Useful Webpages

Emotional insights about Bollywood’s role in the international competition

“When Hollywood Meets Bollywood, Warning Bells Should Ring” by Sarita Sarvate is a very interesting personal insight of a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) woman living in the United States who discusses how Bollywood might be exploited by Hollywood. First she gives a fascinating and honest outline about how Indian people were perceived in the past in the United States, how and when this picture shifted, and how they are perceived today.

Sarvate then describes her concerns about a possible “Americanization” – Hollywood taking over Bollywood - which in her opinion is more likely to happen than the other way around. Moreover she talks about the problems of “commercial exploitation” and “cultural invasion” of India and its movie industry by the American competitor. This is a really compelling article that illuminates the legitimate concern of an Indian woman being afraid of her culture fading away.

Let’s talk business

If you are interested in the business deals behind the scenes and the powerful men invisibly leading the two movie industries, there are three great articles I would like to recommend: “Indian Firm in Early Talks to Buy MGM” by Mike Spector, “Hollywood to Bollywood” by Tushar Mathur, and “Hooray for Bollywood” by Jason Overdorf. The first article discusses the potential deal between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and Sahara India Pariwar, including facts about the two cinema industries, financial details and background information about competitor’s offers and possible consequences of deals and partnerships.

The second article by Tushar Mathur introduces you to one of the most important businessmen of Bollywood: Anil Ambani. He is probably one of the people who will be working on the process of melting Hollywood and Bollywood together. He already made deals with Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider, met Hollywood stars and producers (Mathur, 2009), and will most likely be a key figure to Bollywood’s future.

The third article, and my absolute favorite, is “Hooray for Bollywood” by Jason Overdorf. The subtitle says it all: “India's film industry has long been prolific and chaotic. Now, with modern business leaders, it’s coming of age—and taking aim at Hollywood, U.S.A.”. This text is an eye-opening report about a man called Ronnie Screwvala, who is the owner of a company called UTV Software Communications, and who will probably change Bollywood entirely (Overdorf, 2007). The article is a stunning biography, describing how Screwvala made it up to the top, what his company has already achieved (such as working with Disney, Sony Pictures, and Fox Searchlight among others) and what the future plans for Bollywood and Hollywood might look like. Furthermore you get a deeper insight on how Bollywood movies were and are being produced – this will surely surprise you! “Hooray for Bollywood” by Jason Overdorf: my number 1 recommendation!

Who is the number one?

The article “Bollywood vs. Hollywood – The Complete Breakdown“  by anonymous blogger Woke is a discussion about Hollywood’s superiority over Bollywood despite its seemingly increasing industry power, viewership of more than 3billion people, and more than 1000 movies produced in one year (Woke, 2007). Although I am not always agreeing with the author I would like to recommend this article because first of all, Woke unfolds several different topics related to the issue and therefore offers a detailed comparison. However, there are several comments beneath the article which are also quite interesting, as several people are discussing the topic from different points of view – sometimes backing their opinion up with extra information, sometimes only with passionate (or sometimes ignorant) points of views – definitely a great way to discover the situation of pro and contra Bollywood!

Bollywood in History

If you know only little about the history of Bollywood and how the Indian movie industry came into being, I really would like to recommend you the article “What is Bollywood? - A brief summary of Indian cinema from 1913 to the Present” by Andrew Grant (2009).

Not only does Grant have a great writing style that is vivid, metaphorical, and enjoyable to read, but also does he raise questions which encourage you to make up your mind, think about the issues and then be surprised by either his answers or your own thoughts. However, he creates a wonderful, understandable picture the different epochs of Bollywood movies, some historical and social background information, and the influence of Bollywood movies on both the Indian and later the Western society in different periods of time until today.

List of References:

Grant, A. (2009). What is Bollywood? - A brief summary of Indian cinema from 1913 to the Present. Worldfilm.About.com. Retrieved April 25, 2011 from http://worldfilm.about.com/od/bollywood/a/historyofbollywood.htm.

Mathur, T. (2009, July 16). Hollywood to Bollywood. Bollywoodt20.com. Retrieved April 25, 2011 from http://www.bollywoodt20.com/2009/07/hollywood-to-bollywood.html.

Overdorf, J. (2007, November 30). “Hooray for Bollywood. Newsweek.com. Retrieved April 25, 2011 from http://www.newsweek.com/2007/11/30/hooray-for-bollywood.html

Sarvate, S. (2007, August 06). When Hollywood Meets Bollywood, Warning Bells Should Ring. Newamericamedia.org. Retrieved April 25, 2011 from http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=5ad44cc13cf40b7e95bc95a4289eeafc.

Spector, M. (2010, September 19). Indian Firm in Early Talks to Buy MGM. Theerant.yuku.com. Retrieved April 28, 2011 from http://theerant.yuku.com/topic/34416/Bollywood-Takes--Hollywood-Indian-Conglomerate--Buy---Great-.

Woke. (2007, February 01). Bollywood vs Hollywood – The Complete Breakdown. Mutiny.wordpress.com. Retrieved April 28, 2011 from http://mutiny.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/bollywood-vs-hollywood-the-complete-breakdown/.