Cinema Asia: India

The story

While Northern India’s 100-year-old film industry is best known for flamboyant dance sequences and romantic plot lines, its directors have begun to step outside established formulas and explore grittier subject matter. This program surveys the world of Bollywood filmmaking, examining the personalities as well as the commercial and thematic concerns that drive central Asia’s answer to Tinseltown. Interviews with directors Karan Johar, Ashutosh Gowariker, and Yash Chopra are included, along with commentary from choreographers, musical directors, and Cinemaya Magazine editor Aruna Vasudev. The industry’s newfound attention to poverty, homelessness, and other social concerns is examined. Several film excerpts are included.

Cast

R Remesh PanickerNarrator A Anupam KherSelf S Sanjay Leela BhansaliSelf A Aruna VasudevSelf M Mrinal SenSelf J Jahnu BaruaSelf Y Yash ChopraSelf A Ashutosh GowarikerSelf K Karan JoharSelf V Vishal BhardwajSelf U Urmila MatondkarSelf V Vaibhavi MerchantSelf

See more cast

W Willard CarolSelf M Malaika AroraSelf S Sonu NigamSelf S Salman KhanSelf S Shah Rukh KhanSelf (archive footage) L Lata MangeshkarSelf (archive footage) A Aparna SenSelf (archive footage)