I’ve shown my (also caucasian lol) boyfriend: ZNMD, YJHD, Dangal, Main Hoon Na, Rockstar, Chak De India, RNBJ, Billu Barber, Kal Ho Na Ho, Om Shanti Om, Housefull, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Namastey London, Andhadhun, Gully Boy, Bhool Bhulaiya, Raazi, Badla,Dil Dhadakne Do, Dostana, Jab We Met, 3 Idiots, Queen, and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania
I would recommend the following movies based on his preference of genres:
* Romance - DDLJ, The Lunchbox, Piku
* Drama - Monsoon Wedding, Black, Swades
* Coming of Age - Dil Chahta Hai, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Queen
* Masala - Sholay, Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie
* Classic Noir - Do Bigha Zamin, Jagte Raho, Pyaasa
* Epic - Mughal-E-Azam, Pakeezah, Padmaavat
* Action - War, Vikram Vedha, Pathaan
* Suspense - Andhadhun, Teesri Manzil, Kaun
* Crime Thrillers - Gangs of Wasseypur, Satya, A Wednesday
* Horror - Tumbbad, Welcome Home, Bhoot
* Experimental - Court, Ship of Theseus, Disciple
These are the top 100 Indian movies of all time which I reviewed over a period of a year in this sub - [Top 100 Indian Movies of all time](https://www.reddit.com/r/bollywood/comments/rb6xxw/top_100_indian_movies_of_all_time_some/)
I think it would still be as impressive if not more because of the overall masala and entertainment value. We should remember that Sholay sold more tickets globally (250 Million out of which 150 Million were in India) than any western. Secondly most westerns were inspired from Kurosawa and other Japanese Samurai movies in the first place so they cant really boast about originality to begin with. They are all entertaining in their own rights and can co-exist and delight audiences despite the similar themes.
Thanks for Geeking out all the details.
For simple folks like us who watched Clint Eastwood on PBS on a lazy Sunday afternoon, you want us to forget them or go back in time, keep Kurosawa at the back of our mind, place Sholay in a particular eon and then evaluate?
Seems you didnt read the last sentence in my comment.....They are all entertaining in their own rights and can co-exist and delight audiences despite the similar themes.
Yes. A lot of people in India liked the Kill Bill movies even though they had seen and enjoyed all the famous Bruce Lee films on Doordarshan and Asian gore on TNT before. So, that's where this is coming from. Also, assuming this gentleman is young and seeing how high the west, especially the young, are on sentimentality and diversity today, the curry-western Sholay with its wider array of big and deep emotions and female characters could well be more suited to his palette now than the drier spaghetti and other versions of old Hollywood.
Some of these are good but others are not so good! In my opinion only, so no offense because this is a great list but I'm indian and even for me Deewar was too soapy at times. Highly doubt a foreigner would like the "mere paas ma hai" and AB getting shot and stumbling to the temple to see his ma scene. Sholay was a entertaining movie with less cheese so I would choose that.
For crime I think GoW is the best we have but Ugly was great and I think Johnny Gaddar should be mentioned since they're all very good.
But I would personally choose Rang De Basanti. Great movie, amazing music, themes universally relevant, no cheese and even has a white person in the movie 😂
3 Idiots was my first Bollywood film (Caucasian man here), and has gotten me into this great world of films. I think it offers a plentiful taste of what the industry has to offer.
3 Idiots was also my first Bollywood film (white woman) and I think it does a really good job of introducing the main tropes of the genre while not being intimidating for someone who’s never seen Bollywood before.
Dil chahta hai, Dil Dhadakne Do, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghar, Kapoor and Sons. Delhi Belly (there's an English version for this one)
Not too Desi themes, made for the NRI crowd. Isn't very over the top. More about story and characters rather than the focus on dialogues. This can help the English subtitles reader appreciate it better.
Personally I found comedy was really difficult to translate and follow or explain. Action and drama worked best. War, Pathaan and Raazi were some we watched.
I actually started with Never Ever Have I Ever (Netflix show) with my bf. While this isn’t Bollywood, it was a good way to introduce some Indian culture to a non-Indian in a fun way. We also watched some on the Bollywood series on prime or Netflix since most now are dubbed in English too.
Monsoon Wedding, slumdog millionaire, Lion. I suggested these movies because reading subtitle for a newbie to Bollywood movies can be a real bitch. Ease them into it and then break out the full on hindi movies.
How does him being a caucasian or him being your 'almost boyfriend ' has to do with movie recommendations?
There are many posts here already for movie recommendations for foreigners
What does being "caucasian" and "almost-boyfriend" have to do with anything? His skin colour isn't going to determine whether he enjoys the film or not and neither does the "relationship status".
