Anupam Kher

Life in the 1990's was remarkably different for the average Indian. Consumerism had not set in. It was devoid of most of the luxuries of the West. In fact everything "imported" was good, and everything Indian, passe. Badmaash Company is an extraordinary story set in the 1990's in middle class Bombay (as it was known then), of four ordinary youngsters Karan (Shahid Kapoor), Bulbul (Anushka Sharma), Chandu (Vir Das) and Zing (Meiyang Chang) who came together to start an import business of things longed for by yuppie Indians!

In Ankert University, California, Alisha (Priyanka Chopra) is the name of that dream everyone wished came true. The most beautiful girl on campus, she makes hearts flutter like leaves in the wind. A snap of her fingers and a line of boys, waiting on her every whim. Everybody Loves Alisha! It is no surprise then that Abhay (Uday Chopra) loves her too. More than his computer programs and MAC stores he thinks of Alisha. Who is Abhay?

Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra merges two plots in Rang De Basanti. The first is about a group of friends, their bonding, the carefree lifestyle they lead. The second plot pertains to the past, when freedom fighters sacrificed their lives during the pre-independence era. Without doubt, Mehra's intentions are noble, since portions in the film do succeed in pricking your conscience. Mehra draws parallels between Indians ruled by the British and Indians ruled by corrupt politicians today. The message is subtle at first, but echoes piercingly before it reaches its finale.

Dil Bole Hadippa! (My Heart Shouts Hooray!) makes a good intro to Bollywood/Indian musicals. It has all the splash of full-out Bollywood but with terrific modern updates and a little something for everyone. For the ladies there's the predictable but crackling good rom/com tension between Shahid Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee. With all this wrapped up in a cricket championship with a little gender-bending to keep it off-balance, guys should find it just as entertaining.

Vivah unabashedly hearkens back to India's more traditional conventions, and specifically that of the arranged marriage. Released in 2006, Vivah tells the story of two young people, Prem and Poonam, strangers to one another yet destined to be wedded. So it'd be nice if they like each other. Poonam (Amrita Rao) is an orphaned girl from the small town of Madhupur, who was raised in her uncle's household. She is beautiful and demure and brought up to be obedient and traditional.

Unquestionably one of the most beloved Indian films ever to come out of Bollywood. This Yash Raj comedy, romance, drama stars the incomparable Shah Rukh Khan and the beautiful Kajol as two young British Hindustani's, Raj and Simran, who meet during a one month European vacation. Things do not start out well for the two, but slowly the ongoing banter of dislike and ridicule between them transforms into friendship and finally so much more.

Bend It Like Beckham is true girl power. This glorious comedy centers on Jess (Parminder Nagra), an Indian girl born in England whose only desire is to become a football--or, as we say on this side of the Atlantic, soccer--star like her idol, David Beckham; but her traditional family refuses to even consider it. With the help of her new friend Juliet (Keira Knightley), Jess secretly joins a girls' team under the guidance of a male coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). As the team starts to gain some attention, Jess's secret can't be kept forever.

The exotic sounds, vibrant colors, and ecstatic dancing of Bollywood collide with the cunning storytelling of Jane Austen in Bride & Prejudice (from the writer/director of previous East/West hybrid Bend It Like Beckham). When smart, outspoken Lalita Bakshi (Indian beauty Aishwarya Rai) meets Will Darcy (Martin Henderson, The Ring), she finds this American businessman arrogant and conceited--but because his best friend is falling in love with her sister, Lalita agrees to travel around India with Darcy.