(Part 2) In India Like a Local: Experiencing Bollywood and Indian Decorative Arts

- March 26, 2018, Monday.

- Monday is always a bad day to go around in most countries, since museums and other tourist sites normally close on Mondays. India is no different. So far, my goal of going around Mumbai the "Mumbaikar way" has been quite successful (click here for Part 1,) but finding what to do on a Monday in Mumbai was a challenging task. I eventually thought, almost the last minute, that I could finally experience Bollywood the Indian way, and is something that can never be experienced if I were on a tour. Bollywood is the Hindi film industry of India, and the mainstream film industry in the country compared to other regional film industries. This industry brought us the likes of 3 Idiots (2009), Taare Zameen Par/Like Stars on Earth (2007), Lagaan (2002), and thousands of other films. It is also the world's biggest producer of films.

- As a person with an affinity for Indian films, I had to choose exactly which kind of Bollywood experience I wanted to try. Mumbai, after all, is the birth place of Bollywood; Bollywood is actually a portmanteau of "Bombay" (Mumbai's old name) and "Hollywood." After a tough deliberation with myself, I decided to go to Maratha Mandir, near Mumbai's Central Station. I took an Uber from my hostel to the theater, as it was the fastest way to go there. Out of the hundreds of theaters across Mumbai, I chose to go to Maratha Mandir since it is perhaps the most famous. This theater, built in 1958, is the home of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. It is 1995 film starring Bollywood household names Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol and surprisingly, after 22 years or so, it still continues to show in this theater. Everyday at 11:30am, the theater shows this almost 4-hour movie as its first show, and it goes to show the usual currently-showing movies (both Bollywood and Hollywood movies) until the evening. Despite DVDs, online downloads, and online streaming technologies, the movie continues to run in the theater because of the fans of this on-screen couple. Although only around 100-200 people watch the film daily at very low ticket prices (just 20 rupees for the most expensive seats!!), come to think of it, 100-200 people watching a movie after 22 years is a feat in itself! Needless to say, until today, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge has a cult following from many fans across the globe, both Indian and non-Indian. That day, I was the only non-Indian there, so naturally I was met with stares from the locals watching the film, especially since Bollywood films in India don't come with English subtitles in theaters. (Well, for one thing, I myself have seen this film countless times, and watching a film without subtitles is a good listening practice for Hindi.)

Religion side by side with showbiz. Such is life in India.

Am here!

- Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is a story about a boy and a girl who live in London and met each other during a vacation across Europe. They fall in love but the girl, apparently, was arranged to be married off to someone back in India. The girl's family fly to India to get engaged, and the boy follows her. They try different schemes so they'll end up together in the end. Now the story, honestly, is nothing out of the ordinary, but what makes this film special is the sincere chemistry of the two main actors, although they did not end up together in real life (Shah Rukh Khan was already married by the time they filmed this movie.) This legendary team-up led to some more box-office films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1996), Kabhi Khushie Kabhie Gham (2001), and My Name is Khan (2010).

Posters of the movie.

Got my ticket!!

Keeping track.

The lady was knocking on the door because it was almost 11:30.

Long line of people waiting to see the film.

- One of the interesting experiences I had while watching them movie was the way Indians watch movies. It amuses me to see that Indians are so emotionally invested in the films that they watch. They verbally and sometimes - physically - react to the films that they watch. From cursing or laughing at the villain, telling the main characters to kiss, elope, or whatever, to singing along with the songs. Since those who watch the film at Maratha Mandir are people who more often than not have watched Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in the past, these people even recite some iconic lines together with the characters on screen.

At the main lobby.

It's pretty well kept.

It's in good shape!! (No, I didn't take a video of the film of course.)

- Sadly, I couldn't finish the movie because it was already getting late, I just missed the last 20 minutes or so (out of the almost 4 hours of the movie.) I knew how it ended anyway since I've seen the film, and I've gathered enough insight on how Indians watch films in theaters. Right after I left the theater, I was supposed to take a cab to my next destination, but none of the cabs wanted to take me there, or if they did, they wanted to charge me with astronomical rates. Of course, I walked out, and I went to Central Station, and was supposed to take a train. Right outside the station, I noticed that I had free wifi, and so, instead of taking the train I took the easy way out - yes, I got myself an Uber car.

- My next destination was supposedly not on my list, but since it was the only prominent museum open that day, I decided to go anyway, because why not. From Maratha Mandir, I rode the car to the neighborhood of Byculla (read as "bai-koo-lah") to visit the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, formerly known as the Victoria and Albert Museum.

I'd love to have a mansion that's as beautiful as this museum!!

If you look really closely, just beside my head at the far right of the photo, you can see an elephant sculpture, and that elephant was the sculpture that the Portuguese people saw and gave the name to Elephanta Island.

- This little mansion-like building was built in the mid-1800s and the oldest museum in Mumbai. It is a two-story building that showcases Mumbai's decorative and industrial arts. More than the exhibits, I was actually more interested int he architecture of the museum. It looked like a train station, a mansion, a library, and a school all rolled into one. For me, it also looks like a smaller and more colorful version of Paris' Musee d'Orsay (click here to see). Coincidentally, both museums also exhibit more or less the same kind of art, even though the Musee d'Orsay's art has more variety. Still, the mansion-like appearance of the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum makes the museum the biggest and the most interesting "exhibit piece" of them all!!

A mix of contemporary and classic.

Hindu gods made from ivory.

Brass deities.

Prince Albert. See the details? Reminds me of a train station.

With Prince Albert.

Dr. Bhau Daji Lad, one of India's great modern polymaths.

On the way to the second level, I just fell in love with the details. 

The chandelier was to die for.

Can't stop loving the aesthetics.

Vishnu.

By coincidence, my getup for that day made me fit right in.

Mumba Devi, the patron saint of Mumbai. "Mumbai" is said to come from the name of the goddess.

Statues of yogis doing their thing.

I'll see you pretty pretty soon!!

Tibetan and Nepalese art.

- After my visit to the museum, I walked to the Byculla metro station and rode the train home, stopping by Big Bazaar near Matunga Road Station, which is on the way back to the hostel anyway. Big Bazaar is an Indian department store that sells quality products for really cheap prices.

- That evening, I had dinner with Indian friends Eshan and Rackhee a day after they found out that I was in Mumbai. It's been three years since the last time I saw this nice couple, and it was awesome that I got to meet them again! They brought me to a pizza place, because they figured that I would've been tired of Indian food by then. (I'll never get tired of Indian food, but a little diversion was great too!) To be honest, I wasn't really supposed to meet anyone in India (so Indian friends, if you're reading this, I'm sorry huhu,) mainly because of my really tight schedule. If only I had more days, I would've gladly met up with my other Indian friends.

With Eshan and Rackhee

- Eshan and Rackhee were kind enough to drive me to my hostel after dinner, and I had to quickly pack my bag since I was going to leave Mumbai the evening after. I had limited time left in Mumbai for the next day, but much there were still more things that I wished to visit! But first - I needed my sleep after a tiring day!

- Don't forget to read Part 1 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, Part 6 here, and Part 7 here!!