Hindi film channel, Bollywood For You (B4U), backed by UK entrepreneur Lakshmi Mittal, is preparing for an ambitious launch in the Indian market in the second half of this year.

The seven-month-old channel has already bought domestic TV rights for more than 1,000 films in preparation for its launch in the subcontinent. The Mittal-backed consortium is also poised to launch M4U, a channel devoted to Indian music. The music channel is scheduled to start broadcasting in India on April 12 and Europe on May 5.

The consortium hopes to bring four channels including French music channel MCM and Fashion TV to the Indian market by the end of the year. B4U was launched in the UK last August and the US on February 15. The New Jersey-based US channel is available as a pay service on Echostar's Dish Network for $13 a month.

B4U has bought international rights to about 750 Hindi films in the last seven months which it plans to broadcast outside India. Mittal has also tied up with film financier Bharatbhai Shah to form Mega Bollywood, which is investing $25m in backing new films.