INDIAN ACT: Stars grace the launch of the Bollywood month at Selfridges

" This event denotes a huge development for the recognition the craft is getting." Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood superstar

Unsuspecting shoppers gaped and gawked before it finally dawned on them that it was all for real. As Hindi cinema's demi-god Amitabh Bachchan, wife Jaya, stars Madhuri Dixit and Dimple Kapadia, and designers Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla posed sportingly, Selfridges got ready for 23-and-half days of mania-a celebration of the world's biggest film industry. The Bollywood carnival has arrived in London.

Opening the event, Bachchan reflected on the changing status of Hindi cinema. "Fifty-sixty years ago Indian cinema was looked upon as intruding into our society," he said in his rich baritone. "This event signifies a huge development not just for the craft but for the recognition it's getting all over the world. This is a great moment for Indian cinema."

The celebration, which is an attempt at marketing the industry and its key players to a previously apathetic British public, brings in abundance the style and glitz synonymous with Bollywood, beginning with fashion. Christian Dior, Prada and Gucci are supplanted by the impeccable needlecraft of Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Bal, Manish Malhotra and Rina Dhaka as the sartorial style of modern Bollywood comes to the fore.

The merchandise on offer includes framed reproductions of India's poster art, scenes from Bollywood films emblazoned on T-shirts and bags, and lampshades bearing Aishwarya Rai's visage.

The kitsch extends further to bring into its fold Indian artefacts, cuisine and even entertainment with the British Film Institute set to host discussions with directors and live performances of dance and music. Says James Bidwell, marketing director of Selfridges, "What we will have will be the authentic Bollywood experience-fantasy made even more thrilling by the possibility that the real thing may be close by."

Even the Hollywood-centric Vanity Fair has succumbed to the Bollywood fever, producing a supplement to coincide with the Selfridges event featuring the industry's leading players.

The event also has a serious side: £100,000 has been pledged for the creation of a village for the homeless children of Vijayawada, India. Selfridges has already donated £40,000 to a charitable fund called Street Kids Children Village.

True to the Bollywood tradition, the extravaganza is epic in scale and unabashedly Indian, proffering an education to the British public in the spectacle that is rapidly sweeping the globe.