Oscar night

It’s Oscar night here in India! I set my alarm to wake up at 6AM for the live show, major fail…
Watching the pre-Oscar action got me thinking how similar Bollywood and Hollywood actually are; basic cinematic rules of thumb, the plots, drama, and of course, the classic characters.

Take the above photo of Devdas for instance. We have the rich hero, Devdas, (top left) who turns drunk and disorderly after his parents refuse to accept his love, Paro (top right). Then comes ‘the other woman’. The plot thickens when both ladies meet (below), but the two become fast friends–  I seriously doubt this would actualize in Hollywood film, but Bollywood is more about the whole friendship thing.

Naturally there is wise old granny dishing out life/love advice:

And finally, the villain in all his glory, aka his mustache:

Is Bollywood just a super colorful, lengthier version of Hollywood with hilltops and dance numbers for good measure? If our characters are constant and stories varied, are there any true distinguishing factors to the whole of Bollywood vs Hollywood?

Author: howstrait

Inspired by William Ernest Henley, this is The Gait. "It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." After I found out I had muscular dystrophy, I've been two lives: one that exists in India where I wear kurtas and speak Hindi more than English, and the other, an American girl who says 'thank you' and 'please' more than anyone likes. I'm learning and living for the moments when my curiosity gets the best of me. Follow me on this not-so-straight path of life. Thanks for stopping by! View all posts by howstrait