Why Bollywood?

Over the last few years, I have had a highly defensive approach when informing people about Bollywood. Many people have questioned the concept behind my love for the industry, asking “…but you’re not even Indian?” and the answer has always been tough to explain. Decades ago, Bollywood was the only film fraternity that was accessible to the countries surrounding India. Afghanistan was one of those countries and when my family moved to India, they had already developed an interest for Bollywood movies, music and stories. During the 10 years that they spent there, my parents interest turned into a habit, a hobby. Instead of the usual channels 1-5, I grew up watching Bollywood movies and Indian TV shows on those channels that are under the ‘International’ option of your Sky TV guide (Zee TV, B4U, Star Plus etc.). I watched, watched, and watched. Back then, Indian channels were not established enough to have English subtitles but I continued to watch and eventually, I was able to fully understand the Hindi language. A trip to India and I’m now able to fluently speak the language too. This was all in the generation where Shahrukh Khan (Indian superstar and incredible actor) was releasing hit after hit. I developed a very deep, emotional attachment with his movies and the industry as a whole. Tomorrow, I'm publishing my first ever review of a Bollywood movie and I truly hope you are inspired enough to watch the movie soon after.