MGlobal Trust, UCLA bringing Bollywood to Hollywood.

BOLLYWOOD is coming to Hollywood this summer.

India Splendor, a festival that will run from Aug. 10-15 at UCLA, is intended to bring the latest offerings in Indian independent cinema, arts and technology to Los Angeles.

The festival is sponsored by MGlobal Trust; the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television; and Art-Wallah, an organization that promotes South Asian arts and culture.

The project is the brainchild of Indian telecom mogul MGlobal Trust Chairman B.K. Modi, who lives in Beverly Hills.

The idea, Modi said, is to raise the profile of Indian entertainment fare in the Hollywood studio system and to capitalize on the growth of the Indian film market. He said he felt that despite significant press coverage in the U.S., the content isn't on the radar of the majority of Angelenos.

It's a lucrative sector--the Indian movie market was worth a reported $2.1 billion last year, a jump of almost 25 percent over the previous year.

The festival will coincide with the 60th anniversary of India's independence.

Among the India Splendor events are a dialogue with former Indian Prime Minister Shri H. D. Gowda, a Samuel Goldwyn Theater screening of the Hindi feature "Chak de India" (Come On India), an Indian fashion show and an appearance by Ben Kingsley at a screening of "Ghandi."

Modi is currently bankrolling "Buddha" a $120 million English-language biopic through his M Pictures and Buddha Films, Modi's Hollywood-based entertainment outfit.

The film is the first filmmaking venture for Modi, who also has real estate ventures in India, including an eight-screen multiplex theater. He has tapped Hollywood-based producers Michael Shane and Anthony Romano ('T Robot" and "Catch Me If You Can") for the film, which will be packaged for global distribution.

Staff reporter Anne Riley-Katz can be reached at [e-mail] or at [phone], ext. 225.