medieval morality play for modern times, with a good father, a fallen son, and a devil in the guise of righteousness.

Amitabh Bachchan plays Vijay Harshwardhan Malik, a venerable broadcast journalist—like Walter Cronkite—the most trusted man in the country. His television channel, called India 24/7, is losing the ratings competition to a rival channel with a slick, unethical anchor named Amrish Kakkar (Mohnish Behl), who's a former employee of India 24/7. Vijay's son Jai (Sudeep), who's at the company helm, is desperate to boost viewership, and he's willing to stoop to any level necessary to do it. Jai's compulsive chain-smoking and nervous habit of flipping open his lighter are the first clues he's playing with fire. He makes a deal with a dirty politician, Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal), who dresses in white and smears red paste on his forehead to convey piety—but he tellingly never removes his sunglasses. With the help of Jai's creepy brother-in-law, Naveen (Rajat Kapoor), they manufacture a fake news story that implicates the prime minister in a terrorist attack, which Vijay airs, believing it to be true. Ratings jump, and so do Pandey's poll numbers. But an idealistic reporter at India 24/7, Purab (Ritesh Deshmukh), suspects the story is a lie and sets out to expose the truth.

Varma's style of filmmaking is always visually interesting—his high-contrast lighting, his unusual camera angles, his color saturation. His last film, 'Sarkar Raj,' had a golden hue. The grayish tone of 'Rann' is, fittingly, as cold and steely as greed, and it makes all the characters look a little corpse-like.

Vijay's climactic monologue—and Bachchan is one of the few actors capable of making a monologue climactic—is a eulogy of sorts. It's a speech that makes you shiver.

'Rann' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, John Abraham, Bobby Deol

Mumbai crash-lands in Miami, and voilà, Bollywood meets 'The Birdcage.' The two go together like sun and sand. The reason it didn't happen sooner is because same-sex romance was a taboo movie topic in India—until 'Dostana' came along. The film isn't preachy about tolerance, but rather, a rollicking good time, right from the get-go. Maybe that's why audiences embraced the theme despite its touchiness and turned out in droves.

The film opens with Bollywood's favorite eye candy, John Abraham, emerging from the ocean Ursula Andress-style—a shimmering Adonis in tight swim trunks. Hero No. 2, Abhishek Bachchan, pulls up in a pink fishtail Cadillac with a bevy of babes in the back seat. And a bikini-clad Shilpa Shetty performs the catchy number "Shut Up and Bounce" along Miami's South Beach, cavorting with the two men. But wait—isn't the movie about a gay relationship? No, but it is about acceptance of gay relationships, done in the spirit of 'La Cage Aux Folles.' Instead of two gay men pretending to be a straight couple, two straight men pretend to be a gay couple.

The film firmly establishes that the main characters, Sameer (Bachchan) and Kunal (Abraham), like women—a lot. They're macho lady-killers who meet one morning over breakfast after shacking up with two girls who live together. Kunal is a fashion photographer who has access to gorgeous women galore, while Sameer is a nurse who's secure enough in his masculinity to comfortably work in a female-dominated field. They run into each other again when they both show up to rent the same apartment, and both are turned down by the landlady, who doesn't want virile young men as tenants, since they'll be sharing the place with her niece, Neha (Priyanka Chopra). They don't want to pass up the chance to live in this incredible pad, so they tell the landlady they're gay and she decides to make an exception for them. The problems begin when they meet Neha and they're immediately hot for her, but they can't reveal the truth to her or she'll throw them out. The three become close friends as they hit the beaches and clubs of Miami. The comical complications pile up when Sameer's mother, who's unaware of her son's ruse, shows up for a visit, along with an immigration officer, who's checking to make sure their relationship is legitimate since they applied for permanent residency as a same-sex couple. When Neha starts dating her boss, Abhi (Bobby Deol), Sameer and Kunal—now completely in love with her—do everything they can to break them up, with hilarious results. Of course, only one of these three men can have her, and all of their friendships end up on the line.

'Dostana' is rated Must See.

Starring Salman Khan, Zarine Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Sohail Khan, Jackie Shroff

'Veer' is a period film that disregards history, a legend with an uninspiring hero, a costume drama with chintzy attire, and a romance with no passion.

Salman Khan plays Veer, a colonial-era ruffian, who belongs to a fierce tribe called the Pindaris. His father, Prithvi Singh (played by Mithun Chakraborty, who gives the only terrific performance in the film), is one of the leaders of the community. The Pindaris are betrayed by the king of Madhavgarh (Jackie Shroff), who's in cahoots with the British, and the Pindaris want to oust both from their land. Prithvi sends Veer and his goofy younger brother Punya (played by Salman's real-life brother, Sohail Khan) to England to get an education and learn about their enemy from the inside. Once there, the proud warrior suddenly becomes an awkward adolescent, stripped of all mystery, with a schoolboy crush on his classmate, Yashodhara (Zarine Khan, in her Bollywood debut). The actress, who strikingly resembles Salman's real-life girlfriend, Bollywood star Katrina Kaif, is as pretty as a porcelain doll—and just as stiff. There are no sparks between the two leads. Yashodhara turns out to be a princess—the daughter of Veer's sworn enemy, the king of Madhavgarh. The action returns to India, and Veer is determined to win Yashodhara and fulfill his duty as a revenge-bent Pindari.

The story takes place in the late 1800s, but the filmmakers don't correctly place it in that time period. 'Veer' borrows from every Hollywood warrior epic in recent memory—'Braveheart' (1995), 'Gladiator' (2000), 'Troy' (2004), 'Alexander' (2004), and 'Tristan & Isolde' (2006)—blatantly lifting scenes and incorporating details from the various eras, from ancient Rome to medieval England.

The costuming is likewise schizophrenic. Veer's traditional Pindari outfits are sharp but way too modern in style. The European clothes worn by the women only vaguely resemble Victorian fashion and appear to have been raided from a high school drama club's cheap wardrobe. Little attempt is made at period hairstyles—the Western actresses even have unmistakably modern-day dos.

The non-Indian actors are distractingly bad—as is the case in so many Hindi films that feature Western characters. It's a problem the industry needs to address as Bollywood movies are increasingly being set in the West and viewed by Western audiences.

Add CGI to the list of things wrong with this film. The excessive, unrealistic computer-generated imagery that mars so many Hollywood movies is unfortunately creeping into Bollywood, as evidenced by 'Veer.' Hopefully, after this, Hindi filmmakers will resist the influx of gratuitous technology.

