I just ran across a fun (and lengthy) article in today's New York Times explaining, in great detail, what it is about Bollywood movies that the rest of the world really enjoys, even if they aren't terribly popular in the United States. In short, it's the lack of cynicism. We've talked about Bollywood before (as well as its up-and-coming competitor, "Nollywood" -- Nigerian movies): they're a terrific way to get into thinking more globally about society and culture.
As India becomes more of a global power, a modern state with modern problems, I have to wonder how long it will be before the nature of Bollywood movies, in turn, changes.