by Siôn Simon
Relatively few of the Indian films on release in the UK these days are what one traditionally understands by “Bollywood”.
No One Killed Jessica, for instance – which is packing them in at the moment – is a melodramatic political thriller with a message. The characters do not suddenly break into song or dance. The original soundtrack by Amit Trivedi is no more obtrusive than that of any Hollywood film. (Though the terrible soft rock crescendo of the last half hour would probably have been at least curbed in California).
The two main characters are strong single women. (To be fair, this is a Bollywood first, but it’s not exactly common in any other country’s films either). So assertive and modern are the lead pair that one of them says fuck to her boss a lot, likes casual sex and does yoga upside down in her office, while the other is the de facto head of her family. Traditional Bollywood stereotypes are firmly behind us. (more…)