Bollywood and South Asian cinema are getting a boost with two top US cable companies offering such content sponsoring the annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival (MIAAC) in New York City in November.

For the Nov 7-11 seventh MIAAC festival, Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey has teamed up again with Saavn (formerly BODVOD Networks) that powers the Bollywood category on Time Warner Cable International Movies On Demand Channel 500 with movies from UTV, Adlabs and Yash Raj Films.

"We are excited to be working with Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey this year," said Aroon Shivdasani, executive director of Indo-American Arts Council that has been bringing the finest films of Indian independent and diaspora cinema to New York for seven years.

"The availability of International Movies On Demand is an important step towards highlighting Indian cinema. MIAAC's commitment to present quality Indian cinema creates a perfect partnership with Time Warner Cable's commitment to ensure availability of these genres."

Leading up to the film festival, Time Warner Cable and Saavn launched their Summer of Love campaign. The promotion celebrated premieres of "Jaan-E-Mann", the comedy set in New York, and "Umrao Jaan", starring the newly-married Bollywood power couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan. The epic Moghul-era romance "Umrao Jaan" made its North American premiere at IAAC's film festival last November.

"Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey is excited to sponsor the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival. Through this partnership, we're proud to deliver even more Bollywood and South Asian movies to our customers through International Movies On Demand," said David Goldberg, vice president, Marketing Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey.

"To help serve the diverse, multicultural communities in our service area, we're delighted to offer international films that can be enjoyed by South Asian and mainstream viewers alike," added Goldberg.

2007 marks a groundbreaking year for the convergence of Hollywood and Bollywood. Eyes are turning towards the East, as Hollywood studios are beginning to invest in Bollywood films.

Warner Brothers, Viacom, Disney and Sony Pictures are now all part of the booming Indian movie-making industry. Bollywood hero Salman Khan has been attached to two upcoming pictures with Indian Film Company and Viacom.

Not to be left out of the Bollywood game, Sony Pictures has its hands on "Saawariya", made by acclaimed director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

(IANS)