Finally, the film is topped off with such an absurd denouement that it makes the whole picture simply laughable.

'Veer' is rated Skip.

Mehta said she recently finished the screenplay, which she co-wrote with Rushdie, and will begin shooting the film in India in September. Confirmed cast members include Indian actors Shabana Azmi, Seema Biswas, and Nandita Das.

'Midnight's Children' is about a baby born at midnight on August 15, 1947, the moment of India's independence from Britain. The boy has magical powers that connect him with 1,000 other "midnight's children," who were born at the same time. The book won the prestigious Man Booker Prize for Fiction, a literary award given each year to an English-language novel.

The Indian-born Mehta previously directed a controversial trilogy of films set in her native country: 'Fire' (1996), 'Earth' (1998), and 'Water' (2005). 'Water' received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, making it the first non-French-language Canadian film ever to be nominated in that category. Several Bollywood stars, including Aamir Khan and John Abraham, appeared in the trilogy. Her 2008 film, 'Heaven on Earth,' was set in Canada and starred Bollywood actress Preity Zinta.

Kingsley, 65, is part of a star-studded cast that includes Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan as well as such prominent Indian actors as Irrfan Khan, Boman Irani, R. Madhavan, and Sushmita Sen. Ajay Devgan makes a special appearance.

In the thriller, Kingsley plays a world-famous mathematician who meets Bachchan's character, an obscure Indian math genius, at a casino in London, and the two scholars of probability become embroiled in Mumbai's underground poker scene.

Kingsley is also set to play the emperor who built the Taj Mahal opposite Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who will play the emperor's beloved wife, in 'Taj,' a film about the legendary lovers. Shooting for the film is scheduled to start in July, primarily in the Indian city of Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located. 'Taj' is expected to release in 2011.

The film, which released worldwide in February 2009, is about a New Yorker of Indian origin who brings his sick grandmother back to her hometown of Delhi. Filled with gorgeous urban footage, the film captures the wonder of seeing India for the first time. 'Delhi-6' was co-produced by UTV Motion Pictures and the film's director, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

The Hindi-language film, 'Saawariya' (2007), starring Bollywood actors Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, and Salman Khan, is also available on iTunes, but it's technically not a Bollywood film because it was produced and released by a Hollywood studio, Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Starring Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja

Bollywood movies are long—for good reason. The time commitment required of the audience heightens their emotional investment in the story. (The same is true of operas, which are often as long or even longer than Hindi films.) The effect can be powerfully moving, even for Americans accustomed to shorter films. 'What's Your Rashee?,' a tedious romantic comedy with a run time of three hours and 25 minutes, is not an example of Bollywood's artful use of length, but an unpleasant test of endurance.

The premise of the film is interesting—one actress, the talented Priyanka Chopra, plays 12 different characters, one for each zodiac sign, or rashee. But that's several characters too many to explore in one film. Chopra doesn’t even appear until a full half hour into it, and by then, the audience has suffered too much of her milquetoast co-star, Harman Baweja, to care which one of her avatars (each with a distinct personality and hairstyle) ends up with his character, Yogesh. At some point, you'll start counting how many more signs are left (I began keeping track at six).

Yogesh is a student at the University of Chicago. His brother back in Mumbai is involved in a financial scam and must pay restitution, and he also owes a large sum to the mob. His desperate parents consult an astrologer, who tells them Yogesh will get married in 10 days and acquire vast wealth on that day, thereby solving all their money problems. Yogesh's grandfather—who knows nothing about the prediction—fulfills it by deciding to give his entire estate to Yogesh as a wedding gift. The family summons Yogesh home and tells him he's got 10 days to find a bride. He doesn't want to marry under these conditions, but agrees to do it for his brother's sake. Yogesh is a simple man and he believes there are only 12 types of people in the world, according to the zodiac, so he decides to meet one woman from each sign and pick the one he likes best. He goes out with an unsophisticated Aries, a beautiful Aquarian, a bubbly Gemini, an intense Leo, a passionate Scorpio, a generous Virgo, a serious Libra, and so on.

All 12 women have some good qualities as well as some flaw, problem, or conflicting goal that renders them imperfect matches, and Yogesh can't make up his mind. But the real question is why would any of them want to marry this drip?

'What's Your Rashee?' is rated Skip.

Starring Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Dimple Kapadia

It's a classic coming-of-age story: three old friends, fresh out of college, are standing on the brink of manhood and struggling to take the leap of faith that love requires.

Akash (Aamir Khan), Sameer (Saif Ali Khan), and Sid (Akshaye Khanna) are upper-middle-class urbanites in Mumbai, with cushy lives and promising futures, but they're reluctant to trade the fun of youth for the seriousness of adulthood. Their transition into the work world couldn't be easier—Sameer is going to work for his father's computer business, Akash is being sent to Australia to run his father's company office in Sydney, and Sid is a talented painter who has the support of his family. What scares these young men is the emotional risk that comes with that central rite of passage—falling in love and making a commitment to one person—and the three of them grapple with their fears in completely different ways.

Sameer is a serial monogamist who's too insecure to ever be alone. He gives himself too quickly and too completely without considering whether the women are actually right for him, and when he inevitably discovers they're not, he's heartbroken. First, it's his bossy, humorless college girlfriend, who forces him to choose between her and Akash, whom she thinks is an idiot, and Sameer picks Akash. Next, he takes up with a hippy tourist from the West (their ilk are frequently derided in Indian films), but her interest turns out to be a ruse to rob him. Finally, his parents suggest an arranged marriage and ask him to meet their friend's daughter. At first, he balks, but he ends up liking her. However, she has a boyfriend and doesn't believe in arranged marriage. For the first time in his life, Sameer has found a woman worth fighting for. (Saif's engaging portrayal helped push his career into the big leagues.)

Akash is the polar opposite of Sameer—he casually picks up girls and doesn't believe in love. If Akash had his way, he and Sameer and Sid would remain best buddies forever, with no interference from women. His stubborn refusal to grow up makes him act like a jerk—until a pretty girl he fancies, Shalini (Preity Zinta), puts him in his place.

Sid is the most mature of the three and his story is the most interesting. He meets a beautiful interior designer named Tara (Dimple Kapadia, who came out of retirement to play the role)—a divorcée who's 15 years older than him—and they strike up a friendship over their shared love of art. She appreciates and understands him in a way no one else does, and her belief in his work makes a man out of him. Tara is not some hot-to-trot cougar desperately trying to recapture her long-lost youth, and when Sid falls in love with her, she discourages him. She's an alcoholic, drowning in pain over the loss of custody of her daughter, and she believes Sid deserves better. But he embraces their impractical love nonetheless and gives his heart to her without reservation.