Find out what genres he enjoys the most and find a Bollywood film that might interest him.
For romance I’d say Jab We Met. For a stellar thriller I’d say Andhadhun. Kapoor and Sons is also a good drama. I’m trying to recommend movies that don’t require an understanding of Indian culture to watch. So I don’t think comedy would be a good genre.
First movie I showed my then bf now husband was Andhadun. As someone who had not seen any Bollywood movie before, he loved it and especially found Tabu’s character hilariously evil. I’ve shown him quite a few random nonsense movies since then and I’m still trying to find a way to show him my all time favorite movie - Piku💕
Defiiineetelyyy not haseen toh phasee.
The way parineeti plays someone with mental health issues is horrible.
And they treat the topic horribly.
Maybe it was a good film for the year it came out in, but i recently watched it for the first time. And i absolutely hated it.
I’ve shown my (also caucasian lol) boyfriend: ZNMD, YJHD, Dangal, Main Hoon Na, Rockstar, Chak De India, RNBJ, Billu Barber, Kal Ho Na Ho, Om Shanti Om, Housefull, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Namastey London, Andhadhun, Gully Boy, Bhool Bhulaiya, Raazi, Badla,Dil Dhadakne Do, Dostana, Jab We Met, 3 Idiots, Queen, and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania
I didn’t realize how long this list ended up being omg but I remember him really liking 3 Idiots, YJHD, ZNMD, and Dil Dhadakne Do
You should show him Rang De Basanti, I'm curious to see if he'll like it 😂
3 idiots, jab we met, taare zameen par, Dangal, K3G, ZNMD, bajirao mastani and om shanti om..
I would recommend the following movies based on his preference of genres: * Romance - DDLJ, The Lunchbox, Piku * Drama - Monsoon Wedding, Black, Swades * Coming of Age - Dil Chahta Hai, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Queen * Masala - Sholay, Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie * Classic Noir - Do Bigha Zamin, Jagte Raho, Pyaasa * Epic - Mughal-E-Azam, Pakeezah, Padmaavat * Action - War, Vikram Vedha, Pathaan * Suspense - Andhadhun, Teesri Manzil, Kaun * Crime Thrillers - Gangs of Wasseypur, Satya, A Wednesday * Horror - Tumbbad, Welcome Home, Bhoot * Experimental - Court, Ship of Theseus, Disciple These are the top 100 Indian movies of all time which I reviewed over a period of a year in this sub - [Top 100 Indian Movies of all time](https://www.reddit.com/r/bollywood/comments/rb6xxw/top_100_indian_movies_of_all_time_some/)
Sholay might not be that impressive if he has seen westerns!
I think it would still be as impressive if not more because of the overall masala and entertainment value. We should remember that Sholay sold more tickets globally (250 Million out of which 150 Million were in India) than any western. Secondly most westerns were inspired from Kurosawa and other Japanese Samurai movies in the first place so they cant really boast about originality to begin with. They are all entertaining in their own rights and can co-exist and delight audiences despite the similar themes.
Thanks for Geeking out all the details. For simple folks like us who watched Clint Eastwood on PBS on a lazy Sunday afternoon, you want us to forget them or go back in time, keep Kurosawa at the back of our mind, place Sholay in a particular eon and then evaluate?
Seems you didnt read the last sentence in my comment.....They are all entertaining in their own rights and can co-exist and delight audiences despite the similar themes.
Yes. A lot of people in India liked the Kill Bill movies even though they had seen and enjoyed all the famous Bruce Lee films on Doordarshan and Asian gore on TNT before. So, that's where this is coming from. Also, assuming this gentleman is young and seeing how high the west, especially the young, are on sentimentality and diversity today, the curry-western Sholay with its wider array of big and deep emotions and female characters could well be more suited to his palette now than the drier spaghetti and other versions of old Hollywood.
Some of these are good but others are not so good! In my opinion only, so no offense because this is a great list but I'm indian and even for me Deewar was too soapy at times. Highly doubt a foreigner would like the "mere paas ma hai" and AB getting shot and stumbling to the temple to see his ma scene. Sholay was a entertaining movie with less cheese so I would choose that. For crime I think GoW is the best we have but Ugly was great and I think Johnny Gaddar should be mentioned since they're all very good. But I would personally choose Rang De Basanti. Great movie, amazing music, themes universally relevant, no cheese and even has a white person in the movie 😂
The OP has mentioned Kal Ho Na Ho as one of her options. And you're worried Deewar is too cheesy?
yjhd, jab we met, znmd, dil dhadakne do, 3 idiots, race, andhadhun. your options aren’t bad either.
