Ramzi blog

'X-Men' star Jackman keen on Bollywood move

Hollywood heartthrob Hugh Jackman said Friday he was keen to work in Bollywood -- and gyrated to a song-and-dance sequence with Indian megastar Shah Rukh Khan to prove it.

The Australian-born actor danced with Khan in Mumbai at the close of Asia's largest entertainment convention, where they shared centre stage with Bollywood producer Karan Johar.

Jackman, star of the "X-Men" movies, said that while few Americans may have seen a Bollywood film, "they all know about your film industry."

"Indian cinema is growing every year. I hope to do a Bollywood movie someday," Jackman told a packed audience.

Jackman and Khan said that India's film industry had changed in recent years, with large foreign film studios such as Disney, Paramount, Fox and Warner distributing and producing films in India.

"Movies like 'Monsoon Wedding' and Oscar-winner 'Slumdog Millionaire' have enhanced India's image further," Jackman, who is touring India with his wife Deborra-Lee Furness, said.

News Corp top executive James Murdoch, who also attended the conference on Wednesday, called India's media industry a "sleeping tiger" as a report forecast the sector would double its revenues to nearly $30 billion by 2015.

The report by consultancy firm KPMG said India's media and entertainment industry grew 11 percent in 2010 to post revenues of 652 billion rupees ($14.54 billion).

India's media industry has bounced back from the global financial downturn but experts say foreign investment in radio, direct-to-home and print media companies is relatively low, compared with developed countries.