According to a piece in DNA India by Liz Mathew, "Our stars have the foreigners dancing to their moves".
-Sumita Sheth

Bollywood Woos Europe

ZURICH: Bollywood rocks - quite literally - in Western Europe where India’s mega film industry has carved an identity. From Hindi tracks that have become a rage at parties to Bollywood ring tones to Shah Rukh Khan’s eyebrows, all have become a subject of conversation.

It’s not just the 150,000 odd Indians in Switzerland, Germany and Austria shaking a leg to Indian tunes or downloading them as mobile ring tones. Others are doing it too, and adopting Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan and Kajol as role models.

Song and dance carnival
“Hindi films are so beautiful. The actors dress up in beautiful colours. It’s very exotic and Oriental,” exclaims a student at the University of Vienna.

“I love SRK. He is so stylish. His eyebrows are beautiful,” gushes the student who says she has seen his film ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ at least 15 times. “I specially enjoy the romancing in Hindi movies. The way the hero and heroine flirt is interesting to watch. It’s so entertaining,” adds Michael Muller, another student in the Austrian capital. “Aamir Khan is also good. But he is somewhat short,” analyses Viennese student Daniella.

Media moves
Quick to cash in on the trend, two television channels—RTL II (German) and Rai Uno (Italian)—have recently started telecasting Indian movies every week. A German magazine called Indien-Magazin focusing on Bollywood was launched on September 1. It had SRK’s still from the upcoming movie ‘Don’ on the cover. Besides, a news agency, BNA-Germany, focusing on Bollywood has just got off the ground.

Celebration Bollywood ishtyle
“Bollywood has popularised the Indian way of living,” says Anjum Amirtham, a Pakistani married to an Indian in Zurich. “A ride in the tram can get you to hear the songs of Karan Johar’s ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’, or ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’. In departmental stores, you will find posters and DVDs of SRK or Aishwarya Rai movies,” discloses Amirtham. In fact, Amirtham was asked by a Swiss woman to organise a Bollywood theme birthday party for her granddaughter.

“She wanted the guests dressed as Bollywood dancers. She got it videotaped and the CD was presented to the birthday girl.” Posters of a forthcoming programme by a Bollywood dance troupe in October are already up in Zurich, Vienna and Frankfurt.

The Bollywood bhasha
Jasmin Perumadan reveals, “Now there are some studios in Austria, Switzerland and Germany that teach Bollywood-style dances.” Radhika Lokesh, minister in the Indian Embassy in Berne says, “It’s funny to watch SRK or Kajol say their dialogues in German as Hindi movies are dubbed in German. But the songs are shown in the original,” Take a bow Bollywood!