News that the New York Film Academy, which boasts Spielberg and other Hollywood luminaries among its lecturers, will set up shop in India has been welcomed as a sign of the country's flourishing film market.
The film and acting school already hosts workshops in Mumbai, the home of Bollywood, but with this move the school has invested a substantial stake in the Indian film market.
"We hope to create a new generation of film-makers," Kitty Koo of the New York Film Academy (NYFA) told the BBC.
And the Indian film fraternity thinks some healthy competition is long overdue. Internationally acclaimed actor Om Puri told the BBC that such competition would boost India's film market.
"There are many institutes in India teaching the art of acting and film-making but, to be honest, they are not performing well enough," he said.
"If institutions like the New York Film Academy come to India to train prospective students in this field, this will be really beneficial for the industry as the different perspectives Hollywood people have are much needed in India."
This is indeed part of the thinking of the academy: "The students want to explore and learn new things and techniques, learn how Americans make movies and come back and share," Ms Koo said.
Their proposed Indian branch will have its campus in Greater Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi.
But the arrival of a New York competitor on Indian soil has not daunted the local institutes. The director of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) echoed Puri's sentiment that more competition will only work for the best.
Where the New York Film Academy only began life in New York's Bohemian Tribeca district in 1992, FTII has has a long and illustrious history producing alumni such as directors Subhash Ghai and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
"We never shy away from such competition. We will continue with our good work as the institution has been doing for last 50 years. India is a free country where anyone is welcomed to start such an academy," FTII's director DJ Narain said.
It is a prestigious institution and the director believes that competition from NYFA will not deter prospective students from coming to Pune, where the FTII is based, so close to Mumbai, the beating heart of Bollywood.
He added that the FTII was re-positioning itself as an international training ground saying that "many students come from many countries to learn about the art of film making."
But the NYFA will bring all the clout and big names of Hollywood to benefit its Indian students.
Apart from New York City, the academy also has campuses in Universal Studios in Brisbane and Abu Dhabi and these campuses have hosted guest lecturers such as Steven Spielberg and actor Kevin Spacey.
Ms Koo is hopeful that such stars would also be able to visit India's branch, depending, of course, on their availability.

Profile
Date of Birth: 13th November, 1911.
Date of Death: 10th December, 2001.
Nickname:
Dadamoni
Education:
Graduate (Presidency College, Kolkata).
Debut Film:
"Jeevan Naiya"
Film Awards: Filmfare Best Actor Award for "Rakhi"
BFJA Best Actor
for "Gumrah"
Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for "Afsana"
Filmfare Best Actor Award for "Aashirwaad"
National Film Awards for Best Actor for "Aashirwaad"
BFJA Best Actor for "Aashirwaad"
Dadasaheb Phalke Award;
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award

Ashok Kumar started his career in films accidentally with the Bombay Talkies film "Jeevan Naiya". The actor of the film "Jeevan Naiya" ran away with lead female of the film, Devika Rani, who was the wife of the director of the film. Now the company needed a new hero for the film. At that time Ashok Kumar was a laboratory assistant in the same production company. The director and studio head, Himanshu Rai, called Ashok Kumar to act in the film and thus began a six-decade-long acting career. However, it was his subsequent venture with Devika Rani in the film "Acchut Kanya " the same year that established him as an actor in the film industry. The movie itself stands out as one of the heralding social dramas of pre-independence Indian films. It was the story of a Brahmin boy falling in love with a girl from a lower caste, the so called untouchables in Indian society. It was a big hit and started the trend of socially committed films.
Thereafter Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar did a string of films such as "Izzat", "Savitri" and "Nirmala ". But Ashok Kumar's performance was overshadowed by Devika Rani's acting as she was a bigger star. He came into his own with films like "Kangan", "Bandhan" and "Jhoola" opposite Leela Chitnis. Ashok sang his own songs in the films as it was customary at that time in the film industry.
Ashok Kumar gave several hits including the most famous "Main Ban Ka Panchi" He was one of the first anti-heroes of Indian cinema with his role in the film "Kismet". This movie created a record for the highest grossing film in India at that time. He was fondly called Dadamuni and produced several films for Bombay Talkies including the famous "Mahal" in which he co-starred with Madhubala. In the late 1960s he switched to character roles playing the parent, grandparent and dirty old man.
He paired up with the queen of tragedy and one of the best actresses ever seen in Bollywood, Meena Kumari, in more than a dozen films such as "Parineeta", "Bahu Begum", "Pakeezah", "Ek Hi Raasta", "Bandish", and "Aarti".
Ashok Kumar also appeared on television, most famously anchoring the first Indian soap opera 'Hum Log 'and also appeared as the title character in the unforgettable 'Bahadur Shah Zafar'. His last film was "Aankhon Mein Tum Ho "in 1997.
Filmography
Lakshya, Rudraksh, Agni Varsha, Anthahpuram, Aankhon Mein Tum Ho, Dushman Duniya Ka, Return Of Jewel Thief, Beqabu, Yun Hi Kabhi, Aansoo Bane Angaarey, Humla, Maut Ki Saza, Majboor, Jaan-E-Wafa, Mamta Ki Chhaon Mein, Clerk, Dana Pani, Sachai Ki Taqat, Inteqam, Hifazat, Awaam, Mr India, Jawab Hum Denge, Pyar Ki Jeet, Woh Din Aayega, Dahleez, Shatru, Pyar Kiya Hai Pyar Karenge, Ram Tera Desh, Amma, Qatl, Beggar, Inteqam Ki Aag, Tawaif, Durga, Grahasthi, Phir Aayee Barsat, Ek Daku Shaher Mein, Bhago Bhoot Aaya, Farz Ki Keemat, Duniya, Akalmand, Farishta, Raja Aur Rana, Haadsa, Dard Ka Rishta, Chor Police, Mahaan, Prem Tapasya, Pasand Apni Apni, Bekrar, Love In Goa, Shakti, Mehandi Rang Layegi, Heeron Ka Chor, Janta Hawaldaar, Bagula Bhagat, Prayashchit, Dil Aur Deewar, Apna Khoon, Do Musafir, Tumhare Liye, Chor Ke Ghar Chor, Anpadh, Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan, Do Phool, Anmol Tasveer, Chala Murari Hero Banane, Heera Aur Patthar, Dream Girl, Mazdoor Zindabad, Anand Ashram, Jadu Tona, Anurodh Safed Jhooth, Mastan Dada, Khatta Meetha, Bhanwar, Hum Tum Aur Who, Rakhi Aur Hathkadi, Dil Daulat Duniya, Garam Masala, Purab Aur Pashcim Ganga Tera Pani Amrit, Door Ka Raahi, Aradhana, Jewel Thief, Chitralekha, Gumrah , Kanoon, Dark Street, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Howrah Bridge, Night Club, Talash , Kangan, Vachan, Nirmala, Izzat, Prem Kahani, Savitri, Jeevan Naiya, Achhut Kanya and Janmabhoomi.
Ashok Kumar Trivia
Ashok Kumar was elder brother of Kishore Kumar.
The three brothers, Ashok Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Anoop Kumar worked together in the comedy film "Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi".
Ashok Kumar stopped celebrating his birthday after the death of his youngest brother, Kishore Kumar in 1987.
He broke the tradition of theatrical role then prevalent in Indian cinema and started a natural style of acting.
Ashok Kumar was also a fine painter and also an active practitioner of homeopathy.
He died at the age of 90 in Mumbai. Altogether, he starred in over 275 films.

