Australian filmmaker Anupam Sharma on Bollywood influence in Australia: 'People knew of Hindi films in the country but...'

Australian filmmaker Anupam Sharma has spoken about the early challenges of bridging two vastly different film industries, the memorable milestones along the way — from Dil Chahta Hai to UnIndian — and how his latest initiative, the Southern Sitara film fund, aims to shape the future of Indo-Australian storytelling on screen.

Sharma said, “In Australia back those days, People knew of Bollywood — the song-and-dance spectacle — but didn’t grasp the regional diversity, the independent film movements, or the sheer emotional pull Indian films have over audiences.”

He added, “There was no road map, no studies ,no ‘how to’ guides. So we literally wrote one for Indian film makers – Your Guide to Australian Film Services, free for all and that had 12 editions. All challenges became huge opportunities when started work with Indian cinema because our first projects were for and with Mr. Feroze Khan, Mr. Rakesh Roshan, Mr. Yash Johar, Mr. Yash Chopra/ Aditya Chopra. And then came the game-changer Dil Chahta Hai .  We were embraced, encouraged and supported by so many in Australia. Weather it was the tourism department, the ministers or the film bodies, it was a golden era and in many ways bridges started forming on their own.”

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Talking about his cross-cultural projects, the filmmaker said, “UnINDIAN will always be special — not just because it was one of the first of its kind Australia-India cross-cultural films, but because it was unapologetically a rom-com that dealt with identity, belonging, and love across cultures.”

Sharma continued, " Watching an Aussie audience laugh at Indian family dynamics — and an Indian audience swoon over Brett Lee speaking Hindi — that was magic.
The highlight is of course Dil Chahta Hai.  This film not only redefined storytelling in Indian cinema but also revolutionized the way films were made. The Australian crew was over the moon when we all got a bound script a year before the shoot."

On announcing a film fund

With Southern Sitara, we’re not just planning on fundingfilms — we’re financing cultural sovereignty through storiesbetween Australia and India.

I met a dynamic duo of angel investors and financial/marketing specialists from Singapore and Australia – Jagdish Sidhu and Roshini Pandey. Their track record, passion for pictures, financial acumen meant we could consolidate and pool in various financial and management resources.  One thing lead to another and we launched Southern Sitara at Cannes Marche du Film early this year.

What makes Southern Sitara exciting for me is it’s not just money — it’s the whole ecosystem. We’ve got distribution lined up with ICON Films for English titles and Forum Films for Indian-language ones, plus teams across PR, legal, creative, and executive on both sides.