Greetings Curry Lovers!
You may have noticed that the UK seems to be in the grip of Bollywood fever. Starting from May this year, that saw Selfridges' homage to the Indian Film Industry, the ailment lingers. Those of you in Edinburgh can see heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan talk about his career and why he doesn't like love stories! The Edinburgh Film Festival will also be screening three of his hit movies. If that's not sufficient to send you off screaming, the handsome hunk also stars in Devdas, a remake of an age-old tale of....err...love!

EDINBURGH FILM FESTIVAL, 14-25 AUG	DEVDAS REMAKE THRILLS BOLLY FANS.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival 2002 is delighted to welcome The Tom Cruise of Bollywood - Shah Rukh Khan, and is to screen three of his biggest hits. read more	Fans of Shah Rukh Khan will be thrilled to hear that he plays the romantic hero 'Devdas' in a remake based on a celebrated novel of the same name written in Calcutta in 1917. read more

Of course, many people forget that Indian Cinema is far more expansive than just Bollywood. To remind people, the British Film Institute launched 'Beyond Bollywood', a touring film exhibition that screens films by acclaimed arthouse directors, like Rajiv Menon's 'I Have Found It' . The tour runs until 22nd September ending up in yes...you've guessed it....Edinburgh. Even TV is getting in on the act, with Star TV's hit show 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' launching a new plot featuring.....let me see....death, resurrection, mother-in-laws, daughter-in-laws...and..o yes...love!

BEYOND BOLLYWOOD TILL 22ND SEPT	INDIA'S MOST SUCCESSFUL SOAP IN THE UK
A unique opportunity to see contemporary South Asian films by acclaimed directors. From 5th May - 22nd Sept 2002 read more	August 2002 will see STAR Plus, break new ground with a storyline that jumps 20 years into the future in it's hit TV soap 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'. read more

Still it seems that many people can't seem to get enough of Bollywood. A fact that D J Ritu and cohort Bhagwant Singh have taken into account with the launch of their CD - The Rough Guide to Bollywood. Conspiracy theorists among us might think that this is nothing more that a plot to promote the West End's latest musical - Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Bombay Dreams'. The show is a hugely enjoyable take on a young Bombay boy's dream to be a Bollywood heartthrob.....now where have I heard that tale before?

THE ROUGH GUIDE TO BOLLYWOOD	BOMBAY DREAMS
What a trip down memory lane! DJ Ritu of 'Kuch Kuch' Club sifts through some of the best Bollywood songs of the last thirty years read more	The hopes of an entire South Asian Community rest on the success of Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical 'Bombay Dreams'. So does the hype fulfil the dreams? Read our review. read more

And if it isn't called Bollywood, it's called 'Indian Summer'. Somewhat of a misnomer given that the term is almost guaranteed to summon the rain clouds! The Victoria & Albert Museum's Indian Summer is well...sort of 'Indian Cinema - the Art of Bollywood' featuring talks, film screenings and seminars on the art of Bollywood hoardings, dance, music, costume and jewellery. Channel 4's Indian Summer is a season of cricket and today I've received Asian Music Circuit's news about its Indian Summer festival at Sadler's Well's. Sigh! Almost makes you want to take up reading. Unfortunately even publishers have a knack of selling to you when you're most vulnerable - a raft of Bollywood books are available to tell you all the things you didn't want to know about the Hindi Film Industry, like who invented the dreaded "wet sari" routine.

INDIAN SUMMER AT THE V&A	BOLLYWOOD BOOKS
London's V& A celebrates an "Indian Summer" with an exhibition of Bollywood posters. This is followed by demos of hoarding painting, Bollywood dance, puppet shows, jewellery making & Indian costume production. read more	Read our overview of some of the hottest Bollywood Books, including the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Bollywood - The Indian Cinema Story by Nasreen Munni Kabir  read more

Two other exhibitions continuing to tour throughout the UK include the BFI's 'Bollywood in Love' poster exhibition and Amrik Chhokran's digital works entitled 'Bollywood Dreams II'.

BOLLYWOOD IN LOVE POSTER EXHIBITION	BOLLYWOOD DREAMS II
From courtship through romance, melodrama to fantasy, kitsch to 'song and dance'- all the vital ingredients of an epic Bollywood film, the 'Bollywood in Love' poster exhibition from the British Film Institute's (BFI) collections is now on tour in the UK. read more	Amrik Chhokran's exhibition of photography 'Bollywood Dreams' uses influences from Pop Art, Dada, Surrealism & Bollywood. Chhokran's work digitally manipulates images using the latest in computer technology. read more

I even left the country to avoid this Bollywood barrage, only to find that two of the must-read books I'd packed to read on the beach were Justine Hardy's 'Bollywood Boy', a quest to meet the other Bollywood heartthrob - Hrithik Roshan (who incidentally looks like my cousin!) and 'Bombay Time' by Thrity Umrigar. Umrigar's tale is about the ageing Parsee residents of Wadia Baug, a block of flats in modern day Mumbai. Thankfully the B****wood word isn't even mentioned once! "Saints preserve us" you might say...or better still "brother save us" seeing as its Raksha Bandhan on August 22nd. Tie a knot lest you forget!

BOLLYWOOD BOY	BOMBAY TIME
Wow! A novel about Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan - a must read for any aficionado surely? From the first sighting at Bar Indigo in Mumbai to the last scene when author Justine Hardy meets the star of 'Bollywood Boy' (Hrithik Roshan) she seems to develop a deep crush for the hero.	'Bombay Time' by Thrity Umrigar follows the lives of the Parsee residents of Wadia Baug, a block of flats in modern day Mumbai. It recounts their memories - skilfully threading separate life strands together. Ms Umrigar is truly a masterful storyteller and this is a beautifully written book.