PASSAGE TO INDIA

FOR six days starting Friday, a handful of Los Angeles venues will play host to venerable actors from India (even the couple dubbed “the Brangelina of India”), some of the country’s best-known movies, a parade of fashion models dressed in rustling embroidered silks and workshops helmed by some of India’s more prominent artists.

India Splendor, a multicultural event organized by the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in conjunction with MGlobal Trust, part of India-based telecommunications giant MCorpGlobal, is designed to showcase the film, fashion, art -- and even spirituality -- of India.

The timing couldn’t be better, given that these days Bollywood seems to be everywhere -- on the big screen, the small screen and the computer screen -- as India prepares to mark its 60th anniversary of independence on Wednesday.

“The consciousness of India in American culture has had its moments,” said Robert Rosen, dean of the UCLA school. “But the reality of India being a player on the world scene is a new reality. Above and beyond the issue of technology, the speed of economic growth and the relationship to American industry is the fact that India has an ancient culture and a new culture, and the full breadth of that needs to be brought more clearly into focus.”

After this week’s festival, “Marigold,” a joint film from Hyperion Pictures and Indian company Adlabs Films, will open in theaters Aug. 17. It stars an American actress (Ali Larter of “Heroes”) who finds herself stranded in India only to be cast in a Bollywood musical, where her life takes all sorts of new turns.

Even classic fairy tales are getting the Bollywood treatment. “Alice in Wonderland” is being revamped by the L.A.-based Blue 13 Dance company for “Paheliyan: The Story of Alice” on Aug. 24-25 at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre.

Meanwhile, with online offerings of Bollywood music and ring tones, pay-per-view movies on cable and classic Hindi cinema available through downloads, several media companies are bringing an assortment of Indian entertainment to people throughout the U.S.

“There seems to be a huge appetite for this type of content,” said Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, executive vice president of content strategy and acquisition at Joost, an Internet television service that provides free video content. “There’s the massive diaspora of India itself, and the growing interest from outside that community.”

Bodvod Networks in New York has cable deals with Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications to supply a rotation of new and old Indian films as video-on-demand options. Its sister company, Saavn, an Internet and ring tone provider, has joined forces with Joost to offer downloads of Bollywood music and movies. Separately, Jaman, an online community for world cinema based in San Mateo, Calif., offers about 70 films, a combination of classics -- including 30 of India’s best-known films, such as those by Satyajit Ray and Shyam Bengal -- and more glossy Bollywood movies.

Those behind the new offerings say they were motivated by the burgeoning demand for Hindi films, which are mostly associated with lavish song-and-dance sequences and stories steeped in family values and tradition. Theatrical access to these films is limited: Only about 80 screens around the U.S. regularly book Indian films; in the Los Angeles area, these include West Hills’ Laemmle Fallbrook 7, which opened “Gandhi, My Father” last week, and the Naz 8 multiplex in Artesia.

“We saw a real supply and demand imbalance,” said Vin Bhat, general manager for Bodvod Networks and Saavn. “We figured the only way to reach these people was through digital media.”

Bhat traveled to India in 2004 to meet with media companies that voiced their frustration with how little exposure Bollywood films were getting in the U.S., even though many of these films appear in top 20 box-office lists after they hit screens here. “But even then,” Bhat said, “it’s not like we can put it in theaters in Kansas or open another 500 screens in California.”

Through most of the studios in India, Bhat acquired the rights for video-on-demand and Internet distribution, which has been gathering momentum over the last several months. Bhat estimates he gets at least 60% of all films coming out of India, and can start offering them within a few months of their theatrical release. The movies are available for one to three months, after which a new batch takes their place.

“It’s just like renting a DVD from a video store, although most of these movies aren’t otherwise available, and a lot of the time they can’t be seen in the theaters,” said Aubrey Lewis, video product supervisor for Cox Communications in Atlanta, which offers Bollywood content to subscribers in Orange County and Palos Verdes.

Patti Rockenwagner, vice president of communications at Time Warner Cable, said the Bollywood offerings began in earnest about two months ago and let the company reach an increasingly diverse customer base. “It’s a terrific selection because it’s not a static platform and it allows us to have content that’s relevant,” she said.

On Joost, which is also increasing its Bollywood offerings of music videos taken from contemporary films, fans first must join the website, after which they can click on any shows and videos; the Hindi music videos come courtesy of Saavn as well as MTV Desi, a spinoff of MTV that caters to the South Asian community. Alberdingk Thijm said the company was also in talks to offer movies, TV series and reality programs from India.

“The big media companies don’t always have the bandwidth to cater to slightly more niche audiences,” she said. “A lot of people in the U.S. grew up with Indian parents and carry that cultural heritage but don’t have access to this kind of thing. And the full-screen video option allows for all the drama and romance of Bollywood movies.”

Still, it’s not all just about the glitz of Bollywood.

“Few people know about India’s rich cinematic history outside of Bollywood,” said Geetanjali Dhillon, executive producer of South Asia for Jaman, which recently announced an arrangement with India’s National Film Development Council for 30 of the country’s most renowned films.

“These are the hidden gems of Indian cinema, which in their remastered state can’t even be found in India,” Dhillon said. “The intention is to showcase the wide diversity of Indian cinema and to make it accessible in a fun, global, true web 2.0 way.”

weekend@latimes.com