Sid is insulted when Akash insinuates that he's only involved with Tara for sex with an experienced woman, and the resulting rift threatens the friendships that Akash cherishes so dearly.

It's a simple, touching story about tender youth, with moving performances from start to finish.

'Dil Chahta Hai' is rated Must See.

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Mithun Chakraborty, Vidya Balan, R. Madhavan

While actor Abhishek Bachchan might seem like a natural to play romantic heroes, given his looks—and he's usually cast in that type of role—he does his best work when playing unconventional, even unlikeable, leads—for example, his exceptional portrayal of a thug in 'Yuva' (2004). His turn in 'Guru' as a business tycoon with slippery morals is likewise one of his finest performances. The film chronicles the rags-to-riches rise of his character, Gurukant Desai, a poor Gujarti boy who goes first to Istanbul and then to Mumbai to make his fortune selling textiles. He's not book-smart, but he's a savvy hustler, and he gets ahead the only way a common man can—by bending the rules. His arrogance and ambition take him far, and he eventually becomes the king of a polyester manufacturing empire.

'Guru' also marks Bachchan's first successful pairing with actress Aishwarya Rai, whom he starred opposite in such weak films as 'Dhaai Akshar Prem Ki' (2000), 'Kuch Naa Kaho' (2003), and 'Umrao Jaan' (2006). Perhaps it's no coincidence that this was also the first time the two worked together while dating in real-life. (They reportedly became romantically involved during shooting. The couple married four months after the film's release.)

Rai is the bigger star of the two, but Bachchan outshines her in 'Guru'—only slightly though. Despite Rai's extraordinary beauty, she manages to pull off playing an ordinary woman whom no one wants to marry (!). Her character, Sujata, is a disgrace because she tried to elope with a man who stood her up. At the beginning of Guru's quest for success, he offers to marry her as a favor to her brother, who is Guru's friend and future business partner, but unbeknownst to Sujata, Guru really only wants her dowry for startup capital. The newlyweds soon realize they're kindred spirits: Sujata is as willful and defiant as Guru, and they both want more out of life than what they grew up having. Their shared dreams become the basis of their budding love.

But Guru's challenges at the bottom are more interesting than his problems at the top, and the energy, hopefulness, and heroism of the first half fizzles in the second. In addition, the plot becomes somewhat confusing because of underdeveloped characters. Manik (Mithun Chakraborty), a newspaper editor who championed Guru when he was an underdog, turns on him with little explanation. Shyam (R. Madhavan), a reporter who's obsessed with exposing Guru as a fraud, is grossly unethical himself. Manik's granddaughter Meenu (Vidya Balan), who becomes involved with Shyam, doesn't serve any purpose in the story. Finally, the film raises interesting questions about business ethics in the beginning, but fails to reach any satisfying conclusions by the end. Still, 'Guru' succeeds modestly as an epic about a challenging subject—a textile entrepreneur—and gets points for originality.

'Guru' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Vivek Oberoi, Suniel Shetty, Arbaaz Khan, Tusshar Kapoor, Diya Mirza, Neha Dhupia

Freud would have a field day with this one. The film covers all the psychoanalytic favorites—the wanton id, the critical super-ego, Oedipal complexes, and penis envy—mixes in Victorian ideas about the public world (of men) and the private world (of women), and then plops all that oppressive Western thinking on top of old-fashioned Indian family values. But blink a few times and you may miss these themes in the frenetic orgy of violence.

The plot would be unbelievable if it weren't based on a true story. Maya Dolas was a 25-year-old mob leader who was killed in 1991, along with five other gang members, by scores of police, led by the controversial officer Aftab Ahmed Khan, in a middle-class residential area of Mumbai, called Lokhandwala. The shootout lasted for hours and was broadcast on live television.

In the film, the story is told in flashback by Khan (played by Sanjay Dutt), who's in trouble for what he did, to his lawyer Dhingra (Amitabh Bachchan), who sits in condescending judgment of him. Dhingra dispassionately questions Khan about his rationalization of the decision to execute Maya and his men without a trial and endanger the lives of countless citizens in the process. Khan explains that he sees nothing wrong with breaking the law in order to dispense justice.

In fact, he invites journalists to broadcast his exploits—namely, one pretty reporter named Meeta (Diya Mirza), which makes his wife Rohini (Neha Dhupia) jealous. But the gorgeous Rohini isn't sexually threatened—rather, she's envious of his career. Unlike Meeta, Rohini is stuck at home while her husband is out having an exciting time catching bad guys. But she skirts the issue and rebukes him for being a neglectful husband and father instead. The subtle implication throughout the film is that women emasculate men by domesticating them and yet have a moral responsibility to do so or else men will run amok, given their innate renegade tendencies, thereby putting women in the impossible situation of always being the bad guy (it's hard to decide if this notion is more insulting to men or women). The woman in Maya's life—his mother—also fails to rein him in. In fact, she encourages his life of crime, which started at the age of nine when he killed his father for beating her. Maya (Vivek Oberoi) is her knight in shining armor. And she's the only one who can cow him into submission—she just doesn't do so for the right reasons.

The maniacal Maya is a volcano of murderous rage, and Oberoi holds nothing back with his outrageous macho posturing and wicked glee. His gang's reign of terror is erotically charged with hypermasculinity. Even in the musical numbers, it is the men who are on display. The climatic cataclysm happens in—of all places—a giant home of sorts—the Lokhandwala complex—where children play and women cook. Unrestrained male forces crash into the female domestic sphere and wreak bloody havoc.

'Shootout at Lokhandwala' is rated Skip.

'3 Idiots,' which tells the story of three friends struggling at a competitive university, breaks the previous Bollywood records of $49 million in worldwide revenue—also set by an Aamir Khan-starrer, the psychological thriller 'Ghajini,' which released in December 2008—and $3.7 million in U.S. revenue—set in 2007 by 'Om Shanti Om,' a campy spoof about the Indian film industry, starring Shahrukh Khan.

Shahrukh Khan's films have historically dominated the U.S. market—and he may reclaim the top spot here soon. His upcoming film, 'My Name Is Khan,' which is set in the U.S. and was filmed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, is expected to release on February 12. The film—about a man with Asperger syndrome who is wrongly accused of terrorism—is being distributed in North America by Fox Searchlight Pictures, which distributed the Oscar-winning 'Slumdog Millionaire.' 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' (2006) and 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham' (2001), both starring Shahrukh Khan, are among the all-time highest-grossing Bollywood films in the U.S.

