The stars in India

A documentary directed by Yves Billon.

Synopsis

Pre­sent­ing the most pop­u­lar movie stars from Bom­bay and Madras — such is their renown that their names don’t even appear on the movie bill­boards. They work non-stop for the most pro­lific film indus­try in the world which pro­duces over 800 films a year.

Films for enter­tain­ment, dreams, and illu­sion to enter­tain a pop­u­la­tion which is 70% illit­er­ate. “Films full of car­i­ca­tures, where the women are beau­ti­ful and silent”, regrets Zeenat Aman, the west­ern­ized actress. The dra­conien cen­sor­ship explains the lim­ited subects which are filmed; poverty is never shown on screen in a coun­try where 35% of the pop­u­la­tion can­not pay a seat, even though it’s very cheap