Bollywood to get own theme park

India's entertainment capital, Mumbai (Bombay) will finally get a film theme park of its own along the lines of Hollywood studio parks.

Media and entertainment company Percept Holdings announced plans to build the Bollywood entertainment park at an initial cost of around $100m.

They say it will provide film fans with "the Bollywood Experience".

It aims to let Indians go behind the scenes of what is, in audience size, the world's biggest film industry.


Tremendous following

"Bollywood accounts for over 40% of the total revenues of the overall Indian film industry," said Percept Holdings Joint Managing Director Shailendra Singh.

"Bollywood is what the Indian masses turn to for entertainment but there is no organised format or means to consume this experience."

Mr Singh also said they could be looking at forming strategic alliances or partnerships in the venture.

The entertainment park is scheduled to open in 2008, and will have Bollywood cafes, walk-throughs, film sets, Bollywood tours and gaming booths.

The park will have a Bollywood museum that will showcase famous film props, costumes and a chronicled history of India's most popular entertainment industry.

Bollywood and Hindi film stars have always enjoyed tremendous fan following in India and abroad.

Even though it churns out more than 800 films a year, the industry was largely unorganised and unprofessional in its ways until recently.

Film crazy

It is a completely different scenario now with studios and contracts becoming the norm, while film production has become slicker, conforming more to international standards.

Producers are constantly looking for ways to maximise their profits by striking deals for special merchandise and internet and mobile games.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has estimated that revenues from the industry, valued at $1.75bn in 2006 will touch $3.4bn in the next three years.

Industry people feel a Bollywood theme park will prove a hit, since Indian people are crazy about their actors and would want any piece of them they can get.

Film critic Mayank Shekhar told the BBC website that such an initiative would also help tourism in Mumbai.

"When people visit the city, they want to see film stars and where they live, all this is a major attraction in Mumbai," he said.

"The house of superstar Amitabh Bachchan, or the massive sea-facing bungalow where Shah Rukh Khan stays are important landmarks in their own right after the Gateway of India!

"What else is there to see here anyway?"

Despite its prolific output, Bollywood's revenues stand at half of what the Walt Disney studio made in box office revenues in 2006.

But analysts say the Indian industry is fast catching up, and now aims to follow Hollywood's "media convergence" - by placing products across a selection of media such as television, the internet, video games and mobile phones.



Source: BCC