India's film industry - called Bollywood in a fusion of the names Hollywood and Bombay (the city now called Mumbai)- is the largest in the world, producing almost 800 Hindi-language films per year that are viewed by roughly 11 million people per day. Producer-director Ismail Merchant, one half of the distinguished filmmaking team that comprises Merchant Ivory Productions, acts as co-host with TCM's Robert Osborne in presenting a dozen representative Bollywood productions. These movies are known for their high concepts, ethnic flavor, rich emotionalism, vivid colors and sensuous music - often wrapped up in the boy-meets-girl formula of classic Hollywood. Ranging from thrillers and murder mysteries to action movies and costume dramas, Bollywood movies are credited with having had a huge influence on India's culture, fashion and lifestyles. Their impact extends to the international film scene, as evidenced by such Bollywood-influenced films as Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge.

Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957) has been called the cornerstone of Indian commercial cinema - "India's Gone With the Wind" and arguably the most popular and influential movie ever produced in India. Winner of an Oscar® nomination as Best Foreign-Language Film upon its original release, it has been almost constantly in distribution in India ever since. This dramatic film stars Nargis, the queen of 1950s Bollywood, as an earth-mother villager who survives four decades of natural disaster and class persecution and is forced into a difficult decision when one of her sons opts for vengeance.

Mani Rathnam's Bombay (1995) is unusual for a Bollywood film in that it carries a strong social message in its story of a south Indian Hindu man and a Muslim woman who defy their families to marry, then become caught up in Bombay's 1993 religious riots. Aditya Chopra's exuberant musical romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), so popular that it played in Indian cinemas for five years, tells the story of a rich Londoner (Shahrukh Khan) who wins the heart of a pretty girl (Kajol) even as her father arranges for her to marry another man.

With more than 40 films and four Oscar® nominations to his credit, Ismail Merchant has collaborated with producer-director-writer James Ivory on numerous award-winning films. Although born in Bombay, Merchant has lived and worked most of his life in the West, completing his education at New York University. He is the author of six books including My Passage from India: A Filmmaker's Journey from Bollywood to Hollywood, a fascinating account of his career and a history of Bollywood from the 1950s through today.

by Roger Fristoe