> From Virar to Valencia > Bollywood turns Spanish heads > Nasreen Munni Kabir > > Curiosity about Hindi cinema (particularly since it became branded as > "Bollywood") is an ever-growing phenomenon, so I wasn't too surprised > to hear that IVAM, the Valencian Institute of Modern Art, which holds > wonderful exhibitions, talks and workshops mostly dedicated to > twentieth-century art, decided to host its first-ever Indian cinema > event, "Made in Bollywood." Madrid is well known for its tributes to > Indian film but none have been held previously in this most gorgeous > Spanish city. IVAM invited me to talk about Indian cinema which would > be followed by a screening of my documentary, How to Make it Big in > Bollywood (featuring the A-list of Hindi film telling us what it means > to be a star (Amitabh Bachchan), a director (Dharmesh Darshan), a > cinematographer (Santosh Sivan) etc. > European cities are famous for emptying themselves of their citizens > in the summer months and when I landed in warm Valencia at the start > of holiday season, I was greeted by event organisers, David Rodriguez, > Juana Camps, sisters Guadalupe and Gimena Arensburg. Gimena told me > she was concerned there might be a limited audience for the talk and > five-film season (Mother India, Amar Akbar Anthony, Bombay, Lagaan, > Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham). Much to everyone's surprise, the talk had > in fact drawn a full house (and in later weeks, the movies also drew a > healthy number). Not knowing how many Valencians were aware of the > Hindi film, I began by asking the 200 strong audience how many had > seen an Indian movie. A show of two hundred hands followed and a > palpable air of enthusiasm filled the hall. > Later that night outside the entrance to IVAM, a musical event took > over, consisting of Hindi film songs (some original, others remixed) > and an audio-visual show of film stills and clips. The show began with > A R Rahman's extraordinarily melancholic "Bombay Theme" (featured in > Mani Ratnam's Bombay)- flooding the beautiful streets of Valencia. For > almost three hours, the mesmerized crowds sitting on the steps and > pavement watched the impressive montage of iconic faces - from KL > Saigal to Shah Rukh Khan. The show titled "Scratch Movie" is the > creation of three impassioned Madrid men of music: DJs Jaimote Island, > Juanjo Valmorisco, and VJ Pablo Vega. Earlier, DJ Jaimote Island told > me he believed that AR Rahman was today the greatest composer in the > world. While VJ Pablo Vega's visuals showed a marked bias towards > Madhubala. I asked why and Pablo said emphatically, "Ah! She is my > fiancee." > Many DJ's in the UK have developed this mix of music and images to a > fine art. They share with their Spanish counterparts a contagious > passion and a huge respect for Indian cinema which has come through > their love of Hindi film music. It was a strange being there, miles > from India, cultural planets away from the world of those evocative > faces on the screen - and being filled with quiet pride of the > vibrancy and lyricism of Indian cinema - especially true of the black > and white era. My reverie was interrupted by the shriek of a pretty > Spanish girl who pointed wildly at Mr Bachchan on screen, saying, > "He's the one I like!" While the young German woman beside her > exclaimed, "No, it's Shah Rukh for me!"
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