US woman who's in city to attend PIFF has been learningu00a0 traditional Indian culture by watching Bollywood movies

Cinema for sure is a medium that binds people and cultures together. And this is evident from the fact that an American woman has decided that the best way to study Indian culture is by watching Bollywood films.



Tenille Pippenger along with her two friends is in the city to watch Satyajit Ray's classic Pather Panchali. She has been watching movies of Satyajit Ray to Shah Rukh Khan for several years now to get an inside view of traditional Indian culture.

"I know this place is not just the land of snake charmers and tigers but also has a rich cultural heritage," said Pippenger. She added that watching Bollywood films is an easy short cut to study the Indian culture in a more direct and relevant way.

Pippenger and her friends have so far watched over 10 films including classics like Mother India, Kagaz Ke Phool with English sub titles at the National Film Archives of India (NFAI). They have also attended the 7th Pune International Film Festival to watch some good art films.

Pippenger is a student of a film school in US and her area of focus is Mid West Asia, particularly India. Camping at the Pune University campus, she intends to make some friends at NFAI and Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). "It's a good academic exercise as it provides us with an opportunity to meet film directors and actors personally and discuss cinema with them," Pippenger said.