Bollywood boulevard

THE weather in London is just right for a Mumbaiite like myself 8212; not too hot, and mercifully, not too chilly either. For budget travel...

THE weather in London is just right for a Mumbaiite like myself 8212; not too hot, and mercifully, not too chilly either. For budget travellers, it8217;s the perfect time of the year. Lots of parties, glittering events, free lunches and much madness. It8217;s an Indian Summer, this year in London.

It kicked off with what I8217;ve learnt was a rather lacklustre Bollywood-themed event at Selfridges in May. The megastore received some really bad press for a Ganesha cake they were selling across the counter. The Indian community in London was outraged that Selfridges would be so insensitive as to make a joke of their religious sentiments.

Lagaan and Monsoon Wedding are playing at the really big cinemas here 8212; at the Odeon in Leicester, the Warner Village cinemas, everywhere. They8217;re also out on DVD, and there8217;s a lot of buzz about both. At some of the other cinemas in Harrow and Queensbury, some of our latest Hindi hits like Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai and The Legend of Bhagat Singh are drawing big crowds.

The Mail On Sunday gave Bombay Dreams a four-star rating. Their critic says, 8216;8216;It8217;s over-the-top, but so what?8217;8217; It is truly quite a fantastic show. I saw Juhi Chawla cheering loudly on opening night. Even Subhash Ghai looked like he was enjoying himself.

All through the week, there have been previews for Sanjay Leela Bhansali8217;s Devdas, and Shah Rukh Khan who is here, apparently recuperating from a bad back has been giving interviews left, right and centre. There8217;s also some talk of a London premiere the week after next.

Last Saturday night, Hrithik Roshan, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Aftab Shivdasani enthralled NRI crowds at the London Arena. Believe me, it was a riot. Anyone who says audiences are fed up of Hrithik Roshan should have been at this concert to see the effect he has on crowds. The man is magical!

The other night, Uma DaCunha was here at the Swiss Embassy talking about the Locarno Film Festival. After the big response to Lagaan at Locarno last year it bagged the Audience Award, they8217;ve invited an extensive package from India. The Swiss Ambassador to the UK, Bruno Spinner was there, as was Irene Bignardi, director of the Festival; and Marco Solari, president of the Festival. All spoke about how excited they were to have movies from India this year.

Girish Karnad is here, of course, and with him are Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak-Shah who performed in Karnad8217;s Bali at Haymarket two weeks ago. Also here are filmmakers Rajiv Menon and Mani Ratnam, who have been catching the latest independent movies. Menon says he8217;s just finished writing his next film, for which he8217;s hoping to cast a relatively new actor Vivek Oberoi is under consideration.

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Also happening this week is the first ever Commonwealth Film Festival in Manchester, where Agnivarsha will premiere. Screenings of Maya a film the Censor Board has reportedly been quite tough with, and Leela the Dimple Kapadia-Vinod Khanna starrer will be the highlight.

What can I say? It8217;s raining Bollywood in London this summer.