Amitabh Bachchan goes Hollywood in The Great Gatsby

For much of his career, he may been the most popular movie star in the world, but Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan only has a cameo appearance in the upcoming film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby,

Bachchan—star of such Indian blockbusters as Black, Deewar, Sholay, Silsila, and Sarkar—plays the underworld gangster Meyer Wolfsheim.

"It was a sheer delight to work with someone of such great genius as Baz Luhrmann and a host of co-stars that have astronomical presence in the world of cinema—Leonardo [DiCaprio] and Tobey [Maguire] and the other greats," Bachchan blogged to his fans.

For years, Bachchan pooh-poohed the possibility of going Hollywood. Despite his small role in the film, which will be in theatres in December, he is given a fair amount of prominence in the trailer. This ensures that The Great Gatsby will attract a large number of Indian expats into cinemas around the world.

But the producers shouldn't count on big box-office numbers in India. Western movies still don't draw very well there—with or without Bollywood stars in bit roles.

Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight.