Known for their camp, kitsch and colourful boy-meets-girl plots, Bollywood films are finding eager audiences from Bangalore to Bradford and New Delhi to New York – not to mention parts of Russia and Africa.
For BBC Radio 2 next week, Sankha Guha embarks on a Bollywood romp around the studios and films sets of India’s capital city' of film – Mumbai.
Beneath the glitzy exterior, Sankha uncovers a darker side to the industry. Visiting films sets and meeting Bollywood’s top stars, producers and directors Sankha makes some interesting discoveries.
Some of the leading screen writers and producers believe that traditional plots and values have been high-jacked by India’s new minority middle class. Complex on-screen religious codes inform the way Hindu and Muslim characters behave with each other, the way they dress and even their names. Film critic Meenakshi Shedde explains how new propaganda style films label Pakistan and Muslims as the villain or ‘the enemy’.
With candid interviews from people working behind the scenes, Sankha learns how one of Bollywood’s strongest assets is really treated. The ‘play-back’ singers provide the sound track of Bollywood and the songs to which the stars mime, but they never appear on screen and rarely get a name check.
Recorded on location in Bombay, the programme showcases a wealth of Bollywood film music – from traditional to some of the latest movies. Star interviews include former Miss Universe, now leading Bollywood actress, Sushmita Sen; superstar Bollywood hero, Hrithik Roshan; legendary screen writer, Javed Akhtar; and veteran producer and director, Mahesh Bhatt.
BBC Radio 2, 8.30 – 9.30pm, Tuesday 17th August
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/bollywood/bollywood_dreams.shtml
You can listen to the programme again if you miss it.