Actor Salman Khan, the third of the "big Khans," as the trio is called, is also poised to take a crack at the record. His upcoming film, 'Veer,' an epic love story about a legendary Indian warrior, is set to release on January 22.

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty, Anupam Kher

Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor act like old pros as the leads in their first film, 'Refugee,' which garnered them the Filmfare Best Male Debut and Best Female Debut Awards. (However, they both subsequently struggled for years to prove their merit before becoming superstars.) Great material—filled with tense conflict, constant danger, and love against all odds—bolsters their performances.

The film is gripping right from the get-go, but a basic understanding of the history of East Pakistan and Bangladesh—something most Americans know little about—is necessary to follow the plot. In 1947, the British granted independence to the newly formed countries of India and Pakistan—the latter had two provinces, East and West Pakistan, which were thousands of miles apart, with the expanse of India in-between. At the time, millions of Muslims left India for one of the two provinces. In 1971, East Pakistan seceded, and following a civil war, became the independent country of Bangladesh. Scores of refugees fled Bangladesh, and many who had once left India to live in East Pakistan made the epic journey across India to illegally enter West Pakistan (which came to be called, simply, Pakistan).

In 'Refugee,' a man named Manzur, his wife, his ailing mother, and his daughter, Naaz (Kapoor), are among those refugees who make the trek from Bangladesh. In order to cross the border into Pakistan, Manzur must pay a guide the last of his money to take them over an immense clay desert, called the Rann of Kutch, which is heavily patrolled by Indian and Pakistani border guards. Against this incredible backdrop of adversity and peril, Naaz falls in love with their guide (Bachchan), a man with no home, no family, and no name—he is known only as "Refugee." He risks his life escorting anyone willing to pay the price across the dangerous Rann because he has no life to lose. He's a decent, earnest man, but hardened by suffering, and he regards his customers as nothing more than cargo, even though the humanity of these desperate, determined individuals is heartrending.

Refugee sees Naaz—a pretty firecracker of a young woman—for the first time when she removes the black veil of her burqa to splash water on her sweating face. He scolds her for wasting the precious commodity, but also tells her she's more beautiful than the moon. "Stare at the moon instead," she sasses back, but she brazenly flirts with him nonetheless. This lonely hunk—who likely doesn't get to gander at too many lovely ladies—reacts with understandable ardor. The group makes it across—barely—and Manzur and his family begin a new life in a village near the border. Refugee continues making trips back and forth while courting Naaz. Their happiness is threatened when Refugee's enemies in India tip off the police about his activities and a Pakistani border guard (Sunil Shetty) starts sniffing around Naaz's house with hopes of marrying her. Things get really hairy when Refugee unknowingly helps terrorists cross the border into India. He quickly learns that he's not an island after all and that his political isolationism isn't tenable. As a result, he finds a purpose for his aimless life and an even greater sense of belonging than Naaz gives him.

For all the wonderful high drama, though, as the tone of the film grows increasingly moralistic and patriotic and the clashes with terrorists become Rambo-esque, the story loses some of its power.

'Refugee' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani

Who would have guessed that slapstick and suicide could work so well together in the same film? Leave it to Bollywood to pull it off. After all, Hindi filmmakers are experts at "masala"—a culinary term that means "spicy mixture," but in film, it refers to the blending of multiple genres, including comedy and melodrama. For the result to be pleasing—whether it's a meal or a movie—there can nothing careless about the combining of ingredients. If your dish is too sweet, add salt; if your film is too silly, add sadness. The goal is to strike a perfect balance, and '3 Idiots' does exactly that.

Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, and Sharman Joshi—who previously appeared together in 'Rang De Basanti' (2006)—play three college friends at a prestigious engineering school in India. The actors are at their career-best, even the giant Khan, who has portrayed Peter Pan types in coming-of-age stories before—including 'Rang De Basanti' and 'Dil Chahta Hai' (2001)—but here, his childlike character, Rancho, is wise beyond his years, even seemingly unreal, like a fairy godparent, who helps his pals grow up and then vanishes after graduation.

A decade later, the very human Farhan (Madhavan) and Raju (Joshi) think they may have finally discovered Rancho's whereabouts, and they take off looking for him—with Rancho's old college nemesis in tow. The film flashes back to their days as stressed-out, sophomoric students. Rancho isn't like everyone else—he cares nothing about the opinions and expectations of others. He seeks knowledge, not good grades or a steady job, and he urges his friends to pursue their passions—and with joy, not fear. He has that luxury, it seems—he's a genius with a rich father. Farhan, on the other hand, was forced to give up photography and go into engineering by his status-conscious, middle-class parents. Raju loves engineering, but struggles academically, and failure isn't an option because he must support his impoverished family.

There are no hard-partying frat boys at this school—these kids are big nerds, but they manage to blow off some steam with wacky fun—when they aren't killing themselves, that is. The head of the college, Viru (Boman Irani), exacerbates the pressure-cooker environment with his callous treatment and compete-or-die admonitions, which are shockingly irresponsible given that some students take them literally. Naturally, Viru and Rancho butt heads big-time—even more so when Rancho takes a liking to Viru's daughter, Pia (Kareena Kapoor), and talks her out of marrying her materialistic fiancé.

There's a surprising cliffhanger at the intermission that deepens the mystery of Rancho—why he's so different and why he disappeared—and Farhan and Raju must figure out not only where he is, but also who he is, and there's just the right amount of high jinks and heartache along the way.

'3 Idiots' is rated Must See.

'King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema'
By Anupama Chopra

'King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema' (Grand Central Publishing, 2007), by Anupama Chopra, belongs on the bookshelf of every Bollywood fan. The author is a journalist who has written about Bollywood since 1993 for publications such as the 'New York Times,' the 'Los Angeles Times,' and 'Variety.' In this excellently written and researched biography, Chopra looks at the entire Hindi film industry through the prism of its biggest star, Shahrukh Khan, who is often called the Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt of India. (Although to be fair, Khan outdraws both those actors combined.) The book chronicles the legend of his meteoric rise and fanatical following and explores the fascinating cinematic world over which he presides.

