Bollywood dances to another tune at the first Indian film festival of London

There was a time when your average Bollywood movie generally went a little like this: boy meets girl; girl coyly meets boy; boy and girl fall in love (a chaste, singing-and-dancing-in-the-rain sort of love); boy and girl's romance blossoms, at an astonishingly quick pace, until their happiness is threatened by some family drama or other, which they either overcome with a fabulous song and dance routine or tragically succumb to with a sound-effected fight scene and plenty of chest-heaving sobs. Such was the formula for Bollywood magic throughout much of the 80s and early 90s, resulting in cheesy but brilliantly charming old-school classics such as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Chandni, Maine Pyar Kiya, and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. But Indian cinema has come a very long way since the days of bashful eyelash-batting and dishum-dishum action scenes, thanks in a large part to growing international exposure. You could even say Bollywood has grown up – and the films selected to feature in this year's inaugural Indian Film Festival of London (IFFL) would support this. The festival launched last night with the UK premiere of Peepli Live, a black comedy about a debt-ridden farmer who considers committing suicide to secure government financial aid for his family. The farmer ends up being at the centre of a media circus as journalists wait for him to kill himself. The film ridicules just about everyone: the farmer, the politicians, but most of all the journalists, who descend on the farmer's village with their cameras and notepads and create an unnecessary media frenzy that ultimately blows everything out of proportion. No eyelash batting here – just very clever, laugh-out-loud satire coupled with cutting sarcasm, which points sharp fingers at a political system that treats the poor so unkindly. Peepli Live has already proved a surprise hit in India despite its notable lack of dance sequences, romance, action, glamour, elaborate costumes or beautifully made-up stars (all formerly essential ingredients of a Hindi film). Admittedly, there is one rather big star involved behind the scenes – movie maestro Aamir Khan, who co-produced Peepli Live – but many of those in front of the camera are complete newcomers. With the exception of Monsoon Wedding's Naseeruddin Shah, who plays a slippery politician, most of the actors are villagers from the area where the film was made – a move unheard of in the glossy world of Hindi big box office, where almost every other must-see film stars a combination of Kapoors, Khans or Bachchans. Peepli Live isn't the first or only Indian movie to try something a little different – super-hit 3 Idiots also strongly touched on suicide in its storyline, while serious political thriller Rajneeti was scathing about contemporary politics – but it does show that Hindi films don't always have to follow convention to be successful. The IFFL will be screening other films that plunge off the beaten Bollywood track to deal with taboo subjects. Friday night sees the back-to-back premieres of risqué efforts Mr Singh, Mrs Mehta – about a married couple cheating on each other – and Dunno Y ... Na Jaane Kyun, the first serious mainstream Hindi-language film about homosexuality (2008's Dostana was a notable comedy take on the subject). Whether or not these more experimental films will be as popular as Peepli Live, which topped the Indian box office on its opening day and has done well in the US, remains to be seen. But whatever happens, the films screening at the IFFL this week will show that – much as Bollywood loves a good sing-song – there's more to the world's largest film industry than big-hit musicals. • The Indian Film Festival of London is taking place at Riverside Studios, London, until 29 August 2010. • Peepli Live is released in the UK on 24 September 2010