WHETHER YOU ARE a Bollywood diehard or just itching to know what the heck all the hype is about, you're in luck. Known for opening its powerful peeper and – poof! – magically summoning films, 3rd I presents its annual San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival. In the lineup is the star-drenched Paheli, recently nominated for an Academy Award. Evergreens like Amitabh Bachchan and Naseeruddin Shah are coupled with Rani Mukherjee and the oh-so-hunky Shah Rukh Khan in this folk tale about a ghost who falls in love with an abandoned bride. While these stars have been able to maintain their thrones in the sky, others aren't so lucky. Sunset Bollywood tracks the instantaneous rise and plummet of three actors, now relegated to the annuls of has-beens. If kitschy Indian flicks and the drama of the movie industry aren't your cup of chai, don't be discouraged. This year the festival offers a tear-jerking classic, Ritwik Gatik's Cloud-Capped Star, about an eldest daughter who is expected by society to sacrifice her own betterment for the needs of others. Silent Waters and Amu show how interreligious conflicts divide South Asians and endanger lives. Perhaps most relevant to the folks who call the North America home are It's My Country Too, which spotlights the plight of Muslims to define and defend themselves in post-9/11 America, and the truly brilliant Continuous Journey, which gives a historical play-by-play of what transpired in 1914 when the Komagata Maru, a ship carrying Indian immigrants into Vancouver harbor, threatened the Canadian government's ideal of a white Canada. Whether you're up for some serious dance numbers or for some serious history, the San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival is ready to deliver. See Rep Clock or go to www.thirdi.org/festival for a schedule and ticket and venue information. (Summi Kaipa)