PRINCIPLE 01 What this zine is
Most Bollywood content on the internet exists to recommend something to stream, sell something attached to a star, or promote something for an upcoming release. We are none of those. Bollywood Indian is an editorial zine — small, hand-made, written by people who care about Hindi cinema as cultural history rather than as a content category.
Every piece in Issue No. 1 · Folio MMXXVI began with a real long-tail question that someone might genuinely type into a search engine. "Who was RD Burman." "Why does Sholay still matter." "What is the true story behind Bandit Queen." We answer those questions with the specifics they deserve — real dates, real films, real songs, real people. No filler.
- Issue No. 1 · Folio MMXXVI contains 10 pieces across three rooms: Music, Cinema, and True Stories.
- Hosted independently on Cloudflare Workers. No analytics that track readers across the web.
- No affiliate links in any piece. Where products are mentioned, they are mentioned on merit alone.
- No newsletter sign-up walls hiding behind "subscribe to read more." Read everything for free, forever.
PRINCIPLE 02 Who writes it
Bollywood Indian is published by The Pasteboard — a small editorial collective based in Texas with founder Clovis Mitchell. We are people with day jobs who care about Hindi cinema and song. We write what we actually know after years of watching films, reading film history, and listening to soundtracks repeatedly.
The zine exists because most film and music coverage in India today exists to drive streaming subscriptions, sell event tickets, or push affiliate-linked merch. This zine tries to be the alternative — a small editorial space that values the films and songs themselves.
PRINCIPLE 03 On copyright
Bollywood Indian writes about films, songs, composers, directors, and biopic subjects who are real public figures. We treat them as such — factually, with respect, without invented quotes or fabricated scenes. We do not reproduce song lyrics, sheet music, or copyrighted film stills. The illustrations on this zine are original artworks created in our hand-drawn style.
If you believe any content on this site infringes a copyright you hold, please write to legal@bollywood-indian.xyz and we will investigate promptly.
PRINCIPLE 04 What we will not do
- We will not rank films by affiliate revenue. If we say a film matters, we mean it.
- We will not write thinly-rephrased Wikipedia. Every piece adds analysis, context, or critical perspective Wikipedia would not.
- We will not chase release-week trends. Hindi cinema has a hundred-year history. Our pieces reach back into it.
- We will not lock content behind sign-up. The whole zine is free, forever.
PRINCIPLE 05 How to reach us
Corrections, suggestions for new pieces, partnership queries, or just a passionate disagreement about which RD Burman soundtrack is best — all welcome. Send us a letter here. We read everything and reply to most things.
If you think a fact in any piece is wrong, please tell us. We would rather be corrected than be wrong.