Bollywood and Hollywood stars may soon start crossing over into each other's movies.
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The film's producer, Rohan Sippy, comes from a Bollywood dynasty. Sippy's grandfather, G.P. Sippy, produced "Sholay," one of the most popular Indian films of all time. His father, Ramesh Sippy, directed the film. Rohan Sippy's new film, "Chandni Chowk To China," will be distributed by Warner Bros on more than 100 screens around the United States.
"Hopefully the film will have the quality and enjoyment that we had of the great Hindi films that we grew up on and hopefully it will appeal to people in India and even for small towns and cities outside of India — that's the great thing about Hindi films, when it works, it works across all countries," he said.
But for those who fear Bollywood films' "Sound of Music" type musicals will become more similar to Hollywood's action thrillers and romantic comedies, they need not worry. Sippy believes that the success of foreign films in the U.S. depends upon them offering something different.
"In order for our cinema to break out, we have to retain our identity and in order to do that is our strongest element is music and sound," Sippy said. "It would be impossible to take it out because then it's just a film, not a Hindi film."
Americans may already be familiar with the female star of "Chandni Chowk To China," Deepika Padukone, who also played a role in "Om Shanti Om" — one of Bollywood's biggest international hits.
A few of Bollywood's most famous actors have had success in both India and America, including the stunningly beautiful Aishwarya Rai, whose first international release was "Bride and Prejudice." Salman Khan acted with "Heroes" actress Ali Larter in 2007's "Marigold" and Vishal Bharadwaj is said to be in talks with about a Hollywood film with actress Uma Thurman.
But crossover between Bollywood and Hollywood is difficult. It is a huge risk to give up fame in one country to start over again in the other. For the younger actors beginning to gain momentum in their native country, the loss of momentum could end their careers. Of course, for established actors like Stallone — who may not have as many opportunities for Hollywood leads — the chance to play in Bollywood and earn money has little downside.
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