Xan Brooks on why Hollywood studios are eager to finance Indian films

Chandni Chowk to China is a Bollywood film about a Chinese warrior who finds himself reincarnated as a lowly Indian chef. We know this is a Bollywood film because it juggles action with comedy and song-and-dance spectaculars; because the women are beautiful and the villains are hissable; and because, when the hero is pushed off a tall building, he is able to save himself by opening an umbrella. A glance at the credits, however, hints at an altogether different pedigree. That's because Chandi Chowk comes bankrolled - to the tune of a reported $9m (£6m) - by the US studio Warner Bros. It is the outrider in Hollywood's campaign to secure a stake in an Asian market that has hitherto shunned its wares. Film executives are now pitching this as a "fusion of east and west". Cynics may interpret it as a display of wanton cultural imperialism, perhaps even the death knell for pure Bollywood cinema. Not so, says Richard Fox, executive vice-president of Warners. He insists there has been no "filtering", no creative interference: "Our aim is to finance Indian movies for Indian audiences. These will be films that come out of the culture. I don't imagine that many of them will travel at all." Past evidence backs him up. In the UK, Bollywood films enjoy huge success among British-Asian audiences but have always struggled to connect with a white, English-speaking public. Perhaps the problem is that they fall between two stools: too populist for the art-house viewer, too unfamiliar for the multiplex crowd. "If you want to say, 'I love you' in a Hollywood movie, you say it in a whisper," explains Akshay Kumar, the star of Chandni Chowk and a veteran of some 120 Hindi-language pictures. "If I say it in a Bollywood movie, I will stand on a bridge and sing it loud. I guess that takes some getting used to." Even if Chandni Chowk goes down in flames, western viewers will be seeing a lot more of Kumar. He has just finished work on Kambakkht Ishq, shot at Universal Studios in California and co-starring Sylvester Stallone. This cross-pollenisation can only be a good thing, he says. Western investment has the potential to bring new levels of professionalism to an Indian film industry that is hugely prolific and largely unregulated. "Piracy remains a big issue for us," he adds. "We lose something like 30% of our revenue through piracy. Hollywood protects its movies better." I ask what Hollywood gets out of the deal and Kumar hums and haws. "I remember when I was at Universal," he says finally. "A producer took me aside and said, 'I wish our stars worked as hard as you do.' And that's true. I work 12 hours a day, six days a week. I can make six or seven films a year. Most American stars aren't prepared to do that." Actually, it's abundantly clear what Hollywood gets out of the deal. Even beset by piracy, the Indian film industry boasts an annual turnover of $10bn. Of that figure, only about 5% goes to English-language movies. It is a Muhammad-and-the-mountain scenario. If Hollywood can't interest Asian audiences in its own produce, it can at least start delivering the movies they do want to see. But Kumar's admission suggests an added bonus. No doubt the actor is well rewarded for his six-day weeks. I wonder, though, if he is quite as well rewarded as his peers in the west. "That's the big question," says Rajinder Dudrah, co-author of The Bollywood Reader. Dudrah points out that the Indian film industry provides a golden business opportunity for Hollywood. On the one hand, it boasts a seemingly inexhaustible pool of skilled labour. On the other, it is a bit lax and disorganised. "So where does that leave the technicians, the crew members, the software specialists? The vast majority aren't unionised. Are they getting equitable rates? Are they being paid their proper dues? Or is this just another example of outsourcing?" Warners has announced a further three Bollywood productions. DreamWorks recently signed a $500m deal with an Indian company, Reliance ADAG. And Universal is shooting Bollywood pictures on a sound-stage in California. Like it or not, the borders have been opened. Maybe, muses Dudrah, this is a good thing. "But make no mistake," he adds, "this is primarily an economic not a creative imperative. It's about making big moolah from the Asian. This is globalisation in action - with all that entails." Chandni Chowk to China is out tomorrow. • This article was amended on Tuesday 20 January 2009. We mis-stated the name of the Indian company that recently signed a deal with DreamWorks SKG; it is Reliance ADAG, not Alliance ADA. This has been corrected.