Disney ‘toons in to India

The dreamy-eyed dogs in “Roadside Romeo” are classic Disney animation, but the song-and-dance numbers in Walt Disney’s first co-production in India are pure Bollywood.

The film, co-produced with Yash Raj Films, one of India’s top movie studios, represents Disney’s largest step yet in its bid to enter the Indian market.

First-time director Jugal Hansraj was told to make a movie rooted in Indian nuances. “They wanted a film that could be a Bollywood film if it were not an animation film,” he said.

In “Roadside Romeo,” which opened Friday in India and also is playing locally at the Naz8 Artesia in Lakewood, a twist of fate throws a spoiled brat onto Mumbai’s rough streets, where he meets a honey-eyed nightclub singer. Their romance is dogged by a snarling villain and fight sequences but blossoms nonetheless, and the film ends happily -- as if there could be any other way in Bollywood.

India -- with 350 million children under the age of 14 -- is a high-growth market for Disney, said Mahesh Samat, Disney’s India managing director. “A key part of our plan in India is building Disney as a family entertainment brand and building content with Indian characters,” he said.