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I always wanted to get into Indian cinema
And I assume a lot of you do, too
Famous for glamorous productions
Entertaining dance sequences
And some of the most glorious mustaches ever seen on Earth
It is fascinating, and intimidating
Not least because of all the untranslated titles
I mean, come on
And with so many separate industries
Combined to make the biggest film producing nation in the world
The water is way deep
So, I asked for you, our viewers, for movie recommendations
And got absolutely flooded
I spent the past week watching as many Indian films as possible
And I'm here to give you my first impressions
Specifically, about the three biggest film industries in India
Hindi cinema of Bollywood
Tamil cinema of Kollywood
Telugu cinema of Tollywood
And tell you which films I think you should watch
Bear in mind, I'm a total amateur when it comes to the cinema of India
So what I'm saying are almost purely my anecdotal experience
With minimal research
With that out of the way
Let's begin our journey
Through the colorful world of Indian cinema
[Cinema of India: My First Impression]
[Chapter One]
To an average foreigner
Bollywood is practically synonymous with "Cinema of India"
"Tollywood, Jollywood, there's a million names for it"
"We're calling it Bollywood"
"Cuz' it sums it up nicely"
However...
This success is both a blessing and a curse
There is a good chance that what's in your head right now
Isn't actually from Bollywood
Yes, none of those
Bollywood actually specifically refers to the Mumbai film industry
Which produces mostly Hindi-language films
These films are relatively grounded and romantic
Not too dissimilar to Hollywood musicals
Look at Sholay, the action classic from India
And you won't find any gravity-defying actions
Love was THE defining theme for classic Bollywood
Practically every Bollywood classic is a romance of some kind
Such as 1995's DDLJ
It's a movie about a girl falling in love with a boy
And with the boy's help
Fights against her arranged marriage
It sounds cheesy
But that's Bollywood for you
"She turned!"
It's a very cozy viewing experience
It's about knowing the outcome
And excitedly waiting for it to happen
Now, I said love WAS the defining theme
Because, in recent years
Bollywood seems to be diversifying
Dangal, for example
Steps away from the melodrama formula
This 2016 movie tells the story of a father
Training his daughters to become sport wrestlers
And in the process
Challenges Indian gender traditions
Breaks gender norms
It is a beautifully written film
And became a bit of a gender equality piece in Asia
"See those girls?"
"If you win tomorrow, you will not win alone"
"Millions of girls like them will win along with you"
You can certainly start your Bollywood journey with Dangal
But really, when it comes to Bollywood
There is one movie we all know of
3 Idiots is a 2009 coming-of-age comedy about the friendship
Between three engineering students
Fraternity, beer, music, porn mags, exams
The college experience is weirdly universal
The approachable setting makes it an excellent entry movie
Yet, underneath this cozy exterior
This film is actually an intense criticism
On the Indian education system
And success culture
A culture that drives a lot of students into engineering
Even if their passion is with, say, photography
"This is college, not a pressure cooker"
If you haven't noticed
All of the best Bollywood movies have a knack
For fighting against traditions, norms, and authorities
Arranged marriage
Sexism
But usually, these movies don't explore these themes deeply
They are, after all, cozy little entertainments
But 3 Idiots went way above and beyond
Nearly every sequence satirizes the educational system in some way
"It feels bad when a friend fails..."
"But it feels even worse when he comes first"
It sees the absurdity in a system
And deals with it with laughter
No doubt, many of us were forced by our parents
Into studying something we didn't want to
And spent years in a highly competitive schooling system
Destroying our selves
Seeing our character confronting his father about this
It is touching
"I've always listened to you"
"For once, let me listen to my heart"
Through this film's endless wisdom
We get to experience the lives and friendships of these characters
But also the struggles of many students in India
We aren't just sightseeing
We get to know how the people of India perceive themselves
We get to know India
That's why, I think
3 Idiots is the best movie for getting into Bollywood cinema
"However big the problem..."
"Tell your heart: 'All is well'"
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[Chapter Two]
If Bollywood is sweet
Kollywood is much spicier
Indeed, Kollywood cinema seems to prefer the gritty dramatics
Music and dance take a backseat
Action and drama are the focus here
This is where you'll start finding your meme materials
But the one thing that really catches my eye
Is that with a more aggressive style
Tamil movies also have more aggressive stories
Take Soorarai Pottru for example
It tells the story of a countryman
Navigating the dangerous and corrupt business
world Trying to establish a low-cost airline
That can improve the lives of the poor
Instead of fun and uplifting
This movie is direct, and is angry at the injustice
Here, we see the main character fights to stop the train
A train that ignores the poor
And serves only the privileged
We see the violence front and center
Even 2.0
Which is really just a CGI-fest entertainment film
Spends a lot of time delving into its environmentalist discussion
And with that in mind
The movie I want to talk about is probably not an obvious choice
But it is so good and so clever I have to share it
Super Deluxe is a 2019 black comedy
It's a Pulp Fiction style anthology film
Where many stories intersect
In one story, five teenagers gather to watch porn
Only to find out the actress is one of the teens' mom
Meanwhile, a young boy and his family
Are waiting for the return of his father after 7 years
Only to find out the father
Is now a woman
How's that for a twist
In both cases
We see characters unable to accept the shocking reveal
"It's not like you can kill her for it!"
