BRATTLEBORO — The Latchis Theatre, in collaboration with Vidhi's Bollywood Jukebox, will be presenting a Bollywood Spotlight Series for the entire month of October. The local theater will show four different Bollywood films twice every week: Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., and Sundays at 4 p.m.
All the films in the series have been curated by journalist Vidhi Salla, host of the radio show, Vidhi's Bollywood Jukebox. Prior to every screening, Salla will present a brief introduction, elaborating on the socio-cultural context of every film and sharing anecdotes about its making.
Audiences are invited to shop from Vidhi's pop-up stall of Indian handicrafts that will be made available 30 minutes prior to screening and during the intermission.
In keeping with the cinema culture of Indian theaters, The Latchis will also include samosas as part of their refreshments during the Bollywood screenings. Entry to the shows is by a suggested donation of $10, but no one will be turned away.
This will be the first time that the Latchis will be hosting Bollywood films in a series.
“We're so excited to be working with Vidhi's Bollywood Jukebox on this series,” said Jon Potter, executive director of Latchis Arts. “A couple of years ago, we conducted an audience survey, and Bollywood was high on the list of what people wanted to see here. I'm looking forward to learning a lot and having a lot of fun.”
“It is a collaboration that we've been planning for several months and I'm so happy that it's finally coming to fruition. Jon has been extremely supportive throughout the process of creating this series,” Salla added.
On her curation of the films, she said that the movies she chose “are from different genres and time periods. This month-long series will offer audiences a delightful and comprehensive introduction to commercial Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood.”
The series features an epic costume drama (Mughal-e-Azam, 1960), a contemporary feminist film (English Vinglish, 2012), a heartwarming comedy (Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., 2003) and a black-and-white classic (Shree 420, 1955).
“The element of curation in cinema has been absent for awhile,” said Salla. “Together with the cultural introduction and careful curation, I have designed my movie events to make Indian cinema not only more accessible but also more understandable for international audiences.”
As part of the Bollywood Spotlight Series, Salla will be hosting a free Bollywood dance workshop and party. Venue and date for the same will be announced soon on vidhiism.com and latchis.com.