Bollywood and Beyond

Indian Film Festival director Mitu Bhowmick-Lange describes how this year's theme 'Bollywood and Beyond' is about showcasing the breadth of Indian cinema beyond the musical comedies.

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No stranger to the screen world, Mitu Bhowmick-Lange has been involved with television and film for years. Having worked in Mumbai, India, she directed several high profile TV shows including entertainment, news and fashion magazine programs and a daily breakfast show for most of the leading channels including BBC World and Sony TV. Mitu has also written and directed an award-winning documentary on the impact of violence on the children of Kashmir.

Cue to Melbourne, Australia, where Mitu has lived for over a decade, she has brought in and produced several Indian productions to Australia including 13 episodes of India's number one daily television serial and Bollywood blockbusters such as Salaam Namaste, Chak De India, Bachna Aye Haseeno, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna, Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic, Love Aaj Kal and several leading television commercials with international cricketers made for the Indian market.

Mitu also represents the International Film Festival of India and is the director for the Indian Film Festival: Bollywood & Beyond both Australia and New Zealand.

Mitu touched down in Auckland to open the Indian Film Festival 2011: Bollywood & Beyond last week.

Here's what she had to say:

What does this year's festival theme 'Bollywood and Beyond' mean?

If you say 'Indian cinema' a lot of Westerners don't understand what that means, but if you say "Bollywood" they go "ahh!" It's a little frustrating but gradually people are learning that there's so much more. We have so many languages and states and every region has its own language culture and film industry, such as Tamil action films or Bengali arthouse. They all make great films which don’t get such a big overseas release, and they get lost among the big blockbusters.

Still, if you like blockbusters then you absolutely cannot miss Dabangg, now the second biggest Indian hit of all time, or Robot, which has special FX by ILM and Stan Winston Studios and fight choreography by The Matrix's Yuen Woo Ping. These films match anything done in Hollywood for scale and technical sophistication, plus they have the benefit of feeling totally fresh and fun to a jaded Western audience. 'Bollywood and Beyond' is about showcasing the sheer breadth of Indian cinema beyond the musical comedies.

The festival attracts a broad spectrum of film fans. Is that intentional?

We have never looked at it as an event for the Indian community event only, we look at it more as a city event where everyone is welcome… to celebrate cinema, being together, art. We really encourage people to come with our friends, families… and like last year, it was really rewarding to see a lot of the Indian students introducing their non-Indian friends to Bollywood. Each film is subtitled but we also have English-language movies like Just Another Love Story, It's A Wonderful Afterlife and West Is West playing but a lot of people tell us they just wanted to see something new, not just another Marvel movie or Jennifer Aniston comedy, and this festival certainly scratches that itch.

What has been most rewarding about organising the Indian Film Festival?

In Melbourne this month we broke the world record for Largest Bollywood Dance Class which made the news not only in Melbourne but all over India. Considering the negative press the Indian press was heaping on Australia last year in the wake of the student attacks, it has been incredibly rewarding to receive such glowing, upbeat coverage. This festival seems to build a few bridges along its way but really it's all about the films first and foremost.

We get excited every time non-Indian attendees come out of the cinemas buzzing about what they just saw and this year there was a lot of that from comedies like Tere Bin Laden to dramas such as I Am. When a film is good it just works, for everyone.

• The Indian Film Festival - Bollywood and Beyond 2011 runs until April 3rd at Hoyts Sylvia Park. Tickets can be booked online at www.hoyts.co.nz or by phoning 0508 446 987.