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Book clubs are popular in Australia, but Bollywood Clubs? Yes,
they too exist, with more and more Australians cued on to Hindi
films. Curator Rebecca Bower, whose bedside table doesn't have
books but a laptop and Hindi film DVDs, has formed a Bollywood Club
where a group of women watch and discuss Indian films.
"I watch a Bollywood film for half hour or so every night to
unwind before sleeping," said the curator of the Bollywood and
Australia section of "Cinema India: The Art of Bollywood"
exhibition, running at the Powerhouse Museum here. She is learning
Hindi so she can turn off the subtitles.
The film club is only an indicator of the popularity of Bollywood
movies in Australia.
"Cinema India: The Art of Bollywood" explores the phenomenon of
Bollywood, primarily through film advertising materials - posters,
hoardings, lobby cards and song books - from the 1930s to the
present.
The exhibition gives an insight into the historical, political and
cultural changes that have shaped the country. India's struggle
for independence, the search for a national identity and the
influence of traditional and western cultures are all reflected in
the films and marketing material.
The experience of NRIs is also examined in a section on Bollywood
movies filmed in Australia.
Since 1997 the country has provided a backdrop for an increasing
number of Bollywood films. Indian filmmakers have been attracted to
Australia's diverse locations and landscapes, infrastructure,
post-production facilities, highly trained crews and a competitive
dollar.
Initially used as the setting for fantasy song-and-dance sequences
or to demonstrate the contrast between foreign and Indian values,
Australian locations are becoming more important to the plot of
Bollywood films.
With India contributing a growing number of skilled migrants,
overseas students, business and leisure travellers, Bollywood films
are cashing on the Australian appeal by incorporating aspects of
Australian lifestyle.
The films in the exhibition include "Janasheen" directed by Feroz
Khan, whose earlier film "Prem Agan" was the first to be scripted
and filmed in Australia and started the current trend of Australia
being used as a location for Bollywood films.
The first animatronic alien "Jadoo" to be used in a Bollywood film
was made by James Colmer of the Australian company Bimmini Special
FX, making the 2003 "Koi Mil Gaya" the first Bollywood science
fiction musical.
In 2005, "Salaam Namaste" became the first film to be entirely shot
in Melbourne and the state of Victoria, followed by "Heyy Babyy",
which captures the best of Sydney and New South Wales.
"Chak De! India", shot in Melbourne and Sydney, has been one of the
greatest hits this year.
"Mainstream Australians are flocking to the film. Our weekend box
office figures have been better than the corresponding weekend of
'Dhoom 2'. The response has been fantastic," says line producer
Swish MG Distribution's CEO Marcus Georgiades.
The exhibition has devoted a special section on the tall,
blue-eyed, blonde girl, best known for portraying the masked,
cloaked adventuress "Hunterwali". The unconventional stunt queen of
the 1930s and 1940s was Perth-born Mary Evans or our own Fearless
Nadia.
After appearing on stage and in a circus in India, Mary was
"discovered" in Bombay in 1935 by brothers J.B.H. and Homi Wadia,
who ran Wadia Movietone. She acted in more than 55 movies during a
career spanning 27 years, attaining an unmatched level of
popularity in India.
"The response to the exhibition has been very positive, the Indian
community has embraced it and non-Indians have enjoyed it. There
are an increasing number of Anglo-Aussies coming to see it", said
Bower, who ranks Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol as her favourite stars
with a special fondness for Nargis and Raj Kapoor.
"Amitabh (Bachchan) leaves me cold though my mother is a big fan of
his," Bower told IANS.
Visitors can also see some dazzling costumes as well as original
film trailers and song and dance sequences featuring the most
celebrated stars of Indian cinema.
A range of public programmes and special events including talks,
film screenings and Indian cooking demonstrations have been held
since June in conjunction with the exhibition, which is on display
until Nov 11.
By Neena Bhandari
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