Richard Crouse

Toronto-based director Deepa Mehta is best know for making controversial, searing dramas like Fire and Earth, and has earned a reputation as the new voice of Indian cinema. Her latest film is a change of pace. Set in Canada, Bollywood / Hollywood is a comedy that infuses a North American sensibility to the conventional Bollywood formula. Cultures clash in the film as Rahul (Rahul Khanna), a wealthy Indian-Canadian man tries to appease his family by hiring a “Spanish” escort to pose as his Indian fiancée at his sister’s wedding. Mix a good-sized dollop of Pretty Woman with some sparkling song-and-dance routines and the result is a light-hearted romp that reinvents the tried and true Bollywood recipe. Some nice work from the young leads, while Ranjit Chowdhry, as the female impersonating butler and the late Dina Pathak provide comic relief.