DELHI - Kylie Minogue, the Neighbour next door turned internationally feted chanteuse, is just the latest in a growing number of Western stars lured to Bollywood by the promise of a healthy pay cheque, exposure to a massive audience and a dash of excitement from the world's largest movie industry.
"I think the experience has been intense," she said at a recent press conference in Mumbai, where she had spent eight days at a cool 100,000 ($265,690) a day filming two song scenes.
"Many things I have done before, particularly making music videos, but in Bollywood, with that many people in a studio and the pace at which they work ... it was a totally new experience."
The Australian singer's link-up with Indian star Akshay Kumar in what is likely to be Bollywood's most expensive film to date - though still a snip by Hollywood standards at 20 million - is just one example of the increasing cross-fertilisation between East and West.
Sylvester Stallone, the gnarled, mumbling legend of Rocky and Rambo, and Brandon Routh, the sleek star of Superman Returns, have recently filmed parts in another forthcoming Bollywood flick, Kambakht Ishq, in which one-time Bond girl Denise Richards also features.
And it is not entirely one-way traffic.
In an example of how Indian talent is slowly making its presence felt in Hollywood, the movie world is awash with gossip that Freida Pinto, the heroine of Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, is being lined up as the next Bond girl.
- INDEPENDENT
Kylie cashes in on Bollywood
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.