PANAMA CITY: Panama will become the setting for the filming of five Bollywood movies after an actor from India, the country that produces the world's largest number of feature films per year, signed an agreement with an Indian production company.

Indian businessman Prabhakar Sharan, who is also an actor, producer and filmmaker, inked the deal with Eros International Media in the presence of Panamanian officials from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries.

"With this agreement, Bollywood will continue to expand its presence in the region and we will have the opportunity to exchange knowledge, cultures and the great natural landscapes, conducive to good cinema for the whole family," said Sharan, without giving any financial details.

Sharan was the director and star of the first Indian-Central American feature film, "Tangled: The Confusion", which was released in 2018 in Costa Rica.

The first film of the agreement will start shooting in mid-2022 under the title "Borders without life, the Immigration Files."  

It will be the first time Bollywood shoots a feature film in Panama.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)