Bollywood takes show on the road to Chinese venue

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-12 08:18

MACAU: Bollywood's top stars gathered in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macao Thursday for the Indian film industry's annual roadshow, pitching their elaborate song-and-dance productions to the booming Chinese market and other Asian countries.

One of the industry's biggest names, Amitabh Bachchan, kicked off the 10th International Indian Film Academy weekend by planting a lotus flower - the official flower of both India and Macao.

The 66-year-old veteran actor said he welcomed the attention brought to India by the Oscar-winning British movie Slumdog Millionaire - the story of an orphan from Mumbai's slums who wins the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire - but argued that Bollywood can tell its own stories with equal flair.

"I've always believed that Indian talent and Indian creativity is in no way less than creativity from any other part of the world," he said. "There are many, many other stories and ideas and concepts that need to be explored, that need to be known."

Overseas revenues are growing for the $2.3 billion Indian film industry, and Bollywood executives want to broaden the appeal. Foreign box office revenues have jumped from 5 percent of total revenue in 2005 to nearly 10 percent in 2008, according to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Bollywood's biggest foreign markets are the United States and Britain, which have large ethnic Indian communities. Roadshow organizers now want to attract viewers from China and other parts of East Asia.

Indian and Chinese filmmakers are scheduled to discuss how they can collaborate later today.

Bollywood's top names will appear throughout the weekend at the Venetian Macao casino-hotel resort complex, a popular destination for mainland Chinese gamblers.

Bachchan was honored at a red carpet ceremony to unveil a new Madam Tussauds wax statue Thursday. The event was attended by his son, Abhishek, his daughter-in-law and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai - also mega Bollywood stars - as well as composer A.R. Rahman and actor Anil Kapoor from Slumdog Millionaire.

Heartthrob Hrithik Roshan will model for Indian designers at a fashion show tonight. The three-day program ends Saturday night with the annual IIFA Awards, where stars Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif and others will compete for top acting honors.

The Indian film academy has held previous overseas events in London, Yorkshire, Dubai, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, Singapore and Bangkok.