London: Bollywood may be one of the subjects for about 30,000 'A' level students, equivalent of secondary school leaving certificate, in Britain who opt for film and media as one of their topics.

Formally launching the 150-page well researched guide, Bollywood and Beyond, Education Resource editor of British Film Institute (BFI), Wendy Earle said, "Bollywood and Beyond provides a valuable resource about this fascinating area of world cinema.

"It has been produced in response to the growing interest among students and teachers in this cinema, which after all is the biggest in the world and as part of Imagine-Asia, the BFI's eight month celebration of South Asian film."

The guide offers a comprehensive overview of Indian cinema, from the early days of silent film to the big budget Bollywood extravaganzas of today. It covers a wide range of films from classics such as 'Mother India' to recent releases such as 'Monsoon Wedding' and British Asian films including the recent box office hit 'Bend it Like Beckham'.

The activity-based guide supplied on a CD-ROM, is supported by a video compilation of film clips. The guide explores Indian popular and art house cinema.

Designed for use on media and film studies courses, Bollywood and Beyond can be a useful resource to other subject areas such as music, drama, history and geography, Wendy said.

"Indian cinema is the largest cinema in the world, but only in recent years has it started to gain recognition in the West. This comprehensive teaching guide and video compilation, the first of its kind, offers an essential introduction to this vibrant and exciting national cinema."

"Aimed at teachers and students of post-16 Film and Media Studies, it provides a stimulating introduction to Indian cinema, from its early days of silent film, to the latest Bollywood spectacular cinema extravaganzas," Wendy said.

At present the Welsh boards' A level scheme is currently the only examination course available dealing with cinema.

"There is scope for studying Indian films and the Hindi film is actually among the focus films for A level," Wendy said, adding a judicious comparison of the Hindi film with more familiar Western example from nearer home could set up stimulating debates and study.

"Students could do a comparative study of Hollywood and Bollywood comparing 'Bombay' (India 1995) and William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' (USA 1996) or 'Lagaan' (India 2001) and 'A League of Their Own' (USA 1992)," the guide stated.

It said Indian films are unquestionably the most seen in the world. "We're not just talking about audience of nearly a billion in India where 12 million people are said to go to cinema each day but also audience of 250 million people who tune in to see their favourite films on Indian television."

It said, in 2000, eleven of the top 20 foreign language films at the UK box office were from India.

"Indian films also entertain large communities of South Asians settled around the world and appeal to audiences in Russia, China, the Middle East, the Far East, Egypt and numerous parts of Africa."

The guide said, "people who may otherwise have little or no connection with the Indian subcontinent have a great appetite for Indian Films, and though movies are made in many cities including Chennai, Calcutta, Hyderabad, it is the Bombay films produced in Hindi and Urdu that have the widest distribution."

PTI