Bollywood/Hollywood off to Toronto Deepa Mehta's film to premiere at the film fest

Lata Khubchandani

Deepa Mehta's Bollywood/Hollywood will have its world premiere, Friday, September 6, on the opening night of Perspective Canada, at the 27th Toronto International Film Festival.

With Bollywood songs, Hollywood choreography, a Hollywood plot and Bollywood morality, the film is a romantic comedy that plays homage to both the East and West. The actors include Canadian-born Indian model Lisa Ray, former MTV veejay-turned-actor Rahul Khanna, Moushumi Chatterji, Dina Pathak, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Ranjit Choudhry, along with Montreal's Jessica Pare.

The story is set in Toronto and centers on Rahul (Khanna), a dashing young dotcom millionaire who believes he is Western enough to rebel against his Indian mother played by Moushumi Chatterji and grandmother Dina Pathak. When his mother threatens to call off his sister's wedding unless he finds himself a nice Indian girl, he hires Lisa Ray to masquerade as his fiancee.

What happens thereafter is something Rahul is not prepared for. She charms his grandmother, becomes friends with his sister. Everyone seems to fall in love with her, even Rahul.

Bollywood/Hollywood marks the second time that Deepa Mehta has opened Perspective Canada. Fire opened the programme in 1996 and Earth made its world premiere at the 1998 Festival.

Bollywood/Hollywood has been written and directed by Deepa Mehta, produced by David Hamilton, Ajay Virmani and Carnelia Frieberg. Sandeep Chowtha scores the music to Ajay Virmani and Jaideep's lyrics. David Connoly is choreographer and the film is being distributed in Canada by Mongrel Media Inc.