Hollywood's Bollywood fails to score

Hollywood's first stab at Bollywood has failed to hit the mark in India, London's Financial Times reports.

Sony Pictures' co-production of Saawariya premiered worldwide last month against Shah Rukh Khan's Om Shanti Om.

Om ruled the box office with the biggest opening weekend in India's moviemaking history, taking in about $19 million worldwide. The masala musical also cracked the top 10 in Toronto theatres when it opened here Nov. 9, the same day as Saawariya

But Saawariya struggled to find an audience, earning about a third less in Indian movie houses than its onscreen rival.

"I hope it will function as a wake-up call to investors in Hollywood," Mahesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based producer and director told the Times. "You may have your marketing network, you may have your inexhaustible financial resources, but you need to get a sense of the palate of the Bollywood consumer."

The Times points out the battle between Saawariya and Om Shanti Om comes as Hollywood – including Disney, Viacom, Warner and Twentieth Century Fox – are looking for a foothold in India's massive movie-making industry.