Perhaps the most important thing to take away from Bollywood Hollywood was the fact that this film equally pokes fun at many aspects of South Asian culture and no single religious or ethnic group is targeted more than another. The "Bollywood Hollywood" title is quite fitting because the entire film is a parody of other Bollywood films.

While I left the movie theater feeling that this wasn't an exceptional piece of work, it did have satirical moments providing comedic relief. This film contains controversial material, however, many movies are based on such topics and sensitive viewers, especially children, should be warned before they view the film.

For instance, Bollywood movies often have movie actresses portrayed as prostitutes. In this movie, Lisa Ray's character ("Sue Singh") indeed admits to being an escort, however, there is no mention of sex for money. In fact, she clearly states that there will be no sex when she makes a deal with the lead male character to play the role of his girlfriend for his family. In fact, in another Hindu family (a Hindu "Seth" family), the unwed daughter is portrayed as pregnant. This definitely points to premarital sex and begs the question: Are Hindu families also offended by this movie?

Another controversial character involves the wrestler "Killer Khalsa," who is an actual wrestler and plays himself in this movie. He offers Sue's father a car dealership in exchange for his daughter's hand, however, Sue refuses the match. The father's character (Kulbushan Kharbanda), who longs for his village in Punjab, also has a quirky personality, as he sings Hindi film songs and recites dialogue. I don't think many people watching the movie would find this offensive because other characters also have distinctive personalities, as they incorrectly recite Shakespeare, exhibit excessive self-pity, and continuously utter sports metaphors.

The Sikh Gurus' pictures are also shown. There is one shot where Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh close-ups are shown. I think this may have been an unnecessary close-up. On the other hand, the other family in the film is portrayed as Hindus and the idols of Hanuman, Radha, and Krisha are shown as close-ups, as well. Furthermore, when comparing religions, one of the characters jokingly states, "Hindu Gods are the best." Is this then a balance?

I think those in the audience who were actually Caucasian may have been offended based on the negative viewpoints expressed towards inter-racial marriages. The Seth family uttered many of these when their son wanted to marry his Caucasian girlfriend.

All in all, I don't know if Deepa Mehta made this movie to be picked apart and be offensive. I think it needs to be taken at face value as an attempt to bring humor to quite deep issues.

I, being a Sikh myself, did not leave the movie feeling that someone had poked fun at Sikhs. I have, however, felt this while watching several major Bollywood films where a character (usually with turban) is the major joker and fool of the movie.

Film web site: http://www.bollywoodhollywoodmovie.com/