When I was in middle school, I started watching foreign films, particularly those from Asia. I'd like to think that, at the time, my choice in movies reflected a perspective independent from other teens my age. As I grew older and continued to enjoy watching Bollywood and anime flicks, then relatively unknown to US audiences, I persisted in viewing the world through an independent lens. For instance, I am now a vegetarian and refuse to shop at large corporations known to exploit their workers and/or use sweatshops, like Wal-mart and Forever 21. These movies literally opened up new worlds to me. And knowing that there were other cultures out there, other ways of seeing the world, other ways of telling a story, be it romantic or horrific, helped me see the alternatives available to me in my own life.

India – as a country - is the biggest producer of films in the world…more than 800 new movies a year. But the real star of the show is Bollywood, the Hindi language film industry, based in Bombay. It’s the stuff dreams are made of for one billion Indians - especially the ones who aspire to fame on the silver screen. And Hollywood is so saturated…wannabe starlets from the US and UK are flocking to Bollywood too.