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As I was doing a survey yesterday about my blog, I realized that I am officially one year old this month. My how time flies! I actually started a blog about random musings well before April of last year, but I had a difficult time maintaining it. Didn't hold enough appeal for me I guess. Then I met and fell in love with the Hindi film industry and decided to resurrect the dead goat that was my blog and "Shell's Bollyworld" was born.

As I talked about in my spiral into Bollywood post, there was (and still are)very few people who I can share my love of film with (and believe me I have tried!). What I discovered online was a completely wonderful group of people, more extensive than I could have known, that not only shared my interest, but actually made it more fun than I ever could have thought. The blogging community has become like a second family to me, one that extends past simple comment moderation. Passing the boundaries of blog posts, I've met even more fun and fabulous people on sites like twitter and facebook and even got to meet one of my very first commentors, Old is Gold just this month. In an attempt to be even more connected, I started a blog network of sorts that opens up even more avenues of communication within the community. See this post if you would like to participate.

The very first blog I found was via an article in Filmfare magazine that featured filmi blogs originating outside of India. Your one stop shop for all the little tidbits that Mumbai has to offer and beyond, FilmiGirl not only delights me daily with loads and loads of gossip (I wonder how she manages to do it every single day!), but her essays are introspective often sparking debates or inspires others to respond via their own blog post. She also has a wicked sense of humor that's not only evident in her dailies, but when she announces she's going to do something like the deconstruction of Dhoom 2, you know you're in for a treat.

Then I found Beth at Beth Loves Bollywood and all of a sudden I discovered I had the capacity to develop a whole new appreciation for knitwear, scarves and Shashi Kapoor! Not only are Beth's film reviews intellectually insightful and thoughtful, but she also has fabulous cha cha moments and was the brain child of last year's filmi Secret Santa (which I think was a fabulous success! Can't wait to do it again this year!)

I remember getting the first commentor on my blog who wasn't my sister. It was exciting and exhilarating and led me to bollywooddeewana, whose blog is a vast array of knowledge, ranging from movies from nearly every decade to fashion in the industry. I thought it was funny when we recently connected on facebook and I had to investigate his page before realizing who I had just friended!

Meeting Old is Gold was a fantastic treat, and when I started blogging I never thought I would find someone online that was so close in proximity to me geographically speaking. It simply amazes me that someone would know that a movie is from the 50's, not the 30's, just by who is singing a particular song, but that's why I look to OiG for guidance. She inspires me to look beyond what I know and one day I'll expand my filmi horizons. In the meantime, I know I can always get a good laugh reading her always hilarious screen caps!

It's so hard to keep up with everything that comes out these days in terms of music, but that's when I turn to Darshit's blog Movies, Music and Me. He always has reviews of new music up right away and has been responsible for steering me to songs I would have never even known about (from Shaapit, for example). I always love his fantastic song lists and they always expose me to more filmi goodness, whether we're seeing songs on trains, Holi or best of's. Fantastic stuff!

One of the bloggers who I hold the highest respect is The Bollywood Fan. Holding a veil of secrecy over his real life (I think he is the only blogger who's real name I don't know) he is a vast of knowledge when it comes to Bollywood. A huge Aamir Khan fan, his reviews are wonderfully in-depth - if you haven't checked out the links related to Lagaan week you absolutely must. I never realized so much could be said about a movie! I've had the opportunity to engage in some very interesting debates over language with him and it is always a pleasure! I'm still waiting, tbf, for your take on MNIK!

What I have really begun to treasure though is the FABULOUS group of women who not only share their thoughts in blogland, but provide constant wit and laughter daily in twitter. Who else allows my inner fangirl to misbehave as much as she needs to? #SRKAngels, Jocelyn, Daddy's Girl, Erin, Ani, Anita, Alex, Reema, Pitu, Suzy, Christy, as well as new friends who haven't ventured into blogworld yet (that I know of), I derive as much joy in our twitter convo's as I do experiencing the unique humour in every single one of your blog posts! You all inspire me to become better than I am, and I want to thank you for that!

And, finally, my wonderful sister who not only has a fascinating blog of her own, but also introduced me to Bollywood, inspired me to start my own blog, and created my banner(she's bahut talented). Thanks sis! Love you!

There are so many more fantastic people and blogs out there that I have found and more that I am discovering all the time, so I thank you to everyone for helping me evolve and learn. It has been a wonderful year, and I hope the next year brings even more filmi goodness. I really hope that the IIFA's next summer give us all a chance to get together! Let's see if Toronto can contain our crazy!

Love you all, my Bollywood family!