Bollywood is lurching with arms outstretched into new territory with its first zombie comedies, hoping to replicate the success of a host of light-hearted Hollywood movies about the living dead.
"Shaadi of the Dead" (Wedding of the Dead), starring Abhay Deol and up-and-coming female lead Genelia D'Souza, is due for release next year and centres around a zombie invasion at a Punjabi marriage ceremony.
The film will be vying for audiences with the Saif Ali Khan vehicle "Go Goa Gone", about a group of youngsters who fight an army of the undead in the Indian resort state of Goa.
Popular Western examples of the "rom-zom-com" (romantic zombie comedy) genre include "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), starring British comic Simon Pegg, and "Zombieland" (2009), with Woody Harrelson.
"Shaadi of the Dead" director Navdeep Singh is banking on the novelty value of the genre to suit the changing tastes of younger Indian film audiences now exposed to wider outside influences.
"We feel this idea of a zombie film is very fresh," he said. "It will be India's first zombie film. It is something that has never been tried in the Hindi film industry and so we feel it will work."
Bollywood may be famous for its stories of idealised love set to song and dance but belief in the supernatural is widespread in India and movie-makers have previously flirted with horror.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Ramsay family directed a string of schlock horror monster films, like "Hotel", "Purana Mandir" (The Old Temple), "Veerana" (Wilderness) and "Purani Haveli" (The Old Mansion).
The movies are cult viewing among many Indian film fans.
But after the Ramsay brothers' "Bandh Darwaza" (Closed Door) in 1990, the genre all but disappeared, as film-makers returned to well-worn themes of love and romance.
The last decade, however, saw a partial horror revival, as directors began to experiment with different themes, introducing better production values and special effects to the shaky sets and flimsy plots of old.
Ram Gopal Verma brought out "Bhoot" (Ghost) and "Darna Mana Hai" (Being Scared Forbidden) in 2003, using more mainstream actors such as Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan and Shilpa Shetty.
Saurab Narang's "Vaastu Shastra" (Possession, 2004), and "Raaz" (Secret, 2002) director Vikram Bhatt's "1920", released in 2008, were well received. Bhatt also released a 3-D horror film "Haunted" this year.
Navdeep Singh admits that in previous years, making a zom-com would be a risk, with most Indian film-makers pandering to conservative audiences in providing a bread-and-butter diet of strong-jawed heroes and doe-eyed heroines.
But he added: "Things have changed a lot now and producers want to take a risk with films on different subjects. And 'Shaadi of the Dead' is one of them because the script of the film has come to me from Siddharth Jain."
Jain, widely known as Sid, is an emerging Bollywood film-maker and entrepreneur who is head of Mumbai-based iRock Films.
Earlier this year, he co-produced the paranormal thriller "Ragini MMS", with Ekta Kapoor, whose "Love, Sex Aur Dhokha" (Love, Sex and Betrayal, 2010) was hailed as groundbreaking for of its use of hand-held and security cameras.