Growing Indo-Pakistani Community Taking Root in North Hollywood : Culture: Businesses are cropping up to serve the enclave, which some predict may grow to rival ‘Little India’ to the south.

At the Namaste U.S.A. store on Lankershim Boulevard, the shelves feature Indian foods ranging from lotus root syrup to shredded mango preserve, but the most popular fare are the Indian movie videos stashed behind the counter.

Store owner Zulfiqar Ali Engineer said the store has between 450 and 500 regular movie-rental customers, a number that continues to increase. And with such a clientele, there’s no shortage of demand for hot new releases such as the current “Khal Nayak” starring Sunjay Dutt, who was arrested as a suspect in a bombing case while the movie was being shot in Bombay.

“Everybody right now wants to see that movie,” Engineer said.

The success of the store’s video business is a testament to the popularity of the prolific Indian movie business, which, because it is based in Bombay, is known to its fans as “Bollywood.” And it is also a sign of a growing Indo-Pakistani enclave in North Hollywood.

According to the 1990 census, 633 Asian Indians live in the community, accounting for 8.3% of the total Asian population. That’s far short of the concentration in the “Little India” neighborhood in the Cerritos-Artesia area, home to the largest Indo-Pakistani community in Southern California. But residents like Bhawani Bhojwani believe a similar concentration could develop in North Hollywood.

“It’s possible, because a lot of (Indo-Pakistani) people are moving in here,” said Bhojwani, a native of Karachi, Pakistan.

Indian-run businesses have already made an impression along the commercial strips of Lankershim Boulevard and Vineland Avenue. There are three mini-mall convenience stores, the Tujunga Carwash, the Flamingo Motel, and the Punjab Auto Parts store. Namaste--the name is Hindi for “Hello, how are you doing?”--is the first business devoted to serving the Indo-Pakistani community in North Hollywood.

Next week, Namaste U.S.A. will begin selling 50 to 100 pounds a day of halal to meet a growing demand for the specialty meat, which is obtained and prepared according to Muslim customs.

“There are a lot of Muslims in this area, and the only place they have to go to get halal meat is downtown L.A.,” Engineer said. “That’s pretty far.”

But like other business owners in North Hollywood, the Indians are feeling the pinch of the recession and the slow pace of redevelopment. The venerable Salomi restaurant on Lankershim near Chandler Boulevard, for example, has fallen on hard times despite being located opposite the sparkling new Academy office complex.

“There is no walk-in trade,” complained Salomi owner Marjory Kadir, whose sumptuously furnished restaurant features a marble model of the Taj Mahal. “Nothing is happening. Business is going down and down. We’re worried, very worried, because we cannot make ends meet.”

Kadir, a native of New Delhi, doesn’t expect much help from her compatriots. “Our business does not depend on Indian people,” she said. “Our business is for foreigners. Indian people know how to cook their food at home.”

Culturally, the Indo-Pakistani community has yet to make a major impact on the area. An attempt to develop the famous El Portal theater as an Indian movie venue failed. There is a Sikh temple on Lankershim and a storefront mosque on Vineland, but Hindus have to go elsewhere--to a temple in Calabasas, for example--to worship.

The game of cricket is a passion, with several North Hollywood residents taking part in weekend league games at Woodley Park in Encino. A number of Indian field hockey stars have also recently visited the community and shown off their skills. “It’s in our blood,” Bhojwani said of the community’s devotion to cricket.

With the cricket season now in full swing, perhaps the only thing more popular among the Indo-Pakistani community in North Hollywood is Namaste’s video collection. According to Engineer, another hot title is “Aaina,” a “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”-type tale of a woman who dominates her younger sister. And copies of “Khal Nayak,” which was released in the United States only two weeks ago, don’t linger on the shelves for long.

“When a movie like that comes into the store, it goes like hot cakes,” Engineer said. “I’m the last one who gets to see it.”