Bollywood Goes to Hollywood
Few know that Baz Luhrman’s Moulin Rouge was inspired by Bollywood’s dramatic dance, colourful costumes and overwhelmingly dreamy sets. In fact, the film also incorporated a Bollywood-style dance sequence that sampled the famous ‘Chamma Chamma’ song from the movie China Gate. Global audiences were treated to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bollywood-influenced spectacle ‘Bombay Dreams’, a West End production that was based on a young man’s aspirations to become the next big Bollywood star. Danny Boyle reinforced India’s place on the map with his Oscar-nominated Slumdog Millionaire, a film that portrayed the poverty-stricken side of Mumbai. Tourists have since been signing up for Mumbai’s Dharavi slum tour, expecting to witness the poverty as depicted onscreen. Eat, Pray, Love, the film based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling book was such a hit that it saw many people travelling all the way to India to embrace a spiritual life in an ashram. A West End production of the famous Indian film Hum Apke Hain Kaun turned out to be a big hit in England too. The popular Harold and Kumar movies also reinstate the wide appeal that the world shares for India.
With touches of colourful inspiration and mesmerising influences borrowed from India, it’s no wonder then that the country’s imagery continues to pop up in almost every sphere of life abroad. India can indeed be termed as a bottomless well of inspiration!
Volume 1 Issue 6
