MUMBAI: Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan today stressed the need for greater synergy between Hollywood and Bollywood but said what India needs is expertise and experience more than investments.

In his keynote address, Shah Rukh listed some fields in which this could be achieved: treating screenplay writing as a science and not merely an art; using VFX and animation to its full potential; and improving the science of marketing to build a symbiotic relationship with Hollywood.

Khan staunchly defended the star system in India and the United States and said this had sustained the cinemas in the two countries.

Khan referred to Jim Gianopolous of Fox Entertainment quoting him on seeing films being akin to brushing teeth in the morning in India and said entertainment had become the most important need of the people in India after ‘roti, kapda aur makaan’.

He said entertainment was being seen as the backbone of the economy with the country moving forward positively. He also referred to many Indian film conglomerates like UTV, Reliance ADAG and Studio18 teaming up with Hollywood giants to make films and said this emphasized the need for synergy.

He strongly criticized the use of the word cross-over films and said he had never been able to understand what it implied. At the same time, he said that Indian films could not cross the seven seas unless they learnt that three-hour films full of song and dance will not necessary sell in other countries. There was clearly a need for quid pro quo from the side of Hollywood as well, and so producers from there should be allowed to make films here.