That Thing about Bollywood by Supriya Kelkar

I wrote dozens and dozens of manuscripts and received hundreds and hundreds of rejection letters over more than a decade of trying to find an agent or publisher in the kidlit world, until finally, Ahimsa won the New Visions award and I became a published author. I used what I learned from the dazzling sets and costumes and dances in Bollywood to take readers through thrilling, fun, and entertaining worlds in my books. I used what I learned about structure to plot out novels. The whole time I was writing scripts in Bollywood though, I was trying to be an author in America. And I eventually became one of his writers, working on the writing teams for the highest-grossing film of all time in Bollywood at that time, and working on the film that went on to be India’s entry to the Academy Awards. I started as a writing assistant on the writing team for one of the biggest producer-director-writers in Bollywood. I started working in Bollywood right after graduating from the University of Michigan’s screenwriting program. So when I grew up, I knew I had to be a part of that magic.

And that was in the magical, colorful, often over-the-top world of Bollywood.īollywood gave me a space where people who looked like me were heroes, and where my food and cultures and languages and clothing were celebrated.

South-Asian American actors weren’t getting roles in TV shows or film for years, and the few times they did, the roles were racist stereotypes.īut there was one place where I found a little of the representation I was searching for. Books written by South Asian-Americans, and books with South-Asian American characters weren’t being published then. To make matters worse, I grew up never seeing myself in an American book, TV show, or movie. My languages, culture, religion, bindis, and skin color were ridiculed on a daily basis. If I brought Indian food to school, I’d get made fun of for it. I grew up in a town that didn’t appreciate diversity.

That Thing about Bollywood by Supriya Kelkar