Claire Harris

7/2/19

 

This Bollywood theater called Fun Asia is truly unique for multiple reasons, located in Richardson Texas as both a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere, it is a wonderful example of Indian Film culture. When you enter, you are greeted by decorated gold doors and columns with numerous colors on the curtains and walls. There is a modest number of movies being displayed here, however what they make up for in lack of quantity is enormous quality. There is both an unusual and wide variety of Both Bollywood and the latest Hollywood films. Among them were Spider Man, Kabir Singh, Jatrai Jatra, and Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya of both Hollywood and Bollywood respectively. There is also a snack counter, food bar including a lounging area as well as leather seats in the theater to relax and lay back in for the entire movie experience. The most fascinating thing about this location, however, is the aspect of parental advisory and censorship. During the film that I watched, Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya, which is a crime thriller comedy, anytime a character weather central or peripheral is smoking a cigarette, in the bottom left corner of the screen during the scene appears a logo representative of anti-cigarette usage as well as words next to it along the screen written in Telugu which is the language in which the film is spoken. The film also holds a disclaimer at both the beginning and the end of the film explaining that smoking is “injurious to your personal health” and advises against the usage of it. After doing research I found that smoking culture is a large aspect of the Bollywood film culture and currently 250 million people in India are tobacco users. Since Bollywood films are seen by fifteen million people on a daily basis within India and produce roughly ten billion dollars a year, the Ministry of Health in India passed a ban in May of 2005. This ban strictly prohibited the usage of footage in Bollywood films which depicted a character smoking on screen so in movies that were to be made in the future that wished to have a cigarette for an immersive effect, would have to have a warning in the bottom left corner as seen in Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya. This was immediately unfamiliar to me as in Hollywood in films frequently depict scenes of smoking tobacco products with no warning label or health advisory attached to the scene. Although this is only one of the movies shown at this theater that has this health advisory, it represents a greater trend throughout India and Bollywood films in the effort to prevent nicotine and cigarette addiction within India. This special place that blends cultures of Hollywood and Bollywood together, could in fact be a stepping stone in converging anti-nicotine-and-cigarette sentiments into American Hollywood film culture. Although not many theaters like this one are currently in the united states, this theme is quickly changing as Bollywood film becomes increasingly popular in the united states each year. If so, this blending of culture could not only have a positive and lasting impact on Hollywood culture, but nicotine addiction within other parts of the world as well, putting both India and Bollywood at the forefront of the fight against tobacco culture globally.