Radhika Bhirani

New Delhi, July 17 (IANS): Indonesian actress Christine Hakim, who grew up seeing Shammi Kapoor films and wants to make a movie with Indian filmmaker Ketan Mehta, says Bollywood films and music are very popular in her country.

"A lot of Bollywood content is shown on TV in Indonesia. Bollywood existed in my country even before I was born. I remember seeing Shammi Kapoor's Dil deke dekho as a school student," Christine said.

She is in the national capital to head the jury for the Asian-Arab section of the ongoing 10th Osian s-Cinefan Film Festival. Four of the versatile actress films are also being showcased at the July 10-20 gala. "The best part about being at a film festival is that you can watch films from all over the world, which isn't quite possible sitting in one's own country. I am really having fun in India," Christine told IANS.

Christine, 52,who has acted in over 30 Indonesian films and many television serials, was given the Jawaharlal Nehru Award by the Indian government in 1993. She wants to continue her association with India and is in talks with Mehta for a collaborative venture. "Ketan and I were talking about how we can do something together on a film and, who knows, we might have a chance," she said. --Indo-Asian News Service rb/sh/pg (492 Words) ** 17070734 NNNN NNNN