Bollywood Genre

Auditioning in December for the role of a Bollywood villain, Rajan Verma was asked to act like a man attacking a train or a building. He clutched a toy gun and spewed out what he hoped sounded like a venomous diatribe. Verma, 28, had no idea what the movie was about. But when the casting director handed him a black T-shirt, beige cargo pants, a blue backpack and a replica of an AK-47 assault rifle, he knew instantly.

It's 8 p.m. Friday and the historic Towne Theatre downtown is sold out. About 500 moviegoers have crowded into the three-screen movie house, paying up to $12 a ticket to watch not the latest Hollywood blockbuster but instead the premieres of three Indian movies that are opening simultaneously in India. Tonight's showcase feature: the Tamil action thriller "Aadhavan" starring hunk Surya Sivakumar, who enjoys rock-star status among fans known to break out in cheers when his image appears on screen.

Fans OF Bollywood music and cinema will get a hefty dose of the stuff when The Unforgettable Tour -- reportedly the largest Bollywood live entertainment show ever to have left India -- lands at the Los Angeles Sports Arena this weekend.

"We are gay -- this is my boyfriend." The shock in this statement comes not so much from what is being said but who is saying it. The speaker in question is John Abraham, an A-list Bollywood hero, known for his chiseled chest and sexy smirk. The "boyfriend" is being played by Abhishek Bachchan, another well-known actor who is considered Bollywood royalty (he is the son of superstar Amitabh Bachchan and the husband of leading actress Aishwarya Rai).

TO anyone who has ever seen a Bollywood film, the moves are instantly recognizable: the nifty shoulder swivel, the delicate flourish of a hand, the undulating hips and swaying torso. Now those very moves -- a staple of popular Hindi films -- are also the path to fitness.

Want to learn how to dance like a "Slumdog Millionaire"? As part of the pre-Oscar hoopla, personable 33-year-old Artesia-based Bollywood choreographer Nakul Dev Mahajan was called in to instruct media personalities and television viewers in one of the most popular dance forms in the world, a combination of classical Indian dance, folk dance and Western styles like hip-hop, Latin and jazz.

"Baywatch" and "Knight Rider" may raise sniggers from highbrow critics at home, but they are still going strong in India -- so much so that David Hasselhoff, who starred in both TV series, was voted international star of the year at this year's annual Bollywood Movie Awards. The ceremony was held Saturday at the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City as part of Bollywood's bid to be considered a global force in cinema.

A Bollywood romance film about an Indian expatriate who wins his love by charming her conservative parents played for a record 500th week in a row Friday at a theater in Bombay. "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (The Braveheart Will Take the Bride), starring Indian heartthrob Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, has played nonstop at Maratha Mandir since its release in October 1995, industry officials said.

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's ... the superhero monkey god? While Bollywood stars often achieve a mythical status in film-crazy India, Hanuman, the star of India's first animation feature film, is a genuine deity drawn from the Hindu pantheon. Over the years, India's burgeoning animation and special effects industry has cut its teeth working for foreign production houses -- drawn to South Asia by lower costs -- but "Hanuman" is the industry's first full-length, homegrown animation feature.

Outside, it's the usual Sunset Strip scene: A clipboard jockey checks his list, a bouncer cards for sneaky teens and a line of fabulously dressed twenty- and thirtysomethings moves through the doors. But inside, the Key Club has abandoned its rock 'n' roll vibe for an entirely different aura. The sound system is alive with exotic beats, bursts of strings and acrobatic Hindi vocals. The stage is aflutter with veiled dancers swirling before a bhangra house band and singer.