'Fantasies of a Bollywood Love Thief: Inside the World of Indian Filmmaking'
By Stephen Alter

Stephen Alter is an American writer who grew up in India and the cousin of one of the few Western actors in Bollywood, Tom Alter. In 'Fantasies of a Bollywood Love Thief: Inside the World of Indian Filmmaking' (Harvest Books, 2007), he gives a firsthand account of the making of 'Omkara' (2006), a brilliant Hindi adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Othello.' Alter takes readers onto closed sets where he shadows the cast and crew, all the while explaining the cultural and industry context in which Bollywood films are made.

'Dreaming in Hindi'
By Katherine Russell Rich

'Dreaming in Hindi' (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009), by Katherine Russell Rich, isn't about Bollywood, but it's a memoir about learning the language of Bollywood, and Rich ends up falling in love with the movies as a result of her studies. "Hindi films were unendurable…till something clicked and I became a convert," she writes. "Punch for punch, I saw, you couldn't beat them for high drama. In one we'd watched, there was an illicit pregnancy, a hinted-at abortion, a suicide, a wedding, and repeated shooting of a groom on horseback, all before the opening credits. The film demonstrates what Shakespeare could have done had he had access to automatic rifles." Anyone who has watched numerous Bollywood movies and picked up enough Hindi words to toy with the idea of learning the language will enjoy the tale of Rich's difficult and meaningful journey to fluency.

'Sacred Games'
By Vikram Chandra

'Sacred Games' (Harper Perennial, 2007), by Vikram Chandra, is a riveting epic (nearly 1,000 pages long) about the Mumbai underworld—specifically a mob boss, the police detective who's trying to catch him, the Bollywood star who sleeps with him, and an assortment of spies, terrorists, and religious nuts. The author spent seven years researching and writing the book, and it was well worth the effort—the result is a gritty, poignant, frightening masterpiece of grandiose proportions.

'Six Suspects'
By Vikas Swarup

Vikas Swarup, the author of the novel 'Q&A'—on which the Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' was based—has penned a clever second novel, 'Six Suspects' (Minotaur Books, 2009). While 'Q&A' was called a Dickensian tale, 'Six Suspects' smacks of an Agatha Christie murder mystery—and one of the suspects is a Bollywood starlet with a big secret. Her story and that of the dumb Texan who loves her are the best of the bunch. The others include an ambitious politician, a mobile-phone thief, a tribesman trying to recover a sacred stone, and a corrupt bureaucrat who thinks he's possessed by Gandhi. This witty whodunit is too entertaining to wait for the film adaptation.

Starring Ajay Devgan, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Vivek Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor, Esha Deol

Superbly written and acted, this gritty film tells the interconnected stories of three Bengali men: Lallan, a thug; Michael, a political activist; and Arjun, a love-struck college grad. While the film primarily focuses on the moments of truth these men come to face, their richly developed love interests are likewise forced to make wrenching choices about the direction of their lives.

The most moving of the three stories is that of Lallan and his wife Sashi, who are played by one of India's most captivating on-screen couples, Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukerji. Both deliver powerhouse performances for which they won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Awards. (Bachchan's performance marks the turning point in his previously floundering career and it arguably remains his best ever.) Lallan's tale begins with his release from jail and his return to the home of his dismayed in-laws to retrieve Sashi. He's an angry brute, consumed with self-hatred, but she stubbornly believes she can change him for the better. She's wrong, of course—he refuses to make an honest living and he hits her when she rebukes him for it. There's a reason she's so desperately hopeful: she's pregnant and wants a decent father for her child. When he learns she's expecting, he's sorry for abusing her and he pretends to reform. We get a glimpse of what she sees in him: a playful lover, childlike in his emotional neediness, with plenty of potential to succeed legitimately. But he's incapable of believing in himself because he feels so unworthy of love. He goes to work as a heavy for a corrupt politician, Prosonjit (Om Puri), and he's ordered to kill Michael (Ajay Devgan), his boss's opponent.

Devgan has a cool, resolute quality that comes through in all his characters and particularly suits this one. Michael is involved with Radhika (Esha Deol), a French teacher, who loves his idealism and focus, even if he doesn't have the time or inclination to properly romance her. Deol is usually a mediocre actress, but she does a fine job here. Their romance saves this story, the weakest of the three, as the depiction of the organizing efforts and clashes with Prosonjit's men gets a bit tedious.

Arjun (Vivek Oberoi) is a fun-loving guy, who plans to move to the U.S. even though his father expects him to become a civil servant. Arjun meets Mira (Kareena Kapoor) in a night club and they're a perfect match—she is no more serious about life than he is. She's engaged to a man her parents have chosen for her, but she allows Arjun to pursue her anyway, and he wants her all the more because she's unobtainable. His interest in her throws a wrench into his plans—and so does his witnessing of Michael's shooting. The actors' understated portrayals touchingly capture the loss of innocence.

'Yuva' is rated Must See.

Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone, Minissha Lamba

"Beware, O Beautiful Ones," the title tells us—beware, indeed, because Ranbir Kapoor is already scorching his way to the top in this, his second film, and setting hearts on fire along the way. Kapoor—the grandson of the granddaddy of Indian film, actor Raj Kapoor, and the cousin of actress Kareena Kapoor—has the talent to match his pedigree and it shows even in this predictable, albeit entertaining movie about a commitment-phobe who gets a comeuppance.

But the real star of the show is Bipasha Basu, in a role she was born to play—that of a driven superstar who might be hurt by heartache, but can't be stopped by anything. Although she doesn't share screen time with the other two female leads—Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba—they pale in comparison to her. She even comes close to overshadowing the very engaging Kapoor, with whom she's extremely mismatched—it stretches believability that a bombshell like her would even be interested in a boy-man like him, however adorable he might be, or that he'd do anything less than worship her. Instead, he dumps her. Right.

We meet Kapoor's character, Raj, as a teenager, when he breaks the heart of Mahi (Lamba), a sweet girl with whom he shares a kiss and promises of forever while vacationing in Switzerland. She catches him bragging to his friends—and thoroughly exaggerating—about their time alone together and he leaves her, crushed, at the airport. Six years later, he's a software developer in Mumbai living with his girlfriend Radhika (Basu), an aspiring model. Once again, Raj is cavalier about the relationship, and when his company wants to transfer him to Australia, he sees it as an easy way out of his domestic arrangement. But Radhika doesn't make it easy—she assumes they're going to get married and move there together. Instead of breaking up with her, he skips out on the wedding. Five years later, he's loving bachelorhood—and all the blonds—in Australia, until he meets Gayatri (Padukone), a knockout MBA student who works as a cab driver to pay the bills. Her hard-to-get act works, and he's smitten. But this time, it's his turn to get hurt. Wounded and wiser, he realizes how much pain he caused in the past and he sets out to find Mahi and Radhika and apologize to them. His guilt is worsened when he discovers what's become of them—Mahi is in a perfunctory marriage and Radhika is a cold and cruel world-famous model. Of course, neither is eager to give him the forgiveness he badly craves and he must work to earn it.

