For $ 10, a match, movie, history class...

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">every time aishwariya rai swishes her filmy white drapes against a brooding scottish castle and a lowering, typically english but rose-tinted skyline, it is love all over again for one of the most unlikely romances of them all. britain and bollywood. consider the facts: • britain is home to 2.5 million movie-mad south asians; • bollywood’s uk box-office takings last year were an estimated 7 million pounds; • cineworld, the company that owns a significant chunk of britain’s multiplex cinema chains, tells this paper its 40 new multi-screen halls will aggressively target hindi film audiences.so, just how big are we, compared to the beefiest kid on the block — hollywood? more crucially, how big can we grow? ‘‘a great deal is possible,’’ says karsten grummit of the leicester-based dodona cinema research agency, which compiles the influential, acknowledged global industry bible that helps decide the future offerings of cinema halls and distributors. grummit, who wrote a special analysis on bollywood three months ago, gives it the thumbs-up. ‘‘the uk is a big market for indian films, but i think the crossover business has to grow, else the hindi film industry will suffer the fate of the hong kong one. bollywood producers must make films for white, western export rather than just expatriate indians.’’ in the us too, as the growing south asian community becomes more mainstream, mumbai’s moviedom is beginning to expand beyond its usual audience. adam fier who heard the sound track of taal in a friend’s car in washington two years ago, saw the movie in a cineplex in arlington, virginia and went on his first trip to india humming the tunes. since then, an occasional hindi movie outing is routine for this nasa computer jock. such widening interest in indian movies is what’s driving many american newspapers, among them los angeles times and chicago tribune, to review bollywood blockbusters in their columns. lagaan, for instance, invited gushing notice, not so much from the critical or cinematic angle, but from the popular and ethnic perspective. as chicago tribune’s monica eng wrote: ‘‘a friend dropped out of my indian film expedition last friday night because he had ‘some nightclubbing’ to catch up on. but what he didn’t realise is that our film excursion would not be that different from a night of clubbing. in fact, by the time i left rogers park’s adelphi theater at nearly 1 a.m. (after watching lagaan), i felt like i had been to a nightclub, a concert, a history seminar, a movie and a cricket match all in one. all for a mere $10.’’ the latest to to catch their fancy is mira nair’s monsoon wedding . it is becoming a hit in the us despite a limited release. india could well become the flavour of the season here too. <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">related stories:</span><br /><img src="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" alt="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" border="0" /> <a href="articleshow.asp?art_id=4721128">it''s a sure six</a><br /><img src="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" alt="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" border="0" /> <a href="articleshow.asp?art_id=4721032">done the thing right</a><br /><img src="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" alt="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" border="0" /> <a href="articleshow.asp?art_id=4720907">they don''t play it like us</a><br /><img src="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" alt="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" border="0" /> <a href="articleshow.asp?art_id=4720815">la''gaan with the wind</a><br /><img src="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" alt="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" border="0" /> <a href="articleshow.asp?art_id=4720741">for $ 10, a match, movie, history class...</a><br /><img src="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" alt="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//ticker.gif" border="0" /> <a href="articleshow.asp?art_id=4719514">a perfect piece of work, says big b</a><br /><img src="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//redbull.gif" alt="C://DOCUME~1//ADMINI~1//LOCALS~1//Temp//cms_files//4720741-open//images//redbull.gif" border="0" /> <a href="articlelist.asp?catkey=4174009&daysactive=365">full coverage: oscars 2002</a><span style="" color:=""> </span></div> </div>