Often accused of ripping off plot lines from Hollywood, it was perhaps only a matter of time before India’s Bollywood launched its own ‘Walk of Fame’ in the style of Los Angeles’ iconic boulevard. Indian cinema’s ‘Walk of the Stars’ was launched Wednesday evening on a seaside promenade in the Bandra district of Mumbai. Like the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, Mumbai’s new pathway will bear handprints and signatures of numerous actors-along with a handful of life-size brass statues depicting some of the industry’s best-known stars. The street will first pay homage to the Kapoor family. But not all of Bollywood’s biggest names are backing the project, with a rival walkway, initiated by actor and architect Ritesh Deshmukh, also in the works in the same part of the city.Deshmukh said he has signed up 20 stars for his own path of fame, including Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan, two of India’s favourite film stars. Deshmukh plans to call his project ‘Legends Walk’.
