Hooray for Bollywood: using Hindi language films to teach economics

Many economic educators have been teaching with pop culture since the start of this century but until recently, the focus was almost exclusively on English-language media. In response to the increasing internationalisation of higher education, economic educators have begun to embrace foreign-language media sources, recognising the diverse and ever-changing nature of today's classrooms. We expand on the work of Ben Abdesslem and Picault (2023a, 2023b), who use Netflix Originals from across the globe to teach undergraduate-level economics. This article represents the first step towards the inclusion of Bollywood, the Hindi-language film industry, in the economics curriculum. Bollywood films are famous for elaborate song-and-dance sequences, colourful costumes, and over-the-top storylines. Leveraging popular culture through mediums like Bollywood can enhance student engagement and participation in ways that 'chalk and talk' lectures cannot. We present a series of lesson plans based on two iconic modern Bollywood films to teach foundation-level concepts. We hope that over time educators will take up the challenge to integrate more culturally diverse media from Bollywood in their teaching.