London: "Bombay Dreams", Britain's first all-Asian musical - is to be rewritten with new white characters to make it more "accessible" to American audiences.

According to a report in 'The Telegraph', Lord Lloyd Webber, the producer of the 4.5 million-Pound Bollywood extravanganza, believes that the additions to the cast are essential for its transfer to Broadway, where it opens in January.

Introduced by Thomas Meehan, the writer of Broadway hits such as "The Producers" and "Hairspray", the characters are two American tourists who explain the mysteries of Bombay life to the audience. The white characters are first-time visitors to Bombay.

They will wander in and out of the show interacting with the main characters and "interpreting" the sights, sounds and language of India for Broadway audiences.

Meera Syal, the actress and author who wrote the script for the West End production said that the changes were vital to help Americans understand the show, which tells the story of a slum-dweller who is given a chance of film stardom.

The show is modelled on Bollywood films, which blend music, drama and dance in a traditional formula centred on a "boy meets girl" story, with a background of family intrigue.

While Don Black, the show's Oscar-winning lyricist feels that changes are necessary, Ismail Merchant, the Indian-born film producer who has a home in New York, said that he could see no need to change the show for the benefit of Americans, says the report.

Though the film had a limited release in America because cinema bosses feared it would struggle to find an audience, it has since taken more than 10 million Pounds.

ANI