TeleFutura gets an Indian touch

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It’s East meets West.

Indian culture is getting its time on the small screen in the U.S. these days -- NBC has ‘Outsourced.’ Now Spanish-language network TeleFutura, which broadcasts to the U.S. and Mexico, will be adding the Brazilian telenovela ‘India’ to its prime-time lineup, starting Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Set in Rajasthan, the telenovela, originally titled ‘Caminho das Índias’ (‘Road to India’), explores the clash between different cultures and traditions and is centered, naturally, on a forbidden relationship set against the caste system. Bahuan, a Dalit adopted into a Brahman family, falls in love with Maya, a Brahman girl who works in a call center.

Produced by TV Globo, Brazil’s popular novella maker, the soap opera first broadcast from Jan. 19 to Sept. 11, 2009; it was shot in Dubai and Brazil and features Brazilian actors speaking in Portuguese -- with snippets of Hindi. Put the show on mute and you might think you were watching a Bollywood production.

To accommodate its TeleFutura airings, ‘India,’ a 2009 International Emmy winner, has been dubbed in Spanish. But much in the way that some Spanish-language networks these days are trying to extend their reach beyond their core audience, the network will also offer closed captions in English.

Here’s a look at what to expect:

--Yvonne Villarreal
twitter.com/villarrealy