"What's happened has happened!"
"You are right! I should kill her!"
And that was all just the setup
It only escalates from there
This movie sees the humor in these people's self-pity
"I don't know what's harder"
"A past without a husband"
"Or a future with one like you"
As if they are the ones suffering
Well, guess what, the only one who isn't suffering
Is the kid
The innocent child who sees no problem with his dad being a woman
He just asks questions and tries to understand
"Why weren't you born a woman to begin with?"
"Sometimes, when we put on our shoes in a hurry"
"We confuse the left with the right"
"Similarly, God, in a hurry, put me in a male body"
With highly sarcastic humor
The film pokes fun at people's obsession with family reputation
All that anguish
Came from their own prejudice against others
It's a very dense movie
With a lot more going on than what I just summarized
It's normal to get confused by this film
But that is part of the fun
"This life is meaningless, purposeless"
"Yet, it is beautiful"
"The most spectacular thing about life is..."
"This life itself"
If you are into more indie, art house, counter-culture stuff
Super Deluxe is, with no exaggeration
One of the best movies I have ever seen in my life
And also one of the most beautiful
This is literally every frame a painting
[Chapter Three]
While Tamil cinema certainly has some big action films
The ones recommended by our audience
Are generally more reserved
Business drama, family drama
The drama is hidden in the undercurrent
That doesn't appear to be the case for Telugu films
For Tollywood, action is the drama
From a whacky superhero movie like Eega
To a serious crime action flick
The action is well imagined, well-realized
And it is as impressive as it is story-driven
The edge is on full display
Look at Dangal, a Bollywood sports flick
The drama happens mostly in training
Each match is less about the action itself
And more about the subtext and implication
All except the climatic last match
Compare that to Jersey
The 2019 Telugu film about a 36-year-old retired cricketer
Trying to get back into the game
The film pays equal attention to the personal drama
As well as the development of each match
Jersey takes a great deal of time to let each game plays out
Reveling in its form and spectacle
It is a drama film
And an action film
But really, when it comes to Telugu action
There is only one movie in our mind:
Baahubali is a 2015 fantasy epic
About an exiled king returning to claim his throne
The action in this movie is second to none
You will find plenty of gravity-defying stuff here
Yet it is done with just enough drama and gravitas
That it never quite becomes shockingly silly
Or shockingly stupid
It walks the fine line between fantasy and reality
Something that even its sequel couldn't quite manage
Goes to show how difficult this style really is
Yet, in this film
There are also romantic themed, extravagant songs and dances
A simple good vs. evil folktale
As well as the sharp and gritty drama
It has a little bit of everything
The titular Baahubali is a fun character, too
Guess what makes him the god's chosen one?
What makes him a great king that everyone loves?
We see him willing to sit beside slaves and share a meal
We see him spare an innocent sacrificial animal
And chooses to use his own blood as an offering
We see him moves the lingam to the waterfall
A sacrilege to any common man
Just so his mother can do less hard work
He's a good king
Because he's willing to challenge unnecessary traditions
For the good of the common people
I'm sensing a theme here
If you are more interested in the crazier side of Indian cinema
(And let's be honest, who isn't)
Baahubali is the go-to movie
It's crazy, but serious
It's creative, but traditional
It has all the good things you'd expect from an Indian production
[Cconclusion]
On this channel, whenever I bring up modern-day Indian movie
I usually show... this movie (I can't pronunce it)
Purely because it has some fantastic visuals
And every time I use it
There'll be at least be one Indian viewer saying
The movie sucks
After I sat my ass down and seriously watched some Indian movies
I think I can finally see why
"We are all so obsessed with success"
"Our eyes are always focused on successful people"
It's fun to indulge in a wealth fantasy
But nothing is quite as satisfying
As seeing an underdog hero wins
"It doesn't matter whether I'm around now"
"Farmers have flown"
"And will continue to fly"
In my journey to experience the films of India
I saw a nation of industries that belong to the common folk
Indian cinema challenges the rich, the powerful
The authority, the corruption
The prejudice, the regressive
It is a forward-thinking art form
With eyes looking into a better future
And that is the best part of this journey
It inspires me to be better, to do better
To make things better
And my journey into the Cinema of India
Has only just began