Bollywood wows London with awards' nite

By Thomas Abraham

LONDON, JUNE 24. Bollywood hit London today with the staging of what has been grandiosely described as ``India's Oscars'' at the Millennium Dome here. In what has been a major marketing event for the Hindi film industry, Bollywood's big stars assembled today for an evening of awards and entertainment that is expected to bring in a large British Asian audience. In an indication of the growing importance of the overseas market for the Indian film industry, a similar event, `Bollywood 2000' was staged recently in the United States.

The awards have received wide publicity in the British press and underlined Bollywood's status as the biggest international force, after Hollywood, in cinema. It has also highlighted the growing foothold that Hindi films have acquired in the British market.

Six screens of a new 30-screen multiplex opening in Birmingham shortly will be dedicated to screening Bollywood films. There are a already a handful of cinemas in London, mostly in areas where the British Asian community live, which are dedicated to Hindi films, but this will be the first time that a major complex will show Bollywood offerings.

Britain has long been a location for Indian films and over the last few years, Indian producers and directors have increasingly turned to England's castles, lakes and other tourist destinations as locations. It is only recently, however, that Britain has been seen as not merely an exotic location, but also an important market. Over the last two years, as a handful of Hindi films entered the U.K. top 20 list, distributors and exhibitors have begun to realise the market potential of the 1.8- million strong British Asian community.

Despite the rising profile of the Hindi film industry, its appeal is still largely restricted to the ethnic British Asian population, and few believe that it has the potential to reach a wider market in the West. This is in contrast to Indian music, which has a following outside the ethnic market. But Indian cinema could receive a boost in its efforts to reach a wider market when Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical, Bombay Dreams, hits the stage. The musical, which is set in Bollywood, is a collaborative venture with the musician, A.R. Rahman, and the film director Shekhar Kapur.

The awards were presented by Amitabh Bachchan and the reigning Miss World, Ms. Yukta Mookhey, and featured a host of Indian and western entertainers. Besides Bollywood stars such as Akshay Khanna and Raveena Tandon, the Australian-born pop star, Kylie Minogue, also performed. Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Miranda Richardson and the Hong Kong martial arts actor, Jackie Chan, were present.

As with most major entertainment events these days, the awards were webcast live.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Three Indians caned in Singapore
Next     : Stakes high for Mugabe as voting begins