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Indian cinema is entering a "golden period" and it is only a matter of time before an Indian film gains global acclaim and box office success, Bollywood star Anupam Kher told AFP on Wednesday.
Kher added that the success of "Slumdog Millionaire", a British-produced film with an all-Indian cast based on a novel written by an Indian author, had given increased credibility to the country's film industry.
"This is the golden period of Indian cinema," Kher said, while on a visit to his acting school in west London, dubbed a "Bollywood Academy". "This is the best time ... We are making films which can cater to world audiences."
Kher said that as levels of education improved among Indian audiences, the country's film-makers would be able to embark on ever more challenging projects. "Audiences have changed," he said.
"Audiences are much more educated now. Any cinema anywhere in the world, in any country, depends on what kind of audience they are catering to, because it is a business also.
He continued: "It's only going to get better now, because I don't think audiences are going to get regressive. They are going to be progressing throughout."
Asked whether, on the heels of "Slumdog", a fully-Indian film could win plaudits and achieve financial success worldwide, Kher was unequivocal: "Of course it's going to happen."
"Most of our films, they may be not English-language films, but they are movies that are being made now which are of international standard and they are doing wonderful business and also getting critical acclaim."
Kher noted that the success of "Slumdog" had "brought a certain stature and dignity to Indian cinema" but acknowledged that "having said that, after all, it is a (British director) Danny Boyle film."
"It happens to have Indian actors, which is an achievement, but it will be interesting to have an Indian director making an Indian film and then getting international acclaim and being a big box office hit."
"Slumdog", a rags-to-riches love story about an orphan who fights his way out of Mumbai slums on an Indian television game show, scooped four awards at the Golden Globes on the weekend.
Though it was made by a British director, screen-writer and production company, it features an Indian cast, co-director, music director and a part-Hindi dialogue, helping India embrace the movie as its own, with media coverage there eclipsing that for the country's official entry for the Oscars.
It does not conform to the stereotype of Bollywood -- melodramatic over-acting coupled with colourful song and dance -- and is one of several recent films to tackle subjects that would previously have been taboo.
In Kher's view, the future is as bright as could be for the country's film-making industry.
"Now onwards, in the last three years and for the coming years, it's going to be the best period for Indian cinema."
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