MUMBAI:
Indian
cinema
has
finally
succeeded
in
casting
its
magic
on
viewers
across
the
globe.
Be
it
the
Oscar-nominated
'Lagaan',
'Bend
It
Like
Beckham'
by
Indian
film-maker
Gurinder
Chadda
or
Mira
Nair's
'Monsoon
Wedding',
Indian
films
have
made
viewers
from
all
over
the
world
sit
up
and
take
notice.
This
has
heralded
a
wave
of
change
in
the
film
industry,
with
Hollywood-Bollywood
mergers,
Indian
film
stars
performing
in
Hollywood
flicks
and
many
Indian
film-makers
aspiring
to
make
films
that
would
satisfy
the
palate
of
movie
lovers
internationally.
Karan
Johar's
'Kuch
Kuch
Hota
Hai'
was
the
trend-setter.
With
the
world-wide
premier
of
'Lagaan',
'Monsoon
Wedding',
'Bend
It
like
Beckham'
and
'Devdas',
the
international
market
got
curious
about
Indian
cinema.
Apart
from
the
fact
that
Bollywood
churns
out
more
than
800
films
per
year,
its
annual
turnover
is
expected
to
grow
to
a
whopping
Rs
6,000
crore
in
the
next
five
years.
Hyperion
Pictures
India,
a
subsidiary
of
Hyperion
Pictures,
USA,
is
all
set
to
roll
with
their
first
Hollywood-Bollywood
co-ventured
film
titled
'Marigold'.
Marigold,
a
ground-breaking
collaborative
effort
uniting
creative
forces
from
the
two
mighty
film
industries,
will
have
Salman
Khan
playing
the
lead
opposite
a
popular
actress
from
the
US.
This
is
the
first
time
that
a
film
will
be
shot
in
two
versions,
English
and
Hindi,
and
will
be
released
in
both
countries
as
a
mainstream
entertainment.
It
could
well
be
described
as
the
first
major
motion
picture
with
dual-citizenship
status.
Written
and
directed
by
Willard
Carroll
-
who
made
Playing
By
Heart
with
one
of
the
biggest
Hollywood
cast
such
as
Sean
Connery,
Angelina
Jolie,
Gillian
Anderson,
Madeleine
Stowe,
Dennis
Quaid,
Ryan
Phillipe
and
Ellen
Burstyn
-
Marigold
is
truly
a
bi-cultural
collaboration
at
every
level:
in
its
financing,
casting
and
composition.
The
film
is
being
produced
by
Hyperion
Pictures
India,
which
is
a
new
company
formed
for
producing
cross-cultural
film
and
TV
content.
Siddharth
Jain
has
been
appointed
as
its
vice-president
and
will
be
based
in
India.
Siddharth
represents
the
new
breed
of
professionals
in
the
"traditional
Bollywood"
business.
According
to
him,
this
project
is
different
as
it
is
a
true
co-production
with
Indians
working
side
by
side
with
Americans.
Veteran
actor
Om
Puri,
who
has
won
the
hearts
of
audiences
the
world
over
with
his
hilarious
performances
in
internationally
acclaimed
bi-cultural
films
like
'East
is
East'
and
'Bollywood
Calling',
believes
that
Indians
should
be
making
films
in
English
as
there
is
a
market
for
it
in
India
as
well
as
abroad.
The
urgency
of
innovative
ideas
and
unique
"subject-sense"
in
Indian
films
has
given
vent
to
several
films
belonging
to
the
genre
which
can
be
termed
as
the
cinema
of
"new-age
sensibility".
For
instance,
actor
Deepak
Tijori
who
turns
director
with
his
film
'OOPS'
has
chosen
a
bold
subject
on
male
strippers
in
India,
a
topic
considered
a
taboo
here.
But
Tijori
says
he
is
treating
the
subject
in
a
manner
that
it
appeals
to
not
only
a
certain
niche
audience
back
home,
but
also
international
viewers.
Film
critics
are
of
the
view
that
Bollywood
has
best
of
talent
and
if
their
potential
is
channelised
correctly,
even
Bollywood
directors
can
go
on
to
direct
Hollywood
films.
It
is
evident
that
with
the
influx
of
bi-lingual
films
like
'Everybody
Says
I'm
Fine',
'Split
Wide
Open'
and
'Bombay
Boys',
the
film-makers
are
increasingly
looking
forward
to
impress
the
global
audience.
As
the
popularity
of
Bollywood
reaches
people
across
the
globe,
more
and
more
foreign
performers
seem
to
be
seeping
into
the
ocean
of
Indian
films
to
experience
the
wave
of
change
and
get
the
taste
of
the
typical
'Bollywoodmasala'
The
attention
that
Indian
films
like
'Lagaan'
,
'Monsoon
Wedding',
'Bend
It
Like
Bechkam'
and
the
recent
musical
'Bombay
Dreams'
have
received
abroad
has
proved
that
even
the
cliche-
ridden
song-and-dance
ritual
of
Hindi
films,
if
treated
in
a
distinctive
manner,
can
enthrall
audiences
the
world
over.
Also,
with
several
Hollywood-Bollywood
co-productions
and
Indian
film
stars
like
Om
Puri,
Salman
Khan
and
Aayesha
Dharkar
who
have
made
the
cross-over,
one
can
hope
that
the
Hollywood-Bollywood
mergers
will
accelarate
the
growth
of
the
largest
film
industry
in
the
world
in
terms
of
its
potential
to
compete
with
international
cinema
and
emerge
triumphant
-
be
it
the
Oscar's,
the
Grammy's
or
any
international
film
fests.
