Is Bollywood the world's worst film industry?

[mani1]

Seems people dont watch hollywood movies here, they are just mindless sequels. All the writers in hollywood are more interested in television!

Iranian and korean movies are better lot

Can any one recommend some good Korean Movies I've only seen Old Boy and the War of Arrows.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

American movie industry is great and I don't mind them doing well in India or in Pakistan because they deserve it. We have such a pathetic movie industry and yet our movies and soap operas are considered as gold in Pakistan. Lol.

I think I mentioned in another thread that Pakistani tv seems as if it is aimed at imbeciles. I guess Bollywood falls into that category too then.

 

[in_cutter]

Can any one recommend some good Korean Movies I've only seen Old Boy and the War of Arrows.

I Saw The Devil- awesome movie

 

[mani1]

I Saw The Devil- awesome movie

Thank you will check it out.

 

[akheR]

Can any one recommend some good Korean Movies I've only seen Old Boy and the War of Arrows.

Memories of Murder, A Bittersweet Life, The Chaser, I Saw the Devil, The Man From Nowhere, Nameless Gangster, New World are some good Korean movies I can think of.

 

[farazaidi]

It depends on what you expect from a movie. I can enjoy movies like Dabang and Ready while I know a lot of people who does not.

The quality has gone downhill in last few years with this emphasis on 100-Crore club, the necessity of item song, big cast, mindless comedy and the usual bollywood fundas. When movies like Singh is King, Ra-one and Chennai Express make records at box office, the future doesnt look too promising.

I agree with your viewpoint that it is a corner shop mentality. Milk it while you can from a limited audience without creating anything which would catch the imagination of a wider audience.

 

[mani1]

Memories of Murder, A Bittersweet Life, The Chaser, I Saw the Devil, The Man From Nowhere, Nameless Gangster, New World are some good Korean movies I can think of.

Thanks most of these are available in Blu ray which is a bonus.

 

[Zamaan]

Am I the only one who misses the role of 'Villain' in bollywood movies?

In the last decade or so, the villain role has disappeared completely from movies.

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

I wouldn't say so. You don't become the world's largest movie industry if you're the "worst" industry at the same time.

 

[imrankhannsu]

Depends on how you look at it. In terms of ticket sales and finance their are many successful movies do to its large audience. I only see Bollywood movies in the UK being showed in major cinema halls too. In that terms no one can term it the worst rather one of the most lucrative.

Also some movies the cinematography is really improving.

However if you compare it to taste then alot of it is arbitrary. Alot of Bollywood movies are musicals and most mainstream Western movies are not musical. These days IMO they are quit tacky with alot of item songs and girls wearing skimpy outfits. TBH I used to watch alot of Bollywood movies growing up as they are nice to watch. These days I hardly watch any unless there are really good and I only enjoy the funny ones. Past few years I have enjoyed watching 3 idiots, house full, Kahani and , ZDNM.

I feel the quality of movies have gone down however the industry still thrives in sales. so in conclusion it is no where near the worst.

 

[Napa]

I'm a film buff but I've always found it difficult to sit through even 5 minutes of an Indian film because they seem so crass and devoid of depth of intellectual content.

Ever heard of Satyajit Ray or Mrinal Sen? As usual, you come across as being pretty ignorant about India.

I assume you get your intellectual content from Avengers Infinity War or a Harvey Weinstein movie.

 

[IMMY69]

Ever heard of Satyajit Ray or Mrinal Sen? As usual, you come across as being pretty ignorant about India.

I assume you get your intellectual content from Avengers Infinity War or a Harvey Weinstein movie.

and you waited 5 years to reply?
I hope Cpt. Rishwat's taste and views remains unchanged, but your whole post was based on an opinion made 5 years ago...

 

[Napa]

and you waited 5 years to reply?
I hope Cpt. Rishwat's taste and views remains unchanged, but your whole post was based on an opinion made 5 years ago...

What? Ray and Sen made their movies many years before Rishwat belched his "opinion". Also, you may note that there have been posts to this thread today, and I often read an entire thread.

 

[Itachi]

What? Ray and Sen made their movies many years before Rishwat belched his "opinion". Also, you may note that there have been posts to this thread today, and I often read an entire thread.

