Randeep Ramesh in Delhi
The Guardian, Friday 24 October 2008
It's a marriage made in movie heaven. Bollywood and Hollywood, which have long peddled shared visions of chaste romance and unlikely friendships, today finally ties the knot with Disney's first Indian-made animated feature film in Hindi: Roadside Romeo.
The movie, which took two years to make, tells the story of a pampered pet dog after he is abandoned on the streets of Mumbai. Released today, the film is a joint venture between Walt Disney Pictures and Yash Raj Films.
Being made in India meant the budget, thought to be $7m (£4m), was 15 times less than the average cost of Disney's Pixar movies such as Ratatouille.
Roadside Romeo features Bollywood songs and dance numbers and the voices of its leading couple, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor.
Disney said it wanted to build a "brand that touches Indian families everyday, [and has] reach and relevance ... [Disney is] strong in building creative properties".
And with a slump in cinema takings expected in the west there is a rush to tap into the Bollywood box office.
Mahesh Samat, Disney's managing director in India, said: "India annually sees 3.6bn movie admissions ... [ticket prices are] expected to go up to 80 rupees [£1] in five years. Which means we are talking about a $7bn box office."
Disney's new film is part of a trend that has seen tinseltown and India's "place of illusions" grow ever closer. Earlier this month Rupert Murdoch's News Corp struck a multi-movie deal with a top Bollywood producer. The actor Will Smith has a two-movie deal with Mumbai-based UTV, while the Indian billionaire Anil Ambani has invested $300m in Steven Spielberg's new DreamWorks film studio
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