Fancy a samosa with your film? Big Cinemas, India's largest movie theater chain, has quietly acquired 18 theaters across the U.S. in the last 18 months, and is spending big bucks—$12 million—to upgrade and renovate the theaters. The company now operates 181 U.S. screens. Some show a mixture of Hollywood and Bollywood films, while a few exclusively feature Indian movies. Big Cinemas' aim is to cater to the 2.5 million Indian Americans, an affluent and fast-growing population often overlooked by Hollywood, and not just with films and theater-going snacks like papdichaat and mango lassi. In addition to films Big Cinemas also plans to show live cricket matches, Indian TV shows, and religious festivals beamed by satellite.
Read it at Los Angeles Times
