Pretty people singing and dancing

The biggest English language version of a Bollywood movie, "Bride and Prejudice," opens this Friday in Minneapolis. Okay, it IS directed by an Englishwoman, albeit of Indian origin. But it still retains the most important part of a Bollywood film: shamelessly beautiful people in great outfits dancing and singing silly love songs. If you're interested in sampling some actual Bollywood films, here are a few of my favorites:

Mohabbatein: A great mix of comedy, drama and revenge. A hard-hearted schoolmaster gets taught a lesson by a former student. Not to mention 3, count 'em, 3 handsome guys falling in love 3 gorgeous gals. Lots of singing and dancing.

Mujhse Dosti Karoge: Raj has an unrequited crush on the local hottie from his childhood friend, Tina. He thinks that she is his pen pal, but he's actually been writing to her friend Pooja. Does he love the pretty face or the mind that wrote the letters? (It probably helps that Pooja, who is supposed to plain compared to her friend, is actually a knockout, too.) Lots of singing and dancing.

Khuda Gawah: Baadsha Khan falls in love with a woman from a rival clan. To gain her hand in marriage, he hunts down her father's killer. Lo and behold, she starts to fancy him too, and who wouldn't? Baadsha is played by the unbelievably charismatic Amitabh Bachchan, one of India's biggest stars. He apparently hosted the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," but he's got it all over Regis. "Khuda Gawah" is more dramatic and suspenseful than most of the romantic comedies that come from Bollywood, but there is still lots of singing and dancing.

Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai: Hearthrob extraordinaire Hrithik Roshan plays dual roles in this extravaganza directed by his father. This was his film debut; designed to exhibit Hrithik's talent at moonwalking, lip-synching and batting his long-lashed eyes. It worked. Indian women went crazy for him and he's now a superstar. Frankly, he really does have some spark. Lots of singing and dancing.