Bollywood!

Several years ago, my girls found a movie at the library. They were into Jane Austen at the time, and had seen the BBC's wonderful Pride and Prejudice series. I don't think they quite realized what they were getting into with Bride and Prejudice, their first Bollywood movie!

It was a rather tongue-in-cheek version of Elizabeth and Darcy's story, with handsome men and beautiful women -- and wow, could they dance! We enjoyed the flick, but I had forgotten about it until last week, when we had a little bit of Bollywood at our L'Arche Edmonton Heritage Day.

There's something quite amazing about Bollywood. Corny as it may seem at times, its romantic comedies offer beauty, a certain innocence, and amazing dancing that makes for uplifting entertainment. Bollywood movies reminds me of some much disparaged Hollywood musicals, which, while their acting often wasn't great, their music and dance numbers were totally incredible, even by today's standards. I think that's why Bollywood has caught my attention once again, making me wish that I was one of the dancers, though I'm not that talented and probably wouldn't be able to walk for a week after one of these numbers!

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the gorgeous, lively, and recent Bollywood movie clip we all danced to at Heritage Day. If you want a lot of colour, look for Balam Pichkari with the same two actors (top left on the screen) at the end! Enjoy!