Canada has never seen something like this before: An event connected with India’s Bollywood hogging the font-page limelight in Canadian mainstream newspapers.

It was the premiere of Guru, directed by Manirathnam and starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwariya Rai as the leading pair.

The Canadian media, apparently eager to please the South Asian community, covered the story with unprecedented enthusiasm.

Toronto Sun splashed its front-page with a giant photo of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwariya Rai entering Toronto’s Elgin Theatre.

Bollywood comes to Toronto – screamed the page 3 headline where the paper published another two photos, complete with a laudatory story, excerpts of which read thus: “Pandemonium reigned as thousands of fans blocked to the premiere of Indian film Guru. As thousands lined Yonge Street for a look at them (Bachchan and Rai), people walking by didn’t even know who they were or what was going on there.”

Bollywood on the red carpet was the banner headline in the Toronto Star, along with photographs of the Guru actors.

Not to be left behind, National Post came out with a full-page item headline Bollywood comes to a screen near you.

The cultural climate in Toronto and other Canadian metros has changed considerably, with the result that Bollywood films can now draw more audiences than Hollywood movies in some Canadian theatres.