MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- Chandler mother Leena Tonapi is some 8,000 miles away from the lights and glamour of India's Bollywood, but that doesn't stop her and her son from keeping up with the latest films from her native country's version of Hollywood.

Four metropolitan Phoenix theaters now cater to the Indian market, offering Bollywood and other Indian films several times a week.

"We come if they have famous actors in them, and we come to see the songs, and the dances," said Tonapi, an engineer who moved to the United States from India 14 years ago. "They choreograph the dances beautifully."

"And to see the fabulous clothes," added her friend, Amrita Deshpande. "They have beautiful costumes."

The two women and Tonapi's son, Soumitra, 7, were at Tempe Pollack Cinemas on Friday night to see the last showing of "Taare Zameen Par," or "Stars on Earth," a film about a boy struggling with dyslexia and an art teacher who helps him.

Tonapi and her son watch a Bollywood film once every month or two, she said. While she understands the dialogue in Hindi - the national language of India - Soumitra, a second-grader at Chandler's CTA Independence School, must rely on the English subtitles that flash quickly on the screen.

"Sometimes, I explain a little bit to him if he needs help," she said.

The film screenings are just one part of a growing set of businesses - including grocery stores, beauty salons and wedding planners - catering to Arizona's rising Indian population.

There are now more than 30,000 Indians in metro Phoenix, with many living and working in suburbs east of Phoenix, where large companies like Intel are located, said Leena Raval, president of the India Association of Phoenix.

"They are people who have moved from Chicago or Florida or California, and there is also a big group of Indian people who are on H1-B visas - the engineers who come here to work," she said.

In Chandler, the Indian population has increased from 1,578 in 2000 to more than 4,500 in 2006, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. That's a 188 percent increase - which outpaced even Chandler's rapid general population expansion, put at 37 percent.

They have significant spending power, too. The Census Bureau reports that the roughly 2.5 million Indian Americans are one of the most affluent ethnic groups in the U.S.

Slowly, local businesses are starting to cater to their needs. Raval said it's now easier for Indians moving to Phoenix to find some of the comforts of home, including Indian spices and videos.

When her family moved to metro Phoenix 25 years ago, it wasn't so easy, she said.

"When we came here, we had to bring groceries from India ... or whenever we went to L.A., we would bring back things," she said. "We would pack it up in the back of our cars and bring it for everyone."

Now, the proliferation of Indian services includes more than a dozen restaurants, nine grocery stores - many renting Bollywood DVDs - immigration attorneys, regional language classes and temples.

The screening of Indian films has increased too in recent years, she said.

Bollywood movies are brought to the area by California-based Gold Spirit Films, a distributor of Indian films screened in Arizona and San Diego.

While the company started by renting auditoriums to show films in Tempe seven years ago, it has recently expanded to a Harkins theater in Peoria and Harkins Tempe Marketplace, said Patrick Curlee of Gold Spirit's marketing team.

"A lot of it is based on population," Curlee said. "More Indians have moved to Phoenix in the last eight years."

The company has even expanded its reach as far south as Yuma. Gold Spirit is the sole source of Bollywood films in metropolitan Phoenix and also brings in movies in other regional languages of India, such as Tamil, he said.

One other company shows Telugu movies at the Valley View Chandler Cinemas. Indian films are long, often running just under three hours, he said, but they all have an intermission when attendees can stretch their legs and buy snacks.

At Tempe Cinemas, ticket sales can range from a few hundred to a few thousand for popular movies, like "Taare Zameen Par."

Curlee said the movie's plot - which includes Bollywood star Aamir Khan as the teacher who changes a boy's life - has recently sparked interest among American audiences, too.

"We've had quite a few teachers come and watch it," he said.

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Information from: East Valley Tribune/Scottsdale Tribune, http://www.eastvalleytribune.com

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