Wednesday, March 30 2005 14:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Acknowledging the growing popularity of Indian films in the United Kingdom, Britain said that it hopes to sign a co-production treaty with India to attract filmmakers.

"There is a very clear appetite for Indian films in the UK and India is one of the five countries with whom we want to sign a bilateral co-production treaty," British Minister for Culture, Media and Sport Tessa Jowell said in New Delhi yesterday (Mar 29, 2005).

She said that this way Indian filmmakers would also be able to get the tax advantages that Britain extended.

"There is already one statement of intent signed but the UK film industry wants to sign a second one. We are looking at co-produced films with tax benefits available for movies which spend a 30 per cent of their total cost in UK," Jowell told reporters.

China, South Africa, Morocco and Jamaica are the other four countries with which Britain is keen to sign similar agreements, she said.

There has been an increase in audiences for Indian and British films distributed in each other's countries.

Among those movies, which made it big were Gurinder Chaddha's 'Bend It Like Beckham' which grossed more than a $ 1 million in India.

Other examples of films which where produced in the two countries include the English film 'The Warrior', which was filmed in Rajasthan, and Hindi films 'Mohabbetein' (filmed in Warminster, Bath and Oxford) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which used more than six locations in Britain.