Essay on “Hollywood vs. Bollywood” Complete Essay for Class 9, Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Hollywood vs. Bollywood

Hollywood may be the ‘big brother’ in the ‘Bollywood vs. Hollywood’ stakes but for many of its stars today, all roads seem to lead towards Bollywood. Even as many filmmakers in Bollywood still look for inspiration from the western counterpart for story ideas, the ‘song-and-dance’ fare from the world’s largest film industry seems to have, of late, caught the fancy of a number of Hollywood actors and actresses, who are increasingly enthusiastic about being a part of the Mumbai ‘Dream factory’.

For, the last couple of years have witnessed Bollywood films attracting a host of Hollywood stars like Toby Stephens (who played a negative role in the last James Bond film), Jason Lewis and Sean Teague, British actor Paul Blackthome and actresses Rachel Shelley and Antonia Bernath, Boe Derek, Baywatch girl Brande Rodericks and actress Liz Taylor. While actor Toby Stephens is playing one of the lead roles in Ketan Mehta’s ambitious period venture ‘The rising’, British actors Paul Blackthome and Richard Shelley played key roles in the 2002’s Oscar nominated ‘Lagaan’. At the same time, Hollywood stars Jason Lewis and Sean Teague are doing important roles in Dream Team Films ‘My Bollywood Bride’. Being produced by Hollywood’s Brad Listerman and directed by Rajiv Virani ‘My Bollywood Bride’ also co-stars Sanjay Suri, Neha Dubey (of ‘Monsoon Wedding’ fame) and Gulshan Grover. Last year, filmmaker Vashu Bhagnani created a coup of sorts when he managed to rope in Baywatch girl Brande Rodericks as one of the female leads in his ‘Out of Control’. Also, last year saw Hollywood actress Boe Derek make a comeo appearance in Kaizad Gustaad’s ‘Boom’. Not to be left behind, filmmaker Subhash Ghai last year selected a British actress to play one of the leads in his forthcoming ‘kisna’, a film that also stars teenage heartthrob Vivek Oberoi and newcomer lsha Shravani. Bernath was chosen from among about 200 girls screen tested by Ghai on his trip to Los Angeles and London last year. The film also stars Hollywood actors Michael Maloney, Caroline Lingrush and Polly Adams. Actress-turned-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt has also roped in South African supermodel Ilene Mamman to play the female lead in her forthcoming film ‘Rog’ (co-starring Irian Khan and Pakistani rock singer Ali Azmat (of lunoon fame). Trade sources say actress Liz Taylor, known for her laudable performance in films like ‘Austin Powers’ and ‘International Man of Mystery’, is to soon appear in a Bollywood film. Film industry insiders say the rise in the number of Hollywood actors evincing an interest in working in Bollywood films is in part due to the tremendous popularity that Bollywood films enjoy across the world today, specially in countries like Russia, China, West Asia and Far East, Africa and Europe. Says veteran actor-filmmaker Dev Anand, many of his films in the past have starred actors from the west, “Bollywood film have a charm that makes them an unforgettable experience for whoever has seen them once. Consequently, popularity of Indian films and its stars today straddles several countries and continents. Such an immense popularity of Indian films could be a source of envy for any actor from Hollywood, and make him want to be a part of Bollywood.”

The increased interest shown by Hollywood actors is also attributed to the fact that more and more fimmmakers are today coming out with innovative storylines which requires actors to play challenging roles and not the stereotypical characters in the movies of the earlier decades. “The charm of the Bollywood song and dance, coupled with its ongoing creative renaissance where each character has a meaty role that provides an actor with scope for creative expression is too much for any Hollywood actor to resist, “says filmmaker and dialogue writer Anurag Kashyap.

Also, Bollywood films are today increasingly reflecting the life of the Non-Resident Indian, the ‘Globe-trotting Indian’ or the Westerners settled in India, notable examples in recent times being Deepa Mehta’s ‘Hollywood Bollywood’, ‘The Guru’, Vashu Bhagnani’s ‘Out Of Control’, Gurinder Chaddha’s ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ and her forthcoming ‘Bride and Brejudice’ and Sohail Khan’s ‘Proud to be Indian’. Over the years, the charm of ‘Bollywood Song and Dance’ has led many foreign actors like Bob Christo (who has played the villain in several Hindi films from the 70s to the 90s) and Tom Alter (who has played character roles in hundreds of Indian films over the past three decades) to make Mumbai their permanent home. Now, with the winds of change blowing in Bollywood and the rising popularity of filmmakers like Shekhar Kapoor, Gurinder Chaddha, Mira Nair and Manoj Shyamalan in the West, the coming years could see more and more actors from Hollywood get ‘Bitten by the Bollywood bug’.