Diwali in the US will get a special sparkle this year with the Time Warner Cable network all set to telecast several Bollywood hits.

The films to be shown in November and December will showcase popular stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Sushmita Sen.

The Hindi film industry's popularity in the US has been on the rise. Bollywood films, with their colourful music videos and varied genres, are becoming popular with audiences outside the South Asian community.

The films to be shown in November are "Aankhen", "Deewana Mastana", "Ghayal", "Hera Pheri", "Judaai" and "Kuch To Hai".

Time Warner Cable digital customers can access Bollywood programming by tuning to Channel 1000.

Diwali will be celebrated Friday. In Washington, festivities are held over several weeks with lights, family meals, dancing and gift-giving.