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King of Bollywood (2004)

Director: Piyush Jha

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Movie review

From Time Out London

Bollywood fan Crystal (Dahl) goes to Mumbai to shoot a documentary about ageing superstar Karan Kumar (Puri). Having met the King himself, she charts the progress of his come-back vehicle, ‘Dhak Dhak’ (‘Heartbeat’). Will this ‘teenage patriotic inter-generational romantic musical thriller’ set in a London college, restore our fading hero to his former glory? This ‘Hinglish’ film is an honourable pisstake on the crazy inner workings of Bollywood. More a humourous homage than a gritty exposé, Jha clearly has insider knowledge and his script is well-observed: his shallow and shady characters, sadly, do exist. Performances are good: Puri is as versatile as ever and Dahl is quite charming. Light fun or as they would say in Bollywood, ‘good time-pass’.

Author: Anil Sinan

Time Out London


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Cast & crew

Director: Piyush Jha

Cast: Sophie Dahl, Boman Irani, Om Puri, Tabu

Duration: 100 mins




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