Fortissimo Film Sales, the Amsterdam and Hong Kong-based sales house, has picked up worldwide rights to Indian director Deepa Mehta's new picture Bollywood Hollywood.

The film is described as a "musical romantic comedy, which crosses between the vibrant melodrama of Bollywood and the schematic mainstream cinema of Hollywood." The Toronto-set story is that of a Canadian-Indian dotcom millionaire who hires an escort girl to masquerade as his fiancee, only for the unlikely pair to start hitting it off for real.

Fortissimo co-chairman Wouter Barendrecht, said: "Deepa Mehta has an impeccable sense of character development and comedic timing, which makes this a charming film with truly international appeal."

Bollywood Hollywood, which was written and directed by Mehta, stars Rahul Khanna, Lisa Ray, Moushumi Chaterjee and Dina Pathak. It was produced by David Hamilton with Bob Wertheimer as co-producer. Executive producers are Hamilton, Ajay Virmani and Camelia Frieberg.

Mehta has completed four features but saw production shut down on Water, the third element in her Fire, Earth, Water trilogy, after violent protests from Hindu fundamentalists.

Fortissimo's Cannes screening schedule also includes Director's Fortnight picture Mon-Rak Transistor by Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Danny & Oxide Pang's The Eye, Tony Ayres Berlin Teddy Award-winner Walking On Water and Oxide Pang's One Take Only.