So, I was talking to my dentist this AM, and she was telling me about how her 4 year old is obsessed with a recent Bollywood release, and before I could ask her what the movie was, she injected me with novocain and started drilling my teeth.

But, it seems to me that I would enjoy the Bollywood genre, and it could potentially be really fun for kids, too, since there's the whole singing and dancing thing. The problem is, how do I begin? Wikipedia has a list of top-grossing Bollywood films: [link] - can anyone recommend which of these would be good for beginners and also appropriate for children - as well as possibly available at a video store in Athens GA?

FYI, Bollywood films are often very, very long.

flea, it's been a few years since I've seen it, but I very much enjoyed Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. IIRC, it's a romance in which the young daughter of a widower tries to set him up with his college sweetheart. I think it's had fairly wide distribution in the US, although I don't know if your local place would have it (Netflix does).

In terms of appropriateness for children, I don't recall anything that would raise any red flags. You're not likely to find a lot of outright sexuality in Bollywood movies; wet saris and smoldering glances, sure, but most Bollywood movies don't have actual sex scenes (or even kissing!). And I don't think KKHH has any violence either. I can't speak to whether or not young kids would really enjoy it, but one of the main characters is a young girl (Wikipedia says 8 years old), so I think it would be worth a shot.

megan makes a very good point! Wikipedia sez Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is 3 hours long, which I think is pretty typical for Bollywood.

Ooh, and while researching KKHH on Wikipedia, I found a list of winners of the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. You might find a few good kid-friendly titles on this list, flea.

Bride & Prejudice might be a good gateway Bollywood for the kids at least, since you'll have a good handle on the story going in.

Thanks, I was looking at Kuch Kuch Hota Hai myself! As long the as original mother dying isn't graphic, that sounds okay.

As for the attention span & length thing, the kids are really funny to me. If they are engrossed in what they are watching, they can watch for ages (Casper could literally sit and watch Avatar for 6 hours straight if I'd let her, and Dillo is only two and a half and will happily sit for nearly 2 hours for Totoro). But (unlike me) they also seem fine with watching something for an hour, and then finishing it the next day. And Dillo is young enough that a lot goes over his head, so he spends half the time we're watching a movie playing trains.

I still have yet to see Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which is pathetic and annoying because it's one of the biggest Bollywood hits.

My favorite Bollywood films are Lagaan (which won the Best Foreign Film Oscar) and Awara Paagal Deewana, which is the Bollywood rip-off of The Whole Nine Yards. It's pretty hilarious.

Heh, Lagaan is 224 minutes long. Well, it is about a cricket match...

As long the as original mother dying isn't graphic, that sounds okay.

No, I think it's handled with a pretty light touch. She dies very early on, not graphically at all (of cancer or something similar, I think) and is mostly present in the movie through the letters she has left to her daughter. It's got nothing on Bambi, or even Finding Nemo, for that matter.

Heh, Lagaan is 224 minutes long.

The reason I love it is because it doesn't feel 224 minutes long! When it was over, I was totally surprised to discover it was nearly four hours long. I don't think I would have wanted to watch it if you'd told me that beforehand.

Well, it is about a cricket match...

And that's only the last hour!