Bollywood to launch $100m Mumbai theme park

Bollywood is opening its doors to the public with a $100 million theme park that will allow fans behind the scenes of the world’s biggest cinema industry in terms of audience size.

The Mumbai-based project will be along the lines of Hollywood studio parks, according to Percept Holdings, the media and entertainment company behind the move. Due to open in 2008, it will cover 100,000 square feet, and offer the complete ‘Bollywood experience’, with a hall of fame, museums, rides, film sets, shoot visits and simulator experiences.

Bollywood turns out more than 800 films a year, and its stars enjoy unrivalled adulation from a huge fan base in India and abroad. "Bollywood accounts for over 40% of the total revenues of the overall Indian film industry but there is no organised format or means to consume this experience", Shailendra Singh, joint managing director of Percept Holdings told Reuters.

Despite its popularity the industry makes relatively little profit in Hollywood terms – last year revenues stood at half of those of the Walt Disney Studio alone – and studios are keen to exploit more opportunities across TV, the internet, video games and mobile phones.

Revenues are set to almost double in the next three years, from $1.75 billion in 2006 to $3.4 billion by 2010, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.