Bollywood & Beyond is an annual Indian film festival

Cinema of India

The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...

 based in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia. It travels to Sydney, Adelaide and Auckland showcasing new releases, classics and regional language films from across the sub-continent.

The festival encourages emerging young film-makers from India, Australia and New Zealand through the Western Union Short Film Competition. The winning film-makers are invited to the festival's opening night gala in Melbourne to be awarded their prize and the winning films are screened in cinemas during the festival and broadcast on SBS

Special Broadcasting Service

The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...

 in Australia, Triangle TV

Triangle TV

Triangle Television and Stratos Television are public service television stations based in Auckland, New Zealand. Triangle broadcasts across Auckland on analogue UHF, while Stratos broadcasts around New Zealand on the Freeview, Sky TV and TelstraClear cable digital platforms...

 in New Zealand and UTV

Bindass

Bindass is a Hindi entertainment channel in India targeted at Indian youth. It was launched on 24 September 2007 under CEO Zarina Mehta.Bindass is defined by its brand values of being Fun, Frank, Fearless and Free...

 in India.

Outside of cinemas, the festival also holds an annual Bollywood Dance Competition. In 2011 the competition was held during Melbourne's Moomba

Moomba

Moomba is Australia's largest free community festival and one of the longest running festivals in Australia. Held annually in the city of Melbourne, Australia, Moomba is celebrated during the Labour Day long weekend , and has been celebrated since 1955...

 festival and was judged by item star Malaika Arora Khan and film director Kabir Khan.

History

The festival was founded in 2010 by Mitu Bhowmick Lange, the director of Mind Blowing Films, a Melbourne-based distributor of Indian films throughout Australia and New Zealand. Her vision for the festival is to act as a "showcase of India".

In March 2011, Bollywood & Beyond earned a Guinness World Record

Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

 for the 'Largest Bollywood Dance Class', an event that was covered by Australian and Indian news channels celebrating the multiculturalism of Melbourne.

Previous events

• 2010

Special guests: Rani Mukerji

Rani Mukerji

Rani Mukerji is an Indian film actress who works in Hindi movies. In the course of her film career, she has received six Filmfare Awards, among twelve nominations....

, Imtiaz Ali, Rajkumar Hirani

Rajkumar Hirani

Rajkumar Hirani is a National Award and Filmfare Award winning Indian director, screenwriter and film editor of Hindi films, best known for the films Munna Bhai MBBS , Lage Raho Munnabhai and 3 Idiots , considered the highest-grossing Hindi film by distributor-share.-Early life and...

• 2011

Special guests: Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan is an Indian actress, who appears in Hindi films. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she started her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before appearing in feature films....

, Ali Zafar

Ali Zafar

Ali Zafar is a Pakistani musician, composer, song writer, singer, actor, painter and model, popular in Pakistan for his music, including his hit songs like "Channo", "Rangeen", "Chal Dil Merey", "Dekha", "Masty" and "Sajania"...

, Onir

Onir

Onir is an Indian film director, editor, writer and producer. He is best known for his film My Brother... Nikhil, one of the first mainstream Hindi films to deal with AIDS and same-sex relationships.-Life and career:...

, Juhi Chawla

Juhi Chawla

Juhi Chawla is an Indian actress, film producer and television presenter.After being crowned as the winner of the Miss India beauty contest in 1984, Chawla pursued an acting career...

, Kabir Khan

Kabir Khan

Mohammad Kabir Khan is a Pakistani cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a left-arm medium-fast bowler who played for the Pakistan national cricket team...

, Arbaaz Khan

Arbaaz Khan

Arbaaz Khan is an Indian actor and film producer. Since making his debut in 1996, he has acted in many leading and supporting roles. He ventured into film production in Bollywood with Dabangg in which he also starred as the younger brother of Salman Khan...

, Malaika Arora Khan

Malaika Arora Khan

Malaika Arora Khan , also known as Malaika Arora, is an Indian model, actress, television personality and former MTV VJ. She is one of India's top item girls...

, Raj Kumar Gupta

Raj Kumar Gupta

Raj Kumar Gupta is an acclaimed Indian film maker and screen writer. He made his debut as director with critically acclaimed Aamir and followed it up with Rani Mukherjee and Vidya Balan starrer No One Killed Jessica based on the Jessica Lall murder case, which also received critical acclaim...

External links

• Official website of Indian Film Festival - Bollywood & Beyond