Excellent, very funny but also heart-breaking parody of educational and parental pressure for Indian students to become something successful (like an engineer) instead of follow their own path. Bowman Irani delights and Aamir Khan is at his best

Based on "A Star Is Born" but with a few differences. I found the acting wooden on all counts (except Tom Alter, known as a speaker of almost perfect Hindi) , but it was still considered a romantic hit. Directed by Maneesh Bhatt who has certainly given better films in his career.

Odd little piece of cinema based on Hillary Duff's "A Cinderella Tale". Looks like a beginning film student's project, but I watched it to the end because some of the unknowns in it (and they were all unknowns) showed promise.

Indian "horror" film with Bipasha Bau and Karan Grover Singh. Double role by Bipasha as wife and also dead sister. Not very scary

Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan in classic Hindi cinema at its best. A must-see! Rajesh Khanna is terminally ill man who is determined to find joy until the end and also to help doctor friend find it as well. "Happiness"

Great Hindi comedy in true Bolllywood style, complete with romance, bad guys, crazy schticks and moral lessons. Salman Khan, Aamir Khan. "Our Style"

One of SRK's villain roles, almost as good as Darr, but not quite. Spoiled rich brat wants uninterested girl and is willing to murder to get her. Decent film and should be on any SRKian's list. "Consequences"

SRK. Not well received in India partly due to historical inaccuracies, but won two awards (Filmfare and IIFA)and nominated for 17 other prestigious awards. Did well overseas. Kareena Kapoor is great. LONG but amazing cinematography. Ashoka or Asoka is Maurya Emperor who gave up empire to help spread Buddhism. Worth seeing.

Arjun Kapoor plays two roles, which Bollywood loves. He is undercover for the cops, taking place of gangster's son. Average.

Film with Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, John Abraham, Hema Malini and Rani Mukerji (wow!) should have been better, but wasn't. First half, decent; second half, not so much. John Abraham replacing Salman Khan? Nahin...

Telugu film, also done in Tamil at same time and dubbed into other languages, including French. Prabhas is foundling prince. Indian cinema is great at epic historical pieces. First South Indian film to gross over 600 crore worldwide. Highest grossing Telugu film of all time. Excellent. Worth seeing.

Shah Rukh Khan is psychotic, ruthless villain, Kajol the victim. Predates their DDLJ and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai jodi. This film is literally "crazy" fun with SRK in one of his best villain roles. "Illusionist".

This is NOT typical Varun Dhawan, but an attempt to break out of the Humpty roles. Violent, violent, violent revenge film. Nawazuddin Siddhiqui is good in this. And you will never look at Varun Dhawan the same. Badlapur is city in Mumbai District.

Bajirao Mastani star Ranveer Singh's first lead role with favorite Anuskha Sharma. Great little Bollywood gem...entire film is worth the line (after huge dance number) when friend addresses him as the next SRK. Possibly prophetic? Worth seeing if it hadn't been a star vehicle for Ranveer.

Authorized remake of Tom Cruise film "Knight and Day". Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif do a credible job. Soundtrack and dancing are awesome. Don't know why it isn't rated higher. Super-fun guilty pleasure action film which my two non-Bollywood fan grown daughters also loved.

Beautiful, beautiful film with Ranbir Kapoor as deaf man and Priyanka Chopra as his mentally challenged friend. This is the kind of film that lifts up a heart. They both show their major acting chops in this one, particularly Priyanka, playing so drastically against type. Must see.

Very well-done documentary with three different viewpoints on India's cricket craze. A fan, an up and coming athlete and a girl who plays cricket. If you want to understand just how much India loves this sport, this is an excellent piece to see.

Based on eternal friendship of Hindu Lord Krishna and Sudama. Very sweet story of a regular guy (Billu) who was childhood friends with a mega-star. A feel good kind of film well worth seeing, although oddly not one of SRK's most popular, probably because he plays himself. Item numbers with 3 Bollywood divas, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone are awesome.

Not one of Salman Khan/Kareena Kapoor's best--mostly for Salman fans. Still, it was one of the first Salman movies I screened, and while it is no Bajrangi Bhaijaan or even Ek Tha Tiger, it isn't really bad.

A great Amitabh Bachchan vehicle for the family, especially since ghost is funny, not scary. SRK has tiny role as father of the boy Amitabh's character befriends. Juhi Chawli is mom. Cute film for the kids. Better than the sequel "Boothnath Returns". Booth: Hindi for ghost.

Sequel to Bhoothnath with Amitabh Bachchan and this time, Bowman Irani (always a funny guy). This time, the ghost runs for public office and the second half is over-blown, but still good family fun and definitely worth seeing. Tiny cameo by you-know-who.

Example of Hindi parallel cinema. Mohan Agashe is Shiv, college graduate who leaves everything behind to see what is out in the rest of the world. Very slow, but patient viewer is rewarded with some remarkable moments. Nominated for best film at Shanghai International Film Festival.

No idea what happened to Saif Ali Khan after such a bright start in Bollywood, but this film is typical now. Nothing to really recommend it except some decent action. Even the dancing is not up to par. For Saif Ali Khan fans only.

Literally, "Go win, India", film is widely touted as one of Shah Rukh Khan's best. None of his trademark romance; a very serious role as an unjustly disgraced Indian athlete who returns to coach a national women's field hockey team. Extremely well-received by audiences and critically acclaimed, but don't expect Raj/Rahul to show up. Worth seeing.

Talk surrounding this film is almost more famous than film as this is supposedly where the (now over) rift between Salman Khan and SRK got started. Story: Truck driver falls in love with rich girl. They marry and but don't exactly live happily ever after. One of SRK's slightly more realistic romances. Rani Mukerji is good. Worth seeing.

