Hooray for Bollywood

Friday evening in Wolverhampton. And its movie night. I'm excited to

watch this film, I can't wait to see it. These guys aren't here to see

Hollywood heroes, their heroes come from Bollywood. It is the premiere

of Yamla Pagla Deewana two. Bollywood is also planning its next

British adventure. -- already planning. This year, the world's

biggest film industry celebrates its Centenary. It captivated a billion

people. And how it bounced back from cinema was here at the Palladium. In

those days, this was 52 years ago. He is back in dreamland. It was an

absolute dream palace. It still is when I am reminiscing and looking

back 50 years or so. Still thinking of those days, the glory days.

days belonged to his father, the man who brought Bollywood to Britain.

His legacy lives on. His heart still pumps to Bollywood beat as does so

many across the Midlands. Why? The ever live long ago in a distant

land. -- the answer. The Lumiere Brothers organised a

screening in Bombay in 1896. The Times of India called it the Miracle

of the Century. In 1913, he unveiled this. India's first feature film.

One that ultimately spawned a multibillion dollar industry.

the early days, moustaches and bids have certainly gotten shorter --

beards. Traditionally performed in a kind of pantomime. Such a deeply

religious community. It was a no-brainer. It lasted 4000 years.

They're going to be fine for the next 100. That's pretty good.

wasn't all gods and goddesses. In the 1920s under British rule, life

in India was pretty tough. Millions went hungry. In a craved escapism.

What better than a good old love story. --? Bollywood's obsession

with romance had begun. Surprisingly, early Bollywood was

pretty racy. And they say Indians don't kiss. I was shocked to see

that early black film that had a kiss in it. I've never seen that

before -- that early black and white film. The best was still to come. In

the 1930s, thanks to technology, India's screen idols began to talk

and most importantly, sing. This 1936 film about the life of a Hindu

saint was a huge hit. Millions came to see it. Thanks largely to the

Apache song and dance numbers -- patchy. -- catchy. The songs were

related to the films that people watched and enjoyed it. Music was

everywhere. After dinner, in India you have a song. It is significantly

better. Song is a massive part of people 's lives. They were able to

convey sentiment through song that they couldn't necessarily convey

through dialogue. The song and dance were symbolic of love that couldn't

be spoken openly between people. the end of the 1930s, India was

producing more than 200 films a year. They were largely a Dutch

religious -- religion or romance, but that was about to change. In

1943, Indian cinema got political. The makers of Kismet told British

cinema -goers their song Go Away Foreigners. There were several films

that were anti- British. Surreptitiously they heed the

message. The British are soon realised they had been fought and

tried to arrest the songwriter Buddy went into hiding. -- been fooled.

was part of a growing movement. A growing quit India movement. The

British knew the time had come when they would have to hand India back.

Kismet was part of the whole resistance that was going on in the

40s. The Brits were packing their bags. August 15, 1947, Independence

Day for India. It came at a terrible cost. The subcontinent was carved up

into two rival nations. India and Pakistan. In an instant, 10 million

people became refugees. It was the largest mass migration in human

history. Mother India. definitive, cultural film.

remember watching this as a kid. Mother India, I think it was made

after independence, it felt like that was putting down a dipole and

making a statement about itself and the kind of country it is -- putting

down a flagpole. She is very into poverty and must raise her children

alone. -- thrown into poverty. She is forced to make a terrible

sacrifices. There is nothing more epic than India finding itself as a

country. And there's nothing more intimate than watching a family torn

asunder and then this amazing matriarchal putting it back together

again. It was my father's favourite film so I grew up with it as a young

girl. Listening to all the songs constantly. Listening to him sing

them particularly after he had had a few whiskeys. We would go, oh dad,

it's so boring. And he would say, it's the true story of India.

is probably one of the most iconic images in world cinema for me. It is

such a beautiful film. She's put upon by a wealthy landlord who wants

sexual favours. She just wants food to feed her children. It is a

beautiful film. India's new found in the pendants -- independents had a

surprising impact on the film industry. Censors banned the

on-screen kiss. Actor Raj Kapoor could serenade style with his trusty

pipe. -- his co-star. Filmmakers came up with increasingly

imaginative ways to get around the censors. They used a feather.

India got independence, it established a sort of Victorian,

British attitude towards kissing. Instead of seeing a kiss, you would

see a feather or a bird. -- prudish. Evil, immoral kissing. I still find

it a bit odd. All in all, independence meant to kissing was

banned in Indian cinema for more than two decades. Tens of thousands

of Indians decided to come here to Britain hoping for a better life. He

arrived in Birmingham with just two things, his family and a love of

Indian cinema. He had his passion for Indian films. He orders wanted

to do something for Indian film. They set up a society called the

Eastern Film Society. They organised screenings in cinemas across the

West Midlands. That meant Amarjit Sidhu got access to Bollywood's

biggest stars. This is me standing there waiting to give flowers to

this woman who was a superstar of her time, the early 60s. Even his

childhood home was littered with film stars. When there was a

premiere of an Indian film, we would have the actors who would come to

promote their films in cinema, we would be there in the audience

waiting to see them. What was fantastic for me as a young star was

the fact that they would turn up to our house and they would stay with

us and they would eat the food that my mother would cook. It was a

fantastic experience. For a youngster to then go to school and

talk about these great actors of the films. A fantastic time for me.

Waking up in the morning and there would be brushing their teeth and

getting ready. The mother would say to take the key to them. It was a

fantastic experience -- tea. Bollywood stars are still coming to

the West Midlands. He is Bollywood royalty. Today he is in Birmingham.

