Fox to Produce a Hindi Film

Twentieth Century Fox will produce a Bollywood movie, the first time a foreign production house will produce a Hindi-language film, a Fox official said Friday.

Bollywood is the name often used for India’s Bombay-based film industry.

“It is a perfect match for both of us. The movie will have our strengths and we will also make sure the movie is successfully marketed and presented,” said Aditya Shastri, head of Fox’s India unit.

Fox has teamed with Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma for a thriller called “Ek Hasina Thi” (There Was a Beautiful Girl), to start filming in August, he said.

It will star Indian actors Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan and will cost about $1.2 million, he said.

“We are happy to tie up with Varma because of the quality of his films,” said Shastri.

Fox, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is in talks with Varma for two other projects.

Varma is well-known in India for directing films such as “Company,” released in April, about the Bombay mafia.

The film industry in India produces nearly 800 movies a year that are watched all over Asia, the Middle East and by Indian migrants worldwide.