In December 2020, less than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, when all events shifted to the vast online platform, a trans-atlantic idea was born. Together with Jamie Mohr of Epsilon Spires, a performance arts venue in Brattleboro, Vermont, I started a virtual Bollywood film club. The idea was to show an Indian film online for two weeks and host a discussion on the film at the end of the screening period. Over zoom, our enthusiastic audiences shared their insights, observations and first impressions of the films. They provided me with information that really helped my process of curating films for future screenings. We began with the Bollywood epic Mughal-E-Azam (1960), followed by the light-hearted Golmaal (1979), and the endearing English Vinglish (2012). It brings me joy to see how the screenings have helped build an online community of earnest movie audiences – complete strangers from different parts of the world that otherwise may not have crossed paths with each other.
Hosting my radio show, Vidhi’s Bollywood Jukebox in Vermont also made me aware of how much people appreciate the cultural context that I provide on Indian films. For the film club, I created videos that acted as cultural previews specific to every film. These previews have been particularly helpful guides for foreign audiences to understand Indian films better. Links to all previews can be found below.
Vidhi’s Bollywood Film Club is an on-going, ever-increasing community of film enthusiasts. I am now bringing films at in-person venues through my Vidhiism Events. If you would like to host a movie event or find out where the next one is happening, please subscribe to my newsletter by filling out the form at the bottom of this page.