Victoria steals the limelight

well as to its contractua l company, Mind Blowing Films

Bollywood is an integral part of the Indian DNA: lndians carry tbis 'gene' with them ro whichever part of the world they travel, and th.is is pas sed down from one generation to another.

A great leve!Je r, Bollywood brings cogether people not only of different age groups, but also of different linguistic, social, cultural and educational backgrounds.

Melbourne's Indian community is set ro bring in a ceiebration of all things Boll ywood shortly. The state of Vicroria has manage d co win the hearts of the local Indian community through their support of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. No ocher state has offered such support to their Indian c o mmunity.

Only in its du.rd year so far, the Film Festiv al has grown in stature by leaps and bounds. Tc has become one of the most anticipated events in the social calendar of Victoria 's Indian community. For this, credit needs co go botb t o the politicians wid1 a vision as

As head of Mind Blowing Films, Mini Bhownuck Lange h as constantl y delivered co the state o f V ictoria on this vencnre. The festival bas been ab le co bring in India's l ead actors to Melbourne on a regular basis

A - list names such as Rani Mukherjee, Vidya Balan, Shahid Kapoor, Prii1aoka Chopra, Malaika Arora Khan etc have trekked down under co link both the s tate of Victoria and L1dia through B o llywood. Quality events such as d1e cliru1er at the residence of one of Auscrnlia's most prestigious families the Pratts, the interaction and invo lvement of high society witl1 Bollywood, and tbe public events sucb as th e dance competitions, short fi l m contests and master classes with film - makers have brougbt in the masses not only from w ithin the community bu t from die mainstream as well.

Like with most other e ndeavours, there has been some debate of the value and people behind this veomre (th e no -show of the iconic scar Amitabh Bachchan at last year's event was one such controvers y) However, the success of the past IFFM functions have vindicated the confidence whicb the

Victorian government has placed in Miru Bhowmick Lange and her Mind Blowing Films. While most detractors have had vested interests in g rabbing a headline, it seems d1at no o ne has yet been ab le to share ilieir vision of how an alternative can be established. Till another formula is found, one which is working ought to be appreciated

Thi s brings us to an interesting o b servation about Indian links in Victoria. What Victoria ha s done well, with t he efforts of well-meaning indi\7 idual s, is to b lo ck at least two hig h profile events in the calendars of die local Indian community The Victorian Festival of Lights at Federation Square (with its team headed by d1e dynamic and visionary ArLu1 Sharma) and the Indian Film Festival of l'v[elboutne executed by Mim Bh ownuck Lange have established a new quorum on successfuI public events in the Indian communi ty in Australia. The w ider lnd ia n community in Australia needs to appreciate these offerings and emulate them.

Of course, i f Vi ctoria ever tires of these co mmunity endeavours, other states (es pec ially NSW which is sadly b e reft of anyth ing subsrnntial Bollywood -based), could grab these great o pporru1uties m engage w ith local Indians who are bonded by all things Bo llywood.

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