Amitabh Bachchan on CNN’s ‘Talk Asia’

Talks about changing force of Bollywood

The Western world is now showing interest in Hindi films - all because of its dance and music content, something that they ridiculed a few years ago, says megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

"We were ridiculed, and the West was very cynical about the way we made our films and the content - the songs and the dance, and the music was something that was kind of looked down upon many years ago.

"But that very aspect has now become its USP, and people love to see that. I would expect that this is how and what our cinema is all about," Amitabh said on CNN's show "Talk Asia".

Speaking about Hollywood-Bollywood collaborations, Amitabh said: "I think this has got to do a lot more with economics rather than sharing creativity... Hollywood is very healthy in their finance, they are using their money to invest in productions that are coming out of India. And in that respect, yes, holding hands with Hollywood companies or any other company is now becoming a routine."

Many Hindi films recently have seen international collaborations, including "Singh Is Kingg", which was produced by Warner Brothers, and animated film "Roadside Romeo" that was financed by Disney. "Kambakkht Ishq" featured Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards.

Amitabh himself will be sharing screen space with British actor Ben Kingsley in his forthcoming film "Teen Patti".