Meri Pyaari Bindu (2017) – A bestselling writer of pulp horror novels (I like him already!) has been trying for three years to write a romance, based on his own decades-long relationship with the girl next door. He finally moves home and rediscovers an old mixtape that he and she had made, and while listening to it the story writes itself.
Definitely not a “normal” Bollywood romantic comedy, but a sweetly touching one, albeit one that made me glad that my true love wasn’t one of those “free spirits” that leave your life a shambles.
Of course, there’s another whole level to this movie that goes right over my head, as I assume that the songs from the mixtape were actual Hindi pop songs which the target audience would have recognized.
Deadtectives (2018) – A cynical TV ghosthunter and his team, who’re used to faking hauntings for ratings, end up trapped in “the most haunted house in Mexico.” Wackiness ensues.
There are plenty of movies with that premise around (which was a natural outgrowth of ghosthunter “found footage” movies, which were themselves a natural outgrowth of ghosthunter reality TV shows), but I can still enjoy it if it’s done with good humor and heart. And it doesn’t hurt that, aside from the British accent, the main ghosthunter is a ringer for a huckster friend of mine.
Shaandaar (2015) – An Indian family is in England to marry the granddaughter off in a lavish weeklong celebration to another Indian family for reasons that have more to do with finance than love. In fact, it’s all finance and no love — the groom is a self-absorbed gym rat who laughs at his overweight bride-to-be. But she isn’t even the protagonist; that would be her maverick adopted sister, who came into their family under mysterious circumstances that the father refuses to reveal, and who falls in love with the (also Indian) wedding planner, who’s a real nice guy although he doesn’t hit it off with the father. Plus, people eat the wrong mushrooms and freak out, and there’s a Weekend at Bernie’s subplot. It’s all over the place, like a good Bollywood movie should be. (Although, again, falling in love with a “free spirit” would be an exhausting and frustrating exercise for me.)