From beer to Bollywood!

Liquor baron Dr Vijay Mallya is all set to flirt with lady-luck in Bollywood.

The business honcho has now turned producer with The Forest. The film about a man-eating leopard will be directed by Ashvin Kumar and stars Javed Jafferi, Nandana Sen, newcomer Ankur Vikal and Salaam Bombay boy Salim. Kumar is the son of designer Ritu Kumar (who's the film's stylist) and had earlier made the Oscar-nominated film Little Terrorist which earned accolades at all major film festivals across the globe.

Interestingly, however, this is not Mallya's first tryst with Bollywood. He had part-financed the Sanjay Dutt-Bipasha Basu starrer Rakht in 2004. But with The Forest, he's ready to make his debut as a full-fledged producer.

Confirming this, he says, "I am presenting this as an example of the way cinema should be made out of India. It is at par with anything produced internationally, and in India, it raises the bar high. We will be releasing it in a big way."

Talking about the director, he adds, "Cinema is about talent and I spotted his talent early on and wanted to encourage him. Already, he is one of the few Indians with an Oscar nomination. As you'll see in The Forest, his movies will appeal to audiences all over the world."