I teach Macbeth, so when I heard about Maqbool, I figured I had to see how on earth one of Shakespeare’s most bizarre tragedies would be transferred into Bollywood. I had my doubts, but I was surprised at the fact that it really made a provocative comparison to the play.
So I thought about showing clips to the class (showing an entire Bollywood movie would have taken up the entire trimester). I asked my students if they had ever heard of Bollywood, and was shocked to see that almost all of them had! I don’t think there’s one desi at that school, but Bollywood seems to be making quite a name for itself outside the desi community as well.
Anyway, they’ve been begging me to show them the movie. So we watched some scenes and they actually had a lot to say about the different interpretations and characterizations. I was surprised at how much discussion it initiated.
I wonder what other fun films I can sneak into the curriculum.
Any recommendations?