Nivel Básico

Movies
Saritha is watching a Bollywood movie with her boyfriend Chris. Bollywood movies are
filmed in the Hindi language by the film industry based in Mumbai, India. The ‘B’ in
Bollywood comes from ‘Bombay’, the old name for Mumbai. Traditional Bollywood movies
are not meant to be realistic. They are usually musicals with plenty of dance, romance,
action and very often violence. The reason for their popularity is that most people in India
are poor and these films provide an escape from the reality of their daily lives. For the
middle class, they are a way to live out fantasies of falling in love and marrying the man
or woman of their dreams. This is not common in a country where their spouses are
usually selected for them in what are called ‘arranged marriages’. When you watch a
traditional Bollywood movie, be prepared for a film, usually not shorter than two and a
half hours, whose main purpose is to entertain.
This is Chris’ first Bollywood movie. He presses pause and turns to Saritha. “Let me see
if I understand this. The ‘hero’ was just shot six times; fell out of a window on the fourth
floor, got on his motorcycle and came back into the building by crashing through the door.
He then escapes with the girl and they are now singing and dancing together?”

Preguntas y Respuestas (Questions and Answers )

Ésta es una lista de preguntas y respuestas de práctica acerca de la lectura anterior.
Asegúrese de repetirlas en voz alta para mejorar su pronunciación del inglés.
Q1: Where do you think Saritha is from?
A1: Saritha is an Indian name and she seems to like Bollywood films, so she is probably
from India.
Q2: Why are these films called “Bollywood films”?
A2: The Indian movie industry is mostly based in Bombay, the old name of what is now
called Mumbai.
Q3: Are these movies meant to be realistic?
A3: No, their main purpose is to entertain. Although some movies are based on reality,
most Bollywood films are fantasy.
Q4: Is it common for young Indians to date, fall in love and marry their boyfriends or
girlfriends?
A4: No, India is a conservative country. Most young people have arranged marriages
where their parents select their spouses for them.
Q5: Why do you think Chris stopped the movie?
A5: He has probably seen impossible things in movies, but never like this.

Práctica Adicional
A continuación encontrará más frases útiles que puede emplear en conversaciones
cotidianas:
1. I love watching comedies but I also enjoy a good drama once in a while.
2. The characters in this film are based on real people.
3. This director is really difficult to work with.
4. We are shooting on location in Bangkok, Thailand not on a movie set.
5. The producer has been arguing with the director for three hours.
6. The studio will not let us hire this actor.
7. The actress took Arabic classes for six months to do this role.
8. Jackie Chan does all his own stunts.
9. The script was completed one day before they began shooting the film.
10. There were no well-known actors in the cast.
11. This drama series is silly. They should fire the writers.
12. I never like these reality shows.
13. I prefer to watch documentaries.
14. Where is the remote? I want to change the channel.
15. This comedian is really serious in real life.
16. She had to speak with a Russian accent for this role.
17. The movie is a thriller but also a comedy.
18. It’s just a cartoon but the animation is amazing.
19. The special effects are incredible.
20. She was nominated for an Oscar but she didn’t win.