Despite his acclaim in "Haider" (Bollywood's answer to Hamlet) and in "Jab We Met", this isn't one of Shahid's best. However, one thing that can always be said of Shahid Kapoor: that man can DANCE. Watch for the dance sequences, not so much the story.

Chandni is a Yash Chopra romance classic that is credited with bringing the romance musical back to Bollywood. The storyline is weak, Rishi Kapoor isn't at his best, but the performance of Sridevi as Chandni is mesmerizing. Chandni means moonlight, and she is as ethereal and beautiful in this film as the name of her character. Watch it for her. Sridevi is sometimes called "The Last Empress of Bollywood". Watch this and find out why.

Another SRK film that Indians love to hate, but box office tells a different story. This is a film, however, for someone well-seasoned in Bollywood and SRK films and music. Otherwise, you won't get any of the very clever but inside jokes, and this film contains them by the droves. Deepika Padukone is perfect foil for his 40 something "common man" role. One of my favs.

This film is parallel cinema, but it goes way beyond that almost to experimental cinema. It even has an odd look, having been shot on what looks like videotape, not film, and a "nude" scene by Ravi Kishan. Admittedly, it was tempting to give up on this after the first half hour, but I watched it til the end and found it oddly satisfying. If you like standard fare, this is not for you. If you like edgy and different, you'll like this.

Daawar-e-Isha (Feast on Love) is one of the very first Bollywood films I saw (I think because it was on Netflix). It is very typical, cutesy Bollywood fare with decent performances by Parineeti Chopra and Aditya Roy Kapoor. And it did win an award for lyrics. However, it blurs together with other offerings of the same type. Watch when you are just being lazy around the house one day.

Some folks missed the fact that the over-the-top action sequences and its larger than life character in Dabangg released was the point--a cop who is almost a superhero, not believable. Salman Khan plays corrupt but good guy Chulbul to a "t"; Sonkashi Singh does the love interest well, winning a Filmfare for it. It also won a National for Best Popular Film. (Dabangg means bold and assertive. Very apt.) Worth seeing!

See review for Dabangg but know that in some ways, Dabangg 2 is even better. The film (in which Chulbul and wife transfer to a famously lawless town) outdid opening day for Ek Tha Tiger and became the 10th highest grossing film ever in India and worldwide despite the fact that critical reception was mixed. Also worth seeing, just for fun.

The performance that set the bar in Bollywood for this kind of film is in this movie. Shah Rukh Khan is nothing short of brilliant as the mentally unbalanced young man who is the obsessed stalker of K-K-K-Kiran and who goes after her even after she marries. Audiences loved his villainy but also his vulnerability. This is truly one of the great performances in Bollywood that you shouldn't miss. Darr is Hindi for "fear".

The only thing this film has to recommend it is Jimmy Shergill who, despite never achieving super-stardom, is still a darn fine actor. Unfortunately, it is one of those movies where you know the actor probably took the job because he needed the work. with no pre-info, I had hopes it might somehow mimic its namesake, but absolutely not. Darr means fear but Jambhaee (yawn) would be better as a title.

Shah Rukh Khan's first big screen appearance and it is Bollywood legend, particularly since he never appeared until the second half of the film and his performance was still acclaimed. Even if it wasn't any good (but it really was), I would still tell you to see it. There are just some films you have to see in Bollywood to understand Bollywood. This is one of them. (Deewana means crazy and constantly shows up in film lyrics as well as titles in B-town.)

It seems often to be a toss-up as to whether Swades or Devdas is considered SRK's finest film ever. Devdas certainly has the better pedigree, being the 16th adaptation of one of the most wildly popular, famous pieces of Indian literature ever of the same name, authored by the legendary Bengali writer Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. It is about the destructive nature of unfulfilled passion. This Sanjay Leela Bhansali production is lush beyond belief but that doesn't over-shadow the intensely great acting by both SRK and Aishwarya Rai. This is another must see from the Bollywood canon.

First of three films starring Abhishek Bachchan as ADI Jai Dixit and Uday Chopra as his sidekick Ali. In this, they chase motorcycle criminal mastermind John Abraham who won two awards for best villain for this. The much-touted theme song "Dhoom Machale" originates in this film. Debates are held about which of the three is better or if any are that great, but this is another of those series you should see to be Bollywood-savvy. Plus...it's fun. Dhoom is literally "boom" but here it is used in the sense of excitement.

Second in the Dhoom Series with Abhishek Bachchan as Jai Dixit and Uday Chopra as Ali. This time, they are after jewel thieves Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan. I loved the chemistry between these two. Thrilling chases, a few explosions, master disguises--all add to the typical action film fare, but again...it's not for the intellectual. It's just for fun. Worth seeing.

Third in the Dhoom Series with Abhishek Bachchan as Jai Dixit and Uday Chopra as Ali, it is considered by many to be the weakest in the trilogy. But imho, no film with Aamir Khan in a central role can be that bad. Khan plays the double role as circus entertainers/thieves. Khan's portrayal has the two characters delineated well. Again, a thrill ride, but a fun one and worth seeing.

Not so popular with Indian audiences but did phenomenally overseas. First Indian film to enter top 10 box office in UK. A tragic tale of love which follows the ancient Arabic 7 stages of love, using romance between a city boy and a village girl-turned-terrorist to do so. SRK and Manisha Koirala as leads, Preity Zinta's debut. Soundtrack by A.R. Rahman considered one of his best. Includes iconic train-top performance of Chaiyya Chaiyya (which became an anthem for the entire country). Winner of many international film festival awards. Very worth seeing!