There'll Always Be Stars in the Sky - The Indian Film Music Phenomenon

Rating:
Summary: Great introduction to Indian film music!!
Review: I first saw this video in a World Music class my freshman year in college. I had never been exposed to popular Indian film music before, and I completely fell in love with it! This documentary explores not only the popular Hindi film music, but that of other languages and regions of India. Included is a special section on Lata Mangeshkar, the best known voice from India. I thought this film did a superb job of showing how film music has affected popular culture, from bustling Bollywood to the smallest villages. This film was so good, it helped inspire me to study abroad in India and learn Hindi. Years later, I'm still watching Hindi films back home in the US. Thank you Shanachie!!! :)

Rating:
Summary: Great introduction to Indian film music!!
Review: I first saw this video in a World Music class my freshman year in college. I had never been exposed to popular Indian film music before, and I completely fell in love with it! This documentary explores not only the popular Hindi film music, but that of other languages and regions of India. Included is a special section on Lata Mangeshkar, the best known voice from India. I thought this film did a superb job of showing how film music has affected popular culture, from bustling Bollywood to the smallest villages. This film was so good, it helped inspire me to study abroad in India and learn Hindi. Years later, I'm still watching Hindi films back home in the US. Thank you Shanachie!!! :)

Rating:
Summary: Deceptive description, disappointing film
Review: This film was decent, though overall I found the pace and the way it was edited to be rather tedious. Beware! If you are looking for an actual documentary of the process of Indian film making and film music making, this is NOT going to satisfy you. While this DVD claims to "take you behind the scenes", it really is mostly focused on how Bollywood films are superceding older forms of entertainment like theater, and drawn-out critiques on the irony of selling escapist dreams of idealized village life to India's poor. There are a few interviews, but nothing that really shows the amazing scale of film music production or the incredible speed at which the composers and orchestras work. It also fails to explore any of the exciting intersections between Eastern and Western culture occuring in Bollywood music. If you're interested in this aspect I recommend the CDs "Dance Raja Dance" and "Bollywood Funk." Overall, this DVD was a disappointment.