Marigold

In his first directorial endeavour since 1999's TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN, writer/director/producer Willard Carroll followed the lead of 2004's BRIDE & PREJUDICE in attempting to take Bollywood aesthetics to a western audience. Independently produced but boasting strong production values and a recognisable Hollywood actress in the lead (Ali Larter), MARIGOLD (2007) is notable for taking a Hollywood star to India and putting a Bollywood leading man in the romantic lead of a film intended to reach a western audience. Sadly the film did not make an international star of Indian Salman Khan and in fact it was little seen. There are probably few people who have even heard of it, which is a shame. While it's less than perfect it's a pretty successful attempt at a Bollywood/Hollywood crossover and an entertaining romantic comedy in its own right.

I'm less engaged by movies that pretend to be more than they are, and fail. This one promises little, and delivers more. It's an unpretentious, even if contrived, love story, featuring an egocentric American girl who learns humility under adverse circumstances. There are generally sympathetic, even if predictable characters, picturesque settings, beautiful faces, lively dances, and engaging music. Eye candy throughout. Provides a somewhat antiseptic window into Indian culture... but at least it's something. Not a bad introduction to Bollywood musicals, either.

I'm grateful not to be so sophisticated and urbane in my tastes that I'm unable to enjoy it. It's just simple fun; nothing more.

OK, its basically our very own commonplace script of videshi girl falling for prince charming Indian boy, and predictable outcomes.

More was expected keeping in mind that the production is a foreign outlook to Bollywood but the end product is very insipid, boring and common. Nothing to look forward to and even Salman looks very lost at times.

Thank goodness it comes with a runtime of under 2 hours cause it makes the viewer feel minute tick.

Come on, most of our scripts of late have shown that they can be innovative and a bit bold, but Marigold is simply like the biscuit which gets soggy in your cup of chai rather than 'THE FLOWER'

This movie exceeded my expectations.

For the first ten minutes i was not sure I'd even finish watching. Ali Larter's character was thoroughly unpleasant and it looked like the whole movie would be filled with characters of pure plastic.

Instead, I was drawn into a surprisingly sophisticated blending of two cultures' film-making styles, with a modern romance melding almost seamlessly with the Hindi dance scenes being filmed for a movie-within-the-movie whose story line, as with many Bollywood films, was a myth-based love story well-spiced with humour.

Although the title character sped from ultra-entitled bitch to sweet, yearning young woman in love (about as fast as her learning to dance stunningly in a mix of Hindi style and American freestyle), the rest of the story flowed well enough to temporarily smother my natural incredulity about ancient family traditions being set aside for pretty blonds.

This is a fairy tale, after all, a nice blending of movie-making and mythos in both Hollywood and Bollywood, that should not be taken for a realistic portrayal of either culture, but for a charming story of love that will make you laugh as often as cry.

wow...I just watched this movie...American people have this stereotypical view towards Hindi films such as, ALL Indian films have dances, songs and a love story....Its pathetic how far away from the truth that is. This film simply exposes the stereotypical western view of Hindi films. Horrible acting, horrible direction, horrible cinematography. And all this by a Hollywood director. Most Indian films today are much more content driven, realistic, touching and meaningful than this piece of crap. Indian cinema (not just Hindi) also cover a variety of different subjects. Just like most other Hollywood films these days, this shows a very stereotypical view of of another country, where truth is thrown out the window. This is a highly NOT recommended movie. Instead watch good Hindi films like black Friday, eklavya, omkara, khakee, awarapan, gangster, don, zakhm, dor, sholay, mother India, lagaan...Those films are what real Indian cinema are all about.