Hoo-ray for Bollywood

Now I know who all these people are sitting in the Starbucks @ S. Post Oak & Westheimer.

"Nightline" did a show Friday on the Bombay-based film industry, reporting along the way that Houston has one of the largest South Asian populations in the USA.

The program included soundbites from District F Councilman A.J. Khan, the editor of Houston-based bridal fashion mag Bibi, and an entertaining Houston resident (whose name I didn't catch) who immigrated from India 16 years ago who's apparently involved in producing a Bollywood-style movie.

"Nightline" says:

So what, exactly, is a Bollywood movie? Well, they're usually long — about three hours — and chock full of plot lines, music, dance — just about anything that can go in a movie. "It's designed as full-on, total entertainment for the Indian audience, for the masses," says director Mira Nair, who included a Bollywood dance number in her recent Hollywood film "Vanity Fair" with Reese Witherspoon.

"Satisfying everybody is the general goal of conduct with a Bollywood film," Nair said, adding that the genre's films must have "drama, car chases, huge amounts of romance, always great amounts of music, and preferably a little danger, a little villainy, to keep the balance going." ...
India has a population of more than a billion people — plenty to support the world's most prolific film industry. But the legions of fans spread well beyond the borders of India and the South Asian subcontinent. Indian movies have become Top 10 hits in countries where the Indian diaspora has spread.

In other words, none of these films will be coming to the Brazosport Starplex anytime soon.


Aishwarya Rai, Bollywood's most famous actress

ABC News original report.