Indian Films Are Not Musicals:
Contrary to what the foreign critics have labelled them, all Bollywood films are not musicals. They have musical interludes placed at strategic moments in a film to emphasize an emotional core of a scenario. Indians love music, so any happy moment is more or less cause for celebration, and sad moments are dealt with tearful rhythms.

The older crop of films, which were sappy melodramatic affairs, have given Bollywood a long-suffering stamp of camp. Some still do (trust me - it can seem really nightmarish). Thankfully, the current trend among Indian films is to have dance numbers that are more in keeping with modern sensibilities like: lounge music, hip-hop tracks, rave and club mixes and so on. Though an occasional blockbuster now and then does bring the damned formula back to the fore.
Case in point: the new Devdas - a film which was less about the tortured protagonist, and more about grand scale colourful visuals. That is a serious case of an intellectual offering burnt at the altar of personal designs.
And any film from the camps of Karan Johar & Yash Chopra is bound to be “regular Bollywood” fare (read melodramatic affairs with lavish dance numbers).

Indian Films Are Not Just About Misery:
India is not just about poverty, pollution, child-marriages and widow-burnings (it is true but not the complete truth). It is unfortunate that the average outsider likes to see India through these images alone. It’s like if USA was known only as a racist bunch of cross-burning red-necks, that wouldn’t be right, would it?

Movies like SALAAM BOMBAY, Satyajit Ray’s films etc. tend to highlight the sufferings of the common man, and these are films that the foreign audience has come to be identify with (either that or the colorful campy song-n-dance routines). It’s like how Japan was perceived through Kurusawa’s lens, but the current crop of Japanese directors have brought out more than just J-horror to a cineaste.

Bollywood Is Not Just Aishwarya Rai:
Better actors/actresses have gone unnoticed by the foreign media. Ms. Rai just seems to have better PR than most of the other Indian stars. The discerning crowd prefer the truly talented and lovely Sushmita Sen over the hyped-up Ms. Rai, who is fondly referred to as the Ice Maiden by the Indian media for her frigid chemistry.

Rounding up in the same vein - Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah & Om Puri are not the only English speaking actors that India possesses. They are very good no doubt, but are found to be oft repeated in foreign productions, bypassing some truly dynamic new breeds.

Lastly, it is sad but true that the serious lot (read good shit) of Hindi films never make it outside the Indian shores, except to the hard-core cinephile. And the bunch of desis/NRIs on foreign shores tend to gravitate more towards the candy-floss offerings than the real good thing.

So for those who may want to cultivate a taste for Bollywood, here are a list of few of the talented directors, actors and actresses (that go unnoticed by the foreign movie-going crowd):
Directors:
- Shyam Benegal: a man who has churned out an entire collection of movies that deal with reality and real people.
- Govind Nihalani: another gritty and realism-oriented director. - Vidhu Vinod Chopra: his movies are a delight to watch. Always original and entertaining.
- Raj Kumar Santoshi: most reliable amongst the commercial crop. Comnbines the commercial aspects with substance.
- Nagesh Kukunoor: new breed of fine directors - has excellent command over emotional content and pacing.
- Ashutosh Gowariker: “Lagaan” - that shd say it all (it maybe formulaic - but it’s cool).
- Vishal Bharadwaj: Bringing Shakespeare to the average Indian in a terrific way.
- Ram Gopal Verma (he seems to have lost his cinematic marbles these days, but has delivered gems in the past. Is still fiercely anti-bollywood machinery though)
- Prakash Jha: His commercial offerings are turkeys, but his art-house products are solid.
- Sudhir Mishra: A tune all of his own. - Hansal Mehta: Individualistic and unique.
- Mani Ratnam: a name that rings a bell not only in the southern regions, but also the whole of India. Truly a master of modern Indian cinema, he offers style with substance.
- Shanker: a director mostly affiliated with the Tamil cinema, he is one of the most technically outstanding director in India. The popularity of his films force them to be dubbed in Hindi for the northern crowd.

Actors:
- Amitabh Bachchan: The Living Legend.
- Aamir Khan: a legend in the making.
- Hritik Roshan: a complete actor - acting, looks, physique, dancingn skills, he’s got it all.
- Saif Ali Khan: coming into his own in a big way.
- Akshay Kumar: totally versatile and naturalistic actor.
- Ajay Devgan: losing a bit of his shine, but still commendable.
- Arshad Warsi: great in comedies and everything else.

Actresses:
- Sushmita Sen: beauty with brains.
- Rani Mukherji: very talented new breed of actresses.
- Kareena Kapoor (begrudingly so, since I loathe her, but she is a good actress when the camera calls for it).
- Urmila Matondkar - beauty with versatility to boot.
- Konkona Sen Sharma: low in profile but high in performance, this new-gen attacks her role with such gusto that she leaves you spellbound.

Films:
A list of some new and some not-so-new films that might give you Bollywood flavour with different seasonings:
Traffic Signal
Khosla Ka Ghosla
Ahista Ahista
Dor
Black Friday
Antar Mahal
Choker Bali
Lage Raho Munnabhai
Omkara
Gangster
Mixed Doubles
Being Cyrus
Swades
Asoka
Jungle
Mission Kashmir
Gayab
Drohkaal
Hari Bhari
Sardari Begum
Pyar Tune Kya Kiya
Ek Hasina Thi
The Warrior
Teen Dewarein
Iqbal
Hazaron Khuwashein Aisi
Matrubhoomi
Bollywood Calling
Hyderabad Blues
Bombay Boys
Everyone says I’m fine

Let me know when you are ready to take your first bite.