Hello, I'd be more than happy to help!

Saurav

We work in the Himalaya - kids don't have much access to movies, but we are eager to engage students on topics of mutual concerns - fears, challenges, worldviews, etc. - check out: http://himalayanconnections.org/teachers/building-bridges/ --- by the way, this isn't smaddrey from Carbondale is it??!! Best, Spafford

An Indian friend of mine recommended Freedom at Midnight by Dominique Lapierre.

The movies you mention aren't really Indian film, but rather foreign made set in India. Bollywood cinema is the better exponent of Indian film industry, but not very appealing to western audiences. They make thousands of films per year, more than Hollywood, so maybe if you search long enough, you might find something of value.

Books : "Train to Pakistan" by Khushwant Singh & "A Suitable Boy" by Vikram Seth.

Movie : Khosla ka Ghosla - we don't consider it our best movie, but it is a great introduction to Bollywood movies. The plot and characters are realistic and there are no song - dance sequences.

taare zameen par

paa

Lagaan, Rang De Basanti, Hum Apke Hai Kaun

Would you care to comment on the recent case of the young woman who was raped and later died in Singapore? In your travels in India, did you get a sense of how that society treats women? It seems that this was not an isolated case and in fact, quite common.