Bollywood to get its
own Walk of Fame

MUMBAI - More than half a century after Hollywood honoured its heroes and heroines with a Walk of Fame, Bollywood will soon be getting its own ‘walk’ as a tribute to the numerous film legends, living and dead.

by

Nithin Belle

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Published: Fri 25 Nov 2011, 12:06 AM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 12:24 AM

“We have already identified about 60 names of Bollywood superstars who will be featured along the Walk of Fame,” Nikhil Gandhi, business head, UTV Stars, told Khaleej Times here on Tuesday. “It will include both the present superstars as well as those of yesteryears.” Hand impressions of living stars will be embossed on brass plates and laid on tiles along the path. UTV Stars Bollywood Walk of Fame will be located along the prominent Bandstand promenade at Bandra, which runs parallel to the sea. Bandra, known as the ‘queen of the suburbs,’ has been home to scores of Bollywood stars. In fact, the promenade weaves it way in proximity of the bungalows and apartments of several stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Shabana Azmi and Rekha. Pali Hill, Mumbai’s Beverly Hills, is also located a few minutes away and is home to stars such as Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Amir Khan, the Kapoors (Rishi, Neetu and Ranbir), Sanjay Dutt, and Arbaz and Malaika Arora Khan.

According to Gandhi, UTV Stars — dubbed the official channel of Bollywood, it went on air on August 15 – has tied up with the Bandra Residents Association (BRA), which manages the Bandstand promenade. It has also got the permission of the Bombay Municipal Corporation for maintaining the Walk of Fame, which could turn out to be a huge draw for tourists. Every day, thousands of visitors from other parts of India descend on Bandstand and Juhu (which is a few kilometres away), especially outside bungalows such as Mannat (Shah Rukh’s home at Bandra), and Pratiksha and Jalsa, the two bungalows where the Bachchans live. While Hollywood’s two-km-long Walk of Fame has nearly 2,500 five-pointed, terrazzo and brass stars embedded along the sidewalk (and attracts 10 million tourists annually), Bollywood’s version will initially feature 60 such tiles. But it will gradually increase over the years as new stars are added. “We will announce the names of the superstars in a few days and the work of getting their hand impressions and laying the tiles will begin by December,” says Gandhi.

nithin@khaleejtimes.com


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