So we've all heard that the Indian film industry is the world's biggest, but I've always thought it was very "local". Just imagine, in India alone there's already more than 600 million people, so they got volume. I guess I've underestimated the Indian diaspora which has never been as affluent as the Chinese one, or so it seemed. But last night I went to see Salaam Namaste, the reigning champ at India's National Box Office. I think I saw that film not because it was a huge movie in India, but because it actually premiered around the world just like a Hollywood movie. I was amazed that here in the suburb city of Laurel, Maryland they actually play a Bollywood movie. And to my even bigger surprise, they're playing the movie in pretty much every major city in the US and the world, from New York to Sydney to Abu Dhabi.

I can't help comparing India with Hong Kong or South Korea, the up-and-coming player in the world film industry. Obviously there is a market for Korean or HK-made Chinese films in the US. If there's enough Indian emigrés to support showings of Indian films, I'm quite sure in cities like LA, DC, or NY there is just as many Chinese immigrants or descendants. Ditto with Koreans (North and South). But how come there's virtually no Korean or Chinese presence in US theaters? Yes, there are Wong Kar-Wai's films from time to time and South Korean art films. But where are the blockbusters?

This Asian population has really been neglected by the showbiz distributors in the US: music and movies. I know so many Asians (Central to East, South to North) that still follows their country's pop culture. These guys (and gals, of course) would definitely pay to see the latest Andy Lau film or buy the soundtrack to Shakrukh Khan's latest flick. But so far I don't think we have the option. Perhaps those of us who live in NY or LA, but still, we have to scour the Chinatowns instead of browsing in the air-conditioned aisles of Virgin Megastores.

But perhaps things are changing. MTV recently launched their Indian subchannel, MTV Desi. This, supposedly, will be followed by the Korean and Chinese counterparts, MTV K and MTV Chi. Let's hope the advertisers see the potential in this huge, untapped market. How big? In its first week, Salaam Namaste managed to drew $934,200 in the UK, $1.08 million in US & Canada, $241k in Australia and $350k in the UAE.