Well to be fair, favourite singer of cpt. rishwat may be Britney spears but it could be pink Floyd later on. So in 5 years, Britney spears could be replaced by metallica or iron maiden.

 

[TM Riddle]

Bollywood is garbage. It is known.

 

[Snak3eye5]

Dude have you watched "Kahaani", "Two States", "Highway", "Swades", "three idiots", "rang de basanti", "queen", "Baaghi" Watch these movies, which are movies i picked from every single genre and tell me Bollywood is garbage. Not everything is garbage man if you don't give the good gems a chance. You saw some that might have been heavily cringeworthy. Doesn't mean every single one is like that.

 

[TM Riddle]

Star Trek(old and new) films are better than anything bollywood has produced in the entire 90s.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I wouldn't say so. You don't become the world's largest movie industry if you're the "worst" industry at the same time.

Depends on the audience. If you put a highly regarded food critic into a room with 20 monkeys with a creme brule and a bowl of nuts, the bowl of nuts would be more popular if numbers are your metric.

 

[CricketCartoons]

Depends on the audience. If you put a highly regarded food critic into a room with 20 monkeys with a creme brule and a bowl of nuts, the bowl of nuts would be more popular if numbers are your metric.

You are the master of being racist towards indians without being explicit about it. respect!

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I didn't even realise I was the OP of this thread, albeit 5 years ago, just checked it now. For my Indian friends here, I would like to assure them I am open minded on this, even if you check the OP I have said I am happy to be persuaded otherwise. I would love to enjoy a good Bolly flick like I used to when I was 10 years old, but the intellectually rated ones don't come on Netflix. Not sure I want to watch those anyway, Just a good entertaining film well done would be fine.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

You are the master of being racist towards indians without being explicit about it. respect!

Pakistan's film industry is worse, but I don't even count that as a proper film industry since censorship and general lack of support means it can't really be taken seriously. I am discounting other govt controlled media as well, so countries like N Korea for example are not worth considering.

 

[shortbread]

Dude have you watched "Kahaani", "Two States", "Highway", "Swades", "three idiots", "rang de basanti", "queen", "Baaghi" Watch these movies, which are movies i picked from every single genre and tell me Bollywood is garbage. Not everything is garbage man if you don't give the good gems a chance. You saw some that might have been heavily cringeworthy. Doesn't mean every single one is like that.

While the worst movie in the world title might be harsh by the OP, the consistency in churning out garbage and celebrating it means Bollywood is right up there with the worst.

Even worse is this inbred factory of mediocre actors creating offsprings who then go on to continue the same standards of mediocrity.

Every single one of them aint bad, but that reasoning could be used for any argument. The question is what is the overwhelming majority like? I say quite bad!

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Bollywood is garbage. It is known.

It is known.

Most Bollywood movies lack any depth and are filled with masala scenes and item numbers.Senseless violence and rubbish fight scenes.And that's not mentioning the cheap dialogues.5 songs and dances in most movies with lip syncing....

 

[TM Riddle]

It is known.

Most Bollywood movies lack any depth and are filled with masala scenes and item numbers.Senseless violence and rubbish fight scenes.And that's not mentioning the cheap dialogues.5 songs and dances in most movies with lip syncing....

Race 3 is going to break all records and has already been named a blockbuster.
Tells you everything about the general intellect of an average bollywood viewer.

 

[introvert]

Race 3 is going to break all records and has already been named a blockbuster.
Tells you everything about the general intellect of an average bollywood viewer.

It is not gonna break any record it will collect just half of bajrangi bhaijan. That too due to collection boost of eid holidays & considering it's trending and word of mouth the verdict of race3 will be either flop or below avarage at best.

massy commercial action or masala movies starring known stars will always be preferred choice of desi audience & it is not just about Bollywood even recently released Hollywood craps are also earning big in India.

other well made movies are also fared well on boxoffice
eg.
Recently released woman centric spy drama movie " raazi" became blockbuster.

 

[JaDed]

Good to see Bollywood doing humongous business in China too now ,was abt time and it's a place where there are not many Indians as well.

