I still don’t have enough of a Bollywood vocabulary to put this in its proper place, but to me, this is what I think about when I think about Bollywood movies — 185 minutes of romance, elaborate dance numbers, and over-the-top, no-holds-barred melodrama. It also has some really striking eye candy, both in the sets — much of the movie takes place in a palace made out of coloured glass — and the cast. (Speaking of which, while Aishwarya Rai seems to be more internationally famous, in that I’d heard of her before seeing this movie, I found the scene-stealing Madhuri Dixit to be more beautiful, more charming, and a much better actress.)
That said, it’s really not a very deep movie. It’s your typical boy-meets-girl, boy-goes-away-to-school-in-England, boy-reunites-with-girl, girl’s-family-rejects-boy, boy-becomes-alcoholic, boy-meets-courtesan, courtesan-falls-in-love-with-boy, whole-thing-ends-tragically kind of deal. It’s all very broad and contrived, but damn if it doesn’t go down smooth.
I’m not sure there’s such thing as a ‘deep’ bollywood flick, although my father-in-law might object- after all, when he’s being serious, Shahrukh Khan does have some kind of ‘tortured soul’ look about him. You’re right, though, that there’s a lot of eye-candy in this larger-than-life flick. If you want anti-bollywood, check out Deepa Mehta or Mira Nair’s work. They can occasionally deliver uneven films, but some of their work is fantastic. Monsoon Wedding and Fire are two of my faves.