Officials from the world's two largest film industries in India and the United States agreed to strengthen their cooperation Wednesday with the signing of an agreement.
The city of Los Angeles and the Indian film industry, represented by the Film and Television Producers Guild of India and the Film Federation of India, agreed to develop and strengthen motion picture production, distribution, technology, content protection and commercial cooperation between the two filmmaking communities.
This is the second major step towards economic development and cooperation between Hollywood and the Indian film industry this year,according to the Motion Picture Association of America(MPAA). In March, the two industries met in Mumbai to launch the Alliance Against Copyright Theft, a Bollywood-Hollywood content protection coalition in India.
"This declaration reinforces our city' s commitment to attracting international production," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said after attending the signing ceremony at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. "In the past year, we have already seen Hindi movies such as My Name is Khan and Kites filmed in Los Angeles, and we enthusiastically welcome further Indian production in Los Angeles."
The two sides also called for the creation of the Los Angeles-India Film Council to increase Indian film production in Los Angeles. The agreement was signed in conjunction with a two-day summit involving Hindi film officials, Hollywood studios and other film companies -- all focused on economic development and collaboration.
"The numerous co-productions with Indian studios over the past several years are evidence of a growing bond between our two industries. Today' s action is an important step toward furthering that growth,"Bob Pisano, President and Interim CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America said.
Hindi producer Bobby Bedi said the agreement was aimed at "sharing ideas and best practices on domestic and international film," "this agreement pulls us closer together."
Indian investment in Hollywood has been steadily increasing over the past several years, most notably with Indian entertainment conglomerate Reliance' s production and distribution deal with Dreamworks SKG, according to MPAA.
Some big-budget Indian productions were filmed in Los Angeles include: "Kites "(2010), "My Name is Khan" (2010), "Kambakkht Ishq" (2009), "Kaante" (2002) and "Pardes" (1997).
