November 18, 2005
The browning of NetflixFilm
Bollywood films constitute roughly 50% of all new films added by Netflix this week!
This week alone, Netflix announced 79 new Bollywood releases in their All DVDs Releasing This Week section. That’s more Bollywood films than films of any other sort of individual genre, probably almost as many films as released in all other categories combined. To give you an idea of how significant this is, just imagine if half the new releases at Blockbuster were Bollywood flicks!
The new films are pretty eclectic, with movies from the 1950s to the present, including golden oldie Shree 420 and compilation DVDs like Dance Songs Forever.
This comes in the same week that GV Films announced their intent to create a legal Bollywood (and Tamilwood [is that even a word? - ed]) film downloading system:
Film buffs worldwide will soon be able to download digitised versions of Indian movies from an online channel that will be launched in Mumbai in 2006. Movie lovers can download the movies by paying between $1-5 a movie, depending on how old the film is and whether it was a big hit — apart from its running time. GV Films is known for hit productions in Tamil like Mouna Ragam (1986), Nayakan (1987) and Anjali (1990). It has also bought rights of hundreds of other movies in various other Indian languages. Though the production house has a large library of nearly 6,000 films to pick and choose from, it is in the process of acquiring more movies. [Link]
What’s going on here? While GV films is targetting their offering specifically at NRIs, it’s not entirely clear to me who is renting the Bollywood films from Netflix. Is this clear evidence of the mainstreaming of Bollywood as “serious foreign film” or are these suburban uncles and aunties who don’t want to drive to little India to rent their desi DVDs any more than they want to drive to Blockbuster to rent their American films? One way or another, it’s a fascinating trend. For those of you interested in Bollywood (I’m afraid I rarely watch the movies, so the titles mean little to me) the list of films is below the fold.
Here’s the list of films released this week. It’s compiled from a list of all foreign films, so there may be one or two non-desi films improperly listed below:
ennis on November 18, 2005 05:06 PM in Film · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
Am I the only pervert that went, "Oh, Mulva!"
Yes I know the right pronunciation, thankyew.
Is Bollywood a genre? Within Bollywood exists romance, action and...well, romantic action.
There's a movie called Beyond Our Ken
in the list.
Gillian Chungs item number was sung by aasha bhosle in that one.
I am an avid Bollywood Netflixer, and to this news I say hooray.
I wasn't sure if I should be embarrassed or what after reading this post, because I rent Bollywood films off Netflix. Every so often I catch a flick at Naz 8 in Fremont or Artesia, and I admit to having a fan-girl obsession with SRK. As a fellow "brown Asian" (Filipina), I appreciate pan-Asian connections that aren't so East Asian-centric. (I see striking similarities between South Asians and Filipinos, when it comes to being excluded in that whole pan-Asian umbrella.) One of my best friends helped start up Third I in SF and NYC and from her influence (and our work at the NAATA film festival) I got hooked on Bollywood. She picks on me because I seem to know more random Bollywood knowledge than she does (but that's all because of IMDB). Back in the day I was with a certain (I won't name names) indie Asian American publication and I blogged about my first experience seeing Veer-Zara at Naz 8 in Fremont a year ago. I've been hooked ever since.
Um, yeah... (Eek! Did I really just write that?)
Anyhow, just wanted to add that I love this blog!
I've been a loyal Netflix customer since early 2001 and I love this service. This year, I started renting Bollywood movies as well, much to my family's chagrin and am really enjoying them. After years of looking down my nose at Bollywood, I decided to readjust my attitude and now can enjoy them for what they are- pure entertainment.. plus I get to hear the mother tongue and I love the music and they are great timepassers while you're on the treadmill. Go Netflix!
There is this place in Chicago that just gives you the movie for 3 bucks. They give you the burned copy. Beat that netflix.
And this was my idea for indian movies like 3 years ago, but my idea also included adult movies because I am sure the people who rent them really dont want to ask the teenage female videostore clerk for "free my willy vol 2" but I really didnt think it would be a good idea to tell people your the guy who sends people porn and then they return it back in pre paid envelope.
