Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor on set in North Sydney

THE streets of North Sydney will be bursting with colour and song when filming of a Bollywood remake of Julia Roberts movie Stepmom gets underway.

Featuring brightly coloured saris and traditional Hindi singing and dancing with a modern twist, it will chart the story of an Indian family coping with the turbulence of a divorce.

The yet unnamed film which has the working title of Production Number 18 is the first Bollywood movie to be set entirely in Sydney and filming is due to start later this month.

``This movie will take Sydney to Bollywood and an audience of more than one billion people,’’ Virginia Judge, Minister Assisting the Premier on the Arts, said.

Anu Sharma, head of Sydney-based film company Temple, said the production would also create almost 300 jobs including extras, cast members and crew.

It is the first Australian production from iconic film maker Karan Johar, principal of Dharma Productions, and will feature glamorous Bollywood stars Kareena Kapoor and Kajal.

``We are excited to showcase the very best that Australia has to offer and we hope to bring back some of the infectious spirit and charm that has become synonymous with Australia and Australians,’’ Mr Johar said.

Links between the Indian and Australian film industries date back to the 1940s while Mr Sharma said this project was a ``big boost for Indo-Australian film links’’.Director Siddhartha Malhotra said Sydney was a ``film friendly place’’ which had the best locales worldwide and suited the script requirements. Mr Sharma said the exact locations and dates of filming were yet to be finalised.

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