Bollywood Britain - Those Golden Years

When Slumdog Millionaire won acclaim last year it was hailed a breakthrough for the Indian film industry. In reality, Bollywood is already bigger than its Western namesake. Across the globe "super-hits", like the recent "3 Idiots" and" My Name Is Khan", have broken box office records and in India alone the sheer number of cinemagoers dwarves even the biggest Hollywood blockbusters. Slumdog took some of Bollywood's classic components to win critical acclaim and Nikki Bedi finds out exactly where it all began. The "Golden Age", from the 1940s to the 1960s, includes some of Bollywood's best loved films as well as introducing the idea of the "playback singer", the "item number" and some of its most timeless music. "Mother India" is one film that holds a special place for many British Asians. It was one of the first colour films made in Mumbai and it is the glorious Technicolor and unapologetic escapism of Bollywood that gives Hindi film its appeal to ex-pats all over the world and especially in Britain. Nikki talks about her introduction to the sights and sounds of Bollywood and guests including Slumdog composer AR Rahman, director Shekhar Kapur, lyricist Javed Akhtar, actor Ben Kingsley, playback singers Asha Bhosle and Kavita Krishnamurthy Subramanium, superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan, Nitin Sawhney, Tjinder Singh of Cornershop and Trickbaby talk about their memories of the earliest films and the longest-lasting soundtracks.