Bollywood star Tabu joined Kal Penn and Jacinda Barrett in the Indian-financed Hollywood film "The Namesake," Fox Searchlight, 2006

Long before "Jai Ho" entered the international lexicon, the gap between Hollywood and Bollywood had already been shrinking. In distinctly Western style, much of the action has occurred behind the scenes: Indian cable TV magnate and Bollywood producer Ronnie Screwvala's UTV Software Communications has co-produced the latest Hollywood films from Indian filmmakers M. Night Shyamalan ("The Happening") and Mira Nair ("The Namesake"), in addition to making financing deals with Sony and Will Smith's production company Overbrook Entertainment; Disney and Warner Brothers have begun to finance their own Bollywood productions; and last year, Reliance, one of India's biggest producer of Bollywood films, made production pacts with the companies of Nicolas Cage, George Clooney and Brad Pitt before making their biggest coup -- financing DreamWorks, an investment that allowed the Steven Spielberg-led studio to leave its deal at Paramount.

However, Hollywood and Bollywood have been a little less quick to embrace putting their stars in each other's movies, though the road from Mumbai to Melrose is getting shorter by the day. It's gotten to the point in pop culture where Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan can introduce "Slumdog Millionaire" at this year's Golden Globes and Natalie Portman can play a Bollywood princess in her then-boyfriend Devendra Banhart's music video "Carmensita" without anyone batting a curled eyelash. As for actual feature films, here are a few examples of when East has met West in recent years:

Aishwarya Rai in "Bride and Prejudice"

If there's been any actor or actress poised to crossover from Bollywood into Hollywood, Aishwarya Rai has been the leading candidate for years. Having already been deigned the most beautiful woman in the world by none other than Julia Roberts, the Bombay bombshell has been slumming it in bit parts in big-budget Western flops like "The Pink Panther 2" and the epic "The Last Legion" in between Bollywood jobs, yet her best shot so far at conquering Hollywood came with the lead in Gurinder Chadha's 2004 musical take on Jane Austen's classic. Fresh off the surprising success of "Bend it Like Beckham," Chadha had the leverage to shoot a Bollywood-style romp on Miramax's dime and cast the largely unknown-in-America Rai as Elizabeth Bennet stand-in Lalita C. Bakshi opposite then up-and-comers Martin Henderson and Alexis Bledel. Not surprisingly, the film grossed nearly triple overseas what it did domestically, but the disappointing U.S. box office didn't prevent Chadha from pushing Rai further onto Western audiences with a film that her husband (Paul Mayeda Berges) directed, the little-seen 2005 fantasy "The Mistress of Spices," which starred Rai and Dylan McDermott.

Sylvester Stallone in "Kambakkht Ishq"

Audiences will have to wait until "The Expendables" to see Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the same frame of celluloid, but the Bollywood buzz machine worked overtime to spread rumors of the first onscreen collaboration between '80s action icons in the 2009 Indian action comedy. It proved too good to be true, as only Stallone could commit to a cameo in the Akshay Kumar starrer (much of which can be seen in the film's trailer), in which Kumar plays a stunt double looking for love as his career in the West takes off, appropriately enough, with a gig as Brandon Routh's stunt double in "Superman." Routh appears as himself, as does Denise Richards, who was reportedly so thrilled with the experience she told the Times Online, "Bollywood is so unexpectedly awesome!" Audiences will be able to decide for themselves when the film unspools internationally in August.

Ali Larter in "Marigold"

If you're ever trolling the aisles of Blockbuster and notice "Heroes" star Ali Larter on a box cover in full-on Indian regalia, you've stumbled onto "Playing By Heart" director Willard Carroll's attempt to "bridge the gap between Indian and American cinema." Sadly, the film never scarcely made it to theaters, but does hold the distinction of being the first to bring American stars to Bollywood, as well as feature one of the latter's biggest stars, Salman Khan, in the lead. Larter plays an actress stranded in Goa after she believes she's been cast in one film and winds up with only a bit part in a Bollywood musical, with Kahn playing the musical's choreographer who helps her with more than her moves. But don't let your mind wander too far -- Khan only agreed to take the part if the kissing scenes were excised, something that the star is still averse of even when starring opposite Bollywood starlets.

Name (Required)

Email Address (Required, not displayed)

URL

Type your comments here...

Filmi Girl

The only one of these I'd consider an actual Hollywood/Bollywood crossover is "Bride & Prejudice", which is not a bad film - but is not a great one, either. The author forgets the last time Bollywood found its way into the Western consciousness back in the 1970s. Merchant-Ivory gave us "Bollywood Talkie" for one. Bollywood - or rather the Hindi film industry - produces plenty of films that take the Hollywood aesthetic and give it a "filmi" twist. Curious Westerners should investigate films like "99", which just came out, or "Johnny Gaddar" for a bit of East meets West. From the other side, I think "Moulin Rouge" is a far better example of "Bollywood" filmmaking than that racist piece of garbage "The Love Guru."

I have a list of films for Bollywood beginners here -> http://filmi-girl.livejournal.com/132553.html

clarabelletheclown

i think the writer makes it clear that the point of this list isn't to be a beginner's guide to bollywood or even be one of recommended films, just films in which there's an industry connection. also, i think the merchant ivory film you're thinking of is called bombay talkie, not bollywood talkie.

Filmi Girl

It is "Bombay Talkie" - that was a typo on my part and, yes, I realize this wasn't a list for Bollywood beginners. My point is - and was - that this is still a mediocre list done with what appears to be a limited understanding of Bollywood.

required

You can add John Jeffcoat's rather fine 'Outsourced' about an American manager who moves to India to keep his job. In India he finds humanity, a better than imagined lifestyle, and of course: lurve.

Not oft seen but very good is Pan Nalin's time-travel drama - Valley of Flowers. In this a gang leader in a beautifully shot 1810's India meets a woman who eats, drinks and sleeps not. In Tokyo around now he meets her again. The sequence where he walks from 1810's India to 1990's Tokyo is genuis.

Steven

90% of bollywood movies suck. I cant believe idiotic movies like Sing is king and Welcome get made.

Gaurav

Interesting take. however nothing of real substance has happened between Hol-Bol industries. its mostly sporadic touches and fluff but maybe thats what is required for a solid beginning.

However Roadside Romeo was a terrible flop and Indians did not attend in droves (that it did better than the incredibles is a dubious honor at best) The film had a box office gross of about $1million which means they lost atleast $3million on production.

rohon nag

Roadside romeo was a HUGE FLOP! this article makes indian audiences sound like a moronic bunch who will see anything!!! The incredibles was released in india 3-6 months after the movie launched in USA and the DVD was out by then!!!

bollywood-hollywood doesnt really work

the only good ones are namesake,outsourced,the other end of the line

slumdog doesnt count coz it wasnt a crossover film,

I say let B-wood and H-Wood stay the HELL away from each other!!!

nina

It's amazing that as soon as the debate is opened about Hollywood and Bollywood, people start arguing 'flops'. The Indian film industry is so different from the Hollywood machine! What is considered a flop in India depends on so many opposing opinions, at times completely out of touch - or purposely deceiving - with the films actual revenues. A touching, poignant, beautifully made film like 'Luck By Chance' was called a flop, until it had a chance to shine at MoMA in NYC and at international film festivals around the world. Lets embrace all the differences and enjoy some pinks and marigold tones in our movies!