In an effort to bring more diverse art to campus, Gallagher Theater is featuring the Hindu film "Black" on Sunday evening.
Minita Sanghvi, a retailing and consumer sciences alumna, said she arranged for this and seven other Indian films to be shown at the UA in two about years.
The film is a Helen Keller-type story about a deaf and blind woman in a small Indian town who is lost in a world of darkness until she meets a teacher who helps her become successful, Sanghvi said.
"It's supposed to be a really, really good film," she said.
While it is rare to see an Indian film in a theater in Arizona, there are theaters in Phoenix that feature the films, but there are a lot of Tucsonans and UA students who are also interested in the films, Sanghvi said.
In the past, the theater has seen a large turnout for featured Indian films with an average audience size of about 270. The theater's capacity is 320 people, Sanghvi said.
Sanghvi works closely with Vijay Mahtani, president of Gold Spirit Films, who is the distributor of Indian films for Arizona and San Diego.
Mahtani said the reason he works to bring films like "Black" to campus is because Bollywood, the film and music industry of India, is not reaching the mainstream even though the films are in demand.
"We bring a multicultural feel to the UA, where there are quite a few Indian students," Mahtani said.
TJ Willis, Gallagher Theater manager, said the theater does not profit from Indian film ticket sales, but they do sell concessions. Because the Indian films always have an intermission, concession sales are usually pretty high.
Willis said the films also bring awareness to Gallagher Theater more than they bring in profit.
"I get great feedback, students love it and would have to go to Phoenix otherwise," Willis said.
He also said because of the limited arenas in which the films are shown, people come from all over Arizona and sometimes Southern California to catch a flick.
"Black" will be showing Sunday at 5:30 p.m. in the Gallagher Theater. Tickets are $7.50 for students and $9 for adults. The film is about two hours and 15 minutes long.