 

[JaDed]

I didn't even realise I was the OP of this thread, albeit 5 years ago, just checked it now. For my Indian friends here, I would like to assure them I am open minded on this, even if you check the OP I have said I am happy to be persuaded otherwise. I would love to enjoy a good Bolly flick like I used to when I was 10 years old, but the intellectually rated ones don't come on Netflix. Not sure I want to watch those anyway, Just a good entertaining film well done would be fine.

Naw cap ,you can't be persuaded and it's ok ,you can have a biased opinion.

 

[Snak3eye5]

While the worst movie in the world title might be harsh by the OP, the consistency in churning out garbage and celebrating it means Bollywood is right up there with the worst.

Even worse is this inbred factory of mediocre actors creating offsprings who then go on to continue the same standards of mediocrity.

Every single one of them aint bad, but that reasoning could be used for any argument. The question is what is the overwhelming majority like? I say quite bad!

Does every movie that come out of Hollywood oscar material ? The majority of movies that brings audiences to theaters are movies like "The Transformers", "The Avengers", "Fast and Furious" "Mission Impossible" etc etc. The good ones are the ones that get awards and oscars. The majoritypopcorn viewer likes movies that are A) Mindless Action or B)Romance. Movies like "The Prestige" "Shawshank Redemption" that win oscars are few and far between. Hope tihs answers your question.

 

[Snak3eye5]

It is known.

Most Bollywood movies lack any depth and are filled with masala scenes and item numbers.Senseless violence and rubbish fight scenes.And that's not mentioning the cheap dialogues.5 songs and dances in most movies with lip syncing....

If you want to watch movies with depth and makes you think and has fascinating story lines, i suggest movies from the Malayalam industry like "Drishyam", "Memories", "Bangalore Days", "Premam", "Ustad Hotel" , "Mumbai Police" I guarantee it, you will be a hooked for good.

 

[DeadBall]

If you want to watch movies with depth and makes you think and has fascinating story lines, i suggest movies from the Malayalam industry like "Drishyam", "Memories", "Bangalore Days", "Premam", "Ustad Hotel" , "Mumbai Police" I guarantee it, you will be a hooked for good.

But that's Tollywood, also a source where Bollywood gets much of it's "inspiration" from . Last movie I saw was Visaaranai (Interrogation) which was also really good.

 

[introvert]

But that's Tollywood, also a source where Bollywood gets much of it's "inspiration" from . Last movie I saw was Visaaranai (Interrogation) which was also really good.

Visaaranai is a tamil language movie from kollywood.
& Telugu language movie industry is called tollywood.
Both are known for their masala entertaining movies. Bollywood remaked lots of masala movies from them like ghajini,wanted,kick,rowdy rathor etc.


Malayalam movie industry is known as mollywood. They are known for quality storytelling . You should definitely check out their content.

Indian cinema is diverse due language barriers. Every industry has its own audience
& superstars.

 

[saadibaba]

Hollywood is not that far behind as well. Where once we had the Godfather, Taxi Driver and 2001: A Space Odyssey has now degraded into Infinity Wars, Solo and Jurassic World. The quality of movies have been steadily declining since the late 1970's thanks to big studios and corporations who have taken the creativity out of the hands of artists and given it to committees and their marketing dept.

Bollywood at least never imagined or conceived itself as the center for high art and its aim has always been to entertain the masses and make money. In that regard, Bollywood is doing exactly what it was supposed to. However, some people including me have always expected more from it just because of its share size and resources. Still, its not an exaggeration to say that compared to other foreign cinema, Bollywood has surprisingly stayed quite bland and unimaginative.

So to me the main question should be why is Bollywood so bad and what has lead to the decline of Hollywood over the decades.

Simply put, its the persistence existence of dumbness and unsophistication of people in the case of the former and the dumbing down phenomenon in the case of the latter.

India has come a long way but the banya mentality is yet to progress. The embrace of unabashed capitalism does not automatically translate into a society which is progressive and mature. A lot needs to happen before we can even dream of any type of progress.

In case of America, people were much more literate, well read and sophisticated back in the sixties and seventies. The emergence of the corporate influenced consumer friendly culture that started with the boom boom eighties has morphed into a disinterested, impulsive and detached society in current times.