All in all, it's a cute story about an improbably lucky and likable rogue with a lot of growing up to do.

'Bachna Ae Haseeno' is rated Worth Watching.

Starring Aamir Khan, Alice Patten, Soha Ali Khan, Siddharth Narayan, Kunal Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Atul Kulkarni, R. Madhavan

The film's title means "Paint It Saffron"—saffron, one of the three colors in the Indian flag, symbolizes sacrifice, and the narrative revolves around this theme, but here, the sacrifice is not noble—as the film suggests—but a foolish waste. The film is well-made and well-acted, but its romanticization of futile violence for wrongheaded reasons makes it impossible to take it seriously.

A cute, blond British filmmaker, Sue (Alice Patten), wants to make a movie about five violent Indian revolutionaries who were executed for treason by the British in the 1920s and 30s, but she can't get funding for her project. "Gandhi sells," her bosses say to explain their rejection of her topic, and Sue doesn't stop for a second to think why that might be—and neither do the makers of this film. So she goes to India to make the movie on her own and enlists the help of her friend, Sonia (Soha Ali Khan), who lives there.

When Sue meets Sonia's gregarious male friends—D.J. (Aamir Khan), Karan (Siddharth Narayan), Aslam (Kunal Kapoor), and Sukhi (Sharman Joshi)—she casts them as the revolutionaries. She needs one more actor and picks Laxman (Atul Kulkarni), who belongs to a Hindu fundamentalist political group and has bullied the other four in the past for their Westernized ways. With the exception of Laxman, the men are fun-loving and they care nothing about the subject of the film. Sue pressures them to take their roles seriously, but they are politically apathetic, think patriotism is boring, and aren't proud of India because of its problems. Ajay (R. Madhavan), Sonia's fiancé and a military pilot, is the only one in their social group who's willing to dedicate his life to his country.

As the men get to know their characters, they start to sympathize with their beliefs and actions, and when calamity—caused by government corruption—strikes their circle of friends, it pushes them over the edge into violent radicalism, which is a pretty big leap for a bunch of self-centered, overgrown adolescents. The film makes them out to be heroes, but they're nothing but misguided idiots who needlessly throw their lives away—like so many young men who embrace violence and achieve nothing by it.

In the end, Sue is just another foreigner who—despite her good intentions—messes up the lives of Indians with her meddling. It would have been better for everyone if she'd just stayed home—and it's better for audiences if they do the same.

'Rang De Basanti' is rated Skip.

Starring Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Uday Chopra

Action has long been a flourishing genre in Bollywood, but it is perhaps the genre least associated with Hindi film in the minds of Westerners. But however incongruent action and musical numbers may seem at first, the two are perfect compliments—both are spectacles, after all—as evidenced in any number of Hindi action flicks, including one of the finest, 'Dhoom 2.'

It doesn't happen often, but sometimes the sequel is better than its predecessor, and while the action hit 'Dhoom' (2004) is solidly entertaining, the second installment far surpasses it.

Abhishek Bachchan reprises his role as police detective Jai Dixit. Uday Chopra is back as Ali, a reformed small-time crook who has earned a spot on the police force. Rimi Sen returns, briefly, as Jai's wife Sweety, who is now pregnant and even more relegated to the sidelines of Jai's life than she was in the first movie.

Three new characters are introduced. Shonali (Bipasha Basu) is a police investigator and Jai's old college friend. Ali—still a failure with women but ever hopeful—has a major crush on her, but she only has eyes for Jai. His marriage is in no danger though—at least from infidelity—Jai is as indifferent to Shonali's charms as he is to his wife's. The two villains are Aryan (Hrithik Roshan), known in the beginning only as "A," a tech wiz and master of disguises who breaks into high-security places all over the world, and Sunehri (Aishwarya Rai), a copycat thief who’s trying to beat Aryan to the prizes.

Aryan is a bored genius who craves stimulation and only feels challenged by near-impossible heists. At different times, he impersonates a goofy teenager, an austere priest, a doddering janitor, and Queen Elizabeth II. Roshan assumes each identity with a glee that reveals Aryan’s childlike spirit. Physically, though, he’s quite a specimen of a man, and he shows off his ripped bod every chance he gets. He develops a white-hot connection with Sunehri, his adversary-turned-partner, who impresses him with her boldness, tenacity, and stunning beauty. (The two share a passionate kissing scene that was controversial because of its intensity.)

Once again, the dull, glum Jai seems like no match for the colorful criminals, but he's sneaky smart, always thinking several moves ahead of his opponent—and the audience. Jai and Ali follow the thieves from Mumbai to Rio, where they are planning to steal rare coins from a museum. ('Dhoom 2' was the first major Hindi film to be shot in Brazil, where Bollywood is quite popular.)

When Aryan and Sunehri aren't snatching priceless valuables and running from the cops, they burst into song, to revel in all the fun they're having. Roshan dances with rubbery, muscled abandon, and Rai swirls in his arms—not in saris but sassy outfits—to catchy pop tunes on MTV-style sets—before dashing off again, with Jai hot on their heels.

'Dhoom 2' is rated Must See.

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Uday Chopra, Esha Deol, Rimi Sen

'Dhoom' is a classic cops-and-robbers movie slicked-up for modern audiences and jam-packed with speed and flash. The action dazzles, but the characters drive the story.

Workaholic police detective Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) is after a motorcycle gang of robbers in Mumbai. Jai is so determined to rid the city of the bad guys that he neglects his eye-popping wife Sweety (Rimi Sen), who wears next to nothing while doing housework in order to get his attention. But her efforts are for naught—she ends up alone in her negligee when duty calls him away. The frustrated-housewife routine and ball-and-chain jokes may be old, but they're groaningly funny nonetheless.

