In an interview on Indian Film

Bollywood Cinema: Temples of Desire by Vijay Mishra.

Vijay is an old friend of mine and we have also worked together. We once co-published a book called The Actor as Parallel Text in Bombay Cinema, in which we were the first to trace the career of the heroic figure Amitabh Bachchan through the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

Vijay was much more interested in textual analysis than me. He continued to pursue his interest in Bollywood and in literature. He also has a long-standing interest in Sanskrit and devotional poetry. Vijay is one of the most grounded and qualified people to discuss Indian film. He is also a Fijian Indian – his youth was spent watching Bollywood films exported to Fiji.

For many people, this book is the most significant text about Bollywood. Not everyone agrees with his arguments, but he makes some interesting claims. The most interesting claim is that Bollywood has become a global brand.

If you say Bollywood, most people would identify it immediately with song and dance and an excess of colour and sound. In Perth nowadays, it’s possible to take classes in Bollywood dance. Ten or 15 years ago that would have been considered bizarre. Now there are Bollywood seasons at international cinema halls and exhibitions are held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Vijay tracked this and explains it in a very interesting way.