Good art always come when people ask for it. When the audience stopped looking to movies for philosophical and social answers, when they got more interested in mindless entertainment and at best nerdy obsessed fan-boy culture with the success of Star Wars, it was only natural that all we have now is two categories of movies. One made for kids and the others made for man-childs.

Be as it may, thankfully we still have the cinema of South Korea, Iran and majority of Europe to look forward to.

 

[TQ89]

If you want to watch movies with depth and makes you think and has fascinating story lines, i suggest movies from the Malayalam industry like "Drishyam", "Memories", "Bangalore Days", "Premam", "Ustad Hotel" , "Mumbai Police" I guarantee it, you will be a hooked for good.

I watched drishyam & pandiya naadu. I thoroughly enjoyed them both. I think these are the movies that have kickstarted the "Family thriller" genre in india & as usual bollywood will do chapa of them.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

If you want to watch movies with depth and makes you think and has fascinating story lines, i suggest movies from the Malayalam industry like "Drishyam", "Memories", "Bangalore Days", "Premam", "Ustad Hotel" , "Mumbai Police" I guarantee it, you will be a hooked for good.

Those aren’t Bollywood though.

 

[Snak3eye5]

But that's Tollywood, also a source where Bollywood gets much of it's "inspiration" from . Last movie I saw was Visaaranai (Interrogation) which was also really good.

Was talking for movies from Kerala. I guess they are called Mollywood. Tollywood is for telegu movies I think. We have to keep in mind that Bollywood for the most part is a source of entertainment for the lowest common denominator for people where the majority speak Hindi who at the end of the day doesn’t care about logic or complicated sub plots. This person can barely afford a rupee a day and just wants to watch his favorite actor whether that Shahrukh Khan or Salman Khan and that’s what makes him happy

 

[akki]

Indian punjabi movies worth mentioning as well.
There is no competion to punjabi music in india in any industry. but punjabi movies also worth bit attention.
Recently carry on jatta 2 has been released. Its really worth to watch that. But if you dnt understand punjabi ,then you better dnt watch . Because the comedy punch lines and dialogues only seems better in regional punjabi language.

 

[ManFan]

Hollywood is not that far behind as well. Where once we had the Godfather, Taxi Driver and 2001: A Space Odyssey has now degraded into Infinity Wars, Solo and Jurassic World. The quality of movies have been steadily declining since the late 1970's thanks to big studios and corporations who have taken the creativity out of the hands of artists and given it to committees and their marketing dept.

Bollywood at least never imagined or conceived itself as the center for high art and its aim has always been to entertain the masses and make money. In that regard, Bollywood is doing exactly what it was supposed to. However, some people including me have always expected more from it just because of its share size and resources. Still, its not an exaggeration to say that compared to other foreign cinema, Bollywood has surprisingly stayed quite bland and unimaginative.

So to me the main question should be why is Bollywood so bad and what has lead to the decline of Hollywood over the decades.

Simply put, its the persistence existence of dumbness and unsophistication of people in the case of the former and the dumbing down phenomenon in the case of the latter.

India has come a long way but the banya mentality is yet to progress. The embrace of unabashed capitalism does not automatically translate into a society which is progressive and mature. A lot needs to happen before we can even dream of any type of progress.

In case of America, people were much more literate, well read and sophisticated back in the sixties and seventies. The emergence of the corporate influenced consumer friendly culture that started with the boom boom eighties has morphed into a disinterested, impulsive and detached society in current times.

Good art always come when people ask for it. When the audience stopped looking to movies for philosophical and social answers, when they got more interested in mindless entertainment and at best nerdy obsessed fan-boy culture with the success of Star Wars, it was only natural that all we have now is two categories of movies. One made for kids and the others made for man-childs.

Be as it may, thankfully we still have the cinema of South Korea, Iran and majority of Europe to look forward to.

Excellent post.

With the way theaters have struggled to hold onto ticket sales in the past few years, we very well could end up with watching our cinema experience strictly at home.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Hollywood is not that far behind as well. Where once we had the Godfather, Taxi Driver and 2001: A Space Odyssey has now degraded into Infinity Wars, Solo and Jurassic World. The quality of movies have been steadily declining since the late 1970's thanks to big studios and corporations who have taken the creativity out of the hands of artists and given it to committees and their marketing dept.

