MUMBAI: Channel Nine Entertainment, the US based production house, has bagged the Indian theatrical, satellite and video rights of the Hollywood blockbuster American Desi. 

The film is slated for a simultaneous release in India, Australia and South Africa following its release in the US, Canada and UK markets. Films like Monsoon Wedding and Bend It Like Beckham have paved the way for audience appreciating films in the same genre as "American Desi", says a company spokesperson. Audiences identify with contemporary films and style of film making that are close to reality unlike the melodramas of yesteryears."

American Desi, directed by Piyush Dinker Pandya is a romantic comedy reminiscent of the great teen films of the eighties like 16 Candles and Pretty in Pink, mixed with the fresh hip-hop style of House Party with a uniquely Indian flavour. From Kris, an All-American boy from India, to Ajay, an Afro-Centric Hindu homeboy, to Farah, a devoutly religious but modern Muslim girl, American Desi tells the story of a unique set of characters and their culture from a decidedly hip and youthful point of view.

The Indian-American comedy has become one of the top-grossing limited-release films in the UK market, says the company, with several multiplexes reporting that American Desi was their biggest picture on the weekend of 28 September 2001, trailing only Steven Spielberg's A.I. which was the nation's number one film during that period. Channel Nine Entertainment which debuted in the Hollywood film distribution business with American Desi, plans to release more Hollywood films.