Bollywood is making its debut on Miami University's campus, in all of its glamour and drama.
Miami student Pulkit Datta has organized a film series, titled "Bollywood Calling."
The series will screen seven films, one each Wednesday night from Oct. 3 to Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in Upham 001. The series is sponsored by the Center for American and World Cultures, the Film Studies Program, the Indian Students Association and the Office of Diversity Affairs.
The series will feature mainstream films from Bollywood, India's popular cinema industry. Datta has carefully selected seven blockbuster movies that have impacted Bollywood and its audiences during the past seven years.
"Bollywood Calling" is a project that Datta is especially passionate about. Originally from India, Datta grew up watching
Bollywood films. At Miami he noticed the lack of diversity in cinema to which students had access and decided to find a way to expose Miami's campus to popular cinema outside of Hollywood.
"Most big cities across the U.S. screen these films, but Oxford, Ohio obviously doesn't," Datta said. "So at that point, as a freshman, I knew I wanted to find a way to show Miami students this 'other' popular cinema that is not Hollywood."
In fall 2006, Datta organized Miami's first film series dedicated exclusively to Indian cinema, titled "India through Film." The series showcased smaller issue-based films rather than the blockbuster films featured in the current series. After a great response to "India through Film," Datta planned a larger film series featuring the cinema of Bollywood.
Datta believes that the series will contribute to the growing drive for increased cultural diversity on Miami's campus.
"Bollywood Calling," he said, will expose the Miami community to Indian culture through its important form of entertainment.
Stephen Norris, director of the department of film studies at Miami, saw the potential in Datta's vision and encouraged him to organize the series. He felt that Datta has captured the significance of Bollywood cinema with his choice of films.
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"Bollywood films are not very well known or widely screened in America, so this series represents an important introduction to this incredibly significant film culture," Norris said. "The films Pulkit is showing capture important themes in Indian society and culture, as well as how Bollywood films adapt timeless stories for Indian audiences."
Datta and the other sponsors of the program hope to provide avid Bollywood fans with a fix for their passion, but also hope to extend the reach of the films. Datta encourages people from both the Miami and Oxford communities to attend the series.
Datta plans to graduate in May, but hopes "Bollywood Calling" will continue on Miami's campus as an addition to the university's growing array of cultural events.
Related events, such as the annual Diwali show sponsored by the Indian Students Association, will feature Indian dances and Bollywood music, further exposing the campus to significant parts of the Indian culture.
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