Unpopular Opinion

What's up with the popular belief that Hollywood is far better than Bollywood?

I think this is a result of blind religious following and bias. I believe that none of the industries is "better", the comparison only depends on genres, in some, Hollywood is better, in some, Bollywood is.

Edit: Genres in which Bollywood is better than Hollywood-

NOTE: all of these are my opinions, I try to objective as much as possible, and all of the opinions are a result of the filmmaking and screenwriting I've studied, even some writers and directors like Aaron Sorkin, Nolan and Fincher have stated that Bollywood, Korean and German cinemas are indeed better in some elements and genres than Hollywood

• Crime (Fiction and Non-fiction): Hollywood crime thrillers often follow a pattern, a gang war involving the police, that's just it, the most complex they have gone was with The Departed, whereas Bollywood, imo, is way ahead in terms of story structure, entertainment (without sacrificing the flow and without forcing jokes) and also in the complexity and origins of a character. Example: Satya, Gangs of Wasseypur, Sarkar, Batla House, Gulaal, Vaastav

• Comedy and RomCom: Hollywood comedies often sacrifice human moments and emotions in the name of being witty, they are way too focussed on adult comedy and that too, they aren't much creative at. In Bollywood you don't have to be vulgar to be funny. Examples: every Priyadarshana movie, Garam Masala, Hera Pheri, Hulchul, Andaz Apna Apna, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, Badhai Ho, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Bareily Ki Barfi, Stree Coming to romantic comedies, imo, bollywood has much more heart into it and it doesn't sacrifice heart and core for comedy. Examples: ranjhanaa, jaane tu ya jaane na.

• Romance and Self Discovery: as far as this comparison is concerned, it all comes down to relatability, I'll simply say this- there has never been a romantic movie as complex, creative, and hard hitting as Tamasha in Hollywood. And there are other gems too, like Lootera, Laila Majnu, Kal Ho Na Ho. Hollywood's vault isn't as versatile and as good as Bollywood's. Examples: Udaan, Rang De Basanti, Tamasha, Taare Zameen Par, Masaan, Swades, 3 Idiots, Dil Chahta Hai, Karwaan, Piku.

• Psychological Thrillers: This is a genre which isn't often made in Bollywood, but when they are, they nail it. Examples: Raman Raghav 2.0, Ugly, Judgmental Hai Kya, Kaun, Ittefaq, Badla. I think it's not just me who'd say that Raman Raghav is more effective and complex and much more impacting that most of the Hollywood movies of this genre

Please Note that I'm not at all saying that Hollywood is bad. I'm just saying that maybe Bollywood is much more creative and innovative and effective in these genres, yet it doesn't get it's fair share of spotlight coz it gets overshadowed by Hollywood and also by it's own problems: audience choosing star cast over story, nepotism (it's not always bad, after all, it gave us Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan (he can act, just need good scripts and directors like Badlapur and October), Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and many more.

Also, Hollywood has always been light years ahead in these genres:

• Action
• SciFi
• Horror
• Satire
• History
• Franchises
• Fantasy

Maybe it's the difference between audience's need. In America, if you make an art movie and make it boring af, it'll go to the Oscars. In India if you do that without making it entertaining (NOTE: not fun, just entertaining, being funny isn't always entertainment, there are a lot of other kinds), people will thrash the film for being boring af. So the directors here have to apply more effort towards the script. That's why I think Bollywood is much more balanced than Hollywood.

You can try watching a Hollywood movies 10 times straight. You'll sleep by the 2nd or 3rd time. But if you watch a Bollywood movie 10 times straight, you won't sleep until 6th or 7th time.

That's why, even if Godfather was original, I think Sarkar did it better. I remember the climax of Sarkar as an iconic sequence with "Govinda" playing in the background, but the same sequence in Godfather wasn't as effective to me. You can't always use "it's realistic" as an excuse, you're not making a documentary. There's a reason your industry is called the "entertainment" industry.

Submitted September 03, 2019 at 05:14AM by rishabhsingh9628 https://ift.tt/2Lg89PE