Howzat! A still from Save Your Legs!; (below) director Boyd Hicklin with his crew; and the actors and a shoot in progress

The park looks rather different. Canopies have sprung up all around, band musicians have gathered, and a large crowd waits for the action. A dozen men in white wade through the field of Calcutta’s Vivekananda Park as one of their colleagues stands before a rolling camera.

Is that cricket, or is that a film? A bit of both, actually. It’s day three of Save Your Legs!, a Indo-Australia crossover feature film written by Brendon Cowell about an amateur Australian suburban team that embarks on a cricketing tour of India. Produced by Australians Nick Batzias and Robyn Kershaw, the film has been directed by Boyd Hicklin. And it tells the real life story of an adventurous trip taken by the Abbotsford Anglers Cricket Club of Australia.

“We were in our early twenties when we decided to make a trip to India,” says producer Batzias, one of the members of the cricket club that visited India at the turn of the 21st century. “Cricket is a religion in India and Australia and we all believe that we are great cricket players,” says Batzias, who also acts in the film.

Most of the team members, he explains, had some contact with Indian cricket clubs. “So we co-ordinated the matches, held some charity events to gather funds and then forged our way to India,” recounts Batzias.

For the visitors, the India visit had its flipside. “We were trashed by the Indians. We couldn’t win a single match,” chuckles director Hicklin.

One would think that the men would have wanted to bury the experience, instead of immortalising it on the big screen. But the filmmakers stress that despite the defeats and other problems, they had a whale of a time. “Yes, we did lose the matches and had stomach upsets. But it’s also true that the trip made us fall in love with India. Once back in Australia, we made a documentary on the subject,” adds Hicklin.

But when the trio decided to make a crossover film, they thought the subject lent itself to a comedy. “The documentary had very little drama in it. So when we thought of shooting a feature film, we decided we’d make it a little over the top. So out went the cricket crazy club players and in came characters facing midlife crises,” says Cowell.

The crew doesn’t want the film to be one of those crossovers that sink without a trace. “We are not making this film just for the sake of making a film — we have done detailed research on Indian cinema and masses. We have all the ingredients to make this film click both in India and Australia,” reveals Kershaw.

Indeed, Save Your Legs! has quite a few of the elements that make a hit. Apart from a mix of Indian and Australian actors who should appeal to audiences in the two countries, the film even has an item number. And to boot, there’s a cameo appearance by Sir Richard Hadlee, who plays an umpire. “We know what sells in India and so are trying to make a film that appeals to all,” she adds.

Australian films are not really known to suddenly burst into a song and dance, but the producers of Save Your Legs! are convinced that the audience back home will enjoy the item number. “We have been rehearsing with Bollywood dancers for it and I must say we enjoyed it,” says Grant Piro, an Australian actor who stars in the film.

The filmmakers believe that India as a theme will work with Australian viewers. “In Australia, India is the buzzword. With every passing day India and Indian cinema are becoming more popular and coming closer to Australians,” points out Piro, who plays the role of a character called Punter who likes to bet but never wins. Piro stresses that the Indian film industry is way bigger than Australian cinema and if given a chance, Australians would love to jump on the bandwagon.

Indian actor Darsheel Jariwala agrees. “I am sure that after this film more and more Australian filmmakers will be coming to India or will want to make films with Bollywood,” says Jariwala, who will be seen playing the role of a non-resident Indian in the film. “We can expect a slew of films co-produced by India and Australia,” he adds.

That Indian films are now a veritable part of Australian life can be gauged from the fact that one of the election promises of Victoria’s government was to organise an Indian film festival in Melbourne. India’s most wanted Vidya Balan is the brand ambassador of the festival to be held later this year.

Save Your Legs! is expected to be released sometime in January, 2013 — coinciding with the Australian cricket team’s India visit. But before that, the film will have to pass its first test at the Melbourne festival.

It looks like Australia is all set to play a long innings in the Hindi film industry. And if all goes according to the script, the story of the young men — to say nothing of midlife crises — is certainly going to bowl the maidens over.