Croeso i India. This is the third programme in a series of four presented by Beth Angell who has a special interest in the country as her grandfather and grandmother were missionaries here in Bryniau Casia (the Khasi Hills) in the 1930s.
Bollywood now produces 800 films a year – double the output of Hollywood. The films are glitzy and expensive and reflect the confidence of the new middle class in India.
For the vast majority of India’s population – the seventy per cent living in the poorer rural areas – the films offer escapism and a chance to dream.
Neha Chopra’s marriage promises to be one of the grandest events of the year. Money earned from the IT industry is changing the ways middle class weddings are organized – but attitudes to marriage are still very conservative.
Neha’s marriage was arranged. She has only met her future husband once.
Praadeep Sharma is already thinking about a husband for his four year old daughter. He is keen to arrange the best marriage possible within his own caste – or status group.
Gunjan Sagwan is a journalist. She is in love with a boy from a higher caste. Her parents are still trying to arrange a marriage for her and she knows that life will be difficult when she tells them about her boyfriend. His parents won’t accept her because she is of a lower status.
Most films are made in the great studios of Mumbai. There is little money available for film makers in the poor rural areas.
Some film makes however are making a living producing low budget comedy films. Whole communities take part. Some young people see this as a step towards the glitz of Mumbai.
Others make films to promote health and tackle crime. To pay for this, there is always a market for wedding videos – without the glitz.