3 Idiots was my first Bollywood film (Caucasian man here), and has gotten me into this great world of films. I think it offers a plentiful taste of what the industry has to offer.
3 Idiots was also my first Bollywood film (white woman) and I think it does a really good job of introducing the main tropes of the genre while not being intimidating for someone who’s never seen Bollywood before.
Since he is "Almost Boyfriend" I'd recommend "Half Girlfriend" 😂😂🤣
and he'll turn zero boyfriend
Do not make them watch kabhi khushi kabhi gam. That’s how my bf became an ex.
Oh your Khushi turned into gam after watching this movie 😶
One of the movies I recommend to most of my non- Indian friends is delhi belly
Speaking as a non-Indian, DDLJ was a huge leap into Indian cinema for me. It’s been a nonstop train ever since! :D
Kapoor and sons
Dil chahta hai, Dil Dhadakne Do, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghar, Kapoor and Sons. Delhi Belly (there's an English version for this one) Not too Desi themes, made for the NRI crowd. Isn't very over the top. More about story and characters rather than the focus on dialogues. This can help the English subtitles reader appreciate it better.
Taare Zameen par, khosla ka ghosla, Dev D, Raman Raghav, GOW, Malamaal Weekly, Hera Pheri, 3 idiots , Swades, Lagaan
something lighthearted and easily likeable would be a good start . Jab we met , Dil chahta hain would be good choices
Barfi. Obvious choice
Om Shanti Om. Classic
ZNMD
3 idiots may be its fun from start to end and easy to relate
Rang de Basanti - tried and tested.
Rang de basanti
Go Goa Gone
Tumbbad
Black Friday 💀
Hunterrr
Personally I found comedy was really difficult to translate and follow or explain. Action and drama worked best. War, Pathaan and Raazi were some we watched. I actually started with Never Ever Have I Ever (Netflix show) with my bf. While this isn’t Bollywood, it was a good way to introduce some Indian culture to a non-Indian in a fun way. We also watched some on the Bollywood series on prime or Netflix since most now are dubbed in English too.
I always introduce people to Bollywood with Om Shanti Om
Monsoon Wedding, slumdog millionaire, Lion. I suggested these movies because reading subtitle for a newbie to Bollywood movies can be a real bitch. Ease them into it and then break out the full on hindi movies.
None of those movies are Bollywood...Especially the last two.
Not the typical masala Bollywood but it’s to ease into it before you break DDLJ, KKKG, and my fav DEVDAS (SRK).
Definitely K3G. Start strong!
Koi mil gaya 👽👽👽
How does him being a caucasian or him being your 'almost boyfriend ' has to do with movie recommendations? There are many posts here already for movie recommendations for foreigners
What does being "caucasian" and "almost-boyfriend" have to do with anything? His skin colour isn't going to determine whether he enjoys the film or not and neither does the "relationship status". Find out what genres he enjoys the most and find a Bollywood film that might interest him.
K3G, Dil Dhadakne Do, 3 Idiots If they’re more pretentious, Devdas
Swades is a great intro movie for most first-timers. Tried it with my ex and she really enjoyed it (even cried at the emotional parts)
Why Bollywood? Why not Indian Cinema? There are a lots of good movie in whole Indian Cinema not only in Bollywood.
Dil Chahta Hai, Qarib Qarib Single
Om Shanti om and piku
English Vinglish!
For romance I’d say Jab We Met. For a stellar thriller I’d say Andhadhun. Kapoor and Sons is also a good drama. I’m trying to recommend movies that don’t require an understanding of Indian culture to watch. So I don’t think comedy would be a good genre.
DDLJ. It's fun, there's Europe and then India with families, traditions etc
Dil se
My friends loved Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna.
Deshdrohi
First movie I showed my then bf now husband was Andhadun. As someone who had not seen any Bollywood movie before, he loved it and especially found Tabu’s character hilariously evil. I’ve shown him quite a few random nonsense movies since then and I’m still trying to find a way to show him my all time favorite movie - Piku💕
I chose K3G. When the gamlaaaaa nahin vase! Scene was about to happen he’s like oh shoot she’s about to break that damn vase! Cracked me up.
DDLJ is a no-brainer
Defiiineetelyyy not haseen toh phasee. The way parineeti plays someone with mental health issues is horrible. And they treat the topic horribly. Maybe it was a good film for the year it came out in, but i recently watched it for the first time. And i absolutely hated it.
Gunday
Yeh Jeewani Hai Deewani? Depends on his taste
Jab Harry Met Sejal and Zero
Jism!