Together with some local directors, he is checking out locations for his

next film, a British film with a Bollywood style. It is based in

Birmingham. It is a British film actually. I met up with my director

and my producer to get an idea of where we would be shooting. That

takes us straight into him. Abducting that other woman. We are

based in Birmingham, we have lived here most of our lives. That is why

the film is set here, there is a very large Asian community here.

London is becoming very expensive. Birmingham has a lot of the

facilities that we need. So, why not? The film is a gritty thriller.

A genre that took off in the 1970s. It was a decade dominated by one

man. Hollywood's Clint eastward. -- Bollywood -- Eastwood. He became

known as the angry young man because he was very angry. There was a

reason why audiences loved this new hero. Throughout the 1960s, I have

been blighted a hunger and violence. The fledgeling nation's

government was becoming brutal and corrupt. People wanted justice. So

you had a lot of corruption, you had a lot of inequalities in society.

There was a lot of frustration. I think the actor captures the sense

of, if we are free, why is this not happening? It has been 15, 20 years.

We want change, we want it now. It is strange because dirty Harry is

often seen as erupting from American culture in a specific context. You

wonder how that would have been applied in India. People felt

frustrated that they want being represented properly by

politicians, the police... They felt a craving for a fair go. Dirty Harry

wasn't the only influence on Western Cinema. This film gave the industry

its name, Bollywood. There was a time when they were... I know

directors that have a DVD playing. And I am talking ten years back. I

am watching what they are seeing in setting up the shot and copying it.

Not so much any more at yes, it was outright plagiarism. In 1975

Bollywood got really good. It took on the American genre of the

Western. It came up with the most popular Indian film ever made.

Sholay is a great example. It is a hodgepodge of different Johns. It is

known as the curry western. -- different genres. It was pure cinema

entertainment. That is my uncle. Look at that. Only he can fall off

a terrific film. It had everything. I would go for the fight scenes that

had Western influences. It had everything. It was masala a film.

Bollywood still lacked a bit of spice. In 1978 actress Zeenat Aman

changed it. When she took a shower in one film she became India's first

sex symbol. The pressure of the water was so tremendous that I had a

back at four weeks. That is what I got out of it.

(LAUGH) It is very beautiful. You never get

properly clean showering like that. It was nice to look at that, it yes.

Some politicians try to ban the film's 16 but the crowds did not

miss out. The censors gave in and the posters went up. The filmmaker

was probably the most respected at that time - Raj Kapoo. I suppose he

used his cloud to get this past. He also defied things by saying that is

know that worked for the film but contrary to popular that belief, it

actually did very well. I was nominated for an award. I did not

when because what happens when your body overpowers you work, sometimes

it is difficult for people to look beyond that. Bollywood's war with

the censors was over but its greatest battle was yet to come. The

introduction of video and video piracy in the 1980s had a

devastating effect. Bollywood had overcome years of upheaval and

adapted to great social change. Nobody could have predicted as great

as threat could have come from technology. Bollywood was on the

brink. Bollywood had had a rough ride. It meant that people were

going in more numbers to the cinema and the cinema has always been the

lifeblood of Bollywood. It is a Dark Age. My father went through a

difficult time. I don't think he got over it. He spent his entire life in

the Indian cinema and suddenly for him it was extremely difficult for

him. I don't think he ever got over it. Pretty soon Bollywood began to

fight back. And the 1990s I got richer. The country got its swagger

back and the audiences wanted good old-fashioned family entertainment.

Only this time they wanted -- they had big budgets and exotic

locations. In to they had the backdrop of mountains. -- in

'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' . film was a love story about two

British Indians. It was a huge success both in India and in

Britain. (SPEAKING INDIAN). It began with a man feeding pigeons and

Trafalgar Square saying, here I am in this cold grey country when my

land is calling me. The film has a sharp cut to two beautiful girls

singing in a fantastic field. Again, the overseas audiences were

saying, ah, why are we in the UK? need to go home. It was having an

impact all of the world. Even English speaking British films were

being made in the Bollywood style. In the film 'Bride and Prejudice'

one actor was given a Bollywood makeover. I wanted to make that film

because I was completely bought out by the relatively recent popularity

in the cinema again. In 'Bride and Prejudice' wanted to make full Hindi

song and dance musical. But I wanted to make it in English and make it

accessible to the west. Wanted to bring it to the cinema audiences in

and America... All of the world, and explain to them what the John was

really about. Just as the world is catching on, Bollywood changed

again. In 2009 there was another film, a gritty take no modern love

story. Its characters were getting mixed up in drugs and prostitution.

It only had one dance number. it is recognised as the film it

really took the old world and the New World and slapped them together.

If you want to see your classic Hollywood plot, you have that, but

if you want to see an interesting new way of it, you have it too. It

is a new movie. Bollywood's traditional song and dance routines

is only seemed old hat for a new generation. West was best. We grew

up watching Butch Cassidy and Star Wars. I got corrupted. When I saw

the songs I could not go back. That happened at a very young age. The

Star Wars generation is typical in that sense. Suddenly, this whole

song list... Watching movies was far interesting than song and answers.

-- dancers. I thought, I am going to make Indian Jones. He may not be

stepping into Harrison Ford's shoes yet but his next film will further

cement and between England and Bollywood. It looks to worth

celebrating. -- at a history worth celebrating. I love the Bollywood

stars, the storylines, the music. see Indian cinema getting bigger and

better. I think without those films I would not have a sense of my