Bollywood Superstars at Louvre Abu Dhabi: Indian Cinema's Colonial Undertone
The exhibition 'Bollywood Superstars: A Short Story of Indian Cinema' at Louvre Abu Dhabi, co-organized with Paris's Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, traces Indian cinema from its 1896 origins to today's global industry. Curated by Julien Rousseau and Hélène Kessous, the show includes religious art, Mughal artifacts, and works by Satyajit Ray, alongside oversize cutouts of stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Aishwarya Rai. A highlight is Rinku Kalsy's documentary 'For the Love of a Man' (2015) about extreme Rajinikanth fans. The exhibition is captioned in English, French, and Arabic, not Hindi, giving it a colonial vibe. It runs through June 4.
Key facts
- Exhibition at Louvre Abu Dhabi co-organized with Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
- First moving-image presentation in India took place in 1896
- Features precinematic storytelling methods: temple lamps, painted shrines, shadow puppets
- Includes Mughal armour, decorated daggers, vessels, architectural panels
- Highlights Satyajit Ray and 'Golden Age of Hindi Cinema' with Mother India (1957)
- Oversize illuminated cutouts of Bollywood superstars: Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai
- Rinku Kalsy's documentary 'For the Love of a Man' (2015) about Rajinikanth fans
- Captioned in English, French, Arabic; not Hindi or other Indian languages
Entities
Artists
- Amitabh Bachchan
- Rajinikanth
- Salman Khan
- Shah Rukh Khan
- Aishwarya Rai
- Satyajit Ray
- Rinku Kalsy
- François Truffaut
- Julien Rousseau
- Hélène Kessous
Institutions
- Louvre Abu Dhabi
- Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
- LuLu Hypermarket
- Kalyan Jewellers
Locations
- Abu Dhabi
- United Arab Emirates
- Paris
- France
- Tamil Nadu
- India
- Singapore
- Pakistan