In the heart of Vancouver, where the mountains meet the ocean and the rain paints the city in shades of gray, five brown-skinned men found their escape in the vibrant world of Bollywood. Raj, Amir, Sameer, Karan, and Dev had grown up in different neighborhoods across the city, but their shared love for the music, drama, and dance of Indian cinema brought them together in a way that felt like destiny.Raj, the eldest, was a software engineer by day and a dreamer by night. He had grown up listening to the golden oldies of Bollywood, his father’s vinyl collection spinning tales of love and longing. Amir, the son of Pakistani immigrants, had discovered Bollywood as a teenager, using the music to bridge the gap between his Canadian identity and his South Asian heritage. Sameer, Karan, and Dev, childhood friends from a tight-knit Indian community, had spent their youth lip-syncing to Shah Rukh Khan’s romantic ballads and practicing dance moves in their basements.Their paths crossed at a local Diwali festival, where Raj was performing a soulful rendition of “Tum Hi Ho” from the movie Aashiqui 2. Amir, standing in the crowd, was mesmerized by Raj’s voice and approached him after the performance. They quickly bonded over their shared passion, and soon, Sameer, Karan, and Dev joined the fold. Together, they formed a group they called Bollywood Beats, a tribute to the music that had shaped their lives.