The huge Indian movie industry has a media universe with its own glamorous stars, traditional stories, and plot devices. I was thinking about Western cinema pets - recalling the dogs of Jacques Tati films again, actually - and thought I had been staying culturally too close to home. Surely the Bollywood machine has room for feathered, furred stars? Then I stumbled upon this article on animal actors in Indian film.
For example, in the film Maine Pyar Kiya, a pigeon serves as the postman and go-between to a pair of lovers - becoming one of the most famous birds in the Bollymovies in the process, and getting a whole song to boot. That would be Kabootar Ja Ja, if you'd like to see it on You Tube.