I am avid netflix'er. this is great news, especially since they are adding a lot of older movies which qualitywise (story and acting) are so much better than the bollywood movies of today. and yes I am not an old uncle spouting "hamare zamane mein ... "
i was an early member of netflix and they had heavy bollywood catalog when they first launched -i don't think "the man" is renting them - it probably hit a cord with tech guys in SF that were grinding away with code and wanted easy way to get their bollywood on and get their terminator II right to their door at the same time
hhmm........inching closer and closer to making us join. if it were only that i don't rent, i buy. ;)
The only person I know who rents tons of Bollywood films from Netflix is a white person, a grad student seriously interested in film. But I can't help but think she is an exception.
I'll bet a lot of 2nd gen. Indians will rediscover Bollywood through Netflix. It's a bit more user-friendly than the local indian grocery store, where all the (pirated?) videos have identical blue labels, and there are no pictures on the box. People who otherwise might not take the trouble will be tempted by Netflix to just click and order a bollywood flick, and see what their parents love so much.
First gen. Indians, on the other hand, know what to ask for, and so the grocery store works fine for them. Bigger selection.
That's my theory, anyway.
My friend who lives in bumfuk PA and has to deal with NO Indian store in town loves Netflix! I can see why. Me I just rather indulge my psuedo addiction to Bollywood movies by subscribing to Sony TV. What? Ju have a prolem with that?
My friend who lives in bumfuk PA
lmao......get out the map, must not *too* far from here. and i don't really know of any indian stores in the legigh valley, unless i'm just not searching enough..lol
me, i just browse online, and see what's interesting. there are a few gujarati movies i'm dying to find, and can't get my grubbies on. i can hear the soundtrack to one of indiamuscionline, but that's it. and it's kkiiilllinng me! plus, none of my buddies seems to knwo where to find them. and a search of netflix came up with nada. teeth are grinding, hair frazzling...
One gori here, and I've been watching Bollywood movies from Netflix (AND from the local grocery/spice/video store) for five years or so. I make my friends watch them too! There's something ... addictive about Bollywood.
Not just watch. Zora (Karen) writes most of the stuff on Hindi Films that you see on Wikipedia.
GGK - Thanks, I must have missed it. This was originally a list of all foreign films, and I had to go through it by hand, weeding out the non-Bollywood pictures so there may be others that got through. I've struck it from the list and updated the total count.
Not all of us lucky ones live in big cities with the aunties and uncles lending us the tapes. The problem with Netflix was that they would have the "un-subtitled" versions :-( Guess I will have to go back and check it out again ;-)
i've been getting my bollywood fix from netlfix since i joined in 2001.
Patti Kaur :-)
She lives nearly 5 hours from NYC, on the other side of the Poconos and closer to Ohio. There isn't even a non-Walmart in her town, much less a desi store. Netflix definitely rocks for her...
Lots of us get BW movies from Netflix...
and don't forget nehaflix. The desi Netflix.
www.bollywhat.com/forum - We've got a whole community of desi and non-desi folks who love Bollywood -- don't knock it~ ;-P
Sholay is not on the list.
But its there on netflix catalog.
Its described as a curry western.
There are more desi movies there but they probably havent categorized them
properly
These were just the 79 movies released this week. Not Netflix's entire catalogue of Bollywood movies, which would have been far far larger.
Turbanhead - even if they started with a strong Bollywood catalogue, isn't it striking that they're adding maybe 1 Bollywood film for each non-Bolywood film of whatever sort? That's incredible.
Patti Kaur :-)
She lives nearly 5 hours from NYC, on the other side of the Poconos and closer to Ohio. There isn't even a non-Walmart in her town, much less a desi store. Netflix definitely rocks for her...
ouch..that's other side of the boondocks...lol! thet's the erie/northwest side. we're closer to the crayola factory side. lol! the only thing we do have going for us is our local india association - who also have food festivals. i always have to do food shopping online, bacause if there's anything here, i don't see it. that's aweful! we're ready to revolt. i swear...lol..
mmmm....sholay....;)
>>mainstreaming of Bollywood as serious foreign film
Mu ha ha ha... Joke of the day?!
