The beginning of a new year is a great time to look back over the achievements of the past year with an eye toward setting new goals.
As Bollywood celebrated it's 100th year in 2013, the "Falling In Love With Bollywood" blog was launched. The goal was to share my interest in Bollywood films from a western perspective and highlight the best of Bollywood for those who are new to Indian cinema.
My first blog post went live toward the end of May. I also set up a Facebook group, a Twitter profile, a Pinterest board and joined FlickBay. I found camaraderie and support for my efforts though the PlanetSRK community.
In less than 8 months, I wrote 212 posts, drafted ideas for 100 more, and watched and re-watched countless numbers of Indian films in many different genres. Because subtitles are only as good as those doing the translation, I began to learn Hindi (spoken, not written).
Fortunately, the community of Bollywood fans is always looking for new content. By the end of 2013, the "Falling In Love With Bollywood" Facebook Page had grown to over 39,500 followers. By mid-October, I began seeing over 800 visits and more than 900 pageviews to this blog on a daily basis. I currently have 221 followers to my Pinterest board and while my Twitter follower numbers are low, I've had some interesting twittervations.
As I saw the visits and pageview numbers grow, I also began to learn which blog posts were most popular. Sometimes I could attribute the repeat views because of the timing of the blog post, sometimes it was because I offered unique content. Sometimes it was both.
With that in mind, here are the top "Falling in Love With Bollywood" blog posts from 2013:
#5. "Thoughts on the Evolution of Krrish: Another Krrish 3 Film Review"
Summary: With an action-packed story, stunning special effects, and the heart of Indian cinema, Krrish3 is an impressive contribution to the science fiction film genre.
#4. "5 Karan Johar Films to Watch if You are New To Bollywood"
Summary: 15 years ago, writer/director Karan Johar made a big impact on the Indian cinema industry with the release of his first film - Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Here are the 5 films written and directed by Karan Johar that you should watch if you are new to Bollywood.
#3. "Shah Rukh Khan and the Art of Motorcycle Macho"
Summary: In Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Bobby gives Suri a lecture on the importance of respecting the motorcycle "macho." Here we give a brief run down of films where Shah Rukh Khan put the macho into the art of motorcycle riding.
#2. "Happy Birthday Shah Rukh Khan - A Celebration Online"
Summary: In 2013, Shah Rukh Khan turned 48 and the whole world celebrated. Literally. Here we offer a collection of selected images, posts, and tweets highlighting the Baadshah of Bollywood's global birthday party.
Note: This post embeds a Storify collection.
#1. Filming India: Chennai Express "Temple Scene" at Vattamalai Murugan Temple, Tamil Nadu
Summary: A closer look at the temple scene where Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) carries Meenamma (Deepika Padukone) up 300 steps, as featured in Rohit Shetty's 2013 action comedy Chennai Express.
Note: Tamil actor Mohan Raman, who played the role of the temple priest, offered some additional insights about this scene in the comments section of this post.
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