Because the thieves are expert motorcyclists and their bikes are high-end, souped-up machines, Jai forces Ali (Uday Chopra), a mechanic who fences stolen bikes, to help him infiltrate the world of motorcycle aficionados. Jai also needs someone who can ride as well as the thieves and Ali is the perfect man for the job. Ali is a little shady, but he's basically a good guy who wouldn't hurt a fly—and he's desperately looking for love. Chopra makes his character likeable in a pitiable sort of way, playing up his vulnerability with a cloying eagerness to please women and a smile that's too expectant and wide. His romantic hopes are repeatedly dashed—until he meets a mystery woman named Sheena (Esha Deol). When it comes to police work, Ali's a reluctant sidekick, afraid of his own shadow, the perfect foil to the tough, determined, and unemotional Jai.

Kabir (John Abraham), the leader of the motorcycle gang, and his fellow thieves are thrill-seekers—they race and steal for the rush. Kabir knows their crime spree will eventually end with their capture or deaths—which he makes clear to his gang with the cool, creepy acceptance of someone who is crazily self-destructive. A true adrenaline junky, Kabir needs to take bigger and bigger risks in order to get keep getting the same high. The death of one of the gang members in the course of a robbery leads them all to a casino in Goa for Kabir's diciest gamble yet.

The film borrows from Hollywood films 'Point Break' (1991) and 'Thelma and Louise' (1991), and those are the weakest parts of the plot. The immediately recognizable rip-offs are shoehorned into an otherwise solidly crafted story.

The film's sequel, 'Dhoom 2,' was released in 2006.

'Dhoom' is rated Worth Watching.

Comparisons of 'Kurbaan' and 'New York'—another recent Bollywood film about terrorism in the U.S.—are inevitable. Both are suspense stories about South Asians living in the idyllic American suburbs and who are involved, to varying degrees, in urban terrorist attacks. But while 'New York' has a message, 'Kurbaan' does not—nor does it mean to. It's simply an edge-of-your-seat thriller, and an excellent one at that.

The ominous song during the opening credits is the first clue that the sweet courtship between two college professors in Delhi is headed for trouble. The smooth—and a little smarmy—Ehsaan (Saif Ali Khan) sweeps his attractive colleague Avantika (Kareena Kapoor) off her feet. Khan and Kapoor are a couple off-screen as well, which is no guarantee of on-screen chemistry, but their attraction is palpable in every frame—a good thing since their characters aren't very interesting otherwise. (The film is fairly risqué by Bollywood standards.)

Their religious differences—he's Muslim, she's not—aren't a big deal, and they get married and move to the U.S. The newlyweds buy a house in a predominantly Indian suburb in New York, and Ehsaan's not wild about his new neighbors, who are conservative Muslims, or their eerily quiet, gender-segregated social gatherings. The career-minded and Western-dressing Avantika doesn't fit in with the veiled homemakers on the block, but she does her best to be friendly. Before long, the woman across the street cryptically confides to Avantika that she's in trouble and asks her to contact a friend, a reporter named Rihana (Dia Mirza), for help. Avantika does some snooping on her own and discovers that the subdivision is harboring terrorists, who are going to blow up a plane.

Rihana is on the doomed flight and her fiancé Riyaaz (Vivek Oberoi), who has recently returned from reporting in Iraq, decides to find her killers without the help of authorities. His reasons for going it alone are implied—he's a cocky journalist, maybe a little unhinged from witnessing war, maybe a little conflicted about his identity as an American Muslim—but the motivations for his foolhardy behavior aren't sufficiently explored. However, Oberoi's intensity gives his character emotional depth that's missing in the writing, and given that Avantika is merely a hapless victim, Riyaaz is the real hero of the story. Oberoi's role wasn't emphasized in the promotion of the film, but his intriguing, reckless Riyaaz looms large in the movie, overshadowing the two leads.

The terrorists are two-dimensional, which effectively heightens their scariness. The marvelous actor Om Puri plays the leader of the terrorist cell, and actress Kirron Kher plays his wife, a matriarch who is consummate evil—a unique opportunity for Kher, who, like most Indian actresses of a certain age, is usually relegated to playing paragons of maternal love. But the frightening stock villains come uncomfortably close to exploiting paranoia, making it seem as if terrorist bogeymen are plotting around every corner, even in suburbia. By avoiding a message, 'Kurbaan' may be unintentionally sending another one.

'Kurbaan' is rated Worth Watching.

The title, which means "Sometimes Laughter, Sometimes Tears," pretty much sums up Hindi cinema, and the film is inclusive in another way: it embraces the transition in style and content that was well underway in Bollywood when it was released while remaining rooted in India's time-honored film conventions and cultural values.

The family unit is held in sacred regard, and the bonds of love between parents and children are often stronger than any other—except when romantic love dares to take precedence, which is what happens to the Raichands, a spectacularly rich family in Delhi. Yash (Amitabh Bachchan) and his wife Nandini (played by Amitabh’s real wife Jaya Bachchan) are the zillionaire parents of Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) and Rohan (played as an adult later in the film by Hrithik Roshan), who was unexpectedly born to them nine years after adopting Rahul. In the beginning, the family is full of worshipful love for each other, exemplified in the first musical number, the title track, in which they pray to the gods and bless one other while singing and dancing goes on around them.

The wealthy are a trademark subject of the director, Karan Johar, and he consciously winks at the audience with the film's ridiculous display of affluence. The Raichand's home looks like the manor house of an English lord on the outside (even though it's in India) and an Indian palace on the inside. For transportation, they use their own personal helicopters, which drop them off on the front lawn of the grand estate.

Yash wants Rahul to marry Naina (Rani Mukerji), a family friend, who has all the class and breeding required to fit into the Raichand household. But Rahul loves Anjali (Kajol), his nanny's niece, a brash and boisterous lower-class girl who runs a sweet shop in the chaotic, colorful Delhi neighborhood of Chandni Chowk. Opposites attract, after all, and when Anjali's father dies, leaving her and her much younger sister Pooja (played as an adult by Kareena Kapoor) with no one to care for them, Rahul defies his father and marries Anjali. The stern authoritarian patriarch promptly disowns his favorite son for what he considers to be an unforgivable betrayal. Rahul and his new wife and sister-in-law move to London. When Rohan grows up, he sets out to reconcile the two enormous egos that split up his happy family.

The superb melodrama is as thick as honey and as darkly sweet, but the film is a whopping three-and-a-half hours long and the interminable musical numbers (there are 10) may test the endurance of all but die-hard Bollywood fans.

'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' is rated Worth Watching.

Director Karan Johar has built a wildly successful career making movies about Indians living in the West. Non-resident Indians, as they're called, are a lucrative foreign box-office market (Indians are the wealthiest ethnic group in the U.S.) and films about them are a significant Bollywood subgenre. Johar has his finger on the pulse of the privileged and he's expert at scrutinizing their emotional lives. For all their trendy clothes and cool jobs and swanky homes, they struggle—at least personally.

