Kaleidoscopic visions, ten-headed demons, mythical epics and sequin costumes… Until January 2024, the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac hosts the grand exhibition “Bollywood Superstars. History of Indian cinema. Featuring film screenings, parties and performances, the event covers the history of the popular, flamboyant, exuberant and powerful cinema, with nearly two thousand productions per year. Hangings, rare objects, film footage, photographs and even immersive experiences – thanks to bollystudio, which allows one to insert oneself, thanks to a green backdrop, into a musical comedy sequence… Through a selection of almost two hundred works, the exhibition also dismantles certain clichés. “India has a great memory of itself, but we should not believe that it is set in stone. This route is constantly being reinvented,” summarizes curator Hélène Kessous, doctor of social anthropology and ethnology, and scientific assistant at the museum’s department of Asian art in Nice, who designed the route together with curator of cultural heritage Julien Rousseau. We asked the latter to comment on a selection of images that highlight the glorious power of cinema that traverses time without aging.
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