MattH, what was it about BOMBAY DREAMS that your friend did not like?
Well, having not seen the current touring version of the show... It was just not that good a show to begin with. And, unfortunately, a watered-down tour - even though it still has the fountain - is really not going to make it any better.
*I also know that when the show came to Broadway, the music arrangements got watered down, simplified. I'm not sure if that was done to make it more "American" or less-Bollywood-more-Broadway, but a lot of the color in the score was lost when it crossed the Atlantic.