Bollywood is doing well, very well indeed. In 2011, sales in the media and entertainment industry amounted to 778 billion rupees, or around 11 billion euros, according to figures provided by the French economic mission in Mumbai. "What makes Bollywood work is Hindi cinema that brings together a country of one billion two hundred thousand souls and around twenty different dialects".explains Shauket Kahn.
And Shauket Kahn knows a thing or two about Indian cinema. Son of Mehboob Kahn, the very famous and revered director of Mother IndiaHe grew up surrounded by 35mm reels and the stars of the 1950s. Director of the studios built by his father, he has seen the industry transform over the decades. "Today's thirty-somethings have travelled. They studied abroad, have access to the internet and all kinds of media. So tastes are changing and the twelve choreographies of traditional Bollywood are disappearing in favour of controversial subjects and a more cerebral cinema".says Shauket Kahn.
It's true that with 70 % of the population under the age of 35, there's bound to be a strong demand for the very latest trends. Although the heyday of themes such as "a pretty young girl kidnapped by a thug and taken in by a kind-hearted good man", with lots of dancing and singing, is not quite over yet, a real auteur cinema is emerging and there are countless foreign extras and actors who now populate Indian screens. There's no need to search long and hard in the archives to find an example. The most recent, Ishkq in Parisreleased in cinemas in November 2012, tells the story of a passionate encounter on a train between Rome and Paris. The heroine, a young Franco-Indian played by actress Preity Zinta, has a mother... Isabelle Adjani.
It is perhaps this opening up to the world that enables Indian productions to retain 80 % of the national market, far ahead of those from Hollywood, the rest being merely anecdotal. And Indians, rich and poor alike, continue to flock to cinemas. In 2011, around 3.3 billion tickets were sold, or 2.75 screenings per capita. However, the development of American-style multiplexes is beginning to weigh heavily on people's wallets, with an average price of around one euro per ticket. That's quite a sum for some people.
Cement of the nation
