• Caste system implied, rarely overtly mentioned (Tere Naam)
• Upholding of ‘laj’ – honour (Andaaz)
• Upholding of traditional morality
• Position of parents in society (Munnabhai M.B.B.S.)
• Mother as giver and taker of life (Vaastav)
• Fate/karma v. choice (Vaastav, Tere Naam, Devdas)
• The dance/dream sequence (often filmed in Switzerland –their ideal – Kashmir/Kasmir without the violence – looks like Kasmir
• Good girl gets good boy – one will invariably be poor
• A man is a boy until he marries (as in society) regardless of his age
• Symbolism of names – e.g. Sapna (dreams), Raj (prince) Prem (love), Shanta (peace), Sonu (listen), Suraj (sun), Nirjara (immortality – Tere Naam) and Radha (mythological milkmaid who loved Prince Krishna although she could never have him – male form Radhe seen in Tere Naam) – this is rarely translated or explained in subtitles; Deepak (light/lamp), Aarti (fuel) in Sirf Tum, Aarti is destined for Deepak, she is the fuel for the lamp of his heart
• Songs sung by professional singers – playback singers – who now want more credit and to be seen – like Adnan Sami
• Traditional marriage v. modern marriage
• Traditional masala films v. modern westernised film
• Films are often remakes of Hollywood or old Hindi films
• Mythological undertones (Khal Nayak – Ganga, Ram & Ballu = Sita, Ram & Ravana – Ganga stays pure to Ram whist with villain Ballu)
• Majority have song and dance (often without reason)(like Elvis)
• Sinners must be punished – even if they reform at the end – often by death
• Ghost/horror films are rare due to belief in reincarnation
• To be or not to be – English/Modern/Western (Andaaz)
• There is no actor greater than Amitabh Bachchan – the “Big B”

1949 – Andaaz (Style)

Nargis Dutt, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar

Wife defies social convention by keeping a male friend, who is in love with her, and is punished for it.

1977 – Khoon Pasina (Blood Sweat)

Amitabh Bachchan,Vinod Khanna, Rekha

During Partition two boys, one muslim, one Hindu, who had been taught to hate injustice and fight for the common good, are separated and orphaned. Adulthood sees one as a gangster and the other as a vigilante.

1981 – Lawaaris (Orphan)

Amitabh Bachchan

A singer dies in childbirth after being cast off by the father. Her child grows to adulthood and searches for the truth about his father, teaching people about compassion and justice along the way.

1993 – Khal Nayak (The Villain)

Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dixit

Poor boy, Ballu, becomes a hired killer, after emotional betrayal by family, only to be reformed by his love for his captive policewoman Ganga, fiancée of Inspector Ram, Ballu’s childhood friend who is hunting him. Power of emotion.

1998 – Earth 1947

Aamir Khan

Creation of Pakistan and the lives this affects (Parsee, Muslim, Christian, Hindu)

1999 Sirf Tum (Only You)

Sanjay Kapoor, Sushmita Sen

Deepak and Aarti begin a correspondence and find that for them, love begins with the heart and reaches the eyes. After a series of mishaps they finally meet, turning down marriages to wealthy individuals along the way.

1999 – Vaastav (The Reality)

Sanjay Dutt (son of Nargis)

Troublemaking poor boy, Raghu, makes good as street vendor but accidentally falls foul of local mafia and has to kill in self-defence, led astray by his ‘saviours’, he ends up a mafia boss himself until his world catches up with him due to the government official in actual control. Study of destiny v. choice, no one is to be completely sympathised with, considered one of the best mafia films.

2002 sequel – Hathyar

The son, Rohit, follows in his father’s footsteps and meets a similar end

2002 – Devdas

Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff, Aishwarya Rai

Childhood sweethearts, Devdas & Paro, are forever parted by death, caste, tradition, family and their own obstinate natures. The courtesan, Chandramukhi, demonstrates true unconditional love that expects nothing. Visually stunning, based on 1917 Bengali novel. Tagline: A grand saga of timeless love.

2003 – Munnabhai M.B.B.S.

Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Dutt (father), Arshad Warsi

Gangster Munna (Murli Prasad Sharma) goes to medical college to win his father’s (Hari Prasad Sharma) respect and get the girl (a doctor) as well as restore his father’s respect in eyes of the girl’s father – the head of the college. Teaches others about the power of affection. Tagline: His prescription is …love.

2003 – Tere Naam (In Your Name)

Salman Khan

A lower caste troublemaker, Radhe, is reformed by his love for a priest’s daughter, just when she reciprocates (and her family relents) he suffers a brain injury and is sent away to an ashram, rather than marry another she commits suicide, devastated – he mourns. Fate and undying love. Tagline: Unfortunately a true love story.

The Twilight movie is supposed to be released December 12th of 2008, but the word is that the movie may be coming out in November, now. How exciting!

The ideal Christmas movie for the 'too busy' people who are just too busy to enjoy the season and be happy. Having New York city as the setting for Buddy, the 'gigantic' elf, played by Will Ferrell, who is on the hunt for his human dad, was already a straight to the point message of many working people nowadays ignoring the essence of Christmas.

The movie is very lighthearted all throughout and even tear jerking in the end. Will Ferrell's gift for superb acting was displayed as he portrayed the role of a confused elf. He got it all thumbs up with his childlike gestures, dialogues, and throwing of lines. At one point in the film, he also showed his singing talent when he blended magnificently with his love interest in the film.

The message of the movie is highlighting that even the smallest, kindest deeds of just singing together, snuggling, or even holding hands while crossing the street brings greater warmth between people and moves us closer to a higher sense of purpose as individuals and families.

Whether you're an elf or a human, you need love.

His most public experience these days is to visit schools in his community to talk about his experiences, what it's like to be a veterinarian, and how your life changes with the decisions you make.

He's been quoted as saying, "Do I regret turning down the movie offer? I don"t think so. I love the job I'm doing right now. Granted it is about as far away from Hollywood as you can get, but I have a feeling of self-satisfaction with it. I don't believe that I made the right choice or the wrong choice. I made a choice that fit what I wanted, and it shaped how life unfolded for me. Would life been better if I took the movie offer? Maybe, but I'll never know, and it's something I'll never question.'

Julie Dawn Cole, who played the obnoxious Veruca Salt, also has two children now. She was the same age as Ostrum at the time the movie was made and, along with Denise Nickerson, is supposed to have had a crush on him. Unlike Ostrum she went on to have a career as an actress, mostly in television, where she has appeared in a variety of series, from Poldark and Emmerdale Farm to Eastenders and Casualty. She now operates Centrestage, a children's drama school outside of London.

Being nasty was "totally against her nature" and she had to be coaxed into doing the aggressive song and dance routine in the film.

Michael Bollner, who was Augustus Gloop, never made another film and, like Ostrum, eventually went into a totally different career. He is now a tax accountant, a job he performs in Munich, Germany. He was interested in acting, but is father wanted him to continue his education.

At the time the movie was made, Bollner didn't speak English, and one of the crew coached him in his lines.

Paris Themmen, an American, was only twelve when the movie was made, and he performed the role of Mike Teevee. It was his only major movie, though he'd already been performing since he was six. He appeared on stage, initially with his parents, and then went on to act in a number of radio and television commercials, and to do voice-overs. Later he reached Broadway, appearing as the young Patrick Dennis in Mame, with Ann Miller. After his appearance in Willy Wonka, he went onto play another child role in the musical, The Rothschilds, andlater went on tour nationally in the same role.

He left acting in his mid-adolescence, and has barely been seen performing since apart from a few mostly uncredited roles. However, he still has links with the television commercial world, where these days he is a casting director for commercials rather than performing in them.

Denise Nickerson was also around twelve when she played Violet Beauregarde. Prior to this she had appeared in several episodes of Dark Shadows, and following the movie would have an extensive television career throughout the seventies, appearing primarily in a large number of episodes of the children's program, The Electric Company, which was a series along the lines of the better known Sesame Street. She appeared in this with such well-known actors as Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Mel Brooks, Joan Rivers, Zero Mostel, and the actor who played Willy Wonka, Gene Wilder.

]]>