MUMBAI: Often accused of being inspired by plot lines from Hollywood, it was perhaps only a matter of time before India's Bollywood launched its own “Walk of Fame” in the style of Los Angeles' iconic boulevard.
Indian cinema's “Walk of the Stars” is to be launched Wednesday evening on a seaside promenade in the Bandra district of Mumbai, the country's entertainment capital -- the first of two competing projects under way in the city.
“We thought it would be a good idea for us to create something as a tribute to the biggest superstars of the industry,” said Nikhil Gandhi, business head of the UTV Stars television channel, which has set up the walkway.
“The idea is to get fans closer to the superstars.”Like the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, Mumbai's new pathway will bear handprints and signatures of numerous actors -- along with a handful of life-size brass statues depicting some of the industry's best-known stars.
The street will first pay homage to the Kapoor family, “because they're technically the first family of Bollywood”, Gandhi said.
Kareena Kapoor, currently one of the highest-paid actresses in the country, is the main guest at the launch, where statues of the late Raj and Shammi Kapoor, her legendary grandfather and great uncle, will be unveiled.
But not all of Bollywood's biggest names are backing the project, with a rival walkway, initiated by actor and architect Ritesh Deshmukh, also in the works in the same part of the city.
“I started collecting hand prints of actors over the past 10 months and these hand prints will be placed at Bandra promenade,” Deshmukh said. “The place will be called 'Legends Walk'.”Gandhi said he had heard about Deshmukh's project but denied there was any rivalry. “It's not about 'may the best man win'. It's a free of charge thing.”
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