The five Bollywood films screened at BAFTA (From top) ? Devdas, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., Veer-Zaara, Rang De Basanti, Dil Chahta Hai;

Duncan Kenworthy, the man behind “BAFTA goes Bollywood”, is best known as the producer of three of the most popular and successful films made in Britain in recent years ? Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Love Actually. All three films have starred the quintessential English actor Hugh Grant (who has found new fame as the boyfriend of Imran Khan’s ex-wife, Jemima). Another important position that Kenworthy has held has been that of chairman of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), which is the UK equivalent of America’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Once a year, BAFTA dishes out the British version of the Oscars. Although not as well known as the Oscars, a billion people all over the world watched the BAFTA awards last year on television. The BAFTAs have often been seen in the past as an indicator of the films and stars in serious contention for the Oscars. This is some way off, but if Kenworthy’s wishes are fulfilled, one day Bollywood films and actors, too, will be nominated routinely for BAFTA awards, and if that were to happen, the Oscars would become a much more realistic proposition for Indian movies.

Over three days, July 14-16, the BAFTA headquarters at 195, Piccadilly, in London were given over to the screening of Hindi films and personal appearances for question and answer sessions by some of the biggest names in the industry ? Yash Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Karan Johar and Preity Zinta. Organising the event, the first of its kind at BAFTA, was the last act of its outgoing chairman, who called it “my last hurrah”. Kenworthy described the three days as “a celebration of Bollywood in general and these stars of Bollywood in particular”. There was typical British modesty in his remarks: “Bollywood does not need our motivation because Bollywood already makes a thousand films a year. What do they need the British film industry for? This weekend’s festivities are to celebrate but also to educate us ? by us I mean the Academy.”

(From top) Zhang Ziyi, nominated the Best Actress in BAFTA for the film Memoirs of Geisha

He pointed out: “There are 5,000 members of the Academy (plus another 1,500 in America) ? each of them votes at the time of the BAFTAs. I feel the Academy likes Bollywood movies, but perhaps sometimes does not understand them completely. I think there are things going on in there that I would like to know more about. We will use our position in the UK to draw attention to Bollywood from the media’s point of view.”

Asked whether he thought Bollywood films would ever win BAFTAs, he replied: “I would like to think so.” He recalled that Devdas was nominated in 2002 as best film in the foreign language category. But he added: “It is harder when films are in a language not your own to appreciate them in the same way, but as an Academy we are quite unusual in that a few years ago Gael Garc?a Bernal was nominated as Best Actor for a film in which he was speaking Spanish ? the Motorcycle Diaries. Zhang Ziyi has been nominated twice (in House of Flying Daggers and Memoirs of a Geisha) as Best Actress [though she was] speaking Chinese. I am very proud of our members when they see through the language difference and seek the heart of the performance and I really hope that will happen here with Bollywood movies. I see no reason why it shouldn’t, once people learn to appreciate them on their own terms.”

The films screened at BAFTA over the three days included Devdas, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (Karan Johar conducted a master class after it was shown), Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti and Veer-Zaara. Kenworthy had his own take on whether Bollywood films should be shortened for a Western audience: “The length issue is a really interesting difference between Bollywood films and the West. Someone once said that cricket was invented to give Englishmen a sense of eternity. Maybe Hindi cinema is there to give Indians the same sense. Maybe because the language is not our language that we are not sensitised to Bollywood. But maybe if we see more we will be.”

Explaining why Yash Chopra was being honoured by BAFTA, which was giving him honorary life membership of the Academy, Kenworthy said: “The person we have chosen to represent Bollywood cinema is a director and producer rather than a front-of-camera person. We have had many legends on this stage over the years but I think none more legendary the man we are honouring here.”

Speaking of his own reaction to Bollywood, Kenworthy concluded: “It is the hope that Academy members will somehow absorb the lessons we can learn which are many from this extraordinary cinema, cinema that is much older than our cinema. I have just got my L-plates for Bollywood cinema. I have seen quite a bit of it, particularly over the last two weeks. Speaking as a producer I know that it’s going to influence the way I make films in the future.”