A new fund has invited British investors to put their money in the mammoth Indian film industry, the world's largest.

With export earnings now making up half the revenues of some films, the fund, which has media columnist and film producer Pritish Nandy as an adviser, is expected to generate some interest in Britain.

The Indian entertainment industry is estimated to be growing by 25 per cent a year to 3.1 billion pounds this year.

The fund is called Media Vision Management's Bollywood fund, and will allow institutions and retail investors to share in that growth by backing promising film projects.

Bobby Ailwadhi, a director of Media Vision, told The Independent: "This is for people outside India who want to enjoy the level of returns these films are making but don't have the experience of producing films themselves."

The fund will invest in a basket of different types of films, from low budget to potential blockbusters featuring the top stars. The biggest hits earn between five and 10 times the cost of production.

The fund will be guided by an advisory panel including, Nandy and Udayan Bose, the chairman of Lazard in India.

The panel will recommend projects looking for financial backing. Retail investors need to come up with a minimum of 15,000 pounds to subscribe.

The fund is registered in the Isle of Man and will be regulated by the island's Financial Services Commission.