MUMBAI, June 12: US entertainment giant Walt Disney on Tuesday signed a deal in Mumbai with Yash Raj Films to make animated movies using the voices of Bollywood stars.

The first movie to be made as part of the venture is titled “Roadside Romeo” a full-animation Hindi-language movie sprinkled with song, dance and action sequences due for release in 2008, the two firms said in a statement.

Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor will do the voice-overs for the movie, the statement said.

“This will help us strengthen local understanding of culture, art and music in India. We, on our own, cannot make a good Indian film,” Mark Zoradi, marketing president for Walt Disney Studios, told reporters in Mumbai.

The tie-up “marks the first time for both companies to enter in a co-production to produce films in India,” a statement issued by Disney on Monday said.

Yash Raj is known in India for traditional Bollywood song-and-dance love stories, but this year experimented with animation in “Hum Tum” (You, Me) and “Ta Ra Rum Pum” (Don't worry be happy).—AFP