(and Tamilwood [is that even a word? - ed])
For Tamil movies, it is called Kollywood but anyway the whole business of "ollywood"izing Indian movies is a bad thing in itself, since there is no resemblance of Indian movies in any manner to Hollywood. Looks like condescension works in a hierarchy - Hollywood looks down upon "B"ollywood which in turn looks down upon "K"ollywood. And we thought the caste system was dying...
I thought the Tamil film industry was called "Mollywood" (after Madras) ?
I've also occasinoally seem "Tollywood" (after Tamil/Tamizh) in the English language Indian media.
Guys,
Tollywood originated from Calcutta, ostensibly as a joke term since Bengalis felt that their directors were no way inferior to Hollywood. Bollywood is the morphing of that term - B for Bombay. In its original sense, the "ollywood" terms used in India were not seen as condescending.
The Tamil film industry is called Kollywood after Kodambakkam (pronounced 'kODambAkkam'), a part of Madras which has a number of film studios.
Whoah, hat tip on Marginal Revolution re:this post - that's big time!
Yeah, I sometimes send Tyler stuff I see here ... cool blog people!
Peace
Hollywood !!!
Hollywood movies are generally meant for white people .... the movie industry was never meant for Latinos & Blacks nor Asians or any mixed race people and the funny thing about this is that the Jews helped support the racism in the film industry!!!
The film industry in Hollywood only sees white people....... until you have more ethnic movie producers.... that is what Hollywood will always be a Racist Haven for White Film and TV producers.
You have a few good Latino and Asian, Black actors in Hollywood. and hundreds that you don't ever see.... but Hollywood has pretty much filled there quota on Latino and Black, Asian actors and actresses ......no matter what they tell you or try to sell you...your eyes don't lie and neither does the camera...but white people do every day in this industry and they don't have to change there racist ways because they have the industry in the palm of there hands just like anything else in this country.
"Hollywood and the Movie and TV Industry belongs to "White People" and was never meant for anyone else....just like the clothes for "Tommy Hilfiger"...where never meant for "Blacks to Wear"
People of all ethnic backgrounds in this country are brain and whitewashed and the actors and actresses are too... they don't see the big picture!!!...the big picture is that the movie and TV Shows were meant to advertise White Men and White Women!!! and to glorify there image all over the world...and this is an inside thing.... something you will not read in a book or find anywhere else ....why do you think that most of all the casting calls are mainly cast by race and ethnicity?
Well .....take a strong look at how all the movies are being created to today when they have beautiful Latino or Black and Asian women in movies and TV and very few at that.. who are they coupled up with?....well lets see?...hum.. Ok "White Men" you will very rarely see it the other way around. The Movie and TV glorify White Men as the bread winners voted the worlds Sexiest and the Wittiest and Romantic Adventuress, Responsible and Caring.
And when they show a Latin and Black guy or Asian guys on TV ....well lets see?...he is Funny, Comical....A bad guy or a thug and just a Karate fighter and also as your Traditional Side Kick!!!.
If you think That ... I am full of crap and negative for stating all this... you just turn on your TV or just go to the movies and you tell me what you see....remember your eye's don't lie neither does the camera !!!
A solution to all this above? quit supporting there ratings and there movies and rental movies and just get regular basic cable and save your money instead of making these people "Become Richer" who don't want to see you on the TV succeed ... and when you hit white people in there pockets then you will see a change ...see Asians and Latinos and African Americans and all other ethnic races of people you have the power ...it is at your finger tips to a remote to your TV set you can make a difference.
If you dont it will get worse!!! Dont Support there Ratings or Films Hollywood Will Go Broke!!!
Send this letter to Everybody you know and dont know!!! Send it all over the world!!!
777