Bollywood gets real with rural India

Dubai: Anusha Rizvi is a fresh-off-the-boat Bollywood hopeful — with a difference. The former TV journalist isn't looking for a place in a chorus line. She has made her debut as a director in a field crowded by men and, in her film, Peepli Live, is tackling a topic filmmakers often shrink from: rural Indian life.

"Contrary to what many think, Peepli Live is a tale about survival and it celebrates the Indian people who have the will to survive against all odds," Rizvi told Gulf News. The film is a satire on farmer suicides.

"Journalists often ask me why I chose a subject like farmer suicides and whether it shows India in bad light. My answer: ‘My film doesn't look down upon Indians, it merely reflects our circumstances'."

Peepli Live, which despite lacking an all-star cast, is backed by the uber-successful actor Aamir Khan — is heading to the Melbourne Film Festival this month after launching at Sundance in January.

"The landscape of Bollywood is definitely changing. Nowadays, people are open to small-budget features and if a story is told well, they accept it," Rizvi said.