Johar's films sometimes focus on the difficulties of maintaining an Indian identity in another culture, but in 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna,' the ethnicity of the Indian characters living in New York City is incidental, and so is their wealth. The story revolves around two unhappily married couples seeking the only thing they don't possess: love.

Dev (played by Shahrukh Khan) is a professional soccer player who becomes a stay-at-home dad to his nine-year-old son, Arjun, after a career-ending injury. Dev's wife Rhea (Preity Zinta) is an ambitious, hard-working editor at a fashion magazine. Bitter about his injury and resentful of his wife's success, Dev feels emasculated—and he takes out his frustration on his sensitive son who would rather be a violinist than an athlete. Maya (Rani Mukerji) is a regimented schoolteacher who's married to—and thoroughly annoyed by—Rishi (Abhishek Bachchan), a fun-loving events planner. Dev and Maya both settled for comfortable, passionless marriages—based on friendship but no shared interests—shortchanging their spouses who want more. Whatever contentment they may have started with has given way to constant bickering. On the surface, Rhea and Rishi seem like ideal spouses—attractive, successful, and in love with their partners—but behind closed doors, Rhea is neglectful and condescending and Rishi is childish and passive aggressive. Dev and Maya, on the other hand, are overtly difficult people: he's a prickly misanthrope; she's a clean freak and a homebody. All four actors make these characters immensely engaging, despite their disagreeable traits.

Dev and Maya become friends thinking they can give each other the moral support they need to save their marriages, but they come alive only when they're together, and they understand and accept each other's quirks in a way their spouses don't. Their deepening involvement plays out against a stunning backdrop of New York landmarks, including the Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central Station, Central Park, Washington Square, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Columbia University.

Rishi's father, Sam (Amitabh Bachchan), a lothario who beds women young enough to be his granddaughters, develops a warm connection with a woman his own age when he befriends Dev's mother, Kamaljit (Kirron Kher), and the two conspire to help their kids' marriages.

Despite its over-the-top moments (the minor non-Indian characters are excessively buffoonish for comic effect), the film treats the tough topic of adultery with frankness and resonates with feeling.

'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' is rated Must See.

Over the last 20 years, the countries that have dominated the best foreign film category are France (10 nominations, 1 win), Germany (8 nominations, 2 wins), Italy (6 nominations, 3 wins), Spain (5 nominations, 3 wins), and Russia (five nominations, 1 win). Non-European countries have taken the award home only four times in the past two decades: Japan in 2008, South Africa in 2005, Canada in 2003 (the film was in French), and Taiwan in 2000. An Indian film has only been nominated three times in the history of the award: 'Mother India' in 1957, 'Salaam Bombay' in 1988, and 'Lagaan' in 2001.

Maybe the category should be renamed Best European Film for the sake of accuracy. And while the Academy is at it, it could add a new category: Best Bollywood Film.

The ceremony is already way too long, but eliminating or combining some of the redundant categories previously mentioned would make time for exciting new ones—and excitement is what that ceremony needs. What could liven it up more than the spectacle of Bollywood? Why, it would bring back the glitz and glamour of Old Hollywood. Think of the red carpet—all those stunning stars in shimmering saris and silk sherwanis! The fashion commentators would flip. American celebs wouldn't even compare in their identical tuxes and blah-black gowns.

But, alas, it's not to be—at least not in 2010. There will be no trace of Bollywood at all next year.

The Film Federation of India selected a Marathi-language film, 'Harishchandrachi Factory,' as India's official submission for the 2010 Academy Awards in the best foreign film category. The film beat 15 nominees, including several mainstream Bollywood movies such as 'Fashion,' 'New York,' and 'Delhi-6.' This is the second time India has sent a Marathi film to the Academy—the first was 'Shwaas' in 2004. 'Harishchandrachi Factory' is a feature film about the making of India's first feature film, 'Raja Harishchandra,' in 1913. (India’s film industry predates America’s by one year—Hollywood’s first feature film was shot in 1914.)

The Film Federation of India, which chooses India's Oscar submissions, is an umbrella trade organization that represents all of India's film industries. That's right—Bollywood is only one of many in India. Imagine if the U.S. had a thriving Spanish-language film industry that gave Hollywood a run for its money, or regional film industries in Chicago, Atlanta, and Seattle that rivaled L.A.'s. That's how it is in India. The term "Bollywood" refers to the Hindi-language film industry based in the city of Mumbai, which was formerly known as Bombay. The country's other film industries include Kollywood, which refers to Tamil-language films made in the Kodambakkam district in the city of Chennai; Mollywood, which is Malayalam-language cinema in the state of Kerala; and Tollywood, which refers to both Telugu-language films from the state of Andhra Pradesh and Bengali-language films made in the Tollygunge neighborhood of Kolkata. (Marathi-language cinema is too small to get a nickname.)

The way the Best Foreign Language Film category works is this: each country is invited to submit one film to the Academy Awards for consideration, the Academy then narrows those submissions down to five nominees, and one of the nominees is then voted the winner. But Bollywood has to pass through two hurdles: first it has to compete with other Indian film industries and then compete on a global platform that's biased toward Europe.

There's another reason Bollywood movies don't stand a chance of winning. Like Hollywood, Bollywood is a commercial movie industry—for the most part, it makes popular cinema, not art film. And the nominees in the foreign film category are typically very arty. Even Hollywood's Best Picture winners wouldn't have won in that category. In a one-on-one competition, would the 1999 Best Picture winner 'Shakespeare in Love' have beaten the foreign film winner, Italy's 'Life is Beautiful'? Not a chance. Would the 1995 winner 'Forrest Gump' have beaten Russia's 'Burnt by the Sun,' which won the foreign film Oscar and the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival that year? No way.

So the likelihood of Bollywood ever winning the foreign film award is slim. Not that Indians really care because they have their own awards ceremonies—namely, the Filmfare Awards. There are no boring categories at that event and there are some pretty interesting ones to boot—like "Best Villain," "Best Male/Female Debut," and "Best Dialogue." Even the statue is better—instead of a muscular gold man that resembles a creepy, naked Ken doll, Filmfare winners get a figurine of a curvy dark lady. When it comes to entertainment, Bollywood simply knows how to entertain, even at awards ceremonies. It's a shame it won't get an Oscar for it.