Bollywood at least never imagined or conceived itself as the center for high art and its aim has always been to entertain the masses and make money. In that regard, Bollywood is doing exactly what it was supposed to. However, some people including me have always expected more from it just because of its share size and resources. Still, its not an exaggeration to say that compared to other foreign cinema, Bollywood has surprisingly stayed quite bland and unimaginative.

So to me the main question should be why is Bollywood so bad and what has lead to the decline of Hollywood over the decades.

Simply put, its the persistence existence of dumbness and unsophistication of people in the case of the former and the dumbing down phenomenon in the case of the latter.

India has come a long way but the banya mentality is yet to progress. The embrace of unabashed capitalism does not automatically translate into a society which is progressive and mature. A lot needs to happen before we can even dream of any type of progress.

In case of America, people were much more literate, well read and sophisticated back in the sixties and seventies. The emergence of the corporate influenced consumer friendly culture that started with the boom boom eighties has morphed into a disinterested, impulsive and detached society in current times.

Good art always come when people ask for it. When the audience stopped looking to movies for philosophical and social answers, when they got more interested in mindless entertainment and at best nerdy obsessed fan-boy culture with the success of Star Wars, it was only natural that all we have now is two categories of movies. One made for kids and the others made for man-childs.

Be as it may, thankfully we still have the cinema of South Korea, Iran and majority of Europe to look forward to.

Some food for thought there, I agree with you on it a lot of points, but I think there is a world of difference between Hollywood's fare for the masses and the stuff churned out by Indian film industry. Because western audiences have been exposed to more culture you have to ensure at least a certain amount of quality otherwise the film will bomb. In the subcontinent the films are watched by people who would be happy with 3hrs of holi danced by big stars of the day, it's a different mentality and expectation.

It's not necessarily a bad thing, Indians are happy people, maybe they think all westerners are depressed, that's why we watch horror movies and films about mafia and murders. Just compare their dancing festivals compared to the gothic churches and miserable version of Christianity practised in England.

 

[CricketCartoons]

Indian punjabi movies worth mentioning as well.
There is no competion to punjabi music in india in any industry. but punjabi movies also worth bit attention.
Recently carry on jatta 2 has been released. Its really worth to watch that. But if you dnt understand punjabi ,then you better dnt watch . Because the comedy punch lines and dialogues only seems better in regional punjabi language.

Punjabi music is the worst music and should be banned. The indian punjabi music that is, pakistani punjabi music is fine. Every time the indian punjabi songs are playing in my shared cab, I have to summon my reserves of patience and anger management to try not to do something which the other passengers will regret.

 

[akki]

Punjabi music is the worst music and should be banned. The indian punjabi music that is, pakistani punjabi music is fine. Every time the indian punjabi songs are playing in my shared cab, I have to summon my reserves of patience and anger management to try not to do something which the other passengers will regret.

When in any bollywood movie , Even C grade punjabi song tops the charts for weeks or months. And when people from many states know the name of lot of punjabi singers and try to sing songs. When even abroad punjabi singers get the house full and set the stage on fire..
When in any pub or marriage even in other states ,you get to hear punjabi music. Then it certainly has no competion. May be you are equating punjabi songs only with yo yo honey singh sort of.

 

[CricketCartoons]

When in any bollywood movie , Even C grade punjabi song tops the charts for weeks or months. And when people from many states know the name of lot of punjabi singers and try to sing songs. When even abroad punjabi singers get the house full and set the stage on fire..
When in any pub or marriage even in other states ,you get to hear punjabi music. Then it certainly has no competion. May be you are equating punjabi songs only with yo yo honey singh sort of.

I didn't dispute that it has no competition. Just that it has ghatiya and beghairat songs.

 

[PakLFC]

Now it is the worst for sure. All it promotes is lust , cheating and killing people. The hero has become some who does the most vile things. Was good in the 1960's before the Illuminati gradually took over. Even Saif Ali Khan's own production is named by it and they all practise the one eyed satanic sign. First they glorify things like rape then complaint when it happens in reality. All Bollywood actors are just American wannabe's. The less their women wear the happier their people are.

 

[Kroll]

I admit, that I have watched a lot of it in the past, but with a lot of things, it's too commoditised now.