Il Postino star Maria Grazia Cucinotta is to co-produceand star in a new Indian-Italian film entitled Bollywood Cop.

Writtenand directed by Aditya Bhattacharya (Senso Unico), the $2.5m(Euros 2m) project is an action movie-noir set in Mumbai, about a rogue cop whobecomes obsessed with the actress he is protecting.

Rome's IstitutoLuce is backing the film and has Italian distribution rights. Bhattacharya isproducing through his outfit, Destiny Pictures, with Cucinotta.The Italian actress was recently one of the producers behind collective UNESCOfilm, All TheInvisible Children.

Bollywood Copis expected to start shooting in Mumbai for eight weeks in January or February2007.

Itwill star Irrfan Khan (The Warrior, The Namesake) and Nandana Sen (The War Within).

Cucinotta will play the role of a star hired toperform an 'item number,' one of the raunchy song and dance numbersthat regularly appear in Indian films but usually have little to do with thefilm's plot. A host of foreigners have recently starred in Indian films as itemgirls, including Samantha Fox and Geri Halliwell.

Meanwhile,Destiny is also lining up an Italian-Indian co-production entitled Sandokan In Sicily,about an Indian action movie actor who is called back into action by the Sicilianmafia. The film will star Kabir Bedi.

Otherprojects include Badlapur (Revengetown),UK, about a robbery in England, and a film entitled Inflammable (akaThe Singh Enterprise) based on thereal story of a self-made Sikh multi-millionaire who lived in Brooklyn and had his own hitsquad.

India has an official treatywith Italy, which coversco-productions, help for crews shooting in Italy or India, training programmes andmutual film promotion.

UpcomingItalian-Indian projects include Francesca Archibugi'sLezioni di Volo, an English-language drama about two Italians inIndia who encounter a disillusioned French doctor. The film, produced by Cattleya, is currently in post.

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