Indo-Soviet cultural ties

Alexander Lipkov’s article, “India’s Bollywood in Russia,” lists Nimai Ghosh’s “Chhinnamul” as the first film that was released in the U.S.S.R. But it was the Chaplinesque roles of Raj Kapoor that struck a chord.Story lines that predictably swirled around the themes of sympathy for the oppressed, socialist egalitarianism and the triumph of good over evil resonated with Russians whose only other option at the cinema was propaganda movies.