Marigold

Mention Bollywood to anyone with a slight familiarity with the genre and the images usually conjured up are of tacky, over the top musical numbers peopled with costuming that makes Vegas seem a bastion of conservatism. This perception is not helped by the whiff of condescension that permeates most movies that have approached Bollywood from an outsider's perspective. Willard Carroll's romantic comedy Marigold, however takes a different tack. It is not a nudge-nudge wink-wink look at those silly people and their clueless antics but a sincere appreciation of Bollywood for its vitality, its lack of irony and self-consciousness.

It is obvious that the director has a tremendous affection and respect for Bollywood while at the same time is bemused by its kitschier aspects. And if you have a familiarity with Bollywood, you can appreciate what he does here in making a true hybrid of Bollywood and Hollywood movie conventions. From one of the opening shots, a flashback of the Salman character as a child by the sea, talking with his grandmother (played by Helen! - how many Salman movies start with this same premise?) to the flashback sequence that is incorporated into the movie that Marigold and Prem has been filming, anyone who has seen enough Bollywood movies will recognize these references. The story itself incorporates tried and true conventions from both Hollywood and Bollywood as well – the fish out of water meets duty-to-one's-family-at the expense of personal fulfillment. The structure of the film follows the typical Bollywood plot line of the more comical set up of the first half giving way to a more dramatic resolution of the second. Yet ultimately the sensibility of the film is that of Hollywood, with its understated, wry humor and its story of a woman learning to believe in herself, to reach self-affirmation.

You couldn't have a movie inspired by Bollywood if there weren't any musical numbers and this movie does not disappoint with seven of them. Unlike Bollywood, however, the songs do not pop out of nowhere and transport its characters to a European locale or Goan beach; they exist as musical numbers that are part of the film that is being made, reminiscent of how musical numbers were justified in Busby Berkeley movies as being part of a stage show. Or they come out of a situation where music already has a reason to be there – a sexy nightclub scene where Prem teaches Marigold to dance or a beach scene where there are musicians (including a cameo from the playback singer Shaan) performing. All reflect the emotional state of the protagonists at that point in the movie. Often the music will take a conventional song from one genre and put a twist on it from the other. So in one of the highlights of the film where Marigold comes into her own, the song picturazation is fairly typical of its genre – the female star singing and dancing among a line of women – but in this case it's blond Ali Larter looking like a total natural Bollywood film star, emoting and lip synching to the Hindi lyrics with no subtitles.

Also synonymous with Bollywood are sumptuous visuals and Marigold fulfills that aspect beautifully thanks to some of the top talent working in Bollywood today. The cinematographer is Anil Mehta who was also the cinematographer for Lagaan and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. The choreographer is Vaibhavi Merchant and production designer is Nitin Desai, both from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas. You can really see the influence of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam on this film – in fact, the illuminated floor in one of the numbers was originally from Dholi Taro Dhol, which coincidentally has an embedded Marigold pattern.

As for the cast, Carroll obviously has a penchant for spotting acting talent as evidenced by Playing by Heart – one of the first movies for both Angelina Jolie and Ryanne Phillippe. And in this film he again hits the mark with Ali Larter. One of the main reasons the film works is because of Larter. She makes a bitchy, unappealing character sympathetic and her subsequent transformation believable and she is smart, funny, and sexy because she is smart and funny. She and Salman share excellent chemistry and that is one of the film's biggest strengths.

Salman Khan plays the role of Prince Charming here as filtered through his iconic role as Prem. This is old school Prem, however, so expect a quiet, subdued Salman - those used to him in his usual stripping avatar may be disappointed – or relieved! It's a sincere and sensitive performance from him marred only by poor enunciation of his English lines.

With a refreshing lack of cynicism and unabashed embrace of romantic love, the film is a love letter to Bollywood and Hollywood movies of yore.

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'

'Marigold' is pretty much one of those typical bad Bollywood films with all the ingredients of exotic locations, excessive songs, over the top drama and acting, disapproving parents...etc etc. While I mentioned the exotic locations, they are beautifully shown here. I particularly liked how Goa looked somewhat different from other films. The songs are totally forgettable.

I wonder how many bad Bollywood films Carroll watched and copied to make this mess. Even the actors seem to be in a state of 'I can't believe I'm in a Hollywood film'. For example, take a look at Salman Khan who's grinning all through the film. It wouldn't take more than a second for one to bet that his thoughts were 'God! I'm actually working with a Hollywood star'. Ditto for the rest of the cast. Nandana Sen is especially funny (unintentionally of course) as she reminds me of a chicken.

Now let's get to the one person that makes 'Marigold' somewhat watchable. Ali Larter. The actress looks drop dead gorgeous in the traditional Indian outfits, she's spot on in the comic scenes and she really seems to have gotten under the skin of the character. I also liked how she gracefully performed the Bollywood dances, especially in the item number that takes place in the middle of the film where she's dancing with Raj and his co-star. The way she conveys her feelings to Salman's character in that same song is superb. 'Wouldn't mind watching her in more Hindi films although she's already doing great for herself in Hollywood. So if there is anything at all to look our for in this film, then it's Miss Larter. She's far from the typical caricature blonde white girl seen in the usual Bollywood films.

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.

I was somewhat impressed with Marigold, it did not follow a silly formula that directors use when making Indian related films. We got a glimpse of Indian culture and saw how a stuck up American actress was humbled and overwhelmed by the rich Indian culture. She also finds love along the way. The story is entirely believable unlike the joke that was Slumdog Millionaire because foreign actresses can be expected to travel to India for filming commercials or short films. Salman Khan was excellent and showed why he has great talent by effortlessly playing the simple yet wealthy person.

Some parts are annoying as it seems they can't make a Indian associated film without unnecessary dance scenes and outdated stereotypes like arranged marriages. This acted to diminish the film. Overall still good.